What's On My Happy List?

                                                     THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 2011

Still no luck with my blog background mess. grr. Must wait until the neighborhood computer whiz makes a visit home for the weekend from college. {and that might be awhile.} In the meantime I'm going to keep post'in despite my non friendly terms with all things EDIT HTML.

Emma had her art show last weekend. This is one of the projects that she worked on this quarter. Grandma C. loves lighthouses. So Emma surprised her with this painting for Christmas. 

I think she needs to paint me the Eiffel Tower.

That same night of the art show we had a wedding reception to go to AND a work party for Jaren. As we were b-bopp'in from place to place, Kyleigh and Emma tended the younger girls. Kate wasn't cooperating and wouldn't go to bed. Instead she passed out on the living room floor. exhausted. They sent me this pic via cell phone...

Priceless

On to other randomness....

I'm not a huge New Year's lover. no secret there. I dread the day the kids go back to school from winter break and dad is back to normal work hours. How come the worst day of the year has to follow the best week of the year? huh, tell me? We had to have a "brave party" the Sunday night that the holidays were officially over. Served chocolate pudding with a dose of courage. no lie.

Now that we are two weeks in, and back to the routine, we are in the groove and things feel normal.

Which is very nice. 

With the brand new year and new start, New Years Resolutions are in order for many. Unfortunately, I'm not a huge goal setter kind of gal. I should be better at it. But fortunately, I know what works and doesn't work for me in my life and where I need to make improvements, so I kinda just go from there without being too official about it..... 

May I share a few things that have worked for me lately and which I'm going to try my darnedest to continue with into the new year? I'm breaking these insights, suggestions, tips {whatever you want to call them} into 4 categories. Home, Physical, Spiritual, and Beauty/Fashion.

 First off the THE HOME.

One of my favorite subjects...truly.

I love all things organization and am tickled when I come across something that actually works for my family.

A friend suggested this to me a few months back, and it has helped tremendously. It has to do with the LAUNDRY. my absolute nemesis.I actually think at times that I don't need to take a trip to Italy because I have the Leaning Tower of Pisa right in my very own laundry room! lovely. The tower is made up of clothes and lots of them. Naturally expected, of course, with a houseful of girls.

Here's the trick..get a different color basket for each member of your family to put their clean clothes in once they come out of the dryer. Brilliant. Its such a simple concept and why I never thought to implement this idea sooner is a mystery to me. But this folks will change your life,  unless you are already the type that folds and puts the laundry away after each load, EVERY TIME.  {Laundry queen you}

I know that ain't happen'in around here so these baskets at least help me keeps things organized until everyone has the time to put their own clean laundry away. These will help cut down on the piles and piles of clean laundry in baskets, and or on your bed etc. Not saying these baskets have fixed all my laundry woes, there is still always wash for 7 to do here, and we still have to have the occasional "folding party" {as I like to call them} when we get behind, but these baskets sure help.

Another suggestion.

Have your older kids be responsible for their own wash. Kyleigh and Emma, 14 and 12 do their own wash. And have for awhile now. Not that I don't occasionally help them but they are certainly old enough and capable enough to do it on their own. It lightens my load and the bonus....you don't get blamed for something that doesn't get cleaned in a timely manner. Win win situation for me.  

On to my second home organization tip.....the Food Nanny.

Just heard about  HER in November.

I don't have her cookbook nor do I do everything she does but I have adopted her basic plan for nightly family dinners. Once again, this will change your life. Has mine, even more so than the laundry baskets!  It has taken the guess work out of "whats for dinner? I love food but its never been my favorite thing to fix it day in and day out. And I certainly was never consistent. I thank the Lord for a husband who actually likes to cook. {And for Costco} Now, after implementing the Food Nanny's nightly theme nights, I half don't mind fixing dinner. seriously. Its also made grocery shopping easier for me as well. Now, on a side note, this plan is all about the food, no themed decor with any of this. That would be way turbo. 

This is how it works...On Mondays you fix something that would be under COMFORT FOOD. So whatever that means to your family. For us it would be a potato bar, soup with grilled cheese, a casserole like Shepherd's Pie. etc. Alot of Mondays we use leftovers from Sunday afternoon's big family meal with Jaren's side, as there is always a ton of food fixed at those gatherings. 

Tuesday is ITALIAN night. My kids finally will eat food with red sauce. YEAH! {however, sloppy joes and meatloaf are still on their steer clear list} Not that those are Italian anyway, but your basic Italian like spaghetti with meatballs, lasagna etc. are becoming staples and fast favorites at this establishment{its about time!}. Chicken parmesan and cheese & meat ravioli also make the weekly menu.

Wednesday night is FISH or MEATLESS..tilapia, salmon, tuna casserole are some of our fav's. This is also the night you could do breakfast for dinner. Which we all love, except for poor Kyleigh, who is not a huge breakfast food lover. I see nothing wrong with having pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon for dinner. Some men might have a fit over that but mine doesn't.  Thursday is MEXICAN night. Bean and cheese quesadillas, crock pot burrito pie, tacos, and nachos, which are a huge favorite around here. 

Friday night is PIZZA night. Our first choice is to make our own with a ready made crust from Papa Murphey's. Sometimes we buy it from Papa John's, Caesars or have IV's pizza benders. 

For the Food Nanny, Saturday night is GRILL NIGHT. We kinda do whatever, {maybe a night out with the spouse} since we don't BBQ as much in the winter. Summer yes. Jaren actually rocks at grilling and just fixing meat in general. The nice thing about this whole Food Nanny thing is that you can adapt it to your family's likes and needs. Sunday is TRADITIONS..like I said, we eat with Jaren's side of the family every Sunday, taking a turn to cook every third week. We keep things simple and quick as possible during the week. but Sunday's meal is a little more special. Sometimes we will have themed dinners and even decorate if its a holiday or special occasion. 

Another useful tip at dinnertime: I'm all about presentation, but if its just an ordinary night, I'm all about the paper plate. Its more important to me that we are all sitting at the dinner table rather than a beautifully set table. Can't complain about less dishes to do. :)

Moving on to PHYSICAL HEALTH...

Can I just share with you that I am 50 lbs lighter than I was the day I delivered baby Kate. woot! woot! It's been a journey. I wasn't able to nurse Kate, as my milk supply was extremely low, so that didn't help me in the weight department. Since Sept. I've made a concentrated effort to drop some pounds. 20 of them! Basically by being very conscious of what goes in my mouth. Eating foods with more protein and fiber so I feel fuller and eat less. Sweet consumption has been cut drastically. Self control and determination have been my buddies. {Even maintained during the holidays}, but I didn't necessarily deprive myself either. Words from Dr. Oz got me motivated. He says if you cut out sugary soda, {which I don't drink much of that anyway}, not eat past 8:00, move 10 min/day, not eat snacks larger than your fist and track your weight daily {I weigh myself only once a week} you will loose pounds. The last two weeks I've found a way to sneak in 20 minutes of Pilate's on weekday mornings and I know that has huge benefits for me too. I hate to exercise {not kidding there} so Pilate's and maybe some jogging in the spring and summer is about all you are going to get out of me. I've made progress yes, lost the weight I gained with baby Kate, but still need to loose those pesky pounds that crept on between baby #4 and #5. Wish me luck, I'm going to need it, {because its more than a few!}

On to BEAUTY and FASHION

If you haven't tried this lash blast fusion mascara from Cover Girl, you are missing out! This is our current favorite. Not looking back. It's a keeper.

Also hoping some of the latest trends don't go away anytime soon. Love the big chunky rings that are in. We've got a few...

the patterned tights...love them!

picture courtesy of Fashion me Fabulous

The long boots that go to your knee....love, love these!

 As well as the belts that go around your upper waist that help your figure.  {Please don't go away any time soon}....

Lastly SPIRITUAL....

I just have to say that I love the Book of Mormon! My day goes so much better when I take the time to read and or study them. Even if it's one verse, but I make a goal for five. {okay, okay so I do set a few goals} haha. But the one single thing that has helped me the most when reading them is using a study companion. The church's approved Student Manual is an excellent choice. Or, when reading those hard to understand "compare to Isaiah chapters" I use the "Isaiah Made Easier" from the gospel study series. It truly is fascinating to me as Isaiah's mysteries are unfolded. You won't be afraid of Isaiah ever again. Honestly love it! Our Stake President has encouraged our Stake to read the Book of Mormon within six months. We've decided to do this as a family. What a feat with little ones to be consistent in reading it every night. So far right on track..I pray it continues.

Another spiritual tip for the new year. Try to do something nice for someone every day. Even if its sending a smile someones way, or a quick text or email to say HI. It will make your heart smile. We call them warm fuzzies at our house. I ask my kids at the dinner table all the time, {its become a ritual} what they've done nice for somebody else that day. Love the responses I get. 

Hope everyone's year is off to a great start....

Would love to hear your ideas for improvement in 2011!