Happy Holidays!

Hello my Friends! 

I've missed you all. I hope you're having a wonderfully blessed holiday season so far. 🎄  I know it's crunch time now. But I wanted to take a minute to pop in and share a bit of what's been going on here in the northwoods and give a bit of an update. I meant to continue blogging over the holiday season, but life felt a bit overwhelming with Annie's hockey season extra busy this year. She plays JV and has been suiting up for varsity too and playing a little of it. So it's been extra practices for her then too. Since my ex has been less involved and he has struggled to want to be part of anything holiday, I have been mostly handling all of the holiday efforts around home and our families (& gifts etc). I still want the holidays special and so I have been getting it all done. 😊 
But I have also felt more joy for the first Christmas season in years, because I have a special friend in my life right now. ♥️  He is in law enforcement in a different state and with a different time zone, so it gets challenging at times. Extra time or efforts I have are also spent to communicate with him. He is currently working to get back to my area, as he grew up not too far from here. 

I am looking forward to the weeks ahead to share with family and friends. To share in good food, laughter, and love. And for me it's about remembering the baby born so long ago to save us all. He is always my reason for the season. 🌟  May you have a blessed Christmas and wishing you all joy and peace in 2020. I will be back to blogland after the holidays. 

Happy Homemaker Monday

Happy Monday my Friends 

I'm sorry I missed out last week. It was just that kind of week. And I'm late today but thought tonight was better then not posting at all. Annie's hockey life is in full swing. My FIL recently had surgery and I've been bringing him more meals and helping a bit. And I kind of have a new "friend" but that's a story for another time. 😉 

I hope your weekend was a lovely one. It was a good one here. I helped my Mom out a bit and we had a fun day shopping and I made us a home cooked dinner when Annie was out of town for hockey. We hung out and played cards too. Then Annie had her friend over and I also started pre-cleaning for Thanksgiving. I'm so excited because my Aaron is on his way home for the holiday and I actually pick him up later tonight. My Momma heart couldn't be happier!! I've never been away from him this long so I am beyond excited that all my family will be here for the holiday. 

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING

yogurt, apple, coffee

RIGHT NOW I AM:

Listening to the evening news while I work on this. Also, listening for dryer so I can throw another load in the washer 

AS I LOOK OUTSIDE MY WINDOW

Dark now obviously. It was a warm one today in the 40's. The little bit of snow we had is gone already. 

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

I see a few of the surplus groceries lying on my kitchen counter. I went and got the majority of the thanksgiving groceries today. A few more things to tidy up before my boy gets home tonight. Yay!!

ON THIS WEEK'S TO DO LIST:

Annie hockey practices and game. Work on more deep house cleaning. Start prepping some of the Thanksgiving dishes even tomorrow. Make plan for some black Friday shopping. 

 

CURRENTLY READING

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson. I just love him and could listen to him speak on space and all related astronomy things for hours. I find it absolutely fascinating. So I picked up several of his books. I think in another life I would have been an astronomer or astronaut 😉 

ON THE TV TODAY:

 Holiday baking championship,  Dancing with the Stars, the Resident, The Good Doctor, New Amsterdam, Greys Anatomy, This is Us, Survivor, Bluff City Law, The Rookie, Will & Grace

Catching up on shows I never watched when they first came out - The Crown on Netflix currently and Big Little Lies on HBO 

I also have some, you guessed it, Christmas Hallmark movies taped to watch

 

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

The food doesn't matter this week except Thursday, right? It's all about Thanksgiving. Lol I'm going to kind of host 2 Thanksgivings - an early in the day one for my FIL and Adam and an evening one with my Mom, my Brother and my SIL. 

We'll be having: roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, homemade stuffing, homemade gravy, homemade cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, calico beans, fruit salad, corn, pickles and cheese tray, dinner rolls, homemade pecan pie, ice cream, pumpkin pie with whipped topping, and spiced custard pear bars with macadamia nut crust. 

WHAT I AM CREATING AT THE MOMENT

scrapbook catch up

NEW RECIPE I WANT TO TRY THIS WEEK:

just about thanksgiving this week 🦃 If you've never made Pioneer Woman's pan of mashed potatoes for your holiday meal - I recommend you give it a try! yum!

TIP OF THE WEEK:

What helps me through the big meal this week is prepping as much as I'm able ahead of time. So I'll even make and prep some dishes as soon as tomorrow. I also cook 2 smaller turkeys instead of one big one. Takes up less room in the oven and cook faster

FROM THE CAMERA

Ruby recently got her haircut and always looks so cute when the groomer dolls her up 

My hockey girl recently had a game playing her cousin. My ex was out of town so I took my FIL to the game so he could watch his granddaughters play each other. Pretty cute. (Annie's team won). 

I also recently helped with the team pictures for the season and Annie wanted a pic since she's so much taller than I am on her skates. Sigh

With our snow gone it sure looks like late Fall. With the warmer temps I've been taking advantage and getting Ruby out walking 

I got out some of my Thanksgiving decorations. Gobble gobble!

Ruby and I continue to have fun with filters! We vow to never grow up. Lol 

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:



Have a very blessed Thanksgiving dear Friends. I'm linking with Sandra of Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday.

Yummy Banana Crumb Cake & Apple Cinnamon Bread

Hello Friends! 

Here are the recipes that I have been mentioning that I encourage you to try because they're both really yummy. 😋 

First up the banana crumb cake. This is a recipe I got from one of the cooks at the hospice house where I volunteer. It's so good and a great alternative for using up bananas instead of bread. 

It's a moist cake due to the banana. This crumb topping is everything - it's SO GOOD!! Mine got a little dark because I have a convection oven and I cooked it the full time instead of checking 5 mins earlier. But it was still moist and delish. 🍌 

Here's the recipe. Enjoy!

Another great recipe for this time of year - and if you have apples to use up - is this apple cinnamon bread. 

Layers of batter, cinnamon/sugar & chopped apples...what could be wrong with that? Here's the recipe:

Happy Baking! 🍎 🍌