Happy Homemaker Monday

FAB-RUARY DAY TWO:

A Postcard From Your Ideal Life…

Linking up with I Will Bloom for Fab-ruary…A month of blog challenges to help you ‘find the fab’.

AND…

Linking-up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:
Cold and White!! We survived the blizzard from yesterday. In the middle of the afternoon, as the twins were communicating with their friends from different areas of the town, they would yell out who lost power and what street, as they scrambled for their phone chargers, lol. It got as close to us as the next street over, and my son was like “it’s getting closer!!” Thankfully, we didn’t lose power.

See pics below.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:
Cinnamon toast (not a big breakfast person), and coffee with International Delight Cold Stone Creamery Sweet Cream.

AS I LOOK OUTSIDE MY WINDOW:
I see a lot of snow, snow drifts, and our neighbors digging themselves out. But the snow is so beautiful glistening in the sunlight. The sunshine is nice today…but that also means 6 more weeks of winter, since the groundhog saw his shadow. The way the wind was blowing last night, we could not see out our front windows. This is what our front door looked like last night.

ON TODAY’S TO DO LIST:
Shoveling, laundry of course, home school. Today is my middle son’s birthday, he’s 14 and taller than me, where has the time gone? I baked him a Funfetti Cake that he requested.

RIGHT NOW I AM:
Feeling a breeze across my head as my son is flying his new remote controlled helicopter, over me while I sit here finishing up this post. 🙂 I must have a lot of confidence in his flying to allow this thing to hover over me. Those things are totally cool though, this one even has lights!!

CURRENTLY READING:
Just finished: The Second Chance Café by Alison Kent. This one was good. A story about a girl who was in the system as a child, and raised by Foster parents. After they die she is able to purchase the house she grew up in with them, and renovates it (love my renovations, lol), and turns it into a Café, all while trying to find her parents.

Currently Reading: Evening Stars by Susan Mallery (one of my favorite authors). I love all of Susan Mallery’s characters. Her Fool’s Gold Series has 15 books, and all the characters are different, and a lot of them interact with each other. Such good stories too.

Currently Browsing: Weaving Made Easy a lot of terminology. This is really a how to book, and without an actual loom, and not knowing the new terms, hard to picture what is being said. But a lot of helpful information about the whole process and how to choose yarns and colors.

ON THE TV TODAY:
Castle!! I think last week was a re-run. I am also waiting for The Good Wife to resume!!

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:
Pizza – Birthday Celebration
Beef Stew
Chicken Bacon Club Sandwiches (Subway style)
BBQ Breaded Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli/Cauliflower with bread crumbs, Grands Flakey Biscuits.

WHAT I AM CREATING AT THE MOMENT:
Still nothing. 😦 The book I just read had a character that made scarves with a loom weave. So I found a book that tells you how to get started. It’s going to be a process, but there is just something that fascinates me about it.

NEW RECIPE I HAVE TIRED OR WANT TO TRY THIS WEEK:
I have been quite ambitious in the kitchen. I saw this recipe on Face Book and tried it Yeah…it looks good, but, eh. A little extra work, and it’s basically just pancakes and bacon, though my oldest son said that they were easier to eat. I think I’ll stick to making them separately. 🙂

I also tried the Simple Bread Pudding from Northwoods Scrapbook. WOW!! That was a bowl full of delicious!! I actually made a big 9 x 13 pan of it, #growingboys. My youngest son likes to watch that show The Chop with my mom. So as he’s eating this, he is taking small bites and chewing it, with this serious look on his face, just trying to absorb all the flavors, and figure out the ingredients. Then he says this is really good, did you make this recipe up yourself? Because if you did, you could be on The Chop!! LOL. I had to let him know that I wasn’t that awesome to make up my own recipe, but awesome enough to follow one. Thanks Carrie for sharing that one, I have to make more!!

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM CAMERA:
Had to share the Blizzard of 2015 with you. I so enjoyed watching the snow fall, and fall, and fall…all. day. long. My daughter was the designated photographer.

These were all before the snowstorm was upgraded to a blizzard.

I can’t say that I am always the “happy” homemaker, but I am a homemaker nonetheless, and I came across this link-up and thought it would be fun to join in. Linking-up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:
Blah. It was close to 40 over the weekend, and will be in the upper 30’s all week, so what little snow we had has melted. The warmer temperature is nicer than the negative numbers we had a few weeks ago, I would just like some snow.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:
Cinnamon toast, and coffee.

AS I LOOK OUTSIDE MY WINDOW:
There are new houses being built behind ours, and with the warmer weather the construction guys are working hard to get as much done as they can. It’s fun to watch how quickly they can get things done. My mom has a little contest where we all pick what color siding the house will be, the winner gets a Subway gift card.

RIGHT NOW I AM:
Basically taking it easy, been fighting a cold the last couple of days.

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE:
The main areas are clean. Need to get to the basement and do some organizing.

ON TODAY’S TO DO LIST:
Laundry. Does it ever end?

CURRENTLY READING:
Everything Happens for a Reason: Finding the True Meaning of the Events in Our Lives by Mira Kirshenbaum

More Than Words: Stories of Strength by Carla Neggers, Susan Mallery and Karen Harper. These three New York Times bestselling authors have written original short stories inspired by real-life heroines. They also include information about the causes/organizations that these women have started.

ON THE TV TODAY:
Castle!! This has been my favorite show for soo long, love the characters. I recently caught up on The Good Wife, I just love Julianna Margulies, and I love the different judges on this show.

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:
Dorito Casserole
Italian Beef Sandwiches with sweet peppers and red sauce
Pork Chops, veggies, rice and crescent rolls
Need to grocery shop.

WHAT I AM CREATING AT THE MOMENT:
I wish I was creating this right now, would love to try loom weaving like this picture. Still researching the different types of looms and a good starter project. Has anyone tried this?

NEW RECIPE I WANT TO TRY THIS WEEK:
I’m going to start trying new recipes. This isn’t one I tried this week, but I am making it. This is not the original recipe, I have made my modifications.

Mexican Dorito Casserole

2 c. shredded cooked chicken (I cook about 1 1/2 lbs. in the crock pot)
2 c. shredded Mexican cheese (or cheddar)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
1/2 can Ro-tel tomatoes (canned diced tomatoes and green chilies)
1/2 can Diced tomatoes
1 packet taco seasoning
Bag of doritos

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350-f degrees.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except doritos.

3. In a greased 9 x 13 baking dish, put a layer of crushed Doritos (about 2 cups), then a layer of the chicken mixture, then a layer of cheese. Repeat once more, ending with a layer of chess, and a few crushed Doritos. Top with more shredded cheese, cover, and bake for 30-35 minutes, till bubbling hot.

I serve it on shredded lettuce with backed tortillas. I take soft flour tortillas, cut them in quarters, lightly spray them with spray butter and but them in the oven for 8 minutes at 350.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM CAMERA:
My daughter has her own photography page on Face Book, and Instagram, and has recently gotten back into it. So I will share some of her stuff here. This week I will combine the photo and quote together. Sometimes she will incorporate her own sayings right into the photos, or as captions. I couldn’t pic just one, these are two of my favorites.