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Author: jehdld

Happy Homemaker Monday, J’s Birthday

HappyHomemakerMonday 6 Comments

Happy Monday! It’s not only “victory Monday” around here but also a birthday Monday for J. A good day indeed. 

After a low-key weekend, I’m happy to find some motivation for getting things done in the week ahead. Let’s just get right to things today. Joining in as always with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom.

Breakfast Plate…What Is On The Plate This Morning

My source of the current levels of motivation and high energy: a venti cold brew Irish cream coffee from the Starbucks in the grocery store. I really probably should stop and eat something as well as take my vitamins. Maybe a pumpkin spice English muffin in a bit.

Looking Around The House

Not too bad at the moment but my husband is due back from his hunting trip later today and after that, I don’t even want to think about it.

On Today’s To Do List

  1. Go to grocery store *DONE*
  2. Bake J’s birthday cake/wrap his presents
  3. Take J to his baritone lesson (he opted to still go tonight)
  4. Finish up the laundry
  5. Enjoy the beautiful, sunny day

Currently Reading

I finished up a rather depressing memoir (ended happy) called Flying on the Inside: A Memoir of Trauma and Recovery by Rachel Gotto by  so I needed something light for this week. I’ve started in on Snowflakes at the Hummingbird Hotel by Daisy James. Should probably start in on my pile of actual library books as well.

On The TV This Week

Shall I just confess that I ate too many snacks and watched way too much TV last week? Binge-watched the entire season 7 of The Flash, watched the latest episode of Legends of Tomorrow, and the movie Enchanted (so fun!). Add in our regular shows, The Voice, La Brea (still dumb and I’m still watching…), and The Masked Singer.  Less TV should happen this week though I’ll still catch The Masked Singer on Wednesday night.

The Weather Outside Is

Today started with another stunning sunrise

Much like the Chiefs, it’s back to being great out there! It’s going to be in mid-60’s and sunny today, close to 70 tomorrow, just nice. We do dip back down to the mid 40’s, low 50’s later in the week but that’s pretty typical for this time of year.

On The Menu This Week

Note to self: Please clean out the freezers and see what we have! I’ve put this on the to-do list many times but not done it. Now, I really do need to get it done.

MONDAY: J’s 17th birthday so his choice. Maybe Subway? Chocolate cake and white icing for dessert.

TUESDAY: Pork chops, green beans (fresh), baked potatoes *I work 7:15-3:30* *Bunco night*

WEDNESDAY: Steaks on the grill, salad *I have a hair appt at 9:00*

THURSDAY: Roast in the crock pot

FRIDAY: Homemade pizza

If I Have A Few Minutes To Myself I Will

Be outside with the camera

New Recipe I Tried Or Want To Try This Week

Well, I made a fruitcake last week. Not sure how it’s going to turn out as I used cherry juice instead of rum for my glazing. Also wondering now if I shouldn’t put in the fridge?  Also used the end of the summer tomatoes (tiny crop) to make some crostini. I enjoyed it but the kids weren’t fans. Finally, I also finished off the butterscotch chips to make half a batch of Old Timey Butterscotch Treats.

One Of My Simple Pleasures

Casual conversations with strangers at the grocery store (oh my, that sounds like an Ed Sheeran song. Oops! Not the kind of conversation I meant). It was just so nice to have a random bit of conversation about the Chiefs winning last night with the gentleman behind me in line at the checkout this morning. Just a tiny bit of casual conversation, something I missed so much during the height of the pandemic. Everyone just feels a bit more relaxed now.

Favorite Photo From The Camera

 

Praying For

Friends, Family, Strangers. That this new lifting of the mask mandates around here stays put this time and doesn’t lead to increased cases/get rescinded once again. A safe, healthy, and happy holiday season for all of us. Strength to reach out and start reconnecting with estranged family members (It just feels like time).

Quote For The Week 

This is the day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24 KJV)

 

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Few Birds on My Fall Walk

Birdwatching 2 Comments

Tuesday, I went on a fall walk where I only saw a few birds. Perhaps the birds are as confused by the weather around here as the rest of us.

Almost seventy degrees on Monday, thirty five degrees on Friday morning. Though really, at this time of year, warmer days almost always signal a cold snap or storm arriving. I’ll just enjoy the warm days and be glad we only saw a few snow flurries yesterday.

While I took my camera, I really went on my walk to try and get some photos of the fall color before the leaves all fell off the trees. The color changing of the trees was late this year so it’s odd how the leaves still cling to the trees at this point in the month. By Thanksgiving, if not sooner, they’ll probably be bare.

Since I wasn’t really looking for birds, I found myself surprised to encounter a group of killdeer right as I began my walk.

Killdeer

Killdeer are here year-round though I seldom see them. They prefer more open ground so I don’t expect one to come out of the Oak tree to visit the backyard feeders anytime soon (ever).  This park has quite a bit of openness to it (and often floods in a wetlands kind of way). However, I can rarely get close enough to these birds for decent shots. Even these aren’t the best but it’s the closest I’ve ever come around here with camera in hand.  few birds

Even though you can only see a couple of birds in the photos above, I stumbled on quite a large group of them. Usually, I only see one or two at a time. They, of course, flew off a bit deeper into the middle of the park as I walked on the path. Never staying within a decent photo range. (Blaming the birds here but should also admit to not having picked up my camera regularly for a few weeks so a bit rusty with focusing)

After checking out the river, where I heard and saw several uncooperative for photos Bluejays, I turned and continued a different route through the park.

Snowbird!

The dark-eyed juncos actually arrived last week as I spotted a few in the backyard. However, I’d not taken a photo of one (this year) until I caught this guy in the trees as I walked away from the river path and  went through more forest type areas.

There seemed to be a large group of them back further in the trees (note: most the trees were on the other side of the path). Among them I also spotted a few sparrows.

 Sparrow

This sparrow only stuck around for one photo, had to come home to see what I’d captured. It’s either a song sparrow or a fox sparrow but I can’t really tell from the photo. I remember being quite excited to have a fox sparrow visit the backyard last year. Hoping it’ll return.

While I heard a lot of Bluejays and of course, a few woodpeckers, I didn’t see many other birds. Of course, that might have been because I couldn’t help but crunch the leaves under my feet.

Crunching Leaves

It’s hard to sneak up on any creatures when the paths are covered with crunchy brown leaves. The joy of crunching these leaves underfoot is something everyone should get to experience at least once. We’re lucky around here as we get to do it every year. (I’m sure some of my leaf raking neighbors might disagree)

Other Birds Spotted This Week

While I’ve not been out there watching as many backyard birds (this fall has returned to busy and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every school marching band activity after having had none in 2020), there also seem to be just a few birds out there. Some of it, I think, is due to me putting out less during the summer/early fall when we had Chip the stray cat out there. Or maybe the neighbor’s have better food. Who knows.

However, Thursday morning I looked out and saw the welcome sight of the white-throated sparrow! And heard his song this morning.

In the past two days, I’ve spotted a pair of Carolina Wrens, the dark-eyed juncos again, my resident chickadees and tufted titmice. And of course, the downy woodpeckers.

Time to stock up on some birdseed again.

What birds did you spot this week?

Linking up with The Bird Depot hosted by Anni over at I’d Rather B Birdin’. 

 

 

A Slightly Slower Paced Week

Week in Review 4 Comments

The week moved at a slightly slower paced speed for the second week of November. As I review my week for you, I’m again sharing bits of gratitude I found in each day.

MONDAY

Worked half a day and would you believe it’s the only day I worked all week? I’m still in a bit of shock about that. In the afternoon, I ran to the grocery store where I discovered a new Starbucks favorite treat. Though I probably wouldn’t want it in today’s cold blustery wind, the 70 degrees on Monday was perfect for an Irish Cream Cold Brew. It’s definitely going to be my treat drink of choice on warmer days. Finished off the day by taking J to his lesson and reading my book for a bit.

Gratitude items from Monday: Beautiful weather, discovery of a much needed new favorite coffee treat, and a chance to work and see my favorite preschool kids. (Hint: They’re all my favorites!)  slightly slower paced

TUESDAY

Our beautiful weather continued on Tuesday. And since I had the day off work, I took the opportunity to finally go for a walk at one of my favorite local parks. After picking up J from school, I then went with my husband so he could complete his purchase of a new truck. He’s been driving an 2004 with many miles and has been looking for almost a year now. So it was quite exciting that he finally found what he wanted and got a deal on it (no small feat, it’s definitely currently not a buyers market for automobiles).

Gratitude for Tuesday: A beautiful much needed walk in the nature of the park, my husband finding a truck after a very long search, GPS in my car to help navigate rush hour (he found his truck on the Kansas side of the state line and I had to make my way home through downtown during rush hour traffic). 

WEDNESDAY

Another day at home for me. Such a strange week, needed the down time but still had lots of people in this house still needing me. Had to find insurance information for my husband. G borrowed my car for most of the day (better gas mileage) to do a school project. I spent a bit of time working on a new blog post about some of my favorite authors. Later, my husband took J and I in the new truck out to Culvers for dinner. A no cooking night is always a win!

Thankful Things from Wednesday: Another day to enjoy being at home, dinner out with (most) the family. 

THURSDAY

I found myself shocked (and if I’m honest, a bit relieved) to once again not get called into work on Thursday. Did a little birthday and Christmas sorting (J’s birthday is next week). Got a wild hair and baked a fruitcake, we’ll see how that turns out. And had a nice get together/Mom’s Night Out with friends. I missed the last one so it was nice to catch up with everyone.

Thankful Things from Thursday: another day to relax at home (almost caught up on the laundry even!), time to bake, a chance to see friends.

FRIDAY

We went from super sunny fall days early in the week to a cold, blustery 38 degrees currently. And I know I saw snow flurries earlier as well! So far today, I’m just having a lazy day. Ate some snacks, watched some TV. Honestly, I’ve done pretty much nothing so far with my free Friday. Did remove some weird looking white cocoon thing from my Meyer lemon tree (whole branch is gone now) but that’s about it. G even bought my lunch at McDonald’s so I didn’t have to worry about that either. 

Gratitude so far for today: a cozy warm house, spotting the weird white cocoon thing before whatever was inside it joined our family (we’re at occupancy around here!), a thoughtful older son who always asks if I want something when he goes out for lunch, a free day! 

Our Upcoming Weekend

For the first time in probably 2 months, I can sleep in tomorrow morning. Probably won’t but it’s nice to know we have nowhere to be. G and J have dinner plans with their grandpa but I don’t know what I’m doing yet. Sunday morning, J plays with his baritone instructor’s band during a church service so I’ll probably attend that. Chiefs game on Sunday evening of course. Over all, a nice slightly slower paced weekend even. And for that, I’m very grateful. 

Where did you find gratitude during the past week? Or what about the upcoming weekend makes you want to give thanks?

My Favorite Authors for Cozy, Comforting Reads

Books and TV Shows 2 Comments

In today’s post, I’m sharing my favorite authors for cozy, comforting reads. A few of these authors were on my summer reading list. Instead of sharing another list of books, this time I’m just sharing the names of the authors. I don’t think you can really go wrong with any of their books.

And while I do enjoy a hold it in your hands actual book, most of the books by these authors, I’ve read on the kindle unlimited app on my phone. Never thought I’d be one for digital books but the convenience certainly helps me read more often. I love reading in bed at night and not having to worry about having a light bothering my husband. I can also easily read while waiting to pick up my son from various activities.

Giving a bit of credit where it’s due here, I must point out I came across a quite a few (maybe not all) of my favorite authors from their mentions on the blog, How to Hygge the British Way. 

Probably why more than a few of these authors are from the UK.

Pure Romance/Relationship Novels with Great Settings

  • Since I’m currently reading the end of the Willow Tree series, I’ll start with Alison Sherlock. The first book I read by her was The Village Shop for Lonely Hearts. It’s the first in the Riverside Lane series, currently 3 books). Her books all have great themes of friendship, community, and of course, romance.
  • Daisy James is one of the best for whisking me away to exotic or coastal locales. She filled her Cornish Confetti Agency series with fun mishaps and charming characters.  I found myself researching Greece for a dream getaway after starting in on her Hummingbird Hotel series. Snowflakes at the Hummingbird Hotel is on my list for this winter.
  • Of the three authors I’m listing here, Donna Ashcroft is my absolute favorite! I’ve yet to read a book by her where I didn’t absolutely fall in love with the characters and the location. A lot though not all of her books are Christmas themed. Perfect Christmas time reads. I’m trying to hold off on reading The Christmas Countdown until after Thanksgiving but I’m not sure I’ll make it. I’ve read all her others. You just can’t go wrong with her books.

favorite authors

A Cozy Mystery Author

Let’s come back to America for a moment. I only have one author in this category. Honestly, Ginger Bolton’s  Survival of the Fritters (A Deputy Donut Mystery #1) was the first book I read in this genre. And I found out the hard way, this genre is very hit and miss with me. And misses make me not want to read this genre for a while. However, the characters in this series feel like old friends and it’s set around a donut shop. Doesn’t tend to get as bogged down with food but does still make me a little hungry at times. Worth checking out if you enjoy this genre. Note: these aren’t free on the kindle app so check out your local library! I’ll definitely be looking there for her 6th book Deck the Donuts.

favorite authors

Authors with Books on My Christmas Wish List

And then there are the books I enjoyed so much, I would like to own so I could read them again.

favorite authors

  • At the top of this list is Natalie Normann with Christmas Island, set in Norway. When I read it last year in the kindle app, I immediately thought oh, I’d like an actual copy of this book. At the time it wasn’t available. However, now you can order it in paperback and it’s definitely on my wish list! Her other novel, Summer Island is also worth a read.
  • Meik Wikig was another author on my summer reading list. His books are small, hardcover easy to read books. Think like a small coffee table book. Comfort in book form. I have his Little Book of Lykke but would love to have the other two he’s written.  favorite authors
  • And I must add Helen Russell who started me down the path of seeking out Hygge type books back when I first read her book, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country. 

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Who are some of your favorite authors for light, uplifting reading?

(And don’t get me wrong, I still love non-fiction, autobiographies, and intense suspense thrillers!)

(One last note: While I’ve linked all the authors up there to Amazon, I’m not an affiliate or anything like that, it was just the easiest way to get you their information)

 

 

 

Happy Homemaker Monday, Let There Be (Morning) Light!

HappyHomemakerMonday 6 Comments

First, yes I know it’s Tuesday. Day late seems to be the usual for me lately.

And now, for my unpopular opinion at this time of year. I love when we switch off Daylight Savings Time. It makes me so happy to have daylight in the mornings again. No more taking J to school in the dark. No more missing the beautiful sunrises because I am already at work or busy with other chores.

My only complaint this year is the later switching really did mean it gets dark already at 5:30! Ugh. If we’d switched a bit sooner, we could’ve eased into the darker evenings a bit more.

Okay, enough about that. Time to plan the rest of the week ahead by joining in with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom.

Breakfast Plate…What Is On The Plate This Morning

Something different for a change! A pumpkin English muffin and a bowl of maple sugar instant oatmeal. Coffee and vitamins remain constant breakfast fare.

Looking Around The House

Giving it a decent tidying and perhaps some cleaning definitely on the list for today.

On Today’s To Do List

  1. Laundry
  2. This post/menu plan
  3. Write another blog post
  4. Figure out plans for J’s birthday next week
  5. Whatever the Flylady kitchen missions are for yesterday and today
  6. Write and mail a letter

Currently Reading

Midnight Kisses at Willow Tree Hall (book 4 in the series) by Alison Sherlock. I read a couple of her other books over the weekend. They’re not long reads and are just happy, feel good romances.

On The TV This Week

The Voice and La Brea tonight, Masked Singer tomorrow. Not sure about the rest. Probably finish up The Flash for my laundry folding show.

The Weather Outside Is

Beautiful! Back to a late summer/early autumn feeling. High of 70 degrees yesterday, low 60’s today. Still a bit windy though so not quite as warm. Cloudy this morning. Then, good chances for rain tomorrow and cooler temps for the weekend. It’s typical up, down, and sideways weather for us.

On The Menu This Week

Continuing to struggle with what to fix….went to the store yesterday but we’ll see if that helps me think of anything.

MONDAY: No idea what G ate, J and my husband had rotisserie chicken and I had a bowl of cereal *I worked 8:30-1* *J had a baritone lesson at 6:30*

TUESDAY: Hamburgers/cheeseburgers on pretzel buns, maybe I’ll make onion rings on the side

WEDNESDAY: Pork chops in crock pot, rice (depending on my mood, may just switch this and make tacos)

THURSDAY: Spicy potato soup

FRIDAY: Grilled cheese, soup

If I Have A Few Minutes To Myself, I Will

Take my camera and go for a walk!

New Recipe I Tried Or Want To Try This Week

I have a very few red tomatoes left from our garden (turned them red in a brown paper sack) and thinking I’m going to half this recipe for tomato crostini to use them up before they go bad.

One Of My Simple Pleasures

Seeing the sunrise in the early morning hours

Favorite Photo From The Camera

Didn’t take many photos at all last week so all my photos are of the same first day of no daylight savings sunrise. This one was my favorite of the bunch.

Praying For

Friends, family, strangers. That the people from the car accident blocking the road last night were okay.  A peaceful holiday season.

Quote For The Week

Darkness cannot drive out darkness.
Only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate.
Only love can do that.
(Martin Luther King Jr.) 

 

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First Week of November Happenings

Week in Review 2 Comments

Thought I’d hop on here and share a few tidbits about my first week of November. Much like the rest of 2021, it went by in a blur.

Since it’s November, I’m also going to share a few bits of gratitude from each of my days.

Monday was a slow day with J staying home from school and missing his baritone lesson that night as well. Didn’t quite know what to do with myself with a free Monday. It’d been a while. I’d like to say I accomplished a lot but honestly, I don’t think I did. Seems so long ago even though it was only a few days. Oh, I did manage to take down all the Halloween specific decorations indoors and started on outdoors but it started raining so today I’ll finish that chore. And I almost forgot the most important thing, we changed trash companies! No more 2 inch folder of customer service complaints to track.

Grateful for a free Monday and the much needed rain. And a new trash company!

Caffeinated and Vaccinated

Tuesday, J had no school and I opted not to work as I made an appointment to get a booster COVID vaccine shot. *Insert many unkind words directed to Johnson and Johnson regarding the one and done shot. Cruel trick to play on those of use very scared of needles* For anyone interested, the booster was Moderna, mix and match for me.

Before I went and tested my bravery, I made a very quick grocery run. Then, I went to my appointment at Walgreens. They were busy but I got in and out fairly quickly and even picked up a bit of bargain Halloween candy (May or may not have picked up some Halloween bargains at the grocery store as well. However, those purchases were put away for Christmas.). Really, most of the “caffeinated” part of Tuesday came from chocolate in the leftover/bargain Halloween candy. At least, I skipped the Starbucks this time.

Grateful for an amazing pharmacy tech at Walgreens who was super understanding and distracted me to the point the shot didn’t even hurt! Also, science. And Halloween candy on sale.

What’s on TV on Wednesdays

I could’ve have worked on Wednesday but didn’t want to take a chance on getting there and feeling bad. So, I basically had an all day TV marathon on Wednesday. Probably did some other stuff as well but can’t remember it. Netflix choice of the day: a complete catch up of DC Legends of Tomorrow and a start of seasons 6/7 of The Flash. Nothing requiring too much concentration. Wednesday evening we watched The Masked Singer.  

Thankfully, my husband had brought home a rotisserie chicken from Sam’s club so no dinner worries either.

Grateful for so many choices of TV programs, limited mild reaction from my vaccine on Tuesday (mostly just tired and a bit of a sore arm but nothing like the first time). 

Working for a Living

Since I didn’t feel too bad with vaccine side effects, I went ahead and agreed to work Thursday. A full day but it always feels like a shorter day when it starts at 7:00a.m. and ends at 3:30p.m. Can I just say driving to work as well as arriving there in full on dark stinks? Can not wait for mornings to be light once again. More excited about that than the extra hour of sleep most of us are getting back tonight.

Grateful for a peaceful work day in the preprimary classroom. And enough food in the fridge that I didn’t really have to cook for a 3rd day (leftover roast transformed into BBQ sandwiches for dinner)

Finally the Weekend

Friday started as a bit of a comedy of errors as I worked but the teacher that called me in also called in 2 other subs! Oops. Bit of a mix up but it was fine and I was only there for a half-day. Sometimes, it’s hard to work on Fridays but I do always enjoy seeing the kids as well as what they bring for share time (every Friday). Last night we didn’t do much, I watched a bit more of The Flash, not the best season, and we had pizza late.

Grateful for getting to spend time with so many amazing preschool kids at a job I still love six years later. Beautiful fall weather. Changing trees and more crunchy leaves under my feet each day. 

Today, I took J to all-district band tryouts early this morning, then he went to a friend’s house. Later, my husband and I are going out to dinner with friends followed by a game night, I think. Tomorrow, an extra hour of sleep and watching the Chiefs game are the main to-do list items. And getting outside as it’s supposed to be close to 70 degrees. 

Grateful for a chance to chat with the mom of a good friend of J’s during the tryouts (I rarely see her as she works weekends), friends, and fine fall weather.  

What things were you grateful for this week or weekend?

Final Thoughts on Attempting to Fly

31 Days Series FlyBaby Reborn 2 Comments

Suppose it’s fitting that I am publishing the last post in this series about being a flybaby reborn 4 days after the month’s end. And on anti-procrastination day.

Flybaby

(Before I get too far into this post, just a note, please forgive any grammar/spelling errors I miss. Had my COVID booster shot yesterday and head feels a bit swirly. Also, sore arm but hooray for the miracle of modern science and medicine. Nap in my future today for sure!)

When I started

Prior to this series, my kitchen was a mess most nights. And usually most mornings. I decided my main focus would be to “shine the sink” each night. While I never officially shined it using the Flylady method, I did clean it out and give it a good wipe down each night. Some day I do plan to give her method a try. Can almost hear my husband now when he sees me grabbing a bit of car wax for our kitchen sink. Perhaps I’ll make it a hunting season project for when he’s not home.

Other Items

I tried to somewhat follow her schedule or establish a routine for the week. While anti-procrastination day helped me accomplish a few things, the other days proved harder to maintain. Blaming my unpredictable work schedule mostly. However, I do like the idea of a weekly routine. And Diane in Denmark often stresses to make the routines work to your schedule. So perhaps I’ll give this area more thought and work on getting some daily routines in place.

One area I still dislike with the whole Flybaby business is all the e-mails! So many e-mails. I like the ones regarding the daily missions and routines for the week but lots of sales/testimonials that I don’t even read. Used to be able to streamline. Definitely need to see if that option is still available.

Will I Continue?

I think perhaps I shall continue with the Flylady way. It turns out I rather enjoy waking up to a (mostly) empty sink each morning. Currently, my sink is empty and the dishwasher is running (need to work on the habit of pushing that darn button!), the counters are also clear. Quite an accomplishment as we had a crock pot meal last night. In the past, the day after the crock pot meal, the poor crock pot kept its place on the counter for way too long. Now, I find I don’t mind cooking as much since I’m not starting from a place of a large mess.

Building on the Routines and Habits

Now, that I have a somewhat solid start (not completely but baby steps and all that), I’ll continue to build on this foundation. Continuing on in the Flylady way does indeed make me a Flybaby Reborn, I guess.

This is the end of my series. I hope you’ve enjoyed following along with me in my attempts. Have you ever tried the Flylady ways? How did it go for you?

 

Happy Homemaker Monday, Welcome to November

HappyHomemakerMonday 14 Comments

My calendar says November 1 but my e-mail says Christmas! and my mind says, wait what happened to August? Ha. Guess we’ll just have to believe the calendar.

Hope everyone had a good Halloween weekend. Mine was busy but good. Friday I helped out at the preschool Halloween party, exhausting but fun. Saturday morning the high school band marched in a local Halloween parade and then that night my husband and I attended a bonfire at a friend’s house. Yesterday was a bit more low-key. I made taco soup in the crock pot, watched a few Harry Potter movies, and we all played Uno while waiting for the trick-or-treat kids to arrive. Not as many as last year. However, lots going on around town this year.

And of course, my boys are excited to see leftover candy in that bowl. Unfortunately, J woke up not feeling great today so he’s home with a sore throat. No fever so I’m hoping it’s not serious and since tomorrow is a no school day (election day) that he’ll be back on track for Wednesday.

Time to plan the week ahead with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom.

Breakfast Time…What Is On The Plate This Morning

Something different today. Pumpkin spice English muffin and then the usual vitamins and coffee.

Looking Around The House

Time to pack up the Halloween specific decorations, fall can stay though.

On Today’s To Do List

  1. Finish paying bills
  2. Cancel our trash service (We are going with a new company! Local and cheaper!)
  3. Laundry
  4. Take down outdoor Halloween decorations (Hoping it warms up a bit today)
  5. Make grocery list/maybe go to store
  6. Write and publish final post in my 31 days series, didn’t make it quite the full 31

Currently Reading

Just finished Christmas in the Scottish Highlands by Donna Ashcroft. She’s definitely one of my favorite kindle authors. I’m only sorry I didn’t save this one for the Christmas season. On my “real” book pile, I’ve started Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier. Very interesting so far.

On The TV This Week

The Voice, La Brea, hopefully, The Masked Singer is back, also watching Legends Of Tomorrow on Netflix. And may finish up my Harry Potter movie marathon I started (made it through 3 movies yesterday).

The Weather Outside Is

Chilly! It was nice for the parade on Saturday but now it’s turned and we’re getting lower than normal temperatures for the first week of November. It’s 43 degrees this morning. Predicted lows in the upper 30’s all week with highs in the mid 40’s to upper 50’s. Cloudy out there as well.

On The Menu This Week

Trying to eat out of the freezer this week a bit. However, I also have an appointment for a vaccine booster on Tuesday morning so they might be on their own depending on how I feel later. I’m going to try and keep it simple.

MONDAY: Maybe leftover taco soup, rottessire chicken?

TUESDAY: Roast in the crock pot  *Election Day* *No school* *I have an appt at 9:30*

WEDNESDAY: Chicken strips, French Fries

THURSDAY:  No idea, maybe minestrone?

FRIDAY: Frozen pizza, salad

If I Have A Few Minutes To Myself, I Will

I don’t know. Sleep?

New Recipe I Tried Or Want To Try This Week

The taco soup was my husband’s grandmother’s recipe and I’d never made it before. It turned out good and we all liked it. Husband wanted a bit more heat but I thought it had good flavor.

One Of My Simple Pleasures

Covering up with soft blankets or throws while watching tv or reading

Favorite Photo From The Camera

Another week where I just didn’t pick up the camera very much. The two other photos in this post were from my cell phone & I grabbed this one with the bridge camera as it was handy. Holiday treats from the “good” bakery. Two words: pistachio cream. YUM (Okay, that was 3 words) 

Praying For

My son that it’s nothing serious and he wakes up feeling fine, friends especially those dealing with grief, family, strangers. The neighbors I always hear yelling. Teacher at work who has to quarantine for 2 weeks. Bit of bravery for myself tomorrow.

Quote For The Week

 

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 
(2 Timothy 1:7)

 

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Clean Sink Catching On

31 Days Series FlyBaby Reborn 2 Comments

It’s been almost a month of emptying the sink each night. Still not to the shining it phase. Maybe some day. However, something exciting happened tonight.

I made dinner. Okay, maybe two exciting things happened tonight. Ha. One thing I’m finding is that I’m a bit more inspired to cook dinner when I start with a clean kitchen. Makes it a little easier to prepare meals that take a little extra counter space (something in short supply around here).

Since it was a rainy, cool day, I made stuffed peppers tonight. Finally, a fall meal with proper fall weather. I had to run the dishwasher right after putting the meal in the oven with all the lunch/dinner prep dishes. Nothing too new there except it was empty enough to hold them all. That meant, of course, all our dinner dishes went into the sink.

I Didn’t Empty The Dishwasher Or The Sink Tonight

However, once the dishwasher finished, I didn’t empty it. Or the sink. I planned to do it. Usually, I do it right after I prep some items for J’s lunch.

However, tonight, my husband emptied the dishwasher and the sink! All month as I’ve been emptying the sink, I’ve been doing my very best to not say anything/not be a martyr like the Flylady directs. That’s probably been harder than actually emptying the sink if I’m honest.

While I’m still going to need to go do a bit of lunch prep, it’s so nice to not have to worry about the rest of it tonight. It appears an empty sink is catching on around here!

Still Fluttering Along

31 Days Series FlyBaby Reborn No Comments

Guess I’m going to need to rename this an almost 31 Days Series. However, life happens. And since this blog is a hobby not a job (no influencer here!), I have to prioritize. Sleep wins over new blog posts sometimes. A lot of times.

Though I’ve not been posting, my last post in this series was Friday morning, I’ve still been clearing my sink out each night with the exception of last Friday night.

A little Saturday morning reality for you:

One day of waking up to a sink full of dishes made me realize I much prefer to wake up to the (mostly) empty sink each day. While I didn’t take a second photo, I did clear the sink (and put the plants back, I water on Saturday mornings) before we left for the all day band competition. It was certainly nice to not come home to a sink full of dishes as well!

Same Old Sub Story

I’m still struggling with developing and maintaining routines around here while working a very varied schedule. There’s not really a set routine with subbing and saying no to work comes with it’s own level of guilt (today, I turned down work twice because I have a lot I need to do around here plus honestly, I needed a break).

Thinking that the key is perhaps to start small. Simply emptying the sink, running the dishwasher each night (if I remember to push the button! SIGH) is probably the most basic step. Before, I’ve always tried to jump in doing it all and become quite frustrated. Finding a time/day for the weekly home blessing also frustrates me. And it circles back to the varied schedule.

Perhaps I need to look at carving a set day to myself each week. We used to have sub who was unavailable on Thursdays and Fridays (I picked up a lot of work those days). Perhaps I need to advocate for myself a bit more. However, I’m flexible enough that perhaps I’ll just say no last minute requests on a certain day. (I don’t mind working a full week for someone if they give me notice.) Something to ponder.

Today and The Rest of This Week

Today is once again anti-procrastination day in Flylady land.

I do have quite a few unfinished tasks to tackle today like bills, letters/cards to mail, laundry, and that freezer inventory (been putting that off for too long). Also, if I have time, I need to run somewhere and get some Halloween candy so we don’t end up handing out peanut butter kisses. Blech! My husband thought we should get those to hand out the first Halloween we were married. Vetoed that. Does anyone actually like those things?  It’ll be fun sized Snickers and packs of M&M’s around here most likely.

Speaking of holidays, everywhere even in Flylady land seems to be focused on preparing for Christmas! Well, except the local news who keeps going on about the cost of the Thanksgiving meal. I probably should go through my Rudolph Day/Christmas gift tub and see what’s in there.

Tomorrow is errand day but I’m not sure if I’m working yet. I might try and get my running done today as it’s supposed to rain all day tomorrow anyway. One of my hold books is in at the library. Technically, returning the books I do have could count as an anti-procrastination tasks since I renewed them all last week just to avoid the worry of returning them.

Friday, I get to go help out at the Halloween party so that should be a fun morning. The parade on Saturday, possibly a bonfire at a friend’s house on Saturday night (just us, doubt the kids will go), and then, Halloween on Sunday. Hoping to get lots done today so I can simply enjoy all the fun without a large list of overdue to-do items looming in the background.

What are you hoping to accomplish today?

 

 

 

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