Menu Plan Monday

Again...no day allocation. This my plan for the week.

Roast Lamb - with roasted vegetables (again, yum!)

BBQ Beef Stir-fry - with rice

(Leftover) Lamb & potato bake - with vegetables

Creamy Chicken Pasta - with salad

Steak casserole (again because it was quite hit!)

BBQ Lamb Chops - with vegetables

AND lastly, we will have take away one night because I can if I feel like it! hehehe!

Make sure you head over to The Organising Junkie for more menu plans!

Another day.....

Yesterday for those of you who are interested, I did the dishes, wiped down the bench, picked up a few toys that were laying around (you know because I had to do something...) and then parked my butt on the couch and watched LOST. It was great! When Zach and Anna woke up I felt quite refreshed. They had a play, then some dinner, then it was time to toddle (and crawl) their bare bums to the bath where they stayed until I got sick of it and got them out against their wishes. A bit more playing, a story, then off to bed. What a lovely afternoon/evening!

Today, much of the same. Mitchell has decided he wants to spend another night at Aunt Linda's, Brett's at work and ASHLEE'S HOME!! Mum is here as well for a few days which will be nice.

This morning I made a Vanilla Slice too! Yum indeed!

The power went out at about 5pm - it is so hot and we couldn't even have the air con on! So we sweated it out for a bit and I cheered when I heard the quiet were of the air con again. Anna cheered too. Quite funny really but I guess you had to be here. Now its time to go get dinner ready. We are having Ham and Cheese Chicken Rolls. Its making me hungry just thinking about it!

I will come back after the twins are in bed with the Vanilla Slice recipe. It is sooooo easy and sooooo delicious you have to try it. It only takes about 5 minutes to make!

WOW!

I'm sitting here not knowing what to do with myself.

The twins have decided to change their sleep from 11am to 1:30pm so they have just gone down and Mitch is spending the night at Auntie Linda's so he has just left with Brett who is working night shift this week! So from now until about 4:30pm its just me.......

I don't know whether to do some more sewing, maybe a bit knitting, some baking - no its to hot for that! - some more organising or housework or just curl up on the couch for a little while and watch a bit of LOST! What to do, what to do?! Well, I know what I really want to do.....but should I?!

Until I make up my mind here is some photo love for you....

All images from here

Etsy Love!

I [heart] this print

I [heart] this Zip Pouch

I [heart] this wall decal

I [heart] these washcloths

I [heart] this 'Heart'

And....

I [heart] this absolutely beautiful sunny weather today!

Eye Spy....Something I want to try in 2009!

Image from here
Image from here

In 2009 I want to try quilting. It is something I have never done before, but I think I may just start with a dolls quilt.....

'Thank you' to Cindy for your meme and
to Bek of Red Chocolate for the theme.

Not Me Monday!

Head on over to MckMama's blog for me Not Me Goodness!

This week there haven't been a whole lot of Not Me's (which I guess is a good thing!). I am having to really think to come up with something to put here, but I just need too.

It definitely wasn't me who curled up on the couch and snoozed yesterday while Brett and Mitchell were at the farm because what they don't know won't hurt them.

I don't know who hung Brett's work clothes on the line only to have them rained on and then hope that he could source something else to wear to work for the night because I was not running the dryer! That certainly was not me!

It is not me that has gotten the twins up again 1 1/2 hours after bed time because they refuse to give in and sleep. I wouldn't give in them.

And it is definitely Not Me that is sitting here eating a box of Kraft Crispy Potato in a Biskit instead of dinner because I just couldn't be bothered making up a meal for one. Thankfully it is Not Me who is on a diet!

Its Not Me who is going insane listening to the kids fight but it is me that is going to put them to bed again now!!

See you all next time!

Menu Plan Monday

This week I am not allocating days to my meals as I really just want to go with the flow - is that ok?! My meals this week all come from 4 Ingredients 2 and are all cheap and easy.

This week we will be having:

Shepherds Pie:

500g lean mince
1/2 cup fruit chutney
6 potatoes, boiled and mashed
3/4 cup grated cheese

Brown mince, season and mix thought chutney. Pour into casserole dish, top evenly with mashed potato and sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake at 180c for 20 - 30 minutes or until cheese is nice and bubbly. Serve with salad.

Cheese and Ham Chicken Rolls:

2 chicken breast fillets
2 pieces of Swiss Cheese (I'm just using tasty cheese here)
2 pieces sliced ham
1tbs wholegrain mustard

Flatten chicken breast before smearing with mustard. Lay a piece of cheese follwed by a peice of ham on each. Roll up and secure with toothpicks. Bake for 20 minutes at 180c or until brown and cooked through. Cut into rounds and serve. Serve with steamed vegetable.

BBQ Lamb Chops: - we just got half a lamb from the farm so must include lamb in the menu!

8 lamb chops
2tsp soy sauce
3tbs sweet chilli sauce

Mix soy and sweet chilli. Cook chops for 1 - 2 minutes on each side. Reduce heat and continue cooking for 2 - 3 minutes while brushing with baste. Cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with steamed vegetables.

Creamy Chicken Pasta:

4 chicken breasts
4 shallots, finely chopped
4 rashers bacon, chopped
200g button mushrooms, sliced
200g tub cream cheese, softened

Brown chicken and set aside. Combine shallots and bacon in large frying pan, stir until bacon is crisp. Add mushrooms, stir until softened. Add cream cheese and a third cup of boiling water, simmer until cheese is melted. Add chicken, stir through and simmer until chicken is cooked through. Serve with Pasta.
(We are not mushroom fans so I'm not sure if I will be adding those.)

Steak Casserole:

1kg round steak, cubed
500g bag of mixed frozen vegetables
2 cups V8 juice

Place steak and vegetables in casserole dish, pour in V8 juice, covering contents well. Bake at 180c for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is nice and tender. Serve over rice.

Lamb Roast: - again use the lamb from the farm.

Chicken Vol-au-vants:

4 large vol-au-vant shells
485g bottle Chicken Tonight, honey mustard
1 cup shredded cheese
2 double chicken breast, diced

Dice chicken and cook in pan till lightly browned. Turn down heat and add chicken tonight, stir to heat through. Place vol-au-vant shells on a lined baking tray and fill each with chicken mixture. Top with cheese and place in oven at 180c for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve with salad or vegetables.

Other things we will be baking this week:

Apple Slice

Choc-Caramel Ravioli

Lemonade Scones

Rainbow Cupcakes

Head over to Organising Junkie for more Menu Plan Monday!

There's more to the day

then just organising. So yesterday (and this morning) I took some time do some sewing and a bit of baking.

I've nearly completed the shirt I am sewing for Ashlee. Just down to sewing on the sleeves and a bit of hemming. I really hope it fits (it would be to large rather than to small) but more to the point I hope she likes it! Here is a peek....

Ashlee will be home on Wednesday!! Yippee!! (And I'm also looking forward to having Mum here for a few days) We have all missed her hugely here. Mitchell has even taken to sleeping with one of the teddies from her bed at night. He regularly asks when she will be home. Sweet.
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We have been doing a small amount of baking too, Mitchell and myself.

First we made some Yummy Apple Slice....

Image from here

Easy Apple Slice

340g pkt Vanilla Cake Mix
3/4 cup Melted Butter
400g Tin Pie Apple
200g Sour Cream
Cinnamon to taste

Preheat oven to 180c. Mix butter and cake mix to a dough. Spread evenly in a lined rectangular baking dish and bake for 15 minutes. Combine apple and sour cream. Spread evenly over base, sprinkle over cinnamon and return to oven for another 15 minutes. Cool in fridge. Serve cold.

Divine!

(You how I got that great Cook Book for Christmas - this recipe is from there.)
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This morning we made Devil's Food Cake. A packet mix this time but equally divine!



At least Miss Anna thought so!


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On a side note.....see this...

Little Miss got her very first hair cut (thanks to me!). Her fringe was just annoying me hanging in her eyes, so off it came!

Children running riot so better go check it out. Monday Plan Monday up next!

Post Chrissy Round Up!

Firstly, Thank You to everyone that left those lovely comments.....the craft table I use was my MIL's until she passed away about 18 months ago. I love it too. It is nice and big and just the right height to sit and sew at. The little shopping trolley is kinda cute isn't it. That was actually already here when we moved it! The kids used to play with it but there are soooo many fights over it all the time that I ended up taking it to my craft room. Mean aren't I.

Now on to the pressies.......

What did I get for Christmas???? I was a bit spoilt I think.

My biggest gift was this 1TB external hard drive. So so cool!





An absolutely lovely 3 tier stand - I just wanna use it!



Complete digital photography Book - this is great, some excellent tuts and great tips.



My SIL Melissa (and my bro I guess...hehehe) got me this lovely clock. Thank you :)



I received this cute knitting bag that is currently over flowing with, well, knitting stuff



I looooove my new Laundry Powder Tin! It also comes with a little tin scoop. Now all I have to do is pick up one of these (all in pink of course) and this


I am a LOST JUNKIE! I have every episode so far (Mum gets me the new DVD set each year) and have watched them a few dozen times. I can't wait until LOST starts again this year but in the mean time this will keep me going!



My lovely PedEgg! I have wanted to get one of these for a while (see what happens when you have to watch midnight TV while breastfeeding!). Mum really does listen as I mentioned it in passing a while ago. (And yes, it does work!)



I got a nice soy candle and some soy melts. As well as some super yummy smelling hand cream!



Again from Mel and Dan, isn't this pillow cover stunning!! It currently sits on my bed during the day because I'm to afraid the kids will wreak it!



Mum got me a little sewing organiser. It really is brilliant. Isn't it great to receive all lovely, thoughtful gifts that you actually want and will use?! My family really does love me!


Image from here

I also got this GREAT cook book (that my entire meal plan for the next week is made up from - check back for Meal Plan Monday)


Image from here
Lastly, some lovely coasters.

I'm pretty sure there was other things too but they are not coming to mind at the moment.

So there you have it. Brilliant Christmas but the best bit, the bit I loved the most was the time I spent with my family. The two weeks I spent at Mum's house was so incredibly relaxing and fun. I just didn't want to go home! Now I miss them all terribly too.

Ok, its late...better get to bed. I am rather tired. Good night all!

You know....

I have just realised that I really look forward to every post from One Pretty Thing and it actually excites me to see that name appear in my bloglines! The things we do, huh!

Some other sites that 'excite' me when they appear:

This Young House

CurlyPops
Three Buttons

Scrapping with Ikea Goddess

Fail Blog - Funny!

My Creative Space

Kirsty has come up with another great idea that will replace On My Desk!

Welcome 'My creative space' - brilliant!

This is 'my space' currently. Getting ready to finish off Ashlee shirt that I have been meaning to get around to for quite a while now. Hopefully I will get this completed over the weekend! I have been a bit preoccupied with my new project 'Operation Organise' but I think I need a few minutes off from that - I have already got some much done! - and do something else. Just for a little while, I still have so much to do.

Head on over to Kootoyoo and take a look at who else is participating today!

Another BIG day

Good Morning All!

Today is Day 4 of 'Operation Organise'! We have another big day ahead of us - or should I say I have another big day ahead of me!

On Today's List we have:

* Clean off the top of the Pantry and re-organising it

(Which currently looks like this)


* Clearing off, culling and reorganising the Fridge top

(Which unfortunately currently looks like this)


* Clearing off and reorganising the top of the office cupboards

(They currently look like this!)


* Filing the paperwork from drawers and making room for the kids craft things

(These are the drawers I was talking about)


Lastly, here is a GREAT idea that I can't believe I haven't blogged about yet!!

My wonderful Mum made this for me - it was a little while ago now.....



A roll away pantry! The double door pantry we had was just not big enough so in her usual wonderful and handy style she constructed it for me. It holds all my baking things and all my extra stuff that over flow from the other pantry. I love it!



It rolls away nicely between the pantry and fridge and looks great too! Thanks Mum!!

Another great storage idea that I picked up from Aldi on clearance while in Canberra for $2 for a pack of 4 (I got a few packets) are these plastic drawer organisers.



As you can see I'm not using this one as a drawer organiser but to store all our stationary things (i.e. the staplers, calculators, my Dymo Labeller) on the computer desk. Keeps them all in one place!

I also got a 4 pack of larger ones - $3 and this I am currently using this one to store some smaller books and notepads on the book shelf that always seem to fall over.



So 'Operation Organise' running along nicely, I would love others to join in! Big or small it doesn't matter.

Check back later for a Christmas Present post!

A big success!

That's what today was!

The kitchen cupboards are done, the linen closet is clean and organised again and the clothes are folded and put away. Dinners over, kitchens cleaned up, toys are cleaned up, kids are sleeping and I'm pretty happy (and so much more organised). Although I didn't get it all completed before the Twins woke up and it ended up taking me a bit longer due to the 'help' I still got it finished. Tomorrow I will be tidying up the fridge top and culling a few kitchen items, for example a toaster grill that was given to me quite a few years ago and I have never used.

Also on the list for tomorrow is:

* Put away filing
* Empty plastic drawers and move all the kids craft things in
* Reorganise craft cupboard

I want to get some sewing done too. During my cleaning today I found these lovely tea towels that are to thin to really be useful for tea towels but they definitely have a use in the sewing room! What will they become??

Now I'm off to do a little sorting in the pattern and recipe department while I sit and watch a bit of LOST. I'm a LOST addict!

Link Love - Organising Edition

Check out some of these great 'Organising' Ideas:

1. A perfect place for all your patterns (or recipes or anything really!)
2. Cord Keeper
3. Thrifty Organisation Ideas

4. 18 Five Minute Decluttering Tips
5. Clean up the Bedroom in 15 minutes
6. Furniture Rehab - Blackboard dresser

7. Make a laundry Loader
8. Make a chalk board organiser
9. No-Sew Fabric covered boxes

10. A hidden Cork Pin Board
11. DIY Spice Rack

Lastly, not really an organising idea but I just had to show this! I love it! What a brilliant idea! I can just imagine my daughters room with this set....

Or this one....I love the wardrobe under the bed idea!

Check them out over at Tumidei