How to motivate yourself to wash the dishes by breaking it into smaller chunks (without a timer) - a printable at the end

There are other people who just cannot get motivated to wash the dishes by hand.  I used to be one of these people.  I would look at my kitchen and think to myself, this will take hours to clean.  I don’t want to do it, I’d rather do something fun. The only way is to trick my mind into not thinking about the whole process, but just focus on the smaller steps.

Sometimes a task seems overwhelming, but by only focusing on the next step and not the whole project a person can get it done in a jiffy.

So here we go – how to wash the dishes by hand, step by step.  The dishes below are 2 days worth in my house of 2 people (myself and my husband).

There is a printable image (without the photographs of the progress) at the bottom of this post!

The kitchen when I started (12:02pm):

Step 1: Pack away and throw away anything that doesn’t need to be washed.  Spot the difference in the pictures above and below.  It already looks better doesn’t it? Time: 5 minutes – 12:07pm

Step 2: Collect all the dishes and place them together in one spot.  I collected from all over the house and put them together on the kitchen table.  It is also useful to put all the dishes of a similar type together, so all the bowls together, all the glasses together and all the coffee mugs together.  See the difference in the background of the picture above and below!  Time 5 minutes – 12:12pm.

Step 3: Get the sink and all the stuff ready for washing dishes.  I recommend getting some rubber gloves.  The hotter the water the easier the dirt comes off the dishes.  Time 1 minute – 12:13pm

Step 4: Wash all the eating utensils first. Gather them up nicely together and wash them first in the cleanest water (since these go into your mouth).  I also including the dishing up spoons, chopping knives and so on in this bunch.  The pot in the picture below was only what I used to hold them.  I did not wash the pot yet. Time: 7 minutes – 12:20pm

Step 5: Wash all the glasses. The next step is to collect all the glasses next to the sink (or into the sink) and wash them.  I put fresh water in the sink at this step, but you must judge if it is necessary.  Total time: 5 minutes – 12:25pm

Step 6: Wash all the coffee mugs. The next step to washing dishes by hand is to wash all the coffee mugs.  I used the same water that I used for the glasses. Time: 4 minutes – 12:29pm

Step 7: Dry the dishes you have washed. Excellent job on the washing so far.  Give yourselves a break and dry/put away the dishes you have washed so far.  I found that I love bright and colourful dish towels, it makes the drying process much happier.  Also take the time to clean up the sink properly for the second time at this point.  Time: 11 minutes – 12:41pm

Step 8: Wash the plates and bowls. I cleaned the sink and put fresh water in for this step.  Starting time 12:42pm.  Normally I would have taken a break after step 7, but I wanted to get this over and done with today.  So here are the pictures below of this step.  Time: 8 minutes - 12:48pm

Step 9: Wash all the plastic containers and the other bits and pieces.  It is almost over now.  You can do it!  Time: 5 minutes : 12:55pm

Step 10: Soak the pots and pans in the sink.  At this step it is a great time to put hot soapy water in pots and pans to let them soak a bit.  Make yourself a cup of coffee and relax for a while.  The table is now clear!  It is very tempting to stop at this step, but don’t you need to finish the job! Time: 2 minutes – 12:57pm

Step 11: Wipe down the surfaces in the kitchen and dry dishes.  Time to wipe up any spills on the newly clean surfaces.  Look how shiny it is!  I also dried the dishes and put them away, giving myself a clean work space for the greasy pots and pans. Time: 5 minutes – 13:38pm (remember, I took a nice long break!)

Step 12: Wash the pots and pans – then shine your sink! That was the last of it!  I usually let the pots and pans drip dry. Time: 8 minutes – 13:46pm

And as promised, here is an image that you can print for your cleaning file (click the image below to open up a bigger one to print):

Cooking Hints and Tips

A few things I learned this week:

• If you find a recipe with anchovies in it, but don’t like anchovies, you can swap them for sardines and vice versa in most cases.
• Crushed Cream Crackers can replace breadcrumbs in a recipe.
• Got lots of leftovers bits and pieces of fresh foods?  Stir-fry it in a wok and serve on cooked rice with salt and pepper.
• Minced/Ground beef can be replaced with vegetarian mince in any recipe, and vice versa.
• Tomato Soup can be switched for Cream of Mushroom Soup in most recipe’s to vary the flavour a bit (and vice versa).
• Marinate meat the night before use (and store in a fridge) to allow it to fully absorb the flavour.

Grocery Cupboard and Fridge Basics

Today I was reading a magazine which listed a couple of basic items that should be in your grocery cupboard.  I noticed a few differences on that list compared to mine, so I thought I would share my list with you.  With these items you will be able to make at least 3 decent dinner meals from scratch…

Freezer:

• Frozen vegetable mix
• Frozen stir-fry mix
• Minced / Ground beef
• Chicken Fillets
• Fish Fillets

Refrigerator:

• Milk
• Cheddar Cheese
• Eggs
• Bread
• Margarine / butter
• Tomato Sauce
• Mustard
• Mayonnaise
• Fresh Baby Potatoes (they last a week or two in a fridge)
• Fresh Carrots (also last a week or two in a fridge)
• Lemon Juice
• Peach Chutney

Dried Herbs and Spices:

• Italian Herbs
• Thyme
• Sweet Basil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cayenne Pepper
• Garlic Flakes
• Mild Curry Powder

Pantry:

• Can Shredded Tuna
• Can Tomato and Onion Mix
• Can Peach Slices
• Spaghetti
• Ramen Noodles (two-minute noodles)
• Macaroni
• White Flour
• Sugar
• Baking Powder
• 1 Box long life milk (for emergencies)
• Peanut Butter
• Bovril
• Honey / Syrup
• Custard Powder
• Jelly Powder
• Can Condensed Milk

And with these items I can make the following meals:

• Stir-Fry with Chicken Strips
• Spaghetti Bolognaise
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Star-Studded Hake with vegetables
• Egg and Cheese Toast (Breakfast / Light Meal)
• Cheesy French Toast (Breakfast / Light Meal)
• Cheese Puffs (Breakfast / Tea-time treat)

Plan for the day… 9 August 2012

Well, I’m already half-way through the day here.  So far I’ve done the grocery shopping.  It is a public holiday in South Africa so I’m not really up for too much in the lines of being productive.  I’ve done my menu planning for the week.  With every intention to sticking to it.  So here is the plan for the rest of today:

12:30	Pack away the groceries I bought Organize the kitchen towels and turn holey ones into rags Toss old sponges and rags from the kitchen Shine the sinks
13:00	Make the Apricot Cinnamon Cake for tonight Read and reply to emails while it bakes
14:00	Shine all the sinks in my home Sweep kitchen floor and mop Organize and declutter pantry Declutter food storage containers Clean out under the sink
15:00	Scrub kitchen counters Wash the window in the kitchen Straighten kitchen drawers and cupboards Wash knicknacks in the kitchen Clean stove / Oven
16:00	Get ready for the Braai
16:30	Enjoy the evening with friends.

Well, that is the plan for today.  I’m looking forward to it!

Menu Plan for 9 August 2012 to 15 August 2012

In my attempt to be a better homemaker, I’ve come up with a menu plan for myself for the week ahead.  Here is what will be cooking in my kitchen.  Recipe’s can be found by following the links.

	Breakfast	Lunch	Supper
Thursday	Cereal / Toast / Yoghurt	Sandwiches	Braai with friends Apricot Cinnamon Cake
Friday	Cereal / Toast / Yoghurt	Sweet and Sour Noodles	Macaroni Cheese
Saturday	Cheese Puffs	Easy Savoury Tart	Leftovers from Saturday Lunch
Sunday	Farmhouse Omelette	Potato Bake with Braai Meat and vegetables	Leftovers from Sunday Lunch
Monday	Cereal / Toast / Yoghurt	Leftovers from Sunday Lunch	Leftovers from Sunday Lunch
Tuesday	Cereal / Toast / Yoghurt	Leftovers from Sunday Lunch	Mashed Potato and Chicken Casserol
Wednesday	Cereal / Toast / Yoghurt	Mashed Potato and Chicken Casserole (Leftovers)	Broccoli Mashed Potatoes

Women's Conflict

Lately I have been researching a topic that is extremely interesting to me. I've noticed an unspoken trend. Modern women, who are married with children, appear to have conflicting hearts.

On one side they wish to be stay at home moms, dedicating their time to maintaining the home and providing a safe-haven for their husbands and children.

On the other side they feel guilty about this desire because they feel it unfair that their husband is the only one out their earning a living. They feel guilty because quite often they are more qualified than their husbands (academically) and could probably earn a larger salary. Women feel guilty because the slightly older generation puts so much emphasis on being independent and being able to provide for yourself.

I'm sure that any woman who becomes a wife and mother will go through this conflict. I've been reading blog after blog written by women who either want to be stay at home mothers, but financially they cannot afford it, or alternatively have given up a career outside the home to care for their families.

Many women in the second group still work, and work extremely hard, just in different ways, in ways that society doesn't always deem acceptable for a well-educated lady.

These women are up at the crack of dawn preparing breakfast for their families. Can you imagine sitting down to a healthy full breakfast every morning rather than just a bowl of cereal and some toast?

These women pack lunches for their husbands to take to work with them so that their husbands don't have to spend money on buying a meal (and I'm sure the packed lunches are much healthier).

Many of these women home school their children. Who can know a child better than a parent? Where in the school system the teacher has only a year with the child to learn their likes, dislikes and learning style, a parent can learn these about their child and build them up over 18 years!

None of the women who live at home, working in their household have maids / domestic workers to help them. The woman is solely responsible for cleaning and doing the laundry. Some of these women even maintain the gardens.

And who is always available to listen to the problems of those in the household? Who is available to advise? Who comforts the sick? These wonderful women who stay at home to care for their families.

Some of these women, even run small businesses from home for extra income, cleaning, baking, making and selling stuff online, writing blogs, writing books etc.

So in essence these housewives have more than one job... They are chefs, maids, teachers, psychiatrists, business women, managers, nurses and gardeners! A woman who stays at home is many things.

Sometimes I wonder if this is why women have a harder time (in general) focusing on a specific career. Women seem to want to do it all because they were made to do it all, and they know they can do it all.

Now, in this post I was speaking of married women, especially married women with children. I didn't mention anything about single women.

I personally don't think you can compare a single woman's duties to that of a married woman. A single woman needs to be able to provide for herself, so as not to be a burden on her parents or other male relative. This post is specifically about married women.

So if you are single, I feel that it is your responsibility to be able to live independently. However, I feel that a married woman's number one priority is to be a help meet to her husband, in whichever way that may be.

Well there you go, that's my opinion on this topic out in the open!

Week 4: Keeping your house tidy

Today I want to bring up the topic of keeping your homes and possessions neat and tidy.

You may ask why you should keep your house clean. Well, a Queen / Princess won't live in a messy house would she? Think about it like this. You walk into a person's house, there is a pile of dishes in the sink, shoes and socks all over the living room floor and the toilet hasn't been cleaned for weeks. What does that tell you about the other person? It would tell me that they cannot be trusted to look after the possessions they have. It tells me that they cannot manage their time effectively. It also tells me that the person doesn't expect to be treated in a respectful manner.

Many women in the modern world don't have the luxury of having servants to clean their house. Most women are working a full day job, then coming home to a second job as a housekeeper.

Some people wonder how are they supposed to have a clean home without a servant and with children and husbands messing it up all the time. I don't have a perfect system for this. The best system I have found though is FlyLady. A lot of the system needs to be adjusted to suit your needs, but I strongly recommend taking a look.

It is also vitally important to make sure that everyone in your household contributes to keeping it neat and tidy. You are all living in the house so everyone needs to contribute to keeping it clean. A list can be found here on chores according to a child's age. You'll notice that children as young as 2-4 years old can help with certain chores already.

Now, I cannot give advice on how to convince children to do chores, or even another adult in the house (since I am a family of 1 right now). What I can do is give you a few tips on motivating yourself to keep your household tidy.

1. Pick a spot and keep it clean at all times. Flylady's spot is the kitchen sink. I use this spot too, but I've heard of people using the dining room table, the coffee table in the living room, the spare room bed or even the dressing table in their bedroom. Make sure that whenever you go into that room, or see that spot then it is clean. Most importantly it must be clean before you go to bed at night.

2. Pick a spot in each room. Once you have your key spot to keep clean. Pick a spot in each room of the house that gets messed up quickly. Work on keeping that spot in each room clean at all times. In my bedroom, it is my bed. In the living room, the coffee table. In the study, my desk. In the bathroom, the shelf behind the bath. In the kitchen, the sink and table. Your spots don't have to be the same as mine, but they can be if it helps you.

3. Work outwards from that spot. When you clean the room, clean the spot first then work outwards in a spiral from that spot.

These 3 steps usually get me into the mode where I can start cleaning. There are numerous resources out there that give advice on the details of cleaning. A little research through Google will bring up lots of tips and tricks.

Good Luck! I'm struggling along with you on this one!

Knitting: Single Bed Blanket–Week 2

I’m 2 weeks into my wool blanket project.  The design can be seen here…………..

Here is the progress on the first rectangle.  It’s just over 100cm in length and needs to be 150cm. The photograph was taken on Aunty Di’s table!

It is a long way from complete, but I’m really enjoying the process of creating it.

Recipe: Broccoli Mashed Potatoes

This is another recipe I received on the Yahoo Group: Frugal Friends in the Kitchen

Check out my dedicated Recipe's Only blog: In Ashleigh's Kitchen

Originally it was meant to be a vegetarian dish, or a side dish to be served with meat.  I tweaked it to make it into a 1 dish meal by added bacon… here is my version of the recipe:
Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 potatoes
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese
• 2.5 cups broccoli florets
• 200g (about 1.5 cups) bacon, chopped into roughly square pieces and fried.
• Salt, Pepper, Parsley to taste

Method:

1. Place potatoes in a pan, add water to cover and bring to boil (covered).  Boil for about 45min or until soft.
2. In another pot add broccoli and onion, cover with water and bring to boil (covered).  Boil for about 15-20 minutes, or until broccoli and onion are tender.
3. Drain water off the potatoes and vegetables.
4. Mash the potatoes in a bowl, leaving the skins (I chop them up roughly with a knife to make mashing easier)
5. Mix Cream cheese, Margarine, Salt, Pepper and Parsley into the mashed potatoes.
6. Fold in the broccoli, onions and bacon.

Serves 2
Cooking time roughly 1 hour

Recipe: Mashed Potato and Chicken Casserole

Check out my Recipe's Only blog In Ashleigh's Kitchen for all my published recipe's.

I got the following recipe from a Yahoo Group called Frugal Friends in the Kitchen, one of the members posted it there.  She got it from a lady in another group called Mary's Recipe Exchange.  We have no idea where this recipe originated, but here I am sharing it with you. 
I did make a few tweaks to the original recipe though…

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken (My Tweak, I cooked 2 chicken fillets, cubed, in a frying pan)
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup (My Tweak, I made 1 packet of mushroom soup powder, making it as the instructions on the packet directed)
1 10 oz. package frozen baby carrots (My Tweak, I used 4 medium/large fresh carrots)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 cups prepared, instant mashed potatoes (My Tweak, I made homemade Mashed potato from real potatoes … 4 medium sized potatoes work well)
Salt, pepper and parsley to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC (350ºF).
2. In a large pot, combine chicken and soup.
3. Simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes.
4. Add carrots, peas, parsley, salt and pepper.
5. Heat thoroughly for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
6. Spoon mixture into a casserole dish.
7. Evenly top with cheddar cheese and spoon mashed potatoes on top.
8. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is bubbly and potatoes are lightly browned.

Serves 4
Approx. 1h to make

Recipe: Crumbed Mushrooms

This is the starter I made when I had my friends over last Saturday.

So here is the recipe for my crumbed mushrooms:
Ingredients:

• Button or brown mushrooms (quantity of your choice, amounts below are for 3 cups of button mushrooms)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 egg
• 1 clove garlic
• breadcrumbs

Method:

1. Clean mushrooms well
2. Place in a bag with flour and shake well to cover mushrooms
3. Beat egg and add garlic
4. Add mushrooms to egg.
5. Place mushrooms in a bag with breadcrumbs and shake well.
6. Place on a tray and leave for 30minutes
7. Deep fry until golden brown
8. Serve immediately

And the last 2 pictures of the evening, Annalenne helping in the kitchen and my puppy Zoey passed out from all the excitement of having so much activity in the household.

Recipe: Chicken and Pumpkin Curry

I’m sorry that I didn’t take a photograph of this dish, but here is the recipe.
Ingredients:

• 50ml Margarine (2 tablespoons)
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 10ml garlic, finely chopped (2 teaspoons or one clove)
• 10ml ginger, finely chopped (2 teaspoons)
• 25ml curry powder (1 heaped tablespoon)
• 1 chicken, cut into portions (or 4-6 chicken fillets)
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 750ml pumpkin, peeled and cubed (3 cups… but I used 5-6 cups)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 25ml coriander leaves (optional – I left it out on the night I made this)

Method:
(HINT: Chop and cut everything you need before you start.  You won’t have time to cut the chicken pieces and tomato while the onions fry since you have to keep them moving!)

1. Heat the Margarine and fry onions, garlic and ginger for 5 minutes
2. Add curry powder and fry for 1 minute
3. Add chicken pieces, tomatoes, pumpkin, salt and pepper
4. Stir well with a metal spoon
5. Cover pan and cook slowly for 30 minutes
6. Stir in coriander leaves and serve on rice.

And here is another photograph from the evening.  Mark (left) and his cousin Stéfan (right) – pulling faces for the camera – men never really grow up do they?  I think that is why women love them!

Recipe: Apricot Cinnamon Cake

Last night I had some of my friends, Hannes, Maryann (who has been my best friend since Grade 4), Stéfan, Annalene and of course Mark over for Dinner.  The meal was as follows:
Starter: Crumbed Mushrooms
Main: Chicken and Pumpkin Curry
Dessert: Apricot Cinnamon Cake
Over the next three days I’ll be giving you a recipe a day, as well as a photograph taken during the course of the evening.
So here is the first recipe and it is the dessert, Apricot Cinnamon Cake.
Ingredients:

• 250ml flour (1 cup)
• 5ml baking powder (1 teaspoon)
• 125ml castor sugar (1/2 cup)
• 2 eggs beaten
• 150ml Margarine, melted (bit more than 1/2 a cup)
• 1 can apricot halves, drained
• 5ml ground cinnamon (1 teaspoon)
• Apricot jam to glaze

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC (356ºF)
2. Grease a 20cm round cake tin (7.8inch – just find the closes size doesn’t need to be exact)
3. Sift together flour and baking powder then add sugar
4. Add eggs and melted Rama to dry ingredients and beat well
5. Pour into cake tin
6. Place apricots, cut side up, on top of the mixture
7. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon
8. Bake for 40-45 minutes.  Glaze with warm jam.

And as I promised, here is a photograph from the evening, my best friend since Grade 4, Maryann, and her boyfriend Hannes.

Recipe: Ginger Beer

This recipe comes from my grandmother’s recipe book.  My grandmother was a great homemaker, always providing food and treats for her family.  I remember going to her house for Sunday dinner.  She passed away in 1996 (I think!).  My father took her recipe book.
A little story that I remember from my childhood of this Ginger beer:
My father decided he was going to make it once and we got a big bucket to fill glass coke bottles.  Well, he went to release the pressure from the bottles daily, but one day he couldn’t get it open, so he took a drill to drill a hole in the top of the bottle.  We lived in a long open plan house, so the kitchen was next to the dining room which was next to the living room with no walls dividing the rooms.  My dad was working at the kitchen sink and the TV was on the opposite side of the long room. The bottle of ginger beer exploded spraying the entire room from the kitchen to the TV in the living room!  Everything was sticky with Ginger Beer.  All I remember is my mom saying “I’m taking the dogs for a walk” fetching the lead and disappearing for an hour.  My dad and I started cleaning up, my mom finished the job when she got back.
So below is the 2 recipes in the book.  We make the bottom recipe of the two. next to the recipe it says: Mrs Hawyes, so I am guessing my grandmother got the recipe from a Mrs Hawyes!  Here are the 2 recipe’s that come from the recipe book in their original format.  My conversion of the recipe is below this image.

INGREDIENTS:

• 12 litres cold water
• 9 cups sugar
• 5 heaped teaspoons cream of tarter
• 5 heaped teaspoons tartric acid
• 2 teaspoons dry yeast
• a few raisins
• 2 tablespoons ginger

METHOD:

1. Put sugar in water and stir until dissolved ( I made a half batch in a 9 litre bucket)
2. Add other ingredients and stir a little.
3. Leave to stand for 24 hours before bottling (recipe calls for an enamel or earthenware container, I use plastic cool drink bottles, just release pressure every day or so)
4. Strain through a cloth or oil filter before bottling.

See the pictures below of the process:

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The Ingredients:

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The sugar water in the bucket:

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The mixture before leaving it to stand for 24 hours:

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After bottling (see I recycle!):

Recipe: Condensed Milk Substitute

Hello readers, a friend of mine shared this with me a week or two ago.  I haven’t tried it yet, but I am told that it works very well.  Thank you to Terence for the share.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup skim milk powder
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 3 tablespoons melted butter or baking margarine

Method:

1. Dissolve the sugar in the water then blend all ingredients together well.
2. Let it sit in the fridge for a day before using.

Recipe: Banana Honey Muffins

This recipe is great for breakfast or a teatime treat.  It makes about 9-12 depending on the size of your muffin pan.

Ingredients:

• 175ml whole-wheat flour
• 175ml cake flour
• 150ml rolled oats
• 10ml baking powder
• 1ml cinnamon or mixed spice
• 2ml salt
• 1 egg
• 175ml milk
• 2 medium-size ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
• 60ml margarine
• 50ml Honey

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC
2. Combine whole-wheat flour, cake flour, rolled oats, baking powder, spice and salt in a bowl, stir to mix.
3. Beat egg in a bowl, stir in milk, banana, melted margarine and honey.
4. Pour all at once into flour mixture, stir just until evenly moist.  Do NOT over mix.
5. Spoon into greased muffin-pans, filling each 2/3 full.
6. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden
7. Loosen muffins around edges of cups with a knife, turn onto a wire rack.  Serve hot and spread with Margarine.

The traditional woman

I’m taking a break from the Disney Princess series to write about The traditional woman.

A little while ago I read an article written by a man who basically accused women who wanted to be more “traditional” in their role as a women (meaning, man should be the bread winner and woman the stay at home mom) of being lazy and looking for a free ride off a man. (see article here: http://www.avoiceformen.com/miscellaneous/a-letter-to-traditional-women/)

I must say that when the “Super-model” woman (whose only interest is in day spa’s and living a luxurious life) tells her man that she is a traditional woman then I agree with the sentiments expressed in the article above.  HOWEVER, I strongly disagree with the article, because I see that what he is thinking of is not a true traditional woman.

I would describe a traditional woman as follows (please note this would be a woman who relies on her husband to provide, and any income she makes from hobbies is a bonus):

• Feminine, kind and soft hearted.  She honestly wouldn’t cope in a corporate or working world – it would literally break her.
• Hard worker within the home.  She is the sort of woman who would not hire a maid.  She would do all the cooking and cleaning herself, unless it is definitely too much for her to handle, or her husband is so wealthy he can afford one so she can focus on other tasks around the house.
• Raise the children.  Whether the children do home schooling or go to a school, she would be available to them and raise them without a nanny, au pair, babysitter or day care.
• Her hobbies are things which benefit the household.  Things like sewing, knitting, baking, gardening, and so on.  These could save money within the household, or earn money for the household.
• Any other hobbies would benefit the community she lives in.  These could be things like fund-raisers for soup kitchens or orphanages, or even being the ear to listen to her friends and neighbours problems over a cup of coffee.  Or helping her husband advance in his career by nurturing friendships with key people in the business.
• When her husband is at home, she wants to fulfil his needs, whether that is bringing him a beer while he watches TV or other things that are definitely not PG13.

So if a woman is truly a traditional woman, as she says she is, then marrying one is by far a very smart move any man can make because ultimately he is getting a maid, a cook and a nanny by providing for 1 persons basic needs (and I am sure that it would cost a lot more to hire one of these three than support a wife!)  Not only does he get all three in one woman, but he also could benefit from her hobbies in other small ways that definitely add up over time.

I’m not saying a man should only considering marrying a traditional woman, women who work bring other advantages (a second income) to the household.  And I am not saying every woman should be a traditional lady.  There are definitely woman who would go crazy being stay-at-home moms.  All I am saying is that if you are one of these women who would thrive as a housewife don’t feel you have to get a job (unless you don’t have a man who can to support you – then you better find a job quickly).  And men, if you find a traditional woman (in the true sense of the word) then hang onto her, and treat her like you would treat a queen, because ultimately she is a gem!

For more on the traditional woman, read Proverbs 31:10-31

Menu Planning, Shopping and Programming

A few months ago I found a recipe website.  It contains a menu plan for 5 days, and it is a South African website so all the recipes contain ingredients that are supposed to be easy to find in our supermarkets.  I discovered that this is not always the case as I went to Checkers (Langenhoven Park) and couldn’t get some of the products needed for the recipe.  I went to Spar (Langenhoven Park) and found all the ingredients I couldn’t find at Checkers, except one.  That one ingredient is: KNORR Chicken Stock Pot.  Luckily the meal containing that ingredient is only being served on Friday so I’ll check out Pick ‘n’ Pay (Langenhoven Park) this evening for it.  I am a little annoyed that the biggest shop in Langenhoven Park didn’t have everything I was looking for, but the smallest shop had almost everything.

Now the question is, what is the website that contains meal plans for the work week? 

http://www.whatsfordinner.co.za 

I can only say good things about the websites content.  Although from a I.T. point of view there are 2 things I don’t like.

1. I don’t like the way the welcome and logout buttons are situated on the lovely curvy green line.  It messes with the flow and looks sloppy.  I would put them next to the My Profile button above the search bar.

2.  I don’t like the fact that you have to enter your phone number to update your profile.  I would like to make my name and about me public, but I would want my phone number hidden from the public.  It appears as though it is an all or nothing when choosing to make a profile public.

As for the menu plan for my week ahead, it comes directly from the website and here it is:

Tuesday:  Country Sausage Hot Pot

Wednesday: Creamy Sweet Potato and Mushroom Bake

Thursday: Chicken and Veg Pasta

Friday: Prawn, Chicken and Pea Paella

I really enjoy cooking and I’m so happy when I am in a kitchen, but only as a necessity and hobby, I don’t think I would enjoy it as much if I was there all day.

Sunday News:

Work:

It’s been an interesting week with the new work.  I’ve been leaving my house at 7am and only arriving home at 5:30pm.  I absolutely love the work I’m doing.  Sometimes I am a little scared because they expect so much of me and I am not 100% convinced that it is within my abilities to do everything that is required of me, but I will give the work my very best.  I may not actually talk about my work, due to confidentiality agreements, but just know that I have learned so much in this short time, and I am going to continue learning more and more as time progresses.

Home:

I on Friday I officially had the laundry basket empty for the first time since I moved into this townhouse.  It isn’t empty anymore, but at least it was, so I know that I am succeeding with keeping the laundry under control.  Due to being out of the house from 7am until 5:30pm, there is only one way that I have been able to keep up with the housework and that is getting up at 5:30am and only going to bed at 10pm or later.  I fill the washing machine the night before so that in the morning I just need to turn it on as soon as I wake up.  I hang out the laundry before heading to work.  As soon as I get home in the evenings I change into sneakers and then bring the laundry in, I fold and put away immediately.  If anything needs to be ironed, then I do it the night before I plan to wear it.  This routine has allowed me to keep the laundry under control while working outside the home.

Home Church:

Our home church group has really grown.  We had 8 people there last Thursday, and 5 regular attendee’s were not there!  I have met a few new people and they are all wonderful.  This past week we discussed how the church has changed in the last 100 years (more or less) and that also moved onto how our actions are impacting the current teenagers and their belief.  A few of the changes we noticed included:

• Women covering their heads and men removing their caps/hats
• The way we dress for church (become more casual)
• The style of worship music being played
• How we pray and read God’s word at home – are we showing God the respect he deserves?
• Involvement in charity

Those are the main themes we covered during our Home Church.

Movies:

On Friday night I went to watch Cars 2 with William and 3 of our friends.  Needless to say, William did not enjoy it at all, he thought it was a horrible movie and was bored the whole way through.  On the other hand, 2 of our friends and I thoroughly enjoyed it, it wasn’t the best movie we have ever watched, but it was great entertainment for an evening and there were so many subtle references to various makes of cars.  I enjoyed it enough to buy the DVD for my collection. The 3rd friend didn’t give a comment.  After the movie we went to a coffee shop for drinks. 

It was a moment of temptation for me since William ordered whisky and my female friend ordered a Cosmopolitan cocktail, but I stuck to my ground and ordered a hot drink that was a mixture of Hot chocolate and Espresso.  I was backed up by the host of our home church group since he ordered a Chocolate milkshake directly after I placed my order, so I wasn’t the only one not drinking.  The third friend just had a glass of water.

Braai:

Last night (Saturday) William and I had a Braai at my house.  My friend Theresa (female friend) joined us, and so did Mark (Home Church host), Hannes and Michelle.  Hannes introduced us to Michelle, since we haven’t met her before.  It was nice having her here.

William and Theresa were at the braai until the meat was ready.  Mark and I sat inside and played Band Hero on the Nintendo Wii – it was a bit too cold outside for us.  Hannes and Michelle joined us when they got here, although Hannes spent his time between the two groups.

We all had so much fun though.  After supper Mark and I continued playing Band Hero, Hannes and Michelle said goodbye and William and Theresa sat talking about the fish tanks.

I only got to bed after midnight, but spending time with friends like that is worth it.

Plunging on into the weekend

It’s Friday morning right now, and I am siting at the computer with a cup of lemon tea while writing this post.  I am way behind on reading emails - 751 in my inbox from various forums and groups I am part of.  I’m going to to a quick read / delete this morning and see how far I get with it.

On the bright side I have been able to get parts of my morning routine back on track.  Yesterday and today I woke up, turned the kettle on, turned the washing machine on and packed away the clean dishes.  I’m waiting for the washing machine to finish so I can hang out the laundry before work today.

Today is going to be a busy day.  I need to get to:

• check the post office box,
• pay an account,
• go to a hardware store to buy a door handle for the bathroom door
• Send the assistants a reminder to fill in their claim forms so they will be paid
• Go to the nursery to buy a gift for my previous landlady and return the keys for my previous home.
• Water the garden

And that is just what I can think of on the top of my head.

I must say that I do enjoy busy days because at the end of them I actually feel like I got something done.  The quiet days I seem to mess around doing a little bit of everything and not actually getting anything finished.