It’s been a slow January week. And I’ve been fighting off some sinus-type thing for most of it. Focusing on resting mostly. Good week for it with the super cold temperatures and not much going on really (other than the Chiefs, you bet I’m wearing my lucky red even if I’m home on red Friday. Go Chiefs!)

For right now, I’m hopping on here with a Five on Friday post with images from this week.

ONE: A Fun Surprise

My sister-in-law who moved to Florida a few years ago, sent us Christmas cookies (made after Christmas, it’s okay I wondered as well)! I don’t make these cookies (don’t even try) so we were all thrilled. Only one slight issue:

How many crumbs equal a cookie? We figured it out and they were still super delicious!

TWO: Cold Sunlight

The cold didn’t stop the sunlight from streaming in the windows. I found myself a bit captivated with the way it hit this hibiscus bloom. Why is my hibiscus blooming indoors in January? I have no idea.

It also hit upon the bromeliad plant. I picked up two of these around Christmas as bedroom decor plants.

THREE: Bird-watching

Of course, I immediately went to bird-watching upon picking up the “real” camera again. I’ll be excited to get images from outside and not through the backdoor when the weather warms up again. Here’s an interesting bird:

(Remember these images are through the glass of the backdoor)

My goal is to get a good image of this bird but it won’t cooperate! Did you figure out what it was yet?

Believe it or not, it’s a Northern Cardinal! It’s either molting or has severe leucism or both.

And since those pictures were awful, here’s an actual in focus one of the Flicker woodpecker visiting the suet feeder:

Such amazing looking birds!

FOUR: Frugal Menus

I didn’t even have a menu prepared on Monday so here’s what we ended up eating this week:

Monday: Roast in the crock pot
Tuesday: Chicken Tingas, from freezer, plus I used some corn tortillas to make homemade chips
Wednesday: Beef vegetable stew using leftover roast meat and dinner rolls
Thursday: Fried pork chops, baked potatoes, and dinner rolls again
Friday: Tonight I’m either making turkey sausages and peppers or we’ll have waffles/bacon
Sat/Sun: Not sure yet but I know we have chili in the freezer so maybe that during the game

FIVE: Reading and Watching

Here’s what I’ve been reading and watching (besides the birds!)

Reading:

I finished up all the Jessica Dodge books that were available on Kindle Unlimited. Not high brow literature but I did enjoy the somewhat spooky stories set mainly in Wales and Scotland. They weren’t exactly a series but I’d suggest reading them in this order: The Forgotten Witch, The Book of Lost Enchantments, and then, Misplaced Magic. I did find the last one a bit spookier than the first two and not ideal for before bed reading.

Now, I’m reading Deck the Donuts by Ginger Bolton. Yes, it’s a Christmas cozy murder mystery.

Watching:

Something about being under the weather with me and I watch old action movies I’ve somehow never seen. This week’s been all about the Rush Hour movies with Jackie Chan. I only have the third left to watch.They are goofy but enjoyable. Also on my list of viewing from this week, Brooklyn 99, it’s nice and light, not much thinking required. Perfect if your before bed book is a bit too scary. And finally, I started watching season 2 of The Night Agent yesterday as I really enjoyed the first season. Of course, football this weekend. Did I already say Go Chiefs!?

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

Not much going on today, just laundry and probably a bit more watching (of birds and tv). I really need to run to Target but haven’t felt like it. If I feel decent at all tomorrow or Sunday, I plan to spend some much needed time outside (it’s supposed to be in the high 30’s or maybe 40’s finally). No big plans just going to let the weekend unfold.

Do you have exciting weekend plans?

*Also, planning to link up to My Creative Life for this Five on Friday when she posts. Go check out her blog!

25 List Redo and a Word

January 23, 2025

jehdld

I finally settled on a word for 2025 and it’s none of the ones I considered. How it goes sometimes, right? The closest I came to the words I considered was savor.

However, I felt it came with a bit of pressure. And did I want to feel that I must savor the moments of unhappiness that creep into the years along with the wonders. Still, I wanted to notice the moments of happiness and unhappiness and every moment in between. Not just go through the year in a daze (I feel like slept walk through 2024 somehow) but actually pay attention and notice the things happening around me. So my word for 2025 is:

NOTICE

I think I could go a bit further with it and use a phrase: notice the moment. Mostly that’s how I plan to engage my word but I’m keeping things simple and just having a word for the year. I’m hoping by noticing the world around me and not spending quite so much time distracting myself (with say my phone), that I can arrive at the end of 2025 and not wonder what happened and where it all went.

What do you think? If you already picked a word for 2025, what is it and how is it going for you so far?

***********

Adding a picture here just to break up topics a bit.

Speaking of noticing, I noticed I didn’t care for the way I did my 25 for 2025 list. I can fix that though. A new off the cuff list. Some items might be the same and some may change. Anyway, here’s an updated straight up list of 25 things I want to do in 2025, no order, no categories, just a list.

Try a different hot chocolate flavor every week during winter
Get my ears pierced again
Plant a garden again (we skipped last year other than in a few pots)
Go on a walk at least once a week (giving myself grace for weeks when the temp is below zero!)
Send someone a letter every week of 2025
Buy 2 Christmas presents a month
Lose 25 pounds (who knows maybe this is my year!)
Say yes to invitations, maybes are yes. (I have permission to NOT go if I really don’t want to go)
Host Easter brunch
Go through an automatic car wash by myself
Notice and embrace the pace of every season
Clean out the computer desk (Note my computer desk is a big engineering type desk with lots of space in the drawers that I think contain papers dating back to the kids’ elementary school days)
Blog at least 3 times a week
Date night with my husband once a month (I should probably share this list item with him)
Clean and organize basement
Participate in the 52 Week Organized Home Challenge (just jumping in with it. Thank you Carol for mentioning it in your blog post on Monday!)
Pick up the real camera at least once a week
Take 4 trips, one in each season
Act from a place of peace, love, and kindness. Take a pause if necessary (sports team cheering exempted, LOL)
Clean up the back deck and backyard to make it a more peaceful place (this requires better weather and husband help…hmmm, a date night? Ha!)
Clean corner in bedroom (clear out the clutter corner basically)
Have spa day once a month
Serious email clean out and unsubscribe from lists
Give myself permission to rest on days I feel run down
Refer back to the list near the end of each month (With a blog post? Maybe sometimes…)

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

Will I still do some of the things dropped from my first 25 in 2025 list? Maybe or maybe not. Will I do everything on this list? Maybe or maybe not. I do feel better about this list though like I can stick to it better.

Hot Chocolates

January 22, 2025

jehdld

Winter Wednesday 4 Comments

Nope, not a typo in my title. I tried two different types of hot chocolate this week. And yes, it is only Wednesday. Take a look at what temperature we woke up to on Tuesday:

Yeah, just a little chilly out there. Still, I had a hair appointment and since I was out anyway, made a brief stop by the grocery store. Don’t worry it was up to 3 degrees by the time I made it to the store. So, you see the logic of trying two hot chocolates this week instead of only one.

Monday’s choice:

Monday wasn’t quite as cold. However, I thought it would be a good day to try out a new recipe since I had the day off work. Colonial Hot Chocolate seemed fitting somehow as it was also Inauguration Day.

Hmm…needs a little something. How about a bit of whipped cream topped with cinnamon-sugar?

My thoughts: While I enjoyed the flavor of it, I didn’t care for the grittiness of it. Not sure if I did something wrong or that was just how they had their hot chocolate in colonial times. I do think if you put the spices in a tea strainer or maybe strained the hot chocolate before pouring in the cup, it would improve the experience quite a bit.

Notes: I didn’t have any star anise so left it out, I think it would’ve enhanced the flavor but I didn’t miss it that much. Also didn’t have any orange rinds (I’d definitely add that if I make it again) and opted to leave out the red chili pepper.

Tuesday’s Choice:

Even without the bitter cold, this choice wins of all the hot chocolates I’ve tried so far! Italian Hot Chocolate is definitely to be savored and not slurped away.

I added a bit of whipped cream to this but it did not need it. At all.

Look how thick this is:

My thoughts: First, a disclaimer, Italian food is my absolute favorite so no surprise I loved this. It was so rich and thick, definitely more a dessert than a drink. I mostly drank it off the spoon. My family, who I made try this one, all said um, it’s pudding. And it does have that texture. G thought it was a bit bitter but he’s not a dark chocolate fan.

Notes: I did make a few mistakes while making this, accidentally mixing the sugar at the beginning with the cocoa/cornstarch mixture. Making this is definitely a process that requires patience. I didn’t add any extra flavors to it. If When I make it again, I might swirl in a bit of vanilla or a bit of amaretto but I don’t think it really needs anything at all. Did I make two cups (J changed his mind about wanting any) and have a second cup without the whipped cream for dessert after dinner? Yes, yes I did.

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

Remember as part of my 25 for 2025 list, I’ve decided to try a new kind of hot chocolate every week this winter (and packets count if I don’t have time to make it from scratch!).

Have you ever tried Italian hot chocolate?

Do you have a favorite style of hot chocolate I should try?

Happy Homemaker Monday, A Cold One!

January 20, 2025

jehdld

HappyHomemakerMonday 8 Comments

Happy Monday! Here in the U.S., it’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as well as Inauguration Day. And bitter cold, here in Kansas City. No work for me today (schools out because of MLK, Jr. Day) so a good day to putter around and maybe get a bit of indoor housekeeping done.

Joining in again with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom, hoping 2025 is the year, I manage to post a Happy Homemaker Post every Monday.

The Weather

Come hang out by the Netflix fireplace with me:

Already mentioned it but again, it’s bitter cold out there! Right now it’s 7 degrees with a minus 4 degree windchill and supposed to get colder before warming up again. By Wednesday though we’re back to our normal mid 30’s and I even see some 40’s for the weekend. Slight (very slight) chance of a sprinkling of snow on Thursday.

Things That Make Me Happy

How About Those Chiefs????!!!!! Two games away from a 3 peat win of the Super Bowl!

As I Look Outside My Window

Saturday sunrise out the front windows (I may have actually stepped out and froze for this photo)

This was from yesterday but the birds were busy at the birdfeeders! A few favorites. I took these through the backdoor so not super great quality!

I had a flicker woodpecker at my suet feeder, that’s new one for around here!

And who’s this?

On the Breakfast Plate

Apple cinnamon oatmeal and coffee

On the Lunch Plate

I’m thawing out a frittata from the freezer that I made around New Year’s

On The Dinner Plate

Roast in the crock pot, dinner rolls

On The Menu

A work in progress. I’ve decided I need to spend today seeing what we have and making menus to clear out the fridge/freezer/pantry. Threw some produce away this morning that should have been used. UGH, I know we’ve all had it happen but it’s so frustrating especially with the price of groceries.

MONDAY: Roast in the crock pot

TUESDAY: Maybe Chicken Tingas (already cooked in freezer) *Hair appointment for me at 10:00 a.m.*

WEDNESDAY: ???

THURSDAY: ???

FRIDAY: ???

On My Reading Pile

The Forgotten Witch by Jessica Dodge, I enjoyed The Book of Lost Enchantments enough to read another. Each book seems to be stand alone. They are cozy and kind of whimsical reads set in Scotland. Probably make great Fall reads but I’m reading them in winter.

On My TV This Week

Oh, can I say it again? How About Those Chiefs????!!!! Okay, I’ll stop. Obviously, football this weekend. And I’m so grateful that I won’t have to listen to Joe Buck/Troy Aikman again. UGH, they were annoying. For the record, I saw the same roughing the passer calls in a quite a few other non-Chiefs games earlier in the season where the announcers explained the rule instead of griping. I confess I spent many years hating on New England so I guess I get it, they hate us ’cause they ain’t us 😉

Okay, enough of that, time to start practicing my “Shut Up, Tony Romo!” yells. LOL. I actually don’t mind him as much. Sorry about the tough loss for the Detroit fans out there.

Other than that, my husband and I have one episode of Resident Alien left to watch. Maybe I’ll finally get around to finishing Emily in Paris.

On My To Do List

What’s not on my to do list? Same old stuff really: laundry, clean the house, declutter a bit (I did *finally,* on a couple warm days last week, drop off some donation boxes that had been in the trunk way too long), grocery store and Target runs, make meal list from items in fridge/freezer/pantry, pay bills,etc.

What I’m Creating

I usually don’t have anything for this category but we had a work event on Friday and it was a painting party:

(I got a little carried away with my snow!)

I’m also planning to create a loaf of banana bread in bit to have the oven maybe heat the house up a bit more.

From The Camera

I picked my real camera up this week for the first time in such a long time! So the pictures in the post are a combo of phone/real camera pictures.

Think she’s dreaming of warm summer days? I think the hibiscus I moved in for the winter is sharing her dream as it bloomed over the weekend!

Quote for the Week

My favorite quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. :

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

A Dud and a Delight

January 15, 2025

jehdld

Winter Wednesday 4 Comments

Just a super quick post this afternoon.

A Dud

I am more of a vanilla person so really expected to enjoy this one.

I did NOT. It was not good. Maybe too soon after the rich Belgian hot chocolate? Or maybe it’s just called hot chocolate for a reason? And I accidentally bought 2 packets of it. SIGH. Maybe I can figure out something to do with the other package to make it better.

A Delight

Before baking:

And after:

(Sorry forgot to flip the photos). YUM. Just YUM.

The blueberry French toast bake that Carrie shared was a hit! Mostly with me. To be fair, my husband said it would make a “good side” and that he didn’t care for mushy bread. (NOTE: the bread was not mushy at all. He just isn’t a huge sourdough fan and that’s what I used) J decided he was not a fan of hot blueberries but thought it would be great with other fruit. G just thought it needed something on top. My family is super picky though. This dish is an absolute 10/10 for me.

I made a few mistakes in the recipe like accidentally doubling the seasonings when I halved the recipe but I don’t think that hurt it at all. And not really a mistake but I always add a 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg to my recipes with real blueberries.

***********