The last day on 2016

Hello everyone, 

All the Christmas decorations have been packed up and stored away for next year. 

But we didn't take down our 4 foot tree.  It is now decorated with winter themed things.  Come February, we will switch it to heart decorations. 

Mostly we enjoy the twinkle lights early in the morning or in the evening.  

every New Years, we display this New Years baby statue that I bought at a thrift store years ago. 

Last year I thought the statue resembled our grandson but this year, as JJ has grown, I think JJ and the statue are almost twins,  😍

I'm so glad I bought that funny little boy statue years ago but I never dreamed he looked like my future grandchild,  

From the new meal plan, for last nights supper we had "pork chop and potato casserole" from Allrecipes.com, with green beans, green salad and rolls left from Christmas.  

Grandsons Braeden and Gavin were here for this meal.  

Tonight's supper was soft beef tacos.  I cooked about 4.5 pounds of ground beef and seasoned it all with homemade taco seasoning,  Thr extra went in the freezer in meal size containers for future meals, especially when we need something in a hurry.  

The Oklahoma sunset was especially pink and pretty last night.  

We have a new calendar but it didn't have holes for  hanging in the top.  So I added a binder clip and that should hold it just fine.

I am sure blessed with cute grandchildren ❤️

Happy 2017 everyone.  

babies, packing up, meal plans and a puppy

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas season.  We sure did. 
With all the little grands buzzing around,  everything is exciting and fun. 
This is our youngest, baby RJ, 5 months old.  He is quite a little charmer

Now it is time to get our home back in shape and clean again. 

I did so many loads of laundry today and cleaned floors.  My husband packed up the outdoor decorations and I've gathered up the decorations used in the house to pack them away.  I didn't put our very many this year.

The circles under baby Jesus are 3 plastic canvas coasters.  I know when I put them out, there were 5. 

Oh where could the other 2 be? 

It that time of year when everyone makes resolutions.  I'm not sure I'm making any but I do want to get back to living more organized.  One of the main areas is meal planning and preparation. 

We've stocked our kitchen with 2 recent commissary trips and I worked today organizing the pantry and freezer. 

Below is tonight's supper while I prepared it - a salad big enough for 2 nights

- and salmon patties ready to be mixed together and sautéed.   

the tomatoes on the salad are the multi color grape size ones.  They are kind of ugly but taste almost like fresh picked home grown tomatoes. 

Below is our January menu- I don't think I will need to cook all these meals and I will just cook them as needed and as they sound good.  But I have all the ingredients to prepare every one  except for needing bell peppers for 1.  Some are recipes I just know and some are recipes I have pinned under cooking on Pinterest. 

my plan is to look at this list often and plan ahead and cook these yummy meals as much as possible. 

We are getting a new puppy!  She is a boxer-bloodhound mix and in a shelter right now.  We will pick her up next week after she is all fixed and such. 

She looks like a sweetheart to me! 
We haven't had a pet since we lost our precious Theo 4 years ago but we are ready and anxious for one now.  He was just the best dog that did everything we did and went everywhere with us. 
So I hope this puppy will be up for our busy home and all the love she will get from her 8 new cousins
I think we are going to name her "Mabel"

🎄almost Christmas

Hello everyone
I've been away from blogging for a bit because my husband took me to  Branson, Missouri for 5 days to celebrate my birthday.  We had a good time and saw several Christmas shows.  The weather turned bitter cold and it kept us from doing much shopping or sightseeing but it was still a nice, relaxing trip.
This is the only photo I took, looking out our condo's patio door.

Taking a trip so close to Christmas was not the best timing with all that we still need to do.  But the necessary things will get done, one way or another.  

Today, this little guy is with us along with sister and 2 cousins.  

Yep, that's his personality showing there 😃

Yesterday, we did a big shopping trip to the commissary where we usually stock up. 

So last night, I wrote out a to do list. 

A few things I managed before the children arrived

I'll be back to blogging either after Christmas or New Years.  

Merry Christmas everyone  😬

Halfway through December

Good morning everyone.  Christmas decorations here are very simple, partly because it just appeals to me and partly because our two 1 1/2 year old grandchildren are very busy, if you know what I mean 😱

Our table top tree is decorated with lots of clear light and the Chrismon ornaments stitched by my mom.  

We had a spur of the moment cousin sleepover this weekend.  I had easy meals on hand to serve but needed some fruit.  

So I made a simple winter fruit salad with ingredients already in our fridge- diced red grapes, clementine sections and an Ambrosia apple sliced very thin.  It was really good too! 

These 4 having supper.  After they ate, each one got a shower and then we moved on to this fun activity.

My daughter sent over a box of  cookie dough play dough she had bought from a fundraiser.  

The grands really had fun making lots of colorful cookies.  

I was amazed how good they tasted.  

While the kiddos made their creations, I put all the clothes they wore to our house in the washer and dryer.  

Then I laid them back out so dressing the next morning was very easy.  I keep clothes here but this was much easier than trying to match up 4 outfits from the toy room closet.  

One trip to CVS after church on Sunday - I used $15 extracarebucks, some CVS app and redbox coupons and 3 manufacturers coupons.  I spent $2.76 for 2 Charmin, 2 granola bars, 1 shave cream and 1 makeup face wipes.  And I got back $5 extracarebucks for my next trip. 

A fresh wreath, Irish dancing, a madhouse and CVS

Good morning everyone,
I am normally an early riser and am up and going even earlier today as I have a dental cleaning appointment at 8 a.m. I make my appointments months in advance and I guess this sounded like a good time then but now I am wishing it was later.  Never mind,  I'll go and get it over with.

My brother makes fresh wreaths every year and he brought ours Friday.

This is our 2nd Christmas decoration of 2016.  

I think it is so pretty.  Besides normal tree cuttings, it has pine cones and these dainty blue gray berries.  Whatever they are,  they look great on the wreath.





Our oldest granddaughter has been taking Irish Step Dancing classses for close to a year.  She danced in a Christmas recital this weekend and it was so sweet.
The youngest girls all wear these velvet skirts and tops with the thick white socks and lace up soft sole shoes called Ghillies.

Bath and Body works had a big candle sale this weekend.  I planned to go and buy 4 and be done.  But when we got there, our store was packed! The check out line wrapped all the way through the store and the shoppers trying to select their candles were elbow to elbow.

We just stood outside in amazement for a bit, then took a picture and walked on by.
I like bargains but I was not going to stand in line for hours to save $10 or so on unnecessary candles.

I did shop at a very quiet CVS on our way to church.
The diapers, Dove products and makeup were all deals.  The cough medicine is something my husband needs
I started with $15 in Extracarebucks, some store, app and manufacturer coupons.  Before deals, my total was $90 but I paid $26 and got back $15 Extracarebucks.  I'm happy with that as the mediocre was a $14 need.

December 1st

I'm working my way through that To-Do list and I found time to set up a bit of Christmas decor.
My son bought this huge poinsettia.  It's more than 2 feet tall.

So I put the poinsettia on one end of our dining table.  If more than 5 of us are eating here, then I may have to move it but this way it looks pretty but doesn't interfere with meals. 

The red and white card table cloth was crocheted by my mom years ago.  

And this is me in 1962.  

I'm struck by how pretty our humble little home looks in this photo.  My mom liked Early American style and our home looked so different from our neighbors who decorated with Formica dinettes, ceramic fish on their bathroom walls and panther shaped lamps on top of their TVs.  

We had hard rock maple furniture, milk glass,   braided rugs and cross stitched samplers on the walls.  

I think retro photos are so fun, did you notice the scalloped edge ❤️ 

Nothing interesting......

Hello everyone.  I've not done a bit of decorating in our home for Christmas yet but my daughter and son in law have been busy at their home.  This is their mantle,  simple and very pretty.  

I'm working on getting our home clean and doing some reorganizing.  I didn't even make a pretty list of my chores, just a list in the note section of my iPad.  

Some of it is completed but not as much I'd prefer-   So I better get back to work.  

This a busy time of year, isn't it? 

CVS, sunrise and easy breakfasts for the visitors and me

hello everyone- days are busy here so I'll just do a short post to catch up

My CVS haul this week- I used coupons on my CVS app as well as manufacturers coupons and $20 in CVS extracarebucks from previous purchases.  My total went from $89 to $6.00 when everything was subtracted.

2 gallons of milk, 2 mens hair trimmers, 2 boxes hair color, 2 deodorants, 2 juice, 3 facial tissue, 4 bags candy, 1 toothpaste, 1 Duo antacids, 1 vitamin C, and
10 giant KitKats because they were on clearance for 19 cents each. 

And I got back $10 in extracarebucks for my next trip.  

I won't be doing any Black Friday shopping but CVS does have some great specials.  If you'd like to check them out before tomorrow's paper arrives, their ads are always published early at www.iheartcvs.com 

My husband had an early morning appointment at the VA hospital in Oklahoma City this week.
(knee troubles )
 We watched a  beautiful sunrise in the rear view mirrors.  But my photo doesn't do it justice.

This week in the USA, we will celebrate Thanksgiving. 

We will eat our big Thanksgiving meal at our daughter's home and we are taking some of the food.  We will have some  company here, in and out,  for 4 days or so. 

That will include our 8 young grandchildren and I want to visit with all of them when they are here.  So I put on my thinking cap to come up with easy and family friendly meal ideas. 

One evening my husband will grill steaks and turkey sausage,  I'll add baked potatoes and a veggie or 2. 

Lunches will be sandwiches-

Breakfasts will be sweet rolls and breads to heat or toast,  bacon and sausage patties that just need needed and orange juice and milk. 

We bought lunch meat, bacon and sausage all on sale at the commissary as well as ready made orange juice.

The sausage was roll sausage that I sliced and cooked, then packed with layers of parchment between before freezing. 

All the bread products are from Aldi.  Aldi's taste good and are a good price,  even when buying a box full . 

There is also fruit, yogurt and I'll add scrambled eggs if possible. 

In a perfect world,  I would be making everything from scratch and fresh,  but to keep my sanity and keep everyone fed,  we are going to easy this time. 

The 4 oldest local grands already had one sleepover here this week- this is fresh from their showers, all wearing the 25 cent Star War pajamas I got on clearance a while back.  Cousin sleepovers are fun and even more fun when dressed alike

they enjoyed some Aldi doughnuts and precooked bacon for breakfast and all gave it their seal of approval. 

this grand is not much of an eater but he sure liked the doughnuts! 

Happy Thanksgiving to all my USA readers

You're a Grand Old Flag

No politics please. 

My daughter works at a library at a public school.  They had a mock election for the students. 

The local American Legion brought  over 100 flags to decorate.  Hopefully the huge flags inspired and  helped the students be proud of their country.  

That's our 1st grader Elizabeth posing with the flags.  She and little brother JJ were in awe 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

November Giveaway at Sluggy's

Sluggy (Denise) is having another giveaway.  I won one of her giveaways and they are very nice stuff.
You can enter at her blog everyday through Nov. 20.  Please go enter if you fancy some toiletries and candy.  Sluggy's giveaway

kitchen spruce up- so far

good evening everyone!  I had planned to have everything in my kitchen put in it's place before I took pictures, but I live in a real home with real people.  My husband and grandson are here,  I'm cooking our supper and if I don't take photos now,  it won't get done today.

so, here is my real kitchen- not ready for Pinterest but just how it is :)

from one end of my kitchen,  it looks into the formal dining room area
on that ledge is the all jalapenos, bell peppers and a little okra my husband picked today. 
also bubbles for the grandchildren to play with in the backyard

and when you turn around,  this is the breakfast nook that we switched over to where our big appliances are. 

The white cabinet holds play dough and other child things,  flashlights, paper towels,  my scented waxes.....

on top is a basket of snacks,  sometimes fresh fruit and cups and straws

this is the only BEFORE photo I took - half of the plastic containers and probably the most messy of all the cabinets I worked on

  After

the cabinet beside that one also holds more Tupperware- most of it is in baskets that can corral the small pieces and be pulled out for easy retrieval

that same cabinet with the baskets pushed in

Dish cabinet- our everyday dishes- most are white Correlle

on the top shelf are disposable plates and bowls as well as soup mugs

next to it is drinking glasses - not much fancy as most of the grands use sippy type cups.  My husband and I prefer big insulated cups that don't sweat in our humidity. 

Baking cabinet- most of the changes in it were on the top shelf so I can store the new salad spinner there.  The Tupperware canisters hold things like flour, sugar, etc

Below it is the where the stone baking things and pots and pans are

I don't think I changed a thing in the Pyrex cabinet

Below that is sort of a no-man's cabinet.  It has hidden storage about 2 feet deep on the left but it is also very hard to reach. 
Now there are just big things stored there that are easy to access- punch bowl, big platters, cake keeper and dome.
The white basket holds  vases. 

Above the stove is where all the drink containers are

to the right of the stove is this narrow cabinet- it holds small baking pans, a grater and chopper

the lower cabinet under it is narrow too.  it holds skillets on one shelf and unbreakable baking pans

the next spot is a nook where the refrigertator is supposed to be. 

Now that upper cabinet holds just glass jars and lids- before it was a just a jumble of junk. 

underneath it is the lower cabinet we added. 
It has a lot of storage and I keep cutting boards,  baking pans and sheets there. I like that the cabinet is tall enough to stand them up like library books.  It makes it easy to retrieve one. 

our kitchen has 2 pantries.  This one holds food top to bottom and I think it is about as full as possible

the bottom part of the food pantry

just across from it is what was supposed to be a broom closet but we add extra shelves and now it holds appliances like a meat slicer, fryer, crock pots, mixer......also medicine and cleaning products on high shelves

I really was cooking supper and I let the spaghetti sauce bubble a bit more than normal- must of happened while I was taking photos.  No harm done, though

I baked a lemon chess pie from the King Arthur site for our supper.  It is delicious but just too rich.  I don't recommend it unless someone just wants a very heavy, rich dessert. 
When we ate,  my husband and grandson and I together ate about 1/4 of it and it was truly all we wanted.  We all are big dessert fans too but this one is very satisfying. 

So,  if you got this far, then you are really interested in other people's kitchens :) 

if you have a question about how I store anything, Ill try to answer. 

Have a good new week, everyone~