Next Book for Discussion... Gorgeously Green

There was some interest in exploring another book together and there has also been some interest in discussing more green ideas on the site. I thought I would pair the two and we could work our way through the book, "Gorgeously Green," by Sophie Uliano.

I received this book from Harper Collins and I really liked the ideas and the message that you could begin starting your green journey with just one simple change. I think many people are scared of the total overhaul process, but we could all make a few simple changes to better our earth for ourselves and for our children.

We can start our discussion next week, but maybe you might like to put a hold on this book at your local library? In the meantime, the author has set up a website and a Gorgeously Green Girls Club that you can join to help teach you simple steps towards an earth-friendly life.

I want this to be a fun and friendly discussion. I know that not everyone is going to be on the same page with a lot of this stuff, but I want this to be a supportive place where you can share freely without judgment! Remember, many of us are still learning and exploring our green sides.

I am looking forward to a great discussion!

Sound Off: What earth-friendly ideas are you really interested in exploring? What changes have you already made in your own life?

Freebie Friday: May 16, 2008

As always, a big thank you to Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, for helping compile this week's freebies. Check out Heather's post on The Knack for Crafty Kids and find out how you can score another Michael's coupon. After all, can a family truly have too much craft supplies.... We won't let my husband answer that!

Health & Beauty

Ban Deodorant (Walmart sample)

Lactaid Fast Act

Playtex Gentle Glide

Food

Taco Bell Frutista Freeze (free with coupon, print more at Coupons.com)

Teddy Grahams

Corazonas Chips (free with coupon)

Entertainment

TV Guide 1-yr. Subscription (offered by Rewards Gold)

Columbia University Music Lab (free downloads for taking survey)

Nine Inch Nails free album download "The Slip"
Barenaked Ladies- Snacktime download (I am so excited they came out with a kid's album!!)
Motor Trend Magazine (2 year subscription)
Garden Design Magazine (digital subscription)
Boating World Magazine

Home & Garden

Viva Paper Towel (Walmart sample)

Pets

Tidy Cats Breeze Cat Litter System

Mark Your Calendars
May 16-18 Free Smashbox Quad at Nordstrom's

May 18 - Free Sundaes at Walmart 12-5pm

May 19 - The Home Depot "Do-It-Herself" Workshop 7-8:30pm

May 20 - Free Dippin' Dots 4pm

May 21 - Baskin-Robbins Bump Day 11am-10pm (limited locations)

MomAdvice Weekly Recap 05.16.08

This was an exciting week for me as I have finally hit the landmark of my 1,000th post! In case you missed it, please drop by and say hi. I would love to hear your thoughts on what you would like to see on here so that I have material for another 1,000 posts...and hopefully more.

We are still struggling with technical problems on the forum and review site. We will let everyone know when we are able to get everything back up and rolling again. I apologize for all of the troubles and know that we are doing our best to restore everything to its former glory.

Featured Article:

The Benefits of Line Drying Your Clothes- There must be something great about drying your clothing outside as it seems all of the laundry detergents aim to get that fresh smell in their detergents. I see promises of fragrances filled with the smell of mountain freshness and April showers. What is not to love about that? Did you know that it is possible to achieve that just by line drying your clothing outside? With a simple clothesline and some clothespins, you can save your family money and achieve the scent that every detergent company is trying to capture... Continue Reading

Blog Entries for Fun & Discussion:

There are Holes in My House Where My Clutter Used to Be -This corner of my garage has been housing our old dishwasher since we replaced it this fall. It was one of those things that needed to be taken care of, but I kept procrastinating on it. As long as I could get my car parked and open our doors comfortably, did it really matter that it was sitting there?.... Continue Reading

Rainy Day Activity: Popcorn Fun- It's raining, it's pouring...what is a desperate mom to do? My popcorn tub came to my rescue this week and I have pulled it into our guest bathroom so the kids could have a blast in it, with easy clean-up for me.....Continue Reading

Creating Morning Rituals- Today is going to be our last day in the book, "How Did I Get So Busy." We have had such a great discussion from this book and I feel like I have made a lot of positive changes by sharing through this format and from encouragement from you. It has definitely been a positive transformation for me and I hope that you have gotten as much from it as I have....Continue Reading

Don't miss a single entry and subscribe to my feeds! We have made it easy for you to do it- you are just a click away!

Giving Away the Mother Load!

We hope to return to the land of the giveaways next week. We apologize for our technical difficulties!

Featured Recipe of the Week:

Simple Oatmeal & Chocolate Chip Muffins

Play it Again, Momma!

Did you miss these posts the first time around? Here they are for your reading pleasure!

Leaner Ground Beef for Less

Ding-Dong: Did Someone Order Groceries?

A Few Words About Convenience Foods

Make Your Own Flavored Creamers

Not enough of me yet?

WSBT: Getting Ready for Vacations

Frugal Hacks: Keeping Summer Essentials Handy

Blissfully Domestic: Reclaiming Myself, One Day at a Time

Michiana Family Magazine: Gearing Up for Summer

Kenmore: Make Meal Planning Easier

FAQ for Amy

Bad Week or Why I Couldn't Be a Single Mom

Editor's Note- I actually posted this post and then deleted it because I was a little embarrassed about my whiny tone. I got some emails that people were looking for this entry in their feeds so it is back up here...only read this if you can handle all the whining and moaning. Seriously, WHINING and MOANING. You have been warned!


My husband has been out of town since Monday and I thought I could do this on my own. I envisioned our fun-filled days and evenings that would be spent painting my toes and catching up on my reading.

Day One- The roofing construction begins on our home. A new roof has been in the works since we moved into this house. I never thought of how this construction would impact our day. No naps for kids means a tired mommy and grumpy children.

Day Two- My son comes down with a nasty case of pink eye. He can't go to school for the next two days until we get it cleared up.

Day Three- Rained all day, which leaves our house quiet. Emily wakes up with a snotty nose and Ethan's eye is gooped beyond recognition. The only thing I have to look forward to is my girlfriend coming for the evening. We cook. We clean. We prepare for her visit...she has an unexpected conflict and can't come. I think we scared her off with all of our illnesses.

Day Four- Our gutters turn up missing (after being removed from our house for the roofing job). I have to file a police report and talk to a detective. I feel ridiculous reporting a case of missing gutters and embarrassed that I am wasting their time with something so trivial. They were our gutters though so I file my little plea that they figure out who the culprit is.

Day Five- Emily is sicker by the minute and wakes up with a 102 degree fever. I get a late appointment at the doctor and he tells me she has a bad case of strep throat.

Day Six- I can only imagine how great the day will be putting drops in Ethan's eye three times a day, distributing penicillin to Emily and medicine to keep down her fever, as I swipe her little nose. I feel so bad for them both and am feeling blue myself.

My days are filled with nursing sick children and running myself into the ground. The evenings are spent playing catch up on the household chores and laundry. Fabulous dinners at home were replaced with two trips to the fast food joint so that I could keep my sanity. No painting of nails or relaxation in the evening, in fact, I didn't even blow dry my hair this week because there was no time.

The final nail in the coffin is calling the bed and breakfast, where we have reserved our room for our anniversary this weekend, and letting them know we can't come. One case of pink eye and one case of strep seal the deal.

How do single moms of the world do it? I humbly bow to them because I am a blubbering mess right now. I am so ashamed that I couldn't do it for one week. I really believed it was going to be a great week, but it seemed I have a little too much confidence.

Notebook Experiments: Idiot Margaritas

I will admit that my favorite thing to do is my notebook entries each week. I can rely on the creativity of others and it gives me lots of great ideas for things we can try for our own family.

I do try to do a lot of the ideas in the notebooks so I thought it would be fun to have a, "Notebook Experiments," section, highlighting how these ideas have turned out for our family.

What should we start with? How about a little alcohol...I am so naughty, but I always appreciate a good toast to a new section so we shall start there!

Experiment: Are Idiot Margaritas Really Good?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 05.08.08

Materials Needed: Please see Jane's Apron for specific directions on how to complete this experiment. I like a little something on the rim of the glasses though so I did get out a bowl of water and a bowl of sugar. I dipped the glasses in the water and then dipped them in the sugar to give the glasses a little something special. These large goblets are courtesy of the fabulous Dollar Tree. A lime would have added a little more pizazz, but the grocery dollars are suffering right now so we just skipped that little specialness this week.

Results: We followed the recipe as instructed, but decided to half the amount of tequila (because we are lightweights and didn't want to push our luck) and added one can of water to make them a tad less strong.

The taste of these is excellent, in fact, my husband hates margaritas, but absolutely loved these. We served them on the rocks with sugar on the rim, which resulted in a delicious combination of sweet and tart. The beer adds a foamier feel to the margaritas, but did not add any odd flavor to them. I don't think you would even notice the ingredient was in there unless the "bartender" was mixing them in front of you.

Conclusion: Idiot Margaritas ARE good! Thanks, Jane's Apron for the fabulous new recipe. It will be a hit with all of our friends!

Amy's Notebook 05.15.08

I love these ideas for throwing a double birthday party and think I might make the daisies for Emily's next birthday (@ Very Merry Events)

Speaking of cupcakes, these little cupcake bites look sinfully delicious (@ Bakerella)

These flower pot treats are about the cutest darn thing I have ever seen (@ The Pioneer Woman Cooks)

I love these ideas for making a Sunday dinner special again (@ The Homespun Heart)

This housewarming basket is beautiful- I am going to be using her coffee filter idea (@ Like Merchant Ships)

This ride-on toy makeover is amazing (@ Ohdeedoh)

I want to try these whole wheat buttermilk pancakes (@ Cheap Healthy Good)

I love this idea for forming a support group to get stuff done around the house (@ i am bossy)

I want to make this oilcloth lunch bag (@ Skip to My Lou)

I love these directions for cooking brown rice (@ angry chicken)

I adore this recycled bird feeder (@ Daily Danny)

I will have to plant some of these low-maintenance perennials (@ Unclutterer)

I am going to have to do some of these ideas for making a fun baking day with the kids (@ Megret)

These easy no sew draperies are so cute (@ Blissfully Domestic)

I want to try knitting these wedding washcloths (@ The Purl Bee)

We are going to try some of these recipes for homemade art supplies (@ DIY Maven)

Another fun rainy day activity, making rainsticks and eating some of these pop up pancakes (@ Make & Takes)

This creamy spinach rigatoni sounds delicious (@ Motherhood for Dummies)

I love this post on the hidden side of our stuff (@ Think Simple Now)

The kids & I are going to need to do this painting project (@ The Artful Parent)

I want to try this buttercream icing recipe soon (@ Mad About Martha)

I need to make a copy of this free scarf pattern (@ Vickie Howell)

I really needed this reminder to be different (@ Down to Earth)

Redbox Code 05.14.08

Guess what started coming to my phone? Wednesday Redbox codes! Yup, they are adding a mid-week code that you can use towards a free rental. Even if you think that there is no Redbox in your area, I would double-check their list because it seems they are adding new locations all of the time. You might be pleasantly surprised!

Today's free code for a Redbox movie is 2672JC. This code is good for one free movie and you can use it until midnight tonight. Enjoy a free family movie together!

Side Notes:

- If you want to rent more than one movie for free, bring more than one credit/debit card. You can use the same promotional code, you just will need different cards to charge it to. The charge will be zero as long as you return your movie on time for the next day.

- When entering in your free movie code, you need to enter it FIRST before picking the movie. On the very first screen, click the, "Rent with Promo." Enter in the above code and then make your selection- the amount should then total zero.

1,000 Posts Later

I truly can't believe that I would have 1,000 things to even talk about, let alone write entire entries on. Today I celebrate my 1K of posting on this little blog of mine. What a proud moment!

Please come out of lurking and tell me what you would like me to post about for my next 1K of posts. What on here has made your life better or easier? What do you want to see more of? What can I do to make your reading experience better?

If you just post to say hello (and have never done it but read me regularly), it would truly make my day too. I work really hard to be creative on here and would love to say hi to each of you!

Creating Morning Rituals

Today is going to be our last day in the book, "How Did I Get So Busy." We have had such a great discussion from this book and I feel like I have made a lot of positive changes by sharing through this format and from encouragement from you. It has definitely been a positive transformation for me and I hope that you have gotten as much from it as I have.

For those of you who are just joining in on the series, we began with a busy bee quiz, questioned our reasons for being busy, had a discussion about technology and how it can intrude into our life, talked about self-care (or lack thereof), discussed our exercise routines (or lack thereof), taming our tech habits, and breaking the procrastination habits. There are many more chapters in the book so I hope that you can check this out from your library or can purchase a copy. I have heard from many of you who have gotten the book so I hope it will continue to benefit you.

Today we are going to discuss our morning routines and rituals. I have read other bloggers who have some really great morning routines, but I will admit that I am not a morning person and carving time for rituals has been something I think about, but don't do. I will say that I have added some workout time to my mornings, after I drop my son off at preschool, and I have also been doing a morning walk with Emily on warmer days.

These are the suggestions from the author on ways that you can incorporate some rituals into your day:

1. Write a vision of your ideal morning. The author actually says she has a list of seven things that she wants to do every morning. She suggests writing a list down of the things you would like out of your own morning and putting this in a place where you will see it each day- on the fridge door, inside a medicine cabinet, next to your alarm clock. This list will help remind you of what your ideal morning would look like. I have seen moms take this a step further and have an ideal day written up for themselves and their children too.

2. Estimate how much time each morning ritual will take you. With all of our goals, we are encouraged to start small and work our way up. Begin with small things that won't take a lot of time and build your routine up from there.

3. Identify a simple way to connect with loved ones in the morning. It can be a hug and a kiss for your kids, joining your child for breakfast each day so that you have special time together, or exercising with your spouse. Use this time to connect with the people you love most and see if it starts your days out a little better.

4. Choose things you truly want to do, not what you "should" do. Don't do things you think you have to do, you need to do things, "that will truly nourish you and help you create the kind of life you believe is possible."

5. Test your habits- and adjust them. If your routine isn't working for you, don't be afraid to switch it around. Continually tweak the routine until you have something you are really happy with.

In this chapter, the author focuses on ways to end your day as well. I have found that I am better about how I end my day then how I begin it though so this section really stuck with me.

Sound Off: I am interested to hear if you have a morning ritual that works for you? What are your mornings like? Do you struggle with a morning routine too?

MomAdvice Sound Off: Did you enjoy this book series? Would you like to work through another book together? What topics/books are of interest to you right now?

The Naughty Stitch- The "Amy Purl"

Requests were made to show you guys how I messed up my knitting. I am not sure if this is genuine interest or an opportunity to laugh at my ridiculousness, but I will pretend like it was to marvel at how inventive I am. Now if this is a real stitch, please tell me. If this resembles something you have seen before and don't believe that I can get a patent on this fabulousness, please let me know. I was hoping it was unique, but perhaps it is not!

Begin by taking your needle in going up into the top of the stitch and hold 'er steady.



Don't panic this is exactly wrong so you are doing great. Now take your yarn (which should be on top and not behind like that old and boring knit stitch) and loop it around on the outside of that knitting needle. Does it feel wrong and inappropriate? It should, especially if you know how to purl the proper way.


Now you are going to take that loop and slip it off on the right needle. You are so wrong! Don't you feel like you need a shower after this horrible knitting tutorial?

Now you can slip that stitch off the left needle and you have completed the naughty stitch...or the "Amy Purl."



If you alternate this stitch with a row of this and a row of knitting, it will look like this. That's right....completely wrong, but completely straight and right-in-your-head.

Do NOT do this stitch if you are not an experienced knitter and can understand just how wrong this is. I don't want to deter you from the path of the straight and narrow.

Hugs and Kisses,
The Stitchery Satan

What I Got For Mother's Day

Ethan brought home this beautiful picture for mommy from school. I adore it because he is giving a toothy grin and he has the sweetest smile. When he was little, he knocked one of his front teeth (tragically stunting the growth in one of his front teeth) and his one front tooth is short and his other is longer. It is one of those things you think you won't forget as a parent, but you do...I am glad I have a picture of this precious little smile. I will hang on to it when all those perfectly perfect teeth come in. This little picture was accompanied with a potted flower that I just love. Two of my favorite gifts.

What else did I get for Mother's Day? Oh, don't hate me too much, this was lots of time and research and just happened to be purchased around Mother's Day, but is really an investment for my kitchen and meal preparation... Behold, my glorious Cuisinart Multi-Clad Pro Stainless Steel Pot Set. Oh my goodness! Heaven! Total and utter heaven! I love these pots like I love my children and as much as I love my red pot, red coat, and red shoes. Yeah, that kind of love...a deep kind of affection that only one cook to another cook could understand.

My husband has been making so much fun of me as I clean these precious gems. I am all stroking them lovingly (hoping that phrase doesn't pop up in our keyword phrase searches too often) and just cleaning them like they are the finest china dishes I have ever own. Yeah, I don't care... say what you must, but I have waited YEARS for these pots.

They are every bit of good as I had hoped. Sturdy, heavy, easy to clean, and beautiful to look at. Yes, I can gaze at my freaky expression on the lids as I take a dishtowel to the corners of my eye and weep at their beauty. I don't know why my husband is making fun of me? Perhaps jealousy because it is a love that I cannot explain.


Oh, and one of the strangest things that has happened to me is getting a beautiful flower sent to me...by the TiVo company. Say what? Yeah, Tivo was all like, "I hope you can pause for a moment and enjoy your Mother's Day." Although you can't see it, the company stamped their logo on the corner of the flower and sent these to me one morning via Fed Ex. This was perhaps one of the most creative campaigns I have ever seen. I used to work in marketing so I can appreciate a good campaign- can't imagine how much time and orchestration it took to send these out to mommy bloggers, but very thoughtful and I loved looking at it in my window. What did I appreciate about this campaign? The note was actually handwritten. That means a lot to me because this can be a rarity. I appreciate it when people write notes by hand- it is good form, in my humble mommy opinion!

Not to be outdone by the flower, this entire stack of books came to me from Hachette Book Group. They wanted to send me a, "Mother's Day Package" with no strings attached. Who in the world would turn down free books? In this stack are:

1. Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet
2. Your Best Life Now For Moms by Joel Osteen
3. How Not to Look Old: Fast and Effortless Ways to Look 10 Years Younger by Charla Krupp
4. Bobbi Brown Living Beauty by Bobbi Brown
5. Kim Cattrall Sexual Intelligence by Kim Cattrall
6. Sew U Home Stretch: The Built by Wendy Guide to Sewing Knit Fabrics by Wendy Mullin & Eviana Hartman
7. Jewels: 50 Phenomenal Black Women Over 50 by Michael Cunningham & Connie Briscoe
8. On Becoming Fearless: ...in Love, Work, and Life by Arianna Huffington
9. Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach
10. Days: From the Heart of the Home by Susan Branch
11. Heart of the Home: Notes from a Vineyard Kitchen by Susan Branch
12. Starting Your Day Right: Devotions for Each Morning of the Year by Joyce Meyer
13. Ending Your Day Right: Devotions for Every Evening of the Year by Joyce Meyer
14. I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris
15. Send Yourself Roses: Thoughts on My Life, Love, and Leading Roles by Gloria Feldt and Kathleen Turner

Some of these I already have so I will be giving them away as gifts and for our giveaways on here, but it was just so darn exciting to get all these nice new books. I am hoping we can work through a couple of these on the site since I have enjoyed our past book discussions so much.

Redbox Code 05.12.08

Today's free code for a Redbox movie is DM1048. This code is good for one free movie and you can use it until midnight tonight. Enjoy a free family movie together!

Side Notes:

- If you want to rent more than one movie for free, bring more than one credit/debit card. You can use the same promotional code, you just will need different cards to charge it to. The charge will be zero as long as you return your movie on time for the next day.

- When entering in your free movie code, you need to enter it FIRST before picking the movie. On the very first screen, click the, "Rent with Promo." Enter in the above code and then make your selection- the amount should then total zero.

Too Much Knitting Confidence

Guess what? I didn't know how to purl. This is not the purl stitch, but I will now lovingly refer to this as the, "Amy Purl."

I showed my mother-in-law this scarf and she had a bit of a confused look on her face. She wanted to know which stitches I had been doing. I explained that this was knitting and purling (I thought she would know that by now) and she had an amused expression on her face. Um....yeah, not so much.

This is the "Amy Purl" which actually looks quite lovely and nice and straight, but is not purling at all. Everything I was doing was completely backwards so now I am learning how to purl correctly. This is a lot harder now that I did an entire scarf the wrong way. It is like trying to reteach my brain and I keep wanting to do things the wrong way.

Instead of our planned hat tutorial, my lesson was on how to purl correctly. I guess I will try hats when I can master the purling. We did talk a lot about all of these crazy pattern techniques, which are so confusing and my head felt like it was spinning after learning all of these abbreviations.

I do want to say though that I am not at all frustrated. Nope, not at all. I am good enough, I am smart enough....

Perhaps, I was a bit too confident in my knitting abilities.

Simple Oatmeal & Chocolate Chip Muffins

I have been looking for a heartier muffin recipe for the kids. My children just love muffins and I love making these fast little treats for snacks and the occasional breakfast. I have had this recipe in my to-be-tried pile for far too long so I decided to break it out this week.

These muffins are hearty, but the chocolate chips make them a little bit sweet too. I was surprised that they had so much oatmeal in them, but the soaking process made the chewiness of the oats disappear. The muffin was still light, although you could tell it was a little denser than the traditional muffin.

My kids absolutely loved these and I did too. I think I will be making these with some butterscotch chips or peanut butter chips next time, just to switch it up a bit!

Simple Oatmeal & Chocolate Chip Muffins
1 1/4 cups quick cooking oats
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Combine oats and milk (I used prepared powdered milk) and allow to stand for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease each cup of one 12-cup muffin tin. Stir egg, oil, 1/2 cup of the brown sugar, chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of the pecans into the oat and milk mixture. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add oat mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just moist. Fill each cup of one 12-cup muffin tin 2/3 full. Sprinkle tops with the remaining brown sugar and pecans. Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes. Amy's Notes: I added a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of vanilla to the muffins. I omitted the pecans and instead I topped the muffins with this crumb topping recipe.

Sound Off: Do you have any hearty or healthy muffin recipes that I could try? I am looking for some new ideas for breakfast and would love any suggestions you might have!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day, everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful day with your families and get to spend time honoring all of the great mothers in your life!

Make sure that your family treats you like royalty! Our princess moments are fewer and far between as we get older, embrace what's left!

Hugs to each of you!

See That Stuff On the Side??

Yeah, some sweet soul nominated me for the Bloggers Choice Awards. I am so stinking honored! I know that you have to set up an account to put in a vote, but man, that would just be amazing if you did that. I would totally love you guys for it because this is such a big deal to me.

And if I win, I will knit everyone a scarf and I will give away a couple more Starbucks cards. You know...just to sweeten the deal! Everyone loves coffee and scarves, right?

Click on the links on the left to give us your vote! Thank you and thanks for our nominations!!

Knitting: Dropped-Stitch Scarf

This is the last scarf I am sharing for the week. This one was done in about three hours and it is my absolute favorite one so far. Since I am a beginning knitter, I checked out this amazing book called, "Teen Knitting Club," by Jennifer Wenger. If you are just starting out to knit, I would HIGHLY recommend this book because it has awesome beginner projects and they are actually cool too.

This is their Dropped-Stitch Scarf and it requires size 15 needles and a chunky yarn (I used medium yarn that my mother-in-law had given me from her yarn stash and it looks amazing).


Here is a close-up picture of what the stitches look like. I just love the way the dropped stitches make this scarf look a tad more feminine.

And this is what it looks like on someone. Isn't it so incredibly awesome looking? I have to say, this is about as proud as I have been with my knitting. I kept looking at it and saying, "I can't believe I am making stuff."


Soooooo proud!

There are Holes in My House Where My Clutter Used To Be

This corner of my garage has been housing our old dishwasher since we replaced it this fall. It was one of those things that needed to be taken care of, but I kept procrastinating on it. As long as I could get my car parked and open our doors comfortably, did it really matter that it was sitting there?

While the kids were enjoying some fresh sunshine in our front yard one day though, I started to organize our garage...a dumping ground of activity in our home. Don't know what to do with something? Just throw it in the garage or basement until you can "figure it out."

I started loading items right into our car that we were no longer using and could donate, other items were thrown into the trash. I filled our car up with the first load of stuff and made a pile for a second round later.

I flipped through our local paper and found a company that hauls your junk for free. We have one particular company that we like because they are very respectful and come when they say they are going to come. They arrived the next morning and picked up the dishwasher and some old doors that we had from our closets. The entire process took about five minutes and everything was gone. Yes, I completed this task while watching my kids play in the front yard- a half year for a five minute task, but I guess that is how I can procrastinate sometimes.

Feeling motivated, I started clearing out the basement, my closet and drawers of too old clothes, cleaned out both of the kid's drawers and closets and loaded up four more loads of stuff that we didn't need. Summer clothes were moved into the closets and an inventory was taken of what little they really did need for the warmer months ahead.

I sold $70 worth of Emily's cloth diapers, $25 worth of her clothes, $10 in Ethan's toys, and am making another $50 on our train table that the kids no longer play with. That is $155 that I made plus a nice tax deduction for next year. Although I might have done well with a garage sale, I really just wanted the items out so I could get on with life.

We miss none of the clutter and I am continuing to add to the car as I see things. I didn't just look at the big things though, there were lots of little things too. For example, every single morning, I would remove this little toaster oven baking sheet that came with my toaster oven so that I could make the kid's their bagels. I never actually used the little cookie sheet because I used my little stoneware pan if I needed to use something, but every single day, I would pull that sheet out to put my bagel in. It would rest on the counter, aggravating me until I could slip it back into its proper place. Last week I looked at that dish and asked myself, "Why do I do this every day?" I didn't use it, it was a nuisance, it got in the way of what I needed to do....so I loaded it into the car. Guess what? It isn't bothering me and I am glad to have it gone.

Is there something that is getting in the way of your life? Why not start a container in your car and fill it as you see things. When the bin is full, just drop it at a charity on your errand day. Start with a small tote and see if you could fill that. What I found though was that I started with a tote that turned into a trunk full of items that were not being used in our house.

Yes, I like the holes in my house where my junk used to be!

Breaking the Procrastination Habit

One of my favorite bloggers, Crystal from Biblical Womanhood & Money Saving Mom recently gave her readers a challenge to have an anti-procrastination day. She asked everyone to think of the things that they had been procrastinating on and for them to focus their efforts on those tasks. Isn't she just brilliant? I have five things in my head that come to mind that I have procrastinated on this week and I am sure everyone else has things that they know they should be doing...but haven't. In the long run, is it really easier to procrastinate? I will say that if you have procrastinated forever on something, there is certainly a rush when the task finally does get completed, but is your life easier or more difficult when dealing with procrastination? Often my procrastination costs me MORE time and money.

This week's lesson from the book we have been working through ("How Did I Get So Busy," by Valorie Burton) actually has a chapter devoted towards breaking the procrastination habits that you have been living with. The author offers these tips to help you accomplish what needs your attention this week:

1. Commit five minutes to the task. Even if the projects are large, start by setting a timer for five minutes and working on the project for that length of time. Don't you find though that once you start, it is hard to stop. It is the starting in a task that is usually the most difficult part. Go ahead, set that timer...but don't be surprised if you don't want to stop!

2. Stop making it a big deal. Often we make these tasks into bigger deals than what the are and it causes us to become paralyzed and not even start them. Maybe the task is just having a conversation with someone you love and you have something to say. You could start with manageable steps- writing it down, scheduling a date to say what you need to say, and then just saying it. Smaller steps are key towards working through procrastination.

3. Give yourself permission to do it imperfectly. My perfectionism and procrastination go hand in hand. I have the mentality, "If I can't do it perfectly, then why do it at all?" Wrong attitude, I know, but sometimes I have to give myself permission to let go of my perfectionism to accomplish something. The author says, "It's time to let go of your perfectionism. It becomes a stumbling block that keeps you stuck. Be willing to do your best, but be willing to do it imperfectly. It frees you to be human and it frees you to make progress."

4. Make it fun. I have heard of people throwing painting parties to get their rooms painted, or inviting friends over to help them weed through their clothes. Invite someone to join in with you or look for support among your blogging friends to help you! Sometimes it just helps to have a cheerleader, doesn't it?

5. Drop the goal. Enjoy the day. If you are never going to do the task, quit adding it to your to-do list so that you can feel like you have failed. Just give yourself permission to let it go so you can enjoy your day without the dread.

Sound Off: What do you find yourself procrastinating on? What are some goals you could make for yourself?

Freebie Friday: May 9, 2008

I just want to say thank you to Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, for all of her help with our freebie list this week! Heather has lots of great stuff on her site this week, continuing her Coupons 4 Mom feature with tons of coupons & the scoop on kid's summer movies! Thanks Heather- you rock!

Health & Beauty

Celine Dion Sensational fragrance

Deseo fragrance

Benefiber fiber supplement (Walmart sample)

Poise (Walmart sample)
Metamucil Berry Burst
Rally With Sally for Bone Health Kit

Food

Crystal Light, Kool-Aid, Country Time On-the-Go (Walmart sample)

Entertainment

Redwood Creek Vintage Prints (new print, Pinot Noir)
God's Power to Change Your Life (paperback book)
Mad Magazine
MarriageToday Magazine

Home & Garden

Clean Home Journal Big Savings Gift Pack

Snuggle Fresh Release Fabric Softener

Start Your Engines Fuel System Revitalizer

Mark Your Calendars

May 5-11 - Cinnabon celebrates National Nurses Week with free Cinnabon Rolls

May 11 - TCBY Free Cup or Cone for Moms

May 13 - Haagen-Dazs free scoop of Vanilla Honey Bee 4-8pm

May 15 - Free Iced Coffee at Dunkin Donuts 10am-10pm

May 18 - Free Sundaes at Walmart 12-5pm

May 19 - The Home Depot "Do-It-Herself" Workshop 7-8:30pm

May 20 - Free Dippin' Dots 4pm

May 21 - Baskin-Robbins Bump Day 11am-10pm (limited locations)

MomAdvice Weekly Recap 05.09.08

These past two weeks have been a test on my patience and probably your patience as well. Our web host's server went down and we are still trying to recover from this problem. Please know that we are doing ALL that we can to restore what was lost and our hope is that all will be restored soon. Many apologies to our forum members and those who are waiting on giveaways. We promise to extend these giveaways longer and restore our forum content as soon as we can.

I felt a little lost last week without you guys! I appreciate all your sweet emails of encouragement and your patience- I know I am very lucky to have such great readers!

Featured Article:

Gearing Up for Summer- Summer is just around the corner and with the warmer weather comes many preparations in both the interior and the exterior of the home. Spring-cleaning your house should not just involve the deep-cleaning of the interior of your home, but it should also include preparing the outside of your home for all of those lovely days that you will be able to be out enjoying the sunshine... Continue Reading

Blog Entries for Fun & Discussion:

Working Out on a Budget -Our discussion last week about exercise really struck a chord with me. My family suffers from many health problems that I hope to not replicate, but if I am sitting on the couch (or in front of the computer), I may suffer from the same ailments.... Continue Reading

Taming the Tech Habit- I can tell you one of the reasons that I often feel overwhelmed is because of my tech habits. A quick login to my email account can set my day into a tailspin- a review that needs posting, an article that needs writing, a page that needs editing- I have suddenly lost an hour of my day.....Continue Reading

Rainy Day Activity: Popcorn Fun- It's raining, it's pouring...what is a desperate mom to do? My popcorn tub came to my rescue this week and I have pulled it into our guest bathroom so the kids could have a blast in it, with easy clean-up for me.....Continue Reading

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Featured Recipe of the Week:

Yummy Jerk Chicken

Not enough of me yet?

WSBT: Cheap Summer Day Trips

WSBT: How to Save Money at the Grocery Store

Frugal Hacks: Simple Writing Brings Simple Pleasures

Blissfully Domestic: Freebies For Moms & Babies

Michiana Family Magazine: Goodbye, Old Friend- Asking Jealousy to Leave

Kenmore: Make Meal Planning Easier

FAQ for Amy

Reader Question: Workout DVD Recommendations?

This question comes from one of our fabulous readers! Can you please help her with some recommendations?

Does anyone have a workout DVD they really like? I have come to the realization that if I want to work out more than 1-2 times a week I'm going to have to do it at home after my daughter goes to bed.

I had 5 pounds still left to lose when I cut back to nursing only 2X a day-now I have 8lbs to lose, I need to get moving!

Thanks!
Steph

Yummy Jerk Chicken

We tried a new marinade for Caribbean Jerk Chicken this week and it was delicious! This spice mix has the perfect balance of spices and coats the chicken beautifully. I marinated the chicken for a few hours and we had planned to grill it outside. The weather didn't end up cooperating so I ended up baking this for 350 degrees for about forty-five minutes, and it was absolutely perfect.

We served the chicken with rice and some corn to complete the dinner!

Yummy Jerk Chicken

1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 1/2 lbs chicken pieces

Mix the marinade ingredients into a bowl and then pour over the chicken pieces. Allow this to marinate for a minimum of one hour or overnight. Grill your meat until it is done.

Amy's Notebook 05.08.08

I love these ideas for what to do with all your children's art (@ Design Mom)

I really like these DIY headboard ideas (@ DIY Maven)

I want to try this recipe for garlic & soy chicken thighs (@ Home Ec 101)

This is a great tutorial for taking measurements when sewing (@ Sew Mama Sew)

I love these tips for a beginner in organic gardening (@ Mad About Martha)

I am going to have to try this recipe for idiot margaritas (@ Jane's Apron)

This is a great little apron tutorial (@ The Feathered Nest)

This is a great comprehensive list of creative container gardening ideas (@ Tip Nut)

This hat embellishment is so beautiful (@ Berlin's Whimsy)

When I get the hang of this knitting thing, I will have to try these patterns for knitting fruit and vegetables (@ Bleu Arts)

These newborn hats are adorable (@ Rookie Moms)

I love this post on the importance of commenting on blogs- hint, hint for my sweet and lovely readers (@ i should be folding laundry)

This lemon poppy seed cake looks delicious- I heart her bundt pan (@ The Long Thread)

I really love these reusable sandwich wraps (@ The Small Object)

Making grocery lists with the kids looks like it might be the perfect rainy day activity (@ Plum Pudding)

These DIY flannel boards would be a fun project to do with the kids (@ Scribbit)

This little nature craft would also be something great to do using items from our garden (@ Write, Mama, Write)

These baby shower cupcakes are so cute and I love the idea for making the shavings on top (@ Notes from a Cottage Industry)

I am loving this discussion on toy storage and how to control the clutter