Sometimes I use a baby wipe to take my makeup off….in bed, I keep them in my nightstand drawer.*

So I won’t have to pump gas, sometimes I will ‘accidentally’ grab my husband’s keys on my way out and drive his truck.

I prefer to use packaged (food) mixes because they are faster, but mostly because I like the way they taste.

I really, really, really don’t ‘get’ twittering.

My children are required to fold and put away all the clean towels & washcloths in our house. I tell them it’s because they need to practice and learn responsibility…but really it’s because I hate that chore.

Ditto above - emptying the dishwasher.

As you can see, it’s all in fun. We get to laugh together and at each other. Sometimes we even pick up a few tips. (I think the baby wipe/makeup remover is genius!) After all, that’s what friends are for, right?

So…what would you like to ‘confess’?

For starters, we (using the term ‘we’ very loosely here) replaced our field lines and converted our system to aerobic. I’ll just let you absorb that for a moment. Yeah. So, it was costly, but certainly not as costly as having a new system installed. ’We’  also replaced the shower in the kids bathroom. The original tub/shower was very odd. There was a ‘ceiling’ to it (think travel trailer! Srsly.) and the tub so slanted and tall that it made getting in and out dangerous for my Grandmother that lived with us. More on that in a minute. Anyway, the new shower and saftey precautions were, of course,  more expensive and time consuming than anticipated! ‘We’ still need to add trim and then I will post pictures.

About my Grandmother: She is originally from east Texas. She had lived between east Texas and my parents home in Houston since my grandfather passed away 12 years ago. When my mother died two years ago, she came to live with us. She had been alternating her time between our home and her hometown.  However, at 75 her health is quickly deteriorating and her cardiologist recommended she not be leaving town longer than two weeks. She didn’t care for his ‘recommendation’ and made the decision to live there instead of here. She’s sassy and rebellious when she’s mad! I have very mixed feeling about this, but ultimately I do think it is best for all of us. I certainly wish she had made that decision BEFORE we replaced the shower…but I digress. It is what it is. So…we moved her back to her hometown. 

Which leads me to another project! It’s neverending around here, I tell ya!  We built a bedroom in our ‘den’ (converted garage) for our son, giving his room to my Grandmother. So, upon her moving, he got his old room back and now I have an office/craft room. I’m trying to make the kids call it my ‘art studio’ because that sounds more prestigious and I’m all about prestige, you know. They just laugh. Anyway, we are setting up that room for craft projects. And my art. Hopefully it will be done soon then I will just need to decorate it. Can’t wait for that part!

Lest you think we are slackers, we’ve also planted our garden. It will be much smaller than previous years, but plenty for us. The kids are really excited about it and my daughter has been checking for sprouts daily. She knows that we won’t see any for another week…but still she checks. Teens can be so cute!

In summary….we’ve done a lot of stuff around here and we are broke because of it. What have you been up to, Internets?

Last week was crazy! I completely skipped posting my menu plan because I wasn’t sure we would actually use it. Turns out, we didn’t! I think we only used 3 out of 6 evening meals I had listed. Anyway, there have been lots of changes around our house…most all for the better. Since I will be busy again this week to, there are a few ‘planned-over’ meals happening.

~breakfasts~ oatmeal X2, cold cereal, egg ‘mcmuffins’, eggs in a nest. All served with milk and a fruit or oj.

~lunches~ leftovers, black bean burritos, grilled cheese sandwiches, Ramen noodles, chef salads.

~dinners~
chicken and dumplings, salad

ham (leftover from the weekend), black-eyed peas & cornbread

turkey chili and leftover cornbread, carrots

Frito pie using leftover chili, salad

chicken salad sandwiches, chips and fruit

Thanks to orgjunkie.com for hosting Menu Plan Monday!

~breakfasts~ shredded wheat with sliced bananas, grits and eggs, egg ‘mcmuffins’, oatmeal = all served with fruits, oj, milk

~lunches~ leftovers (trying to clean out the fridge), grilled cheese sandwiches & tomato soup, chef salad, chicken & black bean nachos

~dinners~
chicken enchiladas (from the freezer, karate night), Spanish rice
pinto beans with sausage over rice, side salad
chicken and dumplings, salad
chili & cheese coneys with fries, fruit salad

What is on your menu for the week? Check out hundreds(!) of other menus at Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com.

~breakfasts~ Farmer’s breakfast casserole, eggs in a nest, pancakes (from the freezer) oatmeal x2, cereal. Fruits/yogurt/OJ

~dinners~ leftovers, personal pizzas, Ramen noodles, salads, tuna on crackers, sandwiches

~suppers~
BBQ Ribs, baked beans, potato salad cole slaw
crawfish etouffee, salad, hush puppies
meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans
crockpot minestrone, french bread, salad
fish sticks, mac & cheese, english peas
*leftovers*

Thanks to orgjunkie.com for hosting Menu Plan Monday!
I wish you all a very blessed week!

~breakfasts~ grits & eggs, oatmeal x3, cold cereal, toast with peanut butter

~dinners~ leftovers, hot sandwiches, personal pizzas, soup, salad

~suppers~
BBQ ribs, potato salad, baked beans
crawfish etouffee’, salad
tortellini soup, garlic bread, salad
oven ‘fried’ chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans
crab cakes, hush puppies , salad
chicken & rice (crock pot), steamed broccoli and cauliflower
*leftover night*

Orgjunkie.com hosts Menu Plan Monday.

However, this keeps me from enjoying them as often as I would like. 

Southwestern Eggrolls w/ Avocado Ranch 1 Serving Calories 910 Fat 57 Sat. Fat 14 Carbs 73 Protein 27 Fiber 7 Sodium 1960  *

I know! 910 calories! 57 FAT calories! And did you see the sodium content? Ridiculous! 
 
Thankfully, I’ve found a flavor substitution. I say ‘flavor’ because it does not come in the same form, but the taste is right on.

We’ve had them grilled and microwaved. They are just as tasty in the microwave, so save yourself the trouble. Admittedly, I don’t know what they taste like without a slice of pepper jack cheese. Try it, I promise you’ll enjoy the flavor without all the calories and sodium. If not, send the rest to me! 

Otherwise known as really cheap, if not free, art!
This is a 14×14 frame that was originally a collage frame. It was purchased for $1.50 on 1/2 price day at Goodwill. There were two of them, so I bought them both. Yea me! I still have one left for another project! The paint chips are free from your local home improvement store.

After disassembling, I painted the frame ‘java brown’ and the cardboard backing ‘butter cream’. I would have preferred to cover it with paper or fabric, but I didn’t have enough to actually cover the whole thing. So, paint it was.
After painting, all that was left was to find an arrangement I liked. This was the hardest part. Especially for someone with a touch of OCD! After multiple tries…I settled on a layout, but not this one. :D 

Armed with my handy dandy glue stick, I just glued them down. I have to admit, there was a level and ruler involved. I tried really hard to just ‘eyeball’ it, but after the stress of arranging the chips, I just couldn’t do it. Pathetic, I know.
Overall, I’m happy with the end results. It’s unique and best of all, CHEAP! This idea was stolen from Nikki at Project: Domestic Bliss because I haven’t had an original idea in at least a decade.

Side Note~ I’ve been working on some projects for my daughter’s room. This is one of the reasons I spray paint inside.

The wind! It’s terrible out here.

Side note to myself: Lotion, lotion, lotion! And get a manicure every now and again.