Lazy Day Beef Stew

2 lbs. stew beef

3-4 medium potatoes (peeled and cubed)
3 large carrots sliced
1 large onion cut into wedges
1 stalk celery chopped
1 clove garlic (or garlic powder to taste)
oregano to taste
1 large can V-8 Juice
2Tbsp corn starch for thickening

Arrange the stew beef in your Celebrating Home Bean Pot in a single layer and season with bit of salt and pepper to taste. Add all of the cut-up vegetables on top of the meat. Dot with the minced garlic (or sprinkle on garlic powder) and oregano (you can add any other seasonings that your family likes, as well). Mix the corn starch with the V-8 and pour over the vegetables and beef. Cover and bake at 300 degrees for 4-5 hours. DELISH!!!

Simple Joys

The older I get it seems like the more I enjoy and appreciate the simple little moments in life. I just walked out of my little office on the way to my kitchen to put on a fresh pot of the "daily brew" and happened to glance up into our family room (you know, the room I generally refer to as the "wreck" room~lol). No one was up yet so the room still looked like it did when my sweet hubby and I left it to climb the stairs for the night. The blanket I used to cover up with was still on the sofa, our two snack plates and cups were still on the side table between the sofa and his big recliner. Caleb's snack plate and glass was still on the coffee table. In my younger days I would have fussed and fumed a bit about what a mess it was in there, but being older has given me a slightly different perspective on the whole matter. As I surveyed the jumble of items in their disarray a sweet smile came across my face as I remembered the evening before and the conversations we had while we gathered in that little room. Hubby playing his favorite video game, Caleb and I cheering him on as he reached the goal. I thought about the good little snack we shared together, simple popcorn and my hubby had two muffins left from our breakfast. Coffee in the cups for us and milk for Caleb. Just a sweet simple evening at home for our little family. I will get everything picked up by the afternoon; dishes washed, blanket folded and tucked away, video game put back into place. But for now, I am just taking a minute to relish the moment. God bless and hope that you are all having a sweet day!

Finding Order for My Days...

Good morning friends! I am sitting here with a good cup of Black Cherry tea and Thanking God for this beautiful Saturday morning!!! I have had a rather busy week for a Work-at-home girl and have really accomplished much including my new work schedule and the schedule for our upcoming homeschool year. During the summer months we "unschool", if we must put a label on it~lol! Caleb has many interests and he has plenty of time each day to learn on his own about them. However, come the middle of August we get back to "regular lessons" and learning in a way which is a bit more structured. I really have to be organized with this or we tend to "NO-school", though I do have strong beliefs that children are learning all the time and especially when they are involved in discussions and activities with their parents, friends and family. But, those formal "lessons" are so very important, also and that is why I have taken time this past week to get a schedule worked out for them and a new schedule for my work, as well. I feel so relieved to finally have it down on paper, There is a wonderful sense of accomplishment and freedom that comes from developing some kind of order for your days. My schedule is not a strict, "must follow" set of rules by the minute, rather a structured guideline for the day and the week that has plenty of flexibilty built in for those times where life throws you a curve ball and you have to head quickly in another direction for a bit. I realize that some days may very well include other activities: field trips, family outings, friend days, family emergencies, etc., but the schedule gives me the sense of order I so need to keep things on track in a reasonable way from day to day. I took early morning until 8:30 for my computer time to greet friends on FB and to promote my work-at-home business pages, then 9:00am to 10:00am for our breakfast time together as my hubby and son get up. The official school day begins at 10:00 and will last until lessons are finished (sometimes 2 hours, sometimes 3, depending on the lessons and the willingness of "the boy" to get on with them ;-), I worked in time for Caleb to spend on the computer after lessons so that he can work on some of his favorite online activities (he loves games where you build~Blockland, Legos and the like) and that is when I will record what we have done for the day, work on my writing (by hand in my notebook) and do some cleaning. The late afternoon (somewhere around 3:00pm-5:00pm) will be my afternoon time on the computer M-F for getting my writing typed out, blogging, more online business promo time and to catch up with friends, email and the like. I have 5:00 set as my time to prepare or finish preparing our supper. I do love to cook in our crock-pot or sometimes prepare meals early in the day and put them in the fridge so that can just pop them into the oven to bake for an hour or so later in the day, so this is the time I will go in to finish out the meals I have started and to add those final little touches to them. Our evenings are always spent together talking, watching favorite shows, sometimes playing games together, so I have left the time from 6:00pm til bedtime open for whatever we choose. I have taken Thursday as the day I go to my mom's for her weekly shopping trip and Robin is taking Friday for his mom if she needs him (he and his sister each take time with my MIL, so that alternates a bit) or for family outings with us). I am feeling really good about all of this. I am so ready for a little order in my life. Hope you are having a beautiful Saturday.

Until next time, Stay Cozy,
Charlotte