Looking Forward

Now that the hustle and bustle of Christmas is a few hours in the rearview mirror, TheHub and I have only bowl games and New Year's Eve in front of us and then comes the new year with its blank slate, clean and shiny, and full of possibilities.

Most years I make some vague attempt at resolutions that are generally highly unlikely and never fit in with my life that has become rather unpredictable. Instead, this year, I want more of a roadmap approach rather than resolutions. I plan to face the year with a guide in place, but nothing inflexible or exacting.

So starting week 1 of 2019 I plan to:

Start the 90/52 decluttering plan found here. 
The plan is to spend 90 minutes each of the 52 weeks of the year decluttering, one area at a time. If I miss a week I will either make it up the next week or just skip it entirely with no regrets. I have one of those all or nothing personalities and I am not setting myself up for failure with self punishment when life goes awry and my plans go with it.

Continue to use our food storage, particularly the freezer foods.
I am making a big dent in our freezer inventory and want to continue. The plan is to have the contents down considerably by spring, then I will change my typical defrosting date from mid summer to early spring to be ready for berry season and summer produce.

Be more diligent about getting the yard and garden areas ready for planting in the spring.
 (This means taking advantage of any pretty days this winter. Small steps now will have a huge payoff later)

Do one project per month.
I know of a few things I need to do and will add more as I think of them, but here are a few for starters.
1. Recover breakfast room chairs
2. Recover auxiliary dining room chairs
3. Recover music room chaise
4. Sand and refinish kitchen table top
5. Scrub and re-stain lower deck
6. Hang curtains in middle bedroom

Continue with a keto way of eating.

Practice patience

Start a Christmas Fund
This year my aim is to stick 10 or 20 bucks a week in my Christmas fund. I will also add whatever odd job money I get this year to it. Except for a completely new spring/summer wardrobe (after the keto way of eating nothing fit and there was no sense keeping it)  there is nothing I really need or want. I plan on doing a capsule wardrobe for the warm weather so that expense should be relatively small.

Do some feel good things:
 Weekly:
1. Either go to or rent a movie to watch by myself
2. Read 2 books a week
3. Have one ethnic meal a week (home cooked)
4. Have one day (OK an hour, maybe) dedicated to pampering myself. (Facial, at home manicure/pedicure, or some similarly indulgent thing requiring potions or lotions)
5. Have some sort of outing with TheHub at night. Coffee and conversation/ dinner out/ concert or play/ can be anything as long as we leave the house, so even going to Walmart would count as long as we shop together. (If we are in a hurry and go separate ways in the store to gather and get out as quickly as possible it will not count)

Monthly:
1. Play Christmas music and do one Christmas craft or make a Christmas gift.
2. Eat a meal in the dining room using china, crystal and silver. There is no point saving them for special occasions only, but I have to hand wash it all so once a month is enough.
3. Call a long neglected friend and arrange to take them for coffee and conversation.
4. Learn a new skill
5. Plan a dinner in or out with another couple

Quarterly:
1.Find and enjoy some live music.
2. Go to a play or comedy club
3. Have a mini vacation (Going to the lake place does not count)
4. Have a small dinner party

Wishing everyone a very, very Merry Christmas
                   from our tribe to yours!

The brunch is long past and the naps are out of the way. Now it is time for leftovers. Feel free to stop by!

My New Favorite Soup

My freezer has been pretty good to the grocery budget lately. I'm currently on a mission to use many foods I had frozen during the spring. I don't want to have to pitch foods just because they find their way into the nether regions of the freezer and wind up with freezer burn. Some of the things I knew were in there but I am also finding odd bits and pieces that need to be used. This has required some creative solutions since I am on a mission to find ways to use them.

 For example, I found 1/2 cup globs of frozen canned pumpkinI stuck in the freezer after using just 1/2 cup when I first opened the can On of our local grocers makes their own sausage and every few days they have the unsold sausage marked down to half price. Whenever I see it I purchase it, bring it home, brown it and immediately freeze the browned sausage. I always have a few bags but the type varies. It might be andouille, Italian, Polish or just a basic sage sausage. (Note to self: start labeling the bags with the type of sausage instead of just the generic term "sausage" )

This pumpkin sausage soup was the result of one of those missions. I found the basics on a keto blog and used it as a starting point for soup. The following is what I actually did.

Shhhh! Don't tell this soup it's not pretty. It gets so many kudos for taste it forgot to care about it's appearance.

1 lb sausage (I used Italian hot sausage, because that was what was browned and frozen)
1/2 small red onion, minced (If you are not doing keto use the whole onion. I was just saving carbs)
1 pepper, diced. (I used 1/2 yellow and 1/2 green red bell peppers because I had both partially used peppers in the fridge)
1 clove garlic, minced (again of you are not doing keto try 2 cloves)
1 pinch salt
1 tsp  sage
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp red chili peppers flakes (optional, but because I used the hot sausage I did not add them, but have added it since when making it with a plain breakfast sausage. I like heat but if you don't, then omit it.)
½ cup pumpkin puree
3 cups chicken broth
1 bag frozen spinach
½ cup heavy whipping cream (If not doing keto use half and half to reduce the fat)
2 tbsp salted butter

The soup prep is pretty basic. Brown the sausage in a pan. (Mine was browned then frozen, so I added about 1 teaspoon of oil along with the sausage to wilt the onions and peppers, since I had drained the sausage prior to freezing it.) After the sausage loses it's pink tint  toss in the onion and pepper until it wilts but does not brown. As soon as they have wilted, turn the heat down and add the garlic, sage and thyme.  Give it a quick stir, letting it cook a little under a minute. You don't want  the garlic to brown or burn. Quickly add the pumpkin and the chicken broth and stir well to combine everything. Toss in the frozen spinach. Let it cook at a slow boil for about 5 minutes then lower the heat. Add the heavy cream and butter and bring the temp to serving temp without letting the cream boil (It will break and be grainy). Everyone else here topped theirs with corn chip crumbles, but I used crumbles pork rinds, as seen in the picture. Not as good as the chips would be but keto compliant and crunchy.

This is some seriously delicious soup. Everyone here really did like it and I have made it twice since the first time I tried it. I think this may become our go-to winter soup. Like most soups it is even better the second day. I am going to start making it the day before I intend to serve it, just for the flavor boost.

What really happened

The nicest thing about using the food from the freezer is finding things I had stuck in it and promptly forgotten. For example: Labor Day we had guests at the lake and I cooked a ridiculous amount of food. Most of it was eaten the week following the long weekend, but I had tossed a few things in freezer bags and stuck them in the freezer. Maybe most of you have more well behaved leftovers than I do, but the package of corn muffins I froze evidently decided they did not like the spot I put them in and hid themselves under other icy items.

Now that I am using the freezer daily the chaos is so much better contained. I am not sure if I should pat myself on the back for taming the beast or should be condemned to the 6th circle of Hell for creating the monster. Actually neither, since it is just the contents of a freezer, but it is amazing how mentally freeing it is to open it and actually know what is in it and where it is. Well, I kind of know what is in it. There are still a few surprises I stuck in bags and forgot to label.  Stewish type things that cannot be defined by merely looking at the packs. One night soon we are going to have a smorgasbord of UFSS (Unidentified frozen single servings) I would say it might be horrifying but it is just food and we will survive an odd and potentially untasty meal.

All lunches this week have been leftover whatever, so no freezer foods were used. Also I may or may not have jumped off the keto wagon for a couple of days this week and may or may not have eaten cookies for lunch. Shhhhhh! The keto police might be watching!


Monday Tuscan chicken, tossed salad
Tuesday  Leftover Taco soup
Wednesday Scallops, green beans, tater tots, tossed salad, rolls
Thursday. Pumpkin sausage soup, cornbread mini muffins
Friday: Leftover chili (nothing from the freezer)
Saturday: We are having pork roast and collard greens
Sunday: Christmas Party


I pack chicken thighs
1 container taco soup
2 packs scallops,
1/3 bag green beans.
1/4 bag tater tots
1 bag frozen spinach
1 small bag cornbread cheese mini muffins
1 bag collard greens

Added to the freezer last week
1 serving leftover chili
3 small packages turkey breast slices (Yep, I bought one and cooked it just to have something available for a quick keto compliant meal)

Probable weekly menu:
Monday: Christmas party
Tuesday bbq chicken, cauliflower mashers, coleslaw
Wednesday steak, hasselback potatoes, tossed salad, broccoli
Thursday: Spaghetti and tossed salad
Friday: something with chicken
Saturday: Pizza and tossed salad
Sunday: Veggie beef soup, cornbread

2 Men Are The Best!

Last year the guys at Two Men and a Little Farm helped me win a yearly contest I have with My Beloved Sister. We compete to give each other a truly regrettable food item and last year they shipped me a can of haggis. I had no idea haggis could even be bought canned, but it is and I won hands down!  Imagine my surprise when a package arrived this weekend with this. ( I can share this with you since my sister never reads this blog.)

Jumbo Squid medallions in a lite marinara sauce if she is in the mood for an Italian feast.
Then she can have squid pieces in ink sauce for whatever you do with ink sauce. Pen missives about me owning the regrettable food contest maybe?

 Thanks so much guys! You are great blog friends!

Frozen Escapades

What really happened with the meal plan and what happened using the freezer excess? Some but less than I had hoped for. Sometimes life just gets in the way of my plans!

Lunches
Monday: 2 Salmon burgers sans bread, coleslaw
Tuesday: Spaghetti sauce over cauli rice (Yep not great but it was just lunch)
Wednesday: Forgot to eat, but did have coffee and 2 keto cookies in the late afternoon
Thursday: leftovers so no freezer usage
Friday: Leftover pumpkin soup
Saturday: Not exactly sure, but something leftover
Sunday: Stopped on the way home from church and picked up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store

Dinners:
Monday:Taco salad
Tuesday: Pork tenderloin, squash casserole, coleslaw
Wednesday: Chicken in a broccoli and green bean cream sauce, coleslaw
Thursday: Pumpkin, sausage soup (OMG this was delicious and I am not a pumpkin fan.)
Friday: Take out Thai food. Oops!
Saturday: Chili
Sunday: Fend for yourself (Copying Sluggy) Son2 and DIL2 were here. Everyone ate something different from the available leftovers.

What actually disappeared from the freezer:
2 salmon burgers (If you have never tried these from Trader Joe's I highly recommend them for taste and convenience but they are a tad pricey)
1 frozen single serving spaghetti sauce
3/4 bag cauliflower rice
3 packs ground chuck
1 pork tenderloin
1 bag squash
the remaining bag of green beans
1 pack cooked and diced chicken
1 pack browned frozen sausage
1 pack frozen pumpkin puree
1 pack turkey broth
3/4 bag frozen spinach
1 bag frozen tomatoes
1 partially eaten quart of low carb ice cream, thanks to TheHub 

And, am it an idiot who actually added food to the freezer this week?  Yes, I added! I went to Trader Joe's and came out with 3 bags of cauliflower rice, a big bag of green beans (just as I finished the other TJ green beans) and a bag of broccoli.

I am going to continue my using the freezer for the week. My goal is at least 5 meals using previously frozen items, with minimal shopping for fresh produce.

Monday: Tuscan chicken, pasta for TheHub, cooked spaghetti squash for me, green beans
Tuesday: Pumpkin, sausage soup (It was so good I made another pot of it last night), keto cornbread
Wednesday: Pan seared scallops, salad, cauli "mashed" potatoes, asparagus
Thursday: Greek chicken, tossed salad. rice (TheHub) cauli rice (me), broccoli
Friday: Open faced keto sloppy Joe's, toast (TheHub) fake keto roll (me), tater tots (TheHub), coleslaw
Saturday: Keto spinach dip with keto rolls
Sunday: Christmas Party

Freezer stuff I should use
2 packs of chicken
1 pack frozen tomatoes
2 servings green beans from the bag I bought this week at Trader Joe's
1 pack ground beef
1 pound scallops
1 bag grilled asparagus
1 bag frozen broccoli
1 block mozzarella cheese

Again I reserve the right to change my mind. I am fickle and can't guarantee anything. Try is my operative word here.

Let It Go!, Let It Go!

If any of you are in the Disney movie loop you will recognize the lyrics to Elsa's song "Let It Go". For those of you who are not in said loop, Elsa is the heroine (?) of the movie Frozen. I am using it as my personal theme song for the week as I make our menu to use as much of our frozen foods as possible. The freezer contents have almost reached epic proportions and I am either going to have to buy another freezer (not happening) or create meals from things I have on hand.

I stood in front of the open freezer door eyeballing the possibilities. It looks like we can have just about anything imaginable, shopping only for fresh produce this week.

This is my weekly menu idea, subject to last minute changes because I am fickle and something that sounds really good today might not be anything I actually want to eat this week. Because I am the only primary cook at the house, all eaters are subject to my whims. Sometimes it is good to be the queen, even if it is only the queen of the kitchen.

Thanks so much to The Hawaii Plan for inspiring me to do this!


1. Pan seared scallops, green salad, asparagus, tater tots for the non-keto, cauliflower mash for me
2. Sesame Chicken with broccoli and green beans, brown rice for the non keto, cauliflower rice (keto)
3. Fathead pizza, tossed salad (TheHub eats this keto pizza and really likes is)
4. Taco salad, with tortilla chips for the non-keto
5. Chili, coleslaw, cornbread for the non-keto, keto cornbread for me
6. Pork tenderloin, squash casserole, green beans
7. Grilled tuna, broccoli, with tomato, cuke and onion salad, brown rice for the non-keto

This menu should reduce the freezer using:
1 lb. scallops
remaining tater tots from one bag (Yep I have 2 other unopened bags. Why? No clue)
1 pack boneless chicken thighs
1 cup frozen green beans
1/2 bag cauliflower rice
1 8 oz package mozzarella cheese
1 bag cooked sausage
1/2 cup pizza sauce
2 packs ground beef
1 pork tenderloin
package of yellow squash
remaining frozen green beans
2 tuna steaks
rest of the broccoli pack

Whew, What A Whirlwind!

The rehearsal party, wedding, birthday party, Thanksgiving Day week was filled with a lot of people and a lot of fun (and a lot of work) and now life is back to normal. I stayed on the keto thing until the night of the wedding. The dress fit and actually looked decent on me, but during the last hour of the reception I ate a cupcake (Maple bacon, yum!) and a slider. I could have stopped right there, but I didn't and the next week was a totally non keto week. Sunday I rounded up the horses and stepped back on the keto wagon, complete with a menu plan using the leftover Thanksgiving foods, since I hate food waste.  So here is the plan which I will probably change because that is how I operate.

1. Hot Brown Sandwiches (TheHub's on leftover hot dog rolls, mine on fake bread topped with a keto friendly mornay sauce), tossed salad  (Used leftover turkey)

2. Spaghetti, tossed salad (Dinner rolls for TheHub) (Used no leftovers except some arugula for the salad)

3. Traditional Thanksgiving stuff: turkey, gravy, asparagus, brussels sprouts, dressing (For me? turkey and brussels sprouts)

4. Faux bean soup, rolls (real rolls for TheHub, fake bread for me) shredded cabbage (Used the last leftover ham. Yes, we had both turkey and ham for Thanksgiving. BTW this soup is incredibly delicious. How do I know? I made it in the crock pot last night and snuck a small bowl for my lunch today.)

5. Mexican spiced turkey (uses the scrappy pieces of turkey) baked in poblano peppers and topped with cheese

6. Faux mac and cheese, collards, lady peas (TheHub gets these)

7. Ball game meal: Brats or Smoked sausage, steamed kraut, buns for TheHub, keto dip with celery, cukes and cauliflower

Now I need to run to the bank for mom. My beloved sister was kind enough to take over with Mom for the past week, so now I need to let her have a week's break. I cannot thank her enough for giving me the gift of time!

Have fun as the Christmas Clock has officially begun!

It's Official

The wedding was beautiful, the weather warmed, the sun was shining, Son2 was so happy, we have a new daughter to love and life is good. And that dress that has kept me from cheating on the keto way of eating? It fit!

Christmas is Coming, The Geese (and me) are Getting Fat

Christmas is rapidly approaching. For the past 2 years I have organized (I use that term loosely) a Blogger Christmas Card Swap.  I thought I would do the same this year, but I am starting it early cause I am a little under the gun right now. Personally I love seeing something other than the blogs from the folks whose lives I read about regularly. If you feel so inclined please join in.

This is the way it works,
You will send a card to 3 randomly picked participating bloggers and you will receive 3 from randomly assigned bloggers. It is a very easy way to connect with those we read regularly or those we might have  never read.  It is still a fun way to connect, and in our crazy world some kind connections are definitely needed.

If you are interested in participating please email me at haljam27@gmail.com.  Be sure to include your name, blog name, and  mailing address.

Feel free to share this with any of your blog friends who might be interested. I am a tiny blog and am just not seen by too many folks.

Blah, Blah, Blech!

Did I finish my list for yesterday, nope. I started cleaning out the designated cabinet in the kitchen and just kept cleaning. A charity truck will be here today so I kept cleaning out and filling bag after bag of things to give away.

I am feeling a little depressed about getting rid of one set of dishes. I really do like them but I never use them. The plates are oversized and do not fit in the dishwasher. I even took one of them with me when I went dishwasher shopping and no dice. They did not fit in a single washer. I was lucky enough to wash dishes  from the time Mom let me stand in a chair to wash them until I was about 25 when we finally bought a house with one that worked. Our first house had one but it was broken and the repair guy could not fix it. At the time we could not afford to replace it, so I washed. I understand it is a luxury, but not one I am willing to do without, and I am no longer going to keep dishes that will not fit.  (Besides, I have 8 other sets of dishes. They are my guilty pleasure and anytime I see a set I like on one of the facebook trading sites it is all I can do to keep from buying them)

The painters will be here early, I am sure, and in addition to painting one of the bathrooms upstairs, and doing touch up painting they are staining some open cabinets I have in the kitchen. Years ago we totally redid our kitchen using just two handymen. I loved it because we kind of designed the kitchen as we went along. The open cabinets were an afterthought that worked very well, but I did not want them stained the same color as the cabinet doors. I told them to leave them raw and I would figure out what I wanted later. Well later has come and tomorrow the raw wood shelves will be stained black on the interior, but the same color as the cabinets on the edges.

I have no idea what I will be doing since they are going to be in two different areas of the house. I might wind up in the laundry room because it is not in anyone's way. I guess this will be a day of some work and maybe some rest. Fingers crossed!

To do: Whatever I can, but I am not going to worry about it today.

Overestimation is My Middle Name

Yesterday, I got caught by a web of distractions and odd things I needed to do so I never even set foot upstairs. I have painters coming tomorrow to do some touch up work there, so getting it finished today is not an option. For the most part I feel like I am in a bad 70's shampoo cycle; lather, rinse, and repeat, and repeat, and repeat.

My body is rebelling and telling me it is not young and my pack mule days are over. If I did not have so much to do I would start listening to it.

Dark hole bedroom
Vacuum floors
Move small night table into the room
Wash bed pillows (This only got done because I had brought it downstairs the day before)
Wash Throw pillows
Leave room, shut the door, and don't set a foot back in it until the day they fly in.

Son3's former room
Clean his personal belongings off of the furniture and box everything up.
Hide the boxes in the closet.
Pick up all the crap that was underneath the bed I moved into the dark hole room
Clean the linen closet
Wipe down woodwork
Wash Windows
Dust blinds
Wash curtains (if I am feeling industrious, only. I can take them down and shake them out and they will be fine)
Wipe down all doors (there are 4 stupid doors in this room)
Look in the walk in closet and slightly rearrange so Son1 and DIL1 have somewhere to hang their stuff (Cleaning it out totally is on Son3. He can decide what he wants and what he wants to send to charity)
Vacuum carpet
Clean sink and vanity for Jack and Jill bathroom

Laundry Room/Pool Bath
Do 10 things in the laundry room
Clean fixtures in pool bath
Mop bath floor
Wash mirror
Check and remove any errant spider webs
Tidy cabinet under the sink

Butler's Pantry
Install cup hooks and hang cups

Kitchen
Clean and wax 2 cabinet door and one drawer front (keep going if the urge moves me)
Clean out the small appliance cabinet
Remove dish towels from drawer, vacuum drawer and neatly replace dish towels and hot pads

Do We Really Live in a Pig Sty? Evidently, Yes

Today I have class until 11 o'clock so the morning will be spent getting dressed and doing some sort of studying. After that I need to run by the grocery store, run to the printers to pick up the invitations for the non-rehearsal dinner,  and then it is home to change into work duds and get moving on to my new not so favorite thing to do__deep cleaning. Though I am not yet finished, I am closer to being done than I was. I figure I only have a half of a day to clean and I am just not as quick as I once was. This is my tentative list for the day.

Dark hole bedroom
Vacuum floors
Move small night table into the room
Wash bed pillows
Wash Throw pillows
Leave room, shut the door, and don't set a foot back in it until the day they fly in.

Son3's former room
Clean his personal belongings off of the furniture and box everything up.
Hide the boxes in the closet.
Pick up all the crap that was underneath the bed I moved into the dark hole room
Clean the linen closet
Wipe down woodwork
Wash Windows
Dust blinds
Wash curtains (if I am feeling industrious, only. I can take them down and shake them out and they will be fine)
Wipe down all doors (there are 4 stupid doors in this room)
Look in the walk in closet and slightly rearrange so Son1 and DIL1 have somewhere to hang their stuff (Cleaning it out totally is on Son3. He can decide what he wants and what he wants to send to charity)
Vacuum carpet
Clean sink and vanity for Jack and Jill bathroom

Kitchen
Clean and wax at least 2 more cabinet doors and 2 more drawer fronts.
Clean out flatware drawer,  empty and wash the dividers and replace stainless.
Clean out the baking cabinet

Butlers Pantry
Rearrange all alcohols by type
Neaten up the glassware cabinet
Clear and clean bar top
Remove everything from shelves, wipe shelves and replace items
Get rid of anything I never use (except MIL's china) Goodbye sushi set

Laundry room
Do 10 things. (I might count something as trite as stacking the laundry baskets as one of the 10 things. I am dragging today.)

I know without a doubt I will not get everything on this list done, but I have to have a list. Mainly I have to have Son3's former room ready to put the bed in just in case my teeny tiny friend with the big ass truck can take a side trip to the lake this week to pick up said bed.

On a very positive note, for the past 4 years I have been griping about my dishwasher. The racks are held together with zip ties and I had to use 2 orange nylon bags to weave new bottoms for the flatware containers so the knives and spoons would not fall through. Last night TheHub and I bought a new one and it will be installed Saturday. Usually I go by myself, but this time he went too. I am glad he went because his negotiating skills are much better than mine. (Probably because he does that at work all the time) I am also thankful every single appliance dealer in town is having a sale which provided us with great price matching options.

Heigh-Ho Heigh-Ho, It's Back Upstairs I Go

I did not get as much done yesterday as I had planned, so I need to go back to the dark hole some call a bedroom first thing out of the chute this morning. Our entire second floor is a never used space that does nothing but collect crap and dust. Because we are having a guest who is not typical for our entire family gathering the usual accommodations are not going to work and our whole paradigm has shifted.

Typically Son1 and DIL1 stay in the guest room, which has its own bathroom. Son2 stays in his old room, which shares  a Jack and Jill bath with the dark hole some call a bedroom. It has never been a problem because no one ever sleeps in the dark hole, mainly because it has no bed in it. Then Pip has a teeny tiny room that once was my office. (Not sure what will happen when she outgrows the youth bed which actually fits in there) Son2 has his own digs so I have no worries about his sleeping arrangements.

The bed left years ago when whoever used it as a room moved out and took their furniture with them. By the time he was about 10 Son3 was the sole occupant of the entire upstairs and that room became his "office", with a desk, desk chair, a foosball table and a couple of sling chairs. Basically he did homework and hung out with friends there.

Until now there has been no need to do anything with the former bedroom other than stash whatever needed to be out of sight away. But now the great reconfiguring is upon us. Since DIL1's mother is coming for the wedding, I am putting Son1 and DIL1 in Red's (Son3) old room and her Mom in the dark hole. They can share the bathroom, leaving Red and DIL3 (the newlyweds) the guest room with their own private bath. Which means I am moving Son3's double bed to the dark hole and need to get a queen for his old room.  The only reason I don't put DIL1's mom in the existing real bedroom is because typically Pip gets scared and her youth bed moves into the room with her parents. The dark hole is not large enough to accommodate a queen bed plus a youth bed without moving the desk out. There is nowhere else to house the desk which we put together in the room and will have to be taken apart to get out of the room. I am just not adding that task to our current chaos.

Thankfully all I have left to do in the guest room is clean the bathroom, put out fresh towels, and dust! Whew!

Anyone coming through Birmingham and need a place to stay? Looks like the hotel is open for business

And the cleaning list for today is:

Dark Hole Room (I ran out of steam and had a few distractions yesterday)
Vacuum carpet
Wash windows
Dust blinds
Wash woodwork
Wash doors
Wash light diffusing bowl on overhead light
Dust desk
Dust bookshelves
Move double bed from Red's old room
Clean sink in the Jack and Jill  bathroom

Stairwell
Dust banister and rails
Wash woodwork 
Check for and remove any errant spider webs

Upstairs Hall
Do that spider web thing
Wash woodwork
Wash doors facing hall                 Hall is halfway done but I need to clean up and go vote
Dust mop floor
Vacuum rugs

Laundry room
Do 10 things

Kitchen
Clean and wax at least 3 drawer fronts
Clean and wax at least 2 cabinet doors
Clean interior of breakfast nook cabinet

What a Difference a Day Makes (None, Still Cleaning)

Continuing my cleaning for company journey, today I am starting in the laundry room. moving to the dining room, then heading upstairs. Do I want to? Nope! But I pretty much have to get things organized so I can move a bed and night stand from one room to another.

After I get Son3's (AKA Red) former bedroom emptied I will have to run to the lake place, grab the queen bed from the guest room there and truck it back home to put in the hopefully ready room. (Wednesday or Thursday , fingers crossed) I am finding a little resistance to my plan but I am lucky enough to have a teeny tiny friend with a big ass truck. Martha told me to just give her a call and we will have a little adventure, so I will call her and get the room set up myself. It is easier than arguing about it.

Dining Room
Move wedding flowers to laundry room
Wash windows
Wash woodwork
Polish all furniture
Dust chandelier and vacuum shades
Clean corner cabinets interiors
Polish coffee set
Remove any errant spider webs
Clean dining room door
Dust mop
Vacuum rug
Pick up anything not belonging in the dining room and re-home
Arrange Thanksgiving arrangements

Laundry room
Clean space for wedding flowers so they can leave the dining room table
9 other things

Dark hole bedroom
Get the baby bad taken down and put in the closet
Move the soccer table
Vacuum carpet
Check for and remove any errant spider webs
Wash windows
Dust blinds
Wash woodwork
Wash doors
Wash light diffusing bowl on overhead light
Dust desk
Dust bookshelves
Move double bed from Red's old room
Clean sink in the Jack and Jill  bathroom

Mom
Of course now that I am in the middle of this major cleaning she decided to alter a dress for the wedding. I just got a phone call and since she doesn't drive anymore she NEEDS me to come (right this minute) and see if it will work. BTW my beloved sister and I have been talking to her about altering this since August. Yep this makes me really happy.

Now I need to run to Mom's so I can come hope and get some serious cleaning done.

Like the White Rabbit, I am Late!

Today I am copying Bless at My Two Cents and creating a to do list. The wedding is the 18th, but people start arriving at my house the 14th. I have a ton to do between then and now. so I thought I would make a daily list of what I need to accomplish. Maybe putting it out there will keep me focused, since there will be some sort of universal accountability instead of my usual "well I will just do it tomorrow" attitude.

This is what I really, really do need to get done today.

Living Room
Check for and get rid of any errant spider webs
Gather random items that should not be in the living room and put them away
Clean the music book bin.
Get the hair dryer and blow the dust from the piano interior. Requires an additional set of hands, none available
Dust and polish the side tables
Dust chairs and vacuum upholstery
Shine piano, piano bench and wipe keys
Wash  floor vases
Wash windows
Wipe down woodwork
Dust mop floor
Damp mop floor  Decided to wait until I am ready to wax the floors (After dining room is cleaned)
Polish candelabra
Clean switch plates and outlets
Vacuum rug
Vacuum lamp shades


Foyer
Clean mirror
Dust picture frames
Dust and polish chest
Dust and polish bench
Wipe down woodwork
Wipe down front door
Wipe down interior door
Wash windows
Dust mop
Damp mop Waiting for another day
Vacuum rug
Clean switch plates and outlets
Dust chandelier and clean shades

Laundry room and pool bath
This area is in such chaos I am just going to list "do 10 things".  It is going to be a work in progress so any 10 things will be an improvement. Then every day this week I will do 10 more things. Maybe by the time they get here it will be passable (Notice I did not say perfect) Let's just say I did 10 very small things to improve the area. I am tired.

Black hole that is supposed to be a bed room but just gets junk put in it
Take soccer table apart and move downstairs for neighbor who is taking it off my hands (Requires another set of hands, none handy
Gather stuffed animals and move into Pip's room
Gather anything no longer used and get ready for a major Goodwill haul
Move blocks and Brio set to Pip's room
Bring Thanksgiving decorations from closet to dining room
Move baby bed (take apart and store for possible future grands)

And now I need to get off this silly computer and get my rear in gear so I can accomplish these goals for the day.

I am calling it quits, now it is time to make tomorrows list

Glimpse at Flowers

My almost DIL is without a doubt the single best person I have ever known. (Sorry Son2, you are a great guy but not as wonderful as she is!) This incredibly sweet and thoughtful woman decided she wanted something unique for her wedding flowers. She lost her dad about a year ago and has fond memories of him playing Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring on his guitar for her. Since she wanted paper flowers, what could be better than making the flowers from the song's sheet music.  We searched and found it online, printed it and made copies on an ivory parchment paper.

Beautiful paper, yes! Pliable, meh, not so much. So for the past two weeks I have been in a flurry of cutting, gluing, and wrapping, wrapping, wrapping floral tape around stems created by braiding 3 chenille sticks together. The calla lilies were pretty easy once I figured out how to make them, but the roses? I honestly had no idea how I was going to make them, all 30 of them. It involved a lot of trial and error, mostly error, to figure out how to create something that looked like a rose. In the end it required making a center bud then gluing each individual petal one on top of the other, to get a realistic rose, or at least what a realistic rose would look like if the petals looked like sheet music. And even though it did take me much longer than I estimated, I am so glad I did it. It was truly a labor of love for the woman who makes my son his best self.

And now they are done: 27 boutonnieres, 14 honorary attendant bouquets, 1 matron of honor  bouquet, 4 Mother/Grandmother long stem roses, 2 flower girl basket arrangements and the bridal bouquet.  I am sharing a pic of the bride's flowers and you will just have to trust me on the rest.

I am rarely content and super critical of everything I do, but I was really pleased with this. I am not much of an arrangement designer and this was way above my pay grade, but I actually like it.  And now that I know I can do it, I don't have to ever try this again.

No more flowers or flower construction mess so I have to start cleaning like mad for the peeps who will be staying here. 

It's a Whole New Week

Well another plan and another week of busting the plan. I seem to be very good at making a meal plan and then not following it. This week is no exception.  I have been a busy bee making flowers and bouquets for the upcoming wedding and am living in a house filled with paper snips and glue remnants.  And flowers, I did mention them didn't I? As of tonight I have made 27 boutonnieres, 15  bouquets, 1 mother of the bride arrangement, and need to make 7 more roses for the bride's bouquet.

I know this sound like a stupid big wedding party, but it is really not at all excessive. Both Son2 and DIL2 work at The Independence Place of Alabama. It is a facility providing social and recreational opportunities for differently abled adults. These two wonderful people not only wanted all of them to share in their wedding day but they wanted them to be and feel included. So I needed to make a slew of items for honorary groomsmen and bridal attendants. I am so privileged to be able to make help them with the grunt work and I am so proud to call  them my family. They both have hearts as big as the whole world.

Now I have to get my butt in gear and finish everything by tomorrow so I can get started getting the house ready. Wedding weekend through Thanksgiving we are having 6 houseguests, in addition to the rehearsal party (which we are calling a non-rehearsal party since they are not having one ), a wedding, a birthday party for Pip (the granddaughter) ,  some sort of wedding celebration for Son3 and DIL3, and Thanksgiving dinner. It is going to be a whirlwind of activities, but it will be a delightful whirlwind.

What I planned last week:

Spaghetti sauce with beef, zucchini noodles (me) regular spaghetti (TheHub), tossed salad

Bolivian chicken, green beans, cauli rice (me), brown rice (TheHub)

Frittata, asparagus, rolls (TheHub), fake bread (me)

TheHub has a business dinner so leftovers or a fast day for me

Cajun chicken pasta, zucchini noodles for me, pasta for TheHub 

Chicken veggie soup, cornbread (real for TheHub, keto for me)

Either we go out to eat or grill burgers. I don't care which!

What really happened:

Spaghetti, noodles, zoodles, tossed salad, french bread (them) fake roll (me)

Frittata, asparagus

Turkey veggie soup, fake cornbread (TheHub had the fake stuff too)

Out to eat (veggie plate)

Out to eat Philly cheese steak (minus the bread) coleslaw

Out to eat Grilled shrimp and scallops, green beans, coleslaw

Grabbed a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, cauliflower mashed "potatoes" tossed salad

The upcoming week:

Keto ground beef Philly cheese steak, tossed salad

Leftover Turkey soup, coleslaw

Ball game hot dog lunch, baked beans (them) veggies and dip

Keto chicken pot pie, coleslaw, broccoli

Something with chicken

Pork tenderloin, asparagus, rice (TheHub) cauli rice (me)

Sloppy Joe's in keto fake bun (me)  real bun (TheHub)

I am craving something sweet so I hope to make some keto chocolate chip cookies along with some keto oreos.  I also need to make more of the fake buns/rolls. I think I only have one left in the freezer. Keto diets work but they require a lot of cooking. Lots and lots of cooking!

This might or might now work depending on how much I get done in the house and how quickly I finish the flowers. Fingers crossed!

I am still reading your blogs even if I am not commenting. 

The week

Well, as I begin typing this I could tell you how we ate some things I planned and we had some unplanned changes as usual. My life just does not flow in a straight line, and most of the time I am not only in rough waters but I am swimming as fast and furiously as I can to avoid rapids and river rocks that appear out of no where. Then sometimes life throws you something unexpected, that is unexpectedly wonderful.

Son3 has been in a relationship with the lovely Helena for quite a while and yesterday afternoon, on a beautiful day in Central Park, they decided to get married. We could not be happier to have her in our family. And in 4 weeks we welcome wonderful Laura into our family. We have already been blessed with phenomenal Kyoko thanks to Son1, so all the "others" spots are filled now. We are thrilled our sons have chosen such wonderful women to walk through life with, and love each of them  so much.

What was planned;
1. Indian butter chicken, cauliflower rice, brown rice (TheHub)
2. Keto crack chicken, steamed spinach, baked potato (TheHub)

3. Grilled tuna steaks, cauliflower mashed "potatoes" cucumber slices, tomato slices (TheHub)

4. Grilled pork tenderloin, cooked cabbage, baked sweet potato (TheHub)

5. Spaghetti sauce with ground beef, zucchini noodles, real pasta (TheHub) chopped green salad

6. Grilled brats (ball game meal) corn on the cob (TheHub) coleslaw

7. Chili, mine plain, with beans (The Hub) coleslaw, cornbread (TheHub)

What happened:
Keto Crack chicken over cauliflower crumbles  This was really good!

Roasted pork tenderloin  wilted spinach salad

Browned sausage Italian sausage, with peppers and onions, cooked cabbage on the side (Found 2 Italian sausages I had forgotten about. They had to be cooked

Indian butter chicken (delicious) with caul rice (me) brown rice (everyone else) broccoli, tossed green salad   Son2 and DIL2 ate with us and she was nuts for this dish.

Out to eat, Greek salad

BBQ Pork butt, sautéed cabbage, cucumber, tomato and onion salad. (Went to The Pig to purchase meats they had on deep discount and was lured by the scent of butts they were smoking under a tent in the parking lot. Yep, they cast the rod and I took the bait)

Chili and coleslaw (Drats found a recipe for Keto cornbread but forgot to make it

Planned  for this week?
Spaghetti sauce with beef, zucchini noodles (me) regular spaghetti (TheHub), tossed salad

Bolivian chicken, green beans, cauli rice (me), brown rice (TheHub)

Frittata, asparagus, rolls (TheHub), fake bread (me)

TheHub has a business dinner so leftovers or a fast day for me

Cajun chicken pasta, zucchini noodles for me, pasta for TheHub 

Chicken veggie soup, cornbread (real for TheHub, keto for me)

Either we go out to eat or grill burgers. I don't care which!

And the wedding dress update__It looks better but I am still not pleased with the fit. I am going to go ahead and order the other dress. I may keep it or might send it back but I think I want another option here just in case I need it.

Close, But No Cigar

This week was just another week in my life where some days go according to plan and other days find any plan I made falling like a wobbly house of cards. Life just gets complicated sometimes. I have the choice to either get crazy frustrated or punt and because my frustration harms me more than it does anyone around me, I will punt nearly every time.  I do have a question for those of you who have a crazy organized and regimented life.  How do you adapt on the fly to things not in your daily plan, because the day I have planned rarely coincides with my actual day.

The keto way of eating is continuing except for Friday night when I had planned to have whatever I wanted while we were out celebrating our combo birthdays/anniversary dinner. The wedding dress fits better this week, but it is still a tad snug.  Word to the wise. . . for an accurate critical view of what something looks like, do not hop out of bed with unbrushed hair, no makeup on, wearing a sports bra to try on a semi formal dress.  Yeah, don't ask me how I know what a horrifying picture it is.

Since the dress fit is still not exactly to my liking I am following an extreme keto regime this week. I had no idea it could be more extreme than what I was doing, but along came Dr. Berg's video of how to lose a size in one week just in time to prove me wrong.  This week I have no margin for chaos and need to follow it exactly, sea kelp and all.

This is what I planned last week Grilled tuna steaks, broccoli, cauliflower mashed "potatoes" (Big sale on tuna this week)

2, Mississippi pot roast (Cooked and frozen)  over cauliflower mashed potatoes with green beans and sliced tomatoes

3. Pork tenderloin, over spinach, radish "hash browns" (I know it sounds horrid but it is actually quite tasty) cucumber slices.

4. Sausage and kraut bake, tater tots (TheHub) steamed cauliflower (me)

5, "Fried" chicken,  corn on the cob (TheHub) green beans, sliced tomatoes, sliced cukes

6.  Out to eat. We both have birthdays as well as an anniversary in a 30 day stretch. Since I have been doing the keto thing we decided to combine them this year. Friday night I am going to have whatever suits my fancy, then most likely fast on Saturday  to get back into ketosis quickly.  (Unless I decide to stick with the keto way of eating while celebrating)

7. Depending on what happened Friday night I will either be fasting or eating a bowl of some keto broth based soup. TheHub and Son2 are going to a 6 pm football game and will not be here to eat anyway, so at best  I will throw some veggies and chicken bits in some chicken broth and call it a meal. 

And this is what happened instead

Sausage and Kraut, tomatoes, cucumbers

Mississippi pot roast, mashed cauliflower "potatoes"

Keto oven  "fried" chicken, broccoli, chopped salad

Laap with cauliflower rice (long day at Mom's made take out a necessity)

Birthday/Anniversary meal, lamb chops, bread (yes real bread), romaine, walnut and strawberry salad, asparagus, oh yeah and cookies

Leftover lamb (the salad was huge and I had 3 large pieces left over) shredded cabbage, cucumbers

TheHub's actual birthday and he wanted burgers. They had burgers, chips and baked beans, I had a hamburger patty, shredded cabbage, parmesean crisps.

And now on to this week with no/limited eating flexibility

1. Indian butter chicken, cauliflower rice, brown rice (TheHub)

2. Keto crack chicken, steamed spinach, baked potato (TheHub)

3. Grilled tuna steaks, cauliflower mashed "potatoes" cucumber slices, tomato slices (TheHub)

4. Grilled pork tenderloin, cooked cabbage, baked sweet potato (TheHub)

5. Spaghetti sauce with ground beef, zucchini noodles, real pasta (TheHub) chopped green salad

6. Grilled brats (ball game meal) corn on the cob (TheHub) coleslaw

7. Chili, mine plain, with beans (The Hub) coleslaw, cornbread (TheHub)

And I am sure after following this for a week I will be just like Cinderella and magically transformed, right? Anyone out there have a spare fairy godmother they would like to send to Alabama?

This Meal Works for Every Diet (Except Vegetarian)

There are a few things I keep on hand all the time for nights when I need something that I can throw together in about 10 minutes, let it cook a bit and voila, dinner is served.  I always have a pound of pre-cooked ground chuck  in the freezer (Truth be told I probably have 8-10 in the freezer right now. I also keep a bag of individually frozen hamburger patties. Each time ThePig has ground chuck on sale I replenish whatever has been used from my stash. I always have chopped cooked chicken frozen as well as a couple of chicken casseroles, a pork tenderloin, and a frozen pizza. Don't get me wrong, my freezer is at max capacity right now, the but above things are in there 100 percent of the time. Additionally I keep 3 pounds of smoked sausage in the freezer and one pound in the refrigerator all the time.  Maintaining a stock pile is very soothing to me, and I am a little anal compulsive about replenishing immediately or even preemptively.

The other night was one of those "I need a quick fix" meal nights.  Since I had the sausage in the fridge it was a no brainer.  My go to quick sausage meals tends to be sausage and kraut and we really do love it. What can be easier than browning the sausage and dumping a jar of kraut on top of it? But__I am trying to really add as many uber low carb veggies to every meal as I possibly can.  I had read a recipe for a sausage, kraut casserole and thought the concept sounded really good, unfortunately, it had a few too many ingredients to constitute quick, plus it had a lot of non keto things like potatoes and lots of onions and other delicious stuff, so I modified it a bit and this is what happened.

                                         Sausage, Kraut and Cabbage One Pot Dinner

1/2 small onion sliced thin (use more if you aren't counting carbs)
2 tablespoons ghee, oil, bacon fat (whatever floats your boat, really)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound smoked sausage cut into piece sizes of your choosing
1 large bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 cup chicken broth (can use any broth but I had chicken in the fridge)
1 small head cabbage, washed, cored and cut into slices (or grate or cut into fat strips, your choice)
1jar of kraut  (I buy a 16 ounce jar, most cans have 14 ounces and that would work fine too, or add as much as you want. It will taste good no matter what  you choose)
herbs  about 1 teaspoon each.  I was looking for savory and did not see any at first glance but thyme and marjoram were front and center on the lazy susan that holds all my seasonings, so that is what I used

Put the ghee or oil or fat or whatever in the bottom of a large heavy bottomed pot.  Heat on medium high. When hot add the onion, stirring constantly until it is pale and wilted.  Add the garlic and stir
for about a minute, then quickly add the peppers. Continue stirring until they are somewhat wilted, toss in the smoked sausage. When they are sizzling add the cabbage and the chicken broth.  Top with the kraut, add the herbs, give everything a good stir and slap the lid on the pot. Cook until the moisture is evaporated and the cabbage is moist. Serve and call it a day! We had some tomatoes and sliced cucumbers with ours. TheHub had some delicious smelling cornbread with his and I had a fake bread roll. It was more than enough for our dinner, with enough left over for several lunches.

This was a wonderful alternative to plain old kraut and sausage and is going to become my new normal sausage and kraut meal.  We both loved having the peppers, garlic and onion in it. The cabbage mellowed the kraut flavor and added a little textural change and the addition of the herbs really did send it over the top.  The best thing is it works for whole30, paleo, keto, regular everyday dining. If you are vegetarian some fake meat sausage and veggie broth are all you need to make it work for you too.

If you need a quick meal, try it! If you just want a meal that tastes good, try it! It was really that good.

I Am So Bad at This

When I look at the week I wind up shaking my head and wondering what exactly I was thinking. I plan my meals with intention and actually think my week is going to coincide with my meal plans. I guess that is what I get for thinking, huh?

This is what I had intended to have for the week:

1. Buffalo chicken salad on greens with sliced tomatoes and  brussels sprouts

2. Goyza meatballs over cauli rice (me) and brown rice (TheHub), asparagus

3. Pork tenderloin, German "potato" (cauliflower) salad, green beans

4. White bbq chicken, broccoli, cucumber/tomato salad

5. Carnitas, coleslaw, tortillas for him and keto tortillas for me if I feel inspired enough to make them.

6. Sausage and kraut bake, tomatoes, potatoes for TheHub

7. Leftovers or out to eat

keto cookies, keto sausage balls (Saturday lake breakfast), keto cheesecake

I had my weekly weigh in last Monday  (Oct 1) and did not lose an ounce, even though I had strictly adhered to the keto way of eating.  I was bummed out all week but still stayed true to the eating plan. I decided I would not weigh again until October 31. I understand weight can fluctuate so I will have an entire month between weigh ins and should have a more accurate picture of how things are progressing. This way  I will not know if I should be depressed or not, which could eliminate the potential for any self sabotage. Yeah, right now I am into mind games.

I will continue to try on the wedding dress every Monday. This morning it did fit a little better than it did last week, but is still not exactly like I had hoped. If it is not substantially better by October 22 I will order the other dress I found and save this one for a formal event we have coming soon. The dress will not go unused either way. (Plus I bought it on clearance along with a 15 dollar first time customer discount so there was very little actual cost for the dress)

What actually happened:

1. Carnitas, salad, cucumber slices (Tortillas for TheHub)

2. White bbq chicken, brussels sprouts, sliced tomatoes

3. buffalo chicken salad on greens

4, Steak, tossed salad, baked potato (TheHub) rolls (TheHub) keto fake bread roll for me

5. I forgot the Greek Food Festival was this past week so we did our annual take out. I had lamb kabobs and tossed salad, The dog ate my rice and roll. (I really wanted that roll)

6. Spaghetti meat sauce over zucchini noodles (me) and spaghetti noodles (The Hub) with tossed salad.

7. Grilled hamburger patty, cukes and tomato slices, asparagus

I did not make the keto cookies or the cheesecake, but I did make a keto lemon cake. It was not the worst thing I have eaten and the cake part was actually pretty tasty. Next time is will just whip some  heavy cream instead of the keto frosting (which just tasted and felt like lightly sweetened whipped cream cheese)

And now this:

1. Grilled tuna steaks, broccoli, cauliflower mashed "potatoes" (Big sale on tuna this week)

2, Mississippi pot roast (Cooked and frozen)  over cauliflower mashed potatoes with green beans and sliced tomatoes

3. Pork tenderloin, over spinach, radish "hash browns" (I know it sounds horrid but it is actually quite tasty) cucumber slices.

4. Sausage and kraut bake, tater tots (TheHub) steamed cauliflower (me)

5, "Fried" chicken,  corn on the cob (TheHub) green beans, sliced tomatoes, sliced cukes

6.  Out to eat. We both have birthdays as well as an anniversary in a 30 day stretch. Since I have been doing the keto thing we decided to combine them this year. Friday night I am going to have whatever suits my fancy, then most likely fast on Saturday  to get back into ketosis quickly.  (Unless I decide to stick with the keto way of eating while celebrating)

7. Depending on what happened Friday night I will either be fasting or eating a bowl of some keto broth based soup. TheHub and Son2 are going to a 6 pm football game and will not be here to eat anyway, so at best  I will throw some veggies and chicken bits in some chicken broth and call it a meal. 

I want some cookies so I am definitely going to make those coconut chocolate chip keto cookies. I guess I need to make them today! Other than that I will be making a loaf of the eggy tasting "bread". It toasts pretty easily and will amp up a meal that is lacking.  I still have about 8 rolls in the freezer and even though they don't exactly taste like bread they do "feel" like it and are a decent vehicle for transporting sugar free jam to the mouth.

So now another keto week begins. Fingers crossed the dress fits even better next Monday.