Organizational Challenge

I have lamented about it here on A Creative Spirit before that I am NOT an organized kinda gal. I am good at overlooking clutter, pushing stuff in every imaginable out of the way space, and ignoring my upstairs storage closet.....I mean spare bedroom.

I don't like to clean either so I pay my daughter to do my deep cleaning. Last week she brought my 4 year old granddaughter with her to 'help'. This little one is NOT a neat freak by any means but I guess she opened my closet and promptly said "ARRRGGGHHHHHH BA BA's (that's what she calls me) CLOSET IS A MESS."  She then took it upon herself to pair up my shoes, and I guess she had them lined up in a beautiful organized manner outside of the closet until her mom told her that she had to now put them neatly back in the closet. So she opened my closet and said "AARRGGHHH WHAT A MESS" and just threw all the shoes back in and shut the door. My daughter called me at work to break the news to me and was laughing pretty much hysterically.

That brings me to today's post......I have GOT to get organized. So I went out to bhg.com to see what kinda tips I could find. I love Better Homes and Garden's Magazine but I couldn't wait to see if next months issue had any tips.

In my search I found a personality test for organization. HMMMMMM sounded like just what I need. After answering a few easy questions, I was diagnosed as having an 'artists personality" when it comes to my life and to organizing. Which basically means I am a happy go lucky gal who really doesn't care much about keeping things neat. Really described me pretty well.

Here is what was said about my type of organizer:

Are you a creative spirit who responds to visual cues but finds it hard to get motivated to stay organized? Then you might have what professional organizer Audrey Thomas calls an artist's personality. Traditional clutter-cutting solutions might not work for you if out of sight means out of mind. Instead break down tasks into achievable 30-minute projects, use attractive out-in-the-open filing systems, and employ easy-to-maintain solutions for cabinets, drawers, and closets.

I love that is suggested I am A CREATIVE SPIRIT. Big smiley face on that one.

Now I just have to find some creative fixes for my creative spirit way of organizing and dig stuff out from the hidden spots to donate, toss, or decide if I really, really, really want to keep it.

Stay tuned and I will share some of the ideas and fixes I find...some of which I might even put into practice.

Until next time.....keep on creating.

Sunday Morning

If you are looking for an uplifting night full of blessings, I hope you someday get to see Casting Crowns in concert. Their newest single, Jesus Friend of Sinners reminds me to:

Open my eyes to the world at the end of my pointing fingers
Let my heart be led by mercy
Help me reach with open heart and open door
Oh Jesus friend of sinners break my heart for what breaks yours

Vegetarian Rice Salad

Welcome to another Vegetarian Wednesday.

Here is another recipe I found in the July 2012 Better Homes and Gardens Magazine. It sounds YUMMY and it is a great way to use leftover rice and those veggies in your fridge that need cut up and used before they turn into a pile of wasted cash. UMMM I have been there and done that.

Let me know what you think of the recipe and if you will be trying it.

Until next time....Keep on creating!!

Summer Rice Salad

Leftover rice - I plan to use brown rice.
Chopped veggies like:

• Carrots
• Onions (remember to soak in ice water)
• Sweet Peppers ( I like red or yellow)
• Cucumber
• Zuchini
• Summer Squash
• Etc

Toss Rice and vegetables together and add a handful of dried cranberries and toasted walnuts ( I prefer pecans).

Drizzle with a little olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon juice.


How easy and how fast.

Magazine Monday

I have admired Lucy Liu since her days on Ally McBeal (one of my FAVE shows of the late 90's) and now I still love watching her in her more recent movie roles.

A reason that I admire her is her take on life. From the April 2012 issue of MORE magazine (yes I am still behind on my magazine stack) comes the following quotes:

• Learning to say no - It's not about rejecting anything; it's about prioritizing. I think, I am not going to do this, because I'm going to do that instead. And you hope the "instead"  is a happier option
• Learning to say yes - It's amazing how we can't take a compliment. I say to someone, "Oh, you look so beautiful", and they're like, "No, I'm tired and I ate blah, blah, blah last night." They could just say, "Thank you!"

I don't know about you, but I have trouble with both of those things. I need to work on them so if you have any personal stories on when you said "yes" or "no" I would love to hear them.

Until next time....Keep on Creating!

Sunday Morning

I have been listening to Sound of Your Voice by Third Day a lot lately. I will put it on a loop to play over and over on my iPhone. It is a good reminder that sometimes I just have to stop talking, stop worrying, just STOP.......... and listen.

Have a Blessed Sunday everyone.



Vegetarian Wednesday

Hey everyone, I wanted to share with you a challenge that my Weight Watcher pals online cooked up. One of the gals on our board has a daughter that is a Vegan and who challenged her mom to try to go Vegan at least one day a week. This Weight Watcher friend shared this with all of us and asked if we were up to the challenge? So far there are 2 people doing Vegan Wednesday and 2 are doing Vegetarian Wednesday (including me).

Why some Vegan, some Vegetarian? UMMMM, WELL....I am kinda a wimp and I love my Chobani Yogurt, eggs, milk, and cheese and so does the other gal that was up for the challenge.

My issue has been trying to find yummy recipes that would work for lunches and dinners once a week. I have been searching the internet and magazines for some great ideas and last weekend I found a yummy recipe for a salad using corn cut straight from the cob. I have included it at the end of the post.

One thing about the recipe that had me scratching my head tho was the soaking of the chopped onions in ice water! Have you ever heard of that? I did some internet searching and came up with the fact that by soaking the onions in water it removes the stinging bite of the onions and mellows out the taste.The acids that cause your eyes to burn and give that sharp taste are water soluble so soaking in water actually makes them more sweet and crunchy. Who knew?

The great thing about this corn salad recipe is that it would actually be Vegan (at least I think so) and since my plan is to eventually jump on the Vegan Wednesday band wagon, I need to keep this recipe handy. But for now, I just may have to throw some feta cheese on this salad and call it a day.

Are any of you up to joining me on Vegetarian or Vegan Wednesday? Does anyone have some great recipes that I can add to my stash for the coming weeks? I would love to hear from you.

Fresh Corn Salad - Better Homes and Gardens Magazine

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/4 - 1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

4 ears fresh corn

1/2 cup finely diced red onion (cut to same size as the clusters of corn kernels), soaked in ice water for 20 minutes and patted dry

1/2 cup cucumber, seeded, not peeled if unwaxed, then diced to same size of onions

1/2 cup red or orange sweet pepper, diced to same size as onions

1/2 cup cherry or pear tomatoes, halved or quartered

3 tablespoons parsley, finely torn

1 tablespoon basil leaves or buds, pulled apart

1 tablespoonfresh jalapeno, seeds and veins removed, very finely diced*

1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

1 - 2 cups small arugula leaves

1. For dressing, in a glass bowl whisk together vinegar, sugar, the 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and black pepper until sugar is dissolved. Let dressing stand while preparing salad.

2. For salad, cut corn kernels from cobs. In a large bowl toss corn and remaining ingredients except sea salt and arugula leaves.

3. To serve, transfer salad to large serving bowl. Season with the 1/2 tsp. sea salt. Add the dressing; gently thread in arugula leaves. Serve immediately. (Cucumbers and tomatoes will begin to break down.) Makes 8 servings

Until next time.....Keep on Creating!!!

Magazine Monday...

This week I just have a short quote from the August 2012 MORE magazine - you know that one for women of a certain age?

"I think people become more watchable after 30, when they have something on their face and something between their ears. " Angelica Huston (60 years old).

Proof positive that I should be proud of the wrinkles I have worked hard to earn.

How many of you agree?

Until next time....Keep on Creating!!!

Life gets in the way...

I can't believe it has been over a month since I checked in here on A Creative Spirit.......

and here I was planning to spend more time on here with my blogging friends.

"Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans" - John Lennon

Oh how true that statement is. So many life things, both good and bad, have happened since I last checked in.  I could add work to that statement too tho as I have been so busy at work that some evenings I am so exhausted that I  just want to come home and sit on the couch with my fur babies and close myself off from the rest of the world. It is in times like these that bedtime comes early and a few short hours later, the process starts all over again.

In between all the busy-ness I have found time to hang with my kids and grandkids and even took a lovely vacation to Duck, NC (more on that later). But now with this crazy heat wave here in Ohio (which is also happening in loads of states) I continue to hole up in my little condo.

I haven't even been staying in touch with my favorite blogs and I miss everyone. I do stay in touch with a lot of you by reading your posts on Facebook or your tweets on Twitter. And from those posts and tweets it sounds like a lot of the rest of you have been busy too.

I am working on a couple of party posts over on Creative Concept Events and I will let you know when those posts are up. And as hinted, I am working on a vacation post here, but still working on some photoshop work on the pics.

I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. For those of you in this heat wave.....stay cool. For those of you without power, I pray you have somewhere to go to get out of the heat. And to those of you in some wonderfully cool parts of the world....send some of that beautiful weather my way.

Until next time....

Keep on creating!