Life, Lay-offs and Prayers

Life has been challenging the last few months. The company my husband works for has been struggling (it's construction). Work has been scarce and paychecks have been low. I've been learning how to cut the food budget and how to do without. I have to admit, it hasn't been totally fun. After all, I really like MEAT, lol. The plus side is, I have been learning to cook from scratch, which is healthier. I've also learned how to menu plan, so now I enjoy my time in the kitchen, I'm not stressed trying to figure out what to make, lol. I do have moments were I panic and imagine we are on the brink of loosing our house and living under a bridge! But, then I feel the Lords calm hand I my shoulder and I remember to "let go and let God" (thanks Mom!). Thankfully those moments are fewer and farther between and seem to not last as long.

Hubby has the possibility of another job, but it would mean a career change. He currently works for an excavation company and this new opportunity would be in a mortgage office. He would be a mortgage banker. The hard part will be the fact that it is hard to make money while in training. But, since he's not really making anything right now, we figure we don't have much to loose, lol. We are trying to spend time with the Lord and seek His guidance on this. The couple who have offered him the opportunity are Christians also, so they understand that this isn't a decision that should be made on a whim. We would appreciate any prayers during this time.

Blessings,

Glennda

Menu Plan for May 11th

Good Morning!

Sorry I'm a little late getting to this out this morning, things have been a little crazy :o) This week, since my hubby is basically laid off, I did my best to plan my meals around what I already had in my freezer and cupboards. So here is what I came up with. I didn't plan sides this time, I'll just see what's available when I start dinner :o)

Monday: Chicken pot pie

Tuesday: Pulled pork sandwiches

Wednesday: Chicken enchilada's

Thursday: Crock-pot red beans and rice

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Crock-pot beans for potluck

Sunday: Homemade mac & cheese

For more meal plans, visit Organized Junkie.

Blessings,

Glennda

Look what I made!!

So, I finally discovered that knitting and crocheting are really great crafts :o). They are easy, don't take up much space, easy to set down and pick up with out massive amounts of work and best of all, they are relaxing!! So here are pics of a few projects I've completed recently.

These socks were a lot of fun! There are a few slight mistakes, but hey, I made socks!! How cool is that?!?

This is a dishcloth (I've actually made two of these, but the other one is currently in use). It was really quick and easy.

This is a bookmark (this one is crocheted, the last three were knitted). I think it's fun to make "dainty" things like this :o)

I also knitted a reusable cover for my Clorox Ready Mop, but I forgot to take a picture of it before I used it (oops!). Now it's rather dirty, so I don't want to post a picture of it :o).

Menu Plan for May 4th

Good morning everyone!

Here is my menu plan for the week:

Monday: Spaghetti w/meatballs with salad and garlic bread

Tuesday: Potato bar

Wednesday: Garlic chicken and broccoli

Thursday: Split pea soup (which is already made and in the freezer!) with bread and cheese

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Crock-pot roast chicken

Sunday: Brownies for Fellowship

For more menu plans, visit Organizing Junkie. Hope everyone has a blessed week!

Menu Plan for April 27th

Alright, I got my menu done finally (and my shopping list). Yes, we have two nights of leftovers this week, but they seem to be piling up and I hate to see them go to waist. Last week I tried out several new recipes. I'm happy to announce that of the 4 only one was a complete bomb! The "BBQ Lentil" recipe was awful and no one wanted to eat it! The other 3 were good. The rice in the "Gone All Day Casserole" turned out a little mushy for me, but the flavor was still good. The "Chalupa" was a huge hit. I made homemade tortillas to go with it and the kids loved it. Anyway, here is my menu for the week:

Monday: Storganoff

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Fried rice

Thursday: Meatloaf (this is already made and in the freezer!)

Friday: Burritos

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: German potato salad for Fellowship

For more menu plans, visit Organizing Junkie.

Blessings,

Glennda

My New Brain, LOL :o)

I've been feeling like my house is in chaos and feeling overwhelmed at getting it under control. The idea of someone dropping by unannounced terrifies me, lol. I thought about making another schedule (MOTH), but that just made me cringe, it's so easy to fall off and not get back on. I contemplated using a schedule that had blocks of time (morning block, afternoon block, etc.) but even that seemed to restrictive. I've made a home-keeping notebook, but I rarely use it (I decided I simply don't want to take the time and energy to open it, lol ). So I started searching for new home-keeping "tools". One of the things I came up with is the idea of a Command Center. Basically, I took my notebook and put it on the wall. Now everything is right there, visible, and I have no excuse for not remembering. Here are a couple of pictures:

Now I'll explain the different elements :o)

The white board - I used a wet-erase marker to create different sections on the board. I have a place for the date, what's for dinner, scripture I'm working on, appointments, priorities, to-do list, things to buy and notes.

The calendar - This is where I can keep track of what's going on. The pink sticky notes are my meal planning, I write the meal on the sticky and put it on the day I want. Using stickies makes it easy to switch days if necessary.

Cork Boards - These are there to put up things like reminders and invitations.

Little wood shelf - This holds my supplies; pens, pencils, eraser, sticky notes, etc.

Wire hanging file - I made "pockets" out of scrapbooking paper for this. Both to make it more functional (things can't slip out) and pretty. I have important fliers and such in the bottom pocket. And I put the papers I did use from my notebook into report covers and those are in the top pockets.

Basket on top of wine rack - This is a place to put papers and things that my hubby needs to take to his office in the basement (as you can see, he's a little behind :o))

Big blue tub - This is the "mommy basket". As I'm tidying up, things my children have chosen not to put away go into this tub. They then have until bedtime to remove and put away anything they find in there. After bed time, I remove the items and take them to the basement for a week. At the end of the week the items are placed back in the tub and they once again have till bedtime to put them away. If they still do not get put away, then I figure they really don't need/want them and they go away :o)

Overall, I tried to make the space functional and pretty. Thus the reason for the cute signs and the flower arrangement. I didn't want it to look like an eyesore, 'cause then I wouldn't use it. It is still a work in progress and I will probably tweak a few things as I determine what works and what doesn't. Anyway, that's what i have so far :o)

For more Works for Me Wednesday tips, visit We Are THAT Family.

Blessings,

Glennda

Menu Plan for April 20th

Here is my menu for the week. My mom gave me a new cookbook so I decided to try out a few recipes from it. As you can see, I found several I liked :o)

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: Roast with carrots and potatoes

Wednesday: Chalupa (new recipe!)

Thursday: Gone all day casserole (new recipe!)

Friday: BBQ lentils (new recipe!)

Saturday: Stroganoff

Sunday: German potato salad (new recipe!) for Fellowship

For more menu plans, check out Organizing Junkie.