Happy Homemaker Monday

A very late entry - but we all have those days!!!  I am joining again this week at Sandra's Happy Homemaker Monday!

The weather:::  We finally had some snow, but it is going to warm up into the 40's for a couple of days.  Bah.


On my reading pile::: I am about 1/4 of the way through the 2nd Outlander book, "Dragonfly in Amber" - didn't get a whole lot of reading done this week!



On my TV:::
Watched "Poltergeist II" and "Children of the Corn" last night, lol.  Tonight I started the series "A Dinner of Herbs" on Netflix, it is a Catherine Cookson miniseries.

On the menu for this week:::
You can see my entire menu plan HERE.  Tonight we had garlic cheddar pull-apart bread and stuffed shells.  It was super yummy!.

On my to do list:::  Sweeping and mopping floors tomorrow, along with vacuuming, laundry, etc! 


What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating::: (I AM CHANGING THIS ONE TO HOMESCHOOL HAPPENINGS SINCE I AM NOT CRAFTY TOO OFTEN!!)   I downloaded Kindle for PC on my laptop to get some free classics for Emily to read.  (They were not available for free on my Nook)  She is going to start with "Alice in Wonderland".  We are also starting French lessons this week, at her request!


Looking around the house:::    I see our beloved cat Jasper hopping down off the windowsill, an oil lamp on my bedside table, and a disconcerting amount of paperwork  :( 


From the camera:::   I borrowed my sister's camera - so next week I will have a pic to share!

On my prayer list:::  Family, friends, church-members, military


Bible verse, Devotional::: Psalm 46:10 - Be still and know that I am God.  

Weekly Menu Plan

I didn't stick exactly to my menu plan last week - seems things always pop up at the last minute!  But I am not giving up on menu-planning!  It has saved my sanity plenty of times.

I am linking up to Menu Plan Monday!

Another very tight week in our household.  Please don't get me wrong, we are so blessed, just having a lean moment!  I'm using up absolutely everything we have in our cupboards and freezer this week!!  Next time I grocery shop I want to load up on some healthier items, as I can see we are pretty carb-laden.  I try and have at least one or two veggies with each meal. 

MONDAY:  Stuffed shells with cheesy-garlic pull-apart bread  (We just had this and it was SO good!  I made my own sauce out of what we had in the cupboards and it was quite good! Also, we used very inexpensive biscuits from Aldi, cheddar cheese I had left from tacos, garlic powder, and margarine - and it was still amazing!)  Seasoned broccoli.

TUESDAY:  Beef lo-mein with onion, garlic, carrots, broccoli, celery (made with Ramen noodles without the seasoning packet)

WEDNESDAY:  Kids and I have dinner with my parents and sisters

THURSDAY: Creamy chicken and rice with broccoli

I will be shopping on Thursday, so we will have a few more options at this point!  lol


FRIDAY:  KID'S CHOICE - Breaded chicken tenders (made from chicken breast & Italian crumbs) baked "fries" (potatoes cut into wedges with olive oil and garlic and baked in the oven) with green beans and baby carrots

SATURDAY:  Kids and I have dinner with my parents and sisters

SUNDAY:  Ham and potatoes in the Crockpot with corn (I don't put the cheese in with the ham and potatoes, but i do add corn, it's really good!  I also use Walmart or Aldi brand cream of mushroom)

                                                                   (photo credit)

BREAKFASTS:  I won't lie - we're down to oatmeal or Thomas' Everything Bagel thins w/ an egg.  Could be worse!! After Thursday there will be plenty to choose from :)

LUNCHES:  Leftovers.  Mac N Cheese w/ raw veggies.  Stir-fried veggies w/ rice. 

Have a blessed week!

Sherry

Weekly Update - Books, Movies, & Food!

Sunday is always my plan-ahead day.  I make up my menu for the week, plan at least a couple of outfits, think about what manicure I'd like to do, fill in my Day Timer, lesson plan for Emme, and put together a visual in my head of what the week is going to look like. 

This week my boss is leaving town to visit his mother, so work will be at a minimum.  My Sweetness is pretty busy all week, but we will spend Tuesday together.  I have a lot of organizing to do in my home office (now that I have the time) - and plan to cook some very frugal meals seeing as I'm still broke!  lol

I also want to do several memes this week - some I have never done before and others I used to do but want to start up again. 

One thing I am doing right now is downloading Kindle for PC on the mini laptop!  I have a Nook Color and I love it beyond love - but there are several classics my daughter can read for school that are free on Kindle & not on Nook!  Also there is a book here and there for free on Kindle and not Nook - so why the heck not?? 

Speaking of my Nook, I am currently reading the 2nd in the Outlander series by Diane Gabaldon.  Dragonfly in Amber -  these books are amazing!

Tonight's dinner will be cumin-infused lentils and rice with a side of garlic broccoli. 

I'll be starting week 7 (final week) of the Beth Moore James study  and I really want to do her study on Jesus next!

Oh, and my Sweetness & I will be going to see the movie "A Joyful Noise" with Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton.  Looks good! Last week we saw "We Bought A Zoo" and I can highly recommend that as a good, entertaining family movie.

Hope you have a blessed week,

Sherry

Happy Homemaker Monday

I have missed doing Happy Homemaker Monday for the longest time!  Sandra is just the kindest, most wonderful Internet friend to so many people!  I want you to know you are appreciated!




The weather:::
We still are not having the typical Michigan winter.  It's strange because most years people are walking around complaining to one another about the snow - and here we are complaining to everyone about the LACK of it!  Close to 50-degrees here today!

On my reading pile::: 
My Nook was under the weather (GASP!) for about a week so I just happily returned to the last 1/4 of "Outlander" by Diane Gabaldon.  An epic romance with time travel to the Scottish Highlands!
On my TV:::
If I am completely honest - I will be watching last week's "Grey's Anatomy" on ABC.com tonight!  It's the one current tv show I actually still wath regularly!

On the menu for this week:::
Monday - Cinncinnati Chili Five Ways
Tuesday - Lemon pepper roasted chicken with potatoes, carrots, and green beans
Wednesday -  Dinner with my parents & kids
Thursday - Ham & Swiss Stromboli with a big green salad
Friday - Tacos with refried beans & spanish rice
Saturday - Dinner with my parents again :)



On my to do list:::
Homeschooling
Work from home
Organizing!
Laundry!

  Looking around the house:::
A glass of Coke with ice, My Bible on top of my Beth Moore James study with colored pencils, discarded jewelry I took off in a rush! disorganized paperwork, my cat Sophie curled up on my bed.


From the camera:::

I am camera-less :(  


Something fun to share:::
I read on a blog somewhere (sorry!) where she took the tops of strawberries (red portion still attached) and placed them in a bundt pan, covered them with water, and made an ice wreath!  I thought this was SO cool!  It looked amazing and as it melts the birds will get some fruit. 


On my prayer list:::
Family, work, friends, bloggers, troops, church family.

Bible verse, Devotional:::

I have been doing this Bible Study for about 6 weeks now.  I never knew how AMAZING the book of James is! 

Faith apart from good works is inactive, ineffective and worthless (paraphrased James 2:20)

Menu Plan Monday

This is going to be a tight, tight week!  I have plenty of meat in the freezer but only about $9.00 to
buy additional groceries with.  I am going to get two kinds
of pasta, a green pepper, peanut butter, bread, 2 cans of chicken noodle soup
and low-fat microwave popcorn.  I'll be shopping at Aldi.

This menu is linked up with Laura at Menu Plan Monday!

SUNDAY:  Cincinnati Chili 4-ways

2nd Date Jitters

I am still camera-less :(   I hope to aquire a new one shortly & in the meantime, plan to snag my sis's camera for the solitary purpose of taking bloggy pics!

I am going to the movies with my new squeeze tomorrow & and I am on the edge of my seat with anticipation and giddiness.  I am going to color my hair tonight with "ultra light natural blonde" - which will probably just end up looking exactly like the pic on my blog.  It seems that no matter what blonde color I choose, my hair just always seems to settle itself back into a similar shade.  Figures - has a mind of its own!

I haven't a clue what I am going to wear.  It's just a casual date, yet I want to make a good impression!!  It's that early stage, you know, before he's seen you without makeup and the hair up in a pony tail *grin*. 

I think I'm going to wear black pants and my cute black ankle boots or lace up mid-heel oxfords - but as for the top and accessories??  *sigh* 

I just finished up my "date manicure" which consists of:

Sally Hanson Insta-Dry in "Magenta Motion" with a slash of Wen n Wild's "Glitz" (a fuschia-purply glitter) on my ring fingers.  Topped with Wet n Wild's "Wild Shine". 



Magenta Motion #330




Glitz #237

WISH ME LUCK!!!

Sherry




2012 - Off to a Glamorous Start

Happy New Year all!  There is something about a new year, a clean slate, a veritable open book filled with empty pages waiting to be written in.  Maybe for some it is just another day with no overt meaning, but there are some, like me, people who get a thrill out of making lists, planning ahead, filling in calendars....well, it's enough to make a girl giddy with anticipation! 

I've got my 2nd load of laundry going (I like to start the new year off as glamorously as possible!), hooked up speakers to my computer so I can listen to my favorites on Spotify - currently listening to "Wheel in the Sky" by Journey, my all-time favorite band!  What is not to love about Steve Perry? The plan is to tackle my bedroom today.  Get things more organized in here.  This room is also my home office, and seeing as I work from home, there is a lot of equipment in here! 

Money is going to be a bit tight at least for the next few months - so I need to really work my wardrobe to find new and exciting things.  I have a great penchant for black clothing - probably 75% of all my clothing is black :/    I also have about 6 or 7 skirts and a handful of dresses that I rarely ever wear.  So I want to take some chances.  There are so many fashion and "fatshion" bloggers that I just adore and I've read their blogs all through last year without delurking or trying many of the suggestions they brilliantly come up with.  That is something I want to change this year! 

Again - where money is concerned - I am a big thrifter - love to find really individual pieces and integrate them into my style.  I'll definitely be doing more of that.  DO YOU KNOW I actually let a genuine LOUIS VUITTON handbag go at a thrift store because of a broken zipper?  I'm still kicking myself over that one. 

I'm also starting off the new year with a new man :)   Through texts and calls from his work to my home last night, we agreed to "date exclusively"....   Very excited about the possibilities of this charismatic Christian charmer!

BRING IT ON 2012!!!!  I AM READY!!

Sherry