live up to my motto day

hello - you all are so sweet and kind to be concerned and offer advice about that nasty stomach bug.
Currently, to the best of my knowledge,  all my family members are virus free and no one else has gotten sick.  So,  I am cautiously optimistic that a most unpleasant situation is over~!


Monday,  I spent most of the day cleaning our home with Lysol and Bleach.  - to obliterate any lingering germs.

Today,  our home wasn't really dirty but it definitely needed some attention,  just lots of things needed put away, etc.  So I wrote out this list and got started

Before in the living room

after- toys put away, blankets straightened, some clutter cleared and the Valentine decorations all packed away  

well - there doesn't seem to be a before in the master bedroom but here is the after- bed made,  clutter dealt with, everything dusted

laundry room before- just little laundry

all laundry done and put away

kitchen- before

after- there were lots of odds and ends on every surface- all put away now!

Pantry- this wasn't on my list but it should of been.  It was messy

after an hour,  the pantry is much better and I found several things I thought we were out of. 

dining room before

dining room- midway- I had time cut out a kimono top for me from an internet tutorial.  Ill let you all know how it turns out after I sew it.  It was very fast to cut out.
I also found a square tablecloth while I was looking for fabric. 

I cut down the table cloth and made a super simple and fast table runner.  I've been wanting to do something for this table for awhile and this project was just the spruce up I was hoping for. 

That's my day.  I did some stuff and stuff got done. 

hope you all are getting stuff done that you want to do too!

A little sick here, a lot of sick there, sick everywhere

There is a stomach bug going around our area that seems to be visiting almost everyone. Some people are just sick a couple days.  Others are sick for a week.   And after the bug seems to be gone, it sometimes comes back.
All our grands have had it.  Some of their parents have had it.  My dad was so sick, he needed rehydration by IV at the emergency room.  My husband and I had a short-lived bout with it.

Some school districts have closed.

Anyway,  I am really concerned about it and did some research,
These 2 graphics  are from  stopthesromachflu.com

This one really has lots of points that I never thought of.  I had no idea this bug could be contagious so long.  

There are also lots of natural ways to help with this bug on Pinterest.  

I hope none of you are dealing with this but if you are,  some of this might help.  

We had some lemon lime soda, jello, Gatorade, bananas, rice and saltine crackers on hand before we got sick.  We sure appreciated having these things here and not having to ask for help.  I will be restocking those things very soon - just in case! 

No,  I have not been sick the entire time since I last posted, and I will have a more normal post soon. 

Recipes, Mabel and sewing

First, here is a link to a recipe like the dish I cooked 2 days ago.  The original blog where I found it doesn't seem to be available any more.  This recipe is just like the one I used, except I've used lean ground beef and lean ground turkey for the meat.  This one uses sausage which I am sure is good too.
Also, we cook the rice separately and serve the bean mixture on top of a spoon full of white rice.
SpicyCajunRice


The cheeseburger soup was a blend of 2 Internet recipes.  I'll try to explain what I did
Brown about a 1/2 pound of lean ground beef with 1/2 a chopped onion.
When that's done, add about 3 big potatos, peeled and diced, 3 carrots, peeled and diced and 1/2 cup finely diced celery.  Pour in about a quart of chicken broth and bring to a simmer
When the vegetables are tender, add 2 cups of milk that has been whisked with 1/4 cup of flour and about 1 cup of diced velveeta chees.
Add salt and pepper to taste and simmer until slightly thickened and the cheese is melted.
This soup is good and reheats nicely.  Despite it's name, it tastes nothing like an American Cheeseburger.  You could easily use your choice of vegetables and cheese.




Second,  Mabel the puppy, has been with us for 1 month and we estimate she is 3 months old.
She is growing but not a lot.  She happily eats Puppy Chow and sleeps in her crate.
She likes all the grands and is sweet to them (but 2 of the grands don't like her and we hope they will come around)
She doesn't shed much and she creates an illusion that all our tile floors are clean as she searches out and licks up any crumb or splatter.

Third, I've had time sew this week because some our grands have had a virus and have stayed home.  They are all on the mend and the virus didn't spread to any one else because their parents kept them home.

I bought a chevron beach towel when CVS was doing their summer clearance and I think it cost about $2.  I cut it up and hemmed the edges to make 4 hand towels and 2 wash cloths.  They will be going to one set of the grands for their bathroom.

I finished the 3 double sided fleece blankets.
This one, I sewed the 2 pieces about 1 1/2 inches from the edge and then cut fringe about 1/2 inch wide.  It took more time but I think it will the favorite of the grandgirls.

This one has rounded corners and is sewn about 1/2 inch from the edge.

The red and black fleeces are both fuzzier than the pink ones.

They will all be quite warm being double sided.  

That's what has been getting done here 😄

Cooking, tackling a job and some sewing

This post is far from perfect - I did it on the iPad with the blogger app that has a mind of it's own 😫

hello everyone
Yesterday, I spent about an hour cooking 2 dishes that will feed us several times.
I made a batch of cheeseburger soup where I loosely followed 2 recipes.
The other was a batch of Dirt E Rice, which is a Trim Healthy Mama diet recipe, and we just like the way it tastes.
I used  a pound and half package of lean ground beef and divided it for the 2 recipes.  They both use basic ingredients,  what you see in the photo as well as bell pepper and sage in the rice dish, and milk and cheese in the soup.

I know some people turn up there noses  at leftovers but we really like have homemade food that we can reheat and enjoy at our convenience.  

Wendi at My Heart Is Always Home has  been doing some Tackle It Tuesday projects where she cleans and organizes small areas in her home.  Earlier this week I straightened up our extra pantry.  

Today I worked on our silver ware drawer.  

 Before and it is just crazy how many crumbs were hiding in there 😱

After - yes we have lots of silverware - and it gets used when we have a big family gathering.  I happily use paper plates then but we all prefer real flatware.

I also worked on making 3 reversible fleece blankets from the Joann remnants.  

They were quick to sew up and I'll show the finished blankets tomorrow.  Right now they are in the washer,

Our big table was a nice surface to spread out the fabrics and trim them. 

See the plastic sack? My sewing tip is to keep a sack handy for corralling all the unusable scraps as you work and then just throw it all away 

this week's shopping

Hello everyone
On Saturday, we shopped for groceries at a big military commissary and then got produce at Aldi.  We are pretty stocked up on groceries for the month of February but I still had a few things on my list.
I had a free afternoon this week so I decided to do some errands.  My parents and daughters said they needed a few things at the stores I was going to and I was happy to help them

So here is all the stuff I bought in my 3 hour shopping spree-

first stop was Sprouts - it is a grocery store kind of like Whole Foods but much more reasonable priced. 
The bulk trail mixes were 25% off and I got the peanut chocolate one for our home and the M&M kind for my daughter.  I also bought bulk English walnuts,  for snacking and adding to salad and oatmeal. 

The next store was Joann, a big fabric and craft store. 
I needed a new daily medicine box and this one was just sitting on an endcap all by itself.  So I guess it was just meant to be for me.  I never expected to buy a pill box at Joann.
My mom asked for hand soap and these were on clearance for 75 cents. 
2 spools of gray thread that I was out of,  I often hem suit pants for my son and seems to mostly wear gray which is why I was out. 

This big set of ornaments for the children to paint was 85% off.  I know our older grands will enjoy doing these

I also wanted to get some fleece remnants.  I bought 2 others a month ago and couldn't believe how much they discount them at checkout. 

can you read the price tags?  they range from $11-$15 the labels say

but at checkout,  they all ended up about $3. 
With the 2 pieces of fleece I bought earlier,  I have enough to make 3 double sided fleece blankets.  I hope to do them soon!

Next was TJMaxx.  I am a fan of Rae Dunn pottery.  It is low priced at TJMaxx, Homegoods and Marshalls but my town only has a TJMaxx. Rae Dunn has become so popular,  it is hard to find at any store.  I went in there just to treasure hunt.  I usually come out empty handed but this week,  I found and bought these 2 sweet heart plates.  They were $4.99 each

Next was Walmart-
we needed a new laundry basket for our closet.  This shape fits in there just right and I splurged 3 dollars extra to get one with wheels and a pull handle.  I think I will like it better than the old kind that is carried,   we will see!

My mom asked for these and she even had a coupon for them.  She uses one when she does Sudoku puzzles. 

Next and last was Dollar Tree.  Everything at Dollar Tree costs $1 and a few things cost less.  They have a good bit of junk but they also have a lot of quality products. 
I bought 2 jugs of laundry bleach that I use on our towels and whites. 

every month, I stock up on quarts of this shelf stable milk.  It tastes just like fresh milk and is a good choice for us as we don't always use a whole gallon of milk before it sours.(  Jane, of Thrift and Hope,  if we were neighbors, I could share that less than perfect milk with you to feed all your adopted kitties,  but since we are far apart,  I'll keep buying these quarts. )
I also bought some 4 packs of GoGoSqueez yogurt.  it is also shelf stable and so much cheaper than the pouches at regular stores.  Some of my grands love it  but some don't. 

These ball guns are lots of fun.  The gun shoots a foam ball on a short elastic string.  My grands always disconnect the string so the ball will shoot farther.  I got these 2 to take to my parents.  They have a long hall that the grands can shoot the balls down. 
I saw the grapefruit handsoap and got it for my mom too. 

4 bags of little candy bars - because we have grands and because we like candy. 

these containers are another repeat buy- they are sturdy and a really good size,  one box will hold about 9 regular size muffins or several dozen cookies.  3 of these went to my daughter. 

this is a snack I like - Crunchy Rice Rolls- they are lightly sweetened,  38 calories a roll and I like to munch on them when I just want a snack but don't really need a snack.  They are a pretty good size, close to the size of toilet paper tube- but that's a weird thing to compare food to
They are made in Korea. 

And that wraps up my 3 hour shopping adventure.  The weather was so nice so all the walking was pleasant. 

I don't remember the last time I spent 3 hours shopping like this and it was fun and I certainly found everything on my list.  But I probably won't do it again for at least another month or more. 

Cooking like my Grandma

Caution - if typos bother you, then just pass on this post.  I'm doing it on an iPad and the app has a mind of its own but I can't go to our desktop right now and I'd rather just post, flaws and all, instead of wait until I have the opportunity to do it differently.

below is my version of a meal that I enjoyed so many times in the past, cooked by both my Grandma and my mom.  It's round steak, lightly floured and pan fried with mashed potatoes and gravy and homemade buns.  My grandma served fried steak for breakfast with biscuits and gravy most every morning.  I am well aware nutritionist would be aghast at this but Grandma lived to 99 and Grandpa lived to 89.  They also ate homemade pie everyday 😄

No pie for us,  And that plate of steak fed my husband and I as well as my parents 3 meals.  

It was so good too! 

We've also had bkackeyed peas cooked in the crockpot and banana muffinins baked in a stoneware muffin pan.

I baked double batches of sandwich buns twice 

And a double recipe of raisin bread once.  

I used my grandparents recipe and let my Zojirushi bread machine do all the mixing- it's not much work this way, and just requires some tending to and shaping, then I bake the buns in a regular oven. 

They all get sliced and stored in bags in the freezer until we need them.  

I share some with my parents and whoever is eating with us.  

CVS shopping for this week and last week- I'm sorry I don't have breakdowns and the receipt photos but I can tell you I spent very little and got back plenty in CVS extracarebucks for the next shopping trip. 

We had the pleasure of spending lots of time with our grandchildren over the last week. 

Below is a professional photo of almost 5 year old Andie and her 6 month old brother, RJ.  They have a 1 year old sister, Charlie, but she didn't want to be in this picture.  

And here are all 8 of our precious grands- and it is obviously not a professional photo,  but we love it too.  

I am doing this post on my iPad and the text keeps jumping around so I apologize if it is formatted in a weird way.
But it's just a blog post -


This afternoon. I had some time to myself and spent 3 hours shopping.  I hardly ever shop this long but the weather was beautiful and I really enjoyed it.
I hope to post tomorrow and show you all my purchases.  It's quite an assortment.  

Free magazines, for real!

I do a short survey 1 or 2 times a week for RewardSurvey

The surveys take maybe 5 minutes, I've never been disqualified for one, and they are worth $20 in magazine money. 

Different magazines are available at different times.  

Sometimes I cash in right after a survey if there is a magazine I want and sometimes I just leave the rewards in my account, 

I think I've been doing them about 3 months and I now have free year long subscriptions to all these magazines shown above as well as Forbes, New Yorker, Garden & Gun and Real Simple.  

Reward Survey sends me an email about once a week and that's when I do a survey. 

And. No, I don't read all of these but I share them with my family.  

If you like magazines,  try Reward Survey.  

The magazines really do come and they have no charge.