My First Cross-Stitch Design!

I made this wall hanging of 2 Corinthians 5:15 as a wedding present for Matthew's godparents, who got married this past Sunday. I used this caption maker to figure out the pattern for the text. (I am cheap, so I just used the free version and did it in a couple pieces.) Then I found this border for free, and copied that and the text by hand onto graph paper to come up with this design. I am very proud of how it turned out!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Sweet Potato Fries (this was on the meal plan for yesterday, but I had forgotten we had a wedding to go to, so it moved to today)
Tuesday: Tacos
Wednesday: Mexi Beef Skillet
Thursday: Homemade Pizzas (chicken? black olive? mushroom?)
Friday: Chicken, Veggies, and Rice
Saturday: Jesse's cousin Chris is getting married! Either wedding food, or something along the way home.
Sunday: Chicken Noodle Soup

What I'm Reading...

The True Nature of Fulfillment. (The Simple Dollar)

Food Waste: My Sneaky Money-Waster. (The Happiest Mom)

And finally, these two articles were linked on Facebook by my friend Jen, and they're just funny.
Why Being a Toddler is Hard.
Questions for Parents from a SAHM. (both from Babble.com)

Crafty Link-Up

Mailbox Bike Basket. (Martha Stewart)

iDad T-shirt. (Flickr photo via Ironcraft)

How to Make a Dress-Up Tu-Tu. (Northern Cheapskate)

Make a Recycled Plastic Egg Tealight Holder. (Dollar Store Crafts)

Make a Record Album Cover Box. (Dollar Store Crafts)

Make Braille Wall Art. (Dollar Store Crafts)

Make a Pencil Starburst Mirror. (Dollar Store Crafts)

10 Greeting Card Tutorials. (Dollar Store Crafts)

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry
Tuesday: Macaroni & Cheese and Hot Dogs
Wednesday: Chicken Fettuccine
Thursday: Breakfast for Dinner (bacon, eggs, and either pancakes or waffles)
Friday: Veggie Pot Pie
Saturday: Chicken, Beans, and Rice
Sunday: BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

What I'm Reading...

The Technique. (The Simple Dollar)

Overlooking the Free Things. (The Simple Dollar)

When to Add Pasta to the Slow Cooker. (One Dish Dinners)

Managing Your Money: Do You Have Goals? (The Happiest Mom)

How Little Sleep Can You Get Away With? (NY Times via Life Your Way)

Meal Plan Monday

Monday: Taco Calzones (I can't find an exact link, but this is pretty close)
Tuesday: Homemade Pizzas, probably chicken and mushroom
Wednesday: Southwestern Chicken Casserole
Thursday: Chicken Stuffing Casserole

The rest of the week is still TBD. My grocery shopping has happened sporadically lately. Once a week, but sporadically, so while my meal plans are seven days, the seven days are not all in one week. Hopefully I'll get that back on track soon. The other tricky part is that we're currently on a tomato-free diet (or meals that can have the tomato component separate) due to Jonah's tomato sensitivity. Sad for me, because a lot of my favorite Italian and Mexican dishes have tomato sauces or bases.

Update:
Friday: French Onion Soup, Salad, and Cheesy Bread
Saturday: Porcupine Meatballs (this does have tomato sauce, so Jonah might just get plain meatballs)
Sunday: Veggie Dump Soup (take leftover veggies, add broth and noodles)

Crafty Link-Up

Make Easy Craft Foam Mini Roses. (Dollar Store Crafts)

Miniature Photo Frames. (Dollar Store Crafts)

The following are from Martha Stewart.com:

• Folded Shirt Card
  
• Map Coasters
  
• Tools and Techniques for Darcy's Scrapboxes - the one they showed in the Father's Day slideshow was pretty awesome: picture of Dad and newborn, ultrasound picture, baby's first hat, etc.
  

Make a Colorful Scales Greeting Card. (Dollar Store Crafts)

Make Nerdy Coasters with Magic The Gathering Cards. I'm on a coaster kick lately with some of the links. I don't play this game, but it's a cool idea. (Offbeat Home)

Make a Baseball Bracelet. Yes, from an actual baseball. (Dollar Store Crafts)

What I'm Reading...

Meal Plan Primer: Shopping the Refrigerator. (Home Ec 101)

How to Freeze Food in Glass Jars. (Life Your Way)

Big Living in a Small Space. (Unclutterer)

Hutch Transformation. (Tracy's Trinkets & Treasures via I'm an Organizing Junkie)

Crafty Link-Up

Chips and Salsa Cookies. (Sweet Sugar Belle via Dollar Store Crafts)

Jean Studded Bracelet. (Mich L. in L.A. via Dollar Store Crafts)

Make Recycled Jar Lid Coasters. (Dollar Store Crafts)

Make Interchangeable Flip-Flop Back Straps. (Make It Love It via Dollar Store Crafts)

Individual Oreo Cheesecakes. (Deglazing via Life Your Way)

Make a Wildflower Seed Packet Card. (Dollar Store Crafts)

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese
Tuesday: Lasagna Casserole
Wednesday: Seminary Picnic
Thursday: Dinner out with my parents as we celebrate finding out where we'll be moving for the next year!
Friday: Loaded Baked Potatoes
Saturday: TBD
Sunday: TBD

What I'm Reading...

Organizing and Uncluttering as Entertainment. Life is like a game of Tetris - things are constantly coming into our lives, and we have to fit them in and get rid of some for it to work. (Unclutterer)

Sara's Heavenly Laundry Room Makeover. I would love this laundry space. (Offbeat Home)

Top 6 Clutter Excuses and How to Banish Them Forever. I definitely use most of these, (Life Your Way)

The Myth of Doing It All: Modern Moms and Hiring Help. There are times I've considered hiring a baby-sitter for a few hours a week so I could go get a coffee and read a book in peace. (The Happiest Mom)

Crafty Link-Up

• Make Recycled Cardboard Tube Farm Animals. How adorable are these? (Dollar Store Crafts)
• Fridge Pocket for Small Storage. I think one of these would be perfect to hold our dry erase markers for our fridge board. (The Idea Room)
• Toilet Paper Roll Boxes. Perfect for small gifts. (Crissy's Crafts)
• Travel Shadow Box. I can think of at least three trips I want to do this for. (Kat Knits)
• Cross Stitch Caption Maker. Choose a font, type your text, and it makes a pattern. I do mine in small sections to do the free version, but you can pay for the larger version.
• Embroidered Mother's Day Card. I already had cards taken care of when I found this, but cute idea! (Mandipidy)

I'm Back! Kind of...

Matthew is 5 weeks old (already!), and things are starting to fall into more of a routine. And I miss blogging. So...I'm going to start with my standard weekly posts - Menu Plan Mondays, Crafty Link-Ups on Wednesdays, and What I'm Reading... on Sundays. And that might be all you get for awhile, although I am working on a couple craft projects for upcoming weddings, so I will share those as well.

And in case anyone who blogs ran into this issue, Blogger isn't compatible with Internet Explorer 9 yet and the Publish Post button will not work, so you have to use another browser to post.

Meal Plan Monday

• Monday: Homemade Calzones - they were delicious!
• Tuesday: Tortilla Pizzas or Burritos (same basic ingredients)
• Wednesday: Beef Stew
• Thursday: Tacos
• Friday: Mexi Turkey Skillet
• Saturday: Topper's Pizza to celebrate Jesse's graduation from MSU!
• Sunday: Sloppy Joes

Extras, or to be carried over to next week:

• Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese
• Lasagna Casserole
• Loaded Baked Potatoes

I am forever changing my meal planning tactics. So now we're doing a new dinner pretty much every night instead of each meal lasting two nights. We were finding that what worked for two adults doesn't work as well for two adults and one growing toddler.