Christmas for the office

We wanted to do something for the office staff where S spends part of his time each week. I needed things that were not too sweet and also would be something that S could easily carry to the office since he would have to carry it on the public transportation.

I made banana bread and pumpkin muffins. My banana bread is an old family recipe except I cut the sugar in half. That is such a good way to use up the old bananas that get thrown in the freezer. The pumpkin is from a can but when I open the can I put it in 1/2 cup containers and freeze it so I can make muffins or whatever.

I made some cute easy little cards for S to give to various staff.

It was a hit at the office. In fact, I was asked to give a price list for baked goods for staff meetings and other functions.

Gift Bags

Last week was the Mom's group Christmas tea. This event is the only time that we have a craft or activity for the mom's. I guess someone thought I was creative and so I was asked to come up with an idea.

I thought about a few things and even tried to make the folded star ball ornament but decided that was too labour intensive and had too much instructions. I asked for some suggestions on a forum and someone suggested gift bags.

I put a few samples together and then took supplies and everyone was very creative. It was fun to see what they put together.

I think it was a fun time and it did fulfill the desire for something easy, without lots of instructions, could be done in 30 minutes or so and something that everyone could use.

Now I have three gift bags. I need to find some gifts to put in the bags.

A new Giveaway

A fun giveaway. Oh, my does this look great.

My latest bag

If you know me, you know I love bags. I found these directions but just like I do with my cooking and changing recipes. I did that with the bag as well. Maybe the size given in the instructions works if you are putting the bag in your car but I don't do that and it was too long for me. Also I didn't have double sided fusible fleece so I used some quilting batting that I had and made my handles a different way.

I have not yet tried to make the little pouch that the bag can be stored in but want to try that.

Here is one of the bags that I made and I do think it is cute. Don't tell but the next time I am going to make the handles a bit further apart.

Ornament Exchange

Years ago I enjoyed being part of an ornament exchange. You would make the the same ornament for everyone in the group and then exchange. One of the forums had an exchange and I decided to join in the fun.

Well, the first thing in an ornament exchange is to figure out what to make. I wanted my ornament to reflect me. Plus it had to be something simple cause that is me and had to use things that I had because I was not spending a day to run to the craft store. Ribbon is easy to buy and I did purchase a yard of that.

I had some Chinese silk that I bought and decided to try something with that. You would not believe how difficult it is to find a free pattern online but I finally found one.

Here are my first attempts. I tried with the red fabric first. It is not as stiff as the teal. I didn't like the way they looked. I think some of those were with a modified try to make myself pattern. I thought maybe it was the thin fabric so I tried the stiff teal fabric. They look like field hockey sticks and not stockings.

I showed them to a friend for her opinion and she decided that the red were cute and I think they have a bit more of a Christmas spirit. So I opened the Christmas stocking factory in our house. I did not use any child labour in the production or assembly of these stockings. These do not contain lead but then again I didn't get them tested.

Here is the finished product. Of course, every stocking needs to be stuffed and so I stuffed these plus it makes them look a bit fuller.
I mailed them off and can't wait to see what I get.

Week in Review 11/30

This week's Memory Verse is F:

"For the wages of sin is death."

The book that we are using has short passages for 3 year olds and so we are doing that and then later we will go through and add the rest of the verse.

Colours - I got tired of the 4 colours (3 primary colours plus green) so I added orange. We made orange water and then spent some time matching orange things. She can't say orange but she can read it and put the orange things on that card.

Reading - We have been working with sight words but being able to read individual words is not reading so we made some sentences. Okay, my ESL teacher background comes out -- "Put the subject down, here is the verb, now the object." K drinks milk. and then we change the object K drinks water or we change the subject Daddy drinks milk. We don't bother with momma drinks milk because that is not true. When we started reading drinks K couldn't say the word but now she has something that sounds like drinks. This encourages me to keep going and to teach her new words.

Concepts - we have been working on big and small as well as circle - still need some work but that is okay.

Letters - we are continuing to review these since that is what we are to be doing in the lesson plans.

Montessori learning - I really like the practical life and sensory learning of Montessori. I have collected and made some things over the past few years. My favourite book is a very easy one to read Teaching Montessori in the Home The Preschool Years. We decided to add a few of those activities into our week. This week we worked on pouring rice. We still need to practice a bit more. It is a good activity because it requires careful movement in the pouring - we are learning to pour and not dump.

I don't think I have any pictures from this week. I will have to make sure that next week I get some pictures to include.

Not missing much

Yesterday daddy found Miss K's big ball and said "next time we will have to take this ball to the playground." Miss K replied, "way, way" and ran to get her Crocs which is what she usually wears to the playground.

She seems to have a radar that tells her if there is a playground within 50 feet. Yesterday walking through a park she said "way, way" and today following our weekly fellowship she saw the playground.

She knows that Maxim's sells Cheese breadsticks. Okay, she has not figured that there is more than one Maxim's in town. We won't tell her that. As we walk past the one that she does know she will whine which is she is not delayed in, and I will give her a $10 coin and she will pay for the breadsticks and then carry them to the train.

Week in Review - 11/23

The struggle of this week was our schedule. We didn't get as many days of school. I can't say it was because of the holiday since we don't celebrate Thanksgiving here.

Our verse was E - "Even a child is know by his doings."

Letters - I am having to adapt the learning because K can't quite do the worksheets and she knows most of her letters. I think we tested her the other day and the only ones she doesn't know are V, J, and L. I think her favourite letter is M.

Math - she is now counting 1 to 5. She can also tell you that she is three. We worked on circles.

We are still reviewing our words and beginning to make sentences -- K drinks milk. K drinks water. Daddy drinks milk. She can read mouth and face.

This week I pulled out some shape puzzle pieces and she spent some time working on this. She did this with just a bit of help from me.

I know her face is dirty. She had been painting with the watercolours and is not a neat artist.

I did find a sticker workbook and we are going to try that as it does not require writing. The first two she was able to do.

Happy Thanksgiving

Here are some simple and pretty Happy Thanksgiving cards I made to send greetings to those far and away.I used some of the ribbon from the garment district. I love shopping for ribbon there especially now that I have organized it and know what I have.

The Trees from Dr. Suess

These tress just looked like they came from a Dr. Suess book. Maybe it was there that he got his inspiration. We saw these this past summer when we were in the USA. I think talking about books and reading reminded me of them.

Books and more books

Kelly at Where There's a Will just hosted Get Caught Reading featuring DS children reading.

I had to pick just two pictures which was very hard.







As you can see books are a big part of Miss K's life. She loves them and so do we. We have shelves and shelves of books.

Week in Reveiw - Week 4

The memory verse for this week was "D" Draw nigh to God and he will draw night to you.

We introduced the word "yellow" this week. K knows the colour but now we are working on reading the word and matching to that colour.

We continued to review body parts words, family, and colours.

I am having to rethink how I do the next lessons. This week we began to introduce the letters and take a day to learn the letter. K knows most of her letters so I might just skip ahead.

We are working on counting and I think she can repeat 1 to 5.

We worked on same and different. We match the cards from a memory game and also match the pieces from animal dominoes.

I am learning to take where she is and also the things that she enjoys and see if I can include it into our learning. She loves Pooh. I wanted to test following directions and drawing circles. So I put Pooh, Roo, Tigger, and Eeyore stickers on a paper and then she listened as I told her to circle each one. She did it.
We also worked on learning circles this week. This is a sheet that I put together for her. This summer when we were home I bought some 3M laminating pouches which do not require heat. I made a few different worksheets copying them on cardstock and then using the laminating pouch. She uses the washable crayons and we just wipe them off and practice again.
Speech this week included big and small, the colour blue, matching colours to words, snack time, and playing outside.

That was our week. Oh, we are working on the calendar just putting a sticker on each day. Even though it might not seem that she understands I am sure quite a bit she is understanding and it will come out someday.

Who is on your "god shelf"?

Most homes or businesses will have a "god shelf" a place where they have an idol or maybe an offering to the god. It is common to see these all around the city. Most of the gods are not beautiful rather they are scary. The other day I was walking home from the supermarket and found these two "gods" along the street sitting with incense. Hmm, I actually recognize those gods. I pondered as I walked home and began to wonder if they were the god of materialism and pleasure. I wonder if those are gods on my "god shelf". Am I looking for pleasure and placing that up high as something I worship and desire. I think instead of pleasure I should be willing to make sacrifices so that God's name will be proclaimed. Maybe it is the god of materialism, the long wish list, the things I dream of having. There is nothing wrong with things but am I content with what God has given me.

I have been pondering who is on my "god shelf". I pray that the God that is there is the true and living God, the creator of heaven and earth. My heart's desire is also that those living here will come to know that God and put away the other gods.

Lunch to Go

Our Sundays are packed and time for lunch just doesn't exist unless you consider grabbing something at McD's lunch. K doesn't quite handle a sandwich so I took a lesson from the Japanese and tried to create a little Bento type lunch for her. It is also nice because she can hold the box and sit in the stroller and eat it.

Birthday Flowers

I forgot to show you the flowers that my loving husband gave me for my birthday. I love bouquets with lots of colour. These were in a small okay for Asia small heart shape box. Most of the bouquets seem to be big and not made to put in a vase. I love being able to take a picture. That lasts longer than the flowers.

Well Stocked

Mom, this picture is just for you. You taught me how to fill a freezer and a refrigerator as well. My freezer is small compared to American sizes but I can fit quite a bit in there. Coffee, ice cream, pumpkin in 1/2 cup containers for muffins, bixed berries, homemade breakfast sausage, homemade tortillas that someone gave me, bananas for smoothies, bread or muffins, spices which you can't see cause they are on the door so the bugs don't get into them, all kinds of dried beans, chicken, beef, spinach which I can buy all the time at the store and I love keeping it one hand, pizza dough and many other things. Maybe it is time to clean out the freezer.

Week in Review 11/9

This week we finished the 3rd week which is also the first unit.

Our verse for this week was C Children obey your parents in the Lord. We did some obedience training as well.

Reading - we are reviewing the words and adding some body parts. She almost has some of those words. She can't say the part except for elbow which is very cute but we have things that we do so we know that she is reading the word -- touch your nose, stick your tongue out (I know I might regret that later), etc. She also can read milk but it sounds more like belk we will even do the mmm sound and out comes belk.

Math - we started the calendar. Okay, I don't think she gets much out of that but we put a sticker on the day. Knowing her something is sticking in there. We also did top and bottom which we need to review and some sorting.

We have some coloured blocks with letters, numbers, pictures on them. I decided to use those for sorting colours -- wrong idea she was too busy telling me the various letter sounds.

Letters and letters sounds is her favourite thing.

On Fridays she has speech at a friend's house. Today we put leaves on a tree, feathers on a turkey, and did a few other activities. We are working to get her to make choices.

On Thursdays we go to Little Gym which gives her some PT and works on gross motor skills. She is climbing more since we started that. She will walk the balance beam if you hold her hand. She is beginning to try to hold the bar.

Next week we are going to do a bit of a review and begin the unit on letter sounds.

That was our week.

Defining Moment

It is interesting to hear how other people define you. I am part of a wonderful forum and recently we were defining each other. So here is how I was defined.

so giving.
a great mama
has a wonderful sense of humor, and is so thoughtful
is so thoughtful!
good sense of humor
understatedly hilarious

I find it funny that humor and hilarious are mentioned. I don't think of myself as that funny but I guess others do.

K3 Week in Review - 11/2

I have a new goal and that is to post a review of our school week each week. You might find it interesting but it helps me to remember and organize what we did.

I have dabbled in preschool with Miss K for some time. After she learned to read her name on her own and has learned quite a number of letter sounds, I decided it was time to get serious. I also realized that if we were in the States and if I wanted to utilize the system there that she would be going to school. Yikes, I don't want her to get behind (that is said in jest because I don't think she is behind, she is on K's schedule).

BJU Press has a pilot K4 and K5 program that has been written for Special Needs Kids. I decided to get the K4 and start it.

Week 1 was basic -- her name, daddy, momma, introduce red and blue. She knows her colours so we moved that to reading red and blue and matching items to the word instead of to a cup/bowl of that colour. Our memory verse for the week was "A". I am using a very old like the age of my brothers old copy of Bible Memory Associations A,B,C's memory book.

Things to review/learn - left and right. Just something that we will come back to later.

Week 2 we continued to review those items as well as added green just because we were getting bored of just bed and blue. We also spent time learning about "Me" -- senses and my body. We looked at pictures, listened to music, felt things, smelled things, and sang "Oh, Be Careful" a number of times.

At the end of this week she can read -- her name, momma (except at times I am still Boo-boo-boo which is what she calls me she can say momma but that is what you say when you need help or are stuck), daddy, red, blue, and eyes.

Here she is matching the colours. The weather changed from last week to this week. Doesn't this dress just make her look like she should be going to school.

Things we need to review or learn -- ankle and wrist -- she knows all the other body parts but those were on the list. I am not sweating that. I just have to add that she can say "elbow" and it very cute to hear her say it.

These are our smelling bottles. I love old film cases. They are so good for so many things.

New Number

I have a new number today. Hmm, should I tell you what that number is? Maybe, I need to think about that.

Today is my birthday. I can't say that I am doing any special to celebrate today. We went to church this morning and then had our ESL class. I did spend some time yesterday with a friend, we went for a foot massage and then lunch. My husband gave me flowers. I have a picture but Blogger is not co-operating.

I do think that each day is a blessing from the Lord and that each year is a milestone of the Lord's faithfulness. I have so many things to be thankful for this year.

I also have a great aunt that is celebrating her 97th birthday today. I am 55 years younger. There you can do the math. My great aunt served many years in Central America. A few years ago she had a stroke and how is in a wheelchair but she spends her days writing letters on the typewriter, praying, and even making a baby dress for a friend's baby. I am her special birthday girl because I was born on her birthday. She has been a wonderful example to me of someone who has lived life in Joy. Happy Birthday to you.

I am looking forward to the Lord's blessings and gifts of this coming year.

Flexibility, bending, adjusting

I was talking with a good friend the other week about the need to be flexible when living overseas. I know flexibility is needed no matter where you live but it is highly necessary for survival when living overseas.

I think of flexibility as the ability to adjust and change plans, meals, without complaining.

I am a planner. My husband has learned that and knew when he married me. I like to get up in the morning and know the plan for the day. I like to know what we will be doing next year. I don't like surprises. I like to plans my meals for the week and follow that plan. That doesn't always work because you go to the store looking for manadrin oranges after all aren't they grown here but nope, not today. I could actually give you a long list of things that I go to the store looking for and they are out but that is not the point of this. The point is learning to be flexible. Sometimes for meals that does require some thinking and even creative cooking.

Plans change, meals change, travel holds people up, stores are out of stock, and a number of other things all give opportunities to practice flexibility.

This is something that I am still working on especially the without complaining part.

A Community

It was not a community that I had planned to join but one that happened. It has been an encouraging, supportive, informative, and great community. It is the parents are relatives of Down Syndrome children. I think back to the many people through these years that have been there.
My friend had a dear friend with a DS son.
Our teammate who became Aunt B has a nephew 10 years younger than she with DS.
My sister-in-law has a nephew with DS.
One of K's first babysitter had an uncle with DS.

Then through the years that has been a connection. Parents that have opened and shared their experiences, what they have learned, listen to your fears and concerns, and understand. The other week Miss K and I met with a family visiting here with a DS son about 10 months younger than K. For those of us living overseas it is a blessing to meet someone who is in the same situation that we are.

I have also had some online community as well. Even before K came home from the hospital, I had joined a Yahoo Homeschooling DS children group. They welcomed me knowing that it would be some time until I would formally start homeschooling. I have learned so much from them. One of those friends even sent me the K4 curriculum that has been developed for special needs children.

It wasn't the community I planned to join but I am very thankful for the support and friendship that I have found in this community.

My Latest DIY

Here in Asia DIY is the big there. It is one of those English phrases that I don't hear in the English speaking world but hear here. Do it yourself which is a big thing here. People are beginning to do it yourself. Instead of calling an electrician to change the light bulb you do it yourself. Yes, that was something you called an electrician. Okay, I have DIY that for a long time or I ask my husband to do it.

Well, my latest project was making instant stove top stuffing. You know like they sell in the red box in the grocery store except here they don't sell it in the grocery store so it is a DIY project. I made cranberry chicken in the crock pot and we decided that stuffing would taste good. I dug around and found a recipe I had gotten from a magazine. I think it was Taste of Home. Anyway, it was very easy. You make a seasoning mix -- I had all the ingredients on hand for that. Okay, I used up my celery flakes and I don't think they sell those here so I might have to make my own for the next time. It said to cube the bread but I was afraid to do enough for 4 batches which is how much the seasoning mix makes. I feared I would have moldy cubes. I did enough for 1 batch. I cubed it and put it on a tray to dry.

I came home from Little Gym, boiled water, added some butter and the seasoning and then mixed the bread cubes, put the lid on after 5 minutes fluffed it with a fork. It was so easy and tasted good. No preservatives. The bread was homemade and I mixed the seasoning myself.

What other meals can I make and have stuffing as a side dish?

Here is the recipe:

Instant Stuffing Mix

½ cups plus 1 tablespoon dried celery flakes

3 tablespoons dried minced onion

3 tablespoons dried parsley flakes

2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules

1 ½ teaspoons poultry seasoning

¾ teaspoons rubbed sage

10-1/2 cups dried bread cubes (about 24 slices) or unseasoned croutons

Additional Ingredients

1 cup water

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

In a small resealable plastic bag, combine the first six ingredients; mix well. Place the bread cubes in a large resealable plastic bag; add the small seasoning bag. Store in a cool dry place for up to 1 year.

Yield 3 batches.

To prepare stuffing: In a large saucepan, combine water, butter and 1/3 cup seasoning mix. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add 3-1/2 cups bread cubes; stir just to moisten. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Yield 2-4 servings per batch.

My latest find

Yesterday my friend and I went to a tourist shopping area. We wandered and bought a few things but my favourite find of the day was this colourful scarf. Hey, D, does that look like it could be in Shanghai Tang? It reminded me of the things we have seen there but knew we could not afford. It is colourful, bright, beautiful and so silky. Just had to share this.

Making Memories

Last week Bo went traveled to where we used to live. He need to pick-up some papers. I wanted to send some Miss K pictures to our dear friend there. I am really enjoying doing small books and so I decided to make a small scrapbook for her. It was one big long piece of paper. One side was pictures from the past year. and the other side were pictures from the first 2 years of her life.




I enjoyed making it and I know Auntie LL is enjoying having it in her office to show various friends that visit her.

What's Happening

I know I have not posted much recently. I have been busy with various things around the house. I will try to catch up on a few things that I have done.

I did make another batch of ketchup last night. This time I made a double recipe and put a bit less vinegar in it and also less sugar.

I made some pear butter last week in the crockpot. I found cheap pears at the grocery store. They were cheap because they were bruised. It was so easy to make them in the crockpot. I bought some more pears and peaches because I realized that is cheaper than buying Smucker's Simply Fruit.

I made hummus the other week. That is so easy with the food processor. We use that for dip with our veggies.

One of our favorite fun meals is quesadillas. My recipe includes a cooked potato grated as well as cheese. I did make my own tortillas. They were good and a bit better than the store ones. I don't yet have the feel for rolling them out. I guess I need more practice.
I love the salsa that I made to go with them. It is yummy but only lasts about 24 hours and it doesn't taste as good.
I also made a pizza for Miss K. I found the idea on this website http://www.toddlertoddler.com/archivedactivities.htm and bartered for some felt. I had bought some felt while we were home but didn't buy white. So I bartered necklaces from the Jade Market for felt. It is easy to go to the Jade Market and difficult to go to Spotlight where I know they will have felt.

What's Cooking - Sept 24

I am cooking and even more do planning what I am cooking.

Monday - leftovers for Miss K and I as S had a meeting
Tuesday - Orange Chicken Leg Quarters - it is a new Crockpot recipe.
Wednesday - dinner out -- it is our anniversary and I am not cooking
Thursday - Beef 'n peppers another crockpot recipe
Friday - leftovers for Miss K and I as S has language class

One of the things that I bought this summer was the Fix-it and Forget-it Cookbook. I was also recently blessed with a 220 to 110 power converter for my kitchen so I can use the crockpot in the kitchen and not the office. Except today it is in the office because I need an adapter for the plug.

For more great ideas check out http://orgjunkie.blogspot.com/

Get out the fork

I made English muffins. We need the fork to split them so we can get all the nooks and crannies. I have been thinking about making them but just never got around to it until today when I decided that Sunday we are going to have English muffin pizzas for dinner and so that meant I had to make English muffins. I can buy them -- 4 in a pack and they are expensive or I can travel an hour and buy a pack of Thomas' English muffins that have been frozen and pay even more.

This was easy. I made the dough in my bread machine. The recipe came from the More with Less cookbook.I used a glass to cut them out because I didn't really have anything big enough.
The recipe said to fry for 8 minutes on a side but it took less than that. Maybe it was my super hot ready to stir-fry burner.
Yes, they look like real English muffins and taste like them as well.

Wordless Wendesday

The girls were having fun that afternoon. Miss K is going to grow up hearing, Oh, K, your hair.

Red, White & Blue Ribbon

I had some ribbon that I bought at the fabric market area. I decided to try to make a hairbow for Miss K. I had found a wonderful website giving all directions for all kinds of bows. I kinda followed the directions and kinda did what I wanted to do. I found the perfect size barretts for her thin hair and didn't have wire except for my beading wire so I grabbed some quilting thread and used that to stitch it up a bit where you can't see.

I think it looks cute and it does stay in her hair. She loved it and didn't want to take it out at bedtime but did and then wanted me to wear it.

Finished

I always enjoy when I get a project finished. I made a quilt for Miss K's baby. Since our napkins, towels or whatever she could find have been used as blankets I decided it was time to make a quilt for her. This is truly a patchwork quilt. I had started years ago when a fun activity was to go through my mom's scrap box making a patchwork quilt. Well, that quilt never was finished and actually since I started that I learned quite a bit about quilting like you need straight lines and seams and the pieces should be uniform. I decided to cut that quilt apart and make K's baby's quilt.I did most of the quilting while we were traveling in the States. I finished the binding last week. Hopefully baby will like it.

Offering of Service

Have you ever had tears in your eyes during church? I did the other Sunday. It wasn't the during the singing or even the sermon but rather the announcements. The announcement was not a sad one rather one giving an opportunity to get involved and serve. It was an announcement of needing teachers to help teach ESL class for students studying here. In addition to teaching ESL we will be opening the Bible and sharing with them about God. For many it is probably the first time that they have heard this. That is the reason that we live here. That was on my mind this morning and also the fact that I really need to work on the ESL lessons. K and I walked well, I walked and she rode in the stroller to the grocery store, and I pondered Sunday, the upcoming class and a few other things.

I noticed that today must be something special, a day of offerings to the gods.

Notice the fruit, buns, and incense. Look at what they are giving. Jesus didn't ask for our bread rather he said, "I am the bread of life."
At first I thought it was just some garbage that someone left but I noticed the open water bottle. I think this god might be vegetarian. In the bag were bean sprouts and tofu. Jesus said, "I am the living water."

For me it was another comparison of the living God and the one made with hands. God does ask for us to give him something, our lives. We are to serve him. My husband and I are here so that we can do that tell people about Jesus who is the bread of life and the living water.

This summer I read an excellent book, Faith of Our Fathers God in Ancient China. It was written by a Chinese and actually published first in Chinese and then translated into English. I read the English version. It gave me a basic understanding of Chinese history and a deep understanding of Shang-di and his role in the history of China. It was Shang-di that the ancient Chinese worshipped. So now my prayer is that the people will return to worshiping Shang-di.

Well, I better begin my service and start working on those ESL lessons.

Fun and more fun

I like things nice and neat. I colour in the lines. I have a 3 year old who enjoys having fun and often that fun involves something dirty. I am learning that it is good for her to do those things. I try to tell myself that it is therapy. I can convince my husband to buy just about anything if I say "it is for therapy." Now if I could just get the Circut for therapy I would be happy. I will ponder that one but I need to get back to the topic of having fun 3 year old style.

She had fun finger painting. That was a mess. I didn't have any nice washable finger paints. I can't find them in the stores here. I found a recipe online and tried that. I think we still have finger paint on the highchair. She had fun.

We tried the cooked spaghetti art. I think it must work better on construction paper than on some of my scrapbook paper. We picked up noodles off the floor for a few days as they fell off the picture.
If any notices, she does have other clothing. I think that outfit had gotten stained and so we wear that all the time around the house.

I am trying to put aside myself and do thinks that I know my daughter will enjoy and hey, it is therapy. I did stock up on art supplies when we were home. We now have washable finger paint. We tried it this morning and it was great.

Little things that change your world

When we moved in we went to Ikea and bought a dish drainer. It was the best one we could find. It had to be assembled and I remember working to screw it all together. Well, it didn't take long for me to decide that I didn't like it. It didn't have a drain tray so water just collected under it. I lost a few mugs on it as they tumbled off and my tile floor is not allowing of things dropping and remaining the same.

I began to dream of a nice small dish drainer that had a tray to hold water and sides and even some place to put the silverware. It sounds simple and so easy to get but did you know that Amazon does not ship those internationally. We did find a tray that helped but not completely. A dish drainer was on the top of my shopping list when we went home.

That new dish drainer changed my life. For a day or two I enjoyed washing dishes. I loved having the water collect in the tray, having a place to put the silverware and have sides all the way around it. After a few days the wonder wore off and now I am back to washing dishes because they are dirty and we need clean dishes or because I need to cook and need to find my counter space.

Leftovers for Breakfast

If you are thinking about pizza, forget it. My husband will not eat cold pizza. He will not eat it for lunch or for breakfast. I will and have on various occasions. But I am referring to something else. We love fajitas. It is a favorite meal around our house. It always seems that we have onions and peppers leftover. I used to put them in the refrigerator thinking I am sure I will come up with something to throw these in but usually a few weeks later I would discover them and would throw them in the trash. Then I found a brilliant way to use the leftovers. Breakfast Burritos the next morning so the peppers and onions stay in the refrigerator less than 24 hours.

I reheat the peppers and onions (this time we had some mushrooms thrown in there) in my frying pan. Then put them in a bowl with a plate on top to keep them warm. I scramble some eggs.

Pull out some cheese and chopped tomatoes and put it all together. Here is it ready to be wrapped and eaten.

So tell me what fun things do you do with leftovers. Do you have some leftovers that you have found a creative way to use.