Momprenuersonline.com

I  just found this great website http://www.momprenuersonline.com/.

There is a wonderful message board there and the Newbie Took Kit is an essential read if you have ever thought to start your own at home business. I love the articles as well. Some of my favorite articles are the ones called Staying Organized and Time Management tips. Both of which I need help on!

My brain gets buzzing with all my new ideas and then it flows into the "but I need to get ____ done first" and then a kid needs something. It's just a never ending cycle.

So this week I'm going to work on two things. One is to come up with a work schedule that will work for me and my family. And the other is to make a decision once and for all as to where I want the workroom to be. Not having my workroom set up and clean and organized is giving me a serious case of unproductivity. I'm wasting a lot of time digging around in there trying to find the things that I need to make product. And time is money! Especially since I don't have as much time with my husband here to help with the kids.

And I don't know about you but Google Calender just may save my skin. I've never been good in the past at making sure my calender was used effectively. But Google Calender is about ten shades of awesome. Now, to remember to check it...

You know you can never see too many pictures from the Music Man.

New in the Shop!

First of all I decided to ship internationally. This is a big thing for me as I was quite nervous what to charge. I think I have it figured out and this week I sent my first product to Australia! And it was not nearly as expensive as I thought it was going to be!

I'm slowly adding stuff in the shop. Gearing up for the holidays. I really need to figure out how to promote better. I think I will be researching that a lot as well this weekend. Although the more I'm on the computer the less I am getting product made. Finding that balance is tough!

This week I finally got the Beaded Bookmarks up. And I gave them all great literary love names. They are very pretty and I think they look great. If anyone has any advice for me on how to word my descriptions I would not say nay!

Also I put up some knit items. One sold rather quickly so I think I will be making more of those. The other is a stunningly beautiful silk and merino hat. It's so pretty.

For those of you who don't have it bookmarked HERE is the link for my etsy shop.

Someone just might be more obsessed than I am.

A few days ago I had posted on the Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup blog that there was a house near to me that decorated for Halloween... Harry Potter style. So yesterday since I was already in that near vicinity retrieving my sons jacket that we left at a friends house we decided to go.

Sorry for the absolutely horrid picture quality. I'm just learning (really) how to use this awesome camera of mine and shooting at night has not been covered in my lessons yet.

Ford Anglia in the Whomping Willow

I loved everything she had out. Oh, I forgot to take a picture of her front window. She carved the most amazing pumpkins. I now want to start my own Hogwarts/HP collection. I think it would look great in my soon to be made office/den.

Ready for the Hogwarts Express

I love the Monster Book of Monsters. I think I shall make one for myself.

Noticeboard

And her collection of Owls... I need to do this!

And I really think my front entrance needs a House Crest!

Off to go plan my Halloween Decor for next year!

A few bits of Random...

I have a bad habit of remembering things. Probably because I run at full throttle most of the day. Or that I have three kids. Or a touch of some adult onset ADD. Or heck... all of that combined. So I make lists. But sometimes there is something so important that no matter how many lists I make I don't want to forget about it. So I put it on my hand.

In this case the writing on my hand says RB. Which my friends stands for Redbox. Why do I have Redbox written on my hand? Two words... free dvd. Every first Monday of the month I get an awesome little text to my phone with a free movie code. This time I took Gabe with me and let him pick. Probably not the wisest idea because we came home with Marmaduke. (Which in reality was a WAY better movie than I thought it would be.) But hey... FREE!

So, I live in the Greater Seattle Area. We are known for Coffee, Grey's Anatomy, Grunge Music and of course... RAIN. But what many of you don't know is that there are several cities in the US that get more rain than we do. Including Raleigh, NC. (I know this because we were looking at a possible job transfer there. No, we are not moving.) According to Weatherbase Raleigh gets an average of 41.8 inches of rain a year. Seattle... 39.1 yep Raleigh, NC wins that. HOWEVER, when it rains in Raleigh it RAINS. Here in Seattle we just get months and months and months of gloomy, overcast and drizzly days. And once in a while we get a doozy.

This is the view from my workroom window. Yes, that is a horse property next door. Yes, I am lucky to live here. But do you see that rain? This was on Monday and it was an awesome downpour.

Last bit of random of the day is my library book stack. Now please note that this is MY stack and does not include anything from any other member of my household.

This is what you call a SAHM's education. And/or Onica's Not Quite Midlife Crises. I've got some Dave Ramsey in there and an excellent book titled The House That Cleans Itself. You should also note the home decor books and magazines. And don't forget the knitting!!! I did remember to grab some Chic Lit. Even though I'm reading my way yet again through Harry Potter (I just started book #4).

So there we have it. Just some random things that can happen in a day at The Peasant Housewife's humble abode.

WIP Wednesday

What's a WIP? Why, it's a Work In Progress!

This weeks work in progress...

This my friends is the start of a beautiful handspun. It's a delicious Merino/Silk blend from Dicentra Designs. I love her glorious and deep jewel tones. And this fiber is amazing. I bought it earlier this year at the Madrona Fiber Arts Festival. Yes, it's been a long time since I bought it but I'm a process spinner and needed to spin up some other stuff first.
I'm really pleased with this fiber and plan on buying a lot more in the future!

Trader Joes Tuesday

As some of you may or may not know my dh is a manager at Trader Joes. It's really a great job. I just wish his store was closer! I love TJ's like nothing else and I especially love all the yummy things I can get just by making a simple phone call to my husband while he's at work!

This week I bring to your table a quick, easy and best of all Gluten and Dairy free dinner. My 10 month old especially loves it. All of these ingredients you can find at your local Trader Joes.

Fried Polenta w/ Marinara Sauce

Start with your basic marinara sauce...

Simmer it on your stove. Add whatever goodness you like to it (it's really delicious as it comes though).

Next slice up your polenta in half inch slices and fry (don't forget to spray your pan) over medium heat until it's nice and golden on both sides.

Place the fried polenta on your plate and top with the marinara.

Serve with some Sugar Peas and Roasted Garlic Hummus

And enjoy!