Modern Translation: The Awesome wife’s guide (Rule #7)

(This is the 8th post of this series. To read the entire series, click on the label to the left that reads "Modern Translation Series.")

* Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children’s hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair and, if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part. Minimise all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. 

Man, I sure am glad I wasn't raised by these parents! That sort of childhood sounds like a drag! Aren't kids suppose to get dirty, be creative and act rowdy? 

I don't know if it's even fair for me to talk regarding this matter, since we have yet to have children but I do have a few thoughts. 

"Wash their hands and faces": Okay, I get this. Yes, one should wash childrens' hands and faces when they are dirty. 

"Comb their hair": Does one actually think that a working mother has time to comb the children's hair when Daddy gets home from work? And that he would actually care what their hair looks like? Sure, let's say there are 87 hours in the day and I'm a stay-at-home mom, then I'll comb their hair. Hell, I might even comb my own, but the day my husband comes home from work and complains about either mine or our children's hair is the day my husband wakes up with his eyebrows shaved off. I think that's a fair retaliation. 

"Change their clothes": I have a rule in our house and that is to never, ever, ever intentionally make one article of laundry more than absolutely necessary. I can't even keep up as is. I am certainly NOT going to remove perfectly good clothes from a child that aren't dirty. Not an efficient use of my time. Non negotiable. That's like saying, "Don't forget to redecorate the living room everyday while your husband is at work. He will want to sit on a new, fresh couch when he returns home for the evening."

"They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part": Okay, children are treasures, gifts from God, I agree. How exactly, though, does one play the part of a treasure? More importantly, how does one get a small child to do whatever that is? Mothers out there, I could use your help on this one!

"Minimize all noise": <rolling eyes>

"Eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum": Okay, well, now... see, I can either remove clean clothes from the children and wash them or I can turn off the washer/dryer. I can't do both. Even I'm not THAT good!

"Try to encourage the children to be quiet": I like the words chosen here, "try to encourage." It's as if Mrs. 1950's Housewife knows this is a lost cause. While I'm at it, I think I will "try to encourage" my husband to skip his nightly beer and eat a carrot instead. 

Clean children who don't play or get dirty; that sounds like a boring home without fun. Chores that must be completed without making noise. More laundry. I'm not sure this is the kind of life I want to live. It's all about striking a balance, I guess. When we do have children, I imagine there will be noisy days and quiet ones. I think I'll focus my energy on working on these rules on those days when my husband comes home with that look on his face that says "Today needs to be a quiet day."

Dear 1950s Housewife, 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this sounds like a rule even you know is impossible to fulfill!

Have a pleasant day,

The 2010s Housewife

My name is Tracy, but you can call me Martha: Painted Knife Block

If you've seen any photos of our home, you'll know that my husband and I are not afraid of a little color on the walls, which is ironic because I grew up in a beige house. Literally, every room had beige walls... some "haystack", some "desert tan", some "antique beige", you get the drift. That was, of course, until I became old enough to pick my own bedroom paint color and thus started a string of purple bedrooms, darker and darker each time.

Our kitchen is a wonderfully fun, bright blue color. It's bold and primary and it makes me happy. I've slowly started accenting the room with other bold color accessories: green, yellow... and bright red! It's like being in a kindergarten classroom again!

When I saw Beckie @ Infarrantly Creative's post showing her red painting knife block I knew I had to do it!

Here is my old, boring knife block:

I did actually use primer on this project, two coats to be exact.

Then I used Krylon Indoor/Outdoor in Cherry Red with a gloss finish. To try to protect it, I also used a matte finishing/protecting spray. I didn't think gloss would work well in the kitchen since it tends to show fingerprints.

Our kitchen was an awful 1970's yellow nightmare when my husband bought the house so it's been a long journey to get to the cramped but aesthetically pleasing space we have today.

What do you think about our bold color choices?

Linking Up @ Today's Creative Blog 
The Thrifty Home

Fruit Salsa

Fruit salsa is the perfect summer party food! I request it at any party thrown in my honor (birthday party, bridal shower) and I've made it myself for many parties (and as a birthday gift once too).

There are two ways to make it: one super easy and one a little more time consuming.

First, buy whatever fruit you like or whatever looks good or is on sale at the store. The salsa in the photo has pineapple and blueberries, both were BOGO this week, plus red grapes, kiwi and one large granny smith apple (to add a little tartness). Strawberries are also great and peaches add a surprising flavor that really stands out.

The quick and easy way: Wash and de-stem all the fruit then chop everything into large chunks. Put it all in a bowl and go to town on it with a biscuit cutter or a Pampered Chef crinkle cutter. (Or really, whatever works!) This is going to make a juicier salsa, more like a jarred salsa. It's really hard to get the grapes chopped this way because they slide out from under the blade, so you may want to hand cut them into halves so they are easier to eat.

The way I like to make it is to chop all the fruit into teeny, tiny little salsa-sized pieces. Crazy? I know, but it makes it much more like a fresh salsa consistency, which I prefer. I find that this method freezes better too which is great for me since I usually make way more than I need.

It has been so hot here lately and I must be dehydrated because I'm craving fruit. I made a huge bowl of fruit salsa this week and have been eating a bowl for lunch everyday with a spoon. 

A great compliment to a good fruit salsa is cinnamon sugar tortilla chips. I don't have photos of these because I didn't make them this time but they are sooo easy and so good! Take any size flour tortillas and cut them with kitchen scissors into whatever shape you want. I usually make a triangle shape, like a standard tortilla chip but I've also made strips too. In a small bowl mix up a little bit of cinnamon and some sugar. I can't give you quantities because I never measure and it really depends on how many chips you are making. Just mix until it looks good to you.

Place your chips on a baking sheet and sprinkle the sugar mixture over them. Bake at 350 degrees until.. um.. they look right? I know, I'm the worst recipe writer ever. I would guess its about 10-15 minutes. Maybe less? I usually poke them until they feel crispy and then take them out.

If you like the little bowl shaped tortilla chips you could cut circles out of your tortilla and push them down into a mini muffin pan to bake.

Are you hungry yet??

Etsy Round-Up: Graduation Gifts

Tis the season for graduation parties! Here are a few grad gifts I found on Etsy: 

(click photo to view larger)

(Clockwise from top left)  

Message Stone - Custom text on white beach stone by sjEngraving $35.00

Laundry 101 Toolkit by Lindysues $58.00

You are Braver than You Believe Card by rawartletterpress $4.00

I'm Possible Audrey Hepburn Illustrated Quote Print by 3LambsGraphics $10.00

Personalized Sterling Silver Guitar Pick by JessieMcCann $25.00

Set of 12 Personalized Note Cards by TakeNote $14.50

Monogrammed Jute Toe by Avamom07 $24.99


Hey Etsy Shops! Interested in being a 2010s Housewife sponsor? Click on the Advertiser tab above or email 2010housewife@gmail.com

Good Deed Day: Hip2Help Tour

A couple posts ago I told you about Hip2Save's upcoming Hip2Help Tour. At least I think I did. I did, didn't I? If not, I should have and I'll tell you more about it now.

The very first couponing blog I started reading years ago was Hip2Save: Not Your Grandma's Couponing Site. I absolutely love this blog and read it everyday!

Well Collin over at Hip2Save is doing an amazing thing this summer to help out victims of this year's recent string of nasty tornadoes all across the country. This benefit tour will make 4 stops in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee to give out much needed supplies and assistance to those affected.

They are currently collecting supplies to hand out on the tour: health & beauty items, cleaning supplies, paper products and personal care items, among others. These types of items are some of easiest for couponers to get for free or at low, low prices and many of us have more than needed in our stockpile. Specifically, they suggested everyone sending along all the little bottles of shampoo, condition, mouthwash and bars of soap that everyone collects from hotels (I know I'm not the only one!) and the free samples we all receive in the mail now & again.

Well, if you remember from my closet organization project last week I pulled out a ton of those little hotel bottles and bars to send to the Hip2Help Tour. This weekend I got them all boxed up and ready to mail out.

I wanted to write this post to remind everyone again about the Hip2Help Tour and encourage everyone to help in any way they can. The box I am going to mail will probably only cost me a couple bucks and I won't even miss the items I'm sending. Think of how much good can be done if everyone sent in even just what could fit in the smallest USPS flat rate mailing box (which only costs $5.20 to mail)!

Be sure to check out Hip2Save for more information on the Hip2Help Tour!