Happy Homemaker Monday 04.04.16

Good Afternoon!!   It’s slow going today, as we get ourselves back in the swing of things, so hard to get motivated after a break like that, plus I have one sniffly kid as well.  It’s a gloomy, freezing day outside, so that doesn’t help.  Hope everyone has a great week ahead!!

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

 

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:
Bullsh…lol, sorry that just sums it up.

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WHAT’S FEEDING MY BOOK ADDICTION:
House on Cooper Lane by Oliver Phipps. This is based on a true story. When I read the summary, it sounded pretty interesting; a haunted house that was turned into apartments. The story is about what one guy and his dog finds when they rent an apartment on the bottom floor, and why the other apartments haven’t been rented out for years. One of the reviews stated that it was chilling, and very scary. Eh…it was mediocre. The story was decent, but nothing bone chilling or suspenseful. When I am reading on my kindle, the bottom shows the percentage of what was read. So I’m like at 78% and the story ends, and I’m like that’s it? There was a sample chapter of another story at the end of this one 😐 If your looking for a typical haunted house story, it’s worth a read, it’s not horrible. I guess I was expecting more.

LOL CHUCKLES, AND GIGGLES:

RECIPE I TRIED:
OK…so now I’m getting fancy. This one just looked so yummy, I think it’s because it’s so colorful, lol. I did add Water Chestnuts to mine, I just like the little added crunch they add to a dish like this. I also served it over rice, turned out good.

Here is the link for the recipe: http://bit.ly/1PrlKux

 

FAVORITE VIDEO FROM THE WEB:
There is something so calming in watching this video. I. Want. One!!


FROM THE CAMERA:

© 2016 Liv’s Photography

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Happy Homemaker Monday 03.28.16

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Good Afternoon!!  Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  We had a relaxing Easter, my mom decided not to cook, and I didn’t either, which was a good thing, because Sunday morning we lost power.  It wasn’t out for long, but at a time when we were to get ready to go to church.  I had showered the night before, and let my hair dry naturally, which is naturally curly and quite wild.  So needless to say, without a flat iron to tame my locks, I missed the service 😦  Had I planned an Easter bonnet with my outfit, I would have been good to go, LOL.  Hope everyone has a good week ahead, I plan on enjoying my break from doing school with the boys.

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

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

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WHAT’S FEEDING MY BOOK ADDICTION:
Holding Back Daylight by Carrie Crafton. I don’t remember where I found this one, probably on one of my Kindle lists. When I read the description, which described the story taking place in Chicago, I thought it would be interesting and familiar, and I was drawn to the author because of her name 😉  It took me awhile to read it, it wasn’t that the writing was bad, or the story wasn’t interesting, I guess it was just an average story, nothing too exciting. I did like the references from the city that I recognized. The main character, Claire is a bar owner, which she inherited from her Uncle that passed away. I loved the name of the bar which was called Ziggy’s, which was my nickname in high school since my last name began with a Z-y-g. It was a story about friendships and the loss of family, with interesting characters. Just a normal story, with a lot of drinking I might add, about a girl’s journey to allowing herself to live life, and let people in.

LOL CHUCKLES, AND GIGGLES:
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RECIPE I TRIED:
These were really good.


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10 oz. Mini Marshmallows
¼ c. butter
5 c. Rice Krispie Cereal
¾ c. Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 jar Marshmallow Fluff
½ bag mini Chocolate Chips

Following recipe to make Rice Krispie Treats, adding the graham cracker crumbs to cereal. Spread on a pan lined with parchment paper. Spread Marshmallow Fluff over the top. Sprinkle Chocolate Chips over the top of that. Places in over at 200* for 2 minutes. Spread melted chocolate chips until smooth. Roll up width-wise to form a log. Chill for 1 hour. Slice and serve.

FAVORITE VIDEO FROM THE WEB:
OMG, I don’t know how many times I have watched this, it just makes me laugh. What the heck is wrong with this hamster?

OUR LITTLE DIY PROJECT:
The house we live in is very old, built in the early 1900s. So the basement is a bit dungeon-esque. There is a small room with a table/desk built in, and this is where my son works on his custom Lego mini figures. So, we decided it needed a little makeover. We didn’t do anything extravagant, the walls are pretty bad and concrete, but we knew cleaning and some paint would make it look a lot nicer, so we started Thursday night, and finished Saturday afternoon. We painted the floor, walls, ceiling and desk. It’s that industrial style that is so popular now 🙂  My son chose the color scheme and both my sons helped with the painting and cleaning, it was a lot of work, but he is very happy with it. It’s perfect for a teenager, not to mention when the weather gets warmer, it’s about 20 degrees cooler down there. Perfect place to hang out. Here are the before and after pics.

BEFORE

 

AFTER

 

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QUOTES:

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Happy Homemaker Monday 03.21.16

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Good Afternoon/Evening!!  This is a late post. It’s officially spring, and it’s like in the 40’s. It’s sunny, which makes it a little deceiving. Ready for the warmer weather, and a nice good spring thunderstorm!! Counting down the days to spring break!!  Three.  There are three more days before spring break 😀  Hope everyone has a Happy and Blessed Easter!!

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

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

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WHAT’S FEEDING MY BOOK ADDICTION:
A Better Way to Pray by Andrew Wommack. I haven’t read a book like this in a long time. I recently met with my dear friend before she left for her mission trip to Africa. We usually spend about 3 to 4 hours in a restaurant talking about everything from our families to our faith. We’ve known each other for a good while, and she is a minister. It’s nice to be able to talk with her, and not worry about being “religiously proper” and yet she can give some really good sound answers. My background is I was raised Catholic, and then attended Apostolic/Pentecostal churches after I got married, and most recently not attending church for some time, to be honest, I’m not interested in religion, but still have faith in God. Anniehow…she suggested this book to me, and I was skeptical at first, because I had heard some things from him some time ago, that didn’t agree with me, but I gave it a chance, and I really enjoyed. This isn’t your normal book about prayer, and he isn’t shy about mentioning things that are taught and disagreeing with them. As he says in the book, this isn’t a book about the BEST way to pray, but a BETTER way to pray, and you can decide for yourself if it’s for you.

RECIPE I’D LIKE TO TRY:
I haven’t come across much lately, need to find some new things to try. I did see a recipe for Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies which looked really good. I’ve always wanted to try that chocolate/bacon combo, and still haven’t yet. Need to put this on my list.

LOL CHUCKLES, AND GIGGLES:

WHAT’S ON THE TV:
All the usual, Castle, Quantico, Blindspot. I didn’t start watching The Voice this time around, starting those kinds of shows takes like a real commitment, LOL, I used to faithfully watch Dancing With The Stars, but it was like a job. I may try and catch a few episodes, I miss watching all that dancing!!

FAVORITE VIDEO FROM THE WEB:
Now that I have an Instagram account I have been following all these people who do hand lettering (along with a couple of puppy dogs, gah!!). I don’t know if it is helping me or hurting me. They make it look so easy, and I just want to be able to letter like they do!! This guy especially, Ian Barnard, I love his accent, and he is amazing. I did download some of his work sheets for some serif fonts, yeah…I need practice. But he does it with Sharpie markers!! And they are perfect each time. One day…one day!!

FROM THE CAMERA:
Small towns; Big Dreams

© 2016 Liv’s Photography

You can follow my daughter’s photography on instagram. @jak_photography_art
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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!

This time lapse video is always fun to watch.   The Chicago River has been died green on St. Patrick’s day for the past 40 years, can’t say that I have seen it in person, but it’s amazing how they can do this.

I made Shamrock Shakes again this year.  I was disappointed I was unable to find my favorite cookies this year. Hate when that happens 😦

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I had so many of these last year, that I think I’m good this year 😉

Happy Homemaker Monday 03.14.16

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Happy Pi Day!!  If you don’t know what this is, check out my post here.  Pi is a mathematical symbol that represents 3.14 followed by a string of numbers. Then there’s Pie…so it’s appropriate on Pi day to grab yourself a slice. I am totally slacking this year, and did not make a pie, I’ve been too busy searching for that hour we lost 😉  I’m sure I’ll find it sometime in November…here’s to a great week ahead!!

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

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

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MOVIE REVIEW:the_peanuts_movie_ver34
This was so worth watching!! For those of us who grew up on the Peanuts, and passed it down to our kids, this is such a great movie. It stays true to the original, fun, simple, good-natured laughs. I still love Snoopy!! This movie is really the Peanuts that we all love, but like in HD, since the animation is 3D. Worth the watch for the whole family. Elijah (15) even enjoyed it, and Benji was like, “there isn’t a bad thing to say about that movie.” He even mentioned how he liked how they stuck to the original, and didn’t add all that new junk to it.

 

LOL CHUCKLES, AND GIGGLES:

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WHAT’S ON THE TV:
I still need to catch up on Castle, but Quantico, and Blindspot? Keeps us guessing.  I hate that this is the final season for The Good Wife, the characters in this show are so funny!!

 

FAVORITE VIDEO FROM THE WEB:
Had to share this music video by Meghan Trainor. ❤ Love Meghan Trainor!!  This was one of the songs in the Peanuts movie, and everything IS Better When I’m Dancin’.

 

FROM THE CAMERA:

© 2016 Liv’s Photography

 

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