ChambersMade Office Makeover

I'm movin' on up!  

I've worked at the church for about a year and a half as the Early Childhood Director, in charge of kids birth-kindergarten...

some perks of the job...

...flexable hours

...can bring the kids to work

...can work from home sometimes

...good looking boss....(I'm married to him!)

...and now I'm finally out of the dump-all resource room and have a real office...

...and I can paint it so it doesn't look like a guys all the other offices...I can make it look like a girl works there!

what does it take to have a ChambersMade Office Makeover?

take one large boring office wall

one inspirational notebook cover...(don't you just love my church notebook...makes me happy and helps me pay attention to the pastor...)

and free-hand a design (by looking at inspirational notebook) on the wall...

add paint

and a little more paint

one token "Pacific Islander" using your office/computer and keeping you company while you paint...thanks Mel...

and you have a partial office makeover...

this is just the beginning but I wanted to let you see how much fun I had today before I run/walked 3 miles (.5 mile of that UP a crazy hill and .5 mile down the crazy hill)...Thanks Rayna and "White" Diana for the run/walk...

still to do..

...I'm planning on adding some random dots...

...because I like dots...

...in case you hadn't noticed...

...and the large circle space on the right hand side with no design is where I plan to paint a large clock face...stay tuned for that blog...

Easter Traditions.

We have a few family Easter Traditions...

we color eggs...

the girl and I go shopping for the perfect Easter dress....

the Easter Bunny brings shoes for this kids and other fun Easter goodies (the shoes happened one year when the girl and I couldn't agree on what was appropriate Easter Shoes so rather then getting either, the Easter Bunny bought a pair...that just happened to look a lot like the ones that I felt were more appropriate...and she LOVED them since they came from the freakishly large bunny that hides eggs!)...

and the "bunny" (my mom) usually comes back once we've left for church to hide the eggs (with my husband being a pastor we have to be at church early on Easter Sunday so there isn't enough time to find eggs)...problem this year is that the "bunny" isn't visiting for Easter, so we have to figure out something else!...

trying to get at least one decent family photo since we're all in our "Sunday Best"...

1st Family Easter photo..2006

only picture that both my kids made it in the frame 2007

kids Easter 2008

Family Easter Photo 2009

Then about 4 years ago we starting making Resurrection Cookies on Saturday night...these cookies are a great way to share the true meaning of Easter with your kids...if your kids help out in the kitchen a lot or if you never let them into the kitchen this is still fun...and the cookies are yummy...

Read the whole recipe before beginning...

and you have to do together Saturday night before Easter Sunday. Or a different day before Easter, sort of missing the point if you do it on Easter Sunday

Resurrection Cookies

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

Ingredients:                     You need:

1 cup whole pecans             Mixing bowl

3 egg whites                     Wooden spoon

1 cup sugar                     Bible

1 tsp. vinegar                     Zipper baggy

1 pinch of salt                    Wax paper

                                     Cookie sheet

                                      Tape

Place pecans in the baggy and let the children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces.

Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.

Read - John 19:1-3 to them

Let child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. into mixing bowl.

Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink.

Read - John 19:28-30

Add egg whites to the vinegar.

Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life for our life.

Read - John 10:10-11

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand let them taste it then brush the rest into the bowl.

Explain that represents the salty tears shed by Jesus followers, and the bitterness of our own sin...

Read - Luke 23:27

So far the ingredients are not very appetizing.

Add 1 cup sugar.

Explain that the sweetest part of this story is that Jesus died because He loves us.

He wants us to know and belong to Him.

Read - Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16

Beat with mixer on high speed for 11-15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed.

Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.

Read - Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3

Fold in broken nuts.

Drop by tsp.onto waxed paper-covered cookie sheet.

Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus body was laid. Read - Matt. 27:65-66

Put cookies sheet in the oven.

Close door and turn oven OFF.

Give each child a piece of tape and seal the door.

Explain that Jesus tomb was sealed.

Read - Matt. 27:65-66

Go to bed !

Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight.

Jesus followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.

Read - John 16:20 and 22

On Resurrection Morning open the oven and give everyone a cookie !

Notice the cracked surface and take a bite.

The cookies are hollow !

On the first Resurrection Day Jesus followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.

Read - Matt. 28:1-9

He Has Risen ! Hallelujah ! ! ! ! !

Enjoy, hope your Easter is full of great family traditions and maybe some new ones too!

Menu for March 29th-April 5th

okay, going to try to make and keep my menu this week...

Monday-March 29th

     Lunch-egg salad

     Dinner-Chicken Pot Pie

Tuesday-March 30th

     Lunch-leftover pot pie

     Dinner-Chili & cornbread

Wednesday-March 31st

     Lunch-quesadillas

     Dinner-baked potatoes w/ leftover chili

Thursday-April 1st

     Lunch-tuna pita pockets

     Dinner-still researching an April Fools Dinner...stay tuned

Friday-April 2nd

     Lunch-lunch with the Ladies (we eat lunch out with two older ladies from church once a month...)

     Dinner-French Bread Pizza

Saturday-April 3rd

     Lunch-grilled panninis

     Dinner-Pork Chops and Apple Sauce

*making Resurrection Cookies Saturday night for Easter Sunday morning...

Sunday-April 4th-Easter

     Linner (Lunch/Dinner)-Ham & Cheesy Au Gratin potatoes

Monday-April 5th

     Lunch-ham sandwiches

     Dinner-leftover buffet

*check out my blog on Family Traditions and Resurrection Cookies

weekly menu?

oh, yeah...I was supposed to post my weekly menu on MONDAY...

how did it get to be Saturday?

Okay, so I did start the menu in my head on Monday morning while I laid in bed...

but it never got on the computer...

...or written down ANYWHERE!...

thinking that's possibly how we ended up having taco's two nights in a row (but hey, the second night I was using up the leftovers from the first night...)

and then how the kids got dinner on Wednesday (ravioli's and pesto....only enough for 2) but the husband and I were forging for food about 9:30 and I ended up having a banana with peanut better for dinner, not sure what he ended up with...he's a grown man he can figure things out...he's good like that...I don't want anyone judging me for making my hard working husband figure out his own dinner at 9:30....I think he might actually like it...it's like hunting!

then on Thursday I decided it was way past time to make a menu...so I sat down in husbands office and tried to pull dinner ideas out of him...this is what I got from him....

..."whatever sounds good to you"...

(sure, until I tell you what's for dinner and you wrinkle up you nose at me)

..."I like everything you make"....

(flat out lie!)

..."just make whatever you want"...

(this is some sort of spousal abuse, I'm sure of it!)

ARGH!

so I make a list...he looks it over and says it looks "fine"...

...was sort of looking for an "amazing"...or a "wonderful"...or "how do you do it, you're amazing"...but I'll take "fine"...

by this time I've taken so much time trying to come up with a menu that it's now time to pick the boy child up from school and there is NO way I'm taking him grocery shopping...

and the husband and I still haven't eaten lunch....

...

so get the boy child...

go home make a quick bite to eat...(the husband made wonderful fried egg sandwiches on whole wheat high fiber English muffins smothered in cheese...while I was putting another coat of paint on his "new" bookcase)...

...pick up the girl child from school...

(tangent...I am blissfully excited that they will be going to the same school next year and will have the same pick up and drop off times!)

I've promised her a hair cut all week...and gave the kids a "maybe" on swimming after school...

so grocery shopping is put off...again...

the hair cut comes first because her hair CAN NOT handle a pool until it has a few inches trimmed off (or maybe mom can't handle the screaming that will follow in the locker room when I try to brush out her hair!)

and then while out for the hair cut (in the CRAZIEST storm ever!)...I remember that the girl child has a birthday party the following day, so I need to now take her to get a present...

WHY didn't I do this earlier without her?!?

whatever I picked out she would have said,

"that's great mom, can I have one?"

but now it's going to take a few hours to have her pick something out!

okay, so it only took 45 minutes...not joking, 45 minutes...the girl loves any kind of shopping (except grocery...typical girl/woman) and will make it last as long as humanly possible...

so grocery shopping is now off the list for Thursday...and so is swimming...

we had Beef Stroganoff  and green beans for dinner...it's been on the menu for the last month or so, it's a favorite of mine, but it keeps getting pushed off for something else...so it was a great night for it, with the storm we had it was a good cozy meal...

and discovered that Wilson LOVES green beens and beef stroganoff...he kept saying over and over how me just LOVED it all! "I love green beans, they are so healthy for me, and yummy, and green!  I love them!

will maybe post my recipe soon...for the stroganoff...

then Friday...

will I be able to grocery shop on Friday?

*I work in the girl child's class in the morning..

*have an "appointment" to get my hair done...

* a 'date' with a friend for walking/running THE hill in Redding (river trail's Hilltop loop)

*squeeze in lunch

*pick up girl child (while blissfully thinking of next year's same pick up and drop off!)

*go visit a friend at her new booth at the antique mall (realize that taking the kids at this time of day to an antique mall was probably a very poor parenting choice

*get home to blog about my new hair

*take girl child to her party (slumber...yippy)

okay,

this is it...the only time to go shopping...

so there I was standing in WinCo...

no idea where the list I made on Thursday was...

no idea what was on the list...

and knowing that it was ONLY a menu not even a grocery list...

...

so I pick up a few things for our dinner on Friday...

(some high quality frozen pizza's with canned pineapple on top...)...

and a few things to help us thru the weekend...

coffee and creamer...

chocolate chips...

cheese...

so now here I sit on Saturday morning...realizing that I forgot to pick up pancake mix...

I didn't get any sort of meats...(I do still have some sort of meats in the freezer)..

really, did I really leave the store with just frozen pizza, coffee, creamer, chocolate chips and cheese...I might have had a minor stroke while standing in WinCo...!  and HOW did I spend $88 on those 5 items?!?  maybe I ended up with a few more things...but nothing to hold us for the next week...

DRAT!

okay, so maybe Monday I'll make it to the grocery store for real...

with a real menu...

but the boy child has a dentist appointment...

and then I need to work at church...

probably Tuesday...I will probably go on Tuesday...

but Wednesday is also a really good day to go...

Why?...Why Not?

Okay, so a few years ago I knew a mom

(well I still know that mom...hey Lisa)

who dyed her hair fun and different colors and it was so CRAZY (but fun)...

When I made a comment one day about wishing I could be as brave as her...

she asked...

"Are you judging me because of my hair?"

"Do you think I'm crazy?"

"Do you think I'm not as good as a mom because of my crazy hair?"

"Do you think I can't love Jesus because my hair is a little different?"

...

wow...

and the answer to all of those were, "NO"

all I was thinking was, how much fun it was and I wanted fun hair too!

...

so what was stopping me?

Now I just had to process all of those questions for myself...

...

and then something else she said was that if someone was judging her differently because of her hair, if someone would have answered "yes" to any of those questions based solely on her hair, than that was the other persons problem and not her's because she likes to have fun, her kids like it (maybe it even makes her a better mom), and it helps her relate to others that she might not have been able to reach out to before because now she's different just like them...

....

so last year I asked another friend of mine who does hair (thanks Becca) if she could give me pink hair...

and then it took me a few months to actually do it, but last October I did...I went pink...

it was fun, I enjoyed the change and...

I don't think anyone judged me differently...and if they did..well, it didn't effect me...

we've touched up the pink about 3 more times since...

and I was getting bored...so I decided to get something more spring'ish...

so today...

today I went Teal! 

okay, so maybe it's NOT in-your-face teal...it's just a stripe on the top and a few highlights in the back...

so I'm not TOTALLY crazy...

 but it's probably more teal then you've had in your hair...it's more than I've ever had!

I'm slowly working myself up to an Easter Egg...just joking...

but I AM going to go rock-star crazy in July when we our VBS (Vacation Bible School) is 80's Christian Rock...

10 Things

okay, so rather than do what I need to be doing...

(well, my husband folded...AND put away...Mt. Laundry today so...well, I have NOTHING else productive to do! as if...)

I was getting lost in blog land (have you been lost there...sometimes I wander for hours and hours...yikes)...I stumbled upon Mel's Coffee Break and loved her blog today about 10 things...so I'm stealing borrowing her idea...

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What are 10 things - right off the top of your head - that we would only know about you if we knew you really well? 10 random things ranging anywhere on your personal map that make you a tad distinctive? Or just plain weird? Think quickly. Don't go for deep. Go for quirky. Don't try to put them in any kind of order and don't make them long. Just start typing."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1.  My nickname growing up was Kiera Bug

2.  I'm NOT organized and have a REALLY hard time cleaning my house

3.  I love brussel sprouts

4.  I have only ever owned one CD...and my husband bought it for me 2 years ago

5.  I DO NOT sing in public or anywhere besides in front of my children and only because it annoys them...not even at church, I usually mouth the words...I'm VERY self conscious of my voice

6.  I can't spell...and I'm getting to the point where Madison's 3rd grade spelling words are stumping me...I'm a little scared for the day  her teacher asks me to correct the spelling test and doesn't hand me the cheat sheet!!!

7.  I like to go to bed early...

8.  I have a perfect driving record...although I have been pulled over twice...once for a stolen car (really, who would steal a Buick LeSabre?)  and once for talking on my phone (only I wasn't talking on the phone...I was picking a ZIT!)

9.  I love to vote (part of my history/social science geekness) but hate to study up on all the ballot measures & I refuse to vote for something if I don't know enough about the issue, so I will leave it blank...)

10. Okay...so this is huge...I don't tell anyone...and now I'm going blog public...

...YIKES...

I was on the flag team in high school...don't know why, but I HATED it...I liked all the other girls...just HATED being on the flag team...and I don't tell anyone!...yep...I was a flag girl...and I'm very uncoordinated...not sure how I never gave anyone a black eye!  Maybe it was the uniforms...or the marching in parades wearing those horrible uniforms...or the marching in the parades wearing the horrible uniforms and throwing up long sticks with flags attached to the end...don't know why...but it wasn't my thing!

...

okay...what are your 10 things?

Magic Snack

I love things that are magical...who doesn't?

...isn't childhood all about magical things...

    ...Disneyland...movie magic...grandparents...the toothfairy...Santa...

...

so many times when I can't explain things to my kids I pull out the..."it's just magic" answer...it works...

or when someone asked me how I made something..."using magic"...

...don't worry, I'm not into black magic...

But I LOVE things that have a fun mystery to them...it just makes life a little more fun...

my kids new favorite snack is the "magic apple"

yep...a magic apple...

I use the magic wand...

aka...the Pampered Chef apple slicer

I cut the apple using the magic wand, but not all the way to the bottom, pull the slicer back up over the top of the apple and then put the apple back together...

so now it looks like a whole un-sliced apple...
then your kids can say some magic words...

"apple sapple...magic apple"

and the apple magically falls apart.

and because the apple is magic it taste just a little bit better!

a Tour...just a few days late!

Okay, Finally, I going to blog about my weekend...

TheSmithHotel's First Open House and Boutique....

Just a little clarification for those that were confused...

*TheSmithHotel is NOT a hotel.  I have a friend who's last name is Smith...

She collects vintage stuff...

she makes things from vintage stuff...

she is a thrift-aholic...

she has an etsy store where she sells things online...

she has a blog...

and she has named her blog and her etsy store TheSmithHotel 

(they also have an extra room for borders when things get tight...

not sure if Mr. Smith knows that Mrs. Smith might be renting out his office soon!)...

*Open House...Mrs. Smith was not selling her beautiful home 

(but for the right price she might...lets not share that with Mr. Smith either...but it's a 3 bedroom, with an office, 2 bathroom, inground pool and hot tub...I'll pass any reasonable offers on to Mrs. Smith...oops tangent)

...anyways...Mrs. Smith opened her home up (hence the "open house") to sell some of her wares and asked my other friend Rayna (from Gotcha Covered) and I if we wanted to join her for the "event"...

and we said yes...

okay...hopefully that cleared up some of the confusion...

maybe I should have done that BEFORE the "event"...

anyways, we had a great weekend Friday and Saturday with people stopping in to visit our little open house, we did have one minor issue with directions and google maps making up a random road that does not exist (or at least not on the way to Mrs. Smith house) and sending some customers on a wild goose chase...

here is just a few pictures of things that were for sale (if you see something that you might be interested in buying let me know because it might still be available and I will contact either Mrs. Smith or Rayna if the item is not a ChambersMade product...)

ChambersMade up-cycled* Pottery Barn'ish type direction signs

...going to hang these in my living room since they didn't sell and I LOVE them!

Gotcha' Covered full apron on the left

ChambersMade 1/2 apron on the right

Gotcha' Covered children's aprons

organic Jellys 

TheSmithHotel's up-cycled bottlecap necklaces...

(the one in the middle is from Beau's old stomping grounds) 

and she will custom make these...let me know...

just a few of TheSmithHotels vintage linens and some up-cycled pillows

Gotcha' Covered's Hooter Hiders (for nursing mothers)

more aprons from Gotcha' Covered

some vintage items from TheSmithHotel

Daddy and Daughter matching aprons from Gotcha' Covered

another view of more of Mrs. Smith vintage items

that typewriter is still for sale...

and just a few of our goodies...ChambersMade blueberry scones 

we also had raspberry brownies, Mrs. Smith's fathers famous brownies and banana bread...

*Up-cycled was my new vocab word for the weekend...when you use old items to create new items...very green...very hip...so lots of the signs I made using the old up-cycled wood from our closet project...so I'm not cheap, I'm hip!

Thanks for all of you that stopped by and for those of you who couldn't make it I will let you know when our next one is...

Thanks Mrs. Smith for inviting me to join you at your open house...I really enjoyed the two days spent in your home hanging out with you, it was a fun weekend!

being honest!

this is my honest week.

I'm in a book club.

yep, one of those fads started by Oprah a few years back...

a really good friend of mine wanted to start one up, asked me if I was interested (we were both 7 months pregnant) and then we asked a few more friends to join us...(another of those pregnant also!)...

I love my book club...

we read one book a month, alternating between a classic and a contemporary...(we loosely translate a classic as a book whose author is dead!), and trade off hosting the club at our different homes...

our book club has a rule...

...no judgement...

3 pregnant woman started in the club...we didn't want to feel guilty for not finishing a book when we'd been up all night with a baby!

our group has since morphed a few times...

currently NO pregnant ladies...

only 2 of us are from the original start up group...

I have not been up all night with a baby in a LONG time...

but I still hold tightly to the 'rule'...

don't judge me if I don't read the book...

okay February book was a classic
and the classic that we voted for was Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina...
OY!
lets just say I was not crying when I discovered that I couldn't make it to the February book club...
and then the ladies "talked" via email and decided that Anna was too much for one month and they needed to make it a two month book and canceled the February club...
moving Anna to March...
OY!
so then me and my favorite "no judgement rule"...
I thought,...
"I'll show them...I'll read the book in one month..."

YEAH right!
I'll just breeze through that Russian novel...
with pages and pages of farming stuff..
and political stuff...
and people making very poor choices...
and more farming and peasant stuff...
OY!

So yeah...off to book club I went tonight...
with my book not even half read (it's over 800 pages!)...
and here is a picture of my house earlier today...
with my half read book club book almost buried under a mountain of laundry...
so I can't blame the book not being read on all the laundry I was folding!

I love my book club...I went...we talked...
we discussed Anna...
we discussed Tolstoy...
we laughed...
we ate Russian desserts...
and I wasn't judged for not reading the entire book...and I didn't lie and tell them I would...
we all know that Anna is going back to the friend that lent her to me and I will NEVER finish it and will probably never pick up another Tolstoy...
although I've always wanted to read War and Peace...maybe I can find an abridged version...and a laundry fairy!

Monday Monday

yep it's Monday..
I should be thinking about my menu for the next 2 weeks...
I NEED to be thinking about my menu for the next 2 weeks...
I also have to start working on some schedules for church...
some curriculum for church...
and I need to run today...
I REALLY NEED to run today...
...
oh, and the laundry that DIDN'T get touched last week...the laundry REALLY NEEDS to get done this week...my boy is OUT of shirts....
...I also need to blog about the open house this past weekend...I did promise I would...but that means I need to get all the pictures off of the camera...and then edit the pictures...and then need to get creative with my blogging...
...
but I really just want to paint some signs, maybe do a little sewing on a project that's been bouncing around in my head...
...I also want to call up a few friends that I haven't talked to in ages and talk for a bit...
I think I might need to talk to some friends...I haven't called the Mean Jean in a good few months and facebook isn't her thing, and we're going up to visit them in about 3 weeks...so I really do NEED to call her...
and my friend Ms. Sara...I feel like the last time we talked was last spring break when both families happened to be at Disneyland at the same time...
yeah...
it's a Monday in March...and I NEED it to be a lazy Saturday morning in mid-June with no kids in school and no laundry to worry about and no schedules to schedule and no running cuz the triathlon is OVER!!!

yeah...
I think I need to call some friends...I can fold laundry and talk at the same time...

Five Question Friday

1. Have you ever had a celeb sighting?
Gina Davis in the bathroom @ Disneyland's California Adventure

2. What temperature do you keep your house?
okay, brace yourself...we have a 70+ yr old home & we don't have central heat and air...we have a monitor heater that we keep around 68 in the winter and a swap cooler that is too old for a thermostat so we have two options cool or not cool in the VERY hot 120 degree summers in Redding, CA 

3. Do you notice dust at other peoples homes?
yes, and it makes me happy since I NEVER dust my own home (I let my kids think that it's a huge deal and I "let" them do it every once in awhile)

4. What's the worst job you ever had?
not sure...worked in the copy room at the college, small room large equipment no heat in the winter no air in the summer...

5. What is your most sentimental possession?
I collect all the family Bibles...I have my grandmothers, and two from the different sides of my husbands family.

I'm a Woman Sconed!

I fell in love a few years ago...

the problem was I was already married...

and I had kids... (very cute kids)

and having those kids had put a few extra lbs on my hips
...tummy
...& various other regions...

and I had fallen in love with...
...Scones...

I love them...but they aren't good for my hips, tummy & various other regions...

but, well love is blind...
so my love affair has continued...
and my love grew deeper when I realized how easy...
seriously easy...
scones were to make...
if you can make a biscuit...and you can...
you can make a scone!

and I just discovered a recipe for blueberry scones...
and when I say "just"...I mean this morning...
and "discovered" I mean I googled "blueberry scone recipe" and it appeared on my  desktop...
(magic!)

But because I can't just leave enough alone...and I had NEVER even tried this recipe...I decided to change it up...why...well,
1-for necessity (I ran out of regular flour)
2-I like to change things and be the boss!
3-I like blueberries so I added more!


Blueberry Scones
2 1/2 cups regular flour
1 1/4 whole wheat flour
3/4 c. sugar
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
6 Tbs shortening
3 tbsp. cold butter
1 1/2 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen...I used Trader Joe's Frozen)
3/4 c. milk
2 eggs

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the shortening and butter using a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add blueberries and toss lightly to distribute.

I had a blueberry thief in my house

caught red blue handed

 In a separate bowl using a fork beat together the milk and eggs until well blended. Using a large spoon gently stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture. With floured hands gather the dough up and place on a floured surface. Sprinkle the top lightly with additional flour and pat the dough out to a thickness of about 1/2 inch.  Depending on the size of your work surface you may need to do this in two batches (I did).
Using a 2 1/2-inch fluted or rounded cutter, cut the scones out and place on an un-greased baking sheet.

...the smaller the better...

they just seem so much better for me cuter that size

Gather up the scraps and cut additional scones until all the dough is used. Sprinkle the tops of the scones with granulated sugar and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Do not over bake or scones will be dry.

I can hear the blueberries sizzling in the oven...can't wait

Serve warm, with blueberry green tea (also from Trader Joes) or with coffee...

or with a handsome blue-eyed boy!

You're just dying to try one, right...
stop by our open house and boutique today and you can have one!!!

1057 Coggins St, Redding CA

No Tom-Foolery Here

I had planned to blog about all the mischief and Tom-Fooler that the Leprechauns brought to our house early this morn...
and was going to share with you some of our St. Patrick's Day family traditions...
and I was going to go blog public with my history geekness and share with you my LOVE for St. Patrick and why we celebrate him...
but I don't have lots of time to sit here today...busy busy...

so instead I'm going to tell you why my menu planning was a bust!

Beef Stroganoff on the menu for last night...the husband is sick so that goes out the window, replaced with Chicken Noodle soup...oh well...

and then...
well, when planning the menu on Monday I forgot that today was St. Patrick's day...
so rather than grilled chicken salad...menu was changed to
Potato Soup and Soda Bread...
(What NO Corned Beef and Cabbage?!?  tried that a few years ago and I was the only one eating dinner, so I've changed my St. Patrick's menu to the Potato Soup and Soda Bread...)...
I've posted the recipe to the soup before...potato soup...but here is the soda bread recipe...the kids LOVE this and I ALWAYS say, "why don't I make this more often?" and then I put away the recipe for another year!
Irish Soda Bread with raisins

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour or whole wheat or 1 cup of each...
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup raisins (optional)
1 cup buttermilk
butter
1.  Into a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and soda. Stir in raisins, then stir in the buttermilk, stirring just until mixture is blended. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead about 8 times.
2.  Shape into a 6-inch round; place on ungreased baking sheet. Cut a cross on the top of the loaf. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush hot soda bread loaf with butter; break apart or slice.
Serve warm.

...
hope your St. Patty's day was great...

Menu for March 15-21th

Yeah, so I did it again...
I totally dropped the ball on the whole meal planning last week, wasn't in the mood and was pretty busy...
guess what happened?
Craziness...
Okay, so add no meals planned to an already busy week...lets just say I've learned my lesson, sure it might be a lesson I have to learn a few times, but it made last week so much harder that this morning I was laying in bed planning me meals because I didn't want a repeat of last week!  Nothing is worse than waking up at 6 am and going hard all day then 5 pm hits and you have no idea what you have to feed the kids...makes for cranky kids, cranky mom and cranky dad!

so here's the plan so far...

Monday March 15th

     Lunch-Tuna Melts

     Dinner-Grilled Chicken and Fettuccine Alfredo w/ steamed asparagus 

Tuesday March 16th

     Lunch-Egg Salad sandwiches

     Dinner-Ground Beef Stroganoff w/green beans

Wednesday March 17th

     Lunch-nachos

     Dinner-grilled chicken salad

Thursday March 18th

     Lunch-peanut butter and jelly sandwiches...but with sunflower butter (just bought yesterday, the kids said they loved it when they tasted it at Trader Joes)

     Dinner-pork chops and applesauce in the crockpot

Friday March 19th

     Lunch-Fried Egg Sandwiches (or whatever else Beau decides to make!)

     Dinner-Chili and cornbread (chili in the crock pot since I'm @ the open house all day)

Saturday March 20th

     Lunch-dad's in charge because I'm doing the open house so I'll let him figure it out

     Dinner-I'm guessing Beau will probably order Pizza at this point!  

Sunday March 21th

     Lunch-I'm now too tired to make meals since I've been gone from my house since Friday morning and now I've just worked with 15 kindergarten's so I say we eat out

     Dinner-Potato Soup!

Closet Update

Okay, so the closet is still in the making...but it looks like it could be a closet at some point in the near future...
here are the stats...

*Move Electrical Outlet-Check
...with no shocking experiences either...
unless you count Beau letting me use a saw-sall to cut a hole in the wall...

    ...or that I might not have put the hole in the exact spot I should have...
but, it's moved...

*Build and install closet wall frame-Check

...with only a few minor adjustments here and there...
special note for all home owners with a house older than they are...
...(ours is 40 years older than me!)...
at some point you must choose between building a level closet or having the closet level to ceilings and walls in your house that leans to the south!
(which is a weird lean since the hill our house sits on goes down in the north, so our house SHOULD lean to the north...)
our choice in the level department...we chose level closet....

*Drywall closet ceiling and walls-Semi Checked
we "hung" the drywall on the ceiling of the closet, and decided to call it a day/weekend...not too bad when we probably only put in maybe 5 hours solid of closet work this weekend...

We'll put in a few more hours a few nights this week...
...oh, and return the doors, we bought the wrong ones...

and then maybe next Sunday I can write a blog about our finished closet!!!

Another "Weekend Project"

so the goal is to finish the closet this weekend...
one reason...we want it finished...

another reason, I can't help with the project next weekend because I have a different sort of weekend project planned....
Yes, I know...am I crazy...
probably so...

the weekend project that I'm talking about is
TheSmithHotel's First Open House and Boutique
that my friend Mrs. Smith is hosting at her home...

She has turned her home into a store...

and she is selling tons...

tons of vintage things...

of cute things...

...and stuff that she's made...don't you just love this tea towel?!?

Mrs. Smith has invited me and another friend to join her at her open house selling some of our things...

so Rayna from Gotcha Covered is selling her aprons (adult and kids)

our monkeys modeling Rayna's boy aprons

and hootie hiders (for nursing mom's)....sorry no pictures...for some reason Rayna (who's not nursing) didn't want to model these...

I have a few aprons for sale
and some "art" work... for kids rooms...I use the word "art" very loosely...

and other stuff that you need around your house...

key holders

magnets

also since I'm selling stuff I had to work on the ChambersMade logo...check it out...I think it turned out cute...

anyways...
I hope that if you're in the Redding area next weekend

March 19th & 20th

you will stop by and support us or just check out our stuff...
theSmithHotel's First Open House and Boutique
Friday, March 19th noon-8 pm & Saturday, March 20th 9am-8pm
1057 Coggins Rd. Redding, CA

we made the times a little later at night so you can make it a girls night out and leave the kiddos at home with dad and come browse our store...
please invite friends and let them know...