{ Happy Homemaker Monday - August 16}

New HHM banner

The weather in my neck of the woods:
A few scattered clouds but otherwise bright and sunny


Things that make me happy:
A clean house


Book I'm reading:
Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harries


What I'm enjoying on TV:
Haven on SyFy
True Blood on HBO
Farscape
Pillars of the Earth


On the menu for dinner:
Turkey Pot Pie


On my To Do List:
Ironing
Put away clean laundry
Sweep and Mop
Dusting
Change bed linens


New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
Butter Chicken was phenomenal. You can find the recipe on my food blog.

In the craft basket:

Granny Stripe Crochet Blanket.

Looking forward to this week:
Nothing specific so I'll just say, I'm looking forward to Friday??? LOL


Tips and Tricks:
I have absolutely nothing today, I know I know....I just didn't get much sleep last night and I'm drawing a blank.


My favorite blog post this week:
No blog reading, matter of fact, I'm about to hit READ on all my 1000+ unread blog posts.


Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):
^^^^^^^ Read post above


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

Lesson learned the past few days:
I just keep being reminded that I'm over 35 and that my weight does NOT drop as fast as it used to. It's frustrating to say the least but I guess it comes with getting older, I can no longer just pop whatever I want into my mouth and not worry about those extra pounds.


On my mind:
All the housework I have to muddle through this morning while feeling exhausted.


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Psalm 27:13

{ The Pillars of the Earth }

Ooohhh I just love a good Period Drama and I couldn't have asked for anything better than The Pillars of the Earth....Starz new TV series.

I'm sure many of you have read the book by Ken Follett, I personally haven't but I've heard nothing but great reviews on it. If you have read it then you know what this show is about but for those who haven't, here is a little burb I found online:

It follows the building of a cathedral in a town in England during the 12th century, and the drama that surrounds the project and the characters involved. Getting the cathedral built proves to be more challenging than just stacking stones as there is an ongoing struggle for power between the recently deceased king’s daughter Maud and his nephew Stephen. While some involved, including the corrupt Bishop and the Hamleigh family, use the strife for their own personal and political gain, the people of Kingsbridge, including Tom Builder and Prior Philip, attempt to get their cathedral built. From political drama, to romance and plenty of suspense, the book is more than just a story about a church being built. It’s the classic good versus evil tale where most of the characters fall firmly on one side or the other.


I'm usually a little skeptical of books turned movies and tv shows, just because there are so many examples of a good story turned bad, or a show that deviates so far off from the book that you're left wondering if it's even the same thing.

Yet, I have to admit that I'm an avid book-turned-movie viewer.

When the buzz first started about this production I went online and literally searched dozens and dozens of websites and reviews and thoughts from others eager to watch it too. Then as the trailers started emerging I got even more excited because I started seeing not only what looked to be an outstanding show but littered with familiar amazing actors, all of which I'm a huge fan of.


If you have the Starz channel, you really must give this show a shot and let me know what you think.

For those like me who don't have Starz, you can watch the episodes on Netflix, it uploads a new one every week and you get to watch in HD quality.

You can also watch Episode 1 - Anarchy and Episode 2 - Master Builder on the Starz website.


The scenery, the sets, the characters are all amazing, and I think some of my favorite all time male actors are in this series, like Matthew Macfadyen who potrays the wise, principled Prior Philip, Rufus Sewell as Tom Builder and Donald Sutherland as Bartholomew.

Now of course I'm sure those who read the book may have a totally opinion than mine and may find things on the show that are wrongly depicted or completely different, but I'm watching as a totally new viewer and so I have to go by what I see on screen, and what I see is a really good series, it's suspenseful, it's entertaining and it's definitely going to keep me tuning in each week.

{ Birthday Giveaway Winner }

First I have to start by thanking you all for the Birthday Wishes, you sure know how to make a girl feel special :)

Now for the Amazon $20 Gift Card.....I used Random.org and the number that came up was:


#5 - Flowerlady at Flowerlady's Musings

Congratulations! Your Amazon Gift Card is being sent through email, hope you enjoy it :)

{ Cooking Thursday - August 12th}

Won't you join me and share with us one of your new recipes, or an old family favorite, you can even throw in a recipe for homemade soaps or detergents (just remember to specify).

For the guidelines, you can go here.

********************************************

*Butter Chicken*
Credit: The English Kitchen
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Deliciously tender chicken breasts, dipped in egg and cracker crumbs, and then baked with butter. It's naughty, but very, very nice.

2 large eggs, beaten
8 ounces of buttery round crackers, crushed
(1 cup)
1/4 tsp garlic powder, or 1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
4 ounces butter, cut into bits
(1/2 cup)

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/Gas mark5. Place the eggs into a shallow bowl. Place the crackercrumbs into another shallow bowl and mix together with the garlic powder and the pepper. Dip the chicken breasts, first into the egg and then roll them in the cracker crumb mixture, coating them well. Place them in a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Drop the pieces of butter all around the pieces of the chicken. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink inside, the juices run clear and the crumbs are nicely browned.

{ It's my Birthday and I'll blog if I want to }

Just because I can and just because I actually woke up in a good mood which hardly ever happens on my birthday. I think the older I get, the less I look forward to this day, and so I usually don't feel anything but "darn, I'm a year older and none the wiser" LOL

I guess that's not true, I AM a little wiser, I hope.

So here I am, turning 29, it's such a great age to be isn't it? *snicker*

Truthfully I'm turning 36 years old and I don't feel it, which I think is a good thing, now if I can just keep this positive thinking going, I'll be fine LOL

I wanted to take this moment to thank you all, for being such wonderful blog readers, for always being there whenever I need a prayer or a word of encouragement, I truthfully feel like many of you have watched me and my children grow through this blog.

So won't you help me celebrate my Birthday, have a slice of cake for me or a glass of wine and in return, I'm going to be giving away a $20 Amazon Gift Card. I know it's not much, but it's my way of thanking you all.

The giveaway is open to US and Canada residents. Just leave me a comment and I'll enter your name into the drawing which will happen on Friday the 13th.