HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY – Page 36 – Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME

HAPPY HOMEMAKER and MENU PLAN MONDAY week 42 of 2017

Oh my gosh, it’s Monday! Where did last week go? We are down to the last 10 weeks of the year and you know what that means – Christmas is only 70 days away! I lost 2 days last week with invasive testing and another 2 days with just feeling like crap. The good news is the doctor announced that even though the recovery time is the same, he can do the better for me in the long term surgery. The bad news is he decided he needs one more test this next week and unfortunately it is the uncomfortable test he previously changed. Oh well, at this point I’m just praying this is all over before the holidays.

After surgery I will not be able to lift anything for 6-8 weeks so I have been working like a dog to get as much sorted, packed and donated that I can before the surgery. We are so ready to be done with this house from hell and move on to a better way of life soon.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We had a “COLD” front move in last night LOL so we are only supposed to be in the mid 80’s this week, but the night time lows are supposed to drop into the 60’s and the humidity is supposed to drop 20-30% so I’m hoping for a more enjoyable week.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

Banana, red grapes and Coffee

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE / WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

LAUNDRY… just a couple loads
LIVING AREAS… mostly tidy, but as always with animals and husbands I need to do floors
KITCHEN… mop and empty the dishwasher
STUDIO… I did a DEEP clean last week when I started piling boxes in this room so it will be okay for awhile
YARD… A little pruning
BLOG… some recipe updating, planning for future recipe posts and BLOGMAS 2017

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

I’m reading Ava Miles Dare Valley #7 The Perfect Ingredient.

BIG BANG THEORY and the new YOUNG SHELDON when it returns in November
NCIS, NCIS NEW ORLEANS and NCIS LA, CRIMINAL MINDS
MADAM SECRETARY, SCANDAL, DESIGNATED SURVIVOR
CHICAGO FIRE, CHICAGO PD, CHICAGO MED
LAW & ORDER SVU, BLUE BLOODS, HAWAII 5-0
MACGYVER, SCORPION, BLINDSPOT
Z NATION, WALKING DEAD, FLASH, DC LEGENDS
THE GOOD PLACE, AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE,
THIS IS US, ONCE UPON A TIME
GUY’S GROCERY GAMES,

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	FRUIT & COFFEE	SCRAMBLED EGGS	FRUIT SMOOTHIE	FRUIT & COFFEE	SCRAMBLED EGGS	SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH DICED HAM	TOASTED FRENCH TOAST
LUNCH	FRUIT & CHEESE	SOUP	MEAT ROLL-UPS	SALAD	MEAT & CHEESE	C.O.R.N.	??
DINNER	SLAM DUNK WINGS	SHEPHERD’S PIE QUESADILLAS	BRUSSELS BISQUE	MARRY ME CHAMPAGNE CHICKEN	CHILI MAC CASSEROLE	GRILLED TWICE BAKED POTATOES	PEANUTTY CHICKEN WINGS
DESSERT

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND

I grew up in California and unfortunately fires are a fact of life out there, especially in October with the Santa Ana winds. I’ve also been mandatorily evacuated more times that I would like and even watched from a cruise ship one year while our tiny town of 500 was on CNN in one of the fastest moving fires in LA history, but there was usually a lot of brush and trees burned and even a few structures, but in ALL those years I cannot remember any combination of fires as horrific as what California is experiencing now, especially with loss of life. Please keep California in your prayers that containment comes soon and there is no more loss of property or life.

As horrible what California is going through, there is still so much destruction and rebuilding going on that is also impacting people ALL over the country and world!

Several months ago I told you about some roof leaks that we had that required major patching and when we went into the attic to investigate the source were confronted with 40 years worth of crap that my grandfather and cousin had accumulated back in a corner we “missed” originally because it was just that, in a hard to reach corner. Unfortunately we had to bag it and move it in order to reach the area that was leaking. We also discovered about 500 pounds of “good” (by my grandfather’s terms) boards that I’m sure he was saving for a project as well as a bunch of bricks – really bricks in an attic? I can’t even begin to figure out what those were for. So, we bagged it all up and moved to a pile in the center to be removed later. Well, it’s now later!

In order to get all the bagged stuff and boards down from the attic we needed several things, the first of which was cooler weather which we don’t have yet, but are running out of time on. The second was to empty out the master closet so we didn’t get all the insulation and dirt all over our clothes. So, we bit the bullet the other day and emptied the closet so we could bring down 11-30 gallon bags the next morning. It got too warm so we’re saving the boards for later this week. Trash will pick up large items on Fridays so we are trying to time everything for every other Friday.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

I took this picture several years ago down at Brazos Bend State Park, but always find myself looking for the alien cow every time we go back.

My birthday was last month, but I got a WONDERFUL birthday surprise just this past week from my brother aka PINYON RIDGE PHOTOGRAPHY. He is a VERY talented photographer with a vast array of BEAUTIFUL photographs and yes I am biased, but they are truly SPECTACULAR. This one is printed on metal, my new favorite medium and is just awe inspiring.

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday, Terri at Darling Downs Diaries and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 41 of 2017

WOW, WHERE HAS THIS YEAR GONE? I can’t believe we’re in October already. I hope you had a great week and weekend with fun fall activities. It has turned quite warm here again and we spent most of the time indoors watching Movies, Baseball, Racing and some football as well as catching up with the DVR.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

This past week was supposed to be better weather and this upcoming week was supposed to be even better… then there was Nate, Hurricane Nate entering the gulf changed everything and we’re back to temperatures in the 90’s and high humidity.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

Some left over omelette and coffee

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE / WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

I had been using the spare bedroom as a storage area for all the things I have been getting packed and then hubby had an epiphany and NOT a good one. He pointed out that the boxes and totes were blocking both the window and the closet (DUH! it just never occurred to me) and that anyone looking to buy the house was going to want to see both. So I spent 2 days rearranging the spare bedroom and studio so that NO windows or closets are blocked. I did at least get a few more items into the donation box or given to my neighbor.

LAUNDRY… just a couple loads
LIVING AREAS… mostly tidy, but really need to do floors
KITCHEN… quite clean, but I plan to make a mess soon.
YARD… mowing and edging
BLOG… some recipe updating and planing for future posts. I’m even working on BLOGMAS 2017 plans and recipes

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

I’m about to finish reading Book #2, Second Chance Girl by Susan Mallery and will move on to Ava Miles Dare Valley #7 The Perfect Ingredient.

We have tried a few of the new shows and are giving them a second (and sometimes a third) chance to decide before we narrow our list down. There were a couple shows that had characters depart and one in particular that we did not care for how they handled it so we are dropping that show.

Some of the old favorites are already in the DVR line-up:

BIG BANG THEORY and the new YOUNG SHELDON
NCIS, NCIS NEW ORLEANS and NCIS LA
CRIMINAL MINDS
MADAM SECRETARY, SCANDAL
DESIGNATED SURVIVOR
LAW & ORDER SVU
BLUE BLOODS
MACGYVER, SCORPION
HAWAII 5-0
Z NATION
THE GOOD PLACE, THIS IS US, AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	FRUIT & COFFEE	NOTHING procedure day	FRUIT SMOOTHIE	FRUIT & COFFEE	SCRAMBLED EGGS	BACON & CHEESE OMELETTES	PANCAKES
LUNCH	FRUIT & CHEESE	SOUP	MEAT ROLL UPS	SALAD	MEAT & CHEESE	C.O.R.N.	??
DINNER	PORK CHOPS with PEPPER JELLY SAUCE	CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS	CHICKEN & ONIONS with WHITE WINE CREAM SAUCE	FONTINA STUFFED PORK CHOPS	CHEESY & MUSHROOM CHICKEN	BOURBON HAM BALLS & ORANGE GLAZED BEETS	APPLE POMEGRANATE SALAD with VINAIGRETTE
DESSERT

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND / THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY

YAY!! I’m finally having both of my tests on Tuesday. If all goes well we will know within the next week (one of the tests is a monitor I will where for 2 days that will need to have the results interpreted) which surgery and when I will be having it. The time of not knowing is hopefully coming to an end. I AM SO READY TO GET ON WITH LIFE!!!

I do find it amazing how medical technology has allowed us to determine diagnoses and treatments with less invasive procedures and wirelessly. I am not thrilled about going under anesthesia again and then again for the surgery, but am willing to do whatever it takes to get back to sleeping comfortably in my own bed instead of trying to sleep in a recliner and living life to the fullest.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

I have had the most beautiful butterflies in my garden lately. They seem to especially love the yellow Lantana. The top one had the prettiest silver iridescent wings.

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday, Terri at Darling Downs Diaries and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY

I hope everyone had a wonderful week. Mine turned out quite busy in a weird, but also productive way. I can’t believe it’s October already, mainly because it’s so dang hot here still, but it also means Christmas is right around the corner and I’m not sure where we will be so it makes it seem sort of weird.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

YAY we’re finally down to the 80’s, high 80’s but at least NOT 90’s. The evenings have been quite nice, here’s hoping they continue to get better and better!

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

Protein drink and coffee YAY only 8 days until my tests to determine surgery type and date. I’ve been so miserable – unable to eat, sleep or completely function waiting for this. It has been one REALLY long year getting to this point.

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

We found on Thursday that we did not get through hurricane Harvey completely unscathed. When we had the atrium professional painted by a contractor last year they sealed the upper windows (at the 20 foot level) first, or so we thought. I discovered that the exposed brick wall behind the bar area was discoloring from the water that had been dribbling through the defective caulking. As we began researching the issue deeper we ended up having to disassemble the cabinets in the bar area, resealing the windows (inside and out) with the proper type of caulk (what they used had shrunk horribly causing huge gaps – and you know water – it takes the path of least resistance) and repainted the wood and the bricks including those behind the cabinets. Then redid the cabinets. We thought about calling the contractor and making him do it, but so many people in the neighborhood have had bad experiences with him and we just decided to write it off to one more issue with the HOUSE FROM HELL

At least now we know it is done right this time. Hubby did the outside while I did the inside so they should seal well now. Because of tearing apart that area, I was able to get several more boxes packed and ready for the move. I had to take down all the plants so decided to go ahead and transplant them into the pots I was going to use to give the plants to my neighbor when we do move and that made quite a mess, but it sure feels good to have it done.

WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

LAUNDRY… just a couple loads
LIVING AREAS… dusting and vacuuming
KITCHEN… mopping and bleaching sink
STUDIO… I did a DEEP clean after reassembling the atrium.
YARD… some pruning and fertilizing
BLOG… some recipe updating from the blog compilations and planning for future posts.

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

I’m currently reading Book #2, Second Chance Girl by Susan Mallery

YAY the new television season is finally here. We have tried a few new shows and are going to give them a second chance to decide before we narrow our lists. There were a couple shows that had characters depart and one in particular that we did not care for how they handled it so we may be dropping that show. Some of the old favorites are already in the DVR line-up:

BIG BANG THEORY and the new YOUNG SHELDON
NCIS, NCIS NEW ORLEANS and NCIS LA
CRIMINAL MINDS
MADAM SECRETARY, SCANDAL
DESIGNATED SURVIVOR
LAW & ORDER SVU
BLUE BLOODS
MACGYVER
HAWAII 5-0
Z NATION
THE GOOD PLACE

CRAFTS / PROJECTS

We were supposed to be away for a few days, but out poor old pup is having a rough time this week so we’ll be here instead and I’m hoping to get my canvas updated since there wasn’t anything already on the calendar to get done this week.

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE	PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE	PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE	PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE	PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE	SHIRRED EGGS	WAFFLES & BACON
LUNCH	SALAMI & CHEESE WRAPS	GRILLED CHICKEN & TOMATOES	SOUP & SANDWICHES	MAC & CHEESE WITH HAM	SALAD & FRUIT	PASTRAMI SANDWICHES	OUT
DINNER	NOT YOUR MAMA’S MEATLOAF with MEXICORN CUPS	BACON BRUSSELS SPORUTS SOUP	PANZANELLA SALAD	KING TOT RANCH CASSEROLE	STIR FRIED CHICKEN with SNAP PEAS & BASIL	SHEPHERD PIE BITES	TACHOS
DESSERT		PB & BANANA CHOCOLATES				SNICKER DOODLES

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND / THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY

Waking up to such horrific news in Las Vegas has me a bit unsettled. I just can’t understand so many things and people in our world these days. Senseless tragedies leave me feeling very agitated about so many things. Praying for peace for the families and friends off the Las Vegas shooting as they begin to deal with so much trauma.

About a year ago I purchased a cordless vacuum and was EXTREMELY happy with it for the first 9 months. Then it began to not always turn on and then when it would turn on I couldn’t get it to turn off without removing the battery. I set it aside to call customer service, but put it off because I haven’t had the best luck talking to helpful people at ANY customer service recently. Well, I was nearing the end of my warranty period and growing tired of using corded vacuum after using my lightweight vacuum and loving it so much so I bit the bullet and called.

The call was NOT going well as the guy I was speaking with kept insisting that I was giving him a non-existent serial number despite the fact I was reading it directly off the machine itself. Long story short he was made aware (I assume by someone monitoring the call) that I was indeed giving him a correct number and then after a brief time on hold he returned to the line with a much improved attitude informing me he would be sending me a fedex label via email and after they received my machine back would be sending me a new one.

I printed out the label on Wednesday morning, dropped the vacuum off at Fedex just before lunch. I figured I would have the new vacuum sometime in the next couple weeks. So, imagine my surprise when the doorbell rang on Thursday afternoon and my new vacuum was there!! Moral of the story, BISSELL stands behind their products and does right by their customers.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

Ever since hurricane Harvey, the clouds have been more amazing – at least it seems that way to me. I THINK I’VE BECOME SLIGHTLY OBSESSED WITH CLOUDS.

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 39 of 2017

I hope everyone had a GREAT weekend. It took me all week, but I finally got caught up from being gone and even though I wasn’t able to get everyone visited from last HHM, I PROMISE to be back on track this week! I also finally caught up on all my laundry from the broken washer and with hubby’s help moved one of the recliners into the bedroom so I can sleep better until after surgery and recovery. I CANNOT lay flat and sleeping is difficult at best. The recliner isn’t comfortable either, but at least I’m not choking.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We just can’t seem to catch a break weather wise. We’re still supposed to be in the 90’s this week, but at least it has been a little better humidity wise, especially in the mornings.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

I’m at the point where I’m drinking more and more of my meals waiting on my surgery so breakfast is a PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE so I can eat dinner later.

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE / WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

LAUNDRY… WHEW after last week I’ll settle for today’s 2 loads.
LIVING AREAS… I did a serious deep clean last week and everything still looks pretty good.
KITCHEN… LOL my kitchen is always in various states of food prep, but all in all is pretty clean this week.
STUDIO… is a complete wreck as I have made it my staging area for ebaying and packing up the house.
YARD… the post hurricane/ flood grass re-seed is growing fairly well and hubby will mow and edge later this week.
BLOG… I’m still working on combining into this blog the recipes from my old blogs.

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

Most of the new shows begin this week so we’ll do a lot of DVRing and try them one at a time until we narrow the list to our new favorites.

I’m reading You Say It First by Susan Mallery.

CRAFTS / PROJECTS

I’m working on a mixed media canvas that I hope to have finished soon so I can show you.

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE	PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE	PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE	PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE	PROTEIN DRINK and COFFEE	QUICHE LORRAINE	PANCAKES & BACON
LUNCH	SALAMI & CHEESE WRAPS	GRILLED CHICKEN & TOMATOES	SOUP & SANDWICHES	MAC & CHEESE WITH HAM	SALAD & FRUIT	OUT	BACON BRUSSELS SPROUTS SOUP
DINNER	STIR FRIED CHICKEN WITH SNAP PEAS & BASIL	BLT MAC & CHEESE	KING TOT CASSEROLE	PANZANELLA SALAD	NOT YOUR MAMA’S MEATLOAF	SHEPHERD PIE BITES	TACHOS
DESSERT		PB & BANANA CHOCOLATES				SNICKER DOODLES

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND & THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY

We’ve been doing A LOT of research this past week and have narrowed our search to 2 different regions. One we are fairly familiar with from a search a few years back, the other is close enough to check out for a few days before my surgery. I’m still pretty worked up about how things have worked out with helping family here with this house and TOTALLY PISSED OFF that it caused us so much grief and pain, not to mention how much money it has cost us. We would have to stay here for at least 10 years to get our money back.

On another note, but along the same topic it appears our fears regarding my uncle being pursued by a gold digger are true. We were recently notified (by her) in an almost threatening way that she has his power of attorney and that we should deal directly with her from now on. As far as I’m concerned she still doesn’t exist as she was the one notifying us without any legal proof – so she can go jump in a lake. The uncle I’ve known all my life would NEVER forsake the little family he has left without being under undue influence or duress.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

Gunny gets a few more treats now that he’s older. He’s made it clear that he wants them served on a plate from here on out.

The post hurricane Harvey thunderstorms have been amazing and left us with some interesting skies. There are still debris everywhere and traffic beyond belief, but it looks like most things are getting back to normal.

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY week 38 of 2017

I hope everyone had a great week. we were away the entire week and despite my best intentions I never did get around to visiting everyone during the evenings in the hotel. We were away at hubby’s unit military reunion. Unfortunately, it was poorly organized and planned and was not at all what he was hoping for along with many hotel issues so he no longer wants to participate with the unit one and will only do the divisional ones from here out. We had gone to the divisional one in June and had a great time as it was well organized and planned with events. We just got back late last night so I will do a quick abbreviated HHM this week with a follow up in a few days once I’ve downloaded the pictures and pulled my thoughts together.

The other part of this trip was to search for our next and hopefully last community. Despite online research that looked promising reality fell short of our hopes and dreams. So, we are still searching for that perfect community balance for our wants and needs.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

The weather was beautiful while we were gone according to my neighbor, but looks like it will be excessively warm and thunderstormy again now that we are home.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

COFFEE!! The coffee at the hotel last week was terrible! I am so in need of decent coffee.

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE / WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

LAUNDRY… the washer went on the fritz just before we left so I now have 10 or so loads to do after I get it fixed today.
ALL LIVING AREAS… a little bit of a wreck since we just got home last night so that will be my priority today as well as getting some groceries.
KITCHEN… also a wreck, but I am doing a deep clean today.
STUDIO… part of the deep clean too
YARD… hubby will take care of mowing and edging
BLOG… recipe updating and planing for future posts.

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

I need to do some catch up on whatever is on the DVR and then sit down to do some programming for the new season.

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

I will be sitting down next and planning a menu and a grocery list so this menu is a serious work in progress.

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	COFFEE	SCRAMBLED EGGS	FRUIT SMOOTHIE	FRUIT & COFFEE	SCRAMBLED EGGS
LUNCH
DINNER	TATCHOS
DESSERT

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 37 of 2017

Oh my I can’t believe it’s Monday again already! I hope you had a great week/weekend. We are personally back to normal after Hurricane Harvey, but so many aren’t including our house/dog sitter who unfortunately lost her car, her job and house was flooded during the hurricane. She’ll be here this week to “regroup” while waiting on materials for new walls and floors at her house. She’s on a waiting list to get a rental car – there just aren’t enough to go around!

My tests and surgery have been pushed out 6 weeks after being canceled during the hurricane. While I’m not happy about this because of the way it is affecting my life, I do understand what a scheduling nightmare it would be to push everyone out 2 weeks to accommodate everyone that was canceled.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We’re enjoying some milder weather finally. Unfortunately it is because of the Florida situation so I would take the heat and humidity back to save all those people from what they are going through.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

We made coffee to go, but will grab something on the road after we get out of the morning traffic.

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE & WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

LAUNDRY… washer is having an issue so will have lots of loads to do next week
ALL LIVING AREAS… perfect! I did a deep clean before the house sitter got here.
YARD… NOTHING! New seeds have begun to come up and is looking good.
BLOG… still doing some recipe updating and planning for future posts.

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

READING – I seem to fall asleep after just a paragraph or 2 – Ava Miles #5 Dare Valley – The TOWN SQUARE

The new season is finally about to start. I do have some cooking shows to clean up on the DVR, but there are plenty of things still going on:

ZOO
THE STRAIN
SALVATION
NIGHT SHIFT
MIDNIGHT TEXAS
CHESAPEAKE SHORES
AMERICA’S GOT TALENT
GUY’S GROCERY GAMES
Guy’s Family Road Trip
Great FOOD TRUCK race
MASTER CHEF – there are some interesting characters left this season and some I can’t wait to see go – hint hint JEFF still HAS TO GO!

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	on the road	FARMHOUSE RESTAURANT	hotel	hotel	hotel	hotel	hotel
LUNCH	on the road	??	??	??	??	??	on the road
DINNER	??	??	welcome reception	??	out for my birthday	banquet	on the road
DESSERT					cake of course

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND / THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY

There are so many things going on EVERYWHERE right now that I am just praying for the world and our country to level out and be still for awhile! This kind of comically sums it up though.

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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MENU PLAN & HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY week 36 of 2017

I hope you all had a GREAT week and are taking a much deserved break today for Labor day. We have had a busy week recovering from Hurricane Harvey. This has been and continues to be chaos even as life tries to go back to normal. We were blessed to be in an area that received 3 feet of rain and tons of wind, but no serious damage or flooding except for a the few neighbors we were able to help out. But, that has left us on a “virtual” island not able to go too far in any one direction without running into closed roads and freeways. They are still releasing waters from the overflowing reservoirs so residential flooding as well as downtown is still a HUGE concern. Also of concern is a dozen or so flooded toxic waste dumps, mosquito season and raw sewage in the flood waters.

My long awaited testing for my surgery last Friday in the downtown medical center was canceled and has yet to be rescheduled, but I’m hoping to have some answers tomorrow. I know there are other concerns right now, but I am miserable and unable to sleep, eat or function well so am hoping as they reopen they have developed a plan to deal with the week’s worth of patients in limbo in a timely and efficient manner.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We are warmer and humid again, but the skies are blue and full of fluffy clouds.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

Protein drink and coffee

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

I’m blessed to have a house to complain about being messy! I need to clean well though. So much time spent indoors while the hurricane/tropical storm raged and away after to help friends and now the holiday weekend that I have neglected normal day to day items, but I’ll get those back together as the week moves on.

WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

LAUNDRY… just a couple of regular loads – just finished 10 or so loads of towels and blankets used to help neighbor with her flood.
LIVING AREAS… mostly tidy, but need to do ALL floors
KITCHEN… laundry room is at the back of the kitchen and I have been doing so many loads of wet towels and such that the whole room needs a serious deep clean.
STUDIO… I’ve been packing so there is a bit of a mess that will remain for awhile.
YARD… Hubby just reseeded the yard and put on a layer of manure. It seems so odd to be watering after just receiving 3 feet of rain, but we really want the new seed to take root and this seemed like the best time while the ground is soft.
BLOG… still doing some recipe updating and planing for future posts.

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

STILL READING – I seem to fall asleep after just a paragraph or 2 – Ava Miles #4 Dare Valley – The Holiday Serenade

Waiting for the new season to start, but there are plenty of things still going on:

ZOO
STRAIN
SALVATION
NIGHT SHIFT
MIDNIGHT TEXAS
CHESAPEAKE SHORES
AMERICA’S GOT TALENT
GUY’S GROCERY GAMES
Guy’s Family Road Trip
Great FOOD TRUCK race
MASTER CHEF – there are some interesting characters left this season and some I can’t wait to see go – hint hint JEFF HAS TO GO!

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	PROTEIN DRINK & COFFEE	SCRAMBLED EGGS & COFFEE	FRUIT SMOOTHIE	PROTEIN DRINK & COFFEE	SCRAMBLED EGGS & COFFEE	SOUR CREAM WAFFLES AND BACON	SHIRRED EGGS
LUNCH	FRUIT & CHEESE	SOUP	MEAT ROLL-UPS	SALAD	MEAT & CHEESE	C.O.R.N.	??
DINNER	PAN SEARED CHICKEN with BROWNED PARSLEY BUTTER	CREAMED CHICKEN & SALAD	CHICKEN S.O.S. & SALAD	PAN SEARED COD with SOUR CREAM SAUCE	RUSTIC CREAMY PARMESAN CHICKEN	WILTED SPINACH SALAD with GRILLED CHICKEN	BEEF TENDERLOIN, PARMESAN MASHED POTATOES AND MARINATED CARROTS
DESSERT

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

I saw this on facebook and this is soooooooooooo cool and helpful.
https://www.facebook.com/firstmediasoyummy/videos/1862813597366116/

ON MY MIND / THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY

I’m probably hypersensitive this week with all the stress, but it just concerns me that people “stir the pot” so easily in social media. It’s so easy these days to “say” something via the written word on social media that you would have thought twice about before saying verbally without really thinking through the implications.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

We were so fortunate where we were in Hurricane Harvey’s path. The rescue helicopters made it super surreal though as we were apparently in a flight pattern. My oldest friend (we’ve known each other since we were 2 and 3) Leslie called to check on us though and said her ex SIL was flooded and had to be rescued by boat. She said she was taking a 4 day weekend and driving down to Help Joan now that the waters were beginning to recede. We decided we would try to get there to help. I say try, because where we are kind of became an island of sorts. We couldn’t travel in any direction without coming upon primarily closed flooded out roads. These trucks were full of police in tactical gear coming from a heavily flooded area.

So on Friday we took boots, gloves, a HUGE pot of chili and started out for a location 11 miles away. It took us 2 hours, but we got there. It looked like a war zone! The primary goal was to get all the carpeting, flooring, drywall and ruined furniture and appliance to the curb. At some point the city will be picking these things up. With the humidity here, mosquitoes and mold are the worst fears. I have to say that for the most part my faith in humanity was restored as people just showed up and offered their services to cut out drywall, move refrigerators and just offer their talents any way they could. High school guys offering their brute strength, cub scouts passing out water, friends of friends just pitching in…

There were a couple instances of active tries at looting, but neighbors banded together and ran off these offenders. Joan lives on a cul-de-sac and the guy on the corner has been parking his car sideways at night and standing vigil with an assault rifle to keep people who didn’t belong there out. The neighbors a few streets over that were not flooded brought dinner for the whole neighborhood the first night they were allowed back in. Then on Saturday sack lunches and the kindness continues!

About half way through removing the debris and these pictures are just 2 yards of the many thousands that look just like this or worse. They are urging everyone to put out EVERYTHING that was in flood waters, even what appears salvageable because of the toxins, parasites and such that is in the flood waters.

And while we have too much water those poor people in Montana need rain desperately. Praying for ALL those affected by the wildfires.

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 35 of 2017

My week took a bit of a turn last Wednesday when “Harvey” decided to “reform” in the Gulf and suddenly we were under Hurricane Watch with the “promise” of Historical rainfall. Not everyone gets a solar eclipse, hurricane and tropical storm in the SAME week, but we did ~ LUCKY us, NOT!

There were quite a few things I had slated to do over the weekend, but I had to speed up and get them all done ALL at once on Wednesday and Thursday because I was NOT going to be out on the road during the hurricane. Hubby got the generator ready and made sure we had plenty of gas. I was going to the grocery store anyway on Wednesday, but once I was there and overheard the local firemen talking about how they were preparing for the weekend I added a few extras and rented some movies so I wouldn’t possibly need to go back out for anything and could stay in and out of the storm. SURE GLAD I DID!

The overlapping tornado warnings have been emotionally exhausting as have the bayou overflows and flood water close calls and I haven’t even left home. We did get an emergency “HELP! “call from our elderly neighbor across the way at midnight Saturday. She has the mirror image of our house. But, my grandfather enclosed the atrium patio off the living room and dining room to enlarge the area back in the 1980’s. Unfortunately, her house didn’t get the same enclosure which allowed for a 13×13 area that basically is just collecting water like a bathtub and with this amount of rain just wasn’t draining despite the fact that she recently had the drain area redone and enlarged. It drained well before the recent work so I was pretty sure that the contractor messed up and that would be an argument for after this storm until it happened again. So from midnight to 3 AM we moved furniture, wet vacuumed 3 rooms and wrung out towel after towel after towel of gallons of water. Fortunately, the contractor finally showed up late yesterday afternoon and had to take it all apart so it would drain. He found a 3 inch rock inside the “NEW” pipe that was completely blocking the flow of the water. Evidently when they pushed the new pipe into place, they hadn’t cleared out all the debris. Costly error on his part!

We secured all the loose items (patio furniture, light weight potted plants, wind chimes, etc…) on Thursday and Friday and went out every lull in the storm after that and collected the loose branches as well as checked all the drainage to clear it of debris. Unfortunately, the lulls became less an less as time moved on and we had to start doing this during the storms creating lots of wet clothes. The flooding and tornadoes were the biggest issue for where we are. About 6 months ago, crews dredged and really cleaned out the bayou next to us as well as widening it a bit which was sorely needed as we are at the back end of it. I walked down there again this morning (the picture below was taken yesterday morning and hasn’t changed much) and their work certainly is making a difference in it NOT flooding us out, but barely! I wasn’t sure that was going to be the case Saturday night. It was a SERIOUSLY LONG weekend and the storm isn’t anywhere near over yet. Our rainfall is just under 50 inches a year. Just since Friday we have received over 28 inches right here. The last 72 hours feels like it was 3 weeks long! I can’t sleep more than a couple hours at a time hence why I’m writing this at 4AM. Schools and many local services have been canceled for the week and many communities have instituted curfews.

Oh and I stepped in a fire ant hill of pissed off ants with flip flops on and have a couple dozen bites that required medication because of my allergy AND I broke my favorite glasses. 🙁 Fortunately I keep the medication on hand as well as an extra pair of glasses. Unbelievably we have not lost power or internet! YAY!

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We’ve been seriously needing rain, but NOT ALL at once! It’s not over yet either. We are in the expected 2-3 feet zone and have already gotten almost all of the predicted rain for this storm and the storm is supposed to sit over us for another 4 days! So, we’ve gotten every bit of it and then some!

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

Protein drink and coffee

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE ~ WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

LAUNDRY… several loads yet to do.
LIVING AREAS… let’s face it, it’s a wreck under the circumstances and I really need to do ALL the floors from all the wet feet.
KITCHEN… quite clean, but as always I plan to make a mess soon.
STUDIO… I did a SERIOUS DEEP CLEAN while we were hunkered down and am now working on new ebay pictures.
YARD… waiting for it to be a yard and not a pool and then we’ll do some reseeding and fertilizer. The flowers are all but dead from the over watering the hurricane brought, but I’ll just leave them until then and see if they regenerate.
BLOG… STILL working on some recipe updating and planing for future posts. BLOGMAS 2017 is moving right along as I plan forward.

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

We did get a few movies from RedBox before the storm so have had something besides news coverage to watch. Fortunately there is a RedBox in walking distance to return them to since I can’t drive to where they where originally rented from.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2
Blind
Alien Covenant
King Arthur

Waiting for the new season to start, but there are plenty of things still going on:

READING – Ava Miles #4 Dare Valley – The Holiday Serenade

Pre-season Football has gotten a little boring so NASCAR is dominating as it gets close to the “PLAYOFF” time, formerly known as “THE CHASE”. Unfortunately, NASCAR was pre-empted here locally for Hurricane Harvey coverage. PLUS, Defenders has started as well as Guy’s Family Road Trip and the Great FOOD TRUCK race.

We still have a few summer shows going.

ZOO
STRAIN
SALVATION
NIGHT SHIFT
MIDNIGHT TEXAS
CHESAPEAKE SHORES
AMERICA’S GOT TALENT
GUY’S GROCERY GAMES
MASTER CHEF – there are some interesting characters left this season and some I can’t wait to see go – hint hint JEFF HAS TO GO!

CRAFTS / PROJECTS

I started a few Christmas gifts this week while we were sequestered for the storm.

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	PROTEIN DRINK & COFFEE	PROTEIN DRINK & COFFEE	PROTEIN DRINK & COFFEE	PROTEIN DRINK & COFFEE	PROTEIN DRINK & COFFEE	SHIRRED EGGS	BACON & WAFFLES
LUNCH	FRUIT & CHEESE	SOUP	MEAT ROLL-UPS	SALAD	MEAT & CHEESE	C.O.R.N.	??
DINNER	MARRY ME CHICKEN	CHICKEN STIR FRY	SLAM DUNK WINGS & TWICE BAKED POTATOES	CHILI MAC CASSEROLE	COQ AU VIN	PORK CHOPS WITH PEPPER JELLY	CEDAR PLANKED SALMON & SALAD
DESSERT

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND & THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY

Still grappling with family issues out of my control because the drama is being created by someone who does NOT know how to communicate and seems to refuse to treat others with the Golden Rule. Yet, it weighs on me because I cannot fix it.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

Unfortunately, there are no pictures that could begin to depict the horrific reality of this past week that haven’t already been plastered all over the television and social media, but I did get a few.

INSPIRATION

I originally selected this inspiration:

But really think this one is more pertinent today:

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 34 of 2017

HAPPY Monday everyone! I hope you had a good week and an even better weekend. Ours was quiet, but productive. We celebrated our anniversary Friday night at a wonderful new to us restaurant and had a fabulous time. We also spent Saturday helping my uncle with a project getting all hot, sweaty and dirty so we came home, cooled off and relaxed the remainder of the weekend.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

I’m so happy we are NOT in Oregon for today’s total eclipse. Until 2 years ago we lived near the 100% coverage area and from what I have heard it has been a zoo there for the past week with heavy traffic, sold out stores and gas stations, crowds and crowds of people… I’m quite happy here in our 70% coverage area.

We are supposed to have beautiful skies, but will still be under heat advisory with triple digit heat and high humidity.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

Protein drink and coffee

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

I admit, it’s a wreck!

WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

LAUNDRY… all caught up
LIVING AREAS… mostly tidy, NOT – I have packing materials everywhere
KITCHEN… quite clean except for the breakfast dishes
STUDIO… so-so with all the packing and ebaying going on
YARD… need to fetilize
BLOG… still doing some recipe updating and planing for future posts.

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

STILL READING – Ava Miles #3 Dare Valley – Grand Opening

Pre-season Football has gotten a little boring so NASCAR is dominating as it gets close to the “PLAYOFF” time, formerly known as “THE CHASE”. PLUS, Defenders started Friday night as well as Guy’s Family Road Trip and the Great FOOD TRUCK race started yesterday.

We still have a few summer shows going.

ZOO
DOUBT
STRAIN
SALVATION
NIGHT SHIFT
MIDNIGHT TEXAS
CHESAPEAKE SHORES
AMERICA’S GOT TALENT
GUY’S GROCERY GAMES
MASTER CHEF – there are some interesting characters left this season and some I can’t wait to see go – hint hint JEFF HAS TO GO!

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	PROTEIN DRINK & COFFEE	PROTEIN DRINK & COFFEE	PROTEIN DRINK & COFFEE	PROTEIN DRINK & COFFEE	PROTEIN DRINK & COFFEE	QUICHE LORRAINE	PANCAKES & BACON
LUNCH	SALAMI & CHEESE WRAPS	GRILLED CHICKEN and TOMATOES	SOUP & SANDWICH	MAC & CHEESE with HAM	SALAD & FRUIT	PASTRAMI BURGERS	APPETIZER PLATES for the RACE
DINNER	BBQ SAUSAGE & BEANS	COUNTRY BOB’S MEATLOAF & MASHED POTATOES	CHICKEN GUMBO and SALAD	CAST IRON SKILLET CHICKEN and VEGGIES	MARRY ME CHAMPAGNE CHICKEN & SALAD	BUNLESS CRY BABY BURGERS with POTATO SALAD	SEAFOOD SALAD with PARMESAN CRUSTED ROLLS
DESSERT		RUM RAISIN NOODLE BAKE				SNICKERDOODLES

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND

We have a “difficult” person in the family and are praying for guidance in understanding and dealing with this person.

THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY

11 days to go to my testing that will determine surgery type and date as well as the overall treatment plan. This has been a miserable wait and I’m ready to feel better!!!

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

I have been working hard at sorting and packing up all that I can (china, winter clothing, studio parts and pieces…) for the upcoming, yet to be determined move. We still don’t have a date for my surgery, for that matter we don’t yet know which surgery will be done as my surgeon is waiting for the results from the tests being done on September 1st. Either way, I am working at getting a lot of the heavy work done before that test and have made good progress.

I took another load to the donation center and have designated the spare bedroom as a staging area. The mattress isn’t there any more either. It was a full size and no one we know or have visit is comfortable on that size so the little boy next door now has a new bed as of yesterday.

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 33 of 2017

HAPPY MONDAY everyone! I hope you had a wonderful week/weekend. It was tax free weekend around here with the kids starting back to school today plus a SERIOUS heat advisory so I avoided going anywhere and pretty much stayed inside with preseason football and racing all weekend. I did make it to the Farmer’s market early Saturday morning and picked up just a few groceries for some luscious salads, but other than that it was a productive weekend at home. We know for sure that we won’t be staying here, but are still uncertain exactly when we will be moving since we are still waiting for tests 3 & 4 to be performed to determine surgery type and date. So, I’ve started packing ALL non-essential items (Christmas china, winter clothes, studio items, etc…). This will help on so many levels after my surgery and keep me busy now while I wait for the test and surgery. LOL it’s a vicious circle, but keeps me busy.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We are back into serious heat advisories and triple digit temperatures, but it’s blue skies full of fluffy clouds and sunny.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

Honey Nut Cheerios with a banana and coffee

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

I am very happy with everything I got done over the weekend.

WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

LAUNDRY… just a couple loads
LIVING AREAS… GORGEOUS
BEDROOM… GOURGEOUS TOO
KITCHEN… just a little tidying to do
STUDIO… I did a seriously DEEP clean Saturday and am not sure I want to make a mess so soon.
YARD… YAY, nothing
BLOG… still working on some recipe updating and planing for future posts as I continue combining my old blogs into this one.

MONDAY – APPOINTMENTS & ERRANDS
TUESDAY – When I cleaned the studio, I got the table top photo booth set up for ebay pictures and want to get at least 20 items a day photoed, edited and listed.
WEDNESDAY – ebay, packing
THURSDAY – ebay, vacuuming
FRIDAY – ebay, ?? out for our anniversary
SATURDAY – helping my uncle
SUNDAY – ??

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

READING – Ava Miles #3 Dare Valley – Grand Opening

Pre-season Football and NASCAR have dominated around here quite a bit lately, but we still have a few summer shows going.

ZOO
DOUBT
STRAIN
SALVATION
NIGHT SHIFT
MIDNIGHT TEXAS
CHESAPEAKE SHORES
AMERICA’S GOT TALENT
GUY’S GROCERY GAMES
THE “F” WORD will conclude this week also – I love this fun new side of Gordon Ramsay, but not sure this show will make it. The background noise that Gordon is always trying to talk over drives me crazy.
MASTER CHEF – there are some interesting characters left this season and some I can’t wait to see go JEFF HAS TO GO!
FOOD NETWORK STAR finished this week– I LOVED Jason, Corey and Rusty. Corey and Rusty had their unique styles, but Jason was so funny on the Holiday Baking Championship which he won against professionals. He is pretty innovative with flavor combos and I just love his country accent and euphemisms that I was pulling for Jason to win ALL SEASON! SPOILER ALERT: AND he did!

NEW THIS WEEK:

Guy’s Family Road Trip 8/18
Great FOOD TRUCK race 8/20

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	FRUIT & COFFEE	SCRAMBLED EGGS	FRUIT SMOOTHIE	FRUIT & COFFEE	SCRAMBLED EGGS	RED PEPPER HAM STRATAS	SHIRRED EGGS & HAM
LUNCH	FRUIT & CHEESE	SOUP	MEAT ROLL-UPS	SALAD	MEAT & CHEESE	C.O.R.N.	??
DINNER	CEDAR PLANKED SALMON & GARLIC CHEESE CAULIFLOWER & BROCCOLI BAKE	JUCY LUCY BURGERS	SLAM DUNK WINGS & TWICE BAKED POTATOES	BBQ SAUSAGE & CREAMY CUCUMBER SALAD	OUT TO EAT FOR OUR ANNIVERSARY	PORK CHOPS with PEPPER JELLY	MARRY ME CHICKEN & GARLIC MASHED POTATOES
DESSERT

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND

PRAYING for all the hatred and animosity to come to an end in our country. We have to start helping each other up instead of tearing each other down!

2 1/2+ more weeks until tests 3 and 4. Some days I’m not sure I can last that long let alone until the surgery, but since there is no alternative I’ll just draw on my strength and live with the pain and put one foot in front of the other every day moving forward.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

My old guy still likes to play and is seeming more puppy like lately. He never lets his favorite tennis ball get too far from him.

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 32 of 2017

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

It’s still very warm and humid with a chance of thunderstorms ALL week, but a bit more tolerable than it has been. I ran to Costco and did some errands on Saturday and got caught in one of the worst thunderstorms I’ve ever been in. I think partly because the people around me were so panicked and unable to cope. Gheesh people, it’s just water.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

BOOST Nutritional drink and coffee

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE / WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

LAUNDRY… just a couple loads
LIVING AREAS… mostly tidy, but need to do floors AS ALWAYS
KITCHEN… NOT quite clean, but just a little tidying will do
STUDIO… Just don’t know where to start this week in here
YARD… hubby needs to mow and edge, bit nothing for me to do 😀
BLOG… some recipe updating and planing for future posts

MONDAY – APPOINTMENTS & ERRANDS
TUESDAY – PAPERWORK, CLEANING
WEDNESDAY – EBAYING, SORTING and PACKING
THURSDAY – PAINTING TOUCH UPS
FRIDAY – ??
SATURDAY – WORK AROUND HOUSE, FOOTBALL & RACING
SUNDAY – WORK AROUND HOUSE, FOOTBALL & RACING

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

With being under the weather and being cooped up so much I’ve been watching a bit more TV. Rented a few movies the past couple weeks too.

KONG Skull Island – I think I almost like this version better.
Gifted – Really makes you think about people’s motivations for the things they do and when to let a kid be a kid.
Cop and a Half, NEW Recruit – really cute
Unforgettable – Kathryn Heigl plays deranged well, but the movie was pretty predictable.
Colossal – strange and good at the same time.
The Circle – REALLY makes you think about our world and the use of social media.

There are a couple new shows starting on the Food Network this month that I’m really looking forward to.

READING: I switched over to Marie Force’s #10 book in the Fatal Series.

GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW – I just love this show and I’m not ready for it to be over! SPOILER ALERT! – I do think Candace winning was the best though.
MIDNIGHT TEXAS
THE NIGHT SHIFT
SALVATION
ZOO
FOOD NETWORK STAR – I LOVE Jason and Matt and Rusty. Jason was so funny on the Holiday Baking Championship which he won against professionals. He is pretty innovative with flavor combos and I just love his country accent and euphemisms.
AMERICA’S GOT TALENT – always a fun watch – loving the new softer side of Simon and love that Laverne Cox golden buzzered Celine this past week – such a grown up voice out of such a cute little girl.
The Returned
The OA
Friday Night Lights
DATE MY DAD
MASTER CHEF – there are some interesting characters this season and some I can’t wait to see go home as well as a couple I thought I was NOT going to like that are growing on me, but JEFF HAS TO GO!
THE “F” WORD – I love this fun new side of Gordon Ramsay.

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	FRUIT & COFFEE	SCRAMBLED EGGS	FRUIT SMOOTHIE	FRUIT & COFFEE	SCRAMBLED EGGS	FIESTA EGG & POTATO BOATS	WAFFLES
LUNCH	FRUIT & CHEESE	SOUP	MEAT ROLL-UPS	SALAD	MEAT & CHEESE	C.O.R.N.	C.O.R.N.
DINNER	BOURBON HAM BALLS & BROCCOLI SLAW	PEANUT CHICKEN WINGS & SALAD w/ HOMEMADE ITALIAN DRESSING	CHILI MAC CASSEROLE & SALAD w/ ZESTY BUTTERMILK DRESSING	C.O.R.N.	CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS	CHILI CHEESE DOG CASSEROLE	C.O.R.N.
DESSERT

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND

I literally dread having to call customer service ANYWHERE! I had to call AT&T as well as AMAZON several times this week. Lately every customer service I have had to call is outsourced to the Philippines and they are reading from a script, don’t truly understand what they are doing and don’t seem to really care. I spent over an hour on hold with AT&T to deal with a rude and obnoxious man who told me “to deal with it”. When I asked for a supervisor, he said he was the supervisor. I told him he reported to someone so I wanted to talk to them. At the 2 hour mark I was transferred to the customer loyalty department who was 1) in the USA 2) completely apologetic and said I should have been informed from the get go that the computers had been down most the day and that no one could have helped me. They gave me a direct dial number to use the next day which also got me a wonderful man here in the states who took care of my problem in nothing flat.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

This is only my favorite photo because I had a wonderful customer service representative at Amazon who finally made a week’s worth of horrible interactions with not so nice customer representatives right in the end. The new plates should be here before the end of the day.

This picture popped up on Facebook yesterday as a memory though so ALL is good in the favorite photo department.

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 31 of 2017

Did you have a great weekend? Ours was full of errands, cooking and racing. Because of the crowds here we try really hard to go no where from Friday afternoon through Monday. So, we have begun to really enjoy our homebody weekends.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

Last week was pretty nice until Friday and Saturday when the heat indexes surged upward again to unbearable around 120, but they are supposed to drop again this week to just around 100 – won’t matter much with the threat of rain every day though with the humidity. I really am ready to leave this 2 season (late spring and horrible summer) place and go back to ALL 4 seasons!

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

Scrambled eggs and green tea

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

The bug guy is coming Wednesday for our quarterly spray so today is going to be my deep clean day before he does that, but at least the clutter is all picked up and ready for the deep clean.

WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

LAUNDRY… just a couple loads
LIVING AREAS… mostly tidy, but need to do dusting and floors
KITCHEN… ready for it’s DEEP clean
STUDIO…ready for it’s DEEP clean
YARD… A little pruning and deadheading of some blooms
BLOG… still working on some recipe updating from my old blogs and am scheduling the posts I move over to slowly migrate day by day into the new blog.

MONDAY – DEEP CLEAN

TUESDAY – APPOINTMENTS & ERRANDS

WEDNESDAY – BUG GUY, SORTING and PACKING

THURSDAY – PAINT MAILBOX, PRUNE BACKYARD

FRIDAY – MOVIE or BOWLING

SATURDAY – WORK AROUND HOUSE, RACING

SUNDAY – WORK AROUND HOUSE, RACING

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

Had a MAJOR DVR glitch last week after a power outage from the phone guys working in the area pulling in new fiber optic cable and in the end LOST ALL of the Christmas movies I had been stockpiling on the DVR from the July premiere on Hallmark! Not to mention we had to go without television while we waited for the new DVR to be shipped to us.

There are a couple new shows starting on the Food Network that I’m looking for to.

I’m still only half way through with Book #2, French Roast of Ava Miles’ series for Dare Valley. I keep falling asleep LOL. And then there are my summer standards:

MIDNIGHT TEXAS
THE NIGHT SHIFT – I’m ready for T.C. to come home.
SALVATION – We’ll see where they go with it. I’m still undecided.
AMERICA’S GOT TALENT – always a fun watch – loving the new softer side of Simon and fun side of Tyra.
ZOO – is back. I wasn’t sure I liked the 10 year jump into the future, but am getting used to it since they are using the same characters, just took some adjusting.
FOOD NETWORK STAR – I LOVE Jason and Matt and Rusty. Jason was so funny on the Holiday Baking Championship which he won against professionals. He is pretty innovative with flavor combos and I just love his country accent and euphemisms.
AMERICA’S GOT TALENT – always a fun watch – loving the new softer side of Simon
The Returned
The OA
Friday Night Lights
DATE MY DAD – it’s pretty cute and I want to look as good as Raquel Welch does when I’m her age!
GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW – I just love this show – they are always so civilized and nice with recipes that make me WANT to be a better baker. SPOILER ALERT!! NO NO NO I didn’t want Benjaminia to go home!!!!
MASTER CHEF – there are some interesting characters this season and some I can’t wait to see go home as well as a couple I thought I was NOT going to like that are growing on me.
THE “F” WORD – I love this fun new side of Gordon Ramsay with his funny antics and pranks with disguises.

CRAFTS / PROJECTS

I’m starting on a new canvas this week (I hope)

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

I’m still working with old recipes that need new pictures to make them look right with an experiment each week.

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	FRUIT & COFFEE	SCRAMBLED EGGS	FRUIT SMOOTHIE	FRUIT & COFFEE	SCRAMBLED EGGS	DUTCH BABIES	HAM & RED PEPPER STRATAS
LUNCH	FRUIT & CHEESE	TUNA TARRAGON	MEAT & CHEESE ROLL-UPS	SALAD	MEAT & CHEESE ROLL-UPS	C.O.R.N.	C.O.R.N.
DINNER	MAC & CHEESE HOTDOG STUFFED PEPPERS	APRICOT ALMOND CHICKEN	BAKED CHICKEN TAQUITOS	C.O.R.N.	HONEY SESAME CHICKEN STIR FRY	HONEY GLAZED FRIED CHICKEN	SOMETHING ON THE GRILL
DESSERT		PEANUT BUTTER BLISS BROWNIES

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND

Spending a lot of time wondering what makes some people tick. Especially those that are so self-centered and feel they are entitled to everything without having compassion, empathy or even sympathy for others let alone respect for them.

THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY

Two of four tests are completed in helping diagnose the next step in my health process. One was normal, the other was not and the doctor will be able to tell more about that status after tests three and four. Unfortunately tests three and four are a month off so I’m still miserable and unsure until then. Still praying for a non-surgical end to all of this.
“Summer” is half over which means psuedo Fall is not too far off. Real fall never really happens here LOL.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

These days my old Gunny spends more and more time in his favorite position, NAPPING next to his favorite toys. I’m really glad we got him an orthopedic bed a while back. He LOVES his bed!

INSPIRATION

Have a wonderful week and be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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Category: HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY