Today!

Happy Homemaker Monday - 03/04/2013

Good Morning all :)

And another week ahead.  We spent a good weekend, had fun, enjoyed the warm sun and replenished our souls with energy for the week ahead.  Hope it's a good one.


The Weather:::
Warm, matter of fact this weekend we hit the high 80's and I got my first tan.  The rest of the week we'll be in the high 70's with some possible rain on Friday.

Right now I am:
Enjoying my Hazelnut coffee and a fresh bread roll slathered with butter.  I'm a dunker, I have always dunked my buttered bread into my coffee, anyone else do that? 

Thinking:
That my Hyacinths are starting to smell wonderful, thinking that my tulips and daffodils are done blooming so I need to take care of the bulbs and put them away for next year.

On my reading pile:::
Bible
Little House on the Prairie
The Pioneer Sampler

On my tv::: 
Mr Selfridge Episode 9 (this series will be coming to PBS soon and I think you will love it as much as I do)
Portuguese Soaps - Tempo de Viver, Doida por Ti, Destinos Cruzados, Louco Amor
Call the Midwife Episode 7
Ripper Street
The Bible (if you want to watch and don't have cable, you can find links to last night's episode here) or watch below:




Favorite Blog post this week (mine or other):::
Our Daily Bread by Mias Landliv


Something fun to share:::
One of my favorite sites online is Specialty Bottles, they sell all sorts of bottles, containers, metal tins etc.  I buy from them because I do find them to be quite cheap. 

On the menu for this week:::


Monday - Meat Lasagna with Homemade Noodles
Tuesday - Breaded Fish Fillets, Veggies
Wednesday - Uncle Wilson's Stuffed Peppers
Thursday -  Chalupas
Friday - Turkey Pot Pie with Pepper Biscuit Topping
Saturday -Bacon Burgers, Fries
Sunday -Creamy Chicken Manicotti

On my to do list:::
Laundry - Not something I do often, so excited for it *dripping with sarcasm*
Homeschooling
Some things to paint
Housework

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::
Started the crochet blanket, it will be made with 3 different blocks.  It is going to take me quite a while to get done, but that's ok, I'll be making other little things in between.
Making some Easter decorations.

Homemaking Tips:::
Sundays are my afternoon in the kitchen days.  I usually make a big batch of cookies for the jar, make breakfast burritos for the week, make all the salads for hubby's lunch.
Something else I do is make a huge batch of pancakes and waffles, pop them in the freezer, and the kids have a quick breakfast for the week. 

Looking around the house:::
Sun has already risen so it's seeping through the curtains and giving a beautiful glow to the living room.
Kids are asleep, hubby is at work and I'm sitting here quietly with my cute pug girls, typing this up.
I have dishes in the sink that need to be washed, a few things in the living room that need to be picked up and some laundry to get through.

From the camera:::
My Spanish Lavender

On my prayer list:::
My brother and sister in law.  They need some papers desperately for an interview, and they have been waiting for 5 months.  Please pray for them, this is SO important, it is literally a life changing thing.  I can't go into details but would appreciate prayer.

Bible verse, Devotional:::
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 NIV

Sunday Happenings!

Lunch......White Castle Sliders




More spring decorations are creeping out.  The eggs are not yet finished, I gave them one coat and will give them another tomorrow as well as some speckling.



Start of my crochet blanket, it will be made of 3 different block patterns, here are the first two





Rest of the day was spent gardening, spending time with my family and grilling :)

Hope your Sunday has been wonderful too. 

Signs of Spring!

Oh it's upon us, it is really upon us.  Can you smell that???

Everywhere I am surrounded by signs of spring, it's on the ground, it's in the trees, it's in the air.

And guess what?  I even got my first tan today while working in the yard.  Yep.  Thankfully I tan extremely easy and I don't burn, I go from white to golden brown in a matter of minutes.

It's 6pm, and it's just the kiddos and I.  My husband is off dressed in his Knight Armor, at the Maintenance Awards Ceremony.  His squadron is the Emerald Knights, so they always ask him to show up all decked out.  He loves it, but that stuff weighs a ton, seriously, he always ends up bruised afterwards.

I honestly can imagine how the knights rode around all day in those things, I can't even imagine them trying to mount a horse.  LOL  Honestly gives me the giggles, for I know if it were me, I would be dragging myself on the ground.

So yeah, he is off doing that tonight, and it's just us.  Kids are playing on the Wii and I thought I would take a few moments to jot some thoughts down, tell you what I've done today, show you some photos and then start on my new Crochet Blanket which I'm super excited about.

First thing in the morning, there he is, ready for dog food. I just can't with this bird, he cracks me up.

Hubby and I were up pretty early this morning, you would think on the weekend we would sleep in late since we're up at 5am each morning, but we do go to bed early, usually by 10:30pm on a weekend we're all asleep.

After enjoying some coffee and some chit chat, I got my grocery list finished off, and I was off to the store. Picked up some lunch on the way home to surprise everyone, it's something I hadn't really done for a long time.

After a quick bite to eat, I set right to putting all the groceries away. I usually get the fridge/freezer stuff packed away and then eat something before continuing because I KNOW it will take me forever.

Ugh, I don't mind shopping but getting everything put away is a chore I kind of dislike. So I rewarded myself with a slice of Triple Chocolate Cake.

Chocolate does make everything better....chocolate and prayer.

I've been wanting to plant some flowers out front, these desert landscape houses are so ridiculously ugly. Some of the houses on base have grass (our previous one did), and then others like our current one is what they call desert landscape, so we get rocks, river stone and brown everywhere and it's quite depressing. So many of us try to change it up a little and bring in some color by planting flowers.

Hubby and I got all the soil down, the seeds planted, the water running etc. It felt wonderful to be outside, and we've been in the upper 80's today.

My inside plants are doing so well, I just have to show you my newest blooms...

Spanish Lavender, smells divine already.

And is there anything as pretty as the Lavender flower?

Maybe not, although the Hyacinths come pretty close. Here are my blue ones...

I just can't wait until the fragrance starts coming through

I also have a pretty pink Hyacinth

My kitchen window is a sea of green lately. I am drying herbs as well, just hung some twine across the window to hang them

So far I have Parsley, Cilantro and Thyme drying.

And on the window sill? Some more celery I'm regrowing.

Did a little more reading this afternoon, not for very long, but that's the beauty of a book, you can catch a few words here or there, carry it around with you wherever you go and read as much or as little as you need to.

Now let me show you my color choices for the new blanket. It's not my usual choice of colors, but I think the end result will be beautiful.

The pattern comes from my 200 Crochet Blocks book, and it's called Floral Fantasy. It's greens and pinks, a pop of purple, a tiny drop of blue and even some brown accents.

I'm excited, as I always am in the beginning of a new project, I'm sure halfway through I'll be wishing for it to hurry up and end and wonder why I got into it to begin with, but that's when I'll start doing smaller projects in between so I don't tire out.

Will show you the progress as it goes.

Have you started anything lately, what is the latest project you're working on?

Hello March!

Well, here we are, the first day of March, and I'm still trying to understand just how we got here so fast.  Were we not just celebrating Christmas a few days ago?

Goodness gracious, slow down time, just slow down and let me catch up.

Signs of spring seem to be all around me, in the beautiful flowers blooming all around me, to the green seedlings popping up on the ground, the green leaves on the trees and the dead brown grass that is now turning green in the backyard.

It makes me so happy, Spring is such a joyous time for me.

Every morning I open the door to the back yard, for my pugs to go potty, and this fellow comes flying to the chair right next to the door, waiting.....for dog food. No kidding!

He will hop around there and then sometimes walk right into the house, grab some dog food and fly to his nest. Stinker!

It is quite funny to see, though I wonder if he'll one day start barking. LOL

Puttered around with my yarn today, looked, reorganized, mixed and matched colors here and there, tried this and that, all while trying to decide what my next project would be.

I have a blanket figured out, and will start working on it tomorrow, but for today I wanted something super quick to make, and you can never have too many cute dishcloths and doilies around the house. One thing I like to do when I find a really cute dishcloth is to use it as a doily instead.

I grabbed a few colors from this basket, found the pattern I wanted to use and within about 45 minutes had it finished. For those interested, it's called the Be My Valentine Dishcloth from Sugar N' Cream.

Sometimes, those are the best crochet projects for me, the quick and rewarding ones.

Not sure if you can notice the light blue color, it was hard to get a picture that showed the exact color of that blue, but it's a very pale one.

Since it was payday, I got all my bills paid, and I did manage to finish that menu plan.  Whew!

Kids and I ran to the commissary for a few things for dinner as I'll only be going grocery shopping sometime this weekend.

After returning home and enjoying a quick lunch, Jasmine and I messed around with our nails for a while.  I have to tell you, I'm so happy that my daughter loves England and everything English as much as I do.

She even tells me that her plans are to go study in England, and she always says she wants to marry a cute English boy.  Hahahah

Anyway, since she's such a huge UK fanatic, we decided to have some fun with nail art and even though they're not perfect...like at ALL, I do so love her new nails.

And here's another look, she was drinking tea in her Doctor Who mug.

Aside from the cuteness factor, it's always great spending time with her. I believe that these teenage years are so crucial in a young girls life and I'm happy and blessed to know that my daughter enjoys spending time with me, chatting about what she is interested in, talking about boys and all that other fun stuff. Hope it goes on for many years.

Before I end this post, I wanted to share something with you.

I often go back through my blog and read old entries, it's a great way to reminisce and to think back on different times, where I was, what I was doing, my children as little ones, and so forth.

I came across a post I did back in 2008 called "I am from...." and it brought tears to my eyes.

The very first thing I saw was a photo that I took of my grandmother's hands as she baked.  Beautiful!

That alone put a lump in my throat, but the entry itself made me cry, it reminded me of where I came from and what wonderful things have molded me into who I am today.  It is a beautiful testament of  my life and was such a pleasure to write at the time.

I ask you to read it, and then if you so feel inclined, to write one yourself, and if you do please let me know, because I would love to read it :)

I AM FROM.....

I am from aprons and greatgrandmothers cooking in the kitchen, from tea with milk in the morning and wholesome homemade food for dinner.

I am from a seaside town, from fresh seafood and big family gatherings. From the smell of the ocean and the sound of the seagulls, from the narrow roads and the sound of kids playing outside until after sunset, from cashew nuts and warm afternoons on white sandy beaches.

I am from palm trees, from dense scrub-brush and impressive palm groves, from waves washing onto the beach and tourists sun tanning.

I am from big family dinners, talking and singing, from a loving family, from Ema and Eduardo and Odete and Julio, from Jacinta and Antonio. I am from skillful hands, and loving hearts. From talented singers and painters.

I am from Christian family loving people, from dinner tables set for twenty, from beer bottles and wine, from talking too loud and laughing too much. From survivors of the Independence War in Mozambique, from fighters and courageous souls. From Portuguese, Brazilian and French.

I am from "wear a coat or you'll get sick" and from "don't go swimming right after you eat, wait at least 3 hours".

I am from Mozambique and from Portugal, from big plates of prawns and curry, from steaks and fries and from sweet rice pudding.

From the men who went to war during the independence and fought with all their hearts, from the greatgrandmother and grandmother who bought me little toy pots and pans to practice cooking, from grandfather Julio who loved life and loved to laugh, from grandfather Antonio who was a brilliant guitar player and accompanied one of Portugal's famous Fado singers.

I am from old photographs kept in boxes in the closet, from photo albums stained from age barely holding together the memories of years gone by, from crocheted pot holders created by loving hands and big family trips by car.