Never peel another hard boiled egg again, ever.

If you like peeling hard boiled eggs please stop reading this post right now. You will be disappointed.

Easter is coming and this year I have 4 dozen eggs sitting in my fridge waiting to be coloured, displayed, smashed and EVENTUALLY eaten. 4 dozen does seem like a ridiculous amount but we are hosting a bit of an egg colour extravaganza. Side note: some of those eggs will make it into cake and cupcake recipes before they make it to The Colouring (sounds like the Hunger Games, for eggs, yes?!)...


I've been peeling hard boiled eggs for far too long. Until a few months ago actually. I've been married for 5 years (aweeee) and still, I have failed to notice how my husband extracts (?) a hard boiled egg from it's shell. It's not like this although my husband is also asian and cute...

it's like this,

Cut it in half with a sharp knife and scoop the egg out with a spoon. THAT'S IT!

I know what you may be thinking:

1. What about the bits of shell getting into the egg? Rarely does shell make it into the egg. Sometimes there's a chip of shell on the cut line, sometimes.

2. Too much egg will be wasted when I try and scoop it out. No. You can scoop the egg right out and run the spoon against the shell. 

3. What about deviled eggs?! Cut the egg in the other direction. This is how my hubby cuts it anyways, I just like to cut it the short way.

If this method doesn't suit your liking you can try my daughters method from 2011 - It's called Smash Egg.

Grocery Shopping the the Morning

I went to our grocery store this morning at 6:40 am (to be exact) and it was GLOOORIOUS (singing voice)! The store was void of people (other than employees stocking the shelves), I could stop my cart where ever I wanted to without incident and run up and down the aisles, everything I needed was in stock and I stayed the course with regard to my list. I beat one fella to the (only) checkout open and swish boom bang. Dunzzo. I don't have to go tonight and join the Zombie Walk (I'm always so tired going late and night, I think it impairs my judgement)...I'm done. It really felt like a different store at 6:40 am and I liked it! Even my groceries are put away and it's only 7:51am. Not bad.

I forgot somewhere, somehow that I'm really a morning person at heart. With the baby being up at night I could make a joke out of it...but I won't. I like being up early and accomplishing something I want to do. I think I'll hit the gym tomorrow...but I'm not promising.

Happy Wednesday!

Easier (for me) Meal Planning

Meal planning is a big deal. Although my intentions are good, I've realized it needs to be as simple as possible for me to make it work (see original post).

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. I tried and...voila! 2 weeks in, so far so good.

Supplies

• Baseball card protector sheets + 3" x 5" index cards cut in 1/2
• 8.5" x 11" sheet protectors + 8.5" x 11" paper
• Dry erase marker

Method (see corresponding images below)

1. Front of card: meal (including sides), cookbook shortcut and recipe page number (Disney Family Fun Cookbook recipe on page 82 = DFF-82)
2. Back of card: all ingredients for meal
3. Separate page: list all ingredients and rough quantities and sleeve into sheet protector (add a check mark to the end of each ingredient for the amount of times you'll be using it) This works for me rather than a master grocery list because it cuts down on my prep time before heading out to the grocery store. Each meal has a grocery list ready to go.
4. Ingredient inventory: cross out all ingredients you already have with dry erase marker and add missing ingredients to your weekly grocery list. I keep my weekly grocery list on the cupboard and add thing to it as we run out: milk, spray cooking oil, tissue, etc. 

Follow Up

• Photocopy and/or scan winning meal plan
• Archive winning meal plan and corresponding grocery list together (back to back) in 1 sheet protector in Meal Planning Binder 
• Shuffle cards to make new meal plan for weeks to follow using same/different meal plan cards

Tips

• Baseball card protector sheets seem to come in packages of 10, which is plenty, don't buy more than that. In theory I could have 10 weeks planned (I don't) and some weeks archived. This is looking promising, isn't it?!
• Hand write it, it's faster and more relaxing than being on the computer. It doesn't have to be really pretty because nobody is going to see it but you and your family...and maybe your friends who you really like. This project can take effect immediately and P.S. it's ongoing.
• * Use the remaining 2 card slots to house A) Suggestions for breakfast and lunches and B) Desserts and snacks. List ingredients for these on the back of the cards and add to weekly grocery list.
• Don't feel bad pitching a loser meal
• Don't hesitate adding a recipe you've never tried. You can always pitch it if you don't like it and white-out your grocery list of the ingredients.
• Don't hesitate adding wild cards like Sushi, Pizza Night, Go Out To Eat, Sandwiches in the Park,  Invite selves over to Grandparents (haha!) and so on! You don't have to make every meal, from scratch, at home, every day.
• If you go out for dinner or plans change, you can have that dinner meal for lunch the next day or freeze it for another day.
• Write the date of winning meal plans on the top corner of the archived sheet (maybe one day meals could be organized by what is in season, but it doesn't have to be that organized today, or ever)
• Feel free to add notes to archived sheets (who liked what, good for a potluck, etc)
• Swap out [sides, spices, etc.] if you like to be more spontaneous, if something is on sale or if you have a serious craving (I just wouldn't swap out too much in one week)
• Don't forget to wipe the dry erase marker off of the page protector
• Get the family involved in meal planning while you sip your drink of choice and supervise. Let them pick meals, do ingredient inventory, photocopy or scan winning weeks, do prep work at meal time, why not? Well, maybe after you have your goal number of weeks planed ;)

Good luck and let me know if this works for you or what you thought!

DIY Milk Glass

I like this DIY for making Milk Glass vessels from here. But if you use acrylic/latex paint, as suggested, you can't add water (it'll dissolve the paint) so no fresh flowers. Hmph. 

Someone in the comments suggested using enamel or paint made for dishes instead. Done and done.

source

Chocolate chip cookie recipe, plant green onions inside and 30 Days update

I tried a new chocolate chip cookie recipe called Jacques Torres’ Secret Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. Sounds fancy, oui? I made a 1/2 batch. They were good so I've designate the recipe A Keeper. Notes: I used regular flour instead of 1/2 pastry flour, not as much chocolate (mistake) didn't let them chill for 24 hours (wanted them asap) and baked them at 325' for 13 minutes (still too long for my oven). You can find the recipe on Martha Stewart's website, here or where I originally found it at A Tender Crumb (cute name, right?) here.

{source}

I usually throw out the green onions bits from the grocery store but not this time. I planted them in a pot of dirt and they are sitting on my daughters nightstand because her room get the most sun in the house. I'll likely transfer them outside once the weather gets nicer, but for now I have fresh green onion at my disposal (in the winter) and she has a plant to water. Easy peasy lemon squeezy! As much as I'd like to credit myself for this idea, I have to turn to Pinterest. I have a Gardening Board that you can check out if you're feeling the spring feva!! (say it with flair while pretending to shake maracas in the air with both hands...? why not!) P.S. My Mom reminded me that St. Patrick's Day is the day to try and dig in your Sweet Pea seeds. They like it cold and by spring the plants will be +/- 6" (note: they are climbers)! 

So...my 30 Days is going well! I've completed the first 7 days and you know what? I feel pretty snappy about it. Check out my accomplishments here.

On the side, I've also started:

• wearing earrings every day
• shining the kitchen sink every night (no more waking up to a sink full of dirty dishes, this makes me happier than I could have ever imagined)
• keeping the kitchen table free of clutter (what?)
• following a meal plan (original post here, update in progress)

So far, so good. I can do this!

Ok. With all that being said, I need some direction with the de-cluttering. For Week 2 I'm turning to Project Organize your Entire Life: Declutter the Kitchen from Modern Parents Messy Kids. Modern Parents Messy Kids turned this funny post about the "ultimate organized woman" into a how to series. Look out kitchen here I come! Yesterday was Day 8 and here's what I did (go me!):

 

If you're doing 30 Days I'd love to hear how it's going :)

Book of Firsts for Parents - additions...

I think that new parents deserve their very own Book of First for Parents. It can sit right on the shelf next to their children's baby books.

This Book of Firsts for Parents [read the original post here] would not only serve as record of how your life changed after having children, but also as a way of bonding with them when they grow up. It  may even serve as a marriage saver when in the middle of it someone grabs The Book and instead of throwing it says..."Remember when?"

Like Baby's First Calendar, there would be places to add things to help document your life:

stickers: your drink(s) of choice (double double, frappuccino, glasses of wine, w-ever), take out menus, counseling appointments, check marks (ie. yes everyone was fed and clothed, for the most part, today), sayings like - Funny, I don't remember asking for your opinion, Where did the baby go? and Why does this laundry basket full of clean clothes smell dirty?

places to attach special photos: the house in shambles the night before (fill in the blank), outfits you wore when you thought you looked good only to realize that your husband should have told you people may confuse you with a crazy person (but he knew better, right?), how you looked from behind the night you went to the store with vomit (not yours) down the back side of your shirt, portraits of people without kids who gave you "good advice" on raising kids

Here are some additional firsts to add to the original list...

THE FIRST TIME YOU:

• Used a baby wipe to wash your face because you were late and the last to get ready, again, but at least it was a clean baby wipe...you think.
• Caught your husband on the ipad, under the covers, in bed instead of napping (b/c he really needed a nap) and sang"Busted, busted, Daddy's busted..." to your preschooler all the way out of the room while in your head thought, HA! At least I didn't get busted when I did it last week!
• Stopped yourself THE SECOND before you were going to apologize to that person in the grocery store for THEM running into YOUR 3 year old with their cart and started at them until they apologized.
• Realized that if you spent as much time cleaning your house and meal planning as you did online, things would be a lot different...eh, maybe tomorrow.
• Reconsidered your plea to family and friends NOT to recommend you to Stacy and Clinton's show What Not To Wear

Confessions and Funnies

Confessions:

• I've been eating 2 bowls of Lucky Charms a day because my 3 1/2 year old DOESN'T LIKE IT. (Why the heck did I buy her Lucky Charms, you ask? Good question. It has just a bit more sugar than her Alphabets and I thought she'd like a treat.) P.S. It's gooood!
• I'm blogging, pinteresting, etc. when I should be sleeping and/or cleaning the house (someone unplug my computer PLEASE!) I think I need to join a support group.
• When I feel like a bobcat would be a better way to clean up around here Sometimes (like Christmas Eve) I take photos of how messy our house is so I can look back (when my house is in constant perfect order, clean and purged - read this article, it's funny) and think, ah, those were the good old days.

Funnies:

• My daughter asked me what would happen if she put just her elbow in the closet and then closed the door. I told her to try it. She gave me the As If  look and said in all seriousness, "No Mom, tell me the troot" (truth)
• She also asked me where by "boob thing" (bra) was this morning before I got dressed and why I needed it. I said, "Well, it hold my boobs up." She replied, "Mom, what happens if your boobs fall down?"  Uhhh, I didn't know what to say! But I was thinking...tooooo late (!)