Yes, Teacher!

Friday, October 28, 2011

The Negligent Housewife

Negligent with household chores? Yep, that's me!

I'll be honest: once a week I do the very minimum. I sweep the floors and wipe down the kitchen. Bathrooms and laundry every other week.

The other stuff? Forget it! And the other stuff (like the awful piles of dust on the ceiling fan blades) is easy to ignore.... UNTIL. Until my parents and my sister come for a week long stay. And then I'm all: We need to scrub the cat snot off of that wall! Quick! Put away the camping gear we set out to dry on the back porch two months ago! And the windows! Scrub them so we can see through them again!

Please tell me I'm not the only one like this.

Anyway. My family is coming for a week during my Thanksgiving break. Why am I freaking out about it now? Because if they want to unpack their suitcase, we'll have to reorganize all the closets. Plus all that other stuff in italics up there.

I would very much like to stay on top of this cleaning business. I found some organizational tools that might be useful via this lovely site.

And then there's the Fly Lady who walks you through to a clean house in manageable baby steps. (I've heard good things!).

What about you? How do you manage the mess of daily living?

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Make Ahead Quinoa Goodness

So I have this aversion to homemade sandwiches (with the exception of grilled cheese). I don't want to bring them to school for my lunch. I would bring leftovers, but I'd rather save those for dinner!

That's why Gussy's prompt this week is so timely: RECIPES. It's the perfect opportunity for me to share the healthy lunch I make ahead of time - it takes about two hours to prepare on a Saturday and it gives me three weeks worth of lunches!!

(Do you know how awesome it is to grab my lunch out of the freezer every morning with nary a thought or worry about it? Done, and done!)

So here it is:

Quinoa Goodness

(if you've never tried Quinoa before, it's kinda like rice - this is a good recipe to start out with!)

Disclaimer: recipe is adapted from here and quadrupled to make a lot of lunches!

4 cups quinoa (cook according to directions-easy!)

4 cans (15.5 oz) chickpeas (aka: garbanzo beans)

2 cans diced tomatoes, drained

1 can of corn

4 chopped/halved zucchini (or yellow squash)

1 red onion, diced

2 tsp garlic powder

3/4 cup lime juice

1 cup olive oil

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp. dried parsley

Salt to taste

Directions:

Cook quinoa as directed. Chop zucchini and red onion and cook in some olive oil. Drain tomatoes. Throw quinoa, zucchini, red onion, and tomatoes in the biggest bowl you own. Dump in the seasonings.

Recommendations:

If you're feeding an army, let it chill for an hour or two (this tastes best cold or at room temperature).

If you're making 3 weeks of lunches, scoop out 1.5 cups of quinoa goodness and freeze in a ziploc bag. Then all you need to do is grab a piece of fruit and a cookie in the morning and you're all set to go! (I keep a bowl and a spoon at work.)

Enjoy :)

<a href="http://www.gussysews.com/inspiration-workshop/" target="_blank"><img alt="Gussy Sews Inspiration Workshop!" height="125" width="125" title="Gussy Sews" border="0" src="http://www.gussysews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/IW_button1251.png" alt="Gussy" /></a>

PS: Are you looking to boost traffic and sales to your shop this holiday season? You can count on me to ACTIVELY promote my sponsors! Check out the details here.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Star Sponsor: Tahnie from A Happy Girl

Meet Tahnie!

Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Shop

At 16 months, I was diagnosed with a rare (less than 500 in the U.S. and only about 7 patients exist in my home state of Utah) fatal disease called Cystinosis. To heavily over simplify; basically every organ in my body is slowly crystallizing until they can no longer function. This facet of my story has been a blessing in many ways. I wasn't supposed to live to see my 9th birthday and today I am 28, living my days with the love of my life and our miracle daughter. Life is beautiful like that. To quote my favorite fortune cookie message of all tme: "Life is not a struggle, it's a wiggle."

Did you know that Tahnie is a Stella and Dot stylist? Check out all of their fabulous jewelry!!

Star Sponsor: Tell Your Girlfriends Designs

Meet Cilla!

Cilla Watkins is the designer behind the online shop called Tell Your Girlfriends. You can find one of a kind handmade jewelry at www.tellyourgirlfriends.etsy.com

Cilla is happy to hear your requests and create something special for you or your gift giving needs. Cilla is offering our readers this month a special coupon.

**COUPON ALERT**

Use the code Teacher20 to received 20% off your order. Just in time for your holiday shopping! Shipping is worldwide!

Star Sponsor: Laura from Along for the Ride

Meet Laura!

Hi there! I'm Laura and I'm along for the ride. No really, I am.

Along For the Ride isn't just the name of my handmade shop and my blog, but it's how I see my walk with the Lord. I am along for the ride He has planned for me, and what a glorious ride it is!

During the day (and lots of times at night) I spend my time running a residence hall on a college campus. My husband and I live in the hall and our neighbors are 400 loud, silly, messy, wonderful college students. We have a kitty baby named Jupiter that shares our little apartment.

When I'm not working in the hall, I spend my time with a glue gun in hand, making lovely things for my shop. My motto is "keep is simple" and I try to make simple accessories that aren't too dramatic or fussy, but add just a pretty touch of whimsy to an already beautiful you.

"Keep it simple" is my motto for my life as well and I blog a lot about the simple, little, imperfect things that make life sweet.

I can also be found on twitter and Facebook!

**COUPON ALERT!**

Laura is generously offering 20% off your purchase with coupon code TEACHER20 ! Happy Shopping!

Star Sponsor: Rags to Stitches

Hi, my name is Alissa, aka "The Snuggie Girl." I blog over at Rags to Stitches and I have a little shop filled with Snuggies that are guaranteed to keep your iPad, E-Readers and Laptops all warm and well... Snuggly. hehe. I'm married to the love of my life and we've been together for almost 7 years. In that time we've had our fair share of adventures and I'm so excited for the many more to come. My career began as an elementary and middle school teacher and shifted after the birth of our beautiful baby girl Katelyn in 2008. Katelyn is now three and is one of the most precious joys of our lives. Her smile and laughter can brighten anyone's day. In late 2009 we were blessed with another bundle of joy, who we lovingly refer to as Buddy. He is my sensitive, cuddle bug and already looks up to his sister. Being 17 months apart, I'm not going to lie, they keep me on my toes, but I'd rather dance around on my toes all day, then miss a single moment with them. I love meeting new people and I hope you'll pop by my blog and say hello.

Alissa makes the most beautiful snuggies! Check out this laptop snuggie:

And lucky you! You can get 10% off your order with coupon code RAGSTOSTITCHES! Happy Shopping!

Star Sponsor and Giveaway: Patty from The Junquerie

Meet Patty!

I am the stay at home mom to four boys - I have been creating for as long as I can remember. I adore romantic sentimental Victorian jewelry, charm bracelets, colored pearls, birds,vintage hearts, padlocks and lockets. I also have a more Bohemian side which loves Czech glass, silk and bright colors. Creating jewelry to make you feel pretty and a little reminiscent of the past. Here is my little corner of the web - come in and stay for a bit. I enjoy blogging about jewelrymaking, decorating on the cheap and lifes small funny moments.

Patty has a delightful blog, and creates beautiful jewelry for her shop! Take a peek: