Happy Homemaker Monday

Hello and happy new week to you Friends!

Did you have a lovely weekend?

It was a fun and eventful one here as I hosted my annual girlfriend Christmas. We have been doing a Christmas get together and exchange for 37 years (since high school!) We have had one gf move away about 25 years ago, but we still call her during our gathering each year. And she thinks next year she may fly out and be here for a visit and part of the gathering. Yay! She would be coming from California so that is so exciting to all of us! 💗  I share photos below of our time together. They were here for like 7 or 8 hours. It's so fun catching up! Some years there are big heavy things to share, some years joyful things (like Mrs. C's new grandbaby and daughter getting married this year). We have shared it all.  I'm so grateful that all the painful drama years I faced are far behind me and now I just share all the joy in my life! So very blessed🙏🏻💗

We also have a theme each year and exchange gifts based on that. We do a big potluck and graze all day. We all look so forward to it every year. I had kept my Christmas stuff up for it...so this week I need to take it all down (well Matt is an amazing helper too). It's always so sad to see it go. 

Matt and I also brought dinner to my Mom and step Dad yesterday and helped them with some things in their apartment and played some cards. I had made homemade chicken pot pie with a crust I had made during the holidays and froze because I didn't use it. 

 We watched a bit of football over the weekend, too, and the biggest bummer is that our Packers are now all done for the season. 😢 

Oh well, there's always next year...right? 

*a little update: the blogaversary giveaway is still in the works, but there are few things I'm waiting on for it. I hope to do it this week - but again, thanks for your patience and stay tuned! 

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:

a little weetabix cereal with protein milk and healthy sweetener, coffee

ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:

Take down Christmas & cleaning, Ruby's haircut, errands, making things to bring an Uncle that just had surgery, stay consistent with all the walking I've been doing (& add light weights), projects, hospice work

THINKING ABOUT: 

excited that I think I finally have a whole wheat sourdough starter (& discard) that seem to be going - but we will see! Lol

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY:

being outside in the backyard in the winter when it's so calm and still and the snow makes it so quiet and peaceful

CURRENTLY READING

The Housemaid  by Freida McFadden (almost done! but not sure what I'm going to read next)

ON THE TV TODAY:

 watched the Golden Globes last night, Jeopardy, old seasons of big brother & the office, Junk or Jackpot on HGTV, Best Medicine, the Pitt, Shark Tank, Miss Scarlet & All Creatures Great and Small on PBS, cooking shows and movies

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

    MONDAY - leftover chicken pot pie, salad

TUESDAY -  healthy oat & banana pancakes, scrambled eggs with veggies & cheese

WEDNESDAY -  garlic & black pepper roasted pork tenderloin, asparagus, maybe brown rice?

THURSDAY - chicken skewer low carb wraps, roasted broccoli 

FRIDAY -  out for dinner or order in?

*if starter cooperates may try to bake a loaf of bread or use discard to bake something fun

TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:

finish book, bake, paint/sketch

TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:

FROM THE CAMERA:

I found these cute snoopy sheet and put them on Annie's bed (as she loves him) for the next time she comes home :) 

The sunsets have continued to be so beautiful this winter!

We drew names for our gf Christmas as this year's theme was favorite Christmas movies so wanted to get specific things.  The friend I drew loves hallmark movies, elf, and a Charlie Brown Christmas. So I wrapped everything individually and used cute elf and peanuts wrap to make a tower. 

We never starve! I contributed a naan bread pizza bar (not pictured) for everyone to build their own pizza. And I took honey goat cheese and rolled it in chopped pistachio, dried cherries, & fresh rosemary & thyme. And also put on the charcuterie a cinnamon and cranberry goat cheese. I even cut little stockings and Christmas trees & snowflakes in the cheese and cucumbers with tiny cookie cutters (as I'm nerdy like that😂). The Girls all brought so many goodies too. Matt was in heaven with getting all the extras! Lol

I also made these pretzels that were such a hit! Take a bag of pretzels, pour and coat melted white chocolate over them, and toss with crushed fruity pebbles cereal. Very addicting!  Will share full recipe this week. 

A peek at the homemade chicken pot pie I made yesterday. I will share the recipe later in the week. It's so comforting and YUMMY! 

💗💗💗💗

PRAYER LIST:

 For an end to the conflicts all over the world and anyone living in war & fear. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence.  For anyone sick, suffering, in pain, fear, loneliness etc ... that God bring them comfort and peace. 

For the Lord's love and peace to fill 2026. ❤️ 

For Christ's Light and Love to cast out the darkness everywhere and help the world find its way to loving our neighbors as ourselves. 🙏🏻

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:

Amen! 

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

Happy Homemaker Monday

Happy Monday to you Friends!

It's been a minute and I'm so happy to be back in blogland. :) 

I look forward to going around and catching up with all of you! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and are feeling ready to move on to a new year soon. Can you believe we are mere days from 2026?? We're still kind of reveling in the holiday feels over here...even though our wonderful guests have left. Matt and I are still loving the glow at night, and that his work is slower right now, and just enjoying each other's company again. 

We had such a wonderful Christmas with the kiddos staying here and Matt's folks in town since before Christmas week. We enjoyed so many fun game nights (even into the wee hours with the kids), and chats and wonderful food and just togetherness. We celebrated Jesus's birth and did lots of laughing and we all spoiled each other with more gifts than we should have. 

Favorites this time of year for me continue to be how the kiddos see Matt as such a father figure and they each share their own special connection with him. How our kids express the home base we are to them and the ways I just LIKE my kids so much....besides loving them unconditionally of course. We have the absolute best time with them. 💗

I loved all of my goodies and enjoyed that my son's gifts to me contained our inside jokes, and his Jill made me wonderful homemade gifts, and Annie showered me with amazing skin care products and high end makeup. She overheard me complaining about my maturing skin and my scar at the moment and wanted to help me out with it all. We had such fun doing girlie hang out time as she gave me makeup tips for my new products. My kiddos are like best friends as well as our kiddos. Yet, I'm still Mom in all the ways they love - even down to my daughter sitting on my lap and just wanting to be snuggled like when she was little. I loved those kinds of moments so much too! 

I have a grateful and full Momma heart. 

❤️💚❤️💚

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:

some wheatabix cereal and a coffee with natural almond vanilla creamer

ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:

run errands and groceries later in the week, working on NYE plans with friends, bring some things to my Mom, home projects, hospice work

THINKING ABOUT: 

Do you ever look at a date and then it hits you that it had meaning before? Today is a date like that for me. In my old life today would have been mine and my ex's 30th wedding anniversary. Even though he is someone I don't know at all anymore - I remember so many wonderful and very fun years together. Growing up together and then creating and raising a family together. There are times my kids remind me of him in the best ways: the way my son laughs like his dad, or my daughter will remind me of my former MIL, who was such a best friend in my life. There is still such a gift yet in that connection...and I am grateful for it. 

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY:

My sweet Ruby. She's almost 14 yrs now, and even though she can't see as well and doesn't hear too well - she is still such a sweetheart and a little lover. She still has spunk and likes to play and loves to snuggle. Time with her brings me joy.  

CURRENTLY READING

The Housemaid  by Freida McFadden (I didn't do as much reading over the break - but jumping back in now) Want to read this and then watch the movie

ON THE TV TODAY:

 Jeopardy, old seasons of big brother, Junk or Jackpot on HGTV, some cooking shows, still watching old episodes of the Office too, movies we want to watch

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

    MONDAY - Mexican street tacos from Costco

TUESDAY -  pasta with slow simmered meat sauce, salad

WEDNESDAY -  might be out for dinner or eat in fun food with friends

THURSDAY - tacos

FRIDAY - ?

TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:

read book & new cookbooks, do artwork from new kit, crochet

TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:

I'm so grateful we all remained healthy over the holidays - but keeping this in my back pocket.

I made us homemade hot chocolate the other night but have always wanted to try this hack. 

FROM THE CAMERA:

**WARNING: mega Christmas photo drop below so buckle up!

Annie is my puzzle girl and she indulged in some on her down time away from school, and we definitely got a snowy white Christmas:

I made several homemade gifts this year including cross stitch, sketchings and water color paintings, and stovetop potpourri jars. Also, food gifts including tins of sugared pecans, tins of ranch oyster crackers, and little cranberry orange breads that I would later glaze before wrapping up. 

The reason for the season:

We hosted several 

Christmas gatherings including a Christmas Eve brunch with my Mom and Bro, Christmas Day with my MIL and FIL (in our Christmas Vacation wally world jersey pj's all day), and a couple of Christmas times with my kiddos including present opening the night before Christmas Eve. Ruby and Bubba got to open their goodies too and loved them. I helped them open things and they kept coming back to me when I would open my own gifts thinking they were getting more goodies themselves. Lol 

We also took my in-laws out a few time including one of the nights to celebrate their anniversary.

Over the holidays the wassail flowed, yummy food was gobbled, and all while visiting and laughing around the table. Such great times that flew by so fast! 

Some of the goodies and meals I made while my in-law's were here. Homemade fudge with Ghiradelli chocolate, my Gram's Christmas cut-out cookies and homemade cream cheese frosting, steak chili with all the fixings & biscuits, and chicken almondine. I will share recipes in the future!

And the treats continued as I also made some Christmas shortbread in my shortbread mold right before my kiddos left. It has orange zest in it and is so good! Matt and I indulged the other night and I made us homemade stovetop cocoa, alongside shortbread topped with some raspberry jam, and I put Christmas sprinkle whipped cream I had frozen on top of the cocoa. Such a yummy time of year 😋❤️💚

PRAYER LIST:

 For an end to the conflicts all over the world and anyone living in war & fear. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence.  For anyone sick, suffering, in pain, fear, loneliness etc ... that God bring them comfort and peace. 

For a safe and healthy New Year's ahead. And that the Lord bring His peace into 2026. 

For Christ's Light and Love to cast out the darkness everywhere and help the world find its way to loving our neighbors as ourselves. 🙏🏻

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:

In case I don't get time to post again this week - wishing you all a very blessed and Happy New Year! 🌟

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