The Note Winner

Thank you all for entering and being interested in this wonderful project.  Unfortunately only one can win, but those who don't you can still order yourself a kit from The Note website, go on over and check it out.

I used Random.org and the number that popped out was:

#10 Maggie

Congratulations Maggie, I will be contacting you shortly.

Making use of the Freezer

I'm such a slow poke, no really, I'm usually the last one getting anything and then when I do it's a big hoopla because I can't believe I ever lived without one.

This time it's a chest freezer.  I know, go ahead and laugh you're probably sitting there with your mouths wide open shocked that I didn't have one, but you see up until now we really didn't need one and living on a military base, trust me, there is not much room for a freezer.

So a week ago, we bit the bullet and bought one on sale at the BX. 

There she is, ain't she a beauty?  Don't get me wrong, I wish I could hide her somewhere and out of the way but I just don't have the room in this small house, but we do what we can right???  A little pretty flower on top and it's good to go.

Now that I have the freezer I'm going to start planning my menus a little different, it's time to incorporate some freezer meals and start doing some batch cooking.

Before I get into all that though, one of the things I'm enjoying is being able to buy fruit and veggies in bulk and not worrying about them going bad.

Hubby and I are trying to lose weight right now so with that comes portion control and calorie counting, but honestly it's already such a battle trying to keep yourself on the right track and not fall into the bad habit of eating the junky stuff laying around the house.....then you throw in calorie counts and it's just downright frustrating.

So to make things easier for hubby and I when it comes to snacking, we've been buying huge amounts of fruit and then I take a Sunday or Saturday afternoon and peel and chop and sort into ziploc bags, write the amount of calories per baggie and pop it in the freezer.

Trust me, it's so much easier when you get a craving to be able to just reach in the freezer, grab a little ziploc bag and know exactly how many calories you are ingesting.  It's helped us alot, so much so that we've both dropped 7 lbs this week :)

But using the freezer is not just about weight watching and portions.  It can be used for SO much more and I plan on sharing with you, over the next few weeks, just exactly what I'm doing in there.  Well not literally in there, but you know what I mean.

So next time you have a few spare moments, throw on some good music or one of your favorite shows on your laptop and chop and pack your veggies/fruits.  You'll be glad you did :)

Just cleaning

Doing some cleaning around the bloggy homestead, hope you like it because this one really makes me smile :)

Happy Homemaker Monday - #14 - 2011

The weather in my neck of the woods:
A little cooler today, only 64 degrees but by Wednesday we're supposed to be back in the 90's.


Things that make me happy:
Making my children's birthday cakes


Book I'm reading:
Too Rich for a Bride by Mona Hodgson


What's on my TV today:

Paranormal State New Season
Edwardian Farm
Any William and Kate thing I can find LOL


On the menu for dinner:
Out to dinner to celebrate Jasmine's birthday, baby girl is turning 12 today. 

On my To Do List:
Laundry
Housework


New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
Brown Sugar and Bacon Baked Beans....so good.

In the craft basket:

Teapot Cozy

Looking forward to this week:
Looking forward to celebrating my girl's birthday today and also looking forward to continuing weight loss.  Hubby and I have started drinking just water and counting calories and we've both dropped 6 lbs this past week, I feel so much better :)


Tips and Tricks:
If you are counting calories or watching portions when you eat, make use of your big chest freezer.  Cut up the fruits and veggies into servings and place them in ziploc bags, write down the amount of calories per serving and place them in your freezer.  It's a little time consuming but right now I have tons of veggies and fruits all ready for hubby and I, it makes snacking a lot easier.
 



My favorite blog post this week:
Back in Time at Curlew Country.  I'm a professed Anglophile, I just adore anything from England and English, what can I say.  Maybe I was born in England in a past life LOL  This post at Curlew Country was filled with amazing photos and literally a step back in time, how neat and especially since I'm watching Land Girls right now :)


Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):
Joyful Abode



No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):

Lesson learned the past few days:
That I still love royalty LOL  No really, I know a lot of people are just on overload with the William and Kate wedding but I love it and watch every single thing that comes out about it and you better believe I'll be up watching the wedding too all of Friday.  


On my mind:
My weight loss
My children and husband
My family


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. – Acts 1:3 (NIV)

Walk through my garden

"To dig and delve in nice clean dirt can do a mortal little hurt." -John Kendrick Bangs (1962-1922)

Oh I only wish I had tons of land at my disposal so that I may have a huge garden to walk through and sit at with a good book.

But alas we must make do with what we have and I find that the best way to go through life is to really stop and enjoy it, to make the most of what is given to you, of what is at your disposal.

Living on a military base really does limit the imagination in some areas, we are confined to small homes that are not really ours, we can't paint, or rather, we can but we must then repaint the home back to the original color when we leave and honestly I don't have the patience LOL

But back to the outside areas, they are very iffy with what you can and can't do in the yards, but truthfully to make this home feel like ours, I can't but walk out side and put my own touches.

Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night. 

~Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke

Let me walk you through my garden, let me show you what I have growing and let me tell you that I'm beyond thrilled because I've always been such a Thumb of Death filled with envy of all of those out there who have stunning greenery and can grow veggies and flowers like no tomorrow.

Maybe I've finally broken the pattern, or maybe I lucked out in the house we're at and have a good mixture of sun/shade and soil???  Who knows, I plan on enjoying it to the fullest and not ask questions.

My tomatoes are doing so well, it thrills me to see the little ones growing :)

Lettuce, green, vibrant and I grew it from seeds....I mean, ME, I grew something from seeds and it actually didn't die LOL

While walking through the garden, I spotted this beautiful robin's egg shell.  Isn't it the most stunning blue color???

Cantaloupe that Jasmine planted is doing great too.

Here's my lavender.  I've been trying for YEARS to grow it here in Arizona and I've never had any success, so far this is the furthest I've gotten in growing any.

Nicholas planted Melons and this is one of his coming up.

Here's my peppermint.....love the scent.

And here we have my herbs, there's chives, parsley, oregano and I think cilantro, I can't even remember now

Green beans.....the kids think it's funny that there's a beanstalk LOL

My garlic is still going strong

When it gets too hot for some of the plants, we bring them inside and give them lots of love and attention until they're safe to head back outdoors.

Look at my Basil, can you believe it's still growing so strong???  And the aroma.....heavenly.

"He who sees things grow from the beginning with have the best view of them."
- Aristotle

I know it's not much but for this gal who has never been able to enjoy watching plants grow from nothing, I have to say it's made me smile over and over again ;)