Good morning everyone, how was your weekend?

Welcome to another Happy Homemaker Monday.

When I came up with the idea for HHM many years ago, I had no idea that it would go on for this long, or that anyone would even want to join in with me.  It started as a way for me to put down my plans for the upcoming week and have it all in one place, but over the years it has turned into so much more than that.  I am truly thankful for each and every single one of you, who come by every Monday and participate.

We've been able to create a community of like minded women who care for, and support each other.  Thank you for that ladies, really :)

I appreciate you all and I appreciate the comments you leave down below as well.  If you participate, all I ask is that you don't change the categories or the little Happy Homemaker Monday image, because then it really isn't a part of my blog anymore.  I also ask that if you are joining in, please leave a comment below, even it it's just a quick hello I'm here and joining today.  I would love to see a lot more interaction between the ladies, and as the host of this feature, I too love knowing who is joining in and how they are doing.

Anyway, now that we have that out of the way, let's get right into our plans for this week, shall we??

The weather:::
We are expecting quite strong storms today, but the rest of the week is supposed to be clear, albeit cloudy.  The temperatures are staying in the high 80's though which is quite nice.

Monday - Strong storms and wind, 82º
Tuesday - Partly cloudy and windy, 80º
Wednesday - Partly cloudy and windy, 87º
Thursday - Cloudy and windy, 87º
Friday - Cloudy, 85º
Saturday - Cloudy, 87º
Sunday - Partly cloudy, 87º


On my reading pile:::
Moon Rush and Whatever it Takes.  I'll be putting up a post with my summer reading list, this week. 


Movies or Shows I watched this weekend:::
Just a lot of 60 Minutes Australia, I enjoy podcasts and documentaries in general, so I usually pop on something like this on Youtube, to listen to while I do my housework.  


On my TV this week:::
General Hospital
Juana Ines
Homemaking vlogs
The Spanish Princess
When Calls the Heart
Documentaries

On the menu for this week:::

Monday
Pickle Brined Chicken, Potato Salad ( New Recipe)



Tuesday
Ninho Recheado (Meat filled pasta nests), Garlic Bread



Wednesday
Curt's birthday so I'm making Steak, Baked Potatoes and a side salad



Thursday
Portuguese Bean Stew and Rice (this one has been shuffled back and forth the past 2 weeks, but I'm finally making it)



Friday
Deep Dish Pizza and Hot wings


On my to do list:::
Empty and reload dishwasher
Iron a load of clothes
Sewing - am making and re purpose some dresses for summer
Have an ENT appointment on Friday morning
Take Jasmine to work two days this week


What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::
I pulled out my sewing machine so that I can re purpose some old dresses and skirts as well as make a new dress for summer.



Looking forward to:::
Hopefully my lens coming in so that I can get back to taking tons of pictures and blogging the way I'm used to. 
Also looking forward to seeing the ENT and hopefully get some answers on this ear of mine.  It has gotten a LOT better, I definitely feel it's well on it's way to being 100%, but it's not quite there yet and I'm frankly over it at this point.  It has now been 3 months since it first went bonkers. 


Looking around the house:::
I've opened all the blinds and curtains in the house, but you wouldn't really know it since it's so dark and gray outside.  There is however a nice breeze coming in and it's always amazing seeing the curtains blowing in the wind.
The house is tidy from the weekend so I don't have much to do. 


From the camera:::
The culprit of not being able to blog this past week.  I love my 50mm 1.4 so much and it breaks my heart to see it damaged.   



What I'm wearing today:::
Workout gear at the moment, I'll be starting my Monday workout soon.  By the way, I've updated the sidebar with this week's routines.  As I explained before I'm changing it up every day so that I don't get bored, and also because it's the best way for your body to lose weight.  When you do the same exact workout each day, your body gets used to is and does nothing but hit a plateau.  I need to get my body going so each day and each week is something different.  Over the weekend my sciatica has flared up, so I'm keeping it simple this week with shorter workouts but just as equally good to lose weight. 


One of my simple pleasures:::
Believe it or not, working out.  Getting to it is a whole other story, but once I'm doing it or after it's done, I love it.              


Bible verse, Devotional, prayers::: 
The prayer below is for all of us who are trying to change our lives in a healthy way, who are wanting to workout but sometimes lack the motivation.  I found this prayer and thought it so poignant because truly, I can't get through these workout routines or creating this new habit, without the Lord's help.