Happy Homemaker Monday ~ 8/26/2024

Come join Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday. 

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Hello and HAPPY Monday.  

The first week of Laken's Senior Year is in the books!  I feel kind of old.

I was looking at all the obligatory first day of school pictures that everyone was posting on Facebook.  There were a lot of Seniors and even College students but I also saw lots of little ones getting on the school bus or outside their school for the first time.

I guess I've just always seen myself as a young mom.  I have to come to the realization that I'm old enough (more than old enough) to be a ,,,  GRANDMOTHER!  Settle down!  No one is pregnant.  (to my knowledge ).  I have to move on or I'm going to get super depressed about my babies being grown!

Let's get on with today's Happy Homemaker :)

The weather outside is:

Summer is back.  That is all.

On today's to-do list:

I'm off work at my job today so I get to be a Happy Homemaker all day!  I got most of my to-do list done on Friday, my last day off as I had to work both Saturday and Sunday.  My list for today will be to wash my work shirts, fold laundry, take Laken to and from school, practice driving with Laken in the afternoon, alter a few dresses I got at the thrift shop and anything else that comes my way.  I might even take a nap.  Wouldn't that be glorious!?!

Happening this week:

I work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week.  I work the early shift which is good for taking Laken to school in the mornings.

I have hopes of it being a fairly quiet week with just the normal activities.  We don't have any appointments this week which is a good thing.

Currently reading:

Only my devotional and Bible.

I just watched a movie about a Book Club (more about that later) and it really has me missing the Kindred Readers Book Club that I used to co-host on Facebook.  Does anyone belong to a good Book Club that you could point me to?  I need a REALLY good book to get me hooked and back in to reading.

Listening to:

Enjoy!

Watching:

My babies grow up!  Here is the First Day of Kindergarten Picture next to the First Day of Senior Year picture.

  

As I mentioned above, we watched "Blind Date Book Club" and it was so cute!  It was about a bookstore owner who hosted a "mystery" book club by wrapping the books with paper and just putting a blurb on the front to intrigue people into reading the book.  If they liked the book (or not) they could come share their thoughts on the book.  Erin Krakow was the leading lady and I really enjoy her movies.  Let me know if you saw it or if you're going to go watch it now that you've heard about the movie :)

I've also been watching some new YouTube channels featuring "sewists" which have me itching to get my sewing machine out!

In the Kitchen:

Friday I had supper in the oven and decided while the oven was hot to try a second variation of the cinnamon roll "cobbler".  A few week ago I made one with apple pie filling and it was SO very good!

This time I had picked chocolate chips and pecans!

I cut the cinnamon rolls in fours, melted a stick of butter, added brown sugar and cinnamon plus about half a bag of chocolate chips and stirred it all together.

I only put the pecans on half the cobbler because not everyone in the house likes them (Laken).  It turned out so delicious!  I might have over-done it with the stick of butter because there was a lot of oeey gooey goodness.  I was going to wipe it off the plate to make the picture look more professional but decided to leave it as is to show the yumminess!

I haven't decided what to make this week.  Any suggestions?

In the Craft Basket:

I'm e...v...e...r so slowly working on Japanese Fields blocks.

I also want to alter a few dresses I got at the thrift store as I mentioned above.  The first dress is just too big and shapeless.  I think I'll take the sides in and maybe add a belt.  The second dress has straps and peekaboo shoulders that hand WAY too low on my shoulders.  I'm thinking of just cutting off the peekaboo shoulders and wearing a shrug over top of it as I wouldn't feel comfortable without one.  

Picture from the Camera

Prayer Request

Please keep my work situation in your prayers.  I absolutely do not like having to work on Sunday morning but it seems like they keep scheduling me to work then.

Laken is now taking 4 college courses.  Please pray that she does well with them and that she stays healthy.

As always, prayers for the safety and well-being of all those going back to school.

Bible Verse

"First of all then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity."  I Timothy 2: 1-2  NASB

Have a great week!

Colletta

Friday Favorites ~ 6/7/2024

 

How can it be almost the second week of June already?  Why does Summer fly by so fast and Winter drag so long?  Maybe I'm meant to live where it is perpetually Summertime.  I think I would miss Fall too much though.  I'm just going to enjoy each day as it comes :)

We had so much happen that I missed blogging about the past two weeks as I was very busy and missed a few posts.  A few of those happenings were:

~Memorial Day and all the fun and relaxation it entailed

~Nate's graduation and party

~Laken's Summer course in POD

~Traveling to Lancaster, PA for the weekend for a soccer tournament and lots of shopping

~Prepping for some big meetings at work that I'm glad are over

~Getting a new-to-us Subaru (so happy to have another Subaru!)

~Developing tendinitis in my Achilles Tendon and getting it treated

~etc, etc, etc (for all my "King and I" fans)

I think that catches us up!  Whew!  I'm ready to slow down a bit...which brings me to...

I'm getting ready to start reading "Living Slower" by Merissa A. Alink.  If I get the time.  I used to read voraciously and now I'm lucky to get 5 books read in a year.  I guess there is a season for everything.  I do hope I can get sucked into this book though and get some ideas to "make time for what matters".

The hubby and I saw this sunflower at Lowe's and it reminded me of my mother-in-law, Carrie.  She loved sunflowers and always had them growing in her garden.  I think of her every time I see one :)

I love taking pictures of paths.  This one in particular is at Shawnee State Park.  There is something about standing back and looking forward that fills me with hope.

This picture was taken on Memorial Day, but we're hoping to fire up the grill again this weekend.  I'm also hoping that we can find some good corn-on-the-cob to go with it.

We had some pretty severe storms this week but there were also beautiful, sunny days.  This evening (Thursday as I type this) we got the best of both worlds and were treated to a faint but beautiful rainbow in the sky.  Look closely and you'll see the sign of God's Promise and the reminder that He is faithful to His children.

Hopefully, I won't let time get away from me and I'll be back with Hello Monday to let you know all about our weekend. I hope you'll stop back!

Here's to enjoying the now and documenting one day at a time :)

Thanks for stopping by :)

Colletta 

Hello Monday ~ 5/27/2024

 

Holly & Sarah

I want to take a moment before getting into my Hello Monday post to REMEMBER and HONOR all the brave men and women who gave his/her life so that we could be free.  I think sometimes we look at this day only as a reason for a three-day-weekend and don't truly remember and honor the ones who so greatly deserve it.  So make sure to pause for a moment Monday or whatever day you may be reading this and be grateful.

With all that being said, I am super grateful and excited to have this three-day-weekend.  It is Sunday night as I write this post and it feels so good to still have another day off to look forward to!  I'll let you know how we spend our Memorial Day in my Friday Favorites post (make sure you stop back) but for now I'll share our weekend adventures.

I came home Friday from work and was greeted by these two wrestling.  Oliver and Flynn are so funny together!  I couldn't help myself, I had to snap this picture and share it!  It cracks me up :)

Laken finished up her AP Language class which was her last class of Junior year.  Does that mean I have a Senior???

Every year, on the last day of school, we eat out to celebrate finishing up another school year.  This year Laken decided that she wanted Cracker Barrel.  Only my youngest daughter would order a hot chocolate on an 85F day  :)

The hubby likes to play the peg game at Cracker Barrel.  I don't know the technical name of the game, but I do know that the hubby cheats so that he's not a "plain old ignoramus"!

We went grocery shopping Saturday morning and we couldn't pass up these gorgeous orange Dahlias.  The hubby loves orange flowers and something about these really caught my eye as well.

One the way home, we once again saw the geese by the pond near our house.  Look how much the babies have grown just from when I posted about them last weekend!

Saturday afternoon/evening we stopped by Kaylee and Shawn's.  We spent some time looking at their newly planted garden and the flowers that are coming back up from last year.  Kaylee had just got her hair cut and was worried I would think it was too short but I think it suits her and she looks beautiful no matter what!

They have a Mock Orange Bush that reminds me so much of my Gram.  Gram loved plants and flowers and had a Mock Orange off the back porch.  I think the new owners of her house cut it down, which makes me very sad.  Moving on to happier things!

My grandpuppy, Dahlia, hated that we were outside and she was inside the house.  I made sure to say hi to her before we left.  She is a Great Dane and is such a lover!  Sweet, sweet Dahl Baby!

Aunt Donna and Uncle Charlie invited us to dinner that evening so we took corn-on-the cob to contribute to the meal.  It was our first corn-on-the-cob of the season which is always exciting!  What was even sweeter was getting the corn 10 ears for $2 at Weis.  That price is unheard of these days!  I wish we would have gotten more, to tell you the truth.

Aunt Donna had these cute little piggy corn-on-the-cob stickers.  I had to snap a picture of the hubby using them.

When we got home after dinner, we watched 2 epidsodes of Tracker.  We still have 2 more episodes to watch to get caught up.  It might even be over the season.  If so, we'll have to find another show to watch before bed.  Any suggestions?

Sunday morning we got up and the hubby made us cinnamon rolls for breakfast before Church.  He usually either makes us cinnamon rolls or muffins.  They are out of a can or a mix but I appreciate it SO much.  He's a sweetheart and I love him so much.

When we got home from Church it was time to catch up on some housework which included laundry, dishes and floors.  I had dumped the clean clothes in a pile on the bed and came back to find Oliver "helping".  He did not like me moving the clothes and messing up his little cocoon.  I tried to not disturb him, but I really wanted to get done with the housework and sit on my swing for a bit.

Which reminds me...I didn't get my swing painted the weekend...BUT, I still have all day Monday.  I'm hoping to pick up the paint when my hubby goes to Lowe's and get it finished before the rains come.  

Finally, I'll leave you with a picture of the beautiful "blue" rose that is blooming right off the back deck where my swing is.  Isn't it gorgeous?

So those were our weekend highlights.  I can't wait to read all about yours!  Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful week ahead :)

Colletta

Friday Favorites ~ 5/24/2024

 

We did it!  We made it through another work week!  Well, almost, anyway...  I'm so excited to have a 3 day weekend ahead.  But first, let's talk about the past week.

The hubby was on vacation all week and I enjoyed having him home during the nights.  I slept so much better which is weird because he's been on third shift for a long time and before that he worked swing shift.  I should be used to him being at work while I sleep.  There is a chance that he might be able to transfer to first shift but we have to wait and see.  I'm really hoping and praying that it happens.  I think it would be good for us at this stage in our lives.  We'll find out more when he gets back to work on Tuesday.

Monday evening was Nate's Senior Awards Ceremony.  We won't be able to attend graduation because he only has a limited amount of tickets, so we wanted to be at the Awards Ceremony to show our support.  We're very proud of Nate and feel very blessed that Laken has him as part of her life and that he allows us all to be part of his life.

After the Awards Ceremony, we went to a close by ice cream stand called The Penguin.  While waiting for our ice cream we witnessed the strangest thing.  At first I thought it was a normal traffic stop with a state trooper pulling over a speeding car.  Next thing we knew, it was as if we had stepped into an episode of "COPS" !  The car took off and then about 10 police vehicles went flying after it.  We were witnessing a car chase!  It was unreal and a bit unsettling.  What an interesting way to end the evening!

We had a very cool, rainy stretch which was a bit miserable for us but the flowers loved it.  Especially our little rose bush off the back deck.  It has been pitiful the past few years but this year it is going to town!  There are tons of buds and the roses are rich and beautiful.

Now that I'm getting used to my new phone, I am starting to fall in love with it.  Especially the camera!  It is so good that I was able to actually take a picture of a jet flying over as the hubby and I were sitting on the porch swing Tuesday evening.  It was really neat to zoom in on the picture and see the jet "up close".

Wednesday evening, before Bible Study, the cats were playing in the middle of the Family Room floor.  Flynn and Oliver were going crazy!  I took quite a few pictures of them because my camera is so stinking fast!  I picked this picture out because it shows their personalities off the best.  Oliver thinks he's big stuff and Flynn is telling him he's small potatoes.

Thursday morning I woke up with an ear ache :(  I was able to get into my PCP and it was verified that I have an ear infection.  My appointment was at 5pm and the pharmacy closed at 7pm so I made it just in time to pick up my antibiotic.  My PCP also told me that my ear canals were red which indicates allergies and recommended that I use Flonase as it is really good at keeping the ears clear.  I stopped on the way home and picked some up so hopefully I'll be feeling better in no time!

Which brings me to now, Thursday night.  One more day of work for me and one more day of school for Laken before we can enjoy the weekend and the SUMMER!  I'm so excited!  It is supposed to be nice weather  Saturday and Sunday but rain on Monday.

My goal for the weekend is to get my swing repainted before the rains come again.  I still need to pick up the paint so I'll probably do that Saturday morning after Oliver's vet appointment.  I thought I'd add a "before" picture showing the fine job the hubby did replacing some of the boards on my swing.  Good as new!  Hopefully I'll be able to show an "after" picture Monday.

I also hope that everyone has a wonderful long weekend!  Let me know in the comments if you have any special plans or if you have to work the weekend.  I'd love to hear!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Colletta