Accomplishments?

Sadly, today is the 19th day of November and I am posting my very first entry for NaBloPoMo. *Insert one. slow. clap.* I will be organized, or at least semi-organized one day! I think one thing that will help me to post more often is to keep track of my daily accomplishments. We'll try that today and see what happens. :-)
In other "homemaker news": One thing I want to talk about is that I have finally learned to love oatmeal raisin cookies (or at least the ones I make). I used to view them as shifty little devils. With the raisins partially camouflaged underneath the oats and flour and brown sugar, they sometimes appear as beautiful dark semi-sweet chocolate morsels. There have been times when someone has actually told me that the cookies were oatmeal chocolate chip - they were sure of it - then I bit into a deceitful raisin, adding to my trust issues. I had been craving homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

for some time and decided it would be a nice little bonding project to do with my kids. Of course, the two little ones tested my patience to the point of no return and ended up getting sent to bed. (It was 9:00 by then anyway.) I mostly made them by myself with a a bit of help from my older son with cracking eggs & a little mixing, then he had to go to bed too. So instead of cookies for desert last night, they will be everyone's after school snack today. Since the hubs loves oatmeal raisin, I split the dough in half & decided to do half raisin, half chocolate chip. As the first pan came out of the oven smelling all cinnamon-y and irresistible, I knew I had to make a sacrifice and try one of the raisin cookies. Somehow, some way, I actually liked it! I even tried more after they cooled off and still liked them! I think I can actually eat oatmeal raisin cookies (that I made) without feeling betrayed!
What is the secret to the raisins' trickery? 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves! The recipe calls it optional, but if you're anything like me and have had a longstanding contempt for raisins in your baked goods, then the cloves are definitely a requirement. Here is a link to the recipe (Although mine came directly from my BHG cookbook that my mom gave me when I moved into my first apartment - Thanks Mom!)

Today's Accomplishments:

• 2 rows of blanket completed
• 2 baskets of laundry folded & put away
• Plants watered/cared for
• Blog post completed :-)
• New knitting project started
• Worked on video editing for hubby's Sunday message

Watch Out Boys!

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. My 6 year-old daughter woke up so excited - almost like Christmas  - when I was about to do "This Little Piggy" with her toes, she said, "Do 'this little piggy's daddy is coming to her school!'"
My husband started this tradition with our oldest daughter when she was in kindergarten (maybe even daycare) where he would go to her school in the middle of the day and bring her a ridiculous amount of gifts: roses, tons of candy, stuffed animals, balloons, and whatever else he could think of. (I would say "whatever else he could think of that she could reasonably carry home on the bus," but I think he's forgotten about the bus some years LOL) Me, being the penny-pincher, have always felt he went a bit overboard and when we were expecting our youngest daughter, I warned him that he was going to have to keep up, but that didn't worry him. Eventually, I washed my hands of it and let him do what he does because they love it so much.
Obviously, it's nice to show our kids love and give them nice things for Val-day, but my husband wants to do more than that. His whole motivation is that his girls get so used to getting flowers and nice things for Val-day that, once they get older, they don't just accept any old thing that some little boy decides to get them - these little boys must come correct! LOL Also, it's not just about material things, but about the thought they put into it. My girls are not going to be blown away the first time some guy gives them flowers because they've had that before.

"Too much of a good thing is wonderful."

A prime example: Black Ink. (First let me tell you, I REALLY try not to get into these foolish so-called "reality" shows, but if they happen to be on TV, I'm almost like a moth to a flame - except for those extra-foolish ones like Bad Girls Club that serve no purpose other than attempting to turn men on by displaying ridiculous cat-fights and drunkenness - but that's just my opinion.) Anyway, I happened to get engrossed into an episode of Black Ink Crew - the show about the black-owned tattoo shop in Harlem. I normally wouldn't even watch this show because I don't care anything about tattoos, but the people are interesting. So, one of the artists is getting involved with the owner of the shop and he gives her flowers on their first official date and she gets all teary-eyed and says no guy has ever done something like that for her before. Huh??!!
Now, let me say a few things:
1. How old is she and is this the first guy she's ever dated? (I'm guessing not, b/c after the date she mentions to him what she wants to do and it doesn't seem first-time-ish to me)
2. Come on guys! Flowers? That's too much to ask nowadays? I realize that there are plenty of women who say they don't like and/or care about flowers, but there's nothing wrong with spending a little money to get a woman you care about something beautiful.
3. I've made mistakes, and definitely dated some losers, but I've always known that a guy who doesn't do little things (like flowers, chocolates, or even writing love letters) isn't worth being with and definitely not worth ME giving ANYTHING to him - time to move on.
4. I am thankful that I'll never have to worry about this from my girls. Their dad has set the standard high AND they have seen him demonstrate these things with me on Val-day - I always get a little bit more than they get and I also get flowers and other gifts on non-occasions, just because he wanted to brighten my day. :-) So chivalry ain't dead!
I guess my message is both to dads and women. Dads - if you want your daughters to end up with men who are better than you, or at least as good as you, set the standards high early on. Make sure they see that the man in their life is supposed to make them feel special and valuable, and even make sure that other people (i.e. their friends at school) see this. You don't have to go overboard (like my husband does at times :-) ), but make sure they feel your presence and your love. That makes it more likely that they won't settle for some user/loser.
Women - just because a guy gives you flowers, doesn't mean you have to return the favor (hopefully you get my drift, I try to keep this blog PG).

Tulips - one of my favs!

There ARE men out there who will make you feel special and loved, but sometimes that calls for waiting patiently. You can do it! In the end, you will be glad you decided you weren't going to settle for just anybody. Also, a man who gives you lots of expensive stuff is not necessarily the one either. I've gotten expensive gifts from guys only to find out that he spent more money on his main girlfriend! I like the saying, "Not gonna be the same fool twice!" I did it once for ya'll, now don't make it twice! ;-)
I'm now thankful that my husband goes a little overboard for Val-day and I accept it with open arms - especially while I'm eating chocolate! LOL

Finding a Purpose and Accomplishing Goals

I started a post yesterday, but somehow did not finish it. I did however accomplish things today and yesterday that I had set out to do. First of all, today, I have achieved my daily income goal. Due to the fact that I have to rely on multiple streams of income and, unlike at my previous jobs, I do not get paid for downtime, :-( I figured the best way to make sure I am bringing in steady income is to decide on a specific dollar amount I need to make each day. Unfortunately, after deciding on that amount, I realized that I haven't been consistent in making that much money each day since I've been home. The only thing to do now is move forward and reach higher.

This has nothing to do with the blog post, just some flowers my husband got for me one time (just because!) I'm re-gifting them to myself LOL

The other goal I accomplished is that I have consistently working on improving my house - focusing on a certain area and working on it each day until it looks the way I want it. Sometimes it's hard, for instance, when I have done the basics, kitchen, bathroom, floors all look decent, I don't feel like going around and finding something else that needs to be done - I already feel like my entire life is a juggling act! I really am learning, though, because I find the more I accomplish what I set out to do, the easier it is to look toward the next thing, instead of feeling as though a huge scroll is chained to my feet.
I'm tired so this doesn't contain as much substance as I would have liked.
Goals for tomorrow:
Write blog earlier in the day, not right before bed
Be patient with the kids
Figure out what's for dinner
More de-cluttering

Dinner tonight was Baked Spaghetti. My version: I used 1 lb of ground beef; 3/4 jar of Ragu Old World Style Six Cheese sauce + 1/2 jar Kroger mushroom sauce - I should have just used both full jars; I also didn't measure the cheese, I just covered the top with shredded Colby & mozzarella, then sprinkled a nice amount of Parmesan all over it. Rating from the family: **** (out of 5) My husband said pepperoni would have made it better, but he and my daughter are the pickiest ones and both of them really liked it. :-) Weird thing about my youngest - he didn't really like the cheese so I ate his cheese. (He also doesn't like the cream in Oatmeal Cream Pies! :-O He's just different LOL) I also made homemade garlic bread using regular wheat bread, spread with margarine (or butter), garlic powder, a little mozzarella and a sprinkle of parsley :-) I threw it on a cookie sheet & put it in for the last 5-7 minutes of the spaghetti.

Oh, I almost forgot! I think I will have a targeted purpose for this blog. Obviously, I like to give my opinion, mainly because I believe my experiences will help someone else. I was thinking of using this blog to give advice. People can send me questions, or leave them in the comments and I will give my advice. Please comment and let me know what you think. Also, if you enjoy reading, don't forget to follow me.

Recommended Site: The Flylady - I love her! Even though I've found it difficult to follow ALL of her principles, she has still helped me to stick to my goals for my house. You can get anything done if you work on it for just 15 minutes a day!