Talk About Kitchen Organizing

Welcome to Talk About Tuesday! If you are new, check out the Guidelines before posting. Thanks for joining us!

I know I will probably be doing TAT by myself this week because we are all busy having a fun New Year's with our family and friends but I had some great news that I couldn't wait to share. If you can find a moment to share a post you are welcome to join me!


Remember my kitchen island that took me two years to have built? Remember how excited I was to finally have it? Ya, you were wondering what had happened to that weren't you? Remember how carefully I designed it to my exact specifications?


Well apparently my specifications didn't take into account one thing. Getting it into the house! I knew our doors were 36" wide so I had it built 36" wide. Guess what? Just because the door is 36" wide doesn't mean the opening is 36" wide. That's where using a tape measure might have helped. When the door opening is 35" wide and the builder actually builds the island a tiny bit wider than 36" then it creates more than a little problem.

I didn't have a problem with Stranger cutting the door out but apparently he did because it took him a while to actually build up the nerve to do it. He finally agreed to do the dirty deed as it was the only thing on my Christmas wish list this year. I've always wanted big holes on either side of my garage door frame!

It took four big guys to move this 7 foot long 500 pound monster but it is in my kitchen and I'm in love! Just don't ask me when I am going to get it painted. That might have to be my Christmas wish for next year.


In the mean time I couldn't resist moving in. I spent the day Saturday re-organizing my entire kitchen and pantry and had the time of my life. I'll post more photos of the details later but there is now a place for everything in my kitchen and everything is in it's place.

Don't worry about getting bored, Stranger. I already have your next Mom's Mission Impossible project planned. I bet you can't wait!

What do you have to talk about this week?

*Important - Please link to your individual Talk About Tuesday post instead of your home page or else my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder will have to spend time fixing the links. Here is how you link to an individual post if you’ve never done it before: Right click on the date at the bottom of the post you want to link to (or the post title depending on where you blog) click “Copy Shortcut” and then paste it into Mr. Linky.

Kitchen Gadget of the Week

I had to show you two yummy Holiday treats that we made this week.

Stranger made the Sugared Almonds . He'd never made them before but I told him he'd think of something good and he did! He browned one cup of almonds on the stove in a stove top popcorn popper with a tablespoon of olive oil and a quarter cup of white sugar. I think it would also work in a regular pan with a lot of stirring. Don't try this at home unless you like dangerously toasty-crunchy-sweet almonds.



Stranger also made the kettle corn in our popcorn popper and then I drizzled chocolate over it. A friend of mine told me an easy way to drizzle chocolate by melting it in the microwave in a Ziploc baggie, cutting a hole in the corner of the bag and squeezing it out. So easy and clean!

Can you tell we love our popper? Victor and I like buttered popcorn but everyone else likes the sweet stuff. We're going through a 50 pound bag of popcorn faster than should be humanly possible! Stranger found the popper brand new at a thrift store for $8 but you can get one at Amazon.com pretty cheap too.

Stranger's Famous Kettle Corn Recipe

1/2 cup un-popped popcorn
2 tbl oil
3 tbl white sugar

Stir on medium heat until it stops popping. It takes about two minutes on our gas stove but it will take longer if you are using electric.

I was in organizing heaven today! I completely re-organized my kitchen and tidied up my pantry. I don't know why but we like to pile stuff in there until we can't even walk into it anymore. Next week for Talk About Tuesday I'll tell you what the reason was for all the organizing. If you're here next week you can join me. I would love to hear about all your fun holiday adventures!

Bad hair day or not, those cheeks look mighty tasty.

I can't remember how the conversation got started but at dinner I found myself telling the kids about a book I just re-read, The Good Earth.

"When there was a famine some of the families began eating each other. They started with the youngest children first." Don't you think cannibalism makes good dinner conversation?

My ten year old son (our oldest) said, "Oh, poor Persistence and Lovely!" Meaning of course that they would be eaten first since they were the youngest. So I had to reply, "Except in our case we would eat the oldest child first since he costs the most to feed."

"Oh, poor Daddy!" he replied.

A Christmas Miracle

The children will not go present-less this Christmas after all. I sent the three oldest kids (that would include Stranger) to the movies Friday afternoon and sewed my little heart out while listening to old Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me shows on the computer. The great part was that I actually made some cute things! I made two cute little aprons for the girls, so cute that they will never be allowed to wear them except maybe to Church. They can be their new Church aprons. (I'll post more photos after the "spies" have opened their presents.)


Then I felt guilty that I didn't have anything hand made with love for my big ten year old boy so I made him a quilted pillowcase out of my scrap stash. It's pretty hideous but he'll love it. Have I told you lately how much I hate plaid? Apparently it's coming back in style so I guess it's a good thing I saved those scraps.


Oh and I mustn't forget the hooded towels that the Lookout Man will be leaving on the doorstep. I whipped those out too. It's amazing what a Mother can do with six hours of uninterrupted kid-less time. I did have my two year old here with me but I sat her in front of Finding Nemo and then she obligingly took a three hour nap. Yay for nappers!

The thing I'm happiest about is that Christmas is almost here whether we like it or not! That and the fact that my MIL is hosting Christmas dinner at her house and she believes in having an entire Thanksgiving re-run on Christmas day and cooking it all herself. I can't wait!

I Totally Have This Birthday Thing Figured Out

First of all, what kid doesn't love to bake, design and decorate his own birthday cake?

Birthday Cake - check

Second of all wait until a friend plans a fun day of sledding, invites all your other friends, borrows a snowmobile so her husband can haul everyone up the hill, cleans HER house and makes hot chocolate for everyone. Then ask her if you can bring a cake because it just happens to be your son's birthday.

Birthday Party - check



Lastly, telepathically convince your piano teacher Jane to schedule the Christmas recital the same evening so you can enjoy entertainment with even more friends and family and then have your husband make yummy Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies for a late night snack when you get home.

Entertainment - Check
Party Food - Check

Later the birthday boy could be heard saying, "I must have the best family in the whole wide world."

Deliriously happy ten year old - Check!

I will admit to making an Oreo Cheesecake for the after party party and to putting dinner in the crock pot before all the festivities began but really, I just sat back and enjoyed the rest of it. It may be pure evil genius but it was genius all the same. Or good luck. Whichever.

We're All About the Spirit of Giving

Although we might have something to learn about the spirit of receiving.

I don't know whose idea it was to go out on a night like tonight. In our defense, it wasn't a bit stormy when we left. We didn't hit the hail, gail force winds or thunder and lightening until we were in the canyon and then it was too late to turn back.

If you did decide to go shopping five days before Christmas though, during a sever winter storm is definitely the time to do it. The streets were crowded but the stores aisle were empty!

Speaking of Christmas shopping (I know that I'm the only one that's admitting to it at this point.) Stranger asked me what I wanted for Christmas this morning.

Lazy - "Don't worry about it. You don't usually buy me anything so why should this year be any different?" (Not really true but you know what liar I am.)

Stranger - "You don't buy me anything."

Lazy - "Well why should I buy you something you don't like just so you can return it later?"

Stranger - "You don't like anything I buy either."

Lazy - "That's not true! I always like jewelry! Just don't buy it from a store that doesn't take returns."

Shorten your gift list, just buy them a car.

Apparently we're not going vacationing to sunny California again this Christmas. Because...you know... when it's my husband's idea, we go and when it's mine, we don't go. No, I'm not bitter.

It just leaves me with five days to plan some sort of holiday cheer around here and maybe a Christmas gift or two for the kids would be nice. Since I can't seem to think of anything I've resorted to bribery. It went from bribing them with a trip, "Would you give up getting any Christmas presents this year if we go on a fun vacation?" to, "If we promise to buy you a car when you're sixteen will you be fine with not getting any presents this year or for the next 6-8 years including birthdays?"

They were fine with that and it will really make the holidays go much smoother from now on. Hey, at least I didn't tell them there won't be any presents because they were naughty.

Talk About Organizing Meal Plans

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Our family project for the last year and a half or so has been teaching the kids to do chores. We have learned a lot and I am so grateful for it because I don't know how I could have made it through the worst of my pregnancy without their help. Even my seven year old, whose hand I had to hold through chores, is now able to do her jobs independently.

I sat my kids down over the weekend and announced what our family "project" was going to be for this next year; Cooking, Meal Planning and Food Storage. I decided I was never going to do it on my own so I asked for the kids' help and they are willing and eager to pitch in. They both are great little cooks and love to help in the kitchen so we're going to have fun and devote as much time to it as we need to.

Not only are we going to get our meal plans and shopping organized but we are going to be trying lots of fun new recipes and cooking methods. The first thing we're going to learn is how to sprout seeds and beans and use them in recipes. I spent my first five years living in Alaska and I remember fighting over sprouts at the dinner table with my siblings. We loved them! I think sprouts were about the freshest thing we could eat living out in the boonies like we did.

I would also like for us to learn how to make yogurt and maybe this summer we will have a small garden and bottle our own food. That might be getting a little crazy since we have a baby due in May but if the kids are pitching in to help I don't see why we couldn't.




We use a lot of oats, wheat and beans in our cooking and we need to improve our food storage. If you are interested in food storage check out this calculator that will tell you how much you need to store for your family. We will soon have a family of six so eventually we'll need 1800 pounds of grains and 340 pounds of beans in our cellar for one year of storage. Doesn't that sound crazy!

Many of you already participate in Laura's Menu Plan Monday and I'm sure many of you are experts on cooking and food storage and will have plenty of advice for us as we go. We're going to need it!

What do you have to talk about this week?

*Important - Please link to your individual Talk About Tuesday post instead of your home page or else my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder will have to spend time fixing the links. Here is how you link to an individual post if you’ve never done it before: Right click on the date at the bottom of the post you want to link to (or the post title depending on where you blog) click “Copy Shortcut” and then paste it into Mr. Linky.

Exercise Addict

I'm completely obsessed with working out these days. As obsessed as an
eighteen week pregnant woman can be that is. MUST WORK OUT!

I can't control myself. I feel the need to resurrect my Eatopia blog so I can post all about my boring workouts. I deleted most of the old stuff but I left a few articles on there. If you read them make sure you check the date because there is some stuff from the beginning of 2004. Things have changed a bit over the last few years but I had fun reading over some of my old posts. For example, a year ago I was trying to get up at 5:25 a.m. to exercise. These days I'm just trying to drag myself out of bed before 9:00 a.m.

If you are also pregnant and working out or if you want to be pregnant and working out or if you just want to be working out but you spend more time reading blogs about other people working out then join me at Eatopia.

New Email Address

I am going to try a new email address because so many people are having trouble getting a hold of me. It is thelazyorganizer at yahoo dot com. You can find it under "Contact" in my sidebar or on my Organizing Bags page.

If you have emailed me in the last few days or even weeks or months and are expecting a reply but you haven't received one try contacting me again at my new address.

Thank you!

Keep Up The Brainwashing

You know you're making an impression when you walk into the two year old's bedroom with her and she starts bawling because her bed isn't made.

Before And After

I did it. I finally made myself finish painting the girls' room. I painted one coat on the ceiling and took a break, painted another coat and took a break. Then I spent two sessions cutting in the corners and around the window and doors. It wasn't that bad because it's a small room but I was exhausted by the time I dropped into bed last night.



It's difficult to really tell the difference because of the different lighting. I must have taken the first photo in the late afternoon and the next photo I took in the bright morning light.



But do you love it? I love it!! I'm so glad I finished it instead of chickening out halfway through. I like how it accents the lower walls and trim and makes it look like it's painted a color instead of just a version of white. I know you people with red walls think I'm crazy making such a big deal out of white and off white but I can't help my obsessive compulsive disorder!

I'm seriously not afraid of color, I promise. See what I did in my son's room? And I had all kinds of color in my last house. I'm just steering away from too much craziness in this house because I don't want to get sick of the paint any time soon!

This was Persistence's girlie room in our last house. Too much purple!

Talk About Tuesday

*Updated

I'm getting this up quickly so I can go to bed. I'm dying to know what I will have to talk about tomorrow. Will it be chickens or marathon training or sandwiches? Things are so exciting around here that you never know!

Ok, I knew I was tired last night because I couldn't think of anything to talk about and I'm almost always in the mood to talk! Especially when I have news that I'm so excited to share. I've been asked to speak at the Thomas Jefferson Education Forum next year on March 1st!

Actually I begged them to let me speak and they consented! This is a huge thing for me. I will be speaking on my two favorite things; organizing and education. I can't wait!!! If you are a home schooler or if you are interested in providing the best education for yourself or your children (through public school or any other means) then you cannot miss this Forum. There will be over 50 other presenters and they will be the best of the best. You will go away from the seminar with so many ideas and feeling so inspired. It really changed my life last year when Stranger and I attended. Do whatever you can to attend this year. People fly in from all over the U.S. and Canada. You will not be sorry.

Hurry and register before February 1st to get the early bird discount.

If you can't be there for some reason then you will be able to order cd's from select seminars but not my seminar so really you just have to be there in person. You can order last year's cd's here. It's worth it to buy the whole set.

What do you have to talk about this week?

*Important - Please link to your individual Talk About Tuesday post instead of your home page or else my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder will have to spend time fixing the links. Here is how you link to an individual post if you’ve never done it before: Right click on the date at the bottom of the post you want to link to (or the post title depending on where you blog) click “Copy Shortcut” and then paste it into Mr. Linky.

Lazy's Sandwhich Rules

Well, I never compliment myself but my friends tell me I certainly know how to make a sandwich.

Mrs. Elton in Emma

Doesn't Mrs. Elton crack you up?

I am not a sandwich lover. Not of the ordinary sandwich variety anyway. I cannot eat a sandwich from Subway or normally even a sandwich that was made by anyone but me. There are a few exceptions but in general I am a sandwich snob.

So here are my rules for making the perfect sandwich:

You have to start with fresh French bread. That means you can't buy your bread at Walmart because their bread tastes a week old. You cannot even buy your bread the day before. It has to be bought or baked the same day you are making your sandwich so it is fresh.

Your loaf of French bread must be sliced horizontally. This is vital. If you slice it vertically all the goodness will fall out of it and your sandwich is doomed.

Next you squirt a generous amount of spicy brown mustard on one side of the loaf. Whatever you do, don't spread it around or the sandwich will be ruined. On the other side you can add a little olive oil (not too much please) or homemade pesto if you have it but never, NEVER use mayonnaise or Miracle Whip. Just don't.



Now you pile on your thinly sliced (tell them thin but not shaved) deli ham. I like Black Forest but I'm sure there are other good hams out there so I won't break up with you if you use another brand. Just don't forget that the ham goes on the mustard side, not the pesto side. Ham on mustard. Got it? And you cannot just lay it on the sandwich. Flat ham = yuck. It must be scrunched and smooshed on in just the right way. Doesn't it look all ruffly and fancy? All sandwiches like to look fancy.



After this things can pretty much go in any order you want. I like provolone or Swiss cheese. Use whatever you like. Veggies are good. Tomatoes, purple onion, mushrooms, sprouts, radishes, etc. If you want to get really crazy add crisp bacon.

Use any type of greens you want. I am partial to fresh basil but this time I used spinach and cilantro.



I always feel extra special if I have an avocado to eat with my sandwich but I like to just eat it off the plate because it never behaves itself on a sandwich like it should. And I always have to have more mustard for dipping. Stranger likes balsamic vinegar with his.



Not only does this sandwich taste wonderful but it is very easy to throw a few of them together for a crowd of people or pack for a picnic at the lake. You might say it is an organized sandwich choice.

There's A Hole in the Bucket Dear Liza, Dear Liza

Blogging feels kind of weird now that GeMoOrgNo is over. It was kind of hard but fun and now I feel lost without a blogging mission. What do you think my new mission should be?

I have been busy but too lazy to take photos or blog about it. I've been doing things with paint in the girls' room but none of it is photo worthy so I guess I'll tell you about it instead.

I thought I would paint a fun color in that room but the longer we live here the more I love the off white walls. They look clean and classic and I can add whatever accessories I want to accent them. Then I got the bright idea to paint everything above the trim work white and leave everything else off white. I thought it would tie in the white drapes and the white bedding I bought so I spent an afternoon rolling on the new color. (I took this photo before my painting extravaganza. )

Then I spent the next week hating it. I haven't really given it a fair try because I haven't cut in the edges yet but I think in order to make it look right I also have to paint the ceiling white and I'm not really up for that kind of work at this point.

It all started because I painted the old ladder and wanted to install some hooks to hang it on. I didn't want to take them off later to paint so I had to paint first. If I hadn't had a gallon of white paint already in the basement I might have given it a little more thought.

So now I have a ladder that I hate the color of and walls that are halfway painted, I hate that too, and no energy to fix any of it. I don't know what happened to my enthusiasm of the last two weeks but it's gone. Maybe all the marathon training I've been doing has sapped my energy.

I did make my bed this morning though. That counts for something.

P.S. I guess the baby ticker has to stay because now I look at it and think of it as my baby and I can't just delete my baby because it looks a little creepy. I'm hoping it will get cuter as it gets older and if it doesn't I will still love it. Besides, I finally figured out how to center it.

Kids Love to Organize

I suggested to my nine year old yesterday that we go through his many handed-down clothes. He has older cousins so he gets lots of great clothes but he couldn't possibly wear them all. Well, he does try to wear them all that's why he always has a mountain of dirty clothes in his room.

He was all for the idea of getting rid of some of them. While he was trying them on for me he said, "I really love how I'm making all these great changes in my life Mom."

Wow! Who knew that organizing clothes could be such a life changing experience for a nine year old boy!


P.S. What do you think of my little baby ticker in the sidebar? (If you click on it it will change from days to weeks etc.) Is it cute or creepy? I can't decide.

Lord of the Run

Ok, my marathon training has gotten a little behind schedule. Instead of running once every three weeks it's been four weeks since my last attempted run. But I was awesome tonight and ran for 30 minutes straight and walked another 20.

I used to be a runner you know. Not a runner, runner but I "ran" track for six years in high school and college and in spite of the fact that I was only a lazy high jumper I ran my workouts and a few official races including the hurdles a couple times.

After I had my little eight year old, Persistence, I got into running again for a few years. I'm embarrassed to tell you why I stopped but I will tell you anyway because I know you would never judge me, right? I lost my running CD. That's it. That's why I haven't done any real running for several years.

I lost the CD the first time and couldn't live without it so I bought another one. Then I lost that one and gave up after that. I mean, I still tried to run but it just wasn't the same without my inspirational music so eventually I gave up on the running too. I didn't really know why at the time and I thought I was just being lazy but looking back I can see that it was all about the music.

So now I want to start running again and if you thought I was serious about the marathon training, I wasn't. I AM NEVER GOING TO RUN A MARATHON PEOPLE! Not ever! But I would like to get back into shape one of these days, like after this baby is born, so I'm starting now. Even if it's only every three weeks. I bought a new CD, loaded it onto my MP3 player, which I WILL NOT lose, and went for it tonight. I can't move my legs at this point but it felt great at the moment with all that heart pounding music and adrenaline rushing. Don't you just love a good workout? I do!

Do you want to know what the music is? I'm embarrassed to tell you that too but I will anyway just in case it turns you into a marathon runner like me. (Not!) It's Lord of the Dance. I bought a used copy from Amazon. If you have Riverdance and you thought that would work, it won't. It has to be Lord of the Dance. Trust me on this. Buy it and then get yourself into a pair of running shoes because if a sick pregnant lady can do it then so can you!

And do me a favor. If you ever do decide to run a marathon watch your step at the finish line.

Talk About Tuesday

You're all invited over for dinner! I can do that now because our 16 chickens have finally moved into their Chicken Palace that Stranger built and we have clean sidewalks and a front porch without poop all over them for the first time in two years. Yay!!!

You wish you were me don't you? Where getting to and from your front door without dodging chicken poop is the highlight of your year? The Chicken Palace still needs a door and some paint. Stranger scoffed at me when I said it had to match the house. Apparently farmers don't care if things match but farmer's wives do.

I didn't know this but chickens need poles to roost or sleep on and nesting boxes to lay their eggs. Look at these comfy little nesting boxes. Luckily they share so we didn't need a box for each hen.

It really makes me wish I could have just layed an egg and made the family take turns sitting on it for six weeks instead of enduring a nine month plus one week pregnancy (yes, I want credit for that extra week). We could have had nine little chicks in one shot and fulfilled all of Stranger's wildest dreams of having twelve children. If they could toddle after me from day one, potty trained and pecking crumbs off the floor that would be even better since I could save time on feedings and vacuuming.

No, actually I would miss that squishy newborn stage. Not the changing ten diapers a day but just the squishy part. I don't know what's wrong with them but none of my kids let me suck on their faces anymore.

I almost forgot to mention that Stranger also hauled in a couple loads of gravel so I can once again park in my garage just in time for this cold snowy weather we're having. After we had our cement poured it was too high for us to drive onto but now we can. Yay again!!!

What do you have to talk about this week?

*Important - Please link to your individual Talk About Tuesday post instead of your home page or else my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder will have to spend time fixing the links. Here is how you link to an individual post if you’ve never done it before: Right click on the date at the bottom of the post you want to link to (or the post title depending on where you blog) click “Copy Shortcut” and then paste it into Mr. Linky.

Stupid Gifts I Had Better Not Catch You Paying Good Money For

As promised. I'm not going to do this every day because I'm scared to go shopping in December but here is the first item on my Stupid Gift list. Do not buy this or I will find you and attach some sort of scarlet letter to you. I don't know which one but it will be very big and very scarlet.

The great thing about this stupid gift is that I almost want one.



Guess what I did last week? Paperwork! I know, it's hard to believe. We have a big (you can't tell from the photo how big) toy basket in the office that we have been throwing mail in since I started feeling sick. It was over flowing so I finally had to do something about it. Three bags of garbage later and it is all cleaned out and ready for toys again.

What Does Lazy Have in her Library?

So sorry about the down time again! I know I need to find another site host but I don't want to think about that right now so I'm just going to put up with it until I can't stand it anymore.

Instead I've been thinking about books, books, books. Every time I leave the house I want to stop at a thrift store or used book store so I can buy more for my new collection. Remember when I said I was typing up a list to take with me so I wouldn't buy the same books twice?

Well, I did make the list. I did print it out. And then I did forget it the next time I went shopping for books. I was so mad that I made sure I had it the next time I went out even though I promptly set it down at the first store I browsed and never did find it again. Then I was REALLY mad so I also forgot the list today when I went out on purpose just to buy books.

Have I learned my lesson yet? I hope so. I have an updated list printed and stashed in my planner so I will have it next time. I have also downloaded it to my site so I can access it from any computer. I have had several people ask me for it so here you go.

lazylibrary.doc (updated 1-27-08) Series of children's books that have several different authors are listed at the end. Some of our favorites have an asterisk. I even made a section of organizing books just for you. I've never read an uninspiring organizing book however. If you're looking for something you can start with your library.

Remember that it is just the beginning of a collection of classics of which I am in no way an expert. And not all of them are classic. I have gotten rid of the worst books we had but there are still some on my list that I wouldn't buy again and I will probably get rid of as we run out of room on our shelves.

As I'm shopping I look for books that I read and loved as a child or other well known classics. I also pick up any book that has an award such as the Newberry Medal or any book by the same author as an award winning book. Chances are it will be good too. I have also picked up a lot of historical fiction for children that the kids love and I buy almost any horse book or novel that I come across because my daughter loves horses.

If you're interested (and why wouldn't you be because it's so exciting?) you can find my reading list here. I'm as shocked as you are that I've kept it up.