What's for Dinner?

I am by no means a foodie. I love to eat and I enjoy baking, but I dislike cooking. But I really dislike figuring out what's for dinner every night. And I bet most other moms out there do too. A few years back I attended a session given by Sandi Richard about menu planning. Her approach was like nothing I had ever heard of before and it made a lot of sense. I purchased one of her cookbooks and tried a few recipes, but didn't really give the full menu plan a try until I had my first son. It took a bit of time and energy at first to get organized, but it worked very well. Well, somewhere along the line I sort of forgot about it and we fell back into dinnertime chaos. Finally after yet another supper of heat'n'eat pasta, my husband said, "I really liked it when we were doing those meal plans." I realized that he enjoyed having a good tasting supper, but even more so, he liked that fact that things were more peaceful at dinnertime because I wasn't scrambling and pulling my hair out wondering what to make.

So I dug out the meal plans I had created, and even made a few more. They have made shopping and dinnertime a lot easier and more relaxed around here. I thought I would share a few resources as well as a few of my own suggestions.

Meal planning isn't complicated. Just follow these basic steps.

1. Start by listing all the meals you know your family enjoys at dinnertime. There were really only a handful of recipes in my repertoires so I looked through a couple of websites known for easy to fix, family & wallet-friendly meals (try Kraft Canada and Campbell's Soup). I added a few of their simple, easy to fix recipes like One Dish Chicken and Rice Bake and Cheeseburger Pasta to my list.


2. Choose 5 - 7 dinners from your list to make a weeks plan. Some meal planners advocate planning only 5 dinners per week and winging it the rest, but I like to plan for all 7 nights...even if I know that one night is take-out or leftovers. I try to vary each weeks plan - a couple of chicken recipes, a beef recipe, maybe a pasta or stir fry, and I usually slot in a pizza night once each week. Once you make 3 or 4 different plans you will have a whole month's worth of dinners organized, but even 2 different plans can be rotated and repeated to provide menus for a month.


3. List ALL the ingredients in the amount needed to make each meal. That's right...even the salt and pepper! That way you make sure you have EVERY INGREDIENT NEEDED TO COOK EVERY RECIPE. This is crucial to making your plan work and not abandoning it at the last minute because you are missing a key ingredient. Yes, this the step that can take a while, so you definitely only want to do it once, so when you are finished, place it inside a plastic sheet protector for safe keeping. This will become your grocery list for the week.


4. When you are ready to go shopping, take your list and "shop" your cupboards first. Use a dry erase marker and cross off all the ingredients you already have in the house and do not need to purchase. One of the best hints I ever heard was to do this on the OUTSIDE of the page protector so you can re-use the list! Add your staple ingredients for breakfasts and lunches onto the outside of the page protector as well. You are ready to shop! When you return, simply wipe the page protector clean and store it for the next time you use that menu plan! (I love the feeling of being super organized when I put my list back in my household notebook for the next time!)

That's it! As you can see, it may initially take an hour or so to make a couple of menu plans, but you will save so much time, energy and money in the end that it will be worth it.

Here are a few great online resources for menu planning:

Kraft Canada offers tonnes of recipes and ideas on how to cut dinnertime chaos. Check out their menu-plans-in-a-bag that include a pre-made grocery list. This is a great place to start.

Fixing Dinner. This is the website for the TV show of the same name on the Food Network. It is hosted by Sandi Richard and each week she walks a family through the menu planning process. The website lists the menu plans and recipes featured on each show and provides an accompanying grocery list. This is a gold mine for menu plans...really good stuff.

Simple Mom explains her menu planning process here. (She creates 2 menu plans each month and rotates them) and also lists menus and recipes for a full month.

The Organizing Junkie offers Menu-Plan Monday where you can share your weekly menu plan or look at someone elses. There is lots of inspiration here. And, it's nice to have a feeling that you are not alone in the crazy game of "What's for Dinner"!

Hope this helps you start taming your dinnertime chaos. I would love to hear how it works out for you if you try it, or to get some tips from those of you who are pros at it!

Happy Scrapping!
Noreen

Updating

It seems I am doing a lot of updating around here today... my blog and website, my flickr Project 365 gallery, the boys closets as they outgrow their clothes, my menu plans etc. I think I chose the word updating instead of organizing because I am merely going back to tweak a system or project I already have in place. Take my menu plans...I compiled and organized them about a year ago in preparation of having two kids around the house. Most worked, but some didn't and I wrote notes to that effect on the meal plans themselves. Now I find it quite easy to go back into my meal plan folder, update the menu, recipe or shopping list and print out a new copy. I like updating - you get the same feeling of accomplishment as a bigger organizing project but without as much work!

I found these super cute kitchen helpers


in the dollar section of Michael's the other day and they have cheered up my refrigerator door immensely - I love the bright citrus colors! The pic is not great, but there is a weekly menu planner notepad, a to-do list style of notepad and some great little glass magnets. And I also got a recipe box, recipe cards and a coupon organizer to match.


I really like things to match. Go ahead and call me anal, it's OK. Cute and cheap eh? A few bucks is all it takes to make my day!

I will be spending some time after lunch today "updating" my LOM system...I am still sorting and placing things into the category drawers that I set up last week. I love using this handy dandy portable office (AKA clipboard!) for my LOM lessons. Stacy sent it to all of us before class started and I altered it with some fun paper and rub-ons. It brightens my day and helps to keep me focused.



Since I am pulling and sorting some photos, I hope to also do a paper/printed photo layout later today...it's been too long!

Happy Scrapping!
Noreen

Does organizing count as creativity?

Remember a few posts ago when I said I have a tendancy to put too many things on my plate? Well, my plate now overfloweth!

Oy...since pledging to do the Creativity Project I have had the best of intentions but I have so much (physical) stuff in the way. I have had to step back in order to move, sort, purge, build and containerize a lot of my stuff before I can actually create anything. I read Wendy Smedley and Aby Garvey's book The Organized and Inspired Scrapbooker last year, and THOUGHT I got everything organized, but it turns out it wasn't the right system for me. So I re-read portions of the book and I think I am on to something now. Wendy, Aby and Stacy Julian all maintain you can only scrap in the way you are organized (which I thought was mostly in regards to photos and the Library of Memories system) and this really refers to the way all aspects of your scrapooking hobby are organized. I have realized a few things about myself and this hobby:

• I like everything to be neat and tidy and away behind closed doors, but easily visible once I open the door/drawer.
• I like things to be labelled.
• I like things to match or blend.
• I like drawers more than bins or boxes.
• I think and create based on color.
• I haven't been able to make connections with my photos because of the way they were previously organized.
• I like to have my tools etc. close at hand.
• I need to clear my scrap table at the end of each session...otherwise I don't know where I am at the next time I sit down.
• I need good light.
• I need a good chair.
• I want to have my layouts and albums more accessible to family and friends.
• I like to have my family around when I scrap rather than being alone.
• I don't like visual clutter.

So instead of creating I have been engaged in organizing. I hope that's creative enough for this week! I have seen a few scrap spaces and places that have inspired me:

Monica's "scrapcave" - I think she and I are the same person...I have the Ikea Kitchen ready to be mounted and the Making Memories tool caddy is always on my desk!

Robyn's studio - I can't believe she has got this all sorted out within a few days of moving! I LOVE the blackboard/cork board and want one just like it!

Leah's space - fresh and lovely, just like her!

Shannon's scrap room - a fun little video with great storage ideas.

Candice's small space - I love the black, white and red color scheme and here is where I first saw the idea of using the IKEA kitchen rails.

Paula's office and scrap room - great 6 part, detailed post with lots of photos.


I will have to take and post some photos of MY scrap space as soon as it is re-done (I think I have promised this before? Hmmm....have to do something about that!!!)

Anyway, I have made enormous progress with my photos - printed and digital - for LOM. I think I am close to being able to pull photos and put them into my category drawers...something I am so excited about because I think this will be a key to scrapping much more authentic and meaningful layouts. I still need to send a few hundred digital photos to be printed and then pop them into my storage albums, but I am getting there!

Here's hoping the creating will actually start soon!

Happy Scrapping!
Noreen

Off the Wagon

I have a confession to make...I fell off the wagon.

The Project 365 Wagon that is. Back in January I joined 1000's of scrappers who are trying to document the everyday extraordinary in their lives on a daily basis by taking at least one photo per day. I tried my best and was getting along very well, but then I missed three days this past week. Why? I don't know what it was - my camera wasn't easily accessible? I was too busy? Too tired? Perhaps...but I think it boils down to lack of motivation since I STILL haven't got my Project 365 kit from CK media. I think if I had it in my hot little hands I would be getting my weekly layouts done and having it at the forefront of my mind. But I don't, and it's not, and I am a little disappointed.

BUT...I will sally forth. I dug the camera out of my bag and made sure I got a couple of shots today. And for the days I missed I am going to use the portraits that were taken recently of each of the boys. I caught up on my journaling, so I am good to go again. And I am re-pledging to get back on the daily photo wagon!

I have also been busy with the Library of Memories class over at BPS. It has been a lot harder than I imagined. I have managed to sort through printed photos from 1984 to 2009 and am now in the process of getting the past five years worth into easily accessible storage albums.



The next step will be to triage them into category drawers which I think will be the key to making some connections and creating some meaningful layouts. That is upcoming in LOM...for now, we sort! (Digital photos are next!)

During this process I have also done some physical organizing around my scrap space...my new photo storage albums have a new home on the bottom of my reference shelves -



- and a new bookcase purchase from IKEA now holds all my Library of Memories scrapbook albums as well as bins full of my manufacturers page kits, my photo printer, Cricut, Cuttlebug and accessories.





I have some new cube storage pieces as well...a four drawer cube for my category drawers and a three drawer cube for enlargements and memorabilia. I think the system will work well. My scrap space still won't look like some cool designer room, but I love the fact that it is in the midst of our family's space where the boys can play, we can watch a movie, or just be in the space and enjoy it together.

Happy Scrapping!
Noreen

We're on an organizational roll!

I guess getting my binders organized last week has spurred me on to bigger and better things! I am reading a book on organization by Sunny Schlenger and ideas are "clicking" for me in a few new ways, so I hope to continue getting things done! It feels great! I really have accomplished a lot!

1) On Thursday we FINALLY had our dishwasher and garbeurator installed! When we bought the house we knew there was no dishwasher and I said to Shane that it would have to be the very first thing we did. Well...it has taken 18 months and lots of other things were done ahead of it, but it is finally in. I am listening to it's oh-so-quiet hum right now. No more dishpan hands for me. Yay!

2) Sammy's nursery is complete. I had painted the walls a few weeks ago and finally found time to finish up the trim work this week. Shane set up the crib and then I spent some time decorating and putting things away. I used the same layette that I had in Grayson's room - it is a sun, moon and stars theme in soft shades of blue, yellow and green. It is very calming and VERY sweet! I had made an altered wood frame as the challenge this week over at JustCr8 with the intent of giving it as a gift, but it turns out to match Sammy's room perfectly! Here's a pic:

I used this collection of papers from CM, some chipboard embellies from the dollar store, a few buttons and a scrap of ribbon. Easy and inexpensive gift idea...even though this one is staying in Sam's nursery! I guess I have to put more frames on my TO-DO list now!

The best thing of all about Sam's new nursery is that he is actually sleeping in it. The transition from beside/in my bed went quite well. He had naps in his new crib on the first day, then he slept from 8:00 pm until 12:30 am on the first night, until 4:30 am on the second night and then all night last night! Sleep may be returning to our house after all (and that is probably why I actually have enough energy to do some of these projects around the house).

3) I sorted and organized my clothes and moved them into our bedroom closet. (I had been using the extra closet in Sammy's room, so I had to get out!) The problem was that I had four sets of clothes...pre-maternity fall, maternity, pre-maternity spring/summer and the few things I had to buy this summer because nothing fit me. So it took a while to figure out what fit and what was appropriate for the season and for a SAHM. I got rid of a lot by taking it to the Salvation Army, and I always feel good about giving things that I can't use away. Now my clothes that actually fit and work for my lifestyle right now all fit into my half of the closet in our bedroom. It sure makes it a lot easier each morning to get ready for the day.

4) We vacuumed out the newly created storage room in the basement and brought in some of the shelves from the garage. Then I put away a lot of the boxes that have just been hanging around while we did the renos. While I am not finished this task, I am pleased by the space I have freed up and by how accessible the boxes are now that they aren't stacked on the floor.

Alas, I did not work on my scrapspace yet...maybe this week!!!

Happy Scrapping,

Noreen

Getting Organized

My house has been in a state of CHAOS ("Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome" according to FlyLady!) since we moved in over a year ago. We started renovations on our 40 year old bungalow before we even moved in and we have been at it ever since. Right now I have a missing cabinet in my kitchen where the dishwasher is supposed to be installed in the next couple of weeks and all the dishes that were stored in that cabinet are on the kitchen table. Sam's nursery is 95% complete...we just have to actually set up the crib once we find it in the storage locker we call the garage. Our newly developed basement looks great except for the masses of rubbermaid blue totes that need to be labelled and stored in our storage room...which still needs shelves. Sigh...it goes on and on and on!

I am constantly thinking about storage and organization and how everything will look and function once I am done. I dream of having organized, color coded closets and shelves full of perfectly aligned matching rubbermaid totes with matching Dymo labels. In my scraproom I imagine finding a place for everything so it can be right at my fingertips...how many more layouts I could create! I am working towards that dream, but does anyone ever actually finish organizing? Or is it a constant ongoing project?

But, I am happy to report that I have had sucess on TWO fronts! I have finished creating two organizational planners that will surely help me stay organized in other areas! One is the Christmas Planner I was mentioning that I am making as part of a BPS class called "Cut the Crazy out of Christmas". The other is a Household Notebook inspired by both FlyLady and Organized Home. I put the "guts" of each together over the last couple of days and then because I wanted them to look great sitting on my shelf or counter I stayed up way too late last night and created covers and spines for both using my digital scrapbooking program from CM - Storybook Creator Plus.

Here is the Christmas Planner:

I used a free digital kit from Shabby Princess called Holiday Magic for the artwork and LD Coffee House as the font on this. Because I didn't have a digital copy of the photo I wanted to use, the cover is actually more a hybrid project...I started by making a template, printed that out onto cardstock and then added the printed photo and journaling onto the cardstock.

The inside of the Christmas planner has custom made dividers using artwork from the BPS class, and then I personalized it by stapling on strips of gingham ribbon along with the divider tabs.

And here is my new household notebook! How sweet!

I used the Recipe Book Digital Kit from Creative Memories for this cover, and a font called LD Telegram. I love the vintage feeling they both have! Inside I used ready made pocket dividers which will come in handy for slipping items into.

I created both covers as 12x12 layouts in my Storybook Creator Plus program and then simply trimmed them down to fit inside the outer sleeves of each binder. Because I knew I would be trimming them I kept the majority of focus more towards the centre of each layout. I did the spines as two 3" x 12" strips, printed them both onto one sheet of cardstock and then trimmed them down to fit the side sleeves on each binder.

On the whole I LOVE how they turned out and I think I will really be inspired to use them often!

OK...only 978 more organizational projects to go!

Happy Scrapping!
Noreen

Rain Rain Go Away

This is one of Grayson's favorite songs to sing...although he always sings "come and GET another day" instead of "come AGAIN another day"! What a Q-T-PIE! Well anyway...it has been raining for a few days now and it is just miserable. This is not June weather. This is not summer. I protest! I was surfing some of my favorite blogs last night when I couldn't sleep and gals were complaining that it was getting too hot for them...I can only wish! The joys of living in the sub-tundra, eh?

Having said that, I did get a lot done in the past couple of days. Not being able to stand (my back is killing me since the baby dropped) I have been spending a lot of time sitting at my computer and scrap table. This is what I accomplished:

• Did a digital layout to include in a colleagues retirement album
• Finished and ordered a hard bound Storybook of the family photos taken LAST FALL!
  
• Sorted 2 years of photos into Storage Binders, and set up my Category Drawers for special photos (a la Stacy Julian's LOM system!)


• Completed an article I have been working on for submission to Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine (did I mention I am nervous as heck???)


• Did a layout that I am contemplating submitting to SimpleScrapbooks Magazine (the deadline is today, so I have to decide!!! Still nervous!) Edited....OK...I DID submit my LO to Simple Scrapbooksalong with a couple of others that I had originally posted on my blog (so I had to remove them until I hear back) Wish me luck!


• Sorted and organized some new embellishments and alphabet sets and continued to label and organize bins inside my scrapping cupboards


• Wrote a newsletter for my CM Customers (going out today)


• Worked on some photos in my computer...deleting doubles and touching up others


• Surfed some blogs and websites and looked through some magazines for ideas
• Edited...I forgot...I also made up a digital baby announcement template so when the little guy arrives I can pop in the pertinent info and send it of! I hope you get to see it soon!!!
  

Not bad for a rainy weekend eh? I think I got so much done because I have a space dedicated to my scrapbooking. I can leave out work in progress and when I have time I can come back to it. It helps, even when you only have 5 or 10 spare minutes. I LOVE IT! And I am so glad it is in our new rec room so G. and I can be down there togeher...he playing in his playroom (or where I found him yesterday - in the storage room playing with Shane's tools- yikes!) and me working on projects. When baby # 2 comes, I think it will be a good space to spend our days. Life is good eh?Now if that rain would just go away...

Happy Scrapping!

Noreen

Mental Organization

As I mentioned in a previous post I am anxious to get my scrapbooking supplies and product inventory all organized into my new basement workshop. Alas, it is STILL not ready, although our contractor is aiming to be done in just two more weeks. SO...since I can't organize my physical space, I have been organizing my head space! I have just spent the day catching up on business details, and have just finished the first newsletter I will send to my customer base since early in the fall (due to my health related leave of absence). I have scheduled some scrapbooking workshops and an all day crop for my customers to look forward to and am ready to ramp up my business once again.

I have also been "creating" some storage in preparation of my new space...I was truly inspired by the fabulous book I was talking about before - The Organized and Inspired Scrapbooker - and I covered a bunch of cardboard magazine holders and clear front binders with lovely leftover scrapbook papers (as seen in the pictures of co-authors Aby Garvey's office). I am also updating an old Rolodex with the same papers. I saw this done by Leah Fung on her blog as one of her project kits. It is so cute and so useful! I will post a picture of the items once I have the set complete.

And, I am really excited about my first foray into Digital scrapbooking. I am still learning the various software applications, but am pleased with how it all comes together so neatly...no tools and papers and stickers spread out all over my dining room table! I hope to post one or two layouts in the next week or so after I am figure out what I am doing!

Hope your week is going well...have a good one and make time to scrap!
Noreen

About Sharing

I have been doing a lot of reading and thinking about scrapbooking the past couple of months...but I have to admit I haven't done a lot of actual scrapbooking. You see, we are in the midst of of a whole basement re-development which will hopefully be done within two or three more weeks. Right now our garage and spare room (not to mention the hallway, living room, closets and dining room!) are full of stuff that will eventually have a home in the basement. AND...all my scrapbooking gear will also have a home there! I am so excited to finally have all my beloved tools and supplies in ONE place! It has been in boxes all over the place and it hasn't been easy to get to it or use it. I will have plenty of storage, as well as work/workshop space. I picked up a new book by Simple Scrapbooks contributor Wendy Smedley called the Organized and Inspired Scrapbooker, and I tell you - after reading it I am planning on being organized AND inspired! It has fantastic ideas, beautiful inspiration rooms pics and best of all a workbook with exercises to go through to really help you zero in on what will work for you, your scrapbooking style and your space. Great read!

I also picked up Rebecca Cooper's (another Simple Scrapbooks contibutor) book Real. Life. Scrapbooking. which has really made me think about WHY and WHAT I scrapbook. Rebecca is a mother of three living in small town Alberta (nice to see a great book by a Canadian, eh?) who stretches her supplies, scraps after her kids go to bed and uses templates or sketches for multiple layouts...smart lady! Lots of great layout ideas as well as heartfelt commentary.

I have often thought about what I could contribute to others within this huge scrapbooking industry and I have come to the conclusion that I am best at SHARING (so now you know why I named my blogwhat I did! :)) Being a teacher, sharing must come natural to me...I WANT to share - knowledge, skill, ideas etc. I don't want to keep it all to myself. I think that's why I enjoy being a Creative Memories Consultant...I can share my passsion with like minded people and help them preserve and share their memories.

SO...I am ready to expand my scrapbooking business from "just" being a CM Consulant! I am ready to share on a much larger platform! These are some of my goals and aims for my scrapbooking:

1) To have my layouts and/or articles published in a scrapbooking industry publication

2) To increase the number of scrapbooking events I plan to allow scrappers the time, space and place to complete their albums (classes, workshops, retreats, all day crops, special events and seminars)

3) To reach and teach more people in different environments - seniors, children, patrons of scrapbooking/craft stores, churches, continuing education

4) To share my talent for design and scrapbooking by offering to complete albums for others - traditional and digital

Wow...actually putting those goals into writing is a bit scary! But, I am committed and will be working consistently towards these goals. I hope to share my progress here, as well as using it as a place to "share" all my other ideas with all of you! Wish me luck? I certainly wish you luck!

Noreen