{ Rain and Crochet }

It's been a week of rain, taking it easy, and quite a bit of crochet.

Even though the temperatures have been in the 80's, we have had quite a few storms roll on through, which I love, but my husband on the other hand gets frustrated because the grass grows faster, which means more mowing LOL

Usually when we get up at 6am, the sun is starting to come up, but due to the weather it's been quite dark and the other morning was downright foggy.  I do like how it looks though, it makes the house seem cozier and warmer.

I've spent the past few mornings, in the quiet and stillness of the house, crocheting.

Catching up on some projects I have laying around, continuing with new ones and just enjoying the monotonous back and forth of hook and yarn, watching it go from simple knots and pulls through loops into something that sometimes is very reminiscent of a work of art.

I've always found crocheting relaxing and especially during times of craziness or worry or stress, it tends to ground me and keep me in the moment, allowing every negative thought to dissipate from my mind.

What you see above is the third square of the Nuts About Squares blanket.  I am enjoying it so very much, each square is beautiful in it's own way and I can't wait to see it all put together.



In between these squares I'm picking up my Mandala Madness and pushing through.  I'm on row 66 of Part 10 which is a monster of a row to make, not even joking, I feel like I've been stuck on this same row for 10 years.  It is tedious, it takes an insane amount of concentration which I can't always do when I have so many other things going on at once.

But I love this Mandala so much, I'm determined to not set it aside and forget it.

I've also been indulging in the ID Discovery Channel which if you are not aware, is basically a bunch of crime shows, and oh my word, do I enjoy that, maybe a bit more than I should, but I find them so fascinating.

And speaking of which, did any of you watch the Casey Anthony special last week?

I remember watching the trial and the whole story unfold back in 2008, I was glued to the screen watching the trial live and was absolutely shocked when she was found not guilty.  Craziness right there.

This week we've also been working on getting caught up and ahead with school work so that we can maybe finish earlier than anticipated.  To be honest, I'm about done with school at this point in time, and so are the kids.

Jasmine's cap and gown came in for her graduation next month, I can't believe it's almost that time.  My baby girl is graduating high school and starting her life and I am left feeling like she was just 3 years old the other day and I'm nowhere near ready for any of this.  But such is life, right?

We're throwing her an 18th birthday party, she didn't want anything special, matter of fact didn't even want any sort of party but I feel like it's her 18th and it's probably the last one we'll be celebrating with her as a family of 4, so I have to make it a bit of a big deal.

Last week we had a get together for my Nick's 14th Birthday, another one that I'm shocked at how fast he's grown.

That was his cake and believe me when I tell you that everything that could have gone wrong with this cake, went wrong.  I had a really sore finger from a burn as well so I struggled a bit to get it done, but I had to do it for him and he really liked it.  That's all I cared about :)

So, yes, lots of things happening, a lot of events coming up as well as financial commitments we are working through, big things being paid off within the next 2 months and so forth.

We have plans for our yard, things we want to do to it and plant and fix etc.

We have family things planned, cabins at the lake, hopefully camping this summer.  Just living and making the best of every single day.

Tomorrow morning we are heading to our local Farmer's marker, they are having a Spring/Easter themed market day so that should be nice to see, I'll take my camera and grab some photos.

The rest of the day will be spent getting ready for Easter Sunday, I'll be making my usual Hot Cross Buns, also making a Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf, doing laundry, cleaning the house, watching some more crime shows and crocheting.

Sunday we'll be having the family over for Easter Lunch so I'll be sure to take pictures of that as well.

I do hope you all have a blessed wonderful Easter weekend, that you spend it with those you love the most and that above all, you keep in mind the real reason for this holiday. 

We have an amazing God, and every year, around Easter I feel so incredibly blessed, happy and even sad that he had to die for our sins. 

Have a great rest of Friday night friends,

Sandra
xoxoxo

{ Weekly Meals in Review }

Hi everyone, I thought I would come in and show you what our last week of meals looked like.  I thought it would be a good idea to start taking pictures of our nightly meals and doing a weekly roundup, including recipe links if available.

Might give someone inspiration for their own meals or help coming up with menu plans, so I hope you enjoy :)

Monday
Better than Olive Garden's Fettucine Alfredo



Tuesday
(we were are testing so I picked up some sub sandwiches for dinner)

Wednesday
Baked Salmon, Garlic and butter potatoes, salad

Thursday
Baked Manicotti, Salad

Friday
Beef Curry

{ Happy Homemaker Monday - 04/10/2017 }

Good morning everyone, how was your weekend?

Mine was, once again, busy.  Folks, I'm so ready for a relaxing quiet weekend of doing absolutely nothing.  I think I can count on one hand, how many of those I've had since moving to Texas.  Good grief.

Anyway, let's see what is going on this week.   

The weather:::
We've had wonderful warm spring/summer like weather, and I'm very much enjoying it.  There's some rain expected on Wednesday and Thursday but nothing too bad, at least for the moment they're not expecting anything bad, but in this State you never know.


On my reading pile:::
I actually started Diana Gabaldon's Lord John Series.  I wanted something along the lines of Outlander since I have to wait so long for the new season to come out.  I've heard very good things about this Lord John series, so hopefully I enjoy it.   


Movies or Shows I watched this weekend:::
I've been catching up on Reign, also tried to watch a few on the DVR list so I can clear that out.


On my TV:::
General Hospital
Dr Phil (if it's a new one)
Recorded the first part of the new Casey Anthony documentary that started last night.  I remember this case very well, I followed it closely, watched the trial and bawled my eyes out when she was found not guilty, so I'm interested in what this new documentary may show.


On the menu for this week:::

Monday
Hamburger Noodle Bake
Tuesday
Meatballs in Brown Gravy, Mashed Potatoes  
Wednesday
Olive Garden Minestrone Soup and Breadsticks
Thursday
Chicken with tomatoes and carrots, Rice, Butternut Squash
Friday 
*Grocery Shopping....new menu will kick in* 
Saturday

Sunday
Easter....Deviled Eggs, Honey Ham, Potato Bake, Vegetables, Fried Fish, Pickled Fish, Hot Cross Buns


On my to do list:::
Monday - Clean the house from yesterday's get together
Tuesday - Finally continuing with spring cleaning, Den.
Wednesday - Spring Clean Living Room
Thursday - Spring Clean Kitchen
Friday - Grocery Shopping, Running Errands
Saturday - Yard Work


What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::
Plodding along with the Nuts About Squares blanket.  Have all 3 squares for the first week done, and the first square for the second week, have to make 2 more squares before Friday.


That's week one on the left and week 2 on the right.  I'm using blue, green and tan for the squares and grey for the outer 2 rows.

Looking around the house:::
Needs major picking up today, have all the remnants of yesterday's get together, just laying around.  Have tables to pick up, dishes to do, vacuuming etc.  Aside from that the rest of the house is clean.


From the camera:::
Nick's birthday is not until tomorrow, but yesterday was the day that some family could come up and see him, one of them being my mother in law who is battling breast cancer again and going through treatments.  I wasn't planning on doing anything this week but when I heard she would be able to come see us, I threw a really simple get together.  I needed to get a cake done and made my usual marshmallow fondant, but it didn't go very well, it wasn't smooth, it was lumpy and bumpy.  I wasn't too happy with it, but the cake still turned out ok.  Nick liked it and that is what matters :)

What I'm wearing today:::
It's pretty nice here today, should see a high temp of 76 and since I have cleaning and such to do, I will probably throw on some shorts and a tank. 


One of my simple pleasures:::
Having family over for a get together.  It is a lot of work, and I'm exhausted by the time everyone leaves, but I just love having people over. 


Bible verse, Devotional::: 
John 19:30
30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

{ The Past Few Days }

So last week Thursday I did my Spring Cleaning post and then I wasn't able to get any spring cleaning done because we've had really bad weather, strong storms, tornado watches and so forth.

You're probably wondering what any of that has to be with my spring cleaning, but I want to carpet clean and open windows and wash them inside and out, and can't exactly do that with a tornado watch, high winds and hail.

I'm hoping to get things started this week but unfortunately we are going to be busy with the State Testing tomorrow and Thursday, which just sucks.  I honesty wish I could opt out of these tests.

Anyway, so Saturday morning I had to run and get the groceries, and it was literally a *run and get* because I had to come back, get things put away and get on the road to Oklahoma City by 10:30 am.

I managed to get all the frozen and fridge items put away and then literally shoved the rest of the bags in the pantry for when I returned.   I was thinking that I would be home sometime around 3pm but ended up not walking in the door until almost 7pm.  Really didn't feel like putting anything away, but I did anyway, and I filmed a grocery haul as I did it too.  I'll put it up tomorrow.

But....I'm sure you're wondering about the blessing I mentioned last week.  Well, that was exactly the reason that took us 2 hours north.

But let me rewind a couple years, and tell you a little story.

About 14 years ago when my father in law passed away, Curt and I really wanted his truck. It meant the world to Curt to be able to have his dad's truck, unfortunately we had no way of affording it and were heartbroken to see it sold to someone else.

We are currently a one car family and have been needing a second vehicle for a while, but we have quite a few financial commitments (a lot brought on by our move to Texas), and haven't been able to afford anything. We put it in God's hands and have just waited for the right vehicle to come our way, and preferably a truck.

A few days ago that blessing materialized. To some it may just be a simple truck, but to us, and especially to Curtis, it means the absolute world. See this isn't just any truck that God placed in our way, this was Uncle Mike's truck. The right price, the right time and from a wonderful family member.

Curt wasn't able to have his dad's vehicle, but he got his uncle's (dad's brother), and that is the closest thing to perfect. This literally made his year

That is what we went up there for, to pick up the truck.

It is a huge blessing to our family, and let me tell you, this truck is going to not only help us but my husband is so happy and I just know he is going to treasure his Uncle's truck.

While up in Oklahoma, we took our aunt to lunch at an amazing Indian restaurant.  She is an incredibly strong woman and her strong faith sustained her through all of his cancer treatments and through his passing and is continuing to keep her going.  She does have her days, obviously, and when we showed up on Saturday she was in desperate need of some family hugs and family time.

Thankfully we managed to make her feel better and even got a few good laughs and smiles out of her.

Here is a picture we took right before we left.  My brother and sister in law drove up there with us, so that they could drive my car back.

Sunday, Curt and I spent cleaning out the garage, giving it a good tidying up and clean up so that we could fit his truck in there too.  We managed to get a lot of stuff thrown out which we've been wanting to do for a while but didn't have a big truck to haul it all, so this again was a huge blessing.

So a busy weekend was had and I really could have used a bit more rest time before starting this crazy week but, it is what it is.

I do have a few photos to share with you.  I did spring clean the foyer/entry way.

Washed all the walls, bleached them actually.  Vacuumed every crook and cranny.  Washed the doors and glass panels, front door, windows, and the floors too.  Looks and smells so clean and that's the first part of the house you walk into, so all the better.

Spring is well under way, just look at all this greenery. 

My yard is filled with birds of all species.  It's wonderful sitting outside and not only watching them all, but listening to them.  I think it's one of the perks of living in the country, all you are surrounded by is nature and it's sounds and nothing more.

I also started the new crochet blanket and I intended to take pictures of the finished block and completely forgot, now it's too dark to do so, will wait until tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, it's our first day of testing and I have to drive out 45 minutes for it.  It will just be Nick testing tomorrow, and then Thursday we'll have to return for one last test for Nick and a US History test for Jasmine.  She wasn't supposed to test at all and on Friday they decided that all kids need to take the test.  Oh well!!!

I need to get off here and go get my stuff ready for the morning as we need to leave pretty early.  I am taking my laptop and Kindle with me, I'm sure I'll be able to use one or the other.  If I am able to be on the laptop I'll get some computer work done, if not, then I my books on the Kindle.

I'm going to start Diana Gabaldon's The Lord John Series, it's been sitting on my Kindle for well over a year now, as well as some of her other books.  I'm just hoping to find some books to tide me over until Outlander returns in September.  And I'm also hoping this kick starts my love for reading again.

I'll probably take my crochet with me as well so I can work on the third square before the new square is released this week.

He'll be testing at 9am and then again at 12:30pm, so I don't plan on being home until late afternoon.  Busy tiring day I'm sure.

Anyway, I really do need to get my things ready for the morning.  Have a wonderful blessed night friends :)

{ Happy Homemaker Monday - 04/03/2017 }

Good morning friends, hope you all had a great weekend and are ready for the week ahead.

I had a good weekend, albeit busy and I feel like I didn't really get to relax and take it easy, guess I have to wait until next weekend for that :)

So let's see what's going on in our Happy Homemaker Monday shall we? 

The weather:::
Insane.  We had horrible weather and dangerous storms, tornado watches etc. since last week Friday.  It got pretty bad on Saturday as we drove back from Moore Oklahoma.  The rest of the week is looking good though, no rain just some wind, which by the way is KILLING my allergies, oh my word, but we'll be in the upper 70s and 80s.


On my reading pile:::
Umm....well......you see.......maybe I should just remove this category for now.  I am still on the same book.  It's frustrating because I used to be such an avid reader, always had a book by my side and now it's this....terrible.  But, I do have state testing this week, so I think I'm going to pack my book and take it with me while I wait for the kids to test. 


Movies or Shows I watched this weekend:::
Didn't watch any movies, we weren't home much of the weekend.  The one thing I did manage to watch was the new documentary that came out on Charles Manson.  Truth and Lies:  The Family Manson.  It was quite interesting!!!


On my TV:::
General Hospital
Dr Phil (if it's a new one)
Started Black Mirror, but I don't know, it's a very strange show so I'm not sure I'll keep going.  Curt loves it though.  Weird that man hahah


On the menu for this week:::

Monday 20th
Beef Curry with Basmati Rice
Tuesday 21st
Baked Salmon and Garlic Potatoes  
Wednesday 22nd
Mongolian Beef with Rice
Thursday 23rd
Sausage Manicotti, Cast Iron Foccacia
Friday 3rd
Fried Chicken with Milk Gravy, Mash 
Saturday 4th
Hamburger Noodle Bake, Green Beans
Sunday 5th
Celebrating Nick's 14th Birthday - Barbecue with family


On my to do list:::
Monday - Bake Victoria Sponge Cakes for hubby's work, finish laundry, clean and vacuum my car
Tuesday - Out for State Testing
Wednesday - Spring Clean Living Room and Den
Thursday - Out for State Testing
Friday - Shopping for Birthday Party food.
Saturday - Make Nick's Birthday cake


What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::
Remember how I said I really don't like Crochet Alongs?  Well I really really really don't.  But here's the thing, I love It's all in a Nutshell from Esther.  She has helped me so much with my crocheting on the big projects, if it weren't for her I think I would still be trying to get finished with my Sophie's Universe.
Esther has been planning a CAL for over a year, and she's finally released it last week.  The thing about this one though is that we'll be making 3 squares at a time, which will keep me busy in between releases.  So I'm working on that now....Nuts About Squares Blanket.

Here's the first square, right before I added the last two rows in grey.  I'll take more pictures later.

 


Looking around the house:::
Just the usual pick up.  Kids leave dishes all over the living rooms, Marley leaves his toys all over the living rooms too.  I need to vacuum, open windows and fluff couch pillows etc.  Also have to do dishes in the kitchen, but other than that, it's a clean house.


From the camera:::
Remember last week I told you about a second blessing for us?  Well here's a peek, and yes I'll be back after this post with another post all about it :)  

What I'm wearing today:::
As usually, still in pj's at this time, but right after this post I'm going to get dressed.  I have a busy day of baking and cleaning so throwing on some comfy shorts and a top, and some flip flops. 


One of my simple pleasures:::
Making homemade things, whether in the kitchen, or a cleaning product or a craft for the home.  Just love being able to say that I made it myself :)


Bible verse, Devotional:::