Menu for week of February 1st

Monday: Freezer Meal-Picnic Chicken, Corn and Peas, Fried Taters, Oatmeal Cookies

Tuesday: Hot Dogs in Cornbread, Veggies and Dip (decided to edit this to turkey dawgs with turkey chili)

Wednesday: Church or Sammies in Tortilla Wraps, Cantaloupe

Thursday: Freezer Meal-Lasagna Rolls, Salad, Garlic Bread

Friday: Smoked Sausage, Sauteed Cabbage, Mashed Potatoes, Mac and Cheese

Saturday: Freezer Meal-Teriyaki Chicken, Rice with Vegetables, Egg Rolls

Sunday: Baked Ziti (extra pan or two to freeze), Salad, ABM (automatic bread machine) bread Superbowl Game-DiGiorno pizzas!

Have a wonderful week feeding your family and for more menus go to organizedjunkie.com.

Pam

It's Monday! Here are my plans for the week:

Monday is my busy day of the week. I usually do laundry on this day. Sometimes I get started on laundry on Sunday. It just depends on how tired I am or what I have planned that day after church. Today I have "rebooted the dishwasher" and have my servants, the washer and dryer doing their jobs. I have chicken and dumplings cooking on the stove and a pot of mixed beans. Dh had to go buy a new battery for his Lexus today. The old one died. He also has a team meeting at church later today. Since we host a small group study in our home we are part of the "team" now and he needs to go to that and stay "in the know" with all the goings on at church. I also spend Mondays at the Organized Junkie blog and read all the delicious menus everyone posts.

Tomorrow, I need to get to the grocery store, if the weather is good, and put away the clean laundry, change linens and do some decluttering upstairs. We are still working on the daughter's bedroom. I know, I know, it's taking forever! Tomorrow night, dh and a buddy, are going to the church to help out with Celebrate Recovery. They need assistance setting up and taking down and greeting people and stuff like that.

Wednesday night Robyn has Awana. Our New Life class doesn't start until next week. We are going to take a class on Narnia. I'll share more about that later. Dh and I will work in the daughter's room and her bathroom too. We gotta get this job done!

Then Thursday I like to do a general pickup and vacuuming of the main floor as we host our small group study here at the house. I am really looking forward to it. I had to miss last week because I wanted to attend the Ladies Night Out (LNO) and get caught up on our study on Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer. It is a really good study.

Friday nights Robyn and Robert usually go to a local bookstore and Robyn meets up with her best friend. Her friend attends a different school so during the school year this is their best way to get together and hang out. I usually stay at the house and enjoy some quiet time but every once in a while I go too. I like to peruse the magazines and cookbooks.

I don't think I'll get up to my folks house this week but will try to do that next week.

Have a blessed week!

Pam

Menu week of January 25th

This week I will eat out of the pantry and freezer. I do intend to do more pantry shopping as Ingles has triple coupons this week. I like to pick up loss leaders and sales items combined with coupons.

Monday: Chicken and Dumplings, Pintos, Sauteed Cabbage, Cornbread

Tuesday: Freezer meal-Turkey and Biscuit Pie, Salad

Wednesday: Leftovers for hubby and I, Homemade Chicken Noodle soup for dd

Thursday: Freezer meal-Broccoli and Ham Au Gratin

Friday: Baked Ziti (using ground chicken), Salad, Garlic Bread (freeze one casserole)

Saturday: Beans and Franks (turkey dawgs), Cornbread

Sunday: Freezer Meal-Chicken Tetrazzini, Salad, Rolls

Lunches will be leftovers. Breakfasts will be whole wheat toast with peanut butter, oatmeal, yogurt, bananas, cereal, pancakes, etc.

Pam

Decorating Themes

Do you decorate your rooms with themes? Dd has a Hello Kitty bathroom. She also has a lot of Hello Kitty in her bedroom but recently has developed a love for Tinkerbell. I think her themes are overlapping. I have recently developed a love of roosters in the kitchen. But mostly, the theme in my house seem to be clutter. It's everywhere. I am tired of it. I'm ready for a change. How about you?

Have a great day!

Pam

A favorite bible verse.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Deuteronomy 6:5-7 NIV

Well, this pretty much sums things up for Christians doesn't it? As a mother, this especially speaks to me and how I raise my daughter. I have to set an example but I am also given the task of impressing God's Word on my child. I am told to talk about Him all the time.

I do love God with all my heart and soul and He loves me back. This I know. For the bible tells me so! Amen! My family is reading through the bible this year and Robyn has joined in with us this year. She received a read through the bible from us for Christmas that will help her do that. We are all enjoying doing this together. We often talk about what we just read. We are also making a bigger effort to eat together, usually in our dining room, nightly. We really enjoy this family time around the table. It's a different atmosphere than sitting on the couch in front of the big black box and not speaking to one another while we eat. Afterward we read a family devotion together. I have a book just for this purpose. It allows for discussion of what we read and reminders of how to live our daily lives. By doing just these two things, I feel I am impressing upon my child's heart, the importance of her personal relationship with Jesus.

We attend church together and sit together as a family and worship our Lord side by side. I especially love this. This really feels like "family" to me. We go in different directions for Sunday school and on Wednesday nights, but Sunday's worship service is a time of family.

What do you do as a family or an individual to impress Jesus on your children? Please share.

Have a blessed day,

Pam

Nesting Phase

I don't know about you, but January, for me, is a nesting time. It's cold, sometimes icy and snowy (yep, we've had that already this month), good time for soups and stews and homemade breads, hot chai, and roaring fires in the fireplace. It makes it very hard for me to stick to my new years resolutions when all I want to do is sit in my big red chair and with laptop in place, cruise the internet, view Netflix movies, read books, watch tv, etc. What is not getting done is the things on my "our" to-do list and my resolutions to exercise and declutter, etc. Hmmm...what to do, what to do...

How do you stay motivated in this nesting season of the year? Do you just give in and enjoy it knowing that better days are around the corner? Do you just allow yourself so much "me" time a day and then get to your to-do list? Do you reward yourself for a good days work with doing what you want to? Do you die to self? What???

I do have days where I accomplish many things and feel really good about it. But that is like one day out of three or four. I'm just being honest here. I think I have gotten into a lazy rut and need ideas for getting out of this. I know about "to-dos" and list making and such. I love writing the stuff down. I just don't always like doing the stuff. Know what I mean? I'm a planner, not a doer. I think I am management material. lol

Anywho, we are still in the progress of redoing Robyn's room so more pictures will be posted soon of our progress, which has been v e r y, v e r y slow. I am so excited about how pretty her room will be when we are finished and seeing all those toys leave her room and the guest room and going to children who will really appreciate them.

Just keeping it real. Hey, it's Chaos Cottage!

Pam

My Menu for week of January 18th

Happy Dr. MLK, Jr. day!

Here is my plan for feeding my family this week. I am not going to post breakfasts or lunches as we seem to do the same things most of the time. Breakfasts is generally toast with pb for me, oatmeal, eggs, bacon, biscuits, sometimes, Fiber One bars, donuts, bananas etc. Lunches tend to be leftovers or sammies. Here are my dinner plans:

Monday: Freezer Meal-Apple Pork Chop Bake, Slaw from yesterday

Tuesday: Mr. Food's Chicken Kiev (OAMC-eat today-freeze a meal or two for another time), Chicken Flavored Rice, Green Bean/Bacon Roll-ups

Wednesday: Hamburger Cabbage Casserole, Cornbread

Thursday: Leftovers-Small Group Night and Ladies Night Out Night-make veggies and dip, brownies, cheese and crackers for dh to feed small group-make potato soup to take to Ladies Night Out

Friday: Chicken and Dumplings

Saturday: Beans, Sauteed Cabbage, Fried Okra, Cornbread

Sunday: Hot Dogs with Chili, Chips

Very funny-Why Men are Never Depressed

WHY MEN ARE NEVER DEPRESSED:

Men Are Just Happier People ~ What do you expect from such simple creatures?

* Your last name stays put.
* The garage is all yours.
* Wedding plans take care of themselves.
* Chocolate is just another snack.
* You can never be pregnant.
* You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park.
* You can wear NO shirt to a water park.
* Car mechanics tell you the truth.
* The world is your urinal.
* You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky.
* You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.
* Same work, more pay.
* Wrinkles add character.
* Wedding dress $5000 Tux rental-$100.
* People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them.
* New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
* One mood all the time.
* Phone conversations tend to be over in 30 seconds flat.
* You know stuff about tanks.
* A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.
* You can open all your own jars.
* You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
* If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend.
* Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack.
* Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.
* You never have strap problems in public.
* You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.
* Everything on your face stays its original color.
* The same hair style lasts for years, maybe decades.
* You only have to shave your face and neck.
* You can play with toys all your life.
* One wallet and one pair of shoes --one color for all seasons.
* You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look
* You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife.
* You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.
* You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.

Menu for week of January 11th

Due to the ice/snow storm, I only got to half of my grocery stores last week, so a few ingredients were missing for making a couple of my dishes. Those have been moved to this week.

Monday:

Breakfast-Pancakes
Lunch-Out with Hubby (groceries, Home Depot, etc.)
Dinner-Northern Beans, Fried Potatoes, Fried Okra, Cornbread

Tuesday:

Breakfast-Biscuits and Gravy
Lunch-Leftovers
Dinner-Potato Soup, (cheese, sour cream, bacon-just like hubby likes it)

Wednesday:

Breakfast-Peanut Butter on Whole Wheat Toast, Banana
Lunch-Leftovers
Dinner-Church or Leftovers

Thursday:

Breakfast-Omelet, Whole Wheat Toast
Lunch-Bean Burritos (from freezer)
Dinner-Chicken and Cheese Stuffed Shells, Salad

Friday:

Breakfast-Oatmeal
Lunch-Leftovers
Dinner-Chunky Ham and Vegetable Soup, Crusty Bread

Saturday:

Breakfast-Sausages in Crescent Rolls
Lunch-Leftover Soup and Grilled Cheese
Dinner-Picnic Chicken, Slaw, Corn on the Cob

Sunday:

Breakfast-Oatmeal
Lunch-Santa Fe Pizza, Chips and Salsa
Dinner-Leftovers

Unto the Breach (dd's room)

Once more unto the breach dear friends, once more. Yep, I know Shakespeare. Henry V, to be exact. Impressed, eh? No, I'm not Canadian. lol

Time to tackle dd's room. She is coming home tomorrow and we're not ready. Dh and I are going to be in the dog house. She will be none too pleased. Pray for us.

Pam

Work in Progress

Dd's room is still a work in progress. She doesn't return home until late Thursday afternoon, but I know we won't be finished by then. She has threatened us with the fact that if it is not finished, she will stay with her grandmother. We said "okay." lol We could use a few extra days to get it done. Dh has been feeling ill with "sick" headaches and was vomiting yesterday because of them. Today he isn't nauseous any longer but his head still hurts and he really isn't up to doing that kind of work. Let's pray tomorrow will be a better day. I will go ahead and do some more decluttering though. I don't have any excuse for not working in her room. Darn it!

I hope all my readers are having a good week and getting those things accomplished on their to-do lists.

Pam

Menu week of January 4th

Monday January 4, 2010:

breakfast-Whole Wheat Toast with Peanut Butter
lunch-Egg Sammies
dinner-Picnic Chicken (freeze some), Slaw, Corn on the Cob

Tuesday January 5, 2010

breakfast-Oatmeal and Yogurt
lunch-Freezer Burritos (oamc)
dinner-Lovely Leftovers

Wednesday January 6, 2010

breakfast-Cereal and Toast
lunch-Sammie and Chips
dinner-Santa Fe Pizza, Chips and Salsa

Thursday January 7, 2010

breakfast-Oatmeal and Yogurt
lunch-Leftovers or Freezer Burritos (oamc)
dinner-Breakfast for Dinner-Eggs, Bacon, Fried Potatoes, Biscuits

Friday January 8, 2010

breakfast-Pancakes
lunch-Sammie and Sliced Apple
dinner-Mixed Beans, Rice, Breaded and Fried Okra, maybe Cornbread

Saturday January 9, 2010

breakfast-One Eyed Sailors, Link Sausage
lunch-The World's Greatest Potato Soup
dinner-Bean and Cheese Quesadillas, Salad

Sunday January 10, 2010

breakfast-Oatmeal and Yogurt
lunch-Crock Pot Cajun Chicken, Noodles, Peas, Rolls, Red Velvet Cake
dinner-Leftover Soup?

Our home at Christmas

Here's a picture of our home with the Christmas candles in the windows. I think these make a house look very cozy and warm. I'm not really big on lots of Christmas lights although we do like to drive around town and look at them. I asked Robert to get a photo of the house before taking down the rest of the Christmas decorations. I have a friend who calls that job "de-santafication." Don't you just love that word. I told him I was going to steal it, and I did!

Pam

My resolutions for this year

Here are my resolutions for 2010.

1. Read through the Bible. Dh is joining me in this one. I've done this before. I use a chronological Bible.
2. Lose weight and exercise (Isn't this a given on everyone's resolution list?)
3. Declutter the house. We have already started on this beginning with dd's room and guestroom.
4. Attend my Adult Bible Fellowship (ABF) more consistently. Mornings have been very rough for me for a long while.
5. Take my vitamins.
6. Drink more water.
7. Take more photographs.
8. Get scrapbook albums up to date.
9. Work on heritage albums.
10. Practice more hospitality. We started on this last year by hosting our small group in our home. This year, I would like to have more guests over for meals and such.
11. Pray daily for dh to find the job that the Lord would have him to have.
12. Have at least one yard sale this year to bring in extra cash.
13. Pray about teaching at VBS this year.
14. Enjoy my family more and have more family nights playing games, watching family movies, and just being together.

How about you? Do you make resolutions? Share.

Pam

Daughter's Bedroom

Dear Daughter is away on a trip to Florida and the Bahamas with her grandmother and great-great aunt. While she is away we were given "orders" to paint her room. She has been wanting a change in there for some while. When she was younger we put a pinkish mauve glaze faux finish on her walls. She is now done with that and wants a nice spring green color. She also received a Tinkerbell comforter for Christmas from her Grandmother Sue and wants the walls to match it. So, dh and I are attempting to get the "junk" out of her room so that we can do this. This is embarrassing, but here is a before picture of her room.



Here is a before picture of the guest room across the hall.



Yes, I said before. This is even more embarrassing. But I'm just being real here folks. When we are sorting and getting things out of her room and making a quick pick-up before sleepovers this is where everything goes to never be seen again. Needless to say, we haven't had guests sleep over in a while. It will be so nice to have a nice fresh guest room again.

What a job this is. We are going through and getting all the missing items of clothing, some dirty, some clean. We are bagging up trash. So far four kitchen size trash bags of trash and odd and ends have been thrown out. We are also sorting through toys for items to give to our Knoxville Area Rescue Mission (KARM) which operate several thrift stores. Also, nicer items which she no longer plays with, are going to be photographed and sold on e-bay. What doesn't sell can be given to KARM. This sorting and cleaning process will take much longer than the paint job. But it needs to be done. We should have done this a long time ago. Actually, you should see our basement. There are tons of toys there too that were taken out of her room a while back. They haven't been sorted or taken to KARM and we will get to that when this job is done.

Dh's mother told us about a new Behr paint that has the primer in it. We are going to go look for that, probably tomorrow. That will save us some time and work. I think I will go simple on the window treatment and just pick up some green and purple sheers to layer on her window. Those, and pink, are her favorite colors.

When the work is all done and her room and the guest room are all spic and span and sleepover ready, I will post after photos.

Pam