Weekly Worship - Laura Story - He Will Not Let Go

Every week I try to keep my eye (and ear) out for songs - especially songs that others post on social media because they impacted them that week.  This is a beautiful and timely song by Laura Story.  Enjoy. 

2021 Weekly Photos #4

 Welcome to a look back at another week! 

Saturday - It was a glourious day of relaxation.  Darryl, Josh and Nate played video games together for part of the day and just did whatever for the rest of the day.  I scrapbooked all day and met some of my goals for the month.  We went to my mom's for an amazing dinner of fish and chips and played Five Crowns.  (It's pretty obvious who is competitive in the family and it. is. not. me. HA!)  

Sunday - We woke up to a beautiful snowfall (it's why I love Michigan!) and enjoyed another quiet day . .. until the Football Playoffs started HA!  Then we cheered on our teams and enjoyed pizza for dinner. 

The story behind this photo - Josh had asked all week to order pizza as late as possible just for fun.  Well, Darryl and I are old and can't eat pizza at 9:30 at night so we ordered our pizza at 6:00 (like good old people HA!) and, later, at about 9:15,  we went and grabbed a Little Ceasers Pizza for Josh.  (And yes, he eats the whole thing)  I believe in making memories and getting to eat a pizza at 9:30 at night is a memory for sure.

Monday - Today is our last day of no school before second semester officially begins so we enjoyed it.  We all slept in (Well, not Darryl, he worked HA), got McDonald's for lunch and Nate had his friend over for the afternoon.  This days of nothing are nice when I know that tomorrow brings days of school (well . .. unless there is a snow storm if the rumors can be believed HA!) 

Tuesday - Well, today was a snow day!  We got hit with the first REAL snow storm where we ended up with about 4-6 inches of snow.  Our friends had the day off and were here all day so Josh and Nate got the day off as well.  We will start the 2nd semester on Wednesday (hopefully!) 

Wednesday - Finally, we started 2nd semester.  It was nice, quiet, and went smoothly.  It did remind me that I get next to nothing done while we are doing school but I also know that once we get our schedule running like clock work I will have some time slots throughout the day when both boys are working independently.  (Hopefully!)

Thursday - Today was a 1/2 day for our friends (so a 1/2 day for us too!).  My mom came over to hang with the kids so I could get our (hers and mine!) grocery shopping done for the week.  

Friday - Our goal each week is to finish up school by Thursday so our Friday is free!  Plus our friends have another 1/2 day.  Throw in a little Tae Kwon Do and the day is done! 

Weekly Menu

 Some years it feels like there are 273 days in January but, for some odd reason, January has just flown by.  Here we are, already looking into February.  It won't be long it will be spring HA! Now, keeping it real - I almost feel like I should repost last weeks menu because it's like I didn't even create one.  I kept pushing things forward or substituting a simple meal for a more complex one due to time.  Maybe this week will go more as planned 

Friday - Tonight is eat out - but eat in night :-)  

Saturday - Dinner at my mom's :-) 

Sunday - Lets keep it real, we've been ordering pizza on Sunday night because cooking isn't fun on Sunday night HA!  We have heard a rumor that we are getting a Domino's and I can't wait!  Their pizza is good and much less expensive then the local Sports Bar/Italian Restaurant.  

Monday - Pulled Pork Taocs - a carry over from two weeks ago   I'll add a salad and chips and salsa to wrap it up. 

Tuesday - Chicken Enchiladas and Salad - I finally found the Chicken Enchilada Soup needed for this recipe after almost a year!  I'm excited to make them again as they are a favorite. (Yes, two Mexican meals in a row - we love Mexican food!) 

Wednesday - Chick-Fa-lay Nuggets and Daddy Fries (A carry over from last week) 

Thursday - Sausage Gravy and Biscuits, hashbrowns, and fruit.  (Another carry over from a previous week!)  

I think that I might have now cooked all the meals I planned over the last two weeks - it just took me THREE weeks to do it HA!  

And, for the record, I used my Air Fryer again - this time I made roasted Asparagus.  Amazingly, it only takes 4 minutes to cook Asparagus! 

January Goal Recap

January was glorious.  It was relaxed, without the pressure of lessons every day, and a chance to get some things done on my list!  Here's the January Goal Recap!  

My goals for January are as follows: 

1. Complete 31 pages in Scrapbooking (towards my 365 total page goal) Done!  I exceeded this goal by a few pages.  I have this awesome chart that a fellow Creative Memories person made and I love filling it each time I scrapbook.  

2. Read my three books in my plan this month.  Record them in my Pinterest folder of what books I read this month. I read 2 of the three.  I didn't look at the number of chapters in the two non-fiction books to figure out how many chapters to read a day and apparently 1 a day was not enough HA!  

3. 1000 hours outside - There is a blog and a Facebook page about this concept but the tracker can be found HERE. The goal of the blog is to get 1000 hours outside in a year.  That's not happening HA!  Instead my goal is just to get outside more.  I'm hoping that we can shade in lots of the chart over the next year - there is no "fail" because anytime spent outside is success.  I have not even addressed this yet with my family and I did not track anything.  We've had a wet January - more rain/slush then snow so going outside hasn't been ideal.  

4. 365 Declutter Calendar - Finish all 31 tasks on the list (or at least all that apply to me - sometimes there are line items that do not apply to my home or the way I do things here) This month is focusing on the kitchen so I plan to deep clean and declutter the kitchen along with the tasks.  I recently shared THIS post about a couple different declutting blogs/ideas I like.  So instead of the 365, I've moved to the snail paced concept of writing my own 52 week declutter missions.  I completed all of January's tasks which were all in Nate's room and moved on to the next weeks task, Josh's desk.  

5. Order the Macaroon making kit on Amazon. As we started the new year, as I usually do, I went on a slight spending freeze so this did not make the list in January.  

6. The basement - The end goal is to have a well organized, useful basement.  So, my goal this month is progress.  I'll try to remember to take a before and after photo so "you" can actually see that I make progress. Yes!  I got another shelf set up and sorted through things and packed Christmas stuff away neatly.  So I feel like I accomplished this task this month 

7. Read one chapter in my photography book and PRACTICE the skill.  I did pick up the book and start reading it but that is as far as I got! 

8. Put all the page protectors on the pages that need them.  Also put all completed pages in albums. Done! 

9. Pick camping dates for this summer and reserve the spots I can. I haven't done this yet. 

10. Go on one date with Darryl. This is scheduled for this weekend - even if we just go get our favorite tacos for lunch :-) 

11. Pick out the song I want to record for Christmas on the piano.  Done, yes, I really DID pick it! 

12. Plan out the first adventure to visit at least one of the great lakes. I started to plan this but have shifted my plan some and need to re-plan

13. Get some spines imprinted - my consultant has told me there will be a sale this month so I'm hoping to get 10 imprinted (Buy 4 get 1 free). Yes!  I ordered them and they should be here by the time this posts! 

14. Set up a schedule for the boys to accomplish seat work, regular school work, piano and AWANA lessons.  We have to catch up on AWANA so they can finish on time (end of April). We will pick up the plan starting next week! 

15. Clean out my recipe box. Done 1.5.21.  Threw away a whole stack of recipes we either didn't love or I haven't ever made even once! 

16. Plan the menu for the month and keep it (to use next year - to make planning easier!) Use the Air Fryer and make at least one recipe out of my new cookbooks. Done. 

17. Completely clean the master - I always have to totally regain the master after Christmas between wrappings, boxes, and bags it is a mess HA!  It's time once again to totally clean, declutter and make sure everything is put away once again (I always tackle this room in January for this very reason!) Done 1.4.21 - I even had a new comforter set to put on the bed thanks to my mom.  

18.  Help Nate finish up organizing in his room - we started it before Christmas but then things got moved in there to make room for the tree so we never finished.  He wants his room organized and everything where he can find it and use it. Done - and it looks amazing! 

19.  Help Josh finish up the last things in his room - we were 90% done before Christmas.  We've moved his desk into his room too so we need to make sure that is also cleaned up. We got his desk area done and the rest of the room is on my "52 weeks" list for February. 

20. Set up my scrapbook stuff on the bedroom shelf - I'm trying to simply the visual clutter on my desk - since I tend to scrapbook at a specific time (like one weekend a month) I would like my stuff more put away yet easy to grab to do a quick page. Done 1.4.21  This was an easy transition once I cleaned the bedroom.  I like having the bins off the top of my desk. 

21. Update my Holiday Journal with everything from Thanksgiving - New Years.  Read ideas from last year on upcoming events.  Plan the superbowl party, Valentine's Day, and Darryl's birthday. Done 1.4.21  I had no notes about the Superbowl so I will add them this year.  

22. (I was aiming for just 21 goals but I have this "misc." category that needs to be added!) So, here are my misc. items that need to get done. A) Josh got a punching bag penguin for Christmas that we need to set up - get some sand to add as a weight and blow it up.  B) Josh and Nate each got a new desk chair for Christmas - we need to get those put together AND finally put away all of the extra folding chairs that are constantly floating around! Done 1.5.21 C) My mom made beautiful shadow boxes for each of the boys for Christmas that we need to get on the walls.  D) I bought a new Echo Dot for the living room so I can listen to our local Christmas Radio Station so Darryl needs to hook that up for me.Done 1.4.21  E) Give Darryl a spot for his stuff  Done F) Josh got a new solar system set to hang from his ceiling but he wants it measured out correctly so Darryl needs to help get that accomplished.  G. I have a small box worth of Amazon returns that need to be taken care of by the end of January. Done 1.5.21  H.  Taxes - it is that time of year to start that process - I'd just like as much done as possible by Jan. 31st so we can file at the earliest date. 1.5.21 - Completed - just waiting until February to send them in 

What We are Eating - Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

 

Up until a week ago, I had not been able to find one of the main ingredients for my normal enchilada recipe - it's been a year (thanks covid!) so I went in search of a new one.  Guess what?  There was one in my new Magnolia Table Cookbook!  It used the green enchilada sauce which I have never used yet Darryl informed me he likes that better then the red!  Imagine that!  This was a great recipe!  I did cut it in half because I knew only Darryl and I would eat it.  In doing so, though, it ended up being little too saucy so next time I will add less sauce. 

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.  

The tale of the Rubik's Cube

 There once was a cube called Rubik's

It's meant to be solved in a moment.

There are two kids that each got one

They tried to match sides just for fun. 

They heard the tale of an Uncle

Who had rapid fast hands, yes he did

He could solve that crazy cube

He was one super fast dude!

A trip to a wedding took place

Of course Mr. Rubik's came along

Why? Because Uncle Jeff would there

And all those boys could do was stare.

He took that cube in his hands

Announced, "Get that timer ready"

 And It was with great resolve

That splendid cube he did solve.

Now, several years later

One boy in particular kept trying

To reach the same level as his Uncle

And solve that cube which is a struggle

The day has arrived and the cube has been solved

Not once or twice - but now over and over!

But have no fear, that first cube solved by Jeff

Now has a special pace on the shelf. 

The words have been uttered

Words of clear adoration

"Don't touch that cube over there!"

It was solved by my Uncle with care! 

(I am so not a poet - but this was fun!) 

2021 Weekly Photos #2

 Yes, I'm a day late but I still wanted to look back over this past week! 

We had a super quiet week.  

Saturday and Sunday - We enjoyed a great weekend of relaxation and football.  

Monday-Friday - We just enjoyed a quiet week.  Our friends were here doing school but Josh and Nate didn't have school to do so I think they enjoyed that a lot.  I did a lot of reading :-)  It was nice to be able to curl on on the couch with a blanket and a book and read.  

On Friday we even had some snow and it was pretty! 

This little guy just loves that we are home 99% of the time.  

You can't seem them but there were some gigantic flakes falling throughout the afternoon :-) 

Weekly Menu

 I know it's only week 2 but I am already trying to be much more intentional with meal planning and this is not just with dinner but also with my breakfast and with lunch.  If I don't specifically plan easy breakfast and lunch ideas, I struggle with eating healthy.  It takes more work on the planning side of things as I have to actually remember to plan those parts but when the stuff is in the fridge, prepped and ready to go, it makes it so much easier to quickly get my food!  

So here's the plan for the coming week

Friday - Dinner at my mom's this week. 

Saturday - Take out Friday Saturday (there are Saturday football games again this week!) 

Sunday - Lunch:  BBQ Cups, Fries and Onion Rings and veggies and dip (ok, I'm the only one that will eat the veggies but that's ok)  Dinner:  (Breakfast) Ham and Cheese Quiche, roasted veggies, and Fruit and Dip (our favorite!) 

Monday - (Pork) Pork Tacos with Mango Salsa (this is a new Slow Cooker Recipe), beans, chips and salsa and Salad

Tuesday (Beef) Since I made BBQ Cups on Sunday for lunch, I'm going to slip in another family favorite today that has no meat - Stuffed Shells.  I'll add parmesan green beans and garlic bread to round it all out. 

Wednesday - AirFryer - Crispy Chicken and Pickle Sandwiches and Daddy Fries - I might try to do these in the Air Fryer too.  (might as well jump in with both feet HA!) 

Thursday - (Chicken) Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas.  Beans, Chips and Salsa and Salad.  

I sent to the grocery store yesterday and was reminded why I stopped planning meals that called for specific ingredients during this pandemic - the grocery store is not carrying near the variety they used to carry and there are lots more empty shelves!!!!  For example - I needed Jumbo Shells for my Stuffed shells and there were NONE.  All brands were sold out (Seriously?) I ended up getting manicotti shells but still - I should have just planned Spaghetti HA! 

I'm on a Cookbook Kick

 

I've always enjoyed cookbooks but since the creation of Pinterest and the easy search of all things food I found that I used that search option much more than cookbooks over the last few years. 

Well, Darryl got me "The New Frontier" cookbook by The Pioneer Woman for Christmas and it brought back that love for an actual book when searching for recipes. 

I also got an air fryer for Christmas and, ironically, Nate had given my mom the Air Fryer cookbook as a gift.  Needless to say, I ordered myself one right after Christmas too! 

This quickly sent me down the rabbit hole of cookbooks on Amazon where I found Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines and a Slow Cooker book both which have great reviews.  I have quite a few friends that post recipes from the Magnolia Table book as well so I'm confident I'll find some "keepers".  

I also have Taste of Homes "365 Days of Cookies" in my Amazon cart.  I'm looking forward to adding that one to my collection in the near future! 

Cookbooks become like old friends with pages that are "dog eared" along with splatters and handwritten notes.  I look forward to breaking in all of these cookbooks in the coming weeks. 

What We are Eating - Sweet Potato Casserole

 I did not do a great job at taking individual photos of my food!  So, this photo shows both my Green Bean Casserole and Sweet Potato Casserole. 

Today I'm going to talk about my Sweet Potato Casserole.  It is amazing. 

I found this recipe years ago on a blog I followed called Comfy in the Kitchen. 

I love that it uses real sweet potatoes that you cook in the oven and then scrap the goodness out to mix with everything else. 

I love that it has two toppings.  Now, the recipe tells you to do diagonal lines of each type - the streusel and the marshmallow - but in this house some people only like marshmallow so I do half and half.  The lines make it look fancier HA! 

You van find the recipe HERE: 

Sweet Potato Casserole

Prep time: 25 mins

Cook time: 1 hour 40 mins

Total time: 2 hours 5 mins

Serves: 10

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups cornflakes cereal, crushed
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Clean and pierce sweet potatoes and bake for 1 hour or until tender
3. Let stand until cool to touch (about 20 minutes)
4. Reduce oven temperature to 350°.
5. Slice open sweet potatoes and take out insides, place in a large mixing bowl
6. Beat mashed sweet potatoes, granulated sugar, and next 5 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.
7. Spoon potato mixture into a greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish.
8. Combine cornflakes cereal and next 3 ingredients in a small bowl.
9. Sprinkle over casserole in diagonal rows 2 inches apart.
10. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.
11. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes.
12. Sprinkle marshmallows in alternate rows between cornflake mixture; bake 10 minutes.
13. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

An Attitude of Gratitude

 It is so important to have Gratitude. Have you every noticed that when you look for things to be thankful for that you are over all happier?  Well, it is true.  Focus on the positive and you will be more positive.  

Well, while on lockdown (HA!) the ads on Facebook just sucked a person in sometimes!  I will even admit that I ordered Christmas gifts from the ads!  (And they all were great!) .  One of the ads was for this Gratitude Finder journal.  I clicked on it and decided to buy it about 6 times before I actually ordered it.  First, it is pretty AND there are multiple covers you can chose from so that you can pick what inspires me.  (Yes, the beach!) 

I also loved it because it is not dated and there are no real "rules".  At the top is a place to write in the date of the week and then, list the things that you are grateful for in the boxes provided.  In reality you can totally customize this anyway you would like that works for you! 

I also love that you can take a break - or forget - for weeks and come back to it to pick up again and never really feel like you are behind. 

I'm also excited to add this one to my daily devotions.  Josh got this for me for Christmas and it is a true day by day journal.  It gives some prompts to use as well which is great when you are feeling like you have nothing to be grateful for on a given day! 

How will you find Gratitude this year?  

January Reading Goal

 Last week I posted my stacks of books I hope to get through this year.  I'm going to break that down into smaller chunks and share my monthly goals too.  

These books come from my "stacks".  

Non-Fiction Books

Anything

Stripped (Written by a good friend of mine)

Fiction Book

Just Look Up

Bible Study

365 most important Bible Passages for Mothers

Refresh your Faith (recommended by a friend) 

Training Hearts - to use with the kids.  

The two Bible Study books above are coming in from Amazon in next couple of days.  "Refresh your Faith" was recommended from a friend who used it last year.  It is a daily Bible Study that looks pretty interesting.  "Training Hearts" was one that popped up as "recommended" when I ordered the first one.  It looks good and I think will be something good to do with the boys. 

Now, this list does not include all of the other books I read for fun!  

Weekly Worship - All Glory Be To Christ - The Petersens (LIVE)

I think you will recognize the melody of this song but with new words.  And the harmonies are amazing. 

2021 Week in Photos #1

 Welcome to another year in photos.  This was actually a pretty quiet week! 

Saturday - We woke up to some amazing snow that had started on New Year's Day.  It's been a pretty brown winter so far so to have the beautiful white winter wonderland was perfect. 

I was able to get some photos of the kids on our way to my mom's.  Her park has some great places to get great photos! 

Sunday - Football! 

They jumped in the snow barefoot and in their clothes because the Browns made it to the playoffs for the first time in 18 years. 

Monday-Thursday - Our friends started back to school virtually still while Josh and Nate are still on Christmas break.  Darryl was also home unexpectedly as his cab was broken down.  I was able to get a lot of things done and enjoy lots of time to read. 

Friday - I finished organizing things in the basement from Christmas including getting a shelf moved.  We also went to my mom's for dinner and played a very crazy game of Five Crowns.  

Before

After.  I actually made quite a bit of progress today! 

That was our week :-) 

Weekly Menu

 Year 2021.  I haven't been super creative over the last few months when it came to meal planning.  We ate a lot of meat and potatoes and pasta.  I mean, I've been planning meals on my own for like 25 years.  Wow.  I've gone from planning menus for 1 (which was kind of easy since I'm the only one that had to like what I cooked) to planning for 2 and then we threw in kids.  Cooking for kids is not always easy especially since my kids eat like kids and not like old people (I have a friend whose 9 year old asked for split pea soup and salad for his birthday dinner).  I also have a kid who HATES onions.  Do you have any idea how many things call for onions?  Uuugg.  I first I thought he was being picky but then my sister-in-law told me that her dad still hates onions.  Anyway, I'm hoping to cull my recipes this year and clean out what we don't like anymore and find some new ones that we love.  My goal is always to find things that at least three people in the house love - if all 4 love it, that is a homerun!  

So, after all of that, what in the world am I cooking this week?  I'm trying to get back to my old planning strategy where each day of the week has a plan such as Pork on Monday, Beef on Tuesday, Airfryer/new recipe on Wednesday, and Chicken on Thursday.  Fridays are take out night, Saturdays are at my mom's and Sundays are breakfast for dinner (or whatever I feel like cooking!!)  I've done this in the past and it works out well for awhile until I get bored and then I will change things up once again! 

Now, after all of that, the next few weeks will be a little different because, well, Football.  We are going to go to dinner at my mom's on FRIDAY and do take out on SATURDAY totally because of the Saturday football games (and my mom doesn't have cable HA!)  

Friday - Dinner at my mom's

Saturday - Take out Friday Saturday

Sunday - Sunday is the one day that I specifically plan two "meals"  We are all home and I feel like I have to plan differently then during the week.  I don't necessarily love to cook on Sundays but we still have to eat!!  So, lunch is quesadillas.  The goal is to have leftover chicken from earlier in the week to use in order to make these super easy.  Dinner is breakfast.  I found a new recipe for Breakfast Enchiladas that I am going to try.  I'm hopeful it will be good AND you are supposed to make it in advance so I can make it in the morning and then bake it off later in the day for dinner.  One of the ways I've slacked off in the last few months is planning sides.  So, to go along with breakfast enchiladas I'm going to have a simple fruit salad, and Lemon Muffins. 

Monday - Chicken, Acorn Squash, Corn, and Crescents. 

Tuesday - Taco Tuesday!  No, not every Tuesday will have Tacos because we get bored BUT this week it will be Tacos.  For sides we will have a salad and chips

Wednesday - Air Fryer Stromboli.  I have a Stromboli recipe that I make in the oven but sometimes it feels a little soggy.  I'm hoping the Air Fryer will give it that nice flaky crust on the bread.  Salad. 

Thursday - Creamy Chicken Soup with Pasta and Spinach and Yeast Rolls 

Reading Goal for 2021

Years ago I would set a reading goal for each month (or was it a year?) and post my stack of books.  I did much better at getting through those stacks then I have been the past few years!!  I think I used to have more time to read when kids took naps HA! I was looking back through some of my old "books" posts and see some of the same books on my list this time so I must not have read through as many as I thought though!  Anyway, I digress.  In November, I cleaned off my little bookcase and organized my books in order of how to read them.  Here are my stacks: 

This is stack #1 - top down is how I'm reading.  The goal is two books a month from my stack so I can get through the whole stack (#2 photo below included) by the end of the year. 

This is stack #2.  These stacks of books are only non-fiction books.  Books for better living, raising kids, building relastionships and more.  

These are additional books I added to my "list" after Christmas because, well, I got them as gifts!  Two are cookbooks and yes, I like to "read" them.  I have goals to use them both throughout the year and try many new recipes.  

Another book to add to the "stack".  Yes, I like Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman) so I pre-ordered her new book a few months ago and it arrived in November.  I want to make sure and take time to read this treasure as well. 

Finally, one last book "added" to the stack.  I just ordered this one - it's been on my list for a year to order (my word last year was "Peace")  

I have plenty of reading to do this year because I also have a stack of fiction books to read too!  I love using my Kindle (and might even upgrade it this year!) but I also love holding a good book too.  

I have created a BOARD on Pinterest to track the books I read this year.  It is currently empty as I have not finished any yet!  I hope to update it soon though! 

What We are Eating - Caramel Apple Pie

 So, I actually have several recipes to share starting with some from Thanksgiving!  My blog took a little bit of a back seat in December since I was busy with other things like school and Christmas and a birthday! So, now it's time to start sharing!  

This photo shows both pies Nate and I made but the one I'm sharing about today is the one at the top - the Caramel Apple Pie.  Apple Pie is one of my least favorite pies yet so many other people love it so I needed to find a recipe that was GOOD.  Well, the Pioneer Woman did not disappoint with this one!  It has so many good things - lots of apples, a fabulous crumb topping, and caramel dripping over the top!  

You can find the recipe HERE which includes wonderful photos but I also included it below.  

Ingredients

1 

whole pie crust

6 c. 

(to 7 cups) peeled and sliced granny smith apples

1/2 

whole (juice of) lemon

1/2 c. 

sugar

4 tbsp. 

flour

1/4 tsp. 

salt

1/2 c. 

flour

1 1/2 

stick butter

1 c. 

brown sugar

1/2 c. 

quick oats

1/4 tsp. 

salt

1/2 c. 

pecans, chopped

1/2 

jar (or more) caramel topping

This ingredient shopping module is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content on their web site.

 Powered by Chicory

 

Directions

1. In a bowl mix peeled apples, lemon juice, sugar, flour and ¼ teaspoon salt. Set aside. For crumb topping, cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter, then add in brown sugar, oats, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
2. Add apples to prepared pie shell and top with crumb topping. Cover crust edges with aluminum foil and bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil from crust and place back into the oven for another 30 minutes. Chop pecans, and when five minutes remain, sprinkle them over the pie. Finish baking. Quiver with anticipation.
3. Remove the pie from the oven and pour ½ jar (or more, if you’re feeling dangerous and naughty) of caramel topping over the top. Allow to cool slightly before serving, or don’t if you can’t wait. Eat. Enjoy. Smile. Cry. Then smile again.