It’s been awhile since I’ve participated in Works for Me Wednesday over at We Are THAT Family and it’s nice to get back into it. I had my dad’s truck yesterday while my car was in the shop so I took advantage of the extra cargo space and hit up two of our local thrift stores on the hunt for the perfect reading chair for the reading nook I plan to create in the living room. I didn’t come home with a new reading chair but I didn’t find a few other things. The Salvation Army store was the cheapest by far but I had picked up a few bigger items at the other store so I’m not sure how well I can compare the two in terms of price. I think the first store does tend to be slightly higher priced but they’re still both cheaper than Value Village, which is a store that I also love.

This post is a bit picture-heavy. The chair legs and all the table legs, foam, vases, round frame, and plastic casters came from the Salvation Army and cost a total of $6.25. Some of the items, if not most, will be painted or otherwise re-finished but all are in good shape.

Odds and ends:

The red vase reminds me of Muno from Yo Gabba Gabba, a kids’ show that I loathe.
I’m not sure I’ll be able to use it without thinking of that every single time.

The four legs at the left are destined to become a narrow end table to go beside my loveseat. The two table legs are for a desk that I’m going to build in the new closet in the back entrance. The "U" and round frame are just because I like the shape and thought they would add interest somewhere in the house. The casters are for the bottom of these stools if I ever get them past the batted-and-awaiting-fabric stage. The little black votive jack o’lantern is just a cute Hallowe’en decoration. The four short spindles/legs are for an unknown project as are the three drawer pulls (which will eventually be spray painted, I imagine). The poor little fawn ornament has a neck that’s been broken and glued so he will get a chip-filling treatment of putty or whatever works and then a coat of glossy white spray paint. The two vases are to add to a slowly-growing collection and to add colour to the living room.

The round metal bottomless tray will eventually get a bottom and the plan is to attach it to a plant stand (or something that will work as one), paint it, and have it sit, holding a plant or two, next to the window in the cozy/chatty space here. 

There are also a few bigger pieces:

A chandelier of sorts that is missing its globes and needs a little loving. I love the metallic orange colour and wish I could be happy with a cord running up the wall behind the dining table so I could hang it there. There is no overhead lighting in the living room so while I could still attach it to the ceiling, I’d need to cobble something together since I’m not up to poking holes in the ceiling and pulling wires over. It may get used in my bedroom (though the basement ceilings are low) when I re-decorate in there. The design of the light above resembles the lines in a throw pillow that I picked up a few months back specifically for the bedroom makeover. If it does go downstairs though the beautiful orange will have to be changed.

I found a super-cute folding wooden chair that will be my new desk chair in the back entrance closet. Here is the chair opened up. It needs a seat but that’s easily remedied. It could also stand to have a cheery coat of paint.

The lamp will live on the dining room table as there is no overhead lighting but there is an outlet directly under the table. I will spray paint some or all of the lamp base and re-do the shade as it’s stained at the top and bottom edges. The lamp base and shade did not come together but I like the height of the lamp and how the shape of the shade mimics that of the table and also how, because the shade is rectangular, the lamp can be pushed up against the wall so it’s not taking up the dining surface.

The stools will be spray painted and the seats recovered, maybe with a little extra padding (maybe the foam or maybe just batting). Extra seating is always good and they can stack out of the way until they’re needed.

I also picked up a 1 2/3-yard roll of decorator-weight fabric which has a huge tail of fabric attached. I’m hoping that it will cover the little rocking recliner I mentioned on Monday. I’ll be taking the curtain panels back; it’s unfortunate that I’ll only be getting store credit but that’s what happens when you’re past the cut off time for a cash refund. Maybe I’ll buy my patio umbrella from them in the spring.

What works for you on this Wednesday, October 21? Head over to We Are THAT Family to browse other blog posts and/or to add your own.

Today is Day Seven of a new way of eating for me. Last Wednesday I went grocery shopping after making a meal plan for the remainder of the week and stocked up on all the things I’d need for those meals - fresh fruits and vegetables to go along with the lean ground turkey, chicken breasts, and grains I already had. I did the same thing on Sunday night, sitting down and planning out my meals for the week. I’ve been doing this for awhile now and posting to the blog for Menu Plan Mondays, however I never planned for breakfast or lunch, only supper. Since beginning to eat clean I have been planning all three meals, leaving the two or three "snacks" or smaller meals to be fruit and nuts, or cottage cheese and fruit, or a hearty smoothie, or any number of other similar things. Other than flipping through more cookbooks and magazines to find recipes to use I have not found this to be any more difficult than before. At some point I will have made enough recipes and learned enough about eating clean that I will be able to make meals without a recipe but for now, as most of the recipes I used previously do not read clean, I find that "cooking from a book" works and works well.

What exactly is eating clean? Google will turn up numerous links on the subject but directly from the Eat Clean Diet site is this:

What is eating clean? It is treating your body right. It is eating the way nature intended. You eat the foods our bodies evolved to function best on, and that makes you feel – and look – fantastic. When you Eat Clean you eat more often. You will eat lean protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats. These practices keep your blood-sugar levels stable and keep you satisfied. The best part is that if you need to lose weight it will happen almost without you having to try. And yes, you can have a treat now and again.

Best of all, Eating Clean keeps you feeling great and full of energy. In fact, you can forget all about the days when “dieting” meant feelings of hunger, lethargy or deprivation.

Eating Clean is not a fad; it’s a way of life. When you Eat Clean your body will react by losing weight if you need to lose, maintaining a healthy weight if that’s where you are, and even gaining weight if you are too skinny. But regardless of whether you want to lose, maintain or gain, you will feel better than you ever have before.

Never worry about counting calories again. You will never have to diet. Eating Clean will keep you lean and healthy for the rest of your long life. Eating Clean guarantees results!

I am not in this for the purpose of losing weight although that would be a very welcome bonus. I have 10 or 15 pounds that I wouldn’t mind letting go but I am in this for a better me, a healthier me. Already, one week in, I feel better in the sense that I am rarely hungry. I don’t have those cycles of being stuffed and then empty and ravenous and then stuffed again. Everything remains on the same level for the most part if I eat every three or so hours depending on what the previous meal was. I like this feeling. I like feeling in control of my hunger instead of letting it rule me. And I love that I’m eating a much, much wider variety of fruits and vegetables than I had before starting and eating those at every meal. I had a portobello mushroom last night, which I’ve never had, with a couple tablespoons of salsa on it topped with a little bit of green onion, a scattering of shredded cheese, and sprinkled with sesame seeds and then baked for about 10 minutes. It was very good and I was very surprised. I’m not a mushroom-hater but nor do I like to bite right into one. I’d rather they just "be there" when they’re in my food (as in pasta sauce or lasagna).

This doesn’t taste anything like what it looks like.
Unless you think it looks delicious. Because it is.
Two peaches (skin on), a kiwi, strawberries, a juiced orange, and spinach.

I’m very excited to see where this takes me. I’m a little nervous, however, about how well things will go once B returns home on Sunday. I don’t expect him to eat all the things I’m eating but I don’t want to be making two separate meals. It’s hard enough making the same meal for just two people at the best of times. I hope that he will continue to be more open to trying new things - all I ask of him is that he taste something and eat that bite before deciding if he likes it or not and he’s gotten pretty good at doing that - and that’s all I can ask at this point. We don’t have junk food in the house but he does have a few snacks. His snacks aren’t "bad" per se due to his inability to handle artificial colours, flavours, and preservatives but they are still snack-type foods. Onwards and upwards and working towards forming good habits…

What works for you? Head over to We Are That Family and share your entry.

I am, and have always been, a mosquito magnet. And a blackfly magnet. And a magnet for any other biting bug or fly. Throughout bug season, I am never without several bites somewhere on my body. Something like this or this is not an uncommon site on my arms or legs but it’s usually a little more tame than that and is "merely" a huge white welt (often bigger than in that photo I found via google) within five minutes of the bite and then "fades" down to a raised red spot the size of a pencil eraser with a bit of a crusted spot in the centre. Mmmmm! Yummy! I’m a pretty girl in the summer.

I got such a bite the other morning. I could just tell that I had been bitten as the area (my forehead) was itchy. As the minutes went by, I could feel the welt starting to raise. By the time I came inside, the welt had gone down quite a bit but the itching was awful.

Look at the sun damage!!

 As I was looking at it in the mirror, I thought I remembered reading somewhere that vinegar takes away the itch. I grabbed the bottle of apple cider vinegar from the shower (I go through periods of using baking soda to wash my hair followed by a vinegar rinse), put it on a cosmetic pad, and wiped it on. Instant relief! I was amazed, partly because I wasn’t sure if I was making up the vinegar tip and partly because it was such an instant absence of itch. It hasn’t itched since. I tried it last night on a bite I found on my leg and it didn’t have quite the same effect but that bite was at least a day or more old; maybe that had something to do with it?

Try it. If it works, great, and if it doesn’t, what have you lost besides a minute of your time and a few drops of vinegar. We Are THAT Family has plenty of links to other Works For Me tips.

Me: Hey, I just found this in your bag. Did you make this at school?
B: Yeah. It’s for you.
Me: Thank you!
Me: <laughing> I’m #4?
B: Yeah. I was trying to do a "seben" but I couldn’t. [Note the two upside down sevens]

It’s okay though. Last night as I was ushering him to the car to go to my mom’s for bed (I worked at 6 a.m. this morning), he was walking along beside me eating a freezie and looking all over - the dirt, ant hills, the sky. Then he said "Beautiful!" with a little bit of awe in his voice. I asked him what was he talking about? What was beautiful? His answer? "You are." Awwwwwwwww!! The little monkey bum. That is the first time he’s ever said anything like that so I was a little touched.

We’ve had a few small issues tonight but all in all it wasn’t too bad. The little booger is sleeping soundly now, as innocent as anything. And I’m headed to bed myself. I work again tomorrow at 6 (my mom is coming over here in the morning to take him to daycare) and I’m beat. It seems strange that painting some of the house would carry over into today but that’s all I can think it would be. Even though we weren’t in the sun at all, we were outside from 10 until 2:30 and it was breezy.

So this #4 mom is headed to the shower and then to bed. Hopefully it won’t take me too long to work my way up to #1. In the meantime, being #4 works for me.

* I know that this post stretches the limits of the WFMW theme. There really isn’t a tip or trick to be found here. You’ll have to head over to We Are THAT Family for those.

I am in the process of switching banks due to my first bank not working for (or with) me, just one step in my New Me financial journey. For the past several months I have been using (and loving!) YNAB as my budgeting program and it has been so helpful in planning and saving and making me more aware of what I have to work with. I am looking forward to continuing that personal and financial growth.

The other day I jumped on the 1001 Day Project bandwagon. One of my goals is to use only cash for groceries (no debit cards) for a period of one month. The hope is that I will learn that it really isn’t so scary after all not having that "cushion" and safety knowing there’s more money in the account if I need it. Additional hopes are that I will finally get started on a price book so I will have a rough idea of what my groceries should be costing me before I get to the checkout, and that with the increased use of cash, there will also be an increase in coins. Actually that cash-coin thing isn’t a hope. It’s pretty much a given. Those coins are going to find themselves all snug and cozy with other coins in a jar. At the end of the 1,001 days, I will counts those coins, faint from excited delirium, and then recover and take them to the bank to deposit straight into my savings (or emergency fund if I haven’t yet reached my goal amount).

Savings coins works for me. I’ve done it in the past on a much smaller scale so I’m very excited about a 2.75-year coin-saving spree. Bring it on! Head over to We Are THAT Family for more tips, ideas, and examples from over 225 other bloggers.

PS: Blogsome ate my previous attempt at this point. It was much more eloquent and flowing and less non-eloquent and choppy but I have a nap calling my name and a clock that keeps reminding me I only have three hours before I have to be sitting at my desk at work for night shift. I can’t re-do eloquent or flowing today.

Okay. So I have a disclaimer right off the top: the practice shown in this Works For Me Wednesday post is actually not a practice for me. Not in the "past" practice sense. This is my first time doing it but I can see how it could/will work for me. So with that said, my WFMW post is about preparing in advance. (Is that redundant? Can you just pare?)

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, April (and hopefully subsequent months) is a personal Make It Instead challenge for me as far as the kitchen goes. This current week, I also have a meal plan in place. Given those two challenges (I’ve fallen off the meal plan wagon before), I decided to mix up, in advance, the dry portion of two of the things I will be making this week and in the future.

I have found a wonderful bread recipe over at Everyday Food Storage*. I love this recipe so much that I plan to never buy bread again. Ever. That’s a baby-step goal though. One loaf at a time. I’ve made this recipe a handful of times and have learned that one loaf at a time is enough for me. It’s just my son and I here so one loaf easily lasts the week and, since it’s not hard to whip up a loaf of bread, I prefer to make each one fresh instead of baking two and freezing the second. This morning I decided to make that even easier. Actually, I decided the other day but only executed that plan about an hour ago.

L - R: whole wheat flour (open tub), white flour, non-instant dry milk,
sea salt, wheat gluten, and potato flour.

I used zip lock freezer bags because I didn’t have the freezer space (or the containers) to put the portions in anything else. I can re-use the bags when mixing up more too; no need to toss them after a single use. I mixed up one loaf in each of the bags, labeled them, flattened them out, and put them in my small deep freezer. I chose the freezer instead of the cupboard because, while I do keep a bit of my whole wheat flour in the tub pictured above, the large bag of it is in my freezer to keep it from going rancid. Also, I keep the jar of wheat gluten in the freezer as that is what is suggested on the back of the package. So it made sense to put the mix in the freezer as well.

Seeing as I already had the flour and measuring cups out, I also mixed up a double batch of the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and baking powder) for the tea biscuit topping I’ll be putting on the chicken pot pie that is on my meal plan for Friday. And since I was standing near the stove, I put on a pot of brown rice, which I’ll need for supper at work tonight (with my leftover chicken from Monday) and for the sweet and sour meatballs that I plan to have tomorrow night with the meatballs that I made up on Monday night. I find that my biggest challenge is finding the motivation to do the preparation, that "get off your ass and do it" thing is often a hurdle for me but once I do get off my arse, I love the results.

Try it (if you don’t already). It’s not a new concept but it does work. Or, I can definitely see how it will. And head over to We Are That Family and check out what works for over 215 other people.

* It seems that every other blog post I put up has a link to her and a resulting trackback on her site. At what point does it get annoying?

It’s almost that time of year again here in this part of the province. Spring has been teasing us (as she has in other parts of the country) and after some very nice melting typical spring weather, she decided to dump several days worth of light snow on us and the ground is once again covered. Booo! However, despite that, late last night/early this morning after getting off work I sat down on the computer and ordered some seeds (my first time ordering seeds!) from the OSC (Ontario Seed Company) website. I have yet to plan out the placement of things but I will be working with four raised beds that are approx. four feet by four-and-a-half feet on the interior dimensions. I also have a small raised rhubarb bed, a blueberry planter, and, at the front of the house, a flower garden that was created mid-summer last year that may become home to a few herbs such as my dill plants.

The list of vegetables this year includes potatoes, which I plan to grow using this method and which I will grow using store bought potatoes as I’ve had luck with those in the past. The rest of the vegetables, at this point, will consist of:

• pole beans - Blue Lake (green)
• pole beans - Kentucky Wonder (yellow wax)
• golden beets
• cantaloupe - Lil’Loupe (mini melon)
• cucumber - Straight Eight all-purpose
• cucumber - Wisconsin SMR-58′ Hybrid (Northern Adapted)
• onion - Early Yellow Globe
• pepper - Orange Sun (bell pepper)
• pumpkin - Small Sugar
• zucchini - green
• squash - Delicata
• tomato - Sweetie (cherry tomato)
• tomato - Better Boy (indeterminate variety)
• tomato - Roma (paste)
• watermelon - Sugar Baby
• peas - Oregon Sugar Pod II (snow pea)
• peas - Homesteader/Lincoln
• cabbage - bok choy
• carrots - Chantenay Red

I will also plant marigolds randomly throughout the beds to deter pests and plant a few herbs, including the previously-mentioned dill and possibly basil. Now to sit down with a chart of the beds and plan things out. That’s the part that I don’t enjoy. Too much erasing and re-figuring. Another expense this year will be to buy vermiculite, peat moss, and compost (rounded out by my own compost if it’s ready) to top up the beds. I want to put another couple of inches in to bring it closer to the top as it has settled very slightly and some was also lost when I pulled out my tomato and squash plants last year even though I tried to bang the dirt off as best I could.

This is a picture from last spring. The rock bed at the back is no longer there.
The rhubarb bed is to the immediate left of the gate, in line with the last vegetable bed.

Gardening is something that I don’t have extensive experience with but that I do enjoy. I absolutely love the soil-less mixture that I’ve used in the beds - weeds were very few and even further between and it’s very light and well-draining. I don’t think I’ll ever use soil (or a row-based garden) again. I did quite a bit of reading last year in relation to companion planting and had rather good success with the output of the garden so I plan to do that again. I loved being able to look out into the backyard and see my garden growing healthy and strong and being able to go out and pick carrots and onions and tomatoes for supper. There are plans this year for dill pickles, pickled beets, tomato sauce, onions to store, peas to dry, and of course, all the food to pick and eat fresh.

Gardening is frugal, convenient, and with the square foot gardening method, incredibly easy and low maintenance. Gardening works for me. Head on over to We Are That Family to see what works for over (as of this moment) 270 other people.

All of those things work for me.

Today’s post is about homemade laundry soap. In the circle of blogs that I read and that I tend to come across, there are many mentions of making your own soap. My version is no different but it fits the "works for me" theme. I use one tablespoon of soap per load in my front-loading washer with no problems. I use vinegar in the bleach and softener cups too; I’m not sure what the volume is but I always assume that it’s somewhere around one half cup total.

My ingredients consist of washing soda, borax, a bar of laundry soap (I use Sunlight since that’s what I can find locally), and the optional oxi product. A few weeks before I’m ready to mix up a new batch, I unwrap and sit out the bar of soap to get nice and dried out. Then about a week before I’m ready, I use the fine side of a cheese grater to grate it and then sit it in the open again.  On soap-mixing day, I place the soap in my food processor and turn it into a powder. I add in one and a half cups each of the washing soda and borax and give it another spin. Be careful taking the lid off the processor as the dust gets in your lungs and will make you cough. I then stir in one cup of the oxi powder and mix it up well. One batch fits very nicely in this old frozen yogurt container.

I haven’t done the math on the savings but I trust others who have and say that it works out to only pennies a load. That’s good enough for me and no scents (no pun intended) in my laundry.

What works for you?