eRamblings

I have a couple of things I try really hard to live by (but alas, I am human, and sometimes let them go) that allow my home to be of the upmost cleanliness. Which is basically code for I won’t have to spend more than 10 minutes cleaning for at least two weeks.

• do all the mundane every day tasks (uhm) everyday - this prevents a four hour job of stuff that has piled up and drove me nuts for days on days end
  • things like dishes, putting shoes away, going through the mail
• vacuum it makes any room look better
• do it right the first time - don’t use cheater methods because I end up redoing it anyway
• make my bed - this makes my room look magnificent - and it definitely helps to have nice pretty bed spread and pillow cases

BUT THE BIG TIP OF THE DAY IS

• before I go to wash the towels I clean all the sinks in the house with that wash cloth or towel
  • this prevents using eight million little paper towels or cleaning pads (environmentally sound)
  • I get rid of all the hair and grime at least once a week
  • I don’t have little towels hanging around drying waiting to be washed because they go straight into the washer

Visit We Are That Family to read about other wonderful Works For Me Wednesday ideas (todays edition, if you missed it is about best cleaning ideas)

I woke up this morning, walked into the kitchen, picked up the coffee carafe to fill with water only to stop dead in my tracks - my sink was cleaned out. There was nothing in it. Yesterday, I had a sink full of dishes. Granted they were cleaned off, but not run through the dishwasher yet because I haven’t unloaded the dishwasher. But there was a sink full of dishes.

As I am standing there in my pjs, my eyes still trying to focus, I vaguely remember doing dishes all myself right before bed. This was sometime after I had already decided I was too tired to stay up any longer and wanted to go to bed. In essence, I did the dishes in my sleep. What a great concept.

I have to admit my least favorite activity is doing dishes. They are there all the time. No matter how many dishes you do, it is less than hours later there is another one. Per person. The more people, the more dishes. Constant up keep. I hate it. Not to mention the kitchen is probably one of the most lived in areas of the house. It always looks cluttered or messy. Horrible.

My favorite way to conquer this hating dishes, is to do them right before bed so that when I wake up the kitchen is spotless and makes me very happy. Occasionally though, I stumble out of bed before my brain has woken and stun myself because the kitchen is clean. As I did this morning. I really had a moment of panic that my dishes were gone. (then again who panics about dishes being done?)

Cleaning the kitchen before going to bed works for me - at least a few nights a week.

Visit Rocks in my Dryer for other fantabulous tips!

I am a huge cereal girl. I probably eat cereal 98% of the time for breakfast. I know that it isn’t the healthiest thing to eat nor do I even attempt to buy the non sugary cereals because I know I won’t eat them. It is the one meal I just don’t want to replace with anything healthy like Raisin Bran. But every once in awhile I get a huge craving for some type of healthy bowl.

Here’s my solution -

I slice up a layer of bananas, then pour a layer of Cheerios followed by another layer of bananas and so on and so forth. Not only does it taste good, but I know it is healthy.

And that is what works for me.

Visit Rocks in my Dryer for other great tips!

Negativity is like a virus. As easy to get as the common cold. It comes with the similar symptoms. It is just as easy to spread.

It starts out with not getting enough sleep, a bad spot of food, gossip, miscommunication, a not so friendly greeting and even something so little as a stubbed toe. And as with the flu it spreads like wild fire. You run into a long lost friend or a conversation with a relative. One has seen another person who had a bad experience and without the slightest hesitation shares it with you. And if it is interesting, which it usually is, you tell that to another. And they tell it to someone else and viola a virus spread among a flock.

I had a conversation with my future employers today where I had to ask for a week of family time before committing to the much needed on the job training. A conversation I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to. It seemed like a lot to ask of an employer who had yet to really get to know me. And yet, I felt like I simply could not risk missing this family reunion. Not something that had been planned, but made last minute. While I spent my time thinking about how to best go about the situation, I ended up simply answering the phone during a very high spirited time of the day and without warning they just couldn’t turn me down. Could it really be just because I was in such a good mood?

It gives room for further thinking.

Have you ever been in such a great mood you feel like nothing could interrupt the sunshine and run directly in to a viral sucker? You know the one that can completely deflate your mood simply by uttering the phrase, “I feel like I could cry” and without provocation they go on for what seems like eternity to explain just how bad a day they have been having. And as you are walking away you realize that you are feeling like you should just go home and cry too.

Viral negativity.

I find it absolutely deplorable lately.

I have been on both the receiving end and the spreading end. In fact, I believe I had a distinct period of more than a year where I was plagued with the virus. No excuses really, but having chronic pain is a motivator for viral negativity.

I have decided that I would do my best to purge myself and those around of all the viral negativity I can muster. I smile even when feeling a little blue. I greet people who are on a rampage to destroy my happy facade with a air of patience and understanding. I take deep breaths and remind myself that life is good. Even with the bad stuff that is currently going on, life as I know it is good. And for much time now I have proved to be in a good mood. I do have my moments and when it happens I try to keep it at home where it belongs not out infecting others. Although honestly after an entire day of happiness by the time I get home I am not longer feeling very negative.

I have encountered the ever difficult angry customer more than a few times during my stint of purging the negativity from my life. Each and every time I can smell them coming. I prepare myself. I paste a smile on my face. I tell myself nothing good will come from me getting upset as well. I can resolve this issue with little to no arguments. I can satisfy this customer simply by being understanding and helpful. And you know what? It works every time.

It is as simple as the eloquent quote by Ghandi, “Be the difference you hope to see in others.”

And that is what works for me.

Visit Rocks in my Dryer for other wonderfully helpful tips on life, love, family and other such.

Ever feel like you are always running behind. Late to work most mornings? Can’t get the kids in the car and to school on time, let alone early. Here is my Rocks in my Dryer WFMW tip. Set all clocks in your house 15 minutes fast. Set your alarm clock (or everyone’s) 30 minutes fast. By the time you wake up and realize that your clock is fast (if you do) you will already be awake. This allows for ample time to fit in extra things and most times I forget that they are fast, so I am early as well. The only clock that is correct is the one in my car which gives me the time to stop breathe and get a cup of coffee if I want.

Go check out Shannon for more great WFMW tips!

This is so easy for me.

I only shop at two places online.

The Bookstore - Barnes and Noble.com (free shipping on orders over $25) And if you get a friend or a family member who also needs a couple of things, you can combine your order and buy less books and still get the free shipping. Plus I am a member so I get an additional 10% off as well as additional coupons by mail.

Old Navy.com I shop here for all of my stepson’s needs and quite a few of mine. I can usually get most clothes on clearance and you cannot beat the $5 shipping. I also love the shopping cart feature that allows me to choose the size and length of all items (tops, pants, shoes, etc). This really cuts down on the time I spend shopping. And if I don’t like it or it is the wrong size I can send it back using the shipping label they provide in my order.

Head on over to Rocks in my Dryer for other great Online Shopping Tips.

10 Minute Meatloaf

Here is my mother’s recipe for 10 minute meatloaf. I have changed the ingredients because my hubby just recently told me he would eat peppers and mushrooms if they were chopped up finely. And I LOVE peppers! The peppers make it have a spicy flavor.

1 lb of ground beef

1 egg

1/2 cup oatmeal

Red, Green and Yellow peppers

BBQ Sauce and Ketchup

add/substitute any other ingredients you like - mushrooms, tomatoes, pepperoni, onion, etc ( I also chop up things that are in the fridge and may not get eaten for leftovers - we had shika bobs one night and I chopped all the leftover food into the meatloaf) I definitely have to buy one of those books about pureeing food into meals to make it healthier - that would be a good one for my boys. Does anyone have a suggestion on their favorite book?

Chop up peppers. In a dish, put ground meat, peppers, egg, oatmeal, ketchup and bbq sauce. Mix with fingers until all is mixed really well. Put in (spray with pam) microwavable safe dish. Create a hole in the middle of the meatloaf (looks like a bagel) so that it will cook all sides. Cover and put in microwave for 10 minutes, rotating after 5 minutes (unless you have one of those cool lazy susan things).

I serve it with steamed broccoli and usually any leftovers we have. The other night we had leftover corn and mashed potatoes. This is a great way to get my boys to eat leftovers - mix them with new stuff.

TIP - these also make really great burgers! Just use less ketchup and bbq sauce so it thickens and becomes patty-like.

Visit Rocks in my Dryer for other FABULOUS tips!

Rocks in My Dryer hosts Work for Me Wednesday and my helping tip is concerning kids and their chores (in other words: things they don’t want to do, but have to do) and how we approach the subject  in our house.

We have come up with an easy and workable chore plan. We wrote down about seven chores (7 for morning and 7 for evening) for my stepson on a sheet of paper and posted it on the fridge and on his bedroom door. Each morning he has to complete the chores by the time 8:15am roles around because his pick up is at 8:30am. If he does not complete the chores by that time he loses video games that evening. And this works for the evening chores as well and 8:30pm respectively (bedtime at 9pm). This gives our kid the option to take his time and enjoy his morning and thereby forfeiting video games or he can work through his chores and get them done rewarding himself with games. It is his choice. And there is no (well, little) argument because we are not the bad guys. It is his choice. He can get them done or not, it is totally up to him.

We also have a week system in place for allowance and keeping track of whether or not he gets them done because at the end of the day neither one of us can remember if he completed them on time. On our fridge we have a month at a glance chart (or a week at a glance works too) and each day we put either a check mark or an X for the following: morning chores done, evening chores done and behavior/attitude. My husband and I have defined attitude to mean tell the truth, not arguing, overall good attitude, make good choices and knowing some good attitude sentences (I will tell the truth/I believe in myself/etc) All of these things are important to our family functioning as a team. At the end of the week, depending on how many checks/Xs he has depends on whether or not he can earn allowance, stay up an hour later on the weekends, rent a video game, etc.

It is a reward/consequences type of system and it is all up to my stepson to decide how he wants his days to go. Leaving us out of it. Never again do I have to yell at him to get ready, hurry up or feed the dogs. Although I do helpfully (on occasion) remind him of ones he has forgotten. And there have been times when he has not received good marks for weeks and he is down on himself, but that is when we bend the rules a little and help him out. It is a really great way build his confidence and instill a good work ethic.

uh, I mean thursday.

I was reading different questions that readers of Rocks in my Dryer posted on their own blogs and even though it is a day late, I thought I would try with my own question.

I have had a few novels in my head for years now. I would love to be published. Getting the words from my head to paper is a bit harder than I thought. I try to write something every day to practice. I would love any tips or recommendations you have for a (hopefully) budding writer/auythor. Where to begin? Where would I go once I have a book? When do you actually contact someone to publish? How does it all work?