So It's officially the middle of August now and I haven't blogged in months! Where did the summer go?
Now I'm going to take a moment to hit you with some honesty. I've attempted blogging a TON of times and I always do really well for a week or two and then it all just dies off. I'm still always taking pictures of what I'm working on thinking it will become a blog post one day. So I have tons of blog post waiting in the wings. However the writing part always trips me up and I eventually get too busy with everything else that is going on.
Each time I do restart I usually spend a couple days totally going from scratch again but I'm going to at least break that habit this time and just keep on trucking with what I have so far. With school just around the corner it feels like September would be a great time for a fresh start.
So since time management has been my problem for years now I am going to work scheduling my time and getting organized over the next three weeks before the school year begins.
I'm going to take things one step at a time and post as much as I can about how it is all turning out. I imagine I'm still talking to myself here so I am not going to feel too guilty about letting anyone down with my absence just yet. I haven't spread the word about my blog presence since I know I'm not 100% loyal to getting it done myself yet.
So the task I am setting for myself today is read up on how to blog more successfully so hopefully this isn't another false start. I'm also going to start looking at the new Ebook I purchased today on time management today.
Tomorrow I will share with you all what I learned.
Cheers,
Rachel
Monday, August 15, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Where I've Been
Hello all,
So I've been MIA for just over a week now. Luckily for me I don't imagine that anyone actually reads my blog yet since I just started it a few weeks ago and I haven't linked to any other blogs yet. So assuming that no one is reading I am not going to beat myself up too much about the time missed. I will however explain my absence and tell you what I've been up to. However if there is someone out there reading my blog please leave me a comment so I know I'm not alone!
So last Friday night after my last post I spent the night working on a wedding cake for a friend. I used to make wedding cakes for a living but closed that business in January of this year. This is the last cake I had planned and now I'll be doing cake exclusively for friends and family. I gifted this cake to the bride and groom.
The cake is a three tier cake make of marbled chocolate and banana cake, iced with chocolate butter cream and covered in white fondant. I make gum paste daisies for the decoration and did a fondant tartan pattern on the board. I was really happy with how it turned out but I will never put tartan on a cake again. It was a nightmare.
Early Saturday morning I was scanning Kijiji and found some great dinning room chairs. I have been in search of new dinning room chairs for a while. I bought old used ones before. They weren't nice but were cheep and in decent shape. Some of them are not in such good shape any more so the search has been on. I wanted some that had a seat I could reupholster. So you can look forward to hearing about the reno project in the future. Refinish dinning room chairs has been added to the Home Reno & Maintenance List.
Saturday afternoon/evening I was attending the wedding I made the cake for and had a great time with some friends I had not seen in a while. We had some great food, took full advantage of the open bar and did a little dancing.
On Sunday we had some company. I got a visit from my mother-in-law and sister-in-law which was really nice. My mother-in-law was diagnosed very recently with lymphoma and has began chemotherapy. This day when she visited I got to see her bald head for the first time. I've been overwhelmed this whole time by how strong she has been through this and how positive her outlook has been. So that night I was discussing something that had been swimming around in my head since she was first diagnosed. I thought I should shave my head too! I didn't want her to be the only one. My husband responded that if we are going to do that we might as well get some money for it too. We jumped online and found out that the local Cops for Cancer event was taking place the following Saturday. So we discussed the idea with our boys and we all agreed that it would be a wonderful thing to do for Grandma and for the Cancer Society. We registered online, sent out a ton of emails and facebook posts and within 6 days our wonderful friends, family and co-workers had donated an incredible amount of money. More on that below!
Monday I was just home with the boys as usual and was planning on catching up on my blogging after I got some work in the garden done. Well none of that happened because I got a call from my mom telling me that my grandmother wasn't doing well. She has been in an assisted living facility for years now and has been suffering from dementia. The doctors had said at the time she may only have 48 hours remaining. My cousins, and aunt and uncle all made the long trek down to Chatham to be with her. She still has yet to pass but we all had the opportunity to be with her for a few days. My mother is still with her now and will be until she is gone.
Wednesday I was at college for a faculty fun day in Barrie which was a nice light fun day after the heavy stuff with my grandmother.
Thursday I was home again with the kids and was just doing some general tidying around the house after I had been away. I was also working diligently on some catch-up with our fundraising endeavour.
Friday I was out in the backyard again. My mother and father-in law were both coming for the big shave off on Saturday and I knew they would have their big truck with them so I decided to take down that last big branch off the tree I've been trimming in the back yard. I also took some of the pieces from that last branch and cut some branches for a project that I have in my head.
Saturday was the day of the big shave off. In total we raised just under $2400.00 in 6 days! It was amazing! Tonight I'll be working on thank-you cards for our donors that have a picture of our big bald melons on them.
We also took a trip to the local drive-in to see the new Pirates of the Carabian movie. We put the back seat of the Kia down and filled the back with pillows, blankets and of coarse snacks! It was really fun.
Needless to say the diet has gone nowhere fast this week with the days away eating fast food, the wedding and the movie snacks.
Today I have some cleaning catch-up to do. Now that the blog catch-up is done I have no reason to keep putting that off. So I will be back tomorrow to continue as usual.
So I've been MIA for just over a week now. Luckily for me I don't imagine that anyone actually reads my blog yet since I just started it a few weeks ago and I haven't linked to any other blogs yet. So assuming that no one is reading I am not going to beat myself up too much about the time missed. I will however explain my absence and tell you what I've been up to. However if there is someone out there reading my blog please leave me a comment so I know I'm not alone!
So last Friday night after my last post I spent the night working on a wedding cake for a friend. I used to make wedding cakes for a living but closed that business in January of this year. This is the last cake I had planned and now I'll be doing cake exclusively for friends and family. I gifted this cake to the bride and groom.
The cake is a three tier cake make of marbled chocolate and banana cake, iced with chocolate butter cream and covered in white fondant. I make gum paste daisies for the decoration and did a fondant tartan pattern on the board. I was really happy with how it turned out but I will never put tartan on a cake again. It was a nightmare.
Early Saturday morning I was scanning Kijiji and found some great dinning room chairs. I have been in search of new dinning room chairs for a while. I bought old used ones before. They weren't nice but were cheep and in decent shape. Some of them are not in such good shape any more so the search has been on. I wanted some that had a seat I could reupholster. So you can look forward to hearing about the reno project in the future. Refinish dinning room chairs has been added to the Home Reno & Maintenance List.
Saturday afternoon/evening I was attending the wedding I made the cake for and had a great time with some friends I had not seen in a while. We had some great food, took full advantage of the open bar and did a little dancing.
On Sunday we had some company. I got a visit from my mother-in-law and sister-in-law which was really nice. My mother-in-law was diagnosed very recently with lymphoma and has began chemotherapy. This day when she visited I got to see her bald head for the first time. I've been overwhelmed this whole time by how strong she has been through this and how positive her outlook has been. So that night I was discussing something that had been swimming around in my head since she was first diagnosed. I thought I should shave my head too! I didn't want her to be the only one. My husband responded that if we are going to do that we might as well get some money for it too. We jumped online and found out that the local Cops for Cancer event was taking place the following Saturday. So we discussed the idea with our boys and we all agreed that it would be a wonderful thing to do for Grandma and for the Cancer Society. We registered online, sent out a ton of emails and facebook posts and within 6 days our wonderful friends, family and co-workers had donated an incredible amount of money. More on that below!
Monday I was just home with the boys as usual and was planning on catching up on my blogging after I got some work in the garden done. Well none of that happened because I got a call from my mom telling me that my grandmother wasn't doing well. She has been in an assisted living facility for years now and has been suffering from dementia. The doctors had said at the time she may only have 48 hours remaining. My cousins, and aunt and uncle all made the long trek down to Chatham to be with her. She still has yet to pass but we all had the opportunity to be with her for a few days. My mother is still with her now and will be until she is gone.
Wednesday I was at college for a faculty fun day in Barrie which was a nice light fun day after the heavy stuff with my grandmother.
Thursday I was home again with the kids and was just doing some general tidying around the house after I had been away. I was also working diligently on some catch-up with our fundraising endeavour.
Friday I was out in the backyard again. My mother and father-in law were both coming for the big shave off on Saturday and I knew they would have their big truck with them so I decided to take down that last big branch off the tree I've been trimming in the back yard. I also took some of the pieces from that last branch and cut some branches for a project that I have in my head.
Saturday was the day of the big shave off. In total we raised just under $2400.00 in 6 days! It was amazing! Tonight I'll be working on thank-you cards for our donors that have a picture of our big bald melons on them.
 |
| Before |
 |
| My turn in the chair! |
 |
| Going... |
 |
| Going... |
 |
| Almost Done! |
 |
| Gone! |
 | |
| A whole gang of bald Taylors! My mother-in-law looks so so happy! |
We also took a trip to the local drive-in to see the new Pirates of the Carabian movie. We put the back seat of the Kia down and filled the back with pillows, blankets and of coarse snacks! It was really fun.
Needless to say the diet has gone nowhere fast this week with the days away eating fast food, the wedding and the movie snacks.
Today I have some cleaning catch-up to do. Now that the blog catch-up is done I have no reason to keep putting that off. So I will be back tomorrow to continue as usual.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Potted Veggies!
So I wanted to try and grow some veggies this summer. Just the bare bones of a good salad. I don't have a vegtable garden and because our backyard is so shady I thought potted veggies would be the way to go. Then if they need more light I can move them around.
So I got the pots out, cleaned them up and filled them with Earth and the plants I got from Zehrs.
So I got the pots out, cleaned them up and filled them with Earth and the plants I got from Zehrs.
Cherry Tomatoes - gotta get a cage on this!
Some regular sized tomatoes
Cucumbers - I am going to get some lattice for the vines to climb up rather than out.
and finally some lettuce!
We also picked up some hanging baskets with strawberries in them. Not sure if they will grow well or not. I imagine my kids picking the plant clean before the berries have a chance to get to thier optimum size but time will tell.
Cheers!
Rachel
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Working Towards a Better Backyard
So as I told you last week I ripped down the ugly beast that is our shed. Now I had a bigger space to work with and I need to get it better looking.
The biggest improvement I could make would be to get the grass looking half decent. That is going to be a challenge because here where I live in Canada weed killer isn't legal. So last week I got myself a gift.
I got myself one of those Fiskars Weed pullers. It was AWESOME! It was so satisfying every time I ripped one of those stupid dandilions out of the ground by its long nasty roots.
I filled eight tightly packed buckets with dandilions. I didn't get a before/after picture of the lawn but here is what came out of it.
That picture makes me feel so good. Now the one things that I found while I was on my weeding adventure is that I hoestly have more weeds than grass. So I think the next step will be to get some grass seed and work on growing some more grass as well. In the mean time I will be doing what I can to stay on top of the dandilion situation.
The other thing I did to work on bringing more light into our backyard was trim some big branches off of one of the trees. Here you can see the stumps that were left after I hacked the big branches down BY HAND WITH A HAND SAW. My neighbour offered me his chainsaw but that idea scared me so I did it all by hand and then asked him if instead he could run the branches to the yard waste dump with his pick-up.
I am still hoping to take another branch off but that will have to wait until another day when I can fill his pick-up with the branches again.
I'm happy with the work I was able to get done and the physical labour was a great work out.
Cheers!
Rachel
The biggest improvement I could make would be to get the grass looking half decent. That is going to be a challenge because here where I live in Canada weed killer isn't legal. So last week I got myself a gift.
I got myself one of those Fiskars Weed pullers. It was AWESOME! It was so satisfying every time I ripped one of those stupid dandilions out of the ground by its long nasty roots.
I filled eight tightly packed buckets with dandilions. I didn't get a before/after picture of the lawn but here is what came out of it.
That picture makes me feel so good. Now the one things that I found while I was on my weeding adventure is that I hoestly have more weeds than grass. So I think the next step will be to get some grass seed and work on growing some more grass as well. In the mean time I will be doing what I can to stay on top of the dandilion situation.
The other thing I did to work on bringing more light into our backyard was trim some big branches off of one of the trees. Here you can see the stumps that were left after I hacked the big branches down BY HAND WITH A HAND SAW. My neighbour offered me his chainsaw but that idea scared me so I did it all by hand and then asked him if instead he could run the branches to the yard waste dump with his pick-up.
I am still hoping to take another branch off but that will have to wait until another day when I can fill his pick-up with the branches again.
I'm happy with the work I was able to get done and the physical labour was a great work out.
Cheers!
Rachel
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
The Taylor Kids Summer Activity Guide
So I've taken the idea that I layed out last week about creating a plan for this summer with my boys. I'm hoping to fit in lots of fun and lots of learning along the way. Last week I picked themes for each week of the summer. This week I expanded on those themes and planed out a rough description of what we'll be doing each day.
My oldest son Nolan has caught wind of this plan and has already gotten excited wondering what we'll be doing. I have explained to him that he won't know what we will be doing each day until that morning. I want it to feel fun and exciting each day. I've also started jotting down ideas for activities and will share part of my plan for week one with you next week. Then this summer I will give you a full report on how it all went each week.
Cheers!
Rachel
My oldest son Nolan has caught wind of this plan and has already gotten excited wondering what we'll be doing. I have explained to him that he won't know what we will be doing each day until that morning. I want it to feel fun and exciting each day. I've also started jotting down ideas for activities and will share part of my plan for week one with you next week. Then this summer I will give you a full report on how it all went each week.
Cheers!
Rachel
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Home Management Binder - Part One: A Pretty Cover
So I have been working away at our home management binder.
I showed you Sunday the different links that I found the most useful and inspiring for putting together a home management binder.
So after some research, some thought and a good number of hours in front of the computer here is what I have so far...
I probably could have done it quicker and therefore get more done but I wanted to make sure it was pretty too! I figure I will be much more likely to use my binder if it is pretty.
I'm so predictable! Doing the fun and easy part of the project first!
Have fun making a cover page of your own.
Cheers!
Rachel
I showed you Sunday the different links that I found the most useful and inspiring for putting together a home management binder.
So after some research, some thought and a good number of hours in front of the computer here is what I have so far...
A PRETTY COVER
I probably could have done it quicker and therefore get more done but I wanted to make sure it was pretty too! I figure I will be much more likely to use my binder if it is pretty.
I'm so predictable! Doing the fun and easy part of the project first!
Have fun making a cover page of your own.
Cheers!
Rachel
Monday, May 23, 2011
Good News, Bad News, and a Little Change
The good news is that with one week in on my diet, according to the scale this morning I lost 4 pounds!!! Woo Hoo!
Bad news is I won't be sharing with you the mango coconut chicken salad I had planned on sharing today. I'm actually blogging from the car right now. I totally forgot that today was a holiday and that we had tickets to watch the Attack in a Memorial Cup game today.
So with that said...GO ATTACK GO!
Now the change...with so many projects on my to-do list I am going to do a switch up to the proposed schedule for the blog I wrote about on day 2.
Mondays will be both diet and cooking day.
Tuesday will still be home management/organization day.
Wednesday will be play and learn day.
Thursdays and Fridays will be project days.
Saturday will be baking day.
Sunday will be round-up day.
Hope everyone had a great long weekend!
Cheers!
Rachel
Bad news is I won't be sharing with you the mango coconut chicken salad I had planned on sharing today. I'm actually blogging from the car right now. I totally forgot that today was a holiday and that we had tickets to watch the Attack in a Memorial Cup game today.
So with that said...GO ATTACK GO!
Mondays will be both diet and cooking day.
Tuesday will still be home management/organization day.
Wednesday will be play and learn day.
Thursdays and Fridays will be project days.
Saturday will be baking day.
Sunday will be round-up day.
Hope everyone had a great long weekend!
Cheers!
Rachel
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Ideas & Inspiration - Home Management Binder
So this week I have been working on my home management binder. Today I wanted to share with you some of the blog posts I found most helpful and inspiring.
If you have a post detailing your journey creating a home management journal please add it to my links here so I and others can check it out!
I will update you early next week with how it is all going.
Cheers!
Rachel
If you have a post detailing your journey creating a home management journal please add it to my links here so I and others can check it out!
I will update you early next week with how it is all going.
Cheers!
Rachel
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Joy Of Baking
So with this being my first baking post I thought I should share with you my favorite online baking resource.
Joy of baking is hands down my favorite baking resource. It has great go to recipes for beginner and seasoned bakers. Regardless of how wonderful the recipes are there is one reason above and beyond that makes this a favorite for me. All the measurements are in both weight and volume. Most home bakers would use the volume method of measurement (cups and spoons) where as professional bakers use weight measurements. If you are a home baker and you are looking to take your baking to another level switch from volume to weight measurements.
If you need some convincing then get out a scale, your one cup measure and a bag of flour. Now measure out 3 cups of flour into a bowl. Now ask everyone else in your house to do the same. Measure each bowl and see just how different all those "3 cups" of flour measure out. The difference between all the different bowls could really surprise you. Now try it again with sifted flour. Once again the difference will be drastically different. Depending on the feel of the scoop and how tightly packed the flour is can make a great deal of difference on the amount of flour you are using and the result of the final product.
Joy of baking is hands down my favorite baking resource. It has great go to recipes for beginner and seasoned bakers. Regardless of how wonderful the recipes are there is one reason above and beyond that makes this a favorite for me. All the measurements are in both weight and volume. Most home bakers would use the volume method of measurement (cups and spoons) where as professional bakers use weight measurements. If you are a home baker and you are looking to take your baking to another level switch from volume to weight measurements.
If you need some convincing then get out a scale, your one cup measure and a bag of flour. Now measure out 3 cups of flour into a bowl. Now ask everyone else in your house to do the same. Measure each bowl and see just how different all those "3 cups" of flour measure out. The difference between all the different bowls could really surprise you. Now try it again with sifted flour. Once again the difference will be drastically different. Depending on the feel of the scoop and how tightly packed the flour is can make a great deal of difference on the amount of flour you are using and the result of the final product.
Now check out the recipe for biscuits and measure out a fresh batch to go along with your dinner tonight.
Happy Baking!
Rachel
Friday, May 20, 2011
Tearing Down the Shed!
So when we moved into this house (our first house) almost 6 years ago this shed was in the backyard. After the first few months the doors began to bust. My husband tried and tried to fix them but there was no use. While it was always an ugly shed I always imagined I could easily paint it and give it a fresh look once (if ever) we got it working functionally again. More time passed and eventually I excepted that there was no way it was worth trying to fix. So next I was on to dreaming of a new shed. Much much more time passed and we just never managed to pull the money together. It really shouldn't have surprised me but sheds are expensive! Even the ugly cheapest ones. There was also the reality that in the climate we live in (lots of snow!) That a cheap shed wouldn't be a good idea. So once again more and more time passed and then I moved on to my final solution ridding our backyard of the huge green beast.
Reorganize the carport to contain the sheds contents and just rip the darn things down!
So after 6 years of trying to figure out what to do with this thing... IT IS GONE!!!
I hope none of my neighbors were on shift work and trying to sleep during the day because I "smashed it good"! I started by just trying to take it apart but all the screws/nuts/bolts were a rusty mess and I couldn't get them apart. So I ended up just smashing the thing into pieces with my hammer. Amazingly I only got one very small scratch and one big bruise from getting too careless with my hammer and smashing myself in the ankle with the claw. Not fun!
So after a long day the shed it finally gone and I have a patio space that is twice the size it used to be. Now I've also added another job to my Home Reno & Maintenance List.
Reorganize the carport to contain the sheds contents and just rip the darn things down!
So after 6 years of trying to figure out what to do with this thing... IT IS GONE!!!
I hope none of my neighbors were on shift work and trying to sleep during the day because I "smashed it good"! I started by just trying to take it apart but all the screws/nuts/bolts were a rusty mess and I couldn't get them apart. So I ended up just smashing the thing into pieces with my hammer. Amazingly I only got one very small scratch and one big bruise from getting too careless with my hammer and smashing myself in the ankle with the claw. Not fun!
So after a long day the shed it finally gone and I have a patio space that is twice the size it used to be. Now I've also added another job to my Home Reno & Maintenance List.
- Trim a huge amount off of the tree in our yard to let in some more sunshine.
| Rachel |
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