Christmas....Away in a box.

The Epiphany has come and gone. Today, I conquer the Christmas chaos that was left behind. All of the decorations have to go. NOW!!! Yep, time to put the house back together and feel some serenity and get organized for the year. My family had 2 weeks off, so everyone was home, and yesterday, they all went back to school and work. I love them dearly, but honestly, I am reveling in the quiet stillness of the house. Do you hear that? That's right, just the faint hum of the refrigerator.

Today was the day that I was going to start walking for exercise, starting with 30 minutes and then gradually increasing my time and speed. However, I have been up and down the stairs so many times today, and I'm just getting started, that I think I'm getting more exercise by putting away the Christmas decorations. Reaching and stretching, pulling, squatting, and all of the storage boxes are kept in the basement. Maybe tomorrow is a better day to start walking.

Love, love, love decorating the house for Christmas! Taking it all down and putting it away is a different story. Most of the items sitting around, and the garlands and swags are all put away. It's the tree that I just want to shove into a closet until next year. Leave the ornaments and just stick it in a closet and pull the whole decorated, inverted, cone of prettiness out next Christmas. If only I had a mega-huge house with a closet that would house that monstrosity, and still realize that it's a closet that I don't really need the other 11 months of the year. Oh well. What's a girl to do? Take down the tree. Ugh!

However, to make this process easier, I do have a little "system". I have two boxes of ornaments. Let me rephrase that, I have to large storage tubs of ornaments for the upstairs tree. Lots of ornaments. In one tub is just the regular store bought, 4 - 8 ornaments in a box, type of glass ornaments. In the other tub are the more personalized, one (or 2) of a kind on the tree ornaments. The store bought ornaments get taken off first. Get a large plastic bowl, or lined basket, and just take all of them off and fill the container. All of the surfaces are pretty clear in the living room. Just group them together on any flat surface. Then get the box for each group and put them away. It saves me from picking up a box more than once. It also saves the search and find stage of ornament de-clutter, by not having to search for the last ornament for a box. It's like playing "Where's Waldo" or looking in an "I Spy" book and trying to find a needle in a haystack. Fun in its own right, but not when you want to get something done quickly.  I continue in this manner with the rest of the ornaments until everything is off of the tree. Then I put them in their designated boxes, wraps, and papers, and directly back into the correct storage bin. Time to get started. (Imagine the music from Final Jeopardy playing.)

Okay. The tree is now bare! Yippee!!!!! Here's the progression.

Four Paper Bowls that I have on hand.

Containers for holding ornaments.

 Christmas tree in all of its glory. Hmmmm. It somehow looks better standing next to it. Oh well.

Decorated Christmas tree. Picture was taken at 12:09 pm. For got to put a time stamp on it. Sorry.

 After gathering my courage and pulling the tree to the middle of the floor in order to gain access to the back of the tree easily. I started taking ornaments off.

First bowl filled with ornaments. 12:16 pm.

This started going pretty quickly. Moving right along with no problems. 2 minutes, not bad.

2 bowls filled. 12:18 pm.

 3 bowls filled within 8 minutes. Now we're moving.

3 bowls filled. 12:22 pm

All four bowls filled with ornaments, in less than 20 minutes.

4 bowls filled. 12:24 pm. Nice Job!!

 This is a little trick that has helped me every year. Quite a few years ago I took pictures of 1 ornament from each box, printed it, and taped it to the outside of the box. No more guessing which ornaments go in which box. Problem solved. This is a real time saver.

Tape a picture of the ornaments on the back of the box.

Putting the ornaments in the correct boxes is very simple with this method. Snap. Print. Tape.

Put ornaments in the correct boxes every time.

 The tree is un-decorated and waiting for TM  to come home and put it back in its box to hibernate until next Christmas season. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!

All of the ornaments off the tree. 1:42 pm.

Both tubs filled with ornaments and waiting for storage. 1:42 pm.

Bowls holding the extension cords waiting for storage.

So after whining and procrastinating, it's all done. It took approximately 1 and half hours and I also took a break for lunch during the process. It was actually really easy.

Just an update to this prior to posting.....I actually did get a short walk in today, 15 minutes!! Okay, so it's not great, but it's a start. Now, I just need to start increasing my time each day until I'm back to where I was before I stopped taking daily walks a couple of years ago.

Enjoy! Go forth and accomplish one little thing today that will have an impact on a long term basis. No...doing the dishes doesn't count. Clean one drawer, or shelf, or closet. Oh I have another one, take down your Christmas tree, I did.

Time To Get Started

Have you ever found a product that works for you, only to discover when you try to get a new one, that  you can no longer find the product which you so loved? Countless times this has happened to me. I find it a bit frustrating. But, hey! That's okay, you just keep looking for something to fill the void, or if it's something you can duplicate at home, then do so. Just don't try to sell it, or pass it off as your own creation. That's just wrong. Enough said.

Real Simple has (or had) this great Grocery Checklist (pictured above) that I found at Target a few years ago. It has the basics on it, with little check boxes, and extra lines for writing in items that you might need. Great product! It made it very easy for the family to "help" with the grocery list by checking off items that we had depleted. It really does help organize your grocery list making. You can grab the sheet and take it to the store with you, or use it to make a more thorough list. Either way, it's easy to see what you are out of on a daily basis.

Weill, I was down to my last 3 sheets, and a bit frustrated with the fact that after searching periodically for a few months, I was still unable to locate a replacement. Yes, I searched Target.com, organizing stores, Real Simple, Bed, Bath, & Beyond, the Web. Yes....yes...yes. I searched pretty thoroughly, or so I thought. Well, here's the kicker, I wasn't supposed to find it. I was supposed to, for personal use only, duplicate it and tweak to my family's basics. It worked out great!!!! I used Excel and made a sheet that looks just like the sheets that I have grown to love, but was able to delete some items that we never purchased, and add some items that we purchase quite often. Brilliant!!!! Unfortunately, I don't feel that it would be right for me to post it online, because it is for personal use, and I did use my old list as a template. But someone else worked really hard to produce that item for Real Simple and sell it.

The point of this story? Stop pining away for something that you want and either can't find or don't want to pay the kind of money that is being asked, and make something for yourself. It's fun, and I won't lie, depending what it is you're making, it might be difficult for you. But......just try.....you'll surprise yourself. It's extremely gratifying and you'll love it because you made it yourself. It's also a great way to learn how to do something that you didn't know before, or just hadn't thought of doing at all.

Enjoy! Go forth and try something new!

It's a New Year!!

Greetings!!

It's a New Year. Let's try to make this year successful in a way that is meaningful individually. Not successful in the eyes of others, but on a personal level. That could mean finally organizing the linen closet, or making a laundry schedule, or losing that 5 pounds (or more in my case), that has been pinching at the ol' muffin top, begging to be released. What ever the goal is, no matter how small, if it's reached, then it should be acknowledged and celebrated.

Personally, I really do have a few pounds I would like to shred. BUT....and I say this loud and clear.....I don't want to go on a diet. The pounds are secondary, a healthier lifestyle is the complete goal, right down to my crazy sleeping schedule. This is not something that I can flip the switch and have all of my bad habits gone. It's going to take some time, a slow and steady process, with little changes here and there that will (hopefully), eventually be big overall changes.

Organizing my home and time are two other goals that I have for the year. There are other things that I'm sure I should do, and in time I will, but the starting line has to be painted somewhere. It's not a race of speed, but one of endurance. Slow and steady wins the race to making changes in my life that will produce good habits and erase the bad habits. Okay......let's be honest here, let me start by just trying to erase some bad habits. Well, I don't want to get too over zealous and set myself up for failure. It's like making a "to do" list for the day of 50 tasks and knowing that you really only have time to complete 10, on a good day. (Note to self: another goal....don't set yourself up for failure).

On that note, I know there aren't many people out there that are sharing this experience with me, but let's try this again. Shall we?

To paint or not to paint? That is the question.

To paint or not to paint? It wasn't really a question. The question should have been "when to paint?". After many weeks of shying away from choosing a color that is not too intrusive, but not white, a decision was made. We went with a color called Oat Straw. It looked kind of dark(ish), very neutral, fresh and clean. Great! Well, I finished the walls and my son asked me why I was painting the walls white. This is not what I wanted to hear, not at all. Now that the walls are done, the color is so non-intrusive that you don't really know that it's there. Well, I do because after all of the repairs to years of nicks and dents from countless children in the house, I almost screamed that I never wanted to fill, patch or sand another thing....ever. The small repairs had me crazed. Then I just kept seeing tiny imperfections on the walls and just kept fixing them. I know, it's my own fault, no one else to blame but me.

Things are rolling along well, just need to paint the ceiling and a few interior doors, but the bulk of the job is done. It's been very slow progress as everyone in the house has, one after the other, gotten "The Crud" that's going around. Me being the first one and right during the time that was my turn to paint. I did all of the walls, TM did the trims, and we'll do the ceiling together......today. Thank goodness. I just want my kitchen back in order. Not to mention the fact that it's impossible to decorate for fall when the kitchen is in a complete state of disarray. So, back to the painting and then I can get back to the fun stuff, like crafting, and decorating the house. No pics to show today, because I need all of my energy to climb up the ladder. And down the ladder. And back up the ladder. You get the picture.

Go play in the dirt!
It's a great time of year to get the garden in order for the upcoming colder months.

Jute Wrapped Apple

With autumn quickly approaching, I find myself thinking of apples, pumpkins, leaves, and snuggling into the warmth of home and the household schedule that comes with kids returning to school. My first thought is always the feel of the house when everyone is home in the evening. The smells that come with autumn, the deeper, homey scents that come from baking pies, breads, cookies, and the crisp scents from the outside wafting in through open windows. When those things fail to produce smells that make me want to cuddle up with a book, I turn to candles. In addition to the smells, what do I see in the house? Well, I like to decorate with each season, so for now I'm thinking apples. 

When TM and I went away for a weekend last autumn, we stopped in a tiny shop where I found the cutest twine wrapped pear. I only bought one, because I just couldn't justify paying that kind of money for any more. During the Easter and spring season, I wrapped eggs in jute, not to mention a tiny jar for a bud vase. I had lots of jute left over and used some to wrap a wreath that I am working on, and still had more left over. It was a pretty big spool. So onto the apples then, one cute little jute wrapped apple would be adorable. Having an abundance of fake apples from the past two years, I thought to use one of those. This worked out perfectly, as there was one little apple that had a hole in it that I kept trying to hide last year. Good thing I didn't throw it away, because now I can reuse it. Yippee!!!!!!!

 Here's the apple that I started with, the hole is on the other side. The stem and leaf came right off, it was just glued into the styrofoam on the inside.

Here you can see the hole. I grabbed some sand paper from the garage and scuffed the surface, it was quite smooth and I wanted to make sure that the glue adhered well. 

Other than the sand paper, this is all that I used: my trusty old glue gun, left over jute that I originally purchased at 40% off, glue sticks (those are a staple in my craft supplies), and one damaged fake apple.

Starting at the top, I put on some glue, then started to wrap the jute around the apple, making sure to use only as much glue as I needed to wrap one or to rotations at a time. I had to be careful not to cover the hole that the stem and leaf came out of, I used the same hole when it came time to reattach them. Careful, that glue gets really hot....really, really hot!

I kept this up until the whole thing was wrapped, about 20 minutes. Ta-da!!!!!!! Easy, easy, easy! And a lot less expensive than the store bought versions. Just needed to put the stem and leaf back on.

A little glue in the hole that was left when I removed the stem and leaf, and a little on the stem itself, pushed the little peg back in the hole, and done. How cute is that?!!!!

There is the little pretty apple from the top, cute as can be. It's nice to have the apple shape, without the color, but a more neutral color, and the added texture from the jute is an addition to any spot in the house.

Sopapilla Cheesecake

You might want to put your diet on hold for a piece of this yumminess. You will want to eat it, and when you do....be warned this is not for the weak, you'll want another piece. However, you won't get another piece because everyone else will have already eaten it, leaving you with a mere crumb. Awwww, sorry, buddy. This is a great and extremely easy recipe. Even you say you're not a baker, this is easy. One of the mom's from my son's swim team shared this recipe, she doesn't use the almonds, to be careful of nut allergies (good thinking), and she drizzled the top with honey while it was still hot (again, good thinking.) I did happen to find this online as well, at Allrecipes.com.

The recipe follows and is for a 9 x 13 pan for the full recipe. I decided to try making a smaller pan, because I really don't need it sitting there tempting me for any longer than necessary. Instead, my pictures show that it is smaller pan (8 x 8), and that I have only used half of the ingredients. Therefore the pictures just show the steps.

Crescent Rolls, cream cheese, cinnamon, butter, honey, sugar, and vanilla. That's all you need.

Combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl.

Beat until smooth.

Roll out crescent rolls. One can is used for the top and one can is used for the bottom. (Since I was making half of the recipe, I used half of the can on top and the other half on the bottom.)

One can of crescent rolls pressed in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. I don't bother with using a rolling pin, just use the ol' fingers and press it right in the bottom of the pan, pinching the perforations together as well. Much quicker this way. (And one less item to wash afterwards.)

Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the crescent roll dough.

Tip: When rolling out the second can of Crescent rolls for the top crust, lay a larger piece of plastic wrap on the counter top, then roll the dough on the plastic wrap. The dough sticks to the plastic wrap (just enough), making it easier to put the dough on top. And no, I don't use a rolling pin, I just use my fingers to pinch the perforated lines together and spread it out as I go, until it looks like it's the correct size. (Very precise of me, right?)

With the dough pressed into the desired size, on the plastic, pick up the plastic on the long side, you can even hold onto the corners of the dough a bit. Then lay it flat on top of the filling, with the plastic side up. Then remove the plastic. 

Now the plastic is removed and your top crust is in place. How easy was that?

Add the remaining sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl.

Mix the cinnamon and sugar together.

Melt the butter in a small dish. I find that the recipe calls for a lot of butter, I reduce the amount that I use.

First drizzle the butter over the top of the dough, then sprinkle the sugar & cinnamon mixture over the buttered dough. Put it in the oven and let it bake. The smell coming from your oven will have your family salivating.

The recipe that I found online doesn't call for honey, but the person that gave the recipe added this little step and it is much better. Don't mind the fancy honey, it was leftover from a gift basket I received last Christmas. All of the regular, Meijer brand honey was gone, so I used this wonderful Hale brand.

This is the what the dessert looks like when it comes out of the oven. 

While it's still hot, drizzle honey all over the top. How much? It's up to you and your personal taste. Use a bit, it will soak in as it sits. Step back, look at it and admire, but you must wait for it to cool before you cut it. 3 hours. After cooling, I like to put it in the refrigerator for a while. I find it much better served a bit chilled. This is a great recipe to make ahead, the night or day before. 

After it's been refrigerated, I cut it into small pieces, it's very rich. For a 9 x 13 pan I cut it into 24 pieces.

Eat up!!!!

There you have it, one quick easy and delicious dessert. My family loves it, even my wonderful husband, TM, and he is not much of a sweets eater. It's a crowd pleaser.

Sopapilla Cheesecake Dessert

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 45 Minutes Ready In: 3 Hours Servings: 12 (cut them smaller - 24 pieces)

"Cream cheese, canned crescent rolls, cinnamon, and almonds create this delicious, Mexican-inspired dessert."

Ingredients:

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened 1 1/2 cups white sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 (8 ounce) cans crescent roll dough

1/2 cup melted butter 1/2 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional) Honey (added touch)

Directions:

1.	Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	Beat the cream cheese with 1 1/2 cups of sugar, and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth. Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape the each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough.
3.	Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Stir the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar together with the cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle over the cheesecake along with the almonds.
4.	Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 45 minutes. (This is when I drizzle honey on top) Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares. (I cut them smaller)

Fallasburg Covered Bridge

One of the stops we made this summer was in Lowell, Mi. There is a covered bridge there, it was featured in my wall calendar for the year. And seeing that all of the other bridges were in other states, and this one was pretty close and on our route to camping, I had to see it. TM obliged and we made the stop, I think he enjoyed it more than I did, and that was a lot.

Fallasburg Covered Bridge

My wall calendar for the year show 12 different covered bridges from around the country. I have spent quite a bit of time looking at them online as well.

Sign: $5 fine for going faster than a walk

The sign is awesome! Of course, there was no one around to collect the fines, but hey. They should put a little bucket out and let people pay using the honest person's merit system. I bet this is beautiful during the autumn.

It is a historic site

Lots of interesting information was offered throughout the little historic district where the bridge leads.

Over the side looking at the river

Better view of the river. Where are the kayaks when you want them?

Inside the covered bridge

Have you ever walked on a covered bridge? It just feels old and historic, it's a nice feeling. Try it.

The architecture is amazing

The structures are fascinating when you think about how long they have been standing, it's had some work done on it, but the design is the same.

Yes, I'm still in the car.

The old school. Note the outhouse.

Imagine back in the day when little Susie or Bobby had to use the rest room during arithmetic lessons. On with boots and heavy coats and out to the out house they went. Brrrrrr. Sounds a bit chilly doesn't it?

Farm machinery?

Love this picture. It just makes me smile. Something about old farms and machinery.

The Farm

Again, this is just a wonderful picture. Grab a blanket, a book and a glass of whatever you like to sip on  and hang out under the tree for a while.

Misner House built in 1850.

The trumpet vine is quite lovely with its red-orange trumpet shaped flowers. Very pretty.

Tower Farm built in 1896.

Fallass House. 

Love this little house. It is so quaint. Just imagine the hustle and bustle when it was a family home.

It just looks homey.

Want to go for a ride?

Inside the bridge.

Fallasburg Park Sign.

So there is the shortened version of the picture tour of the Fallasburg covered bridge and park, not to mention the historic district in Lowell, MI. Beautiful area. I will visit again someday, hopefully at the peak of the color season during the autumn.