Cindy's Porch: DO Log

From Cindy's Porch: Cindy's DO-LOG

Discovering the power of "DO instead of BUY" is going to make the biggest changes in your finances (and lifestyle). We all have so many wonderful things in our homes and lives - this is the time to use them, to enjoy them, to DO them. Think of the sports equipment, the crafting supplies, the games, the cooking tools, the stuff in your closets, the stuff in the garage, the stuff hidden away and stashed out of sight. You have paid for this stuff, you may as well use it!

To have a little fun with this, we host a "DO-LOG." I can't promise that I will write in it everyday, but I will keep you updated with some of the DO's our family has been DOing. Along the way, we plan on wiping out more of our debt!

Cindy

Monday, February 1, 2010 - Homemade Wholewheat Apple Pancakes...

I didn't burn down the house!! This morning, we kicked off our "SHOP at home FIRST" for breakfast month with homemade pancakes. Honestly, I don't know why anyone would BUY those boxed mixes CHA CHING CHA CHING! This is a recipe our family adapted from an old recipe that I learned in Grade 8 Home Ec class (I am dating myself LOL). They take minutes to mix and a few more to cook - the voila - instant family breakfast! I usually double the recipe to make 12 - 16 medium sized pancakes (the kids like them as an after-school snack).

Ingredients

1 cup of flour (we use whole wheat, but you can use all white or a mixture of both)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt (we're not heavy salt users in our home)

1 cup of milk
2 tablespoons butter or margarine (Since we have a non-stick griddle, I often skip the butter all together. The pancakes are a little firmer, but still delicious.)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional - I always forget).

1 apple - peeled and sliced (this is a good time to use up the "old" rubbery apple at the bottom of the fridge)
1 cup of blueberries (optional - I think I will try grapes next time LOL)

Easy to Follow Steps (my kind of cooking!)

1. Heat the griddle (I use 350 degrees F).

2. Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl.

3. Mix together the wet ingredients in a bowl (I use a large measuring cup.)

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir together. The technique (from my Grade 8 Home Ec class ) is to mix quickly with as few strokes as possible. The point is to wet the flour without toughening up the batter.

5. Add the sliced apple to the batter.

6. Spray the hot griddle with oil. (I am going to put in a plug here for a refillable spray bottle for oil - no more spray cans purchased from the grocery store. You can find these in cooking stores or online.)

7. Spoon out the batter into pancakes on the griddle. The batter is a little thick, so you may have to spread it out a bit. Flip the pancakes when small bubbles appear in the top.

8. Cook the otherside until done and serve hot (preferably with the Grape Compote you made the night before LOL).

I am a huge fan of fresh fruit for breakfast, so a half a grapefruit on the side is the finishing touch! One SHOP at home FIRST for breakfast - that costs pennies per plate. Enjoy!

Sunday, January 31, 2010 - I Knew it Wasn't a Good Idea!

Have you ever had one of those bright ideas that wasn't so bright? Sheesk!

Here it is, 11:01 pm, everyone has gone to bed - even the dogs. I am still up. Wide awake now. As soon as the washing machine is done, I can hang up the pot holder, dishclothes, tea towels, rag, and kitchen mat to dry overnight and go to bed. At least I don't have to paint the window frame. Sheesk!

Let's start at the beginning, and pretend that this didn't happen (don't worry, no one was hurt - except for the Chia Guy. My youngest daughter is not going to be happy when she sees that!)

Monday is the start of a brand new month and one of our goals for February is to "go back to breakfast." True confession time - I am cooking-challenged (can't you tell?). So in honor of our new goal, I thought I would put together a beautiful photo series of our family's breakfasts for the week (including recipes - YIKES!). I lovingly prepared the raw ingredients, I simmered them slowly on the stove, and then I thought it looked a little too chunky.

That's when I had the "not so bright idea." Here goes...

Grape Compote (Prepared the Night Before)

Every Christmas our family makes homemade cranberry sauce from frozen cranberries. With all of the grapes we have in the freezer, I thought I would try a similar recipe to make Grape Sauce (or Compote - for the not-so-cooking-challenged LOL). I made a batch last week and it was quite tasty.

Ingredients:

4 cups of frozen grapes (could use other frozen fruit - I am going to try peaches later this week).

1/2 cup - 1 cup of sugar (I used 1/2 cup since the grapes are so sweet)
1 cup of water

couple teaspoons of cornstarch (optional)*

* Mix the cornstarch with a couple tablespoons of cold water. If your sauce is runny after it has simmered, then slowly stir in the mixture of cornstarch and cold water. This should thicken it up a bit.

Easy to Follow Steps (my kind of cooking!)

1. Dissolve the sugar in the water and bring to a boil.

2. Add the frozen grapes and bring to a boil.

3. Simmer on low-med heat for 10 minutes. Chill until served. (It was going so well up to now...)

Not recommended

(When I made last week's batch, I put the frozen grapes through a chopper BEFORE I cooked them. This time I added them whole. Next time I will chop them BEFORE LOL.)

If the sauce looks a little chunky, it is NOT a good idea to pour the entire contents into the blender and "pulse" the blender. Hot purple, sticky liquid will go flying all over the place. Your kitchen will look like Mike Meyers from Halloween10 dropped in to visit.

At least I was wearing a pot holder and didn't get burned from the hot liquid. I grabbed the dish cloth from the sink and attempted to wipe away the spill. That's when my husband announced he was going to bed. Grrrrrr!

I am happy to say, that if tackled quickly, grape stained countertops and windowsills can be cleaned with a little bit of Comet(TM). Even the sink was a lovely shade of purple. For the first time in years, I "shined my sink." Last time I did that was years ago when I was washing a feather duster for another photo shoot ...

Oh, the Grape Compote? What's left of it tastes wonderful. Tomorrow, I am planning on making our home-made apple pancakes for breakfast. Keep your fingers crossed that I don't burn down the house! The grape sauce should taste awesome on the pancakes.

Here's to a Good, Safe Breakfast!
Cindy

Tuesday, January 25, 2010 - Too Many Grapes!

Today, we sent out a challenge to inventory our freezers - rediscover all the foods you so carefully packed away for "later." Well, later has arrived, and it time to figure out what to do with all that food.

We live in an area where we are blessed with huge quantities of fresh product - especially fruit. My freezer is filled with strawberries (actually they are all gone now), raspberries, currents, peaches, cherries, plums, blueberries, and several veggies.

Last summer, we added something new - grapes. While reading through the "fresh produce for sale" ads on our local website, I came across a farmer who was selling U-pick grapes at 60 cents/pound (not the wine kind of grapes, but the eating kind). Mmmmmmmm.

This prairie gal had never picked grapes, so I was in for a pleasant surprise. My oldest daughter and I drove over and we ended up in a beautiful vineyard. The owner gave each of us a box and a special pair of snipping shears.

Oh what fun! We filled box after box. The grapes, they were hanging there - well, like grapes! And they tasted wonderful!

We kept picking until we had - gulp - 80 pounds of grapes. We ate about 15 pounds of them fresh, and then froze the rest. Fortunately, my kids love frozen grapes - they are like cool candy pockets that burst in your mouth. But after a few months of frozen grapes, the kids are getting a little tired of them. Heavy sigh. I know what I am going to find in my freezer when I do my inventory - TOO MANY GRAPES!

So, here's the dilema - what to DO with about 50 pounds of frozen coronation and concord grapes. Last night I made a grape compote. It turned out pretty good - we added some to our morning porridge. Tonight, I think I will try to make grape yogurt popsicles. Tomorrow, I might try a frozen grape smoothie. Perhaps a grape muffin? LOL.

Next year, we'll pick less. Until then, these can't go to waste. Any ideas?

Monday, January 25, 2010 - Tackling a Pile of DOing!

It's not a good idea to eliminate several piles of paperwork by stacking them into ONE big pile. This thing sits beside my office chair taunting me. Smiling at me. And growing right before my eyes. Today, I have a pile of work to do - literally! And I have about four hours to DO it in. The plan is to tackle it, one piece at a time until it's gone!

And my DO-LOG will keep me on track. First paper - payroll. Catch you in about 20 minutes.... Cindy

Update #1: Payroll Done!

Payroll is done and ready to go into the mail. Next - bank deposit. Catch you in about half an hour.

Update #2: Deposit Done!

I am the kind of person who likes to go to bed early and get a good night's sleep. Last night I didn't get a good sleep - tossed and turned until after 2:00. Grrrrr. Well, I am paying for it today - two stupid mistakes on my bank deposit. I will never be a good accountant LOL. Good thing my husband can correct the ledger.

Now I am off to build a marketing database. This is going to take about an hour or two. The silly thing has been on my to-do list (complete with supporting papers stacked in my pile) for too long. Today it gets DONE. Catch you later! - Cindy

Update #3: Done More!

It's getting late, and the first part of my marketing database is done. It's time to quit though, the eyes are getting sore.

Saturday, January 16, 2010 - To the Birds

I woke up this morning to blue blue skies. We don't get those very often during the winter, so one has to take advantage of them when they come. Since I had no fixed plans for the day, I decided to grab the camera and see where I ended up.

Very quickly, the day went to the birds (huge grin!).

First thing I discovered was a brand new (to me) bird sanctuary filled with bullrushes, trees, wild roses, a stream, a marsh, AND birds. According to the signs, early morning and spring are the best times to visit. Today, I was after the quick moving chickadee!

As I continued with my drive, I spied way up high, some kind of hawk. Then I saw two!! WOW! I pulled over and started snapping away. Two red-tailed hawks swirling, swooping, and flying along the cliffs. Absolutely stunning. It wasn't until I got home, that I reallized I also snapped a shot of the two of them at their nest. Spectacular!

I figured my day was a success after the two hawks, but it wasn't done yet. On the return road back, I looked out across the lake. At first, I thought I was looking at bouys, but no! Something competely different. Three swans!! Two grey, and one snowy white. There must have been something delicious in the water, because most of my shots ended up being of their hind ends up in the air (silly things). I tried to get all three swimming with their necks up, but at least one was always upside-down.

Then, there was this guy sitting in a tree along the highway. No idea what type of bird he is - except I am guessing he is some type of bird of prey - a small hawk? Too bad my picture wasn't clearer.

By now it is getting close to 2:00 in the afternoon (I started taking photos at 10:00 am). I was only about a 15 minute drive from home when I heard the unmistakeable "CHI-CA-GO" cry of the Californian Quail. Sure enough, about 20 of them scattered across the road in front of me. Again, I pulled over and dug out the camera. These little guys sound so cute with their bubbling noises.

AND then - drum roll please - the finale - Double WOW! Look up, wayyyyyyyyy up! Look what I caught perched high up in a tree...

One of the most incredible birds of all - the bald eagle - posing (just for me - hee hee).

I could not have asked for a better DO-day! - Cindy

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 - Thankful

Life becomes very simple when you reallize that all you really need to "worry" about is a stack of half-finished work on the office spare table. After watching the new this morning regarding the tragedy in Haiti, that silly little pile seems insignificant compared to the struggles that the families in this country are now facing. Our hearts go out to all those affected by yesterday's earthquake.

And yes, today I will be tackling that pile of invoices, marketing initiatives, newsletters, filing, and labels. And while I am DOing it, I am going to be so thankful that I can.

Take care of you all today!
Cindy

Tuesday, January 12, 2010 - Tackle a Pile Tuesday

Whose idea was it anyways to make one of the Goals for January to wipe out 20 piles in the home? Oh, I guess that would be me - grin!! In my house, these piles are sneaky. They show up after the holidays with full intentions of making a permanent home. I have a few that appear to be on their way to success. Ha! Today at least two of them are hitting the road.

But first, I have a couple piles of paperwork to deal with. Bills don't get paid if the invoices aren't sent out. Boring, but it has to get done. We'll catch you in a couple hours with an update!

Happy Tackle a Pile Tuesday - Cindy

Update #1: From Our Readers

We decided to have a little fun while tackling those piles of stuff. A bit of a scavenger hunt of sorts.... Look what we found!

Today I tackled a pile of junk in my laundry room cabinet. A pile of disorganized cans in my pantry, and a pile of magazines in my coffee table cabinet. Tonight I am tackling a pile of papers in the same coffee table drawer. That makes 4 piles for today! WOOPIE for me. Avis

I did find a check for a whopping $1.60, but it is better than nothing we run a dairy farm on as with everything else we are getting little to nothing for things that we sell, the $1.60 was our profit for selling a bull calf. My dh left the check in a pile with his work clothes in the cellar. now to get it to the bank... Jane

I tackled the laundry room. Not the laundry, but the "stuff" in there. It is a rather large room-about 8x14. It took a while, but it is cleaned out and cleaned up. Since you can see it when you use the guest bath, it was necessary to do first. On to the computer room now:( Harriet

Unfinished to do list under the phone in the dining room. LOL Georgia

Dear Cindy, Here's one for your do-log: I went to get a paper cup to get a drink of water, and found not only several "gift" items of candy, but a "gift" box of cookies, as well. Mind you, I go to this kitchen cupboard every day, but somehow kept missing the green plastic bag that contained these items. I remember so stealthily "hiding" these items, which were purchased in another country (Canada; I live in the U.S.A., LOL.) They are cute sets meant for the winter holidays--a set of chocolate snowmen, and a set of Santa and reindeer. The cookies are chocolate-covered and heart-shaped--meant for my DH's 60th birthday in December, which of course never were presented at the time. Can I save them for Valentine's Day? Nah...better give them to him now; I could lose them again! Joyce

I found a $5 bill in an old coat and 6 ones in the laundry needs a home pile( you know the little basket you keep on top of dryer). Does that count? - Jeniffer

Sunday, January 10, 2010 - "Cindy, Want to Head Up?"

There is nothing like exploring a new snowshoe trail! So when my snowshoe buddy suggested a Sunday walk through the white stuff, my oldest daughter and I were in! This trail was a few hundred feet higher than the usual trails we stomp over. Thanks to the fog, the fresh snow, and the moisture in the air, we were treated to a crystal palace! Nothing more beautiful than hoarfrost.

Normally, we don't see much for wildlife, but today, for just a fraction of a second, a small squirrel let me grab one shot of him peeking from behind a tree. And then, FLASH! He was gone.

Enjoy - Cindy

Wednesday, January 6, 2010 - Playing Hookey (Huge Grin)!

Monday and Tuesday were two days filled with chaos and crisis. Finally, about noon on Tuesday, everything was under control and back to normal (nothing like the beginning of the year schedule upsets sheesk!).

So, the plan was Tuesday afternoon, I would update Cindy's Porch and kick things off for the year. But while I was rushing to get everything done Tuesday morning, I kept peeking at the sky. The very blue sky. The first blue sky in about a month. And the fresh snow - Two days worth. (Insert a sheepish grin here.) I had two choices, grab my snowshoes and head into the fresh powder or update Cindy's Porch. Blue skies or Cindy's Porch? Fresh air and exercise or Cindy's Porch? Eeeks!

I am so sorry, but the blue skies and sunshine won! But I compromised LOL. I grabbed my snowshoes, my camera AND my laptop and headed up into the hills. First an hour of fun in the sun. Wow - a brand new trail, the best snow ever, and WOW! Then I went into the chalet next to the warm wood-fired stove, beside a window in the sunshine, and powered up my laptop. Some tea (brought from home) completed the picture. I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful office setting. What a fantastic afternoon! The bonus - I got a bunch of stuff done! Wahoo. Oh, and it didn't cost a dime.

Here are some of the 181 photos I took yesterday (I love my digital camera!). Enjoy!

The trail took me through this cathedral-like arch of branches. I had to duck.

Full contact sun and fresh, soft, white snow! Mmmmmmm!

Everthing was quiet in the forest - except for hundreds of chickadees chirping high up in the trees. Chick-a-deeee-deeee-deeee!

The trail took me through a wall of pine trees - some of the tallest in the area.

This is the view from my temporary "office" in the chalet.

Thursday, December 3, 2009 - DO something fun Today!

Today we have challenged our readers to "DO" something fun and relaxing to help us get into the holiday spirit. Me, I am going to put some cloves, cinnamon, and orange peels to simmer on the stove, light a couple of my favorite candles, put on a holiday CD, and clean my house. LOL. Yup, after slothing about the house for the past couple days while recovery from getting a wisdome tooth pulled, my home has become a little bit of a mess (major understatement!). So I will be tackling the NOT-ME five, doing laundry, and putting a shine back into the house. And I am actually looking forward to DOing it. Plus, it's payroll time, so I have some bookwork to DO in between. But first, some holiday spirit. The house is going to smell like I have been baking ALL day!

I'll keep you uptodate on my progress and I will be posting some of our reader's Fun-DO's throughout the day. Enjoy.

First NOT-ME five - Gather all the laundry. Time is 9:15 am - here I go!!

Cindy

Update #1: Laundry Sorted - YIKES!!

Oh Boy, I made the mistake of venturing into my three daughter's bedrooms to gather their laundry! I found the missing bath towels. There is now enough loads of laundry to keep the washer and drying going all day long - as well as into the evening (the kids can take over at that point LOL).

Next of the NOT-ME Five: Gather the dirty dishes. While I am at it, I am going to tackle the kitchen as well. My kids have been fantastic - they have kicked in with the meals while I have been resting. However, when they cook - they cook big! And they keep leaving the cupboards doors open - grrrrr. Catch you in about an hour! 10:00 am - signing out - Cindy

Update 2: Kitchen Done!

I am a little fussy about my kitchen. To keep it easy to clean on a regular basis, I like to have very little on the counter tops. Unfornately, this give us more room to cook and more room to "temporarily" store stuff. I was right - it took an hour to get rid of the glass jars beside the mixer, the homework on top of the microwave, the groceries left on the table, the dishes piled throughout, and the bike helmet hiding under the kitchen table. Huh? Anyways, the counters are shined, the dishwasher is running, the extra dishes are washed and on the drying rack (I'll put them away later) and the microwave is washed out. Here's a trick if you are looking at a rather crusty inside of a microwave. Take a glass measuring cup, fill it half full with water. Bring it too a boil inside the microwave (about two minutes). Then leave it alone. Don't open the door. Don't take out the cup. Just let it sit there for about 10 - 20 minutes. The steam will soften up the bits. Once 20 minutes has gone by, the water is cooler, and you should be able to wipe down the insides. Once in awhile I add a slice of lemon to the water - this freshens up the smell a bit.

Onto the next. Ooopps - wait a minute, have to swap the laundry loads - be right back!

Done! Next of the NOT-ME FIVE is to gather all the trash. Take an empty bag and go throughout the house. Gather any trash you can find. Empty out the bins in the bathrooms, kitchen, laundry room, etc. Get it all out and put in fresh bags. This is only going to take me about 20 minutes. It's 11:05 and we're getting a ton done! Wahoo! - Catch you in a bit - Cindy.

But first - an update from our readers!!

Dear Cindy - thank-you for the reminder to do something fun and relaxing today. After a stressful week I need it. i decided to pamper myself with a long soak in the tub with candycane bubble bath, a mini-facial, and I am going to do my nails. When I am done, I am going to feel like a queen.

Hi Cindy, I am with you on the house clean up. Thank-you for posting the updates. I've decided to follow along and try to keep up. Already I can see floor again. - Jody

My Challenge #4 DO is to bake a batch of Christmas cookies.

Update #3: Trash Gone!

We're moving right along here - the trash is out and I am on to the next of the NOT-ME FIVE: Paper.

This can either go very quickly - where you gather all the newspapers, magazines, newletters, half done homework, etc and toss into the recycle (OK, maybe not the homework LOL), and call it done. Or you can actually take a few minutes to tackle a pile of paperwork. That's what I am going to DO right now. There isn't much for paper laying around in the home. However, I have some bookwork to finish before this afternoon. So my task will be to put together a deposit, go to the bank, pay the business bills, finish payroll, and deliver the payroll to my staff. This is going to take me a couple hours.

If you are following along and finish the "paper" not-me five before I do, then feel free to tackle the last NOT-ME FIVE: Other stuff. You know what this is, it's the stuff that grew legs and wandered from one part of the house to another. From here, I can a dish that's supposed to be in the donate pile, my daughter's grad dress, my camera, calendars to deliver to clients, etc. Go from room to room, gathering what doesn't belong and returning what does. Before you know it, the house is put back together again. Catch you in a couple hours! - Cindy

First - more from our readers!!

Cindy, thank-you for the reminder to write a Christmas letter. I was going to do it a month ago, but of course I didn't. This year i will get it done.

Dear Cindy, I read your challenge to do something for the holiday spirit came at the same time I was reading an article that the Salvation Army was needing warm clothes for the needy. Today, i am going to go through my husband's and my kids closets to cull the coats, boats, gloves, and clothes we don't wear anymore. I also have some canned food to donate. - Jan in Richmond, BC.

Monday, November 30, 2009 - Updating the Porch

Christmas has arrived on Cindy's Porch! We've added our gift idea pages AND thanks to our readers, I've decided to include our Annual Online Advent Calendar. All the new links are on the home page. Enjoy! - Cindy

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - Tackle a Pile Tuesday - The Final Tally

Good morning! Tackle a Pile Tuesday is over, but the de-piling continues. This morning, my inbox was filled with enough extinct piles to almost achieve our 100 GOAL. Wow! And congratulations everyone.

My inbox was also filled with requests to continue the challenge. YES! With the holidays fast approaching, the last thing we want to worry about is dealing with messy piles. Feel free to keep on tackling any pile that gets in your way! This is my pile for today. I won't have as much time as yesterday, but I will be working through it on and off all day. My company is celebrating it's 10th anniversary on December 1st, so I am embroidering sports bags for my staff. After pricing it out, I determined it was cheaper for my company to BUY the embroiderer and DO it myself. It's the "DO it myself" that I have problems with. Everytime I have to use the beast, I have to learn how to DO it all over again. But once it is set up, it's easy-peasy. And the sports bags? I found those this past summer at a clear out sale for $3.00 each. Perfect! I also have a bunch of shirts to crest as well.

My retriever cross is barring the way - huge grin. He's grown accustomed to the pile of soft things behind the couch. Some of it disappears as soon as my daughter goes to school and takes her stuff, some of it is my camera gear which needs to go back in the closet, and the rest is today's ON/OFF project.

So, if your pile seems nasty, you are not alone. I will be a little "testy" right along with you. LOL! Have a great Wednesday. Please keep on sending in your pile extermination stories to us - and we'll keep posting them.

Cindy

From our readers...

So far I have cleared out 5 piles, I'm hoping to get 3 more finished tonight, but right now my offical total is 5! Thanks Kelly Lancaster County PA

It's almost 10 p.m. in Utah but I had to report I got 7 piles completed tonight (3 paper - 4 STUFF! I still have about 7 or 8 to go but one side of my family room is done! The biggest paper pile I will attack while I'm still motivated tomorrow! I found my Sunday School manual which I thought I had lost! LOL And I found the list of Christmas things I wanted to do with my family this year (none of which cost anything!) that I made back in July... tee hee Life is good! I even got a big hug and kiss from hubby because he so noticed that the piles were gone! YAY! Susan

do two deer count? I processed (with help) all the meat from 2 large bucks today. more than 100 lbs of meat :) all cleaned, trimmed, packaged and labeled in my freezer - yeah!! Nancy

I eliminated one more pile. Thanks, Cindy, for the motivation.

one big pile of mail, catalogs, etc..... and I found an envelope (came three days ago!) where someone sent a check for a fundraiser I was doing.....awesome! Thanks for the challenge....more to do! Tara

Woohoo... just in time for Thanksgiving. I spent yesterday tackling the piles in my dining room. I have a table now! Thank-you Cindy. please add 4 piles to the count. - Debbie

TOTAL so Far: 90 Piles! Yeah! Keep going - we're going to count until we hit 100!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 - Tackle a Pile Tuesday Continues....

We're having great success getting rid of piles this week. Why the focus on piles? They are expensive. They are frustrating. They take up space. They represent the past - work that should have been done yesterday or before. To make room for new work, the piles have to go. My worst pile problem has always been papers. I am great at sorting "work" into piles. And then moving piles from one spot to the next. By the time they hit the floor (because I ran out of room on the desk and my spare table) I know it's time for "Tackle a Pile Tuesday."

I am thrilled to say the spare table is cleared off and put away. The desk is also clear. All that's left is three paper piles - invoices, planning calendars, and one small pile of odd and ends that need to be purged. That's my project for this morning.

From our readers...

Hi Cindy. I got rid of ONE pile. Thanks for the inspiration. - Lecia

3 down, 6 more to go. Surprise: bank statement I "lost" .... whew! Glad to find that! - Kathy

3 piles Sunday/Monday night.
1 - "new" coupons clipped and taken to friend #1 at work (2 hours)
1 - "recycled" coupons clipped and taken to friend #2 at work (1 hour)
1 - complete refrigerator cleanout - kitchen trash filled and refrid now clean! (1 1/2 hours)

This is your fault Cindy! I didn't want to tackle piles. I didn't have time to tackle piles. But after your email, all I saw were piles.... So I did one. It only took 5 minutes. So I did another one. It only took 5 minutes. An hour later I wiped out 4 piles. I did have time. And my family room looks so much better. Thanks! - Moira who is going to find more piles today.

Note from Cindy: The piles don't necessarily have to be paper. We are counting "stuff piles" too.

TOTAL so Far: 29 piles - 71 to go! - Keeping Going!

Update #1: 12:07 pm - Lunch time!

Taking a quick break from my work to eat. SHOP at home FIRST for lunch - I had leftover potato and brocolli salad from last night's supper. It always tastes better the next day!Mmmmm.

Hope you are all making progress. I am about 1/2 done my pile of invoices. Another hour and I should be finished. The space is looking good!

From our readers...

Because my ironing pile is sooo big I have broken it down into smaller piles. I have 3 piles down since yesterday and two huge piles of laundry taken care of. Also have a pile of stuff cleared and found a dining room chair... Looking forward to getting home from work to do some more. - Kelly

Worked in the cellar. Eight piles dealt with! - Flo

5 total!!! - 2 piles of paper, 2 piles of seasonal clothing that had been waiting in the basement and 1 pile of Halloween decorations! Thanks for the inventive!!!

Hi Cindi, Since I am going to be busy all week,, I will just commit to 2 piles (can you run this one by again in a week or two???) Will do one today and maybe more.... Paula (Note from Cindy: Absolutely - these piles have a way of reappearing!)

I completed two MASSIVE piles of kids clothes that needed to be sorted to Goodwill or hand-me-downs, 5 huge boxes out the door! - Amy

TOTAL so Far: 52 and half piles - 47 and half to go! - WOW!

Update #2: 4:30 pm - Getting Close!

Without a doubt, this challenge is addictive! Not only did I finish my invoices (yeah!), but I also corralled two kids into gathering all the recycle and loading it into the van. That adds another 2 and half piles to my count!

There is a hazard that I need to warn you about. As you eliminate piles, something wonderful begins to appear. Space. Empty space. Room to move. Room to enjoy. And room for your oldest kid to take over. Sheesk! During the time we were at the recycle depot, my oldest daughter discovered all this space to spread her homework over. The table is covered. My desk is covered. And she even adopted my bad habit of spreading to the floor. Heavy sigh. Ah well, she has until this evening to return my space back to empty!

Me, I have to get ready for my yoga class. There's going to be one great pile of Cindy folded up on a yoga mat at our local high school in a couple hours. The folding up isn't so bad, it's the "unfolding" that gets a little dicey. I also learned something (the beauty of being surrounded by wall to wall mirrors). There is this thing called a "child's pose" where you get face down on the mat, tuck your feet underneath like a little kid, stretch your arms in front, and place your face/cheek onto the mat. Then relax. Well, if you relax too much, you may doze off. I don't think I actually fell asleep, but it was close. The interesting part is when you get up and notice the waffle weave pattern you have put into your forehead from the yoga mat! Nonetheless, this yoga class is one of the best things I have done for my body in years (except the snowshoeing and hiking of course!).

Now, onto your piles! Congratulations everyone - we are getting close!

From our readers...

Count me in for two piles of paper gone from my desk at work. All I had to do was file them. - Judy

5 piles gone!

Hello Cindy, I always enjoy your posts and challenges. My count today was 8... I did a little at a time even sick. Thanks - K

TOTAL so Far: 70 piles gone - 30 to go to our goal of 100! - How many can you do in the next few hours??

Monday, November 16, 2009 - Tackle a Pile Tuesday (on Monday - I need two days!)

Today is a heavy duty work day. My company is about to celebrate its 10th year in business and I have some major marketing to do. As well, the paper piles are threatening to take over my office! So I am off to tackle the work. PLUS, my home looks like people live here. Oh yeah, people DO live here LOL. So in between tackling the paper piles and the marketing, I am going to try to uncover a home.

My DO-LOG is going to keep me on track. First off, bank deposit, payroll, and the living room. Catch you in a bit!

Cindy

Update #1: Two Piles Gone!

Happy puppy dance, I have two piles wiped out. Bank deposit was completed and has been deposited into the bank. As well, all the business bills have been paid and filed away. Now it's onto the payroll. I know why these piles like to hang around for so long - they take a long time to wipe out!

From our readers...

Hi Cindy, this couldn't have come at a better time. I've got rid of two piles on my desk. Thank-you!

Count me in for one pile on the fridge - how did you know? No treasures yet.

3 piles of newspapers and magazines in my living room. Thank-you, it looks so much better now. - Cathy.

TOTAL so Far: 8 piles - 92 to go! - Keeping Tackling!

Update #2: 12:36pm and I am into the HUGE Pile

I have a nasty habit of taking everything that is a problem paper, or a tedious paper, or a maybe paper, or a later paper and sticking into one HUGE pile. Heavy sigh. I am into that one right now. My passport form is filled in (my oldest daughter has this idea that the two of us should go to Europe after she graduates. I would be a fool to say no). As well, I found three duplicate schedules for my staff - two of them went out. AND I found a check from a client. Sheesk! After I went to the bank and deposited the rest. This big pile is nasty. Catch you later (I need some lunch!).

Cindy (done two more little piles - payroll and filing)

From our readers...

4 piles gone in Texas City, Texas

I found a surprise!! My oldest daughter's permission slip for a field trip. I have been looking for it for a week. Thanks Cindy! - Marj (1 pile)

TOTAL so Far: 15 piles - 85 to go! - Keeping De-Piling!

Update #3: 1:43 - YIKES! I'm going backwards!

The problem with piling many subject matters into one pile, is that you have to sort them into matching subject matters - which means - MORE PILES!

Uggg, a photo would be embarrassing, but picture me sitting at my desk, surrounded by many little piles of papers on the floor. OK - here goes - one pile at a time!

Cindy

Thursday, November 12, 2009 - Fall Clean Up

Yesterday was one of those glorious sunny fall days - the perfect day to finally get the back yard clean up done. There is nothing worse than dealing with straggly perenials, frosty slimy annuals, too many dog piles, and tons of leaves AFTER the snow flies. Been there, tried to do that!

I keep looking out the back window - huge grin - the yard looks so good. All the leaves were raked, the grass was mowed one last time (I can't believe I live in an area where the grass gets mowed in November!), all the tools are packed away into the shed, the cushions on the lawn furniture are put away (I even washed and dried the canopy on the swing), the perennials are cut back, the annuals are gone, and the patio is clean. Since we don't have a leaf blower, I SHOPPED at my neighbor's home and borrowed their's (with permission of course). I also learned it is a good idea to blow the leaves and seeds off the patio BEFORE you mow the lawn. So I mowed the lawn twice. Oh well.

There's Charlie wondering what kind of mischief he can get into! He's a little upset since we put some fencing along the raspberries - that used to be one of his favorite digging spots! The little "prairie people" remind me of home. I noticed the man has some new cracks on his body - and has had some recent reconstructive surgery - glue around the neck. I wonder when he took a tumble??

Today, the sun is shining again. The skies are blue - but I have to stay inside. Too much to do! I've loaded up some great music, my candles are lit, and I am focussed on desk work - and lots of it - starting with the Porch! Look out - a little bit of Christmas is about to be added to Cindy's Porch! Keep an eye on the home page.

And remember, if you have been waiting until "later" to get some of those household things done, "later" will arrive - and "later" usually brings snow! (or "past due" or "too late" or "overdrawn" or.... you get the idea.)

Have a super Thursday!
Cindy

Monday, November 2, 2009 - Today's DO-LOG Challenge #4 (Last One)

This is a two parter - go straight to the second part if you have already done the first part....

Hi Cindy - How about this one? Put away the Halloween decorations? - Julia in Texas

Absolutely - there is nothing grosser than discovering October's pumpkins out on the porch when you are hanging up the Christmas lights - can you say "slimy??" Yuck. I have to admit, I always put away all our decorations on Halloween night before I go to bed. That way there is nothing left out for the "mischief makers" who may still be haunting the streets. - Cindy

IF your Halloween decorations are already packed away, then you deserve a break! Head outside, take the dogs and enjoy a fall walk! I cheated and went about an hour ago. Charlie had a blast. Oh and when you get to the photo of the fall leaves, take a deep breath. It smells so good on the trail right now. Fresh and clean!

That poor duck! We scared the **** out of him. It's a teal winged duck which was resting quite nicely on the trail until we came along. He and about 6 other ones dove off to the water. The dogs figured they should follow. Good thing they were on the leash!

Have a great Monday everyone - catch you tomorrow! - Cindy

Monday, November 2, 2009 - Today's DO-LOG Challenge #3

I love this one! Anyone who lives in snow country knows what it is like to have the kids do the last minute "warm-clothing snow scramble" on the morning of the first snow. All we all know what it's like to watch them try to push their feet into last year's boots. Uggg! Their feet grew again?? This reader's challenge is going to help us figure what we have and we need to get AHEAD of time. Thank-you Cathy!

Dear Cindy, Thanks for all you do. my challenge is to go through the winter coats, boots, hats, scarves, and mitts to make sure everyone in the family is ready to go. We have snow in the forecast for Saturday so this is timely. Last year I made a winter-pack of extra mitts and hats to put into each vehicle in case we were stranded with not enough. Sincerely - Cathy.

Monday, November 2, 2009 - Today's DO-LOG Challenge #2

Note from Cindy: This is a great challenge from Meghan in Saskatchewan, Canada (the only province that doesn't change time clocks) - Thank-you! WE need more - keep sending them in, or else you will get MY challenges instead hee hee! And I will be DOing these right along with you. Once I have this one done, I'll post a new one!

Just in case people didn't do this when they changed the clocks (if they changed clocks because in my province we don't), here's my challenge.

Check your smoke alarm batteries.
Dust off any fire extinguishers in the house.
Check medications in the house and toss the expired ones.

Now ready for any emergencies!

Monday, November 2, 2009 - Today's DO-LOG Challenge #1

Print out the brand-new Meal Planning Calendars for November. This month - we're going to get those meals planned! (and it won't cost a dime). Use the "Kitchen Cash" link at the top of the page to find the calendars. Then quickly take a couple minutes and plan out what's going to be for supper tonight. Take out any frozen stuff so there won't be any excuses for not making supper later today (been there done that LOL).

The next challenge is coming from YOU, the readers! It will be posted once I get this challenge done myself. So keep refreshing this page to see what's coming up next!

Have fun - Cindy

PS: Send in your challenge suggestions to Cindy@ (the name of this website) .net (I am trying to avoid the spam robots.) with THINK in the subject line.

Thursday, October 29, 2009 - First Snow of the Year!

After listening to the wind howling all night long, I knew there would be something white waiting for me in the morning. And sure enough - high on the hills - SNOW!! And lots of it. Since we live in the valley, we were spared the white stuff. And when I checked my SKYPE(TM), I saw it - a message posted shortly after 8:00am from my snow show buddy, "Cindy, do you want to head up and check the trail?" I didn't even have to think - YES!

We loaded up our snow shoes, the dog, the camera, toques, mitts, and other warm clothes and headed up. I forgot the shovel, but hey, at least MY vehicle had snow tires on it - right Deborah?? LOL

We were pleasantly surprised by how much snow there was. At least a foot! We were also very pleased to see the snowplow out on the road already (thanks guys!). And the husky? He was in heaven! That dog and snow go hand-in-hand. We had about 1/2 an hour to plow around in the fresh snow before we had to go back to work. It always amazing me how just a little bit of exercise and fresh air can make everything seem better!

Enjoy - Cindy

And the snow melted the next day.... Sigh...

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - Charlie

Monday, October 26, 2009 - Update from the Ski Swap

A lot of people complain about how expensive it is to get kids involved in activities. And yes, if you go overboard, it CAN be hugely expensive. Soccer, dance, hockey, skiing, gymnastics, and more. CHA CHING CHA CHING!

Our family has encouraged our kids to be very active - and all the while, we watch our costs.

A few things that have helped over the years are....

Encouraging the kids to join the school teams. This has been a great way for them to learn basketball, volleyball, and participate in track and field. During the summer, our high school offers a low-cost one-week basketball camp. The senior basketball team provides the coaching and the kids have a blast.

Ensuring the kids learn how to swim. We are so fortunate to have a great pool only 5 minutes from our home. It isn't fancy, but it has been the perfect pool for the kids to learn their strokes. By staggering their lessons throughout the year and summer, we've been able to keep the costs manageable. And what's cool now, is that my oldest daughter now lifeguards and teaches lessons at this pool.

Limiting their activities to one at a time (plus the occasional swim lessons, because they are a must). This has forced the kids to choose - and we never had to run from soccer to dance, back to soccer, and then onto volleyball. One activity at a time. Despite their pleas(LOL).

Using garage sales and second hand stores (and ski swaps) to purchase nearly all of our sports gear. Bikes, rollerblades, scooters, golf clubs, skates, and more have been paid for at a fraction of the original cost. This past weekend I went to the cross country ski swap on the hunt for equipment for our youngest child. Jackpot! Brand new skies and binding - again for a fraction of what they were originally priced at.

Resell (or donate) our kids' outgrown gear (instead of storing it) to make it available to other families.

Encouraging the kids to get out there and use the sports gear - with their friends. Our local school has tennis courts (free), and basketball courts (free), and there are tons of places to bike, hike, and enjoy the outside. Bored kids are usually sent out (huge grin).

Loving the outdoors. Not all the activities the kids do need to be "organized." Our oldest has become an outdoor enthuseist. A fantastic outdoor-ed program at her high school introduced her to cross country skiing, kayaking, long bike trips, winter camping (not my thing LOL), and outdoor survival. She loves it! And she has a pile of friends who enjoy the same activities.

We use birthdays and Christmas as an opportunity to add to our children's activities. No IPODS or GameBoys have EVER shown up under our tree. It's easy to buy for our oldest teenager - camping and hiking gear. Our middle child loves swimming, volleyball, and has just started a beginner dance class. (It looks like dancing leotards will go into her stocking...) As well, she is also in the outdoor ed class at her school - so she will be learning more about hiking, rock climbing, sailing, and more. Our littlest just likes to play! Since she is still growing, we ALWAYS look for second hand gear for her. Last year, her class went cross country skiing - and she loved it - thus the hunt for her equipment.

Finding sports that will take your kids into their adulthood. We are so lucky to live in an area where cross country skiing and snowshoeing (my favorite) is only 15 minutes from our home, swimming is just 5 minutes, a lake is only 10 minutes, and all the hiking and biking paths we could ever want start just down the street. So we've really tried to get our kids out into these areas. Plus our school system has a fantastic sports program for the school teams. All of it has been quite low cost.

Let your kids do the work. Everyonce in a while, one of our kids (usually the middle one - huge grin) comes up with an activity that is outside the scope of "school sports" and using equipment we already own. Last year, she decided that she wanted to join competitive swimming. Not to compete, but to simply swim more. This year, she has decided she wanted to join dance instead. Both of these involve monthly fees. We told her to find the schools, budget out the costs, figure out the equipment costs (which luckily were low) and we'd consider it. Both activities has been fantastic for her teen years. Is she going to be a professional swimmer or dancer? No. But she exercised hard, learned new skills, made friends within a different peer group, and boosted her confidence. We're wondering what she will come up with next year....

Also we do a lot with our kids. Not the dance class LOL, but the walking, the hiking, the camping, the tennis (that hurt!), the biking, etc. Last week, my oldest came to my yoga class (she took my mom's spot who was travelling). Well, she didn't like the yoga much, but I loved the company!

As for this cross country skiing thing - this sport is beginning to impress me! If you have it in your area, you may want to check it out. The people who do this sport are fantastic - friendly, positive, and helpful. And the costs are reasonable. Our hill charges $35 for a teen annual membership. The family membership was $275. My husband, oldest daughter, and youngest daughter plan on making use of this. And me? I am excited - the annual pass ALSO includes access to their snowshoe trails! Miles and miles of new terrain for me to conquer and take pictures of! Who knows, I might even rent a pair of skis myself (eeks!). Hmmmm, maybe I can talk the middle kid into trying it too..... - Cindy

Sunday, October 25, 2009 - Grrrr, The Family is Getting Sick - Again!

Shhhhh, it's 8:01 am my time and everyone in the house is still sleeping - except for the dogs. They woke me up to go outside. How come they never wake anyone else up?

My husband arrived home from a 3-week business trip and brought back a little bit more than he originally packed. It started with a small tickle in the back of his throat on Friday and turned into a killer sore throat on Saturday. I'm not sure what it looks like today yet, since he is still sleeping, but judging by all the coughing last night - it is turning into a whopper.

My poor guy is definately off my kiss and hug list! I don't think anyone else is sick yet, but in our home - colds and flu's (eeks) - tend to spread around. It usually starts with my husband or one of the kids, works its way through all the kids, and then when everyone is feeling better - I get it. So I have learned to get prepared early on!

Clean the house - I am giving myself untill 11:00am to get this done - hopefully sooner if I boogie.
Make sure there is easy to deal with "sick people" food and "healthy people food.
Make sure there is plenty of "sick people" activities.
Make sure my bookwork is done for the next couple of weeks.

There you have it, my projects for the day - hopefully I will also be able to get outside and enjoy some of the crispy fall weather we recieved last night - there's even fresh snow in the hills! YIKEs!

Catch you later with some updates - first I have a house to deal with. 8:09am - signing off. - Cindy

Update #1: 8:38 am - Progress!

It's amazing how quickly a house looks better when you boogie! I just finished dealing with the NOT-ME five on the main floor. Don't ask me how a bike helmet, three loaves of bread, and five pens ended up on the kitchen table. And how all my camera gear ended up behind the sofa. Sheesk. And I am curious about what my husband is planning on doing with the telescope in the middle of the family room.... None the less - everything that belongs in one room has been moved to the correct room, and everything else that goes someplace else has been returned to it's home. Five people can move around a lot of stuff! And the kitchen is cleaned up. Everyone is still sleeping, so I am tiptoeing quickly through the house. (Chances are, the kids are awake, but they hear me cleaning up, so they are lying low LOL - no problem - they can sleep in today.) Now, I am headed upstairs to eliminate the NOT-ME FIVE on the second floor. Chow for now. 8:43 am - Cindy

Update #2: 9:00 am - Second Floor Done!

There are no more NOT-ME FIVE (Laundry, trash, dishes, papers, and other stuff) hiding out on the second floor - with the exception of the kids' rooms. I'm not awake enough yet to go in there LOL! I even found BOTH dryer balls. Charlie, our little white dog likes to run away with these.

For the gal who sent me an email about this morning's adventure - no, I have not dusted, vacuumed, or washed floors - I DO those last. All I've done so far is put away the stuff that has been left out. And now - happy puppy dance (huge amounts of sarcasm), I am off to tackle the bathrooms. I can usually clean three bathrooms in 20 minutes - let's see how it goes today.

Oooooo - and guess what? Two kids have wondered down from their sleepy abodes and my husband is even up and moving. He looks a little rough..... While I am in the bathrooms, I think I will hunt down the thermometer.

Time to scrub a tub! - Cindy at 9:05 am

Update #3: Three Bathrooms - Shiney and Ready for the Day!

9:42am. It shouldn't take a week to clean a bathroom LOL. Same steps everytime.

Cleaner in the toilet - let it sit.
Spray cleaner in the tub and/or shower - let it sit.
Take everything off the counter, clean the counter, sink and taps.
Clean the mirror.
Put everything back on the counter - wiping them down as they go (Hint: the less there is, the faster it goes).
Take everything off the tub edges. Clean the tub and/or shower and taps. Wipe down the front. Put everything back. Get rid of the empty containers (there were three left this morning!).
Clean the toilet.
Empty the trash. Put a clean bag in the trash can.
Check the toilet paper supply.
Hang up a fresh towel.
Done (note - I didn't do the floors yet - they are still coming)

The biggest thing you can do to simplify the cleaning of a bathroom is get rid of the stuff you don't need. Use the drawers to store stuff you use - NOT the stuff you don't use. Toss the expired stuff, the crusty stuff, the yucky stuff, and the unidentifyable stuff. If the kids aren't wearing braces anymore - you don't need the wax LOL. Another thing I do to ensure it takes minutes instead of hours to tackle the bathroom, is anything we do keep on the countertop is kept in either a basket or on a ceramic dish I picked up at a garage sale. It's easier to move a basket than 15 individual bottles.

Now it's time to dust the house. When I dust, I use a damp cloth. Today I will also be carrying around my cleaner and a second damp cloth - I want to spend some extra time wiping down door-knobs, wall corners, light switches, telephones, keyboards, and other "touching" surfaces. Au revoir! - 9:51 am

Update #4 - Getting Close to the End - Whew! 10:10 am

Dusting done. Again - the less stuff you have out, the faster it goes. Right now, my office is a bit of a hopeless cause since I have papers spread out all over the place (on my hit list for later today). Once the bookwork is done, the dusting will get done.

Only two more things to do. Vacuum and wash floors (I hate washing floors - especially my white floors - that never look white - heavy sigh). Groaning won't get the job done - grin. First off, if you haven't done so in awhile, check the bag and any filters in the vacuum. The beast works much better when it's been cleaned out first.

YIKES - it's getting close to 11 o'clock. Got to run - see you back in a bit. Look out dog hair - here I come!

Cindy

Update #5: Eeeps! Only 15 more minutes to go!

Whew, this morning has flown by quickly! Vacuuming is done. The kids are cleaning up their own rooms so I suspect the laundry pile will grow as the day progresses. The first load of laundry is now cooking - so we'll get that done too. All I have left for this morning's cleaning project is to wash the floors. I better get running - I am going to need the entire 15 minutes! 10:45 am. =- Cindy

Update #6: I did it!

It's 11:02 am, the floors are washed (I almost knocked over the telescope in the family room!), the bucket rinsed out, and the wash mop head is in the laundry. I am done!

You know you live in an active house, when the kitchen, cleaned just a couple hours ago already has a few dirty dishes lined up beside the sink (they are waiting for the dishwasher to finish running), someone splattered toothpaste in the clean bathroom sink, a pile of library books has appeared on the stairs, and one wooden shoe has been left by the front door (long story). I know that this will continue throughout the day until this evening, when I ask everyone to tackle "their stuff" before they go to bed. And I will know, underneath the stuff, the house is clean.

As for my husband, he's looking a little bit less grey - huge grin. He's had some tea, an orange, and a little bit of cereal. He says his throat is better than yesterday and he doesn't have a fever. Fingers crossed that it is just a touch of a cold or sinus infection.... Right now, he's happy just to be curled up in front of a football game. No one else looks sick right now - knock on wood.

As for me, I am headed outside to cut back some frozen perennials before the rain starts again. And - I have a ski swap to go to in an hour and half. I'll bring my camera, the ski swap is in gorgeous country! Here's hoping I can find a good deal on skies for our youngest daughter. And here's hoping I don't find snow along the way - YIKES!

I'm signing off until later today. I still have bookwork to do - and I may be making horseradish. Have fun - and I hope everyone is feeling OK in your home.

Cindy

Saturday, October 24, 2009 - What a Fantastic Day!

I had a "Cindy Day" - one of those days where you escape the house and the family and just spend the day by yourself. I ended up at the library and signed out a ton of books, I snooped through some of my favorite shops, I drooled over the art supplies in the art store, and I looked for inspirations in the local museums. I topped it off when a delicious lunch just for me and a walk along the beach.

When I got home, one of my stomping buddies called to see if I wanted to head out for a walk. Oh yeah! Cleaning up the house could wait until tomorrow - today was going to be fun day! I grabbed my camera and headed out. We went on a new trail just minutes from her home that another one of my walking buddies has shown me just a few days ago. With the fall colors, the trail was stunning. We took a bit of a wrong turn at one point, but backtracked a bit, and ended up where we were supposed to. At the end, both of us felt fanstastic. A walk-in-wonder that makes you feel wonderful!

Thursday, October 22, 2009 - My husband is home!

After three very long weeks travelling, my husband is home again. Happy Puppy Dance!

Saturday, October 17, 2009 - It's Raining, It's Pouring - Cindy is Snoring!

It's one of those grey rainy indoor days. All day I have been catching up on paperwork, webwork, kitchen work, house work, laundry work, and whatever else I trip over as I wander through the house.

Then, the rain stopped.

And I went outside for a walk. With my camera. Enjoy!

Friday, October 16, 2009 - How Lucky We Are

I am catching up on my Daily Do Log. I am a few days behind on the updating, but that's because we've been very busy with the DO-ing!

Friday was one of those days that reminded me just how lucky we are. No matter how rough things may seem, there are those who definately have it worse. And today, I met one of those families. An elderly man (who's wife is in long term care) and his 54 year old son (who starts chemo treatments next week) are struggling with just the basics of day-to-day life. My heart was aching for them. Two incredible people who have it so tough. And not enough money to make it any easier.

Heavy sigh. I have to say, this encounter definately brought me down (and I usually try to keep a bit of separation in these situations). So Friday night was definately a quiet family night - reflecting on how lucky we really are.

Saturday, October 10, 2009 - Come on Mom, Let's Go For A Hike

It was cold this morning. So cold in fact, then when the sprinklers came on, the water formed icicles on the trees! So what does my oldest daughter want to do? Go for a hike!

Me, I don't like to be cold. So I bundled up in my long-johns, my toque, mitts, a warm jacket, and hiking shes.

My daughter, although 17, still has some brain-development to go (LOL), was dressed in a light jacket, yoga pants, sandles, and no mitts.

Guess how long that hike lasted LOL. Long enough to snap a few pictures of the blue sky and the last fluffy blooms of the season.

Thursday, October 8, 2009 - I am Going In!

My husband left on Monday for a three-week business trip. First words out of my kid's mouths? "Oh no, what are we going to eat?" Grrrrrr - OK, so I am a little cooking challenged. OK, I don't like cooking. I like stocking the fridge, freezer, and pantry with great foods. But the actually cooking part? I am soooooo lucky, my husband loves cooking. He uses up all the foods and creates these great meals for the family.

Three weeks. What are we going to eat? I handled Monday and Tuesday easily with a pretty good home-made turkey pot pie (with rosemary and green onion biscuits on the top!). It's my dad's birthday this weekend, so we are planning on having a turkey dinner to celebrate. I figured I better use up the last of the previously cooked turkey meat before I cooked the new one. There was enough pie left over for Tuesday. Bonus! Last night, after a crazy busy day, we ended up with a couple pizzas from our freezer. Not home cooked, but at least it wasn't "dial a pizza". Now it's time to get a little more meal-organized!

So here's my DO for today - complete a meal planning calendar for the rest of the month. We've got a pile of food in the house, I just have to cook it!

First task, print out the freezer inventory to take stock of our food stash. catch you later today with an update! Ooooo - I better take the turkey out of the freezer. Bye! - Cindy

Update #1: Freezer Inventory Done!!

It took 23 minutes!

We have three freezers in our home.

The first one is an apartment-sized freezer that we inherited from my grandmother about 20 years ago. Whoa, time flies! Anyways, this little guy served our family well until a couple years ago when our desire to freeze more local fruits exceeded the space in the freezer.

So, we purchased an upright freezer. I LOVE it! This thing opens like a fridge � so no more digging to the bottom. We paid about $500 new for it, and have kept it stuffed ever since. Right now, it�s filled to the brim with frozen blueberries, cherries, strawberries, currents, peaches, plums, pumpkin, applesauce, and coronation grapes. As well, there�s tomatoes, homemade horseradish, beets, swish chard, herbs, and carrots from the garden. I was a little bit surprised to discover a bag of banana leaves in the upright. I wonder where they came from? More importantly, what do we DO with them?

Today, we keep our meats in the little freezer and everything else in the big freezer. Since we�re at the end of our harvest, the little freezer has some of the fruit overflow in it as well.

Oh dear, it looks like we need to DO a little clean up in our utility room. After all the canning, freezing, and summer dumping the room is looking cluttered! Perhaps later. And yes, that's the Halloween ghoul mask my daughter made last year - she didn't have the heart to toss it away. We'll set it up again this year.

The third freezer is the little one over the fridge. It�s amazing how much food gets packed in here! Usually we keep the leftovers, pre-made foods like perogies, hotdogs, etc, butter, coffee, nuts, and other small odd and ends in here.

As I expected there's enough food in here to last us longer than the three weeks my husband is gone. When you add up two turkeys (one in the freezer, one thawing in the fridge), the roasts, the ground beef, the chicken, the pork, and other odd's and ends it looks like I have enough for 38 meals with meat - including leftovers and turkey stock soups. We only eat about 4 meals per week with meat, so it will be nearly 10 WEEKS before I have to BUY meat again. (I will pick up some fish in between however).

There isn't much for veggies in the freezer because most of it is still in the garden. We've got kholrabi, swish chard, beets, carrots, and tomatoes to use up before I buy any frozen veggies.

And the fruit! We packed away a couple hundred pounds of fresh fruit this summer. Why? Because in January, we're getting pretty tired of bananas, oranges, and apples. And I refuse to spend the high prices on imported grapes and other other fruits. This way, we have plenty for baking, breakfast, smoothies, desert, or any time the kids want to go into the freezer and pour out a bowl of frozen grapes or blueberries - delicious - and packed with good stuff!

Last note: What's the problem with the applesauce? Giggle! My parents brought over a cooler of apples they picked from a neighbor's orchard. We decided to make applesauce to add to the freezer stash. Making the applesauce was easy enough, however I got the bright idea to stand up the freezer bags with the applesauce in large plastic containers. This way they wouldn't tip over in the freezer. Good idea right? Wrong. And I should know better! Applesauce is mostly water. And water expands when it freezes. So these bags all froze tight to the edges of the containers. So I have 6 large containers, each filled with 7 or 8 bags of applesauce - all stuck together, and stuck to the container in the freezer! Grrrrr. Right now, I pulled three of them out and they are thawing just a bit. Hopefully, I can separate the bags and put them back again. Fingers crossed!

And now I have to run - I am meeting someone in an hour. Be back later. Next task - the fridge!! Get your printout ready to go.

Cindy

Wednesday, October 7, 2009 - Last Minute Do!

Sometimes the best of plans just don't work out as planned. On Wednesday, one of my staff booked sick. That totally realligned my plans for the day. By 7:00 at night I was pooped, unmotivated, surrounded by a huge mess (all made by me - I couldn't even blame the kids LOL), and done for the day - when the phone rang. I could tell by the call-display that it was one of my walking buddies. I didn't even say, "Hi." I picked up the phone and simply said, "YES!" This was followed by plenty of giggles and an, "I'll be over in 20 minutes." Gosh, I was feeling better already. So I decided to see how much mess I could tackle in twenty minutes. Almost the entire house! Wahoo. After our stomp, I quickly dusted and vacuumed the rugs. Done! And it wasn't even 9:00 yet.

Then I remembered my planned Daily DO. It was going to have to wait until Thursday. I did a different DO instead. With all the colds and flus floating around the schools, I decided to quickly de-flu our home. I used a cloth and cleaner and whisked through the home - wiping down door knobs, drawer handles, the frige, the telephones, the computer keyboards, the piano, the taps, and any other common "touching" thing I could find. It didn't even take 5 minutes! Voila - the DO for the day!

Catch you on Thursday!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 - We're Going Up!

This just in! I'm even still wearing my hiking shoes. My stomping buddy Deborah called at 9:00 this morning to see if I could go for a walk in an hour. It's funny, my first thought was, "I'm too busy." But then I reallized, "No, if I want to DO exercise everyday, then I am NOT too busy. I have to make the time. Since I now had a 10:00 deadline, I got more stuff done in one hour than I would have just picking away at it all morning. AND I got the stomp in!

We went UP! On a new trail. Well, new to me. Deborah and her dog have hiked these hills all over the place. This trail took us part ways up a mountain. Neither of us were prepared to climb too high, but we still got in a good stomp. The bright red leaves are Sumac - and right now, they are putting on a show! The tall tree stump must have been twisted off in a high-wind storm. The bottom part of the tree was below us and you could see how huge it had been! At the end of our trail, we spotted this little guy - keeping a careful eye on us!

And now, it's back to work (and the breakfast dishes)!

Monday, October 5, 2009 - Not All DO's Are Fun (Huge Smile!)

Why do mother's feel the need to DO this? I decided to head deep down into the lowest part of our home and clean out my oldest daughter's bedroom. Heavy sigh.

I am not going to go into much detail about what I found - instead, I will just offer this bit of advice:

First off, gather all the laundry and start a load - even if you are not sure that the clothes are clean, dirty, or about to walk out on their own. Side note: my daughter and I were looking at grad pictures from MY grad many, many years ago - and there in all it's glory was a picture of MY teenage bedroom. YIKES! "See mom, you used to store your clothes on the floor too."

Then gather all the dirty dishes. Bring them right into the kitchen and load them into the dishwasher. Our kids are not "supposed" to snack in their bedrooms, but.... Only one lunch box container exploded when I lifted the lid.

Next comes the trash. Bring a plastic bag and start tossing. We've been dealing with bad colds this past week (which is why I felt sorry for her and decided to help her out). Once you pick up the tissues, the empty containers, and whatever other treasures you find, get the papers....

Papers are tricky - because you don't know what's important and what should be recycled. So I simply gathered them all up and set them on her desk to sort when she got home. It was a good thing I found that newsletter - I have a parent's meeting to go to on Tuesday!

Lastly, pick up all the "other stuff" - that would be MY hair dryer, MY Josh Groban CD, MY tank top, and several of her sister's belongings.

Whew - the difference after picking up the "NOT ME FIVE" always amazes me. And it only took about 20 minutes. Just to finish the job, I changed the sheets on the bed, hung the comforter outside to air out, washed the spare blanket, dusted the flat surfaces, and vacuumed the rug - another 20 minutes. Oh, and I opened the window.

Fast forward to the end of the day - it was all worth it when she bounded up the stairs, gave me a huge hug and said, "Thanks Mom."

Tuesday, I'm tackling a new room!

Sunday October 4, 2009 - Get out of the House!

I had two kids slothing about the house. Their homework was done and they had "nothing to do" so I "dragged" them out for some fresh air. My middle daughter is a runner - so she loaded up her gear to go for a long run. My youngest is a reader, so she brought her latest book. And I brought my camera. We used a local park as central base - and we each did our own thing. My runner decided to go around the park, but that wasn't long enough so she asked to run to my parent's home (all uphill). I called my mom to warn her what was coming, and my daughter headed out. When we caught up to her later, she was so excited. This was one of the longest runs she had done and apparently, it felt great (I don't understand this "liking" running-thing LOL - I am still trying to figure out the Yoga-thing).

My littlest one curled up in a sunny corner of the park, near the beach, and settled in with her book. This particular park is an old acreage/orchard along the water. It's usually pretty quiet, but that day there were families enjoying picnics, lawn bowling, and simply walking around. Me, I took pictures! Then my youngest decided to join me and I took pictures of her too. After an hour in the sun, we all headed home - each with huge grins on our faces.

Found some cool mushrooms and another critter to capture with my camera.
I can't wait for another couple weeks - the leaves should change colors and the park will be spectacular!

Saterday October 3, 2009 - One of My Favorites! The Farmer's Market...

There is something timeless about participating in the fall harvest. My husband grew up with a real fall harvest. Nothing stopped the swathing and combining of wheat when the wheat was ready! And nothing stopped my mother-in-law. She was busy canning, freezing, cooking, baking. I remember going to visit one fall weekend - her home smelled so good! And the food! Wow - it takes a lot to feed the people working out in the fields!

Today, my experience with the fall harvest is limited to what we grow in our garden and what I see at the farmer's market. Our garden is pretty small (our entire property is just 0.31 acres - which includes the house). But we still manage to grow several herbs, beets, swiss chard, carrots, tomatos, potatoes, and lots of fruit and berries (strawberries, raspberries, blue berries, currants, plums, peaches, and cherries - YUM!).

On Saturday, I took the day away from the kids and husband to enjoy some quiet time by myself at our local Farmer's Market. And I brought my camera!

Those things that look like red clusters are actually tomatoes!

Friday October 2, 2009 - I Forgot My Camera!

How could I have forgotten my camera! In all fairness to my brain, I thought we were headed into the nearest city just 45 minutes away - I trip I have taken many, many times in the past. Our goal? A prom dress for my oldest daughter (is she really that old already??? YIKES!). We'd been cruising through the classifieds for a few weeks to find a prom dress that she liked. Both of us are in agreement, that there is no point in paying $400 - $600 (or more) for a dress that she is only going to wear for about 4 hours. And we found one (at a fraction of the cost). It's so pretty. It was purchased last year and looks like new. Whew, one thing crossed off the grad list!

Back to the trip however. The owner did not live IN the city, or even NEAR the city. They lived on an acreage about 45 minutes FURTHER from the city. The trip took us through some of the prettiest country I have ever seen. Especially this time of year. The leaves were turning into their reds, golds, oranges, and bright yellows. The harvest was laying in the fields. Horses, cows, sheep, and even lamas were grazing along the way. And everyonce in awhile we caught a sneak peek of a river winding through the acreages. Gorgeous! And no camera (sniff sniff).

But we had a blast. A four-hour trip with my daughter, a picnic, Louis Armstrong serenading us in the car, and a successful purchase at the end of it.

And the successful purchase? We did buy the dress. And my daughter likes it, however she's not really a "frilly" kind of gal - she would rather hike, kayak, backpack, and explore than spend four hours trussed up in a long gown trying to be graceful (LOL). No, we ended up at Costco on the way home, and she found the "perfect" fall hiking shirt for only $12.99. She was more excited about that than the gown - huge grin.

Next challenge - how to take in the seams a bit on the dress so it fits just a little better. I wonder if I can use my glue gun, or duct tape on that fix?

Thursday October 1, 2009 - Fall Walk

October officially kicks of the "Season of DOing." I plan on DOing something fun each day this month. Today, my walking buddy called me up and said, "Let's go!" So we spent nearly an hour exploring an old meadow near our homes. It's a little sad heading up there, because the developers are only months away from tearing up this little piece of nature. They plan on leaving trails throughout the new neighborhood, so I have my fingers crossed that there will still be a wonderful spot to walk when it's done. In the meantime, I spotted a few dashes of color amongst the fall golds and oranges!

And of course, no stomp is complete without a pooped pooch!
This particular pooch only stays pooped for about 5 minutes, then he's ready to go again.

September 8, 2009 - It's Back to School Time!

Happy puppy dance!

Listen... shhhhhh... can you hear it?

Nothing! Well almost nothing. The kids are still here, but in just an hour - quiet!

Right now, I am listening to organized chaos. One kid just finished drying her hair, the other is getting her breakfast ready, and the third has popped into the shower. There is huge amounts of excitement in the air! (and not just from me!)

Last night my husband and I went for our evening walk. past the kids' old school. It's not our school anymore - all the kids have moved on to new schools. It's kind of sad. And what's even scarier - my oldest is in grade 12 this year! How did that happen so fast?

Right now I am looking at this incredible kid, completely confident, looking forward to the year, and yikes - when did she get so tall? Heavy sigh!

Yup, happy puppy dance with a few tears in my eyes. But first I have to dig out my camera - it's almost time for the first day back to school photos of the year!

Catch you later!

Cindy

September 1, 2009 - We're Back on the Porch

After a three month break from the "porch," I am thrilled to say I am back!

Barely LOL.

I am a litle bit slow getting back into routine here. So please bare with me as I get things going again... During the day, I will be moving things around on the porch. I've added a completely new section (look for the pink lightbulb on the header a little later on today!). As well, I have to unpack still! I just returned last night from a mini-holiday with my youngest daughter on the coast. If I can get my camera going this morning, I have a pile of pictures to share!

In the meantime, keep an I on this page, I'll keep you up-to-date with the changes I am making!

Cindy

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The Legal Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nutritionist, or health expert. I am simply a woman, wife, and mom trying to make sense out of all the "advice" out there. - Cindy � 2004-2009 Cindy's Porch (www.cindysporch.net)