Month: June 2011

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Kitchen Makeover

So I love to cook and bake but lately my kitchen has been a little unorganized.  My cupboard with my spice rack is a mess.  It’s two big shelves filled with bottles, jars, and boxes of ingredients.  I like to keep the savory separate from sweet items.  My top shelf is sweet and the bottom is savory.  However, if my husband gets into that cupboard he never puts things back in the same spot so it gets messed up.

I need a wall spice rack that could maybe hang on the back of my pantry door.  I’d love to have labels for the shelves so my dear husband would know where to put the spices back after her used them.  Maybe even two separate spice racks could work.  I wonder if I could find two long units that could hang side by side.  I could paint them different colors so that maybe sweet is pink and savory is brown.

I think I’ll do some searching online to find some of the best kitchen spice racks that could work to make my space more organized.  I hope I get lucky and find something that has everything I’m looking for and that I won’t have to customize too much.

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Late Night Snack

Today I have had the strongest craving for potato chips and a hot fudge and caramel sundae.  I think maybe I’ll make a yummy concoction and mix the two.  I saw on the Martha Stewart Show that Jimmy Fallon now has his own ice cream flavor called Late Night Snack. It is vanilla ice cream with chocolate covered potato chip clusters and salty caramel swirls.  I must have been dreaming about it last night.  I don’t feel like going to the store right now so will have to make due with a homemade version.  Maybe I’ll pick some up next time I’m at the store.

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Getting Prepared

One of my coworkers asked me if I knew anyone that used AARP today.  I told her that my mom is a member of AARP.  She saw one of the commercials on television and did a bit of research before joining.

She asked because she is helping her parents find a medicare supplement.  They are retired now and want to get things set up so when they need to have something done medical-wise they will have the appropriate insurance coverage.  Both of them are in good health but they do a have a family history of heart disease.

I told her my mom is very happy with her AARP insurance and hasn’t had any problems with them at all.  She also purchased funeral insurance so we wouldn’t have to find the money to pay for it ourselves.  My mom really likes to have everything laid out and ready to go to make it easy for herself and others.  She has a binder with all of her medical history, doctors, and insurance plans in it so if she ever needs to be taken care of by one of us it’s all in one place.  I love my mom and am so happy that she is so organized and well prepared.

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Summer is here!

It’s the 1st day of summer and I’m excited it’s finally here.  I can’t wait for the summer picnics with family and friends, trips to the park, movie nights on the lawn, swimming at the pool, and much more. Better stock up on sunscreen now so we can spend lots of time outdoors.

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Overslept

sleepy head

I guess I never even heard the alarm clock. Oh well. I’ll have to offer apologies to everyone for me being late. I can’t rush, so I’ll just beg forgiveness instead.

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Cover and Protect

My hubby called from work and asked if I would like to go with him tonight to the hardware store after dinner. Or he could just go on his own after he leaves work tonight before he comes home. I told him that I would rather skip the shopping trip and can just have dinner ready an hour later than usual. But I forgot to ask him what he needed from the hardware store.

I hope he is thinking about painting the two bedrooms. They need a fresh color badly. If so, he will need to get a good dropcloth as well as the paint and brushes. We have to protect the floor from paint splatters. Its much easier to use a good tarp as a preventive measure than it is to scrap little splotches of pain up off the floor – or, worst case, having to refinish the wood floors. That is messy and expensive.

I’ve always been a fan of tarps, thanks to my Dad. Every time my Dad did anything around the house, he included me or my brother so that we would learn. I am so grateful that my dad was there for us and taught us well. He took parenting very seriously, and I hope to give the same benefits of a two parent home to my children.

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Always Room for Kindness

What is it about today that has brought out all the rude people? I feel like no one wants to do a simple kindness for others any more. It’s not that hard to be friendly and gracious toward others. Both the person you help and you benefit – and even the people around you who witness the kindness benefit.

I encourage everyone to do something nice for another person today. A simple smile and “Hello” to someone you pass on the street, picking up a piece of litter and disposing of it, saying something nice to the clerk behind the register or the person in line behind you. There are endless opportunities to do nice things if you just make a little effort.

Thanks for at least considering it – and an extra thank you if you put my suggestion to use today. And tomorrow. 🙂

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Fresh Air

It sure got hot here quickly. It seems like just a couple of weeks ago the daily high temperatures were barely in the 60’s, but it has been in the 90’s for several days now. I guess that summer has truly arrived.

One nice thing about living here is the almost constant breeze. So even though it is very hot, I can open the windows and have a breeze carry the fresh air all through the house. I just make sure to keep the part of the windows not open covered with a shade or curtains to help keep the sunlight blocked and the rooms cool.

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Chicken Enchiladas

Although I really love to eat beef, my favorite meat for dinners is usually chicken. It is so versatile and easy to work with. And I believe that chicken is healthier for you in many ways.

I have a great recipe for chicken enchiladas and make a big batch of them about once a month. Then we feast on fresh enchiladas for a night, and I freeze the rest in serving size portions for a fast, easy meal once a week until they are eaten up. I found the recipe on the internet several years ago, and it was a hit with my family the very first time I tried it.

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Snowbirds and Retirees

So many people work all theirs lives with dreams of retiring someplace like Florida or Arizona. For many, they spend half of each year in their cold northern home states and the other half in a sunny warmer state. Those people are called “Snowbirds” because they come to Miami or Orlando or Phoenix to escape the cold weather and spend their winters someplace warm.

My grandparents have dreamed of retiring and moving to Arizona and are trying to make that happen now. They picked Sun City and have found a home. Just to be safe, they are have an alarm system installed in their new house before they move in. They wanted to stay with ADT, who they used back in Michigan. So they searched home security suncity to find someone locally.

Next, they want to get Direct TV hooked up so my Grampa can watch all of his sports shows.He says the best part of retirement will be watching all the games he used to miss when he had to work second shift at the plant. I think that is great – he deserves to watch whatever he wants to after all these years of working hard and missing out on his favorite games.

He loves the Lions and all the Detroit teams, bless his heart! At least his beloved Red Wings have been playing well these past years, but its 3 or 4 months to go before hockey starts back up. And Gramps will be watching!