Summertime realities

I'm not telling the kids our summer break has two-thirds left; I don't want to face the crushed reactions. For all of us, the first month flew by. Now I need to buckle down before the rest of the summer gets away from me.

An essential: a wish list of activities brainstormed by the boys and me (we'll reap the benefit for many months, actually).

Also, we must get back to the morning structure so the house doesn't fill with clutter and undone chores and so our afternoons feel extravagantly free in comparison.

It's time to provide short stacks of very good books for each boy's "mom's reading list" reading time. Son2 just read The Wind in the Willows, hurrah!, and that's the kind of thing I have in mind.

Gotta tackle the short list of labor-required house and yard projects, maybe one per week/weekend, with all able bodies.

And it's time for me to enforce personal "screen time" restrictions similar to what the boys have. I want to do more thinking, reading, knitting, and getting things done, and this has been a hindrance. (eek!)

So, bye -- I'm going to go knit some of my Vortex 5 dishcloth for a while! (or try this Vortex link)

Taming the Inbox Paper

Info I'm gonna use to set up my incoming paperwork system, and tweak for my homeschooling paper handling.

Look down the page at
Maintaining Your Filing System

Way down the page, past all the sales pitch, see Here's How 'My Oh-So-Organized filing System' helps keep you organized

Halfway down the page, see the No-Fail Paper Solution

Visual organization idea -- so cool! Stay Organized with Binder Clips

Discussion of Thinking and Paper, on Edward Tufte's site

Taming Kitchen Clutter, on the Pendaflex site

Strategies 32 - Active Paperwork, and 41 - Multiple Projects in Process, courtesy of Smead

Garlands, who'd a thunk it?

Who would've thought that I'd be captivated, charmed by these?! Somehow I stumbled across a Flickr group focused on photos of handcrafted garlands. ALL KINDS of garlands. Love it!

Flickr: The Ga-ga for Garlands Pool

(Tip: browse with the full-screen slideshow -- very nice)

Freeze Yer Buns 2008 challenge

As soon as I realized Crunchy Chicken had launched the Freeze Yer Buns 2008 challenge, I knew I had to join! (Ask my husband and kids!)

Copenhagen Cycle Chic

How very fun! Dressing normally, nay, with style! and bicycling wherever you need to go. Yay Copenhagen and contributors from elsewhere!

Copenhagen Cycle Chic - Streetstyle and Bike Advocacy in High Heels

Pad Thai and jasmine rice

Last night, thanks to some clearance'd items I picked up at the grocery store a while back, we learned that the whole family likes Pad Thai and jasmine rice. Yay! No need for a Pad Thai boxed kit next time; I'll pick up some rice noodles and either buy or make the sauce.

Yet again, I am reminded that all of us like various Asian dishes. Yum!

By the way, thanks to my now-daily habit of stopping by Facebook, my too-busy-to-blog mindset seems to have faded away. We'll see :)

Meal plans for late summer

So... I've lost 10 pounds since April 1 and joining SparkPeople.com and tracking what I eat (as well as continuing to walk for fitness). Now that summer weather has started to break a bit, and we're back to school and fall family routines, I Need To Plan Good Meals! Here's what I have so far for the next two weeks or so. (I'm SURE we'll grill out over the Labor Day weekend, too.)

On hand for snacks etc:
- Plums, peaches, apples
- Blueberries, maybe blackberries
- Tomatoes, bell peppers
- Carrots, celery, cabbage, lettuces, green onions
- Dried apricots, prunes
- Raw almonds, raw pecans, roasted peanuts, peanut butter
- Hard-boiled eggs
and of course some breads.

Dinners:
- Burritos. Homemade Mexican rice, refried beans, black beans, diced tomato or homemade salsa, and cheddar in flour tortillas. Serve with a salad, and tomato wedges and carrots with ranch dip.
- Enchiladas. Our rice and bean fillings (above), rolled up in enchilada-sauced-corn tortillas, topped with a bit of cheese and more enchilada sauce, and baked. Will make these with leftover burrito fillings, and freeze. Serve with a salad, and tomato wedges and carrots with ranch dip.
- Shrimp tacos. Cooking Light Aug. 08, p.114. With fruit.
- Big salad. Romaine lettuce, shrimp, tomatoes, shredded carrot, bell pepper strips, and dressings of choice. Hearty bread.
- Spicy shrimp pasta. Broccoli, basil, crushed red pepper; replace oil-packed sun-dried tomato with lots of bell pepper strips (roasted??), and generally triple the veggies. Better Homes and Gardens Sept. 08, p.192.
- Spaghetti and meatballs. With a big salad and Italian green beans.
- Meatball mini subs. With veggies with ranch dip: carrots, celery, bell pepper, tomato wedges.
- German apple pancake. With sausages. Cooking Light Aug. 08, p.154.
- Steamed rice, shredded tuna (canned), green beans and cooked carrot coins.

Side dishes/lunches for me:
- Italian green beans and a few red potatoes. Cooked, then tossed with olive oil, seasoned bread crumbs, freshly grated Parmesan, sea salt, and pepper. Serve warm, cool, or room temp.
- My blackeyed pea salad. Diced bell pepper and onion, balsamic vinaigrette.
- Southwest Confetti Salad. Diced veggies, fresh corn, brown rice, black beans. Cooking Light July 08, p.142.
- White bean and tomato salad. Everyday Food Sept. 08, pl18.
- Avocado, tomato, and cucumber salsa. Cooking Light Aug. 08, p.164.

Breakfasts/lunches to make with the boys:
- My "Busy Mom's Coffeecake", preferably with yogurt or sausages, and fruit.
- Yogurt parfaits. Vanilla yogurt, mixed berries or other fruit, granola.
- Homemade cinnamon rolls/buns. Baker's Catalogue/King Arthur Flour recipe. Preferably with cream cheese or sausages or bacon, and fruit.
- Quick breads. Banana, zucchini, pumpkin? Delicious toasted and topped with a bit of peanut butter, or cranberry preserves (pumpkin). Or with a smear of cream cheese (not for me though).

The baking waits for the elusive nice cool night/early morning... and for my oven to be fixed, which should be tomorrow afternoon, if all goes well.

Some of the dinners and sides I want and need to make over the next 2-3 days. That would be a good kick-start!