Clothing Sew Along

I'm joining Andrea over at The Train to Crazy (awesome blog name - boy haven't we all been on THAT train!) for her Clothing Sew Along. See More details here. I'm so excited! Join me, won't you?

sew and tell: an apron

I made an apron for my beautiful friend Robin's birthday. She loves to cook and bake (she is the one that made Brenna's Birthday cake).

Once it was finished, Riley had to try it out - and thought it made a better superhero cape than an apron. So I will be making another 'apron' very soon for my little superhero!

Check out other new ideas at Amylouwho's Sew and Tell Friday!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday- Beef and bean burritos
Tuesday - Chili
Wednesday - Easy Chicken Bake
Thursday - BBQ Chicken
Friday - Spaghetti

Pretty simple week! Still working on cooking from the pantry. I haven't been to successful at staying out of the grocery store! Habits die hard! But I'm determined.

Visit Org Junkie's website for tons of ideas!!

Facebook is so addicting!

Even Lilly is hooked! Here she is updating her status.

Goodwill Hunting

I love Katie Bower. I don't know her, but read her blog faithfully. She inspires me and makes me belly laugh. I'd like to be her friend - or at least have her come and decorate my home. Anyhoo, I was recently intrigued by this post of hers about shopping for home wares at Goodwill.  I don't like that place. It smells weird and I always feel like I should shower after leaving. But KATIE does it, so...
   While Riley was at preschool, Brenna and I went on our own Goodwill shopping extravaganza.  I'm very happy with the deals we found! The store was having a buy one, get one free sale - buy ANYTHING get something else free! We came out big winners on this trip. Let's take a look at the goods...

Find #1 - This ceramic sugar bowl in a GORGEOUS blue. It still had someone else's sugar in it (BLECH) but after some HOT water and a run through my dishwasher it looks so good!  (And it was $1!)

Find #2 - This lovely creamer. Truthfully I had my heart set on one of those creamers that looks like a cow, but this one with it's creamy color, blue stripe and 75 cent price tag stole my heart.

Find #3 - This lovely seperated dish. Do you notice how it looks a little like the above creamer? Yeah, they're part of a set! This dish is roomy enough to hold both mashed taters and corn and was a whopping $4. (I also purchased a large platter from this set but couldn't get a good picture of it. But trust me - it's purty! AND IT WAS FREE! They are all Pfaltzgraff.)

Find #4 - Well hello gorgeous! Black, faux leather, studs...you know what I like in a ....er, *ahem* handbag. And only $3! (Brenna got a Strawberry Shortcake wallet for free, but would not let me have it! So no pic.)

Find #5 - Cute little pink dish that is going on Brenna's dresser to hold her hair bows. Or maybe an ice cream sundae for me. Whichever. It was free, I'll do what I want!

Find #6 - Sparkly blue Caboodle! It is in awesome shape and it was FREE! My niece will LOVE this (if I'm willing to let it go!)

So I think we'll try Goodwill Hunting again.

Do you like to goodwill hunt? What kind of things do you look for? Or just go willy-nilly? Ever found an amazing deal? Tell me!

Can't Keep Clothes on Her

The other day I walked into the kitchen, came back into the living room and found Brenna's diaper next to my laptop. We've officially entered the "Naked Baby" stage!

Menu Plan Monday

Last week's leftovers fed us for quite a while so I only ended up making a few dishes. So you'll see some repeats this week - things I didn't make last week, but will probably make this week! (Yay for no grocery shopping!)

Monday - Leftover Chicken Crock Pot Dish

(I made this last night and it was super good and gave us lots of leftovers! I just took chicken breasts, carrots, celery and red potatoes (all veggies were chopped) tossed them in the crock pot with a bunch of spices and some chicken broth. Simple, nutritious and YUM-O!)

Tuesday - Bruchetta Chicken Bake

Wednesday - Chicken Enchiladas

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Chili

For more ideas, check out Org Junkie's website - including a crockpot maple ham recipe that looks gooood!

Finally!

As promised, two new books are up at my book challenge blog! 4 down, 96 to go!

Sweet 18 (Months)

Ms. Brenna turned 18 months yesterday!! I can't believe she's that old. She's such a funny girl - a true, true character! We commemorated her half-birthday with a trip to the doctor. Just a normal well baby visit - and she's perfect OF COURSE! Here are some pictures I've taken over the last month or so of Sweet Brenna Sue.

Acting CRAZY at the Dr.'s office in the waiting room!

Her cute tush in the gown at the dr.'s office.

Sharing her cookie with brother.

Flower baby (I bought this for her to wear in pictures on her first birthday and she wanted NOTHING to do with it. Now she wears it everyday!)

Hat Hair!!

Merry Christmas Mom!

For Christmas, I made my mom a quilt. Not just any quilt. This is the second quilt I have ever made in my entire life (the first was about 6 years ago for my new nephew Kameron and I cussed nearly the entire time...not a good experience!). It's the first BIG quilt (Queen size!) I've ever made. In true Click* fashion, I didn't finish it in time. But it's done now! Viola! I give you the quilt!

(small, cute boy helper not included!)

* For those of you who haven't known me for years - Click is my maiden name. The women in my family are terrible about not finishing things on time!

Keeping Inventory

After the thousandth time I bought spaghetti sauce instead of salsa, mushrooms instead of beans, and cereal instead of oatmeal, I decided to start keeping a pantry inventory. I went to organizedhome.com , downloaded out the Pantry Inventory forms, sat down with a cup of coffee and wrote down everything I could think of that we normally keep in our pantry.

I wrote down staples like diced tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, and salsa and skipped things like black beans and orzo pasta - things we normally don't have on hand (but I happen to have them after trying new recipes).

 I placed them in sheet protectors and stuck the freezer inventory to my fridge and taped the pantry inventory to the inside of my cabinet doors.

Each time I take something out, I put a hash mark next to it with a dry erase marker. When I make my grocery list, I take a look at what I've used and add it to the list.

This is definitely a work in progress. I've had to take the sheets out of the protectors to add things and am still working on what is a good 'basic pantry inventory' for us to have based on the meals we normally eat.

Do you keep a pantry inventory? What works for you? What staples do you always have in your pantry?

I'm working on the last few pages of my latest book. Be sure to check my 100 Books Challenge blog for a review!

Menu Plan Monday

I'm going to work on eating from our pantry this week and clearing it out.

Monday - Pizza from Cristano's (a new take and bake pizza shop in town that is AH-MAZ-ING. I made a deal with Riley that if he ate some of his dinner we'd get pizza from there Monday.)

Tuesday - Bruschetta Chicken Bake

Wednesday - Baked Ziti

Thursday - Leftover Buffet

Friday - Chicken Enchiladas

For more dinner ideas and tons of other cool stuff, visit Org Junkie's website!

Then head on over to my book challenge blog for an update and two reviews!

100 Books Challenge

While thinking of goals that I wanted to achieve this year, I wanted to do things that are fun and would also challenge me. I've decided that one of my goals is to read 100 books this year. I'm a pretty avid reader normally, but this will really stretch me! I kept thinking, "100 is too much, maybe just 50..." but it didn't feel like enough of a challenge. I usually am reading several books at once - I keep a book in just about every room of the house so I can grab whatever is there when I have a spare minute. Right now I'm in the process of reading:

• The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber - Debbie Macomber has become kind of a guilty pleasure of mine. I love her sweet, predictable storylines.
• Believing God by Beth Moore - I recently started catching Beth Moore when she's on tv and reading her blog. I love her energy and can't wait to read her books.
• Viola in Reel Life by Adriana Trigiani - a young adult book, I truthfully picked this up because Viola is my grandmother's name and it is set in South Bend, IN. 
• Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs - This is the next pick for my book club. It's a weird book (nice choice Michaele!) 
• A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George - this was given to me by my good friends for my birthday. I read a portion of it each night before bed. 
• The Success Principles by Jack Canfield - a really great book that is broken down into small sections. I read a portion of this each night before bed too.
• The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell - I learned about Sarah Vowell after listening to her on PRI's This American Life. She's got a terrific sense of humor. I'm a history lover (My first choice profession was to be a high school history teacher!)  and this is a great way to get a little history and humor at the same time. This is my go-to book for when I can't sleep. 

Wow! Seven books right now?! I didn't realize that it was that many until I gathered them all. Wow. My goal is to read two a week. I'd like to have The Shop on Blossom Street and Viola in Reel Life done by Monday. I'm going to be tracking and giving mini-reviews of the books on a second blog 100 Book Challenge. 100 books is a lot...have any that you'd like to recommend?  Leave me a comment!

Bird is the Word

Okay, it's not MY word. My word for the year is self-discipline.

I had already decided that this would be my word for 2010, but when I read this post from one of my new favorite blogs, Like A Warm Cup of Coffee, I knew it was the right thing to focus on. It was like Sarah Mae was READING MY MIND when she wrote this. Especially this part:

The other important thing to note is that if I do not acquire self-discipline in my own life, how will my children acquire it?  They watch me.  They learn from me.  They are guided by me.

So this whole self-discipline thing is not only for myself, it is for them.

Whoa. How true is this? How do I expect them to live their best life if I'm not giving them the tools they need?

I'm planning on blogging about my journey too - you know, just to keep myself accountable. So far I've been really good - I've kept my sink empty and shiny (thank you Flylady!), called my Mary Kay director's hotline daily for encouragement for my spirit and business, been consistent about keeping Riley in his own bed, finished one sewing project (which will be in a later post!)...all the little things that keep floating around in my head that I should be doing are now getting done one step at a time.

But really folks - bird IS the word...

A Picture Post

Daddy's Girl

The Blur 

I call this one, "I'm warm and cozy, and you're not" 

And last...Chocolate covered marshmallow snowman? Or Mr. Hankie the Christmas Poo? You decide...

New Year's Eve Reflection

(Questions found at www.simplemom.net)

1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year?

Becoming a stay at home mom.

2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened?

Becoming a stay at home mom! :-)

3. What was an unexpected joy this past year?
     I'm seeing a trend here - becoming a stay at home mom! 

4. What was an unexpected obstacle?

    Finding balance, finding my domestic skills, and finding myself in my new role.

5. Pick three words to describe 2009.

    Scary, thrilling, eye-opening.

6. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe your 2009 (don't ask them; guess based on how you think your spouse sees you).
    Challenging, happy, life-changing.

7. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe their 2009 (again, don't ask them).
   Scary, challenging, rewarding.

8. What were the best books you read this year?

   The Hunger Games, The Shack, The Art of Racing in the Rain

9. With whom were your most valuable relationships?

  My husband, my book club friends

10. What was your biggest personal change from January to December this year?

    Changing roles from a working mom to a stay at home mom. It's challenged me in ways I didn't imagine.

11. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally?

     I've matured emotionally, learned the value of my marriage.

12. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually?

   I've read my Bible more this year than I have probably my entire life and certainly pray a lot more.

13. In what way(s) did you grow in your physically?

   Unfortunetly I've gained 6 lbs this year!

14. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationship with others?

    I've tried to seek more friendships, weed out relationships that are toxic, and love the people in my life for who they are, not who I want them to be.

15. What was the most enjoyable area of managing your home?

   Laundry - especially after teaching myself it's a three step process - wash, dry, PUT AWAY! (ugh, living out of baskets!!)

16. What was your most challenging area of home managment?

   I feel like the very basics of home management are all challenging to me. Dusting, vacuuming, bill paying, decluttering, etc....I struggling with keeping up with all of these things and whether or not they are challenging because I have to small children or because of my own lack of skills.

17. What was your single biggest time waster this year?
   FACEBOOK

18. What was the best way you used your time this past year?

   Carving out quality 'me' time in the mornings (when i can drag myself out of bed earlier than everyone else) and making sure I do at least one constructive and fun thing with my kids each day.

19. What was the biggest thing you learned this past year?

   That I have SO much to learn still!

20. Create a phrase or statement that describes 2009 for you.
   "When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us."   - Alexander Graham Bell