Finally got my .com

Ok… head on over to

www.AnotherNewSeason.com

please excuse the dust and all the not-so-perfect formatting of my page. I’m still learning the ropes but I wanted to invite all of you over to see what’s new!

This will be the new home of Another New Season.

I’m excited to be able to expand and improve on my blog. Hopefully you will all find some useful tips, tricks and just plain fun info there! Stay tuned spring cleaning is about to begin, more adventures in the garden and lots more to come!

See you there -

Donna

Getting things done – Projects at home

We have been terrible procrastinators since we moved in January. We had started a lot of projects but they have been sitting unfinished for a while now. This past weekend we kicked it into high gear and got stuff done!

Here is a run down of the projects we’ve finished up:

 

Made cute sign for the garden:

(thanks to Sarah at Uppercase Living)

 

 

Our sunroom looks like a greenhouse with all the seedlings. We started a few dozen more seeds:

And at last my shelves are up for the spices:

(note: we actually had some shelves up and they were super weak so I went out to Home Depot and got these, they can hold up to 85 lbs! Much better than the other shelves that could only hold 3 lbs)

 

Curtian Rods are hung in the livingroom:

Finished Pillows for the sunroom furniture!

While I was away in CT I stopped in at Pottery Barn and walked out with these yellow cushion covers. It was a lot easier than sewing them myself (which was my original plan).

 

The picture above is where I took my nap after we finished all of these projects! I’m still pretty tired!

Today is Wednesday, so be sure to pop over to We Are That Family  for other great Works for Me Wednesday posts!

Menu Plan Monday

Breakfast choices: Strawberries, pineapple or blueberries over a bowl of cereal, oatmeal or 2 small Fiber One Pancakes.

Lunch choices: Healthy Choice meal from the freezer (they are vegeterian so I’ll have to add some chicken). Honey Baked Chicken over rice with Green beans, Leftover Steak with Mixed veggies.

Snacks: Apples, Berry Smoothie, Yoguarts, Celery with Peanut butter

Monday: Stuffed Chicken Breast (stuffed with spinach and cheese), Cheesy Rice and Spinach Casserole

Tuesday: Salmon Chowder with rolls and fresh veggies on the side.

Wednesday: Soup and Salad night (Yes soup 2 times this week, hope hubby doesn’t mind)

Thursday: Crock Pot roast, Carrots, Peas and Potatoes

Friday: Homemade pizza

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Easter dinner. We’re hosting Easter for the first time ever! I’m going to look into some good recipes for a ham glaze. I’d love to hear what recipes you use when you cook a ham. I’m not even sure how long it has to bake!!!

Here is the Easter Menu:  Ham, Parmesan Crusted Mashed Potatoes, Greenbeans, No Knead Rolls (thanks Pioneer Woman!) I’m sure I’ll add a few other things to the menu once I have some time to sit down and think about it.

We are also celebrating my hubbys birthday on Easter, so I knew I had to make him a cake… well I got lucky…

Some neighbor kids came by last week selling cheesecakes as a fundraiser for a missions trip. Needless to say I invited them right in and ordered a double chocolate cheesecake. I’ll stick a candle in and and sing him a song! He’ll love it.

 

Be sure to pop over to OrgJunkie.com to see all the other great menus this week!

Eating Healthy: Grocery Bill Will Have to Change

Today I hit the grocery store to stock up on healthy food so I can start the woman’s weight-loss program at the gym I go to. The program is called Weigh Way Less  (cute name huh?). It was created by the nutritionist at the gym. It’s fairly easy to follow but it will be a huge change for me (which I need!!).

Here is a photo of everything I got at the store:

 

I have NEVER spent so much money at the grocery store in one visit – it was a bit overwhelming! Our usual budget for groceries is only $40-50 per week because I use coupons. Sad thing is that no one has coupons for fresh veggies or fruit!

The great thing is now I am stocked up for at least 2 weeks of healthy meals. I got a good deal on bulk tilapia, steaks and salmon, which I will cut up and freeze. The veggie steamers were only $1 each (usually I would have coupons for these and get them for free, but alas, I had none!). I also scored a yummy Kashi meal for free! I think next time I’ll hit Aldis first for the Veggies, at least until the farm stands are open or our garden is growing! It’s all worth it!

I’m going to work on writing up a menu for the month of April (Yes the entire month!!) I’m hoping that this will help me to be prepared so I don’t fall in to my old habits!

One trick, if I can call it that, is that I cook up a bunch of meals on Sundays for the week (mainly for lunches) so that all I have to do is pop the meal out of the freezer and heat it up! I also try to pre-package some healthy snacks into little baggies.

More on all of this soon!

Home-Sweet-Home Again

 

We had a nice trip to New England last week and are now home and ready to get life back in order. I have huge aspirations for what I can get done this week but I have to remind myself that I need to be realistic!

This week I’ll share a few little travel tips I came up with while I was away with the kids last week.

I’m also hosting an Easter Party on Thursday and I hope to share some of the ideas and plans we have for that too!

I’ll also post a late Meal Plan Mondaysometime today. I’m starting a weight-loss program at the gym that I just started going to which means I have to spend a bit more time planning meals and being organized in the kitchen! I’m hoping to post some new, healthy, yummy recipes soon too!

But right now I’m going to go get my little girl who is crying out “Mommy? I’m awake – come and get me!!”

 

More posts to come later today!! Be sure to check back!

For the love of… my Blackberry

Yes, I’m going to write a post about my Blackberry… It’s pink and I love it!!

I begged my sweetie to get one for me when we decided to upgrade my phone. He must love me because he even let me get a PINK one!

Here is why I love my Blackberry

1. It reminds me to do everything and anything!

I love that I can type in my schedule, to do lists, shopping lists, notes even upload photos all from my computer! When I worked full-time I fell in love with Microsoft Outlook because of a book called Take Back Your Life! Using Microsoft Outlook to Get Organized and Stay Organized. It is fantastic when your scrambling balancing tons of tasks and don’t feel like you know where to start! I can put all of my info into my computer at home, connect the Blackberry and Ta-Da! it’s all there!

I even e-mail myself information that I might need when I’m away. For example I e-mailed myself a recipe I read online because I only had a minute and had to run out the door to the store. When I got there I opened up the e-mail on my Blackberry and grabbed the ingredients that I needed! We’ve done this with directions too, very handy. (Blackberry also has a built in map application that works great!)

2. It has internet access!

This is a blessing and sometimes a curse. It’s so wonderful when you’re waiting at the doctors office and don’t want to touch those germ infested magazines! One of the main reasons that I’m finding the internet so useful is that I can check my blog subscriptions from anywhere. I use Bloglines to track my favorite blogs so that when I don’t have enough computer time I can see what’s going on out there. (I do remember to actually go directly to those blogs to comment and do some “fund clicks” for my fellow bloggers who make money off of their blogs) I especially love being able to go to a devotional website that I love Internet Cafe Devotionals. This way I can at least get a 5 minute devotional in even when I’m busy.

3. It takes great photos and videos

You’d be surprised how nice the photos come out from this little phone. I’ve been pretty happy with the quality so far. One trick I’ve learned is to use the camera to remember things. For example I was at Barnes and Noble the other day and saw a book that I thought I would like sometime and I didn’t have time to open up my “wish list” document on my BB and type in the info so I quickly (and discretely) took a photo of the book. Another example was when I’m at the fabric store I take photos of fabrics that I like so that I can remember later. I’ve read that some people take a photo of where they parked their car, a color of makeup you like, a picture of their luggage and it’s contents when your traveling in case it gets lost etc. There are lots of great ways to use your phone to remember things!

4. It’s pink

I never thought I’d be carrying a pink phone but there is one big reason I wanted a pink phone. Less chance of someone stealing it. At least that is my opinion. I’m probably completely wrong here! It’s girlie and I love it!

5. Oh yah,  I can call people

It is a phone after all

Am I alone here, am I the only geek out here ??

Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday is being hosted by $5 dinners this week. Be sure to check out all the great frugal dinner ideas over at her site!

Here’s the menu for this week:

Monday: Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli

Tuesday:ST Patrick’s Day Extravaganza – not really - just some Corned Beef in the Crock-pot (with Guinness), Potato’s and Carrots

Wednesday:Soup and Salad Night, this week it will be canned soup and Caesar salad

Thursday: Sausage, Rice and Lentil Skillet

Friday: Date Night

Saturday: Leftover Buffet

Sunday:Stuffed chicken, cheesy rice and spinach casserole and green beans

 Help me please!!

I’ll be going away in a week leaving hubbs all alone for 6 days so I’ll also be making some single serve meals for him. I want to make some meals that he can take out of the freezer for dinner. I’d love some ideas! Any suggestions??

Using Microsoft One Note to Organize your Brain!

I’m participating in Works For Me Wednesdays today! Be sure to check out all the other great ideas at We Are That Family

I’m an idea person. Is anyone else out there like me? I always have a ton of ideas in my brain but if I don’t write them down then it’s a lost cause. I love projects, crafts, cooking and planning events. To keep all of that organized I used to have papers all over the place and a Microsoft Word file for  each idea. It got very unorganized, until I found Microsoft One Note!

One Note is like having a notebook on your computer. Sounds so exciting right?!? Not really. But it is. Here is a screen-shot of one of my “Notebooks” in One Note…

My Cookbook:

 

I’ve been using this cookbook to record all the recipes that I find online and want to try. All I do is copy the recipe off the web and past it on to a ‘page’ in one note.

Each notebook has tabs at the top and tabs down the right side. The top tabs are used as “Catergories’ or ‘Sections. I use the top tabs to divide my cookbook in to catergories like you see above (Appitizers, Breakfast, Breads, Beef Entrees, Beans, Baking, Chicken Entrees, etc.).  The side tabs are the individual ‘pages’ or recipes.

If you copy and paste something from the web or from another document on your computer a link will appear at the bottom of the page. That link will direct you back to the original. This is super helpful when you copy things off of websites and can’t remember where you found it! I love it!

Here are a few other ‘notebooks’ that I have in One Note

• Craft Notebook: I use  to copy and paste tutorials and ideas.
• Blog Notebook: I use to organize the ideas and posts for my blog and a
• Home Notebook: I use to organize ideas I find online for decorating, gift ideas, planning holidays and garden. Many of these pages will soon be printed out and into my Home Management Book – more on that soon!)

What?? You don’t have One Note?? You can read more about it at the official Microsoft website. If you don’t want to shell out so much dough I found some similar products onine that do pretty much the same thing. I’m sure there are others but this is what I could find this morning. Some of these are free so check them out! 

Google Notebook, EverNote,  PersonalBrain, Circus Ponies

Menu Plan Monday

Well we spent most of last week and this entire weekend sick. It really helped to have our meals planned out ahead of time, I skipped a day or two and we ate leftovers

Here’s the menu:

Breakfast:

Banana Muffins, Pancakes (Fiber One makes a pancake mix that is so delicious!), Quiche (I’ll try to post this recipe tomorrow – it’s so easy)

Lunch:

Leftovers, PB&J, Salads for me, Ravioli or Mac N Cheese

Snacks:

Apples, Grapes, Granola bars, Goldfish

Dinners:

Monday: Burgers on the grill, baked french fries and Salad (I’m going to try to make my own ranch dressing it sounds so good)

Tuesday: Lasagna (from the freezer, we never had it last week), Salad and homemade breadsticks

Wednesday: Soup and Salad Night – Basil Tortellini Bean Soup (I’ll triple the recipe and freeze 2 batches)

Thursday: Orange Soy Marinated Pork Chops, Green Beans, Rice and Applesauce 

Friday: Leftover Night – maybe a babysitter and a date night with hubby? Hint, hint. I wonder if he even reads my blog…

Home Tour – The Sunroom

I submitted this post to this week’s I am Blissfully Domestic. Be sure to check out the other great posts.

Now…

On to the “tour”

I’ve had some request for an update on how the house is coming along. While we are moved in we still have lots of decorating to do, pictures to hang up, curtains to finish sewing and a few boxes to unpack. There is one room that I’m ready to share… the sunroom.

 

One of my favorite rooms in the house is the sunroom. It’s warm sunny and very welcoming.

I mentioned in this post that we were able to purchase some Potterybarn at the outlet for a bargain.

I was able to start sewing the covers for the cushions and pillows and I’m almost finished with this corner piece. I love sitting here in the morning with some coffee and having some quite time.

 

 

Now here is a picture of the unfinished cushions and pillows – I’ve got to get motivated to finish these!! Behind this part of the couch there is a small table with 2 chairs that we usually have breakfast at. (table and chairs bought off Craigslist $20!)

Also in the sunroom is an area for the kids to play. We put a little table (from Ikea) with 2 chairs (bought off Craigslist for $2 each) The built in shelves were a perfect place to put their coloring books, crayons and a few smaller reading books.

I also recently ordered some beautiful vinyl lettering from my friend Sarah at Uppercase Living.  This is the one we have in the sunroom:

It’s such a good reminder:

“… let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven.” Matt. 5:16

 

And here is one that we have right inside the door:

I love the little birdie!

 

We’ve been here for 2 months now and I slowly starting to like how things are looking. We still have a lot to do!