Eric and I went to the Nevada caucus this morning and cast our votes...and then left. Seems we missed 4 members of the family being elected to go the next round in the process. There were only 12 people in our district around at the end...and 8 were related to us (or was it 9 and 13? I don't know since I wasn't there). So we had a good voting block (bloc?) going on. Alan, Michael, Gary, and Becky are the 4 lucky ones. And it's not that they all really wanted the job...they just weren't too sure that the others would represent us the way we would want them to. Glen will be sorry he missed it.
Glen missed it because he was at an acting competition in Reno today (and yesterday) and at a play in Virginia City tonight.
Found out that Ryan made "Student of the Month" at the high school. Pre-season swim practice has started up 3 days a week.
Hannah has decided not to be on the track team after all. Though now she wonders what she is going to do with all her free time.
Alex made the 5th grade A Honor Roll at his school with only a handful of other students. Way to go, Alex!
Andrew continues to sound like he's having a blast at school. The 4:30 am custodial job seems to be working well for him. He has a calling in his new ward. He's the 2nd counselor in the Sunday School presidency. It sounds like that might mainly mean he's "on call" to sub in Sunday School if they need him to. He keeps a busy social life. One wonders how he manages to fit in all his school work. But I'm sure he does.
Can't think of any other real happenings for the week, though, for me, yesterday was:
ANTI-PROCRASTION DAY
I don't know if the title truly fits what it was, but that's what I kept calling it. I made a list of about 24 things that needed doing--most of which I had been procrastinating...and some of them (like calling about getting Hannah braces) have been on the list for at least a year. Some had been on the list for only a few months (I was only 5 months overdue for my annual check-up and finally called the doctor's office and set up an appointment...it wasn't until later that I realized I didn't pick the best day for it, but I guess I won't reschedule as it took me 5 months to get this far in the process). So I worked like a fiend all day and managed to tackle everything, though some things still need a follow-up (like Hannah's braces). But it sure felt great.
I've heard it said that the first thing you should do each day is the thing you dread the most. We tend to put off things we don't want to do and then they hang over our heads all day (or week, or month). There is such a sense of a burden being lifted when you just tackle what you are dreading and get it over with. I hope to do less procrastinating in the future.
OK. Here's another round of crafts and organizing:
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| Put paper in a picture frame and use it with a dry erase marker |
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| having all your hangers the same color seems less messy |
I know the above idea seems a little silly. I found the idea on-line and since I had enough white hangers, I tried it and it really does seem to make the closet feel more organized. The shirts on the left are the boys' church shirts, so they didn't get white hangers.
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| pounds to lose in the left jar, pounds lost in the right jar |
Although in the above case, each stone represents 1/2 pound, since that is the increment my scale does. And I've had to put back some stones since I took this picture. :P
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| homemade nutella in an old nutella jar |
The verdict...homemade nutella was OK. I followed the recipe exactly, but I think the hazelnuts were over-baked and my version wasn't as smooth and creamy as the store-bought nutella. The ingredients are hazelnuts, powdered sugar, cocoa, oil, and vanilla. Simple enough, but for the hassle and cost (I don't know that making your own saves money unless you find a good deal on hazelnuts), I think we'll just buy it, but the homemade version was pretty good. I got the recipe from here:
http://www.sugoodsweets.com/blog/2005/12/nutella/
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| labeled baskets in the freezer helps keep things findable (meats, fruits, vegs, nuts) |
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| But the name only shows up when the camera flash goes off |
Another idea I saw etches the names of the spice onto the jar. Since I buy most of my spices from bulk bins and reuse the old jars, the labels are getting tattered. I thought this would be a great idea. The cumin is the only jar I've done so far, and I think it's the glass type, but it didsn't etch well. The flash made the word stand out, but when the jar is on the shelf, you can't read it. I will try different jars.
Can't wait to see what this next week will bring.
