WIWW January 29

Another week documenting what I wore.  Here the outfits:

• Sophie and I went to storytime at Chick-Fil-A

Target:  gray pants, navy top, blue floral cardigan, gray quilted flats

Jewelry:  It's difficult to see but those are roses, with a crystal in the middle.  I decided a little sparkle was needed.

 

• I spent the day cleaning and doing laundry.  Sophie was a little congested so she just hung out with me.  I went with comfy since we just stayed home.

jeans from Old Navy, top and flats from Target, the earrings were made by my mom

 

 

• I subbed at the preschool so I just wore jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers.  I knew I was going to be on the floor playing with toddlers and running around on the playground.  I did wear some jewelry, a necklace and the bracelet the staff and families gave me when I left as director.

 

• I took Logan and my nephew to a Chinese New Year dinner then went out with my sister for drinks and dancing.  Everything's from Target or Payless.

 

 

• I spent 2 days in outfits I wouldn't take pictures of.  My sister and I spent a day putting together freezer crockpot meals and making homemade cleaning stuff.  The next day I spent straightening the house, it was a complete disaster after the kids played all weekend.
• Sophie went to Kidspark while I ran some errands and did some shopping.



 





Brown cords: from Target

Shirt:  I don't know, I've had it a while.

Boots:  Payless

I was going to get my jewelry checked and cleaned so I wore my wedding setting necklace.  I'm not wearing a watch because it needs a new battery (one of the errands for the day).  The whole outfit felt a little "slouchy" but it was comfortable.  I didn't do a layered look because it was really hot today...and very windy so I'm prepared for a ponytail.

 

Check out more outfits at Pleated Poppy.



Pinterest Tuesday January 29

My sister came into town this weekend so we could put together some freezer crockpot meals and cleaning stuff, everything found on Pinterest.

Here's a list of all we did:

• General Household Cleaner
• Daily Shower Cleaner
• Carpet Deodorizer
• Laundry Detergent
• Dryer Sheet
• Black Bean Taco Soup
• Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
• Maple Dijon Glazed Chicken
• Brown Sugar Chicken
• Honey Garlic Chicken
• Salsa Chicken
• One Pot Italian Chicken
• Apple Pear Pork
• Chinese Chicken
• Chicken Teriyaki
• Taco Meat
• Plain Browned Ground Beef (for other recipes)

MPM January 28

Here are the meals we ate last week:

• Monday:  Dinner out at Johnny Carrino's

Carrino's has a special on Monday nights (half priced family platters) so we had spaghetti and meatballs, with soup and salad.

• Tuesday:  Russian Apricot Chicken

This was okay but nothing too special.  I served it with rice.

• Wednesday:  Potato Soup and Salad

Sophie ate some of the soup this time around.  Yay!!

• Thursday:  Chicken Roll-ups

These were really good.  I took one for lunch the next day to eat with my soup.

• Friday:  CORN/Leftovers

Since Paul got home so late each night, he'd already had dinner.  We had a lot of leftovers so I decided to switch of the plan.

• Saturday:  Chinese New Year Dinner or Fish Sticks

My sister and her kids were in town.  I took Logan and Matthew to a dinner while Kelly stayed home with the girls.

• Sunday:  Dinner Out at Carrino's

After spending all day putting together freezer crockpot meals, I didn't feel like cooking so we went out.  Carrino's was the place we could all agree on.

Here's what I have planned for this week:

• Monday:  Honey Garlic Chicken (one of the freezer crockpot meals we did yesterday)
• Tuesday:  Meatloaf and Potatoes
• Wednesday:  Sessler Salads
• Thursday: Enchilada Chicken Tacos
• Friday:  Fruit and Pork Crockpot (another freezer meal)
• Saturday:  CORN/Leftovers
• Sunday:  Football Foods

You can check out more menus at Organzing Junkie.

My Idea: Fitted Flat Sheet

The toddler bedding that I got for Sophie had a flat sheet as well as the fitted sheet.  The coolest thing was that the flat sheet had elastic in one end so it would stay in place.  I asked my mom to take the elastic out of one of Sophie's old crib sheet and add a hem.  It was short but it worked just fine.

Now, I just have to figure out how to do it for my sheets.

Scrapping Saturday January 26

I decided to finally do some work on several small projects this week.

• Halloween Album (black & white stripes):  All I did this week is get this years pictures printed.  I'll need to design a couple of pages and put them in.  I also need to create a title page using my cricut, then it will be up-to-date.
• Grandkids Album for Grandma Noi (animals):  This is just a pocket album, but it's the easiest way to give Grandma pictures.  I hadn't added any photos since we brought Logan home so I printed out enough to fill this album.  It has space to jot down descriptions and notes about the photos.  I'll add those a little at a time until I see her and then continue journalling when I go visit.

• Christmas Album (large red):  This is the second volume that starts with 2010.  I hadn't designed the pages yet, so that was the first thing I did.  Then I added photos to get it caught up.  I need to figure out what I want to do for the title page (and the ending page of the the first volume).  Once I get that done, this album is done until next Christmas...unless other family members have photos to add.

 

 

• Sophie Baby Book (pink):  This album was a gift and I've been debating about whether I would use it or not since I already had a larger one that I did for her.  I decided to go ahead even though it will be difficult since it has pages with prompts to fill in and I don't think I remember all the details.  I had already printed some photos so I put those in and started working on the journaling.

Yes, that's my belly with temporary tattoos that were given to me by a co-worker,

• Birthday Books:  I found this book when Sophie was teeny tiny.  After we were matched with Logan I realized that I could adjust it and make it work for him too, so I bought a second one.  This is another one that you add to each year so I had some catching up.  I printed pictures and made notes of other memorabilia that I need.  It also has you do interviews and such with the child so I started those as well.

 

Although I didn't do a bunch of layouts this week, it felt good to get some things completed.

Pinterest Tuesday January 22

• Card Books (no link, just a picture)

I actually started doing these a couple of years ago but decided to update them with some more recent cards.  I just used a hole punch and some binder rings.  I have a couple of books in the bathroom and another couple by the calm down chair.

WIWW January 23

So, I wore a lot of the new stuff I bought last week, but did try to add some of my old stuff too.  (the outfits aren't in order by day, it's just how they downloaded.)

Outfit 1:  Church then lunch with the family

• tank and cardigan from Old Navy
• pants, rings and earrings from Target
• boots from Payless
• jade elephant necklace was a gift from the hubby and kids for Mothers Day

Outfit 2:  We spent the long weekend visiting my parents and my sister in East Texas.  Before we headed home we took the kids to a new park so I dressed comfortably and ready to play.

• top and earrings from Target
• jeans from Old Navy
• sneakers from a running store

Outfit 3:  Shopping with Sophie Rose

• cords, tank, cardigan, earrings, rings, and belt (from a dress) all from Target
• boots from Payless
• the necklace was the original setting in my engagement ring

Outfit 4: Girls Day Out with Sophie Rose

• jeans from Old Navy
• tank, top, and earrings from Target
• necklace was a gift several years ago
• gray quilted flats from Target

Outfit 5: Before we headed to East Texas, I took Sophie to her first dance lesson.  After having dinner with my parents, I headed to my sister's for some much needed sister-time.

• top, pants, and shoes from Target
• ring from Payless Shoe Source

Outfit 6: Took the kids to an indoor play park.  Logan had to take this picture for me.  There's no good place for me to do a self-photo.

• jeans, tank, cardigan, and earrings from Target
• boots and rings from Payless

Okay, so what did I learn this week?

• I definitely feel better about myself when I take the extra time to actually get dressed in an "outfit" that includes jewelry.
• I like having a "formula" for outfits. Pants+tank+top+non sneaker shoes+at least 4 pieces of jewelry=outfit.
• My jewelry includes watch, my wedding set, earrings, plus necklace and/or bracelet.  I'm keeping my eyes open for earrings that are more of the "statement" type.  I did find a new necklace that I'll wear this next week.  But I tend to keep my necklaces to the sentimental ones that have been given to me as gifts.  I also have several bracelets that have some impact, unfortunately they don't always work when I'm wearing a cardigan.
• I like the new boots but I won't be wearing them when I walk Logan home from school.
• Since I walk Logan to school, I found it easier to just throw on something for the walk and then get ready after I got back home.  I also found that taking the time to get completely ready before I started the rest of my chores worked best.  If I don't I tend to skip stuff (like make-up or jewelry).
• Although, some of the outfits were not what I would normally thought looked good (like green pants and blue tank, or teal pants and light green top), I figured the outfits still looked better than t-shirts and sneakers.
• My kids noticed the difference.  Sophie loved my purple earrings, and kept telling the store clerks while we were shopping.
• My 6-year old son takes better pictures then my hubby.

Check out more outfits and maybe find some inspiration at the Pleated Poppy.

MPM January 21

Here are the meals we ate last week:

• Sunday: Cola BBQ Chicken  This turned out really good.  I did use an orange instead of a lemon because I'd forgotten to buy one at the store.
• Monday: Panko Crusted Flounder

 

• Tuesday:  Italian Buttered Shrimp with Angelhair Pasta  For some reason this wasn't as good as the first time so the kids and I ended up eating cereal.
• Wednesday:  Sessler Salads (a gourmet salad I purchase with chicken and a specialty dressing)
• Thursday:  Pineapple Chinese Chicken and Rice  This was good although Logan wouldn't eat the pineapples.
• Friday:  Crockpot Pasta Pizza  I thought this was a little dry.  I did half the recipe and just used beef (no sausage), so that may have made a difference.

We went to my parents for the long weekend and my step-dad grilled out for us.

• Saturday:  Grilled Hot Dogs and Smores
• Sunday:  Burgers

I also made a buttermilk pie using a Homemade Gourmet mix.  It was the first time I'd ever had it and omigoodness, it was so wonderful.  Now I'm on the hunt for a recipe since I can't get the mix anymore.

Here's the plan for this week:

• Monday:  Dinner out at Johnny Carrino's
• Tuesday:  Russian Apricot Chicken
• Wednesday:  Potato Soup
• Thursday:  Enchilada Chicken Tacos
• Friday:  Chicken Roll-ups
• Saturday:  Sister's Salmon Patties
• Sunday:  CORN/Leftovers

You can check out more menus at Organzing Junkie.

Scrapping Saturday

I'm trying to get more scrapbooking done because I have all these small, specific-themed albums that are only partially completed.  I know I'll always be a little behind on our yearbook but these smaller projects need to get finished...NOW!  With that in mind I pulled out the Christmas album I started a few years ago to work on while I've been under the weather.  I found a bunch of pictures from when my mom was a child and started with them.  Then I chose a specific design for each decade since then and put the pictures on a 2-page spread for each year.  Some years are full, while others only have a couple of pictures.  My plan is that other family members may be able to add to the album.  In recent years, I've tried to include photos that have groups in them or Santa pictures.

Here are some of the pages:



This week I went through my pictures and printed ones I needed (since I hadn't added to the album since 2006). I got them printed and put in the album.  Here's the layouts I worked on this week.