January Reading

 I purposefully made time to read this month and I think it shows.  I set aside time each morning to enjoy the quiet of the house and read my daily devotional readings as well as at least one chapter in my January goal books.  I will admit, it was easier to read extra chapters in the fiction than the non-fiction :-)  

You can see all the books I've read this year HERE.  (Since it is just January - these are the only books in that Pinterest Folder currently) 

I am continuing to read through all of Julile Klassen's books and they never disappoint.  This book tells the story of the daughter of the town Apothecary and how she learns to not only enjoy her life but also to love those around her.  She begins be searching for something different but in the end, returns to what has always been in her heart. Julie Klassen writes with heart and has a way of drawing the reader into the life of the characters until you feel like they are your friends.  I always hate seeing a good book end and would like to continue on to see where their lives travel to next!  

Just Look Up  is a book on my January "to read" goals (I did not post a photo of the Fiction books I wanted to read - but my goal is to read two off of my shelf each month)  Once I started this book I realized I had actually read it before but it's been long enough that I didn't remember it all so I went ahead and read it.  It's a great story of learning to forgive past hurts and trusting those around you.  

I'm nearing the end of Julie Klassen books and I've really enjoyed them.  Lady Maybe was published in 2015 and it shows how much Julie's writing has improved.  Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed this book as much as the others but the writing itself wasn't quite as good and the story had many tangents that sometimes got a little tangled.  There were also a lot of flashbacks in this book and, honestly, that is one of my least favorite things in a story.  I skipped quite a few pages in this one just to get past the fluff and get to the real story.  BUT with all of that said, this was still a great book that had me guessing all the way until the very last page on what was going to finally happen!  

This is one of my "January Goal" books.  This is a pretty easy read overall.  The author takes on the topic of whether we are really ready to give up everything for God.  Are we really willing to pray "God, anything."  Are we willing to give up our scrapbooks of what our lives should look like to follow wherever he would send us or do whatever it is He calls us to do. Really, most of what was presented are truths I've heard before but in chapter 14 she hits on the topic of God's Glory.  What does God want most?  God is most after his glory.  Glory is the evidence of God so where do I see God's glory - I should be seeing it in everything yet often we only see it in the magnificent - the sunset, a beautiful lake, or the birds singing.  What if we wanted God's glory above everything else?  Some great questions to ask and seek after.  

Weekly Worship --THERE IS HOPE, Mark Lowry

Here's ago I went to a Mark Lowry and Amy Grant Concert and it was amazing.  Mark is just a great comedian and a great singer too.  I hope you enjoy this song as much as I did. 

2021 Weekly Photos #3

 Here's a look back at our week! 

Saturday: We enjoyed some football.  We are trying to soak in the last few weeks of games and will miss it when it is gone!  

Nate loves the Packers.  He got the jersey and hat for Christmas.  (And yes, that is the Packers game on the TV).  He also really likes Josh Allen from the Bills and has his jersey too!  (Actually Darryl and Josh also got jerseys - it was the year of the jersey HA!) 

Sunday - A super relaxing day of football (we really hoped the Browns would win!) and Scrapbooking for me too.  

Monday - This is our super easy week.  Our friends are back in school and Josh and Nate have just a few school things to do (required testing) so for the most part, we are doing nothing!  I had to run a few errands and then Nate and I started the big organizing of his room. 

Tuesday - Same thing :-)

Wednesday - Josh and Nate had an orthodontist check up and then Nate and I finished his room.  It's not nearly as big of a deal to him as it is to me - but I just love how clean and neat it is.  We removed a plastic "industrial" type shelf and it really opened up the space.  

Thursday - I relaxed :-)  Josh had two tests to take and Nate had to do a standardized test but outside of that I enjoyed my day! 

Friday - Grocery shopping and Nate started back to Tae Kwon Do once again.  

Not many photos lately since we aren't doing much!  

Weekly Menu

Guess what, I used my air fryer last week and made French fries and they were good.  I know, so daring, but it's kind of one thing at a time for me!!  Not to mention that I used my Pampered Chef Microwave popcorn maker for the first time too.  Crazy, I know HA!  

Friday - We are back into our "normal" routine and are having our "night out/eating in" tonight.  

Saturday - Back to dinner at my mom's  We really do enjoy this evening - my mom cooks some good food, we laugh alot, and now often play a game.  I do have to plan lunch though!  Sausage Gravy and Biscuits and fruit is the plan! 

Sunday - Last Sunday I did not make the Ham and Cheese quiche so that is on the plan for tonight.  I did make the sides throughout the week so new sides!  Roasted Asparagus and crescent rolls for tonight.   Lunch - I'll be honest, the past several weeks Sunday lunch is "whatever you want from the freezer".  Maybe grilled cheese or BLT's?  We will see!  

Monday - Pork Loin in the crock pot, crash potatoes and green beans

Tuesday - I'm going to use left over Pork Loin to make the Mango Salsa Pork tacos from last week that I never made :-)   

Wednesday - Chick-Fa-Lay Nuggets (In the air fryer) and Daddy Fries - if I can't do them in the air fryer I might as well fry them for real HA!  

Thursday - Chicken Alfredo, green beans and Garlic Bread 

Breakfast and Lunch Options

 Last week I referenced planning better for breakfast and lunch so I thought I would share my basic plan for each meal and how I bounce off of that for more ideas.  I share this because I struggle with these simple meals and, if I don't plan, I tend to grab whatever and sometimes that is cookies HA!  I am also someone who can eat the same thing almost every day and not care - I just tweak it a little here and there.  

First up, because it is how the photos loaded, is lunch! 

My basic go to lunch includes:  Two slices rolled deli meat (turkey or ham), veggies, fruit and hard boiled eggs.  How I serve that food varies!  

1. Lunch Meat - most of the time I just roll it and eat it but sometimes I spread a little cream cheese in the ham and roll it around a pickle or a green onion.  Or I'll add a little seasoning to the cream cheese, like dill, spread it on the turkey and roll that around some sliced peppers or cucumber.  

2. Veggies - Veggies and dip are an easy choice.  I also like celery with peanut butter or garden veggie cream cheese.  Another option is just a garden salad with my favorite dressing. 

3. Fruit - whatever I have in the fridge!  Oranges, Apples, Grapes, etc. 

4. Hard Boiled Eggs - you will notice in the photo that it is actually egg salad which I love.  It depends on the eggs - I over boiled this set of eggs so they were "dry" - made eating them plain a little difficult!  

As you can see there are lots of different ways I can do the same basic things. My goal with lunch is to be full until dinner!!  Eating lots of veggies really helps with that as well as getting that protein in too! 

Next, breakfast! 

My go to breakfast is a bagel thin with cream cheese, fruit and a hard boiled egg.  The key for breakfast for me - it HAS to be simple . .. like throw it in the toaster simple.  I am not a morning person and don't want to have plan time to make breakfast.  My kids both eat a bowl of cereal and that is all they want - all other breakfast foods are reserved for dinner! 

1. I love bagel thins.  I like plain and everything bagels and get my flavor of cream cheese based on the bagels I pick out!  

2. fruit - again, whatever fruit I have in the house.  I happened to have some of the cream cheese fruit dips left from New Years Eve so that is a nice treat!  

3. Just a simple hard boiled egg.  I add a little salt and just eat it for the protein.  

Sometimes I add a little babybel cheese for some added protein.  

Other options for breakfast to mix things up a little are:

1. Cream of Wheat - Yes, I love it, especially on the really cold days.  

2. Left over Breakfast Quiche or Casserole.  When we've had it for dinner and there are leftovers - it makes for the best breakfast.

3. English Muffins - if I get tired of bagel thins, I'll switch it up for a week with English Muffins with peanut butter.  

4. Frozen Waffles - this doesn't keep me full but sometimes I just like to have them with some peanut butter for a treat. 

I have found that having a base for each meal has really helped me eat better and snack less during the day.  

Chicken and Spinach Pasta Soup

 Originally I had planned this soup for Christmas Eve.  Since we have a wonderful dinner of snacks with my mom (and it was amazing) I wanted something light but tasty for a late lunch.  Well, I had many things on my list for Christmas Eve that had to get done and making soup did not make the cut!  Instead it got put off for a bit and I finally made it about a week ago.  This Creamy Chicken Pasta Soup did not disappoint.  Granted, my recipe is not the same as the original!  I had "cream cheese" on my grocery list and, thinking it was for my bagels, I bought Honey Pecan Cream Cheese.  Oops - it was for this soup and should have been plain!  So, I totally tweaked it and instead of cream cheese I threw in a handful of fresh parmesan and I added a full cup of heavy cream instead of just the 1/2 cup.  As it cooked it seemed like it needed more moisture so I added 2 cups of milk.  It was perfect.  We did not miss the cream cheese at all and I think the soup might even be better without it!  

You can find the original recipe HERE

Declutter 365 vs. Snails Pace Decluttering

 Organizing and de-cluttering are an on-going project for most people.  Just ask my mom who I think is now on her spring cleaning for 2052 because she cleans and rearranges so much.  (But her house is always clean and organized!!) Well, the more people you put in less square footage the harder it is for everything to have a home and stay there.  When we first moved into our house we had an empty room.  For real.  Then we added a bed so we had our room, an office, and a guest room.  The guest room sat empty most of the time. It also held my library (which I loved).  We added one kid and really didn't lose much.  The guest room/library went away and instead we had a nursery.  My books lost their home and eventually I sold them all (and I still miss them!).  We added kid # 2 and we lost a room.  We no longer had an office - it became the 2nd bedroom, then the playroom, the classroom, and the playroom again.  All of that office stuff had to go somewhere!  

I fought the clutter bug for years and finally feel like I'm getting it under control since my kids are getting older and they have less merchandise needed (swings, jumparoos, mounds of toys and more.) This year I'm really focusing on that word, Purposeful, and trying to make sure that everything in our home has a  purpose - being more "brutal" with cleaning things out.  

There are two different blogs/Facebook pages I follow.  The first is Declutter 365. 

You may remember me referring to the calendar that comes from this site.  In this case, the author has created a calender with daily declutter missions.  It takes you through your entire home through the year and, if you follow her plan, the spaces will be decluttered and organized.  I've been following this the best that I can for the last few months.  There are pros and cons.  The pro is that it is laid out for you so you don't have to think about what to do, you just read the task and do it.  The con is that it doesn't always apply to my home or my room.  I found that I skipped a lot of days because it didn't fit into my "space." 

The second one is Snails Pace Transformation

This site takes the idea a different direction.  The author provides you with a spreadsheet for 52 weeks.  It is your job to chose 52 areas in your home to declutter.  Then, work each week on that area.  She also assigns some rules like you can work ahead but you can't get more then two weeks behind without catching up.  This concept has really spoke to me because I could take what I learned from Declutter 365 and use it as I create my own 52 week list.  I spent the last few days doing just that - creating my list starting with Nate's room and ending with the basement.  I even counted weeks so I would land in the kitchen during the summer when I have more time to spend on cleaning since there isn't school. Another thing I liked about this concept is that the author talks about the fact that doing this process is yearly - it isn't a one time fix it all.  The idea is to come back through it each year and make tough decisions and simplify things more.  I also find that as I simplify things, I shop differently and ask for gifts differently - I think about how the items will fit into my space first.  

I know I talk frequently on my the posts about goals (I was going to say goal posts but that made me think of football!) about declutting or deep cleaning so I thought I'd share my inspirations.  I also love Flylady - especially for her cleaning checklists and "15 minutes on a hotspot" ideas.