Today

I don't want to clean my house today. I don't want to cook anything, clean anything or take care of anyone today.

Today, I am just tired. My soul feels weary and my spirit depleted. My body is aching and my eyes are gritty. The stress in my personal life has finally gotten to the point where it is manifesting itself in a myriad of ways.

So, I think I know what I am going to do. I'm going to lie down in the backyard and feel the breeze. I'm going to listen to the birds and gaze upon the flowers. I might just stay there all day.

I might just let everything else fall apart while I put myself back together.

Spring!!

The tulips are up...hope springs eternal!

Whole wheat and honey bread

I used to make this bread once a week. Every week...In keeping with my plan to get back on track I had a kitchen day today. I scrubbed everything down and made this bread, pineapple and bran muffins and chocolate cake. The cake is wrapped and put away, waiting to be iced tomorrow for dinner. The muffins are in the freezer waiting to be eaten for breakfast next week.


Here's my whole wheat and honey bread recipe.


3 cups whole wheat flour
4 cups white flour
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 Tablespoon yeast
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp. salt

I just dump everything in my kitchen aid and knead it with the dough hook. If you don't have a mixer with dough hooks you get to get your hands dirty! I put it into a big, oiled bowl (turn the dough in the oil once) and let it rise about an hour and a half (or until doubled). Then I shape it into 2 loaves and let them rise again in greased loaf pans. I use 8 inch pans for this. Today, I let the loaves rise a bit too much on the second rising, (I had to run out for a minute) so the loaves are a wee bit misshapen :) But that's okay they're still just as tasty! After the second rising bake the loaves in a 375 degree oven for about half an hour. Easy!!

Spring Menu

In an effort to simplify things around here I've put together a two week dinner rotation for spring. I'm hoping to go through this for 3 cycles for a total of six weeks. I think by that point we'll all be thoroughly sick and tired of the menus and looking forward for something new!

I'm doing this because I'm fed up of coming up with menus once a week! The breakfast portion of the meal plan will be the same every week but that's okay :)

I didn't bother with the lunch menus because the kids make their own lunches with what's on hand and they all take something different.

I did the groceries for two full weeks today. I shouldn't have to go back to the store except for a few produce items...we'll see how it goes!

Spring Menu


Breakfast
monday------cereal or toast, oj
tuesday----- smoothie, boiled egg
wednesday--- pumpkin or banana loaf or bagels and cream cheese, oj
thursday----- oatmeal with fruit and nuts
friday-------- cherry or currant coffeecake or fruit muffins

Dinner
monday------ hamburgers or hot dogs, chips and salsa
tuesday------ chicken pot pie, salad
wednesday--- carrot & sw potato soup, brie, bread, crudites and cake for dessert
thursday----- tuna casserole, green and yellow beans, carrots
friday-------- baked beans, coleslaw, cornbread
saturday----- pasta w/tomatoes, artichokes and bacon, salad
sunday------- stewed chicken, new potatoes, bok choy, beets, biscuits
monday------ grilled sausages, potato salad, green salad, bread
tuesday------ cajun pork loin, sauteed greens, cheese cornbread
wednesday--- pea & spinach soup, cheddar, bread, cake for dessert
thursday----- lemon sole, sweet potatoes, broccoli
friday-------- falafels on pita bread, pudding
saturday----- baked potatoes w/broccoli, cheese and bacon, salad
sunday------- lasagna or pizza, salad, bread

*****alternate meals (just in case I have one of those days!)
veggie fried rice, grilled cheese and tomato soup

Chocolate chip cookies

This is the best chocolate chip recipe ever! Seriously. I'm not sure where the recipe originally came from but I've made it so often in the last 5 years that I know it by heart.

*Chocolate chip cookies*

Mix the following:

1 cup of butter or margarine

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

Add and beat well:

1 egg

Mix in:

2 cups of flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips or chopped semi-sweet chocolate (I used a mixture of both in the cookies in the picture)

Drop by tablespoonfuls on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9 to 10 minutes. Take out when they are just beginning to get golden brown. This important! This way they come out soft and chewy.

What I've been reading...

In commenting on a blog that I read, Beauty that Moves (http://beautythatmoves.typepad.com/beauty_that_moves/ check it out!) I wrote about some books that I 've been reading. It's actually just the tip of the iceberg!! So I thought I'd copy the reviews here and add a few more...

-Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman (excellent, had me laughing and crying out loud. A young girl from a dysfunctional familly goes to live with her great aunt in Savannah, Georgia. What a cast of characters!)
-The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister (beautiful, lyrically written. And the food descriptions were fabulous. I didn't want it to end.)
-Blackout by Connie Willis (Sci-fi. Gripping and exciting BUT has a horrible clffhanger ending and the rest of the book isn't out until October 2010. Frustrating to say the least!)
-In a Perfect World by Laura Kasischke (dark and haunting. What happens after a plague dessimates the population. What makes a family. I loved this book, although I didn't love the ending, because I felt that it ended too soon and stops short. I'm hoping Kasischke writes a sequel.)
-Balancing Acts by Zoe Fishman (Women and yoga. Need I say more. Nothing too deep here, but it was entertaining. Although I did find the dialogue a bit mundane and simplistic.)
-The Things that Keep us Here by Carla Buckley (Another dark novel set during an epidemic. Didn't love this one as much as Laura Kasischke's. Still, it was worth reading.)
-The Postmistress by Sarah Blake (I may be shot for this, since so many people really liked this book but I didn't love it. I couldn't seem to get invested in the characters and had to force myself to finish it. Interesting premise and the story itself was okay but all in all, the book left me cold.)
-Shanghai Girls by Lisa See ( I don't usually read alot of fiction set in Asia, but the book sounded interesting so I picked it up. Set just before the Japanese invasion of China and ending in the late 50's in America this book was really good. I learnt so much from it. And it was extremely well written. Loved it.)
-Good Things, Table Manners and The Sweet Life by Mia King ( I really liked these books. The first two are based on the same characters, so read Good Things first. Sort of fluffy, but good for reading when you want to lose yourself but don't want anything too heavy. I like the way these women pull themselves up by their bootstraps and change things in their lives. Inspirational in a way if that's what you're attempting to do in your own life.)
-The Girl who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen ( Just like her first book this one is set in a magical place that makes you wish you lived there. Her characters are quirky and interesting and she writes them in a way that you feel you know them. If you need some magic in your life, read this one and her other two as well.)
-Angels of Destruction by Keith Donahue (A little girl shows up at an elderly woman's house in the middle of a snowstorm. Who is she? Is she an angel? Really well written book. Intriguing concept. Illustrates the need for connection that we all feel. Loved this.)

That's it for now. Not because I haven't read any other books lately but because it's time that I get up and get some work done!!

Schedules

Along comes fall and everything changes. Kids go back to school or start the homeschooling year or as in my case, both. In the summer I try to get all my cleaning, grocery shopping and other errands out of the way in one day. Impossible to do during the school year. So, time to set up some new schedules. We'll see how it goes!


House routine

M -Launder sheets and towels. Water plants. Clean 2 bathrooms. Dust, sweep, wash floors etc... on main floor. Collect garbage. Put out recycling.

T -Take out garbage. clean kitchen. cooking and baking projects.

W-Do groceries, get gas and run other errands. Clean upstairs.

S -Kids clean bedrooms and rec room. Vacuum basement and change kitty litter.


Workout routine

M -functional fitness exercises, long walk/hike

T -ff exercises, strength training, short walk

W-ff, walk/jog

Th-ff, strenth training, short walk

F -ff, walk/jog

Sa-ff, strength training


Nathan homeschool routine

M -grammar, spelling, math, canadian history, art

T -grammar, spelling, math, canadian history, cooking, french

W -grammar, spelling, math, american history

Th-grammar, spelling, amth, french, creative writing, science

F -poetry, literature, creative writing, science