Dutch Oven Stew

Preheat oven to 325 F

3 pounds boneless beef chuck (well-marbled), cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 3 tablespoons olive oil

1 Large Sweet Onion finely diced

7 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups dry red wine

4 cups beef broth

4 cups water

2 bay leaves

1  teaspoon dried thyme

2 teaspoons sugar

4 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

1 pound small potatoes cut in chunks

In small batches brown roast pieces, then transfer to a bowl. 

Sauté onions and garlic and balsamic vinegar

Add tomato paste and sauté a few minutes more. 

Return meat and juices to pan, add flour and stir until flour is absorbed. 

Add beef broth, wine, water, thyme, bay leaves, sugar, salt and pepper. 

Bring to a boil then cover and place in oven for two hours. 

Cut up carrots and potatoes, season with olive oil, salt and pepper, bake for two hours next to roast. 

After two hours add potatoes and carrots to roast, stir and serve. 

Chalky Paint

I really enjoy crafting, as long as I can finish it in a reasonable amount of time.
I have discovered chalky paint, which lets me paint furniture and wood without having to sand and prep. 
I picked up a couple cans, one light blue for my bathrooms, and a dark blue for my desk..

 While the bathrooms were a fairly quick job, my desk has been a nightmare.
It had several coats of paint, the finish was sticky, and required stripping, and now sanding.
it turned out to be a lot more work than I wanted or anticipated.

When Other Things Need To Be Done

How do you feel about spiders?

I found Spider Utopia while vacuuming my closet.

Distractions, procrastination's!

Foot Fracture

It has been fifteen days since I broke my foot.

I am in love with a youtube channel and blog called Clutterbug.me.
She has great content for Home Management Binders, organizing and cleaning tips- if you need help in the home management area, her blog is one you must check out.
So in my effort to tidy up my kitchen I decide to put all my gadgets I normally keep on the counter into the cupboards and cabinets so my counters would be spotless.
Even the blender I use almost every day.
I decided to make myself a peanut butter, banana and chocolate protein shake- its seriously delicious. I climbed up on my counter to reach the blender, something I have done hundreds of times. I was sitting on the counter and when I turned to get off the counter I slipped, fell to the floor and heard the horrible sound of a bone cracking.
My feet were maybe three feet from the floor, but that was all it took.

The sad part, all of my family members were working or occupied and it was a good two hours before I was picked up and driven to an Urgent Care, where they did some x-rays on my foot, wrote me a script for Tylenol 3, told me to see an Orthopedic Doctor and had me hop out of their hospital.My husband  had to go back and get crutches for me because I couldn't put any weight on my foot.
Until he got the crutches I had a brilliant(horrible) idea to use the kids Cozy Coupe to help me scoot around the house, until it rolled out from under me and I lost my balance and hit the floor again. Take my advice, use a step stool, take your calcium supplements and don't use this little car as a walker.

Save a Life? You just might!

Have you taken a CPR/ AED class?
I took one in the beginning of February. I learned a lot, heard great stories of people whose lives had been saved by someone who took CPR and happened to be nearby in their time of need.
I was really  nervous about going to this training and had been putting it off for a few years. I can say now I wish I had taken this class sooner.
I got to practice giving CPR and using an AED machine on a dummy. I learned a lot and had a wonderful time. Even though the certification is good for two years, I plan to take their training every year it is offered and I plan to bring a friend every time.