Wednesday's Words: Form and Function

(From the Rutt Handcrafted Cabinetry Modern Lifestyle Brochure)

Tuesday's Tip...Your purse

The other day on public transit, I watched a girl spill her friends purse and out fell a full sized perfume bottle, a full sized body mist and a full sized baby lotion, so to lessen the weight carry travel sized items—you can buy items travel sized or buy empty bottles and fill them with your favorite products.

One bite at at time

Since being diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, doing things such as writing, typing and my favorites cooking and knitting are hard, so to work on a marketing postcard I am doing one piece of it a day and by weeks end a draft copy will be done and I am following the advice I give my clients to break projects into multiple tasks and do one at a time.

Wednesday's Words on Cleaning

"I hate housework! You make the beds, you do the dishes—and six months later you start all over again." —Joan Rivers

Joan Rivers Biography

Tuesday's Tip on Freezing

To freeze fresh fruit or veggies, wash, cut into pieces and place on cookie sheet (preferably rimmed), spread out pieces and freeze several hours. Then remove cookie sheet and place pieces in freezer bag and you will be able to get out as much or as little as you need.

In the kitchen on Thursday: Making clouds

Coconut and Almond Meringue Bars

4 large egg whites
1/2 C. Sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. Cream of Tartar
1/2 C. ground coconut (or shredded)
1/2 C. sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 325. Add salt and cream of tartar to egg whites. Beat on high until frothy. Add sugar gradually and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Stir in coconut and almonds. Line a 5" X 9" pan with parchment paper. Pour in egg white batter and spread out in pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool. Cut each side in 4, making 16 bars. To store bars, simply cover pan in tinfoil.

(My daughter, mom and husband can vouch that these are sweet "clouds" that should not go to waste.)

Wednesday's words on Success

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out." —Robert Collier

Tuesday's Tip: Softer hands

Soften hands while you do dishes (Sorry, Palmolive), by rubbing olive oil on your hands before you put on the rubber gloves and as you wash the heat of the water opens your pores allowing the oil to moisturize the skin.

Relationships: Oil and water

The other week a client fired me and it made me think about relationships, just as I had done when my BFF moved to the Atlanta area and I realized that clients are not a potential hometown BFF and friends are not potential clients (and should not have their time management skills analyzed by me).

Wednesday's Words: Avoid Disorder

"It is best to do things systematically, since we are only human, and disorder is our worst enemy."
—Hesiod

Tuesday's Tip: Set a timer

If you want to spend a limited amount of time on a task, say 1 hour on Facebook or 45 minutes finishing your presentation, then set a timer and when it goes off, stop and move on to the next task.

Bittersweet moment

Today I donated my violin to an instrument drive that will refurbish it and give it to a public school student who can't afford one and while I was happy to see the dust collector go for a good reason, I was also sad, since Orchestra in high school had been one my favorite extra-curriculars due to all the laughs because I (and some fellow players) wasn't very good—hopefully the student who gets it is better than I was at playing a violin.

In the kitchen on Thursday: A breakfast with out all the work

Baked Pancake

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare pancake mix batter according to the directions on the box. Heat an ovenproof skillet on the stove. When hot, melt 1 Tbsp. of butter in the pan making sure to coat the bottom and sides. Pour in batter and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Bake in oven for 15 minutes. Serve warm sliced like a pie with maple syrup drizzled on top.

(My daughter had a slice tonight that she dipped in syrup for dessert and gave it two thumbs up. And the best part, no standing over the pan waiting to flip the pancakes.)

Wednesday's Words on happiness and love

"There is only one happiness in life, to  love and be loved." —George Sand (Amadine Dupin)

Biography of Geroge Sand

Tuesday's Tip...the night before

By prepping breakfast last night, including making Farro, I was able to have a healthy Farro and Egg and half a smoothie for breakfast while my daughter had the other half of the smoothie with half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (she has state tests today at school).

(P.S. You should do this for bags, briefcases, backpacks and even layout clothes.)