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

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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.