helpful hints | window cleaner + post-it trick

Well, hello!

Yes, it's been awhile. The last few weeks have been crazy busy.

• We took our annual trip to Northern California to visit the grands. It was a perfect trip.
• Ella started first grade--woo hoo! I'm missing the simplicity of summer, but starting to enjoy the routine.
• We sent Kate (daughter) and Madi (granddaughter) off to their new home in Idaho (sniff, sniff), so of course we spent every last minute with them before their departure. (Kate just sent me a photo of her new house and it's darling!) 
• Super Saturday is coming up quickly, so I've been working on all sorts of fun project plans with the girls. Can't wait to show you!

And this weekend, we actually crossed two items off our projects list. Oh yah.

PROJECT 1: WINDOWS
I seriously LOVE clean windows. I called two different companies to come clean the outside of our windows and one cancelled on me three times and the other never called me back. We tried a "formula" from Pinterest, because it said we could spray, wipe, spray and it wouldn't leave any streaks, etc. (and we wouldn't have to get the ladder out). Didn't work for us--grrr.

checklist | five simple tips to living a healthy lifestyle

We have a great chiropractor, Dr. Paul Jensen. We've been going to him for many, many years. I get a massage and adjustment every month--just for maintenance--and more often if I need it. If I go beyond a month, my body reminds me it's time. :)

I've learned a lot from Dr. Jensen about living a healthy lifestyle. He takes a very holistic approach to healthy living which makes total sense to me. One of the most useful things he's taught me is the five factors for living a healthy lifestyle:

water
diet
sleep
exercise
stress reduction

water
Aim to drink 64 ounces a day.

food storage made simple

The new simplified approach to food storage suggests we gradually build a three month supply of the foods that are part of our normal, daily diet. Instead of randomly purchasing food, I've developed a method that makes sense and simplifies the process for me. Here's what I'm doing:

Step 1: Choose seven to nine of your family's favorite recipes.
This is one of the reasons I was so excited to get my Family Favorites Recipe Book project completed. My recipes are all compiled in one spot for easy access and meal preparation.

Step 2: Choose one recipe at a time and purchase the ingredients for three months worth of that meal.
I started with my Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe. If I fix it once a week for three months, that would be 12 meals. So then, I multiply each ingredient times twelve. The recipes calls for one can of diced green chiles, so I need 12 cans. The ingredients include three cans of chicken broth, so I need 36 cans for twelve meals. Simple, huh?

three things thursday

Today's three items are very random, but they're favorites.

One: Sometimes you just need a little bit of sweetness and these chocolate delights hit the spot. I love them. Dark chocolate has antioxidants, so you don't have to feel guilty about eating them. :) The key is to freeze them. (My sister-in-law hides them in the freezer in an empty box of something her family doesn't like.) They're not the same just out of the bag. I eat two or three every day. They're a little pricey, but I stock up when they go on sale at Target for $3.00 a bag.

Two: When I used to travel for business a lot, I would look to see if the city I was going to had a Container Store. I love all kinds of containers and I love these in the kitchen. They're the Ziploc brand Twist 'n Loc rounds. They have a screw on lid instead of the pop on kind and they're heavier weight than others on the market. They also come in different sizes. The medium ones are three cups and the small ones are one and a half cups. Even though I don't microwave in plastic, they are BPA free.

I use these containers a lot to freeze in. I purchase the big bag of Tillamook cheese at Costco and divide it up into both size containers. They stack great in the freezer. I also pre-cut peppers and onions for fajitas and freeze them and veggies for cream of chicken noodle soup. The medium is a great size for freezing leftovers too--unless you have a large family--then you could just use multiples.

These come in packages of two most of the time, but often you'll find them packaged with two medium and a bonus small one. They have them at Walmart right now in new lid colors for $2.00. (They rang up at $2.50, so I took my receipt to the service desk and got an adjustment.)

Three: This is actually the random item. This little piggy arrived for Ella's birthday. It rolls around on the ground and laughs hysterically. It came from Ella's grandparents. (Yes, I told them they were wicked! :)) So Ella is thoroughly impressed by the pig (and laughs hysterically right along with it), while I was thoroughly impressed by how it came packaged. The box was packed with these long bags (I'm assuming newspaper bags), filled with paper from the shredder. We're working on being more "green" in our home, so I thought the idea was genius. I usually end up using plastic grocery bags to pack items for shipping, but then I deplete my supply for the small wastebaskets in the house. Such a simple idea. I love it.