I know it may be too late for some of you, but if you haven't started all your Christmas stuff yet, don't worry, it can be done!
Christmas doens't need to be complicated. Baby-steps really help with all the tasks associated with Christmas. December 1st I put the wreath on the front door and pulled my traditions calendar. That's it. That was enough for that day because I was really busy, but coming home and seeing the wreath was enough.
A couple days later my DH and I put up our tree. Just put it up, we didn't decorate it yet. I love our tree, it's so intuitive. It took us all of 5 minutes to set it up. It's a pre-lit tree in three sections and what sets it apart is that the lights are logical. The top plugs into the middle, the middle plugs into the bottom and the bottom plugs into the wall. That's it. 5 minutes. (Now my parents pre-lit tree is not intuitive and takes half an hour to try to figure out why that section of the tree is not lit up. I'm so glad that's not my problem anymore.)
We left the tree undecorated for a few days, but seeing the tree set up with the lights turned on was enough to make me smile. Another day I took 15 minutes and put the ornaments on. It takes me longer than I need to because I have a list of my ornaments and I put them on in order so I know I'm not missing any.
One day I pulled out my small box of kitchen Christmas stuff. I put the mugs and glass in the dishwasher, the tea towels and dish cloths in the laundry room, set out the hot pads and switched my Christmas magnet for another on the fridge. I used the same box I was emptying and put away some similar items so that I wouldn't have overflowing kitchen cupboards.
My sister has agreed to do up my Christmas card address labels in Publisher so that they can just be printed off every year and I won't have to hand write them all every year. We have also been baking together, doing one or two treats a week, spreading the work out and doing the freezable ones first. In the past I've participated in DH's work cookie exchange where everyone makes a lot of one type of treat and goes away with a variety.
I usually write a newsletter to put in our Christmas cards to make life easier. That way, people get to find out what we've been up to but I don't have to get my hand cramped up writing notes to everyone. Taking babysteps to Christmas cards is a great idea, but I need to get a move on.
So far I've brainstormed for my newsletter referring to our kitchen calendar, collected my addresses and sent them to my sister for the address labels, purchased one additional box of cards since I was about 12 short, and picked up enough Christmas stamps of each denomination I need (sending cards in Canada and the the States). What I have left to do, write and edit the newsletter with DH (3-4 babysteps), sign the cards and put people's names in them, pick up completed address labels from my sister (I'll see her today and ask how they're coming, we said to try and have them done by the 15th), affix the address labels and return address labels and stamps to the envelopes, stuff and seal envelopes, and actually mail them. It sounds like a lot, but I can babystep my way through it and get it done before Christmas, preferably closer to the 18th.
My mother is hosting Christmas dinner for my family and extended family, but my brother, his wife, and their son will be staying at my house. Also I'm going to be hosting a potluck with 6 of my friends, our Christmas for 8. Because I've been FLYing with FLYlady my house is in decent shape and I'm doing maintenance and have time for my Christmas tasks. I have a few more decorations that may or may not get out, most likely only half of them will go out.
So anyway, thank you for joining me, and I hope I can help you! It really is fun to be a Homemaking Diva!!
Please comment or send your questions to me at homemakingdiva@hotmail.com
Have great day!
Valerie :)
<><
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Grocery Shopping
OK, people, let's talk food!
Everybody needs to eat and cooking your own food is the easiest way to be healthier and to save money. Now in order for cooking at home to save you time, you have to take a little time to do some planning. Running to the store or the drive through every evening wastes an incredible amount of time, plus knowing ahead of time what you want to make takes the stress out of dinner.
I try to grocery shop only once a week, usually when my list of dinner entrees is down to one and/or the milk is running low. I start with a menu plan. I have a pretty good idea of what food I already have in the house, so I can usually plan most of my meals around what's on hand and what's on sale. So my menu planning is really simple: I pick 6 entrees for dinners. That's it. As I pick the entrees I list ingredients that I don't already have on my shopping list and then I'm mostly all set. I quickly go through the flyer and see what else I "need" then I look in the fridge and pantry to scan for any staples that we're out of. I add that to the list, grab my shopping bags, and I'm ready to go.
Now, you may have noticed that I've been using a lot of singular words, so yes, I only shop at one grocery store and I really like that. It's the store closest to me, the next closest one is 10 minutes further away, and while 10 minutes doesn't sound like much, I'm not driving 10 extra minutes both ways every week just to save 15 cents on apples (or whatever). And even if I lived close to several stores, I still really like only shopping at one. I can find things faster because I am familiar with my store, I only have to stand in line once, and I only have to look through one flyer each week. I don't have to take the time to compare (and keep track of) pricing and sales at several stores.
Also, I have made up a form grocery list with items I buy frequently in an aisle by aisle format for my grocery store in the order I walk through the store. So picture that my piece of paper is divided into 12 squares and each square has several lines listing items (and prices) I frequently buy with a few spaces for other things to be written in. Because when I walk in the store I first come to the produce, deli, and bread departments, the first box has items I buy in those departments listed. (I enter the store, walk around the outside U of the store and then go through the centre aisles.) The second box is the meats and milk, the third is the dairy, frozen foods, eggs, and refrigerated juices. Then I get one box per middle aisle with those items listed and the best thing is that if I don't need anything in aisle 7, I don't have to walk through it!
I hope that form makes sense because it's really helpful to have one and I encourage you to make one. I did mine on the computer, but you don't have to. If you're already shopping at one store, you can start making it now. When you are familiar with a store you can remember roughly where things are. You know if you start in the middle or the outside of the store. Don't make your list in my order, make it in the order you walk around the store. Think about where you go first and write down a few things that you get in that aisle, then think about where you go next and continue the process. If you don't remember if the cereal is in aisle 5 or 6 don't worry about it, try to remember everything that you get from the cereal aisle and the next time you're in the store you can edit your list. It will take a few times to get it the way you want it, but that's ok. I still edit mine on occasion, but for the most part, I have the set up done.
When I started my form I didn't include prices, I added those later. I put down the regular price and the brand(in shorthand) of what I like to buy and that way I can tell if a deal is really all that great. Also, each square in the chart has a column for writing down how much you want and a column for checking it off.
So anyway, thank you for joining me, and I hope I can help you! It really is fun to be a Homemaking Diva!!
Please comment or send your questions to me at homemakingdiva@hotmail.com
Have great day!
Valerie :)
<><
Everybody needs to eat and cooking your own food is the easiest way to be healthier and to save money. Now in order for cooking at home to save you time, you have to take a little time to do some planning. Running to the store or the drive through every evening wastes an incredible amount of time, plus knowing ahead of time what you want to make takes the stress out of dinner.
I try to grocery shop only once a week, usually when my list of dinner entrees is down to one and/or the milk is running low. I start with a menu plan. I have a pretty good idea of what food I already have in the house, so I can usually plan most of my meals around what's on hand and what's on sale. So my menu planning is really simple: I pick 6 entrees for dinners. That's it. As I pick the entrees I list ingredients that I don't already have on my shopping list and then I'm mostly all set. I quickly go through the flyer and see what else I "need" then I look in the fridge and pantry to scan for any staples that we're out of. I add that to the list, grab my shopping bags, and I'm ready to go.
Now, you may have noticed that I've been using a lot of singular words, so yes, I only shop at one grocery store and I really like that. It's the store closest to me, the next closest one is 10 minutes further away, and while 10 minutes doesn't sound like much, I'm not driving 10 extra minutes both ways every week just to save 15 cents on apples (or whatever). And even if I lived close to several stores, I still really like only shopping at one. I can find things faster because I am familiar with my store, I only have to stand in line once, and I only have to look through one flyer each week. I don't have to take the time to compare (and keep track of) pricing and sales at several stores.
Also, I have made up a form grocery list with items I buy frequently in an aisle by aisle format for my grocery store in the order I walk through the store. So picture that my piece of paper is divided into 12 squares and each square has several lines listing items (and prices) I frequently buy with a few spaces for other things to be written in. Because when I walk in the store I first come to the produce, deli, and bread departments, the first box has items I buy in those departments listed. (I enter the store, walk around the outside U of the store and then go through the centre aisles.) The second box is the meats and milk, the third is the dairy, frozen foods, eggs, and refrigerated juices. Then I get one box per middle aisle with those items listed and the best thing is that if I don't need anything in aisle 7, I don't have to walk through it!
I hope that form makes sense because it's really helpful to have one and I encourage you to make one. I did mine on the computer, but you don't have to. If you're already shopping at one store, you can start making it now. When you are familiar with a store you can remember roughly where things are. You know if you start in the middle or the outside of the store. Don't make your list in my order, make it in the order you walk around the store. Think about where you go first and write down a few things that you get in that aisle, then think about where you go next and continue the process. If you don't remember if the cereal is in aisle 5 or 6 don't worry about it, try to remember everything that you get from the cereal aisle and the next time you're in the store you can edit your list. It will take a few times to get it the way you want it, but that's ok. I still edit mine on occasion, but for the most part, I have the set up done.
When I started my form I didn't include prices, I added those later. I put down the regular price and the brand(in shorthand) of what I like to buy and that way I can tell if a deal is really all that great. Also, each square in the chart has a column for writing down how much you want and a column for checking it off.
So anyway, thank you for joining me, and I hope I can help you! It really is fun to be a Homemaking Diva!!
Please comment or send your questions to me at homemakingdiva@hotmail.com
Have great day!
Valerie :)
<><
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Welcome to Homemaking Diva!
Welcome to Homemaking Diva!
I am not an expert, but I'm learning and I have great resources that I'm learning from! Right now, my three mainstays are FLYlady, Leanne Ely of Saving Dinner fame, and my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.
I want to help new wives and homemakers see that it's really not that hard and that you, too can be a Homemaking Diva!
FLYlady helps me keep my act together and Leanne has been convincing me that cooking is not really that hard if you have a plan. And my cookbook is just a great reference. I'm sure that other cookbooks are great, but I just need one good reference cookbook and I bought this one on recommendation from my oldest sister (plus it's kind of fun that we both have the same cookbook and can do some things together and talk about cooking and baking with a common frame of reference).
If you haven't heard of FLYlady, you need to check her out. This is one lady who used to live in CHAOS and organized her home by using routines and by being nice to herself. She gives her system away for free, it's definitely worth your time to try it for a few months and you will see how much she can help you. I have been a FLYbaby (follower of the FLYlady) since May 29, 2008.
Leanne Ely is The Dinner Diva, and yes, I borrowed my name from her. She is actually a friend of the FLYlady and shares some of her recipes with the FLYbabies. She has two websites: LeanneEly.com where a lot of free resources, recipes, and her blog are, as well as SavingDinner.com where she sells menu mailers (a week's worth of recipes with grocery lists), freezer menus, and much, much more! She has published several books including her most recent, Saving Dinner (a new edition that came out this year, it's the same as her original Saving Dinner, but revamped and with Freezer menus added). I have this book and am loving it so far.
A little about me: I'm a stay at home wife, qualified as a junior-intermediate math teacher, FLYbaby, librarian, and internet junkie. I am doing my best to be a good homemaker and that in itself is half the battle: making homemaking a priority. Now, my DH is not forcing me to do any of this. He is wonderful, and when I was super busy in my final year of university and doing classroom placements for my teaching degree he took over the housework because that was fair. But now, I'm off and he's working, so most of the homemaking falls to me, and that's fair.
Now, today was a very good day, and I've gotten a lot done. We had an appointment in town at 9am, so we just grabbed some breakfast bars since we didn't get up early enough for a full breakfast (which is a little too normal for us) but we came almost straight home afterwards and I did an experiment and made 'egg mcmuffins': english muffins, eggs over hard, cheese, and peameal. They turned out great. I think I'll make them again tomorrow.
I'm doing Leanne's Rubber Chicken this week, for the second time. OK, I know you want to know what that is! Rubber Chicken is a cute name for this because it makes chicken flexible - hence, rubber chicken. It's basically one chicken eaten over three days in three different meals (not just leftovers). Day one is roast chicken with mashed potatoes and salad (I've been cheating and getting a cooked one from the grocery store, but one of these days I might try roasting a raw chicken), day two is chicken and bean burritos (using up the leftover chicken meat), and for day three you make chicken stock out of the bones and make soup that you serve with lots of bread. (I'm sharing all of this because I know I got this recipe for free, so I can share it.)
So anyway, today is rubber chicken soup, so I made the chicken stock shortly after 'breakfast' and I also put on some beef stock since I had a bone from a roast we had earlier in the week. That's just about done, so I need to finish up this post. Anyway, I made both stocks, and since there's only two of us, I'm keeping some of the chicken stock aside and will freeze it for future use (last time we had lots leftover, so I know I can do this). I'm also planning on making corn muffins with the recipe from the Saving Dinner cookbook I have.
And I have choir tonight. That's why I started the stock so early. So now, I'm not rushed. I also got a load of laundry done and put the dishes away. I know this all sounds like a lot, but this was a VERY productive day for me, I'm not this good all the time, but I don't need to be. I just do what I can, as I can. Take yesterday, for example. I was at my sister's house all day (which I tend to do about once a week) and we had leftovers for dinner and all I got done was hand washing the dishes. Life varies.
So anyway, thank you for joining me, and I hope I can help you! It really is fun to be a Homemaking Diva!!
Please comment or send your questions to me at homemakingdiva@hotmail.com
Have great day!
Valerie :)
<><
I am not an expert, but I'm learning and I have great resources that I'm learning from! Right now, my three mainstays are FLYlady, Leanne Ely of Saving Dinner fame, and my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.
I want to help new wives and homemakers see that it's really not that hard and that you, too can be a Homemaking Diva!
FLYlady helps me keep my act together and Leanne has been convincing me that cooking is not really that hard if you have a plan. And my cookbook is just a great reference. I'm sure that other cookbooks are great, but I just need one good reference cookbook and I bought this one on recommendation from my oldest sister (plus it's kind of fun that we both have the same cookbook and can do some things together and talk about cooking and baking with a common frame of reference).
If you haven't heard of FLYlady, you need to check her out. This is one lady who used to live in CHAOS and organized her home by using routines and by being nice to herself. She gives her system away for free, it's definitely worth your time to try it for a few months and you will see how much she can help you. I have been a FLYbaby (follower of the FLYlady) since May 29, 2008.
Leanne Ely is The Dinner Diva, and yes, I borrowed my name from her. She is actually a friend of the FLYlady and shares some of her recipes with the FLYbabies. She has two websites: LeanneEly.com where a lot of free resources, recipes, and her blog are, as well as SavingDinner.com where she sells menu mailers (a week's worth of recipes with grocery lists), freezer menus, and much, much more! She has published several books including her most recent, Saving Dinner (a new edition that came out this year, it's the same as her original Saving Dinner, but revamped and with Freezer menus added). I have this book and am loving it so far.
A little about me: I'm a stay at home wife, qualified as a junior-intermediate math teacher, FLYbaby, librarian, and internet junkie. I am doing my best to be a good homemaker and that in itself is half the battle: making homemaking a priority. Now, my DH is not forcing me to do any of this. He is wonderful, and when I was super busy in my final year of university and doing classroom placements for my teaching degree he took over the housework because that was fair. But now, I'm off and he's working, so most of the homemaking falls to me, and that's fair.
Now, today was a very good day, and I've gotten a lot done. We had an appointment in town at 9am, so we just grabbed some breakfast bars since we didn't get up early enough for a full breakfast (which is a little too normal for us) but we came almost straight home afterwards and I did an experiment and made 'egg mcmuffins': english muffins, eggs over hard, cheese, and peameal. They turned out great. I think I'll make them again tomorrow.
I'm doing Leanne's Rubber Chicken this week, for the second time. OK, I know you want to know what that is! Rubber Chicken is a cute name for this because it makes chicken flexible - hence, rubber chicken. It's basically one chicken eaten over three days in three different meals (not just leftovers). Day one is roast chicken with mashed potatoes and salad (I've been cheating and getting a cooked one from the grocery store, but one of these days I might try roasting a raw chicken), day two is chicken and bean burritos (using up the leftover chicken meat), and for day three you make chicken stock out of the bones and make soup that you serve with lots of bread. (I'm sharing all of this because I know I got this recipe for free, so I can share it.)
So anyway, today is rubber chicken soup, so I made the chicken stock shortly after 'breakfast' and I also put on some beef stock since I had a bone from a roast we had earlier in the week. That's just about done, so I need to finish up this post. Anyway, I made both stocks, and since there's only two of us, I'm keeping some of the chicken stock aside and will freeze it for future use (last time we had lots leftover, so I know I can do this). I'm also planning on making corn muffins with the recipe from the Saving Dinner cookbook I have.
And I have choir tonight. That's why I started the stock so early. So now, I'm not rushed. I also got a load of laundry done and put the dishes away. I know this all sounds like a lot, but this was a VERY productive day for me, I'm not this good all the time, but I don't need to be. I just do what I can, as I can. Take yesterday, for example. I was at my sister's house all day (which I tend to do about once a week) and we had leftovers for dinner and all I got done was hand washing the dishes. Life varies.
So anyway, thank you for joining me, and I hope I can help you! It really is fun to be a Homemaking Diva!!
Please comment or send your questions to me at homemakingdiva@hotmail.com
Have great day!
Valerie :)
<><
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