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Happy Homemaker Monday, July 4th Week

Since they expected a lot of families to travel for the holiday, my work gave us today and tomorrow off. Why not Wednesday as well since everyone will be tired? Ha. No such luck.

I’m just happy to have an extra day to take care of a few things before I start my 5 weeks straight of full-time work. Time to join in with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom.

The Weather

It rained over the weekend! And thankfully, cooled things down as we did end up with some of that crazy heat wave last week. Right now it’s 73 and sunny out there. It’s going to be steamy hot later, I’m sure of that. Highs in the upper 80’s/low 90’s with a 50% chance of much needed rain tomorrow and Wednesday as well as through the weekend. We’ll see how much rain we actually get.

As I Look Outside My Window

I took this photo with my phone out the back door as I was barely awake. The property next to us is empty, we’ll probably call the owner but I doubt he’ll take any action. SIGH. Better in the attic of the empty house than in our attic I suppose.

Right Now

I’m getting a quick start on this post while waiting for some lotion to sink in on my legs and my hair to dry a bit. However, I really should be going to the grocery store to beat the crowd.

Thinking And Pondering

Lots on my mind regarding my work. It appears the same position as last year is once again open. I’ve always said once J graduated I’d switch to working there full-time and I do (despite my  minor complaints the past few months) love my job. However, my husband earlier this year had said to give it one more year to make sure J is settled.

I understand and yet at the same time, I don’t want to miss my second chance. (Should note: I’ve been told on more than one occasion, I just have to say the word to be hired on full time). On the other hand, I fully admit to having a lot of guilt about J and that maybe I wasn’t available enough to him because of working so much even though it wasn’t full-time. It was a lot at times.

Trying to listen for that quiet voice of guidance except at home it whispers one thing and at work it whispers the complete opposite answer.UGH.

How I Am Feeling

Slept later than normal today and yet, I don’t feel like I slept well.

On The Breakfast Plate

Nothing yet, can’t decide, might go ahead and do a shake *UPDATE* I had a croissant and sweet cream cold brew from the Starbucks in the grocery store. Also, smart people eat breakfast before grocery shopping.

On The Lunch Plate

Craving a PBJ so that’s probably what I’ll fix *UPDATE* G might run to McDonald’s for J so I may do that instead still undecided

On The Dinner Plate

Turkey dogs, sliced cucumbers from the garden!, I don’t know what else

What I’m Wearing Today

Maroon Missouri State T-shirt, olive colored shorts, socks and tennis shoes

On My Reading Pile

I struggled with my reading focus a bit last week. Still enjoying and working through Soulful Simplicity by Courtney Carver. And The End of the World is Just the Beginning by Peter Zeihan came back up from my 2nd time putting it on hold. Maybe I can finish it this time, we’ll see.

On My TV This Week

Same problem with focus regarding watching tv, just that time of year. I did rewatch Men in Black (our Saturday night entertainment) and Terminator over the weekend. Some time today or tomorrow, I will, of course, watch Independence Day per tradition. Excited to see season 4 of Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime but probably going to save it for next weekend or maybe watch an episode a week?

On My Menu

We’re not going to have a super exciting week in the world of menu plans.

MONDAY: turkey sausages (basically, hot dogs) on buns, chips, sliced cucumbers *J has a lesson at 6:30*

TUESDAY: brisket on the grill, grilled potatoes , not sure what else…meant to pick up baked beans for my husband at the store but forgot them, maybe a berry pie for dessert? *HAPPY 4th OF JULY!*

WEDNESDAY: Beef empanadas, however, they may morph into tacos depending on my energy level *I work 8-4:30*

THURSDAY: copycat Chik-fil-a sandwiches, waffle fries *I work 8-4:30*

FRIDAY: not sure, leftovers maybe? or OUT. They rescheduled our city fireworks display from last Saturday so I’m hoping we can go see it. *I work 8-4:30*

All of the above subject to change as always.

Looking Around The House

Still a disaster. Thought I’d use this extended weekend to clean it up a bit. Maybe this afternoon. Let’s just sit outside and watch the bees and admire the flowers.

On My To Do List

Oh, how I need to weed this area…
  1. Grocery store *DONE*
  2. Clean the house (always)
  3. Small amount of laundry, husband did most of it over the weekend
  4. Pretty much most of last week’s list except I did pay bills
  5. Lots of gardening, I keep buying more plants/flowers without planting them 

From The Camera

These were from the phone (rest of photos in post minus racoons are from the actual camera) on Saturday.

Day:

Night:

Quote For The Week

If I had my way, I’d remove January from the calendar altogether and have an extra July instead. (Roald Dahl)

I know not everyone is going to share that thought but oh, how I love the idea!

 

Day 4 Report: The Last Day Of Our 5 Day Vacation

Remember, we cut our vacation a bit short. So here’s my final report on family vacation to the Table Rock lake area.

First, I was treated to one last beautiful sunrise over the lake:

Our Lodging: Why We Cut Our Vacation A Bit Short

I can usually do a pretty good job of adapting to less than ideal conditions but this lodging was simply 2 small for the 4 of us. Three of whom are quite introverted. Thus, I spent so much time on the screened porch trying to give everyone their space. Not that I didn’t enjoy sitting out there reading but at the same time, it was kinda hot outside, reading by a pool/beside the lake would’ve been more my speed.

So basically, the boys twin beds/bedroom was in the living room. Probably just about 3 feet from the kitchen table pictured up there (I’d say excuse the mess but we were on vacation and I took these photos on a whim to share with my girlfriends via text). As you can see, we had our own bedroom with room for pretty much a bed and unpictured, a tall dresser where thankfully, we could put a fan or it would’ve been so hot in there!

Guess one thing we did learn: Tiny house living is not for us! Ha. And I’m never giving the ok on a resort/hotel without a pool ever again.

On The Way Home

We didn’t decide until Friday morning to just pack it in and go home. There might’ve been a few tears (probably happiness from the kids except they weren’t crying). I explained a few times that I wasn’t mad but simply disappointed. The trip did get better once we packed all our belongings up and started on the road home.

First, we ate lunch at a Godfather’s Pizza buffet. So I was happy about that. After lunch, we went to the The World’s Largest Toy Museum-Branson. Is it truly the largest in the world? I have no idea but they had lots of toys. It was somewhere G had mentioned sounded interesting so we wanted to go somewhere he wanted to go after he endured Silver Dollar City.

We had a good time. Lots of nostalgia. Note: I would not in a million years attempt this museum with anyone under age 10-11. They’d be bored I think. Lots of looking at things behind glass with a few interactive things here and there but not enough for young children.

One of my favorite childhood Christmas memories on display:

I had that stage set and those dolls!

Does anyone else remember playing this game? Good times, ha!

Or watching Mork from Ork on tv?

G liked the Spiderman exhibit, my husband enjoyed the fishing exhibit, and J enjoyed it all though I’m not sure he had a big favorite…maybe the Hot Wheels though I didn’t get a photo of those (the Hot Wheels were all for sale!):

On the outside of the building:

Lots of different movie posters. And yes, they had a huge Star Wars section inside as well. My sweet G took some pictures to send his cousin as it made us both think of his late uncle who’d been a huge Star Wars fanatic.

Then, it was goodbye to the toy museum and Branson.

Thoughts and Conversations Along The Way Home

We decided our house would feel like a mansion upon arrival home. It did. No place like home is quite true.

We also ranked our vacations. When G said it was in the bottom 3 of our family vacations, I thought to ask all of them what their favorite vacations were:

G: Minnesota the first time we went there. Funny since that trip to Minneapolis and Nickelodeon Universe is where we discovered he suffered from motion sickness. It was a fun time though.

At the Minnesota Zoo

My husband: South Dakota

Needles highway on the way into Custer State Park

 

J and I had the same answer: We both fell in love with Duluth, Minnesota located along the shores of Lake Superior

We all also enjoyed our Colorado vacation. So to end this post of a not so great vacation on a positive note, my top 3 family vacations were: Colorado Springs, Colorado, South Dakota (We stayed in Custer and drove into Rapid City), and Duluth, Minnesota. I’d have voted for Washington D.C. had it not been us tagging along on G’s band trip so we weren’t together that much as a family.

Do you have a favorite family vacation?

Four Things From June

I enjoyed joining in with the share 4 somethings over at Overflowing With Thankfulness so much last month. Such a fun way to look back and recap the month a bit.

Here’s my 4 things I learned, loved, read, and ate in June.

LEARNED

That I need to write it down! I remember thinking: Oh this would be a good thing to include in what I learned in June. Do I remember what it was? Nope. Will I start writing things down now? Honestly, I doubt it. Some lessons take a little longer to sink in with me.

Also, that I still need to work on exercising my “no” muscle. This is mostly regarding my work. As a substitute, it’s very hard to say no. Part of it is the balance, say no too often, don’t get any calls. However, I sometimes struggle to remember the reason I sub is so I can have and plan days for myself.

Even this week, I planned to have Tuesday through today completely off. Starting today I am working for the next 5 weeks straight (same classroom, one teacher the whole month of July, the other the first week of August, maybe the 2nd week as well). This is typical for summer for me. However, I caved and went into work yesterday. SIGH. I’ve learned I’m good at saying no via text but if asked in person/over a phone call, I still struggle.

Very recent lessons: That it’s okay to go slow. Kind of nice actually.

Always something to learn/work on isn’t there?

LOVED

The summer skies! So much blue.

Traveling twice in one month! First on a girlfriend’s getaway to Lampe, Missouri. On the way there, we visited Harry S Truman’s birthplace:

In Lampe, we visited Dogwood Canyon Nature Park. Well worth it!

And on the way home, The George Washington Carver National Monument

While I loved traveling a second time with family, the vacation to Table Rock wasn’t the best. Still the scenery was beautiful.

READ

The books that I read that really stood out to me were:

The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson: I didn’t even remember putting this book on hold but it came up for me at the library. It was a bit different than my typical reads but very engaging. It followed the journey of two black women in the late 50’s as one faced an unwanted pregnancy while the other dealt with infertility. Definitely worth a read.

The Wayward Pines trilogy by Blake Crouch: We’d watched the series on Hulu. Oh my, the television series toned things way down. An enjoyable science fiction/dystopian (maybe?) kind of read. Basic subplot of most things in that genre: The humans are always scarier than the monsters.

Soulful Simplicity: How Living With Less Can Lead to So Much More by Courtney Carver: Full disclosure, I’m still reading this one. However, I’m finding it very down to Earth and motivating.

Ate

Can I just say too much and stop here? Ha.

Too much saltwater taffy. Still have my favorite flavor (huckleberry) in the freezer:

Plus all the other road trip fare: red twizzlers, trail mix, etc.

Really good chicken kabobs that one of my girlfriends made on our weekend trip.

And really BAD chicken kabobs that didn’t work out when I tried to duplicate the recipe on our family vacation:

However, I redeemed myself with making some amazingly good chicken legs on our grill at home last night:

Other food items/places we ate not pictured: Wendy’s, Chick-Fil-A, McDonald’s (I tried a Grimace shake & liked it), Taco Bell (a mistake and my stomach let me know!), Steak and Shake. Finally, the best one: A Godfather’s Pizza Buffet in Branson, MO. Godfather’s pizza is my favorite and they aren’t really around here anymore though J and I did discover one is near us about 45 minutes away. I see a day trip in our future.

In between all the junk, I tried to stay on a healthy track though I’m pretty sure I’m still working on the derailment from a stressful family vacation over here.

Working the whole month of July should help with staying a bit more on the healthy side of things as long as it doesn’t get too stressful. Usually isn’t too bad during the summer.

Looking forward to July! Maybe I’ll even write down any lessons I learn along the way.

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

 

Vacation Day 3: A Pretty Good Day

This was actually exactly a week ago today. Wow, seems so much longer than that.

Silver Dollar City mostly saved our vacation from not being the bottom of the 3 worst vacations we’ve ever taken.

Note: There won’t be a lot of pictures with this post as I didn’t get my phone out very much.

Have I ever mentioned that poor G gets motion sickness? So amusement parks aren’t a lot of fun for him. However, he enjoyed the food and did ride a couple things with us.

The First Rides

First up, we each took turns riding a roller coaster with J called Wildfire. Always that slight fear as you get older that things might be different or is that just me? I can still ride!

Then, we were off to relive my childhood a bit and ride the Fire in the Hole. It was one of their first roller coasters and this is the last year for it so I was happy for that experience. We also enjoyed talking with a gentleman from Oklahoma while waiting to ride.

Park Food

When J and I returned from the ride, G and my husband were eating some homemade kettle chips that were very good.

At lunch, we had pretty standard amusement park food although I did feel like we got good portions for the price. The boys and I had chicken strips/tater tots and my husband had some kind of pulled pork.

Best thing, outside the saltwater taffy–brought way too much of that home, was the icee station. So the boys and I were able to each get a mix and match flavors icee. I had watermelon, blue raspberry, and drop of cherry limeade for mine.

Rides We Rode Together

As I mentioned, G gets pretty bad motion sickness but thought he could handle one of the water rides. It was called Mystic River Falls and lots of fun. Did we get wet? Oh my, yes!  Big wave right down my back. Thankfully, we’d put all our things in a locker prior to going on the ride. Our shoes were squishy the rest of the day/evening.

Fun thing I’d never seen before, for a price, they had these huge drying chambers you could go in after the ride next to the lockers. We didn’t pay the (crazy high) price but someone had left one running so we did stand in it for a bit. Hot on a hot day though.

We were going to ride the train but that turned into a bit of a fiasco which I did share in my guest survey via email a few days ago. Basically, they crammed us into the station but then, not everyone in the station was able to board and the next train was not due round for another 30 minutes! So sadly, we missed out on that. I was a bit disappointed as it was another fond childhood memory for me.

So instead, though by this point most of them–read G and my husband–were tired and cranky, we rode one called the Flooded Mine. Basically a very slow boat ride where you get these little attached guns to shoot the targets that make things happen (think piano plays, bell rings, etc).

Scary and Fun Rides

The main two rides J wanted to try were the new wooden roller coaster called Outlaw Run and one that spins around called The Time Traveler. 

We’d already decided I’d do the Time Traveler with him as the spinning did not appeal to my husband. I was a bit nervous as well but you know, the things we do for our kids and all that.

My husband and J rode the Outlaw Run first. I’d planned to take a turn as well. However, J’s first words after they came out of the ride were: Mom, I don’t think you should do that one.

My husband said: I’ve never been so scared on a roller coaster in my life!

J didn’t even want to ride it a second time.

I was nervous about riding the Time Traveler but we got in line. And it was a bit scary as the que is up several flights of steps which meant….I was not ready for it….you get in and then, go DOWN….FAST! No hill climb to prepare for the fast hill. A bit scary but it was really fun. I’d have gone again had everyone not been a bit wiped out and ready to go home by that point.

The End of Our Day

My husband and I rode the tram back to the parking lot while the boys opted to walk. They won. Thankfully, they had the keys so could get in the truck and cool off a bit. Back at our “resort” my husband grilled hot dogs and hamburgers though none of use were super hungry. And poor J had a really bad headache so took some Ibuprofen and called it a night.

Then, we briefly talked about what to do the next day including floating by the idea of just heading home early.

 

 

 

 

 

Vacation Report, Days 1 and 2

A week ago today, we were on our way to the Table Rock lake area near Branson, Missouri.

Branson, Missouri while a super popular vacation destination is not my favorite place to go. At all.

Every year when I was a young child into my teen years, our family vacation was a resort on Table Rock lake. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, I swore we would go DIFFERENT places when I had kids so we have done that. This was only our 2nd, maybe 3rd family vacation to the area.

So if you don’t like it why’d you go there? We went because J wanted to go ride the roller coasters at Silver Dollar City. Actually, he was looking at the roller coasters in Ohio, I forget what city…where a big amusement park is located? However, time restraints made us reel in our plans to what was nearby.

A well-kept secret: Branson is not a budget friendly vacation! Maybe if you go and stay at a resort on the lake and do nothing else but even then, some of those resorts can get pricey. Ours was not. And ahem, you get what you pay for…

Tuesday:

Our trip down there was fine. It’s only about a 3 1/2 hour drive from KC. This is nice especially with older kids/teenagers/young adults who aren’t excited about leaving the house at 7 in the morning. We didn’t leave the house until probably 10 or 10:30.

I laughed a bit as when I went on my girlfriends weekend we stopped at a nice restaurant and then, toured Truman’s birthplace. When we went as a family, we ate at Wendy’s and then, browsed a shoe store (I’d forgotten my water shoes so there was a purpose).

We arrived at our destination around 3:30. In some ways it was exactly what I expected. In others, it was not.

The screened porch was nice and I spent most my time there reading my books. I didn’t end up needing the forgotten water shoes because the resort had no shore line! And it was such a steep walk down to the dock that none of us braved it in anything less than our tennis shoes. We did spend a bit of time fishing on Tuesday night though we caught nothing but a few very small perch.

We looked into renting a boat for one of the days but ultimately decided against it. My husband said he could borrow his brother’s boat and take the kids fishing around here for free. (Boat rentals in this area were crazy high! Usually resorts have boats for rent but the one boat we saw at the resort wouldn’t have safely held 4 people.)

Wednesday

We ventured into Branson on Wednesday. Since I was a little upset and disappointed over a few things, my husband surprised me with a trip to:

The Butterfly Palace

I do love butterflies and we all enjoyed this. Can’t remember the name of the butterfly pictured here:

I have a video of the butterfly below in flight but no idea how to get it on here but you can click on this link to see what the wings look like spread out:  blue morpho:

For Daniela from Danahandmade:

Can’t remember exactly what it was called, some sort of geode.

After the Butterfly Palace, G was especially happy as we stumbled across a Steak and Shake so ate lunch there. We used to have one near us but it closed down and now the closest one is about a 40 minute drive.

Then, it was on to:

Branson Landing

This is essentially a huge shopping area along Lake Taneycomo. None of it existed when we used to go to Branson when I was a kid. It’s so built up now. However, I still think Lake Taneycomo is beautiful! And honestly, kind of prefer it to Table Rock Lake. It’s a cold water lake where the main fishing is for trout. 

There’s a walkway where you can walk along the lake. And they have fountains that put on a little show every hour starting at noon. Again, I have a video but no idea how to get it from the phone to here. Maybe I’ll mess with trying to figure it out later.

Otherwise, it’s basically like any other overpriced outdoor shopping place you’ve been with the brick sidewalks and expensive restaurants. We were trying to go the Dicks 5 & 10 which is an iconic downtown Branson store but my husband got mixed up and we went to the “dime” store in the landing instead. They are not the same!

After those two adventures, we returned to our cabin and had some down time before a less than successful dinner I cooked there. Then, we retreated to our various spaces, mine being the screened porch where I read until dark.

 

 

Happy Homemaker Monday, Back On Track

I’m sort of back on track. We returned from our vacation on Friday.

And then, I went ahead and took Saturday and Sunday “off” as well. Now, it’s time to get back on track with things.

I can’t think of a better place to start than with a Happy Homemaker Monday post. Joining in with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom like always.

The Weather

Excited to have a blooming hollyhock this year!

Pretty standard summer stuff today, highs in the 80’s and a little windy. Supposed to be HOT to end out our week though with highs in the upper 90’s. Funny, yahoo weather shows a few days with 50% rain chances but my weather app on my phone only shows one day with a 24% rain chance so who knows what’s going to happen in that area. We’re still pretty dry though our drought conditions aren’t as poor as other areas of the state.

As I Look Outside My Window

My bee was camera shy and left before his photo shoot could happen

Not really outside my window but out the front door I did see a  happy honeybee on the blooms from my lavender pot.

Right Now

I just came back from the grocery store and brought the final downstairs freezer items down here. And now started working on this post for a minute while I’m rewashing (SIGH) some clothes I forgot in the washer.

Thinking And Pondering

So much. All the things I’d like to cram into the next 3 days. Why on Earth I said I’d work today (just for a few hours in the afternoon but still what was I thinking?). How this year seems to be going by so fast and why? I’m usually not one to say where has the time gone but where has the time gone? Oh, and what to have for dinners this week. Probably other thoughts whirling away in my brain as well.

How I’m Feeling

Flowers growing wild at our vacation cabin

I have a slight headache (probably from all those thoughts above and I need to drink some water). Also, feeling very much like I need to get back on track with eating healthy again. Vacation food does not exactly equal healthy food.

On The Breakfast Plate 

Coffee with coconut milk, then a 310 shake using their caramel macchiato recipe (basically, more coffee, a frozen banana, tablespoon of cocoa, and the shake mix)

On The Lunch Plate

No idea. Maybe just a sandwich or perhaps another shake.

On The Dinner Plate

Not sure what we’re having yet. Hoping to figure it out soon. Probably turkey sausage, hashbrown potatoes, and strawberries. Need to use up some buns from vacation.

What I’m Wearing Today

Navy blue v-neck short sleeve shirt with butterfly design, capris that match the butterfly colors, socks and tennis shoes.

On My Reading Pile

I read a couple thrillers during our vacation, the 3rd in the Wayward Pines tribology. It was creepy but okay. Then, I read A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham. It was a decent thriller, semi-predictable but enough there to keep me guessing to the end. Currently, I’m reading Soulful Simplicity by Courtney Carver. Promising so far, pretty motivating.

On My TV This Week

Not sure. I know season 4 of Jack Ryan releases on Friday so I’ll probably watch that this weekend. Wasted time watching Ant Man Quantum Mania this past weekend. SO glad I didn’t pay to see that one in the theater. Though I did enjoy the first episode of Secret Invasion on Disney Plus and will probably follow along with that series. Missing Ted Lasso.

On The Menu

Let’s see….

MONDAY: Turkey sausages on grill, hashbrown potatoes, iceberg wedge salad, and strawberries *I work 1:45-4:45* *J has a lesson at 6:30*

TUESDAY: spaghetti and meatballs, salad, garlic breadsticks

WEDNESDAY: Chicken legs on the grill, coleslaw, corn on the cob

THURSDAY: Pepper steak/chicken and rice OR leftovers

FRIDAY: Waffles and sausage, fruit OR G’s French Toast *I work 8-4:30*

Sat/Sun: Leftovers, homemade pizza, tacos, OUT

Looking Around The House

It’s still pretty much an after vacation disaster! Needs serious attention.

On My To Do List

I’m not even sure…

  1. Grocery store *DONE*
  2. Need to plant some flowers/veggies/yard work
  3. Pay a couple bills
  4. See what day J wants to take his driver’s test. Am I ready? No. Is he ready? Yes.
  5. Sign J up for a defensive driving course
  6. Clean the house
  7. Laundry
  8. Anniversary trip planning with husband
  9. Need to call/text and catch up with some friends/family members
  10. Mail a couple cards

From The Camera

Most my vacation photos are on my phone. Here are a few I did take with the camera

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

 

 

 

Wishing The Weight Away

Guess what? It’s so unfair. Turns out wishing the weight away doesn’t work. SIGH.

Here’s what I’m currently doing along with all the wishing:

A while back, I saw a $9 trial (probably on Instagram, I’m a sucker for those ads…) and after much consideration/research, I took a chance on this company. I was pleasantly surprised that I liked the taste of the shakes. Caramel sundae is my favorite as there’s a recipe to turn it into a caramel macchiato. Currently, I’m only replacing one meal (breakfast) a day with the shakes.

Before I share what else I’m doing, I’ll share a few notes on this company:

Honestly, I was a bit surprised by it. It is a little pricey once you leave behind the 9 dollar trials but I was able to get a 9 dollar trial of the shakes, the lemonade, the reds (my only YUCK here), and the greens (I do like what G refers to as my “Shrek puke water”).

Each time I ordered a trial they sent me a $10 off gift card (pretty much covers shipping but hey!)

Most trials come with a free shaker cup some of which are really nice. However, I mix my shakes/smoothies (?I don’t know what to call them) in a Ninja blender. Can’t think the shaker cup would mix it up well enough…noticed some people thought the shakes were chalky and I think that’s probably why. Use a blender.

They don’t seem to bombard me with email. I get some but not any more email than I get from say Pottery Barn (probably less!).

And I don’t care but if you’re curious to try it, I do have a referral code:  Here

Think it might get us an extra discount but I’m not sure. I’m not selling anything here, just sharing something that I like and seems to be working for me.

Or you can just check you their site on your own. If you decide to buy something, make sure to hit one time purchase to avoid auto ship but I found it very clear on their site how to do the one time thing.

Enough of the sales pitch/review of 310.

Here’s What Else I’m Currently Doing:

Wishing the weight away, ha! Note, some of these I just started doing in the last couple of days.

  • Breakfast shake in the morning. The loud blender doesn’t seem to wake the kids.
  • Keeping myself busy and away from the tv. For some reason, tv=eat for me.
  • I’ve downloaded a 5 minute yoga app that I’m trying. How can just 5 minutes of yoga be so hard?
  • Going slow…giving myself grace. Remembering I didn’t start out exercising 2 hours a night when I was in my 20’s (And no, I have no plans to go back to working out 2 hours every day, too much)
  • Not eating anything after 6 PM.
  • Trying to drink more water with the lemonade/greens stuff

And this morning, the scale was actually starting to inch back to the scary number I surpassed at some time.

I’ll lose that baby weight some time! Hopefully, before they get married and have babies of their own. Ha.

Are you on a healthy journey? What things are you trying?

Happy Homemaker Monday, Tuesday Style

Worked yesterday, took J to his lesson, and was just wiped out when I came home. So my planning post is going up today. Guess that makes today Happy Homemaker Tuesday?

Joining in as always with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom. Go visit if you’ve not discovered her wonderful blog yet.

The Weather

Glorious! Right now it’s 72 and sunny. Just perfect outdoor weather. Of course, after some much needed rain on both Saturday and Sunday, it’s still a little too wet here to do much in my yard. If I get to keep my day off tomorrow, it’ll be a mowing/planting/tending plants kind of day. It inches up into the mid to high 80’s for the rest of the week with more rain chances on Friday and Saturday (still needed here)

As I Look Outside My Window

Mr. Hummingbird was a bit upset with me earlier as his feeder was empty. All fixed now. Other birds fed as well. Watched a cute little Carolina wren wreck some havoc on my plants sitting on the deck. Too cute to be overly upset.

Right Now

Taking a quick minute to get this post written before carrying on with an entirely too long list of errands and chores.

Thinking And Pondering

Wondering how I ended up with exactly 9, yes NINE, days off for the rest of the summer. Not counting weekends. I mean that would be great if I was working a full-time job but I’m a substitute! SIGH. My own fault, I need to be better about carving out days off and standing firm on it when I do (as you can guess, I cave in on that one a lot).

Feeling a bit more grateful each day that my husband wanted me take a year before committing to working full-time again. And that we are in a position that I can do that right now.

How I Am Feeling

Jane, stop this crazy thing!  I know not everyone will get the reference but I bet a few who are also wondering where their flying cars are will know which cartoon it comes from. Answer at bottom of post 🙂

On The Breakfast Plate

I had a caramel macchiato 310 breakfast shake. And extra coffee with coconut milk when I first woke up (undecided on the coconut milk)

On The Lunch Plate

Made J a pepper,onion, little bit of bacon, and cheese frittata for his breakfast so it’s going to be my lunch.

On The Dinner Plate

Chicken spaghetti though I’ll probably eat my husband’s cheese free kind (he hates yellow cheese)

What I’m Wearing Today

Purple plain (hooray!) tee shirt, jeggings, and my leopard print slip on shoes

On My Reading Pile

Just finished up my prime first reads which turned out to be very good, Call The Canaries Home by Laura Barrow. (Had to put myself back on the waitlist for The End of the World is just the Beginning by Peter Zeihan since renewal wasn’t an option…). And just started a lighter read, The Villa Mimosa by Rosemary Whittaker.

On My TV This Week

Watched too many Dr. Who episodes on Sunday (the episodes were all connected, so I won’t watch it again for 2 weeks to get back to my one a week plan). Yesterday, I watched Summer Baking Championship. Seems most our shows have ended so….not sure what I’ll watch this week if anything.

On My Menu

Question: For those of you who have used a meal box service, which one would you suggest? I’m looking for one to get 2-3 meals a week the boys/young adults (ha) could make?

MONDAY: My husband made hamburgers and sweet potato fries *I worked 8:30-5* *J had a lesson at 6:30*

TUESDAY: Chicken spaghetti

WEDNESDAY: Gordon Ramsay pork chops, potatoes, and salad

THURSDAY: ?? *I work 7:30-3:45*

FRIDAY: ?? *I work 7:30-3:45*

Looking Around The House

I need 2-3 days alone to really clean it but since that’s not going to happen, sigh…just close your eyes?

On My To Do List

You know those shows where they unroll a scroll and it just keeps going….that’s what my to do list feels like though I’m sure it’s not that bad…

  1. Grocery store (I couldn’t get it together yesterday to go…not even for the gas discount)
  2. Target for new shower curtain liner
  3. Dollar Tree for straws, it’s dumb but I have to have a bendy straw if I have a breakfast shake
  4. Pay bills
  5. Call/text friend regarding if she’ll watch the cat on an upcoming family vacation
  6. Planning for family vacation
  7. Always Laundry
  8. Figure out meals for upcoming vacation. It’s next week 😉
  9. Help/encourage J to write more graduation thank you notes (a process, SIGH)
  10. Clean.The.House. Also, I’m working on a household binder for the kids to use in July
  11. Father’s Day gifts!!!????
  12. Write and schedule some blog posts, I’m determined to do this one!

From The Camera

Not as exciting as last week, just sprinkled in photos of my flowers. In flower excitement, my daylilies bloomed! Last year they did not so I was excited to see these again.

Quote For The Week

Found on Pinterest, Source: Your Coffee Guru

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Jane, stop this crazy thing! reference:

Here’s the whole theme song if you need the nostalgia today:

Catching Up A Bit

It’s been a lazy, rainy (hooray) Saturday around here. One of those kinds that not much of anything gets accomplished. I do have some laundry going in the washer. And we ran to Sam’s Club this morning where I picked up a few summer tops. Time to have some tee-shirts that aren’t advertising a school event.

On and off, I’ve tried to catch up on some blogs, looked at my emails (so many), and debated my Old Navy shopping cart. Downloaded a silly fashion battle game on my phone, then uninstalled it as I realized how much of a time suck it could be. Plus, so many ads!

Randomness From This Past Week

    • Yesterday, a kid told me he needed a pink cupcake. Um, me, too. Poor guy was having a hard time adjusting (possibly some underlying issues) and won’t be back. Kind of sad but it does happen sometimes. He’s got great potential for somewhere that can give him the one on one attention he needs.
    • On Thursday, I went for a very overdue eye-appointment (I was overdue before the pandemic so…) and was happy to find out my eyes are still in decent shape, my Rx changed very little. I think my job saved me there, no looking at a computer screen all the time. And I went ahead and splurged on a pair of prescription sunglasses as well. Oh, and technology can be amazing. No puffs of air, no need for getting my eyes dilated (cool photos of eye-balls to see even).
    • My schedule changed and I don’t have to work in the kitchen next week. Woohoo! Happy about that one.
    • My poor garden and flowers are not as pretty as they should be. My butterfly garden is a mess but the lavender is blooming. And we are so behind on planting things (okra) this year. However, we’ve had longer days of summer reaching into fall the past few years so that may save us.
    • Last night, I watched We’re The Millers on Netflix. How had I never seen that one? So funny! Definitely not one for young kiddos though! And now I have Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls song stuck in my head.

(P.S. Since Jason Sudeikis was the lead in the movie, I should mention I read where they might be making a Ted Lasso spinoff!!)

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