Menu Madness

Here it is already Monday night and I haven't finished my menu, well not exactly... I had a rough draft sitting on the counter and we just worked off that to tweak it.
Monday (tonight): Chicken Noodle Casserole (think tuna helper only home made)
Tuesday:Fake Fried Chicken (baked instead of fried... )
Wednesday: Burgers (We are having friends over so this might change)
Thursday: Fritata (nothing like breakfast for dinner)
Friday: Tator Tot Casserole (hamburger, tots, and mushroom soup)
Saturday: Dinner out with my parents

I've also managed to plan lunches for the week... Tomorrow the boys will have left overs and I'm having french onion/garlic soup
Wednesday: Chicken nuggets and fries
Thursday: Most likely McDonald as it is Big Mac Meal Day and Cameron likes Big Macs (those that know my oldest are most likely laughing as he is so skinny you really can't imagine him eating a Big Mac but he does..)

Code, Language, OS, and me

For those that know me you might get a good laugh of this... I'm usually a jump in or better yet dive in and figure it out as I go kind of person. My chaotic life is probably the best example of that. So when I decided I was going to fire Microsoft and switch at least my computer to Linux my husband didn't question it. When it comes to the computer he almost always tells me , "whatever works". He isn't computer illiterate but doesn't know that much about them (he has figured out the mechanical side of it pretty quick...) so for the last several weeks I've been "stumbling" Check out Stumble.com and you'll understand. I've been reading , searching and experimenting with Open Source applications not exactly ready to fully "jump in" to the world and switch over. There is still this dependence on Microsoft, for those people that think MS doesn't have a monopoly style hold on the PC industry please pause and remove your head from the sand.!!!

Ok, so I've found replacements for almost all of the applications we use, heck I even found a couple new things that will help with Mike's sound mastering work. I'm slowly learning language and rethinking the way I go about my computer time. I'm trying to make it easier and also make the transition smooth. I might even move Linux onto all our computers thus saving us having to get a new on as Linux will run on an older system faster than the Windows OS runs on that same system. There isn't a machine in this house younger than 5 years, and most are nearing the 10 year mark if they haven't already passed it. So my journey back in time so to speak is a gentle journey, I'm not jumping in head first I'm taking it slow.

If you don't hear from me via email as quickly don't worry , I might have just done it and switched the system... Give me a day or two to get back to you... In the mean time check back here often, I am using Open Source applications and add-ons for blogging already and loving it.

Another sign of Spring

The other night while I was shooting pictures , I decided I needed some new pics of the waterfall in our backyard. I love the sounds and just watching the water. I would never have built something like this in a backyard, the pond and the waterfall are huge. When we moved in , everything was already here so we have just been cleaning it up and enjoying it. Some days I feel so out of place at home. Our house is too big and the backyard is huge. I should feel blessed I guess, we got it at a good price and at the right time. Of course shortly after we moved out here we had our second child and life has been changing ever since. I want to use the space for something good, I'm just not sure what.
We planted a garden this year, a small one that I think I will expand to try and keep our costs down... Eat off the land, and work to make the surrounds more peaceful.
I know the boys are loving the space and I don't have to take them to the park as we have such a big back yard... If gas prices weren't so high I could have friends down to play but we live in the country and far enough away from people that it is hard. I guess it is a mixed blessing.

40 Days of Focus: A Challenge

Today Leigh Anne over at YourHomeBasedMom wrote about another blog she reads and the 40 days of fanatical focus. I thought why not? I'm going to try and blog each day what our plan is and how we are doing...

Focus: Family, well in the next 40 days I would like to have the house under control and cleaned up/ organized. So for the next 40 days we (I’m including my kids) use the 15 minutes of focus daily to organize a small space and twice a week a power hour in that room. This week we will start in the living room since that is where everything seems to happen..

Signs of Spring

Last night was still warm and we decided to just play outside and enjoy the sun. I took my camera outside and played alot! I love the light at dusk and the colors of Spring seemed to just pop. I'll post the pics later today, but for now... I'm sitting here in my office and listening to the birds and watching everything almost change out my window. I love Spring and the new life it brings.

Menu Madness

On the way home from a day of activities today, Mike and I decided we need to budget our travel time better. This conversation got started after we filled up his truck at the station and paid 4.05 a gallon for diesel. What the heck???? Anyway, we decided Wednesday will be our day to go to town for groceries, banking , etc.... Unless something major happens and we have to go to town, this should help on the fuel usage as well as the sanity...
We went to our local Grocery Outlet to do the shopping and on the way home decided we could plan out Menu based on a Sunday- Wednesday schedule leaving Thursday-Saturday flexible... So here goes:

Sunday: Pot Roast, potatoes, onions and Normandy Veggies (Costco bag)
Monday: Tator Tot Caserole with green beans
Tuesday: Grilled Chicken Salad
Wednesday: Beef Sausage Dogs, Noodle Roni, and salad (kid's night to cook this week)

We will see how this goes. If we can work with this schedule it will make life around here a little smoother... Thursday nights I have Bible Study and the boys are usually spending the night at my Mom's so that doesn't need planning. Friday if the boys are home it usually ends up being Chillighetti or Pizza night... Saturday is Mom's creations, I usually do something with leftovers, or we end up with friends and family somewhere...

I shared a link to my meal plan at www.orgjunkie.com She has meal plan Mondays as well as tons of other organizational tidbits.

Mommy Minutes

I'm starting a regular piece called Mommy Minutes. I hope to share fun Christ Centered activities for the kids. There are some great websites for at home crafts and games I will be sharing along the way. I also hope to share things I find on my journey to share. I have 2 little boys that are full of energy running crazy around the house, who need a little focus in their lives. I find that if I have activities for them to do , they either do them or find something new to do.

As I start this portion of the blog I am blessed that my mom has the boys for the evening and they played and enjoyed the sunny day outside. I was able to get some work in the garden and plan a little. Remember that as Spring and Summer come along, we can teach our children to enjoy the outdoors and appreciate what the Lord has given us.

A Mom Minute

Today was a rush. We all woke up late and after last night's campfire in the backyard, everyone needed a shower... Keep in mind we leave for school at 8:45.. Mommy was up at 8:30. Panic NOW!! Daddy hit the shower at 8:31, Mommy hit the other shower at 8:32 (Thank goodness for 2 showers), Cameron hit the shower at 8:35 (in place of Mommy)... Mommy pulled on a quick on the run outfit, grabbed a peanut butter a jelly sandwich for Cameron and a glass on milk... We hit the van and were off at 8:48 (only 3 miuntes late).
Ran a couple of errands, walked Dad (my Dad) through some computer issues, and came home to laundry and lunch prep... Oh and Nathan and I organized a kitchen cupboard Thanks Leigh Anne for the inspiration (check out www.yourhomebasedmom.com). SO now I'm heading back to pick up Cameron at school and come home for lunch.
This was a Mommy Minute.... a few quick minutes in my office on my blog... Thanks for Scribe Fire I can blog without losing the page I'm reading or listening too...

Dinner was not a hit... maybe next time

So I was experimenting tonight and created a Peanut Chicken as an extra to go with a premade Orange Sesame Chicken dinner package we go... I used peanut butter, sesame oil, lime juice, onion, celery, and boneless/skinless chicken thigh... Well Cameron told me that it wasn't his favorite and Mike and I decided that the texture was all wrong... So much for creating something from the pantry without a recipe... Next time I'll look something up online...

----------------
Listening to: Alanis Morissette - Wunderkind [As Used in the Film the Chronicles of Narnia: The]
via FoxyTunes