We cancelled cable about three years ago and subscribed to Netflix. Aside from a few cable shows like “Top Chef” that we can’t seem to find anywhere or the occasional Husker football game that doesn’t air on a major network, we haven’t missed cable or the bill.
Since cancelling cable, Philip and I have found some fantastic movies and television shows that we previously probably never would have given a second look.
The show chronicles the stories of the midwives and nursing nuns in 1950’s London’s East Side Nonnatus House. The women live together between making bicycle house calls to the nearby pregnant women. Each episode introduces us to new patients with quirky family members. We watch as the midwives navigate the medical and social problems hurled at them as the patients go through pregnancy, labor, delivery, and the postpartum period. The stories range from gut-wrenching to gut-busting. I laugh and cry several times each episode.
We’ve all heard that “truth is stranger than fiction.” Knowing that the show is based Jennifer Worth’s memoir makes the characters and their stories even more powerful. The memoir was previously published as The Midwife and is now titled Call the Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times.
Call the Midwife cover image from Amazon.com
The show just aired the first episode of Season 2 on March 31. Here is a 30-second video that gives you a glimpse into the show:
In my opinion, “Call the Midwife” is one of the few shows on television that:
Convincingly and beautifully develops its characters
Conveys their wide range of emotions
Shares the gut-wrenching stories without being vulgar or explicit
Season 2 of “Call the Midwife” airs on PBS through May 19, 2013 Sunday evenings at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. I hope you’ll catch up on the previous episodes and start tuning in Sunday evenings to this fantastic show.
Once you’ve seen a few episodes, take this fun “Which Midwife Are You?” quiz! Are you Jenny, Chummy, Trixie, or Cynthia? Apparently I’m Cynthia Miller. Which Midwife Are You?
Boy, oh boy! This was DEEEEEEEE-LISH-USSSS! It was our first time trying this recipe, and I loved it for several reasons:
It’s a slow cooker recipe. What’s not to love about throwing dinner together before it’s even lunchtime?
It made the house smell amazing all day long.
I had all of the ingredients on hand.
I love sauces, and this recipe made plenty of sauce.
We might add 1 more tablespoon of orange marmalade for next time since we liked the orange-iness. Otherwise, I have absolutely no changes! The Recipe (from CookingClassy.com):
Yield: 4-6 servings
Ingredients
3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce (regular would work too)
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
3 Tbsp orange marmalade
1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp cold water
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
Cooked long grain white rice, for serving
Sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)
Directions
Place chicken in a slow cooker, set aside. In a mixing bowl, whisk together soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, light-brown sugar, honey, orange marmalade, ginger, garlic and pepper. Pour mixture over chicken in slow cooker, cover with lid and cook on low heat 5 – 6 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred. Strain sauce from slow cooker through a fine mesh strainer into a medium saucepan. In a small mixing bowl whisk together 1 1/2 Tbsp cold water and cornstarch. Pour cornstarch mixture into liquid in saucepan and heat mixture over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to gently boil. Allow mixture to gently boil about 20 seconds until thickened. Return chicken to slow cooker and pour teriyaki sauce from saucepan over chicken. Toss mixture gently to evenly coat. Serve warm over cooked rice garnished with optional sesame seeds and serve with diced fresh pineapple if desired.
2. Roasted Broccoli Florets While the Jasmine rice is simmering on the stove top…
1 head of broccoli cut into florets
Place on baking sheet
Drizzle with olive oil
Sprinkle on some freshly ground pepper and sea salt
Stir it all together to evenly distribute the olive oil
Roast at 350 for 15 minutes (or until browned)
Sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3. Sliced strawberries I had a bunch already sliced up from Costco. Yummy yummy! What’s your easy weeknight dinner recipe? Share away!
A mom friend told me that she is sick of the mountains of laundry, and she asked me to share my laundry system as well as any tips and tricks. Here is my response:
Two years ago, I finally decided to create a system for tackling the laundry. I used to do a marathon day of load after load of laundry. I know that system works for some people, but it wasn’t working for me. When laundry day rolled around, I dreaded the task because I knew it would take all day. Often, I would put it off because it seemed so daunting, and the task grew even larger.
Creating a laundry schedule and tackling a little bit each day (except Sunday!) works for me.
Here’s my system: Monday
Kid laundry
Philip’s and my casual clothes
Philip’s and my dress clothes
Tuesday
Children’s bedding
Our bedding
Wednesday
Whites
Towels
Bath mats
Thursday
Bibs/Dish towels
Cleaning rags
Friday/Saturday
Extra loads or special items like reds or blankets from the family room.
Sunday
NO LAUNDRY!!!
A few tips I’ve learned along the way:
Whenever possible, treat stains immediately. Different kinds of stains on different fabrics will need different treatments. Here is a helpful stain chart from Better Homes and Gardens that you can download and print off for your laundry room. Always treat the stain before washing to avoid setting the stain.
Read clothing labels carefully to avoid shrinkage, discoloration, dying, etc.
Unless you really like the color pink, ALWAYS wash red items (especially new ones!) separately.
Washing items on cold prevents you from having to separate brights and darks. That would turn into so many loads of laundry, and I don’t have enough time to do that much laundry!
Containing socks–especially itty bitty little baby socks: Hang a mesh zipper bag (the kind you use to wash delicate items) on a skirt hanger next to the hamper. Place socks in the bag instead of the hamper, and toss them in the hamper when the clothes are ready to be washed. This way, all of your socks stay together, and you won’t end up losing one in a sleeve.
Bibs: My kiddos are messy eaters, so we go through a few bibs a day. At the end of the day, I rinse them out with soap and water. Then, I hang them to dry from the wire shelving in the laundry room. When the weekly washing day rolls around, I unsnap them from the wire shelf, and toss them in the wash with the dish towels from the week.
Hang items immediately from the dryer to limit ironi ng.
Pleated skirts: You can place bag clips (the kind you use on bags of chips) on the hem of a pleated skirt to avoid ironing.
Lint: Empty the catcher often to maximize dryer efficiency and limit the risk of fire. Thoroughly clean the lint out with a vacuum at least once a season. Vacuum behind and under the machines as well.
If you use liquid softener, top off the softener distributor with water to avoid gunky softener build-up.
After each cycle, leave the washer’s lid open to allow for air circulation.
My laundry room hamper with three dividers on wheels makes separating clothes an easy job.
Separate clothes while waiting for the washer to fill.
Bedding: Keep 2 (or 3) sets for each bed on rotation. Store the fitted sheet, bed sheet, and one pillow case inside of the other pillow case to create neat “packages” for your linen closet. Blankets can be folded and placed in separate shelves.
Give every item a home in closets and drawers to make putting laundry away easier.
Clean out closets and drawers at least once a season.
Keep a “donate” and “mend” bin in your laundry room.
Immediately trash items that are beyond repair or cannot be donated.
What’s your laundry system? Do you have any tips to share?
