Happy 100th Post! And a Freebie! [This is a good one, don’t miss out]

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD CHAPTER ONE OF THE ONE-ARMED HOMEMAKER’S COOKBOOK

Out of curiosity – are you, dear reader, among those who did not think this blog would live to see 100 posts? I know at least part of me was. It’s pretty crazy to think that it’s lived this long… so, happy 100 posts, everybody!

[throws confetti]

Whoo.

Now that that’s out of the way, since it’s customary to do something special as part of the celebratings, I’m going to release the first chapter of my book [remember this ole’ thing from way back then?] to anybody who would like it, just cuz I’m feeling generous today. And I really need more eyeballs on this thing.

The whole shtick of the book, and of this blog, is how to make people’s lives [starting with mine] simpler, less stressful and more wholesome. For me, breakfast is always a source of stress and difficulty, from what to make, right down to remembering to make it. This probably stems from being decidedly not a morning person. My hope is that there will be several of you who read this chapter, and decide that it was either so helpful – or so problematic – that you just have to leave a comment or send me an email letting me know exactly how it affected you.

Anyway, here it is 🙂

Seriously, let me know what you think of the first chapter in the comments, the good, the… parts I could improve. Eherm. I’m sure there will be plenty for everybody to have a turn pointing “fix-it” spots out 🙂

Happy 100 posts! [raises imaginary glass] And to 100 more!

Regrowing Romaine – Really?

A few weeks ago, I saw a blog post about someone regrowing a head of romaine that they’d bought from the grocery store.  Initially I had a half scoff, half “whoa really?” moment, and promptly forgot about it.

Skip ahead to last week and me finding myself with a romaine stump and a convenient bowl with a half-inch of water in the bottom.  Usually I’m slow on the draw, but I totally caught this one.  I set it on the sill [we have one window and luckily it gets a lot of sun] and the next morning, this is what I found:

Holy guacamole, it’s working!  I now have TWO varieties of plants growing on my windowsill.  Though admittedly, the teacup basil seems to be finally biting the dust.  Luckily it’s almost spring so new plants should be available soon anyway, and Basil Cups Round 2 can commence.

I’m definitely going to track this and post the results.  Has anybody else ever regrown any grocery purchases?  I’m curious about the possibilities here!

Free Printable Friday: Princess Potty Progress Sticker Chart!

Click here to skip the post and go right to the download

So, two things happened this week:

1. We unexpectedly ran out of diapers for my daughter.
2. We decided that now is as good a time as any to commence potty training operations.

Yes, it may not have been the best-conceived plan ever.  [And full disclosure, I’ve been working toward getting her out of diapers for a while anyway, so the potty-training thing wasn’t really THAT spontaneous…] Anyway, we quickly learned that this little girl tinkles like a little puppy dog… a little here, a little there, a little on the pillow when you’re not looking…

Enter the need for a sticker chart/candy reward system.

Lucky for you guys, that means… another free printable!  It’s a GIRL theme this time.  My girl is really into princesses and sparkles and the like, so this one’s heavy on the princess stuff:

Admittedly I made the mistake of introducing the candy before the stickers so it hasn’t really made the smashing impression I was hoping for… but she’s still really into it!

And of course, this printable wouldn’t be what it is without the beautiful artwork by Terri from CocoaMint – aren’t those graphics adorable??

Major LOVE, right!?  Even if you’re not a big maker-of-digital-things, the cute factor alone is totally worth the click over to her website.

Here’s to hoping the potty-training goes off without a hitch!  [Or at least a minimal number of accidents… my friend’s suggestion of covering the whole house in newspapers is starting to sound REALLY good right about now!]