Crowded Garden

I love tomatoes. 

You would know that if you could stand beside my garden spot.

Last year we had around 25 tomato plants.  This year there are 33.  I think I am probably at the max for this spot. 

And yes I know I am CRAZY to have that many plants!

The really cool thing that I am thankful for is that I canned/froze enough diced tomatoes for our family for 9 months.  Not to shabby for around a $5-10 investment.  It isn’t usually that much but I bought some t-posts for holding up my fencing.  So hopefully this year we will go for a full year without buying tomatoes from the store.

Since I bought those posts I am changing how I “cage” my tomatoes.  I used to use the normal circular cages.  That took up A LOT of room.

Now I am using what I call a trellis but it is just some fencing that we used to keep the dog out of my flower gardens.  Using the t-posts to keep the fence upright seems to be sturdier than the circular cages which seem to blow over whenever a Missouri thunderstorm comes through.

It allows me to plant things a little closer together.  It is SO much easier to weed and water everything.  Speaking of weeding.  I do have helpers who are great at pulling weeds & finding those yucky tomatoes caterpillars!

Gardening should be a family thing!  My men turn over the soil, I plan it out, the kids & I plant & everyone helps with weeding & harvesting.  Here is a prize from last year!

Zig Zag Quilt

Spring cleaning continues!  In going through boxes & drawers in an effort to consolidate & purge I found this quilt that I had started a while back.

I love the blue colors and the way it went together!

I know that you can imagine how sad I was when I got it all laid out only to realize that I was one block short!!!

I seriously started this a couple of years ago so finding all the fabric again at the store was NOT going to happen.

Have I mentioned I am a pack rat when it comes to fabric?  I have a hard time getting rid of fabric or books.  Those are my weaknesses!

So I dug through my scraps and was thrilled that I had all the fabric I needed except for the basic blue that goes in the center of each block.  ARG!

After a trip to the local Jo Ann’s Fabric Store I found a solid blue that is so close that no one will ever know.

Now I just need a few hours to put that final block together.  Okay who am I kidding?  Maybe a few minutes of time here and there will make it happen over the next few weeks! 

Storms, Books & Plants

Wow life has been CRAZY around here!  Storms, graduations, moving the oldest son home and just the regular craziness!

(Sunshine at our house with storm clouds east of us)

We’ve been going through boxes and cleaning out the storage room.  I don’t keep everything from my children’s growing years but I will admit to being a bit of a packrat when it comes to books. 

I have kept my favorites, their favorites and any books that were given to them.  Memories are precious, however, I am making myself go through their boxes & pare it down.  It is hard but there is only so much room available.

School is almost finished up for the year.  So this a good time to do some spring cleaning!  Spring has been so unpredictable here.  One day is warm the next we are worry about frost—in MAY!  Last week we got our plants in the garden.  Each of the kids planted a few plants & helped me dig holes & set up our trellis.

We increased our number of plants again this year.  33 tomatoes & 8 peppers!!!  I don’t have a single round tomato cage this year.  I am going to tie the plants up on trellises  or the fence.  Much more efficient use of space.  I also love being able to walk between the plants with a bit more room.  It will make weeding easier to keep up with.

However I don’t have a picture because it promptly rained for 4 days straight after we planted!  So my flowers(that were bought at the same as the vegies) are still waiting to get in the ground!

I love summer.  It seems we are home more.  Work outside together as a family more.  We often choose to do a project on Steve’s weekends off and that while exhausting is a great way to  build memories and knit our family closer together.

This weekend coming up we have several possible projects to work on.  Building fence, finishing woodwork in the bathroom, building a loft bed, sanding drywall?  It would be awesome to get one or two of these done so when our week long vacation comes then we won’t feel like we NEED to stay home and work.  I am looking forward to getting away for a few days to enjoy some camping, fishing, or sitting in lawn chair watching the sun go down!

I am not sure what we will choose to accomplish this weekend(depends on the weather). Whatever happens being together as a family is a wonderful thing & I am SO thankful when Steve gets a weekend off to be at home.

Weird Hair

It is amazing how many silly things Joshua can do with this crazy ball!

More of the good stuff!

I am waiting up right now for my oldest.  Michael started a new job today and some how got out the door without his wallet or keys to the house.

I don’t even care that I should have been in bed an hour ago.  I am so thankful he’s home for the next 3 months.

Life is going to be different.

1.  More stuff—There is a desk in my garage that needs to find a home in this house!  So far there is a place but no time to move it.  A job for tomorrow.

2.  More miles—Maybe it is time to trade our old suburban in for another smaller car?  Here the story of my big love affair!  I need to remember this each time I fill up these days!

3.  More music—I love to listen to my kids play the piano.  I have missed Michael’s songs.  He plays different ones than the girls.  It just stops me in my tracks when he plays, In Christ Alone, which is one of my favorite songs of all time.

4.  More late nights—We seem to talk more & stay up late when he’s home.  I don’t really care.  What is sleep anyway?

5.  More flexibility—who showers when? who does what chores?  It all will take a bit more flexibility!

6.  More food—My little guys don’t eat as much.  I don’t worry about having “extra” sides at the meal but after just a couple of days I can see I need to be putting bread, fruit etc on the table a little more!

7.  More photos--I realized that I don’t have a bunch because he’s only around on the weekends!  Gonna have to fix that!

8.  More laundry—hmmm what day will we fit him in to our laundry rotation?  

9.  More FUN!  The more the merrier!  We have plans for camping, games, bike rides & who knows what else this summer.

10.  More awareness—As with anything you take for granted, when it is gone then you treasure it more.  I am going to treasure every moment, every hug, every smile & every “I love you” in the next 3 months so that I can store them up for when I need them.

 

      

Freezer Orange Pork Chops

I love this recipe because it is easy to prepare & throw in the freezer when you find pork chops on sale.   Definitely one of my Favorite Freezer Recipes!  Don’t leave out the shallots—they are great mild flavored onion.  This is good in the oven or the crock pot.  One of the favorites around here!  We pair it with mashed potatoes or brown rice and steamed vegies!

Orange Pork Chops

4-6 boneless pork chops (1-2 pounds)

1/3 cup orange juice

1 shallot, chopped

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 T soy sauce

Place desired amount of pork chops in a quart size freezer bag.  Add all other ingredients & seal.  Freeze.

To Cook:

Thaw.  Place entire continents of bag in a medium baking dish.  Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.

OR

Thaw.  Place entire continents of bag in a 4 quart crockpot.  Turn on low & cook for 4-5 hours.

Enjoy!

  

Strategic Shopping My other Job

A friend of mine asked to take lessons when she read my status on Facebook last week about only paying $17 for $71 for groceries. That made me laugh because I just follow several deal blogs & do what they tell me! 

Especially my friend Gwen’s site, The Savings Jungle, which details the local sales & coupon deals.

Here is my routine!

1.  I buy two St. Louis Post papers & one local paper every Sunday on the way home from church.  (My kids love this because they get to read the comics—family tradition here)  This costs me about $5.  If I use just 5 coupons I will break even.

2.  If I get the time on Sunday, I flip through the coupons & take out & clip any I KNOW that I will use.  If not, I will do it while watching a movie one night that week.

3.  I combine the coupon inserts.  That way I have the same coupons together.  Notice I am not clipping at this time.  I also throw away all the non coupon(ads) pages from the inserts to reduce the bulk.

4.  What is left of the inserts gets put in my coupon binder.  I mark on the front of the inserts the dates so I can easily find a coupon I need(based on the date).  Helps my poor eyes not have to read the fine print later.

5.  Locally, there is a free paper that is delivered on Wednesday evening.  When that arrives in my drive way I look through the ads for items that I feel are good deals.  I frequent several stores—Schnucks, Gerbes, Mosers, Hy-vee, & Aldis.  I also go to Target & Wal-mart on less frequent occasions.  I also keep a price book to help me with knowing if a price is a good deal.

6.  When I find a good deal I circle it in black sharpie so it really jumps off the page at me.

7.  Thursday morning I make a weekly deals round up page from the black circles(idea from Life..Your Way) so I can see easily what I am shopping for when I go.  I also mark down any coupons I know about that match up on this page.  I check The Savings Jungle to see if she’s found a few more good deals & mark those down on my page.

8.  I check my Menu Plan to see what I am going to need  for the the next 7 days and add any ingredients that are needed.  Fresh fruit, vegies, bread, & milk get added here too.

9.  Lastly I really looks to see what stores have the most deals.  I might go to just one or two.  Gas prices factor in to this decision. 

We have piano lessons on Thursday so I hit the stores that are on the way & closest to that.  I shop while the kids are at their lesson so I am using my time wisely.  We are also out on Tuesdays so I can go to the other stores then if I decide it is really necessary.

10.  After my round up page is created I gather the coupons that I need from my binder or my clipped coupon stash(this travels with me).  I don’t take my big binder with me to the store.  I also print a lot of coupons off the internet and I store those in my traveling stash.

11.  Now I am ready to shop.  I take along my list & my coupon stash every time I go in to town because you never know when you might have time to swing in a store.

All these steps have evolved and are still evolving today.  I am sure a year from now I will have found something new or better to use.  So take what works for you and leave the rest!  But I hope this helps you save money & find a little more wiggle room in your budget!