I haven’t been doing so well on my big plans to get organized this year. The last two weeks have been crazy and I haven’t completed a single project. But I’ve got one in the works for this week: tackling my home management binder. It is in need of some serious updating. I’d love to get my hands on a velobind machine, but for now I’ll make due with my standard binder. I am going to make it a priority this week to spend some time going through my paperwork and figuring out what worked (and what didn’t) the last time I worked on this.
Check back on Friday for an update on my progress!
Read about the organizing projects of other bloggers and join in the fun at Organizing Junkie.
Looking for a small “thank you” gift, or just want to treat yourself? Head over to Mampedia* if you’ve never bought from them before. For a limited time, first-time buyers in the New York area can snag a $10 Applebee’s gift card for only $5 — 50% off! According to the fine print, there is a limit of one card per household and your billing address must be in the New York area.
Lately I have so many ideas for hair bows and so little time to actually make them. They never said that creativity was a good treatment for insomnia, and with good reason — I can barely fall asleep at night thinking of everything I’d like to do! The other day I did have the chance to play around with my ribbons and this is one of the bows I made. I am totally in love with it and I am still debating whether or not to list it on my Etsy shop or keep it for Laura. I think I need to make a duplicate bow.
I just placed an order for a bunch of ribbon and clips. I’m excited for it to arrive so I can experiment with some new styles. I also ordered some really gorgeous printed ribbon I plan to use for headbands. These will actually be better suited for older girls and teens. The ribbon designs are less “cutesy” and a little more sophisticated.
Hopefully I can get some Valentine’s Day-themed bows up soon. There is just never enough time to do everything I want to do, unfortunately!
It’s cold and icy again today. I don’t know about you, but this kind of weather makes me want to curl up with a good book. (Of course it also makes me consider purchasing an appetite suppressant because all I want to do is eat brownies and cookies and scones!) Anyway, while I do try to purchase my books from my favorite local bookseller, let’s face it — sometimes you just can’t pass up an online deal at Amazon. Today Living Social has a great deal — you can purchase a $20 Amazon gift card for just $10*. I snatched one up and you probably want to, too!
*Disclosure: this is a referral link. If three people purchase their deal through my link, I get it for free.
The strange thing about blogging is feeling a connection to people you’ve never met, might not ever meet, and might not ever know aside from the words that come across your computer screen. For years I read Joanne’s blog and found her to be such a positive person who always saw the best in every situation. As I scaled back on the number of blogs I read, hers kind of fell to the wayside, so it was a shock to learn that age 38 she suffered a stroke last week. Her husband continues to update her site with news of her progress in the hospital. I hope she’ll pull through this because she has touched many people through her blog and her books. I’ll be keeping her and her family in my thoughts and prayers. It’s a reminder for all of us that it’s important to make each moment count.
It’s another cold week around here. Snow is supposed to start overnight and they’re predicting 3-5 inches which will then change over to freezing rain. Yay! (That’s a sarcastic yay, by the way.) Last I heard there will be about 1/2-inch of ice on top of the snow. I expect another snow day for the kids tomorrow.
Where’s that January thaw? Anyway… here’s what I’ve got going this week:
Sunday: Leftovers
Monday: Mulligatawny (from the freezer)
Tuesday: Roasted red pepper and tomato soup, beer bread, salad
Wednesday: Lemon chicken, pasta salad, steamed broccoli
Thursday: Turkey tacos, black bean salad
Friday: Make-your-own pizza on whole wheat crust, salad
Saturday: Steak au poivre, baked potatoes, steamed veggies
The other day I read that the FDA is requiring that painkillers like Percocet and Vicodin reduce their strength. Boy, I’m glad my c-section days are over! Sometimes the Percocet was barely enough to help ease the pain. Of course these types of drugs are highly addictive (come on, you’ve all seen the show “House” right?). There are facilities that offer rapid opiate detox to help aid in recovery for people who are hooked on these kinds of pills. The FDA will require that manufacturers reduce the amount of acetaminophen they contain because high doses of the drug can cause liver damage. The new restriction doesn’t do anything to make the painkillers less addictive, so you still need to be very careful taking them.
I don’t know about you, but I love soups any time of year. I started playing around with this recipe last summer and it has become one of my favorites! In my opinion, it’s almost (almost) as good as Panera’s vegetarian black bean soup — my all-time favorite! Although I have not tested this recipe in a slow-cooker, I’d bet that you could throw everything in and let it simmer away while you’re out.
Spicy Black Bean Soup
2 15-oz. cans of black beans
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 c. diced onion
1 fresh jalapeno, minced
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
cilantro, lime wedges, extra chopped onions, and plain yogurt or sour cream
Pour the canned beans along with their liquid into a medium sauce pan. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Gently bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for one hour. Add more water or broth as necessary.
For a creamy soup, use an immersion blender or add soup, in batches, to a blender until it reaches your desired consistency.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro, onions, yogurt or sour cream, and lime wedge. The squeeze of lime adds a lot of flavor and freshness to the soup. It’s good without it, but it’s better with it 😉
Since it’s a new year I thought I’d start a new crochet project that I can work on a little bit every month (and not feel guilty when I set it aside!). It’s been a long time since I made an afghan (in fact my first real crochet project was a ripple afghan). The time has come to make another, but I didn’t want to go the ripple route again. I wanted something a little more challenging, so I browsed the patterns over at Ravelry. My jaw dropped when I saw this:
KTVSamplerC Crochet Sampler Afghan by Marianne Forresta
This was what I had to make: the KTVSamplerC Crochet Sampler Afghan! Conveniently, there are 12 squares — one to make each month. If I’m motivated and/or have the time, of course I plan to do more, but even if I can only manage one per month, I can be snuggled with this next New Year’s Eve.
I don’t enjoy working with the recommended Red Heart yarn, so I’m using Impeccable, which is a store brand at Michael’s Arts & Crafts. It feels just like Vanna’s Choice, but you get a little more yardage for the money. My intention is that this afghan is for Laura’s room, so I chose colors that work well with the lavender walls.
Last night while watching NCIS I started the first square. As you can tell it’s a checkerboard pattern and it is so easy and goes quite fast. Other squares are more complicated, and I’m looking forward to that, too. It’s always nice to expand upon your skills. Are you starting any new crafting projects this year?
