So tonight, the hub is going out. That leaves me and the kiddos, and I'm beat-tired. Also, it's cold and raining. I could not sleep last night. There are so many things I need to do and so few I wish to do... lasagna's baking in the oven and won't be in much longer so I might as well knock out a few chores while I wait for it and continue to supervise homework.
Let's do the DLTCP thing, shall we?
Dishes:
Empty dishwasher, fill back up. Same w/ drainer. Gather all dishes from everywhere and put in.
Be right back...
Back with your scintillating 5 minute report. In 5 minutes, I emptied both the washer and drainer and then emptied the dishes in the sink (put in the d.w.). I have a few more to gather, then it's on to The Laundry.
Laundry plan: start a load of sheets/blankets/pjs.
Be right back again...
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Thanksgiving Debriefing 2010
I like to jot down what worked and what didn't for each holiday or event so I can remember when it rolls around again, and perhaps save myself some trouble. Or repeat what did go well that I might forget about!
Without further ado: Thanksgiving 2010
NUMBER OF PEOPLE: A+
We had 10 people. That was awesome and I think everyone had a nice time. That is HUGE for my family -- we aren't used to have more than 7 or 8. (I know some families have 30-50 people present -- I cannot imagine!)
TIME TO EAT: A-
We had dinner at 1:30. Well that was that "aimed for" time -- it was really 1:45-2 pm before we actually ate. Some of that was my last minute jostling, some was because my mom arrived right at 1:30 with the goods so we had to distribute them. Essentially it worked well though.
TABLE ARRANGEMENT: B
We had the 6-person table in the dining room (that's w/ the leaf in) and the card table in the living room but it was really sort of in the open double-arch between the living and dining rooms. It really sort of blocked traffic flow -- I think I would probably push it more in the living room next time around but basically things were fine.
DINING ROOM SPACE: B
Got rid of the microwave cart behind the door (kitchen doorway w/ little double-doors which open into the dining room). That was great -- although I did fill the space w/ two TV-type tables to hold the triple crockpot thing I used to keep the stuffings (two types) and mashers warm. That made it crowded but better than the deeper micro-cart I used as a beverage stand.
I have a small console-type cabinet I use as a sideboard in the dining room. It doesn't match the furniture -- it really goes in the living room. It did OK. What I'd like to do is somehow get the cd cabinet out of the living room (really we need to donate it but that's a whole audio issue w/ the hub) and put the small console/music cabinet back into the living room where it goes. It functions OK as a sideboard in the dining room but a larger, shallower, wider surface would do better, perhaps w/ closed storage underneath. I guess I need to find a second-hand buffet cabinet of some sort. And then we need to move the small corner cabinet to the unused back corner of the room. I'm also thinking if we were to do the tv table thing again using the far corner would make a lot more sense (the one where the small corner cabinet currently is).
FOOD: A
I think everything worked OK. I did mess up the squash casserole -- forgot to get the stuffing mix and it really was lacking on the top and bottom. Didn't taste the same until I layered the stuffing stuffing on the plate with it. :) Still, yum. I think I might have been better off with frozen squash at this time of year though -- I use yellow crookneck summer squash and the ones I bought looked great but were lacking.
We did have a ton of leftovers but I think it was probably just right as we sent some home w/ all of the visitors, and took some to a friend of mine who had dinner with his kids but ate out. He lives alone and had no leftovers so he was very happy to get some. In retrospect, I wouldn't change that at all.
TABLE DECORATIONS: C
The table linens I got from Target were terrific and I envision using them for years. They toned down the watermelon color on the bottoms of the dining room walls too. :) I did not, however, unrumple them. I also hadn't set the table the day before as planned -- poor DH had to rush to finish decluttering all the paper piles I procrastinated on. <guilt/shame> He also had to set the table willy nilly. Not too proud of that but he was a trooper and did great. Of course. So next year: dejunk the dining room well before (!) and set the table a day or two prior. Lay a sheet over it if need be.
I did not clean my candlesticks. They are glass/crystal and are filthy from previous use. They really were shameful. I did have 4 taper candles -- the federal style ones I love -- and also got some vanilla-scented pillar candles but forgot to light the one on the sideboard.
Would have helped to turn the lights down in the dining room. Would also help to have functional blinds -- the kids have been murder on the metal mini-blinds and they barely work. I would love to eat w/o feeling as though I were sitting right on the street on display. :)
I never did get a centerpiece going. Need to work on that next year.
Used a flameless short pillar candle on the kids' table. With a seasonal pinecone/berry candle-ring around it, I swear you could not tell it was a battery candle. I was really impressed. $3, Walmart. Note to self -- get more! It was even scented. Did require AAA batteries though, which I luckily had on hand.
KIDS: B
The kids themselves were OK. They were amped up but did fine. Thing that worked well: Blessing Mix project. Went of beautifully and kept them involved.
During dinner, the kids were pretty good. Aunt A was terrific enough to sit with them at the kids' table so she kept them occupied and under control. :)
Bipolar DS had a meltdown with me in a different room -- I pushed him on something and he had a temper tantrum. We could have both approached that differently but it was pretty short-lived.
The kids ate and then left the room. That worked great. Things were fine and happy until the kids all got together with the adults in the living room where the kids got completely amped and were vying for attention, and the adults were tired and (some of us! *me, cough cough*) were cranking at them. If we had not drawn them back into the same room with everyone, but instead had a movie or a project in a different room or just let them be, it likely would've been better. But it was all good.
And boy was it lovely lovely having everyone there. Very nice family time all around.
Without further ado: Thanksgiving 2010
NUMBER OF PEOPLE: A+
We had 10 people. That was awesome and I think everyone had a nice time. That is HUGE for my family -- we aren't used to have more than 7 or 8. (I know some families have 30-50 people present -- I cannot imagine!)
TIME TO EAT: A-
We had dinner at 1:30. Well that was that "aimed for" time -- it was really 1:45-2 pm before we actually ate. Some of that was my last minute jostling, some was because my mom arrived right at 1:30 with the goods so we had to distribute them. Essentially it worked well though.
TABLE ARRANGEMENT: B
We had the 6-person table in the dining room (that's w/ the leaf in) and the card table in the living room but it was really sort of in the open double-arch between the living and dining rooms. It really sort of blocked traffic flow -- I think I would probably push it more in the living room next time around but basically things were fine.
DINING ROOM SPACE: B
Got rid of the microwave cart behind the door (kitchen doorway w/ little double-doors which open into the dining room). That was great -- although I did fill the space w/ two TV-type tables to hold the triple crockpot thing I used to keep the stuffings (two types) and mashers warm. That made it crowded but better than the deeper micro-cart I used as a beverage stand.
I have a small console-type cabinet I use as a sideboard in the dining room. It doesn't match the furniture -- it really goes in the living room. It did OK. What I'd like to do is somehow get the cd cabinet out of the living room (really we need to donate it but that's a whole audio issue w/ the hub) and put the small console/music cabinet back into the living room where it goes. It functions OK as a sideboard in the dining room but a larger, shallower, wider surface would do better, perhaps w/ closed storage underneath. I guess I need to find a second-hand buffet cabinet of some sort. And then we need to move the small corner cabinet to the unused back corner of the room. I'm also thinking if we were to do the tv table thing again using the far corner would make a lot more sense (the one where the small corner cabinet currently is).
FOOD: A
I think everything worked OK. I did mess up the squash casserole -- forgot to get the stuffing mix and it really was lacking on the top and bottom. Didn't taste the same until I layered the stuffing stuffing on the plate with it. :) Still, yum. I think I might have been better off with frozen squash at this time of year though -- I use yellow crookneck summer squash and the ones I bought looked great but were lacking.
We did have a ton of leftovers but I think it was probably just right as we sent some home w/ all of the visitors, and took some to a friend of mine who had dinner with his kids but ate out. He lives alone and had no leftovers so he was very happy to get some. In retrospect, I wouldn't change that at all.
TABLE DECORATIONS: C
The table linens I got from Target were terrific and I envision using them for years. They toned down the watermelon color on the bottoms of the dining room walls too. :) I did not, however, unrumple them. I also hadn't set the table the day before as planned -- poor DH had to rush to finish decluttering all the paper piles I procrastinated on. <guilt/shame> He also had to set the table willy nilly. Not too proud of that but he was a trooper and did great. Of course. So next year: dejunk the dining room well before (!) and set the table a day or two prior. Lay a sheet over it if need be.
I did not clean my candlesticks. They are glass/crystal and are filthy from previous use. They really were shameful. I did have 4 taper candles -- the federal style ones I love -- and also got some vanilla-scented pillar candles but forgot to light the one on the sideboard.
Would have helped to turn the lights down in the dining room. Would also help to have functional blinds -- the kids have been murder on the metal mini-blinds and they barely work. I would love to eat w/o feeling as though I were sitting right on the street on display. :)
I never did get a centerpiece going. Need to work on that next year.
Used a flameless short pillar candle on the kids' table. With a seasonal pinecone/berry candle-ring around it, I swear you could not tell it was a battery candle. I was really impressed. $3, Walmart. Note to self -- get more! It was even scented. Did require AAA batteries though, which I luckily had on hand.
KIDS: B
The kids themselves were OK. They were amped up but did fine. Thing that worked well: Blessing Mix project. Went of beautifully and kept them involved.
During dinner, the kids were pretty good. Aunt A was terrific enough to sit with them at the kids' table so she kept them occupied and under control. :)
Bipolar DS had a meltdown with me in a different room -- I pushed him on something and he had a temper tantrum. We could have both approached that differently but it was pretty short-lived.
The kids ate and then left the room. That worked great. Things were fine and happy until the kids all got together with the adults in the living room where the kids got completely amped and were vying for attention, and the adults were tired and (some of us! *me, cough cough*) were cranking at them. If we had not drawn them back into the same room with everyone, but instead had a movie or a project in a different room or just let them be, it likely would've been better. But it was all good.
And boy was it lovely lovely having everyone there. Very nice family time all around.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Final To-Do Lists for Thanksgiving: Cooking
How to put this together? Dinner time tomorrow: 1:30 pm. Sooo...
1:30 Eat up, Buttercup!
1:15 Saute beans
1:00 Rolls in, Pineapple in, cook carrots, zap beans, bake squash casserole
12:45 Assemble pineapple
12:30 Cook stuffing and put in buttered crock pot on low
12:00 Prep carrots
11:00 Cook potatoes and put into buttered crock pot on low with butter on top
Tonight: cool cranberry, bake pie, bake cake, chill wine, set table
*Mashed potatoes: will take 30 min to cook, another 15 to prep (10 and 5)
Scalloped pineapple: 5 min to mix, 30 to cook
Rolls: need to see
Cranberry: needs to cool tonight
*Pumpkin pie: bake tonight
Carrots: 10 min prep, 20 min cook
Beans: decided to do Steamfresh Whole Green Beans, and then quickly sautee them... so 2 packs, zap for about 5 min each, then 10 min sautee w/ whatever (won't be in the pan that long)
*Stuffing: decided to put a little sausage in some of it; 10 min prep time (cut onion, celery, brown sausage), cook for about 10 min
*Chocolate cake: bake tonight
Wine: put in fridge
Squash casserole:
Still need to get:
Evaporated milk
Mums
Squash casserole stuff
Bugles
Baggies
1:30 Eat up, Buttercup!
1:15 Saute beans
1:00 Rolls in, Pineapple in, cook carrots, zap beans, bake squash casserole
12:45 Assemble pineapple
12:30 Cook stuffing and put in buttered crock pot on low
12:00 Prep carrots
11:00 Cook potatoes and put into buttered crock pot on low with butter on top
Tonight: cool cranberry, bake pie, bake cake, chill wine, set table
*Mashed potatoes: will take 30 min to cook, another 15 to prep (10 and 5)
Scalloped pineapple: 5 min to mix, 30 to cook
Rolls: need to see
Cranberry: needs to cool tonight
*Pumpkin pie: bake tonight
Carrots: 10 min prep, 20 min cook
Beans: decided to do Steamfresh Whole Green Beans, and then quickly sautee them... so 2 packs, zap for about 5 min each, then 10 min sautee w/ whatever (won't be in the pan that long)
*Stuffing: decided to put a little sausage in some of it; 10 min prep time (cut onion, celery, brown sausage), cook for about 10 min
*Chocolate cake: bake tonight
Wine: put in fridge
Squash casserole:
Still need to get:
Evaporated milk
Mums
Squash casserole stuff
Bugles
Baggies
Final To-Do Lists for Thanksgiving: Cleaning
Kitchen:
Family Room:
- Floor is mopped, stripped, re-polished. YAY!
- Dishwasher needs emptying; so does drainer. (Drainboard, however, has been scrubbed.)
- Paper piles still loom large. Ack.
- Countertops still in need of some work.
- Bench still needs a bit of attention.
- Fridge still needs cleaning/scrubbing out.
- Microwave cart was cleaned out and sent to Goodwill where it will find a new, happy home! They were happy to see it which is gratifying for a piece of furniture just cluttering up a place.
- Most of the contents therefrom have been put away. Finish that.
- Finish sweeping the floor (did some where the cart was).
- Still need to unrumple the linens.
- Need to attack a box of papers. <shamefaced -- told you it was a downfall>
- Need to remove dog crate.
- Need to take tags off throw pillows. (2/$12 at Target -- what a find!)
- Need to bring up folding chairs for the card table.
- Need to vacuum floor and one remaining club chair.
- Need to polish/dust piano.
Family Room:
- Still needs vacuuming.
- Still needs some dejunking.
- Get kids to sort the random assortment of game pieces that need to go back to their homes.
Grocery Savings
I'm experimenting with saving money on groceries again since food is our single biggest expense and probably the easiest to cut if I work hard.
I've used the Grocery Game website before. Now keep in mind that I know I could peruse specials and such myself, but I get terribly addled and it's easier to have a list of what to get straight from someone who's done the homework.
I also tried a coupon clipping service. I chose Coupons and Things by Dede. I make some money doing some online freelance writing, so I always have ten bucks or so in my PayPal account. I ordered the coupons I needed and PayPal'd the money from that little fund. We don't currently get any newspapers and I'm horribly disorganized about gathering coupons, clupping them, and organizing them. It was a total treat to go through an online checklist and pick what I needed, then PayPal over and get the nicely clipped ready-to-go coupons in the mail a few days later.
The trick is going to be getting on The Grocery Game site the first day of the new specials posted for my store, then ordering the coupons and getting them prior to the specials expiring.
My store's specials run Thurs-Weds, so I went through last Thurs and picked everything I wanted to buy. Furthermore, I use an online shopping service -- my grocery store (Harris Teeter) has a thing where you shop online and then go pick the groceries up from the store. You just have to give them four hours to do the shopping, and the service costs $5. I figure I save this much by not impulse-buying with the kids in tow. Also, I save a ton of time. And I shop much better online than wandering around, even with a good list.
So I picked my items on Thursday night, then ordered the coupons on Friday. Usually they would arrive before now but it was a holiday weekend per the coupon site, so I was hoping to get them by today. Today it was. I zipped in the order online, and will pick it up this evening.
I figure that in the future, I can pick the items on Weds/Thurs and get the coupons then, and then key in my order online and save the cart, not submitting it until I get the coupons in the mail.
At any rate, I'm going to see how much I saved using specials and coupons this week, less the price for the coupon, grocery list, and online shopping services. Ha.
I've used the Grocery Game website before. Now keep in mind that I know I could peruse specials and such myself, but I get terribly addled and it's easier to have a list of what to get straight from someone who's done the homework.
I also tried a coupon clipping service. I chose Coupons and Things by Dede. I make some money doing some online freelance writing, so I always have ten bucks or so in my PayPal account. I ordered the coupons I needed and PayPal'd the money from that little fund. We don't currently get any newspapers and I'm horribly disorganized about gathering coupons, clupping them, and organizing them. It was a total treat to go through an online checklist and pick what I needed, then PayPal over and get the nicely clipped ready-to-go coupons in the mail a few days later.
The trick is going to be getting on The Grocery Game site the first day of the new specials posted for my store, then ordering the coupons and getting them prior to the specials expiring.
My store's specials run Thurs-Weds, so I went through last Thurs and picked everything I wanted to buy. Furthermore, I use an online shopping service -- my grocery store (Harris Teeter) has a thing where you shop online and then go pick the groceries up from the store. You just have to give them four hours to do the shopping, and the service costs $5. I figure I save this much by not impulse-buying with the kids in tow. Also, I save a ton of time. And I shop much better online than wandering around, even with a good list.
So I picked my items on Thursday night, then ordered the coupons on Friday. Usually they would arrive before now but it was a holiday weekend per the coupon site, so I was hoping to get them by today. Today it was. I zipped in the order online, and will pick it up this evening.
I figure that in the future, I can pick the items on Weds/Thurs and get the coupons then, and then key in my order online and save the cart, not submitting it until I get the coupons in the mail.
At any rate, I'm going to see how much I saved using specials and coupons this week, less the price for the coupon, grocery list, and online shopping services. Ha.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
More Breaking News
I am completely excited and thrilled that there will be 10 of us at Thanksgiving dinner here this year. :) I can't wait to see everyone!
Breaking News
I must have my Grammy's squash casserole.
I'm not even sure it will wait until Thursday.
That is all.
I'm not even sure it will wait until Thursday.
That is all.
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