Blogaversary Giveaway Winners!

 

Hello and happy TGIF Friends! 

I'm popping in to share the winners of the blogaversary drawing. Thank you again so much for taking the time to visit me in this space. For the wonderful friendship we share here. And for taking the time to enter this drawing. I'm so very grateful for this special blogland place, and for all of you! 💝 

I got the names all written down:

Put them all in a dish:

Annie helped out but didn't want to be on camera. Lol And the first name drawn and winner of this:

Is.....

Congrats Tamy! 🎉 

And the 2nd person drawn and winner of this:

Is....

Congrats Mari! 🎉 

I believe I have both of your emails, so I will be contacting you to get your addresses to send these goodies your way soon! 

Thank you again to all for entering and I wish you all a very blessed weekend ahead. xoxo

Wordless Wednesday

 

*I've added Matt's folks to the dining room hutch where I have pics of all of my parents and step parents. 💕 

**Also, if you haven't already - go back a couple posts and enter the blogaversary drawing I'm doing. Names will be drawn tomorrow night and shared on Friday! 😊 

Happy Homemaker Monday

Hello!

Happy Monday Friends. ☀️ 😊 

I hope you had a wonderfully restful weekend and are ready to dive into the week ahead. It was a fun and productive weekend here. Matt and I did a lot of our usuals: church, errands, cleaning, (he helped me take Christmas down and I only have a little bit left), and watched football. Sorry about those Vikes, Deb. 😉  

Even though I take Christmas down, I do like to keep up some of the greenery, angels, woodland critters, snowmen kinds of things. And I have a little of valentines going on now too. Nice to feel refreshed and ready for the new year. 

We also went out on a date night and did one of our adventure dates from the book he got me for Christmas. It gives a few clues to the date as far as what time of day to go, if it's go out or stay in, how much it might cost etc. And you have to scratch it off in the moment and then just go do it! I give details & photos about it below. We feel we reserve the right to do the older person version and make it our own a bit. Lol We had a lot of fun! ♥️ 

Also, a couple of updates. Back update. I went in for follow up and x-rays show that it's a herniated disc. I start PT this week. I'm doing more prednisone and will go from there. Frustrating and I don't have patience to take it easy - but it's not the end of the world and I'll do whatever I need to do. There may be an MRI in my future. Still potential for cortisone shot....just have to keep taking it a step at a time and see. 

Other update is if you missed my last post about my blogaversary and drawing please check it out an enter! You don't have to be a blogger. You don't have to live in the U.S. Just want to thank you for spending time here and sharing this space with me. 💝  Now on to the week ahead...

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:

apple overnight oats with almond milk & cinnamon, coffee

ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:

massage therapy, PT, Matt's day off fun time,  Ruby haircut, Annie hockey game, errands, hospice work, lunch with a friend

THINKING ABOUT:  

The ways I'm already working on more strength in my body. Plan to do big changes safely and slowly over the next several months to not only heal things....but to be preventative for any future breakdown.

CURRENTLY READING

Just got SPARE the Prince Harry book

ON THE TV TODAY:

Kids Baking Championship, Shark Tank, Ghosts, The Chase, New Amsterdam, The Rookie, Miss Scarlet & the Duke, All Things Great and Small, HGTV and cooking shows 

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

    MONDAY - healthy alfredo noodles with sundried tomatoes, creamy italian salad

TUESDAY - one pan enchiladas verdes w/ mexican cheese blend & hot sauce crema (HF meal)

WEDNESDAY - pork & zucchini bibimbap w/ carrots & pickled scallions (HF meal)

THURSDAY - pepper sausage, onion, veggie & cheese egg bake, healthy keto cinnamon toasts, fruit

FRIDAY - cantina steak fajitas w/ cilantro rice & pico de gallo (HF meal)

*might try my hand at baking some healthy brownies with almond flour and plant based sweetener substitutes

 

TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:

get a massage, read, gentle treadmill with good music, yoga

TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:

FROM THE CAMERA:

Okay, this date suggestion was a bit corny and fun. We reserved the right to only make 2 stops because it was getting late when we went out and we were tired and hungry. 😂  So we did apps & dinner at the same restaurant. We did not engage our waitress in the goofy accent and character thing - but we did do it with each other and it was hilarious! Matt became Gustavo & was speaking Spanish and giving me like the Gomez eye brow and cracking me up so much! I became Gigi  - a worldly French lady and was speaking French at Matt a bit (I had 4 years of it in school).  Just being nutballs can be a lot of fun. 🙃 

The Gustavo eye brow 🤨

And we kind of cheated on dessert too and just went and got crumbl cookies - but they were calling our name more than anywhere we wanted to go. So we're still calling this date fulfilled. ✅ 

It's always seems so empty after Christmas is over. But I still kept out some wintery things and put up some of Valentines. 💕 

This guy never ceases to amaze me with his hidden talents. He used to play guitar a lot and he has such a beautiful singing voice. We were in the mall and took down a guitar in the music store and started playing and singing. I bought him some books and told him he needs to work on his guitar again more back at home so he can play for me more often! 

PRAYER LIST:

 For an end to the conflict in the Ukraine and other areas of the world living in war & fear. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence.  For anyone sick, suffering, in pain or fear... that God bring them comfort and peace. For peace and equality on this MLK Jr Day. For some Friends going through a very hard time right now. 🙏 

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:

I hope you're able to do lots of wonderful small things this week my Friends! I'm sharing this with Sandra of Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday.

Blogaversary Giveaway!

 

Hello my dear wonderful amazing Friends! 

I am finally getting to this giveaway drawing. I began this blog about 8 years ago. I can't even hardly believe it's been that long! My actual anniversary was this past November...but between back issues and the holiday craziness, I didn't get to it. But it is now time!

 I'm so grateful for all of you, old friends and new, and maybe even some just finding me now. I'm grateful for your visits. For the loving and supportive comments many of you leave week after week. I'm beyond thankful for the amazing friendships I have made in this special little space in the blogland universe. I started this blog because I was inspired by many of you that I followed, long before I started mine. I just took the leap one day and decided I didn't just want to be a spectator, but also join the action. Hopefully contribute in some way...and to share. To share my happiness and frustrations as a Mom and once upon a time - a wife. To share domestic life and all that I love about it. Cooking, tips, crafting, decorating and homemaking of all kinds. Many of you have been there through the joys and sorrows. Through fun holidays and seasons...and through loss and a divorce. And now brand new chapters. And what I have received from all of you...in wisdom, kindness, a sense of belonging and shared issues - well honestly it's been priceless.

So as a way to thank you I want to actually do 2 giveaways! I will plan to draw the winners late next week and share them next Friday - one week from now. I will have Annie draw them for me. ;)  All you need to do to enter is to leave a comment below on your thoughts about the New Year. Maybe you have goals set for yourself? Or a word you give yourself for the year to set the tone? I like to do that and my word for this year is STRENGTH. I plan to prevent any further back issues in the future! Lol I will give an update on all that back stuff this Monday on HHM. But for now, here are the details of what you can win! Also, you need to be willing to share an address (privately) where I can mail your winnings if you are drawn. 

The first person picked will receive a handmade recipe scrapbook (made by yours truly), a $15 Starbucks gift card, a Mary Engelbreit "dreams" journal, and a set of her teapot stickers. Below I will share some of the details inside the recipe scrapbook and the journal.

I embellished the burlap cover with some antiqued lace and a lace flower. 

The album is about 8x8 size. The first place has a spot where you can write a dedication if you'd like it to be a keepsake in your family...or to even give as gift as it is. Or to fill it with your recipes and give as a gift or keepsake that way.

These are just a few excerpts of pages. They're all decorated and ready for you to fill it or use however you wish. ✏️ 📚 

Here is the inside jacket and blank pages of the dreams journal.

The 2nd person picked will receive this Mary Engelbreit "hopes" journal and a $15 Starbucks gift card. Nothing like journaling your thoughts while sipping on something cozy and yummy. 💗 

I look forward to reading your thoughts about 2023. Again, thank you for sharing this little space in blogland with me. I am so thankful for all that you bring to my life! I hope you have a very blessed weekend. 

xoxo

Happy Homemaker Monday

Happy Monday Friends!

It feels like it's been forever!! I've missed this space and visiting with you all. I will be coming around to catch up with all of you in the days ahead and see how you've been. I hope you had a wonderful holiday season. I treasure my time with all of you here and I'm so happy to be back. 

I didn't mean to take such a long break - but I truly took time to slow down. Unplug more. And take in all that the season means to me. My faith. My family and friends. Especially my kiddos and my Matt. It was all so great! We had such a wonderful time when Matt's folks came to visit from AZ. And my Dad and step Mom was here visiting from AZ too.  And I got great time with my Mom and Bro and SIL too. My step Dad is healing well from his triple bypass. And Matt & I spent New Years Eve with our besties the C's (so fun!) and we shared Christmas with them (all our kids too). Just so grateful for such an amazing time with all of my people. I even hosted a final Christmas yesterday with my girlfriends. We've been getting together like that for over 30 years! I truly didn't want the holiday season to end this year.  I have photos of all through the holidays below - so prepare for lots. ;)

I am still having some issues with my sacroiliac joint, scoliosis and sciatica stuff. It's been good because it's been motivating me to strengthen areas of my body (which is what we all strive to do in the new year, right?). I was on prednisone over Christmas and that helped the pain a lot. But it's worn off and I'm still having some issues and MD did x-rays that showed I have degenerative arthritis (which I kind of already knew)...and they're now going to do lab work to rule out autoimmune disorder. I was already tested for rheumatoid arthritis back in the Fall, and that was negative. So I don't think these tests will show anything either. But if they do, I will deal with whatever it is. The simplest common sense answer is that the sacroiliac joint is a tough spot to heal. I may need a cortisone shot to kick the pain. And I need to keep doing the things I'm doing which make my life very functional right now which is chiropractor, regular massage therapy, daily exercises and strengthening things, and now I'm going to do some PT as well. What is it with turning 50 and your bod falls apart? Lol 

Matt has been the biggest dreamboat about everything. He helps around the house a ton. He gives me massages. He hired cleaners to help deep clean the house and spare my bod. He is such a supportive partner and even makes exercising and running errands FUN!! I hit the lottery with this dude. I love him so much. I thank God everyday for how joyful, loving and exciting life is again - even with my bod starting to show her age. ♥️ 

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:

an apple, coffee with vanilla almond milk creamer

ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:

errands, chiropractor, labs, massage therapy, PT, hospice work, Annie hockey, help my Mom

THINKING ABOUT:  

How my sweet guy has been such worker bee. He moved here for me (us) 7 months ago and is the boss of a big team and has spent a lot of time getting to know the operations there. Investing in the place and people - even working a lot of weekends (except Sundays). He's finally going to start taking another day off each week and I couldn't be more thrilled!!

CURRENTLY READING

In Her Studio magazines (I love them!)

ON THE TV TODAY:

Kids Baking Championship, Shark Tank, Ghosts, The Chase, HGTV and cooking shows 

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

    MONDAY - leftover slow cooker sweet & sour meatballs & veggies, veggie springrolls

TUESDAY - spicy kale caesar salad with chicken, avocados & tortilla chip topping (HF meal)

WEDNESDAY - herbed pork chop sandwiches with lemony potato wedges & dijonnaise (HF meal)

THURSDAY - creamy garlic spinach ricotta ravioli, veggies (HF meal)

FRIDAY - out for dinner?

 

TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:

get a massage, play cards with Matt, maybe dive into a new book

TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:

Hmmm....Have not tested this one

🤔 

FROM THE CAMERA:

Matt's adorable folks

I swear my rear isn't that big, I'm wearing a back brace under my shirt. 😂 

One of Matt's gifts from me ♥️ 

My Mom painted this for me. I love it so much!!

Matt's Mom and I got the guys a fishing weekend at an amazing resort in Canada for their big gift. We had clues to a scavenger hunt all around the house for them to find it. ;) 

To Matt and I from his folks. Pretty epic!!!

PRAYER LIST:

 For an end to the conflict in the Ukraine and other areas of the world living in war & fear. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence.  For anyone sick, suffering, in pain or fear... that God bring them comfort and peace. For a beautiful brand new year ahead for all. 🙏 

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:

Have a wonderful week!! I will be doing a blogaversary drawing later in the week so please check back. 💝  

I'm sharing this with Sandra of Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday.