Happy Homemaker Monday

Good Morning everyone :)

Finishing up some things around here and then we're on the road for our mini vacation, I'm really looking forward to it at least to see some green trees and get some fresh air away from this desert.

I'll have my laptop and camera with me so I'll be able to stay in touch and show you what we're doing :)

(New HHM button)

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Had a nice thunderstorm in the middle of the night.  Today it's in the high 70's.  We're heading north where we're supposed to be getting more rain and temperatures not going above 80 which is going to feel really good compared to our 118 :)


Things that make me happy:
Sleeping while listening to the rain pounding on the roof


Book I'm reading:
Sarah's Quilt by Nancy E Turner


What's on my TV today:
Absolutely nothing


On the menu for dinner:
We're staying at cabins so that I can cook, it's much cheaper than heading out to dinner somewhere, so the family has requested spaghetti.


On my To Do List:
Grab some ice for the cooler
Finish packing the kitchen essentials I'll need and get on the road


New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
Not new but.....Magic Cookie Bars

In the craft basket:

Crocheted Strawberries


Looking forward to this week:
Spending time with my family on vacation, checking out some cool places and just having fun


Tips and Tricks:
When packing to go somewhere, I like to roll my clothes instead of folding them.  It gives me a lot more space and it also helps keep the clothes from wrinkling.




My favorite blog post this week:
This great post on how to make a Pottery Barn inspired US Flag at Between Naps on the Porch


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


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

Lesson learned the past few days:
One I'm constantly learning, to give it to God and LET.IT.GO.  I don't know why it's so hard for me to do that but I struggle with it on a daily basis.


On my mind:
Summer vacation
Family


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20

Getting sick of this muscle pull

I swear I have no patience when it comes to being unwell, no matter what the reason is, and this groin/hip muscle pull is starting to wear thin on my patience.

I've been doing a lot of laying down and trying to rest but the bugger just won't go away.

Thankfully it's not a bad pull, I feel tightness and actually have a knot on my muscle near my hip BUT it's not painful, for which I'm very thankful.  Unfortunately seems that these kind of muscle pulls take quite a few weeks to heal because it's in an area that is constantly being used....*sigh*

I would appreciate some prayers if you have a minute :)

Not much else is going on, my husband had weekend duty and left for work early this morning around 7 AM...it's almost 6 pm and he is still at work.  The joys of military life.  But speaking of military life, we are now officially extended for another 2 years so no retiring in October.  We're fine with it, it was a very hard decision to make but I think we made the right one.

Alright, I'm going back to laying in bed and watching some TV, I think I'm in the mood for some Road to Avonlea, what do you think???

Nighty night all. :)

Second Bird Feeder Wreath

Just to show you the second one I made......this one I used a heart shaped pan that I have, it actually goes into a springform pan, so what I did was place it on a piece of aluminum foil, wrap the foil up and tightly around the heart shaped pan.

I followed the same directions as for the bundt pan, but once I had done that, I made a big hole where I wanted to thread the fabric ribbon through.

Easy peasy and as cute as the other one :)

Bird Seed Wreath

I love making things for the home, I find that the handmade goodies are so much cuter and have so much more meaning than if you go out and buy something.

Obviously some things need to be bought but if you can make it yourself, do so, the feeling at the end as you sit back and watch, is nothing like you can imagine.

I have tons of birds that come to my feeders, from House Finches to Morning Doves to Humingbirds to Crows and a myriad of others, so I wanted to do something different, not just the usual pouring of the seed into the feeder and walking away.

A Bird Seed Wreath.....wait until you see how easy it is to make and the possibilities are endless, I already have another one drying using a different shape than the bundt cake pan I used.

Bird Seed Wreath

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup warm water

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

4 cups bird seed

bundt pan

nonstick spray


In a large bowl, stir the gelatin into warm water until dissolved. Whisk in the corn syrup and flour.  

Stir well to make a paste.

Pour the 4 cups of seeds into the paste,

start mixing, it will get really sticky but just keep mixing to make sure that everything is combined well, you don't want the wreath falling apart later.

Spray the bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.   Start spooning (*snort*) the mixture into the pan, as you spoon it in, press firmly to the bottom. 

Keep adding the rest in layers making sure to press firmly and even it out as you do.    Set it aside and leave it overnight so it will harden,

you will notice in the morning it has become really hard and looking kinda white.

Just turn the pan upside down and the wreath will slide right out....careful not to break it though.

All that's left is to tie a ribbon to it, or if you don't have a ribbon
Once the wreath is hard, gently remove it from the mold. Tie with ribbons, and hang it for birds to enjoy!!

{ Cooking Thursday }

Good morning everyone, here is today's recipe.

All you need is 1 lb of ground beef,  a little bit of water about 3/4 cups if that, 1 packet Taco Seasoning, 1 tube of refrigerated biscuits.  Then for the toppings whatever you wish:  lettuce, tomato, sour cream and shredded cheese.

Pull out the biscuits and flatten them with your hand, I stretched them a little not too much, but I wanted a size a tad bigger than the biscuit.

In a small skillet, spray with non stick spray and then cook the biscuits on each side for about a minute or two, they cook real quick and you don't want to burn them.

In another skillet, brown the ground beef, when done drain, add the taco seasoning and the water, simmer for about 3 minutes or so.

Spoon onto each biscuit, add the toppings and enjoy :)