Happy Homemaker Monday: June 29, 2020

Good morning! I hope this weekend was beautiful for you all. My husband was home this week (and he is actually home today!) so that was a rare treat. I cannot remember the last time he had a 3 day weekend.

The weather: Typical NC mountain early summer. 70's during the day, cooler at night. Rain chances almost every day. (It's good that I don't have to water the garden every day!)

How I am feeling this morning: Introspective. I'm reading Song of Solomon during my morning devotions currently (just finished with Ecclesiastes and before that the book of Job), and today, I came across the verse of "my own vineyard I have not kept". I looked it up, found a sermon by C.H. Spurgeon and boy, does it have me thinking about my own neglected vineyard. I am so quick to do things/jobs outside the house, but I need to care more about my vineyard/my family/my kids. I just feel like sometimes I could be home more...should be home more. Mom guilt is real. Christian Mom guilt is also real. A lot of little changes I have to make.

On my mind: The aforementioned vineyard and all.the.things. on my to do list today. Some things my husband and I are praying about.

On the breakfast plate: Uhmmmm, coffee, before I head out for work. Eventually, I guess I'll have a Lean Cuisine while I'm working. It's Monday, all right.

On my reading pile: "Tears" by Caroline Clark. I finished "Deep Dark Secrets" by Keri Beevis. Sometimes I hate having an overanalytical mind...I figured that book out halfway through, but it was nice to cheer on the main characters.

On my TV: Nothing, really. Ella and I are watching "The Perfect Mother" on, you guessed it, Lifetime. I mean, if my teenager wants to hang out with me and watch lame movies, I'm all about it. I know that at 14, this was NOT me, and while my Mom and I have worked out our differences, we were not close when I was a teen.

On the menu this week:
Monday: Stuffed Peppers
Tuesday: Ramen Stir Fry
Wednesday: Split Pea Soup
Thursday: Quesadillas
Friday: Chicken, mushroom sauce, noodles
Saturday: Italian Chowder
Sunday: Ziti, Salad

From the camera: 

I received some lovely peonies from my boss last week!!

Looking around the house: Renfield the big white cat has just sauntered past. (Dude is over 20 lbs so when I say big, I mean it). I can see my gaggle of houseplants from where I'm perched on the bed. It's a little dark, we have a lot of cloud cover. Josie and Gabe are hanging out in the living room.

Chore I'm not looking forward to: I'm trying to find joy in all the chores. One thing I have to do is pack up a lot of my bigger clothes for the Goodwill. Over the last year, I've lost 80 lbs and I'm still losing. Some of that stuff looks ridiculous on me, and I don't know why it's still here, honestly, other than my work schedule is atrocious sometimes and I have no time for anything. But out it goes!

To relax this week, I will: Walk barefoot in the grass. Sing along with Joy Williams and Dolly Parton. Find some lovely flowers on clearance and leave them on the doorstep of the landlady from the first house we ever rented, get a safe distance away and give her a call. Enjoy time with my husband, and kids.

On my prayer list: The world right now. It's such a hard place to navigate, especially for children.

Happy Homemaker Monday: June 22, 2020

Good morning, how are we almost at the end of June! When did that happen?
I hope you've all had a wonderful weekend.
Father's Day is a bit hard here, as my Dad passed in July of 2018 and Grandpa Bruce passed on my birthday last year.
Next to my husband, they were the two most important men in my life and being without them, especially on Father's Day is hard.

The Weather: Very warm with rain chances every day this week. At least I don't have to water the garden, ha!!

How I am feeling this morning: Honestly, pretty energetic. I've found that early mornings work for me. As much as the idea of "sleeping in" excites me, it's really not for me, and it makes me sluggish and tired for the rest of the day.

On my mind: All of the stuff I have to get done today, including finishing up this post and taking Josie to the river (We're making a set of alphabet stones.) There's a place in town here that helps developmentally disabled adults and they make the prettiest painted stones. Josie and I took a walk yesterday, and walked right by their display of painted stones. And then I saw an Instagram post about alphabet stones and well, there we go.

On the breakfast plate: A bowl of vegetable soup and a Diet Dr. Pepper, whomp whomp.

On my reading pile: "Deep Dark Secrets" by Keri Beevis.

On my T.V: Who on earth knows? This is going to be a busy week, so maybe I'll have time to squeeze in a Lifetime movie with Ella. Yesterday, we watched Storm Cell, a movie about a storm cell "warning her unsuspecting brother" about an incoming tornado. Oh, boy. False advertising. The brother was actually not "unsuspecting" at all.

On the menu this week: 
Monday: Beef-filled Crepes
Tuesday: Garden Veggie Mac and Cheese
Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner
Thursday: Taco Casserole
Friday: Country Club Chicken
Saturday: Cabbage, Sausage, and Potatoes in the Instapot
Sunday: Garden Veggie Spaghetti

From the Camera: 

On the advice of my father in law, a man dear to my heart, I went out and chased the sunset the other night. (What he said was, "take your camera and get outta the house for a while", so I did)

Looking around the house: Josie has her dollhouse open and her coloring books out. She's currently on the porch swing with Gabe. I can hear her shouting in excitement about a flying insect. I'm playing Alan Jackson's hymns because they make my heart happy, and they remind me of Grandpa Bruce. The fan in the living room is going. The fishtank filter is bubbling away. The dishwasher is going. It's a quiet, atypical Monday, because I don't have to work today. I'm going to take off for a few hours with a friend.

Chore I'm not looking forward to doing this week: I got nothing. I'm trying to find joy in this stuff...even the fridge.

To relax this week, I will: Do some research on July's Scripture writing topic, and listen to some sermons online. I'm still soul searching, still looking for a church that lines up with my values.

On my prayer list: Everything. This whole world. It's such a mess.

Have a beautiful week, my friends!

Happy Homemaker Monday, June 15, 2020

Man, what a morning it's been already. Just one of those days where everything is going at full speed and it seems like the toddler is always on my tail (because she is!)

Anyway, let's get on with this day!

The weather: Looks like it's shaping up to be a rainy week. We have rain chances every single day this week, but last week was so unbearably hot (by mountain standards) that I welcome the cooler weather and the rain that it brings. So far, there are no storm systems forming over the Atlantic and after the flooding that NC saw from Arthur, I am happy for it.

How I am feeling this morning: Rushed and annoyed every time I look at the clock, but I am trying to fight it.

On my mind: The fact that I'm annoyed with everything. I need to stop it. I'm so hateful I can't stand ME, ha.

On the breakfast plate: Coffee. Plus, Josie tried to feed me a plastic egg and some plastic sausage.

On my reading pile: I finished A Haunting in Rose Grove (on Kindle) within the last week and it was pretty good. Also, "Everything My Mother Taught Me", a story by Alice Hoffman (one of my most favorite authors). I need to finish Dewey (with crying breaks, of course) and then I'm not sure what I'll read.

On my TV: Nothing besides CSI, but that's a comfort thing. Ella and I watched Psycho Yoga Instructor last week and we howled with laughter, because you can pretty much figure out the plot of any and all Lifetime movie...because they are almost all the same. (Except for Killer Contractor which threw me for a loop!)

On the menu this week: 
Monday: Southwest Chicken and Rice Casserole
Tuesday: Cube Steak with Potatoes, Green Beans
Wednesday: Breakfast for Dinner
Thursday: Mashed Potato Bowls
Friday: Beef Stew and Rice
Saturday: My Grandmother's Vegetable Soup
Sunday: Italian Sausage Gnocchi Skillet

From the Camera: 

My "kids", ha.
From l to r: Josie, Ella, and my boss's dog, JT. My boss is in his 80's and it's hard to walk such a large dog (read: sometimes drag because JT sure does have a mind of his own) JT is here so much, or I'm at my boss's house walking him/taking him to Lowe's hardware (lax dog policy, ha!) that people know me as the "girl with the big white dog" and nobody believes me when I say he is not my dog. Oh, well. Such is life!

Looking around the house: You can definitely tell a toddler lives here, haha! I need to clean off the top of the bookcase, stuff just seems to accumulate there...like my camera. Yikes.

Chore I'm not looking forward to today, or this week: I was going to say scrubbing the tub in the master bath, but Ella and I tackled that yesterday.

To relax this week, I will: Do a face mask. Take some me time. Maybe read a book?

On my prayer list: My sister, as she travels to see our Mom. My Mom, of course. My boss. The continued health and safety of my family.