Breaking out the VCR

Last night we dug out the box of old VHS tapes and hooked up the VCR.  It was like opening a time capsule.  You see, when Firstborn was a toddler, DVD was relatively new, and VHS was still the main contender.  The shows my kids watched as wee ones were mostly in that format.  Many of these shows we haven't watched in years, both because they have grown out of Little Bear and Blue's Clues {sniff}, and because it's kind of a pain to set up the VCR.

But last night, we unearthed a real treasure.  About 9 years ago, my dad gave the boys three VHS tapes that he got at Christianbook.com:  Little Dogs on the Prairie.  They were the only three ever made, and CBD no longer has them, but you can still find them, in both VHS and DVD, fairly reasonably on Amazon. 

These are just all-around good productions!  It's real, hand-drawn animation, the music is well-done and catchy, the stories reference the Bible and have a moral, and they are very funny!  Craig and I laughed through all three episodes of the tape we watched last night.  (In fact, even though we haven't watched them in years, there are still a couple catch-phrases that we will occasionally quote.)

Not only that, the kids all really liked them too, from the 13-yr-old down to the 8-yr-old.  Firstborn just barely remembered it from years ago, but, although he enjoyed them as a preschooler, I'm sure he didn't get all the humor, or necessarily even the lesson.  This time around he "got it", and there were several out-loud laughs from his end of the couch.  The other two were giggling as well.

There's not too much out there on the web, but here's a clip from one episode.



If you're interested in good, clean, quality entertainment for your children, with Christian values, that the whole family can enjoy, I highly recommend you try to get your hands on these.  In addition to Amazon, there were a handful of listings on ebay.  It appears that you might be able to order the DVDs from the Fancy Monkey Studios website, though the website doesn't seem too current, so I think I'd try to email them first before you go that route.

I think we'll be leaving the VCR hooked up for a while!

Comfort Foods

Snow day!  It's a good day to stay home and be cozy.

Cozy day, cozy foods.  For breakfast, oatmeal with butter and brown sugar.  Craig had never heard of eating it that way before we were married.  Is that something that I got from growing up in Canada?  Regardless, if you haven't tried it that way, you really must.  Yum, yum!

I didn't get a photo of our steaming bowls of porridge, so you will have to be content with a picture of the raw oats.

Last night for supper, when three out of five of us were in various stages of tummy discomfort, I made a very simple chicken and rice soup.  I just boiled and chopped a couple chicken breasts, added it to three quarts of broth,  added 3/4 cup of long grain white rice, and simmered 20 minutes until the rice was cooked.

When making a quick soup like this, particularly if there isn't much added flavor other than the broth, I recommend using a soup base rather than bouillon or canned broth.   It's much richer (and this brand adds no MSG).

 After the kids come in from playing in the snow, we'll make some hot chocolate.  My favorite recipe is made with sweetened condensed milk (I usually replace some of the water with regular milk).  Serve with lots of whipped cream!

source

For lunch, we'll have the left-over soup and grilled cheese.  The baking method makes it easy to make toasted cheese sandwiches for a bunch of people at one time.

 source

For supper, I'm planning to make meatloaf.  I'm excited to get to mix it up with the stand mixer I got for Christmas.  Doing it by hand always froze my hands to the point of pain!  Here's my favorite meatloaf recipe:

Combine in large bowl, and reserve 4T:

1/2 cup ketchup, 2 T brown sugar, 1/2 tsp ground mustard

To the remaining above mixture, add:

4 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 tsp seasoned salt, 1-1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1 egg

Add 1-1/2 lbs ground beef and 1/4 cup breadcrumbs.  Combine well, form into a loaf, and bake at 350 degrees for 65 minutes.  Top with reserved ketchup mixture and bake 15 more minutes.

The kids like it because there are no chunks of veggies.  I like the piquant flavor.  And if there are any leftovers, you know what that means.  Meatloaf sandwiches for lunch the next day!

source

I hope you have a comfort food kind of day, too!

Updates

Hey, ya'll!  I'm sorry I didn't post the Money-Saving Tips party today...I got hit with a stomach bug over the weekend (actually, I think it may have been a touch of food poisoning) and haven't been able to make it downstairs to the computer until now.

About the party, I've been thinking that I will try making it just a generic tips party.  Any idea that helps you save time or money, solves a problem, makes your life easier...basically anything.

Also, don't forget the Knock-Off party coming up on Jan. 27.  Detailed guidelines can be found here.

In other news, I think we've got Windows back! Yay!  There are still a lot of issues that need to be worked through with this computer crash, and I currently don't have a way to access my email.  Craig is getting tired of doing tech support, but I'm sure he'll get to it soon (can you tell that I would be completely lost if I was on my own with this?).

Time to test the tummy...ginger ale and saltines for me.

Home Goals

I've been thinking this week about making some goals for the year.  Typically I'm in the "failing to plan" camp, which, as you know, is the same as planning to fail.  I've got a lot of ideas and "shoulds" cluttering up my brain, but very few of them get done.  This year I decided it was time to break the cycle and make a list of things I'd like to accomplish.  Hopefully having them written down will give me some focus.

My non-exhaustive list of things to do around the house:

• make master bedroom headboard out of old door, kind of like this from Martha Stewart (but no yellow insets)

• do board and batten, or possibly some other type of trim treatment, in living room, like this from The Brown Family

• stain kitchen island top a darker color

• save enough $ for new living room furniture, because this isn't cool

• give these lamps (there are two) a makeover

(The rest are going to have to go without photos because of my dumbputer problems; I'm sorry to keep whining about it, but I'm not a happy computer camper right now.)

• organize kitchen cabinets
• organize mudroom and make cushion for the bench
• paint Pinkerbelle's room
• paint corner cupboard
• paint master bathroom
• paint hall bathroom
• paint boys' rooms

I could go on, but if these get done, or even if some of them get done, I'll be happy.  I was planning to do this post before I knew about Nester's party, but since she's having one, I might as well join!

Also joining:

Lazy Afternoon

Remember when my computer died shortly before Christmas?  Well, I don't know all the computer jargon, but apparently the only way to salvage it was to wipe it clean and start over with a non-Windows operating system.  Craig has been trying for years to switch over to Linux, because that's what all the computer geeks use, and he's a computer geek wannabe.  I have always protested, but apparently I'm stuck with it for now. (I think maybe he saw this as an a opportunity, and might be exaggerating about the "necessity" of it.)

So far, what that means is that a) I can't print coupons, and b) I can't use Windows Live Writer.  Blogger has improved their photo uploading procedure since I first started blogging, but I still prefer WLW.  A lot.  You should check it out if you haven't already.

Today is the last day of Christmas break for the kids.  Everything is back to normal tomorrow, although Firstborn has a sore throat, and hopefully I'm not in for a week of sick kids at home. This afternoon Pinkerbelle and I are going to watch the American Girl Samantha movie I got at the library.  She doesn't very often get to watch purely girly shows, because movie night must appeal to all the kids.  I'm making an exception today and the boys can either like it or lump it.

I'm off to snuggle with my girl!

Design Personality Quiz

Have you been watching the Nate Berkus Show?  I DVR it, and when I have a few minutes I sit down and watch an episode or two.  The other day he had a design personality quiz that was kind of fun (I think it was actually a rerun, but it was new to me).

IF YOU WERE A LIPSTICK, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?

A. CORAL
B. SPARKLY GLOSS
C. HOT PINK
D. CLASSIC RED

YOU’RE ABOUT TO SPLURGE ON A NEW PAIR OF SHOES. WHAT DO YOU BUY?
A. MARY JANES
B. SKY-HIGH STILETTOS
C. FLIP FLOPS
D. A NEW PAIR OF LOAFERS 

YOU JUST GOT YOUR FAVORITE FLOWERS FROM A SECRET ADMIRER! YOU GOT:
A. DAISIES
B. A GORGEOUS ORCHID
C. TROPICAL FLOWER
D. RED ROSES

YOU’RE AT YOUR FAVORITE HOME DÉCOR STORE – WHAT CATCHES YOUR EYE FIRST?
A. A ROCKING CHAIR
B. A COLORFUL, TRENDY VASE
C. A BEAUTIFUL WOVEN BASKET
D. A LUXURIOUS THROW

IF SOMEONE GAVE YOU AN ALL-EXPENSE PAID VACATION, WHERE YOU WOULD GO?
A. EIFFEL TOWER
B. EMPIRE STATE BUILDING
C. TAJ MAHAL
D. UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

---

IF YOU ANSWERED ALL"A's":  VINTAGE PERSONALITY

You like things one of a kind, you’re a garage sale shopper, a thrift sale shopper. you like things to have some age, a patina. If you know you’re a vintage personality, you can shop in places with items that have an aged look or have been assembled over time. You don’t go to the new modern stores and waste your time buying items that you know you’re not going to love.

 IF YOU ANSWERED ALL “B’s”:  MODERN PERSONALITY

You like a clean look, with clean lines, and space to breathe within your home. Every piece you own needs to be special, because you don’t have a lot. Simple, clean lines, special pieces. You save your money and you don’t make impulse purchases. You create a beautiful modern environment.

 IF YOU ANSWERED ALL “C’s”:  GLOBAL PERSONALITY

You like things that have edge. When you go on vacation you’re digging though the local markets. There are pieces that are hand-crafted, you love woven tapestries and animal prints.

 IF YOU ANSWERED ALL “D’s”:  AMERICAN CLASSIC PERSONALITY

Well-tailored pieces and somewhat clean lines. You can feel a sense of history there, there’s something very tradition about it and it could benefit from an infusion of personality.

I answered D (classic red), D (loafers), A (daisies), D (luxurious throw), A (Eiffel tower).  That means that I'm mainly American Classic, with a good bit of vintage mixed in.  That's actually pretty accurate, I'd say.  I tend to go for classic, neutral main pieces with vintage accents.

What's your design personality according to Nate?

Happy New Year, friends!  The Christmas decorations are all packed away, the family room is back to it's winter furniture arrangement now that the tree is gone, and the year is fresh!  Did you know that today is Festival of Sleep Day?  That's my kind of festival; maybe I'll celebrate by taking a nap!

Here are a few things that will be going on here at the blog this month...

Thursday, January 27 will be the next Knock-Off Party.  Recreate something from Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, or Ballard Designs and share it with us.  The rules:

• your knock-off entry must be made by you
• it must inspired by Pottery Barn, Ballard Designs, or Restoration Hardware
• you must include a picture of the original item from the catalog so we can compare (scan in it if it's an old catalog)
• it must be a specific comparable item, and not just a “this kind of has the PB look to it”

This party is a lot of fun, so start planning your project now!

Next Monday I plan to start up Monday's Money-Saving Tips again.  This is a weekly linky party for you to share ways that help you (and others) save money.  Really the only limitation is that it should be something that others could use as well.  It could be a homemade cleaning supply, a frugal recipe,  a huge sale at a national chain that others could benefit from...the possibilities are endless.

I started this party in November, and so far participation hasn't been great.  I'd really like to get it going; can you give me some help with this?  Is Monday a bad day?  Please leave a comment and answer my informal poll.

1.   Is this a party you would participate in from time to time?
2.  What day would be best for you to participate in this party?

Thanks!