Happy Homemaker Monday, Except It’s Wednesday…

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Whew! Super late start this week! Graduation planning makes for whirlwind days. So does our weather though we’ve avoided all the severe stuff.

I really miss it when I don’t get my weeks planned on Monday mornings (or Sunday evenings). However, there’s no time like the present so I’m taking a few minutes on this Wednesday morning (almost afternoon!) to plan the rest of my week.

Going to go ahead and link up with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom even if it is a bit later in the week.

The Weather 

Well, we can always use the weather as a topic of conversation living in the Midwest. Right now the sun is shining and it’s a beautiful spring day (just a bit on the chilly side). However, Monday started warm and by the time I got to work…I was freezing outside with the preschool kids. Then, the rain came (back again) in the afternoon and it rained. AND RAINED all night and all day yesterday until about 5 PM. Chances of more rain and thunderstorms tonight and pretty much every day the rest of the week.

On My Reading Pile

Still working my way through The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World by A.J. Baime. Just not enough time to read lately or too tired when I’ve had the time.

Movies Or Shows I Watched This Weekend

I watched Venom after G’s graduation party. It was what we call a good “bad” movie. Made no sense but was still a bit entertaining.

On My TV

Not sure. It’s a busy weekend coming up and we have stuff to do almost every night. I did watch the finale of The Voice last night. Oh, and we watched the finale of The Enemy Within on Monday evening. It was good.

On My Menu

Two days into the week and I’m still not sure…

MONDAY: We had boxed lasagna, garlic bread, and salad  *I worked 8:30-5*

TUESDAY: We had take-out Chinese from the grocery store for G’s birthday (his request, didn’t even make the poor kid a cake because we had so many cookies left from his grad party) *I worked 8:15-3:45*

WEDNESDAY: I’m really not sure. Something easy, maybe pork chops or breakfast for dinner *We have baccalaureate at 6:30*

THURSDAY: Something lighter probably chicken *I work 8:15-11ish* *J has a baritone lesson at 7:30*

FRIDAY: Maybe OUT to celebrate the last day of school depending on family plans (We have family coming into town for graduation)

SATURDAY: Brisket for lunch after G’s high school graduation, whatever we decide to serve with that *I have a graduation party to go to in the afternoon*

SUNDAY: Taco dinner at my brother’s house (to see out-of-town family)

On My To Do List

  1. Clean.The.House (sort of in progress)
  2. Decide on exact menu for Saturday’s lunch
  3. Find out what time the dinner is on Sunday
  4. Secure one extra ticket for graduation (make sure all family that wants to go has tickets)
  5. Go to bank
  6. Clean the mud off my tennis shoes
  7. Make sure everyone has proper attire for tonight and Saturday
  8. Put my summer work dates into my calendar
  9. Pay bills
  10. Find a tub for the graduation party decorations (I got to keep them for my next kid)
  11. Laundry (in progress)

Creating

Not much this week, planning a photo wall in the living room. Last week I made 3 (a bit too many) picture boards for G’s graduation party.

Looking Forward To

G’s graduation, Seeing our out-of-town family, collapsing (currently scheduled for next Wednesday)

From The Camera

Realizing I didn’t take enough photos of the graduation party (a great success, by the way!) or in general last week. All the graduation party pictures are too personal to share so here’s a couple of more glances at our soggy outdoor world taken yesterday: 

What I’m Wearing Today

A red short-sleeved tunic top, black leggings, and floral print crocs. Changing into a dress later.

Simple Pleasure

Having the windows open so a slight breeze can drift through the house. (Fresh air!)

Quote For The Week

Class quote from G’s high school class:

“You’re off to great places, today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so…get on your way!” (Dr. Seuss)

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How are your weekly plans going so far?

Grateful on a Thursday

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Missed this post last week. There’s a draft of it written but it didn’t ever make it to the push publish button. Busy times but I’m still grateful.

Consider this a combined list….

Outside in Nature

  1. Beautiful flowers to welcome spring and summer, both the ones I bought and the surprise yellow ones 
  2. The mighty oak tree which serves as a home to all kinds of lovely birds and gives us shade in the summer. 
  3. The wonderful variety of birds I see each day: house finches, chickadees, cardinals, blue jays, woodpeckers, nuthatches, and even those annoying grackles
  4. Gorgeous sunny spring days and thunderstorms (so I don’t have to remember to water my flowers)
  5. A big chaotic backyard

Just This Morning

    1. My non-morning person son who woke up cheerful! And shared the fun video posted above with me.
    2. My husband who does the laundry when I get sidetracked and completely focused only on all things graduation
    3. Feeling like an adult while eating this for breakfast. Forgot I liked Raisin Bran! 
    4. A quiet house that no longer smells of onion (see yesterday’s post) with windows open.
    5. A few minutes to write a post on my gratitude (Another name for a few minutes might be procrastination….)

And A Few Random Items (Some Carried Over From My Unpublished Post)

  1. The lovely scent of these candles. The one on the left, a gift for teacher appreciation. So let’s add in here being appreciated as a substitute teacher! And the one on the right, a birthday gift from J, saved it until summer as it’s a beach type scent. 
  2. Finding candy with *blue* wrappers that was not disgusting and on sale! 
  3. My messy kitchen table with life in progress
  4. Making new friends in the course of planning an ending to our kids’ high school days
  5. Old friends who text you important papers containing graduation information (because they are still kids….what paper? I gave it to you! Um, no…you did not. SIGH)
  6. Technology! I’m not always a fan of the cell phones but they do provide a nice quick communication tool.
  7. Knowing myself well enough to not get too upset over failed eating plans. Realizing a super stressful 2 weeks before graduation may not have been the ideal time to try completely changing my eating habits.

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What things are you grateful for today?

Linking up to I Like Thursdays hosted by LeeAnna over at Not Afraid Of Color. Go check it out!

 

What’s Going On Wednesday: Graduation Prep And End of School Countdown

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Thought I’d take a minute and share a little glimpse of what’s going on around here. This used to be a blog theme I’d share in from time to time. So, here’s a “behind the scenes” look at my life this week.  

First, the whole house smells like onions! We haven’t followed the menu plan yet this week. While at the store yesterday, I decided we’d have BLT’s and homemade onion rings for dinner. I’d use the air fryer! What could go wrong?

Frozen onion rings probably work great in an air fryer, the from scratch (by that I mean with a mix) kind, not so much. So…why not fry bacon and onion rings at the same time? Think I was in the kitchen for a solid hour just cooking. Dinner was at least a success minus the house smelling of onions.

I have tubs of photos all over our living room for my “arts and crafts” project. Need to make one of those photo boards for G’s party. Figures as soon as I gave up and ordered prints, my husband found the missing tub. Oh well, it’s been fun seeing all the pictures again. Might scan and share a few blast from the past photos at some point. 

Also, stated I’m throwing away every picture of tree, lake, mountain, etc without any people in the photo! In probably a mid-life crisis of sorts, I’ve named my upcoming summer…”The Summer of Letting Go” Time to clear out the clutter. More about that later. Stay tuned.

Started to take J to the high school this morning instead of the middle school. They’re in opposite directions. Oops!  Told J I was just ready for him to be at the high school (so much closer to home than the middle school)  Seven days of school left. Too much on my mind.

On the way home from the middle school, a lovely little black spider decided to keep me company by crawling way too close to the area of the windshield by the driver side window. And yes, he was on the inside! Had to watch traffic and he disappeared. Rolled the window down for the rest of the way home, hope he hopped out! I’m not offering a ride share program for spiders!

In about 10 minutes, I’m off to get my haircut.  It’s also beautiful out today & I’d much rather be playing outside planting flowers than inside working on the arts and crafts stuff.  

What’s going on in your world today?

 

 

 

Happy Homemaker Monday, Let’s Get Motivated!

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My brain’s listing a million items to check off a list this morning. Meanwhile, the rest of my body is still mumbling something about needing more coffee.

Hope everyone had a nice Mother’s Day. Mine was nice. Now, it’s time to focus on all things graduation related (oh, and G’s birthday). As soon as I finish this post, I’m off to find graduation things at Hobby Lobby and the party store. Hoping they have things left as I should have went over the weekend and did not.

Joining in with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom for this weekly planning post. These posts almost always help me get a bearing on my weeks especially the busy ones.

The Weather 

Ugh. I’ve about had it with our weather. Somehow, my warmer days disappeared and we were thrown back into fall/winter mode. Not too happy about it. We’re in some weird pattern where it’s sunny during the week and then, rains all weekend. No good. At least, today is supposed to be a sunny one. Supposed to be warmer as well.

On My Reading Pile

Still those overdue books though I renewed them. Had to stop reading my book about Prince as it was so boring. I love a good biography but this focused more on the technical stuff about his music and career.   Read a couple of Maddie Dawson novels on my phone’s kindle app (The Survivors Guide To Family Happiness which was a slight bit better than A Piece Of Normal). And am currently reading The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and The Four Months That Changed the World by A.J. Baime. Super interesting so far!  (Note: I knew this but forgot….you can read books for FREE on Amazon prime and they have some great selections…)

Movies Or Shows I Watched This Weekend

Finished Colony season 3 on Netflix while doing laundry. Also, while doing laundry…Zombieland, really seems strange to call it a zombie movie with heart but that’s what it is. Highly recommend it. And while just being lazy…Skyline and…because I like to punish myself with bad movies….Beyond Skyline.

On The TV This Week

Depends on the weather and after my little marathon of way too much Netflix on Saturday, reading books takes priority.

On The Menu

Lots to do with graduation prep and end of the school stuff plus work so keeping it simple.

MONDAY: Spaghetti (carry over)

TUESDAY: Turkey sausage and chips (fruits & veggies in there somewhere)

WEDNESDAY:  Chicken in some form, the last-minute chicken recipe I found last week was good…may repeat  *I have a 9:30 hair appt*

THURSDAY: pork chops, baked potatoes *I work 8:15-3:45* *J has a baritone lesson* *I have a graduation recital for a friend’s son to attend*

FRIDAY: Pizza and salad *I work 8:15-3:45*

To Do List

  1. Return library books (please, don’t judge, library is in opposite direction of everything else)
  2. Grocery store
  3. Target (maybe)
  4. Hobby Lobby
  5. Party Store
  6. Sam’s club for one more box of mixed chips, maybe?
  7. Find photos of G (ha, it’s fun having kids born before the Internet and Facebook were a big)
  8. Make one of those photo display things for the graduation stuff table
  9. Touch base with the other 2 moms on the party plan
  10. Make a list of who needs graduation tickets
  11. Find dress to wear to graduation stuff
  12. BREATHE!

Looking Forward To

Seeing G’s graduation party come together this weekend (open house style and with 2 other friends at a local church)

Looking Around The House

Reminds me I should have put clean the house on my to-do list.

From The Camera 

I had a *great* bird-watching week! Saw my first ever around here red-headed woodpecker. So pretty! Hoped he’d hang around longer but haven’t seen him since last week.  And a hawk landed briefly in the Oak tree next door…

Plus I saw a gray catbird (new to me, I had to look it up in the bird book! Couldn’t get good photos) along with my usual finches, chickadees and cardinals.

Simple Pleasure

Watching the banter among the early morning news cast.

Quote For The Week



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What’s on your to-do list this week?

Happy Homemaker Monday, It’s May!

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Happy first official full week of May! It’s the biz…biz…busiest time of the year….(sing it to the Christmas carol version. And yes, I spelled biz like the abbreviation for business or you’d have read bus like yellow school bus.)

Since sometime near the end of March, I feel like I’ve just been trying to catch my breath. Not happening any time soon. However, I’m taking time today to plan my week. Glad to spend a few minutes each Monday making sure I at least make a to-do list (don’t judge if the list seems a bit repetitive) and get my bearings on things.

As always, joining in with Sandra, our amazing host and all the wonderful bloggers who link up to her each Monday over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom.

The Weather  

They were saying something about being weather aware on the news, chances of storms later tonight. However, right now we have beautiful blue skies and sunshine. Temps in the upper 60’s and lower 70’s all week, finally true warm weather.

On My Reading Pile

Read through a couple of quick ones for my Amazon first picks (from last month and this month) on my phone’s Kindle app.  Thin Air by Jessica Gray was a bit more enjoyable than Cold Waters by Debbie Herbert. Both were murder mystery type books but Thin Air‘s plot was more unique and I’d be more likely to read another book by Jessica Gray in the future.

Movies Or Shows I Watched This Weekend

Not quite the weekend, however, on Thursday evening, G watched Spider-man, Into The Spider-verse with me. He’d watched it in the theater and quickly, proclaimed it his favorite movie so the Easter bunny gifted it in his basket. Probably one of the best animated and Spider-man movies out there. Extremely well put together and enjoyable.

Friday evening, my husband and I watched Predator. Yes, the 1987 movie. He wanted to see it before the remake. I never watched it back in the 80’s as it was deemed scary back then. The terrible plot was scarier to me. My husband will be on his own for that remake. And along with G (J didn’t want to go) we went to see Avengers: Endgame. I enjoyed that one quite a bit more than Predator though not quite as much as Spider-man, Into The Spider-verse.

On The TV This Week

No idea.

On The Menu

Did okay with my Off-Brand 21 Day Fix stuff until the weekend hit. It’s still a bit of a struggle to figure out meals that work for our family with it. We definitely haven’t been eating enough protein or vegetables. Picky eater problems. And of course, throw in trying to use what we have on hand to not spend a fortune at the grocery store. Whole menu subject to change.

MONDAY: Spaghetti, garlic bread, salad (maybe lasagna instead?)

TUESDAY: Ribs in the slow cooker, crunchy coleslaw, corn *I work 12 to 3:45*

WEDNESDAY: Shrimp (frozen), baked sweet potatoes, salad

THURSDAY:  Rotisserie chicken and salad or Subway *Middle School Band Concert*

FRIDAY:  OUT  or leftovers *I work 11-3:30* *Gifted class Reunion picnic for J and I*

To Do List

  1. Library books! MUST do this
  2. Reschedule J’s baritone lesson! MUST do this
  3. Grocery store
  4. Clean house
  5. Graduation stuff
  6. Laundry

Looking Forward To

The Middle School Band Concert on Thursday night.

Looking Around The House

Definitely need to spend some time cleaning today and running errands. Cleaned out the linen closet and have to bags of things to donate taking space in the living room (for 2 weeks now, SIGH).

From The Camera

Haven’t been very good at picking it up lately. I just stopped this post to grab it and take a few  photos including the one up there under the weather caption.

My tulips aren’t done quite yet.

Caught this bird silhouette

I need help identifying these. Buttercups?

What I’m Wearing Today

Red shirt and jean shorts plus tennis shoes. Might change later, depending on what I’m doing.

Simple Pleasure

Spending time with my family.

Quote For The Week

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. (Theodore Roosevelt)

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What’s on your agenda for this first full week in May?

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