Purely Drivel

moving on...

It's been a season of changes, these past six months, and there's still one big one for me.

After over six years of blogging with Typepad, I've finally made the move to Wordpress and got my own domain name: http://sosimplygood.com/

So Simply Good - after months of pondering names, I finally found one I liked and that points in the direction I want to go...and that was actually available. This blog will remain up for a while longer, but everything has been imported to the new site and it's where I'll be posting from now on. Everything is over there - some things more than once, in fact...apparently, there's still some tweaking and formating I need to do.

It's kind of fun to be my own dot com =)

menu plan monday: 07.18.11

We had a much needed, much enjoyed lazy Sunday at our house after two days in a row of trips to the "big city" an hour away...including 3 hours at the emergency room for a mis-diagnosed case of strep throat. We have a few roll-overs from last week due to that and a few other things I need to get on the menu before they get spoiled.

It hasn't been easy to plan this week!

Monday
Grilled Tuscan Lemon Chicken
Sauteed Squash, Onions and Baby Bellas
Summer Black Eyed Pea Salad

Tuesday
Tacos (the easy ones - ground beef seasoned with lots of chili powder, cumin and garlic)
Brown Rice Tortillas
Watermelon

Wednesday
Spaghetti with Italian Sausage (with Tinkyada pasta)
Green Salad

Thursday
Tri Tip Steaks
Baked Brown Rice
Carrot Salad (an old, family recipe my husband just discovered and loves. I'll try to get the recipe shared this week)
Steamed Broccoli

Friday
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Veggie Fried Rice

Saturday
Meatloaf (my mother-in-law's recipe, with some extra spices - I should write it down one of these days!)
Roasted Carrots and Potatoes
Green Salad

Sunday
California Grilled Veggie Sandwiches
with Chicken sausages
Corn on the Cob
*My order of Jule's Gluten Free flour should arrive this week, and I'm saying a prayer I can put together some sort of bread for these sandwiches by Sunday. If not, I'll just eat the veggies with a little cheese and maybe a bite or two of sausage. I really hope I can - I've missed those sandwiches!

What meals are you looking forward to this week?

This post will be linked to Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday. Looking for meal inspiration? It's a great place to visit!

chores

I've been thinking a lot about chores for the past few days. The house if finally unpacked and settled, with the exception of an entertainment center that we're giving to my brother...currently sitting in Tom's office...and by sitting, I mean blocking the closet and taking up an entire wall...it's a little difficult to work around. The decorating is underway or mostly done, and there's a list on my desk of projects I want to work on next that's actually reasonable.

It's time to get to the living in this house part.

And the living brings with it the cleaning.

I know I've mentioned several times that this house is bigger than anywhere we've ever lived. It is. By a lot. While we are incredibly blessed by this home God's provided, I'm a little bit overwhelmed by what cleaning it actually looks like. It's definitely not something I can do on my own.

Enter chores.

Our kids have always had chores. They've put their own laundry away since they were 3 or 4, they help unload the dishwasher and set the dinner table. They always pitch in when we clean, help with yard work, and they're expected to keep their rooms picked up and belongings put away.

And that's all done with varying degrees of success.

Don't ask me about keeping shoes picked up right now - my right eye might just explode.

I've been working hard to define what my expectation of clean is for the past few days, as suggested in this post from Organizing Junkie (great post, great ideas). I'm working to come up with a daily chore chart schedule, but I admit I'm a little bogged down in the area between my need for them to contribute and my need for it to be done correctly. There's a bit more training and showing to be done.

And there's always that "what's age appropriate" question - by Hanna's age, I was more or less running the house several nights a week while my mom went back to school, but that was a situational need and not something I'd place on her. My goal is one or two daily household chores, along with the personal care/keep your room clean/pick up your belongings type stuff.

Hanna and I, in particular, have had some good talks about why it's important to learn to help with keeping the house in order. It's important to steward our belongings and what God has provided for us, of course...but at the same time, no one wants to be oneof those people that comes to visit and leaves a trail of glasses and food plates behind them while expecting to be waited on hand and foot.

That's just rude and pretty much inexcusable in anyone over the age of 8.

Like so many things, that idea of taking care of things starts in the home. It means training - showing and explaining, sometimes over and over, until it sticks. We've already got a good foundation in place, but with a little more intentional scheduling and oversight, I do think we can keep this place clean and tidy...without me feeling like Cinderella.

What chores can your kids tackle? How do they differ from what you did at that age? I'd love to hear! And I'll share what I come up with once I'm done sorting through~

simple woman's daybook: the first parsonage edition

Outside my window...we're in this wonderful, surprising cool-down. Instead of the 100's+ of a week or so ago, we're looking at mid-80's and enjoying every second of it. Sunny, but pleasant.

I am thinking...about how to order my new little scrapbooking area so it actually works for me. It's the last major area in the parsonage that needs tweaking.

I am hearing...the coffee pot gurgling and that's it. We finally made it up before the kids.

I am thankful for...the amazing story God has given us as He's lead Tom into this first official pastorate...this wonderful parsonage, that fits us so well...the church members, who have all gone so out of their way to love on us.

I am praying for...God's vision of what it looks like for me to be the pastor's wife...His vision of where the needs are in this community...a vision and a plan for reaching them.

Toward a healthier me....somewhere, in the move and the crazy week preceding it, I lost my gym mojo and am struggling to get it back. Meal planning is back in swing, which is definitely helping...but the gym is a necessity.

Inspiring me this week...etsy love (from yesterday) and a trip to Home Goods last weekend. Oh, how I love Home Goods!

From the kitchen.. here's a peek at this week's menu plan. Lots of yummy stuff. And I finally broke down and ordered a bag of Jule's Gluten Free Flour - I tried the one pound bag a few months ago and it's been my favorite pre-mixed flour so far. I've been dying to bake, but just don't seem to have the patience to mix flours right now.

I am wearing...pajamas still. Workout clothes next.

I am creating...places for things that don't have a home yet.

I am going...to clean the floors (so much more to mop!) and tackle the table of indecision (photos, wall decor and other stuff I just don't know what to do with.

I am reading...just finished Tunnels and the Percy Jackson series (again), and now I'm reading Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos. Our wireless was down for a bit, I haven't downloaded anything new to the Kindle and we unpacked all of the kids books...hence the young adult reading.

Toward a lifelong education...looking for something new to read. A few nutrition books I've been considering, but none I've wanted to read enough to purchase.

On keeping home...I'm working on a homekeeping schedule - something on Mondays (not sure what), dusting and linens on Tuesdays, floors on Thursdays, bathrooms on Fridays sort of thing. This house is a lot bigger than anywere we've lived before and it's taking a lot more to clean it! I clean the kitchen every night and am trying to get back in the habit of a load of laundry a day...but I'm not sure about the rest. Also working on chore charts for the kiddos.

One of my favorite things...this recipe for baked brown rice. Totally blew me away and has me thinking the $35 per year subscription to Cook's Illustrated is worth it. Hmmm....I do have a birthday coming up in a few weeks...

A verse for this week:

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:8

A few plans for the rest of the week: those pesky floors, haircuts for Tom and Caleb, a day trip up to King's Canyon National Forest and church on Sunday. Nice and quiet.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Ian, enjoying the inflatable pool long after the big boys left...splishing and splashing and having a blast...stopping only long enough to remind me "Aunt Sam, I no need a towel" and "Aunt Sam, I not done!".

etsy love

I've been spending way, way, way too much time on Etsy these past few days. It is my without fail inspiration source and I thought I'd share a few of my new favorites...

• littleputbooks - major love. The photo banners are brilliant. I have a feeling Hanna's going to need this set of vintage camera prints. And this antique carousel with tiny aiplane print? Hello, whimsy. Oh, and I can't forget the read more pendant. Cute, cute, cute.
• funkyjunkyart - I might have just squealed out loud. The eyelet banner, the hush a bye bunting banner that makes me want to plan a nursery, the history buff banner that might be perfect in the library and the vignettes for the photographs - swoon.
  And yes, I am a little bit beyond obsessed with banners at the moment.
• 5dollarfrenchmarket - a year or so ago, I ordered a few items from this shop and fell in love. I think these hand dyed ribbons would match where I'm going with our bedroom. This music note eyelet lace - I don't know what I need it for, but I do. Glittery, antiqued clothespins? I am there. Hot pink tissue paper garland? A definite need.
• sweetfindings4you - how about a little jewelry? I love a good statement necklace, and this one is calling my name. This one, too. Maybe a bracelet? And I'm not usually a matchy-matchy person, even when it comes to jewelry, but these sets are awesome.
• kspeddler - I love to live with words and this is a beautiful way to do it - great fonts, great aging, great design. I'm doing our guest bathroom in a sort of Florida-beach theme so I can display some of the seashells we collected and photos we took while we lived there, and this sign would be perfect. It's even the right color! Love this Easter one and also the simplicity of this one.

What are you obsessing over?

menu plan Monday - 07.11.11

It's been sooo long since I've been able to get one of these published. It's my first official week of meal planning in the parsonage and, boy, do we ever need it. I've been picking up groceries, but somehow never seem to get the right things to actually make a meal. It makes such a huge difference in the way my day is ordered - not to mention our budget! - to have a menu plan in place.

A quick note: while most of my family isn't, I am gluten-free and eat meat only occasionally. Any recipes that call for pasta, I just substitute brown rice or quinoa pasta. I skip bread, and eat extra veggies and the grains I can eat instead of meat.

Monday
Vietnamese Crockpot Chicken
Brown Rice
Asian Slaw (a bag of slaw mix and my favorite Pampered Chef Asian Dressing)

Tuesday
Pork Chops (marinated in garlic and rosemary from the bush I found outside Tom's office)
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy (made with cornstarch instead of flour)
Steamed Broccoli

Wednesday
Fajitas (add mushrooms - sooo good!)
Strawberries

Thursday
Tuscan Lemon Chicken
Brown Rice Pilaf
Salad

Friday
in the mountains - eat out

Saturday

Sunday
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Veggie Fried Rice

Lots of tried and true favorites, one new recipe to try out and a few more I'm wanting to try for next week. Is there anything new and yummy you're trying this week?

This post will be linked to Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday. Looking for meal inspiration? It's a great place to visit!

5 minute friday: grateful

GO:

grateful...

here at the end of one journey to see what it's all meant. why the hand's played the way they did. why we didn't understand, couldn't see the reason, felt the pain, said the goodbyes that still sting.

the road hasn't been easy, but the sun did rise.

to another journey. another possibility. another chance to grow and put down roots, in a place that's so familiar but still different. another chance to reach - for the glory of God - into His beloved creation and share His story.

grateful...

for the story we have lived. the story we have to share. His story - that never ending Book that began at Creation and stretches to encompass today and me and you and isn't finished until the trumpets sound.

for a new story. for a chance to step into a story that's been writing for over 100 years, a story filled with glory and pain, growth and decline. a story of a remnant, a story we're glad to join.

grateful...

for the God who orchestrates it all, who hears, who listens, who moves.

STOP

What's 5 Minute Friday? From Gypsymama: So, here’s the skinny: I’ve been thinking about writing and how often our perfectionism gets in the way of our words. And I figured, why not take 5 minutes and see what comes out: not a perfect post, not a profound post, just five minutes of focused writing.

the favoritest

My favoritest quote ever...from my favoritest author ever...a little project I'm working on that still needs a bit of tweaking before I send it to be printed and mounted.

One of the things I adore about this sweet parsonage is that it's a little bit older than anywhere else we've ever lived, built - I believe - in 1961. It's been difficult to fight the urge to start saving for mid-century modern style furniture, but the house really works with just about anything...especially my favored slightly-shabby/flea market sort of style.

For the first time, I feel like I fit in a house and it's been a huge joy to plan out decorating. I have lots of little projects planned (a shower curtain to turn into a shower curtain for our super narrow shower and valance, a handkerchief banner like the one about half-way down this post from We Heart Photography and some jars that are waiting for a bit of chalk board paint before they go in the kitchen window)...but this was one I could finish up quickly.

And without a big mess.

Always a plus.

Can't wait to share photos when it's all done!

*here*

Here is almost free of boxes...

in the house anyway.

The patio is another story.

Here is the biggest home we've ever lived in...

with more closets to fill, more carpet to vaccuum, twice as many windows as our last home and more counters to clean.

But I'm not complaining.

Here is lots of phone calls...

church business, a refrigerator that doesn't quite work and we haven't really given the number out yet.

There's still a lot to wrap up - pictures that need homes, an empty space behind the dining room table that I'm stumped by, and lots and lots of organizing. And with a new home comes a new normal, a new daily order...something I've yet to discover.

All in all, we feel very settled - perhaps the quickest I've ever felt settled in a home.

Here, I have a sense like I've never had before that God has placed us in this home for a reason and a purpose, and I look forward to exploring it.

Here is wonderful.

Here is home.

preparations...

 

We're in the middle of move preparations, with the parsonage promised to be ready by July 1st at the latest. 

I am so overwhelmed by this home God has provided for us.  In fact, I'm pretty sure the only words I could come up with the first time through were "wonderful" and "wow".

Over and over and over. 

I believe the term babbling fool might have well applied.

I was praying simply that it had three bedrooms. 

Not only does it have three bedrooms, it has a living room and a family room (that I'm planning to make a library/game room), a massive kitchen, two bathrooms, a huge yard, an office, a large laundry room and more storage than every other house I've lived in combined.

And that might not be that much of an exaggeration!

That hallway up there is floor to ceiling linen closets.  Our last house in Florida didn't have a single one.  The kitchen has cupboards on top and deep drawers on the bottom...and I'm still trying to calculate how much Contac or shelf paper it's going to take.  I think I'm going to buy 10 rolls today and hope I can take a few back when I'm done lining everything. 

It's a smart floor plan.  Honestly, unless you're building custom, houses like this just aren't made any more.  And because it's a parsonage, there's a home office with it's own entrance and the living room can be completely shut off from the rest of the house for Bible studies or meetings. 

I love it, and it truly is a gift from God.  I can't wait to begin to use it for His glory.

Side note: Posting will continue to be very light until after the move is finished.