September Goals

September.  I always feel like September starts a new year.  I used to plan my "yearly" goals from September-August truth be told.  I'm sure it comes from the years of teaching where September WAS the start of a new year - a school year - but still a year.  I also feel like that September breaths new life into what I want to get done after dealing with the heat of the summer.  And yes, both July and August brought some super hot "heat wave" style days that made me remember why I used to tell Darryl that "the house will be clean in again in September" HA!  This September is different because school hasn't started yet for our "extra" friends so they are still hanging with us all day; we are missing the first official week of school to go camping, and Nate is scheduled for his tonsil surgery which will keep us laying pretty low for a few weeks.  I'm hopeful that while Nate is resting that I might actually accomplish some things but I also know that I might just be tired HA!  So, with all of that said, here's what my goals are for the month of September.

1. Scrapbooking - 1) This month I have a weekend scrapbook "retreat" planned.  It is a Creative Memories Virtual Crop and I have marked it off to participate as much as possible.  I even purchased the "secret bundle" to open "live" together online.  2) Finish my nieces graduation book - still trying to get those last letters.  3) Order all March photos for 2011, 2017, 2018, and 2020.  I'm just really working towards getting them all printed so I have them.  Still want to finish 2019 before I pick my next "year" to work on.

2. Reading - 1) Read for fun every single day.  2) Read  A Longing for Paris.  I decided to try and focus on one book this month my goal word - Peace.  And this is the book!

3) Cleaning - Besides doing my weekly home blessing hour (Flylady!) I'm focused this month on the living room.  As we pick up with school I feel like I need to focus on the room we spend the most time in and deep clean it (Also Flylady - deep cleaning!)  Who knows, I might even steam clean my carpet :-)

4)  Family - Get Josh running shoes.  Go camping.

5)  Homeschool - We are ready to go and will have our first day on Friday, September 11th right after returning from camping.  My main goal in September is to have Josh finish on schedule for September; Nate - it will depend on how many days (up to two weeks) he is down after surgery.

6) Holiday Journal - It's time to get that thing out and remind myself of everything I've forgotten about our holidays!

7) The Basement - 20 minutes a day.  That's my goal.  Going through boxes and bins and reorganizing things, cleaning things out and setting things up on the shelves so that all is organized.

8) Piano - 1) Get the piano tuned 2) Start our at home lessons once again.

9) Photography - I got my new book and my goal is to just start on page one, read it and do it.

10) Spiritual - 1) Read my daily devotional.

11) Misc Goals:  Gather cameras/video cameras and make sure they all work/are charged etc.  2) Continue work on cleaning up the yard 3) Clean the garage now that the door is fixed!!  4) Fill the holes in the yard 5) Clean out both vehicles 6) Get a new flag pole for the front of the house and keep my flags up to date 7) Decorate for fall (I usually do this right at the end of September so I'm adding it to this months goals)  8) Put up outside Halloween Decor (also right at the end of September)  

Weekly Worship - Phil Wickham ~ Song In My Soul (Lyrics) ft. Hollyn

Enjoy!  :-)

2020 Weekly Photos #33

This has been a long week.  It has been super hot and humid.  Our cranky AC unit doesn't work when it gets hot so we had to hang a blanket to keep the living room end of the house cool and that is where we hung out all. week. long.  The dining room and kitchen were HOT HOT HOT!  Uuugg.  I read, played on my ipad, and worked on the computer. 

Here's a look back at our long week:

Saturday - a total do nothing day.  We had dinner at my mom's otherwise we hung out and did nothing HA!

Sunday - After lunch Darryl and I looked at each other and said, "Lets go to the lake" so we did.  We enjoyed an amazing 3 hours at our favorite beach - the place that is truly my home - Lake Michigan in Muskegon.  We both said, "Why don't we do this more!"

Monday - This is the day that by noon I hung the blanket.  The house was almost suffocating by that point.

Tuesday - My mom came over for dinner - good thing it was a crock pot meal because I wasn't cooking!

Wednesday - At 7:15 the contractor called and said, "I"m on my way!" and by 11:00 we had a new, working garage door :-)

Thursday - On Wednesday night, a friend from the campground sent me a message and said, "Do you all want to swim at the pool on Thursday?" YES!  It was amazing!!

Friday - We were going to go to a meet and greet with our co-op group but it was pouring rain and then my fridge was supposed to get delivered but . . .it was pouring rain.  So we ended up with a day of nothing!

Weekly Menu

Are you ready?  My fridge is . .. .. . .here!!! Well - almost. . .. it will hopefully be delivered this afternoon!

After 5 long weeks I can finally plan.  PLUS it's only supposed to be in the 70's this week so I can cook!!!!!

I think I'm most excited about planning better lunches.  Oh, and having a freezer upstairs again :-)  I normally move food for the week from the deep freezer downstairs to the freezer upstairs at the beginning of the week so it is all handy but now I have to remember to go downstairs every morning and get out what is needed for dinner.  Needless to say, some nights we have spaghetti or mac and cheese because I forget HA!  It will also be nice to have easy access to drinks - digging in  a cooler full of ice (which I'm very thankful for) is not fun!

So, what's the plan for the coming week.  Drum roll please.  . . . .

Friday - We will do our weekly eat out tonight.  It's hard to break tradition :-)

Saturday - Dinner at my moms.

Sunday - It is Darryl's dad's 80th birthday (on Monday) so the family is getting together for dinner.

Monday - Marinated chicken, amish noodles and a veggie

Tuesday - Stuffed Shells, Green beans and garlic knots

Wednesday - Chicken Legs, Mac and Cheese, and a veggie

Thursday - Simple Chicken and Snow Pea Stir fry, Rice, and Garlic Knots

So, truth be told - I kept it easy . .. because of a few hot weeks my cupboards and freezer were pretty full so I'm trying to use some things up :- )

August Goal Recap

Here's a look back at what I accomplished in the month of August.  As a side note, I think I need to start tracking the things that get done that AREN'T on the list!  There are things that come up along the way that need to be done and sometimes impact the rest of my plan.  Maybe I'll try to track that in September . .. maybe :-)

1. Scrapbooking - I've refocused on my scrapbooking goals after being all over the place for a few months.  1) Order the rest of 2019 photos.  That's the only year I'm focused on when it comes to ordering photos.  2) Scrapbook 2019.  My desk is currently clean and I am organized and ready to go.  I'd like to get all of April and May 2019 scrapbooked this month.  3) Finish up my niece's graduation book and get it mailed to her.  1) I ordered the rest of 2019 photos 2) I did NOT get much scrapbooking time in - just enough for a page or two 3) My nieces book is still not done - still waiting on some letters. 

2. Reading - I wish my kids loved to read as much as I do.  I tried.  I really did.  They only read at this point because they are required too :-)  BUT I love to read so read is what I will do.  I have a two fold goal this month 1) Read for fun.  Every day.  Preferably outside if the weather allows. 2) Read my "self-help" books on my list.  I don't like the word "self-help" but I'm not sure what else to call them :-)  I have a goal of reading 4 of those in August. 1) I read for fun.  Alot.  2) "Self help" books aren't as fun to read HA!  I didn't get a single one read! 

3. Cleaning - It's time to get back on track.  My original plan was a 20 day a month cleaning plan.  I'm back to this concept - a room at a time.  I'm also really working toward simplicity.  We live in a small house and each room works for multiple purposes often so keeping a simplicity through the house is key as is organization. My goal is August is to revisit some rooms I worked on the first half the year and just do a quick redo of those rooms.  That would include the master, the dining room, and the living room.  Once those are done, the fourth room (one a week!) is the kitchen.  This one needs little more work to just go through all the cupboards again and clean some things out. My mom gave me an anniversary gift and dusted and vacuumed for me HA!  I was so not motivated this month so not much got done.  

4. Family - Josh needs some running shoes.  I've "heard" there is a running club he can join through out on-line group so I want him prepared for that adventure.  We have a day trip planned to New Buffalo to visit the beach.  We always camp in South Haven in August but we aren't camping this year due to COVID - I'd like to take a day trip to South Haven and do the things we normally do  such as go Blueberry picking (for like 20 minutes because I actually hate it HA), go to the beach and order our favorite Italian Food. We had a great time at New Buffalo but did not make it to South Haven.  

5.  Homeschool - I wrote my goals HERE.  The August goal is to just make sure we are ready for school to start.  This includes cleaning out the boys desks, making sure they have any needed supplies, and making sure we have the items for their goals. I got both boys desks cleaned out and picked up the supplies that were needed. 

6. Holiday Journal - I've kinda let this slide this year because, well, it's been different.  I do need to focus on Halloween, Birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas now though and start working on my plans.

7. The Basement - I really do see light at the end of this tunnel.  To think, when we bought the house we didn't need the basement HA!  I'm cutting this into more manageable pieces, though.  For August my one main goal is to reorganize the toy room in the basement.  I have new shelf that fits the space better.  I need to hang Nate's race track, clean out some of the toys, move the big shelf to the other side of the basement and maybe add some more of the floor panels so it's more comfortable for the kids.  Secondary to that is to clean out the area at the base of the stairs. Darryl and I worked together!  I switched the shelves out and cleaned up the playroom side.  I cleaned up the stuff at the bottom of the stairs and we did some cleaning in the main portion of the basement.  Still a lot of work to do to get it where I want it but I feel like we made a lot of progress

8. Piano - 1) Get the piano tuned.  I have the name of the tuner, I just have to schedule it.  2) The boys need to get back into practice.  I'm hopeful their teacher will teach this fall so that they can pick up their lessons again. 3) I need to work on a song. 1) Did not get it tuned - it's on the plan for September since I won't be paying for piano lessons this fall (their teacher is waiting until January) 2) We will pick up "at home lessons" in September 3) Didn't even touch the piano this month

9. Photography - I still have a goal of figuring out my new lens more. I ordered a photography book that I am waiting for that I hope will help me out! 

10. Spiritual - Two things - 1) Read my daily devotional.  2) Do my weekly Bible Study that ladies from church are doing together via Facebook.  1) Nope 2) I have done some of the Bible study but am not keeping up! 

11. Misc Goals - 1) Gather our cameras/video cameras and make sure they are all charged, work, etc.  2) Continue to work in the yard depending on the weather.  I've even thought about planting my Sunflower seeds now - then they will be in full bloom by the end of September!!  3) Organize our beach bags 4) Set up the new shelves in the garage and start organizing things better 5) Hang my new flag; get a new flag pole for the front of the house and have Darryl hang it 6) Fill the holes in the yard 7) Clean out both vehicles 1) Still working on this 2) It's been way to hot to do much in the yard! 3) The beach bags are organized!  4) We are waiting for our garage door to get fixed which will hopfully be soon - as soon as our contractor can fit it in!  5) The Flag is hung! 6) The holes are not filled HA!  7) Both vehicles are not cleaned!  (again - way too hot outside!) 

What We are Eating Wednesday - The Recipe for a perfect picnic!

First up is my broken record. 

 My refrigerator is still not here (holding out hope for Friday!) AND we are in the middle of another heat wave so I am not doing much cooking especially of anything new!  

So, instead I thought I would share how I created a perfect picnic when we went to New Buffalo!  

My original picnic plan included lots of things to make in advance and put in a fridge that didn't arrive HA!  So, instead I went to the store and started looking around at what would pack well and take little prep time.  Too often. I am a self proclaimed over planner.  I put a lot of work into things because I want too but I also know that sometimes I create a lot of work!  Well, this most recent picnic was the easiest one to put together and it was the most tasty!  

So what did we have?  Well, let me tell you! 

Wraps:  Simple tortilla shells, lunch meat, cheese, cream cheese, lettuce, and green onions. 

I personally do not like sandwiches.  The simple lunch box, two slices of bread sandwiches are enough to make me gag HA!  What I do love are those ham/onion wraps so I made it into a roll-up using a tortilla, cream cheese, and a green onion (yum!).  Now, I know not everyone likes what I do so that's why I added lettuce and cheese.  Oh, and mustard.  I did not pre-make the sandwiches  - just took all the fixin's and everyone got to create what they wanted. 

Fruit:  I bought a fruit tray at the store with strawberries, pineapple, and watermelon along with our favorite cream cheese fruit dip.  I also threw in some apples to slice up IF we needed more fruit (which we didn't).  To help save on mess, I spent a little extra and bought the individual pack of the fruit dip so each person had their own.  

Chips:  This time I bought tortilla chips and salsa.  I also found an amazing Mexican dip that I haven't found since!  It was the perfect combination with the wraps. 

Crackers:  I bought crackers, cheese, and salami.  I knew this was "extra" but wanted to make sure that no one went hungry and knew that this would fill people up if needed.  Josh and Darryl actually used the little salami pieces on their wraps.  

Cookies:  Just store bought cookies.  Nothing fancy :-) 

As you can read, everything was pre-made and easy to pack.  This is a picnic combination that  I want to remember! 

What I've Been Reading

I can happily say that I've enjoyed reading quite a bit in August.  It's been a hot summer so sitting in the air, in a comfy chair, enjoying a good book was high on my list of things to do!

This is the Bride Ships series by Jody Hedlund.  I picked up book one on a deal for less then a $1.00 and it was fabulous.  I really loved the story and the history.  Jody Hedlund was a new author to me and I'd rank her along side Tracie Peterson.  The books took me away and I didn't want to put them down.  Book 4 release tomorrow and I actually pre-ordered it so it will show up on my Kindle automatically. 

This is another one I picked up for less then $1.00 . . .. but it was not my favorite.  I found it hard to read and I struggled to follow the story line at times.  I did finish it but I won't be picking up the other books in the series.

Ok, these two books by Charles Martin rank up as two of the best books I've read in a long time.  The stories are real, heartfelt, and really, kind of raw - full of emotion.  I found myself fighting for the main characters throughout both stories.  I want to read more by Charles Martin because his writing style is so different than anyone else I read.

This book is what I'm currently reading as I'm writing this post.  This his historical fiction that takes place during the time the Nazi's are gathering the jew's from Amsterdam/Netherlands.  It is well written and I really hate putting it down.  One thing that usually annoys me in a book is that each chapter is telling the story of different people (about 4-5 people) and it goes back and forth from present day to the 1940's to tell the story.  It took me a bit to piece it together but as I gathered more information throughout the book, it made it easier to keep the characters and connections straight. If you enjoy history as well as story that follow real life, this is a good one to pick up and read.

Recipe Organization (And some Thirty-One too!)

Over the years I've had various recipe organization ideas and all have worked well but my current format has worked the best!

First, I used a Rolodex.  Yes, you read that right.  It was pretty cool, really, but I had to type and print all of the recipes on those little cards.  It took a lot of work.

Next, I used 3 ring binders.  This was great because I could just print recipes, hole punch them and put them in the binder.  This was great except I took the weekly recipes out and wouldn't put them back until I had almost all the recipes out and had to reorganize them . .. .again.

Now, I use this file system.

This is a file box from Thirty-One that I picked up several years ago.  I created a file for each of my recipe categories (Beef, Pork, Soups, Slow Cooker, etc.) and now, I just pull out what I need and refile it when I'm done - easy peasy!  I keep the blue file in the front so, if I'm in a rush, I can put recipes in there that need to be filed so that they don't get lost. I'm considering purchasing another one of the files to use with organizing my scrapbooking things.

My friend, Cindy, sells Thirty-One products so if you are looking for something new, check out her site HERE.

I recently picked up a couple new items that I just love.

This is the Round Utility Tote and it is just amazing.  I love that it actually sits on my shoulder and the straps make it just long enough to carry on your shoulder.  It opens wide and holds alot - it is currently holding all of our beach snacks :-) 

 I also picked up this cute little bag as a special - I love it because it has a clip to hook it inside another bag, it has a zipper pouch that is perfect for holding my little camera, money, and my phone when we go to the beach and it has the zippered outside pocket that is great for things like chap-stick.  I searched the site and couldn't find it but maybe I was missing it! 

I also picked up a Fresh Market Thermal and the Small Utility Tote in the same pattern as the small pouch above.  They are both perfect for hauling to the beach. 

And, no, this is not a sales pitch.  I personally like to see what other people are using for organizing so I thought I'd share what I'm using too! 

Weekly Worship - Come Thou Fount (Above All Else) - by Shane & Shane

This is one of my favorite Hymns and I really like arrangements by Shane and Shane.  This one doesn't disappoint.

2020 Weekly Photos #32

We had some fun things planned this week as our extra kids were at their grandparents all week. 

Saturday - I had hoped to show photos of our magnificent fridge.  Nope!  Instead we hung out at home and just enjoyed being together.

Sunday - A no photo day but we did lots!  I had to go to the grocery store since I had put it off waiting for the fridge.  Darryl and the boys did some cleaning for me while I was gone.  I had to get stuff ready for our beach day/picnic on Monday.  I cleaned out my truck to get beach stuff ready.  Finally, we made a 9:30 "run" to Wendy's for a Frosty Treat since we have no ice cream in the house right now.

Monday - Our day trip to New Buffalo! I shared alot of photos in my post the other day - here are a few more!

Tuesday - Today was a recovery day!  We were all tired from our adventures.  We did end the day with going to get a Hot Fudge Sundae from McDonald's as a treat (Plus I needed to pick up ice for the cooler!)

Wednesday - We headed to my mother-in-laws for the day.  They live on a lake and the boys have a great time fishing, tubing and swimming in the summer.  They had great success catching fish!

 Josh and Nate fishing on the lake. 

 They caught a lot of fish! 

 Nate wanted to learn how to de-bone and filet a fish. 

 This was my view most of the afternoon - it is amazing! 

 We all went out on the boat while Josh and Nate road the raft. 

 My mother-in-law raises butterflies and lets them go. 

 She puts those little stickers on their wings and they get tracked all the way to South America.  It's crazy! 

She has this "house" built right into a wall in her house where she raises them all. 

 Thursday - Darryl and I had a date afternoon.  He had a doctor's appointment concerning his neck so I went with him and enjoyed some quiet time in the car reading :-)  After his appointment we went and got Taco's from our favorite place (The Adobe) and headed to a park to enjoy lunch.  Then, for dinner, we cooked up the fish that Josh and Nate caught on Wednesday.

Friday - Darryl took off on a road trip with is dad for the day while I conquered grocery shopping!

We really had a great week of an unexpected "staycation" with lots of fun things!

Weekly Menu

Yes, it is another week without a fridge.  Blah!  We are supposed to get our fridge a week from the date of this post but after it being delayed the first time, I don't have my hopes up.  We are entering week 5 without fridge and I must admit, I like having a fridge :-)  A few weeks ago we got tired of having luke warm drinks so we started buying ice to keep all of the drinks in the "ice" cooler and that has helped.  Nothing better then an ice cold bottle of water!  I am cooking more but I have to be creative - either cooking with no leftovers or enough leftovers to put in the chest freezer for a second meal down the road.  Leftovers don't keep well in the coolers.

So, here's the plan for the coming week

Friday - Darryl is hanging out with his dad so the boys and I will probably treat ourselves tonight.

Saturday - Most likely dinner at my mom's.  :-)

Sunday - Stuffed Shells, Green Beans, and Garlic Knots

Monday - Marinaded Chicken Legs, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, and green beans

Tuesday - Crock Pot Fajita's with chips and salsa (My mom will come over for dinner if she reads this HA!)  If there are leftover I can send them home with her!)

Wednesday - Pork Chops, Baked Beans, and mixed veggies

Thursday -  Chicken, Amish Noodles, and green beans

Not a super exciting menu week that's for sure!

Grove Cleaning Products

Recently my mom placed an order from a company called Grove mostly to get some free things but in the end, she found that she loved the products.  She shared some with me (and did some cleaning one day while I was gone) and I just loved the smell and how clean things were when she was done.  That inspired me to place my own order and try out more of their products. 

 This box showed up on my doorstep almost a whole week earlier then promised and there was a hand written note on top (Jacquelyn - Stay safe!) Even the box made me feel good about ordering! 

 The best part about this box?  Over half of it was free for being a first time order!  

 This was my complete order.  Again, over half of it was free. (My cat is SUPER curious!)  

 I was most excited about this - Room Freshener.  My mom had given a bottle of the multi-surface cleaner and I just loved the smell so I used it to spray around my house to freshen it up HA!  Well, now I have this!  Darryl loves it too and wants some for his cab.  

 Notice the photo bomber? HA! 

 This cleaner is awesome.  It cleans so well and leaves everything smelling great.  I have the honeysuckle and decided to try Apple Cider.  My one "complaint" is that there are some things, like the multi-purpose spray, that I couldn't order multiples of in the same smell - otherwise I would have ordered all honeysuckle. 

This wrinkle reducer spray was one of the free items so I decided to try it (instead of switching it out for something else).  I hate to iron and Darryl has a few shirts that need "just a little" ironing.  I'm hoping this helps me out! 

Who knew cleaning products could be so exciting? 

What We are Eating Wednesday

Still living without fridge means I'm not doing much creative cooking but I did try something new this week! 

On Tuesday I made a big ol' pot of chili for dinner.  I know, I know, that is not a summer food but I'm trying to make food that we either eat all of so there are no leftovers for the coolers OR that I can freeze enough of for another meal later, thus, I made chili.  I picked up this cornbread mix instead of the normal "Jiffy" mix and it was amazing!  It was sweet and crumbly and went perfect with dinner.

My first slice I just had butter on it and it was good . .. . the second slice I added a little honey and it was amazing.  It was the perfect side dish to my fabulous chili!

A Little Summer Fun

Earlier this summer, Josh made a request.  He asked to visit the beach that is the farthest South on Lake Michigan.  If I remember correctly, this request came after swimming in Lake Michigan further North where it was 42 degrees.  There are many things that we couldn't do this summer but visiting Lake Michigan is always a for sure thing! 

My mom joined us on our adventure and I think we all had a great time!  Our adventure started with a fun lunch at a long standing tradition of a burger place just outside of New Buffalo. 

Darryl and I have eaten at Redamak's one time years ago so we thought it would be fun adventure to take the whole family.  Due to Covid, they have an outside ordering window and we were fortunate enough to end up with one of their two picnic tables to enjoy our meal.  The burgers were big and messy and the onion rings were super tasty.  We were ALL very full when we were done!

From there, we drove through New Buffalo to head to the city beach.  New Buffalo is a beautiful town with a marina that houses some incredible yachts. The city beach was huge with plenty of space to spread out. 

 My mom and the boys were having a blast in the waves! 

Lake Michigan is always beautiful. 

It was a "red flag warning" day due to the huge waves and strong under current so we stayed close to shore - we still got soaked due to the high waves!  

After spending a few hours at the beach, we headed back to the car to continue on our trek along the lake shore.  We started out going South so the Josh and Nate could step foot in another state! 

 They first stood right on the state line with one foot in Michigan and one foot in Indiana. 

 Next, they stood in Indiana. 

And the "Michigan" sign on the other side of the road. 

We explored alone the lake shore and saw some amazing homes and great views.  We also stopped at Warren Dunes State Park. 

 This state park as huge dunes that you can actually climb (if you feel so led HA!)  They are just amazing. 

 One of the reasons we love exploring is you find neat stuff - Josh and Nate had fun with this huge log.  

 And we found this amazing tree with a huge above ground root system. 

From the park, we continued on our trek and found a great park for a picnic dinner. 

We stopped at one more park before hitting the highway. 

At this park, there is a plaque that commemorates homes that fell off of the dune/cliff that we were standing on.  There was an earth slide that caused the homes to become unstable, then another one not long after.  Several homes were lost while several more were able to be moved.  There are still a couple of houses left on the cliff but are close to falling into the lake as well.  Nate, my history buff, loved this information 

It was truly a great adventure - we all came home sandy, tired, and sun kissed.