https://chitchatwithjean.com/
Author: jehdld

Sam’s Club Purchases

Blog365 12 Comments

Today was a bit busy but not really. I finished up my long week and a day of subbing yesterday. And I’m already missing the kids a bit.

However, it was nice to have time to do some much overdue chores around here. The house is slightly cleaner than it was yesterday.

Early this morning I went to Sam’s Club. Thought I’d just share what I bought there for today’s post. I like seeing what other people are buying so thought you might like to see what was in my cart.

First the fun stuff.

Clearance Finds!

This blanket is probably going to be an argument with my husband. A cozy soft argument but still an argument. He somehow thinks we have too many blankets. I think not. Is that even a thing to have too many blankets?

We had an issue with 2 Kohls blankets I bought around Christmas (one was a gift to him). When I washed them, they did not do well. Full of fuzz!  Anyone else ever have issues like that with the Big One blankets? All my other blankets from there have always been fine in the washer/dryer.

Anyway, he told me to stop buying cheap blankets and just get a good one. So I did. Sort of. I was browsing online deal sites a while back and these are supposed to be like duplicates of some super expensive brand called Barefoot Dreams. It’s pretty, soft, cozy, and since it was on clearance, I thought I’d give it a try. It really ended up costing less than the Kohl’s blankets at their regular prices.

My other clearance find was this cardigan sweater with a Christmas tree design. For my birthday, my husband gifted me the same style sweater in a red/white deer type pattern. I really like this green one though. Can already envision wearing it over Christmas tee-shirts with jeans or even with a pretty simple red dress (not that I own one).

Groceries

Bottled water. Reason for the trip. 

Cooked chicken to add to freezer (not whole) so I can have already cooked chicken on hand for a few meals or as a last minute option.

Meatballs. The secret ingredient in a few of my recipes. I can make my own but the family likes these just as well. Time saver for the win.

Blueberries, plain potato chips, and croissants. Husband takes blueberries in his lunch almost every day. Sometimes you just need basic chips. And I can’t say no to the croissants. Probably my favorite form of bread. Or are they a pastry with the flaky layers? I don’t know. They are just good!

I guess the question to end this becomes are you a Sam’s Club or a Cosco person? Or do you not do the warehouse stores? I’d honestly probably be okay without but they are convenient at times.

********************

day 10/365

 

Happy Homemaker Monday, Second Week of January

Blog365 HappyHomemakerMonday 4 Comments

I debated if I was going to go ahead with a HHM post tonight. It’s Monday evening now and I’m a bit tired. However, since it’s still Monday, why not?

Joining in as always with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom.

The Weather

Really nice. It was in the mid 50’s today. Still 50 degrees tonight. January 50 degrees is chilly but nice. Supposed to be in the 50’s all week until Thursday and Friday when it drops back into the mid 30’s. Chance of rain on Thursday. Back to the high 40’s/low 50’s for the weekend.

As I Look Outside My Window

This was my lunch time view out the front windshield of the car.

Right Now

Yawning. And working on this post.

Thinking And Pondering

Mostly about J’s school semester. Things went well today. Trying to be cautiously optimistic. I was feeling great in the fall and everything sort of bottomed out so I’m not wanting to get my hopes up too high. However, I also don’t want to be pessimistic about it all. Ugh, there’s that word of the year again, whispering to just wait and see.

On My Bedside Table

A lamp. Phone charger. That’s it. I’ll charge my phone there tonight and set my glasses on it.

On My TV Tonight

No time to really watch. Husband was watching Top Chef when I got home from work. And America’s Got Talent when we got home from J’s lesson.

Listening To

The washer and dryer. What else?

On The Lunch Plate

School lunch of macaroni and cheese. Wasn’t awful. Passed on the sides so the kids could have more, apples and green beans. Also, had a Luna bar (nuts over chocolate variety), my own apple, and 3 chocolate covered pretzels on my break.

On The Dinner Plate

Brisket, cool ranch Doritos, slice of 3 Kings cake. Not the best dinner though the brisket was good. (Came from freezer, cooked some time last July)

On The Menu This Week

MONDAY: everyone was on own, J had grocery store chicken, G went out with a friend, not sure what my husband ate, I had the leftover brisket *I worked 8-4:30* *J had a baritone lesson at 6:30*

TUESDAY: Breakfast for dinner, either waffles or French toast, maybe a blueberry dutch baby pancake. Something in that variety *J has appt at 3*

WEDNESDAY: Pepper steak, rice

THURSDAY: Chicken and broccoli

FRIDAY: Maybe some sort of pasta dish? *No school for J*

On My Reading Pile

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab. Second in a series. Planning a post to talk more about books and tv.

On My To Do List

  1. Clean the house
  2. Go to Sam’s Club
  3. Take J to appt
  4. Go to local music store to check out baritones with J on Friday
  5. Drop off donations
  6. Pay Bills
  7. Take an Amazon return to Kohl’s
  8. All the other stuff I can’t think of right now

Plans This Week

Mom’s night out on Thursday (need to make sure I have the week right), music store with J, Lots of laundry sorting,…take time to take a walk.

What I’m Creating

Nothing right now.

My Simple Pleasure

Looking at the moon.

Lesson Learned This Past Week

So many. One that caught me by surprise: You can be extremely happy for someone on their achievement while still being sad for yourself on missing an opportunity.

Looking Around The House

With Christmas put away, you can really see the dirt. Ugh.

From The Camera

How about an oops photo? I got this one when I was trying to get the moon photo above. These are all photos downloaded from my phone. I was taking it out the car window (note: car was parked!)

On My Prayer List

J to have a last successful semester of high school and graduate, friend’s son who was very sick around Thanksgiving and then, again after New Year’s Eve, that it’s nothing serious, the husband of my boss to continue to recover from his cancer treatment, one of my preschool kiddos who’s having some medical issues (and her family because how scary!), lots of other friends, family, and strangers.

Quote For The Week

Accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in what will be. (Sonia Ricotti)

 

*****************

Day 9/365

 

Things I’m Waiting On Right Now

Blog365 Wait2023 12 Comments

I revealed my word of the year, wait, yesterday. Today I thought I’ll just share a few things I’m waiting on in my life right now.

Simple Things: 

My Christmas cactus to finally bloom. Oh, it’s giving me more exercise in patience than I can stand.

The washer cycle to complete. I’m washing all my “hang to dry” delicate cycle sweaters and such this morning

The dryer cycle to finish. It’s air drying the new comforter I picked up for our bed using my Kohl’s cash.

Online church service to start. (Probably will start before I finish this post so I’ll be coming back to this).

My hair to dry. Didn’t feel like making much effort once I got out of the shower.

My order from Bath and Body Works to arrive. Going to be a bit as I just ordered yesterday using up coupons, one for a “free” birthday gift that expired today.

Slightly More Complicated Things: 

J’s school schedule to get straightened out and his last semester of high school to finally (Please, dear God) go smoothly. Suffice it to say it’s been a rough start. Perhaps I’ll share more about it later in the week. Proud of him for not giving up because I’m not proud to say I was ready to over the weekend.

My Mom’s Night Out on Thursday. Normally, this wouldn’t be considered slightly complicated. However, I need to discuss something with a friend. Saying No to a friend is always hard. And while I want to support any endeavors of my friends, of course, I cannot do so at a cost of my home mental health. Not right now.

Speaking of mental health, my turn in line to have a breakdown. Ha.

Happy Things/Events:

My Mom’s Night Out on Thursday. Haven’t seen these friends in what feels like a long time since I bowed out in December, not wanting to get anyone sick.

The next set of upcoming birthdays, holidays. However, I’m making sure to take space to breathe between them all.

Using my birthday/Christmas gift cards. I’m going to Target tonight so planning to look for a new game for a different friend group to play perhaps. Or maybe I’ll save them for a bit later in the year.

Stopping here so I can get on with my day. What are some things you are waiting on today?

*****************

day 8/365

 

I Didn’t Want This Word

Blog365 Wait2023 12 Comments

So, this word of the year for 2023 came to me as they often do during late December. And it made sense.

The thing is the word wasn’t what I wanted it to be. Not an exciting, shiny word. At all. 

And so defiantly I fought it. Gave myself another word. And I still like that word. Even though I know I’m not quite ready for it. My friend Rebecca from Rebecca’s Hearth and Home guessed it.

The word I wanted was SPARKLE. Inspired by the sparkly pink frosting on the champagne cake from New Year’s Eve. Even took photos for sharing as I talked about my new shiny word for 2023. Trying to force it to be the word for me

My favorite definition of Sparkle (taken from the Cambridge dictionary): to shine brightly with a lot of small points of light

However….

The other word continued to nudge at me. And speak louder. Even as I was fighting it, then thinking maybe I could just have two words for 2023, I knew. So many lessons I need. So many lessons I do not want. Yet, maybe I did learn something at least from the fastball speed of last year.

And this word has whispered to me again and again already in the first week of this new year.  My word for 2023 though I’m not overly fond of it yet even if it feels right is:

WAIT.

This word came to me when I was writing about how I missed and wanted space between the holidays again. And when I had a bit of an issue with J, and knew I just needed to give it time. It’s been whispered to me (from greater powers) during moments of impatience and frustration (especially the past 2 days).

And so, while it’s neither shiny nor exciting, my word for 2023 is wait. Interested to see where this word takes me as (at least at work but perhaps not so much at home?) I’m considered a pretty patient person.

Just wait, more thoughts on this word are coming.

*********

day 7/365: Blogged for the entire first week! 51 weeks to go!

 

 

 

 

 

Epiphany

Blog365 Chitchat 10 Comments

Usually I try to make us another “mini” Christmas dinner and sometimes I give the boys an extra Christmas present. However, with working all week, I only had it in me to make a 3 Kings cake for tonight.

Using a funfetti cake mix. And a random frosting recipe found on-line (powdered sugar, condensed milk, and a teaspoon of lemon juice. I threw in a tablespoon or regular milk to get better consistency).

The praline pecan I used (our baby Jesus substitute…that sounds weird, maybe because it’s late on Thursday as I’m working on this post) fell out and I had to stick it back in the cake after I baked it.

May have been a bit thick with the frosting. Still had a bit of purple/yellow/green sugars left to sprinkle on top.

The dinner I have planned for tonight: ham steaks, turkey slices from the grocery store deli (no time to cook a frozen turkey breast), sweet potatoes, dinner rolls, salad, and of course, cake. Currently, just craving pizza.

After tonight, I’ll put the rest of Christmas away. That includes the Nativity, taking down the lighted greenery around the kitchen doorway, and switching to a simple winter wreath on the front door. Everything else is already in tubs (mostly though the tubs aren’t put away).

Other weekend plans include: Catching up with reading blogs and answering/leaving comments. Dinner out with friends on Saturday, possibly with a game night. Taking J to band practice on Sunday and a long overdue trip to Target. Other stuff as well, those were just the three things that came to mind.

What are your weekend plans?

Day 6/365

 

New Year, New List

23listfor2023 12 Comments

Even though I didn’t accomplish much on my 22 for 2022 list, I’m forging ahead and making a new list for 2023. By the way, if you’re wondering, I got the idea from Gretchen Rubin. Her website has lots of great ideas.

(Also, if you like to write things down pen/paper style, the resource tab has a printout for your list)

Without further preamble, my list of 23 for 2023, in no particular order:

  1. Clean our basement a tub at a time (I’ve already told my husband of the plan)
  2. Participate in every Happy Homemaker Monday for 2023
  3. Read 92 books
  4. Create a cozy, inviting home filled only with things I love (though I’ll probably have to allow my husband/kids to keep their things as well)
  5. Get my ears pierced (again, I had them done a long while ago but haven’t had them in years)
  6. Get tubs to store the Christmas books
  7. Unsubscribe from at least 3 junk newsletters every time I clean my email
  8. Throw away any broken or worn out items!
  9. Re-watch the David Tennant episodes of Doctor Who, old school style…just one episode a week
  10. Rediscover the lighter, fun-loving open to (almost) anything adventurous side of my personality
  11. Celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in August with either a trip or a party
  12. Join in for the Blog365 challenge and post every single day in 2022 (in progress already!)
  13. Buy 2 Christmas presents for the boys each month (and one stocking stuffer for myself)
  14. Be better about reaching out to friends/family members. Make an effort to call/text someone once a week.
  15. Put space between the holidays to make each one feel more special (example: don’t eat Valentine’s Day candy/treats until it’s actually Valentine’s Day)
  16. Make individual binders for our bank statements
  17. Frame the photos from when J was in the all-district bands
  18. Leave a review for things I purchase (I’m so bad about doing this and yet, I always read them before I buy things)
  19. Figure out a way to either subscribe or keep all the blogs I enjoy reading in one place (Bloglovin’ isn’t really working for me anymore)
  20. Take at least 2 people photos at each holiday/special occasion
  21. Get storage containers for our DVD collection, sort, and store them
  22. Accept that a some family situations aren’t likely to change and realize I’ve done enough.
  23. Invite people to our home (family, friends, etc…been too long since I’ve done this)

As you can see, my list is all over the place from super vague to very specific. I feel better about a lot of the things on this list than I did on my list last year. So with that glowing New Year’s hope, I’m going to say I have great chance of success. What things would you put on a list of 23 for 2023?

 

 

Sweaters

Blog365 Winter Wednesday 10 Comments

Just a short post today. Another busy work day. Yesterday was cold! Not crazy cold but windy and cold. Regular winter weather I suppose.

Today’s predicted weather (putting this one together on Tuesday night)

On Tuesday: it was cloudy, windy, and cold all day today but really the temperature was in the 40’s after a high in the upper 50’s at midnight. For Wednesday: Predicted high of 46 and mostly cloudy all day once again.

Sweaters

I like a good sweater in cold weather.   

And I got curious about why they’re called sweaters. Lazy google research says: they were worn by rowers and intended to “produce sweating and reduce weight” More info here (source) 

******************

Day 4/365

Eleven Words

Blog365 6 Comments

I’ve been picking a word of the year for 11 years now (counting 2023).  Just for fun, I took a look back at my word choices:

Way back in 2012, my word was No. It was a time of lots of PTA volunteering, I think. And I was done.

I suppose it makes sense that the following year, I chose present for my word.

Then, there were a few years of less than memorable word choices. The words were nice but I didn’t do too much or think too much on them. Some years are like that and it’s okay.

Here’s a brief list of words for the years 2014-2016.

 

2014:Action

2015:Chapter

2016:Celebrate

The year of 2017 was a doozy with me choosing a whole phrase for the year:

 

Rediscover, Revive, and Renew

Yeah, no pressure with that choice. Can you see me rolling my eyes behind the computer here?

Just a Few More

I think my favorite of all my words of the year, occured in 2018. The word Embrace just worked wonders for me. And if I recall, 2018 was actually a pretty good year.

Did you know you can change your word of the year if it’s not working for you? My words, my rules. Ha. I did change my word in 2019. Started with the word Time. Oh, the pressure of that word. I felt it almost immediately. My second attempt worked so much better and I saw things so much clearer from a perspective of Gratitude.

While 2020 wasn’t in any way humorous, the word of the year I picked ended up being one of those situational comedy kind of choices. Why not pick the word Home and then have a worldwide pandemic that forces you to be there. SIGH.

Less in 2021 seemed like a good idea at the time. By the way, I guess the family does kind of notice things after all. “Oh, look the Christmas presents under the tree look like it used to be” spoken by G on Christmas Eve after I had hardly anything under there in 2021 because of my word of the year. And less was fine but it’s not me.

And then for the past year of 2022, my word was Heal. Started out okay but honestly, I kind of fizzled out on it. Lots going on in the household. However, I do think from a mental space, I did find myself dealing with and having a few points of clarification. Let’s see how vague I can be, huh? Anyway, it wasn’t the greatest word but it wasn’t terrible either.

My 2023 Word Deserves Another Post

I’ve found a wonderful word for 2023 but I want it to be another post. After all with 363 days of posting to go, I think I have the space.

A few words I considered for this year: Space, Wait, Air, Relish, Anticipate, Breathe, Timing.

Yet none of those quite captured what I wanted for this year. There’s a hint about my word in this post.

Do you pick a word for the year? Or have a guess what my word of the year is going to be?

*****************

Day 3 of 365

 

First Happy Homemaker Monday of 2023

Blog365 HappyHomemakerMonday 15 Comments

I know it’s silly but does it make anyone else happy that the new year started on a Sunday? The first four Saturdays of January make for perfect multiples of seven: 7, 14, 21, 28. Then, of course, it stops since there are 31 days in January.

Time to join in for the very first Happy Homemaker Monday of 2023. I was waiting to see if Sandra might’ve changed the categories for the new year but I need to go ahead and get my post up now. If they’ve changed, I’ll just change them next week. UPDATE: She did add a few new ones but like I said, I’ll catch up on that next week.

The Weather

Yesterday was beautiful, sunny *almost* no coat weather. Today, however, is foggy and chilly. Rain predicted for later this afternoon. Looking forward to the free carwash! Should’ve seen the lines with the nice weather over the weekend. Right now, it’s 42 degrees with a predicted high of 57 later today. Then, we start sliding back down into the reality of winter temperatures. After tomorrow, highs are in the 30’s for the rest of the week. More chances of rain (high of 38) again on Saturday.

As I Look Outside My Window

I don’t see too much, pretty foggy right now. Have an electric candle in the window and a vanilla candle burning on top of the bookcase. Semi-cozy around the mess I suppose.

Right Now

Waiting for the washing machine to finish as I work on this post. It’s laundry day!

Thinking And Pondering

About My word for the year and what to add to my list of 23 things I’d like to do in 2023. What the new year will bring.

How I Am Feeling This Morning

I work the rest of this week, J returns to school tomorrow (praying it goes well) so basically some standard Sunday night anxiety tripled into Monday day anxiety. SIGH. Otherwise, not too bad.

Listening To

Washer and dryer down here. If I were upstairs, I’d hear the background of the local morning news my husband is watching.

On The Breakfast Plate

Lower sugar maple brown sugar instant oatmeal and a cookie (balance, right?), vitamins, coffee

On The Lunch Plate

Probably leftover black-eyed peas and cornbread

On The Dinner Plate

I am not sure…need to ponder it as I work on this post

What I Am Wearing Today

long-sleeved black t-shirt, greenish color jeggings, tennis shoes

On My Reading Pile

Need to start a new book on my phone! Probably the first chapters of the Marie Kondo book, Kurashi at Home: How to Organize Your Space and another book I picked up at the library about being outdoors. Can’t recall the exact title but it’s about the concept of Friluftsliz, the Norwegian word for outdoor love. Something like that.

On My TV

Probably not much with my work schedule this week. Planning to watch one episode a week of the David Tennant Doctor Who episodes.

Over Christmas break, I finished watching  Litvinenko on AMC+, it was interesting. And also White Lotus, can’t quite decide how I felt about that show. First season was better than the second. It was on HBOmax. And I watched a couple Netflix movies, Slumberland (really enjoyed it!) and Troll (fun, think it was supposed to be scary but was a bit silly).

And of course, yesterday, how about them…Chiefs! Actually, they were aggravating me. At one point after they got the lead, my husband turned to me and asked if I knew they were winning. We’re very spoiled by such a good team. And though it is a bit painful, most of KC has to say Go Bengals! (Just for tonight)

On The Menu

And here we are at the category, I wanted to avoid. As usual, I really do need to go to the store but let’s see what I can manage from the fridge/freezer first.

MONDAY:  Roast in the crockpot *J has baritone lesson at 6:30*

TUESDAY: Chicken strips *I work 8-4:30*

WEDNESDAY: Pork chops, baked potatoes *I work 8-4:30*

THURSDAY: Pepper steak *I work 8-4:30*

FRIDAY: Turkey of some sort, sweet potatoes *I work 8-4:30*

Looking Around The House

Still a few touches of Christmas amid the mess. Trying to decide if I want to go ahead and take them down today or wait until after the Epiphany.

On My To Do List

So much. Why did I wait until the last minute for everything??

  1. Grocery store
  2. Target for household supplies: shampoo, cleaning, etc
  3. Laundry
  4. Find books/plan for school tomorrow
  5. Pay a few bills/at least get them organized
  6. Put away all Christmas sweaters/clothing until next year
  7. Clean out cat box *SO overdue on this, oops
  8. Hope it’s not cheating if I write and schedule a few blog posts for the blog365 challenge
  9. Clear off kitchen table/either throw away or freeze Christmas goodies
  10. Clean out email inbox. Say it with me: There will always be another sale.
  11. Spend 23 minutes outside for another challenge I’m doing

From The Camera

Took advantage of the great weather after the game yesterday to go for a walk on a local trail. Excited to finally make it this bridge. (It’s a 5 mile loop trail and I usually don’t have time for the loop, still didn’t but got to the bridge at least)

What I’m Creating

I have a candle project I’d like to do but likely won’t have time to look at it until Saturday

Quote For The Week

May my heart be kind, my mind fierce, and my spirit brave. (Kate Forsyth)
 

***********

Day 2 of 365

 

Happy New Year!

Blog365 15 Comments

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a wonderful and safe evening saying goodbye to 2022 and welcoming in 2023. 

Instead of jumping right into my word of the year or my list of 23 for 23 (both in progress), today, I’m simply sharing a few random things making me happy on our sunny start this brand new year.

A New Calendar, look at all those days just waiting to be filled! 

 

Black-eyed peas, grown in my own garden, soaking for today.

Yes, I’ll be supplementing with a can from the store. I use this Paula Deen recipe each year.

The birdsong coming from this Evergreen tree

 

A Kansas City Chiefs Game to Start our New Year! 

(I’ll let you know tomorrow if that continued to make me happy to start 2023, ha!)

This basket, the base for a completely unexpected surprise gift from a friend

I just love it. And how I wish some of you with the always cozy, inviting homes lived close enough to come help me decide what to put in it and where it would go in my home.

My holiday cactus about to bloom 

 

 Champagne cake 

I get the same one from a local grocery store each New Year’s Eve. There is something about the sparkly pink frosting! And also,I love the taste of the cake hiding beneath it. Only on New Years.

(There’s a hint in the above picture as to my 2023 word of the year. Got any guesses? Stay tuned)

***************

Just a few small things bringing me small, simple pleasures today.

Blog 365: Day 1 of 365

 

And now, I need to take a moment to share that I’ve decided to join in with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom for her Blog 365 challenge. A blog post every single day of 2023!  Sometimes the post might be a full one but other times it might simply be a picture.

 

 

Proudly powered by WordPress & Skyrocket Themes

MENU

Navigation