Showing posts with label dishes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dishes. Show all posts
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Things are coming together
Well, nervous as I am, things seem to be coming together. My procedure is set for Monday afternoon. It will be fine, it's just never fun facing this kind of thing.
I feel as though I have left my colleagues in a good place with what I accomplished this week at work. At home, I'm caught up on laundry and almost caught up on the dishes (and I still have all day tomorrow).
I have a meal plan made up that is full of easy options that my husband will have no problem pulling together himself until I'm back in the saddle.
I've done a little extra decluttering and cleaning this week, not as much as I should in a 'normal' week, but this week was not normal.
I'm even all caught up recording our receipts in my budgeting system and we have cash on hand to cover the ridiculous parking fees at the hospital.
All that's really left to do is to pack. I've been thinking about it a little and I believe I have a good idea of the bare essentials that I want to bring. I'll take care of that tomorrow.
Praying for peace and a speedy recovery.
Thank you for joining me on my journey as a Homemaking Diva!!
Love,
Valerie :D
Please comment or send your questions to me on the Homemaking Diva Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/HomemakingDiva
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Countdown to the Holidays - Are you Ready?
Well, tomorrow is Turkey Day for me. Doing what I can now to make tomorrow easier.
I made the marshmallow salad (family tradition, NEEDS to be made 1 day ahead) and the white bean dip (from Saving Dinner, CAN be made a day ahead), I also chopped up a large cucumber, carrot, some celery, and a yellow bell pepper, and put them in a large zipplerware (ziploc + tupperware = zipplerware) container covered in water in the fridge. They're for dipping in the white bean dip, I'll fish them out with a slotted spoon tomorrow :)
That's three things ready and done. I also washed all the dishes and did a 15 minute tidy. Now I can relax, play with my sewing stuff, read, and hang out with my husband. (Which are great things to do on a holiday weekend!)
Tomorrow, I'm making the garlic smashed red potatoes in the morning, and having them on keep warm in my crock cooker all day (with a little butter over the top). Plus I'll cut my bread for stuffing before we leave to pick up my in-laws.
Sometime around noon will be time to preheat the oven, make the stuffing, and prep the bird. When the turkey's halfway done (or so) I'll make the pumpkin pie and pop it in the oven, too.
Gravy and the green beans are the only things that'll need to be done last-minute and they're both pretty easy.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you for joining me, and I hope I can help you! It really is fun to be a Homemaking Diva!!
Love,
Valerie :D
Please comment or send your questions to me on the Homemaking Diva Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/HomemakingDiva or by email at homemakingdiva@hotmail.com
I made the marshmallow salad (family tradition, NEEDS to be made 1 day ahead) and the white bean dip (from Saving Dinner, CAN be made a day ahead), I also chopped up a large cucumber, carrot, some celery, and a yellow bell pepper, and put them in a large zipplerware (ziploc + tupperware = zipplerware) container covered in water in the fridge. They're for dipping in the white bean dip, I'll fish them out with a slotted spoon tomorrow :)
That's three things ready and done. I also washed all the dishes and did a 15 minute tidy. Now I can relax, play with my sewing stuff, read, and hang out with my husband. (Which are great things to do on a holiday weekend!)
Tomorrow, I'm making the garlic smashed red potatoes in the morning, and having them on keep warm in my crock cooker all day (with a little butter over the top). Plus I'll cut my bread for stuffing before we leave to pick up my in-laws.
Sometime around noon will be time to preheat the oven, make the stuffing, and prep the bird. When the turkey's halfway done (or so) I'll make the pumpkin pie and pop it in the oven, too.
Gravy and the green beans are the only things that'll need to be done last-minute and they're both pretty easy.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you for joining me, and I hope I can help you! It really is fun to be a Homemaking Diva!!
Love,
Valerie :D
Please comment or send your questions to me on the Homemaking Diva Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/HomemakingDiva or by email at homemakingdiva@hotmail.com
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Countdown to the Holidays! Planning for Sanity
Thanksgiving is going to be here soon, so I'm doing my best to be prepared. Hopefully by the time you read this, I will have purchased my turkeys. I am bound and determined to find some at a good price, so I will be going to Walmart for a THIRD time, first thing at opening this morning (I'm writing this last night). You'd think Walmart would realize that they should stock up on items that are on at a really good price; I mean, if you keep running out of the turkeys that are on sale, maybe you should start ordering MORE?? Maybe?
Sorry. Rant over :)
I did sit down and finalize my Thanksgiving menu and update my planner page.
My favorite trick (and one you'll love too!) is to make the mashed potatoes (whatever kind you like at your place) EARLY. Then put it in the crock cooker with a little butter over the top on 'keep warm' until dinnertime. One less thing to do later. Just be sure to test run your crock pot first (you can make a potato chowder if you want afterwards) you don't want scorched potatoes on the big day! I got that tip from Leanne Ely who got it from Flylady.
I've got a few things to do each day from Thursday to Monday (including tidying the house in babysteps) so I'm not doing everything at once. Sounds like a plan to me!
Thank you for joining me, and I hope I can help you! It really is fun to be a Homemaking Diva!!
Love,
Valerie :D
Please comment or send your questions to me at homemakingdiva@hotmail.com
Sorry. Rant over :)
I did sit down and finalize my Thanksgiving menu and update my planner page.
- White Bean Dip and Veggies
- Turkey
- Stuffing
- Gravy
- Garlicky Smashed Red Potatoes
- Nutmeg Green Beans
- Marshmallow Salad (family tradition)
- Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream
My favorite trick (and one you'll love too!) is to make the mashed potatoes (whatever kind you like at your place) EARLY. Then put it in the crock cooker with a little butter over the top on 'keep warm' until dinnertime. One less thing to do later. Just be sure to test run your crock pot first (you can make a potato chowder if you want afterwards) you don't want scorched potatoes on the big day! I got that tip from Leanne Ely who got it from Flylady.
I've got a few things to do each day from Thursday to Monday (including tidying the house in babysteps) so I'm not doing everything at once. Sounds like a plan to me!
Thank you for joining me, and I hope I can help you! It really is fun to be a Homemaking Diva!!
Love,
Valerie :D
Please comment or send your questions to me at homemakingdiva@hotmail.com
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Homemaking Diva Routines
Last time, I told you that routines help you know everything will get it's turn and allow you to relax. Let's talk about how to set up some great Homemaking Diva Routines.
Start SMALL; Rome wasn't built in a day. If you go too hard, too fast, you'll just crash and burn. Babysteps are KEY here. Choose one or two small things that you can work on and then work on them consistently. That is your goal. Two small things, consistently. After a few weeks (not 15 minutes, not 1 day, a few weeks) of doing your two small things consistently, you can add a third small thing, and your babysteps can grow. But only slowly. If you go too fast, you will get overwhelmed and you will stop.
I like to start in the kitchen (but I do work for Saving Dinner, so I may be slightly biased). In any case, everyone needs to eat, and eating tends to require a little cooking, and both eating and cooking tend to create some dirty dishes. (Now, you can start anywhere you want, this is just a good example, feel free to start with the laundry or clearing your desk, or whatever works best for you.) If you decide to start in the kitchen like I usually do (yes, I am not perfect and I have started more than once), there are two simple things in the kitchen: washing dishes, and having food ready to cook.
Washing dishes: PLEASE don't wash all the dishes for 2 hours straight if you are far behind. We're starting small, remember? If you have a dishwasher, empty any clean dishes, put those away, fill the dishwasher up again and turn it on (even if it's not quite full), then do ONE load of dishes at the sink. You're letting the dishwasher do most of the work, and you're making progress. That is IT for day one dishes. Day two, empty the dishwasher, put away the dishes you washed by hand, and wash one more load at the sink. From now on, the dishwasher gets emptied within 24 hours of when it was turned on. Preferably closer to 12 hours. Part of emptying the dishwasher is putting any waiting dirty dishes into it. Also, whenever you're starting to run low on something that is in the dishwasher, run the dishwasher (we tend to run out of spoons first). Incorporate one load of handwash dishes a day plus checking on the dishwasher into your new daily routine.
I find now, that I'm mostly caught up, I'm just doing one small handwash load of dishes on weekdays. Plus it's a LOT easier to wash more 'recently dirty' dishes than 2 week old spaghetti pots :)
We'll talk more about having food ready to cook next time!
Thank you for joining me, and I hope I can help you! It really is fun to be a Homemaking Diva!!
Love,
Valerie :D
Please comment or send your questions to me at homemakingdiva@hotmail.com
Start SMALL; Rome wasn't built in a day. If you go too hard, too fast, you'll just crash and burn. Babysteps are KEY here. Choose one or two small things that you can work on and then work on them consistently. That is your goal. Two small things, consistently. After a few weeks (not 15 minutes, not 1 day, a few weeks) of doing your two small things consistently, you can add a third small thing, and your babysteps can grow. But only slowly. If you go too fast, you will get overwhelmed and you will stop.
I like to start in the kitchen (but I do work for Saving Dinner, so I may be slightly biased). In any case, everyone needs to eat, and eating tends to require a little cooking, and both eating and cooking tend to create some dirty dishes. (Now, you can start anywhere you want, this is just a good example, feel free to start with the laundry or clearing your desk, or whatever works best for you.) If you decide to start in the kitchen like I usually do (yes, I am not perfect and I have started more than once), there are two simple things in the kitchen: washing dishes, and having food ready to cook.
Washing dishes: PLEASE don't wash all the dishes for 2 hours straight if you are far behind. We're starting small, remember? If you have a dishwasher, empty any clean dishes, put those away, fill the dishwasher up again and turn it on (even if it's not quite full), then do ONE load of dishes at the sink. You're letting the dishwasher do most of the work, and you're making progress. That is IT for day one dishes. Day two, empty the dishwasher, put away the dishes you washed by hand, and wash one more load at the sink. From now on, the dishwasher gets emptied within 24 hours of when it was turned on. Preferably closer to 12 hours. Part of emptying the dishwasher is putting any waiting dirty dishes into it. Also, whenever you're starting to run low on something that is in the dishwasher, run the dishwasher (we tend to run out of spoons first). Incorporate one load of handwash dishes a day plus checking on the dishwasher into your new daily routine.
I find now, that I'm mostly caught up, I'm just doing one small handwash load of dishes on weekdays. Plus it's a LOT easier to wash more 'recently dirty' dishes than 2 week old spaghetti pots :)
We'll talk more about having food ready to cook next time!
Thank you for joining me, and I hope I can help you! It really is fun to be a Homemaking Diva!!
Love,
Valerie :D
Please comment or send your questions to me at homemakingdiva@hotmail.com
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Playing Ketchup
No tomatoes here! 'Playing ketchup' 'playing catch-up'. It's what I've been calling it since... high school. If I needed to catch up in a class (because of a trip or whatever, usually a concert band event) I'd write 'ketchup' in my agenda. And I still use that term today :)
Life happens, we get busy, and then the city decides to 'clean' the water mains resulting in lack of useable water.... and the dishes and other chores pile up. Time for ketchup!
Saturday is usually laundry day over here (because our electric rates get jacked up when you WANT to use electricity... but that's another story). So today, I decided I need to get things done.
Having a messy kitchen stresses me out. Weird, but true. So today, after breakfast (where I actually had to wash a pan before I could make pancakes :S) I put on a load of laundry and started in on the dishes.
I try to strategize when I do dishes, do you do that? I did the two china plates first, then I did my hard plastic cutting board, so I could 'protect' the china from other things piling on too much pressure with the cutting board. I like to clean the 'cleaner' things first, so I purposefully left the spaghetti sauce pan until right before I wanted to change the water in the sink. Because I had so many dishes to do, I used my large cutting boards to kind of make the walls of my drying rack higher (putting them right on the sides) and I even put a bunch of oven safe stuff in the oven to dry (then I turn on the oven at the lowest heat setting, just for 15 minutes or so, then turn it off again and leave it closed - speed dry!). I piled the plastic things high in the rack, playing tetris as I went and fitting in as much as I could. Eventually I had to stop and clear off part of the counter, so I could lay out some dish towels for the rest of the dishes (I had a LOT). Plus I flipped the laundry a couple times in there, also...
When I was finally done the dishes (except for two of the mason jars I picked up at a yard sale that need to be bleached), I took the coffee maker and coffeepot apart, wiped them down cleaned them out, put them back together, and it's now on it's second vinegar water cycle. Decided I should use the hot vinegar water for something, so I'm filling those two jars with it and will probably go clean the bathroom sinks with more of it.
This was an accomplishment for me, and it probably took less than an hour an a half to get it all done. I even called DH upstairs to see what I did and he was sweet enough to be impressed and give me some praise :)
The laundry just beeped at me. I'm going to go fold the laundry, use up the hot vinegar water for something productive, start a plain water cycle in the coffeemaker, to rinse it out, and start a new load of laundry. Then I can relax, until I get beeped at again!
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 :D
Life happens, we get busy, and then the city decides to 'clean' the water mains resulting in lack of useable water.... and the dishes and other chores pile up. Time for ketchup!
Saturday is usually laundry day over here (because our electric rates get jacked up when you WANT to use electricity... but that's another story). So today, I decided I need to get things done.
Having a messy kitchen stresses me out. Weird, but true. So today, after breakfast (where I actually had to wash a pan before I could make pancakes :S) I put on a load of laundry and started in on the dishes.
I try to strategize when I do dishes, do you do that? I did the two china plates first, then I did my hard plastic cutting board, so I could 'protect' the china from other things piling on too much pressure with the cutting board. I like to clean the 'cleaner' things first, so I purposefully left the spaghetti sauce pan until right before I wanted to change the water in the sink. Because I had so many dishes to do, I used my large cutting boards to kind of make the walls of my drying rack higher (putting them right on the sides) and I even put a bunch of oven safe stuff in the oven to dry (then I turn on the oven at the lowest heat setting, just for 15 minutes or so, then turn it off again and leave it closed - speed dry!). I piled the plastic things high in the rack, playing tetris as I went and fitting in as much as I could. Eventually I had to stop and clear off part of the counter, so I could lay out some dish towels for the rest of the dishes (I had a LOT). Plus I flipped the laundry a couple times in there, also...
When I was finally done the dishes (except for two of the mason jars I picked up at a yard sale that need to be bleached), I took the coffee maker and coffeepot apart, wiped them down cleaned them out, put them back together, and it's now on it's second vinegar water cycle. Decided I should use the hot vinegar water for something, so I'm filling those two jars with it and will probably go clean the bathroom sinks with more of it.
This was an accomplishment for me, and it probably took less than an hour an a half to get it all done. I even called DH upstairs to see what I did and he was sweet enough to be impressed and give me some praise :)
The laundry just beeped at me. I'm going to go fold the laundry, use up the hot vinegar water for something productive, start a plain water cycle in the coffeemaker, to rinse it out, and start a new load of laundry. Then I can relax, until I get beeped at again!
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 :D
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