Category: INSPIRIVITY

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENU & RECIPES week 10 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.69

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

GOOD MORNING LADIES! Did you remember to adjust your clocks? Personally I wish they’d pick a time and just stay with it!! That first Sunday after the time change is ALWAYS the hardest for me and this year was no different because it was dark, cloudy and foggy! To make matters worse, I’m not even sure how it’s Monday again. I feel like I lost an entire week! I’m pretty good about getting around to visit everyone, but I sadly fell short last week. I will be better this week! 😀

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

The week was full of “fires” to put out so I won’t bore you with too many details, but I ended up spending a lot of unplanned time at the Eagles including working the fundraiser dinner Friday night. Monday through Friday were jam packed with “STUFF”.  Saturday I took a paint class and then hubby and I went out for dinner at a favorite haunt. Sunday was doing normal chores to catch up on laundry and cleaning and helping an elderly friend with some house maintenance.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

Welcome to the Pacific North West where your spring flowers prematurely bloom at the first sign of sunshine only to be beaten back down by pouring rain and snow and you are always only a layer or two from shivering.

While the EAST is supposed to have a warm-up this week, we’re just the opposite with thunderstorms and snow!

MONDAY Cloudy 65/41
TUESDAY Cloudy 47/40
WEDNESDAY Rain 49/37
THURSDAY Thunderstorms/Snow 47/34
FRIDAY Snow/Rain 46/34
SATURDAY Rain 45/ 39
SUNDAY Rain 45/34

ON MY MIND

I lost last week! I really do NOT know where it went and mainly because of other people and having to pivot to pick up the slack. I know I’ve said it before, but I’m getting super close to throwing in the towel on the Eagles and the continually growing issues at hand. :SIGH: 😔 See my funny for today. I picked it long before today, but boy does it fit!!!!!

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING As caught up as possible.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’m headed to town today to get everything done before the next storm begins.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I have a couple weeks planned, but am taking it as it comes so I’m not disappointed with all the pivots I’ve been having to make.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • STREAMING We’ve been binge watching CROSSING JORDAN and a new season of STEEL MAGNOLIAS is on for me during the day when I can.
  • CABLE Tournament of Champions, Spring Baking Championship starts tomorrow, Guy’s Grocery Games, Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage, Ghosts, Matlock, Ellsbeth, Tracker, The Way Home, When Calls the Heart…

READING TIME

I’m between books, but hope to start a new one tonight.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
3/10 MONDAY
3/11 TUESDAY
3/12 WEDNESDAY
3/13 THURSDAY
3/14 FRIDAY
3/15 SATURDAY
3/16 SUNDAY
DINNER
MEETING NIGHT
CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN
 MEATBALL SALAD
 STUBBY CHICKEN
 SHORT CUT CHICKEN CORDON BLEU
 OUT with FRIENDS
 PIZZA EGG ROLLS
 CHICKEN SALTIMBOCCA
DESSERT
 
 
SALTED CARAMEL PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE
 

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

I am not entirely happy with my picture “A Walk in the Wilderness”, but I’ll keep working on it, the bushes in particular 😀

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

  • LOADED SEAFOOD CHOWDER
  • BUFFALO CRUSTED BAKED FISH & CHIPS

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENU & RECIPES week 8 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.55

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

My week was busy with pre-Spring cleaning, sorting and organizing as well as my many Eagles duties, but my weekend was kind of lazy, yet productive!

Saturday was A LOT of cleaning and laundry. We began working on power washing the back patio, patio cover and gutters. For some reason they have gotten exceptionally mossy and slimy so far this year. We even found horrible moss patches on the new roof that we’re working hard to eradicate before it gets a foothold that can’t be stopped.

I even took time to have lunch with a friend on Sunday and watch ALL the NASCAR races (which were recorded) since it was raining so much and all outside cleaning came to a stop.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

Beware of captions that say a warm up is on the way, BUT, don’t put away the winter coats! That’s how SNOWMAGEDDON started a few years back!

Monday 57/44 ~ 1 inch RAIN
Tuesday 57/44 ~ 1 inch RAIN
Wednesday 58/35 ~ CLOUDY
Thursday 58/34 ~ CLOUDY
Friday 58/44 ~ CLOUDY/RAIN
Saturday 56/43 ~ 1 inch RAIN
Sunday 55/38 ~ 1/2 inch RAIN

ON MY MIND

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING ~ cleaning is underway and laundry is done, at least until we take our clothes off later 😀
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS Hubs has an appointment in town today and will do our shopping as well as the OFFYCE shopping
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I have the next 2 weeks planned

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • STREAMING ~ still working on cleaning out the DVR
  • CABLE ~ Kids Baking Championship, Next Level Chef, Tournament of Champions, The Way Home, When Calls the Heart…

READING TIME

I finished PICTURES OF YOU by Emma Grey last week and started THE BOYFRIEND by Frieda McFadden for book Club, but really want to start RUN, ROSE, RUN by James Patterson and Dolly Parton as well as so many more titles, so may be dropping book club 🙁 to read on my own.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
2/24 MONDAY
2/25 TUESDAY
2/26 WEDNESDAY
2/27 THURSDAY
2/28 FRIDAY
3/1 SATURDAY
3/2 SUNDAY
DINNER
 CHICKEN TETRAZZINI and a fresh batch of SWEET BBQ SAUCE
PASTEL AZTECA
PIGEON RIVER CHICKEN
 BAKED MANICOTTI with MEAT SAUCE
 cooking at EAGLES QUESADILLAS with MEXICAN CORN SALAD and MEXICAN ROSETTE CHURROS
 CHICKEN SALTIMBOCCA
 HUBBY’S BIRTHDAY HIS CHOICE
BREAKFAST
 
 
 
CANADIAN BACON ONION QUICHE

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

This happened last year also. Spring blooms thinking it’s time only to be beaten back down by cold, rain, wind and/or snow 🙁

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

  • EARTHQUAKE CAKE
  • BEAN & BBQ BEEF STEW
  • HALUSKI aka POLISH COLESLAW

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENU & RECIPES week 7 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.48

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

WHEW! The last 2 weeks have been a constant blur!!! I finished the last “PLANNED” event on Friday night only to have a monkey wrench thrown into the rest of the month. Saturday was spent doing laundry and house chores as well as a lot of recipe sorting. I’m hoping to finish sorting through the tote I’ve been working on so I can make a “quarterly” menu plan and eliminate a bunch of scrap paper. Sunday was supposed to be a “slow” day at home watching racing and being lazy, but ended up being gone to lunch with friends and then several hours of Eagle’s chores. I’m looking forward to staying home today and getting caught up on what I didn’t get done yesterday.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

It’s going to be a super wet week and still quite cool with highs in the low 40’s. I’ll be doing layers upon layers with turtlenecks and flannels with Levis & UGGs.

ON MY MIND

So many people are anxious to “join” organizations, but I have noticed that so many are NOT willing to put the effort into sustaining them. We have had a HUGE influx of members because of our Tuesday line dancing night, but that’s the extent of their involvement.  There was a “VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION” night with Italian bakes and dessert last Friday, but when all was said and done I observed that the people that participated in the bakes and desserts, set-up, break down and clean-up were the same volunteers being “celebrated”. Volunteers ate for free, all others it was a $10 all you can eat night and we did raise almost $500 for charity, but it seemed quite a bit of work and so so lopsided. 🙁

I had been asked to take over Friday night dinner coordination in June when the current lady was not going to renew her membership because of commitments elsewhere, but was a bit surprised when she announced it at the last meeting and that it would begin March 1st. And then to top it off the woman doing February 28th and canceled on Saturday so I’m hitting the ground running scrambling from the git go. 🙂 I do have some hopefully fresh ideas to generate more participation and support, so we’ll see.

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING ALL caught up fortunately!
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS Just a few things that I’ll pick up on Wednesday when we do the Eagle’s shopping.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING February is done and March is in the works. After that I’m trying to do “quarterly” plans to make life easier.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • STREAMING We have just a few episodes of BONES left from our binge watch and will then switch over to finish CROSSING JORDAN.
  • CABLE Trying to catch up on the DVR and TOURNAMENT of CHAMPIONS started last night.

READING TIME

I should finish PICTURES OF YOU tonight. Book Club picked a new book because most people found it “BORING” and called it a DNF (do not finish and I have never NOT finished a book) book which only tells me I’m not well fitted with this group that prefer psychological thrillers.

Most of those that found it boring gave up by page 20, which I find alarming as the book has 350 pages so they really didn’t give it a chance. 

Two other friends are liking as much as I do and we have all vowed to finish it. One has finished it and declared it is definitely a book to finish.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
2/17 MONDAY
2/18 TUESDAY
2/19 WEDNESDAY
2/20 THURSDAY
2/21 FRIDAY
2/22 SATURDAY
2/23 SUNDAY
DINNER
 SALSA VERDE CHICKEN CASSEROLE
 FIREHOUSE SPECIAL
 CORNED BEEF HASH ~ DINNER STYLE
 PORK CHOPS, MASHED POTATOES and MILK GRAVY with COUNTRY DRESSING
 CREOLE HALIBUT
CORNED BEEF SAUERKRAUT BAKE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HONEY ORANGE COTTAGE CHEESE PANCAKES (breakfast)
 LIME GLAZED PORK CHOPS with COUNTRY DRESSING
~~~~~~~~
OVERNIGHT HAM& EGG CASSEROLE (BREAKFAST)
DESSERT
 
WACKY CAKE
 

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

I borrowed some chafing dishes from a friend (she had owned our favorite deli – Nellie’s Deli but retired last July) and she brought me these sweet treats along with the chafing dishes! How sweet is that? And this was the sky over the pond after the event Friday night.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

  • SODA SAUCE PORK LOIN & MASHED CARROTS
  • PORK CHOPS in CREAMY GARLIC SPINACH SAUCE

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY week 49 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.344

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

WEEKEND RECAP

Thursday morning’s earthquake off the coast of California triggered a TSUNAMI warning for us. Have seen the signs for years, but never experienced an actual warning until now. Friday was spent cleaning and finish winter prep around here.

On Saturday I FINALLY completed my holiday decorating inside and hubby finished the outside just before the rain began. We literally finished just before we had to leave and meet friends to watch the DUCKS vs. PENN STATE game which did not disappoint. DUCKS won (45-37) and are now 13-0! We ALL had a GREAT time.

Then on Sunday we stored all the boxes from the decorating and I began planning my baking schedule for the neighbor plates I’ll be making and checking to see if I had all my ingredients. I also started arranging things for girl’s night this next Wednesday. I’ve also been wrapping the gifts for the Foster kids that I’ll be delivering this next week. Congratulations Jean on the Chiefs win last night – 2 inches more to the left and it would have been a loss.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

12/9 MONDAY – MOSTLY SUNNY after the fog burns off 43°/26°
12/10 TUESDAY – MOSTLY CLOUDY after the fog burns off 44°/30°
12/11 WEDNESDAY – MOSTLY CLOUDY after the fog burns off 46°/38°
12/12 THURSDAY – RAINY 46°/38°
12/13 FRIDAY – RAINY 45/37°
12/14 SATURDAY – RAIN!!! 45°/38° YUCK WE’RE DOING WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA AT 1PM 🙁
12/15 SUNDAY – RAINY 44°/38°

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I was able to get EVERYTHING done over the weekend. I will need to spruce up a bit after my prep for girl’s night on Wednesday.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I am LITERALLY cooking out and planning my menus around the freezer and pantry cleaning them both out to start the new year completely fresh! The good news about this is that I have very little to shop for except a bit of produce and dairy here and there. I also lucked out and have no appointment until I drop off the foster kid gifts on Friday morning 😀
  • PAPERWORK & PHONE CALLS I have tons to do, but most will wait until Thursday or next week.
  • PROJECTS Jewelry trees, homemade vanilla and some painting projects for girl’s night Wednesday.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • STREAMING We’re watching HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER as a late night comedy.
  • CABLE I’ve finally gotten the DVR cleaned up until November so will keep working on dwindling it down as I bake this month.

READING TIME

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
12/9 MONDAY
12/10 TUESDAY
12/11 WEDNESDAY
12/12 THURSDAY
12/13 FRIDAY
12/14 SATURDAY
12/15 SUNDAY
DINNER
roast chicken, glazed carrots & mashed potatoes
 brisket sandwiches and coleslaw
beef stew and biscuits
 lemon chicken and rice soup
 out
CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
 pot roast, glazed carrots and mashed potatoes
DESSERT
 
grasshopper brownies
 
bacon and waffles

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

I have a friend that LOVES to try all the crafts she sees on Facebook and she made this BIG star for me out of yard sticks and light string! I LOVE it!!!

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES TO LOOK FOR THIS WEEK

  • OLD FASHIONED OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES
  • CRAZY PIZZA BREAD
  • LAYERED SALAD

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENUS & RECIPES week 46 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.323

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

WEEKEND RECAP

It was a whirlwind weekend, but a good one that really started on Thursday again. We went to pick up my holiday Hallmark order and made a day of it since the nearest Hallmark is an hour and a half away. Hallmark stores are far and few between here and when the one I normally dealt with closed a family owned and run old time drugstore took over for Hallmark. This drugstore is like an old time Woolworths or TG&Y and so much fun and the woman who runs the Hallmark section is so nice. Because I live so far away she puts back for me anything I need until I can get there. I even one the door prize from last month’s premiere event! So, I picked up a nice little haul to get me in the Christmas spirit.

While we were there we visited a local hardware chain that does their garden area as a Tinsel town for the holidays. We didn’t need much, but it’s always fun to look. I did pick up a white projector light for the new nativity we’re doing this year and some paper white bulbs.

We had a wonderful lunch along the river at a favorite haunt and then did some antiquing on the way back in a favorite store, 5 Flying Monkeys and finished the day with a dinner at another favorite haunt and had a yummy Thankful Thursday turkey dinner. On Thursdays they do Thankful Thursday for veterans, first responders and moms at half price. They rotate meals throughout the year doing either the turkey, pot roast or meatloaf. All three are exceptional! My favorite is the turkey or the pot roast because it comes with the BEST glazed roasted carrots I think I’ve ever had!

Saturday brought the annual craft fair at the community center. I had several friends selling their wares there so that was a lot of fun! Then Sunday was spent with a bestie. I was also able to get a lot of organization done during the weekend as well as catch up on laundry, football and NASCAR as it was super wet and cold ALL weekend.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The first one is probably better for next week, but is also something we should all remember this time of year as we are getting together with friends and family. We should all remember that our differences aren’t as important as our commonalities and love for each other. So enjoy your friends and families over the holidays.

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

I’m going to sound like a broken record, but it’s cold, wet and rainy 😀 like always in November. We’ve had a fairly mild autumn up until now, but it feels like winter is going to hit a bit early. Highs this week in the 40’s and 50’s with lows in the 30’s and 40’s. Layers and flannels are a definite for this week.

ON MY MIND

There’s a “GIRLS NIGHT” in a a couple weeks to finish the Jewelry Christmas Trees we began last year. We’ve decided to “simplify” things this year and just order pizza. We’ll each provide a little something else like a favorite cookie, drink makings or ???? I’m thinking of making this cute charcuterie board appetizer board with some crackers. How cute is that?

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I got all the laundry done yesterday!
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’m putting together my list for this week to get all the errands and groceries done this week. Crowds are already crazy around her and I have no inclinations of going near stores the week of Thanksgiving EXCEPT to pick up the turkey from the butcher next Tuesday.
  • PAPERWORK & PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS I’m chairing this year for the Eagle’s holiday families and foster kids so have LOTS of paperwork and organizing to do.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Menus are done through November, but I’m starting on December. With the cold we’re having I’m envisioning a lot of soups, stews and chilis.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • STREAMING I’m getting caught up on the things on the DVR FINALLY
  • CABLE I’ve been recording all the new Hallmark Christmas movies and am saving them up for when I start decorating for Christmas.

READING TIME

I joined a book club that started yesterday and we’ll be meeting every 2 weeks. I missed the first meeting, but they chose the book, SOCIETY OF LIES by Lauren Ling Brown. I downloaded the book and started it last night.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
11/18 MONDAY
11/19 TUESDAY
11/20 WEDNESDAY
11/21 THURSDAY
11/22 FRIDAY
11/23 SATURDAY
11/24 SUNDAY
DINNER
 RB BEANS AND CHARRED HOT DOGS
 BURGERS & CHILI CORNBREAD SALAD
CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
CHICKEN ALA KING and PEA STUFFING
 COOKING AT THE EAGLES with a FRIEND – BRISKET SANDWICHES, COLESLAW, BAKED BEANS and
 BEEF & BEAN STEW
 GOULASH and ROASTED CARROTS
DESSERT
 
 
NEOPOLITAN CAKE

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

There is a BIG hardware store called Jerry’s here that reminds me of a combination Fleet & Farm plus a Menards that turns their garden area into a Tinsel Town for Christmas. I never need much, but it’s always fun to look. I LOVE how they display their lights making it easy to envision what they’ll look like on your house or project.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

  • PICKLED PLUM CRUMBLE/CRISP
  • GO TO SLOW COOKER RECIPES ~ BLACK BEAN SALSA CHICKEN, GREEN CHILE CHICKEN, BUTTERMILK RANCH PORK CHOPS and TERIYAKI WINGS

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS