Nix9to5

Productivity and Working at Home

// September 29th, 2011 // 2 Comments » // Family, Organization, Time Management, Work at Home

Let me just start this post by saying, “Happy birthday,” to my wonderful Hot Husband.  He’ll probably never read this post, but now you all know that it is HH’s birthday.  It’s a pretty lame one, too, since he has Parent/Teacher Conferences and will have to work until 8:15 tonight.  We celebrated early by going out to dinner at the Wedge (yum), and we’ll be celebrating late by having an 80′s theme birthday party Friday night to celebrate his Rhymes-with-Schmortieth birthday.  I’ll post pics of the cake and our attire . . . well, that is, if I look like a cute 80′s girl and not like some old hag dressed in Goodwill 80′s garb (which I will be–the Goodwill part, not the hag part).

Anyway, I’ve mentioned before that this week is going to flat run me into the ground, and I’m about there.  However, I will say there is nothing like a deadline and pure panic to motivate productivity.  Remember that list I posted the other day about how many projects I needed to complete by the end of the week?  Well, I wrote sixteen web pages today.  SIXTEEN.  That’s twice my previous record of eight.  Man, that’s pretty, pretty good.  I’m starting to feel as if maybe, just maybe, I’ll get it all done.

Well, probably not, but I’ll be a lot closer than I thought possible.

I’ve been doing a great job with the I Hate Housework Challenge, too.  Yesterday when HH came home from work, he took one look at our kitchen and passed clean out from shock and joy.

Okay, maybe I exaggerate, but he NOTICED, which is pretty substantial for most men.

Yesterday I accomplished all the daily tasks on the list, including the room of the day (dining room).  The dining room part involved cleaning windows, dusting baseboards, and even climbing on the table to clean the light fixture thoroughly.  I even took it an extra step and cleaned the “Tupperware Cabinet” in the kitchen.  You know, the one you can’t open when guests are around because everything will fall out and you’ll be flat mortified because their “Tupperware Cabinets” are probably perfect?  Well.  Mine’s perfect.  I should photograph it.  And the linen closet.  And under the sinks in the bathroom.  They are, quite frankly, works of art.

Today I didn’t get everything on the IHH Challenge completed.  I didn’t do the living room windows or dust thoroughly, and I didn’t do the daily Swiffering in the kitchen.  I’ve even got a dryer full of clothes that need to be put away.  But did I mention that I wrote SIXTEEN web pages today?  Or that my cabinets are the most beautiful gems of organization or that my dining room light practically sparkles?  The rest of the house is “clean enough,” and we’ll get more of the deeper cleaning accomplished Friday morning when we get ready for the party.

So what are the secrets to my productivity the past few days?  Well, I’ve given it some thought, and these are some of the things that have helped.  Take what you can and leave the rest:

1. Priority Determines Capacity - I cancelled some appointments and focused my energy on the things that really need to be done.  And no, Pinterest doesn’t really need to be done.
2. I moved my laptop back into the office.  I don’t watch TV or anything when I’m working on the couch, but I really do feel more like I’m working and not like work is interrupting potential lounging time if I’m at my desk and not on the couch.
3. The Amazing Amanda - She has bailed me out with several posts on times when I just wouldn’t have been able to get to it.  I hope she doesn’t mind being paid back with a Pinterest scarf rather than money.  Because this blog, as she has discovered, ain’t a paying gig.
4. Beela and Papa – Bear’s grandparents, as always, have stepped up to care for Bear when I just absolutely had to have more time to work.
5. Bear himself – My goodness, that little guy has been helpful.  He’s finally at an age where he wants to “help” me clean.  I give him the Swiffer and he goes to town.  I give him a dust rag and he wipes everything in sight.  I give him a spray bottle, and Hello, Dolly, it’s like he’s won a prize.  He has been patiently watching Disney movies and has been just as sweet as he can be this week.  I could not love that little boy any more or my heart would just absolutely burst into a million pieces.
6. Hot Husband – That handsome man took over Bear duties so I could work.  He ran to the store and picked up milk, taking Bear with him, when I mentioned we were running low.  He took over bedtime, reading to Bear, so I could work.  Bless his heart, he’s so exhausted from his long days at work during conference week, that when he rocked the Bear to sleep, he rocked himself to sleep.
7. Flat Out Panic – I’ve been so stressed that I won’t be able to get everything done before the end of the month (read:  by deadlines and in time to put on this month’s invoices and before guests arrive for the party) that I’ve been working like a madwoman to get it all done.  The sheer terror I’ve felt has really motivated me to get a lot accomplished.  Tomorrow is going to be another challenging day, but I feel confident that, even if I don’t get it all done, I’ll be close enough that none of my clients are annoyed with me.

Sweet, Dark Secrets (by Amanda)

// September 28th, 2011 // No Comments » // Cooking, Life in General

Note from Nicci:  Let me just tell you, this week is really about to do me in.  I don’t know what I’d do without the Amazing Amanda bailing me out.  In addition to the fact that she does all these fun, crafty things with her adorable boys, she is a phenomenal cook.  Here’s a recipe from my darling sister who eats brownies and still looks all skinny (don’t hate).  It is one that I could surely use about now.  I just wish I lived closer to the Amazing Amanda so I could just come over and eat hers.

Tonight, I needed a dessert for the in-laws, and I looked in the pantry to see what boxed mixes I could do something with.  I found a cinnamon swirl cake mix, a chocolate lava cake mix, and a yellow cake mix.  Nothing struck my fancy.  Then I noticed another box hiding in the back.  It was a dark chocolate brownie mix.  I’m not sure when I bought it, and I’m not sure why.  Chocolate is not my favorite thing, and dark chocolate is one of the last things on my list of favorite sweets…but it’s one of my hubby’s faves, so maybe I was feeling nice the day I caught the brownie mixes BOGO and got one I thought he’d like.  I remembered we had a little bit of vanilla ice cream in the freezer and thought brownies might be a good way to finish that off.  (I don’t think I ever eat brownies without vanilla ice cream!)

Do you ever try the recipes on the boxes of cake/brownie mixes you buy?  I have, a few times, and been pleasantly surprised!  Tonight I saw a recipe for dark chocolate espresso cookies.  I loves me some coffee-flavored stuff, so I was intrigued…but I didn’t want to take the time to make cookies.  So, I improvised and liked what I discovered.

Dark Mocha Brownies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8×8 glass baking dish and set aside.  Mix together brownie mix, eggs, oil, coffee, and cinnamon, just till all dry ingredients become moistened.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Pour into greased baking dish and bake for approximately 40 minutes.  Cool slightly on wire rack.  Cut into squares and serve warm with vanilla ice cream!!

Yum!!  These are quite rich, however, so cut your brownies small and go back for seconds if you need/want/can handle more.

(I tried the toothpick test and it didn’t really work because I kept hitting melted chocolate chips.  I finally just pulled them out of the oven and let them cool for a few minutes, cut into them, and discovered they were superb!)

I Hate Housework Challenge Day 1 (and Other Assorted Stuff)

// September 27th, 2011 // No Comments » // Life in General, Organization, Time Management, Work at Home

I cannot thank the Amazing Amanda enough for her guest posts on the Nix9to5 blog.  I’m pretty sure that without her, I’d already be lapsing on posts.  I’m telling you,  I don’t know how she manages to have time to make and implement all these ideas with her boys.  I mean, it takes me weeks to even round up the supplies, much less start and finish a project.  (True story:  I decided to knit a baby blanket for the Bear when I found out I was pregnant.  I just found it in my closet.  It is exactly half finished.  Bear will be three in a little over a month.)

As far as getting things accomplished, this week is going to be CRAZY.  I have to finish all of my work projects before the end of the month for billing, and I just took on another project for a client.  I asked him if I could start it next week, but he needs it sooner, so I’ll be shuffling priorities and working extra late to make sure I get it all done.  By the end of the week, I need to write about 32 pages, 18 social media updates, and 9 product descriptions.  That doesn’t count any Nix9to5 posts or a few other pages that I should get done this week, but are secondary to the other bazillion projects (give or take).  I also have an all-day business meeting/work group on Saturday.

Oh, and did I mention that I’m throwing an 80′s themed birthday party for Hot Husband this weekend?  I’m not saying how old he will be, but it rhymes with schmorty.

I’ve already cancelled on appointment for the week, and I’ve already called in Babysitting Reinforcements in the form of Beela and Papa today.  Still, I’m not sure how it will all manage to get done.

In the midst of all this, I have officially begun my I Hate Housework Challenge.  I didn’t manage to get everything done–kitchen cabinets are still cluttered, and I didn’t sweep the floor, but I did at least buy new Swiffer cloths to help in this endeavor.  We went out to dinner tonight for an early birthday dinner for HH, so there weren’t too many dishes to load/unload, but my sweet HH did it anyway, even though it was his BIRTHDAY DINNER.  (Note:  If I did dishes on my birthday dinner night, I would pout about it.  Just so you know.)    I did, however, make the beds, sort the mail by taking care of what needed attention and trashing the junk mail immediately, tidy the living areas, and straighten and organize a bathroom (which wasn’t on the list).  And yesterday, I took the master bath and cleaned it so well that it turned into an all day ordeal.  You should come look in my linen closet and under my sinks.  Gorgeous.

Anyway, I’ve got work to do, a party to plan, and a house to clean before I pick up Bear from Mothers’ Day Out in a few hours.  This week is going to be busy, but it sure should prove to be productive!

Pattern and Sticker Pages (by Amanda)

// September 26th, 2011 // No Comments » // Activities, Children and Babies, Life in General

In preparation for a recent road trip, I scoured the internet looking for “busy book” ideas.  There were some great ideas, but I needed ones for a 2 year old and 4 year old (nearly 3 and “four and a half.”)  I took some of the things I found online and adapted them to make 2 three-ring binders full of learning and fun!  Out of about a dozen ideas, a few seemed to stand out far above the rest, and I learned a few very awesome things along the way!!

First of all, I discovered that putting “worksheets” into top loading page protectors allows the pages to be worked over and over again with a dry erase marker/crayon!  That was an unexpected surprise.  I had been laminating pages to make them reusable and then made this fascinating discovery.  From now on, anytime I have a particular love for a worksheet, I’ll put it into a page protector so it can be done over and over again.  (I have some Usborne Ready for Reading and Ready for Writing workbooks that I can’t bear to “ruin”, so that’ll be our approach for those for quite some time!!)

I also discovered that laminating cardstock makes stickers easily removable.  The stickers themselves may or may not be reusable, but the pages are!  And that brings me to my first favorite busy book item.

I was looking at free printable pattern pages and came across one that prints circles for “Fruit Loop” patterns.  I thought this might make a good snack/activity on the road.  Turns out my ancient computer and printer have some communication issues and the images wouldn’t print.  I was very frustrated!  I got 3 pages of nothing but borders.  Sigh.  I headed toward the trash in frustration when it occurred to me – I can make my own patterns, and I have the borders neatly in place already!  I already had 3 packages of labels – dots and large and small rectangles – for another purpose, but I quickly realized a new use for them.  I made patterns and left blanks for the boys to complete the patterns.  (My 4 year old has been doing/enjoying patterns at school.)

I put lots of sticker pages in zippered pencil pouches and handed those to the boys.  I also included googly eyes and some make-your-own dino stickers (they had mouths, spots, eyes, etc).  On the backs of the pages, the boys could make their own creations all together!

 That has proven to be pretty entertaining, too!  Super D, still under the age of 3, doesn’t quite get the patterns yet but matches shapes and enjoys making the creatures.  Bo Chuck can do both.

We’ve even taken this one in our “church bag” and the boys have done quite well with it there, too!  Anything that keeps the boys quiet and on their bottoms during worship is a big hit with me!!!

You’ll have to stay tuned to Nix9to5 for my other favorites….  All in good time!

I HATE Housework: Free e-Course

// September 23rd, 2011 // No Comments » // Life in General, Organization

http://vanchick.files.wordpress.com/

My struggle with maintaining a clean and tidy home while simultaneously raising a rambunctious toddler and working as a freelance writer is well documented.  During the past year, I’ve juggled my tasks poorly and don’t feel like I accomplished any of them to my full potential.  This second year seems to be improving–I’m not (as) behind on writing tasks, I have more time to play with and learn with the Bear, and my house . . . well.  It’s still a mess.  A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about taking Baby Steps to organization, and there has definitely been some improvement in all areas.  The house IS tidier, clean laundry isn’t left waiting to be folded and put away (at least, not for quite as long) and I’m getting more accomplished each day.

Still.  Overall, things aren’t running as smoothly as I’d like them to.  While I’m getting closer and closer, I still haven’t found or developed the system that seems to work the best for me.  Most of the “housecleaning checklists” I’ve found are way too comprehensive.  I’m not ready to dust the corners of my attic just yet.  For now, I’d like a system that helps me get dried toddler food off my kitchen floor without daily mopping.

Who am I kidding?  I’d settle for getting the bed made every day.

“But, Nicci,” you say.  ”Making your bed takes, like, 30 seconds.”  I know, right?  And yet it never manages to get done.  So how do I find a program or strategy that helps me develop a routine, a habit, of accomplishing all these 30 second tasks each day without it turning into a full on marathon cleaning session?  Or worse, allow me to get distracted enough to start cleaning closets, which we all know requires an entire vacation to accomplish adequately?

I Google it, of course.

As I turned to the Magic of the Interwebs to solve my housecleaning/organizational problem, I kept encountering the same thing as before.  Too.  Much.  Cleaning.  I mean, I’d love to spit shine my baseboards and all, but first, I need to fight the army of giant dust bunnies that has set up a impenetrable perimeter around the walls.

And then I found this:  The I HATE Housework free e-course.  Now, I know you can get daily emails from a bunch of different sources, notably The Fly Lady, but she wants me to put on my shoes even if I’m not leaving the house, and that, my friends, will not stand.

For the life of me, I cannot remember which site led me to the I HATE Housework e-course, but I do remember that the writer made it sound like something lazy normal people can accomplish in 35 days–with or without appropriate footwear.  I headed right over to MomChats and signed up for the email.

Right away, I began receiving daily emails with tasks to accomplish.  Over the course of the 35 day Housework Challenge, I should be able to establish cleaning routines that don’t take up all my free time, and I should be able to have a house that is clean enough to be presentable to mourners in case of my untimely demise. (Quote from my mother as I was growing up:  ”What if I die and people come over and see the house like this?!”)

Now.  I haven’t actually BEGUN the Housework Challenge yet.  It says it’s designed to start on a Monday, and since I signed up mid-week . . . well, that was just the perfect excuse to procrastinate.  However, I’ve created a folder in my email account and named it “Housework Challenge,” as the first I HATE Housework email suggested.  Now I can begin the challenge whenever I want, and I can revisit it any time my good intentions lapse and I find myself needing to rekindle my housekeeping efforts.

When I DO actually begin the I HATE Housework challenge on Monday, my first task is to begin implementing the daily chores.  These are as follows:

• Make the beds as soon as you get out of them.  What?!  Do I have to?!  Isn’t just getting out of it enough?
• Sweep the floor. This seemed a little much to me, but with the constant kitchen mess of the Bear, probably not a bad idea.  I’m going to cheat and Swiffer or vacuum, though.
• Clean off the kitchen table and countertops.  Ours are a catch-all for whatever we bring in the house.  Drives me nuts, but I’m as guilty as anyone.  Must nag talk to Hot Husband about this.
• Load/unload dishwasher.  This is, typically, Hot Husband’s job (*swoon*).  I could help out here, though.
• Tidy the living areas.  Not clean.  Tidy.   As in the “10 second tidy” type of clean up.  Pick up stuff and put it where it goes.  NOT on the kitchen counter.
• Sort mail and toss junk mail immediately.  The I HATE Housework challenge says if you don’t have time to sort it, leave it in the mailbox.

Gloomy Day Fun (by Amanda, with commentary by Nicci)

// September 22nd, 2011 // No Comments » // Activities, Children and Babies

Today it was cloudy and drizzly so rather than playing outside like I had planned, we had to improvise.  I had planned to make “doodle paint” (a find on Pinterest)* to paint with outdoors. Since my boys don’t like to sit and paint, I thought the kind of paint that you can squeeze out might be more fun.  We mixed up 2 batches (one blue, one green) and poured it into old glue bottles – leftovers from 2 batches of slime, also from Pinterest, which we now keep in Ziplocs in the fridge and play with from time to time – - including today after lunch.**

The doodle paint was only fun for a couple of minutes.  Super D’s was too thick and when I added water to it, Bo Chuck, his big brother, decided his needed more water, too.

When we tired of that, I decided to break out the shaving cream paint which was posted on Nix9to5 about a week ago.  We took it on the covered front porch, and the boys were allowed to paint an old kids’ table, covered in contact paper.

The boys had fun using different brushes to paint and also their fingers…but just a little with their hands.  (We had to have a damp rag for wiping hands.)***  The boys did this for about half an hour, probably, and then I dragged everything out into the yard to get drizzled on.  I gave the boys some bowls of water, spray bottles, and squirt bottles and they had even more fun getting to clean up their mess.  (Something I treasure because that happens SO rarely!)

My little men smell like old men, but it turned out to be a fun project!

(Note:  The seats the boys are using at the table are yet another Pinterest project.  They are covered with a vinyl tablecloth, so they’re easy to clean!  I love them!!)****

*I think the Pinterest Doodle Paint recipe Amanda used is from Delaware County Moms.  If I’m wrong–well, you can still find a recipe here.

**Slime worked great with Super D and Bo Chuck, but Bear hated it.  I’ll blog about it–and provide the recipe–later.

***Bear hates to get his hands messy (see the above comment about slime), and we can’t even fingerpaint, so I totally relate to the need for a damp cloth to wipe hands.  

****These crate seats are super cute, and I think it was pretty much brilliant of Amanda to use a vinyl tablecloth for easy clean up.  I’m hoping she’ll share her crate making tips with us soon (hint, hint), but if not, I can get you the link to an online tutorial.  It sure would be nice if someone made me a couple of these for Bear’s playroom (also hint, hint).

The SAHM Experiment: One Woman’s View

// September 21st, 2011 // No Comments » // Family, Work at Home

Yesterday, a headline from Huffington Post grabbed my attention:  ”An Experiment in Being a SAHM (Stay-at-Home-Mom).”  The article was about what it was like for a career woman, couples mediator and best-selling author Laurie Puhn, to spend a few days in the life of a stay at home mom.  I’ll give this to her, she calls it like it is.  Puhn calls being a SAHM the hardest job there is, and she relates the horror of trying to grocery shop with an infant and toddler–something many of you do expertly.

Image from http://www.superstock.co.uk

Instead of reading my summary of the article, I’d like to to take a few minutes to read the article itself.  Go on.  I’ll wait.

Okay.  What do you think?  In reading the comments below the article, I heard people describe how self-centered Puhn is for thinking that being a SAHM is difficult.  Really?  Are these SAHMs blissfully happy all the time?  I’ll tell you this, I would not trade being at home with my son for anything.  But it is hard work.  Sometimes, I’m tired.  Sometimes, I’m cranky.  Admitting to being tired and cranky does not mean that I’m not a good mother, or that I am selfish.  It’s just a fact, and I think most WAHMs and SAHMs would agree with me that sometimes our work is challenging.  Anything worthwhile is.

I think one thing that particularly rang true for me was when Puhn wrote about having a hard time keeping up with the housework.  When I first started working from home, I couldn’t figure out why keeping the house clean was so difficult.  I was bemoaning the fact that, when I worked outside the home, I was able to keep the house clean, but once I was actually at home more, it became nearly impossible.  I was so confused and frustrated until Auntastic, bless her, pointed out that when I was working outside the home, Bear was in child care, and neither one of us was home to mess it up.  There were no lunch dishes, there were no toys out of the playroom, there were no Play-Doh crumbs strewn across the kitchen table.  That explains it.

One think I would say to the author (besides, “Thank you!”) is that a few days really isn’t enough time to decide if being a SAHM is right for you.  After more than a year of staying at home with my son, I’m still trying to figure out the best routine for work, play, cleaning, and everything else we do in a day.  She wouldn’t ALWAYS have to take the kids to the store with her–frankly, I almost never take the Bear grocery shopping with me.  She wouldn’t ALWAYS have emergency doctor visits–thankfully, for us those are extremely rare.   And with time, she’d find routines that made all of her tasks, disruptions, and meltdowns manageable.

Yes, being a WAHM is difficult.  It’s also one of the biggest blessings of my life.  You just can’t go into it with the illusion that everything will be perfect.  It won’t be.  But it will be worth it.

What are your thoughts on “An Experiment in Being a SAHM (Stay-at-Home-Mom)?”

$10 Shutterfly Deal from Groupon

// September 20th, 2011 // No Comments » // Deals

This one is for new Shutterfly customers only:

$10 for an 8×8 photo book (reg. $29.99) from Shutterfly.

Bat Shirt Crazy (by Amanda)

// September 20th, 2011 // No Comments » // Children and Babies, Crafty Stuff

When I introduced myself, I told you that everything I do is a trial run and that I am completely average. Sometimes, when I’m having a good day, I forget that and think that I know what I’m doing and that I have mad skillz….and then blogs such as this are possible.

Today I decided to make a Halloween T-shirt for my almost 3 year old, “Super D”.  He informed me the other day that he wants to be a bat for Halloween, and when we later bought a black T-shirt for crafting purposes, he became convinced that this shirt was his “bat t-shirt.” He’s asked for it nearly every day since then. So, today, after some cleaning and basic household responsibilities were out of the way (and nap time rolled around so my “helpers” were also out of the way), I decided to make a bat T-shirt for Super D.

I pulled out my cricut machine and began to look at my few cartridges to see what good bats and other Halloween die cuts I had at my fingertips. After choosing a not-at-all-scary bat, I cut it out on contact paper*, just large enough to span the front of the t-shirt. (*error 1 – Note: I know that most tutorials I’ve seen always talk about using freezer paper, but I don’t have any on hand…and I did have some tacky contact paper that needed a purpose.)

So after some deliberation, I decided to use the reverse image and put the outline of the bat on the shirt and bleach the bat so he’d be a nice gray color… then I could embellish as needed. So I pulled out some bleach and a foam brush and began to blot bleach inside the lines for my cute bat image.

I put cardboard inside the shirt so I wouldn’t soak through to the back, but I think it absorbed some of the bleach and it bled… bleaching outside of my bat outline from underneath. Being terribly impatient, I took my hairdryer and dried the bat image as best I could and then removed the contact paper so I could see just how much patch up work would be needed. To my surprise, the shirt was perfect! If I was trying to make a shirt with a gray blob that looks like a storm cloud, that is.

In an attempt to fix the shirt and make some semblance of a bat, I got the actual bat that was cut out and placed it on the shirt. I then began to blot glow-in-the-dark paint around it. It turned out to be very much the same shade as the gray to which my original “cloud” had faded.

I then took out the bottle of glow-in-the dark paint again and began to outline the bat shape. I also blotted some black paint over the eye holes.

Before the paint could dry, I very carefully removed the contact paper bat to find a glowing outline of a bat. To make him slightly more creepy, I added some fangs – - which mostly look like buck-teeth. Not what I had in mind – AT ALL – but it has a bat on it, and it glows in the dark, so hopefully Super D will like it just fine! Maybe it’ll be his favorite shirt ever. Or maybe he’ll cry when I make him wear it once just because I took the time to make it. Who knows!

Oh, and another non-phenomenal mom note: I was making this for “wear black to school day” . . . tomorrow. The shirt can’t be washed for 72 hours and it’s pretty well soaked with bleach. Hmmm. Looks like we’ll be digging through the closet to find something else black for now. It’ll have to be better than last year’s black day, though, when he wore his brother’s black Nike sweatband because he had NOTHING black in his closet.

What a Crock!

// September 19th, 2011 // No Comments » // Cooking, Time Management

I’ve shared with you before my love of the crock pot as a lifesaving timesaving tool for busy moms–WAHMs, SAHMs, and WOHMs alike.  Obviously, I’m not alone in my belief that a slow cooker is integral to being able to prepare a hot meal for one’s family while still managing all of the other Mom Tasks one must accomplish.  In just a couple of days, the Crock Pot Girls went from a brand new Facebook page to having over a million fans (by comparison, Nix9to5 has been up for a year and a half, and I’m up to 245 fans.  Holla.).  If you haven’t heard of Crock Pot Girls, I can only assume that this is your first time using the internet EVER, and in that case, I’m wondering how you found my page.  Welcome.

Anyway, I was wondering what it would be like if I cooked dinner for a week only using recipes from Crock Pot Girls.  Not such a crazy venture when you look at Stephanie O’Dea’s Crockpot365, in which she used her slow cooker every day for a year (by the way–awesome recipes there, too).

Anyway, I’ve made two recipes in the last few days that I found on Crock Pot Girls.  Following are the recipes, my tweaks, and my reviews.  For the record, I’m posting the recipes EXACTLY as I copied them from the Crock Pot Girls discussion board. (more…)