Just a quick post tonight so I don’t miss posting 2 days in a row.
So, I had a bit of a setback and didn’t clean my sink before I went to bed last night. Busy working day and long football game (the homecoming game, first time all season it was cold enough to need a jacket and a blanket). Came home last night and pretty much went to bed.
Woke up and looked around this morning (while getting ready to get J to the homecoming parade, band marched) wishing I’d have spent that 5-10 minutes. Spent 5-10 minutes unloading the dishwasher before we left to go to the parade.
After breakfast/lunch, I went ahead and cleaned the sink, running the dishes through the dishwasher. It was nice to see the empty sink again. And I spent 5 minutes (probably less as we ate out and didn’t really have any dishes except the plates for our fast food, no eating out of the cartons around here!) cleaning the sink out before coming down here for this quick post.
After the parade, it was a bit of a lazy Saturday for me. My “family fun” consisted of watching 2 movies (Hocus Pocus, Black Widow) and taking a nap in between them. Somewhere in there I did a couple of loads of laundry but that’s it really.
Tomorrow is “recharge” day so I’ll probably spend it outside taking care of flower garden chores or planting some bulbs since it’s supposed to be a little warmer (back to the low 70’s I think, was in the low 40’s this morning).
I started on the 1st and tomorrow marks two weeks of following (semi-correctly this time) the Flylady way. Seems focusing on the kitchen sink makes a difference after all. The other rooms do tend to follow the lead of the kitchen sink. Who knew?
Well, lots of people I suppose.
Random observations
The house is cleaner. Not sparkling but just feels breathable in here. I’ll take it.
I like her idea of a schedule of days but do need to adapt it to my schedule.
Mondays don’t work well for me to do the home blessing but Thursdays fit. It makes more sense in my mind for the house to be clean and ready for us to enjoy on the weekend. We’re all running around on Mondays (and other days of the week). Of course, I also like Thursdays as errands day so I’ll have to think on things.
Refreshing Rooms As I Go
Bathroom week plus a bonus room is almost over. I admittedly didn’t do so well with the bonus room but I’ll get the hang of it all eventually. The mission today was another de-clutter and since I have the small bathroom, I opted to just wipe down the white cabinet pictured below instead (long overdue).
One thing I noticed is I see things I’d like to do in each room as I work in there. And enjoy finding small ways to freshen up the spaces. Gives me a little extra motivational boost as I clean.
And for the end of bathroom week, I picked up a new shower curtain!
Something I’ve been toying with doing for a while. Think it was meant to be as while running errands, I came across it on clearance and not even in the correct aisle. The same shower curtain I looked at earlier this year and decided to wait as I couldn’t quite justify it.
Nothing like a clearance price tag to help with that! Eventually, I’ll add some guest towels that go with it, probably in a solid blue or gray color like the rug that’s in there.
Note, I’m not doing anything “big” in these rooms just little things I’ve had on my mind for a while. And nothing super expensive. May even shop the house for some of it.
Do you ever do a small room refresh? How do you achieve it? What helps you stay motivated while cleaning?
Oops, I think it’s supposed to be anti-procrastination day in fly lady land. And I got off to a good start with a few tasks.
My Three Anti-Procrastination Day Tasks
Pajamas!
Finally tried on the Halloween pajamas I bought probably 2 weeks ago. Wanted to be prepared in case I got called into work on Halloween as it’s slated as a pajama day. And if I don’t get called in to help, can you ever really have too many pajamas?
Thinking the Fly lady answer is probably yes. SIGH. However, in my defense, I did rip a pair of my favorite pajama bottoms last year. So…they count as replacements.
Found Money! Sort Of…
I finally got around to taking a couple shirts I’d bought the boys at Kohls out of the bag to put them in the Christmas bin (I’m trying to shop ahead a bit). And when I took the receipt out of the bag to stash it in the Christmas receipt drawer of my dresser, I noticed a coupon thing that turned out to be $10 in Kohls cash that expires on Sunday. Also, a 15% off coupon. More Christmas shopping perhaps?
Also, I cleaned out my e-mail (a long overdue task…I’m awful at staying on top of it lately) and remembered to move my Got Milk payment over to the Amazon account. Apparently, I signed in with some class action lawsuit long ago not expecting anything but ended up with $7! Exciting stuff.
And To Even Out The Found Money, I Payed Some Bills
Planned to just pay everything and be done with it but then this happened….
My Fly Lady Fail
Did I do any of the missions in the bathroom and extra room? No. No, I did not. Didn’t even set foot in there except for the intended uses of the rooms.
It was a lazy, rainy day and I may or may not have fallen asleep reading my book for a bit. However, I’ve needed a nap for a while so maybe I should just go ahead and count it as a 4th anti-procrastination task.
Come to think of it, I also finally got around to registering for some parent teacher conferences at J’s school. They’re by appointment but we get to go in person this year.
There Is Hope
I think the rest from my nap might have helped as it’s actually 9:20 as I type this so I’ll get to bed closer to my normal time.
My mom made this cake often in the fall when I was younger. It was one of my favorites. And now J likes it a lot as well. My husband and G aren’t as big of fans but that’s okay. They’re just missing out.
I finally made it for myself and J last year when the craving for comfort food was strong.
It’s a handy recipe to use up those apples on the counter that aren’t quite mush but are no longer in the prime for just eating.
My mother used to make it using Jonathon apples. Probably picked from the local orchard (or picked up from their farm store, a restaurant also attached). A CVS sits on the corner (or maybe a QT as I can’t quite recall which side of the road) where the farm/orchard/restaurant used to stand.
While I’d been cutting the recipe in half, this last time I made it using the full 13×9 pan recipe. Thought it tasted so much better. However, last night it occurred to me. I used Jonathon apples in it this time as well. Note, any type of apple works. Pick an apple you like because the apples are the star flavor in this cake.
Apple Chip Cake (Recipe as typed. See my notes at the end.)
(Recipe card credited to Doris Jean Wyss)
2 cups sugar
1/4 pound oleo
Cream together.
Add:
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Mix thoroughly. Add:
4 cups diced raw apples
1 cup chopped pecans (black walnuts) 1/2 cup
Butter long pan. Bake 325 degrees for 1 hour. Eat hot with topping. Can make 3 layers. Can glaze or ice or dust with powdered sugar.
My Recipe Notes
1/4 pound oleo is equal to 1 stick of butter.
You can use whatever apples you have on hand. As I mentioned, my mom usually used Jonathon apples. This time that’s what I used along with a one gala and one golden delicious to round out the 4 cups (my Jonathon apples were small).
I usually leave out the nuts but I do remember my mom adding pecans, very finely chopped. I think the idea is to only add 1/2 cup if you use walnuts.
Long pan is 13 x 9. I think it’s just as good cold as hot. We usually don’t do anything to it but add a dab of whipped cream to a serving (and personally, I prefer it plain).
I hope you enjoy the cake if you give this recipe a try!
It’s main bathroom week in Flylady land this week. Not so exciting. Especially as our main bathroom is small. So yesterday’s 27 Fling boogie (the idea is to get rid of 27 pieces of clutter/trash in the room) wasn’t really applicable.
I did take the trash out of there today, maybe that counts?
In fairness, it’s main bathroom plus another room (her e-mails seem to focus on the guest room so I went with the basement as it’s where the boys’ friends stay once in a while).
Today, I did a mix of weekly tasks from her lists plus the daily missions. I was kind of all over the place.
In The Basement
I did do one of those 27 Fling boogie things. And this desk is pleasantly clear as I sit down here typing tonight.
The other thing was to wash bedding but I skipped to Wednesday’s wash the bathroom rugs mission and that took longer than I expected so….maybe tomorrow.
In The Bathroom
Here’s what I did in regards to cleaning our main bathroom.
Yesterday’s mission of shining the tub. I didn’t really make it shiny but I did clean it better than it’s probably been cleaned in longer than I really want to admit in writing.
Washed the bathmat/rug. It was dirty even with us usually laying a towel on top before our shower. I also washed another rug that was down in the basement. Between the dirt on both of them, I felt the need to run an empty hot water and bleach only cycle through the washer.
Swept and scrubbed the tile floor. Why on why did they put this tile on our floor?
Came up with a new idea for an invention. How about cleaning tools for small and awkward spaces? Mini mops/narrow Swifter wet jets. Did the best I could. The floor is probably as clean as it’s been in a while.
Random Thoughts
A few quick random thoughts before I go upstairs, clean out the sink and go to bed.
I’ve noticed the house is staying a bit (not a lot) cleaner with the Flylady tasks happening.
Did use a timer briefly today just to get my focus started.
Suddenly, I’ve started making up my own room missions when the ones listed don’t apply to me. Instead of the de-clutter in the bathroom, I cleaned a very neglected area between the sink and the tub (see above about needing tools for tiny and awkward spaces).
Scrubbing the floor wasn’t a mission but I decided to do it anyway.
Cleaning the rooms makes me think of a million home improvement projects to add to the never ending list.
Turns out, I don’t think I like cleaning the bathroom more than cleaning the kitchen after all…
So, I’ll confess that other than cleaning the sink out just a few minutes ago, I’ve done no other FlyLady work today. I did get up and wash masks at 5:30 this morning as I forgot to do it last night. And I did a few loads of laundry while waiting to go to work (didn’t go in until 11).
Work was a little hectic (rainy days at a preschool = hectic!) and then, I stayed a bit later to help out as a couple of the afternoon staff called in as they weren’t feeling well and thought they should get COVID testing.
Home to find my husband made dinner (tacos not spaghetti for us this evening). However, that wasn’t the best part. Apparently, this cleaning out the sink stuff is slightly contagious. I had to run J to his lesson and fully resigned myself to returning to a sink full of dishes.
Nope! My husband did the dishes! There were only a few bowls and cups in the sink (teenagers). Quite a refreshing change in the routine.
I’ve not been saying anything (well, not much…) about the sink cleaning each night. Made it very nice to see someone else around here also make the effort. And a bit easier to unload the dishwasher and clean the sink out tonight. Hoping this pattern holds.
We are finally getting some much needed rain around here. After what seemed like never ending rains in the spring, lately it’s been incredibly dry here. The ground feels like concrete dry. Yesterday’s sunrise before the rain moved in last night was a good one:
Thankfully, we got a good soaking overnight that continues into this morning.
Getting my Happy Homemaker Monday post going early today as I go into work at 11 today. Joining in with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom for this fun way to start my week.
Breakfast Time…What Is On The Plate This Morning
Original plan was to rebel and have a piece of apple cake but since I work later, I’ll be good. Flip yogurt and vitamins. Already drank a bit too much coffee.
Looking Around The House
It’s really not all that awful this morning.
On Today’s To Do List
Wash masks (DONE. Meant to do it last night and forgot so did at 5:30 this morning)
Work
Bit of Laundry
Flylady mission for today
Take J to his baritone lesson
Renew library books
Currently Reading
Finished two books last week, The Archive of the Forgotten (Hell’s Library #2) by A.J. Hackwith and A Day Like This by Kelley McNeil. The second book by A.J. Hackwith was good but I really loved the Kelley McNeil book. A rare thing to enjoy a Prime Reads first choice book so much. Basically about a woman who woke up in a different life and while it’s not super suspenseful, it did leave me wondering throughout much of the book how it might end. Was she crazy? Were they plotting against here? Just super interesting.
Need a new book for tonight. Might start my library copy of Jane Eyre.
On The TV This Week
The Voice, La Brea (bad but I’m still watching), Masked Singer, and Lost on Hulu.
The Weather Outside Is
Rainy! All weekend was very warm, warmer than usual. So, the 59 degrees and rain feels quite cold this morning. We’re back to having fall this week with highs in the upper 60’s to mid 70’s.
On The Menu This Week
Not super sure, still sticking to basics.
MONDAY: Spaghetti, salad, garlic bread *J has a baritone lesson at 6:30* *I work 11-3:30*
TUESDAY: Tacos *J has early morning band*
WEDNESDAY: Chicken (I may just cheat and throw the heat/eat chicken strips in the oven) or Roast in the crock pot (If I feel ambitious) *J has early morning band*
THURSDAY: Scrambled eggs and French Toast Sticks *J has evening band*
FRIDAY: OUT *I work 8:15-3:45* *Football game night*
If I Have A Few Minutes To Myself I Will
Look through some of our October magazines
New Recipe I Tried Or Want To Try This Week
Nothing new this week, made an apple chip cake yesterday, one of my mom’s old recipes. Not new but I did make a full size cake this time. Usually I cut the recipe in half and make it in an 8×8 pan. Think it had better flavor in the 9×13 pan. Probably my imagination
One Of My Simple Pleasures
Dreaming up new garden spaces and layouts for the front and backyards. I don’t sketch them out but I can picture them.
Latest project idea: The kids don’t really use the swing set anymore (they are 16 and 20 so I suppose that ‘s to be expected). Husband took down all the swings and my plan is to spray paint the entire frame, plant vines to go up the poles and an entire mixed flower/vegetable garden area underneath. (Note: this isn’t the area, we had to move the frame yesterday as my husband wanted to trim a tree branch near it.) Husband wants to cut it down a bit but I’m fighting for the entire former swing set area.
Favorite Photo From The Camera
The cat’s school portrait pose?Accidentally caught the fly while trying to capture a photo of the praying mantis
Praying For
Friends, family, strangers especially those who’ve had recent (and not so recent) losses. Those who read my blog (though I consider most of you friends). An end to this virus. A peaceful fall and winter.
In Flylady land, the weekend missions are a bit different. No serious cleaning tasks outside of the routines of shining the kitchen sink and such.
Saturdays are for family fun and Sundays are for renewing the spirit.
Saturday
Family fun is a bit different around here as the boys are older. G works every Saturday. My husband went to help a friend in the morning. And J had a band competition in the afternoon. So, I was on my own for a bit of fun in the morning. In keeping with my small fall bucket list, I went and visited a local farmer’s market. A successful outing. Found pretty flowers, apple jam, and salsa. I’m excited to try another visit to that location during the peak of the market season.
I suppose our real family fun was watching the band competition (2nd in their division, woohoo!) and then J going with me to get food after (Culver’s did not win any awards. First time for everything but they messed up our order. SIGH)
Sunday
It was an usually hot fall day and I spent most of it in my favorite place, outside! Also visited a couple different garden centers.
A lot of perennial plants on sale right now (best time to buy those! they might look a little sad now but they’ll bounce back and rebloom next year). Also, picked up some pansies (annuals around here) to give the front porch an extra boost of fall color.
Spent time pulling up some plants in the garden. I decided we’d seen the last of the spring-planted cucumbers so pulled it. Now my okra will see a bit more sun (I’m determined to have fall okra, even if I have to glue a bag of frozen okra to the plant). Pulled a bunch of weeds from the flower garden by the front porch before the rain moved into the area. And spent some time reading.
Preparing For Tomorrow
Overall, I’d say I stayed true to the Flylady schedule this weekend.
Tonight between watching the second half of the cringe-worthy (so far) Chiefs game, I need to wash masks, clean the kitchen sink (though it’s not too bad), get J’s lunch sorted, and figure out what to wear to work in the morning. Also, need to make sure I go to bed at a decent hour.
Yesterday was busy. Work. Had to help my son come up with senior gift ideas for his section members in band (no minute like the last minute, motto of teenagers everywhere I think). Make dinner. Football game.
Long day that started early. So, doing Flylady missions or even basics wasn’t really at the front of things for me.
However, I did load the dishes and empty the sink after dinner. Then, we went to the football game. After the very long football game night, I came home and went to bed without even looking at the sink again.
Figured I’d just deal with whatever happened over night this morning. Woke up to the strangest sight.
The sink remained empty overnight! There were very few dishes but they were all stacked beside the empty sink. Huh? Interesting. Maybe the kids are noticing. (I say the kids because it took very little time for my husband to toss his breakfast dishes in the sink.)
Anyway, I thought of this old commercial from the 80’s about an antiperspirant.
There slogan: so effective you can skip a day!
Ha, maybe the sink thing is going to be just that effective after all. (I didn’t mean to skip a blogging day in the series but really it was a long day yesterday & I was tired)
On that note, upstairs I go to clean out the sink for the night.
Probably a pretty quick post tonight. I just committed to being at work at 7a.m. tomorrow morning. Worked not quite a full day today but I’m still a bit tired.
I’m sitting here listening to random Christmas tunes as my son practices on the concert euphonium. Cheery enough. Thought I better take a moment to check in with how things went today.
Honestly, not much happened on the Flylady front as I was working. My husband had the day off and was kind enough to catch us up on the laundry.
I came home and made dinner, grilled chicken and salad (husband made that) with croissants (from Sam’s club) on the side. A few cut up vegetables and dip on the table while it all cooked.
Happy to report that even though I had to run the dishwasher twice after getting home from work (once while fixing dinner and again after for clean up), the counters and kitchen sink are indeed clear.
The task of the day was to wipe down the large appliances. So, I quickly did that. Quickly being the key word. I guess I’ll focus on the task more seriously on another day. Back to the progress not perfection thought. A little bit of something done is still better than doing nothing at all I suppose.
Funny thing is even though I know Flylady is all about using a timer, I’ve still not done that. I just do what I need to do and call it good. Not to say I haven’t used a timer in the past or won’t in the future. Just currently, I find I don’t need one.
What I do need is to go to bed at a decent hour. So I’ll end this with a question: Do you use a timer?
The kids don’t really use the swing set anymore (they are 16 and 20 so I suppose that ‘s to be expected). Husband took down all the swings and my plan is to spray paint the entire frame, plant vines to go up the poles and an entire mixed flower/vegetable garden area underneath. (Note: this isn’t the area, we had to move the frame yesterday as my husband wanted to trim a tree branch near it.) Husband wants to cut it down a bit but I’m fighting for the entire former swing set area.
