Showing posts with label Organization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Organization. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

[make] Grocery Menu

Now that it is summer, I plan on tackling many of the organizational projects that I didn't have time (or energy) for during the school year. One of these projects is maintaining a monthly menu for our groceries, eating out, and vacation/traveling days. There are loads of cute ones on Pinterest, but sometimes you just have to make your own thing (minus the bells/whistles of "cute" menus, do you know what I mean?).

I have always had a "menu" of sorts, but it has never been organized enough to where Nate and I were confident in the meals we were going to eat... not in that we didn't HAVE food, I mean we would constantly find ourselves saying, "What do YOU want for dinner?", "I don't care, what do YOU want for dinner?" Agghh! Aggravating. So, insert monthly menu:


I have each day labeled with B, L, D, indicating the three meals of the day. For date nights, the dinner option is labeled "Out" (as are Sunday afternoons since we usually go eat with our "family group" after church). I also have vacation days highlighted out since those will be separate grocery trips and/or eating out, depending on the location. We take two semi-big grocery trips a month, so we shop for two weeks at a time.

For breakfast most days, we will be having green smoothies: we JUST bought a Magic Bullet to create yummy green smoothies and I will be posting recipes soon. It's the main way I will be getting my "greens" since my name is Chrissy, I'm 27 years old, and I do not eat vegetables. I know, I know.

For lunch, we are going for easy, simple, or leftovers. Yep, there are some frozen meals featured. Don't judge. Nate is still working during the week and I'll be helping him out at the office or I'll be doing stuff at home. The last thing we want to have is dirty dishes sitting out from an extravagant lunch menu. Nope.

Dinners are "themed": you will notice this under the days of the week:

Sundays- Comfort Food. Will most likely be made with a crock pot since Sundays are our relaxation and napping days.

Mondays- Taco Night, our favorite night! Nate makes his homemade guacamole and we use corn tortillas to make beef street tacos with taco rice (made from a package: keeping it real)

Tuesdays- Casserole night: this will create lots of leftovers for us to eat for lunch the next day (and who doesn't like an easy casserole?)

Wednesdays- OUT. We have church Wednesday nights until 8pm and we usually don't feel like cooking something that late. And to be honest, we usually go to Whataburger or Wendy's :)

Thursdays- Italian Night, self explanatory. 

Fridays- New Recipe Night, courtesy of Pinterest. Nate also enjoys cooking and since he is off Friday, this day will give us time to cook together in the kitchen and experiment with whatever meal we will be making that evening.

Saturdays- Big Breakfast Day, because lunches are usually simple/easy/quick so we can go out and have a Date Night!

So there you have it: my attempt to have a somewhat organized meal schedule for the week. I think Nate's excited about it too but we will see how it goes when it comes into play! Maybe I'll even post the recipes we create... Who knows! It is super easy to make your own: just create a new Word document, but as a calendar (there are oodles of templates on Word). Pick your month, and type in the calendar days! This could work for menus, scheduled events, anything you'd like!

Happy Wednesday! We have spent the first part of this week with Nathan's family and are now back home (or heading home by the time this posts at 12pm...).

Half of the week is over, and you may be dragging. Look to God for strength: pray for peace, comfort, and guidance in your day. Be still. Say thank you for all He has done for you! Let His light and goodness radiate from you, yes even on a Wednesday, and let others see Him in you!

"...but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect..." 1 Peter 3:15

Thursday, January 3, 2013

[dwell] The Laundry Room...

Yep... a post about our laundry room, I know you are all sitting on the edge of your seats...

So Nate and I have this deal worked out in our marriage. He does ALL of the dishes, and I mean all of them. I can count on one hand the number of times I have done a load of dishes in the 3.5 years we have been married. Isn't he amazing?! In turn, I do ALL the laundry. Sorting, washing, drying, folding, hanging, etc. Nate has nothing to do with any of the clothing, bedding, or towel situations in our house. I mean, he will help me. But he doesn't have to because it's not his job. I know I am so blessed because in some households, the wife has to do everything: dishes AND laundry included, so know that I know how lucky I am!

Anyways, since my "domain" for chores is the laundry room, it would be really sweet if it was a nice, orderly, organized, place to get things done. Our laundry room is connected to our master bedroom, and it is huge! However, there is a catch to our laundry room. It is also our storage space... you know, things that would normally go in a garage... Yep, it's all in our laundry room. Tools. Gardening equipment. Holiday decorations. All of it.


The woman who we purchased our house from decided to turn the garage into a fourth bedroom. It's a beautiful room but we reaaaallyyy miss our garage. As you can see from above, it is a bit of an eye sore to have all that junk up in there along with the washer and dryer.

Eventually, we want to have closed-cabinetry storage where floor-to-ceiling closets can house all of this... crap. Sorry, but that's what it is! But since I do the laundry way more often that we use any of that stuff, I want to revamp that side of the room first. Here are some ideas via Pinterest (source linked at the bottom of each picture: let me know if it is incorrect and/or does not work) that I would love to incorporate into our space!

A huge sink to give the dogs a bath... yes sir!
 


Source: houzz.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

Cabinets and a shelf directly above the washer/dryer. And some art would be nice too!

Another example of cabinetry and shelving.

I like this option because it is what I REALLY want: a rod for hanging clothes to dry! I'm having to use rods in our closet and it isn't the best solution.

Look at all of this organization! Stocked up dish washing detergent, extra towels, paper towels, soaps, you name it! Beautiful.


















So tell me. Do any of you have a deluxe laundry room? Not that laundry is the most glamorous of jobs, but I would love some more storage solutions and organization in there! Who is with me?

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10


Tuesday, January 1, 2013

[teach] Kindergarten Spring Outline

After Christmas, it seems as though the school year  d-r-a-g-s  by so so so SLOWWWLLYYY. Can I get an amen?! It is good to have a "big picture" plan so you can count down your year accordingly and make sure you get to all the good stuff. There will always be the "main" teaching: letters, sounds, blending, reading, writing, math, counting, patterns, adding, subtracting, etc. But I use my big picture plan so I can use the appropriate themes and units to integrate said teaching into instruction. Yay for fun!

Here is my tentative outline for the spring semester with my Kinder babies, along with some ideas (thanks Pinterest! the source is located at the bottom of each picture, and if for some reason it is the wrong source and/or it shows up incorrectly, please let me know so I can fix that!) that I hope to implement with the kiddos... and sorry about the varying sizes/alignments; Gotta love embedding codes...:

January:
Winter (Snowmen and Penguins)

Source: flickr.com via Chrissy on Pinterest


MLK


February:
100th Day of School



Presidents
 

Valentine's


March:
Dr. Seuss


St. Patrick's Day
Source: google.com via Chrissy on Pinterest


April:
Spring


Zoo/Farm/Oviparous (come from eggs) Animals


Earth Day

Source: google.com via Chrissy on Pinterest


May:
Water/Summer


End of the Year






What does your second semester look like? For all my non-teacher friends, do you create an outline for each month you're at work... so you can count down the days til your next vacation or deadline? Do tell. You know I love organization!


"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11

Monday, December 31, 2012

[make] A Blogging Schedule: Ringing in 2013

Happy New Year's Eve to all! I can't wait to read all about the fabulous things you did this evening. What are the Johnson's doing? Sitting at home, with our bellies full of home cooked food, playing video games (Nate) and blogging/crafting/organizing (me). As long as we have each other, that's all we need! And plus, we had late nights every single evening last week due to the holidays, so a night at home is perfect for us.

In "New Year's resolution" style, I have decided (for the three hundredth time) to attempt to use a blogging schedule. I really do enjoy blogging: writing, uploading pictures (although they are mostly, if not all, iPhone photos... I'll get Photo Shop one day!), sharing with others. One goal for this new year is to get over my laziness. I think I'm partially narcoleptic because I feel like I could take a nap at any point in the day... but that just may happen because I'm a human. Who isn't tired? All of the time?

ANYWAYS, back to my point. I have decided to make a blogging schedule, write it down, color-code it (I mean business, y'all) in hopes of me keeping to it so I know I will have something to share each day **fingers crossed**.

The topics?

Monday: Make (Anything craft, food, home related that involved me creating something.)

Tuesday: Teach (I know I have many teacher readers, so this day is for you! It could be Kindergarten or church/children's ministry related.)

Wednesday: What I Wore (WIWW: where I will link up with Lindsey at The Pleated Poppy, after of course I have used my #hashtag #yesimwearingthis on Instagram, thanks to Faith at Life, Love, and Marriage!)

Thursday: Dwell (All things home: organization, storage, layout, could sync up with Make Mondays if applicable.)

Friday: Love (All things family, home, church, pups, life.)

My parents stuck one of these personal calendars for the year in my stocking:

I have deemed it my blogging calendar and have already color-coded it for the year:

Make: Orange (Mondays)
Teach: Purple (Tuesdays)
WIWW: Yellow (Wednesdays)
Dwell: Pink (Thursdays)
Love: Green (Fridays)

Now, I simply must follow it! Good luck to me. What resolutions or goals are you trying to conquer this year?

"The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace." Psalm 29:11


Tuesday, August 21, 2012

[teach] Pom Dry Erase Markers

[I originally pinned this on Pinterest, but it had the dreaded "uploaded by user" tag with it instead of its original link: if you know where the idea came from, let me know!]

I  h-a-t-e using tissues as an eraser when I write with a dry erase marker. Yes, I use a tissue instead of an actual eraser. Yes, I still use dry erase markers because I don't have a smart board. It's okay though- I don't write with it much. But it does irk me when I have to keep up with a yucky tissue to wipe my board clean.

Enter pom poms, hot glue, and dry erase markers. I saw this idea on Pinterest (see disclaimer above) but I have no idea where the original source came from. Be careful when you pin, friends!

Here's what I did: it will take you all of five seconds.

Markers.

Pom poms.

Hot glue.

Done.

Pretty.

Gorgeous!!!

Yes please.

Isn't that the easiest project ever?! And now I have an eraser whenever I use markers. No more yucky tissues to keep up with. Happy teacher. Happy Tuesday!

See where I link up: Monday Made it @ 4th Grade Frolics, Blog Hop @ Naptime Review, Tips & Tricks @ Stringtown Home, What I Whipped Up Wednesday @ Sugar and Dots, Craft-O-Manic Monday @ Craft-O-Manic, Link Party @ Uncommon, Whatever Goes Wednesday @ Someday Crafts, Show Me What Ya Got Linky Party @ Not JUST A Housewife, {Wow Me Wednesday} @ Ginger Snap Crafts, Link Party @ Destination: Craft, The Creative Spark @ Clean & Scentsible, Before & After Party @ Thrifty Decor Chick, Weekend Wrap-Up Party @ Tatertots and Jello, What I Wore Wednesday @ The Pleated Poppy