cleaning day

I think I just wrapped up my most productive Saturday ever.

Today, I accomplished the following:

I cleaned the guest and master bathrooms.  This wasn't just a quick wipe down.  This was an on-my-hands-and-knees, bring out the Lysol 4-in-1, Scrubbing Bubbles, and Windex sort of job.

I did laundry.  The laundry basket is empty, which happens once every three months or so.  I did get two loads folded and put away, which typically doesn't happen too often (I lose steam and putter out when it comes to putting them away ... since it takes so long).  I have a load in the washer and dryer now, and several loads waiting to be folded and put away, but since the laundry basket is empty and we have clean clothes to wear, I'm counting this one as a win.

I rearranged the living room, dusted, swept, and put away books, folders, and all other miscellaneous junk that we don't need in our living room.  Aside from sweeipng (which I actually don't mind doing now that we have an awesome vacuum), the rearranging, dusting, and de-cluttering hardly ever happens either.

I paid our bills for the next month.  Not that time-consuming, but still good to have the bill pile in the trash and off the mind.

I attemped to clean the pantry, but puttered out after the first shelf.

The icing on the cake?  Cleaning the oven.  In my first three apartments, I don't think I ever bothered to clean it (not that I used it enough to make a mess).  In my fourth apartment, I think I cleaned it once right before I moved out.  Probably should do it more often, but until it starts to look gross (which it only did within the past week or so ... still can't figure out what made the mess), I don't really think about it.  I also plan to put in the oven liner I bought probably ten months ago so I don't have to go through this process as often.

I'm sure some people get this much cleaning done in a day no problem.  And they probably don't blog and brag to the world about it.  But for me, it's a big deal because I hate cleaning and didn't mind it so much.  The beauty of today was that the cleaning didn't consume my day -- just a tiny portion.  I managed to watch quite a bit of tv, which doesn't happen during the week anymore, play around on the internet, and read.  It probably also helped that Henry was still exhausted from spending yesterday at doggie day care.

I have a few theories over why I was so productive:

1.  I'm trying to get a head start on spring cleaning.  Not that I ever really do spring cleaning.  So maybe I'm just hoping spring will come soon (50ish days!!).

2.  I'm tired of dirt and stuff.  When I get in cleaning moods like this, which hardly ever happens, it's usually because I get to a point of getting tired of not having a clean house and just seeing stuff everywhere.  We've bought several storage-related items over the past few weeks, and I'm going to try to convince CJ to stop by Home Depot tomorrow (shouldn't take too much arm twisting) to pick up some bins and baskets, so if I can't at least throw things away, I can get it all wrangled into one spot.  And I have several storage-related projects lined up for CJ too.

3.  When I have less on my mind, I don't mind doing some of these chores.  Less on my mind = accounting homework.

I'm going to stop now.  Kudos if you read this entire thing.  I'm sure it must be boring reading about someone cleaning their house.  And no, I won't be making any special trips to anyone's houses to clean.  I'm not that good.

follow friday

If you know me in real life, you probably know I got into couponing last year.  I'm not sure why.  I started once and found it wasn't worth the trouble, but I also hadn't figured out the key to coupons (or what I believe to be the key) at that time.  CJ rolled his eyes at me (at least in the beginning), but if he worked on Saturdays, he faithfully brought me home a newspaper each Sunday morning or would drive me by a gas station after church so I could pick one up.  And once I got into it, I discovered the big key to couponing is having a large stash, which will develop after clipping them for a few months.  I estimate now that I save $25-$30 with coupons on my large grocery shopping trips (roughly every 2-3 weeks), and much smaller amounts on my in-between trips (anywhere from $2-$10).  But, even $2 adds up, and it's really turned into a game for me to see just how much I can save.  And it's also one of my goals for 2010 to record my savings so I can see at the end of the year how much I saved just by buying a newspaper, clippping coupons, and buying products I would have purchased at regular price anyway.  I've gotten to the point that I won't buy a lot of products anymore if I don't have a coupon.  And, trust me, we haven't lacked anything because of this.

Anyway.  I'll get to my point.

My suggested site to visit today is Hip 2 Save.  There's usually at least one new post a day -- if not up to twenty (seriously) -- detailing store ads, coupon deals, and what's not-so-secretly my favorite thing about this blog, the free deals.  Through reading this site, I've requested numerous freebies from (legitimate) companies, which has included a lot of coffee and tampons.  (CJ says our mailman must think we're weird because I get so many tampon samples in the mail.  But, it's something I'll use, and usually they send really good coupons with them.)  I think I've also requested some free diaper samples for friends too.  Ha.  Anyway, I highly suggest you put this site into your google reader or bookmark it and visit often for some good deals.

chicken and chips

I can't remember if I've posted this recipe before or not -- I probably have, because it's quick and one of our favorites.  Although I will eat the leftovers, I'll warn you that it's not as good warmed up as it is the first time around!

Chicken and Chips
Taste of Home
Serves 4-6

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
2 Tbsp. taco sauce (I actually use taco seasoning)
1/4 C. chopped green chiles
3 C. cubed cooked chicken
12 slices American cheese (I use less than this -- judge based on the size of your dish)
4 c. broken tortilla chips

In a bowl, combine the soup, sour cream, taco sauces, and chiles.  In an ungreased shallow 2-qt. baking dish, layer half of the chicken, soup mixture, cheese, and tortilla chips.  Repeat layers.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.

snowman craft

Over Christmas vacation, I tackled this snowman craft featured on U Create.  I ventured off slightly from the directions and only used two twine balls instead of three.  I found the twine balls at Hobby Lobby for pretty cheap, spray painted them white (with the leftover cheap spray paint I unsuccessfully used on the picture frames), used some sticks we had in our firepit stash, made the hat (from the leftover black fabric I used for the Santa cones), and used some yarn and extra buttons I had around the house.  So overall, my only outside costs for this project were the two balls.  I might still mount it on a cheap plate so it doesn't roll.  And I still think it's missing something.  CJ says I need to make a little carrot nose and put some small buttons on it for a mouth.  Anyone agree or have other suggestions?

a day of rest

Here's our new thing:  resting on Sunday.

Not wanting to get into a big debate over whether it really was Sunday when God rested, I believe rest is something God intended, but something that not too many people -- including us -- observe, or really even give a second thought to.  And really, rest is what we're missing in our life, with time together being the second.

Ever since school started in August, I've felt extremely overwhelmed.  Sometimes I think I'm quite adjusted to CJ's work schedule, and then other days I'm not.  Add in working a full week at work, studying, small group on Sundays, a house to clean, family and friends to see, and oh yeah, a puppy, our plate is quite full.

Join the club, right?

Anyway, our current sermon series titled "Rechurch" and focuses on us trying to do too much in general -- in our lives and possibly in church too.  Last Sunday, we were charged with resting on Sunday, just like God did on the seventh day.  As Gary, our minister, pointed out, there's always work to do be done and the laundry and the dishes will still be there on Monday.  I can't explain just how much this resonated with us.

The biggest downside of taking Sunday off, I've discovered, is cramming everything in by Saturday.  Must give dog a bath.  Must vacuum.  Must squeeze in as much laundry as possible so I have something to wear to work on Monday morning.  Must study as much as possible.  So I'm really having to use some time management skills during the week.

I must admit though, once today came, it was wonderful.  Yeah, my accounting homework is calling my name.  There are still some dishes in the sink, and there's definitely several loads of laundry piled up.  Instead of getting frazzled about it all, I put it all aside and lounged around.  I caught up on tv shows I'd recorded and the blogs I'd bookmarked (thank goodness for google reader).  I read.  I watched the Colts earn another trip to the Super Bowl.

We still don't have this all figured out.  We don't plan to revert back to the time where you really didn't do anything on Sundays, so no worries there.  But if we stick with this, is it okay for me to do work if I feel like it?  If I allow myself to work, then will I slip back into life as before, where I felt like I could never take a break?  Further, I think the whole point of this is to rest and to spend time with God outside of the church walls.  And that's where I lack.

Tomorrow my blood pressure will be back up again and I'll be worried about my dirty house and the loads of accounting homework.  But as for tonight, none of that matters.

an update on us

I've been busy writing about the pets, recipes, and who knows what else, and no one probably knows what we're actually doing.

CJ's two jobs keep him busy enough.  He didn't work at his part-time job this week because he took a technical firefighting class that was Monday through Wednesday evenings of this week.  It was a required course he needed to take for the fire department, and this will open up the doors for him to take some other courses -- and more interesting ones at that.

And when he wasn't working or in class this week, CJ spent more time tackling the giant lumber pile.  Long story short, CJ's dad was given the opportunity to put a bid in on this big lot of lumber (approximately an acre, stacked very high), which he did, and which he was awarded.  On last Saturday, CJ stepped on a nail, which went all the way through his heavy work boots and through his foot (not the entire way).  Somehow after he got his shoe off and put it back on, he ended up with a rock in hole, which he managed to dig out.  So now his foot is better.  He went down on Wednesday and managed to smash and slice open his thumb with a crow bar.  He thought it was broken, and although it's still swollen, he doesn't think it is now.  He went back down on Friday, and I'm happy to report that Friday was an accident-free day.  His dad was able to get an extension on picking up all of the lumber, but I still don't know when they'll finish.

As for me, I've just been busy with work (now that the legislature is back in session and I'm able to do some policy work) and school.  I'm getting by in my Advanced Managerial Accounting class.  I didn't know there were two types of accounting -- financial and managerial -- and I'm liking managerial accounting much more than financial, because it's more based in algebra and it just makes more sense.  This class will be done in mid-February and even though I like the professor and am getting good grades in the class, I can't wait for it to be over.

That's really it for us.  Nothing exciting really.  Just the same old stuff, just on different days.  Hope everyone else is well.

follow friday

Today, I wanted to forward you all over to visit my real-life friend, Emily.  I forget how we met -- through church somehow.  She's an art teacher, artist, and master's student, and she also took all of our engagement and wedding pictures (and she did a great job).

Emily's blog, words & maps & lines & glue, shows off all of her latest artwork.  Her newest posts have been her animal alphabet pictures.  Instead of the typical "O is for Octopus," the letters were the verbs:  pigs were vacationing, chicks were singing, a dog mowing.  It was really cute, and we both enjoyed it.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to commission Emily to do artwork for our kids' rooms (whenever we have kids and if she'd agree to it of course).

I'd also encourage you to visit her etsy shop too, which displays a larger variety of her work.

Hope you enjoy!

our favorite chicken fettuccine

Just wanted to share this easy, delicious, not-so-healthy-for-you recipe:

4-Cheese Chicken Fettuccine
Taste of Home
Serves 6-8

8 oz. uncooked fettuccine (although we've found any sort of pasta will work)
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
1 jar sliced mushrooms, drained (the recipe calls for a 4.5 oz jar, but we love mushrooms, so I usually add more)
1 C. heavy whipping cream
1/2 C. butter
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 C. Parmesan
1/2 C. shredded mozzarella
1/2 C. shredded swiss
2 1/2 C. cubed chicken

Topping:
1/3 C. bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1-2 Tbsp. Parmesan

Cook fettuccine according to package directions.  Meanwhile in a Dutch oven (I use just a regular skillet since I don't have a dutch oven yet), combine the soup, cream cheese, mushrooms, cream, butter, and garlic powder.  Stir in cheeses; cook and stir until melted.  Add the chicken; heat through.  Drain fettuccine and add to the sauce.

Transfer to a shallow greased 2-1/2 qt. baking dish.  Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over chicken mixture.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until golden brown.

pet update

It's a rough life.

Henry has been with us over six months now, and Bridget for a full year, and we're slowly adjusting.  Rather, I should say I'm slowly adjusting.

Henry has calmed down a lot over the past month, and although he's still a puppy, I don't spend a lot of my time yelling at him to stop all the time and I'm able to do my homework with him in the room.  And, my favorite part is that he's now going into his crate on command probably 90% of the time!  That's huge progress!

Bridget still spends a majority of her time in the bedroom.  Henry still annoys her, and she does her best to annoy him at times too.  She hasn't hissed at him in awhile, nor has she spit in his face in the past few months either.  She'll still run and hide from him, but other times, Bridget will let Henry nearly stand on top of her while he licks her like crazy.  She even sat out in the living room with us for awhile one night this week (of course I had to bring her out), and when she was done, she hopped down and then almost hopped back up to sit with Henry.  We're still trying to figure that one out.

We've been toying with the idea of adopting a kitten.  All Henry has ever wanted from Bridget was a friend to play with, so we're not worried about Henry hating a kitten -- just maybe playing too rough with it.  Bridget's a different story though, and we're not sure how she would handle another cat.  Stay tuned on that one though...

henry's big day

I took Henry to doggie daycare for the very first time yesterday.

I know, you must be thinking we've got way too much money on our hands and not enough bills to pay.  That's not the case, but we did have to budget this in.

I'd been talking about it for months for a few reasons.  First, if you've met Henry, he's a big dog and he has the energy to go along with it.  With CJ working 24 and off 48, throwing in the once a week twelve-hour shift at the other fire department, our schedules are usually pretty conducive to having a big dog, because there are usually a few days a week where he's out of his crate the entire day, spending the entire day with his favorite person (CJ, not me).  But on those days when CJ is gone for 24 hours, I come home to a puppy who has been pent up in a crate since 8 am.  And since I've been spending a lot of time on homework each day (usually my lunch hour plus at least an hour at home each night), I don't exactly have the time or desire to continually yell at the dog to quit bothering the cat.

I thought our schedules would ease up a bit in January now that CJ has graduated, but this week especially has been rough, and aside from a few hours at night a few times this week, CJ hasn't been home -- meaning Henry has spent more time than usual in his crate.  And since I had plans with friends last night in Lafayette, I felt bad that he'd spend one more long day and night in his crate.

So I broke down, got up early (that was the real sacrifice), paid the money, and dropped Henry off at daycare at 7:15 am.  Pretty much all day long he got to run around with other dogs his size and with his energy level.  They take a half hour "naptime" at lunchtime (I think it's more like they put them in crates for a half hour, but the dogs are still too excited they don't really sleep) and then let them run around the rest of the day.  When I put Henry in the car yesterday, he looked back and actually whined.  I'm taking that as a sign that he had a good time.

I have to admit I'm really being selfish here too.  Because what happens when Henry runs and plays all day?  He comes home exhausted.  When we got home, he looked ready to fall over, so I told him he could go to his crate.  And what did he do?  WENT TO HIS CRATE BY HIMSELF!  When I got back from seeing friends, I took him out to the bathroom and gave him some food to eat, but he looked at me and then WENT BACK TO HIS CRATE BY HIMSELF!

Granted, Henry has started to go into his crate by himself with a little prompting for the past few weeks now, but this is the time I've been waiting for since we brought him home in July.  I seriously thought I'd go through ten or so years of fighting the dog to go in his crate, but now he's going in there voluntarily, without prompting!

Best.  Day.  Ever.

follow friday

We love Ikea.  Who doesn't?  2 stories of home goods.  Cheap prices.  Interesting products.

Seriously, if you haven't been yet and you're in the Indianapolis area, you can make it to the Cincinnati Ikea in about an hour and a half.  The Chicago store is three stories tall, but it's also going to take you at least three hours to get there -- if not, four, because we all know how bad Chicago traffic can be.

So I was pretty excited to find this blog this week:  Ikea Hacker.  People have taken traditional Ikea products and have turned them into something else.  I particularly like this dish jewelry plate, and kind of want to buy the items the next time we're there.

christmas craft

Because I was too busy before Christmas (who isn't?), I had plenty of time after Christmas and could hit up the after-Christmas sales, so I decided to tackle this Santa craft from Thrifty Decor Chick.  For a fairly non-crafty person like myself, I'm kind of excited it turned out so well.

Henry goes in to inspect.

This was really simple, if you're looking for a good little project while it's snowing outside.  I was able to find everything I needed at Hobby Lobby, Michael's, and Joann Fabrics, and used my hot glue gun to put it all together.  I'd include directinos, but I'm sure you could figure it out (or just click on the link above).

We didn't actually get to enjoy it this Christmas, so I'll just have to be pleasantly surprised next Christmas when I pull it out of the boxes.

picture frame project

This is the story of a simple project turned into the world's longest, most annoying one.

Many months ago, I purchased two pictures I wanted to frame and hang in our bedroom.  I couldn't find the right sized frame in a style I liked for the pictures.  A few months ago, I had a Michael's coupon for 60% off a custom framing order.  A 6x6" picture and a roughly 8x13" picture were quoted at $31 and $47.  If money was no object, I would have done it.

Instead, I went to Hobby Lobby to get custom mats cut ($14 for three).  CJ made the picture frames for me with extra wood he had in the garage, and then he went to Lowe's and had glass cut for the frames ($7 for all three frames).

This is where things got annoying.

I bought white spray paint at Walmart, because I was there, and I figured it's spray paint and what difference would cheaper spray paint make?  I don't cheap out on paint for my house, so I don't know why I thought I could cheap out on spray paint.  Either way, I got one coat on and although it was very thin, it looked fine.  I sprayed the second coat on, and it bubbled.

I scraped it off, sanded it back down, bought some good, thick Kilz primer, and repainted:

I purchased better spray paint, put on the first coat, and waited a day since it was cold in the garage and I figured it'd take longer to dry.  I went back the next day to put on a second coat, which promptly bubbled up too.  Then I read the back of the spray paint can, which I'd never done before (because what could I have learned from reading the back of the can?).  The directions told me to repaint either within 4 hours or after 36 hours.  Whoops.  It was too thick to scrape off or sand down, so I had to strip it off:

Deciding that maybe the cold garage could also have been a factor in the paint bubbling, I moved the project indoors:


And then I decided to be really risky and spray paint the frames in my kitchen:



Two coats of spray paint later, still with a few bubbles, I finished the project, deciding I just didn't care anymore.  And, since the frames are going in our bedroom, it's not like many people will be in there to inspect.  CJ cut out cardboard for the backs, and now I just need him to secure the backs and add the hanging hooks.

Finally, the almost-finished product:

By the way, the deeply madly in love print is actually a card by Made by Girl, and "Lost Limbs #3" is by my friend, Emily, and can be found on her etsy shop.  (We have the large "Lost Limbs #1" hanging in our living room.)

Anyway, even though we saved a lot of money by doing the frames ourselves, I don't know as I want to make many more frames ourselves.

snow days

Henry loves the snow.  While I've heard some people say they can't get their dogs to go to the bathroom outside because they don't want to step in the snow, we can't get our dog to go to the bathroom because he's too busy playing in the snow.  As you can see, Henry likes digging around in the snow with his nose, and he likes jumping in the snow drifts.  I'm pretty sure he'd roll around in it all afternoon if we'd let him ... which I would, but I also don't want a wet dog in my house afterwards.  I'm just glad one of us in this house likes the snow.  : )

starting 2010 with a bang

2010 has been awesome so far.

CJ had to work New Year's Eve, so when he came home that next morning, we both fell asleep until 11ish.  Around noon, I had the brilliant idea that we'd drive to Ikea just to say we did something over my Christmas vacation.  We were on the road by 1:15, had a great time at Ikea, ate a nice meal before driving home, and all around just had a really good day together.

By 2:30 that morning, I was in the bathroom, sicker than I've been in years.  I'll spare everyone the details, as we've all had the stomach flu and can imagine how that went.  Add in the headache from not having any food in my system and not being able to hold even three crackers down.  Sunday I was feeling better, although my stomach was still grumbling and my head was still killing me, so I decided to stay home from work one more day to get myself back to normal.

I woke up this morning, having slept really well last night, got Henry out of his crate, and then watched as he barfed in the living room not once, but twice.  Seriously?

To cap it off, our first wedding anniversary was on Sunday.  We were supposed to have a really nice meal to celebrate on Saturday, and that obviously didn't hapen.  On Sunday, CJ had to work, so I spent the day alone and sick.  I guess I shouldn't say I was alone.  I had Bridget and Henry to keep me company, who thankfully took naps while I slept.

With that, I'm going to get my cheery self out the door and to CVS to pick up some more Abreva and a prescription to battle the giant cold sore forming on my mouth.  Promise to be back soon with some happier updates.