Thursday, September 20, 2012

Nastasja's Birthday
















Nastasja Marie

September 20, 1991
11:52 a.m.
8 lbs. 5 ½ oz.
20 ½ in. long


Happy 21st Birthday

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Shawn Jr.'s Birthday

















Shawn Christopher

September 18, 1992
6:46 p.m.
8 lbs. 3 ¾ oz.
20 in. long

Happy 20th Birthday

Monday, September 17, 2012

Crockpot Beef Stew
















2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
14oz. can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups beef broth
3 potatoes, diced
4 carrots, sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped

Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.

Servings: 6
Calories per Serving: 516

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Keeping Clutter at Bay

Once you’ve taken time to declutter and get organized, it’s important to focus on how you can turn the habits that contribute to clutter into good ones that keep clutter at bay.
















1. Shopping mindfully and considering where you’ll store any new purchases. –

A shopping list helps for things besides groceries too. I have a list of thing that I need and I watch for at thrift stores, yard sales, and/or Wal-Mart. It’s easier to pass stuff up if I know I am not looking for certain things because I already have enough. If I do buy something then I know I need to weed out a similar item and have a place to keep it.


2. Weeding out storage areas on a regular basis.-

I am always working on a declutter project in my house. I work on one room at a time or an area that needs the most attention. If I am working in the living room I will work on one drawer, cabinet, TV storage area at a time so I don’t make too big of a mess. I decide on what I don’t need any more and put the stuff in a bag to donate. I clean each room or area as I go so they get a deeper cleaning. This is how I keep everything in tip top shape.


3. Put away items after you use them.-

If you put things away when you are finished it drastically reduces the amount of stuff sitting around the house making it look cluttered. If I eat the dish gets put in the sink as soon as I am finished, or if I do my nails I return the items after I use them. I do this with everything and nothing is left to clean up later. Everything in my house has a home and if it doesn’t I find one. If things don’t fit in the space I allotted then I weed some stuff out to storage or donate depending on the item.

If I am working on a project such as crafts or my notebooks I work until I find a stopping point that I know I can put my supplies away. I clean everything up when I am finished I do not leave it sitting to work on for the next day. If certain things are not finished I just get them back out the next time I want to work on it. Sometimes I do make exceptions and I will sit the needed items on my desk but give myself a deadline of a week to finish it or clean it up.


4. Doing a clean sweep of public living areas before bed, putting away any items that remain out.-

I do this every evening in the main living areas, most of the time it isn’t much someone forgot to put shoes away or left a cup setting out. When my kids were younger we would make them put their stuff away or take it to their rooms before bed.

I do this every morning in my bedroom too, if I was reading a book or magazine I put these items where they go and I pick up my glass before leaving the room. I also check my husband’s side of the bed for a glass, magazines or maybe he left the remote on the floor.


5. Do a minimum of chores each day-

Do at least one load of laundry, dishes, and take out the trash. Obviously this isn’t enough but we are talking about clutter and not cleaning chores.


END NOTE: I find a lot of times people are putting thing away or dealing with clutter and not actually doing a lot of cleaning. If you do these things on a regular basis you are able to clean your home without having to deal with everything else.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Mini-Goals for September

I thought I would make a few mini-goals for the month to help me get a couple things done.

1. The one "money/financial" mini-goal I want to accomplish/DO in September is to organize my fall seasonal notebook to include low to no cost activities and recipes that I can use over the next 3 months of the autumn season.

I started working in August on my fall notebook but didn't get it finished. It is now time to get this done so i can celebrate the season and not just let it pass without all the yummy foods or fun activities I like to do.
















2. The one "house/home" mini-goal I want to accomplish/DO this month is organize my recipes and cookbooks.

I have had recipes and cookbooks on my list of things to do for a while now so I need to make a dent in that this month. I may not be able to finish this goal by the end of the month but I hope to atleast get to the half way point of completion.
















3. My one "just for me" mini-goal I want to accomplish/DO over the next 31 days is to make a bucket list for my 40th Birthday in October to accomplish over the next year until my next Birthday.

I have been praying about what to include and what God wants for me over the next year and I plan to have a list to work from.
















What are your mini-goals for September?