January

This is a month of reflection for me. I will be spending time updating my Home Journal. I will be posting about this as I accomplish this. My Daily Routines still work beautifully so I will not be changing them but my Daily To Do Lists need tweaking however, so I will be changing those. I have also developed a new Menu plan system because Menu 4 Moms no longer offers a free weekly plan :( The plan I have now does require a bit of work in the beginning but benefits (reduced stress, money saved etc.) totally make it worth it! I am really excited to share this with you!

To recap, January will be about Updating the Home Journal. If you do not have one but would like to build one, the posts labeled Home Journal describe how I built mine.

Home Journal Checklist for Updating

√Routines (posted in the bar at the right side)
Weekly Schedule
Cleaning
Menu Planing
Children's Section
Pamper Section
Budget
Fire Safety Plan
Important Numbers
Home Maintenance Schedules

Happy New Year

This is the last day of this decade and what a decade it has been! I got married, gave birth 3 times, Moved to 3 different homes, got a couple college certificates, learned a lot about my self. I have had the best things and some bad things happen to me. I will bid it farewell with fondness I think.

For the nest decade I have a few goals. I want to spend as much time enjoying my family as I can. My children are growing so fast I can see how one needs to make it a priority before it slips away. I want to explore my creative side more. I know I have so much inside that wants to get out and be expressed. I want to take full advantage of each moment and value it for it`s preciousness. I want to give of myself more to my loved ones and also to charity. I want to be better. I want to laugh more, dance more, sing more, love more, appreciate more.

I wish for you the very best of what the new year has to offer. Great health and happiness to you!

Cherie

I know I know! I am terrible!

My camera doesn't work so I haven't been posting. I have asked the man in the red suit for a new camera so if he comes through for me I should be back in business soon, I like blogging. Even if no one reads, it is beneficial to me because I think it keeps me accountable because it is out there.

Holiday Countdown Begins!

I have indeed started prep for Christmas! I have decided that this will be the focus of my blog for now to help me get prepared for a stress-free holiday. Each day I will post about the steps I take to achieve this goal. 

The first step I will take is to create my Holiday Management Folder. I use a pocket folder that I fold length-wise in half to create 4 pocket folder. Each pocket will contain a section for each part of my holiday prep. Special Dates & Holiday Cards, Gift Giving, Decorating and Feasting My inspiration for this comes from here:

http://christmasplanner.com/tour-christmas-planner/pocket-planners

I will post a picture of mine when I get batteries for my camera.

I do not make mine Christmas-y at all because it is for my eyes only so I do not wish to make it attractive to prying eyes.

There you have it, my Christmas prep goal for today. Tomorrow I will show you the pages I plan to put in it.

Goals for this week.

This week I plan to get the house ready for Canadian Thanksgiving. This is also a short school week so it means I have 4 days to prepare until the children are all here 24/7 and I want to spend the time having fun with them! I am going to do work in all my Zones to prepare.

Monday: Front Entrance and Kitchen
Tuesday: Bathrooms
Wednesday: Bedrooms
Thursday: Living Room and Dining Room.

I will be doing a general clean up in these areas and switching spring/summer items out for fall/winter ones. Hard to believe it is that time already!

It is that time of year again!

I have begun my crafting projects for Christmas/Yule. I try to make something for everyone on my list. I am thinking slippers for all the ladies and toques for the gents. Here is a picture of the first pair of slippers I Crocheted. Sorry for the photo quality. I took it with my phone`s camera.

Monday Morning Muffin

This morning for breakfast I made buttermilk Chocolate chip muffins. What a sweet way to start the week! I admit they have a lot of sugar but I figure a treat is OK now and again. I suppose one could use a sugar alternative...if one wanted to.

CHOCOLATE CHIP BUTTERMILK MUFFINS 

4 tbsp. butter
2 eggs
2 1/2 c. unsifted all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk
1 c. chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12 large or 24 small muffin pan cups. Place butter in a small skillet and melt; remove from heat.
2. Beat eggs in a small bowl, using a fork, rotary beater or hand mixer.
3. Using a flour sifter or a large strainer, sift flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt together into a large bowl. Using a large spoon, make a "well" in the flour mixture and add buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter. Mix gently, just enough to moisten all ingredients.
4. Gently stir in chocolate chips. Spoon batter into muffin pan cups. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly on rack, then remove muffins from cups with small spatula while still warm. Serve warm with butter.
Makes 12 large or 24 small muffins.