It's amazing how much you can get done...

When you are at home all day! Since the guys are working rather late this week, they are taking the car each day. I am home, without wheels, without the temptation to run a quick errand, and without spending money (except the book I ordered online for my granddaughter's birthday). I am just amazed at how much I'm getting done and all of it "little by little", resting in between sparks of creativity and regularly scheduled household chores today.

It's not all the big stuff but a lot of little things that have needed done for awhile. Also, I'm working on our family room to make it more warm and cozy. It is beginning to look very nice and all from rearranging and using stuff from all over the house. I enjoy watching Decorating Cents on HGTV at times, my favorite part being the segment in the middle of the program where they redecorate a room in a person's house by "shopping" from within that house (they call it no cost decorating). That's what I've been doing with the family room since I have time to think of things to do. I was inspired by my $8.99 Goodwill oriental rug that I bought this last week.

I'm convinced such ideas are God given. The more that room just rubbed me the wrong way, the more I had the idea of a small oriental rug coming back to my thinking. Then I am at Goodwill at "just the right time" hmmm, coincidence? I think not...

I made a double recipe of my favorite orange cranberry bread this morning, baking them in my Martha Stewart mini loaf pan (purchased from K-mart a few years ago). It bakes eight small loaves at once, which is one quick bread recipe. I had to bake one half the batter, let the pan cool a bit and then bake the remainder. However, it worked quite well. I love that pan, it is nice and heavy. I wrapped each little loaf individually in Glad wrap and placed half of the loaves in a large, flat wooden bowl that usually holds fruit. Since they were individually wrapped, I just put the remaining loaves in a large zip-lock bag (store brand) and put them in the freezer.

Now I am off to brew some Candy Cane Lane tea (I finally found a grocery store last week that still had a few boxes) and read through some cooking magazines to find new recipes. I've decided menu planning is going to be high on my "living life on purpose" list this year!