Lazy

After getting my new, round table finished and in place,

I decided that I wanted a round, glass Lazy Susan for the middle.

I got a small, wooden one for Christmas,

but that's not exactly what I was after.

I found one online and it finally came this week.

I didn't love it at first, but it has turned out to be kind of fun.

The husband suggested putting something cool to look at underneath it.

Today I tried out some hearts for Valentine's Day.

I wanted to use edible conversation hearts, 

but they probably wouldn't have made it until Valentine's Day!  ;-)

Since I don't have a mantle I can decorate,

maybe this can take its place.

I'm already looking for something cool for Easter.

Any ideas???

Coupons

Every year during the holidays, my coupon shopping slows down.

It's time to get clipping again.

I took this stack

and organized it in here

and even went to the store last night at 10:20p.m. to use some of them.

In case you were wondering, I got

18 boxes of General Mills cereal

8 boxes of Nature Valley granola bars

16 cans of Progresso soup

and 8 Toaster Strudel.

That's 55 items for $54!

A New Church Bag

Keeping six children happy for three hours at church each Sunday

is a job that sometimes requires back up.

A bottle tipped over in the last one so I had to get rid of it 

and used this reusable bag in the meantime.

Yesterday, I found this laptop bag at Ross.

I've been looking for a bag that would stand up by itself

and that would fit lots of stuff.

Hopefully this will help keep the kids quiet!

Killing Time

After I bathed my twins last night, they wanted to play.

I decided to go through a bathroom drawer or two while they were splashing.

This is what I found...

A little bit of toothpaste and a lot of blue bath coloring.

How does that happen?

Here is the after...

At the beginning of the year, I said I was only going to post the big somethings.

If I had stuck with that philosophy, I would not be posting anything.

Little somethings take up most of my day!

It's finally wearing off!

After the husband got back from a business trip last week,

he made a nice comment about my side of the closet (something from last week).

When I got home from being gone for a few hours on Saturday,

this is what I saw!!!

He had gone through his side of the closet and added this

 to my D.I. pile!

Finally, after over a year of trying, he did something for this blog!

;-)

Everything is in the back of the car now

ready for someone else to love it!

Church Closets

My friend who I work with in the primary at church told me she was going to go over

to the church to clean out the primary closets.

I offered to help.  

Just after we started, I said, "Hold on!  I've got to take a picture!"

Before & After

There was some OLD stuff in there!

There were posters and games and stuff from before I was the called to be

the primary president eight years ago!

Double Duty

Usually posts with 'double' in the title are about my twins,

but not today.

I got two somethings done today and it's only noon!

The first was the freezer.

 There are actually lights in my freezer.

They weren't in the before picture, but you can see them now!

And the second was getting rid of my old table that has been taking up half the garage.

The husband and I had a bet over what would leave the garage first...

my table or his old fish tank.

Looks like I win!!!

Hello Hawaii!

My commenters are from the Netherlands and Hawaii.

(and my mom, of course)

Hello, Hoku!

Angie from the Netherlands asked for my chowder recipe so here goes...

Garden Patch Chowder

2 cups boiling water

1.5 cups diced potatoes

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

.25 cup chopped onion

1 can corn with liquid

1 tablespoon salt

.25 teaspoon pepper

Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

In a saucepan 

melt .25 cup margarine

stir in .25 cup flour

Stir and cook until smooth.

Take off heat and add .5 cup broth and 1 cup milk.

Stir until smooth.

Over medium heat, stir constantly.

Boil 1 minute.

Take off heat and add 2 cups shredded cheese.

Add mixture to vegetables and stir.

Do not boil again.

I'm glad she asked because the before of my recipe was looking pretty sad

and now it's typed up all pretty!

Half a Closet

I attacked my side of the master closet today.

I only use about one-third of the closet because the husband has about twice as many clothes as I do.

For example, the wire shoe racks on my side of the closet...

two of those pairs of shoes are mine.

He has another full one on his side.

I guess you could say he has a running shoe fettish!

Especially since he has about twice that many on his side of the closet!

 Here's the best part.

 These are going to the D.I. (thrift store).

Here's the worst part...

I have enough clothes in there for three women

me, one one size smaller, and one two sizes smaller!

10-year-old 72-hour Kit

I went to a Stake Provident Living meeting last night.

Here is the post of today's something

that I actually did last night.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 8, 2012

10-year-old 72-hour Kit

We had a Provident Living planning meeting tonight.

My assignment was to open my 

10-year-old 72-hour kit in a #10 can!

I made it at a Homemaking meeting TEN years ago.

I had wondered how the items survived, but until tonight was too scared to look.

Here's what happened...

The can was dusty, but still in perfect condition.

Under the lid was a folded menu sheet and a can opener.

 Doesn't look too bad...

 In fact, it only took a minute for the kids to gather 'round

and start asking if they could have some!

We tried out the hot chocolate, oatmeal, and Cup-A-Soup.

 The 13-year-old asked if he could use his Jet Boil to heat the water for us.

 Looks yummy.

 Here are the brave souls who helped me with the taste testing!

 Oatmeal with raisins.

 The Jolly-Ranchers were good and tasted "just like Jolly-Ranchers"

according to the 13-year-old.

Several minutes later he asked if the inside was supposed to be a little soft.

I guess the texture was different, but not different enough for him to stop eating it.

The gum was a huge surprise.

I thought it would be rock-solid,

but look at it here!

The kit also included 3 paper cups, 3 spoons, an oxygen packet, and a book of matches.

"Juice" was on the menu a few times so I guess it was in addition to the kit.

You could always include a powdered drink mix in the can.

Here's the verdict...

Hot Chocolate..."Great!"

Cup-A-Soup..."Good, but maybe a little minty."

Oatmeal Packets..."Okay."  Also a little minty.

Raisins...Dried out and kind of like eating sugar.  (Crystalized.)

Fruit Snacks...Good.  A little hard and very chewy.

Peanuts..."Taste just like peanuts."  I ate a few and they tasted just fine.

Beef Jerky...Very hard, but dissolved quickly in your mouth.  Smelled great.  Tasted okay.

Jolly-Ranchers...A little sticky on the outside and soft in the middle, but tasted great.

Granola Bar...this was the only negative reaction.  I think it may have been because of the 

chocolate covering.The only thing we didn't touch was the crackers because they were sandwich crackers with

peanut butter and cheese between them.  They probably would be fine, but we were full by then!

:-)

Overall, I was surprised and pleased with the results.

If I had to do it again, I would not include the gum in the can.  

It left a minty taste on most of the items, but they have been together for ten years. 

(The gum and matches were in a separate baggie.)

So, to sum it up...

my 13-year-old said that he would eat most of the food today

and all of it if he was really hungry,

even the Granola bar!

CTR

Today's something if for my new job at church.

Posters and signs for the Primary room with my Photoshop Elements.

If you know what this is and you could like a copy, let me know.

I'll share!

Dinner for Two Families

I made my standard Garden Patch Chowder and bread

for my family and another one who needed it.

This one is for Angie!

I got up this morning and checked my email

and what to my wondering eyes should appear?

A super sweet comment from Angie!

I don't get many comments on this blog so they mean so much to me 

that I type them up and frame them for my wall.

I don't really, but sometimes I feel like it.

Like today.

She said,

"I loooooove your blog, it's one of the sites I check out every day. Thanks for the inspiration!! 

All the best, Angie (in Den Haag, the Netherlands :-))"

Did you see that...the Netherlands!!

How cool is that?

So I have Angie to thank for today's something because I promptly got up and did something. 

It was the pantry.

Before...

 After...

 As you can see, I got a bit of 'help' from the 3-year-old girl.

 There was a bottle of vegetable oil that had ended up on its side

which wouldn't be a problem except that the lid wasn't tight.

That wasn't fun to clean up, but I am glad that I found it.

(The 10-year-old just got home from school and after going to the pantry for a snack,

he said, "Good job, Mom!")

This something should stay done for six months.

My last pantry cleaning posts were in January and July.

Thanks Angie, for motivating me today.

Okay, your turn Malaysia!

A Whole Year of Somethings!

I can't believe that it has been a whole year since I started this project blog.

It is amazing how much you can accomplish when you put your mind to it

AND when you tell the whole world that you are going to do it on a blog!

I have accomplished so much!

Since this blog has become a habit for me,

I have decided that I will keep it going, but maybe not post as often.
(Maybe just the big stuff.)

I have several projects brewing already!

We'll see how it goes!

A big "Thank You" to all of you who check in to see what I've been up to.

You have been the reason for me finishing so much.

My blog audience has included people from all over the world!!!

(United States, Malaysia, Russia, Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Australia,
Philippines, United Kingdom, Ukraine, and a host of other places.)
It's been a fun, unexpected geography lesson at our house.

The biggest "Thank You" goes to my new friend, Becky, whose blog inspired me to start my own and to her inspiration and mine, Daryl Hoole.
What a treat it has been to get to know each of them better throughout this year.

Becky is starting a new project on her blog this year.
It's called
Daryl's Daily Dose 
of Advice, Encouragement, 
and Inspiration for the Keepers of the Home
I look forward to learning even more from both of them.
Check it out here!