{ The Great Plains and homey stuff }

Oklahoma.  Land of horrible roads, but beautiful scenery.

I have always loved traveling through the State.  The very first time we drove through it was many many years ago, when we were still stationed in Mountain Home, Idaho.  Nicholas wasn't even dreamed of at the time, and Jasmine was a tiny 6 month old.

We made the 22 hour trip, going through Kansas, down through Oklahoma City and into Lawton to visit my in laws.  We were young, it was our first real road trip and we didn't know any shortcuts to make the trip shorter.

Aside from the car trip being long and boring, one thing stands out for me, and that was the drive through Oklahoma.  Coming from Idaho and traveling through Utah, Wyoming and Colorado which is surrounded by mountains as far as the eye can see, it was quite a shock seeing nothing but flat land for miles around.

But I quickly fell in love with the plains.  Miles and miles of green land, cattle, little ponds here and there and hay bales.  It was beautiful, it was peaceful and I never got tired of looking out the window.

When we went to the Renaissance Faire on Saturday, we traveled through Oklahoma and once again I was reminded of just how beautiful it is.  I still dream of a ranch house surrounded by acres and acres of land, horses, chickens and cows and all that.

A girl can dream right?

My Easter flowers are still going strong, well, for the most part, there are a few that are starting to wilt and that's expected, but I do enjoy the pop of color they bring to my bedroom.

I've started growing some herbs.  You have no idea how many times I think back to our home in Arizona and miss all my herbs, it broke my heart to have to leave them behind.

But never mind that, I'm starting my herb collection again and so far I have parsley, cilantro, chives and basil growing.  Oh and of course I planted some Lavender because, well, I had to, it's stronger than me.  Hahah

Spring is now in full force, our yards are littered with hundreds of birds, chirping and flying from tree to tree.

I actually took a little video yesterday and put it on Instagram.  I had stepped outside with the dogs and couldn't believe just how loud the chirping was, it was almost like being in a bird sanctuary.

That feeling is like nothing else.  It's why I will never willingly live in a city again and why I will always choose the country life.

With the busy life I've had the past few months, or year actually, I can always count on stepping outside and taking a deep breath to make me feel rejuvenated. 

So I've been working on the yards, the patio out back, the inside, growing flowers and herbs and really trying to bring Spring into the house.

You've probably also noticed that I've posted quite frequently the past few days.  I know, I shocked myself, but I've learned not to get too bummed out when I can't, and to just post when time allows it.  It takes that pressure off of me and so I hope you are ok with my sporadic blogging, it's kinda like my life, sometimes it's calm and sometimes it's chaotic and crazy.

Right now, I am about to go get school done with Nick.  He is dying to finish as fast as he can so he can be done for the year.  My Jasmine on the other hand seems to think she has all the time in the world, she goes slow, she often falls behind and it's become a struggle getting her to really devote herself to school.

I guess it comes with age, she's about to turn 17 and she's all over the place.  One thing I am finding myself dealing with is her anxiety, and I think I should probably do another post on dealing with teenage anxiety and how to approach it, things I'm learning etc.  Maybe it will help another mom out there.

Let me know if that is something you would be interested in reading, or if you yourself have a teenager going through it and have any advice to offer, I would love hearing it.

Off I go, have a blessed Tuesday :)

Happy Homemaker Monday - 04/04/2016

Good morning everyone, can you believe it's Monday already?

I'm feeling kinda tired today, just feel like I didn't get good sleep the whole weekend, either Bella was keeping us up or it was my allergies making it impossible to breathe, or it was hot and we couldn't get comfortable.  Oh boy!!

Anyway, it's time for Happy Homemaker Monday, I'm using one of my older ones for inspiration this morning, I just needed a bit a of a change.

Breakfast time....what is on the plate this morning::::
For the moment, just a big cup of coffee with Hazelnut Creamer.  I'm not sure what I'll have to eat but when I get up out of bed and into the kitchen, I'll probably have some toast with apricot jam.


On today's to do list::::
Laundry - Did most of the laundry yesterday, today I have to to put it all away, iron some and do a load of Bella's bed stuff. 
Clean and tidy the house
Meal planning


Currently reading::::
Sophie Kinsella "I've got your number"


On the TV today::::
Portuguese Soaps
Orange is the New Black (almost done with season 2)


The weather outside is::::
At the moment 50 degrees though inside my house it feels much cooler than that.  We are hitting a high of 84 later this afternoon. 


On the menu this week::::
Monday - Portuguese Steak, Fries, Egg, Salad
Tuesday - Breaded Fried Tilapia, Tomato Rice, Mixed Veggies
Wednesday - Chicken Enchiladas, Mexican Rice
Thursday -
Friday -
Saturday -
Sunday -


If I have a few minutes to myself, I will::::
Probably read my book, or watch a show on the laptop



New recipe I tried, or want to try this week::::
Oh my gosh, I haven't tried anything new in a very long time.  It's not easy to do when you have so many people to feed, because usually with new recipes I have to buy more ingredients, and there's also the fact that it may not turn out well and it would be such a waste.


In the garden::::
I planted a bunch of herbs the other day and they are already starting to grow.  I'm not putting them outside, I've decided to keep them inside, just need to figure out how or where, but I'm thinking I'll look on Pinterest for some inspiration.


Favorite photo from the camera::::
Owl at the Renaissance Faire

Homemaking Tip::::
Keep a menu book.  I have a notebook that I bought, every two weeks when I meal plan, I write it in the notebook on one page and then on the next I write the grocery list.  It has helped me get inspiration for when I'm meal planning, but I also like looking back through the different months or even to the year before to see what we were eating. 


Visiting with Blog friends (blog you want to share, blog post that caught your eye)::::
I haven't visited anyone in a very long time, I'm horrible at that.  So, I don't have a specific blog or blog post to share with you, but you can go on over to my side bar and find the ones I follow, they're all written by wonderful ladies and I'm sure you will enjoy them. 


Praying for::::
My husband's uncle Mike is going in this morning for surgery to remove a Brain tumor.  It is a highly risky and delicate surgery and he could really use all your prayers.
One of my blog readers, Tasha, also is in need of some prayers for her mom who is going in for outpatient surgery. 


Bible Verse, Devotional that is resonating with me at the moment::::
"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever."
Isaiah 40:8


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!

Medieval Faire of Norman, Oklahoma

If you've been following me for a few years, you know that one thing my family and I love doing, is going to local Renaissance Festivals.

Our yearly tradition when stationed in Arizona, was to go every February as soon as the Ren. Faire came to town.  Well, to Apache Junction which was about an hour and a half from us.  Nonetheless, we would get in the car and happily make our way there.

We would spend the whole day, just walking around, looking at all the vendors, watching the shows and he jousting and just having an absolute blast.

Since leaving Arizona we haven't had a chance to get to one.  The closest one to us when we lived in Idaho, was about 45 minutes, but it was so small and we just never felt like we wanted to go see it.  Truthfully speaking, I have yet to find one that matches the one in Arizona.

Yesterday, we set off to Norman, Oklahoma.  They were having their yearly Medieval Faire and not only did we want to go, but our family had never been to one, so off we went.  It was a 2 hour car drive, one which of course the kids didn't enjoy too much, but it wasn't too bad.

Did we enjoy it?  Yes, we always like being in that atmosphere, but it was nothing like Arizona, nowhere near as nice or as big.....something is just missing.

We did meet up with some family from Oklahoma too and walked around a bit with them.  Would I go back?  Maybe, if I can't find any other that I enjoy, but I don't know, just wasn't what we were used to.

There is another about 2 hours in the opposite direction, just past Dallas, called the Scarborough Renaissance Faire which runs all the way through the end of May, and we might go check it out in a few weeks, we'll see.

Anyway, here are some pics of the one in Norman, hope you enjoy :)

To check out the rest of the photos, be sure to visit my Flickr Album, Medieval Fair of Norman.

What I'm doing

On my bedside table:

I've got your number by Sophie Kinsella

Suave Body Lotion

Alarm clock

Nail polish

On my watching list:

Orange is the New Black Season 2

Kings and Prophets

Home Fires

Versailles 

Latest interests:

Biographies

Antiquing

Documentaries and movies on the Wild West

Gardening

On my mind:

Children's State Testing next week

Son and daughter's birthdays coming up

Family Reunion in May

Yard work

Learning:

To enjoy everything around me

To make Indian food

To budget, to stick to it, to pay off our debts as soon as possible

To make South African food

Making:

A pretty yard

A menu plan for the next two weeks

A comfy home for my family

An effort to be patient with my teenage daughter

Looking forward to:

Heading to the Renaissance Faire this weekend

Getting the school testing over and done with

A yummy cottage pie for dinner

My son and daughter's birthday

Enjoying:

My Easter chocolate

My current books

Watching movies with family

Almost being done with school

Chit Chat, photos and updates

Good morning everyone :)

I'm sure you're quite shocked to see a post from me, well, I thought it was time to get my butt in here and say hi, have a little chat, tell you what I've been up to or what I have coming up etc.  I do hope you're ready for a post filled with pictures and lots of babbling.

It's cloudy and rainy here today, we have a huge storm headed our way which is supposed to bring hail, winds and even some tornadoes.  I'll be praying that it's not as bad and that the tornadoes stay nice and far from our area.

It's 7:24 am and I'm still in bed.  I need to be up soon and start my cleaning and normal daily chores, but for now, it's still kind of dark and with this rainy weather, one does not really want to get up and do much.  As I sat here, I figured that it was the perfect moment to come and have a little chat.

So grab a cup of coffee and sit down with me for a bit.

Now, what has been happening the past few weeks?  Nothing exciting, nothing that bears mentioning, just normal living and going about our business.

The kids are growing fast, Nick is about to turn 13 years old, can you believe that?  I feel as if just last week I was sharing photos on my blog of him as a little toddler running around in his diapers, and now here he is about to enter the teen years.  When this happens, I will no longer have little ones and I'm not quite sure how to feel about that.

Jasmine is about to turn 17, she just took her ACT test yesterday.  If you're not aware what it is, it is the National College Admissions test.  Fingers crossed!!!

She is about to finish her Junior year, and then next year it's Senior year, graduating and all that fun stuff.  I am definitely not ready for that.  We're looking at doing Concurrent Enrollment this coming year, so I've been trying to figure that all out, contact the local colleges etc.  Oh my word, I knew this day would come but now that it's staring me down I just want to run in the opposite direction.

Spring is in full force!!!!

My yards are covered in Grape Hyacinths, the birds are chirping away happily, the weather has warmed up considerably and the days are longer.

We've been working hard on the yards, we have the family reunion coming up in May and last year we didn't have a chance to really do anything with the house.  This year, we are trying to pretty the outside up, put in some plants, an area for a fire pit etc.

Above, I have Blackberries and Blueberries growing, and below, some of my favorite flowers, Hyacinths and Daffodils.

They boys have been hard at work too.  We've been laying down some edging leading towards the fire pit area.

Power tools and boys go hand in hand right?

We've been watching tons of movies, like I said in my Happy Homemaker Monday, mainly because our internet service went out last week Thursday and we were without until Monday night.

It's always quite funny watching all the kids with no wifi, they literally don't know what to do with themselves.  Makes me think of when I was their age and had no internet at all, I didn't need it, I didn't have cellphones or tablets or laptops or any of that junk, and I still managed to have a good childhood.

Kids seem to be so obsessed with all of this stuff that they can't seem to function without.

Anyway, we watched quite a few movies.  The one that stands out the most to me was The Green Inferno.  If you haven't watched it and like stories to do with the tribes of the Amazon, cannibalism etc, then you will enjoy it.  It was quite shocking in some parts but overall a very good movie.

Everest was another that needs to be watched, what a wonderful movie.

We also watched The Night Before (a comedy), it was pretty funny.  Robert The Doll was a waste of time, the girls picked it because it looked quite scary, but we ended up laughing through it because of how ridiculous it was.

Last night I watched Cleveland Abduction.  I picked up Michelle Knight's book on Saturday and read it in one day, it was such a wonderful book, hard to get through at some points because of the horrible things that monster did to the girls, but Michelle is such an inspiration.  I wanted to watch the movie, and though it was ok, it was nothing like the book, but then again they seldom are.  If you really want an insight perspective into what happened, do read the book, there is so much in there that was left out of the movie itself.

I've also started watching Orange is the New Black.  Now, as a Christian I will tell you that I held off watching it for a very long time and mainly because I thought it was going to be all just women with women and that kind of stuff.  It's not, I mean there are some scenes in there about it, but it's mainly about these women and how they have to adapt to prison life, what they do to survive and make it through their long sentences.  I'm enjoying it.

Book wise, like I said above, I read Finding Me by Michelle Knight.

I also picked up The All Girl's Filling Station Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg.  Love her, she's so funny.

And The King's Curse by Phillipa Gregory.  So excited to read this one, love the author and love anything Tudor and King Henry VIII.

Those 3 I got at Booksamillion, they were on the sale racks and were $6 and $5 each.  Cheap and I can't pass up a good book.

From the library, I have The Last Midwife by Sandra Dallas, I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella, The wind through the keyhole by Stephen King and Innocence by Dean Koontz.

So yes, lots of good reads.  I go through stages where I don't read anything for months and then suddenly the urge kicks in and I'm just soaking in as many books as I can.  I will let you know what I think of these as I get through them.

This weekend we are planning to head to a Renaissance Fair.  You know how much my family and I love it and we haven't been to one since Arizona, so we're itching to go.  My brother and his family have never been to one so it will be a nice thing for them to experience.  I'm quite looking forward to it, even though we'll have to drive about an hour and a half out.

I also need to start birthday shopping, Nick's birthday is on the 11th of April and Jasmine's is on the 25th.  The week of the 11th though, both kids will be doing their end of year testing, so it will be quite a few busy 3 days.

Nick doesn't want a birthday party, matter of fact if he could just get by with no fuss whatsoever, he would be ecstatic, but I'm thinking I may take him to laser tag which I know he loves.

We are throwing a little party, get together for Jasmine though, she's turning 17 and we haven't done anything for either of them in many years, now that we are closer to family we would love to do something special for them.

Anyway, that is basically what I've been up to the past few weeks, nothing exciting, but I do wish I had more time to come in and update, especially now that the kids are getting bigger and will be out of our house in the blink of an eye.

I hope you've all been doing well, thank you again for always coming in and saying hi and leaving comments, it really does mean a lot. 

It's now 8:30 and I really need to get out of this bed, dressed and my day started.  Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone, and I'll see you all back here soon.