Happy Birthday to my husband, Darren! He helped me make the meal below. Even though it was a simple thing to prepare and the rice cooker and frozen eggrolls made it a snap, I got in over my head with 2 pans to stir and other things to tend to and he rescued me. Thanks dear!
Stir fry is one thing we rarely do the same twice. If you have a reliable sauce recipe (one to follow), then you can just use what you have to fill out the dish.
This time we used a couple of chicken breasts, sliced and cooked in a skillet. I cooked the sauce with the chicken after the chicken was mostly done. This same sauce is nice with beef, pork, or shrimp too.
The vegetables were the rest of a bag of baby carrots, zucchini from my mother-in-loves garden, sliced onions, and fresh mushrooms that we happened to snag for $.77 a carton. I’ve found it’s nice to add the crunchiest veggies first since they take the longest to cook. I gradually add vegetables based on their cooking time.
The eggrolls were homemade and pre-frozen recipe here. We baked them on a cookie sheet at 350 for 3o minutes and didn’t worry about thawing first. Yum!
Here’s our sauce recipe which was passed to me from my sister-in-love, Gena.
Stir-Fry Sauce
2 cups cold water
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (or powder)
Shake everything together in a blender jar until the cornstarch is dissolved. Pour over your browned meat and cook and stir until sauce is bubbling and thickened. Combine meat, sauce and vegetables together and serve over rice.
I found two desks this week at garage sales for $25 each. This first desk wasn’t worth the $25 I firmly decided when I got home. It had been chewed on by a dog all up and down the legs. The top had deep grooves drug into it and the drawer pulls are antique and an odd size that isn’t made anymore. You’d think I’d have noticed those things before I bought it. But I had seen the desk on craigslist and drove 35 miles to pick it up. I think I had love dust in my eyes.
Before
When I finally got the desk home, and started sanding the honeymoon was OVER. This desk was a lot of work. I filled in all the gouges with wood puddy and sanded everything as smooth as possible. Then gave it 2 coats of oil based rustoleum paint in glossy white. I gave it a light spray paint at the end to get rid of any brush strokes.
After--just needs drawer pulls
She turned out pretty :). I’m still trying to decide what to do about drawer pulls. I tried ribbon–too flimsy. Then I thought about making my own from wire and crystal beads. But I think I may just spray paint the old ones brushed nickel and call it done.
Before
I had originally planned to get two desks of similar style. I had two 7 drawer desks picked out and bought the first one on faith. But the second seller sold his desk, pulled his listing, and never returned my emails :(. Then I found this adorable piece and fell in love again.
Love the scallop on the drawer
It took a lot less sanding and puttying to get it in order and painted up easily. The best part is the drawer pulls were a single hole so I could get some inexpensive glass knobs from Walmart ($6 for 2) to finish the redo.
Cute little feet
I’m so glad I jumped into this project! The desks look great side by side and I’m over my fear of working with oil paint. It covers so well and outside the fumes aren’t anything to worry about. It cleaned up easily too. The mineral spirits just melted the paint right off the brush and it washed out in half the time latex does.
After
I just had an idea! Why not putty in the holes on Heidi’s desk, repaint over it and drill single holes for glass knobs? Excuse me, I think I’ll go get started :).
Cord covers give a finishing touch to lighting. It hides the industrial feeling and makes everything soft.
They aren’t hard to make with a basic sewing machine and some ribbon. I used Organza ribbon because it was cheap (10 yard for $2.) I found the wider the ribbon, the easier it is to do.
Start by cutting 2 lengths of ribbon twice the length of your cord. Then sew them together along one side with an 1/8 inch seam allowance.
Wrap the ribbon around the cord and push the cord against the first seam. Stitch the other side of the ribbon with a 1/8 inch seam allowance, encasing the cord inside. Be careful not to sew into the cord and make sure your lamp is unplugged :).
If you get tired of the look, you can take the stitches out or just cut off the cord cover to remove it.
IQ lamps are gorgeous and inexpensive to make. I love that they blend well with a modern theme or victorian/shabby chic.
I made 2 more this week for my daughters. There is no central light fixture in their room and it can get pretty dark. To help, we added the rose lamp, 2 huge mirrors on the large wall and iq lamps. Here’s a pdf file IQ lamp curly corners 2 on page of the pattern I used. You can click here to see my first IQ lamp post with more information.
This IQ lamp is unique because it is designed to puff out a little more and look “curly.” It’s also known as the Mexican style IQ lamp.
If you use 2 Hobby Lobby coupons for the vellum (110 lb clear “frosted” vellum in the drafting department), the lamp shade costs $4.20. The Hemma lamp cord from Ikea to finish out the lamp is $3.99. I used a 15 watt compact fluorescent bulb to help reduct fire risk.
The main reason for writing this post, is the clearest video on how to put one of these together is in Spanish. I made an English video in case any non-Spanish folks would like to make one. The Spanish video is nice because the 2 colors really help you see what is going on. Watching both should make it really clear for you.
Are you losing weight or plan to but don’t want to lose your favorite skirt? Here’s a two minute alteration that will keep your clothes fitting great and can be undone if necessary.
Oops! Youtube linked a racy video to this one. I apologize if any of you saw that link. I’m fixing the problem but it will take about an hour. Check back to see the video.
P.S. This skirt has a side zipper. If your skirt has a back zipper, put in 2 equal sized pleats on either side of the zipper. Instead of pressing the pleats to center on itself, press them away from the zipper.
We had a blast last night trying out our new gadget from www.csn.com. It’s going to take some practice to look professional at it. Our finished product looked nothing like the pictures on the box, but it sure did taste good!
Congratulations to Amber, Commentor #97! She won the ebook set and has the links in her inbox.
Christa M, Erica T, Julie G, Valerie of Tangled Wood Hills, and Christine M all guessed correctly. I was shocked to get so many correct guesses since I thought I was so clever—haha. But that just proves my insistance that Grocery Shrink readers are the smartest ever.
JN # 44 had the most unique guess “A samovar?* Had to have a unique guess- though the wrong season. Would love to win! * a heated metal container traditionally used to heat and boil water in and around Russia. They are really “cool” looking.” I’m going to have to go look that up!”
I would have loved to have received any of the things you guessed, but watch the video to see the big reveal…
I’d like to interrupt this post to announce that the CSN.com surprise has arrived! I will reveal the big secret tomorrow, so you have until then to get your contest entries and guesses in. There are several correct guesses in there, but there is a twist to this one that only adds to the surprise. You don’ t have to be correct to win since the winner will be chosen by randon number generator. There will be special recognition for all correct guessers and also for the most unique guess.
Closet Before Curtains After removing doors, painting and organizing
It’s been a long time in the dreaming since I last wrote this post, but I finally made the closet curtains! I used the same $1 electrical pipe conduit and $5 ring clips that I put on the laundry room curtain. I discovered I like curtains that are nice and full and sweep the floor–no high waters here.
The ring clips made this a 20 minute sewing project. I cut tore 4 lengths of white muslin 92 inches long. And sewed 2 together on the long side for 2 extra wide curtians. Then I hemmed the top and the bottom. I left the selvage edges on the sides since there was no printing and no fringe on the selvages. I added lace trim from stash and folded down the top 6 inches for a little ruffle/flap and clipped to the ring.
I had originally planned to sew tiny ruffles to the bottom 18 inches it like these
From Target
and then considered a rhumba ruffle sections 18 inches from the floor and down–like these:
Click the picture to go to the etsy store with this curtain
But for now, with all the projects we have left to do, we decided it was perfect just plain and simple. We can always add more later.
Tie backs make it easy to pick out clothes
We put in tie backs to help the girls keep the curtains back when they are organizing or picking out their clothes. It is such an improvement over the sliding doors that only allowed access to half the closet at once. We love it!
Watermelons, canteloupes, and honeydew are in season around here. You may have some in your garden, or find them at the farmer’s market or at a street corner vender. I’ve seen some supermarket deals like a whole huge seedless watermelon for $2.99-$3.99. That’s a great choice when feeding a crowd. If you can’t eat a whole watermelon, put part of your cut watermelon in the blender, pour into posicle molds and freeze. It is delicious and no sugar needed.
Here’s a quick video on my favorite method for cutting melons. My sister-in-law Gena showed it to me, and her sister-in-law Chandra showed it to her. Chandra is a chef and is amazing in the kitchen.
Going to church with my children has been my greatest joy and my greatest challenge. My methods have changed from when my oldest daughter was born 10 years ago and how we manage things today. When I realized things weren’t working for me I sat down and thought about what my goals were in taking my children to church and what was stopping me from reaching these goals.
My desires for my children
To associate joy with church
To love and worship God
To learn more about the Holy Scriptures and God’s plan for their lives
To build godly friendships
To learn new hymns and scriptures
To feel God near
Why wasn’t it working?
1. The children were hungry and tired–big church comes right at lunch time and nap time
2. They distracted each other–hugging, kissing, and poking soon turned into screaming and wrestling
3. If I brought books, snacks or toys into the sanctuary…
a. They quickly went through them and wanted more
b. They made a mess with everything
c. It distracted them from getting much from the service
d. It distracted those around us
e. The older children wanted what I brought for the baby
f. I lost my cool quickly from sensory overload (too much visual movement, noise, and things bumping into me)
4. When I took all things away, the children started to hate coming to church.
5. They used bathroom breaks as an excuse to leave the service.
What does work?
1. Bringing a snack for everyone to eat before entering the sanctuary. This keeps blood sugar levels stable and helps the children control themselves. They learned noone would eat upstairs, not even the baby–except for nursing with a cover.
Here are some things I’ve taken for snacks: cheese and crackers, mozzarella cheese sticks, sliced apples, peanut butter finger sandwiches, wheat thin crackers, homemade bread, muffins, bagels, grapes, raisins, animal crackers…
2. I take them all potty and to get drinks before the service and let them know they won’t be leaving the service for these reasons.
3. When we sit on the pew I carefully order the children so that the ones that are ornery aren’t together.
4. Not bringing a lot of toys or books for the children. It keeps their entertainment expectations low.
5. There are some things I make sure to keep with me for those tough moments. They are ordinary looking things, not labeled as toys. It helps them be more interested if they think it’s something real. Here’s a small list:
a. A mechanical pencil for each child and if they start to fidget I let them doodle quietly on a scrap of paper before it turns into a discipline problem. (If I wait until they have been really naughty to hand them something it’s like rewarding their bad behavior.)
b. A small photo book in my purse with wallet size snapshots of family and friends
c. A handkerchief to roll up as twin babies in a cradle. I couldn’t find any instructions online so here’s a little video how to do it.
d. Chap-stick
e. Hand cream
f. Band-aids and Kleenex eliminate 2 more reasons for getting up
6. Also there are small things I can do to help the children stay focused.
a. Give them a gentle hand massage
b. Illustrate the sermon on a bulletin
c. Help an older child make a list of words they might hear during the sermon. During the sermon when they hear a word on their list, they place a little tally mark. It really keeps them listening.
d. Fold the bulletin into origami while they listen. I only know how to make a boat, but it works.
7. If my very small child (less than 2) gets fidgety I’ll stand in the back and hold him. A change of view usually does the trick.
8. And I’m not above having a little sweet tart treat for the children that don’t have to leave the service for discipline :).
f. After church I try to stay long enough to allow them to talk with their friends or run on the lawn a little bit.
Does it really work? Well, it works better than anything else I’ve tried. If you’ve sat near me during church, you’d know it’s not a perfect system. The children are still children and we all get weary and short tempered and sometimes I have to leave the service with a toddler under one arm. But they do grow and learn…and so do I. I’m so glad church is a place for sinners to find the grace of God :).
This time we used a couple of chicken breasts, sliced and cooked in a skillet. I cooked the sauce with the chicken after the chicken was mostly done. This same sauce is nice with beef, pork, or shrimp too.
