Happy Homemaker Monday

Welcome to my Monday feature, a place where I'll be writing about my day, what I've learned the past week, any new recipes I've tried, scriptures that made an impact and everything else in between.

Every Monday, I will post a Mr Linky, you are more than welcome to join me, all you need to do is grab the button, copy the categories and fill in your answers, then come back here and add your post so that others can come and visit you.





On my bedside table:
Farm Chicks Cookbook
In the Woods by Tana French


On my TV:
Paranormal State
Dancing with the Stars


On the menu for tonight:
Slow Cooker Thai Pork


On my To Do List:
Sweep and Mop floors
Change bed linens
Wash the last load of laundry and put away


New Recipe I tried last week:
Lemon Tea Cookies from the Farm Chicks Cookbook. LOVE them!


In the craft basket:
Crochet cupcakes
Crochet Donut


Looking forward to:
Spending some time working in the backyard....love the spring weather


Homemaking Tip for this week:
One of the best plants you can keep around at home, is medicinal Aloe. I got a really bad sunburn this weekend and applied some Aloe from the plant. Immediate relief and it's so much better today.


Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
This post "Quiet Online Games for Kids" from Like Merchant Ships. My kids love playing online so I'm always looking for great sites for them.


Favorite photo from last week:

There's nothing I love more than seeing a man in uniform with his children, this one is my favorite from last week. Watching my kids with daddy, asking tons of questions about his jet and getting a tour of every single nook and cranny.

Lesson learned the past few days:
That you don't need to spend money to enjoy yourself. Just stepping out into your backyard for an afternoon with the kids, is a great way to have fun while still being at home. Have a picnic out on the patio, turn on the sprinkler and let the kids play with the water, sit under the trees and read a favorite book.


On my Prayer List:
Soldiers overseas
My family


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

Love is unselfish,
giving more than it takes,
and no matter what happens,
love never forsakes.
(A Helen Steiner Rice Collection)

"As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." Joshua 1:5 NIV

Air Show and a Sunburn!

My what a day, let me start by saying that I had forgotten how nasty the Arizona sun can get. I pretty much covered the children in sunscreen, I mean from head to toe, they were like white little sticks walking around but I didn't put much on myself and now here I sit....burnt, I mean BURNT, the good thing is that by tomorrow morning I'll be a nice caramel brown, I tan extremely easy....but still, right now I'm hating this.

Anyway, sunburn aside, we spent 4 hours at the Air Show and it was amazing. We didn't get to see the Thunderbirds because well, there so many people there and it got too packed and too hot and our feet hurt and the kids were getting cranky and we decided to just return tomorrow for their demonstration and call it good.

But the time we did spend there was great.....wait, I already said that didn't I? Maybe the sun fried my brain cells, I can't think straight. LOL

This is Curt's jet and here he is answering the kid's questions. They LOVED daddy's jet and had so many questions and observations to make.

The Thunderbirds

I can't remember the name of this plane, I apologize but I'm all airplaned out and I seem to know all the fighter jets but when it comes to these other ones, I just don't know LOL

These were so cool, I have to give props to all the pilots in these air show's, they are AMAZING!

Here are my kiddos, all decked out in pilot suits and helmets....they looked SO cute.

The rest of the photos are HERE. I'll add more tomorrow and even some great videos I got of the F-22 Raptor. BY FAR, the best aircraft in the show, personally I think it even outdoes the Thunderbirds.

I know you're probably sick and tired of hearing about this Air Show and I promise after tomorrow I will say no more about it....but for now, just enjoy LOL

I'm off to slather myself in Aloe Lotion and urge my sun burn tan to get better. Have a great night everyone!

Backyard Fun!

We have been enjoying the best weather yet, granted we're already up in the 90's and if you can believe it, I've already gotten my first tan LOL

I'm lucky, I tan extremely easy and quickly, I don't burn, I just become dark right away and this afternoon I walked by Jasmine and she says "Mommy, you got a tan, you're all caramel now" Hahahah

Anyway, I want to tell you, or actually SHOW you how we spent our afternoon. I tell you that living on a military base does have it's ups and downs, mostly ups for me because the benefits and that feeling of security far outweigh anything that may be viewed as a nuisance. One of the best things for me is having an Air Show right in my back yard.

Don't believe me? Every day we have the F-16's flying above, but when it comes to this time of the year and we have the Air Show, then our backyard becomes the stage for some of the most amazing stunts ever.

This afternoon the kids got out at 1pm and it was SO hot already that we came home and headed out to the backyard....the sprinkler was turned on and the kids got to play around in their swim gear while mama snapped pictures and videos of the air show practice RIGHT above our house.
The Thunderbirds flew so low it almost felt like you could touch them....amazing!

So here you go, just a preview of what's to come, because you can bet your sweet behind that we'll be over there tomorrow, indulging in aircrafts, watching the Thunderbirds and the parachuting and all that fun stuff.

Now how's that for our own private show? It was so much fun following the planes around and I'm so happy with my camera, the zoom on it is amazing.


The kids loved being out playing in the sprinkler and then I slathered on tons of sunblock and they sat in the sun for a few minutes enjoying the Thunderbirds above us.

It was such a great afternoon, and it left me yearning for all the summer days ahead.

I'm off to watch the last episode of Lark Rise to Candleford, I can't believe it's over, I'm so sad I don't know how I'll survive until next year waiting for the new season....I also have some more cupcakes to crochet, with so many of you interested in them, I may start making a few to giveaway and sell.

I'll leave you with a video I shot earlier, there are a couple of fly by's that I was able to shoot REALLY close, even my hubby is amazed at how awesome it looks...so enjoy.



Click To Play

Come in, come in.....sit with me a bit!

I think I should start by offering you a cookie because there's so much I want to talk about and I fear you will fall asleep or loose interest if I don't keep you entertained.....I doubt you would want to see me jump up and shake my booty. LOL

I feel like I've been running on full speed all day and am just now getting to sit for a few minutes to compose this post. Let's hope I don't forget everything I wanted to say.

So the kids had an early release day which means they were out at 1pm, I still don't understand why they don't just give them these days off, all they do is go in, watch a movie, eat a snack and come home...I am quite capable of providing the same kind of entertainment LOL

Anyway, after I picked them up, we made our way to the school Book Fair. You know me, there is no bookstore, fair, library or anything remotely to do with books, that I do not go and stick my nose in. We browsed around for a bit, it was kind of like being in pixie hollow but for books, you know the same kind of magical feeling.

You walk around completely surrounded by books on both sides, small ones and tall ones, thick ones and thin ones, bright covers and subdued tones and cookbooks and nursery rhymes and activity books and so forth. It's a battle of the mind in there, you want to get carried away but have to remind yourself constantly that you can NOT take the whole shelf LOL

After getting some books, we went over to the Parent/Teacher Conferences. Both my kids are extremely smart, and I don't say that just because they're mine, I say that because they really are. We've been blessed with good students, they are respectful to others, they are hard workers and straight A students and the teachers absolutely adore them. Makes this mommy very proud.

We arrived back home just in time to say goodbye to daddy who was making his way out the door....again the back of the uniform and the reflective belt is the last thing we see. It breaks my heart but at the same time my heart swells with so much pride and love for this man, that it all balances out. It's a good thing.

Sitting on the kitchen table waiting for me was this:

Oh YEAH, my Farm Chicks Cookbook. It's so pretty, no I mean it, it's just a beautiful pretty girly book to look at, apart from the wonderful stories inside, the history of the Farm Chicks and who they are, and the amazing recipes....it's just nice to look at.

While the kids played outside in the backyard and the roast chicken cooked inside in the oven, I sat on the grass with my book in my lap and started browsing through the pages.

I must have ooohhhhed and aaahhhhhed a million times. There's so many recipes I'll be trying soon but one I couldn't wait any longer.

See I was sitting right underneath my lemon tree and all I had to do was reach up and grab one juicy lemon and then head back inside to make their Lemon Tea Cookies. TO.DIE.FOR!

Imagine if you will a decadent shortbread topped with sweet lemon frosting. My goodness, they melt in your mouth.

While the cookies baked I stepped back outside and enjoyed watching some of the jets overhead preparing for the Air Show tomorrow. You'll see the Thunderbirds overhead and those other small stunt planes that leave the smoke trails, and you'll also see tons of these placed throughout the housing areas.

I'm just going to avoid the drama and go tomorrow when it's open just for the base residents and military personnel. I'll have tons of photos to show you I'm sure.

But while I was out there, I snapped a few more pics of my clothesline, it's become my latest fascination, I don't know what it is.

It's just so pretty. I sometimes stare up at the pegs and imagine I'm somewhere else, maybe out in the country somewhere hanging my clothes to dry, nothing but a breeze and the scent of wildflowers.

Right now though, I have barking pugs at my feet, kids asking for my attention, dinner dishes in the sink, camera batteries to charge and laundry to fold and put away. Oh well, snap back to reality and away from the country life....I best get to it....here, I'll leave the plate of cookies on hand, just help yourself.

(if you notice in the background, I just realized that some little hands have removed my cupcakes from my plate LOL....I really need to make some for them to play with otherwise I'll always be looking for the decorative ones)

Slow Cooking Thursday

Don't forget to add your name to Mr Linky and a link back to your SCT post so others can come by and see your recipe too.

As always, share your slow cooking recipes but if you REALLY REALLY don't have one and still want to participate, then you can share any kind of recipe.

We absolutely LOVE curry and I make it quite often, so I'm always on the lookout for different versions and when I saw this one at Jam and Clotted Cream....I couldn't wait to try it.

It is DELICIOUS!

CHINESE CHICKEN CURRY
(click to take you to recipe on my food blog)