The Cottage on the Hill

After yesterday's fabric sort, I'm kind of at a stalemate. There's this big, heavy workbench in the basement that's jutting out into valuable floor space. I'd like to push it against one wall, but I can't by myself. I'll just have to wait. I don't ask hubby to do unnecessary manual labor when he's worked all day. I prefer for him to relax. In the meantime, I'll send some more bags of stuff to Goodwill, burn some empty boxes, and amend some of my plans. I've decided that my son's playroom isn't complete without an indoor sandbox. What little boy won't spend a good chunk of time in a sandbox?! I'm going to get a flat sterilite tub and a bag of play sand (the real sand will be in the outdoor sandbox). It's going to be part of his birthday present. Speaking of my son, he's in his crib calling for me, so off I go!

Dream House by: my mommy! My house is so spotless You know what I mean. It isn't just tidy, It's company clean. I've done all the laundry. I've ironed the clothes. I even rinsed out All of my pantyhose. The sunlight that's streaming Through crystal-clear panes, Falls on my old carpet, Now free of stains. No dust in the corner Or under the bed. And that telltale odor Is freshly baked bread. The freezer's defrosted. I've scrubbed the floor, The oven, the bathtub, And the front door. A fresh pot of coffee Is starting to brew. I've frosted the cake And my hair too! It's amazing how organized And efficient I can be While dreaming in front of This darn old TV.

I have this vintage cookbook for nutrition and recipes during wartime. I found the nutrition section rather interesting and thought it would be neat to share with my readers: MILK: 1 quart aily for each child, 1 pint for each adult VEGETABLES AND FRUITS: 41/2 to 5 or more servings per person daily, 1 serving daily of potatoes, 1 serving daily of tomatoes or citrus fruits, 1 serving daily of leavy green or yellow vegetables, 3 to 5 servings per week of other vegetables, 1 serving daily of fruit EGGS: 2 to 3 a wek for adults, 4 to 5 for young children, a few for cookings MEAT, FISH OR POULTRY: About 5 times a week or daily if prepared in combination with cereals or vegetables CEREALS: Daily, preferably at least half made from whole grains BREAD AND BUTTER OR ALTERNATIVE: At every meal CALORIES: Daily Requirements: Man, moderately active 3000 cal. Woman, moderately active 2500 cal. Child 1-6 years 1200-1600 6 to 12 years 1600-2500 Girl 12-15 years 2800 Girl 15-20 years 2400 Boy 12-15 ye...

A simple stop to Goodwill made a huge impact on my basement. For $4.99, I bought a brand new Sterilite chest of drawers on casters. This simple addition really brought the playroom together. It serves as toy storage and a shelf. Bubby loves being able to pull open the drawers and choose his toys. I do have a slight problem, though. I'm so tempted to put the bookcases I want for the living room on the credit card so I can move the existing bookcases that don't work upstairs to the basement. One would go in hubby's man cave and the other in the playroom. It's not wise, I know, so I won't do it. I will, however, ask for the money from our tax return. :)

Thank you for commenting! I like receiving comments. Shan, I'm not worried about the budget tightness. I really feel God is allowing this tightness to ensure that I stick to the budget rather than being flippant with it because I know I have "a little extra under the mattress" so to speak. Also, I grew up in a very low-income family. So, as tight as matters are now (they always are after the holidays) I'm still better off than my parents were when I was growing up. I'm used to it and actually kind of thrive in it. I do have a neighbor who grows a HUGE garden as a hobby and gives away many of the veggies. She's offered to help fill our need. The problem isn't really growing the veggies. I'm pretty sure I can attempt to manage a garden and hubby is willing to help. It's the putting up of the produce that I can't do. It really is just too much time that I won't have. Linda, I know we Americans would have a blood-spilling rebellion if...

...incomes would rise the same time prices did. Now that a gallon of milk is over $4.00 and gas prices are still well over $3.00 a gallon (both of which are causing the price of everything else to go up), I'm really going to have to buckle down and be extremely careful in my spending. As it is this week, I'm housebound and pretty much forced to use cloth diapers. (I haven't been using them due to preggy nausea and fatigue which has thankfully subsided) $20.00 per week in gas for a truck doesn't go very far. I don't have much money left to buy diapers with, though I have enough disposables for 2 diapers a day until Monday. The rest of the time, Bubby's in cloth. Thankfully, he doesn't mind at all and seems to prefer it. It feels kind of weird to have to ration milk. Unfortunately, I can't buy the inexpensive milk at Aldi's because it does a number on Bubby and I's digestive systems. I get a local milk that's actually usually cheaper tha...

Last night was a very preggy night...all those aches and pains and discomforts. It kept me up and my mood down. I started thinking about things that bother me and wonder why I get so wrapped up emotionally in some things and why I still struggle with some sins. Then it dawned on me and I immediately took it to prayer...I harbor a LOT of resentment towards some people close to me who have or had responsibility over me at some point in my life. I didn't blame them for my poor choices in my young adult life. I blamed them for not seeing the danger signs and putting their foot down. I blamed them for being wrapped up in their own selves and not seeing the help I needed. I blamed them for believing my Christian chatter and outward appearance and not seeing the sin I was living in and the darkness of my heart. I resented myself for resenting my past and my poor choices and allowing myself to dwell in self-pity. I thank the Lord for opening my eyes last night and helping me voice ...

There are chores I've been putting off that I'd like to do today. I need to make whey and cream cheese, wash the stairs and landing to the basement and wash the hardwood floors. I'd also like to work on the Great Basement Clean-out some more, too. It requires a bit of creativity because I don't have the funds to buy some of the items I'd love to have to organize and store things. Today, I could move my pantry, though. Right now it is under the basement stairs. However, when hubby runs the heating system through the basement, it'll be too warm down here for a pantry. So, we decided to move the pantry to an outside wall by the oil tank. Then, hubby's going to partition off the area so it'll stay cooler than the rest of the basement. It'll also hide the ugly oil tank.

Right now I'm wearing black maternity slacks (still a little big, but that's ok) a black t-shirt and a wine colored blouse over the top. So, no, I don't dress like my picture on a daily basis. That is, indeed a historical reproduction of 18th century woman's attire from the Ottoman Empire. Today is a special day in that it is my dog's "birthday." Every year we make a cake and buy her a couple of little gifts. It's silly, I know, but it pleases hubby and makes for a special little family time after dinner. Besides, I could go for some cake! I did watch American Idol last night. It wasn't as disturbing as the night before. One contestant that stood out for me was the 19 year old fellow who has never kissed a girl and has promised not to until his wedding day! Everyone looked at him like he had 3 heads and teased him about it, but really, what an honorable thing! If more kids promised that or at least not to have sex until marriage our countr...

After a couple of lazier days, I've had a very progressive day as far as house-keeping goes. Sunny winter days do that for me. I throw open every blind and curtain and let the sun pour in. It fills me full of energy and reveals all the dust, dirt and finger prints in the house. So, I've been happily cleaning and tidying. Bubby follows close behind with a mess of his own, but toys are easily picked up and I have him help. I admit, I started watching American Idol. I think hubby's right. It's not worth watching until they get to the top 24. I just can't stand all those people who think they have talent and get all emotional and upset when the judges tell them the truth! I also can't stand all those people who just audition, usually in horrible costumes, just to get on TV. Frankly, I think that's not only rude, but a poor representation of America. But, it's entertainment shock value and one I could do without. Two things did strike me....two sin...

The old weight bench is on it's way out and a TV is on it's way in. Some friends of ours gave us their TV. Hubby wants it in the basement. For now, it's going to share the large teacher's desk with my computer. Eventually, I want to get it a stand or hubby's going to make a custom shelving system up one wall that'll hold the TV, videos, books, games and toys. Slowly but surely we're getting there!

I am enjoying this spring-like weather we're having! It's so nice to walk outside with no jacket on. Everyone is acting like it really is spring, but I know better. As soon as the current shifts, we'll be thrust back into bitter cold and snow for 3 months. Still, it was nice to get out and wash and clean out the grocery-getter. Bubby enjoyed playing outdoors and not getting cold. He kept falling into the muddiest places, though! Good thing children are washable! I just found out that the boy and girl baby names we've chosen are NOT on the top 100 list! February 6th, I hopefully get to know which name we get to use. I hope the baby cooperates and gives the technician a very clear answer. There's a great little organizer for children's toys that I found in The Lakeside Collection for only $13.95. I went to Big Lots today to price out a similar one and even with shipping, the Lakeside one is cheaper. With that and the clothing organizer, I have to come u...

I promised myself that I wouldn't go through the boxes of baby clothes until I knew for sure what I was having. Well, today I went through every single box. I got rid of a bag of clothes. Also, I placed all the definately boy clothes to the bottom of the boxes and put the "could be worn by girls" clothes towards the top in case I do have a girl. Next, I have to go through toys. Oh, so many toys! Between Bubby's birthday and this past Christmas, we have so many toys and not enough space to keep them in! We're managing now, but when this little one is born, where am I going to put the swing, bouncy seat and tummy time mat? I'm having a bit of a problem in that I look at the toys and I figure even if Bubby doesn't play with them, the new baby might. Then again, who can tell and there's always Christmas 2008 for appropriate toys for the new baby. There again, I see absolutely nothing wrong with limiting toys and engaging in a child's creativity...

I found an organizer here: http://www.lakeside.com/details.asp?I=XYO&Ntt=colorful+organizers&N=36&Nao=0&R=13361 that I could use for my "armoire." I'm going to purchase this, then add a wood shelf on top, then attach fabric "walls" around it. To make the front open wide, I'm going to add velcro to the front of the top shelf to attach and detach the fabric "doors." The whole thing should cost me around $100.00, depending on the cost of the fabric per yard. Thankfully, Walmart usually sells some lovely toile fabric for around $5.00 a yard. For now, I've counted up my loose change and what's left of my birthday money. I can afford the organizer, but will have to wait on the shelf and fabric. Still, it'll be nice to have it, set it up and start prepping that walk-in closet in the nursery for the expansion of our family! In the meantime, I'm still working on The Great Basement Clean-Out. I've filled to overfl...

Sunny winter days usually mean cold days. Nevertheless, I love the brilliant sunshine pouring through my windows. It was really quite enjoyable when Bubby and I sat down at the dining room table together for lunch. My usually dark dining room was filled with sunlight. Well, hubby doesn't think my first floor laundry room will work. It'll be too much to divert the pipes and extra complicated because we're planning on putting in bilco doors right under where that space is. Definately too much weird piping to make it work, or really expensive new drainage, etc. Am I discouraged? Not at all! Now I know that my laundry room is staying in the basement and I can start working on it! Well, at least the planning. I'm going to paint the foundation wall, clean up the window to let more light in, cover the silver exhaust pipe with a pretty fabric....hmmm...what else? :) This is so much fun! This morning I worked on the living room. I moved a bookcase next to the TV armo...