Aloha Friday- Week 3

So I am still trying to get the hang of a new job, spending time with family, cleaning and my menu planing. I am enjoy the new job, and its good to have more money comming in, I just wish I could get the hang of things!
I am exhausted, not used to going to work for 8-10 hours at a time anymore. I have my third shift this week tonight and work nights all this weekend, it will show me how tired I really am when Sunday comes along!

My question this week is:

What do you do to relax when you are really stressed out???

Don’t forget to check out www.islandlife808.com for more Aloha Friday questions!!!

Six Word Saturday-#2

Six Word Saturday is a simple game where you describe your life in six words! Check it out!

My six words this week are

“New beginnings are always so chaotic!”

Does anyone else agree with me?

Aloha Friday #2

Check out

So this week has been very hectic for me. Tuesday I started a job that was completely out of the blue. I dropped off my application Tuesday at 2pm and started training two hours later. I have a horrible time with time management always have but hopefully I can learn some new things to get a hold of it!

My question for the week is

What are some of your favorite time management tools and tricks?

Don’t forget to check out www.islandlife808.com for more Aloha Friday question!!!

How to manage a new job and your menu???

So we have been struggling quite a bit lately on bills ever since I lost my job. Its been hard to make things wor but one of the things that saved us was our menu planning. I started it in May and gave myself a $50-$75 weekly budget on groceries. I was doing awesome, cooking every night which I had never done before, taking pride in my meals, keeping the house clean and so many other things I had never done before I was jobless.

This past Tuesday, just two short days ago I dropped off my application at a local diner that was hiring. I have been in the restaurant business for over 3 years and had experience in working in diners. My timing was perfect or it was just really meant to be, because I was hired within 10 min of walking in the door, no interview, no calling my references, nothing. I did know one of the fellow employees, but he wasn’t even there. The manager asked me when I could start, I said tomorrow (meaning Wednesday) and he replied with I really wanted someone to start today at 4. Now mind you its only 2pm but my response was I can start then that’s no problem! Two short hours later I was back starting my first shift at my new job.

Its now Thursday and one meal was cooked on my menu and it wasn’t cooked by me at all. My shifts are from 4-12  and since its all brand new I don’t have anything made before I leave the house or anything. My husband isn’t going to fallow the menu, which is fine because he isn’t eating out right now either. I am really worried that once I start working again my menu will go out the window and we will fall back down into the deep hole of eating out. I mentioned that to my husband and he half jokingly said ‘that’s okay we will have more money now.’ I don’t want that to happen. I have a feeling that I am going to making A LOT of meals with my crock-pot, I also think that I will probably not be able to venture into the home made baking things that I really want to do.

How do you manage a job, a two year old, a house, and a menu all at the same time?? I am not sure if I am going to be able to do it. I am trying not to be discouraged by this week because it was so out of the blue. We had no idea I was going to start wor this week, and especially not the day I dropped off my application. I am blessed that I got the job, I am just nervous of whats going to happen in my home. I am not sure if I will be working days or nights, or if I will even have a set schedule. I will only have 3-4 days a week which will be nice but its still nerve wracking!!! If you have any tips PLEASE let me in on them. Also because I know I want to start utilizing my crock pot more I am going to add another category to my recipe contest….. CROCK POT MEALS

Side Note:
I just one a give away that is a pay it forward give away, where if you win you have to start a give a way and link back to the blog that you just won from. So tonight I am going to think of what I am going to give away and how I am going to pick the winner! Be on the look out for it tomorrow!!!

New Studio and Fresh Baked Bread

Yesterday I got a bug in me to organize my studio and so I did. I took the table out of the kitchen since it is never used and moved it to my studio to make an amazing L shaped desk.. Here are some before and after pictures!!

Before I cleaned and organized but this wasn't the worst!!

After I cleaned but before I moved the table in!

After moving in the table

I love what my new area looks like and can’t wait to use it! I haven’t sat down yet at but I have plans to tonight. I have all my recipes over there and I am going to set up my lap top and try and get them organized after Janice goes to bed.

For a while now I have wanted to try making my own bread, so that eventually we can stop buying bread from the grocery store.  I don’t have a bread machine and so I was a little discouraged but I found a really great recipe that sounded pretty simple…. The recipe is here. I only have one small bread loaf and because of how quick and easy this was I am going to buy some larger loafs!

Here is the bread dough

The bread after it was baked!

The bread was the most delicious I had ever tasted!! The recipe made enough for three loafs, I made the first two and froze the dough for the third one! I think I am going to use it as pizza crust but I might make it into the third loaf because of how delicious it was!!

If anyone has any tips or tricks for me I would love to hear them! I am very new at this but would love to keep going with it!

Menu Plan Monday- Aug 3- Aug 9

Last weeks menu was a hit, there wasn’t one dish we didn’t enjoy! We really liked the enchilada casserole and I was surprised with how easy it is to make. The 40 clove garlic chicken was the best chicken I have ever tasted!!! All in all it was a good week and I have some left overs for next week!

Here is my menu for the week of Aug 3- Aug 9…. I am trying to keep my grocery bill less than $50 this week so we will see what happens!! I will post the recipes tomorrow, I have a horrible head ache and I am going to get some rest! I have also decided that one meal a week will have no meat in it!!

MENU PLAN FOR WEEK OF AUG 3- AUG 9

Monday: Pork Steaks on the Grill with grilled corn and cheese

Tuesday: Indian Tacos

Wednesday: Garlic Potato Soup (meat less)

Thursday: Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

Friday: Chicken Dumpling Soup

Saturday: Stuffed Peppers

Sunday: Leftovers
Menu Plan Monday is hosted by Laura but this week it will be hosted by The Happy House Wife…check out both sites for many more menu planning ideas!!

Personal Challenge of the Week- Aug 2

So I wanted to start a personal challenge of the day but it didn’t work out so well, so I decided that I would turn it into Personal Challenge of the Week instead, it seems more manageable.

I just finished re arranging my furniture and created a new work space in my studio!!

new work area, don't you love it!!!!

For the longest time I have wanted a ‘L’ shaped desk and have never gotten one. The table was originally our kitchen table that we never sit at and it just uses up so much room and collects junk. I decided to take it out of the kitchen to open up the kitchen and put it to better use! I cant wait to start crafting again!!!

My Personal Challenge of the Week is to make something crafty, an atc, altered box or tin, draw out my new tattoo, make Janice some doll clothes, SOMETHING!!! If you would like to participate in the Personal Challenge of the week feel free to tell me about your experience in a comment or add the link to your blog post!!

Have a good week and get crafty!!!!

Just another Friday

Today has been an interesting day! Nothing too exciting happened but it was still interesting none the less.

I tried the 40 clove garlic chicken in the crock pot today and at first it was a bit of a challenge… I don’t have a very large crock pot and my chicken wouldn’t fit inside of it with out poking out of the top. I had a full bird and although it was a small one at only 4lbs it still didn’t fit.  I borrowed a big roast pan from my brother in laws place and was going to slow cook it in there instead. I went on line to see what temperature I should cook it at and for how long, and didn’t like any of the results I found because it wold have been done in just 3 hours. I decided to MAKE the chicken fit into the crock pot.

I took the meat out of the crock pot and placed it onto the cutting board. I then proceded to hack off one of the thighs so that I could SHOVE the bird back into the pot. IT ROCKED! It was very nice to take my agression out on that bird! I know that shounds horrible but it was nice! I think when people get upset they should grab a chicken (already dead of course) and try and rip out the leg! Man I really do sound like a horrible person! I will digress!

The chicken turned out delicious and it was an amazing meal! We had homemade mashed potatoes, home made gravy and some peas. My husband was very impressed with my “Suzy Homemaker Meal!” It was very good and I am sad that we hadn’t tried it before! I am going to make it for some holiday meal coming up, just not sure which one! TRY IT! The recipe for it is HERE.

I decided I wanted to change the name of my blog. This is now the third name and hopefully the last! I wanted something catchy and original. I first had it set to Manic Mama, but there is already a Manic Mama out there and I didnt want someone to think I was coping them since my blog is only 9 days old. Then I went to GarageBandFan, and my URL will be the same. My name for everything is GarageBandFan, its been my user name for years, for everything that I have ever done on line. So, I figure why not, well its not catchy and I when I was trying to come up with a header it was just impossible. So now, my blogs name is THE PENGUIN’S PALETTE!

I love penguins always have and always will. They are my favorite animal of all time, I am like a little kid when I see a penguin at the zoo and have even devised a plan to take one home with me! If you have read my about me, you know that I spent some time in jail. Not something I am proud of, but it happened. Well one day one lady was telling another one a joke and asks “What kind of better doesn’t fly” Me half asleep, and completely out of it blurts out “A PENGUIN…A PENGUIN DOESN’T FLY” well the answer to the joke was a Jail Bird but my answer works too. After I got out my husband (who was just a boyfriend at the time) got my a shirt with a penguin on it that says “I wish I could fly.” Ever since that happened everyone in my family has made fun of me and asked me if the penguin has learned how to fly yet. well I am trying to learn how to fly so it really is fitting!

I hope you all enjoy the new look, and just to let you know I just added a new cattegory to the recipe contest…. check it out HERE!

Six Word Saturday! -First One

Here I go again, I am trying out another meme to see if I like it! I have been thinking all week what I would be using for this!!

Its that simple… Six Word Saturday is hosted over at www.showmyface.com all you do is describe your life or something about it in six words or less… Feel free to check out the original post for more links!!

Here are my six words:

I Need To Learn To Forgive!

I have a really hard time forgiving people weather its something small or something large and I really need to learn how to forgive and let things go!

Aloha Friday-First one, lets give it a try!!!

So over at www.islandlife808.com Is a little thing called Aloha Friday!

You basically ask a question and then people answer the question in the form of a comment…. You can go then link your post to the main post and see many more links of other peoples questions!!! Sounds interesting and fun so I am going to give it a try!!

I have been trying to figure out how to organize my recipes lately. I have tons of them on cards, ripped from magazines, on loose pieces of paper, book marked onto my computer, inside me recipe notebook…everywhere….. It is driving me crazy. I just started cooking about a month and a half ago when I started menu planning and really want to start looking through my recipes for the ones I might use and the ones I will never use… It will be a process that’s for sure!!!!

so my question, and I am sure it has been asked before…next week I will be more creative dont worry!!

How do you organize your recipes and do you have any ideas or tips for me????