Archive for July, 2007
July 5, 2007· Filed under Family, Working from Home
For those of us who work from home, so much of our focus is on the kids. We openly discuss working from home with kids and we share lots of strategies, tips and techniques for making it through summers and holidays. But, what about the balance of working from home and our marriages?
As a work at home Mom I have the flexibility to work around the schedules of my children’s activities, sleep schedules, and need for Mommy time. The result is that often I get up early and work before they get up, and I know that many of us work after the kids go to sleep at night.
It is this fragmented work pattern that can leave me in a catch-22 of sorts. A lot of days I am faced with a choice - one I don’t always like to make - spend my evening doing work to earn money or spend my evening hanging out with my spouse.
And what about times when your spouse has the day off or the week off? How do you manage expectations? I can’t afford to put my business on hold every time my husband takes the day off or the week off.
While I have found that communication and compromise go a long way, this is still an area I struggle with! Some of the ways I have found to help maintain the balance include:
- Get a laptop and work while your spouse watches TV - at least you are in the same room and can have a conversation at the same time.
- If I know my husband will be off for a day or two I try to schedule a block of time for a family activity or a lunch date.
- Keep my husband informed of my successes and what I earn so that he can see the value of what I do.
Now, I’d like to get your input! What has worked for you and what has not?
July 4, 2007· Filed under Wordless Wednesdays
My silly, camera loving girl!
For more Wordless Wednesday fun, check out the WW hub.
July 3, 2007· Filed under Recipes
At one of our parties this past weekend one of the guests brought two trays of Texas Firecrackers - also known as stuffed jalepeno peppers. These were so good that I had to have the recipe - they were so good that the two trays were the first item on the table that was gone.
Texas Firecrackers
- 8 large jalapenos
- 1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese
- 1 cup cheddar cheese
- Dash of salt
- Dash of Garlic powder
- 8 slices of bacon
Makes 8 servings
Prep time 15 minutes, total time 40 minutes.
Be sure to take care when removing the seeds and ribs from jalapenos. Do not touch your face, or eyes after handling them. Thoroughly wash your hands and the work surface after preparation.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Split the peppers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and ribs.
- In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, the cheddar, garlic & salt .
- Stuff the pepper halves generously with the mixture.
- Cut bacon slices in half, wrap a piece around each pepper, or place on top.
- Place peppers on a sided baking sheet and bake 15 to 20 minutes or until the bacon appears crisp and the cheese is bubbly.
- Remove from oven, and let cool slightly before serving.
This recipe is versatile and foolproof, as long as you have the peppers and cream cheese it always turns out OK.
Enjoy!
July 2, 2007· Filed under Contests, Menu Plan Mondays, Monday Motivation
After a very busy, social weekend, I feel like I am just playing catch up today. Normally I get ready for the week ahead on Sunday evenings, but we were celebrating 4th of July with family and friends until way in to the evening. Then I had to teach at the gym this morning so I am just now really getting things knocked off my to-do list.
Normally I do a Menu Plan Monday post, but we have so many leftovers from the weekend, I am just going to point my crew in the direction of the fridge and say “good luck” if they tell me they are hungry.
And I thought about getting motivated and joining in on the Monday Motivation post at eMoms at Home, but my list is too long and I don’t know if I can hold myself to any sort of leverage today. I think I am just going to work until I drop - whatever doesn’t get done tonight will have no choice but to wait until tomorrow.
The blogging birthday bash at my other blog, Essential Keystrokes, was a hit and I just posted the list of winners. Now it’s time for me to enter a contest! The ladies at Pinks and Blues Girls Blog have another fantastic set of prizes to give away. I love the Vera Bradley bag and since I am such a purse girl, how could I pass it up? Plus, there is a Coconut Body Butter from The Body Shoppe to go with it - one of my favorite scents.
Here’s hoping that the rest of the week can be relatively quiet and I can get caught up!
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