September 2016 Blog Links

Posted on September 30, 2016 by caendicott

The last couple of months, my blog links posts have been shorter than usual. I think this one will make up for all that! Happy reading!

Blog Links

Cooking Related:

Six Ingredient Swaps that Slash Calories https://www.taylorlife.com/ingredient-swap-slash-calories/

Master Quick Mix (Bisquick replacement) http://www.candysfarmhousepantry.com/?p=353 (Learned from the blogger that this mix can be kept in the fridge for 3 months.)

Homemade Poultry Seasoning http://www.candysfarmhousepantry.com/?p=217

Taco Pasta http://www.candysfarmhousepantry.com/?p=1863

Waffle Master Mix http://www.candysfarmhousepantry.com/?p=992

Fosters Beer Cheese Fondue https://tampacakegirl.wordpress.com/tag/fosters-beer-cheese-fondue/

Honey Yogurt Muffins http://www.candysfarmhousepantry.com/?p=1822

Mexican Breakfast Burritos (vegan) https://www.taylorlife.com/mexican-breakfast-burritos/

Brown Sugar Honey Baked Oatmeal http://www.candysfarmhousepantry.com/?p=1847

Easy & Delicious BBQ Meatloaf http://www.cottagemakingmommy.com/2015/02/easy-and-delicious-bbq-meatloaf.html?

Slow Cooker Cinnamon Applesauce http://jeanieandluluskitchen.com/recipe/slow-cooker-cinnamon-apple-sauce/

Crafting Related:

Ghost Pencils http://www.maddieandgrace.com/ghost-pencils-the-cutest-non-food-halloween-treat/

3 Mindful Ways to Approach a Love of Making http://simplylivandco.com/blog/3-mindful-ways-to-approach-a-love-of-making

6 Frugal Crafting Tips http://homespunseasonalliving.com/6-frugal-crafting-tips/

Food for Thought:

Cancer Sucks…But It’s Offered Me a Kick in the Ass http://www.eatgeeklove.com/cancer-sucks-team-jay/

Homesteading:

Canning Fresh Fruit http://www.canning-food-recipes.com/canningfruits.htm

Canning Recipes http://www.canning-food-recipes.com/canningrecipes.htm

Backyard Tandoor: the authentic, easy way http://www.aakashg.com/2012/07/19/backyard-tandoor/

Pear Preservation Method http://homespunseasonalliving.com/pear-preservation-methods/

Canning Salsa http://www.blissfulanddomestic.com/2016/02/canning-salsa-easy-way-some-grocery.html

House Keeping:

Decluttering Your Home in 7 Days http://blessmama.com/declutter-home-7-days/

Journaling:

How To: Starting & Keeping a Personal Journal (video) http://www.seaweedkisses.com/2016/09/7-tips-on-finding-your-ideal-journal.html

Planner Related:

The Ultimate Compilation of Films Featuring Ringed Organizers https://thisbugslife.com/2016/05/03/the-ultimate-compilation-of-films-featuring-filofaxes/

Do You Need a Planner Intervention? (videos) http://www.strangecharmed.com/productivity/4408/

Productivity Related:

The 5 Realities that Distinguish True Entrepreneurs From All Other Business Owners http://www.inc.com/michael-gerber/the-5-realities-that-distinguish-entrepreneurs-from-all-other-business-owners.html

7 Productivity Hacks I stole from Successful Entrepreneurs https://medium.com/@kashyapvartika/7-productivity-hacks-i-stole-from-successful-entrepreneurs-2a7f68ee2ecd#.rojey4h9e

8 Things You Should Do if You Work from Home Every Day https://www.shopify.com/content/8-things-you-should-do-if-you-work-from-home-every-day

Self-Care Related:

54 Ways to Remain Happy & Healthy http://garagegymplanner.com/happy-and-healthy/

Why Nobody Tells You About Self-Care https://themighty.com/2016/09/self-care-how-to-take-care-of-yourself-when-you-have-depression/

Posted in Musings | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Frozen Potato Experiment

Posted on September 28, 2016 by caendicott

Going off directions from another blogger, my husband and I attempted to freeze raw potatoes. Here are the results of our Frozen Potato Experiment.

Our potatoes were un-pealed and shredded hash brown style, instead of cubed. Now we didn’t freeze completely raw potatoes, they were par boiled. Once they were par boiled, we spread them out on cookie sheets and freeze them, per the directions.

We love making breakfast scrambles, and thought this would be a frugal way to get potatoes for breakfast. That may sound silly, but we don’t buy potatoes often because we don’t eat them very often. Hence wanting to stock up and have them on hand in the freezer.

We treated a bag the same way we would a bag of the Simply Potatoes ® brand. We dumped them into a frying pan to make breakfast potatoes.

They turned into fried mashed potatoes!!!

At first, my husband was disappointed (actually, more than disappointed, there was swearing), but then I pointed out that we had mashed potatoes!!! We love mashed potatoes, but again, we don’t buy potatoes too often. I’m very happy that I have frozen potatoes that will turn into mashed potatoes whenever I want mashed potatoes.

There are some readers who will question why I just don’t go buy a few fresh potatoes for mashed potatoes. I like convenience foods. I really do. Keeping fresh potatoes around doesn’t work for my household. They usually go bad before they’re all used, especially if I get a bag of potatoes. And buying the smaller packs of baking potatoes isn’t fiscally smart in my opinion. At least in my local grocery stores, 2-4 large baking potatoes is the equivalent cost of a 10 lb. bag of potatoes.

Here’s a picture of the remaining three bags in my freezer:

frozen-potato-lesson

© Cori Large 21 August 2016

Posted in Homesteading | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

How I Keep Track of My Planners

Posted on September 26, 2016 by caendicott

This post was requested by several readers. If you’re a regular here on Tales from a Polk County Girl, you may swear up and down that I change my planner every week. I promise you this is not true. My editorial calendar at the time was not very fluid and I would end up posting about planners I hadn’t used in a few weeks.

Over the course of figuring out a planning system that works for me (all of 2015 by the way), I’ve used various ringed planners to see what I wanted. I also dabbled with Bullet Journaling in my bound journals. But neither method were making me happy. Yes, they worked, but I didn’t fully enjoy them. My very good friend, Canyon, had been trying to get me to try a Traveler’s Notebook almost since we first met. And up until this past February, I stood fast. I knew I needed the ability to move things around at leisure, so using a ringed planner made the most sense to me.

Then I caved. I bought a cheaper traveler’s notebook (ZLYC brand; TN) off Amazon, and played around with it for a while. The whole concept of a traveler’s notebook is to be able to carry around a couple of smaller notebooks in a traditional leather* wrap. So, uh, yeah, I like them…*looks sheepish* I’ve always loved notebooks. Bound journals as my weakness.

Since February I’ve been using a Traveler’s Notebook, and all my ringed planners are on a shelf in my office and are empty. Keeping track of the ones that are currently in use isn’t hard, because I refuse to duplicate information. Each TN has certain books in it and if I need that book I go get that TN.

Quick breakdown:

ZLYC narrow: monthly, journaling booklet, daily bujo style book

20160821_150530

20160821_150540

20160821_150538

CS Maverick narrow: the master to do list, knitting insert, Collections #1 & 2 books, blogging insert

20160821_150611

Fabric Dori I made: Gardening journal, homesteading insert, book notes book

20160821_150431

ZLYC passport: story ideas, brain dump, extra notebook

20160821_150358

As you can see, there isn’t any duplication in my books.

I hope this has answered the question of how I keep track of my planners. Now, with #oneBookJuly coming up, I may switch things around and see if I can handle using 1 book and 1 pen for a month.

*Midori Traveler’s Notebooks were the original traveler’s notebook, and are made of real leather. There are now a variety of traveler’s notebook covers available on the internet: faux/vegan leather, fabric, duct tape…

**This post was written before the Foxy Fix Marina was added to the collection.

© Cori Large 7 June 2016

Posted in Planners/Journals | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments