Second Hand Stores......

I am finding that Second Hand Stores are the COOL places to be!! Maybe they already were, it was just hush hush...no one admitted going to the Salvation Army or the Good Will. But things have changed...we now have shows based around furnishing your home or updating your wardrobe through these stores. I don't know why, but I didn't want to be seen entering or leaving these stores! Then again, it could be MY OWN ISSUES with SHOPPING there. In my MIND I see strangers thinking "oh poor thing, she is poor and has to shop there! Tsk tsk.." Then I have the thought that I shouldn't be shopping there, we are not POOR...we are middle class, if we want something we have to save, but overall we are quite content. I don't want to take away from someone who ACTUALLY needs it. I did realize that while browsing through all the stores most of the customers were elders of a certain class, which kinda worried me about our future! Then there were young families, mostly Mothers(and three children to each Mother) shopping for kids' clothes while their kids played with aged toys....that too got me thinking, is our Government doing enough to help EVERYONE!?

BUT, I got over my own issues.....and I did all the shops in one day!! I went (alone...phew) with high expectations that I would find some great pieces that need refurnishing and then they would shine with their brilliance in my home.....I had that Nate Berkus ideal in my head....find those hidden gems!!! But after that Saturday...I was let down....there were no real gems...just ordinary stuff!! How sad!! Or at least I thought!

I did find many BOOKS in the Good Will Store!! This was my first stop.....as soon as I walked in, there was a ROW of BOOKS...broken down into categories....and then hardcover from paperback.....I was in awe!!! I browsed carefully...if anyone knows me...you know that I love BOOKS!! I bought in total 6.....all hardcover and was QUITE HAPPY with my FINDS!! Some were even ones that I couldn't find any more...out of print...and here they were, in hardcover....it was like the heavens shining down on them!!! I quickly grabbed them...looking around...I was ecstatic!! With MY books clenched to my chest I meandered through the rest of the store.....there were some cool "silver" pieces...and they glittered....I bought a silver dish...I know its not REAL silver...but I loved the detail!

My next stop was the Salvation Army.......as soon as I walked in the cashier was barking at kids running about, touching this and that.....she was small, a smoker and LOUD!!! She looked like she was in her late 70's...and she had so much spunk!! While walking around, I saw a BOOK section...but it was nothing compared to the other store...but they did have MORE FURNITURE!!! Some pieces...I stood there, glancing at them...wondering where I could use them in my ever growing small home....but in the end...I decided not to get them. I did find an old apron, likely from the 70's...mint green with frills and lace on the edges and the pocket had a rose stitched on it....I had to have it...it reminded me of my late Grandmother....she always wore aprons and had them hanging between the fridge and stove....its now in my kitchen!!!

The last stop was a second hand store.....the owner buys mostly anything you want to sell to him, plus he buys from estates sales. It was small and off the main road...at first I was slightly worried...would I ever be seen again...I don't have a cell phone....there are some cars parked outside....so there must be customers...SO I WENT IN!! I was surprised...it was fully stocked with this and that....and it was FUN to go through everything!! I saw a few pieces that I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE...but decided not to get them....however I did see a serving bowl and had to get it...again it reminded me of my Grandmother and her bowls! My Father was too hasty during their estate sale....and packed mostly the whole kitchen up and sold the contents...but this bowl reminded me of many dinners in their home!! It came home with me!! The owner's Mother was the cashier...in her late 70's(again...), wearing those quilted jackets that all Grandma's wear...and she was quite pleasant and very talkative...we chatted for a bit....and I know that I will be returning!!

During the drive home I felt very happy, I conquered my FEARS of Second Hand Stores....and I do believe that I will visit them once a month....to see if I can find any gems that are SPECIAL to me! BUT it also got me thinking about our SOCIETY and our GOVERNMENT.....and where things are lacking.

Eating Healthy Causes PAIN......in various ORFUSES!

Don't get me wrong....I know there are many benefits to eating healthy and exercising...for ONE, YOU WILL LIVE LONGER!! But this morning, as I was munching, kinda like a cow grazing on grass....my jaw started to hurt....this healthy cereal was causing me pain. Too many bits of seeds/clusters of oats and thick hearty flakes(which reminds me, must buy more toilet paper....going healthy has its ups and downs). But I felt healthy...munching away! It then got me thinking....I only bought this cereal cause it was on SALE...normally I don't buy it....I stroll past the HEALTHY cereals and wait for another week, wondering if it will be on SALE. This then made me ponder on other areas...like a banana, peeling back the layers of HEALTHINESS! If I did everything that the media/professionals told me.....I would need to be a MILLIONAIRE! There is no way, a family of five, on one income can afford to be TOTALLY HEALTHY! If you can, let me know....please!!

Every Friday I do our weekly shopping, having browsed through flyers before hand, I know where to go and I usually stick to that ONE store!! I try to keep within a BUDGET...now our budget is $200! That might seem like a lot...but after you have everything in your cart and a few treats(cause its the weekend and you have three kids, OK four, if one counts their Hubby) there goes the BUDGET! (Most of the times...) Four bags of MILK alone is $18......then there is Bread, a STAPLE.....but what KIND do YOU BUY!? You can go CHEAP(No Name) for 2.99, slightly more for 3.49(slightly healthier) or 4.99 for a REAL HEALTHY LOAF OF BREAD...full of grains, and seeds/nuts(but then with this, you cant make school lunches). I understand eating the HEALTHIER OPTION makes you FULLER, and so it should...it takes you about twenty minutes longer with all those grains/seeds.....but with OUR family, a LOAF CAN (sometimes) LAST JUST A DAY! Hubby has two sandwiches to last him his shift at work, then there are sandwiches for all three kids, and even at times they want toast and peanut butter for Breakfast!! So...you get idea! HEALTHY FOOD IS EXPENSIVE!

But we try our best, thankfully I shop in order of the store....I start off at Fruit and Veg(and shake my head at the prices), move onto Bread, Meat(not the processed stuff), move down towards Dairy and then I start the aisles...the aisles of temptation!! What I found, in all my years of shopping(lol) is that they(being the government/media/health professionals) want YOU to be HEALTHY and LEAD A HEALTHY LIFE(which I have nothing against) and they should REALLY drop the PRICES of the HEALTHY FOOD, giving the AVERAGE JOE a choice in being HEALTHY! Why are chips, cheesies, cookies and various snacks foods and processed foods and ice cream and pop ALWAYS on SALE!! They are cheaper than the healthy food. If more health options were available to the average joe....things might change. To be healthy is expensive...and with society and the world as it is as a whole, its hard to afford the multi-grain jaw breaking cereal.....

For us though, its all about give and  take...I try to opt for healthy breads, but I will buy the WHITE PASTA(ohh I can hear my Mom shutter at this..) and it will last longer than the smaller, higher priced whole wheat pasta.....and lets be honest, I tried it once....I hate tasting whole wheat goodness in my pasta! Just doesn't fit! Its like biting into a chocolate chip cookie...all ooey and gooey and buttery, you don't want to bite into it and taste wheat germ and flak seeds.....do YOU!? Well.....I don't! So its a BALANCING act.....but those scales could be tipped more into the HEALTHY category, if PRICES were LOWER!! Just saying.....YOU want US to be HEALTHY....then LOWER PRICES!!

So...that is my RANT for the DAY! I want to be healthy and try to buy healthy...but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. I avoid MOST COOKIES/MUFFINS and make my own...at least that way I know what goes onto them and an added benefit is that my KIDS get to help in the process!  I am broadening their horizons......educating them that making treats is better than buying ready made ones. YES I know, not all can bake or let alone have the time to bake, but if you can...do it!! I also make my CLAN aware of bad choices, good choices and that sometimes it is OK to have that BURGER and FRIES!! It's all about BALANCE!!! But also....if we want a HEALTHIER SOCIETY, things need to change!

To Biscuit or Muffin? Banana Chocolate Chip Mufcuit!

I LOVE biscuits.....I can usually whip them up fast to accompany a meal that I feel needs a biscuit. I vary it with herbs and cheeses and some flavour boosters(like garlic). I LOVE muffins too....but find it temperamental at times...slowly mix, with a fork, don't over mix... etc etc etc! Then one day...I thought why not take my usual biscuit recipe and tweak it a little...for muffins! And it worked! BUT...what do I call them?? That's when I came up with Mufcuits....its in a shape of a MUFFIN but the main recipe is BISCUIT.

The KIDS love them....and they are GREAT for SCHOOL!!

Here you go!! What do YOU think?!

Banana Chocolate Chip Mufcuits @Sherry Watton

Preheat Oven to 350

½ cup Butter(softened)

½ cup Brown Sugar and ½ cup White Sugar

2 eggs

2 Ripe Bananas

½ tsp of Vanilla(I like PURE)

2 ½ cups of flour(just the regular All-Purpose Flour)

2tsp Baking Powder

1 cup Chocolate Chips

Cream the Butter and the Sugars, once well blended, add the mashed bananas and blend again, then add the eggs and vanilla, blend again…..till one big cream mess!

In another bowl have the flour and the B. Powder, mix together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet. When it’s almost thoroughly mixed, I add the Chocolate Chips. Mix WELL!!

Take your greased muffin pan….normally I use a little Pam….even with my NON STICK PAN…better to be safe than sorry!!! Fill the cups…makes 12 Mufcuits!! I usually leave them in the OVEN for about 18 minutes...remember OVENS vary, so I start checking at the 16 minute mark....just in case!

NOW as a SIDENOTE…..this morning I made them again, but only had ONE BANANA…and NO VANILLA!!  Obliviously I left the VANILLA OUT and the SUBSTITUTE for the lacking BANANA, I added ½ cup of MILK….and it worked out fine!! So….when in doubt, lead the way with your INSTINCTS! 

GARBAGE is NEW AGAIN!!

Awhile back I took GARBAGE and made it into something COOL! It was bothering me, seeing it sit beside the fence...the fence where various broken things sat, before being tossed on garbage Day. I actually ignored it every garbage day...I just kept thinking that something can be made from this! But what? I could see it every day out the kitchen window... just sitting there while I washed the dishes......then it came to me!!

I took it and carefully sanded it, and borrowed my Hubby's saw and trimmed off the ends....WOWZERS...such power!!! I had never used one before, I was scared that I might lose a limb or eye! After it was trimmed and sanded, I added wooden clothes pegs, stained it in Walnut and then rubbed some coloured paint on it.....to match my Daughter's room. I LOVE IT!!! It was just garbage......it was broken and had no use any more...and I turned it into something NEW!! Since doing this, I have had some interest in making more for others.....also I can custom the colour...for your kids room, kitchen, hall entry....or wherever you want to put it! Katie now clips photos, invites and jewellery. I am even going to make one for our kitchen, in pale yellow, to clip recipes, school info, lists and so much more!!

Its NEAT!! It use to be a little, garden picket fence...but with three active kids in the backyard...they broke it when the BALL went too FAST!! I knew it could be used again....I just didn't know how! Now I do!!! What's funny...maybe not for my Hubby, is that when we are driving about and I see something at the curbside.....I stop and look and think!! ONE (WO)MANS TRASH IS ANOTHERS TREASURE!!!

Just when things were going along so well.....

This is the last weekend of Summer....it was quite cool and rainy on Saturday, today though its SUNNY and BLUE skies.... but I don't feel the cheeriness of it!! Yesterday Hubby and two of the three kids went to the cottage(its not our cottage...but its like our cottage...we are free to go when we want...all the fun and none of the hassle of owning a cottage...the best kind). So after they headed off....it was Alex and I at home. My allergies have been terrible lately and with the cooler weather, I opted to stay home where I could shut out the world of allergens! Saturday was great.....it was the day that I went through the whole house.....tidied this and that, threw out broken toys, sorted Summer clothes to be packed or clothes to be donated...I FEEL UTTERLY HAPPY WHEN I CAN SORT IN PEACE AND KNOW MY HOME IS CLEAN!! Alex was no real trouble....as long as you put on Treehouse!! I did notice that throughout the day Alex was getting a runny nose.....I knew what was coming!! It was his turn...Josh just had a mini cold, Katie didn't have it yet...but it was Alex's turn!!

The whole DAY was perfect, besides the runny nose.....then it was night time.....I had plans to unwind, have a glass of wine and watch what I wanted on the TV..perhaps turn in early and read!!! It was to be a perfect night....a night one rarely gets....a night I should have taken full advantage of, being alone......but it all went down hill about an hour after Alex went to bed.....

I ended up going to bed early so Alex could sleep with me...HA...SLEEP....we were up throughout the night!! The only HOURS I didn't see was 2AM and 4AM!! He wouldn't take medicine!! I couldn't get it in him!! I was fighting an never ending battle!! NOW don't get me wrong...I LOVE my CHILD..but I don't want to get sick...if I get sick the whole ship is going down!! With Hubby's hours....we cant afford to get sick, there is no back up plan or person!! But by 5AM, I gave in and turned and faced Alex, snot and all...and he cuddled within my neck and sneezed!!! I do believe its all over now.....I'm just waiting for my time! When he sneezed I pictured his germs floating all around me.  It was like that movie with Dustin Hoffman....the monkey with the virus.  There is a scene where they are all sitting in the movie theatre...and someone with the virus sneezes....you see all the germy particles floating, people were breathing it in....eeek...that's what I was thinking at 5AM.....my son had infected ME!!

So that has been my weekend....ONE GREAT DAY of CLEANING and SORTING, a NIGHT FULL OF GERMS and NO SLEEP and TODAY I am LAUNDERING EVERYTHING and MAKING EXTRA STRONG COFFEE!!  Hopefully by cleaning, taking extra vitamins and washing my hands...all the way up to my elbows....I can avoid this COLD...the first COLD of the SEASON! Hubby and I were right...we placed bets when the first cold would come home from school........two weeks!! BUT when its all said and done.....if someone has to get a COLD, its good to do it on the WEEKEND!! Right!?

Enjoy the rest of YOUR weekend....I am hoping to get a nap in.....sometime? Most likely not! But the idea is NICE!!

It's been awhile.....BUT I've been BUSY!!

Corner Hutch....I have always wanted one!

I know..I know...it's been awhile!! With Summer and being busy and finding very little time for ones self....even to take a BATHROOM break is hard.....as soon as I sit on the throne, little fingers peak from the bottom of the door..."Mommy? What doin? Mommy?" So to find the time to write and Blog is hard!! But now that the KIDS are in SCHOOL(woo hoo...) and things are SLOWLY getting back into the groove....I am finding little moments, to write to YOU!! So how have you been? How was your Summer? Are you glad that Summer is over? Are you HAPPY that the KIDS are back in SCHOOL!? I know that some will argue that Summer is not over....officially I know its not over...but once the kids start school, and you notice the odd leaf on the grass...and then there is that smell of Fall and just the change in the temperature, the change in the air...YOU KNOW THAT FALL IS APPROACHING!! SO HOW HAVE YOU BEEN??

New desk for my Boys' Room!

I have looked for awhile, but found ONE  I can afford!

Even though I was not blogging....I was still busy doing some of my regular OBSESSIONS...I just tweaked it all to INVOLVE my KIDS!! Now Josh, who is SEVEN...has started to say "please Mom, no more Kijiji, no more antiques...we have enough...you said you were going to stop!?" SOME THINGS YOU JUST CANT STOP!! But it has been fun....we have made some decisions together and they love the outcome!! All the PHOTOS in this post are items that I've found...and have then made them my OWN! LOVE IT!! Some I have SOLD...others have found a HOME in my HOME.....it makes me SMILE!!
Also...don't worry..I have been baking and cooking...coming up with some ideas here and there....and will soon post the recipes and photos.  I just have to tweak some here and there and write down others....good thing that I keep a notebook on my kitchen island!!

A Dresser that I fixed up and later sold!

So...what ever you have been up too...I hope you had a GREAT TIME!! LIFE is SHORT! Do what makes YOU HAPPY!! You never know...you might find a career within it!!! Fill your circle with LOVED ONES and just CHERISH each day!!!
Cheers!!!