HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with RECIPES & MENUS week 52 of 2024 ~BLOG 366.365

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

WEEKEND RECAP

Good morning sweet friends! I hope your Christmas was wonderful and you had a great time with friends and family celebrating. Do you have any BIG New Year’s plans or will you be home safe and snug celebrating it with your loved ones?

With Christmas and New Years falling on Wednesdays this year it has really thrown my scheduling off. While I’m not normally a BIG new years resolutions person, I am going to try and bring a bit more organization and productiveness to my new year, but more on that later.

Oh my, can you believe tomorrow is New Year’s Eve? Where did this year go? Really, where? I can’t believe it’s over already! While I’m sorry to see it go, I am going to try and make 2025 even better for me and my family.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

Oh the weather outside is frightful!… I just keep hearing that song in my head! We tried to go and see all the Christmas lights on Christmas eve, but the fog was horrible and prevented any decent picture taking! Christmas day was cold and rained for 24 hours straight! We ended the evening with a violent thunderstorm and loss of TV signal several times with some REALLY heavy wind. And then we had nearly 4 more inches of rain over the weekend. We are a bit drenched here with the back to back to back atmospheric rivers we’ve been having! We took a drive yesterday and saw that the local streams, creeks and rivers have breached their banks for the most part, but fortunately, not to an alarming rate yet. Hubby did get me some wonderful new flannels and hoodies for Christmas, so at least I’ll stay warm.

ON MY MIND

I’m working on New Year’s resolutions (which I don’t normally make), but in the sense of permanent lifestyle changes that will make me and my family happier in the end. This is still a work in progress, so more about that on the 6th of January when I talk about the epiphany. I’ve already planned some organizational updates and ordered some filing folders that will help. I’m planning on really getting into the swing of things paperwork wise during the end of January and February.

Our Eagle’s secretary has announced she’s not going to go forward after this year. (Our year begins June 1st) and many have pointed at me to take over for her. BUT, and I say this with all the conviction possible! that will not happen!!!! Not that I’m not invested at making things better (I do fill in for her now and again and know the job pretty much), it’s just that my plate is FULL with what I already LIKE to do and I just can’t (and don’t want to) take on anything more!

I’m about to wrap up my 2nd full year of blogging daily and want to continue that habit into 2025 for another year. And I have already rehabbed my BLOGMAS list for next year to just 10 days of posting that will free up a good deal of time by combining many categories into single days. As I reread many of the categories I realized there was a lot of overlap.

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I have some bedding to do, but am pretty caught up otherwise. I am trying to sort through and pull out things for donation in an effort to downsize and start the year off right.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I purposely kept this week free of most of these things. I do have a few exchanges to do for things hubby bought me for Christmas that don’t fit right. I also have the Eagle’s New Year’s Party shopping to do.
  • PAPERWORK & PHONE CALLS I purposely kept this week free of most of these things. I do have to deal with a health insurance thing though!

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • STREAMING We watched a good movie on NETFLIX called Carry-On that left you on the edge of your seat at times. It won’t be DIE HARD replacement, but it does take place in an airport on Christmas 😀
  • CABLE I’m working on clearing the DVR of all things Christmas and or FALL shows. We watched a really sweet Christmas movie called A Dance in the Snow that I really liked.

READING TIME

I finished the book club book, The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak. My friends warned me that the ending would tick me off and they weren’t wrong. Then again, the whole book kind of set me off!! It wasn’t one I would have chosen myself.

I’m now starting BLUE WATERS a CARIBBEAN ADVENTURES book #1 by Eric Chance Stone and THE ROSE CODE by Kate Quinn. The book club hasn’t chosen their next book yet. I understand we’ll be using a wheel of chance that my friend has input all our suggestions into.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

  • BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
  • Hubby stuffed my stocking with a bunch of soup recipes so I’m going to try and make a new one each week.
12/30 MONDAY
12/31 TUESDAY
1/1 WEDNESDAY
1/2 THURSDAY
1/3 FRIDAY
1/4 SATURDAY
1/5 SUNDAY
DINNER
TOMATO BASIL SOUP & GRILLED CHEESE
 LEMON GARLIC CHICKEN
BREAKFAST BAGEL CASSEROLE
BLACK EYED PEA CHILI
CHAR SIU MEATBALL SLIDERS
 SWISS SCALLOPED POTATOES & HAM
LEMON CHICKEN & RICE SOUP
CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
DESSERT
 NONE this week!!! We need to clean out ALL the Christmas goodies still hanging around.
 
 

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

You might ask why the car pictures are favorites? Well, because I am so thankful that the top of this 100 foot or so tall tree totaled my friend’s car in the middle of the night instead of her! We had a violent thunderstorm with tons of lightning and wind. The alternative was that it would have landed in her bedroom while she was sleeping. So, this was the best of the worst possibilities.

And thankful for such a wonderful Christmas meal even if it was just hubby and I this year. The leftovers will be our New Year’s Day chili.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES TO LOOK FOR THIS WEEK

  • COUNTRY FRENCH CHICKEN GARLIC SOUP
  • CHICKEN TOSTADA CUPS
  • MAPLE WHISKEY BOURBON PUMPKIN BUTTER

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 MENU & RECIPES week 48 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.337

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

WEEKEND RECAP

WOW, what a whirlwind weekend! I’m glad it was a long one! I hope your Thanksgiving was as relaxed as ours was full of yummy food, family and friends. I didn’t even leave the house except to feed the neighbor’s cat and still managed to do over 12,000 steps on Thursday alone!

On Friday we met my girl friend and her mom at our local family owned and managed Christmas Tree Farm to help her with her tree and buy our wreaths for the holiday season. I’m so glad we did it when we did because sadly, the wreath room and flock room along with multiple pieces of equipment were destroyed in a fire early Saturday morning! I was impressed that with all they lost (power, water, wreath making abilities, flocking machines…), they were open again on Sunday for trees only. Small towns rally together to take care of their own.

Saturday was a flurry of activity that started by meeting with the ladies helping our “Angel Tree” gift program for the holidays because we received the names on Wednesday evening and need to be done shopping and wrapped by the 11th so I can deliver them on the 12th. It’s a super quick turn around this year.

Sunday was just as busy meeting with a friend to design flyers for her bar and grill’s Christmas party, shopping for the Eagle’s lodge since we skipped last week with the Thanksgiving crowds, helping my mom pack to finally leave on Monday for her snowbird run, laundry and cleaning. Sadly, a close friend lost her son suddenly on Sunday afternoon 🙁 My heart aches for her and I’ll be picking up as many meal prep and chores for her that I can while she’s away.

Don’t forget that BLGOMAS 2024 has begun. I hope you can join in!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

Layer season is here! In fact it has become MULTIPLE layer season 😀 It’s cold, but sunny with highs in the mid 40’s and lows in the high 20’s or low 30’s for most of the week until the weekend when it is supposed to start raining again. UGG’s, turtlenecks and flannels have become my best friends again!

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING Laundry is up to date, but will be deep cleaning today so I can go full on decorating mode tomorrow. We had decided to do a live tree this year and planned to go get it tomorrow afternoon. With the fire at the tree farm, we’re rethinking it and probably going to do our artificial tree again this year.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have a hair cut appointment in town on Wednesday and will do the grocery store on the way home.
  • PROJECTS I’m hosting a “GIRL’S NIGHT” next week so am concentrating this week on finishing ALL my decorating and getting some baking done. “GIRL’S NIGHT” will be a BYOB, SNACK, PIZZA and project night. Some will finish Jewelry trees from last year, some will be making an adorable painted stacked wood project we just found, some will do both, some will just eat and drink… 😀 the whole point of the night is just to have some fun together. As for the BYOB some will definitely drink, but the BYOB is mainly for making homemade flavored vanilla.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • STREAMING Have been watching or should I say re-watching BONES which is now 20 years old! Where did that time go? We’re in season 5. Also re-watching late night HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER which is almost as old.
  • CABLE Trying to get caught up on everything on the DVR. The Hallmark movies will be something I’ll have on while decorating this week.

READING TIME

Yesterday was book club (SOCIETY of LIES by Lauren Ling Brown) and sadly I didn’t finish the book in time. I was only 75% done, but fortunately neither did half the others. We did pick the next book (The LAST ONE at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak) though and I got it ordered. 😀

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

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

12/2 MONDAY
12/3 TUESDAY
12/4 WEDNESDAY
12/5 THURSDAY
12/6 FRIDAY
12/7 SATURDAY
12/8 SUNDAY
DINNER
 BEEF & SHORT RIB LASAGNA (COSTCO)
 TACO TUESDAY with FRIENDS
OUT
 ROAST CHICKEN
 PIZZA ROLLS (homemade – recipe soon)
 GERMAN MEATLOAF
TURKEY NOODLE CASSEROLE
DESSERT
 NONE THIS WEEK
 
 

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

In case I’ve never mentioned it I have thing for barns… 2 of these may not make it another year if we have a heavy snow as they are barely standing on their own now.

INSPIRATIONS

I probably should have shared this one LAST week, but I live by this ideal, so I guess anytime is a good time to share it! In fact, I have only ever done 1 black Friday sale when I was in my early 20’s and have NO intention of ever doing another.

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

  • LEGENDARY POTATOES
  • MEAT LOVER’S SAVORY BREAD PUDDING
  • SLOPPY JOE SLIDER BAKE

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

BLOGMAS 2024 ~ ELF on the SHELF ~ day 2 ~ BLOG 366.335B

I know many parents are tired of ELF on the SHELF, are you? Food Network even had a baking competition that revolved around the ELF on the SHELF last year. I’m not sure if they’re having it this year, but I probably won’t be watching that one again.

I have always loved the actual idea of ELF on the SHELF and have made a list each year of the antics they would get into that year so I could be prepared and hopefully not repeat myself too much!

My munchkins have grown up fast! 2 of 3 of them “KNEW”, but the youngest still believed and we tried keeping the elf/nisse tradition alive another year! BUT, her teacher told the whole class a couple years ago! Who does that? I was soooooo mad! First off it wasn’t her place to tell the kids and what kind of person, especially a teacher, steals a child’s belief of anything? These days the munchkins all tower over me in their teens and our elf/Nisse has become a sentimental fixture in the Christmas decorations.

A few years back I discovered Julenisser, a Nordic tradition, to replace our previous Elf on a Shelf. I couldn’t find that a Julenisser is actually given a name, but I’m winging it here. 😀 The nisse is one of the most familiar creatures of Scandinavian folklore. Again this year we’ll be bringing back Annabelle and her pet reindeer, Alvin. They are always a BIG hit.

In Solvang, a Danish community, they actually do a Nisse Adventure like a scavenger hunt and Danish style JuleFest celebration throughout the month of December.

In Denmark there is a serious subculture regarding the Christmas elves and gnomes known as Julenisser. They live in forests and eat fruits and berries throughout the year before they come spend the month of Christmas with your family. They have BIG hearts and ARE magical and they love to play tricks on you and your family!

Hallmark even did a Christmas movie a while back that involves a Gnome/Troll called MY NORWEIGIAN HOLIDAY.

I know many parents are dreading that darned elf every year and having to come up with at least 24 DIFFERENT scenarios that are different from the previous year!

So when do you begin? Do you have unique names for your elf? Or do you have a Julenisser? Also, do you have a favorite Christmas character? Angels, Snowmen, Nutcrackers, Bears, Gnomes, Reindeer, Peanuts (Charlie Brown, Snoopy…), Elves, Gingerbread Men, Penguins or the BIG man himself, Santa Clause.

I LOVE ALL the Christmas characters, but my favorites are Snowmen, Angels and Reindeer.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the past several years: