Posts by Nat

A Blogging Brain Adjustment

Posted by Nat on Feb 20, 2012 | 2 comments

Hi friends,

I am in the process of doing lots of little things in order to do one big thing: simplify my life.  I am re-evaluating lots of aspects of my day-to-day routine and world.  How much “stuff” do I really need?  How much time can I devote to different things I want/like/need to do?  These are questions I’m asking, answering, and then moving forward with based on the answers.  It’s shaking things up a bit.  I know the end product will be awesome because I will have less stuff, more focus and (hopefully) more energy.

To add to the mix, my husband and I are laying pavers outside our patio so that we no longer have a mud pit for a play yard for the kids.  I am so excited, and so exhausted at the same time.  This weekend has been a whirlwind of back-breaking work, sweat, laughter, tears, time with just me and my man, missing my kids, and PB&J for dinner because we’re so tired (and also wondering how much money we have left in the bank).  Today is the last day- we have to finish, because tomorrow it’s back to reality, patio or no patio.

And so, then next time you see me will likely be Thursday.  I need a break from posting every day, and that is also something I’m examining- do I really need to post every day?  I’m thinking it’s not sane for me at this current time.

But guess what?!  You will SEE me Thursday because the ladies at Chronically Distracted have assigned a VLOG for our Happiness Project.  My first reaction:  ”I need to put on makeup for that.”  My second reaction:  ”No way.  Not gonna do it.”  My third reaction:  ”Buck up, Nat.  You can do it.”  So, after I figure out the best angle for my face, I will follow through the assignment and you will actually get to see me AND hear me on Thursday.

See you then!

Nat

I have decided it’s too much for me to post every day along with all of the other things I want to accomplish.  For example, this weekend, instead of enjoying our extra day with my husband, we are

The Happiness Project: Do Nothing

Posted by Nat on Feb 16, 2012 | 1 comment

As I started to write this post I was trying to do too much at once.  What’s too much?  I was trying to read the prompt for this post while also catching up on email and watching the Grammy Awards from last weekend.  Yeah.  Too much.  I realized this and shut off the TV instantly.  Focus!

I’m having a crazy week.  A wonderful week that includes new babies (not mine) and big personal changes, but crazy.  This has been frustrating for me on one level, though, because last week I did a lot of work on my schedule and my organization.  Having this much chaos in my own brain/life after dedicating a lot of energy to downsizing my chaos feels a bit like slamming my thumb in the car door.   No wait- I’ve done that. That was way worse. Things are great!

The prompt this week from the ladies at Chronically Distracted reads:

• What are your biggest personal barriers to PROGRESS? 
• Fear?  Time?  Opportunity?  Discipline?  Knowledge? 
• Would *you* commit to setting a do nothing rule in order to achieve your goals?

(In case you aren’t in sync with these awesome ladies, they are referencing this post from The Happiness Project blog written by Gretchen Rubin.)

My answer?  Time.  I feel like a court jester, juggling little blocks of the day that are intended for one thing and then a kink happens somewhere and the time gets dropped or *gasp* disappears entirely (where did that naptime go?).  Time is amazing because it can pass so quickly and so slowly, yet it always passes.  I feel that 9 times out of 10 I find myself chasing time more than any other element of my day.

I actually have tried the “do nothing” rule without knowing it.  I’ve been practicing it the last few weeks when I go to Starbucks to write and work on my blog.  When I’m at Starbucks and I’m by myself, my focus level rockets so high- it’s amazing!  I have no little fingers asking me to fix something, no mouths to fill (except my own), no phone to answer.  I close all of my browser windows except those pertaining to my work, and I WORK.  The first time I did it I came home and told my husband, “Wow!  I accomplished something!”  There were, of course, times when my brain wandered, but I did not allow myself to check Facebook or any other techno-fun things.  I worked.  I felt like an adult.  Like an intelligent adult.  I think the trick for someone with kids is to find this time, or rather, to MAKE this time for themselves.  That is tricky at times, maddening at others, but it’s part of parenthood.

I have come to a place where I am realizing that my life, at this particular time, is just plain whacky.  I am trying to do a lot of things, and it’s been stressing me out.  I have one voice nudging me a bit, saying, “Natalie, take something off your plate.  You don’t have to do all of this.”  And I have another saying, “You can do it!  You can do it ALL!”  This voice carries a set of pom-poms with it at all times.

The reality is that I can’t do it all, and I’m trying to whittle out something that will help me at least try it.   I’m aiming to share that process with you all to help demystify a bit of the premise that blogging is a perfect fit for everyone, or that bloggers have perfect lives because they work from home.

Can’t wait to see what others post today in the Happiness Project!  I’m probably going to lay low this week and not post again until next- my brain is unsettled and unfocused, so best to leave you out of that.  Happy Weekend!

Mini-Cupcake Tips

Posted by Nat on Feb 14, 2012 | 1 comment

To all of my lovely readers:  thank you for visiting my blog as often as you do!  Would you help me out?  I’m working really hard on my blog and I’d love you to help if you have a few seconds.  If you like what you read, if you find it interesting or useful, please pass it along.  You could leave a comment below (be sure you’ve clicked on the post title if you’re on my “home” page), you could pin a photo to Pinterest (there’s a “Pin it” button at the bottom of this post), or you could share a link via Facebook.  Anything helps.  If you’re not a blogger yourself you may not know that the world of blogging revolves around sharing and comments- they are sort of the currency of the blog world.  Thanks so much!  And now, back to the post at hand….

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I was busy making mini-cupcakes for the kids to take to school, thus the lack of posting yesterday.  I’m capitalizing on the fact that one teacher just said to bring something, and I did not specifically hear the words, “healthy snack,” so I’m bringing mini-cupcakes.  That way, if it was supposed to be healthy, it’s just a mini-cupcake rather than a full-size one, and the teachers can eat them if they want to hide them from the kids- I don’t mind.  Ha!

While I love eating mini-cupcakes (or 7 or 8), I loathe the batter process.  All those tiny cups that have to be filled “just so,” the washing of the pans….  Today I discovered a new trick that I’ll share with you to hopefully make it go faster and neater for you, too.   I’ll also share some other tricks of my cupcake trade.  They aren’t revolutionary or anything, but if you’re a new cupcake-making person, hopefully they will help.

As I said, my issue with the process was getting the batter into the cups.  I didn’t want to waste a pastry bag, but… pouring the batter from a measuring cup into those little tiny cups was also too messy.  Spoons don’t work well- the batter falls off the spoon and doesn’t always go where you want it to.  Yesterday was my “a-ha” moment.

Here’s what you do:

Make your batter.

Also (not pictured) prep your mini-cupcake pans.  Either line them with paper or spray them with a non-stick baking spray.  Or if you’re REALLY good, smear butter all over them- I’m a spray person these days.

Line a 4-cup measure with a gallon food storage bag, preferably one with two layers of zips.  You may have to use something else if your measuring cup is too wide.  My cups are the “OXO” brand and it fit perfectly.

Pour in your batter.  (Are you impressed?  I took the photo with my LEFT hand while pouring with my RIGHT.) 

 Zip up your bag.

 Turn your bag and smooth all the batter away from one of the bottom corners.  Snip the corner of the bag.  Make it small- you can always make it bigger.

 Mine was actually a smidge too big, and it was probably about an inch wide, so next time I’ll make it 1/2 inch and see if that helps.

 Carefully move your bag over your pans and start squeezing!  The batter comes out fast unless it’s a thick cake batter, but you’ll get a rhythm going and pretty soon all of your pans will be full.  Love it!

 Here’s that red one up close:

 This made the process of mini-cupcakes sooo much easier.  And here are my finished products:

Now some other tips:

• To frost cupcakes, regular or small, the fastest way… I always use a pastry bag with a #16 Wilton tip (or some other star tip).  It is so much faster to use the pastry bag, and it really doesn’t take that much practice to make them “pretty.”  All frosting is pretty, really.  If you find yourself reading this and thinking, “No way.  There’s no way I can do that…”   If my girl scout troop leader could simultaneously teach 8-12 girls scouts, all sixth graders, to decorate cakes, then you can try it.  Just try it once.  You’ll thank me.  I frosted about 50 mini-cupcakes in 15 minutes yesterday.  Boo-yah.

• If you’re displaying your cupcakes and it’s possible, frost them AFTER you position them.  For example, I’m taking these cupcakes into school today.  I frosted them after I placed them in their containers.  The less you have to move something after it’s been frosted, the less likely it is to get messed up.  This is impossible with a cupcake stand, but with platters it works great.

• For the best tasting cupcakes on little time, I use a box mix of cake but I always make fresh frosting from scratch.  If you think about how long canned frosting sits on a shelf waiting to be used…. it’s really just shortening with sugar.  Bleh.   Buttercream or whip cream frosting is yummy and preservative-free.  My favorite is buttercream, and I love this recipe- it’s super easy.   For some reason dry ingredients sitting around doesn’t bug me as much as frosting on the shelf.  Just me.

I used that red silicone heart tray for the first time today.  For me, the jury is still out.  I was expecting them to just fall out of the silicone, but they didn’t.   Anyone love them and have any tips?

Do you have any cupcake tricks?  Please share!  I also wrote a post about making a hat cake- you can read it here.

Operation Organization: Art Station

Posted by Nat on Feb 10, 2012 | 0 comments

I realize that this is not rocket science.  It’s a simple plastic bin with labels.  But I LOVE to see how other people organize their crap, so I thought I’d share what I did in this situation.

I was going absolutely bonkers.  For reals.

As I mentioned in my recent post about Anna’s mail slot, she is a very creative little girl.  She comes up with crazy Tinker-Toy creations, she builds amazing things with blocks (engineer, architect perhaps?), and loves, loves, loves to draw.  She loves art so much that I have to throw things away on the sly, lest our house become a fire hazard of paper.   I’m still working on a system to determine what stays and what goes, but what was more pressing was how to contain her supplies and her completed work.

I mention in my “About Nat” page that I am a practical crafter.  While I LOVE looking at DIY art stations with cute, color coordinated tubs, repurposed antique holders and such, that is not me.  If I put a lot of energy into something that is likely to get used, abused and tired, it will make me mad/frustrated/annoyed if it doesn’t hold up, stay perfect and pristine.  So with something like this, I like to go with easy, plastic bins from Wal-Mart.

I think this thing cost about $17.  I may get another when Jack gets more into art, but right now I’m lucky if I can keep up with the sticker trail he leaves all over our house.  He has one coloring book right now.  That’s all he needs.

What I like about this thing is it can only hold so much, so every once in a while I go through and downsize to prevent further insanity.

I started with simple labels on the drawers.  From top to bottom they read:

• All done!
• Not done & Blank Paper
• Coloring Books & Stickers
• Art Supplies
• Activity Books

The labels however, did not stick to the plastic bins- they kept curling up.  So I sliced up a scrap of paper and stuck them to the paper.  Then I used some adhesive squares to stick them to the drawers, and now they stay nice and flat.

The art supply drawer is great:

The kids can pull out a tub (Target $1 section- they always have these) of crayons or markers, take them to the table, and then put them away easily (in theory).  Or, in reality, when it’s time for dinner, it doesn’t take me forever to get their crap out of the way.

I’m sure there are cuter ways to do this- if you have one, please do show me.  If I see something too cute to resist I may do something different, but for now, plastic bins rule this particular roost.

Happiness Project

Posted by Nat on Feb 9, 2012 | 1 comment

I’ve decided to join up with a great new blog, Chronically Distracted.  These ladies say in their elevator pitch:

“We’re two moms trying to strike a balance between family, fun, and friendship. We believe we represent, truly represent, a lot of parents out there who want to do and be everything but some days we just don’t have the attention span or patience to balance it all. Are you with us? I’m guessing you are.”

Every Thursday is about The Happiness Project.  Now, in keeping with my theme for 2012, “Keep it Happy,” I simply must participate.  I also love to write, and would like to improve my writing skills.  I think this is a great way to do both.   I’m jumping in a bit late, and have not read the book they are talking about, but I hope to get it soon and catch up.

On Mondays, participants are sent a prompt to write about.  {I could say, “about which to write” but that feels so snooty.}  Then, we post on Thursday and link up.  I can’t wait to see what others write, too!

This week’s prompt:

• Are your day-to-day actions supporting your choices of change (resolutions)?
• Is your MIND propelling you in the direction you want your actions and resolutions to take you?
• If the answer is No, how can you make it happen?