{ Happy Homemaker Monday - 01/06/2020 }

Good morning friends, welcome back to my blog and to the very first Happy Homemaker Monday of 2020.

I worked on a new image, which you can see below, and I'm also adding a couple new categories, this year.

I started the Happy Homemaker Monday feature, many and I mean MANY years ago.  Since then it's gained a lot of participants and has evolved through time.  I don't like changing things up too often but I think it's been quite a while since I've changed anything regarding to our HHM, and since we are starting a new year, this seemed like the perfect time to do so.

Don't worry, if you've already done your for today using the old categories, it's perfectly fine.  You can go ahead and add the new categories from next week on.  I'll list them below to make it easier for you all.

Also, I haven't had to remind anyone of this in a long time either, but please don't change up the HHM categories on your own or make it different than what it is, because then it is no longer connected to my blog or the original.

Right, the categories from now on are going to be:

The weather
How I am feeling this morning
On my mind
On the breakfast plate
On my reading pile
On my tv
On the menu this week
From the camera
Looking around the house
Chore I'm not looking forward to today or this week
To relax this week, I will
On my prayer list
Devotional/Bible Verse


So let's get right into it, I'm looking forward to another year of Happy Homemaker Mondays.  I'm back to blogging full time, so I'll be visiting all the participants as well a the lovely ladies who leave comment on my blog.  Thank you again for always being here, even when I'm not as present as I would like to be.

{ Gratitude, God's Battle and Go Slow }

It is the 5th of January.  The whole world is filled with resolutions, plans, goals and all sorts of lists of things that people want to accomplish in the new year.

I've never been one for resolutions, I've mentioned it ad nauseum, but every year I do strive to change something or better myself in an area.  I don't pressure myself to do it because without a doubt, that simple act of telling myself to do it will send me spiraling backwards or in the complete opposite direction of where I intended to go.

{ Back to routine and a new kitchen }

I woke up around 6:30 AM yesterday morning, and decided to stay up and not give into the temptation of slipping back into a deep sleep.  I've been indulging lately, sleeping in until 8 and enjoying every minute of it.

But.....come Monday morning, hubby goes back to work and the 5:30 wake up calls begin.

I got a cup of coffee and sat down in the living room.  The house was dark and quiet, outside the wind was blowing strong enough to get my wind chimes dancing.

It was pure bliss.  Just that quiet moment, sitting in the darkness, watching the wind chime, sipping on hot coffee.

{ Stay by Catherine Ryan Hyde - TLC Book Tour }

Hardcover: 298 Pages

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (December 3, 2019)

An unforgettable novel about the power of friendship and kindness by the New York Times bestselling author of Pay It Forward.

In the summer of 1969, fourteen-year-old Lucas Painter carries a huge weight on his shoulders. His brother is fighting in Vietnam. His embattled parents are locked in a never-ending war. And his best friend, Connor, is struggling with his own family issues. To find relief from the chaos, Lucas takes long, meandering walks, and one day he veers into the woods.

There he discovers an isolated cabin and two huge dogs. Frightened, he runs. And the dogs run with him. Lucas finds unusual peace in running with the dogs, and eventually he meets their owner, Zoe Dinsmore. Closed off and haunted by a tragic past, Zoe has given up. She doesn’t want to be saved. She wants out. But Lucas doesn’t want her to go, and he sees an opportunity to bring more than one friend back into the light. It’s either the best or worst idea he’s ever had, but Lucas isn’t giving up on Zoe or Connor.

Their unexpected connection might be the saving grace that Zoe thought she’d lost, that Connor needs, and that Lucas has been running toward.

Purchase Links
Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

{ Hello January, Hello 2020 }

Good morning my sweet friends, come on in out of the cold and sit a bit with me.

I have some hot coffee and cinnamon rolls, just waiting to be dug into.

Well, it is 2020.  The much anticipated new decade.  I tend to get a little weary when a new year comes in, simply because I have no clue what is coming our way in the next 12 months.  If I look back on the previous year, so much happened that I didn't have a single clue about.  I guess that is good in a way because if we know what is to be expected, especially the not so good parts, we may live in a perpetual state of worry, right?