Cute Cats

I just thought I would throw in a few pictures of my furry children. First up is Paris guarding the laundry. When this laundry basket is inside the house, it contains an old rug and is her bed. I think she was annoyed that her bed was sitting in the yard.

Next is JJ doing what he does best - taking a nap.

Lucy looks as if she is being punished. Instead she is waiting for someone to come by so that she can pounce on them. She hates to be attacked by her brother or sister but has no problem being the attacker.

More Potluck From the Pantry

I promise I do more at my church than eat. A couple of weeks ago I again needed a snack to take to church. I had not been to the grocery store and turned again to items that I had on hand.

In the refrigerator I found a block of cream cheese and a piece of a block of cheddar cheese. I first thought I would make a cheese ball. A search of the cabinets revealed no crackers. Instead I made mini cheese balls. I rolled each one in chopped pecans and added a toothpick for easy grab and go access.

First Birthday Cakes

My cousin asked me to make the birthday cakes for her daughter's first birthday party. It was going to be a princess themed party. I knew that Wilton's crown pan would be perfect, but I needed more cake. I used a large rectangle as a base. Added some crown and wand sugar lay-ons and edible glitter. Before I get to the picture, keep in mind that I am self-taught. My cake motto is that they taste better than they look.

Next the birthday girl needed her own cake. The problem was that she has several food allergies. I searched online and found a recipe for a vegan cake. I was not sure how it would taste, but it contained nothing that would cause her to have a reaction. Amazingly the cake rose up well and did not taste as bad as I expected. The birthday princess who had never eaten any cake before seemed to enjoy it. I will be holding on to that recipe.

Dish Washing Buddy

I have several craft projects that are in process. Unfortunately, many have been in process for months or years. This is one of the multiple month projects. The reason lies with me rather than the complexity of the project.

I am a cat person and did this in the colors of my cat Lucy. I also happened to have this yard in my craft room. It has a holder behind the cat that stores the bottle of dish washing detergent.

It was not a necessary project, but I hate washing dishes. At least this little kitty makes me smile a bit!

Potluck from the Pantry

My church typically has "finger foods" after special services on Sunday nights. This past week was one of those times. I usually try to take two dishes. I had an abundance of little smokies in the freezer from a sale. I also had cheese. I picked up two types of olives and made a large tray of snacks with a smokie, cheese cube, and olive on a toothpick.

I needed a sweet snack. I had all of the ingredients for making cinnamon rolls. I ended up doing two pans for a total of 36. I expected to have plenty leftover for my DH to take to work the next day. They were very popular and none were leftover. I was surprised that everyone was so taken with them. This is a fairly basic recipe with basic ingredients. I suppose no one makes homemade cinnamon rolls any more.

I ended up with two dishes made mainly with on-hand ingredients. I did buy the olives for around $2.50. However, I have olives leftover to go into salads, on pizza, or just for snacks. Party foods do not have to be fancy or expensive. A little creativity can go a long way!

Snow!

Snow is a rarity here in the deep south. We see a few flakes from time to time. However on Friday the 12th a few flakes turned into a bunch of flakes that actually stuck. It snowed much of the afternoon and early part of the night. We ended up with just over an inch. Saturday morning the cats were not sure what to think of the white ground. Paris decided after seeing me walk on it that she could safely go out in it too. She had a blast in the snow.

Older sister Lucy was not so happy. She followed in my footsteps before making a mad dash to the table on the deck. She promptly found the un-iced portion and walked in circles. After Paris scared her she ran at full speed back into the house.

Sago palms and snow do not normally appear in the same picture.

The deck Friday night and Saturday morning

Routines

I find that things go more smoothly in my house if I stick to a routine. Being a housewife it is easy to say that I have plenty of time so why be in a rush to do anything. The problem is that I find it all too simple to do fun things and skip the boring household chores. My solution is to stick to a routine and treat my being a housewife as a job.

My morning routine is:
~Make bed
~Swish & swipe the bathroom
~Feed & water pets
~Clean litter box
~Make tea
I also get out of my PJs and get dressed including hair and makeup. It makes me feel more put together for unexpected visitors.

The afternoon consists of deep cleaning in a different room each day. I do one to two loads of laundry. If it is raining I do more loads on the sunny days. I also do Flylady's zone mission and exercise.

My evening routine helps me wrap up the day and prepare for the next. Each day I:
~Sweep & steam floor (sometimes just sweep)
~Feed & water pets again
~Pick out clothes for the next day
~Take out any foods for following day's meal
~Take out trash
~Clean up kitchen (I hate waking up to a dirty kitchen.)

Of course I have plenty of other chores to do throughout the day. This list keeps me on track. I still have plenty of time to play and relax. My routines definitely help me keep the house in order.