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Happy Homemaker Tuesday

HappyHomemakerMonday 6 Comments

Tis the season to not post a Happy Homemaker Monday until on Tuesday I suppose!

Yesterday was a solidly busy day with work in the morning, an afternoon grocery store run, and J’s lesson. Add in a last-minute trip to grab an extra item for my secret Santa gift and no computer time here.

Joining in with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom to plan out the rest of this rather busy week.

The Weather  

Is it going to be frightful or delightful? Each day is different here. Yesterday and today, a bit frightful and cold. Currently 29 degrees and a high of 44 expected today.  By Friday, delightful with a high of 70 expected. Hard to plan what to wear though. And no rain nor snow in sight for now.

On My Mind

Today, mostly Christmas. Lots of little ends I’d like to tie up today.

Something Christmas Related I’ve Done The Past Few Days

Shopped for my secret Santa person from work, bought extra lights for our Christmas tree (pre-lit tree and some of the lights are going out), enjoyed the on-line church sermon series entitled “Not so silent night”

Christmas Movie I Watched

A new favorite from last year, The Holiday Calendar on Netflix. And I also watched Beebo Saves Christmas on the CW app. (Pure silliness and I loved it!)

What I’m Wearing Today

Olive green pants and a multi color tunic that also has shades of the olive green. Tennis shoes. Should probably go ahead and pull out the Christmas sweaters sometime today.

On My Reading Pile

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. As much as I loved his first two books, I’m struggling to stay focused and engaged with this one. Might just be me though. I’m also working through Simply Christmas: A Busy Mom’s Guide to Reclaiming the Peace of the Holidays: A Devotional by Tama Fortner. Super encouraging. Love taking a few minutes with this book each morning.

On Today’s To Do List

  1. Return part of my online order to Kohls (at least I can just go to the store)
  2. Christmas shopping
  3. Laundry
  4. Wrap a few presents
  5. Get a few Christmas cards ready

On My TV

The Flash (got sucked back in), the next episode of Holiday Baking Championship, maybe another Christmas movie or baking show.

Listening To

Washing machine, the heater running, Christmas music in the car

On The Menu

It’s going to be all over the place this week.

MONDAY: J had R. Chicken, G went out with a friend, we had leftover spicy potato soup. *I worked 7:30-3:30* *J had a lesson at 6:30*

TUESDAY: Pork chops with Asian flair (new crock pot recipe), rice *EXCEPT* we might be going out for brother-in-law’s birthday. Still need to make the pork chops as I already thawed them.

WEDNESDAY: If we go out tonight, pork chops. If not, probably just tacos though I might do salsa verde chicken instead.

THURSDAY: My birthday! Not sure. J has rehearsal for the all-district honor band concert from 4:30-7:30 at a school about 30 minutes from here. Probably just going to need to eat on the go.

FRIDAY: Same deal with the all-district band rehearsal except it’s from 4:30-9:30. *I work 7:45-4:15*

SATURDAY: Concert day, all day rehearsal, then the concert so probably Subway that day.

From The Camera

Didn’t do the best job of picking up the camera last week. At all. Took the 3 photos in this post this morning.

Looking Around The House

It’s mostly decorated for Christmas and a mess at the same time!

In Preparation For The Holidays

Probably need to at least get a list made today. I’ll check it twice tomorrow. Actually, see today’s to-do list for my holiday preparation. Also, need to find time to go check some Christmas books out of the library for the next 2 weeks at work.

On My Prayer List

Friends, family, strangers. A teacher at work who is quarantine for the next ten days. Those who are navigating the holidays with missing loved ones. The neighbors especially the girl across the street who was being bullied and harassed after trying to break up a fight at the school. A preschool family who lost their home to a fire on Thanksgiving (thankfully, all the people and pets got out safely).  J, for his anxiety and depression to subside (He seems to be doing better so thank you all for your kind words and prayers last week!) Peaceful and happy holidays throughout the world.

Quote For The Week

It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.
(Eleanor Roosevelt)

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Sugar-Free Week

List of 21 for 2021 No Comments

So it’s time for my last (mostly) sugar-free week of the year.  At the beginning of the year when I was making my list of things, I added to do a sugar-free week each quarter. Not sure if I managed to do all 4 quarters.

However, during the course of the weekend I met the most unfriendly scale. You know scales speak in numbers. And the numbers this scale shouted at me. So very rude. SIGH.

In all seriousness, the number on the scale surpassed my warning number. Not a good thing. Turns out high levels of stress and stress eating plus (ahem) being a bit older means that number goes up faster.

Time to fix it. Seems a bit crazy to do a sugar-free challenge the first week of Advent but that’s what I’m doing. I went (mostly) vegan for 30 days one year the day after Halloween so I can do this.

However, in light of the season, I’m allowing myself one small treat each day. So, on Sunday, I did go ahead and get that peppermint latte, a tall (seriously, as much as I love Starbucks, why can’t we just do small, medium, and large? A tall is a small. Pro tip: if you just ask for a small, they’ll just give you a “tall”).

I’ll probably be referring to my sugar free Pinterest board a bit as well. Here’s my loosely conceived plan for my final sugar-free week of 2021.

Parameters of My (mostly) Sugar-Free Week

The reason I’m saying mostly here is because sugar is in everything it seems! And I’m not going to be so stringent as to worry over a gram here or there. Two grams of added sugar in a flour tortilla while annoying is not something I plan to stress over.  I have enough stress in my life lately.

  1. Consume only foods with a sugar content of less than 5 grams (exceptions made for fruits)
  2. Drink only water and tea. Exception made for 2-4 oz. tart cherry juice, no sugar added, each night (Helps with inflammation and sleep, look it up!)
  3. Allow myself one bite (square) of dark chocolate if an intense craving hits
  4. Also, allow myself one small treat a day (does not have to be food related but must be well-thought out and savored if a food/drink treat)  sugar-free

Yesterday and Sunday, went fairly well on the sugar-free try despite the days being a bit stressful. Today things are calmer and ironically, now is when I’m really wanting a junk food type treat. Just plan to stay busy with more Christmas decorating until that passes. Or I decide what kind of proper treat I’d like for the day.

Have you ever tried to go sugar-free or mostly sugar-free? How did that go for you? Any quick tips?

 

Happy Homemaker Monday, November Ending

HappyHomemakerMonday 8 Comments

Today is the last day of November. I am more than ready to welcome in December. This month has been a bit rough and I’m ready to move into the Christmas season as well as a brand new year.

Joining in with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom for the Happy Homemaker Monday link up. And look, she changed the categories! I had a feeling she might, some fun ones for the Advent season as well.

The Weather 

Saturday morning sunrise

It certainly does not feel like the end of November around here! It was in the high 50’s yesterday but supposed to hit almost 70(!) today. Sunshine abounds. Such strange weather. Of course, usually warm spells in the fall and especially winter usually signal some cold stormy weather around the bend. We’ll see. I did take advantage yesterday with a long walk in the park. Sprinkling the pictures throughout this post.

How I Am Feeling This Morning

Tired with a slight headache (from lack of sleep I’m sure), frustrated and guilty over my inability to really help J in his struggle with anxiety and depression. Still trying to stay positive and working on getting him help.  Add in annoyed with the million cyber Monday deals in my inbox to try and sift through while looking for more important ones. 

On My Mind

The on-line church sermon from yesterday. The bullet points: rejoice how God is using you, Praise God, Anticipate how God is transforming the world, and remember God’s faithfulness in the past. 

Trying very hard especially with the first one but struggling a bit.

Something Christmas-Related I’ve Done The Past Few Days

Attempted to re-arrange the entire living room to find a new place for the Christmas tree. It didn’t work. Advice: If you have a small living room, never and I mean NEVER buy a sectional. It only fits one way. On a happier thought, I had a small peppermint mocha yesterday morning and we put up the greenery around the doorway plus the tree (didn’t decorate it yet).

Christmas Movie I Watched

I usually don’t start watching Christmas movies until Dec 1. However, I did watch maybe 5 minutes of Robbie the Reindeer in Hooves of Fire. A bit too bizarre even for me.

What I’m Wearing Today

Black short-sleeved light-weight sweater, olive green pants, socks & tennis shoes. Not very festive.

On My Reading Pile

Lots of books! I went to the library for 2 hold pick ups and browsed a bit. Over Thanksgiving, I finished one of my holds: God of Lost Words by A.J. Hackworth. It was the 3rd and final installment in the Hell’s Library series. An interesting series for book lovers as long as you don’t get too bogged down in the semantics and ideas of the settings. It’s fantasy fiction and stays true to that genre, not for everyone but I enjoyed it.

I also (finally!) have the new Andy Weir book, Hail Mary, on my pile. He wrote The Martian so I’m super excited to read this. Then, I have a slew of other random books covering everything from “getting cozy” to a silly satirical book of 90’s movie reviews.

However, currently, I’m reading The Christmas Countdown by Donna Ashcroft on my kindle app because it’s the Christmas season!

On Today’s To Do List

  1. Breathe
  2. Complete this post
  3. Gather items for renewing my driver license (yuck!)
  4. Make some appointments for J/e-mail school (half-done)
  5. Do a bit more Christmas decorating
  6. Go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather! 

On The TV

Not sure, probably just the usual stuff: The Voice, La Brea, Masked Singer, maybe The Flash. Christmas movies.

Listening To

At the moment, the clothes dryer. Might turn on some music later.

On The Menu

Tired of summer menu items but the weather isn’t cooperating for fall/winter menus.

MONDAY: turkey hot dogs on the grill, broccoli or I might make the minestrone soup I skipped over doing yesterday. Maybe both and I’ll just freeze the minestrone for a cold day. *J has a baritone lesson at 6:30*

TUESDAY: Roast in the crock pot, potatoes

WEDNESDAY: Pork chops with Asian flair, rice, pineapple (Freezer crock pot meal)

THURSDAY: Chicken strips, French fries *I work 8:30-5*

FRIDAY: Homemade pizza (carry over from last week)

From The Camera

Just more park pictures. I think the “all you need is love” tree must be some sort of geocache, marker in the park. Always interesting little treasures on it. And I couldn’t stand how the love banner fell so I moved it up higher on the tree again. 

Looking Around The House

Not awful, just need to decorate for Christmas. My husband did put our tv on the wall so now I have a bit more space for my Nativity scenes.

In Prep For The Holidays

This week is just going to be about decorating, maybe putting some cookie dough in the freezer.

On My Prayer List

J that he’ll overcome this battle with anxiety/depression and once again feel happy. (And if you have a spare prayer, can I ask for some for us as well because it’s a little tough dealing with all this as parents)

Those dealing with heavy feelings and grief as they try to maneuver the holiday season.

Family, friends, strangers.

Quote For The Week

Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.
(Psalm 55:22)  

It’s The Holiday Season

Week in Review No Comments

Hopefully, you had a good Thanksgiving (if in the United States) and are ready for the holiday season.

Sharing the video of one of my favorite songs of the season as believe it or not, I did not take a single photo yesterday!

To say this has been a week of ups and downs is likely an understatement.

MONDAY and TUESDAY

Monday was a lovely day of mostly happiness. Started the morning with a haircut, always enjoy my “hair-apy” sessions so much. And my lovely hairdresser always gives a small Christmas gift to her clients. Guess I should’ve taken a picture of that. A little plastic cup with a straw filled with candies, lip balm, and lotion. The saying on the cup:

May your day be as amazing as your hair!

*Very grateful for her, she’s been my hairdresser since I was in high school!*

Then, I kicked off my holiday season a bit early by doing a bit of shopping. Hit a few shops on the east side of town that I don’t get toward quite as often. Picked up a tin of my husband’s favorite cookies, J’s favorites, and few other stocking stuffers. Plus a chocolate Advent calendar.   The chocolates were so pretty, I couldn’t resist!

A happy Monday, and then came Tuesday. SIGH. Crashing down.

Anxiety rushed back at J. It’s so hard to watch someone you love suffer. And we won’t even get into the guilt it brings. Suffice it to say I struggled the whole day as well.

However, G was kind enough to see just how much I was struggling and bought me lunch. (While his kindness helped my mood, Taco Bell didn’t do much for my stomach already upset from poor food choices from earlier in the day)

Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday helped me climb back up the good mood ladder a bit. Time spent with loving preschool kiddos is such a mood boost! And J didn’t have school anyway so no worries there.

One of the students in the afternoon class told me several jokes. I love when the preschool kids tell me jokes. Sometimes they make no sense but his were really funny. Sample:

What do lazy dogs do for fun? 

Chase parked cars!

Ha!

Yesterday (Thursday) was of course, Thanksgiving. And I’ve had lots of thoughts about the holidays and then, even more thoughts here.

It was a strange day here with just the four of us. My husband cooked the turkey on the pellet grill and I made all the sides: cranberry sauce (Wednesday night), pumpkin and chocolate pies, cornbread, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes (cheated, used instant), corn, and we also had dinner rolls (cheated, bought at Hy-Vee, not great).

As I cooked, mostly, I worked through a bit of grief and memories. Cried my way through some Facebook photos and memories.

I think I needed this holiday with just the four of us to grieve the loss of our Oklahoma holiday traditions. Hadn’t had a chance to do that yet as our aunt passed away in October 2019 so close to the holidays that I think I was simply in shock. And last year, the pandemic didn’t allow much room for any other thoughts as things were just so different all the way around.

After dinner, we did manage to lure the kids from their rooms for a few rounds of Uno. And then, J and I played Go. I think the boys had a good holiday. Hope so anyway.

Upcoming Weekend

While I thought about kicking off the holiday season with a bit of Black Friday shopping, the allure of staying in my pajama bottoms was too great. Did do a tiny bit of on-line though.

My plans for the weekend involve mostly laundry, deep cleaning, and Christmas decorating. Maybe putting together a list of Christmas books to read and movies to watch. Last year I made a point to watch a Christmas movie every day in December (not sure I managed every day) and really enjoyed it. So, a planned repeat of that is in order.

So far, I’ve deep cleaned the main bathroom and put up the Christmas shower curtain. Just taking my time with everything today.

How was your week (and holiday if you celebrated)? What do you have planned for the weekend?

Happy Homemaker Monday, Thanksgiving Week

HappyHomemakerMonday 8 Comments

Posting a bit late today as I had a few errands this morning. Getting a bit more excited about Thanksgiving though still missing our plans of old a bit (when we used to travel to Oklahoma). 

A short week school and work-wise, however, still needs a plan. Let’s just get right to it by joining in with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom.

Breakfast Time..What Is On The Plate This Morning

Felt a bit festive after my morning grocery store run: Caramel Brûlée Latte and peppermint perfection flavor flip yogurt (also, regular coffee early in the am & vitamins) 

Looking Around The House

Let’s not. I had a good run on Saturday morning but that was 2 days ago…

On Today’s To-Do List

Mostly errands that are done.

  1. Go to grocery store for Thanksgiving items
  2. Haircut
  3. Run a couple Christmas shopping errands
  4. This post
  5. Take J to his lesson tonight

Currently Reading

I must find something lighter for J’s lesson tonight. Finished too rather dark thrillers over the weekend. First, I read Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger. Definitely, an intense can’t put it down kind of thriller. I gave it 5 stars. And I just finished The Push by Ashley Audrain. This one moved at a different pace and was a twisty, disturbing kind of thriller that dealt with raw emotions and inherited mental illness (whether from nature or nurture is left up to the reader a bit). It’d be a good book club read if you knew the members well (there’s lots that could really be upsetting to someone in a fragile state)

On The TV This Week

La Brea, Masked Singer if it’s on this week with the holiday, whatever catches my eye on the streaming services. Football.

The Weather Outside Is 

Confusing. One day it’s in the mid 50’s, the next day we’re waking up to 28 degrees. It’s 48 degrees and sunny right now so today’s a chilly one but then, it’s supposed to warm up for a couple days, then back to cold. It was nice enough yesterday afternoon that I cleared out the garden and tilled it. 

On The Menu This Week

Um, Thanksgiving. Not sure about those days around it. Let’s see…

MONDAY: No idea. Maybe chicken strips? Brocoli

TUESDAY: Either tacos or homemade pizza

WEDNESDAY: Whichever we don’t do on Tuesday *I work 12-4:30*

THURSDAY: Turkey, sweet potatoes, rolls, pumpkin pie to name a few items and yes, I did buy this to make things a bit more special and fun:

FRIDAY: Leftovers

If I Have A Few Minutes To Myself I Will

Probably just have a cup of tea and relax

New Recipe I Tried Or Want To Try This Week

Pretty traditional fare this week though I did pick up the ingredients to try a new fudge recipe (need to make sure we can freeze it for Christmas first)

One Of My Simple Pleasures

Fuzzy socks

Favorite Photo From The Camera 

Still working on getting back into the habit of picking up the camera

Praying For 

A friend of my husband who is in the hospital with COVID (this is the brother of the friend who just passed away of cancer) and his family (his son also has COVID related pneumonia but is not hospitalized)

My favorite grocery store cashier (she has the same name as me!) who I overheard tell a coworker that her sister passed away over the weekend

Friends and family (and strangers) who are celebrating their first holidays without loved ones

My family to stay healthy and my brother’s significant other (SIL) to continue to heal from throat cancer

*special prayer request for J* J who’s once again dealing with high levels of anxiety. For him to go to school the rest of the semester and once again take joy in his band activities without feeling so overwhelmed.

All of those reading this blog to have a wonderful week and Thanksgiving (if you celebrate)

Quote For The Week

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6)

 

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More Thanksgiving Thoughts

Birdwatching Chitchat No Comments

Having a few more Thanksgiving thoughts about how we’ll be spending the day. I think I’ve finally accepted the fact it’ll just be the four of us this year. And I’m finally starting to get a bit into the spirit of the holiday.

In case, like me, you have no idea how to plan and prepare a scaled down celebration I came across this fabulous planning resource. I love how she breaks it down.

We’ll have turkey, of course. And I love the idea of adding an appetizer. A special table setting using real dishes, might even spurge on a “fancy” setting (nothing over the top think melamine). I’ll let everyone pick a side, my choice is going to be cranberries. To me, it’s not really Thanksgiving without homemade cranberry sauce on that turkey slice.

Probably sweet potatoes. I’ll see if my husband wants mashed potatoes as well. He’s the only fan in our household. Dinner rolls. And something, green. Perhaps just a simple salad?

Pie Problems

Dessert is where things get a bit dicey. Another it’s not Thanksgiving without it for me is pumpkin pie. However, G and I are the only fans. And he’s just as happy with chocolate or apple. Of course, I can freeze any leftover pumpkin pie. Decisions. And more Decisions to make.

Plan For The Day

Since it’ll be just us, I’ve been pondering a bit of an itinerary just to make sure we keep the holiday special and don’t all wander right back into our rooms or doing our own thing right after the eating.

Right now I’ve got this rough outline for the day. Most of the times are flexible and I’ll need to discuss them with the family:

9ish Watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade (probably just me)

10-2ish Prepare the meal

2:30 Eat our Thanksgiving meal

3:30-5:30 After dinner, nap time/outside stuff/clean up

5:30: Light snack/leftover dinner plus dessert for anyone hungry/Game time (UNO most likely)

6:30: Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on PBS (This is my favorite and I’ll watch it by myself if they aren’t interested) *UPDATE: This is on PBS tonight not on Thanksgiving Thursday*

7:30: Maybe start on Christmas decorating to begin the next festive season?

A Bit Off-Topic: Thankful For Returning Birds

Since I typically post a bird-watching post on Saturday, here’s a glimpse of my white-throated sparrow who returned earlier last week. Other than him, I’ve not seen a lot of birds this week, probably due to my hectic days combined with some crazy winds blowing out there. Thankfully, those winds seem to have calmed down for today at least.

more thanksgiving thoughts
white-throated sparrow

 

Have you made your Thanksgiving plans yet?

 

 

 

 

A Few Favorite Things

Week in Review 2 Comments

How about a few favorite things instead of a summary of this week. Let me tell you it’s been a week and a half. It’s Friday afternoon and I’m still in my pajamas yet to shower. I did get up and at them the rest of the week but…whew, this week was a bit of a tootsie pop-y week. Guess that’s a nice way to say it?

And it took more than 3 licks to get to the center (end) of it. I always enjoyed this commercial.

There is so much I’d like to say about this week and so much I don’t feel like sharing. Monday was J’s birthday, that was good. Tuesday through Thursday, I worked and that was okay. I did set off their alarm accidentally on Tuesday morning (Oops! Thankfully, I could quickly call and let the alarm company know it was an accident. Getting proper codes and the alarm turned off inside the building took a little longer.). Between some rough mornings at home and kind of tough (not terrible though) work days, by yesterday afternoon I felt pretty much emotionally depleted. Still kind of there if I’m honest.

Like I said earlier, instead of too many details, I’m just going to share a few favorite things that got me through the week.

Snacks and Drinks

So, I’ll just confess I’m a stress eater. Sugar? Okay. However, some days just call for CRUNCHING. And these are my latest favorites for that. They’re also a little salty but that’s okay as well.  a few favorite things

(By the way, I know I don’t talk about our other “football” team often but I hear Sporting KC is in the playoffs! Someday I’d like to get to one of their soccer games as I hear they’re quite fun)

a few favorite things

I try not to indulge in soda or pop (my dad called it soda pop so don’t ask me) too often but this is definitely my all-time favorite. As a mostly Coca Cola fan, that’s saying something. Mango Pepsi for days when it’s just too warm out there for hot tea. And hey, it does have 1 percent of mango juice.

Aroma Therapy

My current favorite scents. I know I mentioned being taken with the cold brew Irish cream coffee at Starbucks. This candle is a cheaper way to get my thrill.

And for the diffuser, here’s a rather odd scent for a summer lover to be a bit enamored with lately:

It’s a very peaceful scent. Not sure how else to describe it. (Please forgive the blurry photo)

Self-Care

Not my favorite term but it fits for this category. Of the few, 21 for 21 items on my list from the beginning of the year, a skincare routine has actually somewhat lasted.

Maybe because I allowed myself to indulge in these Philosophy products.

Today, I tried a sample of a clay mask which I’ve added to my list of full-sized products to buy. Thankfully, they last a long time. The sample sized set pictured was on sale so I went with it.

Shall We Just Howl? Or Cry?

At least as possible explanation for the week, I saw the full moon starting on Wednesday evening. And again as J and I walked around a local park late yesterday afternoon. Missed the eclipse though. Went to bed early last night and just couldn’t quite get out of bed this morning. I must’ve needed the sleep. 

A Theme Song For My Week? My Month?

Seriously, this week has just left me a bit burned out. Perhaps the whole month.

And of course, I just found out that we need to go get J sized for a tux for concert season. (My fault a bit as I forgot about it and sizing/money is all due on Monday) So much for pajama day.

*I should say that I did stop and find bits of gratitude that helped get me through this week as well: beautiful weather early in the week, time with those wonderful preschool kids that filled my heart, time with my own kids as well, open bathrooms at the park yesterday afternoon (always a gamble in November!), and amazing helpful co-workers. And a spot on verse in the Jesus Calling book this morning.

What kind of week have you had? Any favorite things helping you get through it?

 

 

A New Phase of Searching for New Traditions

On My Mind No Comments

Trying to plan ahead for the holidays and realizing we’re in a new phase around here. Oh, and we still have no idea what we’ll be doing on Thanksgiving. 

For so many years, we went to Oklahoma to spend the holidays with my husband’s aunt and grandparents. Then, they all passed away just prior to Thanksgiving in 2019. That year we had a quiet Thanksgiving at my brother’s home. In 2020, we celebrated with just my husband’s sister,her husband and my nephew. We cooked the traditional meal.

Honestly, last year I lost touch with quite a few family members. I just didn’t have the mental space (not sure I do yet) for political arguments and family dramas. That’s not to say I don’t miss those family members very much. I wonder how much the boys are missing out on by the lack of time spent with extended family at the typical holiday gatherings. Or maybe I’m just feeling sentimental for bygone times and traditions.

It’s occurred to me that I’m very much missing the family we used to visit and spend every Thanksgiving with in Oklahoma. That perhaps I never quite processed those losses as they all happened in one year and rather suddenly and unexpectedly. Perhaps we need just a quiet holiday with just the four of us this year. Someday, I know (or at least hope) it will be us with the boys and their families, a full gathering once again. It’s just a strange phase again this year.

Christmas Planning 

I’ve tried throughout the year to do a little early Christmas shopping as well. My struggles aren’t so much related to the whole supply chain thing as the strange phase thing. Maybe I just miss the toy departments. Or those annual strolls through Toys R Us (of course, those stores are long gone in these parts).

My mind’s blocked the negative, crazy stress of over tired young children parts and I look back fondly on the Christmas Eve parties my in-laws held each year (appetizer food only which my husband never liked but I loved). Christmas mornings over there, afternoons/evenings spent with my side of the family. Dinners alternated.

Then those days morphed into Christmas Eve sometimes spent with my husband’s family but mostly spent at home (Well, I usually shop most of the day. One of my weird, favorite ways to spend the day.) And Christmas morning breakfast here with my them, then going to my brother’s home in the afternoons. Except for in 2019 when we actually hosted breakfast for my husband’s family here and then did a later dinner also here for my side of the family. A holiday I so very much enjoyed. Too bad 2020 had to come along with it’s great big wrench (sledge hammer?) for holiday planning.

New For This Year

As I mentioned, Thanksgiving is completely up in the air at this point though it’s looking close to being just the four of us. Hard for me to envision especially as someone who grew up celebrating holidays as the youngest of 5.

My sister-in-law and her family talked of maybe coming up from their new home in Florida to celebrate the holidays in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, that’s the only information I have as of now. Using it as an excuse, however, to clean and decorate this basement area for Christmas. If they do come, I know my nephew will likely want to stay with us.

I’ve always kind of wanted to host a hot chocolate open house for friends and family alike before Christmas. So that idea is simmering a bit in the back of my mind. However, J has many concert band related items on December weekends as well.

Christmas Eve is a potential band performance during a church service which makes me happy. I gave my blessing for the idea but it depends on how many others are available to perform. No idea how our Christmas might look, though I’ve done a fair amount of early shopping (and bought mostly clothes…boring) for the boys. I’m trying to wrap my mind around the fact that our days of 4:00AM Christmas starts are probably over.

Different is Okay

The lovely Christmas planning notebook I made myself back in January is mostly empty. Truth: I’ve only written on one page of it. Jotted down gift ideas. And wrote this sentence in it:

Christmas will look different this year and that’s okay.

Are the holidays on your mind? What old or new traditions do you look forward to this year?

 

 

 

 

 

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’. 

 

 

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