daybook june 19, 2011

by babhoyersh on June 19, 2011

Outside my window…
the sun is coming up with lots of wispy clouds in the sky. The temperature feels perfect for walking.

I am thinking…
about my summer Zero Waste Home challenge, fieldtrips with the kids, my meal planning project, and the canning and preserving that I will start doing this week. So glad that I have kids old enough to help me with so many projects!

I am thankful for…
my husband! Warts and all, he’s simply the best!

I am pondering…
balance and priorities. I keep promising to write about the topic though one post could never cover it completely.

Living a green/frugal lifestyle…
We have 2 parties this weekend. I started my shopping at the grocery outlet and bought about 80% of what we needed there, along with stocking up on a few items like 20 lb. bags of rice. I also made sure to grab cloth grocery bags every time I went into a store instead of getting plastic bags at the store. At a few stores, when I forgot the cloth bags, I was able to refuse the plastic ones and just carry my items out.

I found another online planner to try – Springpad, along with Cozi. I’m using Cozi for many of my lists, plus my Google calendars and a journal to track my exercise and water drinking. I’m using Springpad for my meal planning, plus I may do my homekeeping lists through Springpad. One drawback to Cozi is that I can’t repeat lists. I’m not sure about Springpad yet since I just started using it yesterday. Springpad actually reminds me of Evernote with the internet integration. I use Evernote for my blog writing though it’s hard to find notes if I have a lot in a notebook. Nothing’s perfect! I just need good enough!

From the kitchen…
Part of my meal planning for next week which makes my kitchen planning a bit more complicated is planning for the produce that is almost ready to be harvested. I expect to have cucumbers by midweek which I’ll be pickling, and I need to plan time for that to prevent waste.

I also want to dry another batch of herbs, and I should have enough beans on Monday to steam and freeze. I’m hoping that Springpad will help me handle these other kitchen tasks. I haven’t been able to find a paper planner or make one myself that covers canning and preserving along with extra food prep like making bread, yogurt and kombucha.

I am creating…
kitchen/meal plans and summer decluttering plans. This 10 week list from Heartwork Organizing for getting ready for school fits right in with my plans.

I am going…
to mass and then home to plan and get ready for the 2nd party.

I am reading…
2 magazines that a friend dropped off. I’ll hit the library for books for myself when we go there on Thursday for the kids programs.

Living A Healthy Lifestyle…
My 2 week-long cold is finally going away. Now that school is out, I started running again. My plan is to run 3 days per week, along with walking and bike riding.

My other plan is make sure our meals have lots of vegetables, and that the kids get more veggies in their snacks which is why I need to make meal planning and kitchen prep a priority. It’s hard to eat veggies if they aren’t easy to grab out of the fridge.

I am hoping…
for a nice day and an easy week settling into our summer routines.

I am hearing…
the whole house fan running bringing the cool air in.

Around the house…
The first floor is cleaner thanks to the party preparation. I worked a little on the piles in my office yesterday by photographing my oldest son’s artwork. I’ll pick a few pieces to put in his memory box and recycle the rest.

Around the yard…
The beds need weeding, but they’re not bad. I need to tie up the tomatoes and maybe prune a bit. I need to get carrot, bean, and lettuce seeds in the ground. The grapevines in the back could use some taming.

One of my favorite things…
hollyhocks. There’s a plant by the raspberries next to the driveway.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
party, summer playground, library programs, summer school, canning and preserving, cleaning the house, and going to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania on Friday. Oh, and going to the Ridley Park Farmers Market on Thursday.

hollyhocks_pink

http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Associate and a Shaklee Independent Distributor.

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{ 2 comments }

coleen June 19, 2011 at 10:13 am

Hi Barb,
Your thoughts on balance and priorities, why couldn’t you write a few posts instead of one??? Make July/August your moth to talk about this??
Your going to the railroad museum on Friday…is that in Strasburg? Molly, Jon and Nate will be there to see Thomas the Tank Engine, maybe you’ll see them.
Have a good week and I’ll try to give you a call.

babhoyersh June 20, 2011 at 7:26 am

I may end up writing a few posts simply because there’s a lot to think about just for me, and I’m sure other moms have thoughts and perspectives to consider. Love the suggestion!

Yes we’re going to Strasburg! I think we’ll be parking across the street at the station because the parking lot is closed at the museum. We’ll be there at 9:30 when the museum opens. I’ll keep an eye out for Nate and Mollie!

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