Names have been changed to protect the innocent...and my husband...and me...but not the dog. His name is Dexter.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Recipe Swap-less Wednesday

Recently I've talked about losing my cooking mojo. It's so far gone, I don't even know where to go looking for it. So, for this week.....I got nothing. But I'm planning on trying a new bean salad that I had over the weekend at the Evo Conference for a family party this weekend. And maybe, if I'm feeling organized enough, I'll share that recipe next week. Hopefully it turns out as yummy when I make it as it was at the party. Keeping my fingers crossed.....

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Recipe Swap Wednesday-Sandwich Addition

We eat a lot of sandwiches around here, especially lately with the addition of homemade strawberry jam made by yours truly. Plus, they're fast and easy and require minimal, if any, cooking. Of course, the two I'm going to share with you today do require a little cooking but the kind that anybody can do.

First up we have a Grilled Peanut Butter and Jam sandwich. A PB&J is a classic, but we were recently at a friends house when they told us about the fabulousness that is a grilled peanut butter and jam/jelly sandwich. It's pretty simple. You make a peanut butter and jam sandwich like you usually do, but then you butter the outside and grill it up. The inside gets all melty and yummy and the outside is a little crispy. It really is shockingly good.

Next, a new addition (for us, at least) to an old favorite. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. Another staple in the Chaos' household. The addition? Sliced apples. Yes. Slice apples very thin and layer them between the cheese layers. The sweetness of the apples mixes with the sharpness of the cheese and it is divine. And it's another serving of fruit in your diet. Bonus.

You just can't go wrong with a fancy sandwich like these. Happy Sandwiching!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Another Random Update Post

It's been almost two weeks since I last posted a riveting addition to my blog. Two weeks....that's criminal or something. And I have another thrilling post involving a bullet point list!
  • Babs is no long throwing up. Hallelujah.
  • Lucy, the cat, still is. **sigh**
  • He seems to be trying to aim for the hardwood floors lately. Possibly he heard my complaints and is trying to accommodate me. Or maybe not.
  • My fridge is still clean. Maybe because I don't really cook much these days.
  • Lolly has been in summer school and LOVES IT!
  • I was asked to volunteer and get to go to the EVO Conference in Park City this weekend.
  • I'M GOING TO THE EVO CONFERENCE THIS WEEKEND!!!
  • We got the results back from the MRI....calcium deposits in my shoulder from an old injury.
  • I got a creepy cortisone shot in my shoulder. If it works, I don't have to have surgery.
  • I'm afraid to vacuum.
  • I'm also afraid of spiders.
  • I have a to do list a mile long this week. If I get half of it done, I'll be happy. If I get it all done everyone else will be happier.
  • Last week, we literally had stuff going on every night in addition to our normal stuff.
  • Most people are like that, but it wears me out!
  • I have grand plans for cleaning out my girls out-grown clothes today and restoring a tiny bit of order to their dresser and closet.
  • I have the same plan for my room, but not today....someday....
  • Loving the new Mountain Dew called Typhoon. I highly recommend you try it.
  • No pictures today.
  • Also, I'm going to EVO!
  • I need to get started on that to do list......

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Random Incoherent Wednesday Thoughts

It is Wednesday, right? Well, to celebrate the Wednesday-ness of the day, I present to you a random bullet pointed list of thoughts floating around in my brain. Brace yourselves. Throw up is involved. A lot of throw up.
  • Yesterday morning, my poor little Babs threw up and then proceeded to have runny poopy diapers all day. I think nursery has something to do with it.
  • So far today, she has thrown up twice. There is the possibility in the back of my mind that it's because this week "we" had decided that "we" would work really hard on keeping our pull-up dry and going potty in the tiny potty so that next week "we" could switch to panties.
  • But I think it's most likely the nursery.
  • Yesterday I cleaned my fridge. It's beautiful. See?
  • Sorry I don't have a "before" picture. Because we all know I would post it. You're welcome CG. ;o)
  • We got our garden planted this past weekend and it's still early enough in the season that I'm really excited. My one tomato plant start that I planted doesn't seem to be fairing too well. I guess we'll have to make do with the other 11. It's a good thing I like to can.
  • This morning around 5 am, as I was lying in bed trying to sleep, I thought to myself that it had been 5 whole days since the last time the cat threw up. Within 5 minutes of that thought he jumped off the bed, went to the only room with carpet and threw up. I'm not sure if I'm convinced that was a coincidence. But he's pretty so I'll forgive him. This time.
  • He just did it again on the hallway rug. Have I mentioned that I have hardwood floors? Yet he never throws up on that part of the floor. Ya know, the other 90% of my house.
  • My life has a lot of throw up in it lately.
  • I have a hard time playing with my kids. On the rare occasion that I actually say that to anyone, they look at me like I just said my favorite hobbies included beating my children and putting cigarettes out on their arms. (I don't do either of those things, by the way) Some even have the nerve to lecture me. It's easy to play with babies; a little singing, some peek-a-boo and they're happy. It's harder when they're older. And there's more than one. And I always seem to do it wrong. My 5 year old has already figured out that I don't play well with others. They do like it when I read to them though.
  • Reading aloud makes my throat hurt so I can only do it for 20-30 minutes and then I need to take a break. Am I the only one with that problem?
  • I seem to have lost my cooking mojo. I'm not really sure how to go about getting it back.
  • We're trying to decide if we should rent out our basement again or just move right into it. There are so many pros to moving into the basement and just one con...the loss of the rent money. We haven't been able to decide yet. Decisions, decisions.....
  • Tomorrow I have to get an MRI on my shoulder. I'm not looking forward to it.
  • We've been getting estimates for putting central air in our house. It's dang expensive.
  • This whole house is expensive. It just doesn't look like it.
  • Come to think of it, MRI's are probably expensive, too.
  • I seriously have no idea what to do with our yard. It's a hopeless mess.
  • Today we are going to spend some serious time watching children's television and focus on getting better.
  • I'll be doing laundry. And cleaning up throw up.
  • Mostly importantly, my girls are the cutest/best children EVER!
Seriously, it just does not get any cuter than this. Except for all the other pictures I have of them.

Pretending To Be Tech Savvy

I am now a 3 column blogger thank to The Three Column Blogger. The instructions were so easy, even I could do it.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Running To Stand Still

Oh, if only I was running to stand still. I'm actually running to fall further and further behind.

Last week I decided to focus on getting some new house cleaning/organizing routines set up and get caught up around the house. It wasn't very difficult changes. The biggest change was instead of having one laundry day each week, I would wash, dry and fold 1-2 loads of laundry each day since I've been having a hard time getting it all done in one day. I lasted 4 days. 4 DAYS! Before I didn't get my daily load completed. The other part was just keeping up with my one major chore of the day and my usual daily chores. That's how I've done it for years, but I needed to *ahem* "refocus my energy" on cleaning the house.

And if you were to come to my house right now, your first impression would not be "WoW!". You can't even tell that I've been working towards perfection. No really. You CAN NOT tell. It looks the same. I haven't even achieved mediocrity. And to add insult to injury, I have fallen behind in everything else. My Google Reader is well over 100, I have numerous emails that need returning, blogs/blog comments that are needing attention, 2 beautiful girls that need more attention and a stack of library books and magazines that I would LOVE to spend some quality time with. So, if you fall into any of those categories you have my apologies and know that I will get to it.....eventually.

I don't know how so many people do it. Clean houses, perfect children, adorable blog designs, meaningful blog posts, thoughtful comments on every single post they read, inspiring tweets, humorous Facebook updates, quality education play time with their children....the list goes on. And I'm pretty sure they eat healthy meals, workout daily, shower, and have perfect hair and make-up.

As for me? Well, at least I still have my adorable children. Everything else.....not so much. Clearly, things need to change so I can have half a chance at keeping up. Some of the things on my to do list need to be crossed off permanently in order to make room for the more important stuff. But those choices are far more difficult than they seem.....do I cut things out that take time from my family even if they add stability to my mental health? The reality is that anything I do for myself takes away from my family. But by doing the things that I enjoy, refilling my bucket so to speak, I can actually be a better wife and mother and have more to give. The trick is balancing it all so that everyone's needs are met. Wish me luck.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Cameron Rafati

Just watch this video. He's fabulous. And he had his picture taken with me so that makes him cool by association.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Finding Your Blog Voice

This past weekend I was able to attend the Casual Blogger Conference. You may have heard of it? One or two mentions in the blogosphere, perhaps? And for all of you unlucky souls who didn't get to go, I'm going to share a few of the things that I learned. You're welcome.

One of the classes that I attended was about finding your blogging voice. Annie Valentine of Regarding Annie was the moderator. She was more charming than Vanna White on her best day and handled the lighting issues with nary a swear word. Also, she's hilarious. But that is neither here nor there. The amazing panelists were......
Kristina from Pulsipher Predilections
Emily (a.k.a. Ink Mom) from I'm (Not) Crazy Mommy
Jenny (a.k.a. MommyJ) from Mommy Snark
Jessica from Burnthis

Annie got this particular party started by asking everyone one question: What is one word that describes what your blog is now or what you want it to be?

Since random crap is actually two words, this question left me rather perplexed.

They went on to entertain us with all of their sound, collective advice. It was all very good, but I only wrote down three things. But I'm a good sharer so here they are:
  • Write the way you talk.
  • Don't try to be funny if you're not funny. (I'll have to remember this one....)
  • Always link and give credit where it is due. (meaning that if you use someone's quote, meme, idea, etc. give them some link love)
Now I bet you're all wondering just exactly what word I chose to describe my blog. I'm wondering that myself since I still haven't found that perfect word to describe it. Perhaps it will be "clueless" by default. Only by default, though.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...