hey!

I updated my kitchen blog tonight.  Go me!  LOL  It's just a quickie update and I hope to be back blogging regularly soon.  I have lots of new kitchen-ish things going on.

check out my kitchen blog here


~Jess~

other happenings

Menards, AKA my favorite store, had wire coated vinyl for 99 cents for 50 feet. I restrung my clotheslines this weekend.

The garden is tilled and almost planted.  I should really listen to my father in law.  He tells me to never plant until Memorial day weekend.  Of course, I didn't listen and we have had cold (freezing!) weather the last couple of nights.  One more night of that and we should be out of it.  UGH!  I have covered all my plants but we will see if they make it or not.  We borrowed my father in law's little 31 CC cultivator to till it. I wouldn't use that to break a lot of new ground for a garden but for my already broke ground garden it was PERFECT.  I did use it to break about 4 new 5 feet by 2 ft sections and 1 small 4 feet by 2 feet section in another spot in the yard.  I expanded the garden slightly because a friend is planting some veggies in my garden this year because she has no space for one.  In the away from the garden section, the kids each planted a pumpkin plant.  I did NOT want them in my garden so the kids planted them across the yard.  O picked a pumpkin plant that is supposed to produce 25-30 lb pumpkins and K picked a mini pumpkin plant.  K named her plant Jack.

I got some lilies and other plants and bulbs on clearance at Walmart the other night.  I planted them over the weekend.

I went to a couple garage sales this weekend.  It was city wide garage sale weekend in my town.  Friday we went to 2 garage sales.  One I bought nothing and the 2nd was my old boss's garage sale.  I got 3-4 shirts, 3-4 pairs of pants and a pair of winter boots all for the girls for $2.85 total.  All name brand stuff.  My favorite thing was this long sleeve Harley Davidson T for O for 25 cents.  Awesome.  Saturday I went garage  saling myself and what a joke. Stuff was sooo expensive. People were insane on what they wanted for jeans with holes in the knee.  $2?!?  Are you Freaking kidding me?!?!



~Jess~

glycerin update

I keep forgetting to take pics until after I put the glycerin on. I am going to stick a note on the bottle so I don't forget tommorrow.

It has been a month and 2 days since I started using the glycerin.  The last couple of weeks have shown no to very little improvement on my legs, however I kept up with the glycerin at least once a day usually twice a day.  Now in the last couple of days I have seen some steady improvement again. So far I have gone through 1 6 oz bottle of glycerin and almost a full 16 oz bottle.  There is probably about 2 oz left in the 16 oz bottle. 

The spots on my forearms are gone.  Yeah, I said it G O N E.  No more forearm spots. Not a single one!  My elbow patches are not as fissured and dry and have shrunk slightly. My leg patches have more clear skin amongst the psoriasis.  My leg patches have been there the longest so I imagine they will take some time to clear. My forearm spots were my newest so I am sure that is why they healed faster. 
~Jess~

psoriasis update

Sorry it's been awhile since my last update.  I forgot about it at first and then I got sick. 

So anyway, I went through a few (like 3-4) days of intense itching and skin shedding.  I still kept up with the glycerin 2-3 times a day.  I also took baths and used my loofa on the psoriasis and it has faded quite a bit.  It looks pink now instead of bright red and I have had a bit more clearing. 

I am sick right now with a nasty head cold and I think I have strep so I am not going to take any pics of my spots. 

~Jess~

it's working!

I will post new pics later in the week however I wanted to update that the glycerin is working for me.
My legs are showing more and more (albeit slow) improvement and the smaller dots on my arms are nearly gone.  They just look like some hyperpigmention now.

~Jess~

psoriasis and "cure pushers"

In all the years I have had psoriasis I have had many many salespeople tell me their product would "cure" my psoriais.  First of all there is no "cure for psoriasis".  It will most likely never be gone forever.  It may stay gone for awhile but a flare up can happen at any time.  Even people on the biological drugs must know theirs may return at some point. 

Recently I have been researching herbal and non chemical psoriasis remedies (BTW I use remedies for a lack of a better word. Treatment? yeah, that might be a better word).  In doing so I have come across many things that claim they will heal me and I will never deal with psoriasis again.

Emu oil~ I admit this intrigued me.  It is expensive though and I don't need another bottle of something that didn't do anything for me.  The website offered a money back guaranteed and the people are distantly related to my husband.  Yeah, we won't try this one. 

coconut oil~I did try this.  It didn't cure me but did make my skin soooo soft. I still use this on my normal skin.  I put some on my psoriasis last night as well.  Then I put the glycerin on top of it.  I felt really sticky but I didn't wake up in the night, itchy.  I think this might be my new bedtime routine.

bethamethasone, fluocinide, triamina (something)~I will admit that these helped but they never cleared me and they are steriod creams so I can only use them a couple weeks at a time and then give my skin a couple week break.  It was hard to remember.  My other issue with these is that once I tried to quit them the psoriasis would be worse and spread.  Sooo not cool!

Avon products~ I am an Avon rep. I tried a lot of different avon creams.  The oatmeal one really helped the itchy stages and the moisture therapy intensive helped with the flaking. The bath oil is great soaking in and then once the psoriasis is softened I can scrub and remove the flakes. That helps quite a bit so the lotion can soak in.  However, none of it cleared me.

tanning~it did help but it dried out the rest of my skin.  Plus I cannot seem to find the time to go and burning in a tanning bed is the most painful experience.  Oh I was sore for days and days!

A lady at one health food store tried to sell me trace minerals.  It is drops or pills you take daily.  She claimed psoriasis is caused by a lack of minerals in my body.  She claimed that all of her customers have cured their exzema, psoriasis and acne by using her product.  I am immediately skeptical when someone say cure.  Cure?!?!  yeah right, there is no "cure" for psoriasis.  I did buy some herbal soap there because it does help with my itching and I like the smell but as far as a cure, no.

At another health food store a lady tried to sell me a $40 bottle of lotion to "really help with my psoriasis". What does it do I asked.  Well I have never tried it but my customer swear by it.  They say it really helps with the itching and flaking.  Does it clear their skin? for some yes others it just helps with the itching and flaking.  Ok well I have a $1.99 bottle of lotion that helps with my itching and flaking.  We'll pass on this.

Then I saw the article on glycerin.  I decided to try it. I am not cleared yet but it is definitely improving and it is cheap.  I went back to the health food store that tried to sell me the lotion yesterday and got some natural glycerin soap (lilac scented. AHHHHHH so nice!) and some more granola.  I looked at the bottle of lotion she tried to sell me and read the ingredients. the 2nd ingredient is glycerin.  HA! 

I have tried many things.  A lot of them do help with itching and/or flaking but so far glycerin has been better than any prescription.

My next options (as told to me by my doctor) were UVB light therapy (not covered by my insurance), biological drugs (really opposed to these are reading more research.  If I had a more extreme case or didn't have young children, I would consider them but I don't think at this point they are for me.  Plus my insurance won't cover them for my moderate psoriasis), stronger steriod creams (again with the steriods BLAH! so sick of steriod creams!).

and now I am beginning to lose my train of thought so I am done for now.  LOL.
~Jess~

psoriasis treatment update

Tommorrow is one week of my new treatment but I had a change of plans so I am posting new pics today.
It is probably kind of hard to see the change in the pics but there is a change.  My patches are no longer raised up and the flaking is gone.  New, normal skin is showing in the patches.  It is hard to show that in a pic because the change is not very dramatic.  Well it is but it isn't.  It is dramatic to me but hard to show the patches no longer raised in a pic and very hard to show the new skin showing through with my crappy little camera.  Nonetheless there is a change for the better! Anyway...on to the pics...

elbow

elbow

left leg

back of left leg

left knee

right knee

\

back of right leg

right leg

~Jess~

Thrifty psoriasis help

I have had psoriasis since I was 21.  It runs in my family on my dad's side so I probably would have inherited it anyway.  It started shortly after I crashed my motorcycle.  I got staph infection through a bruise on my leg (it was a HUGE bruise) and once that healed I was left with psoriasis.  For a long time I saw a nurse practioner who helped me find some herbal help and gave me some prescriptions.  The herbal stuff helped with the itchy but didn't clear me.  The prescriptions would help somewhat with clearing but I was never fully clear. 

I have probably spent thousands of dollars trying to find a remedy for this.  People think I am either badly burned, got into poison oak, or I am diseased and they will catch it.  Psoriasis is NOT contagious, ask my husband.  We have been married almost 8 years and he has yet to "catch" my psoriasis.  If anyone were to "be infected" from me, it would be he. 

I go in phases looking and trying different things.  I was recently in another research phase when I came across an article regarding the use of glycerin to clear psoriasis.  I was intrigued.  Glycerin had never been recommended to me by any medical staff, even though it is readily available at any pharmacy.  It is safe, non toxic, and used in food prep, body lotions, even soap! 

I decided to try it. Then I found a site for psoriasis sufferers where others had tried it and their psoriasis was clear!  Clear?!?!  I haven't had normal skin since before my motorcycle accident, almost 11 years ago.  I couldn't imagine being clear!  Many things have helped but have never cleared me.  The only thing that came close to completely clearing me was being pregnant. 

On Thursday April 14th, I started treatment with glycerin.  Today is day 5.  Since I started treatment, I no longer have flaking, I am not as itchy and the biggest shock of all, I am actually starting to clear!!!  I was able to shave my legs without bleeding on Sunday.  I haven't been able to do that since I was pregnant with my youngest child who is now 3 1/2.

This pic is a spot of psoriasis on my stomach.  It is one I have not been treating so I could determine if the glycerin was helping.  This is flaky and pretty representative of what my legs looked like daily before treatment.  The only difference is that my legs have much larger patches and the flakes were much larger...sometimes as big as a quarter most were the size of a dime or nickel.

The next series of pics was taken this weekend.  It is after I started treatment. I didn't think to take any before I started so these will have to do for now.  I want to post pics once a week or so as I clear. My goal is to have this post for future reference so I can hopefully help other psoriasis sufferers by showing my results.

back of right leg

back of left leg

elbow

left leg front

left knee

right leg

right knee

I apply glycerin 3-4 times per day.  I apply it straight from the bottle, using a cloth.  I just wipe it on and let it soak in. 

The downsides to using glycerin are that I am thirsty alot.  I crave water (which really isn't a down side if you think about it). The worst con to the glycerin is that I feel sticky. I am not actually sticky but I feel like I am sweaty when I a not sweaty.  You know that feeling of being drenched in sweat, yeah, that feeling.  I just wipe myself down with a damp cloth 10-15 minutes after treatment and I feel better.  I can handle the sticky feeling as long as I am seeing results.  If I wasn't seeing results it might be too much to handle. 

I found glycerin at 2 local (not chain) pharmacies.  One had it for $6 for 6 ounces and the other had it for $7 for 6 ounces.  I also found it at Walmart for $3 something and I am not sure of the bottle size.  It is located near the epsom salts, peroxide and rubbing alcohol.  If you can't find it, ask.  I asked at Walgreens but they didn't carry it and would have to order it for me.  It comes in a plastic bottle.  The liquid is clear and has the consistency of karo syrup, just a bit more runny than karo though.  Application only take a couple minutes.  Then I sit on the computer for a few minutes while it soaks in. 

After buying the original bottle and a spare, I ordered 2 more bottles online for $6.20 each. They are vegetable based.  The others I have do not specify this.  If it's working, I don't mind but I prefer to know what I am putting on/in my body so I decided to order the vegetable based version.

I hope to be able to update on Thursday with new pics and more info.  Thursday will be a week of application. 

~Jess~

back on track

With R's surgery back in October and the holidays, we got off our thrifty track.  I was still thrifty but we went off track.  We are back on track starting yesterday.  We are back to our budget and saving most of the other thrifty things I do. 

One thing I am doing a little differently this year is not really taking advantage of the after Christmas sales as much.  I did go and look and bought a few things however I am not buying toys ahead or much for gifts ahead this year.  I did get a few things but not much at all.  I am planning on paring down our gift giving over the next year.  I got stressed out at Christmas time this year.  Between our parents and us, the kids got WAAAY too much stuff.  There was just stuff everywhere.  I was so sick of stuff that I went through the house and got rid of lots and lots of stuff.  I feel better now about it.



~Jess~

I get so frustrated

I recently started selling Avon because I use some many of the lotions and creams I figured I might as well get a discount and maybe earn some money.  Mostly though it is for the discount.

Anyway I get so frustrated because I have been trying new products and it seems as though every one that I have tried and loved they are now discontinuing.  UGH!

For example:  I have always wanted hair like this

I love the way it flips out.  I have never been able to acheive that look.  Probably because I don't use a flat iron.  I have curly hair and it gets frizzy and I have dry ends that love to split.

I bought this

on a whim.  I thought what the heck.  I can use it as leave in conditioner for the girls if I don't like.  Turns out that I LOVE it.  It works so well and I can finally acheive that hairstyle....and now it is discontinued and sold out.  BOOOO!  I have 4 more (I liked it so much after the first use that I bought more because I saw it was being discontinued.

Same thing with my face cream I have been using.  I love the Solutions AM/PM cream that comes together in a single tub.  It is seperated by a divider but having the 2 in 1 is so handy.  It's being discontinued...

So if you have any favorite products, tell me and I won't try them.  Then they probably won't be discontinued.
~Jess~

new "hobby" *spam post*

I use Avon products for my psorasis.  I don't wear a lot of makeup.  I don't use expensive stuff in my hair but I do use Avon for my psorasis and I LOVE the lip balms.  I am also branching out and trying their deodorants, hair removal cream, and a little bit of makeup.  I have become an Avon rep.  My reasoning is because I use the products.  Instead of paying full price I can get a discount and maybe make a few sales.  I do not want to be one of those pushy sales reps so I sent out an estore grand opening email and posted the link on my FB page.  I put up some flyers and business cards in local businesses on bulletin boards and I started a free ad in my city's information website.  I also put flyers on 10 of my neighbors doors. We were walking to the park anyway so no biggie. 

I don't plan to go knocking on doors, begging my friends for orders, spamming people constantly.  I am just going to do the basic getting my name out there thing and take it from there.  The reason that some of my new customers (I have 2 actual customers, 2 soon to be customers, and 3 possible customers) quit buying Avon is because their rep was overly pushy.  Not going to be me.  I don't like to sell.  I am not going to kid myself and say I am going to get rich doing this. Nor am I going to make this a full-time "job".  It is a HOBBY for me.  Something else to do.  Maybe make a bit of money but mostly just get a discount on products we already use.  For my local friends I am able to offer a discount.  I cannot do that through the website with direct shipping though :(. 

I am going to post my website here and just say that you can order (if you choose, no pressure or sales pitch) and have the items shipped directly to you.  In keeping with my thrifty ways, you can also have free shipping with any purchase amount.  I have a shipping code available.  You can contact me through the website or post a comment here and I will give that to you. 

youravon.com/jewers-bass







~Jess~

thankful for today 11/10 and 11/11

high 60's in November...YES!

my mom and dad

my pretty little neice

a little extra spending cash

K cleaning her room without me asking

products that actually work on my psorasis

getting rid of our old TV to someone that can actually use it

kids going to bed without a fight

being pretty smart

being cheap!  (I read a couple articles over the last few days that are predicting food prices to rise dramatically in 2011.  I am glad I am cheap enough to only buy sale items and build a stockpile to hopefully offset some of this cost for us...temporarily anyway)


~Jess~

Today I am thankful for

good food
good friends
the awesome weather for November in the midwest
dirty dishes (because it means that we are fed.  This was on a plaque my grandmother had above her sink.)
the lack of snow
my dad's mr fix-it abilities
the ability to give to those in need even though we don't have alot ourselves.  We have enough that I can surely donate to help others and that is a huge blessing.



~Jess~

thankful for today

Today I am thankful for:

being able to get back to a more normal routine.

hanging out with an adult...even if the kids are there as well and even if we are just going to Aldi.

Volleyball tonight.  My once a week hour of time where I get to have guilt free fun adult time

Diet cola.  I need that jolt in the morning.

a freezer full of food. cupboards full of food

a roof over our heads

the gorgeous November in the Midwest weather we are having. 

Our kitten purring.  I love her purrs.

clean laundry

having Christmas shopping almost all done. and about 1/3 of the wrapping done!



~Jess~

7 days of thanks

So I am jumping on the bandwagon late and not exactly like others, but when do I do anything like "normal" people?  I don't even grocery shop like a normal person!!!!

So anyway you are supposed to come up with things everyday that you are thankful for.  It is supposed to be like 5 things.  I might have 5, I might have more.  IDK.  I will do this for the next 7 days.  Maybe more.  Who knows.  I got lots to be thankful for.

Today I am thankful for

Hubby and him getting up with the kids this morning so I could sleep in.  I won't mention his going to take a nap once I did wake up ;)

My kids~even if they do not understand what be quiet or use your inside voices means.  Apparently their inside voices are 198 decibles...you don't want to hear their outside voices...trust me!

Hubby's job~he has been off since 10/18, when he had knee surgery.  I am thankful that he still has a job and they need him back ASAP and are willing to work within his limits until he is 100% functional again.  He is about 75% now and getting a bit better everyday.  I am thankful he is going back to work tommorrow.  As much as I love the guy he is driving me nuts with this 24 hour constant being home stuff.  I need a break.....from him!

That I get to be a SAHM (stay at home mom).  Sure money is tight sometimes, sure the kids make me crazy somedays, sure winter is coming and that means we will all be struck with cabin fever and will probably be crabby but I get to be home with them and spend every waking second with them.  I love that.

our financial savvy.  HAHAHA yeah it is a silly thing to be thankful for but I am.  I am thankful that we both had the foresight when we were younger to pay our bills on time, not rack up thousands and thousands of "stupid" debt, and manage our money well.  I am thankful we bought a modest house that we can still afford on a single income.  Our financial history is what is getting us through R not having an income while he is off.  We had some money in savings but we were able to negotiate with our bank because of our payment history and were able to have them help us out in being able to afford everything while he is lacking an income.  Yep...we have had 0 income since R's paycheck the week of his surgery.  We are surviving though.


~Jess~

spoiled!

ahhhh.  My parents.....I love them dearly.  They try so hard to "make up" for what we lacked as kids by buying myself, my brother, and our children expensive gifts.  Sometimes for birthdays and Christmas, sometimes just because they can.  Most people would be pleased by this.  I am torn.  I do love the gifts they give us however I am trying to raise my children to not be materialistic in a materialistic world.  It's tough when they are given extragavant gifts.  In turn my gifts pale in comparision.  When the kids spend time with my parents outside of my presence, they are given just about anything they ask for and even some things that they do not ask for.  Grandparents like to spoil grandchildren and I am fine with that.  The issue comes in when the kids have the "I wants" or the "Gimmies" after some time with the Grandparents. 

I am trying very hard to raise my children with the thought that clothes from garage sales and thrift stores are fine.  New clothes are for birthdays and Christmas (and probably for school when K starts next year.  I pretty much have her set already but we will do a little of the traditional BTS shopping.  Basically I am trying to teach my children to spend their (and their parents') hard earned money wisely. 

That being said.  Friday my parents brought over Pizza for my birthday dinner (my birthday was actually Tuesday but we celebrated late).  They also brought me a pricey gift....a new Sunbeam stand mixer.  I admit I have lusted after the Kitchen aid stand mixers for some time.  I am sure that my mom knew that but also looked at the sunbeam as having a bigger motor and was cheaper.  The kitchen aid mixer I like is about $300 with a 325 watt motor whereas the Sunbeam has a 350 watt motor.  I like the kitchenaids because of all the extra attachments you can buy, meat grinder, shredder/slicer, ice cream maker, etc etc etc.  The Sunbeam doesn't have those options.  It does come with bread hooks (which work ok but make the bowl bounce around quite horribly).  I don't need the bread hooks because I have 2 (yes 2!!!) bread machines (both bought used at the thrift store for $7 total and both work great).  I really don't need the attachments a kitchen aid comes with.  I have a vintage hand slicer I got from an auction and it works fantasticly.  I have a nice shredder I bought at a garage sale brand new.  I have access to a meat grinder whenever I would need it (and I have yet to need it).  Really, I don't even need a stand mixer because I have a good hand mixer that works fine for what I use it for.  (I do most of my stirring and mixing by hand anyway).  I really do not have a place to set out the stand mixer and leave it conveniently to be used until the spring when I am adding a base cabinet and countertop to the kitchen. 

I couldn't help but think what an extravagant gift.  I could use the $98 they spent in so many other ways.  That $98 is just about 1/2 of my monthly grocery budget.  I could stock us up on meats with that.  I could buy all the pantry staples I buy from Walmart for months with that money. 

In the end after much internal debate and discussion with R, I decided to keep it.  It goes against my thrifty nature totally.  But the thought of upsetting my mom when it was a well thought out gift was on deciding factor.  Also the desire for a kitchenaid and the practicality (as well as the additional costs associated with the attachments I desired but really didn't need) won out.  The Sunbeam will work fine for what I will use a stand mixer for.  I don't need it for making bread because of the bread machines.  I don't need it for shredding or slicing.  Because I don't can, I don't need to slice up dozens of cucumbers at a time.  Because we don't eat a lot of cheese, I can use my hand shredder for the little bit I do need.  Any meat I want to grind, I can take to my father in law and use his grinder.  I have never had to grind up any meat yet. 

In the end I feel slightly hypocritical.  I didn't ask for this expensive gift and I will use it frequently BUT I already had a vintage stand mixer that worked ok, I just wanted something better.  Maybe hypocritical isn't the right way of putting it.  I feel bad keeping an expensive gift when I don't buy expensive things for my kids very often.  The last expensive thing they received was a doll house last year for Christmas.  It was about $100 and their most expensive gift. 


~Jess~

stocked up

Winter in Wisconsin can be rough.  Cold, freezing rain, snow, sleet.  It's par for the course here and I do like Wisconsin so I stay.

I live in town so it isn't like I get standed at home for days at a time.  I just don't like to leave if I don't have to so I tend to stock up on our basics before winter.  Especially since having the kids.  I don't like to have to take the kids out in the cold if I can avoid it.  Sure I can wait until R gets home and then run to the store and get what we need but it is even easier to have him stop on his way home at the gas station for milk and bread.  The gas station a couple blocks away has great prices on fresh staples like milk, eggs, bread, bananas, etc.  That is easiest for fresh stuff.  For canned goods and my baking supplies I buy from Aldi.  Aldi is in the next town over which isn't a long drive but I dislike making that drive in the winter so just before the snowflakes start to fly I make a trip and do a massive stock up buy.  Today was that day.  I spent $48 at Aldi, $36 at a local to that town store, and $33 at Walmart. 

At Aldi I bought all our basic baking supplies and some other pantry items we were low on.  Noodles, canned mushrooms, tomato sauce and paste, broths, etc.  They also have 0 calorie butter flavored cooking spray and yeast right now as seasonal items.  I use both of these items regularly so I stock up on them as well.

I originally planned to use my "points" at the other store to get my inlaws a 20 lb turkey as one of their christmas presents but my plan was foiled so I used up my points and stocked up flour, cheese, frozen pie crusts, pumpkin and cherry pie filling, cake mixes and a couple other things that I needed that Aldi doesn't carry.

Then it was off to Walmart *just* for spaghetti sauce and dish soap.  I try not to buy much from Wal-mart.  It isn't that I am one of those "down with Walmart" people.  I just find better prices by shopping sales at my local stores and shopping at Aldi.  There are a few things from Walmart that we really like their brand of so I stock up on them once every couple of months.  I ended up getting what I went for PLUS

BBQ sauce (they were clearancing out the GV brand of BBQ sauce and had 6 bottles left at 75 cents a bottle.  I only had 2 left and knew I would use one bottle for K's birthday Baby Back BBQ ribs),

corn dogs (the kids LOVE these.  We don't eat them often so I bought some for quick lunches)

popcorn chicken from the deli (the kids think this is a treat.  I am ok with 'meat' being a treat.  Better than a candy bar!)

Baby back ribs for K's birthday dinner. (she requested them)

4 jars of spaghetti sauce

an extra bottle of dish soap

At least I got out of there only spending $33.  It used to be that R and I could go once every other week and come out with $200 of 'stuff' and still have to go to the local store for some groceries and we didn't even have kids yet.

My grocery budget monthly is $250 but I have been a bit lax on keeping track.  I am sure I have gone over lately with stocking up but I need to get back at tracking it.  I have a houseful of groceries now so I can keep it pretty low. 

I am working on cutting down on my diet soda habit so that should save us quite a bit, even though I drink the generic diet cola.  I like the super chill brand.  It takes like diet coke, which is my biggest downfall.  I cannot resist an ice cold diet coke.  I need to cut down.  Don't think I will ever completely eliminate it but cutting back would be very helpful!




~Jess~

looking for something new for dinner or dessert?

Click on over to my new recipe blog.  I started it yesterday and have worked on it most of the day.  So far I have a few recipes posted and have posts scheduled (one a day) up through 12/16!  Some are desserts, some are appetizers, some are meals, some are just meat.  Every post is scheduled to appear in the morning.  Many yummy recipes to come.  Most are ones I have found and tweaked.  Some are family passed down recipes and some are what I want to try.  I mainly started this for myself to make my menu planning easier.  I can just click on chicken and have # of chicken recipes come up.  Same for beef or whatever. 

Happy Cooking and Baking!

~Jess~

poor neglected blog :(

I am back.  I will try to blog more frequently.  Things got hectic.  R hurt his knee again, the garden produce had to be processed for the freezer and sewing had to be done, R had surgery a couple weeks ago.  He is on the mend and life is returning to "normal".

my first post back I am going to blog about menu planning.  If you don't know what it is, here is a pretty good article.

I am trying out monthly menu planning.  I am different in that I don't follow my menu to a T.  I just write out 30 meals on the calendar and cross them off as I make them.  It gives me room to make what we are craving that day. It leaves some simple dinners for volleyball league nights, or nights when we have been running all day and I just don't feel like cooking a big meal with lots of ingredients and prep time. 

I also mostly just plan the main dish or meat and let the kids pick the veggie or side that day.  They like having a say in what we eat and they seem to eat better when it is something they were able to choose.  They have to try so many bites (1 bite for each year old they are and usually after a couple bites they decide they like whatever it is) but at least there is one thing at dinner they picked and they will eat.

IF you would like to see any of my recipes, let me know and I will post it.  I am going to work on posting these or linking to the ones I copied.  If there are any in particular that you would like to see sooner rather than later, let me know and I will get to it ASAP.

My November meal plan is
grilled pork chops (made yesterday)
stuffed shells (made today)
roast
ribs
lasagna rolls
manicotti
steak strips with gravy over egg noodles
hamburger gravy with mashed potatoes
spaghetti and bread sticks
breakfast for dinner (eggs with mushrooms, onion and green pepper, sausage and pancakes)
ham/mashed potatoes/glazed carrots
burgers/sweet potato fries
baked chicken with twice baked potatoes
meatloaf for the kids and I /chili for R
soup and grilled cheeses or grilled ham and cheese sandwiches
au gratin potato and ham casserole
chicken cacciatore
ring bolgna/mac n cheese
grilled steaks
cube steaks and fried potatoes
tater tot casserole (r's 1 night to cook)
tacos
mock beef wellington
caramel french toast with eggs and bacon
blts
chicken nuggets/noodles
sloppy joes
stir fry
hamburger helper
Baby back ribs

I started into December as well.
Swiss steak
grilled brats with potato salad
homemade pizza roll
goulash
BBQ baked chicken
chicken parmesan
pizza hot dish
meatballs in gravy over egg noodles
salisbury steak
country fried steak
baked pork chops in mushroom gravy
BBQ meatballs with mashed potatoes.
chicken and dumplings.

the best part is that there are very few ingredients I will need to buy to make any of these meals.






~Jess~

my clotheslines

These are my clothesline lines before, except where the blanket is hanging from the swingset.  That one I just put up so I could hang out all the quilts.  The clothesline in front had to be sacrificed for a playhouse that is attached to the swingset on this side.  The post became legs for the playhouse.

I needed the clothesline space though so I improvised.  I attached the boards from the tore down clothesline to a tree and the backside of the post for my other clothesline (which is also attached to the garage).  It works but is just temporary.  Next year I am getting a "real" clothesline!

view from the other side. 

~Jess~