Happy Homemaker Monday ~~ 6/30/14

Start: 9:45am

The weather.....

Right now I am.... Sitting on the stool at the POS computer (main computer at the shop),  listening to the lights hum and the roof popping as it warms up, and the AC just kicked on.  I  have my mocha right beside me.

On my Kindle... I finished reading The Preacher's Daughter (Annie's People Book #1).  I've almost finished Englisher, The (Annie's People Book #2), and looking forward to  borrowing and downloading book #3 The Brethren (Annie's People Book #3)  in the next day or two.

On the menu this week...... SURPRISE!  I actually have a plan!  The meal that I fixed the other day  (see picture below or this post).  For Hubby, more of the same....[cheap] steak with sauteed mushrooms & onions, and fried corn, with a buttered roll (or two).  I also picked up some beef short ribs to bake with some BBQ sauce.  I'm thinking either Pizza or Lasagna on Friday.   For the Boy whatever sounds good to him that I have on hand to make.  Egg and Cheese burritos (which I need to pick up eggs, tortillas, and cheese), Mac and Cheese.......he surprises me sometimes.  :)

On the Radio....nothing

TV on my Computer..... Switched at Birth this week!  You can watch it at 7 central on ABC Family.  If you don't get ABC Family, you can watch last week's episode HERE.  Yes there is a few pop-ups, but I haven't had problems with viruses.....yet.  I usually Watch on "vidbul"  And closing the ad on the screen brings up a pop-up, I just close it and hit "play".  Also there is no need to download anything to watch this show.  I also started watching the Season 1 Episode 7 Christmas Special of Call The Midwife this past week. I didn't make it very far before I got interrupted. LOL!   I started watching this series way back in February.

What I found while surfing the net.... not much surfing this past week. Still keep checking for housing and/or commercial locations.  We are down to 5 months to keep within our goal.  I actually went anti-facebook for a few days.  It was really nice.  I did spend time on twitter though.

On my to do list today/this week....
wash the few dishes left over from eating late night snacks (can you believe the kitchen is actually mostly clean again?)
sweep floors
do some laundry
find more things to sell
clean on old house to get it ready to sell
sweep shop
.....and the list never ends......

Looking forward to this week.... FRIDAY!  It's a holiday!  I'm not so much into the firecrackers and such, but I am looking forward (ok maybe not looking forward to, but it has to be done) to spending the day cleaning on the old house.  Not totally a day off work, but another day of work.  Also I do like to watch the city fireworks display.  Maybe I'll video record it again this year.  Will have to wait and see how things go.

Thinking and Pondering.....  Stewing over the double standards in this town kept me up most of the night.  What seems OK for one person is a downright "crime" for another.  I tried turning it over to God, but I just can't let go of the anger right now.  Also wondering what to do with the bathroom.....the ceiling finally fell in about 2am.  The leak....it needs fixed, but we haven't the money to fix it.  No point in fixing the ceiling right now when it will just be damaged again.

As I look outside the window..... The sun is shining bright as it heats things up out there!   Main street is actually somewhat busy this morning.  No cars parked where I can see them, and no customers have been in.

Looking around the house.... just needs some general cleaning, and the floors vacuumed.  Now the bathroom needs some attention to get all that ceiling stuff cleaned up and probably some duct tape on the ceiling to hold the insulation up.....until the next time it rains.

From the camera.......  MMMMmmmmm!  My cost on this is about $5.  Way less cost and tastes much better than McDonald's!

On my prayer list.....

• My grandpa (he's 95 years old now)
• My sister
• My Uncle T
• My Mom
• Business decisions
• quick cleaning out of the old house
• quick selling of  our vacant lot in the country  (the realtor won't list it so we are selling it by owner)
• getting old house cleaned out quickly
• The house we live in now to sell quickly when we do get it put on the market
• Finding the perfect house/location to move to
• My Reecie Kitty

  This post linked to Happy Homemaker Monday over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Finish: 10:20am  (time to get a second cuppa mocha and get to work on things)

Home Cooked Meal

The other night Hubby wanted something to eat after we closed (mind you that was about 9:30pm).  He want McDonalds, again, but I didn't want to go to McDonalds.  I told him since I was going to the store anyway that I would get something to fix for him.  For a little under $15, which is about what we spend at McDonalds each time for 2 sandwiches and 1 large fry, I got a container of sliced fresh mushrooms, an onion, some [cheap] steaks, and frozen corn.  This has made 2 meals already and I have enough, minus the mushrooms, to make a third meal.  

I sauteed the mushrooms and onions in butter and seasoned them with a little salt & pepper.  I fried the corn in a little butter and seasoned with a little salt & pepper, and I cooked the steak in a little butter and seasoned with a little salt & pepper.  The rolls were warmed under the broiler.  Hubby said it was way better than McDonalds, and better than any restaurant around here (which isn't hard to do, we mostly has fast food, mexican and chineese).

Each meal has cost me less than $5 to make.  The rolls the first night were left over from eating out, and the ones in the picture are ones left over from work, they probably shouldn't be served to customers, although they are fine.  We are just really picky what we serve to our guests.

Happy Homemaker Monday ~~ 6/23/2014

Start: 9:28am

The weather..... It rained last night.  I never heard it, but the sidewalk and porch was wet, and my son put the bucket under the drip, since he was still up.  Today it's cloudy with a chance of storms, and 79* for the high (which is about 10 or so degrees cooler than last week's average).  The rest of the week looks to be in the mid to upper 80's with scattered storms.

Right now I am.... Standing here at the POS computer (main computer at the shop).  listening to the lights hum and the roof popping as it warms up.  I also have some water heating for some mocha, so the coffee pot is making it's heating noises.

On my Kindle... I finished reading  Forgiven (Sisters of the Heart, Book 3) On accident I found a bunch of Beverly Lewis books that I can "borrow" from the Kansas library card.  I searched for Amish, but that brings up very few books.  I just happened to see one of hers on that search, and decided to search by her name instead of a specific category.  WOW!  2 whole pages of books.  I'm happy!  SO, I'm currently reading The Preacher's Daughter (Annie's People Book #1).  Sometimes I have a hard time following Beverly's story lines.  She has a very refined way of writing.  No complaining, she is a most excellent story teller.

On the menu this week...... same old stuff.....*sigh*

On the Radio....nothing

TV on my Computer..... Switched at Birth this week!  You can watch it at 7 central on ABC Family.  If you don't get ABC Family, you can watch last week's episode HERE.  Yes there is a few pop-ups, but I haven't had problems with viruses.....yet.  I usually Watch on "vidbul"  And closing the ad on the screen brings up a pop-up, I just close it and hit "play".

What I found while surfing the net.... not much surfing this past week.  with vacation and all.  Still keep checking for housing and/or commercial locations.  We are down to 5 months to keep within our goal.

On my to do list today....
wash a few dishes  (can you believe the kitchen is actually mostly clean?)
sweep floors
do some laundry
Put out the fresh incense I soaked/dried over the weekend

Looking forward to this week.... going out of town tonight.

As I look outside the window..... It's a little gloomy looking.  Main street is actually busier than usual for a Monday morning.  There are a few cars parked where I can see them, but no customers currently in our shop.

Looking around the house.... just needs some general cleaning, and the floors vacuumed.

From the camera.......  

Here are some of the scents I will be putting out shortly.  I have a few more I need to soak that are getting low.

On my prayer list.....

• My grandpa (he's 95 years old now)
• My sister
• My Uncle T
• Business decisions
• quick cleaning out of the old house
• quick selling of  our vacant lot in the country  (will be listed mid next week)
• getting old house cleaned out quickly
• The house we live in now to sell quickly when we do get it put on the market
• Finding the perfect house/location to move to
• My Reecie Kitty

  This post linked to Happy Homemaker Monday over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Finish: 9:51am  (time to get that cuppa mocha!)

Mission Accomplished! Everyone Needs A Little Time Away

Sometimes you just have to get away.  We did exactly that.  We took 3 days and just did what we wanted to do!  Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, our slowest days.  Sunday being Fathers Day, we met the oldest and his finance for lunch and then we (hubby, the youngest boy and me) headed out of town.  Monday it was just hubby and me, and we scoped out neighboring towns for possible moving the business(es) to.  After spending the day driving and looking and talking, we think our current plan is the best.  On our way home hubby says he wants to go to Branson, Mo.  SO.....I arranged for a friend to check on the cats, packed quickly and we were OFF!  About 4 hours later (we stopped for supper) we arrived at our destination.  I must say the shower at the motel was AMAZING!  Much larger than mine at home.  You could actually drop the soap (which I did once, but not on purpose) and bend over to pick it up without touching the sides!  The bed and pillows were the most comfortable I think I've ever slept on.  The room was perfect temperature, and the free breakfast was pretty good.

After eating a quick breakfast, courtesy of the motel, we headed to Silver Dollar City.  We haven't been there in about 5 years.  It was rather nice going back.  Hubby and I wanted to sit by the water and relax, but they have made so many new changes that there wasn't much water to sit by and enjoy.  We still enjoyed ourselves though.

Here are some highlights of the trip to SDC:

There was a swan on one of the beds in the motel room.  

Boys will be boys......playing with guns in the toy shop

This huge marble ball was spinning on water.  They made it spin vertical, which was a challenge.

Almost finished riding the Lucky Silver Mine ride.  Those prisoners were shooting water at us.  Luckily they always miss.

Thank you to the SDC Employee who was kind enough to take this picture.  We were relaxing outside the Ice Cream shop, which is in front of the Jail, and across from the Blacksmith's Shop.

The Blacksmiths Shop

The Jail.....Lookin in

We went during their "Star Spangled Summer" Festival.  The City was all decorated with red white and blue.  There were flags everywhere and patriotic music playing up on the town square.

We ate lunch by the waterfall

And made a pirate ship out of our dishes

We rode the Frisco Silver Dollar Line Steam Train, and got held up by Alfie and Ralphie.

We stopped by the Mill and watched the waterwheel 

And we saw......standing out in front of Ripley's Believe it or Not........

a Giant Optimus Prime!

I was a much needed mini vacation.  We needed the days off, and we enjoyed our trip to Branson, and just driving around with no place to go or anything we had to do.

We got season passes....so you can bet we will be back to SDC at least once, maybe more before the end of 2014.

Happy Homemaker Monday ~~ 6/16/14

Start: 8:52pm (Sunday Night)

The weather..... rain was in the forecast tonight, but all storms have been cancelled.  Maybe a few random showers but nothing major.  Hot, cloudy, breezy, and a chance for storms towards the end of the week.

Right now I am.... sitting at home, writing this post up the night before, because tomorrow is going to be another fun day.

On my Kindle... I'm still reading  Forgiven (Sisters of the Heart, Book 3)  I am a little over half way through.

On the menu this week...... Never know until I get asked to cook something.  LOL!  I do know I need to restock on the quick to fix things like cereal and milk, bread (for egg sandwiches), etc.

On the Radio.... nothing right now, Listening to the fan blowing, the new Wii game we got today, and I can hear the trains idling across the way

TV on my Computer..... Switched at Birth comes back tonight!!!!!!!  You can watch it at 7 central on ABC Family.  Next week I will have an online viewing link for you.

What I found while surfing the net.... Started a new duct tape board on pinterest.  Still have been scoping out houses and cleaning and selling stuff.

On my to do list today/this week....
wash dishes
sweep floors
do some laundry
put some laundry away
change the sheets

Looking forward to this week.... The next 2 days off.....then it's back to work as usual.

As I look outside the window..... It's dark.  Nothing has triggered the porch light and the street light isn't super bright, so I don't see anything.

Looking around the house.... just needs some general cleaning.

From the camera.......  

this is the reason I do not like blinds......the cats go through them to get in the window, and it tears them up resulting in this nifty 2-way window.  LOL!

On my prayer list.....

• My grandpa (he's 95 years old now)
• My sister
• My Uncle T
• Business decisions
• quick cleaning out of the old house
• quick selling of  our vacant lot in the country  (will be listed mid next week)
• getting old house cleaned out quickly
• The house we live in now to sell quickly when we do get it put on the market
• Finding the perfect house/location to move to
• My Reecie Kitty

  This post linked to Happy Homemaker Monday over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom  (I Linked up in the comments this week, since HHM was on vacation)

Finish: 9:29pm.....had to make a battery run for the wii or I would have been done a little sooner.

Weather Central

I'm not addicted to weather apps am I?  I have to stay on top of things, you know.  The Weather Channel app is my favorite, followed by Weather Bug, but only for their "spark" feature. Simple Weather Alert comes in quite handy as it often is the first to alert me of any bad weather.  Scanner Radio I can listen to the local law enforcement, which is nice when I hear sirens or when the weather looks really bad.  Sky Watch is a local TV station weather app.  Radar Now and Raindar gives you the local radar with storms and watch/warning areas.  Weather Underground and the Bright Weather app are just a couple extras "just in case".    I also get notifications on Twitter from the NWS.  All these apps can be downloaded for FREE from Google Play Store on your android device.  Some are available from amazon, and I'm sure they are also available, or an equivalent, for IPads and IPhones.

What weather apps do you use? 

Mission Accomplished! Sunshine & Sparkles

 I don't know where the week goes.  I post HHM, and then  POOF!  before I know it it's time, or almost time to post it again.  I'm looking forward to the upcoming days off we are taking.  It's been way too long since we had more than a holiday day off.

The morning sun has a habit of warming the kitchen and the whole house up by early morning, before the late afternoon sun starts heating from the other side. Last week we actually had a few hot days (90* temps) before the rain came again and cooled things off for a few days.  The morning sun was already making the kitchen feel stuffy at 8 am when I got up.  My solution.....I nailed an older towel up in the window.  I still get enough light to do most of what I do in the morning, but it also blocks a majority of the heat that comes in,  Here is a before and after of the kitchen window.

Last week I attempted a cool metallic duct tape phone pouch for hubby since his regular one finally broke.  It wasn't as successful as I had hoped.  *sigh*  The belt loop on it broke within a few hours.  So I cut that part off and took it to put my old phone.....now a mini tablet..... in (not the phone pictured).  Today I made the pouch on the left for my ear buds and a few other items that get lost in my purse.

I'm thinking I want to get some more duct tape to make more pouches for those items that often get lost in my purse.  

Have you made any duct tape crafts?  Share your link in a comment I'd love to see what you've done.  It might even give me more ideas.

Happy Homemaker Monday ~~ 6-9-14

Start: 3:20pm

The weather..... rain is in the forecast most of this week.  Today it's gloomy and has been drizzling off and on.

Right now I am.... sitting at the shop.  Hubby is heading out on a job, so I gotta hurry  LOL!

On my Kindle... I finished reading Hidden (Sisters of the Heart, Book 1), and Wanted (Sisters of the Heart, Book 2).  I have just started reading Book 3 in this series, Forgiven (Sisters of the Heart, Book 3)

On the menu this week...... Never know until I get asked to cook something.  LOL!  I do know I need to restock on the quick to fix things like cereal and milk, bread (for egg sandwiches), etc.

On the Radio.... nothing right now, just the hum of the fluorescent lights, the snap crackle pop of the metal roof expanding, and the cars driving by.

TV on my Computer..... I haven't watched much lately.

What I found while surfing the net.... Still a lot of house shopping.  We are still a long way from moving, but as of right now I have the houses narrowed down to 2.  I almost bet those sell before we are ready to go.  However something will be available, that is just perfect, when it is time.  We have made a goal to be ready to move within 6 months from this month.

On my to do list today....
clean cat boxes tonight (providing it's not raining)
buy cat litter

clean bathroom

Looking forward to this week.... Hopefully we go out of town tonight.  Hubby and I haven't decided yet.

As I look outside the window..... It's grey and cloudy.  The parking spaces out front are full, but no customers in our whop right now.

Looking around the house.... Still looking good.  I forgot to clean the bathroom last night, so that is something I need to do.  I did get the bags/piles of clothes sorted in the bedroom.  Lots more room to move around.  I need to remember to take hangers home so I can hang more clothes up in the closet.

From the camera.......  

I've been taking lot of pictures lately of things to sell.  Have been posting them on the local classifieds website.  Rather doubt you want to see all that stuff  LOL!

I will share a recent plate of bacon egg cheese burritos I made.  MMMMmm they were delicious!

On my prayer list.....

• My grandpa (he's 95 years old now)
• My sister
• My Uncle T
• Business decisions
• quick cleaning out of the old house
• quick selling of  our vacant lot in the country  (will be listed mid next week)
• getting old house cleaned out quickly
• The house we live in now to sell quickly when we do get it put on the market
• Finding the perfect house/location to move to
• My Reecie Kitty

  This post linked to Happy Homemaker Monday over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Finish: 3:35.....and hubby isn't back yet, so I did good  :-P

Highlight of My Day

Seeing the Barnum & Bailey Ringling Brothers Circus Train!  It was headed north, possibly to the Kansas City area.

We seen this on the way to visit with my Grandpa.  We had a nice visit with him as well.  2 Special things all in the same day. 

Happy Homemaker Monday ~~ 6/2/2014

Start: 8:56m

The weather..... rain is still in the forecast.  Other than that it looks pretty good.  Tuesday and Wednesday look a little warm.  We haven't turned the AC on yet.  Don't plan on it anytime soon either.

Right now I am.... sitting at the shop.  Hubby is getting ready to head out on a couple jobs.   I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to make a cup of coffee.  I do, but I don't.

On my Kindle... Since it's been 2 weeks (last week being a holiday weekend) I've read a couple books.  I read Edge of Light, The (At Home in Beldon Grove Book #1) (Which is still FREE as of Today 6/2/14).  I also read The Miting, which I wrote a review about (for me writing reviews is rare, you know it was a really good book if I write a review).  Currently I am reading Hidden (Sisters of the Heart, Book 1).  I have 3 different formats I read from, Kindle, and 2 different readers from my library. So many books......so little time. :-)

On the menu this week...... Never know until I get asked to cook something.  LOL!  I do know I need to restock on the quick to fix things like cereal and milk, bread (for egg sandwiches), etc.

On the Radio.... nothing right now, just the hum of the fluorescent lights, the snap crackle pop of the metal roof expanding as the day gets warmer, and the cars driving by.

TV on my Computer..... I haven't watched much lately.

What I found while surfing the net.... Mostly just been house and commercial building shopping.  We are still a long way from moving, but as of right now I have the houses narrowed down to 2.  I almost bet those sell before we are ready to go.  However something will be available, that is just perfect, when it is time.

On my to do list today....
clean cat boxes tonight
buy cat litter
dry the towels I washed last night
start going through the piles of bags in the bedroom and purge what we don't want/need  

Looking forward to this week.... I think we are going out of town tonight.  We dropped the car off to get 2 new tires (the wires were showing *EEK!*).  Also later in the week going to the free clothing exchange at our church.  I need some new summer things.

As I look outside the window..... the sun is shining, there is a little traffic on Main Street, I hear a lawnmower.  The windows could use a good cleaning both inside and out.

Looking around the house.... Looks a LOT, and I do mean a LOT better.  I got the bathroom cleaned last night, the living room still is clean, it just needs vacuumed.  The dishes are clean (except what the boy uses today), the kitchen needs vacuumed. (yes I hate carpet in the kitchen!)  The bedroom isn't bad, just need to work on getting the bags sorted from moving.

From the camera.......  

can you believe the bathroom picture is the ONLY picture I've taken recently?  Well OK, maybe it wasn't the only picture, but it's the only one still on my phone that I can will share.  LOL!  

On my prayer list.....

• My grandpa (he's 95 years old now)
• My sister
• My Uncle T
• Business decisions
• quick cleaning out of the old house
• quick selling of the old house and our vacant lot in the country, AND the house we are currently living in.
• Finding the perfect house/location to move to
• My Reecie Kitty

  This post linked to Happy Homemaker Monday over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Finish: 10:00am......and I think I will go make that coffee after all.  

Mission Accomplished! Cleaned the Bathroom

I'm not sure why its such a big deal for me, but cleaning the bathroom is my least favorite thing to do. I really need to make a point to clean it weekly instead of waiting until.....well way too long.  My June goal is to clean it weekly. Sunday night preferably. 

On a better note my dishes are done one load of laundry in the dryer and another in the washer.

My reward.....less to do tomorrow, and a few minutes to read before bed.