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.

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 😐

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES (PRAYERS OR DEVOTIONALS):

Happy Homemaker Monday 06/22

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Carrie Ann Alexis

I think it is safe to say…SUMMER IS HERE!!

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

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

CURRENTLY READING/HAVE READ:
Recently I posted a couple of titles that I had just started reading. I think I will go back to posting once they are actually read. So this is a re-cap.

The Teller by Jonathan Stone. This one sounded really good, and I did start reading it. I thought it would be your usual suspense type novel. But it did take an unexpected turn. This one was a bit dark, and took a turn I was not expecting, with some pretty graphic criminal activity. This is why I will go back to suggesting books that I have read all the way through. 🙂

The Memory Thief by Emily Colin. This one was good. It had some good twists and turns, romance and was overall the type of book I was trying to figure out as I turned each page.

AS I LOOK OUTSIDE MY WINDOW:
It’s nice to see the “Welcome to our Garden” sign hanging on the detached garage. My mom and I have been fighting with it for a couple of days, trying to hang it. The garage is old (and in desperate need of painting, but the weather just won’t cooperate), so the wood was not very strong, and we needed to put some new hooks up to hang it. These two Polish ladies never give up, therefore we used our trusty tape measure and ingenuity and got it done…and it was actually straight on the first try!!

ON THE TO DO LIST:
Made a nice long to-do list for the summer. Is it just me, or does anyone else add items to their to-do list that they have already done, just so you can cross it off?

I have a lot of organizing I want to do, and I just signed up for an online class to learn how to code Java Script. (I really am a geek, so this sounds fun to me).

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:
I haven’t made out my menu plan yet, and need to grocery shop.

NEW RECIPE I TRIED OR WANT TO TRY THIS WEEK:
Here is a recipe I tried a couple of weeks and ago, and it was really good. A delicious sweet summer salad/dessert.

Banana Split Fluff Salad

1 – 3.4 ounce box instant banana pudding
1 – 20 ounce can crushed pineapple (do not drain)
1 – 8 ounce container Cool Whip
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts + 2 Tablespoons for garnish (I used peanuts)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
2 ripe bananas, sliced
1 – 10 ounce jar maraschino cherries, halved
Instructions

Stir together the pudding mix and pineapple until dissolved and thickened. Fold in the Cool Whip. Gently stir in the marshmallows, nuts, chocolate chips, bananas, and cherries. Refrigerate at least 1 hour to chill. Makes about 8 cups salad.

MY FAVORITE BLOG POST/VIDEO THIS WEEK:
I love to watch this guy’s videos. He has to be the best photo editor out there. So much fun to watch!!

LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS WEEK:
There is a handwriting analysis program at the library!! I have known about this for awhile, sooo looking forward to it, it’s going to be very interesting.

The Art Gallery in town will have its reception for the art show that my daughter has submitted a photo for. Never been to one of these before, so not sure what to expect. There will be photos, and paintings displayed. This will give us an opportunity to meet some of the other artists as well.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA:
These are pictures I actually took about a week ago. My one son was the one who discovered these clouds as he looked out the window. So we went outside to look at them closer. I have never seen anything like this before. They looked like cotton balls, it was really something to see.

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES (PRAYERS OR DEVOTIONALS):

Happy Homemaker Monday 06/08

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Carrie Ann Alexis

Hope everyone is having some nice weather, and making plans for the summer. Can’t believe another week has gone by, but here’s what’s been going on, and what’s up ahead.

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

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:
Looks like a rainy week ahead. Today started out hot and sunny, and then out of no where we got hit with a storm, heavy downpours and hail. I do like a nice summer storm every once in awhile.

CURRENTLY READING/HAVE READ:
The Memory Thief by Emily Colin. Actually my mom found this one for me (she is the librarian) to read for the reading program. Haven’t started it yet, but it looks really good. The summary on the back describes Madeline losing her husband in an avalanche, the news is delivered to her by her husband’s best friend, who has been in love with her for years. She is left to raise her son, who has some kind of secret. Then across the country this guy wakes up from a motorcycle accident with his memory wiped clean. But he is haunted by dreams of a mysterious woman and a little boy, neither of whom he has ever met. Sounds really good!!

AS I LOOK OUTSIDE MY WINDOW:
This actually happened yesterday. I was finishing up the dishes, and I look outside the kitchen window, and there right in front of the garage was a furry creature. I was like “What the heck is that?” I’ve never seen anything like it before. It looked like a rabbit and a squirrel. We have had a lot of rabbits in our yard recently, but I’ve never seen a gopher before, and yep that is what is was. If you happened to read my Blogbattle Week 8 story, you’ll understand why I was a little bit freaked out, isn’t he cute though? (well…he looked just like this…this is a stock photo, lol).

ON THE TV:
Not much now that summer is here.

ON THE TO DO LIST:
Tomorrow is our last day of school. I’m finishing up report cards. Also on the last day of school I give the kids a candy bar with a customized wrapper, congratulating them on their next grade level promotion.

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:
Cheesy Chicken Pasta
Chicken Parmigiana, Alfredo noodles, green beans, Italian bread
Need to shop and plan further

NEW RECIPE I TRIED OR WANT TO TRY THIS WEEK:
The Chicken & Rice Casserole was very good. Here is the recipe for that. It’s definitely a good meal for the winter, very hearty. But it worked well last week when we had some chilly days.

Chicken & Rice Casserole

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups cooked chicken, diced
2 cups cooked rice
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, divided
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400º F and lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons butter, then whisk in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until smooth.
3. While whisking continuously, gradually pour in milk and chicken broth and stir until totally incorporated.
4. Add chicken, rice and veggies to the broth mixture and season with salt and pepper.
5. Transfer chicken and rice mixture to baking dish and sprinkle parmesan and breadcrumbs evenly over the top.
6. Cut up remaining butter into small pieces and dot those over the breadcrumbs.
7. Place baking dish in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown.
8. Remove from oven and serve hot.

MY FAVORITE BLOG POST/VIDEO THIS WEEK:
Sunday morning as I was drinking my coffee and catching up on some of the bloggers I follow, I came across this. This made my day, I was laughing so hard reading it, too funny. Blondewritemore never fails to put a smile on my face when reading her posts, or completely draws me in with her story writing.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA:
I have posted this one before. But I am so proud of my daughter, she submitted some of her photography to our local Art Gallery, and this one was chosen for Concepts and Compositions, a national juried art show. This photo will be on display at the Art Gallery for several weeks, and there will be a reception towards the end of June. There are also prizes for each category represented in the exhibit, which includes painting and mixed media art as well as photography. (It is actually her in the photo). ♥