Happy Homemaker Monday: April 28, 2025

 Good morning! It's Monday and I've hit the ground running. My busy season is here, but I don't want to let this blog go by the wayside...too much. Last week was pretty rough. I'm just tired of being everybody's unpaid therapist/the fixer/the one EVERYBODY comes to...It's a lot and it's draining.  But I've had a few days to stew and cry and go on long walks/runs and I feel a lot better. 

Here we go!

The weather in my neck of the woods: It's absolutely beautiful outside. The mornings are still cool and the days are warm and the evenings are cool again. It's paradise, and I'd almost say I want this year round, but as I get older I appreciate the seasons so much more. 

As I look outside my window: Blue sky, green grass and all my weird little windchimes. It's all pretty great. 

Right now I am: Typing up this post, and getting ready for my work day, which looks super busy already. Not complaining, those are just the facts, Jack. 

Something fun to share: 

Every year, we release Painted Lady butterflies. We get our kits from Insect Lore! This year, we even donated a caterpillar kit to our local library and they had their own little release. 

Thinking and pondering: Life really is what you pour into it/into yourself/into your family. I'd had such a bad day on Friday, and I think it honestly reflected in everything and even affected the moods of my kids. Yesterday, I made it a point to be careful about what I did and what I said and even the music I was listening to. I chose peaceful piano for the background music of what I did in the house...and it made such a difference. Point taken, hehe. 

On my bedside table: A mess that I'm going to tackle when I get home from work. Just off the top of my head I see a brochure about snakes in Tennessee, an origami frog Ella made me, my Kindle in its cool cover (which we found while Spring cleaning). 

On my TV: Will Trent, Next Level Chef (Go Bobby!), Season 6 of Dance Moms (holy wow, Abby Lee Miller is insane). 

Listening to: Piano music, my windchimes, the clack of the keyboard as I type. I took Keyboarding in high school and I'm honestly pretty proud of my typing skills. 

On my to-do list: Work, shipping orders, breaking ground on a new client garden, tackling that mess of a bedside table. 

What I am sewing/knitting/crocheting/creating: I did the pencil sketch of my Gypsy Cowboy drawing, and it will likely still go through several incarnations before I put ink to it. 

My simple pleasure: Coffee on my porch swing in the mornings. Or looking out my kitchen window at the sunrise. I've been wrapped up in so many things I forgot to slow down and appreciate all the beauty I see every day. 

Looking around the house: Oi. We had a cleaning spree this weekend and there's stuff everywhere (so it doesn't seem as if we've cleaned at all) But after work, stuff will go to the Goodwill/the dump/wherever it belongs and things should look better this evening. 

From the camera: 

It's rare I'll put my face on here, but the other day I took a picture of me. Sometimes, I see my mother's features and it scares me. I don't want to be that woman. She was my first bully, and honestly, she's kind of a monster. But then...what if this is what she would have looked like if she hadn't let her demons win? What if she'd stayed sober, softer, and loved the hell out of her kids? What if she was soft sweaters instead of harsh words? What if her hands were used for holding and not hitting? Could this have been her? Gray hair and wrinkles but full of love? I don't know. 

Bible Verse, Devotional: I'm reading through my Bible in a year again, and I've nothing to offer except that I had missed reading like this. 

Have a great week? 

Happy Homemaker Monday: April 14, 2025

 Good...evening! I had to work today and that took up a lot of my day. I'm home now and dinner is made and most chores are done so I can finally sit down and make this post. 

The weather in my neck of the woods: Warmer than last week, thank heavens. 

As I look outside my window: My curtains are actually drawn because it's so sunny outside, it's glaring up on my laptop screen. But if my curtains were open, I'd see my side yard and Duke the cat that doesn't quite belong to my neighbors and doesn't quite belong to me lurking around. 

Right now, I am: Singing along (badly) to music, typing up this post and staring mournfully at the laundry I'm gonna have to start folding. 

Something fun to share: People who walk daily are less likely to be depressed. My WalkFit app tells me fun things like that daily. 

Thinking and pondering: I have tomorrow off, and I'm so very glad. I love what I do for work, but every once in a while I just need a break from it. I also get to see two friends I haven't seen in a long while tomorrow and that makes me so happy. On a more serious (maybe) note, I've noticed that the older I get, the less patience I have for people and their gossip. Having once been the piece of gossip in my town, I just want nothing to do with it. And people are so bent on dragging others into their negativity. I had to step away from a situation yesterday and take myself on a long hike because I just refuse to deal with it. 

On my bedside table: A lot of books. Nail polishes. The charger cord for my smart watch. A plastic Oscar the Grouch 

On my TMV: Will Trent, Dance Moms (Season 4!), The Black Swan (what am I watching, y'all?!)

Listening to: "Love Me More" by David Wimbish & The Collection. That band will always have a special place in my heart. Goose is humming while she plays with Gypsy...also, Gypsy is a clown! I've forgotten what it's like to have a young cat in the house. Ren was my grumpy old man and Gypsy is the complete opposite. 

On the menu for the week: I made beef stew today. Ella's in charge of dinner tomorrow and I think it's gonna be Breakfast for Dinner. Wednesday is Crockpot Taco Soup and Thursday I think we are having Chicken Nachos, but don't quote me on that. It's all interchangeable. 

On my to do list: I'm gonna help Goose change over her bedding for Spring, fold some laundry, and go for a run. 

What I am creating: A silly portrait of Gypsy. Stay tuned!!!

My simple pleasure: Solo hiking. I'd been afraid to hike alone for YEARS, but now that I've gone alone a few times, it makes me so happy. 

Looking around the house: THE LAUNDRY, YOU GUYS. My walls are dappled with little rainbows from the suncatchers, and there's sunshine in every corner of the house. But...the LAUNDRY. 

From the camera: 

top picture: Gypsy, the littlest vampire. 

bottom picture: Phacellia Fimbriata. The forest is full of it. 

Bible verse, Devotional: I don't have anything this week, but I'm just happy to pray for all those that need it. 

Happy Homemaker Monday: April 6, 2025

 Good...afternoon! I slept in way later than I wanted (I actually have the day off, and may continue my Monday off rule for the rest of time, it's always nice to have an allegedly long weekend, even though I work most every Saturday) We spent most of this previous week reeling from losing our cat. Some new developments took place, and much to nobody's surprise we ended up at our Humane Society after church yesterday...and ended up taking a cat home. Before you judge me too harshly, please know that this was not a decision that was made lightly and I am forever thinking in the best interests of my children. Here we goooo

The weather in my neck of the woods: Cool and rainy. Supposed to get cooler and more rainy, and we may even see snow before it eventually warms up. Typical April weather. They say that April is "the cruelest month" when it comes to temperatures and I wholeaheartedly believe that. 

As I look outside my window: It's stopped raining for now. Still cloudy. My street is quiet and there aren't cars speeding by. The lawn is green with a million dandelions that I will not be treating the grass for, because they are food for bees. Sue me, I actually love dandelions in all their forms. 

Right now, I am: Watching Goose draw faces in her sketchbook. Typing up this post. Mentally going over the rolodex of things I've gotta do today yet. Days off are so strange. I know I have to rest then I feel unproductive and guilty. 

Something fun to share: For future reference, April 5th was National Dandelion Day! Dandelions are medicinal and beneficial and edible and I cannot say enough nice things about them. They are also often one of the first foods available for our pollinators as they emerge after winter. 

Thinking and pondering: Go down this rabbit hole with  me for a bit, will you? I was putting on an earring this morning. (My earrings are always mis-matched, one is a tiny silver gravestone that reads "See Ya" that I never take off, and the other is always different, today it's a star)...and I was picking out whatever one I was going to wear and I thought to myself...such freedom. I was raised in a strict, scary environment with almost no freedom...so to have so many choices with something so simple is wild. It's mindblowing things that I don't think about now, I wouldn't have ever been allowed to do as a kid, or even a young adult. (Nose piercing? Nope. Wild nail polish? Absolutely not. I couldn't even pick out my own clothes) Looking at adult me in the mirror is crazy because my mother would (and has!) have so much to say about how I look or what I wear. but childhood me is secretly so happy because I had all these crazy ideas about clothes and now I can wear whatever I want. Watching Ella and Goose dress however the heck they want brings me such joy and I am all too happy to buy whatever articles of clothing they fancy. 

They have different styles, and I love it so much. Also, this was taken at the shelter yesterday hehe

On my bedside table: A rose quartz that I think Ella put there, butterfly stickers, my colored pencils, water, a portable nail dryer...it's a LOT. 

On my TV: I'm up to my eyeballs with Dance Moms. Also watching Will Trent and whatever else I wish. That freedom that I was talking about earlier? It also extends to things like TV and music, because that was another aspect closely controlled by my mother.

Listening to: Markers in a sketchbook, Ted the rabbit in his hutch, "Bread and Bleeding" by Penny and Sparrow on Spotify. In another universe, I'm married to Andy Baxter's voice. He could read the phone book and I would listen with all of my attention. 

On the menu for this week: Winter Soup today. Chicken Stir Fry tomorrow. I have some meal ideas for the rest of the week, but they are all interchangeable. I bought ingredients for Hungarian Goulash so that will be one of them. 

On my to-do list: Make dinner, fold laundry, sort through some clothes. 

What I am creating at the moment: A cleaner living space. Maybe a skirt if I get around to it. 

My simple pleasure: Ella and I started a walking workout last month. It's honestly been so nice to walk around with my oldest and laugh and joke and see wildlife, even if the wildlife is just worms and frogs. 

Looking around the house: It's in need of attention, especially my poor sink where I've been keeping plants and seedlings. Things kinda went south after Ren died and I'm excited to get the house into order. A clean sink is one of those weird things that makes or breaks the kitchen for me. 

From the camera: 

Meet Gypsy, with the one white whisker. He's one and a half, and we kept the shelter's name, as a nod to my heritage. (Before anybody judges, I am yet to meet one of us who thinks Gypsy is a slur) He's slowly adjusting to non-shelter life, but we are so happy to have him home. 

Bible Verse, Devotional: I'm reading in Genesis that it took 100 years to finish the Ark. Of course people lived a lot longer back then. Sometimes I feel like it will take me 100 years to finishe a project...

Have a beautiful week!