Sunday, July 20, 2008

How in the world did I manage that?

1930's Marital scale

76

As a 1930s wife, I am
Very Superior

Take the test!



I dont get it. I took this test and expected really to get a bad score because I didnt mark a lot of the statements having to do with keeping the house well and looking decent for my husband and yet I still ended up with the highest score they had. How odd. How did you do? www.magatsu.net/maritaltest

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Road Trip!!! and Bento Boxes

Thirty hours of driving, almost 2000 miles, from Arkansas to Northern California. We get to go visit our family in two weeks. I think that we are going to have some fun on this trip. Grandma is taking the boys for the whole time we are there and the hubs and I get a hotel room all to ourself. I am so excited!! This is the first time that I will be away from all the boys for more than a few nights without it being something I had no controll over. The only other time that they have stayed somewhere else was when I was in the hospital with a new baby. So Im looking foreward to this trip. Lots of planning to do!! I am soooo glad we have a DVD player in the car! I think I will put off the whole raw food thing for a while. There's no way I would be able to figure that out and deal with the trip at the same time. I can multi task but when it comes to major things like that, Im a one thing at a time kind of person.

One thing that I have come across that might be helpful to me (and anyone else wanting to save money on lunch) is a thing called Bento Boxes. Its basically a packed lunch that is in a box instead of a bag. The Japanese have been doing this for a very long time and its become fairly popular in the US (but not popular enough that you can find supplies in Walmart yet). I really like the idea because the hubs has been needing to take a lunch with him for work but ends up buying crappy food from convenience stores and the Walmart deli. Theres only so much he can handle that way and Id rather spend the money buying him food that he likes.

I would love to find some supplies that dont come from Japan (or at least something that I wouldnt have to have shipped from Japan) and are fairly cheap. I have gotten a few boxes (Lock and Lock brand boxes) and some of the silicone baking cups (for side items) but I would love to find the soy sauce bottles, containers for dipping sauces, or maybe even some onigiri molds (sticky rice). There's a lot of neat stuff out there for these types of lunches. (If I actually get this going I might even post a pic or two!) The best part is that I can pack a few for our road trip and save a ton on meals!!

One thing that was really cute (and I want one even if none of this works) is the hot dog shapers. They basically are a little mold that has raised parts in them that you press the hot dog into and when you cook the dog it poofs out where the marks were (kind of like when they explode in the microwave). Theres all kinds of shapes, octopus, penguin, faces, you name it. Too much fun.

Okay so now that you are curious you can go to the web and look up either Bento or Obento and find out more about it. There's plenty of blogs out there with more info and there's tons of pics (flickr has a bunch). Its a pretty cool way of saving money and having fun while you are at it. Some people make it a very artistic expression and I find those absolutely wonderful. I love looking at the cool bento's that people make.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Healthy living and Diets

I have been seriously in need of a change in my regular diet for some time now. (It shows in my midsection LOL) I have read several times about people going to Raw food or even partially raw. I really need to read up on this some more, but does anyone know anything about this from experience? Or is it something that I just have to try (or not) to find out?

Cleaning the cabinets

I went to put dishes away this morning and had a heck of a time. There were a lot of mixed items in my cabinets that I had not used and some were even chewed up (small teething children). I still have to go to the thrift store either today or tomorrow to rid myself of much clutter and so I think when I go, I will box up a few of those dishes that I dont use anymore and send it off to be someone else's blessing.

Feed Reader

Someone had mentioned recently that using the google feed reader was a good idea. So I decided to check it out, and found that it is actually pretty simple to use. I like it. The best part is that I dont have to go to all the millions of webpages that I like to watch just to see if there's new content! So if you are like me and never really paid any attention to the different features on Google, then I suggest you check it out. Its a lot better than going to a page just to find out that there's not anything new (and hasnt been for almost two weeks as EVERYONE is on vacation right now LOL).

Monday, July 14, 2008

Monday already

Okay so its monday already. Over at Handprints on the Wall they have started the carnival with cleaning out their closets. They have both gone thru and cleared out all of the non essential items in their closets with astonishing results. Kendra has counted the clothing items from just her own stuff and came out with 70 pieces that she is getting rid of. Thats just amazing.

I have been on a similar journey. I haven't, however, gotten to my own closet yet. Thats a project for this upcoming week. Instead, I started with the kids clothes that I have been holding on to. I have had about 6 garbage bags (33 galon size) full of clothes that I have been accumulating since my oldest was an infant. It was a good thing in one sense considering the fact that I have had three boys and have been able to use the clothes for all three of them. But it is time to let go now. I have already given away a bunch and sent a good portion of it to the thrift store. Im not even going to try to consign any of it because that would take a lot more time to put together than I have energy for. Plus its going to a thrift store that uses the money to help the community.

This week I have a car load of stuff that needs to go to the thrift store. I might even try to go through my clothes before I head out to drop stuff off. Im sure that any one who has unloaded a mass of stuff can understand the feel of a major weight lifted off their shoulders. Im sure it will take quite a while to accomplish but I have a vision of a minimal lifestyle for my house. At less than 1200 sq ft, thats a good thing.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Minimizing

I guess Im not the only one in blog world that has had the inclination to go minimal lately. The Lovely Lady at Handprints on the Wall has decided with her sister that they are going to start living a minimal lifestyle and are going to blog about their journey. They have also started a carnival about it starting on Monday. It is called Minimizing Monday. I hope that you join her for this carnival. I think that everyone has some stuff that they can let go of and who doesnt like the feeling of less to clean up? Hope to see you there!

Wow .. just .. wow!

Well, things have been interesting here lately. For anyone who knows me, I have had some family move to town last month. I guess this month they decided that it just wasnt going to work for them and they split town. No notice, no goodbye, nothing. Alright ... so what now. There's not much to do about that. The thing that bugs me is that they left a boat in my yard when they left. What in the world am I supposed to do with that? I guess I will find out on monday after my sister talks to them. The wierd things people do .. ya know? Oh well. On with life.