instagram friday ~ summer's here

This is our first week of summer vacation! I cannot be more thrilled to be on summer vacation. The end of this year whooped my butt. My class was a good one overall, but they gave me a run for my money there at the end. 

Greg also had this week off, so we've been doing a lot of hanging out and doing a whole bunch of nothing. Sunday we took the kids to a new swimming pool in our area. They had a great time swimming and going down the water slide, while Greg and I people-watched. We were not short of conversation regarding what we saw.

The week started with working on a custom order for ten pouches.

Tuesday we stepped out to take care of our civic duty and run some errands. We took the kids with us and let them stand behind the voting machine with us to see what goes on. Hopefully we are instilling in them a sense of civic duty and pride in the responsibility.

Greg's favorite breakfast is bacon with biscuits and gravy. On days off, I'm happy to oblige. These cookie sheets also saw some cookie baking action later in the day. That boy is lucky! Nevermind he's been waiting weeks for homemade cookies. He's just lucky.

Greg has been working on his genealogy this week & announced that he wanted to go to the oldest cemetery in town to take pictures of the grave stones. Always up for an outing, we tagged along. After I took this picture, Heather asked me if I wanted her to work up a tear or two for another picture. Irreverent!

As the kids and I wandered around the grave stones, we wondered about the people buried underneath our feet. What were their lives like? What was it like for the woman buried next to her husband who lived nearly 60 years longer than him?

While Greg uploaded pictures and did more research, I bugged him kept him company and worked on some cards. It's been a while since I've spent some time with the paper crafts. That job of mine insists on keeping me busy!

Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'.... (If that song gets stuck in your head, you're welcome.) I've kind of been on the computer forever this morning. I unwittingly got sucked into the time vortex of the net. It might be time to do something semi-productive with this day. Or not. It's summer.

Do you use Instagram? What is your favorite filter? I am drawn to Earlybird, but try to give the others a chance as well. I like Brennan and Hefe too.

Head on over to Life.Rearranged to see other InstaFriday posts.

      

happy anniversary

Today, Greg and I have been married 14 years! Fourteen ~ wow!

Here are some things you should know about Greg:

1. Greg puts our family first. Every decision he makes is made with the well-being of our family in mind. He is protective of us and makes sure we are safe.
2. Greg makes me laugh e.v.e.r.y.d.a.y! 
3. Greg is one of the smartest people I know. If there is something he wants to do, he just jumps in and learns how to do it. Even if it is tough, he doesn't give up.
4. Greg has a strong work ethic. He takes his job seriously and gives it his best effort, even going the extra mile to help out a customer or another courier. 
5. Greg is on time. Mr. FedEx has to be. Just know if he is ever late to a family function, it is most likely not his fault. He is the world on time. 
6. Greg will see chick movies with me. He might make a lot of noise about it, but when I ask him to go when no one else can, he gives in.
7. Greg is a teacher. When it comes to areas like reading and writing, he leaves that to me. But he loves to teach the kids how to do stuff. He does little science experiments with them and teaches them other tasks around the house. When it comes time to teach the girls how to drive (oh, help me!) he will be the one to handle that task.
8. Greg is a leader. He is a good example to others and makes decisions carefully. His take-charge personality makes people want to do what he says. 
9. Greg is kind. He is not stingy with compliments for the kids and me.  
10. Greg loves Reece's Peanut Butter Cups and Pepsi, but likes very few vegetables. He is a meat and potatoes guy, who prefers pasta more than rice. Fortunately, over the years he has been more adventuresome and tried some new stuff. Some stuff he felt was still gross, but other things he has found out he likes alright. Just recently, on two different occasions, he was eating guacamole. That was certainly something he would never touch before. 

All this and good looking too! How did I get so lucky!

Happy Anniversary, Greg! I love you!

       

dress up the box

You know I try to cook from scratch to try to control the ingredients that go into our food and decrease the amount of preservatives and things I can't pronounce, right? 

Sure.

But that doesn't mean I'm totally against a little help from the box.  Especially when Greg's favorite brownie mix goes on sale for a dollar a box.

Using a box doesn't mean you have to be completely satisfied with the plain old box ~ you can dress it up in a little party dress & go somewhere nice. Adding a little something special doesn't even have to be complicated. 

Start with the usual suspects and mix as directed on the box.

See that blue bowl? I got that years ago from a student. It was part of a gift set with pancake mix, syrup, & other stuff in it. It is one of my favorite mixing bowls for brownies, muffins, and well, pancakes.

To the mixed batter add a package of peanut butter chips.

That's it.

Easy.

The result is a scrumptious, never plain, peanut buttery brownie.

Your family will rise up and call you blessed.

Of course, if you make your brownies from scratch, you can still add a little secret ingredient to fancy up your brownies.

Happy eating!

play day at the park

One day last week during our spring break (oh how I miss you, spring break) we took the kids and their buddy Austin to the park. We loaded up the truck with bikes, scooters, frisbees, and helmets they pretended they were going to wear.

The first thing the kids did was zoom around on their bikes while we set up the picnic blanket. You don't think we just brought active gear, do you? Of course, we brought a picnic too. The kids and I stopped by the grocery store deli for some fried chicken and potato salad. I was easily suckered in to macaroni and cheese, fruit cups, and apples & carmel. I'm an easy target sometimes.

Like that quilt? Kinda hideous, but I love it. My grandma made it for me a long time ago and it has always been the picnic quilt. That's the only time it comes out of hiding. There's no mistaking which blanket is ours at the 4th of July fireworks!

The weather was great ~ warmish with a cool breeze. After we ate, the kids rode their bikes, scootered, jogged/walked on the path around the park several times. They even showed their utmost maturity by heckling a couple getting an exercise routine together. From our vantage, the couple was clearly new at this exercise business. But with our butts planted firmly on the picnic blanket, we were not really in a position to criticize ~ except we did.

Greg tried to nap while I read, but the kids visited the blanket at every lap and pestered him. I didn't really get much reading done either because when the kids were on their lap, I kept chatting him up.

In between laps around the park, playing on the tennis courts & playground equipment, and interrupting Greg's nap, there were sweaty snack breaks.

Greg played frisbee with the kids for a little while. I would have, but someone had to hold down that blanket and watch all of our stuff. I know ~ sacrifices.

What a great way to spend an afternoon.

 

pancake morning

Today was a pancake morning. Heather asked for chocolate chip pancakes. And wanted Mickey shaped. Sheesh! Demanding! The first one I tried was a miserable fail of a misshapen oval. I told her I'd try just once more, then she'd have to settle for regular-shaped ones. Lucky for her the second one turned out.

Heather was a happy girl!

Stephanie was a happy girl too, even though we made her get up for breakfast.

Mickey Mouse chocolate chip pancakes (chips are on the other side) make little girls happy.

When it is a pancake morning, there's quite a few left over. I freeze them for the kids to eat on school days. To freeze them, lay the cooled pancakes out on a cookie sheet between wax paper. Freeze them for about an hour, then put them in a zip top bag. To reheat, pop them in the toaster or microwave. I don't recommend the toaster for the ones with chocolate chips.

What was for breakfast at your house today?

     

new product ~ silverware sleeves

There's a new product in my Etsy shop. Silverware sleeves!

These are great for dressing up a place setting for a casual or dressy table.

I think these numbered beauties are super fun.

       

well, hello there

What can I say? I've been a little bit busy. Let's do a short recap of the last month and a half. Has it been that long, really?

Well, we went to see the Mouse. You know the one! We always have such a good time when we go to Disneyland and this trip did not disappoint.

I was in a new craft boutique. A teacher-friend of mine started up a crafting boutique. Considering it was a spring boutique (which generally don't do as well as fall boutiques) and this was her first one, I didn't do too badly. I am looking forward to her fall boutique.

I've been working, working, working on that dang yearbook! I ended up doing the whole dang thing myself this year and let me tell you it's going to be 82 pages of awesome, but I'm burnt out. I'm.still.not.done! The worst part is that I missed my deadline and I'm bored of it now. Do you ever get that way? You get to the end of a project and can't stand the sight of it any longer? No? Me neither, then.

The kids and I are on spring break. Greg was able to get this week off as well. I love spring break!  I love spring break even more when Greg is off work with us!

I turned another year older this weekend. Only not. For the record, I am 29 {again}. I refuse to be older because I just don't feel older than that.

We went to see The Hunger Games. Have you seen it? Have you read the book? Once I was finished with the book (just this past weekend), I announced to Greg that he could feel free to take me to see it. I like to read the books first because I'm not sure I'd go back and read the book ever if I saw the movie first. Harry Potter? Saw the movie first. Never read the books. Anyway, The Hunger Games movie was pretty much true to the book.  I recommend it.

The yearbook is the last big commitment I have for a little while, so, who knows ~ maybe you'll hear more from me a little more often.

   

savings on saturday

You're probably wondering why I can be talking about saving money when I just recently pitched a three-dollar loaf of artisan bread. People, it is because of those little mishaps in life that make it all the more necessary to watch our Washingtons and Lincolns! (President's Day is coming up.)

Run, don't walk, to the nearest Target and get one of these. Not the dog! The card! While I do not advocate going into debt, I do advocate saving money. Using our Target credit card has saved us money. Here's how.

For every purchase at Target that we make with our Target credit card, we get 5% off.

Right away.

No waiting.

Not points or coupons.

No making calls to Peggy.

As soon as you swipe your card, it takes 5% off your purchase.

Five percent doesn't seem like much, but all those little amounts add up over a year.  Say you spend an average of $100 a month at Target (then you have more self-control than me). That five percent savings translates into $60 a year. That's a pair of shoes ~ or two on sale.

That being said, you have to be diligent about paying it off or else your savings will be eaten up with interest, which I am certain is more than 5%. Every time we use the card, we immediately allocate that money for the payment when the statement comes. We never carry a balance on the card from month to month. Greg is awesome about keeping track of all that!

Also, did you know that if you bring reusable bags they take 5 cents off your purchase for every bag? I don't think it matters what kind of bag, just as long as it is reusable.

P.S. I am not an affiliate of Target and my opinions are my own. They did not pay me to say this. Although if they'd like to pay me, I'd be ok with that. 


P.S.S. Before you get your Target card, be sure to read all the fine print and make sure you are ok with their terms. I am not a financial expert.

 

 

instagram time

My instagram week only has three pictures this time. That does not indicate that this week was any shorter than the others. 

Besides, three pictures is more than none. 

I worked briefly on crafty items last weekend. There's a spring craft show I'm getting ready for. I spent the whole of  Saturday working on the yearbook instead of crafty things ~ which coincidentally is due the same weekend as the craft show. Can you see how I might be conflicted about how to spend my time?

Do you ever drink these? I only buy them when they are on sale. And only two flavors. Pina colada and strawberry daiquiri. So, so yummy.

This one reminds me of summer. Not that I spend my time sitting on a beach sipping umbrella drinks or anything. But still. Summer.

Which we might have in a couple of weeks if the weather keeps behaving the way it is. Yesterday and today we have temps in the 70s instead of the usual cold, windy, crappy weather. Lunch duty with 70 degrees is pretty nice.

See this? This was a good idea gone all kinds of wrong. The other day Greg complained mentioned that we eat the same thing all the time. I'm pretty sick of our repertoire too, but I haven't felt especially culinary lately. Actually I've been feeling who-cares-if-we-eat-dinner lately.

So, I was thinking I'd make these gourmet grilled chicken sandwiches on ciabatta bread. With chipotle mayonnaise. And provolone cheese. Tomatoes. Lettuce.

So fancy.

Here's a kitchen tip for you ~ when you buy fancy three-dollar artisan bread on Sunday, it will be as a hard as a rock when you finally get around to making those delightful sandwiches on Thursday. Buh bye three dollars in the trash can.  Good thing we had some hamburger buns ~ with sesame seeds.

And while I was making the chipotle mayo, I put a between a quarter and half a cup of mayo in a ramekin and was getting ready to put the chipotle pepper seasoning in. I grabbed the half teaspoon and got it all filled up. At that point Greg inquired whether or not there was a recipe ~ did I know how much to use. No, silly boy, I'm winging' it here. He tells me that looks like an awful lot of spice. I think for a minute about the word "pepper" on the can and reconsider. He's probably right. So I only put a quarter of a teaspoon in. Good thing too, cuz that was borderline too spicy.

And.

Yes, another and.

When I grilled the chicken I didn't think about the thickness. We ended up with really thick pieces of chicken! Next time, I'll have filet the chicken into thinner pieces.

Next time? With a dinner full of errors as this, you think there will be a next time? Yes! They tasted delicious! We just need to work out the kinks ~ with different bread and thinner chicken.

What did you cook this week?

Now, I'm off to craft, work on the yearbook, craft, work on the yearbook do something.


Linking up with Life Rearranged.

the curse of the dvr

I love our DVR.

I enjoy being able to watch shows when I have time rather than when the networks say I should have time. I love season passes so I don't miss an episode of my favorite shows because I can't ever remember when it comes on. I {big puffy heart} the pause and 8-second rewind features.

We've had a DVR since before the kids were born. We are partial to the one that begins in Ti and ands in Vo. They have never experienced life without one, except the early years and Grandma & Papa's house. They'd tell Papa to pause because they had to go to the bathroom only to find out that they had to actually utilize the commercials!  They were offended that they couldn't watch their favorite shows on demand, but had to wait until they were actually aired. Spoiled much? Grandma and Papa finally saw the light and got their own, much to the relief of my children.

But.

There's always a but.

What should take less time to watch a 30-minute show with fast forwarding through the commercials, can sometimes take upwards of 30 minutes. Sometimes forever.

Because people talk.

Little people have questions about the show, about whether or not they can have an after-dinner treat, about anything on earth. Greg and I pause to have a discussion about something ~ sometimes not even related to the current show.

How did our parents ever watch a complete show with all the interrupting? Where we only allowed to talk on commercial breaks? Probably.

So at our house, unless you are watching all by yourself, it is likely that it will take you longer to watch a show on the DVR than live t.v. because we've always got something to say.

And if we are watching live t.v., we will pause it.

   

tales from a schoolyard

I've started a new blog that will chronicle the classroom a little more than my tales from the schoolyard posts on this blog do.  I will still post a few schoolyard tidbits here ~ you know, the funniest and cutest ones. But if you want to more of the day to day teaching story, you can find me at Tales from a Schoolyard.

See you on the playground!

   

tales from the schoolyard

One of my 4th grade teammates brought us all a candy treat today. Too bad I am powerless against Reece's Pieces and these will be gone before the dance class marathon is over tonight. 

Who am I kidding, they are half gone and we've only been here fifteen minutes. 

Have you noticed the lack of schoolyard posts this year (nevermind the lack of any posts in general)? I have come to the conclusion that 4th graders are not quite as hilarious as 2nd graders. Fun? Yes. But they do not bust out the innocently cute comments that the little guys do.  

We do have fun. Especially when we have a spontaneous 2-minute dance party. 

Or when I make them twist up like a pretzel and spell their names backwards to get their brain synapses firing.

Or when we are choreographing dance moves for our recent flag ceremony. 

Or when we have a "snowball" fight while I'm being observed by the assistant principal for my yearly evaluation. 

What can I say - I'm hecka fun! 

And when I'm not busy being fun, we are working hard because there's a lot of pressure for my kids to pass the state test later this spring. And since I'm returning to 4th grade from my 5-year stint in 2nd, I feel like I am really under a magnifying glass. 

Now that I'm all hopped up on sugar, I'm gonna be working on some grading while I watch my pretty girls dance. 

See you on the playground. 



       

ties for the littlest guy

I've been busy at the sewing machine. I've added something to the shop for the littlest guys in your life. Aren't these just the cutest?

These ties are attached to a neckband that has a velcro closure. That way they are easy to put on your littlest guy and are adjustable. The tie is about 10" from the top of the knot to the bottom. The neckband is about 15 1/2".

I'll be working on ties for little guys (elementary age) soon that will be longer and have a little bit larger neckband.

         

menu plan monday ~ pantry challenge month

As I mentioned in my last post, our grocery store had a case sale last week. Holy cans, Batman! Greg went the first day for me to make sure everything we wanted was in stock.

With bringing home all of that goodness, the pantry needed a little overhaul. Some people have been getting lazy with putting things away neatly. Although we have lots of shelf space, the design of the pantry is less than ideal. On either side we have these wings that are hard to get to and make storage difficult.

After a few hours of cleaning, reorganizing, and stocking the shelves, the pantry is looking mighty fine.

I found some really old stuff in "the abyss" that needed to see its way to the trash can. Didn't I clean out the pantry just recently? Maybe it's been a few years while.

All of the case sale haul did not fit in the pantry ~ but I had a plan. This summer we knocked out the back wall of the closet under the stairs. Perfect for storing extra pantry supplies.

So, how are we doing with our pantry challenge? Let's review.

1. Use up items from the pantry & freezer. We are doing pretty good. For example, last week I found a bottle of mandarin sauce that needed to be used up soon. I forgot I even bought that! We had mandarin chicken over rice (and broccoli for three of us) and my family deemed it just as good as Panda Express. Hmmm, maybe because the sauce was the Panda Express brand.

2. Stock the pantry. Accomplished! I will be keeping my eye out for good stock up prices still, of course.

3. Save money. Yes and no. The stock up part was pricey (we'll talk about that another day). But as far as weekly shopping, we have been under budget so far, even with the midweek trip I had to make to get a few things for my grade level lunch last Friday.

Last week's menu plan was the same as the week before (the previous post) because I ended up making random things for dinner the first week. Now we have a fresh set of items for the plan:

• chicken & stuffing bake
• swedish meatballs
• quesadillas & corn salad
• bbq chicken pizza
• tortilla soup
• slow cook turkey chowder (new)

Linking up to Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday and Good Cheap Eats for the Pantry Challenge.

    

menu plan monday ~ pantry challenge month ~ week one

Woo! Ready for a new year?

Here at the Robinson house, we are working on getting back on track with things ~ like menu planning.  I actually have been menu planning for most of the ending weeks of 2011, I just didn't post about it.

On the menu this week:

• baked potato soup
• king ranch chicken
• chicken spaghetti
• slow cooker beef stew
• cream cheese chicken
• meatloaf
• vegetable soup

Most of the items on the list are the exact items from my list last week, but I bought a ham at the grocery store at the last minute, so we had ham and scalloped potatoes plus some other recipes involving ham. That sure did make menu planning for this week a piece of cake.

Along with the weekly menu planning, we are participating in the Pantry Challenge. Here are my goals for the Pantry Challenge:

1. Use up items from the pantry and freezer. Right about now you're saying, "Uh, hello, isn't that why it's called a Pantry Challenge?" Yes, yes, it is. My hope is to use items that need to be used before throwing them away. For example, we have a nearly full, large container of fried onions left over from Thanksgiving. Since it is already opened, the window of usage is coming quickly to a close. I'd rather find a way to use it besides green bean casserole than throw it away. Check back as the month goes along and I will share with you how I used a few those odds and ends.

2. Stock the pantry. Oh, I'm really confusing you now, aren't I? When we participated in the Pantry Challenge last year, we realized that our grocery store has case sales in January. The store will be having case sales again this coming week. There is no better time to stock up on pantry staples than during a case sale. All the same stuff you're going to eat anyway, only cheaper. By focusing on clearing the pantry of older items, I am freeing up grocery budget money to stock up for later. See? Not so crazy after all.

3. Save money. When Greg took over the family accounting and bills over a year ago, he gave me a grocery budget based on what we'd spent in the previous months. That number was $132 a week. This is basically groceries only. I have a separate budget for household items from Costco and Target. For 2012, he has increased my budget to $140 a week. However, for the month of January my goal is to spend only $100 a week, or $500 for the whole month. Since we do our grocery shopping on Sunday or Tuesday, there are 5 shopping times in January. So far, I've spent $130. This is over my weekly January budget, but I plan to make up the difference in the coming weeks.

So how about you? Are you taking the Pantry Challenge this month? Are you menu planning?

I'm linking up with Organizing Junkie (menu plan) and Good Cheap Eats (Pantry Challenge).