We were away last week on a trip, I suppose you could call it a vacation.  I’m not sure I would call it that.

Sometimes trying to make the best of things still leaves you feeling a bit flat.  We had an unexpected death in the family the week before we left.  Going to a funeral the day before leaving for an extended trip was a bit rough.

It was the kind of vacation that left me needing a vacation but not because we did too much. In fact, it was if anything the opposite.

We cut our trip a bit short to come home earlier for a family member’s birthday.  I wanted to be selfish and go on our entire and probably much too long trip but the teenager encouraged us to do the right thing so we skipped the mountains and arrived home on Friday as opposed to Sunday evening.

Now, it’s back to the reality of a busy week.  I am glad though to be back to blogging. Once again, I’m joining in the Happy Homemaker Monday link up hosted by Sandra over at Diary of a Stay At Home Mom.

The Weather This Week

Funny, we went to the desert last week only to return to heat advisory weather here this week.  Mid to upper 90s all week.  Add in the humidity and it’s going to feel lots hotter out there.

Right Now I Am

Barely awake, drinking my coffee with almond milk and trying to get this post together before the boys wake up and I lose my computer to J.

On My Reading Pile

Returned all my overdue books to the library before we left on our trip.  J did want to read with me last night (hardly ever happens!) so I grabbed an old favorite off the shelf. I’m now re-reading A Wrinkle In Time.

Movies Or Shows I Watched This Weekend

I did watch one of my favorite movies on the way home from our trip.  The Martian will get you from Oklahoma City to El Dorado, Kansas if you are traveling the turnpike.  Yesterday, I also watched Interstellar, a $5 Wal-Mart bin find. And yes, I do have a weird obsession with incredibly long space movies (especially ones with Matt Damon ;)).

The only other things I watched over the weekend were a few episodes of Orange Is The New Black with my husband. And The Candy Crush game show, it was okay.

On My TV

I’m not really sure. It’s going to be so hot that I’m sure we’ll be watching a bit of it.

Menu For This Week

I’ve been told summer weather and spaghetti do not go together so I guess that’s off the menu until cooler days arrive.  Our record for choosing quality restaurants on this trip was a little sad so I’m going to try to make things I know we all like this week.

MONDAY:  Tacos

TUESDAY:   Ham (in freezer), potatoes, and cornbread  *I have Bunco*

WEDNESDAY:  Chicken legs

THURSDAY:   Roast in the Crock Pot *I work 12-6* *Mom’s Night Out* (it’s usually not the same as Bunco week except for this month)

FRIDAY:  Hoping my husband will cook fish  *I work 12-6*

On My To-Do List

Um, everything!

1. Pay bills
2. Mow the lawn
3. Finish up laundry (thankfully, this is mostly done)
4. Make Doctor appointments for the boys
5. See if there is a way to squeeze a weekend trip in before school starts
6. Register boys for school
7. Put batteries in the kitchen clock
8. Clean out fridge before Tuesday
9. Get Summer materials for a couple of G’s classes
10. Make some plans for J next week since G has band practice
11. Look up driver’s ed course times for G
12. Figure out plan for de-cluttering and cleaning the whole house
13. Practice more with camera, I didn’t get enough practice before our trip and it shows
14. Write a few trip reviews for trip advisor
15. Break down and make a summer bucket list for our last 4 weeks of summer (!!)

What I Am Creating

I’d like to create a clean, organized house in time for back to school.  We’ll see how that goes…

Looking Around The House

It’s been worse but for some reason I’m in a spring cleaning mood.  I think it started when I realized house-keeping doesn’t follow you home from your hotels.

From The Camera

I was a bit obsessed with the skies in New Mexico and Texas. The first two are New Mexico skies. The second photo is the sky at the Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Texas.

What I’m Wearing Today

Still in my nightshirt at the moment.  Will probably go change into a tee-shirt and jean shorts and tennis shoes to mow and then, a new tee-shirt and shorts  and sandals after that.

Simple Pleasure

The sights and sounds of home.  I love to travel but (for me) nothing beats sitting on my own front porch with the cat enjoying the flowers, green grass, and tall trees as the lightning bugs start dotting the sky in time to the cicadas’ chorus along with the background noises of distant lawn mowers and light traffic.

Quote For The Week

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Do you have a busy week on your horizon?

I’m getting my post together on Sunday evening as I’d like to break my current trend of posting so late in the week.  While I’m at it, I’d like to break the current trend of hardly posting each week.  No promises.

Let’s just move on and get to the categories.  Don’t forget to go check in on all the other great bloggers linked up with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom.

The Weather This Week

Temps in the high 80s to low 90s with chances of thunderstorms most days this week.

Right Now I Am

Drinking a cup of Chai green tea with a splash of almond milk and working on this post.

On My Reading Pile

*Hanging my head in shame* The same stack of overdue library books as last week.  They MUST go back tomorrow.

Movies or Shows I Watched This Weekend

Not sure if it was officially the weekend when we watched it but J and I both enjoyed BFG on Netflix very much.  He said it did not quite follow the book. I also watched The Matrix (We own it!) and several episodes of That 70s Show (So funny but absolutely not for the kiddos!) and a bit of a documentary series about the Galapagos islands.

Who was that person last week saying something about not watching so much TV and focusing on reading and cleaning house?

On My TV

If at first you don’t succeed…

Menu For The Week

Summer means I hardly follow my menu plans so lots of carry overs week to week. This week I’m trying to use mostly what we have on hand.

MONDAY:  Pork Chops and baked potatoes

TUESDAY:*Fourth of July*  Going to a party at a friend’s house.  Taking Crunchy Coleslaw per my husband’s request plus probably some sort of dessert.

WEDNESDAY: Breakfast for dinner, bacon and pancakes

THURSDAY: Rotisserie Chicken probably *I work 10 to 6*

FRIDAY: Not sure…maybe fish & chips *Coffee with a friend in the a.m.*

On My To-Do List

1. Go to the grocery store
2. Go to Target
3. Take the books back to library (This should be first on the list!)
4. Laundry, must be caught up by end of the week
5. Experiment with making some snacks
6. Clean whole house, room each day perhaps.

What I Am Creating

Not much.  I could change the title to what I am battling in my flower garden and say Japanese beetles which are swarming my boxwood plants and bud worms which have discovered my geraniums and probably the petunias as well.

Ugh. Any gardeners out there with advice for me? Don’t want to use anything that might hurt bees or other caterpillars.

Looking Around The House

It’s not too awful.

From The Camera

Exciting news on the camera front.  I finally just yesterday, got a new one! I wasn’t quite ready (and neither was our budget) for a full on DSLR camera so I went with a bridge camera.  Since my little Nikon Coolpix S6100 has served me very well since 2010, I stayed brand loyal and bought a Nikon Coolpix B500.

A few pictures from my new camera practice…no editing except a tiny bit of cropping on the cat photo. Let me apologize now for the photo overload.

The macro setting fascinates me.  Funny, I couldn’t even have told you what that was a year ago and now I know it’s for close-up photos. Then, there’s this 40x zoom function.  I still need to practice with it.  These creatures were on the far edge of the neighbor’s driveway. I zoomed in on this Mimosa tree branch from my back deck.  The tree is on the next block in a neighbor’s front yard. I can’t take credit for the next photo.  J took it.  He captured her personality perfectly. Finally, I must share a photo of the camera that’s been behind the blog previously.  Still functions despite the messed up lens cover.

What I’m Wearing Today

Since it’s Sunday night, I’m about to change into my pajamas.  No idea what I’ll wear tomorrow but today I wore an old tee-shirt sporting the boys’ elementary school and black shorts.

Simple Pleasure

Trying to learn a new skill (playing with my new camera!).

Quote For The Week

Keep your face always toward the sunshine-and the shadows will fall behind you.  (Walt Whitman)

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Just in case I don’t get back to posting this week, hope everyone who celebrates it has a wonderful, safe, and happy Fourth of July!

 

 

Unexpectedly working early on a Monday morning and working again on Tuesday means not nearly enough time to work on my blog! Add in the kids home on summer break and I get even less time.

Having a plan in my head is not the same as having it all typed out so I can refer back to it.  Yes, I come back and check what I wrote so I can remember my weekly plan. Am I the only one?

It also means, I miss catching up with Sandra and all the other great bloggers who join in her weekly Happy Homemaker Monday link up.  It’s just before 8:00a.m. on Wednesday morning so I’m going to see if I can’t still join in the weekly fun.

The Weather This Week

Who knows.  It seems to change every time I check my phone app or watch the weather on TV.  It rained a bit Monday, yesterday was super nice, and today there’s a chance of a thunderstorm.

Right Now I Am

Drinking my coffee and writing this blog post.

On My Reading Pile

The usual stack of overdue library books.  I want to start The Terror by Dan Simmons but have to check and see if I need to renew it first.  Everything else can go back.

Movies Or Shows I Watched This Weekend

The only thing I really watched was season 2 of Quantico on Netflix.  Not quite as good as season 1 even if I did watch the entire thing in a matter of days.  End of the season was a bit anti-climatic, still glad there will be a season 3.

On My TV

No idea.  Need to focus more on cleaning and reading than watching TV this week.

On The Menu For This Week

Monday:  My husband fried crappie (fish) *I worked 10-2 and then was called back to work 4-6*

Tuesday:  Spaghetti with meat sauce *I worked 9:30-noon*

Wednesday: Turkey sausages and salad

Thursday: Chicken of some sort (maybe homemade Chik-Fil-A sandwiches)  *I work 8:30 to 5*

Friday:  Pork chops and potatoes (might switch Thursday and Friday menus around)

On My To-Do List

1. Grocery store
2. Pay bills
3. Whole house clean up (today)
4. Take overdue library books and other items back to library
5. General shopping
6. Make more detailed list of several small house cleaning/organizing projects to complete

What I Am Creating

Sigh.  Nothing.

From The Camera

I keep waiting impatiently for the pot of lavender on the front porch to bloom.

What I’m Wearing Today

Jean shorts and my South Dakota tee-shirt

Simple Pleasure

Sitting on my front porch.

Quote For The Week

Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.  (Dalai Lama)

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What kind of summer week are you having?

It’s going to be a full and busy week around here.  I’ve already worked today, and will be working all week.  It was rather tough getting out of bed Monday morning after not needing the alarm all of last week. And again today.

I thought about skipping my post but I’m determined to not miss a weekly planning post this year.  Plus I need a plan for my weeks.  Time for a weekly plan!

As always, I’m linking up to Sandra’s Happy Homemaker Monday post.  Probably won’t get around to visiting until Wednesday afternoon though.

The Weather This Week

Hot, again although yesterday morning was nice after some strong weekend thunderstorms (We were lucky to keep our power around here).  Mostly in the low 90s all week with another chance of a thunderstorm on Saturday.

Right Now I Am

Working on this post and thinking about dinner (grocery store chicken, easy night!)

On My Reading Pile

I finished reading The Kill Switch by James Rollins last night but haven’t started a new book yet.

Movies or Television Shows I Watched This Weekend

My husband and I watched Deadpool on Saturday night and found it incredibly stupid (and I actually usually like super hero movies.  Honestly, I fell asleep but the plot was too lacking for me to watch the end.  My husband summed it up best, “They made an R rated movie for teenagers.”  Also, I finished up season 5 of Arrow on Netflix.  Major cliffhanger ending, ugh!

On My TV

Not much.  Forgot to see if my summer show of Star Crossed was on last night.  Summer TV is rather dull.

Menu

Another week, another struggle for a summer menu.

MONDAY: We all ate different things.  J had French Toast from the freezer, my husband had the end of a pizza from the weekend, I had a BLT (my original plan), and G had McDonald’s on the way home from band practice.  (I worked 8-2 & G had band practice 3-5:30)

TUESDAY (today): Rotisserie Chicken from the grocery store with watermelon or grapes or salad, whatever, another easy night (I worked 8-2, G had band practice 3-5:30, and I have Bunco at 7 tonight)

WEDNESDAY: Probably tacos (I work 8-2 and G has one more day of band practice 3-5:30)

THURSDAY:  Fish, salad, watermelon (I work 8-2)

FRIDAY:  Some sort of pasta  since I  bought the stuff to try the Chicken Manicotti carried over from last week.  (I work 8-2)

To Do List

1. Go To Store
2. Plant Sunflower plants in yard
3. Laundry
4. Bills
5. Get everyone including myself where they are supposed to be and when all week
6. Probably lots of other stuff I’m forgetting right now

Creating

Just trying to get through the week with a relative sense of calm and hopefully end it with a laundry basket that isn’t overflowing.  Not much time for creativity this week…

Looking Around The House

I need to do some serious picking up but my time and energy haven’t matched up enough to accomplish the task yet.

From The Camera

What I’m Wearing Today

Aqua Capri pants and a white cotton shirt with some sort of paisley design with blues, aqua, and dark pink or red, plus my crocs.

Simple Pleasure

A cold drink on a hot day!

Quote For The Week

We don’t have to agree on anything to be kind to one another.  (Unknown)

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If you are still reading this, I hope you are having a great week!

I didn’t mean to miss joining in the Happy Homemaker Monday fun yesterday.  I went with a friend to have a fun adventure at a local botanical gardens yesterday.  Then, as happens, the day (and night) simply got away from me.

Woke up this morning and found myself missing my weekly plan.  As usual, I’ll be linking this post up with all the others over at Sandra’s Happy Homemaker Monday post on Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom.

The Weather This Week

Hot! Hot! Hot! And a chance of being stormy as well.  It was 80 degrees at 9:30a.m. this morning. Honestly, I don’t mind as I’m happy summer is just about officially here.

Right Now I Am

Working on this blog post and wondering when the boys will wake up for the day.  I’m hoping I can get this finished before J starts asking if he can use the computer.

On My Reading Pile

A bunch of books I checked out last Tuesday and then, didn’t touch all week.  A new James Rollins novel, a book containing all of William Shakespeare’s plays (I’ve narrowed it down and decided I’ll try to read Hamlet), a kid’s book about New Mexico, and a book on hold waiting for me at the library.

Movies or Television Shows I Watched This Weekend

I mainly just binge-watched the latest season of Arrow on Netflix.  I think it is season 5.  If you thought season 4 was awful (popular opinion mine included), this season is much better!

On My TV

I planned on watching Still Star Crossed last night but the NBA finals were airing instead.  The only thing other than that I’ve been watching are snippets of all the summer game shows.

Menu

Could somebody please pass me a menu?  I’d love to place an order!  Ha!  Anyone else struggle to menu plan in the summer and when it’s super hot outside?  This whole menu plan is subject to massive change…

MONDAY:  My husband cooked sausage, biscuits, and pancakes

TUESDAY:  Taco Salads

WEDNESDAY: Thinking of trying this Chicken Manicotti Recipe.  If not, I’ll just make Chicken Cacciatore

THURSDAY:  Fish, baked potatoes

FRIDAY: Pizza, frozen or homemade

To Do List

Most of my list this week involves around shopping, some of the shopping is carried over from last week.

1. Grocery store
2. Target
3. Go to library and pick up book on hold
4. Go get some nice but cool (cotton) tee-shirts for work
5. J.C. Penny to pick up order (new towels!)
6. Work in yard, get more rocks at hardware store
7. Take boys to get Father’s Day cards and presents (should probably be #1 on this list but I may combine it with my Target trip)
8. Figure out Father’s Day plan
9. Clean off this computer desk
10. Work with J in his room to clean it up a bit

Creating

Still working on front yard landscaping.  Started some sunflowers seeds so I need to figure out where to add those into my garden areas.

Looking Around The House

It could be a lot worse!

From The Camera

We went to the botanical gardens to see their Enchanted Forrest exhibit.  The kid in me wanted to get out my Barbie dolls and go play despite all the “do not touch” signs. What I’m Wearing Today

Black shirts, a navy blue shirt with a butterfly design, and pink camouflage sandals.  I’m hoping I don’t look like a giant bruise!

Simple Pleasure

A free day! Sometimes I can have too many in a row but nothing beats a totally free day after a few weeks of being busy.

Quote For The Week

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What’s on your plan for this week?  Also, I’d love to know what you’re having for dinner tonight…