Happy Homemaker Monday 09/21

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Carrie Ann Alexis

Had a good weekend. Did some much needed cleaning, and attended the Murder Mystery program at the library, see below on that. Hope everyone has a wonderful week!!

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

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

MOVIE REVIEW:
My daughter and I watched this over the weekend, it was a good movie. A little sad, but very interesting.

NEW RECIPE I TRIED THIS WEEK/RECIPE TO SHARE:
I need to find some new ones to try. I am looking forward to bringing back Beef Stew and Chili as the weather starts to get cooler. I did come across a recipe for Chili, in one of the books that I recently read, it had cocoa in it. That sounded interesting to me, has anyone tried anything like that?

LOL CHUCKLES, AND GIGGLES:

This is how I used to see math word problems…until I had to start teaching it 😐 Now I actually enjoy the challenge of it.

FUN EVENT I RECENTLY ATTENDED:
Saturday at the Library that had the Get Away with Murder program. It was fun, and interesting. They have several stories you can choose from. This one was a murder of the star football player, taken place in 1957. The suspects are presented, and then everyone gets a chance to talk to each one of them, to get information out of them, to solve the crime. The lead character was the School’s Librarian, named Carrie Doubt 🙂 She explained how the event worked, and told us once the suspects were introduced it was up to us to interrogate them, and being that this was 1957, there are no Miranda rights, so if we needed to we could get physical with our interrogations, lol. The suspects stayed in character throughout the whole event. It was fun to have that “back-in-time” feel to it, and the suspects were your typical 50’s characters.

The last time our library did this, people worked in groups to solve the murder, but this time everyone was on their own. I think working in groups would have been even more fun.

Here is their web site, they are available for all kinds of events. Get Away with Murder.

THINGS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO:
Season 8 of Castle!! That starts tonight, there are only a few shows that I like to watch, and this is one of them, I love the crime stories and the cast.

On a creative note…I ordered my calligraphy pens, and a book #onlineshopper. They should be here by the end of the week!!

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA:

QUOTES:

Happy Homemaker Monday 09/14

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Carrie Ann Alexis

The weather has been rather chilly, but it looks like it will warm up this week a bit. Had a nice weekend, it was the twin’s birthday on Sunday, they turned 20!! Even though they still live at home, it is difficult to get everyone together at one time. I cherish these times with them, as I know all to soon they will be few and far between…basically I blinked and they are now two wonderful young adults. *sigh*. Hope everyone has a great week ahead!!

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

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

CURRENTLY READING/HAVE READ:
I really only got the opportunity to read the other Blogbattle entries. Blogbattle is a weekly “contest” where anyone can join in and write a short story (1000 words max) using the word that is given for that week. There are some very good stories that come out of these battles each week. Anyone can join in to write, and anyone can also vote for their favorite story. All you have to do is read all the stories, and then cast your vote for your top 3. The poll goes on the page on Wednesday.

This was started by Rachael Ritchey 6 months ago. I cannot believe it has been that long. I joined in on week 6, and only missed a couple weeks along the way. It is a wonderful community of very talented, passionate writers, encouraging each other, and having fun with something we enjoy doing. I know we are getting more and more writers involved, but I don’t know how many just readers there are. Rachael has asked the blogbattlers to:

Invite all your friends and followers on social media to read our free stories every week and vote…so we can share the experience with people who just enjoy reading a good story and like to have a say in the winner of a little friendly competition. The more people reading and voting, the better!

I would love to see it grow to a community of writers and readers. Anyone who loves to read would enjoy reading the stories, and being able to pick their favorite, which then encourages the writer if their story is chosen for the week. If you, or know anyone who loves to read, share the link with them please 🙂

#BlogBattle

NEW RECIPE I TRIED THIS WEEK/RECIPE TO SHARE:
My daughter and I did make the Cinnamon Roll Bread Twists. They have a good flavor, but I’m not used to working with bread dough. I did use frozen bread dough. I like things nice and simple, and I thought they were more work than they were worth.

This is one of my sons favorite desserts, so I made this for him for his birthday. The twins aren’t big cake people. This is a recipe that my grandma used to make, simple and delicious.

Butterscotch Rice Krispies

1 c. Peanut Butter (I think Skippy works the best for taste)
1 bag Butterscotch Chips
5 c. Rice Krispies Cereal

Melt the peanut butter and butterscotch chips in a double broiler, (or on low heat) until they are creamy. Stir in Rice Krispies so they are coated. Spread flat in a 9 x 13 pan. Refrigerate until set. (about an hour). Keep in the fridge.

LOL CHUCKLES, AND GIGGLES:

THINGS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO:
Football!! Sunday was the official start of the NFL football season, we are Chicago Bear fans!! I don’t always get to sit and watch the whole game, I’m usually in the next room doing my lesson plans, but from time to time I’ll get to watch part of the game, especially after the living room erupts into cheers, high fives, and chest bumps. #boys

But if the game is in the winter and it’s snowing…then I’ll sit and watch it, snuggled up with some hot chocolate, and my Bears Snuggie (yes…I said snuggie…don’t judge 😉 )

FAVORITE VIDEO/BLOG POST:
“Calligraphy is Music for the eyes!!” I’ll be getting my pens soon, and found the books I want to get…it’s only a matter of time. This guy makes it look so easy!!

FAVORITE PHOTO(S) FROM THE CAMERA:

❤ Happy Birthday to my twins Joshua & Olivia!! ❤

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES (PRAYERS OR DEVOTIONALS):

Happy Homemaker Monday 08/31

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Carrie Ann Alexis

I cannot believe it is the last day of August. The summer went way too fast. Already in our second week of school, and we have a beautiful week ahead, all sunshine and 80’s. Have a great week!!

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

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

CURRENTLY READING/HAVE READ:

Reading another Elisabeth Naughton book, Hold on to Me. When Simone and Mitch find themselves running from gunfire, each one thinks that their pasts have caught up with them. A really good story line, I don’t want to give anything away. Very suspenseful, but keeps you wanting to read just one more chapter, and before you know it, you’ve read five, and it’s 2 o’clock in the morning 🙂

NEW RECIPE I TRIED OR WANT TO TRY THIS WEEK:

I did try Carrie’s recipe for BBQ Bacon Cheesy Chicken. So much flavor, it was a big hit here. I will be making it again in the next couple of days. I served mine with green beans, chicken flavored fettuccine noodles, and corn bread. My youngest son was trying to come up with a new name for it, but I think he was distracted by all the flavors assaulting his taste buds, lol. I’m sure he’ll come up with something this next time around. 🙂

LOL CHUCKLES, AND GIGGLES:

Yes…I remember this all too well.

FAVORITE VIDEO/BLOG POST:

My fellow Blogbattler Phoenix Grey posted this on Sunday. I was familiar with this song, but never stopped and listened to it all the way through. Such a great song. I always think of my young adult/teenagers and all that they face as they make their way in this world, bombarded by so many messages through media. They need songs with positive messages like this. I like to call these kinds of songs life anthems 🙂

Here is the post from Phoenix you can check out, and here is the video:

Also, Phoenix has been writing her Blogbattle stories about a Fairy named Winter. I just love this character and all the stories about her. You can read these stories here or by clicking on the BlogBattle: Winter tab on her blog.

FAVORITE NEW WEBSITE:

Litographs.com

These T-shirts are so awesome!! A T-shirt created from the text of favorite books. The designs alone are so cool, but then when you look closer, the colored part is the words to a book!! You can really zoom in on each shirt on their site. They also have posters, totes and tattoos.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA:

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES (PRAYERS OR DEVOTIONALS):

Found this after my Five Minute Friday post.

Five Minute Friday: Alone

Posted on August 28, 2015 by Carrie Ann Alexis

It’s been awhile since I’ve joined in with FMF. But when I saw the word, I had to jump in. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

Linking up with Kate Motaung for Five Minute Friday. If you would like to join in or learn more about it, click on the icon to the left. Write for 5 minutes, here we go.

TODAY’S PROMPT: ALONE

GO…

Recently I have been studying personality types. I’ve always liked learning about people, and what makes them tick. I have always known that I am an introvert. But like most people I really didn’t know what that meant until now. I LOVE to be alone, I crave it and I need it, and this is something that is the most misunderstood especially when you are surrounded by extroverts. I have been thought of as rude, or that I am ignoring someone, which then made me think that there was something wrong with me, but there isn’t, and there isn’t anything wrong with extroverts…we’re just different. But as an introvert, I feel we are looked down upon because of how we interact with people.

Maybe you’ll see yourself in the following characteristics, or someone you know, but this is what I have learned about me…an introvert.

I do enjoy talking, and being social. I prefer one on one conversations, and can sit and talk with a good friend for hours. But after that I will need some alone time, this is where my energy is restored. I do enjoy social get togethers, I can be social and can have fun, but that is not where I get my energy, and I can only do it for so long…afterwards I will need to be alone. But if I have a choice between a social gathering or staying home and reading a book…well you guessed it, I’d enjoy reading the book so much more. I’m not a big fan of phone calls, but I will email all the livelong day. I cannot just pick up the phone to call someone, I think about what that person could be doing, and would this be a good time for them, and thinking that it probably isn’t a good time, I then don’t make the call. I feel that an email can be read and dealt with when they want to. I do not like to be the center of attention.

Introverts are intuitive by nature, and observant. We are in tune to our surroundings, and pick up on moods, and take in everything around us. Therefore, that is why we don’t like to stay in social settings for long, we need to be alone, recharge and process everything. So when interacting with an introvert, if you find them distant or quiet, don’t take it personally, what they want you to know is, “it isn’t you…it’s me.” Respect their need to be alone to recharge, it is crucial for them.

STOP…PENCILS DOWN

Happy Homemaker Monday 08/03

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Carrie Ann Alexis

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

Happy Monday!! Had a good weekend, it was extremely hot out here. Took the boys to a Back to School event on the Lakefront…see below for more on that. The dragonflies out there were crazy, I felt like I was in a creepy movie. I’ve seen more than usual around the house as well. I Googled it and it seems to be a thing along Lake Michigan due to the weather, heavy rain, migration and wind patterns. Whatever it is…it’s creepy to me. Anniehow…on with my post.

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

A beautiful week ahead!!

CURRENTLY READING/HAVE READ:
I haven’t started reading this one yet, I just got it, it’s called First and Goal – What football taught me about never giving up by Jake Byrne. It’s a devotional book that has a devotional to go along with the terms used in football. Jake Byrne was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 14, but went on to play football in high school, college and the NFL. Looks like a very encouraging book for anyone to read but especially the young people.

ON THE MENU (so far):
Chicken Parmigiana, Salad, Fettuccine Noodles, Toasted Bread
Dorito Casserole
Spaghetti and Meatballs, Garlic Toast

NEW RECIPE I TRIED OR WANT TO TRY THIS WEEK:
There are quite a few I would like to try, I keep adding them to my recipe folder, I just need to get at them. Recently I have found recipes for S’mores Dip, Peanut Butter Cup Cookies (which are gluten free too) and Deep Fried Lasagna Rolls. You see I always lean towards the snacky food, LOL. But the Fried Lasagna Rolls look delicious, I’ll let you know when I try them.

WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO IN AUGUST:
There’s a Murder Mystery program at the library, where you try to figure out the murder by going from place to place in the library asking questions to the different characters. I’ve never been to one, sounds like fun though.

Sidewalk Chalk drawing contest for the boys, they each participated in one at the library already, and my 14-year old won 1st place and my youngest won 2nd place for their age groups.

Oh yeah…and school. I have a 5th grader and a freshmen this year to home school. Been there, done that and have two amazing young adults to show for it!! 🙂 (My twins will be 20 next month!!)

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA:
Here are are a couple of photos from the event we went to over the weekend on the Lakefront. It was a Back to School Mascot Extravaganza. Our city is planning on having a Mascot Museum built here in 2017, so the Mascots come out for a lot of our events. There were several NBA mascots as well as Tommy Hawk (Chicago Blackhawks) with a fake Stanley cup, Clark the Cub (Chicago Cubs) and Bennie the Bull (Chicago Bulls) who also did some tricks with the Acrodunk team.

This is the Acrodunk Extreme Dunking Team that performed. It was hotter than blue blazes out there, but this was a lot of fun to see these guys perform. Check out their web site acrodunk.com I had video, but couldn’t upload it 😐