My planner came on Saturday and I love it so much!

The checklists and daily tasks help me so much!

I planned this week's menu using my Rachael Ray cookbook, my new Tastebuds shipment and this week's Meal Plan from Confession of a Fit Foodie

Saturday: Wings, BBQ Mac n Cheese and football snacks.  Sunday Mikayla asked me who had come over and I was like no one- it was just us :P Rhett, me and Hannah.

Sunday- Lasnaga Roll Ups, salad and garlic bread

Monday- Sheet Pan Chicken and Potatoes (Tastebuds)

Tuesday- Sheet Pan Nachos

Wednesday- chicken with broccoli + pasta with Healthy Alfredo Sauce

Thursday- pizza night- or we might eat out, Hannah has a hair appointment and I still have to shop for the LaForte Christmas on Saturday *procrastiNemitz

Friday- Big Snack Burgers (from Rachael Ray's book)

Yesterday I made donuts for my SS class to celebrate a belated birthday

It made me want to use my donut pan more often!

I'm thinking about getting this Bible- It has short prayers for the country each day. In addition to the one-year through the bible reading plan.  It's the prayers for America that grabbed my attention. I'm torn because I certainly don't need another physical Bible. Right now I am reading the sample on my Kindle and am thinking the kindle version might be the way to go on this one ;-)

We closed early today because of the weather and I planned to do all the productive things when I got home... instead I took a nap with these two! :P

BUT I did a live video tonight- trying to get back to doing this more regular.

It turned out so tasty!  Definitely a keeper!  Next time I might do the potatoes a tad thinner so they get even more crispy.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and a great week ahead of you!  

Thursday. . .

 Another gray January day... but big fat fluffy flakes came down shortly after I got to work.  My favorite kind.

I think I may have maxed out my little library/TBR shelf after yesterday's library pick up, also got two in the mail from Book of the Month

 

Yesterday ended up being a not very good day. I found myself tired cold and grumpy.  Ate too much junk and wallowed a bit. Snuggled with the pups and my new fuzzy blanket, read my book and took a nap. Checked no evening boxes. :(

Today will be better!

• I got up and did a workout - so far 2/4
• Cleaned kitchen sink and counters before work (amazing how much lighter this makes me feel)
• My planner shipped!! Cue confetti and happy dance
  
  
  
  
  
  

Thankful for new days and fresh starts.

Mid January Daybook and Pampered Cheffy things

For Today {January 12, 2022}

Looking out my window 

I feel like it has looked very January lately. And so cold!  As I was getting ready for work I was already thinking about coming home and putting on my cozy PJs and slippers again.

I am thinking about the future and what it may hold.

I am thankful roads were mostly clean this morning. =)

One of my favorite things cooking for people I love

I am feeling very blah today =/

I am reading I just finished my first book of 2022 yesterday! I am a little sad and disheartened by this as I have so many on my TBR list- 7 to pick up at the library right now!

But anyway it was Laundry Love by Patric Richardson.  I read the kindle version from the library and immediately ordered the hard copy to reread and for reference.  Who knew a book about laundry could be so engaging.  Plus he tells how to get out like every stain known to man.

I am watching The Final Chapter of This is Us.  I am not ready or prepared.

            a- for the show to end

            b- for one of the things that seems to be coming... I was very upset at the glimpse from the season finale last spring

I am hoping my planner will come soon!  I keep checking my email for shipping notice. 

In my kitchen    Last night was my  Soup & Slippers Pampered Chef Party! We had a good time.  I made two soups Copycat Panera Corn Chowder- a fav! And Quick Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

I deviate a little from the recipe for the Corn Chowder- so here's my recipe... printable version HERE

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 4 minced garlic cloves
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
• 1 ½ cups half&half
• 4 cups fresh sweet corn kernels (I use frozen usually)
• 2 red potato, diced
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 14-oz can diced or petite diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Step 1

Melt butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add bell pepper, garlic, onion, and jalapeño to pot; sauté for about 4 minutes. Add all-purpose flour and stir continuously for 1 minute or until a thick paste forms.

Step 2

Stir in vegetable stock, half and half, corn kernels, potato, salt, smoked paprika, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer; cover and cook for 20 minutes or until potatoes have softened and mixture has thickened. 

Step 3

Stir in tomatoes, lime juice, white wine vinegar, and cilantro; simmer for 5 minutes. Serve immediately. **I often forget the lime juice, vinegar and cilantro- its equally delicious either way

Board room

Post Script If interested the party will be open at least through Saturday...

https://www.pamperedchef.com/party/soupslippers111

Shared Quote from Laundry Love and a reminder about how perspective and attitude make all the difference...

You can view laundry as a chore and slog through it, begrudgingly and resentfully. Or you can change your attitude, and do it with zest and spunk and love. A chore is not a chore if you have fun doing it or if it makes you happy.

A moment from my day

I love the thumbnail FB picked for my Live video last night

Some weekending...

I am hoping for a better week this week.  Looking to get more boxes checked off. You can see I lost momentum as the week wore on.

I spent a good portion of Saturday morning cleaning out my pantry- BEFORE

AFTER: Does it look better??? I don't know :P  I think it is marginally better.

Hannah and I watched Encanto on Disney + in the afternoon.

Now find ourselves singing "We don't talk about Bruno-no-no-no" to the dog :P

Yesterday I was sad due to ice we couldn't make it out to church. :( 

You probably can't really tell from the picture but the steps, sidewalk and driveway were all just solid ICE as well as our road.

I drowned my sorrows in a pot of coffee and watched online.

Thankfully it melted as the day wore on and Hannah and I were able to go to youth group and house church in the evening.

Since I was home I cooked my chicken in the air fryer on rotisserie instead of in the oven.  It was beyond delicious! 

The skin so crispy and yummy...

Hannah made these exquisite looking cupcakes for her youth group-

Rhett finished the puzzle yesterday- it definitely became a family project.  We lost 11 pieces to Bruno.  I noticed midway through last week he was stealing puzzle pieces off the coffee table.

This morning I actually got up and completed my workout! Shooting for all 5 weekdays this week! And maybe/hopefully a run on Saturday.

Also emptied the dishwasher, put away dishes and cleaned the counter.  Swept the floor.

Not perfect but better!

I enjoyed sitting at the table with my coffee and starting this new devotional to go with my word of the year Steadfast

The Faithful Way: remaining steadfast in an uncertain world

This is the front of my temporary planner while I wait for my printed one to arrive.  I printed off a few more pages to get me by.  I put them in the front of the binder I am making into my book journal this year.  Its a little bulky but does the job, and keeps my pages from getting rumpled carrying it to work and such.  I'll cut up the page and incorporate it into my planner itself once it finally gets.

Happy Monday everyone! I hope it is the start of a wonderful week for you!

How's January going so far :P

 This is my freshly made bed after my shower. For some reason Bruno has claimed our comforter and is constantly pulling it off the bed now and/or bunching it all up to cuddle/chew on. <Sigh> It was another one of those why do I even bother moments.

Our dryer stopped drying.  My amazing parents graciously dried and folded my two wet loads of laundry Monday while I was at work. =)  The good news Rhett found the problem and ordered parts. Hopefully it will be fixed this weekend.

I am super proud of myself for -

• Cooking from my pantry last night (instead of stopping at the store)
• Doing a workout after work 
• Mopping my kitchen floor instead of wimping out (again)

It's the little things!

December books part 2 & year end wrap up and on to 2022

Here is part 2 of my December books. Here is the link to the first half of the month. <- In case you missed it or forgot.

7- The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris     12/16    (Kindle)

I was hoping to love this book.  A thriller set in the publishing world of NYC.  It sounded so intriguing when listening to Anne Bogel talk about it.  It ended up falling a little flat for me. Which maybe isn't fair as I did enjoy the main character mostly, Nella and the story.  It definitely kept me turning the pages.  I think it was the ending that ruined it for me.  I don't want to give away any spoilers but if anyone reads it and needs to talk about it...

Also while most of the story is told from Nella's perspective, there were a handful of chapters from other points of view which I found confusing but then maybe that was the author's intent.

The act of editing soothed her, and while she’d be the first to admit she had an inclination toward Black writers yearning for a space to tell Black stories, she’d happily edit just about anything thrown her way. She was excited by the prospect of being able to make a living off editing, and the idea of having a say in what people were reading and perhaps—in the future—what people would write? That was monumental.

 8- A Wreath of Snow by Liz Curtis Higgs     12/17 (print)

I picked up this book because it was Christmassy, and set in Scotland and I recognized the author's name.  It is a slim Victorian novella.  I mostly read it over my lunch breaks this week.  Not much happens and felt rather slow paced.  But a good cozy read for the holiday season.

9- The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer    12/27    (kindle)

I heard about this book on instagram and thought it looked like fun. It was! I have never read a Hanukkah themed book before and really enjoyed it. 

But what I always explained to Jacob is that these candles are a metaphor. They remind us that we always have a choice. We can be someone who snuffs out another person’s candle and, in the process, makes the world a darker place. Or we can be the type of person who spreads light. Better to be the shamash—one candle that lights all the others and brightens an otherwise dark world.

She felt like coming home, like finding your place again and being wrapped up in a blanket after spending all day in the cold.

10- The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury    12/28 (print)

This was my Christmas Book Club pick for this year. It has also been made into a Hallmark movie, which I have not had the opportunity to see yet.  I enjoyed the story.  I did find the main characters a little frustrating as they pined for each other for years and years...simply because of assumptions and lack of communication. I also thought the bookstore would be more involved in the story.  But it tugged on my heart strings and left me with that happy cozy feeling- I actually stayed up until 2 am to finish- so there's that! 

My favorite part was actually the bonus story at the end! It was a mini prequel to the story.  From the perspective of Donna, the wife as they opened the bookshop and also a bookshop patron from the beginning Edna. I would like to read a whole book about them!  

He called it The Bridge because that was how felt about books. They connected the past and the present, the present and the future. Books brought people together and gave them a path to worlds they would not otherwise experience.

11- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy    12/28    (print)

This book has been on my shelf for over 15 years...I bought it on vacation when it was Oprah's book club pick circa 2004 or 5. I read 2/3's or so and set it aside and never finished it.  Last year I picked it up again with intentions of reading it.  On and off I read it through the 2nd half of 2020 and all of 2021! But I finally did it!  Do I feel better for it... I'm not sure! It is loooooong and a lot of it is tedious, the names of multiple characters are similar making it hard to follow at times.  Of course it was written almost 150 years ago and also translated from Russian. That being said I have the desire to go back and read it again.  Will I actually...I don't know.  There's so many books out there to read! But I am incredibly proud I finally conqueror this tome.   I am quite sad at how Anna's story turned out- I accidently saw a spoiler on pinterest and then spent the rest of the reading dreading the event. 

I watched the movie last night. I have to say I was not a big fan.

In December 11 books total

Kindle/Ebook: 4    Print: 6    Audio: 1

Library: 8   Owned: 3

Favorites this month: Two from Galilee and The Matzah Ball

2021 Wrap up- I read 96 books

• 90 % of the books I read this year were from the library.
• 80% fiction vs 20% non-fiction
• Almost half on the kindle or eBook, 43% print and 9% audio

My favorites this year- in no particular order

• Sparks Like Stars
• The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady
• The House in the Cerulean Sea
• I'm Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come
• Two from Galilee 
• Until Unity
• Malibu Rising

2022 Goals....

1. My goodreads goal is 100  update- upon further reflect I decided to change my goal to 52 books. One week in and I have yet to complete a single book -though I do have 4 in progress... I also think I need to concentrate on doing more than just escaping into books.  But we'll see where the year takes us...
2. Read at least one book from my own unread shelf each month
3. Read another Jane Austen book- Sense and Sensibility or Emma
4. Read another by CS Lewis- thinking of The Four Loves
5. Create a physical book journal
6. Read at least one book for my presidents project- I have my eye on Washington: A Life- another super long read!
7. Read the books rec'd to me by my FB/Insta friends
8. Read the books rec'd to me by SK Bell on her Christina Fiction podcast 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Happy New Year!

Happy 2022! I rang in the New Year watching a Back to the Future marathon on TV and working on my puzzle, my children got me for Christmas.

I woke up Saturday morning and spent my devotional time in front of the tree and found verses to go with my 2022 Word of the Year- Steadfast

My intention is to be Steadfast in all my endeavors while also resting in the Lord's Steadfast love for me.

I ordered a new planner- one of my greatest struggles is housekeeping. So the checklists at the top of the page totally sold me on this planner! Also the daily chores listed.  It cost a bit more than I usually spend on a planner but am really hopeful it will help me to develop some good habits- in which case it will be well worth it!

I can not wait to get it- the order included a digital version so I could print a couple pages to hold me over until the actual planner gets here! Also excited to dig into my three new cookbooks I got for Christmas!

Rhett made me breakfast!

A little later I walked the dogs and went for a good run with Bruno.  It felt so great to be outside and running! I could not believe it was 52 degrees on New Year's Day!

I repurposed our gifted Christmas crate into a library/to-be -read shelf 

One of my biggest accomplishments- finally finishing Anna Karenina in 2021!

I did IT! 

I finished Anna Karenina Tuesday night!!

All in all I read 96 books last year.  I am very pleased at how much my reading increased when I made a conscious effort to read more in 2018, instead of scrolling on my phone or just watching TV.  Sometimes though I am afraid maybe I have gone too far the other way- I would rather read than do pretty much anything else- while not bad per say... sometimes I neglect other things I *should* be doing. Like making sure the kitchen is cleaned before I crash- hoping the my new planner will help with that. I can still use reading time as a reward for actually finishing my chores! Haha. :P

Amy's 2021 book montage

Amy's favorite books »

For 2022 I set my goal at 100 books. I also want to be more mindful while reading this year. 

I hope your New Year is off to a great start.