WFMW - Bible Reading Help

When I was in college - quiet times came easy, time seemed to be abundant and I read my Bible through cover-to-cover several, several times...now that I'm a mom...finding that time to read daily is sometimes a struggle. Last year, Brad & I started reading a read-through-in-a-year plan in January, and did great until April...or was it June...and then we fell behind and never caught back up. I don't even remember what really happened, except that we were typically reading at night and life just got busy.

This year, I knew I wanted one of my goals to be to get back on track with my Bible reading, I just didn't know what plan could/would best make that happen. I read a little here and there and then back at the end of January I found BibleShared. I was immediately excited as blog accountability seems to work for me!

I immediately signed up and started reading. I love that I can read the Bible in any order I want and simply record my progress as I go (last week I was reading in Humility and Mahaney referenced Habakkuk, so I stopped and quickly read those 3 chapters to better grasp the his point - I didn't have to wait for the summertime to roll around for Habakkuk to come up in my yearly reading plan.) I can read while online or I can read offline and record my progress after the fact. I also love that they have a widget I can put in my sidebar so that anybody can see how I'm doing - that motivates me.


As a mom of 2, it's often difficult to find time to sit down and read my Bible for 15 minutes (or more) at a time...however I'm on my computer all day long. Using Firefox, I simply keep my BibleShared page up in a separate tab, and periodically throughout the day I pop over to it and read a chapter or 2. Wow - what a difference that has made! In only 18 days of using their service, I've already read 90 chapters - or 7% of the Bible. Yippee!! And, on my progress page, BibleShared tells me that if I continue to read at my current rate of 5 chapters/day, I'll finish the Bible in 219.8 days. That's really exciting for me, because it tells me that I can finish the Bible this year!

If you want more great WFMW ideas, head on over and see Shannon @ RocksinmyDryer - and head's up...this is Shannon's last week hosting before she passes the torch on over to Kristen! Enjoy!

WFMW - Perfect Watch for Moms

For the longest time, I wore a "pretty" watch and loved it...a few years back, though, when the band broke or the battery died, instead of getting said issue fixed, I somehow ended up deciding to try a new kind of watch for me - and man has it been awesome! let me introduce you to my new best friend:

Say hello to the Timex Ironman for women - I love this watch! I tried a similar watch back when I was in college, but it had a velcro watchband...which looked cool on my roommate's wrist, but on mine, always seemed bulky, always got wet and took awhile to dry when I washed my hands/took a shower & over time eventually started to smell - YUCK! This baby has a rubber-like band that takes on no water whatsoever...making it perfect to wear all the time...in the shower, in the pool, washing dishes, you name it. I absolutely adore that quality.

It also has a built in chrono function that counts up, timer that counts down and built in alarm (not to mention 2 different time settings & indiglo). I use all these functions, but chrono is my absolute favorite. With my first child, I used it frequently to time his naps...I would start the chrono function when I put him down for a nap and then I didn't have to remember what time it started, as it often varied day-to-day.

Now that my second pumpkin has arrived, I use it when she nurses. As we're getting started, I restart the time and let it count away...it helps me know when she probably is getting finished and/or ready to burp as well as making it easier to keep track of when she last nursed. I don't stop and restart it until it's time to start the process over, so I can always tell when her last feeding started. In these past 2 weeks, that alone has been indispensible! Not to mention that during the night indiglo has been one of my best friends!

Next time you find yourself needing a new watch - definitely check this baby out! For more great WFMW ideas, head on over to Rocks in my Dryer!

WFMW - Delish Apple Tart

A few weeks ago we were flipping through an issue of Kraft Food & Family and stumbled on this recipe...we thought it looked super yummy, so a few days later we gave it a try, and man are we hooked! Super simple, ingredients I typically have on hand (except maybe the pie crust - until now!) - one of those desserts that's nice to have up your sleeve in case you unexpectedly have company or need to take a dessert somewhere. This has become a quick & easy go-to dessert for us...in fact we took a few to Thanksgiving & it got rave reviews...wouldn't be surprised to see it make a guest appearance at Christmas either! Hope you'll enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 ready-to-use refrigerated pie crust (1/2 of 15-oz. pkg.)
• 4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
• 3 red and/or green apples (1-1/4 lb.), thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon sugar
• 1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping (optional)
  

I used 1/3 less fat philly and it worked super great too - I also used my Pampered Chef apple peeler-corer-slicer & it makes the bulk of the "work" to make this recipe just disappear - I know it's a kitchen gadget, but I highly recommend it! We left the skins on, and just used it to core & slice the apples and it worked wonderfully!

Directions:

HEAT oven to 450ºF. Line 9-inch pie plate with crust. Carefully spread cream cheese in 6-inch circle in center.

TOSS apples with sugar and flour; spoon over cream cheese. Fold crust partially over apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. (we tossed the apple slices, sugar & flour & a tsp of cinnamon into a gallon ziploc and tossed them around that way - in subsequent bakings, I've also found that starting in one spot on the crust, and folding up about 3 or so inches, and then working my way around in one direction, until I get back to the starting point works better than just trying to fold the crust up with no plan!)

BAKE 25 min., covering loosely with foil for the last 5 min. Cool. Serve with COOL WHIP. Refrigerate leftovers.

Give this one a try and let me know what you think! For more great WFMW ideas, head on over to RocksinmyDryer!

WFMW - Free Mr. Yuk Stickers

Last year about this time I spoke to a friend of mine whom I hadn't seen for several weeks and she related their family's latest news...just a few days before she'd made an impromptu trip to the ER with her youngest, then just over a year old. You see, they had only recently moved into her grandmother's (furnished) house and unbeknownst to all, there was a box of rat poison lurking behind a sofa in the sun room. One evening, she walked in to find the finger/footprints of her two boys T (4) and Z (1) in the dust from the poison. She immediately began to feel the panic well up inside of her, but managed to stay calm as she and her husband interrogated T to find out if he had eaten any. He swore that he hadn't and as there was no evidence (coloration around his mouth) he stayed at home with his dad while she whisked little Z to the emergency room. Thankfully - all was okay - no p0ison had been eaten, the box was subsequently disposed of and everyone was safe.

Within a week of hearing her story, I saw a spot on TV talking about Poison Control and that most ER visits for poisonings can actually be avoided with a quick call to Poison Control - hearing that piece of info so close on the heels of her story etched it indelibly on my brain. They said for the most part, the Poison Control operators can assess the situation with the info you provide them and give you the best course of action - typically faster than you can even get to the ER - which could definitely save a life in a desperate situation! I immediately wrote down the number and have made sure to store it in my cell phone, computer contacts and in my home management notebook.

I really hadn't thought about Mr. Yuk in years until I had a baby - I remember him from my childhood, remember the stickers well - and have often wondered where those stickers ever came from, did they still exist, and if so - where do you get them now? I never have thought about it at the right time, though and then today, in doing a little blog surfing, ran across a post Whitney had done that linked to the Children's Hospital of Pittsburg and come to find out - they're the creators of Mr. Yuk. And even better - to get a free sheet of Mr. Yuk stickers, all you have to do is send a self-addressed stamped business size envelope to:

Mr. Yuk
Pittsburgh Poison Center
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
3705 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2583

I immediately grabbed a couple of envelopes, addressed them and they're now stamped and ready to go out in the morning and I encourage you to do the same! Not only are these stickers free, but they could save the life of one of your loved ones (or you!) and you certainly can't put a price on that! For more great WFMW ideas, head on over to Rocks in my Dryer!

WFMW - Live Within Your Harvest

Photo by tanakawho

As the Christmas season approaches, I think it's super easy for all of us to get a little glassy-eyed and caught up in the rush of the season and overspend ourselves into a deep hole, that we then spend some large portion of next year climbing out of. Let this year be different!

I've always heard the term "live within your means" - I recently saw a plaque with a phrase I like even better "live within your harvest" - what a beautiful picture! The American culture teaches us to always want MORE, MORE, MORE (hello consumerism) but to be a good steward of what we have, we've all got to learn to say NO and to live within the boundaries of our individual lives, whatever they may be! It's okay to try and enlarge those boundaries (within reason), but if you never get your spending under control, you'll always want more, no matter if you make $20,000 $200,000 or $2,000,000. It's easy to say that if you made $150,000 a year you'd be satisfied, but the truth is, there are a lot of people making $150,000 that spend $175,000 every year and have a big pile of credit card debt to make up the difference!

So this year, especially with the flurry of Christmas spending that is already/getting ready to take place, I encourage you to set some guidelines for yourself:

• set a reasonable Christmas budget and abide by it (beyond Christmas, make a monthly budget - Dave Ramsey is a great resource!)
• stay away from certain stores where self-control/restraint is difficult (ie the mall -I literally probably go to the mall less than 5 times a year, and 2 of those times are to get my engagement ring inspected)
  
• shop online - use online tools to find the best deals and bargains - Meg has a great WFMW post on this very issue today - couldn't have said it better myself!
• get creative & go homemade for Christmas - several bloggers are working together on the "holidays by hand" festival - check it out and get inspired!
• tell your kids (or other relatives) NO - kids don't have to have 10 presents to have a great Christmas - I know several families whose kids get 3 presents, just like Jesus did - what a great model!
• use coupons - I've bought many a Christmas present using Bed, Bath & Beyond 20% off coupons - this year I've bought at least 1 gift from ACMoore using a 55% off coupon they had in the paper a few weeks back
  
• do a family name swap with your extended family and buy for 1 family member instead of 12
• do all cash for Christmas - refuse to use the plastic - you'll thank me in January (and on into the rest of the year) when you don't have a big pile of debt to recover from
• don't believe the lies that Hollywood & advertising try to sell us - you don't need a pair of $250 boots to prove your worth - when you see commercials, print ads, etc. think about and through the lies that the advertisers are selling and then DON'T BUY THEM! We use a DVR for most shows that we watch, so we see few commercials to begin with- certainly helps cut down on the "wants"! (Start challenging your kids to see through it too - I know a family who plays "Spot the Lie" with their kids when a commercial comes on TV "Kids - what are they telling us?" "that abc cereal will make me happy" "Does abc cereal make you a happy person?" etc.)
  

These are just a few ways to live within your harvest this holiday season - I'd love to hear any ideas you have too! For other great WFMW ideas, head on over to Shannon's place! SimpleMom also has a post out today along these same lines dealing with house fever - make sure to check it out! I also plan a follow-up post to this one later this week/weekend talking more about the concept of living within your harvest outside of Christmas so be sure to come back (or subscribe) so that you don't miss it! Have a great week!

WFMW - Toys Worth Buying Edition

Our little guy is 2, and like so many, we've bought & received many toys that seem to fade quickly from the limelight - we have 2 right now, though, that are big hits and I think will be for some time (and will pass on quite easily to the next child, too!)

My husband and I have always been big fans of Radio Flyer - I remember their products from my childhood and we have loved the idea of our children playing with them as well!

We looked at a lot of tricycles before settling in on this one, but we've been thrilled with our choice! It goes from ages 2-5 and has an adjustable seat to make that really work. We got it for Walker just before he turned 2 and while he's just now tall enough to start to really be able to pedal with it, he's still had a great time sitting on it, being pushed around & pushing it himself. Probably the biggest selling point for us, though, was the "Co-Pilot" feature that allows a parent to both push & steer. It's helped make the trike lots of fun even before Walker could pedal himself - and I have to admit, he also enjoys pushing it and steering from behind, also helping to teach him the cause and effect of steering, which I'm a huge fan of! The handle easily attaches/detaches for whatever situation best suits at the time. I have fond memories of the metal plate at the back of my old tricycle that you could stand on while pushing the tricycle, however Walker loves the yellow bin on the back of this trike - in fact, lots of times when "Lovey" is missing, I can find him lovingly "shoved" in the bin for safe keeping. I know that this trike is going to continue to get lots of love for a very long time at our house - it's certainly been a great purchase!

Back before heading to the beach this year, with 2 almost 2 year olds in tow (my son & niece were born 3 days apart) we decided to buy a wagon to haul them & our gear to the beach and back each day. We did lots of looking and comparing and ended up with the Ultimate Family Wagon, again from Radio Flyer. I am super in love with this wagon and both kiddos loved it too! The seats are extremely flexible - 2 kids can face each other, both face forward, or the child in the back can transform the front seat into a desk. The seats also fold flat so that you can carry a sleeping/laying down infant or more gear. Both W & A were super interested as we put the wagon together and then crawled in and out of it and pushed it back and forth in the house before it ever set wheel onto the beach. It now lives in our garage and W is trying to climb into it every chance he gets. There's a nifty little "extra" compartment behind the back seat - a great place to stick a tote bag and/or other goodies and keep them away from little hands. Built-in seatbelts work wonderfully to keep little guys seated. There are 2 adult cup holders up front and then 2 more in the wagon floor for kids. The handle also folds flat for easy storage and/or transport. I also love that this model came with a UV canopy - it folds up neatly and stores in it's own handy dandy bag, but is also super easy to whip out and use on a sunny day.

All-in-all, we've been delighted with both of these guys and look forward to using them for years to come! For more great toy ideas, head on over to Rocks in My Dryer!

WFMW - Success for Today

Photo by aloshbennett

I've been working to get my life in order these last few months before babylet #2 arrives in January - several thoughts have been very helpful to me:

1. Two Minute Rule - if it takes less than 2 mins...just do it now!
   
2. Do the next right thing - seems like I saw this on another blog
   
3. What one thing would make me successful today?

A few weeks ago I saw a video clip of a department staff meeting at our church, and Tony had each of his staff members answer question #3 - What one thing would make me successful today? Ever since, my husband and I have been asking each other that question, and it's been quite helpful.

For me, I suffer from 2 different issues...I have so much to do that I get overwhelmed by it and don't get enough (or the right thing) accomplished. Some of my previous GTD posts detail how I've helped deal with that issue.

Now that I'm crossing more and more things off my list, however, I've been confronted with another problem...I have some free time, and am not so overwhelmed with a million things, and sometimes that means I don't get much of anything done...I end up staring at my computer screen trying to decide what to do next...surf blogs and spend way too much time reading about other people's lives instead of running my own. Asking myself what would make me successful for today - it's really helped keep me on track! And oftentimes, I get way more than that 1 thing accomplished!

So if you want to be successful today - ask yourself that question - what one thing would qualify your day as successful and then get busy doing it! One step at a time makes a huge difference for me!

Don't forget that Christmas is just around the corner...8 weeks from tomorrow - have you started planning and getting ready? Join me for a stress-free Christmas season this year - check out my Monday posts, Christmas Planning, to help get and keep us on track to an enjoyable Christmas this year!

For more great WFMW ideas, head on over to Rocks in my Dryer!

WFMW - Blogging - The Accountability Factor

Photo by blucassidy

Everyone who blogs has a little bit different reason...I've been thinking lately about blogging for me - why I like it, how often I do it and what its purpose in my life is. It's a great place to keep family & friends up-to-date on what's going on with Walker and the new baby, but for me, I've realized it's also more than that. Blogging for me, provides accountability.

As you may remember, I've been working on getting my life together for awhile now - in this post, I talked about my quest to get things in order around here before our little girl is born in January. I shared several pics of my desk...some that were looking good, others that showed some of the work-in-progress! I'm pleased to report that I have continued to make progress - my desk is looking pretty good and has been for the last couple of weeks (which for me, is a huge accomplishment!)

I believe we all need accountability in our lives - and while it comes in many different forms, we need to identify what works best for us. I'm accountable to my husband and that is definitely a motivator for me. Especially as my children grow older, I will also be accountable to them, though that's not as much of an issue right now. I'm accountable to extended family and friends - but what I've also come to realize is that I don't have any super-close girl friends right now that I get to see on a regular basis. I have several great friendships...we just either live far apart or don't get to see each other often enough. We've changed churches within the last year, and while I've begun to cultivate some friendships there, none of them are to the super-deep friendship level yet. We don't live in a neighborhood - we're out in the country, so it's not easy to see a friend on a weekly (or even monthly) basis unless I do see them at church...let's face it...all of us are busy these days and it takes dedication & commitment to see folks outside of an ongoing, scheduled commitment (like church) on a regular basis.

Photo by tatianasapateiro

I have come to realize that blogging provides some of that form of "friendship accountability" for me. Not only has blogging provided me the accountability to continue forward getting my life in order, but has also spurred me on to think about and more importantly be consistent with exercise. I have decided that I'd like to exercise at least 4 times a week, and have started posting my exercise list in my blog side bar - and let me tell you...I'm just on week 3 of this plan, but already have had 2 successful weeks and am well on my way this week as well! When we got up last Sat, I told Brad we had to go for a walk or some type of exercise that day, because I wasn't missing my exercise goal for the week - without posting here...that would never have happened!


Photo by kris decurtis

I'm also using this space to make sure that Christmas is more peaceful and enjoyable for our family this year. W is 2 and can really start to participate in some Christmas festivities and traditions and we want to make sure that we are creating traditions that we want for our family. Every year I have the best of intentions, but let time get away from me, and before I know it...it's Dec 22nd and I still have WAY TOO MUCH TO DO!!! Definitely destroys any prospect of a peaceful holiday. This year I'm determined that Christmas will not sneak up on me! I'm already making my list and checking it twice and will continue to do so here on Mondays between now and Christmas...do you realize that as of tomorrow Christmas is 9 weeks away? Does that blow your mind, freak you out or do you already have a plan in place? I am so thankful that I am the latter this year!



Photo by notsogoodphotography

So as you're continuing on your blogging journey - don't forget to utilize the accountability factor! Blogs give us the ability to benefit from community and that creates the perfect environment for accountability. Enjoy the journey, but make sure that it's helping to better you along the way! Any areas where you could benefit from some additional accountability these days? Accountability through blogging certainly works for me - head on over to Rocks in My Dryer for other great WFMW ideas! And head back over here on Monday - let's enjoy a peaceful, memorable Christmas together this year - remember, it's 9 weeks and counting!

WFMW - Use Your Pantry

It's no big secret that the economy is not doing as well now as it has been at other times over the past years...while I'm not a purveyor of gloom & doom, I do think that we as moms & home managers can be doing our part to mitigate the situation! Enter your pantry!!

When I was pregnant with my little boy, the smell of food cooking would turn my stomach, and we fell into the bad habit of eating out more often than we should. He turned 2 last week, and unfortunately, we have only recently begun to curb this bad habit. And a lot of it had to do with my lack of planning!!! Suddenly it would be 6:00 and no dinner, no plans & a restaurant seemed like the only resort. Some folks can walk into a kitchen, throw a few things together and always walk out with a spectacular meal. Folks, that simply is not me. We have discovered that I like to cook from a recipe - I like to have a plan - I like to know that dinner has a good chance of turning out well. That realization about myself was very important!

1. Know what's in your pantry, keep it organized & use it! A pantry is a great tool that we moms have - we can buy items when they're on sale and use them accordingly. This can lead to a great savings in the food budget (not to mention the savings created by simply eating at home!) In the pic below, you can see a shelf in my pantry that is somewhat in disarray right now...that's because I have 3 boxes of tacos and too much pasta to count. This happened because I didn't quite know what was lurking on that shelf before one of my last shopping runs. I intend to work through some of these extras in the coming weeks and return this pantry shelf to a bit more order. Figure out what works for you - do you keep a running grocery list on the kitchen counter, your fridge, in the computer? Keep a list, use it when you're menu planning and don't over-buy and don't under utilize what you already have!

2. Remember that your pantry extends beyond your physical pantry! For me, that means my freezer & my baking cabinet. I have dedicated one kitchen cabinet to my baking goodies (flour, sugar, baking spices, chocolate chips, boxed mixes, cookbooks, etc. Unfortunately it could also use a little help right now (my recipes are definitely out of control!) - but when it's time to bake, I know right where to go!

I also am fortunate enough to have a standing freezer - at times in our marriage it hasn't had much in it, but we now try to stock it when we find sales (especially on meat) and then work through those to eat week-to-week for less $$. You can check out this post for how we deal with buying those meats in larger quantities - it's specific to ground beef, but we do the same thing for other meats as well. Just remember to label (Sharpies are a blessing!) so that you don't have to guess at what you've got! One of the other things we try to do - especially in the freezer - is keep a running list of what's in there. Sometimes we do better than others, but it certainly is handy to know (without having to go look in a cold freezer) if I have 2 lbs of ground beef or none.

2. Have a weekly plan!! Some folks plan by the week - some by the month - but however you choose to do it, JUST DO IT!!! I truly don't mind cooking - I hate coming up with the plan - that has led my husband and I to our current arrangement. We do menu planning together - usually on a weekend - that takes the pressure off of me and we have a game plan for the week. I've also found some great resources both online & on FoodTV.

Leanne Ely, aka the Dinner Diva, has a website with tons of resources for us moms. She has traditional menu plans that you can purchase in 3 month increments - I've used these in the past and they're fantastic. She has also expanded to include freezer menus, meat-specific menus, heart-healthy menus...the list goes on and on. She also offers some free samples so that you can get a taste of what she has to offer before needing to subscribe. Definitely check her out!

Another favorite of mine is Robin Miller on FoodNetwork - her show usually showcases 3 meals, 2 of which come from the same meat base, so that you're only cooking that meat once, and then utilizing the leftovers in a 2nd recipe. All of her stuff is quick and easy and great for someone like me who doesn't want to be in the kitchen for hours. One of the best things about her show, is it has helped train my brain to look for ways to "reuse" left0vers and to plan for leftovers that I can then use later in the week. Her way of cooking has been a great resource for me!

And then who hasn't heard of Rachel Ray? Quick, easy, tasty meals that are fun to make - again - a great resource!

So at the end of the day ladies - make sure that you have a plan and make sure that it includes your pantry! Not only can you save money, you can also save your sanity at the same time! I am happy to report that we greatly tightened up on our eating out budget for the month of Sept and that caused us to really rely on our meal plan - and we did it! We had a significant eating out surplus as of the end of the month! And we really didn't ever feel deprived...we just only ate out when we planned to, and not as a last resort. For us - that's huge - and the pantry played a huge role! For more great WFMW ideas, head on over to Rocks in my Dryer and check out other great kitchen ideas!

WFMW - To-do list that works!

In keeping with last week's theme of getting my life together (and believe me, I'm not there yet, just getting closer!) - a big help for me has been a workable to-do list! My old modus operandi consisted of sticky notes, notepad paper....anything I could grab at the 'initial opportune' moment and then couldn't find later when I needed it. I have lost so many lists in my lifetime that it's not even funny. One of the "Getting Things Done" tenants is to use a list system that works for you! So I set off to find it...clearly my sticky notes weren't working! One of the reasons to use a list is that in our busy lives, our brains are being asked to remember far more info than is practical - we have so over-loaded ourselves that instead of remembering things at the proper times, we either totally forget the info or remember it at the most inopportune time! SimpleMom has become one of my newest favorite blog reads - she's done a series on productivity (that definitely has helped spark some progress for me) - she created and offers as a free download the Daily Docket partially pictured above. Great resource for sure! I really like the Daily Docket, and had my sweet husband not continued looking further, would still be using it. I used it for about a week - first starting with daily printed copies and then simply duplicating it on my computer, and typing in the blanks every day. However, I found that I put a lot of info in the misc. notes section at the bottom (not pictured here) and had to copy it over day-to-day.
Then Brad found several different online list systems and I fell in love with 'remember the milk'. RTM is a free online list system that allows you to also share and send tasks to others - something that works great for us, both in our personal lives & business lives. I have tabs for the grocery store, walmart, personal, etsy, work, books I want to read - I can essentially have a list for anything I can think of. RTM makes it easy to create recurring tasks - my husbands uniforms need to be out ready to be picked up every Weds morning - trash day is Thurs for us - those are recurring reminders. Simple, I know, but prior to this resource, every week I would find myself thinking, "OH NO - uniforms - oh wait...it's Tuesday" - I haven't had that thought once that I can remember since putting it on a list. We are working under the premise to put EVERYTHING ON THE LIST! Once it's there, my brain no longer has to remember it, and is freed up to do more important tasks. We spent a couple of days and just brainstormed everything we could think of...more items have come to us in the following days, and we contiue to add them. It's been great - far less stress - and for once, I am checking things off my list!




RTM will allow you to set a due date for a task or leave it open-ended. My grocery & walmart lists are open-ended...simply a good spot to store what I need. My work tasks (and some personal) get dates...it helps me keep priorities in line and not miss deadlines. You can pay to upgrade to a 'pro'status and that allows you to sync your lists with a hand-held device. It's just $25/year - basically $2/month - for me that was a no-brainer. My phone now carries all my tasks in it and I can reference it for quick info when out & about & on the go! You can also print your lists with nice little check boxes if you'd like to carry them with you in paper form. Also great for the grocery list! RTM will also integrate with GoogleCalendar if that's a resource you use.


At the end of the day, the list system you use just needs to work for you - there are lots of online tasks managers out there - RTM just happens to be the best one for me at this point. Do some looking around - think about your to-do list system...do you have one? is it working? Spend a little time tweaking it to make it work or make it work better and things will really start to fall in line! And if you already have a great system you love - I'd love to hear about it! Head on over to RocksinmyDryer for more great WFMW ideas! Hope to see you next week!

WFMW - Getting My Act Together

Wow - summer is over, come and gone almost before we knew it! Posting for me, has been a bit of an elusive thing over the last month or 2 - mostly because I have FINALLY decided it is time to get my life together, and have taken time off from blogging to get started! Are you like me? You long to have a "together life" - for your house to sparkle, have everything crossed off your to-do list, and nothing hanging over your head? I know, I know...I've said it all before! And I've tried, I have...I've done the Flylady thing a time or two...and I think it's a great system - it just doesn't work for me. In the past - I've always assumed that it was my fault...I just couldn't "do it right"...I have finally realized that there is nothing wrong with that system or me - it just doesn't work for me!! Ladies and gents - that has been a huge revelation for me!



My husband and I run a construction business from our home - I'm a stay-at-home/work-at-home/constantly has something to do Mama! I have an adorable almost 2 year old who clamors for my attention...paperwork galore from our business and then I jumped into Etsy. My husband and I both have a never-ending to-do list and more to do than any one person should have on their plate! For the past few weeks & months, we've been investigating how to establish systems in our lives that make everything easier. I have always longed to be organized and never can quite seem to get there - until now. I truly believe that my journey has begun! My big tip for the week, while simple, has truly revolutionized my life these past weeks.


***if you can do it in less than 2 minutes - DO IT NOW!!!***



Simple - I know - but this simple axiom from David Allen of Getting Things Done fame has made a huge impact on me! (More from him later, as he has been a big help in this undertaking.) Back to the 2 minute idea, what I have come to understand is that as a master of procrastination, I let far too many things lie around waiting to be done at the "perfect time" on the "perfect day" neither of which ever happen in my life. By utilizing the 2 minute principle, I am knocking little things out one at a time that then leave me both encouraged and with bigger blocks of time to deal with the bigger stuff!

What I am beginning to learn is that we all have to develop our own systems - ones that work for us, in our unique, individual situations. Over the coming days, I will share with you here what has been working for me...how we're both getting our acts together, and how our lives as a famly are running more smoothly - I feel more together and on top of things than I have in ages, and that's after last week being vacation week (which would usually take a month+ to recover from)! I'll share some online resources and show you my ups and my downs. For example - this next pic - the side of my desk that is cleaned off...


and then there's the other side that I've still got to work on...

but no fear...I know it is all going to come together this time - I am encouraged! Thanks so much for joining me today for WFMW - for more great ideas, head over to Shannon's to link up with lots more folks! And I hope you'll come back to share in this journey with me...rest assured, I've got a long way to go, but for the first time ever, feel like I've found the tools to help me make it happen - to get my life together so that I can spend time on things I really value...now that works for me!

WFMW - Pizza in a snap!

I don't know about you, but I LOVE pizza...I could eat it at least weekly, and probably several times weekly and never get tired of it - or at least not for a very long time! As anyone knows, pizza, even delivery, can get pricey if you like to eat it as often as I do or have a big family. Enter homemade pizza!

I was determined that we'd eat all 3 meals at home this past Sat (and we did!!), but in order to make that happen, mid-morning Saturday, I ended up throwing together the ingredients for pizza dough in our breadmaker. I love making pizza this way - 1 1/2 hours in the bread machine (read almost no work for me)...roll out the dough, add sauce, toppings & cheese and then a quick waltz through the oven and voila - we're ready to eat!

Being the think-ahead-gal that I am (well, sometimes at least!) - I made a double recipe of dough - cut the extra into pizza sized hunks for later, and popped it in the freezer. Now if we want pizza for lunch during the week (like I did on Tues), I can pull out a dough-ball in the morning, let it thaw, and then have homemade pizza with almost no effort for lunch.

This one definitely works for me! And best of all, my little guy was more than happy to enjoy pizza with me! For more great WFMW ideas, head on over and check out Rocks in my Dryer!

And - if you have an easy, delicious pizza dough recipe - let me know! I like the one I'm using okay (I like it better than DH does) - but would sure love to have a better one! Thanks!

WFMW - Use your camera video mode!

Our little boy is nearing the 22 month mark...like so many expectant parents, before he was born, we went out and bought a video camera. We shopped around, did our research and were very happy with our purchase - but let's be honest...keeping that thing with you all the time, even though it is much smaller than the video camera I remember my grandparents buying "way back when", is just plain impossible! However, we do a great fairly good job of keeping our digital camera handy. Recently we were playing around with it and decided to experiment with "movie mode" - I'm embarassed to say that it took us this long! It is SO SO SO easy! We had long paid it no attention because we figured it was complicated, or wouldn't work well, or enter any other excuse you can come up with. It has now become our best friend! We use it constantly - and while it doesn't shoot video that is quite as good as the regular video camera - it's certainly way better than no video at all! So I encourage you...play around with that video mode! Use it to catch your kids in little vignettes here and there! Use it to capture those every day moments that we moms cherish forever! And when it's time for a major family function, holiday or special event - by all means...drag out the big guns with the video camera - but for those everyday precious moments...keep that camera handy!

Here's a recent example of a Walker devouring fried rice (and veggies!!!) when we tried a new Japanese restaurant this past weekend...

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

For other great WFMW ideas, head on over and visit Shannon @ Rocks in my Dryer!

WFMW - The Five-Ingredients-or-Less Edition

Chicken Rolls

2 -3 pkgs crescent rolls
3-4 chicken breasts
8 oz. cream cheese (I often use 1/3 fat)
1/4 c. milk

• Boil chicken breasts (if you have leftover cooked chicken already from the grill or rotisserie, no problem - just needs to be cooked chicken!)
• Mix cream cheese, milk & cooked chicken together.
• Unroll crescent roll triangles & place a spoonful of chicken mixture on crescent roll & roll up. (I usually end up needing 3 packages of crescent rolls - it just depends on how big you make the rolls.
• Cook for 20 mins @ 350.

If you want, you can heat up 1 can of cream of chicken soup +1 can of water to make a gravy. We sometimes do & sometimes don't. When it comes to the crescent rolls, I typically am a generic shopper and usually use generic, however one week when making these, the real deal crescents were on sale, and man they were SO MUCH BETTER! Spring for those if you at all can! It's well worth it, I promise!

Easy Apple Dip

• 1/2 -1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 3/4 medium apple - grated (I usually just grate as much of the apple as I can - we like Gala or something similar, but any apple will work)
• 1 8oz. cream cheese - softened (1/3 fat, no fat 0r regular all work fine)
• Sugar to taste (usually less than 1/4 c - just depends on how sweet your apple is)

Mix everything together in a bowl, adding sugar last to taste. If I'm shredding my own cheese, shred it first on a box grater and then shred the apple - the apple juice will help you get any excess cheese off of the grater. I also typically shred my apple directly into the bowl I mix it in so taht I don't lose any of the apple juices - they make it easier to mix everything up. If your cream cheese isn't softened, it takes a little longer to mix it up, but it will reach a nice creamy consistency. Serve with Ritz crackers - this dip has always been a big hit for me!

Now for other great WFMW Five Ingredients or Less recipes, head on over & see Shannon @ Rocks in My Dryer!

WFMW - Wii Fit

My sweet husband got me a Wii for my birthday back in March and we LOVE it! Our little boy is only 21 months, so he's not old enough to play yet, but DH & I enjoy playing together tremendously and can't wait for the day when W is old enough to play with us! When using Wii Fit, we've learned that we need to put a lap board down on the ground to try and distract W from the Wii board, which he loves and always wants to sit or stand on...not very conducive to exercising!

We have found that we watch less TV and are more active at night now, as most Wii games really encourage movement & activity. When I saw that Wii Fit was coming out, I was immediately intrigued.

When you first get started with Wii Fit, you have to do a body assessment. You stand on the balance board and it captures your weight and also calculates your BMI. Wii Fit bases everything on your BMI - in fact, you never have to see your weight if you don't want to. It then puts up a BMI scale and tells you where you fall and then encourages you to set a goal to reduce your BMI. The amazing thing about the Wii balance board is that because it knows your weight, it can "sense" how you're standing on the board, where you're placing pressure, when you step on and off, etc. When you do either the strength or Yoga exercises, it will place a small circle on the screen, and then place a red dot in the middle of it. If you stay balanced and under control, the red dot stays in the circle...if you lurch all over the place, the red dot goes with you. This nifty little part of the program allows you to know when you're doing the exercises correctly and helps you improve your form. It truly keeps Wii Fit from just being gimmicky!

Now on to the various activities - there are 4 different activity groups - Yoga, Strength Training, Aerobics & Balance. This is one thing that I especially love - there's something for everyone. Our family has a YMCA membership, but let's face it...some days neither of us make it. My husband's schedule is crazy and unpredictable, and their childcare hours are limited, and some days I just don't "feel" like it - but with Wii Fit, I can exercise whenever I want, when it's convenient for me. I can do 15 mins in the morning before my little guy gets up and then another 15 minutes when he's down for an afternoon nap or try to exercise with him standing next to me. There's a little piggy bank that tracks your fitness minutes each day and you unlock additional activities with the amount of time you spend. And as you spend more time, you unlock additional time or repetition options...for example, the super hula hoop starts out at 3 minutes, but as you become proficient at that time level, it unlocks a longer time setting. Pretty nifty!

And one of the best parts? My husband loves it too. Confession - I've been lazy as of late, and he's probably used it more than I have! He loves the strength training exercises and the boxing too. Last night we did the advanced step aerobics activity together (albeit me without the Wii board) and we both really enjoyed it. Okay - these are pics of me boxing...please don't laugh too hard! LOL

So if you already have a Wii - go for it! And if you don't - consider saving your $$ to get one. I know it's not cheap, but the family entertainment (and exercise) value is priceless in our book!

For other great WFMW ideas, head on over to Rocks in My Dryer!