Biting My Tongue (aka, Lessons On Not Swearing)

Okay, so you guys know how pressed I am for time this week right? And how I have twelve bazillion assignments that need to be posted, like, TODAY. And how I was doing pretty good because I had hand-written out everything and today was going to busy but not particularly taxing because all I had to do was type out everything? WELL...

Last night I made a start. Got a full assignment typed out. Started a new one.

Folks, if you're ever in this situation, please pay careful attention to what I'm going to say next:

DO NOT simply cut the existing text out of a document and start typing the new document up in its place (because you're too lazy to click two extra times to open a new document) while thinking to yourself, "Oh, it's okay, I'll just do 'Save As' through the file menu when I finish up for the night."

Because you won't. At dawn-o'clock when you're finally finishing up because you start falling asleep at the keyboard and bruising your head, you're not going to remember it. You're just gonna click the little disc icon and stumble to bed. And then you're going to wake up in the morning ready to print the assignment you've typed up the night before and discover your mistake.

And then you're going to have to really, really, really remind yourself that you don't swear.

That's an hour plus worth of work down the drain. But it could be worse. Here's why it's not.

* I was so tired last night I didn't throw out the screwed up pieces of paper from my notebook. If I'd thrown them out last night, they'd have been covered with the remnants of this morning's porridge by now. As it were, they're still right here where I tossed them last night.

* It was a relatively short assignment! I've written 25 page RSI-inducing behemoths before. Last night's was just 2 and a bit pages. So even in my desperation, the situation is not dire. I cannot even begin to explain how panicked I would be if it were the former.

So this is fixable. Annoying, but fixable!

Cheers,
Lizzie

Frugal Friday ~ November 30

Good afternoon/morning all!

This is my first Frugal Friday but it's a good 'un. I had to hit the local shopping centre today to do some errands - jeans shopping (auggh) and a little Christmas shopping too. But that's not where the frugal part comes in - and we'll just gloss over that for the time being, okay? Good. LOL.

Around the holidays, when they know they can guarantee lots of visitors, our city's public transport company sets up a stall somewhere in the shopping centre with information on timetables, route changes and the like. They also have one of these machines nearby:

It's a promotional game where you slot your ticket into the ticket validation whatsit and the wheel spins on the screen and you're playing to win another ticket to the value of whichever ticket you've just used to play the game. Make sense?

I nearly walked past the stall today. I was literally on my way to buy a multitrip bus ticket (the stall is info-only, they don't sell the actual tickets there) and I decided to run my current ticket through the machine. I usually carry two types on me - a black 'interpeak' ticket, valid for travel between 9 and 3 on weekdays (the majority of my bus travel occurs then because it is within school hours) and a red 'peak' ticket, valid for travel anytime. I'd just used my last trip on my black multitrip ticket, which is worth $14.80 for 10 trips, so I only had my red one, and it only had one trip left on that too.

Wouldn't you know - I won! This isn't just a couple of bucks either - because I'd validated a full price multitrip ticket, I won a full price multitrip ticket:

Yep, I just saved almost $27.

A single trip 'peak' ticket is worth $4.10 so it's much more economical to buy the multitrip tickets in advance (you save $14.10 over the ten rides). You could therefore say I saved myself $41.00 today instead of $27 but I'm thrilled with anything extra in my pocket at this time of the year :)

I'll probably still go ahead and buy the interpeak ticket (those tickets are worth $2.50 each so you save a little over $10 buying a multitrip ticket) but I'm glad I've got this baby in my purse :) I use the black tickets quite frequently, about once a week, but the red tickets last me around 6 months.

Crystal at Biblical Womanhood hosts Frugal Friday. Check her out!

Cheers,
Lizzie

Thankful Thursday ~ The Lesson

It's all pretty simple this week. I'm thankful I found this verse, also known as my new 'scripture motto', LOL.

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:11, NIV)

This is a page straight out of my book this week :P And it's so true - it is painful!

I'm thankful that in the last week I've been given the grace to accomplish (or at least make serious inroads into) something that seemed insurmountable just a few days ago. I've been a little study machine this week, firing off assignments left, right and centre. It feels good, but it has taken its toll on my health. I'm thankful that I've been given the best reminder possible to get off my takookus when I'm meant to next time!

I'm thankful for a wonderful husband who has put up with a fair chunk of irrationality and stress from his wife these last couple of weeks. I'm so proud of him - he went to work in a suit today. Okay, so that's not why I'm proud, LOL, but I'd be lying if the sight of the man (who normally wears very casual gear as specified by the type of job that he does) in a classic pinstripe didn't get the neurons firing! It almost made up for the fact that he wrenched the blankets off to wake me up this morning, LOL. I really, really wanted him to stay home for a bit longer... (oooh, that's a bit naughty, isn't it? Forget I said that!)

Can I also be a tad shallow and say I'm thankful that I hit Toys R Us at 9:30 this morning instead of 11:30 like originally planned? It's the first day of a sale and the big ticket items are usually all gone in two or three hours and as I was leaving the store (with about 85% of what I went in to get - and the rest was available, I just left it there - I'm a very touchy-feely shopper so I gain ideas from the catalogues then go in search of stuff to touch, LOL) I overheard two separate arguments between shoppers and Toys R Us staff. Our Toys R Us store can be a little finicky with having enough sale stock and it was a bit rough that things were not available only an hour after opening, but sheesh. Anyway, I'm thankful I got out of there quickly!

I'm thankful I'm slowly getting through my shopping list for Christmas. It's a bit tedious but I refuse to pay, for example, $30 for a board game when I know it just went on sale for $10, know what I mean? So when I see something that fits the bill in a catalogue I try as hard as I can to get there on opening day of the sale. With fourteen thousand other people, LOL.

I'm thankful for the smile on Master J's face this afternoon when I presented him with his much-anticipated Tamagotchi version 4.5. Part of the reason I battled the insanity of the Toys R Us endeavour was to grab one of these on sale. He saved up for it himself so it's not a Christmas thing. J gets into these things, Electronic Child that he is :)

For more Thankful Thursday participants, pop in to Laurel Wreath Reflections.

Cheers,
Lizzie

Where Are All The Good News Stories?

(© Cute Colors)

(This is one of those rare posts where I'm going to drop all the usual Bloggityville 'shinyness' and just speak directly from my heart. There may be readers who are offended by what I'll have to say on this subject but please understand that I'm not being critical of anyone in particular - just The System in general. I hope you will understand that I'm offloading here and I don't intend to offend. This is just my experience and my opinion :) Also, this post is very long. You've been warned!)

My husband likes to visit 'clip and link' sites on the net when he winds down after work. This evening he was doing just that and called me over to watch a video of a disabled man singing The Star Spangled Banner at Fenway Park. Quite possibly this might be more of a well-known story in the States than down here, but the basic gist of it was, this lovely lad was singing the national anthem in a very off key voice until the whole crowd kind of got behind him and continued to sing along with him - thousands and thousands of voices helping this guy out. It was great.

This reminded me of the Jason McElwain story, a video I've watched dozens of times since the story broke, and led me on a bit of a YouTube Tour of Autism.

To be frank, I'm disturbed by what I saw. Autism-related videos on YouTube (and autism stories in the media in general) seem to fall into three basic categories:

* Autistic savantism (ie, Rainman)
* 'Shock & Awe' stories about how Little Johnny is so severely affected by autism Mum and Dad just can't possibly cope any longer (and most heartbreaking of all, the stories of parents who have injured - sometimes fatally - their autistic children)
* 'Cure & Blame' stories - the MMR debate, chelation, Applied Behaviour Analysis therapy (ABA), the autism 'epidemic', how my son's autism was 'cured' and similar stories.

I've always had a problem with the way mainstream media depicts autism. It's either tick box A, B or C above, nothing else. What bothers me most is that for those who haven't had autism touch their lives, or don't associate with disabled people generally, these three categories are all they ever hear about autism. Insensitive people, on hearing that your child is autistic, will either launch into a story about how their neighbour's niece's son plays the cello like a pro at age three, or recount a newspaper story where some poor folks down there in Boondockville tied their autistic child to the bed, or spew forth some diatribe on how they don't immunise their kids because they're afraid the vaccine will 'give' their kids autism.

Can I just pause for a second and say, this hurts the autism community far more than you know.

Let's start with savantism. The occurrence of autism currently stands at about 1-2 per 1000 people (as distinct from Autism Spectrum Disorders, or ASDs in general (of which autism is one condition), which is 6 per 1000 - I'll be focusing mainly on autism as a separate condition distinct from the more general term 'ASD'). Of that number, only five, possibly ten percent of autistics show savant qualities. And yet what's the first thought you have when you hear the word 'autism'? Rainman. A seriously large chunk of 'autism airplay' in the general media goes toward perpetuating the myth that if not all, then at least the majority of autistics are savants. Not all savants are autistic (though roughly half are), but the percentage of autistics who are also savants is very, very small.

Secondly, stories of infanticide and horrible, horrible abuse stories of non-coping parents burden my heart greatly, but there's also a small part of me who hates the media for portraying it at all. The general public already has cause to think of autism in a negative light, but these stories only serve one of two purposes. You either sympathise with the parents involved, or you don't. Speaking from the middle of the ring here, there's no excuse, not a single one, not autism, or ADHD, or intellectual disability - nothing whatsoever will induce me to sympathise with the parents involved in these stories. In 2003 in Australia, a mother smothered her 10 year old autistic son and she only received a five year good behaviour bond. This particular link disturbs me even further because it is literally filled with excuses. I'm not saying the circumstances surrounding this poor family weren't harsh - they were, and if anyone should understand that, it would be me - I, like many, many thousands of other 'autism parents' battle frustration, confusion, advocacy issues, bureaucracy, funding bodies, early intervention services, stress, exhaustion and yes, even depression on a frequent basis. But other parents don't crack like this woman. We might scream and cry and throw a (well-deserved!) hissy-fit when our funding is cut, or we have to literally force the school system to provide the necessary services for our kids, or (as one dear internet friend and fellow 'Aussie autism mum' puts it) 'wipe poo and toothpaste from the walls', but we don't take it out on our children. Get angry at the system, not the child. I will back you a thousand percent, I will sign any number of petitions lobbying the government for more funding, heck - I'll even march in a picket line if you need me too. But don't expect me to feel sorry for this woman.

'Cure & Blame' stories are almost the worst of the lot. For the record, here's what I believe about autism: Autism is a brain development disorder characterised by impaired social function and communication. Note I said 'impaired' and not 'absent'. Another common misconception about autistic children are that they're all slowly rocking in a corner, unable to form meaningful relationships with people. This is just plain ignorant. The single most important thing I long to tell each and every misguided, ignorant and scare-mongery individual out there is that autism is a spectrum disorder. There's a whole arc of symptoms and two people, both with an autism diagnosis, will never be exactly alike in symptoms or behaviours. Autism just doesn't work like that. Pigeon-holing autistic children is one of my pet peeves, and right about now is where my Advocacy Mama hat comes out of the closet, because whenever I describe autism to anyone not familiar with the details of it - and, by the way, I'm always, always happy to answer questions, as are most 'autism parents', so please ask us and stop staring at our children! - I always slot in something about it being a spectrum disorder.

Take Master J for example. His diagnosis was 'autism' - not Asperger's, not PDD-NOS (where an individual might fit some of the symptoms on the autism checklists but not 'enough' for an confirmed diagnosis). Over the years, we've been blessed to discover that he is high-functioning and in the 25% or so of individuals with autism who do not have an intellectual disability. Think about that for a moment. If you had 100 autistic individuals in a group, three-quarters of them would have some form of mental impairment, from slight to severe, as if the decreased ability to socialise and communicate wasn't enough! J meets our eyes, speaks wonderfully (with maybe a slight rearrangement of words sometimes, Yoda-style, LOL) and has friends. He'll always be different, he'll almost certainly be special-educated for the remainder of his time in school (though his special ed class is within a mainstream school), and it is highly likely he will either remain living at home indefinitely or at best, in a small-group living arrangement (like a retirement village of sorts, but for disabled folk) But God, we're grateful for him.

I don't pay any attention to the MMR debate. I don't believe in chelation (heavy metals? auugh). I don't believe there was anything I could have done to prevent it. I believe there's a genetic component. I believe in my son, and I believe that the 'cure' stories can often do more harm than good. Autism cannot be cured - it can only be researched, managed, lived-with and enjoyed - I know! Enjoyed! It's possible, LOL. When I hear of people 'curing' their child's autism with dietary intervention, I want to scream. You can manage the symptoms of autism with dietary intervention (usually a gluten and casein (dairy) free diet) and it can have a remarkable difference on behaviour and communication, but because I believe that the cause of autism lies in the DNA, I find it almost offensive to hear the word 'cure' and 'autism' in the same sentence. For the record, we have tried the dietary route in the past with J and yes, there was improvement - but how much of that is autism-specific and how much of the 'no additives, colours and preservatives' approach is just plain good parenting sense? If we restrict chemical-laden foods for J, then we do it for Boofah and Miss Moo as well, and it has nothing to do with the autism. I should pause to point out that the GFCF diet is much, much more complex than simply 'no additives'. The theory follows along with the idea that gluten and casein-containing foods affect the body of an autistic much the same way as heroin affects an addict. You'll often hear stories of autistic kids who crave bread, pasta, yoghurt, milk and cheese (we called them The Magic Five in our house). Once they've had their 'hit' of gluten, their behaviour settles until the feeling wears off and the merry-go-round begins again. So in this circumstance I absolutely support dietary intervention - if that is what you've determined works for your child. But I don't think it can cure him or her - just make the condition a whole lot easier to deal with.

When we were newly-diagnosed, the one thing I couldn't find in any of the (many) books on autism on the shelf, or in newspapers or on TV, were positive, normal, average, everyday stories about kids on the spectrum. They seemed to only ever fit into the three categories described above, and that was more than a little depressing. If you're not a 'cure' advocate, and your child isn't a savant, and if you just plain don't want to hear stories of woe and sorrow, you're not really left with much. Which is why stories like that of Jason McElwain have always touched my heart. A good news story that was focused on the individual, and not the autism. It wasn't a 'cure story' and there were no debates on causes. We need more stories like those.

And thus ends my soapbox session for November. Back to posts on menu planning and housekeeping and - oh, I don't know - cupcakes tomorrow, I promise, LOL.

P.S. I highly recommend the essay "Don't Mourn For Us" by Jim Sinclair, an autistic adult. The link is in my left sidebar. This essay, read first when we were newly-diagnosed, changed how I viewed autism.

Cheers,
Lizzie

Inside Lizzie's Home ~ Basic Daily Plans

(© Mary's Little Lamb Graphics)

Just popping in - I'm not really here, honest! - to let you know I've switched things around in the Routines, Schedules and Cleaning section in the right sidebar. I've included two PDFs of what I feel would be the absolute ideal way my day would go...if I could program the other members of the family (and myself) the way I just programmed the DVD player. Sigh.

Still, it's a dream.

A third 'Sunday' version will come soon - probably. Maybe even a 'No Holds Barred' School Holidays Version (basically, a blank sheet of paper, LOL). And no, this is not how life goes right-this-second but it's where I want to eventually end up. Most of the time I approximate the Routines and times and rarely actually refer back to the list during the day (seriously - if you need to check the list after each item to make sure you're 'on schedule'...well, that's a little loony!) But the benefits of having it all listed out this way are huge. The biggest one I've found is that it shows you that you have to be a careful manager of your time if you're going to get all the stuff you need and want to do slotted in somewhere. Perhaps give some stuff up - in the last twelve months I've given up over three-quarters of the television I used to watch, for example, and this has opened up my evening hours quite a bit.

When I first did my Basic Daily Plan a few months ago I made a list of the things I wanted to get sorted out, scheduling-wise. Top of the list was a regular time to study (*guffaw*), but I also had things like time to craft/do a project, a set time of the day for certain chores and time for exercise. For example, I knew that I had to schedule exercise before I tackled the housework or I'd never do it. And just this week I re-jigged it a little to incorporate blogging. Yeah, I know. I missed the bit in Proverbs 31 about "She shall blogeth much" too - perhaps this is what she's doing when her lamp isn't going out at night? LOL. I didn't want to give blogging up but I knew I had to set some guidelines or I'd be baby-sitting Google Reader all day. So I worked out that I have a small window of time while having my mid-morning cup of tea and snack to read blogs, some time while eating lunch to publish my own blog posts and a semi-large window in the evenings to actually compose posts. Being that I am (obviously) on Australian time (well one of them anyway...), a lot of the blog carnivals pop up around early afternoon for us (early morning for you) and you know how it is with Mr Linky - the closer you are to the top, the more likely people will read your post (hey, I'm guilty of this too - I just can't go through 100+ Menu Plan Monday posts each week, much as I'd like to). So from here on out I'll compose the 'next day' post the night before, my time (ie, Menu Plan Monday on Sunday night, Works For Me Wednesday on Tuesday night etc) and then it takes about four seconds to publish it when I check back during lunchtime on the relevant day (I can, of course, fiddle with the time post whatsit but this doesn't help the Mr Linky thing :) I'm still going to try (sigh) to go blog-free over the weekends, although I haven't been very successful lately.

Also, just to round off my INSANE WEEK, I managed to catch a cold. In early-thirties (celcius) weather - that's like 91ºF in 'other-side-of-the-world' speak. Who catches a cold in summer after managing to get through the entire winter (and much of the last two years straight) with nary a sniffle?

The one who is up to her eyeballs in study deadlines, that's who. I get it God. I amuse you, LOL.

Cheers
Lizzie

My Son, Aspirations He Does Have

(© Mary's Little Lamb Graphics)

Master J's career aspirations appear to be super-dooper high. Overheard while he watched his brother play Guitar Hero 3 (which, incidentally, the brother is ridiculously good at - he can complete some songs on Expert) -

"Only luck can succeed tricky bits."

Clearly, he shall spend his adult life writing for Ye Olde Fortune Cookie Company.

(By way of explanation, because of the nature of his disability, his speech was slow to start (he said his first word at 2 ½ and only had about 50 a year later) and hard to understand for the first couple of years. Thank goodness he can carry on an almost imperceptible conversation these days - but is it wrong that I still chuckle at the odd mix-ups he comes out with?)

Cheers,
Lizzie

Bloggy Potterings

Bear with me folks - I've been playing around with the site tonight, updating the header and just generally clearing things out. I'm still not satisfied with the 'whiteness' so expect that to change sometime soon, though to what I'm not sure yet, LOL.

Special thanks go to Sue at Country Manor Graphics for the linkware images that went into the header image. Sue also has a family blog, Our Country Cottage. Also thanks to my very patient (though supremely exasperated!) Hubs for putting up with my endless questions about the various elements of Photoshop. Oh, and hat tip goes to friend Emlyn who guided me through the plainly-obvious-to-him HTML whatsit where I needed to add the header code.

Cheers,
Lizzie

Lizzie McNuggets

As in, little 'nuggets' of Lizzie's week so far...

We had an exhausting day yesterday. We cleaned, dropped a child off at a birthday party, called in at the supermarket and chemist (drugstore), picked up child, fed the kids lunch, finished getting ready for a work barbecue Hubs and I were to attend that afternoon, had our respite worker (specialised, qualified babysitter we get because of Master J) arrive, left for the work thing, had a couple of ~cough!~ drinks, got home late afternoon, procrastinated about starting dinner, finally started dinner and then ate at 8:30. Long day! (By the way, lest you all think I'm a raging alcoholic, I only ever have two drinks at things like this, spread out over several hours, and we might only go to one function every few months - the rest of the time I don't drink at all).

Hubs had his 'big deal' training at work Thursday and Friday. Those days included lots of physical stuff and he stayed overnight at the training facility. He came home Friday afternoon both mentally and physically EXHAUSTED but with this gleam in his eye. The kids left us alone long enough for he and I to have a good discussion about what he'd done and you could tell that despite the tiring nature, he absolutely loved it. He now moves into a lecture phase of sorts. So proud of him. He finishes up right before Christmas.

Those same days, boy, was I a pocketful of energy! I threw my course books in a bag and hit the shopping centre. I know, it sounds counter-productive, LOL. I'll explain. Sometimes when I'm home, even if I'm alone, I get so distracted by the 'homey' things that need to be done that I'm often up and down all day long, a very stop-and-start study approach that means my 'flow' gets interrupted and I don't generally get as much down on paper. So I'll often jump on the bus and head to the shopping centre. I'll find a cafe (I have a couple of favourites) or I'll hit the food court, and find myself a secluded table. I'll order a cup of tea and something small to eat. And I'll zone out completely. Usually the iPod gets fired up and it's amazing how much you can get done in a short period of time. Thursday alone, I was amazed. I handwrote (takes longer!) 2 full assignments and made a start on a third. These are supposed to take a week (part time) for each one. Then Friday I finished that third one up (wasn't able to sustain same level of concentration for some reason). Three assignments in two days is awesome. They still need to be transcribed, but I'm confident I hit the mark. Today I hope to have another done and pretty much one per day till Thursday, my last day to post things in. Eeek.

Miss Moo got into big trouble at school on Thursday. Apparently she and her best friend play a game that includes (mutual!) rough-housing and calling of names. Hmmm. Miss Moo's indiscretion was to hit her friend over the head with her water bottle, causing the poor child to cry. She spent lunchtime sitting on the blue spot in the playground (they have painted red and blue spots dotted sporadically through the school, near the perimetre of buildings, about the size of a dinner plate). The idea is, when a child misbehaves, they have to sit still (torture for small children) on the nearest spot. It actually works pretty well. Anyway, Miss Moo spent the entire lunch play period sitting still as her punishment. I didn't hear about this until I went to pick her up, and the teacher cornered me. In my head I was saying to myself, "I don't want to be THAT mother whose child has no friends and doesn't get invited to birthday parties because she forgets school is not home and other kids are not her brothers!" Not that we let her hit her brothers, LOL, but growing up with two rough-housing brothers gives her a share of a 'tad more physical' nature. She loves to wrestle with Daddy, same as the boys do :)

I had a very stern talk to her that night and made her sit down and write an apology letter to her friend (okay, so she dictated and I wrote, but...) and draw her a picture. We gave this to the little girl in the morning and I also made her re-apologize in person. We also erased three ticks from her Values Chart (scroll down a bit for chart example). I think she got the message. She wasn't being malicious when she socked her friend, she just thought she was playing a game, but totally wrong either way. The game? Banned, with severe consequences if we hear they've been playing it again. The names they were calling each other? "Frog." Yeah, frog. It's hard core when you're five, LOL.

Busy week, lots of dramas, but productive. I'm off to throw on some laundry (three more weeks of the regular school year left...phew) and to what else? Study.

Cheers,
Lizzie

Boom Boom Boom

I have a problem with sugar.

I just realised that on an intellectual level tonight. I knew I had a sweet tooth but it suddenly struck me that I could quite possibly be addicted to sugar. Sometimes sugar is even the first thought that pops into my head as soon as I register normal thought patterns first thing in the morning. This is not good folks. Not good at all.

For the last several days I've had a dopey kind of headache looming which I've done my best to ignore because - hello! - I'm twenty-four different types of busy right now. This is also not doing me any favours. Headaches are not a new thing for me, so I've been to the doctor about this before and the upshot of all of that is, it seems I'm just one of those people who are either a slave to hormones or completely and totally unlucky. At the moment I'm using a strong OTC pain medication and even though I'm well under the usual 'maximum dose', it has been playing on my mind a lot lately that I may be doing my body a disservice by automatically reaching for the pain meds when I feel a headache coming on. But you know, we're all mums, and things just need to get done, don't they? So you pop a pill, sacrificing clear-headedness for the blessed assurance of at least a few hours without your cranium hosting a party.

Today I had to go to the chemist (drugstore) because strangely, they had the best price on toilet paper this week. While I was there, I decided to check out the multivitamins. I've never taken a multi in my entire life and I even struggled with my folate and iron tabs while pregnant. I am not a good pill-swallower, which is really ironic when you consider how often I rely on the OTC pain meds for my headaches. But anyway.

To be clear from the outset, there are two issues at play here. First, the headaches. They'll require a return visit to the doc (I'm due for my 'cross my legs' annual checkup anyway, sigh) who will advise me of (I think) the prescription preventative meds I can possibly take. I've been putting off 'stepping up' to prescription meds for my headaches, even though they crop up quite often, because it kind of feels I'm making it worse by going 'up the ladder'. But as the chemist's assistant informed me this afternoon, prescription meds for headaches are designed for long-term use and the doses of whatever drugs they put in them are probably far less harmful than long term use of OTC pain meds (which aren't meant to be taken long term in the first place). So, it's an option.

The multivitamin issue was separate to the headaches - I just figured it was about time I did 'something' because if it gave me even just the smallest boost it was probably a good thing. There seems to be two trains of thought on the multivitamins issue. Either its total hogwash, or it really works. Pick a camp and set up shop, it seems. I'm a fence-sitter. I can't make a judgement until I've at least tried the multis, so to me it was worth the price (eeek!) even if it is just to cross that off my list of 'I've tried that' remedies. Not for the headaches really (but a reduction in those would be lovely thankyouverymuch) but as a little 'pick me up'. But oh my gosh, the tabs themselves are HUGE. Did I mention I have issues with taking pills? I can't take round tablets, so how do you think I'm going to go with DIAMOND SHAPED HORSE TRANQUILIZERS? Sigh.

So, back to the sugar, because I absolutely think that it is at least connected, if it isn't the culprit itself. I know when I eat something high in sugar, my head doesn't bother me so much. Obviously there's some blood sugar issues going on. Perhaps I'll add another item onto my laundry list for the doctor - diabetes test. It's not a stretch. My father was pre-diabetic and I'm almost certain my mother was heading toward Type II herself (they were both quite overweight). I think the sugar thing comes into play the strongest first thing in the morning, after I've fasted overnight. I won't even admit to some of the things I've had for 'breakfast' in the past.

I'm caught between a rock and a hard place though - I know, if the mornings are any indication, that withdrawals from sugar will be a nasty, nasty process. Headaches, probably migraines, will be a CERTAINTY. I can't deal with that for the next little bit. It's all go-go-go around here at the moment (I shouldn't even be online right now, let alone posting...sigh). So I can't see a reduction happening until the New Year. In the meantime, I thought I'd try to find more info on sugar addiction, maybe some books to chase up at the library. Chime in if you have some good info.

Also, it appears that I've taken up a most un-ladylike pasttime. It had been brought to my attention that I am snoring. I (obviously) have no recollection of any of this except for the times Hubs pokes me in the ribs. I've become quite self-concious about it really. Hubs tells me I never used to snore like this (I hope that means, 'at all') and I'm led to believe its a side effect of putting on weight (I'm about 20kg overweight). If that's true, then blech.

Must. Go. Assignments. Calling. My. Name.

Cheers,
Lizzie

Vomit

There's just no nicer title for this post, sorry!

Miss Moo is sick and home from school today. She was all dressed for school and about to have her hair braided when the torrent flew. Miss Moo has very, very long hair. It's usually hanging every which way in the mornings, including over her mouth. Vomit in hair = yuk.

I still had Boofah to get to school though (Hubs had already left for work) so the poor thing had to walk with me, clutching a couple of plastic grocery bags just in case. We got home without incident, thankfully, and got her settled on the couch. I dug out one of the unwrapped-and-as-yet-unlabeled Christmas gifts, a double DVD of Anastasia and Thumbelina, and just put that on for her. It was worth it.

I always freak out a little when my kids get sick, because its not uncommon for us to go months, even years without a trip to the doctor. This morning I was like 'My God, I forgot stuff comes OUT of their mouths occasionally!"

I'm in an interesting position though. Today I'm doing a reading of a rhyming children's story I wrote at the local kindergarten (preschool for the rest of the world?) and there's no-one I can ask to come and look after Miss Moo while I'm gone, so I think she's going to have to come with me. I can't cancel today because I'm on a deadline (this is all wrapped up with a particular assignment that is due). I think it will be okay though - you know how kids sometimes get the vomit out and then are mostly fine right afterward? She's quiet today (thankfully!) and so long as she sits quietly and plays or reads at the kindergarten (no jumping around) I think we'll be okay. This is the same kindergarten she attended last year, so the staff know me and her well and nobody will mind this arrangement.

This is a large kindergarten and I was dreading this reading all week, but the kindergarten director has informed me that I'll only be reading to about 10 kids (*phew!*). The story was one I wrote years ago but never pursued because the rhyming was a bit 'off' (it really does need to be 'spot on' before you even consider submitting it anywhere). I don't think the kids will care much though. Then I have to evaluate myself - how I prepped for the reading, why I chose the place I did, good and bad parts of the experience and so on. With any luck this will all come together quickly and I'll be able to post this assignment (and another about 3/4 of the way through) tomorrow. And then there'll be five, LOL.

Wish me luck!

(Why am I scared of a bunch of four year olds? Seriously, they are some of the harshest critics you'll ever find. You know pretty much instantly whether your story has potential or not once you've test-read it. Auuughh)

P.S. I think Miss Moo will be fine. She's singing the theme song (Donna Someone and Richard Marx) from Anastasia - Wonderful Journey or something. On second thoughts, perhaps this means she's REALLY ill? LOL.

Update: The reading at the kindergarten went well. I only ended up with six kids to read to, which was just fine by me! After I'd read my own story the kids suckered me into reading two others! So I must have done something right. Oh, and Miss Moo was just fine. Played beautifully within eyesight but out of everyone else's way.

Cheers,
Lizzie

Favourite Memes?

Hands up - what are your favourite Memes?

I'm looking to fill out spots on Monday, Thursday and Friday. I'm drawing a blank. If you participate in, or know of a Meme on those days, shout out. I don't really want to have more than two on any given day so Tuesday and Wednesday are out. Everything seems to hit on a Monday in Bloggityville, LOL.

Can you tell yet that I'm hanging out for the day (after Christmas, at least) that I'll be able to bloggity-blog to my heart's content? I'm already lining up things to talk about!

Cheers,
Lizzie

Menu Plan Monday ~ November 19

Our fridge is fixed! So far, so good! Must admit, the cynic in me says to hold my breath because the first time it was fixed it went strong for three weeks before dying.

I did a half-weekly shop on Tuesday, used up some stuff, and the camping fridge was turned off. Feels good not to bend to get the milk ;P

Today is the first 'real' menu planning session I've had in a while, due to the fridge kerfuffle, and it comes in several parts. First, the pantry needs a big clean out. I bought three shallow baskets at the grocery store today (sort of like these, but white) and I'll group like items with like this afternoon.

Next, I need to do actual pantry and freezer inventories.

Then, I'll shop this afternoon based on the menu below:

Monday ~ Ravioli (garlic bread, salad)
Tuesday ~ Homemade Crispy Strips/Nuggets (chips, vegies)

Wednesday ~ Soup & Sandwiches (Tomato & Vegetable, plus ham and cheese toasted sandwiches)

Thursday ~ Tacos / Soft Tacos
Friday ~ Fridge & Freezer Fare (leftovers)

Saturday ~ Chicken Stirfry (rice)
Sunday ~ Homemade Pizza

Baking ~

Quick & Easy Garlic Bread Sticks (just to try the recipe - maybe serve them tonight with the ravioli)

Marilyn's Famous Whole Wheat Bread (from the e-book "Fast & Healthy Meals For Busy Women" at The Urban Homemaker - click here for a free download of the e-book, and the recipe is on page 23)

Nothing too major in the baking stakes this week - too busy, plus I just made a double batch of choc chip cookies over the weekend which filled my massive Ikea glass cookie jar. Best leave well enough alone. I'm beginning to question my own decision to buy a CLEAR GLASS COOKIE RECEPTACLE though - they've been mocking me since Saturday, sigh. Divide and conquer ladies, divide and conquer!

Oh, before I go - I zipped off a fast article this week - Menu Planning The Easy Way - which you can download in PDF format from the "Lizzie's Original Articles" section in the left sidebar. I'm so glad I got that PDF converter thing worked out :)

Happy cooking! Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends for this week! No Turkey Day here on Thursday :(

Knock on Org Junkie's door for more Menu Plan Monday participants.

Cheers,
Lizzie

"Merely Glow"? I Don't Think So!

Apart from the fact that the above cartoon is totally my life at the moment, today has been one of those 'auughh' days. And I wasn't even going to post because today is Saturday and I'm trying really hard not to blog on weekends because of pressing household tasks (see above) and general family togetherness and all, and then I realised I didn't post on Friday so if you count today as Friday's post, and if I forget to post another couple of times this week I calculate I'll be back on track in around two weeks. Or, you can just count all the grammatical errors in that last sentence. Equally enthralling, I'm sure :P

Remember this post? Remember specifically this sentence?

Now, I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm going to look back on my words come
the end of November and wonder why I was whingeing about the cold weather...

Yep, I was right. My city has gone through a warm stretch for the last week and a bit. On the 3rd (at the height of the rainy start to the month), the temp was 16.4ºC (62ºF). On Friday 9th, when the warm run began, it was 29.4ºC (85ºF) and hasn't dropped below that since. This past Friday, the 16th, it got to 37.1ºC (98.8ºF). And it's not over yet. This is the forecast for the next few days. I'm hanging out for Wednesday, let me tell you.

I do not do well in the heat. I am a 25 Degree Gal, max. I make no apologies for that, LOL.

This morning was Boofah and Miss Moo's school Christmas Fair. I badly wanted to stay at home in a caftan sipping icy drinks under the air-conditioner, but I sucked it up and the kids and I headed down to the school. A five minute walk and we were all sweating when we got there. Whoever penned that saying "Horses sweat, gentlemen perspire, and women merely glow" obviously never spent any time in an Australian summer! Plus, women do sweat. Icky, but true.

Our local primary (elementary) school is quite a big one, so the Fair is big as school shindigs go. They had a 'sideshow alley' of sorts - one of those gigantic metal slides (now there's a place you want to be putting your rear end on a 35ºC (95ºF) day!), the biggest jumping castle I've ever seen, mini golf, those clown/ball machines, a 'vitual reality' ride, and a miniature motorised merry-go round for the littlies. Master J and Boofah chose the virtual reality ride, which was a hoot because they had a TV screen set up for the parents to watch the poor kids petrified reactions to the 3D action while they waited outside. I briefly thought J would have some sensory issues (it's dark, pitching left and right, and there are monsters basically jumping off the screen to get him) but he was just fine. We've been pretty lucky in that regard. Miss Moo chose the jumping castle. I was completely mean and set a limit of one ride each (at $5 a pop, it's not cheap) so after we'd sweated our way through the crowds we got a cold drink and sat down a while. Still sweating. Blech.

I'd also given the kids $2 each to spent as they saw fit. There are always lots of fair-type crafts on sale, mostly trinket stuff you know won't last out the week but it all goes toward the experience so you wear the expense with good grace, LOL. You know, kind of like those $7 non-satisfying hotdogs at sporting events when a 50c sandwich from home would have filled you up better? :P Master J had a slight problem when he didn't win anything on a 'spin the wheel' game and realised he'd 'wasted' his $2. By 'problem', I mean 'mini meltdown'. We haven't had one of those in quite a while but one of the things we're firm with him on is his behaviour, and he knows better, so he got a Screen Free Day the rest of the day (no computer, Playstation, hand-held games) Boofah was marginally more successful and brought home a box of Christmas crackers which he won on a 'lucky (popsicle) stick' game and Miss Moo spent her money (and borrowed some off Mum) for a chance at a Lucky Dip, from which she pulled out a hideous purple faux fur bag she instantly fell in love with. Five year old girls are so easy to please.

My favourite part of the Fair though was the folk art stall. The school's gym is open to stallholders on the day (usually Mums from within the school 'family') and I bought a few country-style wooden door/wall-hangings. I wish I had more people on my Christmas list who appreciate the country decorating style (my mother would have loved, loved, loved what was on offer, sigh) but I settled for this wall hanging for the inlaws, who have five grandkids:

This wall hanging just for me, which I'll hang on my laundry room door, LOL.


And this last one was just cute and fun so into the bag it went too. It will go somewhere in the kitchen. Ahem.


The mum who makes these generally just does this one stall each year but I know who she is (our kids were in the same class last year) so I can corner her before school lets out for the year if I figure out who else to gift with one. I'm sure she'd be happy to make some post-Fair sales :)

Life is just crazy at the moment. As well as an extremely high (self-inflicted, sigh) study load which is due in less than two weeks, we have the wrap-up to our school year in full force. With three kids in two different schools, we have performances, concerts, excursions, fairs, you name it all squeezed into a three or four week period before school lets out on December 14. For those unaware, Australia's school year runs from the last week in January until around the middle of December, broken up by 2 week holidays every 10 weeks or so (and hence, four terms in the school year). Some states (I think Tasmania?) have three terms so longer holiday periods throughout the year, and some states' schools don't break for the year until the third week of December (just a few days before Christmas), but my state, South Australia, breaks mid-December. All states have around a six-week or so summer holiday stretch over the height of the heat (these three month long summers I keep hearing about in the States? I can't decide whether 3 months without school is a good thing or a bad thing, LOL).

November is almost worse than December around here, in terms of 'stuff' on the calendar. Hubs just called from work to ask me to ring to book our respite worker (special needs qualified care worker/babysitter) so we can attend a team Christmas party next Saturday. That same day, we have a birthday party for one of Miss Moo's classmates and it's the federal election day in Australia so we have to find the time time to vote as well (voting is compulsory here, and you can be fined if you skip it) And to top it all off, Hubs' major training stint begins on November 22 and runs for a month. This is one of those training things where even when he's here physically, he won't be here mentally or emotionally, LOL. What Christmas shopping we can't get done between now and Thursday will have to fall on my shoulders, as for those four weeks he'll be too exhausted to do anything other than eat, sleep and train. I'm so excited for him, but I can anticipate things getting really tough around here and the housework falling to the wayside. I suspect the shopping will have to wait until after my study deadline of November 30 anyway. I so didn't want to be shopping in December this year, sigh. Is it strange that I'm planning the variety of tea to stock up on for those post-Christmas-post-study-sorely-needed-relaxation phases?

What day is it again? LOL.

Cheers,
Lizzie

My Hubs, The Artiste ~ Episode 2

I'm just having a bit of a play around tonight, adding in a couple of new things showcasing my very talented (and insistent!) Hubs' photography. After adding the widget thingy in the right sidebar he asked me to 'start a blog to ask people what they think of the widget' - I eventually figured out he meant 'post', not 'blog', LOL. So I thought I'd go one step further and found a poll widget online. Join in if you like, but if you don't want to, that's cool too :)

(Hubs - happy now? LOL)

Also, feel free to comment. Hubs is strongly suggesting I move the widget up to prime blog real estate directly at the top of either sidebar. I'm trying to distract him :P

Update: After much prodding and holding backrubs for ransom, Hubs finally convinced me to move the widget up the page a bit. He wanted it in Numero Uno position in the right sidebar. Nice try hon!

Cheers,
Lizzie

Lizzie's Link Love ~ November 13 (ish)

Even though it is already Wednesday evening where I am, I'm going to consider this only a tad late going by US time (which would be something like the wee hours of Wednesday or thereabouts). It's been a long couple of days, LOL.

Lots of good stuff this week:

What Would You Do If... by Camilla Anderson at Growing In Truth. Such a convicting read! And quite a scary thought really...

I came across the Gubb.net site after following a link from I'm An Organizing Junkie's post on her fascination with Organizing magazine. One of those great examples of a Yellow Linkie Brick Road, LOL. If you like lists, this is a fun site to play around with.

Rhonda at Down To Earth wrote about a lovely sense of community Christmas spirit in Preparing For Christmas. What's great about this post is that I've lived in towns just like hers and the sense of community togetherness truly is awe-inspiring.

Lifenut talks about The Dirtiest Word in one of my favourite posts this week. As a stay-at-home mum I'm the sole executor of errands around here and that often requires me to hop on a bus to the shopping centre. And while I walk around, working my way through my list, I've tried not to use and think and act this same dirty word, but its truly hard when you are seeing parts of young girls that should never be seen in public, or when you're trying to tune out the screaming - not just crying, screaming - of a child whose mother is simulteously ignoring the poor thing while absently smoking a cigarette and yelling at her other child (no more than five years old) to 'do something with your sister!' It breaks my heart.

On a happier note, these are just the cutest things in the world. Hat tip to Skip To My Lou. I badly want to make one. Or four.

No Money? No Problem at The Real Food Revolution highlights a really good point - food in the western world is less about actual nutrition than we might think. If we all ate the foods that had optimal nutrition over the empty calories we tend to favour, would such a large portion of the community (myself included!) be overweight? I doubt it.

And now, I'm off to relax with a well-earned cup of coffee with this new hazelnut whitener stuff I bought today. Oh, our fridge appears to be fixed. I was able to do a large grocery trip today! Woohoo!

Cheers,
Lizzie

Someone Help This Widow Quick!

Here's an email I received at my Lizzie's Home email address today, verbatim:

Beloved In Christ,

Calvary greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I am Mrs Sophia George, a widow to Late Edward George, I am 79years old, I am now a new Christian convert,suffering from long time cancer of the breast.From all indications, my condition is serious and according to my doctor it is quite obvious that I may not survive the sickness,although as a christain I beleive God and I know that I will not die,I will live to declare the glory of God. My late husband and my only son were killed during a Crisis some years back and I am presently Leaving with some domestic staffers,Our Lord Jesus Christ is my comforter.

I have the sum of $15,000,000.(fifyteen million US Dollars)The fund is in cash, packaged in consignments deposited with a finance company for safety and security reasons Presently all the documents concerning the consignments are with my lawyer.Now that my sickness has gone to this stage,I am scared i might die any time therefore wish that the fund be used to the glory of God .This money is the procceed from the sale of properties and shares and physical cash i inherited from my late husband. I have prayed and I told God to direct me to an honest person who will receive this fund and utilise it for things that will glorify the name of God.

After my prayers,I searched the internet,I found your email address and I decided to contact you.Please if you are honest and faithful enough to use this fund strictly for the work of God,please your response is highly needed to enable my lawyer make arrangement with the finance company on how the consignments that contained the fund will be delivered/transfer to you.

Thanks and God bless you while waiting to hear from you.You can still write me through my alternate email address: (address deleted by me)

Mrs Sophia George

How many of us have received emails like this? This is my first one - sent twice to the Lizzie's Home email actually, but one went through to the junk folder and one got to the inbox where I mistook it for a reader I was waiting on an email from. Opening it was probably a bit foolish in retrospect, but I'm posting it here because I'm sick to death of the whole shemozzle and I'm absolutely certain we're all going to get an email like it at some point, so be warned. And seriously, if you're in the extortion business, wouldn't your trade pick up just a little with a healthy dose of grammar and correct spelling? In my area not too long ago a poor man was sucked in to an 'African beauty' scam and lost a chunk of money flying over to meet this beauty - and then got himself kidnapped. His family then lost a large chunk of money paying his ransom. How totally crazy do people have to be to believe in emails like this one? Mind you, 'fifyteen' million dollars would sure come in handy, LOL...

I have a sneaking suspicion the Big Guy is kind of mad about it all too.

DELETE, DELETE, DELETE. Auughh.

(and if you haven't worked it out, the title is sarcastic with a capital S, LOL)

Cheers,
Lizzie

Menu Plan Monday ~ November 12

In this day and age, it is obvious how much we've come to rely on modern conveniences - and one of the most 'can't live without it' appliances we have would have to be the refridgerator. I'm yet to find a family who willingly goes without a fridge.

We, however, have been forced into a sort of alternate universe by having our fridge break down not once, but twice in the last six weeks. Each time has required repairmen who have taken at least TEN DAYS on each occasion to 'fit us in'. The reasons for this long a wait are absurd - our fridge was just inside the warranty the first time, so we were forced to go with the company-appointed repair folks for our area. There are only TWO authorised repairers for our brand of fridge in our entire city of over one million people - one north, and one south of the city. It's just ridiculous. And then the second time it broke, we were just outside of the warranty period but (thankfully) so close to the end date that they popped us through on warranty anyway. If that hadn't happened we had a fall back of a 3mo parts warranty on the fan they replaced the first time.

So here I am, right this second, waiting for the repairers to turn up. I've had to rearrange my week to accomodate them. Both ten-day-sans-fridge periods were only tolerable due to the loan of a camping fridge from the inlaws, which fits approximately four items of food in it at any one time. This has a massive bearing, obviously, on what my menu looks like, LOL. I do still have a stand-alone freezer but I've been severely restricted in the amount of fresh stuff I can have on hand. I've been grocery shopping nearly every day, just picking up four tomatoes at a time, and a single 2ltr (half gallon) bottle of milk, and the combination of that and the general grumpiness over the fridge has made me dread dinnertime. The refridgerated condiments that I lost when the first fridge dummy spit occurred (they were opened, so needed refridgeration, and there was no room in the camping fridge for anything but the true essentials, like milk, cheese and chocolate, LOL) were only JUST replaced when the second phase hit! However, we are pressing on.

In the meantime, here's a list of meals I could possibly make with what I currently have on hand. I may or may not make these, and we may or may not (LOL) get takeaway this week. It really just depends on whether the guys today can fix the fridge so that I can store more than half a day's worth of food at a time and whether I don't self-destruct from the absurdity of the situation. If they can't fix it today (seems to be the same problem as last time, but replacing the part they said was broken obviously didn't work) then Hubs and I are shopping for a fridge tomorrow. Which, if you know my husband, will be akin to pulling out his toenails one by one, LOL.

Something with eggs - scrambled, fried, 'toad-in-a-hole', frittata (gets a bit hard with no produce to put in it though)
Something with pasta, probably the old fall back Spaghetti Bolognaise - pantry/freezer ingredients. Yay!
Something with rice - I'll have to go shopping specifically for the vegetables I need (eg, Fried Rice) so I'll have to be careful with the amounts I buy.
Something with the crockpot - I've neglected the meat in my big freezer for a while so I'm not sure if its still 'good'. We shall see. Ditto with any vegies I may need to buy. Sigh.
Some kind of roast dinner - I used to marvel at my mother's roasts when I was young. They always looked so complicated and a simple chicken could turn a meal magical. To this day, my absolute number one favourite comfort meal is a roast chicken dinner. And I've since realised that a roast is seriously one of the easiest meals in the world to prepare.

...and for the other two nights...pot luck with whatever's left over in the camping fridge. Or, if my luck holds out, I may get a working fridge by day's end and can do a regular ol' grocery shopping trip tomorrow for meals from Tues-Sun. Just can't count on that at this stage.

Oh, question for those who haven't seen my earlier post on this book:



Does anyone have it? I'm considering ordering it from a bookstore near me or shipping it from the US, and I'd love to have a look-see at the full list of 67 'master recipes' to see if they are things we would normally use. I'd appreciate your help, so please send an email!

P.S. I actually am still grateful for some things with the whole fridge situation - it could have been worse. I'm thankful we've had the use of the camping fridge, despite its diminuitive size (without it, we'd have been forced to rent a fridge or even buy one knowing the original fridge may have been fixed with just a small part). Plus, the repairers could have been unwilling to work with us on warranty considering we'd technically slipped out of the warranty period for the second stint (they'd still have been up for the parts warranty though, but at least taking us on warranty this time around means we're also covered if the problem is somewhere other than the part they already replaced). And it's really not as bad as I'm making it out to be - just that daily shopping can be TEDIOUS, LOL. Bonus: the fridge got a clean out!

Update: The Fridge Man Cometh - and minus some big chunks of mysterious ice somehow frozen to the coils in the belly of the beast, we *think* (touch wood) the problem is licked. Apparently the first time around we didn't leave the fridge off long enough to defrost more than the surface, and the cold air from newly fixed fan made the....oh never mind. It's totally boring. We still have to leave the fridge off for another two days just to be sure, which is a drag. Thereafter, however, fingers crossed. Hubs, who is such a lovely, mild-mannered soul is starting to get a teeny bit annoyed and a third fridge breakdown may necessitate a few words with the manufacturer...

For more Menu Plan Monday folk, go say hi over at I'm An Organizing Junkie :)

Cheers,
Lizzie

Home Management Binder Tour - Brand New!

(© Cute Colors)

Okay folks - are you ready? Go and boil the kettle. Trust me on this one. And rustle up something home-baked. This one's gonna be long. Like very long ;)

I've been meaning to post an updated tour of my Home Management Binder for ages and ages. Lots of things have changed since I last did one about ten months ago. Including, but not limited to, not having to enlist Hubs' help to resize the photos in Photoshop this time around, LOL. Oh, that was a fun day - "Tell me again hon, WHY do you need a photo of a piece of paper with some words on it?"

Let's get the ball rolling. Forgive the inconsistent quality in the photos. Some were fine but quite a few had to be contrast-adjusted (another thing I didn't need Hubs for this time around!) because of my lack of photo-taking skills. Now, Hubs would have woven a little magic right there on the camera dials and had them all come up perfect but I just couldn't imagine him setting up the shots 'just so' in the same way he can lie on his stomach in our backyard taking photos of ladybugs for hours...so you're stuck with my questionable photography talent, LOL.

I haven't changed the cover or spine since the last tour (but I am getting rather bored with this one, so probably will soon)

Cover and Inside


Right on the inside cover I have a clear pocket - this is where I dump my ripped-out recipes, any menu plans I'm working on, my to-do list, and so on.


Underneath the papers (you can't see it in the above photo) is this quote, from an article on LAF a while back:

"What are the cornerstones to running an efficient household? I would have to say they are clean laundry, a clean kitchen (especially clean dishes), and three square meals a day. Without a vigilant attitude towards these things, we can hinder any other efforts we make in our homes."

(From the article "A Practical Time and Money Saving Approach to Grocery Shopping" by
Mrs. Mabyn Clark, courtesy of the LAF website)

I always liked that because so often I find myself getting stuck into various homemaking duties or decluttering projects at the expense of these three things. Now I concentrate on these three things first. Some days this is all I get done, LOL.

The first page of my binder contains the attributes of the Proverbs 31 Woman.


Routines

This is the title page of my Routines section. I love Thomas Kinkade paintings so each title page has an image of his, matched as closely as possible to the theme of that section (so a snow scene for the Christmas section, and so on. Told you I was OCD!) Then underneath each picture is a verse from Proverbs 31, also matched as closely as I can to the theme.


"She gets up while it is still dark, and provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls."

I keep my own Routines, the children's Routines and my Master Schedule (though that one isn't referred to as often - things are pretty well cemented in my head by now) in this section. As well as having mine and the children's Routines in the Binder, I have 'cheat sheets' laminated and posted on the pantry door. Here's my Household Routines sheet, where everything has been condensed onto the one page for easy reference:


They're the tweaked Routines I posted about in late September. I love my laminator, by the way. I bought it for $24 and it has come in handy for so many things. And I can whip around with a dry-erase marker right over the top and it just wipes clean afterward.

Here's the updated version of our Chore Charts, or as we call them now, Daily Chore Sheets. Several of you have asked me about these.


The three sections represent the Morning, Afternoon and Evening Routines. These are not so much a list of chores as they are a run through of a typical day and our expectations of what the kids are supposed to be doing when. It's set up more or less chronologically unlike the previous method which was a little harder to follow. Here's what's currently on the list:

Morning Routine

Wake up!
Make bed
Eat breakfast
Put on uniform (or regular clothes if a non-school day)
Socks and shoes
Put dirty clothes in basket
Brush teeth/wash face
Do you need anything special for school today? (to prompt them to be responsible for bringing the right books, notes, etc)
Watch TV quietly

Afternoon Routine

Get changed into after school clothes
Lunchbox, drink bottle and folder on bench
Afternoon tea
Read with a grown up
Computer or Playstation time (20 mins)
Is your bedroom tidy?
Special Chore (see below)
Play quietly

Evening Routine

Kitchen Chore (see below)
Eat dinner
Room Rescue
Brush teeth/wash face
Baths
Pyjamas
Go to the toilet
Goodnight!

This is what we'd consider the bare minimum involvement from the children each day. We do still ask them to do additional chores as they crop up, but they all know by now that this list is their 'work' and that it must be completed first.

As for Special Chores and Kitchen Chores - there are three in each category. Kitchen Chores are Set the Table, Clear the Table and Mum's Kitchen Helper (simple cooking instruction, measuring rice, helping to chop the vegies, etc). Special Chores are Garden Helper, Floor Patrol (vacuuming or sweeping, depending on the room) and Laundry Helper. Here's what the chore lists all look like up on the fridge:


So that they don't always end up with the same two jobs with each rotation (like Laundry Helper and Set the Table always going together), the chores are rotated in opposite ways. At the beginning of each 'week' (we pay pocket money on Thursdays, so we switch the jobs around on that day also) we erase and copy in the new job from either the left or the right, depending on whether it is a Special Chore or Kitchen Chore. Still with me? Clear as mud, right? LOL. Don't worry, it does make sense. No, really!

Here is our Values Chart.


It's more or less the same as before, but with a couple of rewards alterations. The kids earn ticks for additional, unexpected, non-prompted good behaviour. The Values Chart isn't tied in with the Daily Chore Sheet but is an additional system we've introduced to reward for good attitude and exceptional behaviour. They do not get ticks for doing their chores. They get ticks for showing our family values - be helpful, use your manners, be responsible (owning up to breakages, not doing anything they know is naughty, not joining in when their siblings are being naughty, etc), take turns and do your chores quickly and without fuss. They get ticks removed when they show the opposite of our family values (fighting with each other, not sharing, lying - doesn't happen often - and being a grump). They also don't get ticks if they do the good things but then ask for a tick. The incident must have occured unprompted, and without them thinking 'oh, I'll do this because Mummy's watching and I'll get a tick'. Nice try kids, LOL.

Now, I've described the Values Chart here but that one doesn't have a duplicate in the Binder like the Daily Chores do. And again, they're both laminated and we have a special dry-erase marker that has earned sacred status especially for the purpose of giving ticks, LOL.

Basic Weekly Plan


"She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks."

First up, here's my Basic Weekly Plan printout (for some reason I've labelled it Focus Cleaning Schedule here, LOL)


Here's an example of a typical spread in this section - in this case, my Thursday and Friday cleaning:


One of these days I'll get around to upgrading the whole Routines & Cleaning section on Lizzie's Home and I'll include full lists of what I do in each room. I should stress though, that this is sort of 'medium level' cleaning and quite often if I'm strapped for time I'll skip right over the less important parts. What I've listed above is the level we're all comfortable with around here, with anything extra (LOLOLOL....) considered a bonus. The 'extra' would be the serious deep cleaning like, um, cleaning the tops of the overhead kitchen cabinets (if they don't go right the way up to the ceiling). What? You all clean those? Hrruumph!

Menu Planning


"She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar."

First up, my Master Grocery List.


I print out several of these at a time and then just post a new one up on the fridge each week. I highlight the things we need and handwrite the amounts next to the item. Having the full list prompts me to stock up on unadvertised sales items (if they're something we'd normally buy, ie, they're on the MGL) as I'm walking around the store.

I also print out several of these to use in menu planning sessions (you may have to click on 'Open' if prompted):


Also in this section I keep previous menus, and a Master Meal List in case I'm drawing a blank. The Master Meal List includes notes on what side dishes we usually serve and notes next to each meal/recipe indicating which cookbook it is in.

Calendars


"She is clothed in strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come."

I keep a birthday calendar and a major events calendar (on this one I list things like when our annual checkups and car registration is due, and any other events coming up, such as weddings). I read over these every week or so as part of my Think About Tomorrow time with my evening cup of tea.

Financial


"She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night."

I found a set of PVC 'month' tabbed dividers, numbered 1 - 12. I use the appropriate number to file important monthly financial information, such as our Household Expenses Tally:


This is the system we use at the moment for tracking our spending. It's a bit hard to make out (on purpose, LOL) but it covers things like mortgage payments, mortgage interest, groceries (broken down into various categories), education, leisure, gifts, insurances, clothing and shoes...lots of different things. We're in the habit now of saving every receipt and dumping them in a special box (an old wipes container) when we come home. Every couple of days (in theory) I enter the figures in the appropriate category on the tally above. I'm quite a long way behind at the moment (I haven't inputted the last half of October yet!) but September's tally worked out really well. At the end of the second sheet I have a 'balance as at 1st of --' and 'balance as at 31st of --' for our transaction account. In theory, over several months we should get a good indication from those 'beginning' and 'ending' figures of each month whether we're living above or below our means. I know we're 'comfy' at the moment, but it will give us a clearer picture. And all the other figures will be good for subsequent comparisons from month to month.

Children


"Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her."

This is the section I keep all the kids' information, such as current clothing sizes, lists of clothing I need to start looking for, school lists, Christmas wish lists, food preferences, appointments I need to make for them and any additional kid stuff that is going on at any given time.

People


"She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue."

This section is similar to the Children section - gift ideas lists, preferences and sizes, plus it includes a 'yellow pages' of the most common phone numbers we call for family, friends and care providers.

Home Projects


"She selects wool and flax, and works with eager hands."

I have a running list of extra chores and projects I would like to get to here, plus instructions (if necessary) for completing those things. At the moment it includes:

Put photos into albums
Declutter Bedroom 4
Purge outgrown clothing
Rip recipes out of magazines
Add more recipes to Family Cookbook
Weed out toys for donation
Re-organize filing cabinet
Wash windows and glass doors, inside and out
Declutter kitchen cupboards
Declutter patio area

The idea is to spend 1 hour each Saturday morning, as I'm cycling through my Misc Laundry (sheets, towels, bedding) on something from the list. Sometimes I don't get around to it. That's okay, because (unfortunately!) there's always next week, LOL.

Personal


"Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value."

Sometimes I get a burning need to research one topic or another that isn't related to homemaking, kids or husband. Would you believe at the moment I have an article about how to apply makeup properly? I know! It's so sad. But I don't normally wear it these days so I've fallen out of practise. I also have information in there about making your own beauty products, and a Book Wish List. And a Gift Wish List, LOL. Hubs needs a little instruction on that one! Oh, and I also have clippings of decor and furniture I'd like to save toward. Lots of stuff :)

Study


Oh, I'm so close to the end - and then I'm going to burn this section with great satisfaction, LOL. But at the moment it contains contact info for my lecturers (personal extensions and email addresses), my study schedule, and bits and pieces of articles and assignments I'm currently working on.

Craft


"She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple."

This section is filled to bursting with all the ideas and patterns and tutorials I've picked up online, LOL. It recently got a big boost thanks to Sew, Mama, Sew!'s Handmade Holidays series. I need to buy more page protectors though - we're only a third of the way through, LOL. Plus there are several ripped-out pages from magazines.


Don't you just want to curl up in that blankie? I don't even knit and I want to try it, LOL.

Christmas

"When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet."

In this section I have Christmas menus, crafts, gift lists, decoration ideas and things to do in the lead up to Christmas Day. Plus a whole lot of other things - I'm a bit of a Christmas junkie :)

Inspiration


"She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy."

Many of the stories in the "Blessings" section of Lizzie's Home are printed out and included here. I often read them and a couple in particular are my very favourites (Shay and Teddy, sniff, sniff :)

Articles


"She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard."

These are the essays and blog posts I come across online that really resonate with me. Lady Lydia (Home Living) and Laine (Laine's Letters) are a great source for these type of articles. I've printed out articles on homemaking, time management (*guffaw*), budgeting, organizing, and decorating. I need a bigger binder, LOL.

Bible Studies


"She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life."

Mrs Julie Fink, of Living By Grace, writes bible studies for women for her church - her husband is the pastor. There are some really good studies on this site, in categories such as womanhood, marriage, motherhood, home, peace, maturity and Titus 2.


I've printed off several and read over them every so often.

Bulk Cooking


"She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness."

This section includes past menus, ideas for future menus, bulk cooking plans, articles on particular methods and lots of recipes for bulk quantities. One of the best approaches I've come across is this one:


Miscellaneous


"Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land."

This is where I store all the cheat sheets my husband writes for me on how to do computery things, LOL. I need written instructions on how to burn a CD and how to crop photos in Photoshop :P And everything else that doesn't fit into the other categories goes here as well.

Bonus - Weight Loss


This is one of the checklists I use when I'm being good (*blush*) Like the kids' Daily Chores lists, they're laminated so I can use a dry-erase marker to check them off. Let's just say using them lately has been a bit hit and miss, LOL.

So there you have it. The Home Management Binder is a very fluid thing - I'm constantly adding new pages and rearranging what's there. So it could all be completely different come next week!

Happy Bindering!

Cheers,
Lizzie