Homemaking and Thrift Store Treasures!

:::: My morning starts bright and early, I am up with hubby around 6:30am, make us both a cup of coffee and then make his lunch and iron whatever clothes he will need for the day

:::: After I saw him off to work, I sat down to check my facebook and blogs real quick, and then got dressed and started my usual homemaking.

I had a few baskets of laundry to iron, which I did, and I also gave the kitchen counters a good scrubbing and rearranged some things. I'm never going to have enough counter space in this kitchen because it's tiny AND this house doesn't have a pantry. Bummer!

:::: Next on the list was a new batch of my Amish Sourdough Starter, it's the ONLY starter I use because it's been the only one that works for me.

::::  For the past two days, my wonderful bread machine has been whipping up some yummy treats.  Yesterday was just some basic white bread, and tonight, I just finished pulling out a Cinnamon and Raisin Loaf.

My husband is the manager of a Thrift Store (lucky me) and so, I'm always being surprised by some amazing finds.  Two days ago he came home with a brand spanking new bread machine.  I don't know if you remember me mentioning a few times that my old one had broken in Arizona?  I have been looking for another for quite a while but it was never in our budget, and especially the past few months since he's retired.  Well, this one had come into the store, still in it's box and plastic etc.  By the end of his shift, it hadn't yet been bought by anyone, so he bought it for me.....at a very good price, less than $10.  YAY!!!

It will be put to good use.

:::: Yesterday morning I had run to his work to drop off some paperwork he needed, and this beauty had just been put out for sale. I snatched it up immediately, couldn't beat the price, it was also less than $10 and it's something I've been wanting for a very very very long time. Buying ham and slicing it at home is much cheaper than buying prepackaged ham, but I didn't want to slice the ham myself as I would never be able to get it thin enough. Now I can....so excited about it, will be trying it for the first time tomorrow and will tell you all about it.

:::: My beautiful Crochet Mood Blanket has been neglected, I have 3 weeks of February to catch up on, plus the first week of March. Oh boy, have a lot of work ahead of me, but I'm determined to finish it.

Now, today hasn't been very productive, save for the early morning housework/ironing session. My niece and nephew were over yesterday for school and she wasn't feeling well, and jokingly said she would pass the cold onto me. Well jokingly or not, she seems to have done just that.

Doesn't help either that last night I had to make a last minute run to Walmart and when I left the store, I was soaked by the rain.

So, sore throat, headache and a low grade fever this afternoon made for a very tiring day. I just wanted to climb into bed at 3pm and sleep this cold away, but alas, I can't.

I pushed on, took it easy, but still managed to make some dinner because my hubby was going to come home at 5pm to each quickly and then set off for his Chemistry class and his part time job, which is actually at the base commissary as the Nestle Merchandiser.

Anyway, I made some Asian Lemon Chicken Tenders which the kids loved and have asked me to make again. You can check out the recipe over at Full Bellies, Happy Kids.

I just finished watching Reign on the CW, which I really really love, it's such a fantastic show, oh and also Star Crossed, another one I am loving.  I already took my shower and am in my comfy pj's and now just waiting for Curt to get home.

I think I'm going to watch some Vlogs on YouTube to pass the time.  Soon as hubby is here, I will have a hot cup of tea with honey and lemon, take some cold meds and get into my warm bed.  I do hope I'm feeling better in the morning because I have so much I need to get done, like a trip to the library to return the books and working on my craft room a little more so that I can get some sewing done on my second quilt.

I better get on out of here, have a wonderful restful night :)

Comes tumbling down......

You know, every time something breaks or goes wrong, I'm alone in the house.  It's a given and at this point all I can do is just laugh about it, cause really stressing will do nothing at all.

Yesterday was a very quiet day for us, my niece and nephew are homeschooled by me so they come over for school time, but since yesterday was a Teacher In Service Day, we didn't have school and thankfully because I needed the day to catch up around here and to really spend some alone time with my kiddos.

They hung out in their rooms, either playing on the computer or talking to each other, while I got laundry started, did my usual housework, and moved things here and there.....then I had the Dish guy come in at 1pm to get our Dish up and running again.

We had thought about not having any cable or dish and we did try it for a while, but hubby and I do enjoy our shows and sitting down every night to watch something on TV, and this really is like a reward for us, something that we enjoy together.  We have a pretty basic package and well within our budget.

When we left Arizona our Dish account was put on hold and all he had to do was come in and reconnect everything.  While he was outside setting up the the actual dish, I tried to move our DVD storage shelving unit so that he could get to the plug which sits behind it.

I moved it a little, then another little bit, and then suddenly the bottom half just gave out, the wood split, the thing tilted to the side as if it was dancing and DVD's flew everywhere.  And there I was, holding the top half, and thanking the Lord that the man was outside and hadn't seen what just happened LOL

Needless to say, I am down a shelving unit and have a lot of DVD's just sitting around. Will have to find something else to store them.

But that was yesterday, today was another day....it started out bright and early for me and my husband, with a nice hot cup of Caramel Truffle Coffee.

While I drank it, I enjoyed the way the living room looked so early in the day. Anytime I can, I have my fairy lights on, I just love the way they look.

I didn't have anything planned, just the normal day to day routine, which reminds me, I've been so busy the past two days that I've been doing all my laundry but now have two big baskets of clothes waiting to be ironed and put away...that will have to be done first thing tomorrow morning.

Just have to show you real quick what I found at the Thrift Store the other day....a little butter churn, how adorable is that?

And another adorable thing, which I haven't been photographing much lately, is Miss Lola, but she was all over the house with me today and looked so cute that I just had to pull out the camera.

Been trying to get my craft room set up, made a little more progress in there

I kind of hijacked the broken DVD shelf for my yarn, hey it works and I need all the room I can get. But as I add things and get them done, I will show you.

Spent some time in the kitchen this morning, making a batch of Barb's Breakfast Burritos. If you've been reading my blog for a while then you'll remember me talking about them often. I love these.

Soon as I got them finished, my niece and nephew were at the door for school. We got things done pretty fast and then the kids all enjoyed each others company until it was time for them to go home. I picked up the living room a little and got straight into dinner preparation.

It's Tuesday which means my husband won't eat dinner until late, matter of fact it is now almost 9:30pm and he is not home yet. He has his full time job from 8:30am to 5pm, then he goes straight to his part time job at the Base Commissary, and then Tuesday and Thursday he has Chemistry Class too. He is soooo busy lately, but I'm extremely proud of him.

Anyway, dinner tonight was yummy and simple, just made some Lemon Grilled Chicken using my George Foreman Grill, the kids loved it. You can get the recipe for the chicken on the food blog, and also grab the one for the breakfast burritos while you're there.

My friends, I am feeling pretty tired tonight, so I'm going to sit on the couch with my girl, watch some TV and wait for hubby to get home.

Do hope you're all having a wonderful Tuesday night!

God Bless,
Sandra

Happy Homemaker Monday - 03/03/2014

Good morning my friends, how was your weekend?  Mine was good, as you already know, and now it's the start of a fresh new week, so we'll see what it brings.

I can't believe I still haven't updated the graphic for this meme, goodness, I think I need to put it on the top of my to do list for today. Alrighty, on with it.....

As I look outside my window:::
Watching a beautiful sunrise, it looks even more pretty because there are rain clouds in the sky at the moment.  I can see my deck from here and I think it needs some attention right now, hoping to spruce it up a little for Spring.  It's 45 degrees right now, but we're supposed to get to 61 degrees for most of the week, although it will be filled with rain.  Not a problem for me, I do love a good rain shower :)

Right now I am:::
Sitting at the kitchen table, eating a piece of toast and enjoying a hot cup of coffee.  I have already changed out of my PJ's and washed the dishes,  and I'm not even sure where I'm getting this energy from because I was up until 3:30 am with my husband who was having stomach cramps and vomiting...poor guy. 

Thinking and pondering:::
About Spring and how ready I am for it.  I see a few signs around but not sure winter is completely gone yet. 

On my bedside table:::
Library books, my Kindle and my Bible.

On my tv tonight:::
Monday:
Last night's Call the Midwife and The Musketeers.
Star Crossed
Tuesday:
The Little Couple
Supernatural
Wednesday:
Ghost Hunters
Thursday:
Reign
Here comes Honey Boo Boo
Friday:
Catch up on shows I missed during the week
Movies with family
Saturday:
When Calls the Heart
Sunday:
Walking Dead
Long Island Medium

Listening to:::
Mix 106 Radio

On the menu for this week:::
Oh I'm SO SO excited to share my new menu with you, because starting today I am back to cooking and trying new recipes.  I've missed that so very much. 

Monday - Honey Mustard Pork Scallopini with Rice (new recipe)
Tuesday - Lemon Grilled Chicken, Potato Salad (new recipe)
Wednesday - Smoked Sausage and Potatoes
Thursday - Cheesy Garlic Pizza
Friday - Asian Lemon Chicken Tenders, Steamed rice (new recipe)
Saturday -Grilled Steaks, Baked Potatoes, Salad
Sunday - Chicken Parmesan Meatballs, Egg Noodles (new recipe)

On my to do list:::
Ironing
Homeschooling
Get Craft/Office room done
Make a few phone calls
Wait for Dish Network to come and install dish

Happening this week:::
Nothing really planned, just the usual day to day things, homeschooling, errands, kid's activities.

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::
I have fallen so behind on my  Crochet Mood Blanket. I was going to just end it off, do the edging and call it good, but my husband convinced me to keep going and not give up on it.
Also slowly making squares for my newest lap blanket.

My simple pleasure:::
Sewing, sitting down at my machine and just tuning everything out. 

Lesson learned the past week:::
Just a reminder that time flies and you need to make every moment count.

Looking around the house:::
It's very quiet and neat and tidy, I don't need to clean anything today actually LOL
Nicholas is awake and is on the couch playing on his laptop with Miss Lola sleeping next to him. 

From the camera:::

 

Prayer List:::
My friends and family, with whatever it is that they may be going through. 

Bible verse, Devotional:::
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV

PLEASE, don't add links to this list that are not part of the Happy Homemaker Monday. I've asked numerous times, and I'm frankly quite tired of having to remove links to other posts that shouldn't be in this list. Please be respectful of my request!

Easy Sunday!!!

Oh what an easy, quiet, productive Sunday it was.

Woke up early this morning and watched the sun beginning to rise.  I just love watching the sun making it's entrance, creeping up over the horizon and slowly starting to bathe the world in glorious golden tones.

I got the coffee going, and while I waited for that, I just sat at my kitchen table, quietly, enjoying the silence.

I wanted to get quite a bit done today, and I managed to do it. First thing was the kitchen, I cleaned out and organized the cabinets. They were driving me insane. I am so weird in that my cabinets need to be neat and everything packed in it's proper place, but for the past few months I've just basically thrown things in there, there were just too many items for a family of 8 and not enough room to keep things like I wanted.

Glad to report that it's all nice and tidy now.

Also gave the refrigerator a good cleaning, threw out things that were expired or close to expired.  That was another one that was just crazy looking, things everywhere and not how I like them.  I feel better now that they are semi organized, still not exactly how I like it because this fridge is so old and falling apart.  Definitely one thing I WON'T miss about this house.

Washed the dishes, gave the counters a good cleaning, moved things here and there etc.

My herbs are doing great on the window sill, they just make me happy and remind me daily that Spring is just around the corner.  Above you can see my garlic on the left and my Sweet Basil on the right.

Picked up some fresh Tulips from the store.  I love having fresh flowers in the house and I love Pink, and I love pink and flowers with crochet....so there.....a little of each equals a big smile on my face.

So here is my Thrift Store find, an old sewing machine table.  It brings back so many memories of my grandmother sewing.

I just can't wait to have it set up, with my sewing machine on and my thread and my basket.

The fourth bedroom, which was previously Nicholas' is going to be turned into a craft/school/office room.  I'm hoping to move my yarn there, my rocking chair, etc.  Can't wait to see it all together, and I DO have a quilt that is still waiting to be finished so this will give me the incentive I need to get going.

Also hoping to get a bookshelf in so I can get the kid's school supplies all packed away neatly, but for now we've been using this stackable baskets, they work great and they're light enough for them to move from room to living room etc when needed. For now though, I'm stacking them into the empty closet until I get that shelf up.

And that's basically what I was busy with. I finished getting the kids all moved into their new bedrooms, also started on the living room, going to move some things around to make it a little more functional for us.

Will share photos when it's all done or as I go along.

I ended the day by making a big pan of Buffalo Chicken Lasagna for dinner, the family came over to eat and watch Walking Dead, so that was fun.

The recipe will be up in the morning on my food blog, which I am so very excited to start updating again, it's another thing that got put on the back burner for the past few months.

Anyway, that was my Sunday, have a busy week ahead but looking forward to it.

Going to get into my warm bed, turn on the TV and see if there's something on to watch until I fall asleep. I'll be back in the morning with our Happy Homemaker Monday.

Sandra
xoxoxo

Week in Review....New Month...and I'm BACK!

Well first and foremost, happy 1st of March.  Can you believe it?

I almost can't because it seems like just yesterday we were celebrating Christmas, and now here we are on the very first day of March.

Oh my friends, where have I been?  My poor blog has been so neglected lately and all the good intentions in the world just didn't give me the time and attention that was needed to keep updating on a daily basis.

But guess what?  I have some news to report.  Today we helped my brother and his family settle into their new home.  It's been 8 months in the making and now they are finally in their own place, setting up their house and beginning a new chapter in their lives.

It's been a hard 8 months for us all, many sacrifices on both parts, many tears and many laughters, but through it all the love we have as a family has sustained us and helped us adapt to all the changes that were going on for both families.

For me one of the hardest parts of it all, was not being able to continue blogging and recording my daily life as I have grown so accustomed to doing. I've missed my camera, I've missed taking some time to just photograph a moment in my day and sharing it with you.

It was like a big part of me became dormant, and now it's back and I'm raring to go, and so eager and happy to get back into my old routine.

So yes, starting tomorrow, you can expect normal blogging filled with snippits of my day, crafts, crocheting and my cooking which also took a back burner for the past few months.

It's not easy cooking for such a large amount of people, you have to rely on filling, easy, inexpensive meals, which meant new recipes was not an option for us.  But, now I can do that again and you all know how much I love cooking :)

Right, so with that out of the way, let me show you just a few shots that I took of my super busy week.

:::::  Enjoying some yummy candy that reminds me of home *Liquorice All Sorts*

:::::  Early morning stolen moments for crocheting.  Got up very early while the whole household was asleep, sat on my bed, enjoyed some coffee and crochet.

::::: Mid afternoon break, right between homeschooling ending and the preparation of dinner beginning. Some crochet and a few shortbread cookies.

::::: The start of meal planning

Thursday I had to go and take my written test for my new Idaho Driver's License.  When you move to Idaho, you need to get an Idaho Driver's License and for that, you must take the written test again.

I studied and studied and even did online tests etc.  I was so nervous, I've never been one to like testing of any kind and I really didn't want to have to fail it and keep going back.

I did manage to pass but I was shaking the whole time, and it was quite frustrating because some of the questions were worded so weird, it's a miracle I even got the correct answer.  LOL

Thankful though that is out of the way.

:::::  Mid day recharge with a hot cup of coffee.  Needed the energy to keep going.

:::::  Morning after an all night thunderstorm.  I love how the grass seems to glisten in the sun.

So that is basically what my week consisted of, with some more driving kids around to different activities, a full day of errands and back and forth, homeschooling, puppy babysitting and potty training and the usual craziness of a full house.

I am missing them all at the moment, just not used to being us 4 again, but I know it's a good thing for both families.  Much as we love being together, we all need our space too.

Tomorrow we're going to be busy around here.  Jasmine has moved back into her bedroom, which was being used by my brother and sister in law.  Nicholas is being moved from his old tiny bedroom into the room the girls were sharing because it's bigger.  The 4th bedroom will be turned into a homeschooling/office area.

So lots of organizing and moving and changing etc.  I also have a full day of laundry to catch up on, bed linens and curtains and odds and ends and I want to change my living room around a tiny bit. 

The family will be coming over for dinner and to watch Walking Dead which we always do on Sunday nights, so it should be fun.

I'm also going to show you some great Thrift Store finds I got the past few days, 3 items I've been looking for, for a while and so glad I found them :)

Alrighty, it's bed time for me, I'm beyond exhausted.  Have a restful blessed night!