Getting ‘Caught Up’

How do you get ‘caught up’ when you’ve had a busy weekend?  It’s really pretty much the same as any other day of the week…but everything on the list takes a little bit longer than usual if it has piled up.

 

For me, it’s this simple. I get my kids going on school work…take some time for devotions…and then hit ‘the list’.

First –Food! What are we going to eat tonight? Get something out to defrost…or decide to pick up something from the store. Chicken in the crockpot, spaghetti or hot dogs aren’t the fanciest dinners (or necessarily the healthiest..) but for a Monday..they’ll do.

 

Oh..and you might want to feed the pets while you are at it… Tiger gets very grouchy if he doesn’t get fed early..and often! (Photo by Christian)

Second – Dishes….Eewww yukk! Hope you didn’t leave them out last night!? We only had a few from late night snacks. Start them soaking or load the dishwasher..or unload it. You know the drill, girls!

Third- Laundry…sigh…  Ok- Start with hubby’s  ‘whites’..nothing makes a hubby happier than clean socks and underwear. Look at him smile!! LoL!  Of course, the kids will love you for it too. :o)

Fourth – Pick up….socks..toys…books…dishes from last night’s movie night (Wasn’t it great?!! We watched Frequency.  It is SUPERB..about a father’s love for his son… for teens and up only though.)  Run a duster over the living room—very quickly..or hand that job off to the kiddos.  :o)

FOR FASTER RESULTS: If the house is VERY messy and you feel overwhelmed by the sight of all the clutter, try this tip. Go to each room and pile all the ‘stuff’ into one spot like a chair, the sink, or one spot on the desk. Now the whole house ‘looks’ more orderly and you can put away the piles without being stressed by the magnitude of the mess!

Lena’s vacuum sounds real..but sadly…it doesn’t ‘work’. LoL!

Fifth – Floors - Sweep and Vacuum…just the heavy traffic areas. And damp mop the kitchen. Don’t spend all day on this! Just 10 minutes each. Set a timer if you must.

TAKE A BREAK! Time for tea… (You have my ‘official’ permission..so go do it…  :o)…now that the house is in order and the dishwasher and washing machine are humming their happy tunes..you can rest easy..and sit down at your desk. Time to plan…

Now…it’s time for some quiet tasks. What about Finances? Is there money in the bank? Any surprises? Did you over spend the budget. Get your checkbook updated and make sure you’ve dotted your i’s and crossed your t’s. What about registrations for children’s events…car tags..any due dates that have to be met? Library books to return? 

   

Our college age son’s textbook was a rental and was due today..as was his registration for the national speech and debate tournament…and daughter’s defensive driving course.  Failing to meet those deadlines can cost you a lot of money.

On the way to Nationals in San Diego, Ca… ..then boot camp! (Still waiting to hear back about the medical review.)

Thank goodness, I planned ahead and had son return the book before our company arrived and did the registration late into the night on Thursday. Today..I think I’m oK! :o)

Finally…Errands and Emails.. Check them..but don’t dawdle! Birthdays? I’ve got a package to ship for a grandson’s birthday..and six graduation cards to fill out. Print letters for military son. Shop for his next box. (Make a list!)

After school, I’ll hit the road with a list, and my cards and packages ready to go. 

Really, the rest of my week will go pretty smoothly once I get through this routine. I’m sure there will be interruptions..but I’ll go right back to my list until I’m done. 

I hope this little post helps you. It seems so ‘intuitive’ to me, but a friend emailed me asking how I ‘get it all done’ so I thought my approach might help you. 

You Gotta Love Mondays! :o)

How do you ‘recoup’ from a busy weekend?

Linking with Raising Homemakers'  Homemaking Link Up

 

(PS. We had a WONDERFUL weekend with our kids and grandkids!  Expecting grandbaby number 3 for A & E this fall! That will make six grandchildren for us! :o)

Update on Matthew: I talked to my son Matthew via satellite phone. His latest ‘adventure’ went very well. The place they were headed was amazingly abandoned! Miracles never cease. He’s in very rough conditions…but at least we can still talk. Thank you Lord for satellite phones!  Thanks!

Keeping Up When You’re Feeling Down

On Monday, I normally share a big homemaking post..and follow it with a chat from the heart on Tuesdays for tea. But since I'm battling a particularly difficult cold, about the only tea I'll be drinking will be heavily laced with lemon juice. Today, I thought we'd talk about a pretty regular occurrence in most homemaker's lives and a great approach to handling it...over a cup of hot tea.

What I'd like to chat about today, is what I'm going through this week..trying to keep up..while feeling 'down'. 

We all love the idea of keeping house like Martha Stewart or June Cleaver, don’t we? Picture the lovely home, gorgeous figure, stylish dress, well behaved children,  the manicured nails..and our dashing knight arriving home with flowers to greet us with a peck on the cheek. Ahh…homemaking bliss!  But real life does have a way of intruding doesn’t it? It’s not that we never get to enjoy these perks…but usually not all on the same day..and not generally while nursing the baby, cleaning the oven or when we have a cold.

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Never Too Late to Learn Something New

Welcome to my Tuesday Tea chat. :o) I hope you’ll grab a cup of coffee or tea, scoot up your chair, and join us for  a little visit while we take a break from our busy days. What I’d like to talk about today…is really the idea that learning is a life long process. And that talent is over-rated. :o) There is nothing quite as fulfilling as creativity or learning something new. 

Is there something that you wish you could do..but think that you never could learn..or that it’s ‘too late’. Well, I’m donning my cheerleading cap to tell you that is just isn’t so! It’s never too late!

Have you ever heard the saying that success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration?  It really is TRUE! My son, who does indeed love to talk, is, of course, ‘naturally’ gifted with an ability to speak publicly..in that he is not afraid to say what he thinks--he’s comfortable with a crowd. But 90 % of his gift is practice… A LOT of practice! He actually doesn’t have very good grammar. But when he prepares a speech, he talks to himself, incessantly, practicing  his speech over and over again day in—day out ..in his bedroom all evening..  cutting out words, adding words, practicing gestures…refining…polishing.

This week, we learned that not only did he win first place at the Right to Life Oratory contest this year (second place last year), but that now he is wanted for several speaking engagements at various clubs, public schools and organizations around the area.  He wowed so many people by his ‘natural’ gift of speaking..but what they don’t know is that he’s practiced his ‘art’ of public speaking for YEARS…and his speech was written the DAY after he got 2nd place last year. He’s been practicing all year.  Did he win because he was gifted? No. He didn’t. Did the gift help? Of course. But mostly it was just plain old hard work.

My kids are ‘gifted’ at photography. Sometimes I sigh..to see how, with so little effort, they produce a stunning photograph. Me? I have zero talent in photography. However, four years ago, I got inspired by friends like Shona, Shannon, and Anita M. to take better photos. Blogging forced me to break through my lack of natural ability. I needed good photos..lots of them! But linking to photos online..finding credits and giving them was so time consuming. 

I started reading tips, blogs, taking a digital photography class. I started getting ideas from my kids…who love photography and could critique mine and push me beyond my comfort zone. 

Some of you think I take good photos..but it’s not ‘natural’. And it’s not that I have a good camera. I don’t have an SLR..I have a pocket digital camera.  But I practice..practice..practice..and I read everything I can get a hold of! I’ve worked through a frustrating ‘learning curve’ on how to edit photos.  Why? To make my tutorials more pleasant and enjoyable. That’s all. I thought that  there was no way I could ever learn. I was wrong. So what if it doesn’t come natural?  You can learn..you can practice. That will result in a 90% success rate!     

Why this topic?  Because it always embarrasses me when you, my sweet friends, ooh and aahh over my creations. When really..it’s just the result of tons of practice!  Really…even creativity takes practice. 

In the past, my creative efforts resulted in messes most of the time (i.e. check out my first two altered art pieces).   When you guys blessed me with your sweet comments about the cake I thought..it’s time to fess up! It doesn’t take talent! My first cakes were duds. Plain and simple. 

 

What did I do to learn cake decorating? Well, my dad gave me the smallest tray of tips (all I ever needed) as a birthday gift--I bought the 1993 Wilton magazine and some parchment paper. Then I made a pint of icing...stuck it in the fridge...and when the kiddos were napping...I practiced shells...over and over and over again. Just as Shona, author of The Artistic Mother suggested, I worked a little 'creativity' into 30 min. to an hour of 'spare' time..which isn't much when you have a house full of little ones. 

After YEARS of making, to the best of my ability, all of the cakes the children picked out ...I became a little more creative..and much more skilled. Some of my cakes and decor didn't look too good..but they were always appreciated when a cake was needed.  In a year, you can learn all you would ever need to know about most hobbies to make practical use of a new skill.       

 

Here are the hobbies I’ve learned...one year at a time...

• As a child…gardening, piano, drawing, choir,  camping, embroidery, animal husbandry and beginning sculpting 
• 1970-1980 Poetry Writing and Accordion Playing
• 1974 Jewelry Making
• 1975 Crochet
• 1977 Sewing 
• 1982-80 Guitar and Worship Leading
• 1980-84 Secretarial Work, Accounting, Budgeting, Shorthand
• 1986-89 Homeschooling
• 1985 Cross-stitching, Cooking
• 1985-1995 History and English Literature (especially Dickens)
• 1986 Bread Baking (without yeast!), Canning   
• 1987-93 Cake Decorating
• 1988 Homemaking
• 1989 Sewing
• 1990 Home Birthing, Home Remedies (Thanks Mom)
• 1991 Child Training
• 1992 Weight loss
• 1993 Gerontology
• 1994 Gardening, Public Speaking
• 1995 Wildlife Rescue, Missions

• 1996 Gliding (I didn’t fly..I just encouraged son and rode in a glider) 

• 

• 1997 Exotic Pets: Sugar Gliders, Rats,  Boa Constrictors
• 1998 Ice Skating, Civil Air Patrol
• 1999 Horseback Riding
• 2000 Quilting
• 2001 Appliqué, Beading, Embroidery
• 1998-2003 Formal Dress Making
• 2004 Song-Writing (CD) 
• 2005 French Quilting (Boutis)
• 2006 FlyLady, Linux Scripting
• 2007 Chicken Raising and Horse Raising, Construction of a Building/roofing, Canning
• 2007 Frugal Weddings: candy molds, Altering Prom Dresses
• 2008  Candle Making,  Knitting Loom
• 2007-9 Fabric Art:  Indian Button Blanket, Civil War Ball Dress, Ball Room Dancing
• 2008 Convention Booth Sewing, Square Dancing
• 2009 Banner Making , Glass Painting, Soap Making, Persian Rug Weaving
• 2010 Blogging  and Photography
• 2011 Hula Hooping, Altered Art

This year it’s Hula Hooping with Trudy…

and Altered Art…with Shona…

Next year? How about sculpting or cheese making?

I’ve always wanted to learn how to do these things…and some day! I will!

So please, don’t feel too impressed at what you see on my blog. :o) What I’ve learned has been YEARS in the making!  Like Kerrie, Shona, Needled Mom, Julia, and Mickey.., I’ve been LEARNING for years! When you start setting goals and practicing every day..you’ll get there too! 

Start today on a new hobby! It’s never too late to learn something new! 

Just ask my dear hubby who learned to play the cello..LAST YEAR at age 47.  And me? I’m hula hooping!!! Thank you Trudy of Sewing with Trudy for inspiring me to try. It’s so fun!!

You’re NEVER too old to learn something new!

Want to Join our Tuesday Tea party?

Linking with

BTNOP Tablescape Thursdays

Raising Homemakers Homemaking Link up

Lady Katherine's Tea Time Tuesday

The Plumed Pen's  Tea for Two

Rose Chintz Tea Time Tuesday

Martha's Favorite Teacup Tuesday
Wanda Lee's Teapot And Tea Things Tuesday
Pam's Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday

A Delightsome Life: A Return to Loveliness

******************************************
Right now...at our house....

 

 Brennan, age 3

 

Colin, Age 5

 Self portrait of Grandma and Nikolai, Age1

(I held the camera up in the air and pointed at me and the grandbaby for both of these photos...
I prayed I'd 'catch' us in the lens.)

The Art of The Leisurely Breakfast

  

A leisurely breakfast has become a relic of by-gone days I’m afraid. I had no idea how much our family rushed through breakfast on the way to our various pursuits…until my DIL’s father from Germany, Klaus, came to stay with us for a week. Talk about ‘culture shock’!

Klaus made these waffles for our whole family for New Year's Breakfast...
during our stay with him in Germany.
Delicious...and Lovely!

There was just a wee bit of tension at first because our cultural lines were seriously ‘crossed’.  Germans make LOVELY breakfasts…with hard rolls of several styles…a variety of thin sliced deli meats (quite different from our American ones—think prosciutto)..cheeses…chocolate sauce, jelly, or butter…

Or perhaps you’d also like some scrambled eggs on a piece of toast…juice (fresh squeezed only!) , and your choice of tea, coffee, and would you like ‘milch’ with your coffee? Yes..’bitte’ (please). 

And all of this is served in the loveliest china on a table covered in a delicate tablecloth. (As you can see, our white linen tablecloth didn’t survive the dinner the night before. :o))

And for a special treat..how about a ‘berliner’? (jelly filled donut)..they tasted heavenly!  After several days of tension where I was putting all my energy into dinner like any good Southern hostess…and getting stressed by how much time and energy breakfast was taking, my dear patient DIL..assured me…her father NEVER ate dinner and hoped I wouldn’t mind him not eating…but he would love a bigger breakfast!

Klaus later told me, "Our breakfast always takes AT LEAST an hour! " I was dumbstruck by the idea. It was so hard to wrap my mind around the idea. If you could transfer the desire to nibble and chat away the hour from evening and DINNER to BREAKFAST in the morning, then you would get the idea of what he wanted. It makes sense to me, now, when I look at it that way..but it was such a different perspective from our American habit of gulping down a latte and grabbing a danish on your way out the door to class…work…or shopping. 

A leisurely breakfast..is a treat. I now know that. :o) But it took a foreigner (now a good friend and family member) to teach me this.  Klaus’s motto is “Eat like a King in the morning..and a peasant at night.”  I would say that makes a lot of sense. I’ve never seen any one in better shape than him. Of course his bike is  his only form of transportation which probably helps too. :o)

When Rebekah’s friend, Kaylene, came to stay for a couple of days over spring break, I took a little extra trouble one morning to make them a nice breakfast while they slept in. It’s such a treat to do this for visiting friends or family. I’ve learned to enjoy mornings like these. 

The coffee press was used for the first time, as I had envisioned it at Christmas, to serve coffee almost as elegantly as tea. Isn’t my pot so pretty? And the coffee tasted just perfect!

 

Dear Hubby gave me these beautiful flowers which went so well with our cheery breakfast. The orange juice is especially for him since he doesn’t care for coffee and it was too warm for hot chocolate. He’s strictly a cereal guy..but loves for me to make sausage to go with his breakfast. credit

We, girls (yes..me too!)..had a lovely morning tea..all three of us…  They seemed delighted when they discovered I had made them such a special breakfast…and I even sliced them a bowl of mangos. (They like them…I don’t. :o)  I can’t think  of a more pleasant way to spend a morning. Can you?  This week, why don’t you pick a morning to treat your family. It’s a great way to say, “I love you”.

Linking with

BTNOP’s Tablescape Thursday by BTNOP

Romantic Home’s Show and Tell Friday

and Raising Homemakers.

 

 Note to My Readers:    Fun News! My three grandchildren, children of my son, Matthew, the Marine, and his wife Amanda, are here with their mother for a week long visit! We've already had so much fun in just one day. There's no telling what adventures the week will hold for us! I will reply as soon as I can to your lovely comments but if my posts are a little late coming or my replies.. well..I think you get the picture..Ha!  I've sort of pre-organized and written several posts for this week. They only need a bit of 'linking'.  But the kiddos will be the priority. :o) I'll be putting up photos of our adventures on my Comin' Home Facebook page if you'd like to see a little peek at my cutie pies. :o)

Coming this Week...

• Never to Young to Learn Something New...for Tuesday Tea
• Nature's Surprises!
• Five Kitchen Tested Crockpot Recipes (sorry they didn't make it in last week :o)
• Gorgeous Hand-Painted Batik Fabrics from McKenna Rae...for a fabric art piece I'm working on.