Happy Homemaker Monday - #8 - 2011

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Supposed to get to 64 degrees this afternoon, guess we're starting to warm up.


Things that make me happy:
Being done with this move and having my home back


Book I'm reading:
These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner - almost finished, been loving it


What's on my TV today:
Pretty Little Liars on TV tonight

Being Human on Syfy
Want to rewatch The King's Speech


On the menu for dinner:
Crispy chicken sandwiches, potato wedges

On my To Do List:
Homeschooling
Change of Address on a few more things
Finish the grocery list
Wash the floors


New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
French Dip Sandwiches - filling and delicious

In the craft basket:

 Knitted and crochet gnomes
Easter Crochet chickadees, can't wait to show you all
African Flower Blanket


Looking forward to this week:
Doing NOTHING, just relaxing and taking it easy, letting my body heal and slow down after the grueling move.


Tips and Tricks:
For wood laminate floors, do NOT use cleaners, they will streak and ruin the finish.  A simple solution of warm water and vinegar does an excellent job.  It's what I'm using on my wood laminate floors in this house.




My favorite blog post this week:
No blog reading, didn't have time to.


Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):
Our Wee Farm - What a great blog, love the photos though I have to say that if you do pop on over, the very first photo in the latest post may make you wonder if I've lost my mind sending you over there LOL   Just ignore that first photo LOL


No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):

Lesson learned the past few days:
That just because something worked a few years ago doesn't mean it will now.  Things change, people change and I shouldn't fight it, I should just embrace what is to come.  Over the past 2 or 3 years I have really started feeling that my body is changing, that I'm getting older and that there are pains in places I didn't know exist....and I've been fighting it and getting really frustrated and sad in a way.  I've decided to stop, I've decided to embrace what every day brings me, to accept that I'm not who I used to be 10 years ago, or even 2 years ago and there's nothing wrong with getting older because no matter what my body may say or do on the inside, it's my spirit that counts.


On my mind:
So many things and I don't know how to put it all into words, it's just a jumble right now.  I can say that it's a mixture of the normal day to day business and a few new things thrown in


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

“We live by faith, not by sight.”
-2 Corinthians 5:7
Sometimes God asks us to believe when there’s no evidence that we should, except for His steadfast faithfulness. Walk by faith and not by sight. He will never lead you astray and what He has in store for you and those in your sphere of influence is far beyond what you could conjure up yourself.

Domestic Bliss

 
It may sound cliche, it may sound ridiculous to some, but not for this gal.

Moving houses means that at some point in time, you find yourself without a home, without your space and without that feeling of comfort and I think for me that is the worst part of it.

I couldn't wait to get settled in, to get back to my daily putterings around here and that is exactly where I'm at today.  With the house coming along just fine, I am finding myself easily slipping back into my daily routine, into my Domestic Bliss.

It's cloudy and gloomy, we're supposed to get some rain and though I have to run out this afternoon for some errands, for now, I'm content to be inside my home and putting my hands to good housework.

So, just some domestic pleasures that await me....

♥ Catch up on the laundry, wash, iron, fold and put away

♥ Finish unpacking the last few boxes

♥ Sweep and wash the wood laminate floors (nothing but warm water and vinegar for these)

♥ Enjoy a wonderful cup of tea on my new Tea pot

♥ Hang up all the curtains in each room

♥ Make some bread and a cake for dessert after dinner

♥ Squeeze in some time for some reading, crocheting, catching up on my shows

My basil is coming along well, I'm surprised I've kept it alive this long HA!

Pretty much a whole day at home and I couldn't be happier.

Happy Saturday friends :)

Born Under a Lucky Moon Book Tour

Born under a Lucky Moon is the debut novel from Dana Precious and is based on the author's true story.

About the book:

Born Under a Lucky Moon is the tale of two very important (but distant) years in the lives of Jeannie Thompson and her (embarrassing, crazy) colorful family members to whom "things" just seem to happen. From the Great Lakes of Michigan to Los Angeles and back again, it is a story of surprise marriages, a renegade granny, a sprinkler system cursed by the gods, and myriad other factors Jeannie blames for her full-tilt, out-of-control existence. But it's also about good surprises—like an unexpected proposal that might just open Jeannie's eyes to her real place among the people she loves most in the world . . . the same ones she ran far away from to begin with.

My thoughts:

I think the biggest thing for me in this book, is that it was hilarious, I found myself laughing out loud at some of the antics surrounding the main character's family.  It made me think of my own big family and how things get so crazy and whacked out when everyone is together.

The story is about Jeannie who is a movie advertising executive and her boyfriend has just proposed to her.  The events that follow is what truly made the book for me, because she chooses to tell him or rather, try to convince of why marrying her is a really bad idea.  So she decides to tell him about when she was 19 years old and the events that unfolded, beginning with the tale of the wedding preparations for her oldest sibling Evan.

I laughed and I mean LAUGHED at some parts and I think the best visual for me which had me in stitches was the Fourth of July celebrations when Jeannie's grandma decided to run naked through the town.  HA!

It was like sitting on the edge of your seat during a suspense movie, never really knowing what was coming but you just knew that you couldn't tear away from the screen, or in this case, the pages of the book.

Such a good read and I think if you're looking for a good, quick, feel good book, this is it.

Get a taste of Burn Under A Lucky Moon and the characters in the book through the PDFs of the Prologue, Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.



If you want to follow the book tour, be sure to check out these reviews:

Monday, February 21st:  Booksie’s Blog
Wednesday, February 23rd:  Kelly’s Lucky You!
Thursday, February 24th:   Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Once again, thank you to TLC for providing me with a copy for review.

Cooking Thursday - #8 February 24

Still in the middle of unpacking and I've really been missing my kitchen and cooking.  Can't wait to get back in there :)

Turkey Parmigiana Sliders

Credit: What's Cookin, Chicago

1 pound ground turkey
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste
4 slices mozzarella cheese, each slice cut into quarters
1/4 cup pasta sauce - homemade or store bought
1/2 cup shredded romaine lettuce
12 dinner rolls, split and toasted (I used Whole Wheat Hawaiian rolls, nice and sweet)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl combine the ground turkey, all the spices, cheese and salt & pepper. Form large meatballs and flatten to create small patties.

Brown each patty on both sides in a skillet with a little oil and transfer the patties to a baking sheet.

Top all browned patties with a teaspoon of pasta sauce and a couple slices of cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven for a few minutes until cheese begins to melt.

While the patties are baking, spread a teaspoon of pasta sauce on the bottoms of the split dinner rolls.

Transfer each patty onto the bottoms of the rolls and top the burgers with shredded lettuce and the tops of the dinner rolls. Serve immediately.

I'm back.....

and I'm in extreme pain and sick with a cold.

I don't even know where to begin with this move, other than to say that my hubby and I have realized that we are way too old to be moving ourselves, it will never happen again....and I mean NEVER.

My hands are swollen and cut up, my legs are all bruised, my lower back is killing me, my sciatica is making it very hard to walk around and my feet are SO sore I can barely stand, especially my left foot, I think I may have pulled something because it's just unbearable.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, let me tell you and show you where I've been for the past 4 days.

Hubby picked up the U-Haul on Friday morning and we started loading it up,

it took the whole day to get it full,

our wonderful children helped so much, they worked hard right along with us :)

by 10pm we just said enough and closed the doors on it.

Up bright and early on Saturday morning....

hubby had to go weigh it because when doing a DITY move you have to weigh the truck empty and full every single time and keep all the receipts so the military will reimburse you.   While he was gone the clouds took over the sky and I started seeing a little drizzle and I remember thinking "Lord no, please let the rain hold out until tonight".

I may as well have been saying "please squeeze the clouds real tight and drench us" because next thing I know it's coming down hard.

We unloaded the whole truck in the rain.  Made sure the kids stayed inside but hubby and I shivered and plowed through, soaked to the core.  NOT my idea of a good time.

But it gets better, because the rain slowed down a little only to make room for a nice dust storm to blow through, so not only were we wet but now we were wet AND dirty.  

By 9pm we just couldn't take it anymore, we made our way back to the old house for showers because the furnace was not turned on at the new house and I couldn't for the life of me find the lighter. 

Another full day of moving in the rain, yes folks, I'm not even kidding, it rained Saturday AND Sunday, all day long.

By Sunday night we were all moved in, just a few things were left at the old house but we were just so tired and sore and at this point I began feeling completely overwhelmed.

My body was shutting down, I was coming down with a cold and now I was faced with a house full of boxes that need to be unpacked.  I just wanted to burst into tears.....and I did a couple of times.

One thing is glaringly obvious, we are just not young anymore and you usually don't think much about it until you're put into situations you've been in before and realize how much you've changed in just 4 years.  The same move we made 4 years ago and only took 12 hours to do it in, ALONE.....took us 3 full days and we're still suffering.

But here we are, in the newly renovated home.  Remember we were forced to leave our other house because they HAVE to renovate right this minute???  And they're moving everyone into newly renovated homes right???

Well let me show you just a few of the great things we've been finding around this new house.  I am just so irritated right now because our previous home was MUCH better.  Maybe this is the new way of doing things???

I just don't understand, how exactly am I to hang my clothes on this rod?  This is one of the master bedroom closets.  It just boggles my mind that anyone would think that is acceptable.

Medicine cabinet in the master bathroom.  Can you spot the wrong, badly put together, make shift shelves? 

Hallway bathroom, this is one of the drawers....I don't know, again maybe it's just me, but when I think renovated homes I don't think broken drawers.  But again, that's just me.

Master Bathroom....no words!

I'm documenting all of this and I'll be sure to bring it up to the Housing Office this week.  It's bad enough that we are forced to move but is it to much to ask that we are put into a home that is as good or better than our previous one??

Anyway, I'm just ready for this all to be over with and to just get back to a normal routine.  OH and before I forget, this afternoon, my house flooded.  Oh yes friends....because I'm not already in pain and overwhelmed and feeling defeated.  I walked into my kitchen to see 2 inches of water coming from the laundry room, it flooded the laundry room, kitchen and the whole living room. 

It was the last straw for me, I literally burst into tears and flung myself into my husband's arms.  The day we move out of this base, can't come soon enough for me.

So there you go, now you know where I've been and what I've been up to.  I'm going to head to bed and get off my feet for a while, but not before taking some Motrin.  If there's a silver lining in this, I hope I see it soon because as of this moment, I'm completely drained mentally and physically.

Cooking Thursday - #7 February 17

We are moving tomorrow and so, I have not had time to do much cooking and I don't have a recipe to share with you this morning.  Blech!

But, I'm asking you all to still share yours, I could really use some inspiration for my next set of menus, so let's see what you come up with ;)

Reading this book

and I keep thinking that there are just not enough hours in the day and that this move is now interfering with my book reading.    Makes me cranky!

I first saw it start popping up all over blogland and to be totally honest, the title didn't really capture my attention.  I kept thinking "These is my words"...."These is my words....what in the world, what is this about?".

I began realizing that there had to be a reason why so many bloggers were giving it so much praise and loving it.  I had to be missing something.

So I went straight to Amazon and to the author's website and that is when I immediately realized that this is a book I would not only fall in love with, but forever consider one of my favorites.

Not only is the story inspired by the author's great-grandmother, but it is a story of pioneers, of trials, of perseverance and of endurance.  It pulled me in within the first two pages and now I find myself thinking about it constantly, wondering when bed time will come around so that I can sink into my bed and flip through those pages.

It's one of those books that makes me forget it's written on the pages, it feels like I'm there, the minute I read the first word the whole world melts away and I'm not a stay at home mom, a military wife, a homeschooling mama....I'm sitting on that wagon with Sarah, I'm feeling the anticipation and the fear everytime the Indian cries pierce the night, I'm crying along with her, I'm celebrating the meals that don't consist of cold mush but of roasted chicken.

Pretty early on in the book there is a certain event that takes place that left a knot in my stomach and a lump in my throat, I literally wanted to reach through the pages and grab the main character into my arms, to fight with her.  Here is a little short snippet:

As I lay that chicken down she stretched out her neck and calmly laid her head on the wood making little cooing sounds. I lifted the hatchet and shook her. Fight back, chicken, I said. Then I hollered at it, fight back, chicken! In a minute I was yelling Fight back Ulyssa! Fight back Ulyssa! over and over like a lunatic.

I was standing there shaking all over and crying out and I could not chop that chicken to save my life. Suddenly over my shoulder I hear these words in Savannah’s voice, Well, you are WRONG, Papa! and then Savannah is there and taking the chicken and the hatchet from me. Everyone has circled around me while I was crying. Savannah says, I’ll do it for you, it’s all right, then she bursts into tears and drops the hatchet and the chicken and throws her arms around me and we both cry to beat all.

Harland took to chasing that chicken to have her for lunch and calling out come here, little Drumsticks, and we all smiled for the first time in many, many days

 To summarize and if you haven't yet had the priviledge of reading this one....buy it, borrow it, do whatever you have to do, but read it.

If you are anything like me, you will find yourself thanking the Lord for everything you have in your life and hugging your children a little tighter.

The real Sarah Prine is third from the left. Young girl is Nancy's mother at age 11. The tallest lady is Nancy's grandmother, teller of stories and baker of pies, and the lady on the far right is Nancy's great- great grandmother, Roxie Virginia Stockman Reed.

{ Yarn Along }

Don't have much time to post anything else, but wanted to get in my picture for Ginny's Yarn Along over at Simple Things.

I'm still reading These Is My Words, and loving every single page. It's my kind of book and I totally love the main character Sarah :)

As for what I'm knitting, I finished the Broken Cable Cowl and have started crocheting these cute slippers to use up some really cool blue yarn that I have laying around.

If you want to join in today, you can do so by visiting here

My sweet friend Flowerlady, asked for the directions, so here they are.  You can find the pattern at Simple Crocheted Slippers. :)

You know you're a military family when........

Being surrounded by dozens of boxes, full, empty, flat or put together, just does not phase you anymore.

It's a normal occurrence.

So we get our house keys on Friday and then we'll be moving over the long weekend.  Works out pretty well considering Curt's squadron are being pains in the behind and not wanting to give him much time off, they actually had the nerve to offer him ONE day to move.  Really?  Are they going to come and do it for us?

See the box with the various lotions and potions?  If this were a State to State move, it would be all packed nicely or most of it would have been chucked away.  But since it's just down the street, you learn to pack and leave it be, move it to the new house and bring back the empty box to grab more.

Oh the joys of military life. 

Unless it's your first move, you pretty much become a pro by the second or third.  When you hear "you're moving", you may groan and go "Ugh again" but then you immediately switch to Moving Status and things just fall into place.

Within the next few days we'll be completely packing everything into boxes, pulling apart beds and computer desks etc.  We plan on loading the U-Haul truck, then moving everything Saturday morning.  Thing with a Dity move (Do It Yourself Move), is that you have to weigh all the vehicles and trucks, empty and loaded.

Hopefully we will only have to make one run with the truck, maybe two at the most which is what we did last time.

Only thing that usually annoys me about the moves is that you once again have to change your address everywhere and get all the utilities and services switched over to the new house.  It's just a bit of a nuisance.

So, I'll be in and out a lot the next two weeks, but I'll have my usual posts up on Thursday and Monday and hopefully I won't be out of internet for too long.

Wish me luck, I have a feeling that we won't be at this base for too much longer, call it intuition or maybe wishful thinking but I just don't think we'll be stationed here next year.  Who knows.

Now I'm off to drown myself in boxes again.  Yay!

Happy Homemaker Monday - #7 - 2011

I'm kind of late getting this post up today and the reason being that I overslept.  I haven't been able to say that in so many years  Haha!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone, don't let this day go by without letting the people you love know just what they mean to you :)

The weather in my neck of the woods:
43 degrees again.  It was nice and warm this weekend actually getting up to 76 degrees.


Things that make me happy:
The Lord


Book I'm reading:
These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner


What's on my TV today:
Pretty Little Liars on TV tonight
Deadwood Season 1
Being Human on Syfy


On the menu for dinner:
No idea, I can't believe I even said that.  Me, Miss Menu Plan and Miss Organized has NO idea what she's cooking for dinner.  I do have some steaks, I think I'll make something with them.

On my To Do List:
Iron and put away laundry
Sweep and Mop floors
Homeschooling


New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
Turkey Parmigiana Sliders - SO good

In the craft basket:

Just my African Flower Blanket


Looking forward to this week:
Finding out if we can switch houses, as much as we like the one we'll be moving to, with Nicholas allergies they have a bunch of palm trees and mesquite trees at the new house.  Hopefully we can change, if not oh well.  But would like to know WHEN we can move, I hate this waiting game.


Tips and Tricks:
Got nothing today




My favorite blog post this week:
Didn't get much reading done last week


Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):
Clover Lane



No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):

Lesson learned the past few days:
To let go and let God.  Unfortunately I have to keep being reminded of this one, over and over and over again and I still falter and I still fight and I still crumble.  Just let it go Sandra....I tell myself this so many times. 


On my mind:
My family, we are having to deal with a major change in our lives and it's shook us to the core.
Our upcoming move within the next week or two.


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
-John 13:34

Happy Homemaker Participants:

#1 - Kolfinna's Korner
#2 - Mary
#3 - Nicole
#4 - Tiffany Mae
#5 - Liz
#6 - Jen
#7 - Leigha
#8 - Ashley Marie
#9 - Melonie
#10 - Linda

Seems we are having technical difficulties with all the linkies.  Mister Linky won't work...Mcklinky won't work either, so for today, just go ahead and leave your link in the comments and I will add them manually to the post :)

Where did we spend our Saturday????

Well at the Arizona Renaissance Fair of course.

We go every single year and we never get tired of it, there's always something new to see, always something fun to engage in and always some goodies to get.  Truth be told, it's expensive, I mean, really expensive and it's definitely best to go when you have some extra money or you may just come away feeling depressed and sad.  Trust me, I've been there!  LOL

But let me show you some of the highlights, there were so many and I wish I could just post all the photos here but then you guys would be stuck on my blog for hours and I don't want to be blamed for housework not being done, or time away from the family.

I'll just give you the link to the whole album on my Flickr account and you can go there, if you wish.

What a blast!!!

I stocked up on my wonderful teas.  Remember The Spice Trader Teas from last year, the one I actually did a giveaway on?

I got another tin of Cinnamon Apricot (It's a blend of whole marigold petals, cinnamon chips, diced apricot pieces, apricot essences and black tea) which is divine.

I also got new mixes, Pomegranate Green (A sweet tea, full of flavor with rose, pomegranate and senica green tea)

Irish Breakfast (A very pleasant smelling tea with the flavor of an Irish spring morning. It has a fresh flavor and delicious finish which is perfect as an appetizer tea or even an after dinner tea) and

Pirate Punch (A child's tea (WOW! what about a tea for kids?) that's how it started. A tea that kids would like and a decaf as well - so Pirate Punch was made. A combination of fruits and tea that will make drinking tea an adventure for kids of any age).

I also picked up another 4 scented candles from my favorite candle vendor.  Irie Candles.  They are amazing, I still have mine from last year and they still smell wonderful and are nowhere near done.

Then my hubby got me a beautiful huge hand-carved candle from Royal Candle Makers.  It refills with a votive candle and it lasts for many many years and when I say many years, the owner explained how his first hand dipped wax candle is still going strong after 25 years.

Now to wait until next year to go again.  At least it's something to look forward to right?

Do you go to your local Renaissance Fair?  Do you like it?