My husband went today to get his SD card from a trail cam on his hunting land. He had an unexpected couple of days off. Of course, he asked if I wanted to go. And I did except I had to work this afternoon.

So, planned to just stay here and clean, maybe run a few early morning errands. Then, I stepped outside. And I knew I needed to be in nature for a bit if only locally. It was so nice out this morning.

What errands? Off to a local nature center for a walk. Last fall I took many walks here. I’d drop J off at school and then since I was so close, go on a walk. Why do I feel I need a reason to go walk there during the mornings? I have no idea and I need to get back to those walks.

My timing was good as I wasn’t first and some lovely soul had cleared quite a few spiderwebs for me. So I could enjoy the sights a little better. I zoomed way in to the top of a tree to try and figure out these birds, never quite managed it.

However, I didn’t have to crane my neck to see this woodpecker.

Or these geese blocking the walking path.

I could’ve walked through them instead of over to a fishing spot but I’d have missed this guy at the edge of the water.

Uh, is there a question in this post? Yes. Where do you like to walk? Is it in a city or suburban area or more out of the way? Ever skip your errands and go do something entirely different? Do you have a set errand day? Did you run any errands today? What’d you do?

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My answers: Since we live in the suburbs of KC, most places I go to walk are pretty much in the suburbs. However, this area has some very nice nature centers that can make it feel like you are far from civilization even as you hear the outdoor gym class of the local middle school.

Clearly I skipped out on my errands today. Lucky enough to have a schedule that I don’t need a set errand day. I do like to grocery shop on Mondays though.

Turns out one of my errands was fairly important and so I did stop and fill my car with gas on the way home from the nature center. I’d had enough walking for one day, ha!

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Another quick one tonight. Just late getting down here to my computer time and so pushing things close to bedtime again. I’ll answer comments tomorrow, I promise. Thank you so much for playing along and answering!

Tonight’s questions are easy: What was for dinner? Was it what you had planned? Do you menu plan? And was it a hit or miss?

Please tell me that I’m not the only one serving up the ocasional (probably more ocasional than I want to admit) miss over here.

My answer

Actually, I’ll give you a bonus by prefacing that last night we had corn dogs and French fries. Remember I worked until past 6 and so had my husband in charge of dinner. However, I did suggest that dinner. I didn’t suggest the full on frying of the fries in oil but he did and they were good!

Usually, I do menu plan though not always. Corn dog dinner was not part of the menu plan as I didn’t make a menu plan until today.

Anyway, not sure why after a meal of corn dogs and French fries, I desired something a bit healthier. Ha.

We had chicken fajita salads tonight. Sounds yummy, yes? And healthy with what lettuce for the salad, onions and peppers, even a few tomatoes from the garden.

And…it was a miss. SIGH.

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Everyone did eat at least. And then everyone sought out their own dessert, ice cream for my husband and G. J had a handful of candy corn. And I had some apple slices with caramel dip.

And now because I’ve been procrastinating (watching Netflix, sad as it is), I need to go clean up my disaster of a kitchen instead of spending more time here.

Hope whatever you had for dinner tonight was a hit and not a miss!

A quick one tonight. Today ended up being a bit of a long day. I was supposed to work 8 to 4 but ended up staying until 6:15. Life happens.

Anyway, I’d like to go to bed now at not quite 9:00PM. Well, really I wanted to go to bed at 8. And now the cat is trying to “help” me type this post. Grr.

So, just for fun. What time is your typical bedtime?

Is your bedtime different on the weekends?

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My answers: Mine is between 10 and 11 PM. Unless we’re out doing stuff or I’m really tired. I typically am in bed by 10 and then allow myself to read until 11. That means I either fall asleep reading my book or if it’s a really good book, make myself put it down at 11.

It varies for me on the weekends, I do allow myself to stay up a bit later (say if I’m reading a good book or engrossed in something mindless on tv).

Okay, I’m guessing halftime is just about over so time for me to be done here. And yes, I’ll stay up late to watch the Chiefs but I have a feeling I’ll be looking up to make sure we won the game in the morning.

Let’s get saucy for Sunday. I mean literally as in BBQ sauce.

If you aren’t aware, one of the things Kansas City is known for is Barbeque. We all have our favorites. If you were visiting, I’d probably suggest Gates. Or just last night, we had BBQ out with friends at Zarda’s (An establishment on the east side of KC though I think they have a restaurant also in Kansas. Another if you don’t know, the KC area spans both the states of Missouri and Kansas.) Another good one, my overall favorite though not going to lie a bit pricey, Jack Stack.

Anyway, as citizens of this area, I believe we are informally required to stock at least 2 if not 3 or more types of BBQ sauce in our kitchen at all times. Ha. Though possibly true.

We currently have the following BBQ sauces, some open, some not taking up space in our kitchen cupboards and refrigerator:   Arthur Bryant’s, Gate’s, Smokehouse, and Jones. Yes, most of these are from local restaurants though bought at the grocery store. Sometimes we also have Joe’s KC. Or Head Country (note: that’s an Oklahoma restaurant, my husband is originally from Oklahoma). And though I kind of loathe to admit it, Sweet Baby Ray’s is usually the main one in our fridge (not a KC original, apparently started in Chicago, noted from a quick glance at their webpage). The kids like it.

My questions for you:

Is your area famous for any particular cuisine? And what about BBQ sauce, do you have a favorite brand? What’s open (or not) in your kitchen right now?

Disclaimer: I’m a BBQ snob so if this is your answer (looking at some places in the south/southeast). Nope, we win. LOL.

Also, BBQ is a food not something you do. It’s a regional thing that drives me bananas (and no, I’m not hungry with all this food talk). Seriously though I might invite you over for BBQ but if I’m inviting you over for hamburgers/hot dogs on the grill, I’m inviting you to a COOKOUT.

I’ll forgive you for calling a cookout a BBQ but it really does aggravate me a bit. File it under very Midwest/Missouri/Kansas issues.

Today is day 5 of 31 days of questions and answers!  And a Saturday so I’m preparing this one in advance. Also, because I didn’t want to ask this question on Friday and possibly spoil it for someone who does the same puzzles.

Each morning I spend some of my time on my phone (which is probably bad) doing the following things and usually in this order.

My morning phone time:

1. Bible devotion app. There’s a morning and evening verse but I usually read the one from the night before in the morning along with the one for the morning.
2. NY Times Wordle game. My husband does this one also and always seems to solve the puzzle in less guesses than me. It’s annoying.
3. NY Times Strands game. Nobody else really does this one. I enjoy it though. It’s like a wordsearch where they don’t give you the words. Just a hint about the puzzle. And then one word called the spam-gram stretches across the whole “board.” Today’s question actually comes from one of the answers to yesterday’s Strands game.
4. My vice game: Project Makeover. The amount of time I spend here depends on my schedule for the day.   
5. Sometimes the news (I get a brief synopsis of headlines from the NY Times but I’m too cheap to pay for the subscription so can’t always read the full stories and will just google the subject if I’m super curious).
6. Mornings with lots of time to waste might or might not also include: e-mail, Instagram, and Facebook (though not much of the last one)

Anyway, back to our question for today.

What do you keep in your glove box?

The NY Times Strands puzzle answers from yesterday:  Spam-gram: Glovebox Words: manual, flare, registration, title, atlas, and quarter.

Some of the answers just made no sense to me. I’m stuck on the flare answer. Who keeps a flare in their glove box? In the trunk, sure but in the glove box? Please tell me if you keep a flare in your glove box. What else you do keep in there?

My answers:

This is from memory as I’m too tired to go officially check. Driver manual, state map (no atlas, wouldn’t fit), registration/matenienace stuff (uh, not the title…don’t do that! Keep it someplace safe like in a safe.), insurance cards (probably need to clean some of the old ones out…I have a bad habit of just throwing the new ones in there). And a small first aid kit (big first aid kit in the trunk).

Then, I have the center console thing that opens and it contains various cd’s that I seldom listen to any more. I guess newer cars don’t even have cd players? SIGH.  My car has one as it’s not exactly new anymore but 2015 also doesn’t seem that long ago. I can also usually scrounge up a small thing of kleenex or some type of wipes. Random phone chargers as well. It contains a thing to sort change as well, might or might not have change in it.

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How about some good clean fun for today’s question.

First, a confession: I woke up in a super grouchy mood thanks to a little gray cat who refused to come inside last night. Kept me up way past my bedtime with her antics. (I’m not saying that maybe I watched a little too much Netflix also but had the cat come in on time, I *might* have went to bed a bit earlier) I actually typed up an entire post full of grumbles. Then, decided it wasn’t something to share especially on a Friday. Not quite as grouchy now so hopefully this is a better post than the deleted one.

Good Clean Fun

You know I purchase a bit too much from a certain store, candles, hand sanitizer, hand soap, shower gel (sometimes…I could make a whole grouchy post about how they always seem to discontinue my favorite scents), etc. It’s Bath and Body Works if you don’t know. Actually, I’m due to get a package today. And another in a few days because some things from my last package arrived broken. I try to keep stocked up on their hand soaps.

Here’s Our Soapy Stats

Photos of the soaps only because even though I cleaned yesterday, the house is somehow a mess again. SIGH.

Main Bathroom Soap

If you needed to use our main bathroom, it’s not disgusting just junked up from the morning rush…you’d be washing your hands with:

Fragrance notes: magical vanilla, glowing amberwood and enchanted pink pepper. (from their website)

It’s as far as I’ve got with the Halloween/Fall decor around here outside of a pulling out a blanket with a pumpkin motif. I also bought a couple of single wick candles in this scent.  If you were here and the bathroom were clean, I’d have it lit. The fragrance isn’t bad but is a little strong.

Come on in the kitchen, where I’d also have another wicked vanilla woods scented candle burning. Can I get you a beverage? A not so good grocery store donut?

Kitchen Soap

I wish I had bought the candles of this scent! It smells so good. And uh-oh, I see it’s in stock at a store not too far away. Someone tell me I don’t need any more candles!

Fragrance notes: crisp apple, fresh-picked basil and morning dew. (from their website)

It just smells very clean to me.

Also, my husband and kids just use the dish soap to wash their hands in the kitchen. So that option is also available to you. I can’t do that all the time (sometimes I have) as the dish soap dries out my hands.

If it’s an emergency, I guess you can use the bathroom in our bedroom. It’s tiny and usually always a mess but it serves the purpose.

Bedroom Bathroom Soap

So, the other soaps (well, not the dish soap not pictured, probably Dawn by the way) are all foaming soap. Funny thing, my husband doesn’t really care for foaming hand soap. Don’t ask. I have no idea. However, it means in our bedroom bathroom we use gel soap.

It tends to last a bit longer not because of the gel but because more people use the other bathroom. Currently you’d be washing your hands with Eucalyptus Mint. Another nice clean scent.

Fragrance notes: fresh mint, crisp eucalyptus and sweet clary sage. (from their website)

We are about out of the soap in there though. I think I’ll be switching it out (once empty) for either white pumpkin or perfect autumn. Both will get us through Halloween/early November while staying seasonal.

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Note: yes, I think the Bath and Body Works soap is outrageously priced and so stock up when it’s on sale/I have a good coupon deal. Also, I have a regular gel soap of some random Target brand milk and honey on my shelf as well. I used to buy Method soap which I still like but when the prices went up, well, might as well buy the seasonal pretty stuff where I have a bit more choice.

Anyway, my question for you all today is do you use seasonal scented soaps in your house?  And so, if I need to wash my hands while I’m visiting you, what kind of soap am I using?

Just a very simple and quick question for day 3 of 31 days of questions and answers.

Do you feed the birds? And are you a bird watcher?

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If you’ve been here for any amount of time, you already know my answer is yes. I also like to watch for birds when I’m out and about though I usually just rely on the camera zoom if I have it rather than binoculars.

Just yesterday I replaced my hummingbird feeder with a small finch feeder (for some reason goldfinches are the one bird that just don’t like to visit us much). Also, added another suet feeder.

For fun here’s a little collage of some of the bird pictures I’ve shared on the blog previously:

Welcome to day 2 of 31 Days of Questions and Answers. These questions and answers are going to be completely random. Just like if we were sitting together in that coffee shop or restaurant or even here.

Today’s question idea sparked early this morning. I woke up to J telling me something was off with our milk. Not good for someone who drinks coffee with that splash of milk to start each day.

I needed to go to Menards for bird seed and happened to know they sell milk. Birdseed and milk, my Midwest errand list. Also, Menards is very close to a Dutch Bros coffee shop. And last time I was at Dutch Bros they asked me if I had the app. I’m not an app person but I figured maybe I should get the app for somewhere I frequent. She’d given me a little card to scan.

So this morning, working on limited coffee, I started installing the app on my phone. I knew it was going to give me a free medium drink of my choice. As I input my birthday for that free drink in a couple months, their system calendar showed that my birthday many moons ago occured on a Tuesday.

Remember the old nursery rhyme:

Monday’s child is fair of face,
Tuesday’s child is full of grace,
Wednesday’s child is full of woe,
Thursday’s child has far to go,
Friday’s child is loving and giving,
Saturday’s child works hard for a living,
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day
Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.

And yes, I had to google it as I didn’t know all of the days. Here’s a link to an interesting analysis and history of the nursery rhyme including some other older versions.

So today’s question for you….do you know what day of the week you were born?

Don’t worry if you don’t, I found this fun little tool to help you out.

What day of the week were you born? Go here and enter your birthday (it doesn’t ask for any other personal info so I think we’re okay).

Do you think the old nursery rhyme holds true according to the day your were born?

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My answers: I already mentioned that my birthday fell on a Tuesday. Am I full of grace? I have no idea. I try to give it freely.

Just for fun, I looked up the rest of my little family here: Both boys were born on Mondays. I’d like to think they are both beautiful and fortunate (see poem analysis above). My husband’s birthday fell on a Saturday and he does work hard for a living.

(Also, after all the work of installing the app, I decided the line at Dutch Bros was too long and just came home with my new gallon of milk and had my regular coffee here.)

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Confession: this is a make it up as I go along 31 days series. If you want a little more info about all this go check out this brief post. I may or may not get a page up later this week along with a better graphic.

I want this series to be like we’re sitting in a coffee shop or at my kitchen table or maybe out later. Let’s start with favorite drinks.

Coffee Order, please.

If we’re out at a coffee shop, what are  you ordering? Something seasonal? Something fancy? A regular go-to order?

And if we’re here, how do you take your coffee? Black? Sugar? Creamer?

Tea for me

Okay, tea drinkers…what are you ordering at the fancy shop? Or if we’re here, what am I stocking up on to offer you, my friend?

Soda or Stronger

Maybe we’re out to lunch or having lunch here. Are you ordering a soda? (Coke or Pepsi?) Maybe an iced tea (guess that might go in the tea category). Stronger choices: Are you a margarita or a mojito drinker? Just a beer? And if we’re here, I can get you water, lemonade (maybe), juice, or probably something we’ll have to borrow from the 22 year old.

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My answers:

My coffee order

Coffee at home is au lait. Just plain Folgers out of the pot with a splash of milk to make it the special right light brown color. Coffee out is a hodgepodge depending on where we go. I do like to try the seasonal drinks (in season, sorry I’m not going to order a pumpkin anything when it’s 95 degrees out but a cookie dough freeze coffee drink, okay). If nothing seasonal appeals, I’ll most likely order a mocha, cappuccino, or caramel macchiato depending on my mood. Also, I prefer hot coffee drinks unless it’s hot outside, then I’ll have mine iced or blended (as I’ve found iced gives me a lot more ice than coffee at our local shops).

Tea choices

If you come here for tea, it’s either green chai or Earl gray at the moment. Tea is kind of a fall/winter thing for me so I don’t have a lot on the shelf right now. I do have some hot cocoa though. Guess I left that out of the questions up there, oops. If we’re out, I’m ordering a chai latte. My standby favorite. Current favorite though: Dutch Bros caramel pumpkin breve made into a chai. The baristas (or broistas, lol) never lead me wrong.

Soda or Something Stronger

With tea still on my mind, if we’re out for Thai food, I’m ordering one of those Thai iced teas. So good. Otherwise, water or unsweet iced tea (I’d never survive the south, I can’t stand sweet tea). I will sometimes also order the “fancy” iced teas with flavor though. And if it’s an option, I’m ordering the Arnold Palmer. Coca cola is my preference but I’m not picky if we’re out and yes, Pepsi is fine. At home though, I skip the Pepsi unless it’s Mango Pepsi. We do try not to buy a lot of soda though.

If I’m picking my poison, it depends on where we go for our lunch/dinner. Mexican: maybe a margarita, frozen though. Pizza? Just a beer. Out for a night with friends somewhere with fun drinks: I’ll try whatever looks interesting and pretty. I do like to get a cosmopolitan when we do Galentine’s day.  And if we’re here, well…let’s see. Leftover wine spritzer from a girls’ trip in June? Those are mine. Now we  have to raid my son’s stuff: Angry orchard hard cider? A bit of vodka? Something called a quark? Oh or my husband has some nasty (my opinion) peanut butter whisky?

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Okay, I want to hear your answers. I like to be a prepared hostess. And take my friends to places I know they’ll have something they like.