Monday, February 21, 2011

Menu Plan Monday



Click to Image to View Larger Version 

Monday  - Boudan (Cajun White Blood (Bloodless) Sausage & Rice)
Tuesday - Pasta , Cheese , Sauce
Wednesday - Steak & Fries
Thursday - Baked Beans & CHeese Sausage
Friday - AN American Oriental
Saturday - Chicken Salad & Dosa (A Lentil & Rice Gluten Free Flat Bread)
Sunday - Eat Out W/ The Hub

Friday, February 18, 2011

Humming Bird Moth (Sept 2010) LIttle Rock , Arkansas



Found @ Porch Light , Hovered Like Humming Bird , Had an Owl Face , Body Covered w/ Feather Like Scales , Allowed Me to look at it up close , large mouth bits , Size Aprox 4 in Body , 6 in Wingspan @ Full Spread

Effective Cleaning methodologies

I approach most areas of my home with a very similar cleaning methodology.
I work from the top downward. So that any dust or dirt that is displaced at one level with descend to the next. This keeps me from making a mess of something I have already cleaned.

After I have cleaned everything in a room I follow the following " Is Everything Just So" .
I clean 4 Main Area's first Based on guest interactions , and only after those area's are finished do I move on to the rest of the house.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

An American Oriental Meal



It's Quick. It Uses Simple Ingredients. Its relatively cheap.

I use 2 c Water
1 C White Long Grain Enriched Rice

Microwave @ 5 min @ High , then 15 @ Med

1/2 a Link of Cheese Sausage or Regular Polish Sausage
Sliced into 1/8 inch medallions then quartered

Micro @ med for 5 min

2 C of Birdeye Stir-Fry Vegetables
Micro @ Med for 5 Min


(I often buy this Birdseye Vegetable mix , not for Stir-Fry , but because it has a quick mix of tasty veggies i cant find in regular mixes , I do not use the enclosed sauces as they contain wheat)

Cook everything Separately , then Mix.

I call it an American Oriental , Because its an odd mix , definitely not oriental , definitely american.

Easy & Gluten Free !!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Spring Pad : A Digital Household Notebook

I found a Even Better Houeshold Management Notebook @ springpadit.com/

It allows you to have notebooks , I create a Notebook For Each Specific Area

In My Meal Plan Notebook I create a recipie (from the + symbol in the top right corner)
You can flesh Out the Plans , or like me , I just add the basic food items my household uses .
I Use the Board , set out weekly labels and add items as I so desire


I have a notebook for shopping
I have another one called Calendar that I add Events and reminders in. You can even set it up to send you email reminders if needed.


Even one for my cleaning Schedules

Spring Pad allows the user to clip and add and search and catalog. It comes also as a Iphone app . It is Online only in web mode , with future plans to have a desktop app. 

You can use it as a book mark manager , and even a web clipper.

It is fully searchable by the user , and shareable with some investigation.

Try it out , let me know what you think !!
If you have any suggestions or idea's let me know . 

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

How to set up a Household Management Dashboard w/ Igoogle

I know , a household management dashboard ? Right ? I have used notebooks , I went the long binder route  I did the Folders. In the end I always wind back up at the dashboard setup. It's just easier than clipping and filing and printing. Its also much cheaper. What about those offline days ? Well then I go right back to my sticky notes. Oh reliable little bits of paper.

So I am going to lead you through How to set up a Household Management Dashboard using igoogle , a free service from google.

http://www.google.com/ig

Part I - Setting Up The Household Management Tab


A pace to remember our tasks
The Main Staple of this Task is adding the To-Do Gadget  and Setting up a list for Monthly / Weekly and Daily Tasks as well as a Task list for incidental tasks. I add this gadget 4 times so that I can set each notepad to a specific page.


Part II - The Finances Tab


Here we use 2 widgets , one to track finances and one to give us frugal tips.
I use  The Expense Manager Gadget

and

The Freakishly Frugal Tips Gadget

Part III - The Family Planning Tab


I Use the Calendar Gadget
and
Pregnancy Tracking Gadget

Part IV - Meal Planning



I use My Notes to jot down meal plans and grocery Lists

I have a few other tabs as well one full of reminders and calendars and one that just links me to my favorite places.

Tell Me About YOUR home Management System !!!