Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken w/Black Beans

These are red "Super Chilis" from our garden (referenced in recipe below).

It's been nearly 2 years since I've posted here, and though I've always intended to return today is a bit earlier than anticipated. Mostly this came out of the need to easily share a recipe with friends and family. I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures to accompany this recipe. Ms. S fail. Please understand this is because I wasn't actually intending to post yet - particularly a recipe.

Green Peppers from our garden

I was perusing Pinterest for slow cooker recipes in preparation for fall and baby 2. There were two intriguing recipes that ended up posted to my slow cooker board: Iowa Girl Eats Crock Pot Chicken Tacos (which are SO simple) and Gina's Skinny Taste Slow Cooker Chicken Black Bean Tacos (I was drawn in by the beans). The problem I ran into was not having everything for either recipe. Additionally, I harvested some peppers from the garden this morning and wanted to use them up. What you have below is adapted from both ladies' tried and true methods.

Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken w/Black Beans
adapted from Gina's Skinny Taste and Iowa Girl Eats

1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
Two 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
Two 15 oz cans black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 large green pepper, seeded & minced (or more if you really like green peppers)
3 "Super Chilis," seeded & minced (small red peppers - we're growing these this year, but you could substitute any hot pepper of your choice)
1 medium onion, sliced thin or chopped
2 tsp Taco Seasoning, divided (I use this spice mix from Iowa Girl Eats)
Zest of 1/2 a lime + juice of 1 whole lime

Directions:
1. If your chicken breasts aren't already halved, start by doing so. Place your chicken in the bottom of your crockpot and sprinkle 1/4 tsp Taco Seasoning on each breast (or more or less depending on your taste).

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, beans, peppers, and onion. Add remaining 1 tsp Taco Seasoning, lime zest, and lime juice. Once well mixed, pour into the crockpot over your chicken.

3. Cook on high for 4-6 hours (mine was done in a little over 4). Shred chicken with 2 forks and mix all contents of your crockpot. Serve as *tacos or over rice.

*If serving as tacos, we enjoyed two avacados mashed with lime juice and a little lime zest as a topping.

Enjoy!
~ Ms. S

"Super Chilis" up-close and personal

Our little bundle

Picture property of Ms. S

...arrived on August 24th and has been keeping this mama busy ever since. Not that I'm complaining. He's really quite precious, and I absolutely love being little Pumpkin's mama.

Since Pumpkin arrived, some things have changed around the house. At least two loads of laundry are done everyday, for example (cloth diapers). Dishes are done more regularly - sometimes by me!! Mr. S is thrilled. I don't get the chance everyday, as often just when I'm about to start someone wakes up from his nap. Oh well. The bathroom is now usually cleaned in stages. One day, the shower will get cleaned. The next day (or the day after that) the toilet will get cleaned. And finally, the sink will get cleaned. Sometime. And that's ok...mostly because it has to be ok. A child quickly teaches you to roll with the punches. And the rest of the house is in a general state of disarray. We pick up when we have the chance. Ok, more like when company is coming over.

Bottom line is this: we're having so much fun.

Photos of the projects going on...

Bedroom/Nursery before getting a new color on the walls....

My mom's hard work! We're SO pleased with how it turned out.

With the curtains hanging...

And with (some) of the furniture...

Still need to put the cradle and changing table in there. But the cradle is still in Iowa with my parents or grandmother, and Mr. S hasn't had the chance to work on the changing table yet. We still have a few months.

Gearing up for another set of curtains. Note my new workspace! Mr. S made us a fabulous desk out of an old door.

To add some color to the walls, as well as help me better organize my thread stash.

The new workspace in all its glory. Isn't my husband amazing?

The newest set of curtains was for this space. You're looking at the before - an awkward three panel set up that was driving me CRAZY! We weren't maximizing our natural light because that middle panel refused to move anywhere out of the way. Refused, I tell you! And then it would get stuck on the rod. Bah! It had to go.

To be replaced by something brighter, more cheerful, and more easily mobile. Just two panels here that slide like grease along the rod, and actually move completely to either side so we can maximize our daylight. Love!!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there! We've been busy over here and have more projects coming up we'll be able to share. :)

~Ms. S

Words from the Pregnant Lady

I could (and should and will) update you on the lovely painting job my mom did in our bedroom earlier this week. The bedroom that all three of us will share - Husband, Baby, and me. I could also tell you about the new fabric I picked up tonight to make new curtains for either our kitchen or living room (haven't decided for sure which place they'll go yet). However, what's really on my mind is the need to vent a little and impart some (hopefully humorous) words of wisdom when encountering a pregnant lady - or at least this one.

1. Do you know how many times a day a pregnant lady is asked "how are you feeling?" Mmmm....it depends on how many people the lady encounters, but suffice it to say too many. I know and understand it's meant to show you care and most of the time it's truly a sincere question. The problem is two-fold. First, I feel like I've already told everyone and their mother how I'm feeling, so I just get tired of sharing because my answer really doesn't change. And second, you don't actually want me to always be honest with you. For example, I'm not about to say, "Great, except it's harder than heck to poop!!" Or "I'm experiencing something akin to menstrual cramps but 20 times worse as my stomach stretches, thanks for asking." Don't think I haven't been tempted, though! ;)

2. Why are people obsessed over pregnancy cravings? I swear my co-workers (often the same ones) ask me something about this at least 3 or 4 times a week. Do you realize not everyone craves anything let alone weird things? In fact, at this stage in pregnancy food is SO uninteresting to me that the only thing that bothers me more than having to eat it is talking about it.

3. People (lots) are starting to ask me if I'm feeling the baby kick. The question is well-meaning, which I appreciate, but the problem is I have no idea how to respond. The truth: No, I don't, actually because my placenta is between my outer belly and the baby, cushioning it's smaller movements. I only feel the big ones. But my baby is healthy and thriving. What I usually say: Oh yes.
Who wants to hear (or cares) about the placement of my placenta? I'd rather not explain, give a quick answer, and have people move on.

4. I haven't experienced morning sickness. And after 3 or 4 weeks, my answer still hasn't changed. Plus, do you really want to know? Really???

5. Nope, we're not finding out the baby's gender. Nope, neither of us feels a compelling need to know. In fact, we WANT to be surprised. So please can any complaints about not knowing what to buy or the colors you feel you're now limited to. We happen to like green and yellow; we'd happily dress a girl in blue; and did orange, red, purple, brown, black, white, and gray suddenly disappear from the color spectrum? Green and yellow are not your only options. Just sayin'.

6. Baby names. Oh, dear me, baby names. This is something that everyone seemingly wants to know about. We aren't sharing or taking suggestions. Period. And we have good reasons for it. Allow me to share a few of them.
     a. Everyone has opinions about names, but this baby is ours - not everyone else's.
     b. Choosing names is an incredibly personal thing for Husband and me, and it's a way for us to bond over and get to know our little one before he or she arrives. That's for us. Not everyone else.
     c. Humans are, by nature, judgmental creatures. We don't want to know what your opinion is about a name we like before we decide to give it to our child. You'll know when our child is named.
    d. We have a list and some favorites, but ultimately, we want to see our baby first before we decide on a name. And therefore, aren't looking to be swayed by anyone but that precious babe on its birth day.

7. Then there are ultrasound pictures. Something just as personal, if not more so, than baby names. Can I just tell you that these are the strangest looking pictures ever? On the screen, we had little trouble identifying what we were seeing. The print outs look like alien blobs. These alien blobs are not something I want to share on facebook or with the world. We'll show our parents and siblings...maybe others? Besides the pictures being small and hard to see, they represent an intensely personal moment for us as parents - it's the first time we saw our baby. Our baby who is still growing and squirming in my belly. Our baby who isn't fully formed. Our baby who will be here in a shorter time than we think. So, forgive us if we aren't quick to share this with you.

8. There seems to be a hazing ritual that occurs between established parents and new parents that differs for each sex. Established fathers tell fathers-to-be how much life is going to change (ultimately for the worse) once the baby arrives, and how much harder it's going to be in a seemingly light-hearted, half-joking kind of way. Established mothers share childbirth horror stories and/or child birthing tips. Does it occur to those fathers that Mr. S is excited to be a daddy? Does it occur to those mothers that my child birth experience will be unique because my body is different than theirs? If either Mr. S or I want to know something, we'll ask. Otherwise, what happened to the mantra "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all?"

*9. (Added after initial post). Parenting starts even before the baby comes. We've been making some decisions already that will impact the way we raise and live with our little one. Decisions like OBGYN vs. midwife, hospital vs birthing center vs home birth, whether or not to breastfeed, how we'll sleep, etc. These decisions were very carefully thought out and come to with the help of information provided by our midwives and the reading we've been doing. And some key friends whose opinions we solicited. Giving us your unsolicited opinion about what we've decided as far as sleeping arrangements go is akin to me coming into the lunchroom and telling you the diet you're on is all wrong. What do I know about your diet? Why should I care about your diet? What do you know about how we want to raise our baby? What do you know about our sleeping habits? And why in the world do you care enough to offer an opinion? I don't mind sharing this information with friends who are honestly and sincerely curious about what we've decided and why we came to that decision - they aren't looking to offer an opinion or pass judgment. They know we're thoughtful people and there's a reason why we chose one thing vs another and want to be more informed and enlightened. They respect our opinions even if their own opinions are different.

Ultimately, it's not that we don't want you to share in our joy or be curious. It's that pregnancy is an intensely personal experience. Under normal circumstances, I don't share every detail of my life. But as a pregnant lady it seems expected that this should change and I don't entirely understand why. I try very hard to be respectful of people's curiosity and sincerity, and I never intend to offend. Please try to extend the same courtesy to us. Soon enough, our baby will be here for us to pass around and share - fully formed and outside of my body, a delightful, curious little person. When we can place our child in your arms, we'll be happy to share him or her with you, but for now we're let us enjoy and bond over this experience sharing with you what we choose - what isn't too personal.

~Ms. S

There's a baby on the way!

And that, my friends, is why I have been absent for...3 months? Has it really been that long?! Well, let's just say my energy was completely zapped by the bean-sized embryo taking charge of my belly. All for a good cause, of course. However, this means a host of fun projects to share! Including the most recently completed project - curtains for the nursery! (Did I mention we moved since the last time I think I posted?) We have a nursery, and the curtains were the first step.

I'm pretty proud of myself, because I didn't use a pattern and am happy with the result. And they were easy, to boot! Not to say I wouldn't change some things next time around, but overall, they're exactly what the room needed - a bit of what I'll call 'inspired cuteness.' I found an adorable print by Kokka at Crafty Planet with different fairy tales on it - Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Thumbelina, The Musicans of Bremmen, and Puss in Boots. We're not finding out the sex of the baby beforehand, so it was important to find something that would work for either. This print fit what we were looking for.


Materials needed:
Fabric (I used 3 yards)
Coordinating thread
Grommets (mine came from Joanne's)
Scissors
Iron
Measuring tool for seams

The windows in this room already had curtains, so I measured the curtains that were already there to determine how much fabric I needed. And by measured, I mean I took the 1/8 of a yard sample and counted how many of those I would need to get my yardage. There are easier ways. Like a yard stick. Which I don't have.

Moving on! I washed and dried my fabric to pre-shrink it. How many times do you wash your curtains? Yeah, that's what I'm thinking, too, but when I DO want to wash curtains I certainly don't want my seams to pucker due to shrinkage.

Then ironing! Secretly, I find ironing to be quite relaxing. We actually couldn't find our iron for the longest time after moving here, but it turned up in the one box we hadn't actually opened up. Imagine that. I pressed the wrong side of the fabric (the side really doesn't matter) using high heat with steam since the fabric is cotton. The steam really helps ease those creases out of the material.

Once the fabric was pressed, I folded it in half and cut down the middle to get my two curtains. The pattern I used was printed differently than most are, so if you decide to do this yourself, you should make sure when measuring for your fabric that you're measuring the way you want the pattern to appear (hopefully that makes sense). Then I spread my material out on my table and placed the curtain I was using as a pattern over top to determine how large my seams could be.

Next I measured and ironed my seams. On the bottom and top, I folded the fabric up 1/4 inch and ironed in place, and folded over again - this time 1/2 inch. Once the seams were marked, I went to the sewing machine and sewed a 1/4 inch seam...afterward realizing another go-round would ensure my seams were secure and laid flat. So I sewed another seam - approximately 5/8 this time (you'll see in the picture).


Repeat process for side seams. Although for the sides, I folded up 1/2 inch, ironed, and folded up another 1/2 inch. Sewed the double seams...but this time there were corners to contend with. How to make corners look decent? My method is one I made up, so if you're an experienced sewer, use whatever works for you. If you're looking for tips, here's what I did:

1. Fold up and press your first 1/2 inch; open

2. Fold in one corner until it meets the crease you just created; press

3. Keeping corner tucked in, fold up and press the second 1/2 inch

Voila! Sew your double seams. In addition to sewing the length of the fabric, I sewed the corners shut, too. Maybe that was overkill, but I didn't want those corners moving.

Then for the finishing touches. I pressed the curtains again, this time on the right side of the fabric, and placed one on my table to prep for grommets. I got these grommets at Joanne's and they were super easy to use. Four for each curtain. I placed the ones on the ends first and worked my way in following the instructions on the back of the package. Cut out my circles, placed my grommets in the circles and snapped them into place. All done! Word of the wise: place your end grommets within an inch and a half of the edges. My table wasn't big enough to not have some fabric hanging over the sides of the work area - so even though I placed them an inch and a half in, there were 2.5 more inches hanging off both sides of the table. Oops! Not a huge deal, and I could bring in the side seams (particularly the ones in the middle) a little more. For now, they're fine.

The rod that's in the nursery right now is one that wraps around at the corners. It works, but I'd like to get a straight rod that matches the grommets as I think the curtains would hang just a little bit more nicely. I'm pretty happy with the end result though! Easy curtains for the home.

We're moving!

The list I posted at the end of the last post IS coming, I promise. We're just in the middle of packing up our apartment to move into a lovely new place on Friday. That, coupled with an exceptionally busy previous week, means I haven't had time to write up anything worth reading and neither has Mr. S. But fear not! We'll be back after our move. And thank you in advance to family and friends for their help in this endeavor - we greatly appreciate it! :)

~Ms. S

Welcoming in 2011

How were your holidays? Ours were delightfully spent with family and friends. Christmas was split between Iowa and Minnesota (which was wonderful, but exhausting), and New Years was spent with our potluck crew - probably the most fun Husband and I have had on New Years Eve. Now that the holidays are past, I can finally share some of my crafty projects with you!

First up, Christmas stockings! Admittedly, there is no reason why these couldn't have been shared earlier. This lady was just busy, busy, busy and very tired. Anyway...I think they turned out perfectly!

Here they are under our tree. I didn't get a picture of them hanging before Mr. S packed them away.

After reading an article last year about different ways to decorate for Christmas (I cannot for the life of me remember what magazine this was in - Real Simple, Good Housekeeping, or Martha Stewart Living), Mr. S and I had a conversation about what color we wanted to emphasize in our decorating. The article mentioned how there is usually a large focus on red, but there are so many other ways to decorate for Christmas that incorporate some red without letting that color take over everything. So we decided on green, a color both of us like a lot.

I knew I wanted to make our stockings, so made a trip to my local Joanne's and found a McCall's pattern I liked that looked easy enough. The hard part was finding the fabric. I've mentioned Crafty Planet before - they're my favorite fabric store in the Twin Cities. Without a doubt, I wanted to get the fabric for our stockings there, but it took a lot of patience and multiple trips before I found what I wanted. Nice, Christmasy greens were hard to find, so I decided on a slivery gray for the main body that would allow me to easily accent with green. The final result was so satisfying! The only problem - I only made two. Here's hoping Crafty Planet stocks the same fabrics around Christmas time next year so I can make two more for future children. However, I'm open to kids' stockings being slightly different from ours. We'll just have to see.

Next up: Secret Santa gift! We did a Secret Santa/Snowman exchange at work in December. Being in a crafty mood, I decided to make the first gift for my gift recipient. This clutch was made using two matching quilting remnants I'd picked up from Joanne's a few years ago. I sewed a simple rectangle, tacked up one half, sewed the sides, and added a button from my button box. Needing a little extra touch, I found some pretty green yarn from my stash and two extra ornaments to add a bit of flair. Inside, my recipient found some dark Lindt chocolate with a hint of orange and almonds (SO yummy!) and a Christmas cd of an artist she enjoys.

"A little music to make the mood merry,
A little chocolate to make your day bright!"
Secret Santa

Now Christmas is over and presents have been given. Not to worry, though! The need to craft isn't gone. In fact, we'll be moving to a new place at the end of the month and I already have plans for curtains, place mats, table cloths, maybe a shower curtain, and such. Oh, and did I mention we'll be within walking distance of Crafty Planet? Mr. S is (understandably) concerned about the effect that will have on our pocketbook. I, however, am not! :)

Things to look forward to in the coming weeks:
1) Pictures of the monstrous snow storm we had the weekend before Christmas
2) Guest post (maybe two!) from Mr. S
3) Organizing and cleaning tips for moving
4) How to be creative with living spaces
5) A little surprise! :)

Keep coming back! I've missed this place.

~Ms. S

Crafty Is On The Way

So, my weekend (actually, the past several weekends) was filled with crafty things. Right now, I need to get to bed, but rest assured there are pictures on my camera and special things to share. Tomorrow night we're going to dinner with some friends, but hopefully I'll have the chance to post something once we get home. Like our Christmas stockings!

May your week be merry!
~Ms. S

Change is in the air

I have intentionally left this place for a while in order to give some serious thought to what I want this space to be and how I want it to function. After reading a guest post on a friend's blog a while back about starting a blog, I decided it would be beneficial to:
1. Think about my subject and decide whether or not that was the direction I wanted to go
2. Think about my audience
3. Revisit how often I post
4. Start my new job and evaluate how much energy I would have at the end of the day to create posts

There are some changes in the air for this little space of mine. In thinking about my subject matter, it occurred to me that I still really dislike cleaning, and that this blog hasn't really inspired me back into the neat-freak I happened to be when I met my husband. What has happened since starting this blog is a growth in my craft projects. And I enjoy sharing them here because I'm proud of the work I do, and like sharing pretty things with you. But...I don't want to simply focus on my projects because that's not me, and because I'm also proud of some of the home fix-it, cleaning, and organizing tasks I accomplish. I'll get to what this means for the blog in a minute - after addressing numbers 2-4 above.

Thinking about my audience was the hardest part for me. Who reads my blog now? Who do I want to read my blog? How do I get those people to follow my blog? Those are big questions to answer, and my (albeit short) experience working at a branding firm reiterates the importance of answering those questions. As far as I know, friends and family are the only people who read this regularly, but I don't actually know that since visitors rarely comment (I don't hold that against anyone, by the way, though comments always make my day). And I could say that I want people who enjoy Martha Stewart, Design*Sponge, Amy Butler, Hygge & West, etc to find my blog. But I started this blog for myself, and if this place isn't about me first and what I feel compelled to share, I will quickly lose motivation to update it. So...I blog for me. Is that a bad thing?

Three and four kind of go hand-in-hand. I have traditionally been posting when motivated and when I had the energy. My new job doesn't leave me nearly as exhausted at the end of the day as was the case last year. So having the energy to whip out a post is quite likely and completely reasonable. I will be starting classes this spring, but I don't anticipate that being so overwhelming I can't maintain this space.

So what does this mean? It means I will be sharing home organizing/cleaning/and fix-it stories and tips as I see fit - reviewing things I try, sharing my (often creative) steps to fixing certain items, and sharing solutions to issues I find helpful and useful. In trying to get away from the monotony of telling you about how many dishes I had to wash, or how, yet again, I failed to stick to my 'chores' schedule, or how the bathroom really needs to be cleaned, I've decided it would be a welcome break for me to be able to focus more on sharing my sewing and craft projects. With the Holidays coming up, you can expect to see more crafty things here. :) I still plan on only promising one post/week. Mostly because weekends are when I have the most time to work on my projects. But that's not to say I'll hold back if I have more to share.

Hopefully these changes will be just what's needed for a fresh start here. With snow on the ground here, I'm off to finish and begin some Christmas projects...and dig out our Christmas music (inspiration never hurts, you know)! Enjoy your Sunday.

~ Ms. S

Finally!

Some good news to share. As of Friday, I am officially employed! Yay!! The life of Ms. S will get infinitely more interesting on Tuesday when I start said job. I am hoping it will mean more motivation for projects around the apartment, and therefore more posts, too.

Yesterday I tackled a task I've been avoiding for, mmm, forever. Cleaning out my closet and dresser. It was surprisingly less scary than I anticipated. I knew I had a lot of clothes and that I never wore half of them. I didn't know I had four grocery bags full of unwanted clothes and one bag of shoes!! Whoa!

The inspiration for finally doing this project: a paycheck and the need for more work appropriate clothes. Not wanting to go shopping until I knew what I had (or didn't have), and until I had made room for new clothes, I decided I could no longer avoid my closet. And since I haven't really been clothes shopping since before I got married, I was kinda excited about the prospect of finally getting to do so. *This is the first time in our marriage that both of us are employed to our full potential, with full salaries and benefits.*

I started by taking all my clothes out of the dresser drawers and sorting them into piles: keep, maybe, give away. When all the drawers were done, I emptied out the closet (and remembered the clothes stored under the bed). Once all my clothes were in one of the piles, I looked at everything in my 'maybe' pile and determined if it would be kept or given away, and did one final look-through of my keep pile just to be sure. My give away piles went into brown paper grocery bags - four of them! I figured while I was at it I might as well do my shoes, too. One bag of shoes joined the bags of clothes.

Then!!! Mr. S and I went shoe shopping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I adore shoes. A lot. And have rarely stepped into a shoe store for about 4 years because we didn't have the money for me to indulge. Don't get me wrong - we didn't go crazy. Remember the last post about our cash budget? Yeah, we're still doing that (I managed $51.60 today!!), and are still intending to save - more aggressively now than we thought we'd be able to. But we both needed a pair of new shoes: Mr. S a pair of loafers, Ms. S a pair of brown dress shoes for work. My shoes are super cute brown suede wedges by Me Too. I'll take a special picture Tuesday - my first day of real work since August, 2008 - with my shoes so you can see them, too.

In the mean time, enjoy your weekend! We've certainly been enjoying ours.

~ Ms. S

Cash Budget

In yesterday's post, I mentioned having something more about grocery shopping later. Well, here it is!

Money is a little tight around here lately, so Mr. S and I have been examining our budget to determine what we can cut and where we can trim. I do most of the grocery shopping for our house (mostly because I can get in and out of the store more quickly than Husband most days), but both of us are pretty bad about spending more than we planned at the store. We love food, we love good food, and we both enjoy cooking. Needless to say, we both have ideas and upon entering the grocery store are totally enchanted by some of the things we see. All this to say, the grocery budget could definitely be trimmed.

We decided to put a couple systems in place. We've never been meal planners - that is to say, we rarely sit down once per week and figure out what we're going to eat everyday for dinner. This meant a lot of forgotten leftovers in the back of the fridge that had to be tossed, and remaining unaware of things already in the pantry to be used for that week's meals. Obviously, this needed to stop. I sat down yesterday and planned out our meals for the week, including space for consuming leftovers.

A lot of people go grocery shopping with a list. My mother, Husband's mother and sister, many of our friends. For whatever reason, we've never been list people. Even on days we tried to be good and go with a list, we'd end up with quite a few items in our cart that weren't on the list. (I did tell you the grocery store is an enchanted place for us. I wasn't lying.) Now our rule is you must make a list before setting foot in the grocery store, and you must stick to it!

The final system we put in place is a cash budget. As we thought about different ways to trim the grocery budget, we both knew if we pulled a certain amount of cash out of the bank each week and said, "That's all we have for groceries," our chances of actually trimming the budget might succeed. So, we now have an envelope on our fridge with our grocery money. On the front of the envelope we wrote: Week of: October 2-8, etc and a place to write down how much was spent that week. We've budgeted $50/week for groceries. For this first time around, we pulled two week's worth of cash for the envelope - nothing worse than getting to the checkout and needing an extra 4 dollars or something as you try out the system.

Alright, so we put these systems in place and I tried it out for the first time yesterday. I planned out this week's meals with our pantry in mind. We have lots of rice, pasta, and potatoes on hand, some fruit and veggies in the fridge...so I wanted to only pick up ingredients from the store that would round out our pantry for the week. I made my list and grabbed our envelope. During my shopping trip, I paid close attention to the cost/ounce or pound of the items I purchased, wanting to get the best value. Only one extraneous item made it into my cart - sweet potatoes because they were on a good sale this week. How did I fare? $55.13 for my first time out. Not too shabby! "But it's over your budget," you say. That is true, but some of the items like milk and cereal will last us for two weeks. Also, it was my first time using this system and most of my grocery trips were at least $70 or $80. I'm pretty proud of myself and Mr. S is proud of me, too. Mostly, I'm proud of us for finding a practical solution to this problem.

How do you budget for groceries? Do you have any systems in place?

Uninspired

Apologies for the lack of updates lately. The stress level in our house has been unusually high. People keep telling us, "You'll get through this." We're aware and appreciative of the insight, but it doesn't really help us right now. Most of my energy lately has gone into finding full-time employment. Therefore, my attention hasn't really been here. I'm hoping I find something amazing in the next few weeks and can refocus my energies to our Castle.

That's the other thing. Our apartment has been significantly more messy than usual due to our stress level. I know, I know. The mess = contributing to stress. Believe me, I know. So here's my assignment for tomorrow:

1. Dishes
2. Meal planning for the week
3. Grocery shopping (we have a new budget for this...I'm saving to post about later this week)
4. Clean our bedroom

It's a very doable list. And I'm keeping it doable because I need to feel like I'm accomplishing things. I'm also going to start a new sewing project so I have something to focus on besides staring at the computer conducting a job search/waiting longingly for an email reply or phone call.

How do you cope with stress? What do you do to stay sane?

Busy, busy, busy

Sorry for my lack of posts in the past two weeks. Life has been throwing us curve balls, and we've been scrambling to keep up. Do you ever experience those times where you feel like life couldn't possibly get more hectic, crazy, stressful? I'm not so good at dealing with it when it all comes all at once.

I finished filing our paper work from the past 4 years! Woo-hoo!! Thank goodness that's done. There are a couple things left before the project is complete, though. As you can see, I have two very full brown paper bags - one for recycling and one to be shredded. And I still have to figure out an in/out system for mail. Those are certainly small tasks in comparison to all the filing! Admittedly, when I finally sat down and did it, even with 4 years worth of paper it only took me an hour and a half to find the correct place for everything. That's not so bad.

I wanted to be sure to share the final results with you, and just recommend this system again. You can read about it here!

Happy weekend, all!

~ Ms. S

Sometimes this lady feels like a fool

Today I was reading a post over on Freya's blog at Brit Chick Runs laughing at her funny/random searches she found in her stats, and wondering how I could view stats on MY blog. Um....how 'bout by clicking on the huge 'Stats' tab, Ms. S!! Oh dear. So now I'm wondering: is this tab new or have I really just always overlooked it? Maybe I'm actually happier not knowing the answer to that question.

Having discovered this new-to-me tab, though, I'm blown away by the page that shows me where my readers are! Ok, first of all - I have readers!!! Who knew?! I was very much under the impression that my friends and a few family members were the only ones who trekked this way. But no. From Canada, to the UK, to Demark, Germany, Austria, Latvia, China, South Korea, and South Africa! Wow!! [Side note: Latvia stands out to me because my brother in-law spent a year there as an exchange student and loved it; and I actually studied in Austria for the month of January my sophomore year in college - gorgeous!] This is one of those times where logically I tell myself that when I post something on the world wide web, it can of course be viewed world wide, but continue to pinch myself nonetheless.

It's probably a good thing I discovered this tab. Knowing there are more readers out there than I thought provides excellent motivation to update more frequently. Though it should be noted: I love comments! It's how I know you come to my space and read the words I write. I'm a friendly person, I promise, and enjoy 'meeting' new people. So don't be shy! Let me know you visited!

In other news, I've decided with this much time on my hands I should learn how to do some basic redesign for the blog. Really, I decided this yesterday and spent hours trying to download GIMP with no success because X11 isn't on our computer. And the installation disc is at home in Iowa. Download it from Apple's website, you say? Oh no! After I'd spent a good number of hours trying to get it to download properly, Husband took a stab at it with no more luck than me. *sigh* I guess I'm just going to have to wait a little bit, but I am very excited to get to work. Mostly, I have plans for the header. Maybe if that's successful I'll venture into other things.

And finally, my project for tonight. Filing. Honestly, it's going to be a tedious task - we have stuff from 2006 all the way up to today that needs a home. I've had this project ready to go since last year a really long time ago, but have put it off because looking at the stack of papers makes me want to fly in the other direction. Of course, that just means the papers keep piling up.

I was inspired yesterday to tackle something bigger today after reading this blog post from Real Simple that seemed to be written just for me. In her post, Erin Doland talks about common excuses used for putting off home organizing and cleaning tasks. I'm guilty of using the first two: I'm messy and I don't have time. But here's the thing. I, Ms. S, am prone to messiness - my family (husband and myself) is not, as Mr. S is quite tidy. And not having time? Yeah, being mostly unemployed I have plenty of time.

This morning I had to go through our files to find some information for a job application. Rather than putting everything back where it has been, I decided to leave it out to put it away properly tonight. What does 'properly' mean in this instance? An excellent question.

My sister in-law provided me with an article last summer about creating an easy home organizing system after she used it and liked it. The article is from the April 2009 Better Homes and Gardens magazine called 'Paper Trail' by Joanna Smith. I tried searching for the article online, but didn't find it. It's a 5 step process, so it's easy to follow. And what I like most is that reader Bobbie Ambuske, who shared this system with BHG, recommends using 12 pocket accordion files for your permanent storage. Here's what I like about this system: it keeps all important items from one year in a single, compact place, and once you enter into your eighth year (it's recommended to keep up to 7 years on file), you can easily reuse the accordion folders - all you have to do is change the year the folder is labeled. So simple! I've filed all of our paper work from 2009 using this method and really love it - I've just been bad about keeping up with 2010 and moving all the paper work prior to 2009.

Here's how I make it work for me. The categories I file are: Income - pay stubs; Investments - 401-K, IRAs; Giving - all charitable giving; Insurance - car, home; Medical - bills & statements; Taxes - once completed; Banking - statements once reconciled (yes, it's a good idea to print them off); Receipts - big items or returns only; Utilties - water, electric, gas; Paid Bills - internet, phone, Netflix, etc; Credit; Loans. You should only use categories that make sense for you. This is the part I'm good at - determining what categories work best for us and then filing appropriately (and shredding whatever is unnecessary to be filed). Additionally, we keep the article at the front of the folder for the current year, just so be sure both Mr. S and I are clear on how it all works. But there is another component to this system that I have yet to implement successfully.

The article recommends having two trays or baskets - one for receipts, the other for bills to pay - and placing them in a spot that's easily accessible and visible. The idea is to "follow the "touch it once" rule for receipts and mail." In other words, upon receiving and opening mail, you place it in its appropriate place: basket, recycling bin, or shredder. Brilliant, right? Following this would lead to a life of significantly less paper clutter. I just haven't hit on the implementation of this system that works well for me, and therefore works well for Husband.


Do you have any suggestions for such a seemingly simple task? Are you good about immediately filing paper work at home, or do you let it pile up? What kind of a system do you use?


~ Ms. S

Check out Iowa Girl Eats!!

Ack! My guest post appeared on Iowa Girl Eats today and of course I haven't been here to write in a week! Silly me. Well, as Kristin and Ben travel in Italy, she has been posting others' favorite vacations. I wrote about our recent trip to the Oregon Coast, but you will also find two other amazing vacations - a trek across Europe and a honeymoon to Italy! Go check it out! Her readers have been just about everywhere, it seems.

Alright, quick update. The house (ok, apartment) is a disaster as Husband and I have been out of two many weekends in a row and have been bad about unpacking upon getting home. For example, we finally put the camping gear away from a weekend away literally right before leaving for a weekend in Iowa. Now all the laundry I did at home (in Iowa) is still sitting in the laundry baskets in the living room. So this weekend we will be purging a bit. Because it's become a sty! *and no pictures were taken because they'd be way too embarrassing...even though you've seen my underwear drawer.*

Here's to a lovely evening. And cheering on the Vikings!!!

~Ms. S

"What's wrong with kids these days?"

I'm having a hard time figuring out what to call today's post. Probably because there are a million thoughts running through my head (like last time) and I haven't actually decided what to write about yet. Does that ever happen to you? Too many thoughts to focus in on just one? It happens to me more often than I'd like.

Still no luck on the job front, though I have landed two very part time gigs and one of them actually involves cleaning! A friend of a friend from church just had a baby via C-section about two weeks ago, and she also has a 13 month old son. Needless to say, she needs some help with household chores for the next month, as well as with her oldest child since she's restricted in how much she can lift and bend over. She is also legally blind - she and her family moved into a new townhouse literally three days before she gave birth, so she hasn't yet completed learning her new home. So far I've helped her sweep, mop, clean the bathroom, and vacuum. But I've also gotten to play with her oldest son and feed him breakfast. Truly a lovely woman with two adorable boys.

My other job is helping out with an after school program working specifically with preschoolers. I know. Haven't I been trying to avoid that? Well, let's just say that it's not my ideal job, but I love working with this age and it's such a short amount of time and not in a classroom setting that it's all good.

Today, though, I think I want to address something I overheard on my way to work today. As I was waiting for the Light Rail train to take me to the after school program, I heard two ladies talking and couldn't help but over hear part of a conversation about Christmas gifts. One of them was telling a story about an expensive gift she'd gotten for a nephew who'd "always been a brat." He didn't like the particular gift she'd given him, so she told him not to expect anymore Christmas cards (which I assume also meant gifts) from her. She was disgusted and went on to say that her other brothers kids were always grateful for whatever they received. The woman she was talking to just shook her head and said, "What's wrong with kids these days?"

They didn't ask me, so I kept my mouth shut, but the beauty of this space is that I can open it and answer them anyway. :)

I don't understand this particular reaction from people, because in reference to this specific story there are plenty of examples of children from hundreds of years ago who weren't thankful for a gift they received. So what is so different about this situation that makes all kids today thankless, as the question implies? The context is different, perhaps, and people tend to have many more gadgets, possessions, and 'things,' but all of those together only illustrate how surroundings are different.

Having heard something during this story about buckskins that had been in the family for years, I put some pieces together for myself (not sure if they're correct). Did the woman telling this story gift a buckskin to this "always been a brat" nephew? Let's pretend this is the case. Part of being a good gift-giver is doing your best to give something you think the recipient will like and/or want. That can definitely be challenging sometimes, but you know, there's nothing wrong with asking if there's something that someone wants if you're a little stumped. It may not be quite as much fun, but you can be sure your recipient will be thrilled. Whereas, getting them something you would want without thinking about their interests....well, no one can really blame them if they aren't interested. Ok, so the buckskins were clearly important and of value to this lady, but they might not have been to her nephew (understandable, in my opinion. What in the world do you do with buckskins?!). Does his lack of interest in this gift really warrant a grand sweep of something being wrong with all kids these days?

Maybe this kid really is thankless and has been for a long time, but maybe he just thinks his aunt is really weird and that her gifts are a bit strange. I wouldn't blame him. But I also wouldn't lay the blame on him if has "always been" the "brat" his aunt claims he has been. In my experience, most bratty kids are the way they are because of parenting choices made by those raising them. *Please note, I said "most." There are certainly exceptions.* Kids are by and large a product of their surroundings. Manners and grace are learned qualities and different from culture to culture, society to society. Was this nephew ever taught to how to gracefully accept gifts - even those he was less excited about? Did his parents teach him to write thank you notes for gifts he received? Maybe not, and if so that's hardly his own fault. Did his parents talk about the 'crazy' gifts they always received from someone? If so, and if he heard that from a young age, it's no wonder he came across as thankless.

I'm would never call myself an etiquette snob, though I am a stickler for manners. Comments like "What's wrong with kids these days?" just irritate me because it implies superiority to all young people in the person who said it. In my experience, those who choose to make such a comment are rarely justified in their superiority.

Thank you for letting me rant just a little.

~Ms. S

Hodge-Podge

This will be a mishmash of a post, mostly because there are a number of very unrelated thoughts going on in my head at the moment. So consider yourself warned.

First up, two fix-it projects. Remember the under-the-counter lighting Mr. S installed a while back that he was so proud of? Well, one of the brackets that holds the cord up underneath the cabinets kept falling out. We'd stick it back up only to have it fall out again in a matter of days or hours. Mr. S assured me he was going to make a trip to the hardware store and pick up items to fix it...but then a week passed, and another one, and I got impatient. I also got creative.

To fix this problem (it is rather annoying to have an electric cord hanging down on your counter, after all), I grabbed a twist tie, a thumb tack, and a hammer. I folded the twist tie in half around the cord and twisted a few times to make a slightly loose loop. Then I put the two ends of the twist tie together, and twisted them to make another, smaller loop - smaller than the base of the thumb tack. I lifted the whole contraption up, moved the twist tie along the cord under the cabinet until it was in a spot to hold the cord up and off the counter. I placed the thumb tack into the middle of the empty loop and hammered that baby into place under the kitchen cabinets. Fixed in less than 5 minutes and didn't cost a dime!

The second fix-it project (I don't have pictures of - sorry!) involved the door handle on our bathroom door, which decided to fall off and not go back on. After at least a month and a half of 'just dealing with it,' Husband asked me to call our landlord to come fix it (and in the same breath mentioned it was likely something he could do himself, but what good is a landlord if you don't put him to use?). Personally, I'd rather do it myself if I can. So I did. We have a door that closes off the main living area from the hallway to the bathroom and bedroom. I noticed on the back of that door there was an 'extra' handle that matched the one on our bathroom door (but, oddly enough, not the one on the other side of the door it was originally on). I took the handle off the back of the hallway door and put it on the bathroom door instead, then took the old knob from the bathroom door and put it on the back of the door we rarely use. Genius!! Problem solved.

Alright now for something totally unrelated. Who wants to talk about chickens?

Source: Tom Curtis / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What? Yes, chickens. Husband been talking for some time now about wanting to raise chickens once we have a house. With a yard. To be perfectly honest, minus a few reservations I was mostly on board with the idea. I like knowing where my food comes from, how it was raised, and that it's healthy. Additionally, I enjoy animals and think the prospect of going out into my own back yard to get eggs for our home is pretty sweet. I'm slightly worried about bothering neighbors, and raccoons bothering a hen house. But then I read this post yesterday by Rachel from Memories of Mine to Thine and decided my hang-ups were way lame. You really should read her post - not only has she given significantly more thought to the subject (and done more research), she owns a brood of hens! After reading her post and watching the video she included, raising our own chickens is a no-brainer. But what to do in the meantime (because we don't have our own house, let alone a back yard yet)?

Rachel mentions some good options: checking out farmer's markets and building a relationship with the farmers there, Googling the brands carried at your grocery store to find out more about the source and ultimately finding a safe one. There was one she didn't mention, though, and that's Co-Ops. Here in MN, at least, farmer's markets are seasonal, but many of those very same farmers source eggs at the Co-Ops in town. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, the Seward Co-Op has a great page explaining what a food cooperative is and how it works.) We aren't yet members of Co-Op, but there are a number close-by from which to choose.

For now, we'll be frequenting our neighborhood Co-Ops more regularly and purchasing all our eggs and meat there. It's a bit more expensive than our grocery store, but we don't buy that much meat. And more importantly, I'd rather pay more to support farming practices I agree with and have a better idea of where my food is coming from than continuing to overlook the problem. What do you think? Would you raise chickens?


I don't remember the last thing I was going to write about. I know it had something to do with another blog I'd read yesterday... Yeah. Not coming to me. So you're saved from one more random thing being added to this post. Has it cooled down where you are? It sure has here, and I'm enjoying the fall-like weather. I hope you are, too.

~ Ms. S

My Fairy Godmother

Normally, I'm not a superstitious person, and I rarely feel desperate for luck. But my phone interview proved to be a different boat. Having had two unsuccessful phone interviews prior to the one on Thursday, I kicked my rear in gear to prep for it and was totally exhausted by Wednesday night. I was also completely stressed out! So I popped Cinderella into the DVD player and pulled out my Disney Princess Coloring Book and colored pencils. (If you know me well, this is not strange.)

As the movie started, I tried to decide on a picture to color. For some reason my mind immediately told me "You should color the picture of Cinderella trying on the glass slipper with the mice and birds cheering around her, because that slipper is like the job you're interviewing for - it's the perfect fit, you just have to make them see that, too." That's the pictured I colored while singing loudly along to "Cinderelly, Cinderelly, night and day it's Cinderelly..." and all the other songs. :)

Throughout the movie I kept wishing I had my own fairy godmother who could accompany me to my interview. (My cellphone doesn't get great reception in our apartment, so I went to Mr. S's work place and used one of their empty rooms.) Then it occurred to me: I DO have a fairy godmother!! And she can totally come along!

This dear lady usually sits on my bookshelf, but it was terribly important she sit nearby during my phone interview on Thursday. Do I sound like a crazy person yet? I feel a little bit like one. Anyway, my fairy godmother traveled in my purse and perched on the desk in the empty office I was using. And a good thing, too! When my call came, it became clear I had been incorrectly informed about the position for which I was interviewing. To keep things simple: I applied for two jobs in the same department at the same place, but the positions are totally different. They were conducting phone interviews for both this week, and my scheduler had told me my phone interview was for one position when it was actually for the other. Whew! My fairy godmother waved her magic wand, muttered 'Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!' and helped me change my frame of reference.

Overall, the interview went well. It was nowhere near perfect, and since I'd spent my time preparing answers for a different position, my thoughts weren't quite as concise as I would have liked. Oh well! It is what it is. Hopefully I'll get a call about in-person interviews next week. That would make me feel a lot better.

Since the bathroom is clean and the dishes are done, I think I'm going to find another picture to color. Have you colored any pictures recently? If not, I highly recommend giving it a try.

~ Ms. S

Phone Interviews

I know, I know. Another post seemingly having nothing whatsoever to do with organizing or cleaning. It's just that this is what has been consuming my week, so bear with me because, while it may not involve any cleaning (in fact, it has become a hinderance to it), it does involve organizing.

This is what I have been working on all week in preparation for tomorrow's phone interview for a position I really want. I've had two phone interviews so far for different positions and haven't made it onto the next round. This time I want it to be different. I found a website that lists common questions asked during a phone interview along with links to what they consider to be good answers. To prepare, I have been typing out my responses to nearly every question - even questions of a similar nature. I'm hoping this will help me keep my thoughts sorted out, minimize long pauses and 'um's, etc, as I plan on printing this out keeping it and a copy of my resume in front of me.

Fingers crossed.

Have you ever had a phone interview? What are your best tips?


~Ms. S

Friends

This morning we got up early to meet some good friends for breakfast. They're here from out of town - well, a lot of friends are, actually. You see, there was a wedding on Sunday. Correction. There was a lovely wedding on Sunday of some dear friends which means a whole slew of college friends have been in town recently. Mr. S and I aren't complaining. Have I told you about our weekly potluck? I can't remember, so humor me.

Mr. S lived with some good friends his senior year of college, and a number of those friends (plus significant others) now gather every Thursday for a potluck dinner. Someone emails the group early in the week to "claim" hosting duties and generate a theme. (As a very random side note, we just lost power for no apparent reason. I love it when that happens, don't you?) Right. Anyway, over the course of the past (two years? I don't actually know how long this has been happening), some of the potluck crew has moved away for various reasons, but mostly grad school. Always, others have come along to replenish the numbers so that potluck regularly consists of about 18 people total.

The couple married on Sunday is part of the potluck crew, and is part of the original crew, I believe. Suffice it to say, many college friends were reunited this weekend. There was an epic potluck on Thursday with more people than ever, an engagement announced, a celebration of three other recent engagements (I know! Wedding explosion!!), lots of wedding talk by the ladies, lots of beer consumed by the gentlemen while avoiding the wedding talk, and general enjoyment of being surrounded by good friends again. Friday was the bachelorette party. Sunday was the wedding (so. much. fun.). Last night we gathered for a birthday party (same group, plus a few more) and to say goodbye to some of the potluck crew moving away. And then met with one of the couples for breakfast this morning. Whew! I didn't know we had it in us to be this social. But truly we wouldn't have it any other way.

So today I'm choosing to write about friends instead of telling you how miserably I've failed at keeping up with The Cleaning Schedule for the last week and a half. And we won't mention the bathroom - besides finding a spider in the shower! this morning! Eeek. Or the dishes I was supposed to do yesterday that are still sitting on the counter. Or, or, or. *However, I DID make the bed this morning!* Nope. I'm writing about friends because it feels good be surrounded by such wonderful people; because I'm sad about our friends who are moving away, though happy they'll be in the same city as our sisters so we'll see them more often; because I'm so happy for our friends who were married this weekend - their wedding was beautiful and they were so visibly happy; because I wish this entire group could all live in the same neighborhood so it could be kind of like college where you could always find a friend by walking across the hall, except we wouldn't be in dorms and we'd be more grown up (well, at least older). While the latter isn't likely to happen, I will continue to wish it. In the meantime, I will enjoy these moments when we are all together. Good friends can be hard to come by. We are lucky to have so many.


~ Ms. S 


ps - try as i might to find a photo of all of us (one does exist!), no one has yet uploaded it to facebook. once that happens, i will update this post with a photo - and hope no one in the group minds. :)