So I FINALLY got around to doing some videos that walk you through my famous (in my own mind) binder system. I use these binders to keep our home running just a bit more smoothly and to keep my mind from exploding from the chaos of unorganized paperwork. 

I decided to go the video route in showing these because I realized if I typed out all of the info, my poor little fingertips would be blistered. And, also, a picture's worth a thousand words, right? 

These are not Oscar-worthy, make a bowl of popcorn, and be entertained videos. They are an informative peek into how I manage our home, plan our menus, and keep our finances in check. But, please....do enjoy them anyway. :)

In the build-up to all of those binder posts I've promised you, I bring you another calendar because, really, before you go all nutso at Staples buying binders and dividers, you really need to start with a good, workable calendar. 

The picture above is my first foray into using the InstaEditor app on my phone (thank you, Shawn M.H.!). It's also a picture of our family calendar. Pinterest and a whole mess of magazines and books call this a "Kitchen Command Center" because it's where all the important stuff is tidily kept and accessible to all family members. It's also typically located in the kitchen area. This is actually one of the very first ideas and one of the very best ideas I've found on Pinterest. We began using it about 2 1/2 years ago and we LOVE IT! The calendar is in front and easily viewable. Everyone has their very own folder to keep invites, mail, schedules, etc. No more lost papers! No more piles of mail on the kitchen counter! No more "Mom, have you seen my__________?" Well, I still get that, but it's no longer about paper stuff. ;)

Here's how you can make your own:

You'll need:

One hanging file basket. This is the one I bought: http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/748773/Realspace-Black-Leatherette-Hanging-File-Basket/

One hanging file folder for each member of your family. We are a family of five, so I have five. You can use the basic manila ones or you can use a different color for each person or you can do what I did and use whatever you have on hand. 

One calendar. You can find a TON of free printable 2015 calendars online by doing a quick Google search.

Two binder clips. The ones shown in my picture are HUGE. You really don't need to go this big. My first calendar had a spiral on it and I needed the clips to fit around it. I no longer bind my calendar so I could go down to a smaller size. It would probably look better. 

That's it! Easy peasy! Once you have your supplies together, it will take about two seconds to set up your new "command center". Simple, functional, and it looks great, too! 

Okay, that title sounds a wee bit dramatic. This fancy schmancy calendar didn't really save my life, but it did make me a little too excited to write down the times for music lessons and events and dentist appointments. 

It's the beginning of a new year and if you're looking for a new way to keep track of your day, I strongly recommend this planner. I've used A LOT of calendars/planners in my life and I used them religiously each year until around the month of February. And then things started slipping. But well over a year ago, I discovered this little gem and wonders of wonders...I used it past February, past March, and then summer happened and I was still using it. And I was still loving it. So now I'm on my second planner and the love is just as strong. In the video below, I walk you through my planner. Please don't think you have to use yours just like mine. I get a little (A LOT) nuts with the stickers and such. If after watching, you decide that you need one, too, use the link below to save yourself a few ($10) bucks. I mention in the video that these are spendy, but maybe I think that because I'm a bit of a cheapskate. However, for me, the cost was worth it. 

Enjoy the video and try to ignore how many times I say "um". This whole YouTube video thing is still quite stressful for me. I spent 13 minutes making the video and 5 times as long trying to figure out how to edit it because around 9 1/2 minutes in, I accidentally say, "sticker sh*ts" instead of "sticker sheets". So embarrassing...

Here's the link: https://www.erincondren.com/referral/invite/katherinemorris0206

Years ago, there was a Thanksgiving-ish episode of The West Wing where a local turkey grower sent two turkeys over to The White House. The Press Secretary (C.J. Cregg) was supposed to choose the most photogenic of the two turkeys and that would be the lucky guy to receive the President's pardon and live the remainder of his life at a petting zoo. The other turkey would be sold and eaten for Thanksgiving dinner. Let me pause for a moment and confess that if I were a turkey and had a choice between a lifetime of being man-handled by two year olds or a quick death, I'd choose death. Every time. Back to The White House...So C.J. chooses Eric because Troy doesn't like to be touched which is a wise choice because, you know, those petting zoo kiddos. But to keep Troy off the chopping block, she offers to buy him and learns that his selling price is $275. Yes. For a turkey. Because he was specially raised. (C.J. incredulously asks, "At the Waldorf?") 

I watched this episode when it first aired back in November 2000 and I've watched it a few times since then because I love The West Wing. And each time when it comes to the part where the turkey price is named, I always have the same thought....what kind of moron would spend almost 300 bucks on a turkey?? Well, now I have my answer. That would be me. I'm the moron.

So last May, I headed on down to the local feed store to buy a chive plant for my new herb garden. Nothing else was on my list. Just a chive plant. And for reasons I cannot even begin to explain, I walked out of that store with my chive plant and an impulse buy of a $2 baby turkey. Upon returning to The Homestead, the conversation went something like this:

The Husband: Whatcha got there?
Me: It's a baby turkey.
The Husband: Please tell me you're kidding.
Me: Nope. We're going to raise it for Thanksgiving. It's going to be awesome. 
The Husband: It's not going to be awesome. 
Me: It IS going to be awesome. By the way, I've named him "Lincoln" because we're going to                     assassinate him.
The Husband: What is wrong with you??

I set up Lincoln's new digs in the laundry room. My chicken lady (and now my turkey lady) at the feed store told me to keep him inside for about two weeks or so before I put him out with the chickens. He lasted 5 days. He was loud. He stank. And he kept escaping out of his home and using my beautiful laundry room as a toilet. So outside he went. 

From May until Thanksgiving, Lincoln roamed the orchard with the chickens. He ate with the chickens, he slept with the chickens, and he believed with all of his little turkey heart that he was, in fact, a chicken. He also pooped. A lot. Everywhere. He pooped inside the coop. He pooped on top of the coop. He pooped in the waterer. He pooped on the chickens. And one time, in a complete act of defiance, he pooped on my foot. This was a turkey who didn't want to be pardoned. 

He did only one thing more than poop. He ate. Like a beast. By the time Thanksgiving rolled around, Lincoln had gone through around $275 in organic, non-gmo turkey food. And he was HUGE. After having bought Lincoln, fed Lincoln, and made my kids clean up after Lincoln, I gave the chore of "offing" Lincoln to The Husband. I told him I wanted no part in this and that I didn't want to see Lincoln again until he looked like he came from the grocery store meat department. The Husband enlisted the help of his dad who enlisted the help of his brother (The Husband's uncle) who was probably less than thrilled to be roped into this. 

I won't go into the gratuitous dirty details of it all, but it did involve a hatchet, a burlap sack, and extensive YouTube watching. The Uncle supervised from a safe distance and The Dad-In-Law held onto Lincoln whilst The Husband "did the deed". Here's what they learned: Turkeys are actually similar to chickens in that they truly do "run around like a chicken with its head chopped off". And Lincoln would have done just that except my dad-in-law was holding him. Except he wasn't holding him so much as he was riding him like a bull at the rodeo. No 8 Seconds to Glory for this guy. He went a full 90 seconds while holding on for dear life. 

After watching many YouTube videos on this entire project, it was deemed necessary to buy a blowtorch to help in the plucking. So now we're out $275 in feed and blowtorch money. Of course, none of them read the directions which said "Remove Directions Before Using" so as a fun surprise, they had bits of burning paper flying around near the garage where the gasoline and paint thinner are kept. I wasn't a part of this so I cannot speak as to what all happened out there in the garage, but an hour or so later, I was told, "It is done."

Lincoln was displayed on a table in the garage and he would have looked like a grocery store turkey if he didn't weigh over 45 pounds!! One look told me he was not going to fit in my oven. Upon hearing my dismay, my cousin quipped, "Lincoln's Final Revenge: You can kill me...you just can't cook me!"  After going through The Five Stages of Grief, I finally arrived at Acceptance. Lincoln was not going to be a Martha Stewart turkey displayed in the center of the Thanksgiving dinner table surrounded by kale and grapes. So we cut him in half. One half went on the gas grill and the other half went into the newly purchased counter top roaster I had to buy because I still couldn't find a pan big enough for half of a Lincoln. (If you're keeping track, we're now out $275 in feed, blowtorch money, and now the money spent on the biggest non-commercial grade roaster on the market. We have surpassed the cost of a White House-worthy bird.) 

We had a big ol' Thanksgiving dinner with family and everyone took home Leftover Lincoln. We ate on him for three more days and then the rest of him was divided up into dinner-sized portions and put in the freezer. A few days later, Chuckles went to get something out of the freezer and was darkly amused to see that I had labeled the freezer bags "Lincoln 11/2014". 

The question I've been asked the most is "But how did he taste?" 
He was tasty. ;) 

The follow-on question is "Will you do this again?"
Not in a million years. 

Below are Lincoln's Before and After and In Between photos:

I love big box warehouse stores. I love wandering around oohing and aahing at all of the new products. I love finding out that I do, in fact, need a box of 7,450 post-it notes. But above all else, I love the samples.

Because of The Husband's work, we've moved around a lot in our marriage. Like a lot a lot. And I cannot explain the ecstasy I feel when I find we are moving to a place with a Sam's Club or Costco or BJ's. With this last and final move (seriously, I'm never ever moving again until I'm dead and buried), we now live 9.39 miles from the nearest Costco. Or 16.67 miles if I'm on the other side of the closest "big" town. Or 18.91 miles if I want to go over into the next state to avoid the sales tax. 

Here's a bit of background on my most recent experience......

Chuckles is entering his junior year of college and is FINALLY able to escape the mandatory dorm lifestyle and the even worse mandatory meal plan. So before he drove himself back to school, I took him to Costco to load up on nonperishables, toiletries, and post-it notes. 

And here's my story:

Scene: Costco (the one 9.39 miles away from The Homestead)
Players: Chuckles, Yogurt Sample Chick, and Yours Truly

Me: I'm so hungry I could eat my own arm. Oooh! Samples!!

Chuckles:  (He doesn't say a whole bunch in this narrative. He mostly rolls his eyes and then, towards the end, laughs so hard he hyperventilates....this inappropriate public guffawing is actually not how he got his nickname.)

Me: Yogurt. Meh. Oooh! Almond chocolate yogurt! 

(Sidebar: At this "sample station" there are three flavors of yogurt available: peach, berry, and almond chocolate. The Yogurt Sample Chick has a beautifully organized tray containing all three samples in front of her. In front of that tray, is another tray with one sad little berry sample sitting there all by itself. I don't want the berry, I want one of those tasty almond chocolate ones. So I ask.....)

Me: Hello! May I please try the almond chocolate?
YSC (Yogurt Sample Chick): No.
Me: I'm sorry...did you say, "No"?
YSC: No. It's not ready yet.
Me: So I can't try the almond one?
YSC: No.
Me: Because it's not ready? 
YSC: It's not ready yet.
Me: Can I have any sample? Or is it just the almond one I can't have?
YSC: You can have this one. (points to last berry sample on tray)
Me: Okay. Here's the thing....I'm not crazy about berry-flavored food so can I please just try the almond chocolate one?

(Another Sidebar: this aversion to berry-flavors is mostly a taste thing, but it has gone into hyperdrive ever since I read an article that claimed most berry-flavored food items are infused with something called "castoreum" which is basically a mixture North American Beavers make with a secretion from their castor sacs and their urine. So...yeah...pretty gross) 

YSC: No. It's not ready yet.
Me: I don't understand. Do you need to cook it or something?
YSC: No. It's not ready yet. (points to the berry one again)
Me: Okay. So the only sample I can take is this berry one? Is that correct?
YSC: Yes.

(I grudgingly take the berry one. At this point, Chuckles is unsuccessfully trying to hide his laughter. YSC removes the empty tray and slides the 2nd (full) tray forward.)

Me: Are those ready now?
YSC: Yes. They are ready.
Me: Okay. So can I try the almond chocolate one now?
YSC: No. You've already had your sample.

(We now have to leave the sample station because Chuckles is laughing so hard that he sounds like he's having a hard time breathing and he may be choking on his own tongue.)

END SCENE

You know how you feel when you should have called a friend a LOOOOOONG time ago, but now SOOOOOOOO much time has passed that you're honestly embarrassed and have to decide whether or not to just let the friendship die and pretend it never happened or suck it up, make the call, and try to salvage it? Yeah....that's how I'm feeling right now about this blog. I'm embarrassed. I should have kept up with it. I made bold promises and then bailed. I'm a slug. I'm sorry. Truly.

I'm calling a "do-over". Let's just all pretend that my last post wasn't FOUR MONTHS ago. Okay? Are we all good with that? Awesome!

So here's what we've been up to:

We finished the first year of our return to the fabulous land of homeschooling. All in all, I'm calling it a success. I think Babygirl and Beans would agree. As soon as I'm done writing this post, I'll post the recent YouTube videos I shot in which I review the curriculum we used this past year. (I promise I'll do this straight away. Like really promise this time. Pinky swear.) 

Chuckles came home for a bit after finishing his sophomore year at college. I cannot express the joy I feel whenever he comes home for a visit. He also left his teenage years behind him and turned 20. Good grief, I'm old. 

Babygirl continues to amaze me. She isn't perfect, but she's pretty darn close to it. I know I'm one of those rare mothers who loves being around a teenage girl and I am grateful. Shortly after turning 17 this summer, she and Chuckles took off on a cross country road trip to where Chuckles attends school. He needed to drive a car back and she went with him to share in the driving and to have fun with her pals from where we used to live. 

Beans spent the summer watching SpongeBob. I jest. He did watch quite a bit of that, but he also reveled in a vacation with his cousins, weeks of day camp at an area rec center, and a surprise visit from two of his best friends from our previous home.

We had a bunch of company this summer, a family reunion, and The Husband's first summer of our new garden was bountiful. He has put an impressive amount of work into this area and it's rewarding to reap the benefits. 

More homestead news: Our "baby" chicks are now bonafide egg layers. Sunshine, one of our older chickens, went and died on us which caused great sadness. And Lincoln The Turkey has joined the menagerie of animals at the homestead.

AND...... I spent just under three glorious weeks travelling around Europe (England and Germany with a touch of Belgium, France, and Luxembourg thrown in for extra fun) with one of my unquestionably favorite people. Over 30 years ago, she and I sat on her bed with travel books, a Eurail guide, and a map of Germany spread out before us. We didn't manage to execute our plans after high school graduation as we'd hoped, but better late than never. Definitely. 

That's about it, I think. We go back to school in a few days so I'm busy getting everything ready. Our school room looks like Amazon vomited all over it. I finished making this year's planner and now I just need to actually write the information in it. (I did a video for that, too, and will post it today. Again....I PROMISE!)

Thanks for reading and I'll write again soon....before another four months have gone by. I promise. :)