[new to me] Good Things

I have two things I wanted to share with all of you today.


First, this amazing book, which I discovered at our local library:








This woman is seriously a genius when it comes to organization. And it's not your usual lame tips like, "Have a way to sort your laundry." :) She is hard-core about home organization, and offers a lot of tips that I never even thought about - just little things that make you think, "duh!".



For instance, one of her little ideas is to designate certain areas of your dishwasher's silverware holders for certain silverware. Rather than having spoons, knives, and forks scattered in each little holder, put only like silverware next to each other. You can grab it in a bunch rather than spend 5 minutes picking each fork out of the holder, then the spoons, etc. Of course, I don't have a dishwasher right now, but hopefully that tip will help all of you fancy people out there who are lucky enouch to have this most basic machine that every woman in 2008 deserves to have to save hours of unnecessary work every day machine in your kitchen.


She covers a ton more stuff in her book....most of it really easy stuff like that, but stuff that really makes sense.


She even inspired me to organize and label the shelves of my closet.













I realized that I was buying duplicates of an item (like lightbulbs, for instance) because I didn't know they were already in my hall closet. I realize this list makes me seem OCD, but this is my only closet (yes, you read that right - I don't even have a clothes closet. Yes, you have permission to feel bad for me.) and I really wanted it to be organized. In all honesty, I actually had fun doing it (gasp!).



The second [new to me] item is this website: http://thepioneerwoman.com/. I just discovered her today, but boy-oh-boy am I excited. This woman gives step-by-step pictures of all of her recipes, and ohmygoodness do they look amazing!

Be inspired! Have a wonderful day. :)

Since I am substituting now, and have a lot of extra time on my hands during the day, I have a lot more time to read. I have started a list of books on the side of my blog. A listed book means I have finished it and feel comfortable about others reading it. If a book catches your eye and you're wondering about reading it, feel free to ask me on my blog, facebook, whatever! I'll send you a mini-review. :)

In the spirit of blantant copying, I'm taking Amanda's idea and making bulleted points....I have not the brain power after a long day of work to actually write an entire post about one topic. Thus:

• my husband got done from work early today and actually made dinner tonight. fish-sticks (yes, i keep them in the freezer, they're a throwback to my childhood!) and white rice. ahhhh....processed and bleached american comfort food! lol
• i worked at cracker barrel today and decided that since i was starving (thank you, job that barely allows you time to go to the bathroom, never mind bringing food to work like normal human beings) i was going to order myself strawberry shortcake off of the new dessert menu. i do believe i could eat some kind of strawberry/cream/sweetbread combination in very large quantities, daily, until the day that i die. which would probably be in 3 years if i actually did.
• i have been thinking a lot about the presidential elections, and the guy i thought i was going to vote for is actually no longer the guy i am going to vote for. i'm not sure which shocks me more, my initial thought of a candidiate or the one i am now probably going to vote for. and yes, i specifically said "guy." she is not even an option, thankyouverymuch. does anyone else out there just wish we had another option? i will probably be writing a lot more about this in the future, but that's all i'm typing about it for tonight.
• it also dawned on me yesterday (apparently this has been a week of awakenings?!) how odd substituting really is. i mean, seriously, in what other job are you given no orientation, no map of the building, no specific rules or guidelines to follow (other than "please don't let anyone bleed to death, hold anyone hostage, or blow up the school"), no training in the subject matter, no knowledge of anyone in the building's title, status, or position, and yet still expected to ensure that learning takes place? the thought hit me as i was teaching "desktop publishing" (the teacher left no lesson plans, class charts, or even the titles of the classes she was teaching, by the way). i was baffled yesterday by the absurdity of it all. so odd.
• i am reading the atonement child by francine rivers. this is the second book of hers that i've read - the first was redeeming love. i bawled like a baby over that one. i still think her writing is a little cheesy at times, but somehow so compelling. i can't seem to put it down.
• last but not least, we are still looking at houses.....we think we may have found a great one....we just need have our realtor take us inside first. ;)
• aren't you just dying for your stimulus check to just get here already?!
• the end. :)

Oh, and p.s., I 've been reading some cool books lately and thought I'd share:

1. Soul Survivor, by Phillip Yancey
I'm sure we've all read one thing or another by Phillip Yancey. I had only read one so far, and I have to say, I wasn't all that impressed. But then I found this book at Goodwill, and thought I'd give it a try (I need a steady stream of books and magazines at my house to read during high-school sub days!). It is very well written, and gives fascinating accounts of the lives of the 13 "mentors who helped my faith survive the church." It's part history, part biography, part theology, part personal journey. Very engaging.

2. Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food by Jessica Seinfeld
With my husband's love of all things Seinfeld, and my love of cooking and cookbooks, especially any and all PINK cookbooks (my main cookbook is pink), it was basically inevitable that I check this book out. I have to say, it's FABULOUS! This kind of stuff is right up my alley. Jessica has managed to find amazingly versatile recipes that at look downright mouthwatering (I haven't tried any yet), yet all hide some kind of vegetable or fruit purees in them. Every recipe has a picture by it (what every smart cookbook writer should do), and she gives really easy instructions as to how to go about pureeing, freezing your purees, and then expertly masking them behind things like meatloaf, grilled quesadillas, cookies, and cakes. I'm not sure that I want to go to all that trouble yet, but I'm definitely going to be buying this book for myself when I have children.

3. An Affair With a House by Bunny Williams
Apparently this woman is a famous designer. I'd never heard of her, but this book caught my eye in the front of our library due to its gorgeous front cover of a stunning New England home. This book will make you drool - not necessarily for her decorating style, which I thought was ostentatious and cluttered, but for her property. The woman has 12 acres in Connecticut (be still my heart!) with a main house (built in 1840, I think), guest barn, guest house, pool house, aviary, conservatory, greenhouse, and multiple gardens. Oh. my. word. All people deserve to live like this! :)