Oh the wonderful weekend

I am so glad that the weekend is here.

Miss Pear is still not feeling well, but her ear does not seem to bothering her as much, so that is good. Of course she is feeling just well enough to look for mischief!

We finally had much needed rain today. I am so thankful.

We started putting up the Christmas tree tonight, and will finish in stages over the weekend.

There is an item that I must seek God's will on, and so far I am hearing little, so I will be seeking Him and enjoying my family this weekend.

See you on Monday.

Nurse Mommy

I just wanted to pop in to tell you that my dear friend MomRN2 at My Quiet Corner is having a wonderful blog party today sharing our Christmas Traditions! I plan on participating after my little patient with her ear infection is in bed tonight.

Until then I am Nurse Mom on duty!

Cleaning Lists - Zone 2

The kitchen zone is kind of a funny one. A lot of these things I do more often but want to make sure are done well once a month, but some things get skipped to every second month or broken up into a multi-month rotational project....

Zone 2 – Week 2
Kitchen
Start by decluttering!

1. Empty Fridge and clean thoroughly
2. Clean front and top of fridge
3. Clean microwave inside and out
4. Clean stove / oven
5. Wash down front of dishwasher
6. Empty dishwasher filter
7. Wash small appliances, knick knacks
8. Empty toaster oven
9. Straighten cupboards and drawers
10. Wipe fingerprints off wall
11. Clean blind
12. Wash inside window
13. Clean fan/vent, hood filter, hood
14. Scrub down a couple cabinet fronts
15. Clean lights
16. Tidy under sink
17. Fill baking supplies
18. Fill and reorganize spices
19. Vacuum beside and under fridge
20. Vacuum under oven
21. Tidy top of cupboard pantry
22. Wash out garbage can
23. Wash down step stool
24. Clean out Coupon/Flier shelf
25. Toss out all old coupons
26. Tidy Home Management Binder
27. Clean phone
28. Return cookbooks upstairs


Monday is Kitchen Day (with Daily tasks included)
Tuesday is Errand Day
Wednesday is Downstairs Day
Thursday is Upstairs Day
Friday is Project Day
Saturday and Sunday

Zone Plan
Zone 1

Lists are based on a combination of what works for me and:

Sink Reflections: Overwhelmed? Disorganized? Living in Chaos? The FlyLady's Simple FLYing Lessons Will Show You How to Get Your Home and Your Life in Order--and It All Starts with Shining Your Sink!

More Hours in My Day: Proven Ways to Organize Your Home, Your Family, and Yourself

Christmas Update

We took Miss Pear to the doctor's this morning, and the good news is that she does not have strep, but the bad news is that she has a very bad cold and the start of an ear infection. We are hopeful that we caught the ear infection soon enough that it will not be painful!

So while she has been resting I have been working on Christmas stuff.

So far:

1. All presents that have to be shipped are shipped
2. Christmas shopping is done except an angel tree gift (we just got the tag)
3. Cards are almost done (International is done, Canada is ready to mail, US is addressed but not quite done yet)
4. Baking is started

Leaving the rest of the cards, that one present, gift wrapping, decorating and baking.

Not bad for the last week of November.

We always try to have our Christmas shopping done for Thanksgiving so that we only have a few online things left with no mall ventures, and then we polish off the online shopping with the Black Friday / Cyber Monday specials.

I also try to have all the cards done that first week in December with the international ones being done first and hopefully before that!

And ideally everything is wrapped and under the tree, and all the baking is done a week before Christmas.

Now if I could just make up my mind about holiday menus.....

What kinds of guideline dates do you use to help avoid the last minute craziness?

Last Day of Free Shipping....

You all know that I LOVE to shop on line for presents and books and lots of other stuff, so when I came across this little tid bit below, I had to share. Of course I am pining for their tea set for Miss Pear, and the dolls, but am trying to restrain myself.....

Doug Phillips and Vision Forum are sponsoring a giveaway at inashoe.com to help get word out about the FREE SHIPPING Vision Forum is offering until Midnight tonight

Help spread the word on your website or blog then leave a comment a

Life in a Shoe to enter!

Cleaning Lists - Zone 1

I had intended to post this list this morning, but our daughter is sick again today, and it turns out she was exposed to strep, so tomorrow morning we will be at the doctor's office for 8 AM.

In the mean time, here is the list for cleaning in Zone 1 during that partial week 1 of the month!

Zone 1 – Week 1
Front Porch

1. Sweep down cobwebs
2. Sweep off Front Bench
3. Sweep the porch
4. Throw away dead plants
5. Prune back the front bush as needed
6. Get rid of unwanted items
7. Return stray items to their rightful places (toys)
8. Add welcoming items!


Entrance

Start by Decluttering!

Then start at the ceiling and work your way down to the floor!

1. Clean Cobwebs
2. Dust windowsills and front door
3. Clean switch plate of hand prints (walls too if needed)
4. Dust Baseboards
5. Straighten Coat Closet and return items to right places
6. Sweep, vacuum, or mop the floor
7. Vacuum entry carpets outside and air them out
8. Add touches to make it more welcome!

Laundry Room

Start by decluttering and returning stuff to it’s right place!

1. Tidy cupboards and check supplies
2. Dust/Vacuum corners top and bottom
3. Vacuum sides of washer and drier
4. Vacuum dryer vent
5. Wash top of washer
6. Clean out washer detergent dispenser
7. Clean out detergent cups

Downstairs Bathroom

1. Dust cobwebs away
2. Wash area rug
3. Dust base boards
4. Refill Toilet Paper Basket
5. Dust lights

Monday is Kitchen Day (with Daily tasks included)
Tuesday is Errand Day
Wednesday is Downstairs Day
Thursday is Upstairs Day
Friday is Project Day
Saturday and Sunday

Zone Plan

Lists are based on a combination of what works for me and:

Sink Reflections: Overwhelmed? Disorganized? Living in Chaos? The FlyLady's Simple FLYing Lessons Will Show You How to Get Your Home and Your Life in Order--and It All Starts with Shining Your Sink!

More Hours in My Day: Proven Ways to Organize Your Home, Your Family, and Yourself

Christmas Baking Lists

Two years ago I sat down and wrote down all the Christmas baking I do each year. This kept me from having to sit down each year and try to remember all the baking I do. So now, each year I just pull out the list and get started! It saves me SO much time!

On my list is:

Christmas Cake
Shortbread Cookies
Gingerbread Cookies
Cookie Square
Pink Icing Cake
Vinatarta
Mars Bar Square

Each year I also bake Cinnamon Buns ahead of time and pop them in the freezer, then Christmas Eve after supper I pull them out, let them thaw over night, and then warm them up in the morning for breakfast (with fruit and stuff, to tide us over to a big brunch).

If I make changes, or add stuff, I just update the list for next year!

And of course, I store it all in the freezer, and then use my special snowman plate and pull it out a plate at time so we always have variety!

This year I am going to also plan out my menus and then type them up so that I have a list because every year it is the same thing of asking myself what we do again!

My plan is by this time next year to have menu lists for all the special occasions in our lives! Of course, birthdays will still be a case of "What special thing can I make you?"

So that is it, it is a kitchen tip that works for me!

Praying for Noah

I am sure you have noticed my little button on my sidebar about praying for Noah. Well, I just was over there reading, and Noah is very sick and has been rushed to surgery, he is a very sick little boy. Please pray for Noah and head over here for updates, his parents are great about updating when they can.

Cleaning Lists - Zone Plan

Now that Thanksgiving is over, and we have almost recovered, I wanted to resume sharing my new cleaning lists by sharing the zone schedule and then zone lists this week!

Zone Cleaning Schedule

Zone 1 - Week 1 – Entrance, Front Porch,
Laundry Room, Downstairs Bathroom

Zone 2 – Week 2 – Kitchen

Zone 3 – Week 3 - Miss Pear’s Room, Guest Room, Upstairs Bath, Loft

Zone 4 – Week 4 - Master Bedroom and Bathroom

Zone 5 – Week 5 - Living Room, Dining Room

Monday is Kitchen Day (with Daily tasks included)
Tuesday is Errand Day
Wednesday is Downstairs Day
Thursday is Upstairs Day
Friday is Project Day
Saturday and Sunday

Lists are based on a combination of what works for me and:

Sink Reflections: Overwhelmed? Disorganized? Living in Chaos? The FlyLady's Simple FLYing Lessons Will Show You How to Get Your Home and Your Life in Order--and It All Starts with Shining Your Sink!

More Hours in My Day: Proven Ways to Organize Your Home, Your Family, and Yourself

Menu Plan Monday - November 24 - December 1

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! And now Miss Pear is sick with a cold that includes very big sneezes, so we are laying low right now, again.

Saturday

Breakfast - Maple Scones (from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook on the sidebar, they were so delicious!)
Lunch - Leftovers
Supper - Orange-Apricot Glazed Porkchops and Yam and Carrot Casserole Leftovers

Sunday

Breakfast - Maple Scones made Saturday
Lunch - Pancakes
Supper - Lemony Chicken with Pasta

Monday

Breakfast** - Toast and fruit
Lunch - leftovers - we seem to have lots of breakfast leftovers from the weekend
Supper - Soup and toast

Tuesday

Breakfast - Granola and Yogurt
Lunch - Tuna Sandwiches
Supper - Hamburgers and Homemade Hamburger buns (both of which we have to make)

Wednesday

Breakfast - Cereal
Lunch - Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Supper - Farmhouse Chicken


Thursday

Breakfast - Granola and Yogurt
Lunch - Tuna Sandwiches
Supper - Spicy Chicken Chili and Rolls

Friday

Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - Chili Leftovers
Supper - Chicken Cordon Bleu, Rice and Veg

Saturday

Breakfast - Orange Overnight French Toast
Lunch - Costco Pizza
Supper - Philly Cheese Steak Wraps and salad

Breads
Hamburger Buns
French Bread
Winnipeg Rye Bread (recipe to follow)


Cookies
Granola Chips
Oatmeal Raisin

Loaves and Muffins
Tropical Muffins
Berry Oat Muffins
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Other
Hot Chocolate (for gifts)
Lemon Pie

Work on Christmas Baking list! Christmas Cake is done, now I just have the rest of the list!

~ from the More with Less Cookbook (can be found on my sidebar if you want to check it out) I am trying to cook through this cookbook a bit, so I am trying to make one thing a week from it but am really not being successful at that with all that is going on.
** During the week it is just Miss Pear and I for lunch, so we eat some strange lunches....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
Psalm 118:29 (NKJV)

Happy Thanksgiving!

$2 Sale!

Crystal at Biblical Womanhood is having a huge $2 sale! It goes through the end of this week and is on all her ebooks and CD's, plus she is giving away a free copy of Make Ahead Batters!

Definitely check it out!

And might I recommend Secrets to Supermarket Savings??? It helped me SO much!

New Homemaking Binder

I am so glad that I spent all that time updating my cleaning lists because the old ones were just not good enough for the wonderful package that arrived!

PicketFenceMom at Ponderings from Picket Fence Cottage held a Bloggy Giveaway in the Fall Y'all Celebration, and I won!

It is such a wonderful prize!

It is a wonderful binder with a beautiful picture of sunflowers drawn 16 year old Elizabeth, and it PERFECTLY matches my kitchen! I would not be exaggerating to say that all my papers were transfered from one binder to the other within 15 minutes of opening the package!

And The Hidden Art of Homemaking looks absolutely wonderful, so I cannot wait to dive into that!

The whole package has blessed me so much! It has definitely spurred me on to finish updating my home binder, and that is helping me so much!

Thank you!

Fresh Nutmeg

Yesterday I posted about our Christmas Cake Baking experience, which was wonderful and resulted in our whole house smelling wonderful! One of the tricks I use is to buy the nutmeg "nut" instead of the already ground stuff. It is not technically a nut, so it is okay in our house!

To use it you just grate the nut on the fine part of your box grater or whatever you have to grate fine! The nutmeg has no outer shell, so you just go for it.

It smells so delicious, and with the Christmas season starting, it is wonderful on eggnog!

However, have a very light hand with it because it is much stronger and more delicious than the pre-ground stuff!

Yummy!

Our house smells so yummy today. I say this every year on Christmas Cake baking day!

I am using a family recipe, and I am the third generation to bake it. It is my husband's family's recipe, passed down through his dad, and it is so delicious. Keeping in mind that I loath fruit cake, it is surprising that I love this one! But we call it Christmas Cake because it is not the traditional fruit cake. It is not soaked in liquor so you can actually taste all the delicious fruits and spices.

This was the first year that a forth generation baked this recipe. Miss Pear was old enough to help stir the fruit, and then help stir the fruit into the batter. Of course I helped a lot, and was the one to pour the batter into the pans.

The cake is now in the oven for the last hour if its three hours of baking. The whole house smells so good!

We are expecting company this morning, so before we made the Christmas cake I made up Devil's Food Cake with Fudge Icing - although I have not iced it yet, it is still cooling!

But our house is all ready for guests, so now I am going to get myself ready, and finish my BSF for tomorrow morning!