It Was Supposed To Be ...

It was supposed to be a simple dusting of the house. Just a regular bi-weekly run over of things. Until I realised there were a lot of things that were not in there "proper" place. This is how a 15 minute quick dusting job turned into a half-day project. Thankfully the children were happy to help deliver the items to their intended locations and the clutter-free main floor is peaceful once again.
Do home items all of a sudden seem to clutter your home? How do you handle it? Are you proactive or is it just one day that you decide you need to give things an overhaul?

Menu Plan Monday ~ August 22-27

Here is what we'll be eating this week. It was great to go shopping in the pantry, freezer and fridge this week!

Monday
Pork Tenderloin, Carrots with honey (cooked), Broccoli Salad

Tuesday
Taco Salad

Wednesday
Eggplant and Chicken Parmesan, Egg Noodles with Tomato Sauce, Roast Zucchini and Onion

Thursday
Hamburgers and Veggie Burgers, French Fries, Corn, Salad

Friday
Pizza, Salad

Saturday
Cucumber and Tomato Salad, Steak, Cooked Veggies (TBD)

Check out other menu plan ideas at Org Junkie.

Buy Local

I was reading Renee's Joy Journey and she had a great idea. She is American so she challenged her readers to take back the American market place.

I strongly believe we should support all of the local people, as Renee suggests. Wherever you live, why don't you try these points for one week . I am going to try too.

STRONG LOCAL COMMUNITIES EVERYWHERE ADDS UP TO A STRONG NATIONAL ECONOMY.
*I have changed Canadian from the original America challenge as that is my country but if you are from another country, change it to yours!

1. Buy only Canadian Made this week. Share about your experience.

2. Buy 50% of your products from local merchants. Share about your experience.

3. Consider developing a product (that has demand). Ask people you know if they need this product and if they would consider buying it from you.

4. Share more ideas on how to support your local economy.

5. Be an intelligent and informed consumer. Before you purchase anything, ask, "Is this Canadian Made?"

6. Be in control of where your dollars are going. The best price is not the best decision always. Decide what percentage of your dollars will go to support your local economy, Canada and other countries.

7. Spread this idea to all of your friends. What would happen this week, if Canadians bought from each other, locally? Please share this idea with friends if you feel it can help Canada.

Happy Birthday to Me!! (and a new Amazon Kindle)

Yep, it's my birthday today. As I get older I pretend that I'm not happy about it but then I find myself telling all sorts of people that "my birthday is on Saturday!" and so I guess I am still excited about it.

This year I bought an Amazon Kindle. I got it on the 18th and I felt great having it arrive and I've already read half of a book on it! I had to get the Kindle instead of the iPad for a few reasons... 1) the kids would never let me read on it because they have learned how to play on it. 2) my eyes give me trouble and the computer back-lit screen hurts my eyes after a while (hence the sporadic blog posts). 3) the Kindle feels more like a book for it's size. I also like that I can play with the font size.

Of course, with anything new, there are a few moments of panic while trying to figure it out and make sure it wasn't a costly mistake that I wasn't going to like. It didn't help that when I went to get library books to put on it that I discovered it isn't compatible with the library databases (what??!! I SWEAR I looked up a list of compatible things and this was on this list. Very possible it was the incompatible list I saw it on but didn't realise it at the time). Well I was able to find some free e-book sources and some converters to make it reader friendly for my Kindle. Yay me!

I'm off to spend the day kid-free and with the hubby. Very exciting!

Knit Sweater for Me

Friday night I checked out a really cool store, "Shall We Knit?". They have a 7-9PM knitting group and I am SO glad I went. This quaint shop, housed in an older home, had beautiful yarns. I chose from a line I had not heard from before (Cascade 220) in their Heathers collection. The particular colour I am using is number 2419.

Since I have made Ava a poncho, two dresses and a hat (only the blue one is pictured, I still need to add buttons to the second and have my model wear it for photos) this summer and a rocket ship for Travis, I decided it was time for me to have an item.

I found this beautiful sweater from Coats & Clark in one of their sweater pattern books. I am excited to work both with this yarn and with this pattern. I'll keep you posted on the progress I make!

A Typical Family Dinner

Sitting down to dinner tonight was pleasant for the four of us. A nice serving of barbecued corn, chicken and nature burgers and a delicious salad. And then Ava (5 years old) sprays pukes all over the table. Then she continues to spray it all over the bathroom.
The kid has the weakest gag reflex (and worst timing) ever! You know the reason she puked (this time)? She didn't like the bite of corn in her mouth.
Eye roll.
It's really hard to maintain compassion when it is constantly little things like this that make her empty her stomach contents at less than a moment's notice. I love my child, I really do. Sometimes the reasons for her puking like the exorcist (I'm not joking here, folks) just makes me shake my head though.

Head Lice

We were on vacation for the past two weeks, visiting with family. This past week one of the family members got head lice. Before we packed up my mother-in-law and I were vacuuming and laundering everything we could see that we thought would be a potential "host" for the little bugs. I'm crossing my fingers we got rid of them before we brought them home. I'm checking daily for signs of nits and I'm going to add a few drops of tea tree oil to our shampoo to ward off any who think they want to crawl on our heads!

Here is an informative website from Health Canada if you want some good information on head lice.

Hoo Are You #49

I found this fun Tuesday "Hoo Are You" meme from Night Owl Crafting. Thought you might enjoy getting to know me better. If you put one on your blog, put your link in my comment so I can read more about you!

1. What is your favorite craft or type of craft and if you are a crafter how did you get into it?
I enjoy doing anything with my hands. Lately I have been particularly fond of knitting.
2. What shows have you been watching this summer?
I have been watching Heartland and Little Mosque on the Prarie. I get them from the library by season since I don't have a lot of time to sit and follow shows on television.

3. Who does the yard work at your house?
I am very grateful to my husband for this one! I have allergies and don't like the heat so hubby is happy to spread his green thumb around and to keep it all tidy. Thanks, honey!
4. Are you working on any projects inside the home or outside this week?
I'm working on some outside of the home items this week - our family is having vacation time with lots of day trips and bonding!

5. Do you have to worry about getting ready for back to school?
My daughter is entering senior kindergarten. I suppose I should start looking at her fall clothing wardrobe soon though. Her backpack and lunch bag are still good to go from last year. And then there are indoor shoes for her to keep at school. Hmmm .. I guess I AM starting to worry about it now!

Sand-Free Beach Tip

I have a great tip to share, thanks to Jamie at I Heart Naptime Crafts.

Visiting beaches is a wonderful summer activity. When you are done at the sandy beach, be sure to use baby powder and it will wipe off all the sand so you don't have to take the beach home with you. I'm definitely going to try it out today!

Organizing School Papers

I'm thinking about going back to school for my daughter. Before she starts in September I really need to spend some time to organize her previous years papers. I have a pile that I've been putting together (along with scrapbooking and memories I've put into the same pile/rubbermaid bin). Since it is starting to overflow perhaps the ideas shared by Org Junkie on her Organizing School Papers post will inspire me.