DeCluttering.......so liberating!

 

 

It's time.

 

 Do you ever just look around and think, "When did I accumulate all this stuff?" Yep, that's been me these past few months actually. I started small last night. I decided that I had too many cookbooks. And what I meant was I had TOO MANY. Every few years I purge some books and keep others thinking I will use them. Well, my last purge was 3 years ago (for cookbooks) and I have yet to crack any of these books. So, they are off to be donated.

 

 

 

 

 So, last night I pulled not only all these cookbooks and cooking magazines, but some dishes and some other items that haven't been used in at least a year. This isn't a bad little stash to be donated, but I'm just getting started now. It feels so good to clean out and purge unused or unwanted items.

 

 

This is my after.....I wasn't even thinking about taking a before picture. But this is very nice to me, because I have my linens on top with some jars and misc. items. On the second shelf I have a large blue binder with tons of recipes that will be the next purge from this cabinet. Next to those binders I have my sons art supplies and then kitchen items. And the bottom shelf I have my most used cookbooks. I love it.....it was such a disaster before. Every time I opened the door something would fall out. I mean seriously, it was like a junk drawer on a larger scale. I can breathe now. Awww...

 

 

Now, to tackle my next project....my closet. Wish me luck!

 



 

I Finally Made A Decision......took me long enough!

 

 

 

I finally decided that it was time to make this blog a living thing again! For months I have been kicking around whether or not this blog should continue to exist. I have a feeling that is should. So, I am going to just make it fun. This is the place for what is happening in the Hardy Home.

 

Instead of catching you all up on this past year, I will go forward from here.

 

Today, I'm just working on some internal questions I have had lately. I am feeling as though it is imperative that I homeschool my children. I want to do what the Lord wants me to, so I am pondering this decision with deep reflection and the next step is to get on my knees and pray about it. I know that my Father in Heaven will answer my prayers, He always does. Last night I was talking with a dear friend of mine and we were discussing this very issue. She had said that she keeps thinking about the Family a Proclamation to the World that was put out by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints many years ago.

 

For me this is the part that keeps sticking out when I read it:

 

"The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed."

 

With all of the Common Core hoopla coming out I have been drawn to what my Spiritual leaders have said and I am feeling that for us, as a family, this is what needs to be done. I want to raise good children who will become leaders in society and positive wonderful people. I love my boys! And I want to give them the best education possible.

 

That's what's happening at the Hardy House.

 

 



Hardy Party of 6!

Yes we are no longer a party of 5! But the trouble I'm having is this: Hardy Part of 6 just doesn't flow like 5. I'm not sure if anyone even follows this blog anymore but I wanted to post our current family picture. Sharee Jones is the photographer and she is such an artist. Look how she captured my boys!

How I started my day today!!

This was how I started my day...figuratively not literally, this belly of mine prevents me from doing this sort of thing right now. I started off strong even though I was exhausted because I have tons to do around the house. 

Do you ever get so far behind that you just don't think you can even get caught back up? That's me lately. I am overwhelmed and overbooked and way over extended in my daily life. So what did I do today to cope? I worked on some quilts.....then cleaned my kitchen, ate some lunch and went right back to working on my quilts.  I'll link you to that once I have a post on it. 

My message today is to take time for the simple and fun things in life, at least once every week.....pretend you're 5! 

Brandon Flowers from the Killers Shares his faith....

I always feel this way when i go to the temple too!

i just love my boys! how sweet is this picture....not even planned! the temple always brings happiness and this is evident even when we are walking around the grounds enjoying the beautiful flowers and sitting on the SOFT grass! happy thoughts indeed!

love all the flowers!

this was a fun shot! i was laying on my stomach in the grass to capture this angle! isn't it just gorgeous?

i'm in love with all the different flowers and colors around the grounds!

what a great day this was!  have a wonderful rest of your weekend!

has it really been FOURTEEN years?

i cannot believe that our oldest is FOURTEEN today! my word...where did the years go? our precious celestial boy is one year older today and i was thinking about when he was born. he had a head full of thick black hair.....the cutest FAT cheeks that i could squish and kiss to no end....and the sweetest spirit. not much change in those departments.  but do you want to know what i love about these pictures the most? he looks like a normal happy boy! you can't even tell that he is severely autistic.....my camera catches all his smiles that i never could before!

Happy Birthday!

love you.

quilting for charity

i am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. and we have a women's organization that is fantastic. the Relief Society is working to assemble kits for people all over the world in need. at this time, there is a great need for quilts and they will be sent to Japan at this time. i have started a flickr group just for this because i know so many fabulous quilters i thought it would be awesome to enlist the help of all of you fantastically talented people out there. right now, the group i started is only asking for blocks, but you can make as many as you want or full sized quilts as well. the need at this time is:



Quilts

Un-used fabric, preferably cotton blends or flannel. High-loft bonded batting is preferred. Quilts may be quilted or tied with yarn ties four inches apart. Please ensure that yarn ties will not pull out. *Do not use fabrics with prints of religious or military themes or flags.


Sizes:

Crib      45"x 60"

Single   72" x90"

Double  90"x90"


Click HERE to join my flickr group and lets start making quilts!


Go HERE to learn about the guidelines and what other items are needed and where they go!

a giveaway on my quilting blog

for those of you who don't know....i have a quilting blog.  i am giving away a really nice bundle of Michael Miller FQ's (12 total) to one lucky person. go HERE for your chance to enter...

Good Luck.....

i have the coolest quilting friends!

i entered a giveaway on Dena's blog around Valentine's Day and i won....she was supposed to only send me chocolate...and this is what i received today in the mail! isn't the little owl so stinkin cute on the mug rug?  and of course i love brown and pink...jared doesn't like the combo, but luckily it's not for him! HA. 

i just love this little owl!

what do you do for your friends?

it's always fun when grampa comes over

this just makes my heart happy! tay giving grampa loves.

don't you think cj looks like grampa?  :)

one silly kid with his grampa! he kept begging grampa to tickle him.....my dad is the king of tickle torture. always fun to have him visit.

i love bountiful baskets

this saturday i picked up my bountiful baskets and i was super excited because i got this case of strawberries for....wait for it....$11.50! let me tell you, i intended to make jam with them but we keep eating them up! they are so yummy. if you haven't heard of bountiful baskets, then you need to check them out! request they come to your city if you don't have it. it's worth it and you'll be supporting local farmers too!

i love the rain

the rain in the desert is sparce and rare, but when it happens it leaves a wonderful smell and feel. i don't get many opportunities to take pictures like these, but i take advantage when i can. i love the colors of these plants in my yard.....nature is lovely.

the dinner update {long over due}

here is the final result of the meal in my last post. it took me a while because of technical difficulties...aka computer crash. i'm using my laptop which is slower, but does the trick. let me know if you try this recipe and if you like it.

a valentine's tradtion

every year, my honey and i stay in for valentine's day. it all started the first year we were married and didn't have any money. i called his mom to get her recipe for one of his favorite meals. flank steak. her recipe is fantastic and is so yummy. so, i went out and bought the goods to make the meal: flank steak, sesame oil, sesame seeds, green onions, soy sauce, two potatos, and salad stuff. of course i bought some sparkling martinelli's for added flair. the meal and a card was all i could afford. we stayed in, didn't have to wait for a table and eat around a bunch of people. it was wonderful.

we've been doing it ever since! this year i have all the goods in my fridge and will be making our meal. we always eat it after the kids go to bed, so we are uninterupted. i'll post pictures of our meal tomorrow...since i haven't made it yet.

what do you do on valentine's day?

here is what you need:

Flank Steak

6 Tbs soy sauce

2 Tbs Seasame oil

1 Tbs sugar

1 Tbs sesame seeds

3 green onins

lay meat out on cutting board....

cut cross grain to make strips

score each piece front and back

put all ingredients into ziploc bag

add meat and marinate in fridge for at least 6 hours..turn after 3 hours

broil for 8 min on one side and 5 on the other and it's perfect.

thrifting find for the week!

i was super excited when i saw this beauty in the case at my favorite thrift store friday night.  i had to fight off two ladies who came over after i was there waiting...they were so mad at me.  totally random, they bought the coach bags and a gucci one...i wanted this one....it is SO ME! even my hubby said it was perfect for me. very "granola" he said.  Haha...anyway...when was the last time you saw a Fossil Purse for sale for $15? hmmm?? oh, and it's in excellant condition.....i love a good deal!

dottie angel challenge

for those of you who do not know....i started this challenge on february 1st. i am updating it mostly on my other blog, however i am seriously considering just making one blog...for my sanity. two is a little daunting. not sure yet. i'm up for suggestions and will probably have a poll and contest soon as i am nearing my 100th post on this blog. anyway, i wanted to share this with you because i found the cutest finds at my local thrift store tonight.....can't wait to show you.

another fabulous SIMPLE recipe!

so Dena had her oatmeal pancakes up there to tempt me too, so i had to find out how she made them.  it's the simplest recipe and my kids loved them this morning. want to know how to make them?

pancake batter and instant oatmeal! there, isn't that almost too simple? i used apple cinnamon oatmeal with pancake batter and the syrup was a minimum on the pancakes because of the sweet taste.

once again, thank you Dena! tomorrow....blueberry!

I made Dena's recipe...YUMMY!

it was still simmering when i took this picture, but oh my goodness! i have never made chicken and dumplings before but i had to try out Dena's recipe....it was fabulous and a hit! the whole family was silent during dinner...a sure sign of a good meal. i doubled her lovely recipe so that my husband could have some for lunch tomorrow. next up, her oatmeal pancakes for breakfast tomorrow. thanks Dena!

RECIPE UPDATE:

 

Chicken and Dumplings by Dena Wayne

 

In Dutch oven sauté

½ cup of onion, carrot, celery each until tender

Add spices next whatever you like

I do – Italian seasoning, thyme, rosemary about a teaspoon each but really who measures

Next put in your chicken broth – I like a lot- the recipe calls for I box- I use I and a half

Put in your cooked chicken and add a half a cup of apple cider ( I bought a cooked bird at the market and shredded the meat) LAZY

Simmer for 15 minutes

While that is simmering mix your dumplings

I use bisquick (recipe is on the back for dumplings) but I add parsley and parm cheese

Plop those in by the tablespoon and cook on a covered simmer for 20 minutes- no peaking



le cinque terre

i finished this lovely puzzle today with much delight. i am a puzzle freak! i can do them over and over in not much time and i don't get tired of it. (i know, my husband says i'm weird too) this was a gift to me from my better half last year for my birthday, but with me starting school and all the sewing and quilting i've been doing i never pulled it out...until New Year's Eve! yes, i know, it's February 2nd, but i was doing so many things, trying to cram my sewing and quilting in before i started the new semester that it just sat on the table 70% finished.  it was bugging me so i had to finish.  I took a picture of it and stuffed it back in the box.  i have a hard time putting puzzles away if they haven't been completed.

my stress releases are sewing, quilting, reading and doing puzzles. what do you do to ease your stress?