2020 Weekly Photos - #28

We had another great week.   I keep thinking that summer is almost over but we are only in the middle of July.  On one hand, that's great - we are getting to enjoy a nice long summer but on the other hand, July is kind of dragging for some reason!  We are enjoying it though, so isn't that all that really matters?

Here's a look back at our week.

Saturday - Darryl went to pick my brother Ken up while I laid on the couch with an intense migraine.  I don't get them often but when I do, they wipe me out.  It wasn't long after Darryl got home that we had a knock on our door -  my brother treated us to pizza!  Yum!

Sunday - Darryl woke up with a headache and not feeling the best so he enjoyed a quiet day at home while the boys and I went to my mom's for a late lunch.  I also had my zoom call with my brothers and mom.  We always laugh, have fun, and get to share whats going on.  Starting these zoom calls was one of the best things ever.

Monday - We had a busy day.  It started with a trip to the orthodontist.  Now, the boys orthodontist office is amazing.  We had to wait outside until it was their turn; the boys went inside while I waited in the car.  When they were done, they come out to the car and the office called me on the phone to go over details.  Both are doing perfectly with their retainers and we don't go back for six months!
Once we got home, there was various levels of excitement:

 All of the poles are being replaced on our street.  The workers dropped the poles today.  We are looking forward to watching them dig holes and replace the old poles. 

 The boys school books arrived.  Nate's is the HUGE stack and Josh's is the short stack.  I'm not super thrilled that the only book we have is a math book which means everything else is online.  We'll see how 6th grade goes - we might have to look at different options. 

My brother, Ken, came over and replaced the broken part in our light fixture so now my kitchen is filled with light once again!  

The boys also had haircuts.  Masks while doing haircuts are a whole new thing but we have a great hair stylist.  

Finally, Nate had Tae Kwon Do but tonight it was just watching the Black Belts test which is always interesting to watch. 

Tuesday - Today our excitement was outside the windows once again.

 This truck has a huge vacuum on it - it "digs" the hole for the pole but sucking up all of the dirt.  

 This guy is moving some wires getting ready for the new pole to be lifted into the ground. 

 Finally, the pole gets lifted and placed into the hole.  

Wednesday brought more fun with Consumers Energy. 

Today the guys climbed the poles to move the wires.  It was pretty impressive to watch.  

Thursday - It was a quiet day at home as Darryl and Josh drove my brother to the other side of the state to meet up with my sister-in-law.  

 We have a bunny in our yard.  This guy is pretty curious and brave.  He just hops around the yard eating the grass and clover and doesn't care one bit about Dash.  Amazingly, Dash doesn't care about him either.  

 The kids headed outside to play in the water for a bit. 

I still love my flower box on my porch.  It has held up really well and the flowers make me smile especially since I don't have to weed them. 

It's finally Friday!  Nate commented that Friday was taking forever and he was right.  The day just dragged and I even went grocery shopping!  

 Dash sits at the door and whines when the kids leave him inside!!

 The weather has been a little "cooler" and less humid this week so the kids even got the bikes out.  The bikes tend to stay put away throughout much of July due to the heat so it's always nice to see them come back out

We had unexpected visitors.  My in-laws were in town to pick up a pig from the local meat market so they called to see if we were home.  Of course we were!  It's the first time we've seen them since February, actually, so it was nice to catch up. 
After they left, we just hung out . .. until we realized it was 8:30 and we had yet to eat.  So, yes, we changed our menu and went and got our treat for the week.  It was a beautiful night to enjoy Little Ceasers, McDonald's, and Arby's in the car (Yes, everyone gets to pick what they want!)

When we got home, a squirt gun fight started HA!  

That's our week!  It's hard to believe that we are entering the last week of July! 

Weekly Menu

This week it is back to a little more of a normal routine.  My brother and his family have headed back home and it's just going to be quiet for a bit.

I've become quite bored with our normal recipes so I've been saving and printing recipes for a few weeks as I've come across them online.

I've also been so enjoying the Pioneer Woman episodes during the pandemic because she is recording them at home with her kids as the camera crew and they are just all so fun!

Friday - I'm doing grocery shopping today.  I don't love cooking after a big day of shopping and, considering I haven't had to do any major grocery shopping in over two weeks this one will be a little bigger, so I had to plan ahead.  I put some potatoes in the crock pot, have frozen veggies to cook, and finally, Pioneer Woman Recipe #1 - Honey Chili Shrimp.  Something really quick and easy!

Saturday - We are eating with my mom.  I think we are treating ourselves to Pizza tonight.  After all my mom and I both need a break from cooking HA!  (Ok, really my mom - she's cooked a lot over the past two weeks!)

Sunday - Pioneer Woman recipe #2 - Veggie Ravioli Bake, a salad, and Garlic Bread.  I might try to put the veggie portion on only part of it so Josh will still eat it :-)

Monday - Tacos.   Nate has TKD testing tonight so we all just need to eat something.  :-)

Tuesday - New Recipe #3 - Hawaiian Chicken Sliders, a new cauliflower recipe,  french fries and salad

Wednesday - New Recipe #4 - Simple Chicken and Snow Pea Stir-Fry, Rice, and Salad

Thursday - New Recipe #5 - Chicken Legs in a new chicken marinade, Baked Beans, French Bread, and Veggies

I also have a couple of lunch ideas I'm going to try for myself and a new cake recipe.

So yes, this is the week of "new".  All the recipes look good and most are pretty simple so hopefully it will all work out!  Maybe they will even be good enough to be added into the recipe box verses the recipe being tossed in the garbage!

Inside the Mind of a List Maker

Are you a list maker?  Do you set goals . .. yearly, weekly, or daily goals?  I am a list maker and I set goals - all kinds of goals.  It makes me happy!

In our first year of marriage, as we relaxed on New Years Day, I looked at Darryl and asked, 'So, what are your goals for the year?"  He looked at me funny.  He doesn't set goals.  I made him write a goal list thinking everyone should do this wonderful thing.  Guess what?  By January 2nd he had no idea what he had written down.  For real.

Darryl has asked me the following a few times -- "Why do you make a list or set goals when you know you won't complete them?"  I think that's the secret behind the mind of a list maker.

Are you ready?  That secret is simply without a list nothing gets done; with a list something gets done.  I know when I post my monthly goals or when I write a daily list that I will not accomplish everything on the list.  Shoot, sometimes I don't complete ANYTHING on it but at least I tried!

Planning makes me feel secure.  Writing things down in my planner is my sure fire way of making sure that I don't miss an appointment or event that is important.  Plus, a planner brings me joy.

Last week was a week where I made an incredible plan.  I had a couple of days off from babysitting and I was giving the kids a "vacation" week so I didn't need to plan, prepare, and execute their plans.  With that in mind, I made a plan of what I wanted to done - some huge projects to be honest.  Do you know how much of that list I got done?  Next to nothing! 


On one hand I was a little mad at myself but on the other hand, I understand that I had other things get in the way and, honestly, it was humid and and that makes me not want to do much . As a list maker, I don't see failure, even though I'm sure some of you do, but rather I see opportunity.  I can look at my long unfinished list and break it down into smaller bites to work on in the coming days.

What We Are Eating Wednesday - Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sorry for slacking last week ;-)  Since we've been eating with family a lot the last week and a half last weeks food post just slipped right by!  I gathered a few new recipes recently and am working on trying those out so hopefully I'll have some "material" for the next few months!

I also feel like I'm in a rut with cooking - which usually happens in July/August.  Searching Pinterest always brings up some new ideas along with my favorite, The Pioneer Woman.  I like to keep things real with these posts so I will share new recipes that I try and be honest about how they tasted and how they looked!

So, a friend shared a post on Facebook for these super easy chocolate chip cookies.  I used to bake a lot before we had kids.  I usually baked some type of bread as well as a dessert or cookie.  I quit baking because my kids don't really eat it so I was throwing a lot away.  Well, they are starting to enjoy treats a little more so I figured this was a good recipe to try and it was actually a hit.  Half the pan was gone before I even cut them and put them in a container and that is ALWAYS a positive sign of a successful cookie!

Here's the recipe:

And yes, it is really that easy.

Graduation Album - The Final Book

This year I created my tenth and final graduation book for my nieces and nephews.  I started this when the oldest graduated A LONG TIME AGO.  I still remember his - it was huge.  I printed off tons and tons of photos from the course of his life; I made everyone create their own scrapbook page and write a letter to him on that page; I incorporated the words of a song throughout the pages.  Wow.  Each year the books got a little more defined until about number 7 when I changed them to instead reflect family.  I searched for photos with the graduate and family members through the years.  This, I felt, made it more personal.  I also had to resort to allowing the family to e-mail or message me their letters in order to make sure I received them all.

This years book is not quite done.  With it being the final book it has taken a little more prompting to get the family letters and I'm still waiting on a few.  I refuse to give the book as a gift without it being complete so I'll wait for those to arrive before I put the finishing touches on it and send it! 

I'm not sure what I'll do for my boys when they graduate -- I might have to get creative :-)

Week 5 - Looks and Links

Wow.  We are on week 5 of our summer plans.  I actually thought I'd be ready for a Vacation week after week 2 HA!  Instead I've enjoyed planning our activities and seeing what the kids can do.

So, why is this week a vacation week?  Very simply because it's a short week.  We have family in town this week so we are doing a few things with them on Monday.  My extra kids are also taking Tuesday off.

That brings us back together for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  I know we will be busy with our family in the evenings so I wanted to keep the day time a little more relaxed for us.

I had planned to use the week as a "project week" but that did not happen either.  We were busy, stayed up late, and I wasn't super motivated.  On Friday I finally did some cleaning and picking up around the house.

I had also hoped to have some photos of those projects that didn't get done . . .but I don't HA!  Oh well.

So, instead, I'll leave you with this cute photo.

Weekly Worship - Still Rolling Stones (Lyric Video) - Lauren Daigle

Enjoy :-)