by The Happy WAHM
For 2018, I’m going to get my Excel mojo back.
My first project?
A printable meal planner!
This planner will help Moms like me who are barely surviving in the kitchen. It has always been a struggle for me to come up with a decision on what meal to prepare, every single day. I thought that if there is already a list of meals that I can just refer to, it would be easier to make a decision on what to prepare for the day.
Add to that the fact that I’m not a cook.
Oh, I can cook adobo, sinigang, tinola, spaghetti, and other similar stuff, but I’m not really that great. And I don’t have that many recipes in my arsenal, so I rely on just the usual stuff. And the occasional pa-chambs. 🙂
Here’s a clue… I don’t eat, much less cook, food I can’t pronounce.
And can I just mention that my kids LOVE my spaghetti?
But having so short a list of recipes makes it really hard to plan for a week. And that affects the grocery shopping, which we do once a week, sometimes even every other week.
For moms/homemakers like me, coming up with a decision on what’s for lunch or what’s for dinner sucks up a lot of time already. And add to that, the heartache when you finally decide on a meal and find out that you don’t have the necessary ingredients in your pantry.
This meal planner will save me the time and the heartache.
The first thing I did was make a list of all the meals I know how to prepare. Then I asked members of my WAHM community to contribute their own. I created four worksheets to represent breakfast, lunch and dinner, snacks, and desserts. And once I had a decent number of meals to cover a week without a repeat, I went ahead and used the wonderful functions of Excel to create my printable meal plan.
So here’s how to use this…
Those highlighted cells are clickable. When you click on the cell, a dropdown arrow will appear. When you click on the dropdown arrow, a list of meals will appear, and you just need to click on what suits your fancy for the time of day.
Look…
And I’m all for keeping it real. Please take note that there’s a No Cooking option. So there will days that we’ll just call for home delivery, or feast on leftovers, or eat out.
Once I have completed our meals for the week, I can print the file, and create the grocery list.
Once Week 1 has been printed, I can simply clear the cells and start all over for the next week.
I’m actually just channeling Mark Zuckerberg here. I’m thinking about how much time he saves just by NOT having to decide what to wear every single day. This printable meal planner? I betcha it will save me at the very least an hour per week. An hour that I can utilize to do something else. Like crochet.
So yeah, I was truly inspired.
But if you’re a busy VA like me, and say your rate is $25 per hour, this planner has a $100 value to you, per month.
Me, I’m just happy to have that one hour of crochet time. Or paper quilling time.
Want me to create something like this for you? You know how to reach me!
Do you, have questions, comments or feedback about this post?
Please leave a reply below, or post them on my Facebook Page.
by The Happy WAHM
24/365Challenge: Buying house slippers for our kids have become a problem lately. So the idea of making crocheted slippers came to mind.
We had two scheduled power interruptions in our area, so I was able to plan what I would do during my downtime from work. I was working on our daughter’s hooded cowl, but I’ve been stressing over her house slippers that are again due for replacement. Sometimes I think metal slippers should be invented just for her, to make them last longer. But then I thought maybe something that really hugs the skin would be better.
So I thought of crocheted slippers.
Problem is, I’m still not good at making rounds. So the hours that I could not do any office work due to the power interruption were spent experimenting on crocheting in rounds. The one beanie I tried to make before was a disaster. And so were my glass covers. They are okay to look at, but I know that I’ve been doing something wrong in making the rounds.
After hours of experimenting, and yards of wasted yarn, I finally figured it out. Good thing I have lots of yarns from Sugar Free. 🙂
So here’s how I did it…
I made a magic ring, then made 8 SCs on the ring. Slip stitch to the first SC then Ch 1 to go to the second round.
For the second round, I made the first increase. That’s SC on the first stitch, then 2SC on the next stitch and repeat until the end of the round. Slip stitch to the first SC on the round, then Ch 1 to go up the third round.
For the third round, I made the second increase. That’s SC in the first stitch, SC on the second stitch, then 2SC on the third stitch. Repeat until end of round, then slip stitch, Ch 1 to go up the next round.
I kept on increasing until the sixth round. By the end of the sixth round, I had 32 stitches on the round. After that, I made 16 rounds with 32 stitches. Then I fastened off.
Then I marked the center of the project with stitch markers, and estimated where I should attach the yarn to work on the sides. I left the middle 8 stitches free. Then went on to work on 18 rows, before I connected the ends.
And here’s my finished DIY crocheted slippers!
You are welcome to make your own out of the process I shared, or you can just order from me. 🙂
Do you have questions, comments or feedback about this post?
Please leave me a message, or post them, at my Facebook Page.
Or you can be my writing challenge partner.
Send me a topic that you want me to talk about.
by The Happy WAHM
Ta-da!
Excuse the oversharing, but I just can’t stop myself. So happy with my DIY yarn bag!
As you should know by now, I’m a crochet addict. Wherever I go, I just have to have my bag of hook and yarn. There are even days that I just start a new project when what’s on my hook cannot be taken anywhere, like when I’m working on a light-colored material that I don’t want to get exposed to smoke and dust outside, or when the project I’m working on is already heavy that I can no longer work on it without a lap table.
Lately I’ve been pretty frustrated with my yarn cakes coz they get deformed when I bring them in my bag. I have three re-usable shopping bags that I use to put my crochet-projects-to-go. No, I don’t bring all three at one go. I just choose the project to bring whenever, and yes, I always have at least three projects going on at any given time.
I’ve been dreaming of a yarn drum, the kind that has been sitting in my Amazon wish list. But I have abandoned the idea of ordering from Amazon, unless, of course, I can have it delivered from Amazon to a relative who’s about to come home for a vacation. I just can’t risk the stress of ordering online and worry about customs and all.
Yesterday was a really slow day on the work front, so I had time to put some order in our clothes cabinet. I found the excess canvas cloth from my DIY curtain and decided to try piecing them together and see if I can make a bag out of it.
My first attempt did not go very well. I started to piece together a bag that has four sides and a bottom. I had a hard time keeping them aligned. I was never any good in geometry. So I discarded the idea, and decided to just make it really simple. I sewed on together two pieces of rectangular cloth to create a big rectangular piece. I took my yarn tray, measured the area, and made that the size of the circumference of the bag. I sewed on together the two short ends just enough for the tray to pass through. Then I sewed one end close to create the bottom part. I positioned the tray inside, and folded the two corners to make a flat bottom, same size as the bottom of the tray.
The Pockets
There is another piece of cloth left, so I embroidered it a bit to use it as outside pocket, and also to hide the part where I have pieced together the two rectangles. I attached it all around the bag, so it’s like a big continuous outside pocket.
I made the two ends to overlap, which created a narrow pocket for the hooks. Please note that they are peeking out, only to show where the hook pocket is, but the hooks should actually be below the lip of the pocket to avoid any danger of them falling out. I just put a piece of scrap yarn inside so you can see. 🙂
The Strap
For the strap, I was going to piece together three layers of cloth to create a really thick strap, but husband vetoed the idea. He said it’s not going to be sturdy. Then I remembered the shoulder strap of my daughter’s old school bag. I have an instant shoulder strap!
I sewed on three buttons on the side, just to embellish it a bit. The plan is for my daughter to create a cross-stitched patch for me to put on the front pocket. Let’s see what she’ll come up with. 🙂
For now, I just feel awesome with my little accomplishment, and who knows, it might hit the Crafted Crafts shop, too!
Do you have questions, comments or feedback about this post?
Please leave me a message, or post them, at my Facebook Page.
by The Happy WAHM
Been meaning to share my DIY hobby corner since the day we had it set up, but have not had the time to take photos of what’s actually in my kits, until this morning.
I like working with my hands. Since I was little, I’ve been sewing by hand. Daughter of a seamstress, of course I know how to sew. But never really liked using the sewing machine. It intimidates me. And besides, our Home Economics and Practical Arts teachers required us to sew by hand, simply because public schools didn’t have sewing machines then.
Then my mother-in-law gifted me with a Singer sewing and embroidery machine. Since then, I’ve been wanting to really use it regularly, but the limited space in our home had me keep the machine in its box, only taking it out when I have a project to do, like sewing new curtains for Christmas, or making little items for give-aways.
So when, finally, I settled in my new home office, I decided that I’d put up a hobby corner, too. I just want to have all my things in one place, you know. I want my hobbies to be within my reach, that when I start to feel tired of the humdrum of my work, I can just reach for a needle and sew.
I asked for the husband’s help in setting it up, of course. I had a small table made for the sewing machine. Then we installed braces on the wall for the open shelves. Hubby’s pretty handy with the electric drill. Got the braces from Wilcon Home Depot.
We bought a piece of marine plywood from the construction supply store and had them sanded. The original plan was to have them stained after sanding, then cover with varnish for a shiny finish. But I changed my mind when I realized that it would take longer to complete the project because we would have to wait a long time for the smell of varnish to dissipate.
I already have self-adhesive laminating sheets which I used to line my office table drawers, so I thought, maybe we could use it to cover the wood planks.
Husband took care of the measurements, and I took care of putting on the laminate.
We bought some covered trays that I saw from SM Hypermart and started putting all my hobby stuff in them.
I have a growing stash of yarns for my new-found passion, crocheting, which was introduced to me by my daughter.
But I will never forget my jewelry-making hobby, which I started back when I was still in corporate. I used to accept bulk orders from OFWs, who sell the stuff to their bosses. I also remember making the bracelets and necklaces for the secondary sponsors in my brother’s wedding.
The materials I used ranged from semi-precious stones, to German stones, to polymer clays.
I still have some Swarovski crystals left, which I’m keeping for my daughters.
So this is how my hobby corner looks like now. I just have to turn my office swivel chair, and I can be sewing, or darning, or crocheting, in no time! The only items not in here are the cross-stitch materials that I have already handed over to my middlechild.
I’m sure I’ll have lots of crochet projects to make, thanks to Mrs P. Cuyugan of Mrs C’s Sugarcoated Life, who gave my daughter (not me, mind you!) five amazing pattern magazines. Take a peek at what’s inside and be excited with me!
Do you have questions, comments or feedback about this post?
Please leave me a message, or post them, at my Facebook Page.
