Tag: NANEA HOFFMAN

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

Good morning dear friends. I hope you had a blessed and beautiful Mother’s Day! I cooked for mom and 2 of her friends while they watched The Devil Wears Prada from 2006 to prepare themselves to see the sequel 🙂 I made BBQ ribs, BBQ baked beans, Four Winds Coleslaw and Strawberry Lemon Delight. Dessert was a HUGE hit. I’ll be posting that recipe soon.

Last week was busy, but good for me. I met with an elderly friend’s restoration contractor on Monday, had a wonderful Taco Tuesday at the Offyce for Cinco de Mayo (they even ran out of meat long before the dinner hour was over)! I got my hair cut and did the shopping for the Eagle’s Bar also on Wednesday. I took an older friend out for a Mother’s Day lunch on Thursday. We were able to get the sprinklers going for the season with minimal effort. I deep cleaned the storage garage on Friday morning and did a run to drop off donations and recycling. And of course there was the ALL member’s meeting at the Eagles on Friday evening that could have been better. We are not losing our charter, but it really doesn’t look like much will change 🙁

Saturday hubby and I did some hardware store runs to get what we need to replace the 2 different exhaust fans that went out a week apart. What are the odds that they would BOTH go out within a week? We picked up the few groceries I need for this week’s menu, ran past the Farm Stand to pick up the veggies needed for the fresh slaw I made yesterday and we finished the afternoon with BBQ brisket sammies and onion rings at a favorite brewery with Burgers & Q food truck. Not sure about everywhere else, but around here the breweries team up with food trucks and have a rotating schedule of trucks that provide the eats.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

This will be another beautiful week of low 70’s for highs and low 40’s for lows with LOTS of sunshine! I don’t want to jinx anything, but we are so far behind in rain this year and really need it as we approach a hot summer. I pray that with the drought we DON’T have a high wild fire year! My veggie starts are LOVING this warmer weather though! I planted 3 kinds of tomatoes, 4 kinds of cucumbers (all of which mature at different times), carrots, zucchini, snap peas and Walla Walla onions.

TO DO, APPOINTMENTS, DVR/TV & PROJECTS

READING TIME

The book club that my girlfriend and I belonged to died a natural death and we decided to start our “own” 2 person club. We just finished reading EVERYTHING WE KEEP by Kerry Lonsdale. Yesterday we started book #2 EVERYTHING WE LEFT BEHIND.

“From the bestselling author of Everything We Keep comes the highly anticipated sequel. Told from one man’s two perspectives, Everything We Left Behind effortlessly blends suspense, mystery, and romance in an exploration of loss, resilience, and the compelling need to protect the ones we love at all cost.

Two months before his wedding, financial executive James Donato chased his trade-laundering brother Phil to Mexico, only to be lost at sea and presumed dead. Six and a half years later, he emerges from a dissociative fugue state to find he’s been living in Oaxaca as artist Carlos Dominguez, widower and father of two sons, with his sister-in-law Natalya Hayes, a retired professional surfer, helping to keep his life afloat. But his fiancée, Aimee Tierney, the love of his life, has moved on. She’s married and has a child of her own.

Devastated, James and his sons return to California. But Phil is scheduled for release from prison, and he’s determined to find James, who witnessed something in Mexico that could land Phil back in confinement. Under mounting family pressure, James flees with his sons to Kauai, seeking refuge with Natalya. As James begins to unravel the mystery of his fractured identity, danger is never far behind, and Natalya may be the only person he can trust.”

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

On Saturday we took the back roads into town and it was a beautiful day. I captured two of my favorite barns that are not long for this world. And my friend Lu gave me this adorable thyme plant that is growing like a weed!

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

COOKING THURSDAY RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

• MEATBALL SOUP
• CIDER BRAISED BEEF BRISKET
• ENCHIRITOS aka SMOTHERED DOUBLE BAKED TACQUITOS
• SWEET CHILI GLAZED CHICKEN SLIDERS

COOKING THURSDAY RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

• PUB ROAST
• ORANGE GLAZED MEATBALLS
• CHICKEN PARMESAN SLIDER BAKE

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

How is it that we’re in May already and we’re half way through Spring? I really am trying to find ways to slow things down and enjoy life more. I had to make multiple trips into town last week trying to accomplish several Eagle’s tasks.

On Friday we went to a BBQ at a friend’s house and then on Saturday went to the Farmer’s Market, Butcher and grocery store before having a nice lunch out. After we got home Saturday I spent 8 hours prepping the jam for yesterday’s fundraiser breakfast, the BBQ sauce for the upcoming BBQ competition, cupcakes for Tuesday’s Cinco de Mayo at a friend’s bar and grill. Sunday was the fundraiser breakfast in the morning and relaxing with NASCAR in the afternoon and catching up on some DVR shows in the evening.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We’re going to FINALLY and consistently be in the low 70’s this week with lows in the upper 40’s. There will be some cloud cover which will keep the mornings cool with the highs happening around sunset. This will be a good week for my veggie starters to get their roots.

TO DO, APPOINTMENTS, DVR/TV & PROJECTS

READING TIME

The book club that my girlfriend and I belonged to seems to have died a natural death. We decided to start our “own” 2 person club. We’re reading EVERYTHING WE KEEP by Kerry Lonsdale. I say we’re reading, but I’m starting today and she’s just about finished LOL It’s a 3 book series so I need to get going! 🙂

EVERYTHING WE KEEP ~ “A luminous debut with unexpected twists, Everything We Keep explores the devastation of loss, the euphoria of finding love again, and the pulse-racing repercussions of discovering the truth about the ones we hold dear and the lengths they will go to protect us.

Sous chef Aimee Tierney has the perfect recipe for the perfect life: marry her childhood sweetheart, raise a family, and buy out her parents’ restaurant. But when her fiancé, James Donato, vanishes in a boating accident, her well-baked future is swept out to sea. Instead of walking down the aisle on their wedding day, Aimee is at James’s funeral—a funeral that leaves her more unsettled than at peace.

As Aimee struggles to reconstruct her life, she delves deeper into James’s disappearance. What she uncovers is an ocean of secrets that make her question everything about the life they built together. And just below the surface is a truth that may set Aimee free…or shatter her forever.”

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

We were able to Feng Shui the backyard last week with all the wonderful weather. I was able to clean up all the vegetable beds and get them prepped for this year. I did a ton of weeding and pruning also. Fresh flowers have been planted for spring along with all the seedlings for the garden. I planted 3 types of tomatoes, 4 types of cucumbers, carrots, onions, snap peas and zucchini.

Hubby was able to get the new hose reel hung to make sprinkling everything easier until he get all the misters and individual water systems up and running.

Photos this week are of the planting updates, yesterday’s Bloody Mary sample for the Mercy Foundation Fundraiser breakfast we had to kick off the BBQ competition coming up on the 17th and the beautiful majestic sunset last night. Oh and the bees are back and loving the azaleas! 🙂

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

COOKING THURSDAY RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

• PUB ROAST
• ORANGE GLAZED MEATBALLS
• CHICKEN PARMESAN SLIDER BAKE

COOKING THURSDAY RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

• BAKED CARROT CASSEROLE
• SHEET PAN MAC & CHEESE w/ CRISPY EDGES
• CORN CHICKEN CHILE RELLENO SOUFFLE

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

OH MY, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT’S THE LAST WEEK OF APRIL??? I want this world to slow down!!!!!

Last week was a culmination of things coming to a head at the Eagles. I had to get the newsletter prepped and ready to mail in 2 days time with a special letter to members for a meeting on May 8th that will determine A LOT of things, starting with whether we keep our charter or not. To me it looks like we are going to lose our charter and I’m actually not as sad about that as you would think. In a weird way I’m okay with that. I’m so over the drama. I’m more upset by the amount of time I’ve tried to help keep things afloat and others have just laughed it all off. There is such a small handful of the 350+ members that have stepped up to do ANYTHING to help keep the place running and the doors open. Most treat it as a social club only.

I will be looking for other service projects to fill my time.

Hubby and I went to a painting class on Thursday night, but it had been canceled. She felt so bad that she hadn’t contacted me to keep us from driving so far that offered me a free class on Friday that I enjoyed! I do need to finish some of the top flowers, but am pretty happy with it.

We took a spontaneous trip to the coast on Saturday to meet up with our neighbors for lunch and gallery browsing. They had taken their trailer up for the weekend to attend their grandson’s invitational track meet. The hubby’s got a kick out of us driving 80 miles to visit with friends that live 200 feet away 🙂

Sunday was very relaxed and I got a lot done clearing my desk, laundry that had piled up the past week, prep for this week’s recipes…

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

I sure hope the weather forecaster got this week right!! Highs in the mid 60’s and lows in the low 40’s and partly cloudy will make it the perfect week to get the garden started. We have A LOT of clean up and organization to do that will take some serious time so we can get the new top soil in.

TO DO, APPOINTMENTS, DVR/TV & PROJECTS

READING TIME

I’ve been falling asleep quickly and haven’t had time to read even in the evenings so…

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

This week’s pictures are some of my favorite barns that have been collapsing year after year. A burned copper piece I found at a favorite gallery and a hand carved nativity I found at the kitchen store of all places. I found both pieces on our spontaneous coast excursion.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

COOKING THURSDAY RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

• BAKED CARROT CASSEROLE
• CRISPY EDGE BAKED MAC & CHEESE
• CORN CHILE CHICKEN RELLENO SOUFFLE

COOKING THURSDAY RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

• CHEESEBURGER WRAPS
• DISNEY TONGA TOAST
• DISNEY PIMIENTO CHEESE
• BUTTERNUT SQUASH MAC & CHEESE

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS 

I didn’t even have time last week to get link ups done so I’ll try it again this week. 🙂

• TUSCAN CHICKEN PASTA SALAD
• BROWNED BUTTER TOASTED COCONUT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
• PAN SEARED CHICKEN in HERB WINE SAUCE
  

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

Last week went by way too quickly, AGAIN and had so many errands to get ready for Easter yesterday. I hope you all had a very blessed and family oriented Easter Sunday. My week was full of A LOT of little errands and appointments that took up A LOT of time ~ so much so that the week was over before I knew it. This week will be a chance to regroup. 🙂

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

Weather underground says 146 million people are about to experience below average temperatures. We’re not included in that number, at least not this week. We’re supposed to be sunny and around 70 this week – at least until Saturday when we drop back down into the 50’s and 60’s with rain.

TO DO, APPOINTMENTS, DVR/TV & PROJECTS

READING TIME

I didn’t have a chance to do any reading last week. I started Storm Clouds Rolling In, the #1 book in the Bregden Chronicles Historical fiction series by Ginny Dye. I’ve really been looking forward the this series that is currently at 22 books, so definitely will last a while, but I’m also looking for a secondary read as I’m not always in the mood for a heavier topical historical read late at night. I’m leaning towards ACRIMONIOUS by Marie Force.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

This week’s favorite photos are from a visit to the Peacock Ranch.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

COOKING THURSDAY RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

• GARLIC PARMESAN SALISBURY STEAK
• ORIGINAL MARRY ME CHICKEN aka HERBED SUN-DRIED TOMATO CHICKEN

COOKING THURSDAY RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

• COWBOY POTATOES
• FRENCH TOAST MUFFINS
• OVEN BAKED HULI HULI CHCIKEN