Slow Cooker Recipe- Roast

Roast is one of my go-to recipes. It is so easy, and the family loves it! I just put everything in the slow cooker, and leave it be until dinner time. By lunch the whole house smells scrumptious. By dinner every mouth on the block is watering.

We do things a little different around here though...don't hate me, please...

Here goes: we eat venison. I understand this may offend some of you, so I'm okay if you decide to skip this post. (I just wanted to issue a warning.)

There are a few reasons we eat venison.

1. My husband enjoys hunting. Hunting is a pointless hobby if you don't eat what you hunt. (Like growing a garden and not eating the vegetables you grow.)
2. Venison is a very lean, good-for-you meat.
3. It a cheap, lean, good-for-you meat.
4. We all enjoy it!

The biggest complaint I get from other wives of hunters is that they don't know how to prepare venison. The trick, er- one of the tricks? Cook it long and slow. This is where a slow cooker comes in handy.

Here's how I cook a roast (venison or beef):

Gather your ingredients. For us its potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms, onion soup mix, roast, and a can of cola (Coke is best, but we only had Pepsi).

Clean potatoes, cut in half (or smaller if potatoes are large), and layer in bottom of slow cooker.

Add carrots.

Next, add the roast.

Put onion soup mix on roast. If your feel like it- rub it in a little.

Cut onions. (Tip- if you have onion haters, cut them large so they are easy to pick out. Just don't skip the onion. They give so much flavor, and the "Mmmm. What's for dinner?" aroma.

Layer the fresh mushrooms on top. The mushrooms are totally optional. We love mushrooms here. I have used sliced, whole, and skipped them all together. It all tastes good.

Pour the cola over it all.

Set slow cooker to low, and walk away. Let cook all day, at least 8 hours, but longer is better.

Plate up, and enjoy! Sorry such a bad 'final'picture. This is one of the lil' ones' plates, most was devoured before I could take a good picture.

This meal is wonderful! Everyone loves Roast Day in my neighborhood. The little guys, picky girl, growing teenager, grateful hubby, even the neighbor girls enjoy Roast Day.

What is your go-to family meal?



Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Remember my 30 by 30 list? Well, I decided to do something about #24. (Style hair more, less ponytails.)

My hair has been on the shorter side for most of my life. For some reason or another (laziness, maybe), I had been growing it out. It is pretty, and long. This means that I put it in a ponytail every single day.

I am sick of the pony. It makes me feel sloppy and undone, but I don't have the time to blow dry and style this long mess everyday. Hubby was ready for short hair (he loves my hair short).

But will I have the time to style it? Who cares, lets go for it...

Before:

After:

I actually got the cut last Friday. I waited to post, because I wanted to see if I could (would) consistently style it. Guess what? I have done my hair everyday since Friday, and wore makeup most days (something I rarely do).

The verdict: I love it! It takes about 10 minutes to style it straight. It takes about 20 minutes to wear it curly.

Hubby had a surprise when he came home. He loves it!

p.s. the pony was donated



Twin Tip Tuesday; Scrub-a-Dub

I read the books about having multiples (in our case, twins). Now that I am mama to twins, I feel I can give little tidbits of useful advice.

This weeks' tips- bath time! How do you bathe climbing, crawling, pretty much walking twins- alone?

I set a laundry basket in the tub, put water in the tub, and pop the boys in. The laundry basket is small enough they can't escape on me, climb, bump their noggin, or any of the other crazy stuff they try.

Just a small twin tip.

Have a great day!

Goals and Menu for the week

We had such a wonderful weekend! Hubby got home Saturday afternoon. Say the family was excited to see him!

What did I learn? Being a single parent is hard! He was only gone a week. A long week. Nonetheless, I am so thankful that I have a husband that after a hard day of work jumps right to Daddy mode. Hugs, kisses, games, diapers, baths, feeding- yup he helps with it all!

How did I do on last weeks goals?

1. Work for 15 minutes a day cleaning computer room. I did 15 minutes a day for the first couple of days, then Wednesday I worked on it during the boys' two and half hour nap time, and after they went to bed. Still needs much work.
2. Refine my own chore chart. Nope. I know having it in my head isn't helping me. This week I am committing to writing it down, even if it is only a basic routine.
3. Find 7-10 meals for 30 meal list. Again, things don't work so well if I keep them in my head.
4. Make journals for the men in my life. Procrastinator!
5. Read to the boys everyday, take reading charts to the library. We read, but didn't go to the library (vehicle problems).
6. Continue to get up between 6:30 and 6:45. Doing great, think this is a habit now.
7. Sew 2 headbands, 2 bibs, and 2 burp cloths.  *Find dress to make.
8. Crochet 2 dishcloths. Didn't do this week.
9. Work on etsy shop. Worked on, need to get over my fear of imperfection and just list items!
10. Get resume together. Nope.

*I did get a lot of my unfinished projects finished this week.

This week:

1. Resume!
2. Make journals for the men in my life.
3. Find 7-10 meals for 30 meal list. Involve the family.
4. List items in etsy shop.
5. Finish computer room.
6. Make journals for my men.
7. Sew 2 headbands, 2 bibs, and 2 burp cloths. *Find dress to make.
8. Crochet 2 dishcloths.
9. Continue reading to the boys everyday.
10. Make 2 Christmas presents.

What we're eating:

Our pantry and freezer are a mess (this seems to be a continuing theme in my life). Hubby made the suggestion that we focus on eating what we have this week to clean stuff up. So this may be a mash-up month.

• Monday- venison steak, beans and rice
• Tuesday- hamburger (or tuna) helper. Yeah, I know this stuff is gross and unhealthy- but we are not the throw away food type of people.
• Wednesday- chicken on the grill
• Thursday- roast
• Friday- homemade pizza
• Saturday- eating with friends
• Sunday- chicken fried rice.

Do you make weekly goals. If so, do you have suggestions on getting them done?

Raiding Hubby's Donation Pile- T-Shirt Refashion DIY

I have a problem. I am taller than the average woman.

This is not an actual problem. I quite like my height. The problem is buying clothing. Most jeans are too short. The talls are usually too long. I also have a problem finding t-shirts that are long enough.

What's a girl to do? Keep an eye on her husband's donate pile.

Hubby was given this shirt.

He was never going to wear it. It is a v-neck; a no-go for hubby. It is a medium (he likes large-x-large). It has what he calls 'girly' stripes. So this t-shirt floated around the house; getting stuffed one place, then moved to another.

I finally took matters into my own hands.

Here's what I did:

I pulled out one of my t-shirts that I love the fit of. Turn the big shirt inside-out. Place the little shirt on the big shirt. You can trace, or pin along lines. (Although I hate pinning, I pinned. I didn't want the side seams to shift.) I kept the extra length in the torso and sleeves.

Sew along marked lines (yellow lines). Try shirt on. This is important! Try it on before you make any cuts! (Remember measure twice, cut once.) If it fits, cut off the extra material.

Add extra embellishment if you wish. I had some iron-ons in my stash, so I slapped 'em on.

All done. Admire your new shirt. (Bonus: no more worrying about showing too much cleavage, front and back.)

Soothing Crochet

I have been SLOWLY crafting through my stash. I have a few reasons for this. One reason is to clear the clutter my crafting addictions have caused. Another reason is to have things to list in my (hopefully) soon-to-be etsy shop.

I hope that an etsy shop will help me be more productive and consistent in my crafting endeavors, and earn a little bit of money along the way. We'll see.

Anyways, enough dreaming, more doing.

I have been crocheting (one of my new found crafting loves). Yesterday I made an observation while crocheting. I have been using a yellow, green, and blue variegated cotton yarn (Lily Sugar 'n Cream) .

My mood changed as the colors changed. Not a full-on mood swing, more of just a twinge (which is good because the colors changed often). Yellow seemed to make me feel more energetic, green was a calm feeling, and blue was a happy feeling. Hmmm.

Does this happen to anybody else? Or should I be thinking about getting some help ;)

Have a lovely day!

No Vinyl, No Problem. DIY Puffy Paint Labels

One of my to-dos are canisters. I have this shelf space above the cupboards in our kitchen. I want my (bulky) baking stuff up there. Stuff like flours and sugars.

I found canisters that I like at Bed Bath and Beyond. I have bought three (with coupons of course) so far.

The problem? They are not labeled. Then use your fancy vinyl cutting thingamajig. Right?
Nope, I don't have one, and since I am trying to use what I have in order to clear space and save money- I am not about to buy one.

What's a girl to do? Put it on her do-it-later list? Wrong! Use what she has.

I came across a post about puffy paint. Remember that stuff? Nineties flashback! (I was a young, aspiring designer because of puffy paint.) At Doodle Craft they found that puffy paint can be used as window clings.

Hmmm. I think I can make this work...

Here's what you need:

• glass container
• image to trace
• tape
• Windex, paper towel
• puffy paint

1. Clean the area you are painting.
2. Tape image on inside of glass.

3. Trace image with puffy paint. *if you are a lefty, write from right to left (how do you think I figured that one out?)

4. Let Dry. *I had to put jar on its side (with paint on top), because the first try ran.

5. That's it! Enjoy your vinyl-less canisters.

Note- this stuff is just like a window cling when dry. So, it may not be a permanent solution, but it works for me.To wash, either peel off, or wash very gently. (The good news is that if you mess up, it peels right off!)

One more to-do done! Do you have a favorite vinyl alternative?