Once a Month Cooking...

Once a month cooking (OAMC) is something I have wanted to try for a while now.  I think it would work out well for our family size and our busy schedules to have some meals ready in the freezer to pull out and throw in the oven.  I have a hard time cooking for 2 adults and a toddler.  We always have leftovers and we are not good about eating them before they go bad.  I think cooking with the intentions of saving some for later meals would help us save money.  We wouldn't be throwing food away and we would have dinner ready to go in a pinch instead of running out for food.

Here are some of the recipes I want to try:
Mini Meatloaves
Chicken Chow Mein
Cheesy Rotini
Corn Flake Potato Casserole
Asparagus Casserole
Turkey & Corn Tortellini Soup (looks great for Thanksgiving leftovers!)
Seafood Pasta Casserole
Bacon Wrapped Garlic Chicken
Pizza Pasta Casserole
Chicken Kiev
Chicken Enchiladas
Chicken and Dumplings
Pea Soup
French Toast (homemade then cooked in the toaster instead of boxed!)
Hot Sub Sandwiches
Mashed Potatoes (freeze in serving sizes, great idea!)
Shepard's Pie
Stuffed Peppers
Mac & Cheese
Pizza Bagels
Zesty Italian Pasta Salad
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches (great idea for going out of the house for lunches)
Ham & Cheese Sandwiches

My goal is to start slow.  I will try out some of these recipes and do a make one freeze one plan.  That way I will start my freezer meal stockpile as well as save money by freezing extras instead of throwing them away.

If you have any good freezer recipes, please share!

A little crazy around here!

The moving is underway and things are a bit crazy around here!  It all started last week.  My parents started staying at their new house and we brought Hexe (oh yeah, the dog's new name is Hexe) home on Monday.  She is doing pretty well adjusting to life here.  She is a VERY loyal dog.  She doesn't leave my side if she can help it.  It's pretty cute, but there are times where I wish I could just go throw something in the trash or go to the bathroom without her following me.  It's kind of like having two of Julia around here!  She is great with Julia though.  She puts up with Julia "petting" her and climbing on her with out even batting an eye.  We have been pretty lucky with that.  I think it's because she knows that if she is nice to Julia, she will get bits of food thrown to her from the high chair every time Julia eats!

This is what a typical meal time looks like with these two!  It might not be the best behavior, but Hexe is really nice when she takes the food and we all know Julia doesn't miss a meal, so I'm not worried about her not eating. 

Another thing to change now that I am a dog owner is that I get up around 6am!  Hexe doesn't like to be left alone.  I think it's from being a shelter dog and a loyal German Shepard.  That means that I have to get up with her when Lou leaves for work.  It has it's benefits though.  As I sit here writing this at 8:56 am, Julia is quietly asleep, I have done the dishes, dinner is in the crockpot, I have checked my email, I picked out paint colors for the living room, kitchen and bathroom, and I am making a blog post without having to stop to do any of the loads of stuff I normally have to do in a day.  It's really nice!

Yum, beef pot roast!  And now I don't have to think about what I am going to make for dinner tonight.  I am also able to fall asleep before 2am.  We will see how this 6am thing is going for me in another month, but for now I am enjoying my peace and quiet.

Wordless Wednesday

We adopted a new family member!

I have wanted to be able to have a dog for quite a few years.  Lou and I decided that it would be best to wait until we had our own house so we didn't have to worry about renting a place that allowed dogs.  I knew that getting a dog was necessary when I saw how happy Julia was around dogs.  We have been looking online for a while and we found a black German Shepard on petfinder.com that we were both interested in.  Today we went out to an adoption event at Petco to see her and loved her.  So, we filled out the application and adopted her!

Without further ado, I introduce our doggy!  She's an 8 month old German Shepard.  She is still in need of her rabies shot and to be spayed.  We will get her on Monday the 18th.  I'm so excited to get her home and really get to know her and let her have her "furever" home!  And that means we have a little over a week to come up with a name for her.  Her name now is Koda, but neither Lou or I like that.  I am thinking I want a German name for her, but I haven't found the right one yet.  I will have to keep thinking and looking around for ideas!

Color Schemes...

For the first time EVER I get to completely decorate a house and paint the walls what ever color I want!  I think it's going to be the best, yet most difficult, thing about making our house truly OURS!  We are purchasing my parents house, so to make it ours instead of my parents, I really want to make things my style.  

I'm thinking I want to get grey carpet in the living room/dining room.  As I've been trying to decide how I want to do the rest of the room I keep coming back to photos of grey, white, and shades of blue!

I'm loving this with the dark brown being black instead.  I might want the blue to be a little brighter, but this is a good starting place.

And this picture had just sucked me right in!  I love the arrangement above the couch, and the fact that the couch has the chaise that I want, I'm really loving this!

When I first started thinking about a couch, I envisioned a white slipcovered couch.  Then I read a lot of blog posts about the amount of washing is required and began to second guess that idea.  After seeing this grey couch I think this might be a better idea for a family with a one year old and wanting a dog!

And then there is this... First, zebra upholstery!  I think I am going to try something like this in the black/white on my dining chairs. (That I still need to find, paint, and upholster!)  And I really like the long blue curtains.

I am definitely getting the itch to start the decorating!  Next up is deciding what to do in a kitchen with dark green countertops!

Wednesday, wonderful Wednesday!

Wednesdays have become better than a Saturday in my world!  Lou's mom comes and picks Julia up after she gets out of work and spends time with her.  That means quality Busia time for Julia and time for me to do the things that don't get done with a 14 month old under foot.

On today's agenda...

• laundry
• dishes
• clean the bathroom
• figure out our new family BUDGET!

Now that we are buying a house we have to rearrange things in the budget.  I have been watching Extreme Couponing on TLC and one way I am committed to saving money is by using coupons.  I know that I will not ever be an "Extreme Couponer" or have a garage filled with my "stockpile," but I have seriously started looking at some of the ways that those women do their couponing and saving money for my family.  One difference is that the grocery stores in our area do no double coupons.  They do allow store coupons and manufacturer coupons though, so I am able to take advantage of that.  Another thing I learned about today is iPhone apps for coupons!  I have found several free couponing apps, so today, in between toilet scrubbing and loads of laundry, I will be going through the apps.  (I know I live a glamorous life!)  Check back in for the ones I find useful for my area.

Right Now - July 2011

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW … I hear the the little pops of fireworks.
I AM THINKING … about what I want to do with the house when it is ours.
I AM LEARNING … how to redo furniture. (Reading lots of tutorials online and itching to go garage saling to find some good furniture waiting for a new life in our house.)
I AM THANKFUL FOR … my family.  I was blessed with the best family!
FROM THE KITCHEN … tonight was brats, baked beans (with sausage), salad, and chips.
I AM WEARING … denim capris and a Brandon Inge Tigers shirt.
I AM GOING … to enjoy a holiday weekend with the family.
I AM READING ...  nothing at the moment.
I AM CREATING … ideas!  I hope to be able to scrap this week.
I AM HOPING ... that everything goes smoothly with my parents move and our transition into home owners.
I AM HEARING … My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. (Hilarious train wreck!)
AROUND THE HOUSE ... things are going to change!
ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS …watching my baby girl sleep so peacefully!

A FEW PLANS FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK … visiting Casey at Clifford Lake, fireworks at Lou's dad's in Stanwood, and Lyon family fireworks at the lake.
A PICTURE TO SHARE… Julia in her red polka dot bikini on our trip to Grand Haven. (6.28.11)

Scavenger Hunt at Clickin' Moms

I have always enjoyed taking pictures.  I am much more comfortable BEHIND the camera rather than in front of the camera.  I remember my first camera ever.  It was a Fisher Price film camera that I got when I was like 8, maybe.  I would spend my allowance on film and developing. 

The summer of 2009 I purchased a used Canon Rebel DSLR off eBay for $250.  I purposly bought a used camera so that I didn't have the huge investement in a camera that I didn't know how to use.  My goal was to learn to use the camera, then upgrade.

Well, two years later, I have taken two photograohy courses at GRCC, and purchsed my new DSLR.  I sold my camera to Casey so that she could learn how to use a DSLR without a huge investment like I did.  I went from the 300D (one of the first Rebels) to the Ti1.  Shortly after purchasing my new camera (in April) school got a little crazy and I haven't been able to use it as much as I would like.  I am finally done with my summer classes and am taking a summer break until September.  While I am on break I want to take some time to get out and take pictures again.

Clickinmoms.com is an online forum for mom photographers, whether hobbyists or professional.  I just joined the site, but so far I can see that there are a lot of tips and women to help me learn more about photography.  This month they are running a scavenger hunt.  I have a list of over 300 pictures to take and the prizes are FABULOUS!!!

If you are interested in checking out the site, or joining in on the scavenger hunt go HERE!

I took 6 of the pictures today, so be on the lookout.  I will post at least once a week with all the pictures I will be taking!

Why Am I Blogging?!?

Well, here I go.  One more thing I am committing myself to.  But, this one has a purpose for me.  I am 14 months into my venture into motherhood, 9 months as Mrs. Poplaski, and almost done with school.  At 29 1/2 I feel that I am finally realizing what my goals are and working toward them.  For the first time in my life, I think I know who I am and who I want to be.

So, here we go...

I am on my way to ME!