Friday, January 1, 2021

It felt weird to type 2021! I am going to treat 2021 like I would a cat. I am going to not expect too much and I am going to tread lightly. Sorry to any cat lovers out there – this has been my experience!

I mentioned earlier this week that I am feeling a bit out of sorts with all of the uncertainty that 2021 holds. Will things really get better? Can I be an effective virtual teacher? Will I go back to teaching in person in a couple of months? Will my kids be able to stay on campus for the second semester? How will the vaccinations go? So many unknowns… Are you feeling this way, too?

I am going to eat my lucky foods today and take it one day at a time or one week at a time, I guess.

I took my Christmas decor down on the 28th. I love it for about a month, but then I crave minimalism, you know?

A student gave me an Amazon gift card so I ordered this pothos plant(upon many of my readers’ suggestions for an easy to care for plant; yes, Amazon truly does have everything, including live plants. I think I will need to play around with locations so that it gets the right amount of sunlight. Also, I am doing Thirsty Thursday where I water on Thursdays if needed.

Tip for your mantel: Look around in other rooms of the house for books and Knick knacks that fit your color scheme. It’s amazing what you can find just from shopping other rooms of the house. It’s good to see all of your rooms with fresh eyes and moving things around can be really good!

I chose these books that are light green and blue with gold lettering. I am pretty sure these were purchased at a used book sale by my boys many years ago. They were big into educational books.

I decided to keep my faux greenery up along with my twinkle lights. The wine glass does not stay there. Don’t be afraid to mix real and faux. I think it works.

I also decided to keep up my rustic sparkly antlers for a woodsy look. I love this little piece of decor that I found at my school’s craft fair a few years ago. My friend got one, too.

Monday morning at 8:00 I went to Trader Joe’s on a mission – to get plants (and a few other needed items). I think they were in between seasons with their plants and I need to go back. They still had poinsettias and evergreens. I am thinking they will get new plants in soon.

I did pick up these three small plants for $7.99 each. I also should check my Kroger’s plant selection. I’m trying to become a plant lady!

I am not sure about this space yet. I am still thinking… For now I have the giant monogram pallet I made with my friend Beth at one of those DIY workshops and this little plant.

I also ordered some tiny little battery powered lights from Amazon that I plan to incorporate with some plants. You can find them here.

I have really only spruced up my living room with this decor. The combination of greenery and twinkle lights is making me feel calm and happy.

I have a lot of Valentine’s decor so I am sure I will add that in and take some stuff away come mid to late January.

2021 Rules for Amy:

I am cautious about resolutions so will call these “rules” or “guidelines”.

-Get outside every day. If it is a sunny day, I especially need to get outside before it gets dark. Record/write down the official time of sunset. We have already made progress! The shortest day of the year/day with least amount of sunlight is December 20 and we are already almost two weeks out from that date! For example, last night the sunset was 5:32 and just a few days ago it was 5:28!

We keep the patio furninture covered, but it is easy enough to take the cover off. We typically have some warm days thrown in here and there in January and February so that will help.

-Try new recipes and maybe do Hello Fresh or other meal service again for 2 people instead of 4. I think it may be much more affordable that way and we are in a rut. I have been making all the old favorites with the boys home. I plan to do more salads and soups and low carb when the boys return to school and it’s just Tom and I. I also plan to go back down to a $500 a month grocery limit.

-Plan a social outing with a friend at least 2 times a month on a heated patio. I have a list of some new heated patios I would like to try.

-Build winter fires outside a few times. My friend said she had a fire in the snow on Christmas Day! How cool is that?

-Read some good books. I started this. But, re-start my spend no money on books plan that I have had for years. I made an exception during March-May before my library re-opened.

And, I put in several library requests. I looked at books at Target and snapped some pics of ones I thought looked good. Bonus, my weekly library curbside pickup gets me out of the house in a safe way.

-Watch some t.v. shows I missed. Over break I watched Bridgerton and Country Ever After on Netflix and The Spanish Princess on Prime. Give me suggestions! I don’t like anything sci-fi, too dark or scary, or too cheesy.

-Declutter and organize. I plan to make a list of spaces to work through – maybe one space a day during January. I will explain more in a dedicated post. Some of these spaces will seriously only take 5 minutes. It’s really fun and rewarding. Nothing makes me more angry than buying something I already have because I am disorganized.

-Really try to avoid winter clothing sales. I do not need anything to get me through winter. I find that sales are really a trap for me. I buy things just because they are cheap. These tend to be my bad purchases that I end up selling or donating. I am really working harder to buy less but spend a bit more.

-Do my traditional wear every piece of winter clothing and if I don’t want to wear it for some reason – no longer fits, doesn’t fit my style, etc. put it in donate pile.

-Keep a running list on my phone of clothing pieces I would like to add. Hopefully these will be spring pieces!

-Think about planning a trip. I find the research to be really fun. I don’t know what spring break will look like. The boys have a spring break weekend from college – so a three day weekend in early March. I have a week in April.

I have a few more ideas but that’s enough for now!

Happy New Year! Come on, 2021 – we are counting on you!

Amy

Thursday, December 31, 2020

I have been reflecting a lot lately on my 2020. I have told many people that I feel like a different person in some ways. I have learned so much and grown so much. To read over this is a bit surreal.

Grab a coffee and read if you are able! What are your takeaways from 2020? Do you feel like the same person?

January – the year turned to 2020 and I couldn’t believe my senior twins’ graduation year had already arrived. That’s all I really remember!

February– thoroughly enjoyed Jack in Pride and Prejudice as Mr. Collins. He was so funny and even got a mention in a local arts review (bragging a bit – but give me that because it would be the only live performance we would get to see of him or anyone in 2020!)! WE also got to watch Mason’s final academic team competition. Both kids did quick recall from 5th-9th grade and then Mason came back to it for senior year and it was so fun to watch. He shined (again, give me this, o.k.?) and our team was good – and coached by one of my teacher friends. It was just fun. February was a fun month for our family.

March – crunch time for college decisions. Acceptances were all in, scholarship offers were on the table, but it was time to decide. I was starting to stress and I know I was annoying my kids. Then, March 13th happened and life as we knew it came to a halt. We were off of school for two weeks and then one more for Spring Break. Those three weeks were stressful – lots of Zoom meetings for me and wondering how? why? when? where? At this point, we thought it would be a short break.

I didn’t have any masks and therefore really only went out in the neighborhood.

I was already doing Kroger Clicklist so I kept doing that. This was the wipe everything down before bringing it in the house stage.

This was the bake homemade bread stage and the Dalgona iced coffee stage. I also started using Dinnerly meal prep for 3 meals a week. I continued this for a couple of months.

April – started back to school virtually for boys and teaching for me. It was weird. Attendance to live classes was not mandated. There was no set schedule. It was b-a-n-a-n-a-s. I was still trying to get my students prepared for the Spanish AP exam. Jack and Mason were falling into bad sleeping patterns. The weather started warming up and I sat outside a lot. I had lots of happy hours while talking on the phone to friends.

May– I couldn’t wait to be done with the school year. I need to get that monkey off of my back as I said repeatedly. I had masks and started going out to some stores. The end of May brought the re-opening of our restaurants! We thought summer would bring normalcy. I really thought the virus would run its course when the heat came.

June – celebrated Tom’s birthday, Father’s Day, visited my mom with one of my sisters in my hometown, lots of boating. The boys mostly hung out together. There was lots of sleeping in. I started saying they were on second shift. I started becoming obsessed with red sandals and bought clogs and sandals.

July – had a fun day with my sister and BIL on the river. They journeyed down river by boat from our hometown. We celebrated our 20th anniversary with take out from Outback. We had a small family grad party in the yard.

August – Lots of Amazon arrivals and shopping for college supplies. I was shocked that the boys were really able to move in on campus. I was sad and dinner and the evenings were hardest at first. But, I worked for two weeks to get ready for real virtual school this time. So, I was really busy and that helped to make the transition to an empty nest easier.

September- busy, busy with school and learning our new schedule. Tried desperately to learn new names and faces – for those who would turn cameras on in live classes! Settled into a new empty nest normal with Tom. Still boating! Lots of socially distant outdoors social time with friends. My sisters and I met in my hometown for a girl’s day with my mom. That was really fun.

I made apple butter in the crockpot! I embraced lots of things apple and made my first apple cider sangria of the season.

October – Still learning routine, still boating, still socializing, kind of liking only being responsible for myself – and Ernie! I embraced all things pumpkin! We went out to eat on a patio a couple of Saturday nights a month.

November – celebrated my 49th birthday at an outdoor restaurant with my two besties and their husbands. Moved my college kids home November 20 and had a small and kinda sad but safe Thanksgiving. Put boat up after a super warm second weekend of November! We lived it up with 3 days in a row of boating one weekend.

December – Boys finished their classes at home and took online finals. I finished with school for 2020 on December 18 (again, I was ready to get that monkey off my back), frantic shopping (mostly online) for Christmas took place, lots of cooking, lots of dishes, visited my mom for our Christmas with her, Tom’s parents did a drive by Christmas. We watched some shows, movies, and played some games. I cooked a ton and there were so. many. dishes. again. I was so happy to have my boys home.

General Thoughts:

I will always be grateful for my home. It truly was as place of refuge. My outdoor space saved me. I gained another outdoor space with our new deck and we ordered furniture online that has worked out great.

I am so grateful for our renovation timing. We were able to move into the new bedroom and mudroom in March. I would’ve been so unhappy had we not been in the place we were.

From March-December I got two pedicures and no manicures. I learned that I don’t need to have those services.

I rarely got take out coffee and again, I love my coffee at home. It seemed like I only was doing the Starbucks because I was already out and it was just easy.

I never wanted to work from home but I have really enjoyed the respite from such a hard core structured school day. I didn’t miss the hall duty, behavior issues – even just asking kids to put phones away was getting really old, the lack of being able to go to the bathroom. I also have liked getting up at a more civilized hour. I do miss all the good things that come with teaching, of course!

My daily walks with Ernie have saved me and him. We had simply the best weather from September – November. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to be outside more.

I feel like I have slowed down. I haven’t been in a rush in I can’t remember how long. This has been so good for me. I have a tendency to be very Type A.

I tried so many homemade recipes – my own salad dressings, enchilada sauce, bread, coffee drinks, cocktails. I know I became a better home cook.

I feel like my friendships have never been better. Life was busy before March and It was hard to even make a phone call happen! At first I did a lot of – “I will call you at 4:00 and we will both sit outside with a cocktail at our own houses.” Then, I did some one on one happy hours on my patio, friends’ patios, restaurants. Almost all of my socializing was one on one – just me and another friend. Sometimes it’s harder to talk when there are more people so I feel that this really enabled us to grow closer. At first no one was eating anyone else’s food so it was very low pressure entertaining. My work friends Erica and Elizabeth, my friends Victoria, Sheila, Beth, and my college besties Heather and Heather helped me so much. I am a pretty social person. One social activity a week was my goal and it usually happened! My sister Kate and I talked on the phone a lot, too. My sister Molly was harder to talk to because she went back in person without missing much of a beat and has a very busy life with 4 kids and a long commute.

I am so grateful for Tom, Jack and Mason. You want to talk about people that adapted well without complaint? It’s them. Jack and Mason have always loved being home and they had each other. I think their bond was strengthened during this time, too.

And, finally, I was so grateful to have this blog. It was a lifeline between me and the friends I have made through blogging.

I know there is so much more I could say, but I think that is enough for now.

Thank you for sticking with me!

Amy

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

I had some requests for my Christmas recipes so I thought maybe others might like them, too. Are you still in holiday cooking/eating mode? I cleaned up my act and started eating better a couple of days after Christmas, but I know I will splurge for NYE and Day and won’t really be on a good eating plan until Monday, January 4th when I am back to my work from home schedule.

Do you have exciting NYE plans? Ha! We never really do much anymore, even when not in a pandemic. I don’t like to be out on the roads on NYE. We will sometimes do dinner at a restaurant before the rush and then be home at a decent time. Some years we go to a friend’s house. This year I am kind of hoping the boys don’t end up with plans so that it can be the four of us for a special-ish meal and games. Teenagers are very last minute with their plans. Also, it’s hard when other families have seen people and traveled. I feel very lucky that my kids are being cautious and mostly talking to friends on the phone/online. But, it is sad, too.

So, my plans are up in the air and it will most likely just feel like a Thursday.

I plan to drink this from my sister-in-law and also use it the next day for a mimosa! I tried a cranberry mimosa on Christmas and I highly recommend! Yum! I still have plenty of cranberry juice in the fridge.

This would be fun to have on New Year’s Day morning. I think it would be kind of fun to sit around and reflect on the year as a family and maybe make some goals for the next year.

Puff Up Breakfast Casserole:

1 lb. sausage cooked and crumbled – you could do bacon or leave meat out. You could also reduce the amount of sausage like I did.

1 can Grands biscuits

5 eggs

1 and 1/4 cup milk (I used skim because that is what we buy)

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese grated and 8 oz. mozzarella cheese grated (I used a mixture of cheeses we had in fridge – cheddar, Mexican blend, and mozzarella)

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray bottom of a 9 x 13 with Pam.

Cut biscuits into 8 small triangles per biscuit and evenly space them on bottom of pan.

Top with cooked sausage and cheese.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, garlic, and salt and pepper.

Pour over the biscuit pieces, sausage, and cheese.

Bake 30-45 minutes until golden brown.

I think you could prepare this the night before, too, but I did mine on Christmas morning. I liked the biscuit dough as the base. My family has been making one like this but with bread and ham for years and years.

Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread:

Put 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/4 cup brown sugar in a large ziploc bag and mix up.

Cut up 2 cans of Grands biscuits into 8 triangles per biscuit (I did this at the same time as I did my biscuit for the above casserole and it worked out great!)

Put biscuit dough into the baggies and shake around.

Put biscuit pieces that are now coated into a Bundt pan.

Pour a stick of melted butter over the biscuits.

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Loosen edges and let cool for about 5 minutes.

Then, invert your pan onto a serving platter.

Make a mixture of milk, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla for your glaze.

You can Google Cinnamon roll frosting but I just guessed.

Pour glaze over the hot monkey bread.

I think you might agree that this is better than the original monkey bread, too! I thought this was simply amazing made this way.

Lucky Foods:

Now, I am not taking any chances on 2021. I plan to eat as many of these things as I can! Maybe I can make a stew out of this? Put them all in a blender and make a smoothie?

Cabbage or greens of any sort – represent money and wealth. I could use more money and wealth. I bought a head of cabbage to use in my vegetable soup!

Lentils – good luck and they are shaped a bit like coins. I found out during Soup Sunday that lentils are a bit intense on my stomach.

Oranges and honey – good fortune, wealth, and gold. I have oranges and I have honey. Done!

Round cake – the full circle of life. Consider the monkey bread your round cake or make my amazing chocolate coffee cake here. Sing the song from The Lion King while you serve it.

Rice – fertility and wealth. Um, I am not looking for fertility right now. I think I might skip the rice since I’m getting wealth from my cabbage.

Noodles – longevity. If you can eat a long noodle without breaking it that is a good sign! We had angel hair for dinner and I didn’t break the pasta before cooking it so maybe I will count that.

Fish – abundance. I think 2020 may have taught us that our abundance was not always good. Remember hoarding toilet paper?

Pomegranate – Fertility, life, and abundance. Again, not all of us want to be fertile right now.

Grapes – Good luck for the 12 months ahead. This is something I do/did? in class every January. The clock strikes 12 times at midnight in Spanish speaking locales and you must eat a grape each time the clock strikes. We reenact this in my classes;I pick two students/they volunteer and I have a baggie already prepared with 12 grapes. I also pick a student who knows the Heimlich to sit up front just in case.

Pork – progress. I did buy a pork tenderloin. I would specifically like progress on my Master Bath. I shall eat my pork tenderloin on my bathroom sub floor. Tom won’t think that is weird at all.

Black eyed peas, greens, and cornbread – pennies, dollars, and gold. I bought a cornbread mix. It can’t hurt and we like cornbread! I still have a can of black eyed peas from January 1, 2020 in my pantry. Sorry, guys, 2020 may be my fault!

What are your plans for NYE and Day? Are you superstitious with the foods you eat on January 1st?

Amy

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

So that my post yesterday didn’t get too crazy long, I decided to only talk about Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. In today’s post I will talk about the rest of the week and update you on a few other random things.

Tom is now back at work after being home from December 18-27 and it’s just the boys and I. They get a Covid test on January 3 and then can move back in the dorm if all is well on January 5. I’m not sure they will get the results back that quickly, though…hmmmm. Also, their first week of second semester classes will be virtual only. Then, after that, they will have a combo of online, in person, and hyflex which is a mix of in person and online. I am getting sad about break being over. I think the combo of the cold weather and them going back will be hard for me. Plus, I have a lot of uncertainty with my job/school. They say we may go back in person in March. It’s just hard to not know. O.k., Amy, let’s enjoy this week and leave the worrying for later.

So, Tom has been working on the Master bath. The plumber did finally come back Saturday, December 19 and I guess he plumbed. Then, Tom had a part to do involving the insulation and the subfloor. There was a lot of cussing involved and I asked Tom if he thought the subfloor was sub-par and he wasn’t amused.

Photos that may interest some of you:

One evening – Tuesday – Tom wanted to go to Taco Tuesday at Agave and Rye. The inside was open but I have said I am not dining inside yet. So, we sat on the patio.

They have really unique tacos and chips and queso. Yum! Over than that, I cooked dinner every night, I think!

It was 19 degrees the day after Christmas, but I was excited to go to Target for the first time in a long time. I went around 7:45 a.m. and bought some wrapping paper. I didn’t really need to stock up but it was kind of fun to see what they had.

I couldn’t believe that they were already stocking for the next thing – and that the Christmas was pretty wiped out.

I thought this paper from the dollar spot for 50cents was super cute. It is the half roll size which I also like.

Do you do after Christmas sales?

I had a bad, bad thing happen. My mom gave me red Matilda Jane pants for Christmas and I washed them. Well, they came out of the washer with tons of giant blue patches! I was so upset! I washed them again. Again, they came out with blue patches and maybe even more!

Here is the culprit:

Say what? I asked Facebook what to do and then I went and bought Tide Free and Gentle and washed them again. I am happy to say that all of the blue is out – I had never put them in the dryer and wasn’t going to – I was only going to lay flat to dry. I am done with blue pods. I did read to put the pod in the bottom of the washer and not on top of the clothes and I have been making that mistake, but I am done with these little blue devils.

The day after Christmas, Tom’s parents did a drive by for us to exchange gifts. I wished they could stay and have some food but we have to do what is on their comfort level.

I picked up pizzas for dinner the day after Christmas because I was tired of my food. Tom likes this one with jalapeno and pineapple.

Whoa – this was huge!

We played some Rummy.

I finally got Mason in a picture.

Sunday we had a nice surprise. My high school friend Jim has a junior in high school and wanted to tour the boys’ college – unofficially – and Jack and Mason served as tour guides. We had a much warmer day of 50 and it was nice to walk around campus.

Then, we sat at two patio tables in a tent next to each other at a nearby burger place. They claim to have invented the cheeseburger? I had a hot buttered rum!

Tom had a traditional burger and Jack is my chicken boy and had a chicken sandwich.

Mason is my foodie and wanted to try the black bean burger so we split that and brussel sprouts.

They are also known for milkshakes and alcoholic milkshakes. We had non-alcoholic milkshakes to go for dessert.

It was a nice day and so nice to see my old buddy. I am still in touch with a lot of high school friends and Jim is one of them.

So, we have spent most of our time at home, but we have had a couple of fun outings, too.

What about you? What has life lately looked like?

I am taking Christmas decor down, by the way. Once it’s over, it’s over and I want to move on! I am going to focus on fresh and clean de-cluttered spaces, plants, twinkle lights, and cozy. Are you like that, too?

Amy

Monday, December 28, 2020

O.k., now Winter Break Can slow down….

How was your Christmas? Ours was really nice – I would say it was simple and just right for us for this year. After having the boys gone from August 14-November 20, it was a good year to have a quiet couple of days with just the four of us, you know?

On Christmas Eve morning, I had one more little grocery trip to do. I had made a big Click List order for a few days before this but there always seem to be a couple of things I forget. Oh well – I was in and out of Kroger in a couple of minutes. After I got home, my sister in law dropped off gifts for the boys and Ale 8 One for Tom and Prosecco for me. Yum!

It was super cold on Christmas Eve with a winter weather advisory! We watched a movie we had been wanting to watch in the basement in the afternoon called Serenity. We had just completed a show called Firefly as a family and this was the movie made after the show ended.

I made popcorn and Christmas nachos for the basement. The only thing that makes them Christmas nachos is the red and green chips!

I also assembled apps for our dinner/game playing later that evening. I did the ham and swiss sliders,

the cream cheese and red pepper jelly with wheat thins,

the mini bagel, veggie cream cheese, cucumber bites, as well.

Movie time in the basement:

The movie ended around 5 and we did a family Ernie walk. The boys walked really fast because it was the coldest it had been so far!

Then, the boys opened their Eve pajamas (they just get pj pants now) and our family gift of a game this year was Monopoly Deal. This allows you to play a much quicker version and only requires this deck of cards. It was pretty fun.

I set out all the apps and added the tomato and mozz balls, and the beef and cream cheese rollups. I like cream cheese in my apps in case you were wondering.

And, I had little smokies in the little crockpot with grape jelly and chili sauce. Pink meringues were for dessert! I didn’t end up baking a bunch this year. We received lots of chocolate in our stockings and then I made peanut butter balls and pink meringues and I felt like that was enough.

We played the game and then the boys went down to the basement to hang out and I went to bed fairly early. Tom stayed up to watch t.v. for a bit.

Christmas morning I drank some coffee and read a bit – still got up around 6. I made a new recipe called bubble up casserole. It involves canned biscuit dough on the bottom. It turned out really good – eggs, milk, biscuit dough, green chilies, cheese, and sausage (already cooked).

And, a monkey bread done cinnamon roll style – so good! I don’t think I want to make the traditional monkey bread anymore because I loved this version so much.

I always arrange the stockings and the presents in the morning – the upside to having older kids is that they sleep later! Jack got up around 9, though, because that boys loves Christmas the most, I think. He and I talked for a bit and then he woke Mason and Tom up. His big gift was hidden because the shape would give it away! It doesn’t look like they got much, but they did. Plus, as the kids get older the presents get smaller – and more expensive!

I had a bourbon hot chocolate and…

a mimosa and it was so exciting to have our first white Christmas in such a long time! We woke up to barely an inch and then we had some more flurries during the day.

I loved what the boys gave me. Mason gave me this super soft brown infinity scarf and Jack gave me the buffalo plaid poncho.

Ernie loved his new toy in his stocking.

Jack was super surprised.

I decided to be casual and comfortable in my leggings.

We played a new board game that Jack got called Root. Mason’s big gift was new headphones and Bluetooth receiver so he can listen to his records in the whole house. I forgot to get a picture. They were thrilled with all of their gifts – big and small. They got some clothes, Crest white strips, new guitar pics, new pens, journals, Mason got a zen garden (sand and rake), and other little things. I think I did pretty well. I did all the smaller stuff and Tom did the big things. Mason immediately opened the zen garden and put in his bedroom. He also put on his new sweatshirt. It is so sweet to see 18 year olds still get excited and be so appreciative. We got lots of thank yous.

Tom and I just filled each other’s stockings with chocolate and magazines and didn’t do gifts this year. This year we made a pact to not do anything else because of our Master bath.

The game Root:

This game is hard and we had to read and study!

After the game, I slipped away to watch a bit of Bridgerton by myself.. Not sure what I think yet… Anyone else watch?

Then, around 5 we had our ham, rolls, mac and cheese, potato casserole, brussels sprouts, broccoli and watched a show together after.

It was a really nice two days. We did not do church on Eve because we had wanted to do the parking lot service but decided it was too cold. It was not a stay in your car thing. At times, I felt like it was a normal Christmas because we do have a lot of time that is just the four of us. And, like I said, it was even more meaningful this year after having the boys gone for college.

Tom’s parents were supposed to do a quick visit on Christmas Day but they postponed because of the snow and roads where they live – about 1.5 hours away. My mom went to my little sister’s house on Wednesday and stayed through the weekend. My sister and her family had been isolated at home for about a week by that time.

I did a lot of cooking but I love that! I was disappointed in our Thanksgiving meal that we bought and knew I wanted to cook more for Christmas so that goal was accomplished.

I hope yours was just what you needed for this crazy year. I know lots of people struggled and just wanted to the day to be over. What was the highlight for you? Did you find some good in this crazy year?

Thanks for reading! Come back tomorrow for a more life lately! I also have best books of 2020 and thoughts on 2020 coming your way this week!

Amy

Friday, December 25, 2020

Wishing you the best possible pandemic Christmas! Stay safe, mask up, and enjoy the simpler holiday this year!

I did a deep dive into my non-digital photos from Christmases and winters past. Get in the photos, moms! I have so few photos with me in them. Put on the clothes, do a little hair and makeup because you only get one Christmas 2020, o.k.?

This photo was on the way to sing in church and someone (Jack) was not feeling very jolly this Christmas Eve. My boys had a very long train obsession and these were their train ties. Look at their hair. My sisters liked to tease me that I could finally look like I had naturally colored hair since my twins turned out to have my exact highlights! Now their hair is very dark. They started out dark, turned blonde for several years, then got dark again.

Better moods upon arrival at church – I guess!

These t-shirts said “My brother is the naughty one” and “Don’t talk to my teacher”. I just thought they were funny. They were angels (most of the time…)

I don’t know what we were thinking – horizontal sledding with our babies? That is our old chocolate lab, Archie, supervising. And, yes, that is about how much snow we typically get – the grass is still showing!

This really shows how much we have changed our house. This was before we built the garage/patio and the old stoop and railings.

The first time we attempted skiing – and the last – ha!

Christmas at my parents’ house with Aunt Kate and Aunt Molly.

My mom’s Christmas card one year – My parents only had grandchildren in pairs until their 5th one. I had twins and then 4 years later my sister Molly copied off of me.

We used to say Mia (from the bottom left above) looked like a china doll and you couldn’t look away. This thing is almost 14 now! Here is a close up of what she looked like as a baby. She liked very few people and I was one that she liked – just saying…

Christmas morning reading the paper after presents had been opened. Not a flattering picture but there was no place I would rather be.

Moms of teens – put your phone on silent and just take the pictures. Tell your husband to do the same and get you in the pictures.

This year stinks but you know what – there will always be something. It will never be perfect because perfect just doesn’t exist. Get dressed up if that is what makes you feel good. Put on the makeup, do the hair, cook the traditional foods or don’t! Do what makes you happy this year!

Blessings,

Amy

Thursday, December 24, 2020

Merry Christmas Eve! Hope you are ready to go and not too frazzled. I also hope you are taking some quiet morning time to read my blog with your coffee – ha, ha! If not, this will be here for you later. Also, today’s post may be as exciting as watching paint dry. I will totally understand if you want to click away. We can still be friends.

Last Friday I posted a short survey asking what type of blog posts you enjoy the most and what you would like to see. Thank you, thank you, thank you for responding and also thank you for alerting me that it was messed up at first! I was able to figure out what I did wrong and edited it to make it work around 6:30 a.m.

I always like to know survey results from ones that I fill out, so I thought you might, too.

I asked you to rank what type of blog posts you prefer and the choices were food posts, cocktail posts, fashion/what I wore posts, Friday favorites/product recommendations, Hello Monday/weekend recap posts, or other.

#1 – Friday Favorites and product recommendations. I love writing my Friday posts and find them fairly easy to do. I snap photos all through the week of things that bring me joy. Even if you don’t have a blog this might be a joyful thing to do. I also like sitting down to write Friday Favorites on Thursdays because I reflect on my week and I just think it’s good to be reflective about life. I love recommending things, too. If I love something I want the whole world to know and agree with me! Just kidding – you don’t have to agree with me. Some asked for more links to products and I will try to work on that. That would be helpful, I know. Also, I don’t want all of my favorites to be materialistic things; I like to also include favorites that are moments of the week or good things that happened.

#2 – Hello Monday/Weekend Recaps. This kind of surprised me because I have found myself thinking how many photos of my patio can I show these people? How many photos of my coffee cup do people want to see? I guess it is nice for me to have a digital scrapbook of my weekends, though. I feel like sometimes my weekends don’t have any big events or outings. But, you know what, that is life – especially right now. And, sometimes the joy is not in the big events, but in the ordinary days – oooooh, so deep, right?

#3 – Food Recipes. I love these on other blogs, so I was glad these came in third place. I also like some suggestions to do more about food shopping and meal planning. I have some other ideas in regards to food posts, too! One suggestion was easy dinners and that is my jam.

#4 – What I Wore Wednesday/Fashion Posts. I really enjoy fashion and putting outfits together. I love shoes and accessories. I think it can be a challenge to find your style when you are 40-50. I need to work on my photos and figure out a routine for getting a daily outfit shot. I want to focus more on what we have in our closets than on buying new stuff. I have some ideas for these. You all really liked my faux leather leggings review where I compared 3 brands. Let me know if there is another category I can review that you would be interested in.

#5 – Cocktail Recipes. These are fun but I feel like I have used up all of my recipes! I should do a post with all of them grouped together. I also don’t want to give the impression that I am a heavy drinker. I drink more in the summer than in the winter. I like to drink on patios. I probably drink one-two times a week. I am kinda weird in that I don’t like alcohol with food very much. I want a drink before dinner or a happy hour drink. A morning mimosa is a rare treat. Water is my dinner drink of choice. Anyone else like that? I guess an exception would be wine with cheese.

Other-Anything that includes Ernie (awww!), movie, book, t.v. show reviews, everyday life, home tours, renovation, home decor, everyday life.

Suggestions from you all:

More book reviews with a rating system – I love this idea! I used to record every book I read in a year and I will bring that back along with a rating system. I am thinking of a coffee cup rating system – 5 cups – you must read, 1 cup – go mate your socks instead of reading this book, etc.

Keep sharing home improvement/renovation. I will, but my plumber got Covid the week of Thanksgiving and that was our next step. He is fully recovered, thankfully, and is coming soon. This is just the way of renovating. Things get going, then stall. I like to think it’s God’s way of helping me appreciate what I have and learning patience.

Teacher posts – I can do this. I am not always sure how many this would appeal to/I like the break from school talk here in this space!

Parenting college kids – I have had this on my mind lately. I am respectful of their privacy and am careful not to talk to much about their lives. I can do more of a my perspective type of thing on this topic.

More Product Comparisons – I need ideas! I think we are talking mainly clothing items?

Tourist Attractions Nearby – I can do this. I also have ideas for activities for young kids and teens.

Day in the Life – I have not done this in a while. I have tried and forgotten to take the photos during the day!

Favorite Stores – I have thought I need to do this again soon!

If you are still here, I just want to thank you for all the additional nice things you said to me. I teared up while reading them. Never underestimate the power of saying something nice to someone – whether it be a family member, a friend, an internet stranger – ha! I was feeling down and these comments boosted my spirits.

I hope you find joy in whatever your Christmas Eve plan looks like this year!

Amy

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Happy Wednesday! Today is The Style Six right here if they are hosting it today so close to Christmas!

Last Friday I went to Fleur de Flea vintage market. It was really cold out but I knew we would be inside the whole time. I wore my A New Day poncho from Target, my A New Day white long sleeve v-neck, my new pants! and my Madewell tennies. I also believe in bringing a crossbody purse when doing something like this. This is my very old Sak bag from consignment with my new Amazon bag strap.

Let us talk about these pants. They are listed under the Aerie Crackle product you guys! The fabric is like butter. They hold you in and are super warm but not in a bad way. I am 5 foot 4 and these run true to size. They have a flattering seam down the middle and look at the cute cut outs on the bottom. Click on the link “my new pants” above and then they are the last black color offered in the color selection. I also wore them to wore that day with a festive plaid button down and my gold Tieks. Anyway, I think you will really like them. I predict that more of a flare yoga pant will come back in style soon. You heard it here.

Monday we celebrated Christmas in my hometown with my mom. I wore my Lucky black booties, black leggings, black button down (my normal black tee was dirty) and this Amazon pink plaid that is 3 or 4 seasons old. This was taken at the antique mall we visited in the afternoon.

I also wore my Christmas mask!

The best masks I have found are called Pomchie’s and I found them at The Prickly Pear boutique. I have had my black and leopard for a long time. They are $5 each and are so comfortable. I don’t know how effective they are but they did pass the candle test – meaning I can’t blow out a candle while wearing.

I went a little crazy and got 4 Christmas masks – one for my mom.

We took Panera to my mom’s house because she loves it. We ate, opened presents, played The Game of Things (it was fun and easy!), and then we went downtown to an antique mall. We had a nice day and my mom liked her gifts – a pillow for her new couch and a notepad set from The Stationery Studio.

My mom gave the boys old books and money (Mason) and a guitar pedal and money (Jack) and Tom got a biking shirt and candy.

I got this beautiful sweater coat:

This cute kimono for spring:

And, this cute kimono for spring:

Prediction: We will see more long sleeved kimonos?

And, these red/cranberry Matilda Jane pants! I have these in black and I got them hemmed. I may keep these this length because they work with a slight bootie heel. You all know how I feel about Matilda Jane pants for women. The quality is top notch and they are unique and funky but you don’t sacrifice comfort.

So, you can see I made out like a bandit in the fashion department!

Do you like receiving clothes? I have – ever since I can remember! I especially liked new shoes and put them on right away. My mom says she dressed me up like a doll for the three years that I was an only child and it’s her fault that I like clothes and shoes.

Thanks for visiting me today!

Amy

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

I thought I would share last minute ideas with you in case you are in need of some at the last minute! If I’m too late maybe you can use some for New Year’s Eve. I feel like this is going to be like 1999 NYE? But, what will 2021 bring?

This Christmas probably looks different (if it doesn’t I’m calling the Covid police on you!); more of the work may be on you without the extended family to help. As if the Moms didn’t have enough to do already, right? But, maybe 2020 has forced you to simplify. If there ever were a time to choose simple, it is this year, right?

It isn’t too late to do one last grocery pick up. If you aren’t picking up your groceries, you should. It is truly life changing!

I am planning for a Christmas Eve dinner for our family of four, Christmas morning brunch for our family of four, and a Christmas Day dinner for our family of four. Then, on December 26, somebody better go get me some take out food, ok? I love menu planing and cooking but I know I will be done by then.

Here are some ideas and I will share my/our menu plans at the end of the post.

Christmas Taco Salad – If you can find the red and green chips this can be really fun. Just do your taco meat and add whatever toppings. I bet kids would love a Christmas Taco Bar!

Order a Chick-Fil-A Heat it When you Need it tray. Or, if you don’t need that much, just get some ahead of time and heat in oven when ready. Serve with toothpicks. My kids loved foods with toothpicks and dipping sauces when they were little. Pick out the red and green toothpicks from your container!

Have Appetizers! This is what we are doing for either Eve or Day – haven’t decided yet. Here is one recipe I plan to make.

Open Faced Mini Rye Toasts – I love rye bread and this little cocktail bread is hard to find. My Aunt Judy has the best recipes and I have so many memories of her food upon our yearly Christmas trip to her house in a suburb of Chicago. Here is her recipe:

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. pork sausage

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. oregano

1 lb. Velveeta

Brown the sausage and beef and drain. Add W sauce and oregano. Add Velveeta. When cheese is melted, spread the mixture on top of the little rye on a cookie sheet. Broil for a minute then serve. You can prep ahead and it will work fine, too.

I am doing this but cutting the recipe in 1/2 at least for my family of four.

Think Red and Green Foods! Spaghetti, Lasagna, broccoli. The food can be normal dinner food.

Order pizza a day or two before and freeze. It warms up nicely on a cookie sheet in a low temp. oven.

Order Chinese or Mexican food for Eve. Most of our restaurants are open but some close early. I would say order early and then re-heat. I am re-heating for at least 20 seconds anyway just to be safe. Use your Christmas plates and it makes it really fun!

Just order chips and salsa/queso! We have been doing this for the last few years to have on Christmas day. The boys thought of it one year and it stuck.

Here is my menu:

Christmas Eve or Day:

ham (Kroger had spiral cut hams on sale for $8. They are huge) We usually get Honey Baked Ham but I don’t feel like spending $75 to get the ham sweats, you know?

Hawaiian buns or Sister Schubert’s rolls (I bought both)

Potato Casserole

Macaroni and Cheese

Green beans

Christmas Morning:

Egg Casserole (I will make this the day before)

Mimosas for the over 21 females (just me)

Virgin Mimosas for the rest

Monkey Bread (I think I can assemble the day before)

Christmas Day or Eve:

Cocktail Rye open faced toasts from above

Lil Smokies (small crockpot with grape jelly and chili sauce)

Beef and cream cheese roll ups (thin beef – spread cream cheese and roll up and cut – Jack loves)

Chips and Salsa

cream cheese and pepper jelly dip

carrots, broccoli, celery, cauliflower, grape tomatoes veggie tray

grape tomatoes with tiny mozzarella balls and balsamic

mini bagels with veggie cream cheese and cucumbers

The family is getting Monopoly Deal this year (upon a rec from a friend!) and we have last year’s game that never got played – The Game of Things – still bitter about that! I think it might be fun to do the apps with the games. My boys are hilarious (not biased at all) if we can get them to play a board game with us and if they are in the mood to be hilarious. Teenagers.

What are your plans? I need to know!

Amy

Monday, December 21, 2020

Linking up with Heather, Tanya, etc. here if they do the Hello Monday link up today! I decided to go on with the show today. I hope someone is out there! Ha!

Happy first day of winter! I am going to note the time of sunset and then keep track of it each day going forward – because what else do I have to do? The good news is that each day will have a little more light after today. I am dreading January and February. I need to find the good in those months.

Let us go back to Friday – I went to school to take a photo for my students at my classroom door (not a soul was around my classroom) and to pick up my gift. Our school gave the teachers a giant golf umbrella with our school logo and a…

mug with our logo and on the other side it said…

I used it during class when someone forgot to turn their microphone on. It was a nice gift. I finished teaching and did a little cleaning. Gratuitous photo for proof of mopping the mudroom floor. I use the Swiffer with the velcro and attach a disposable mop pad. I use a bit of Pine Sol and it makes it really quick. I am really into mopping my mudroom floor. I should look into the kind of mop pads that you wash and re-use. There is a January goal for me.

The time is flying by with our boys at home and I really am dreading that adjustment again. We found out they have to take a Covid test before moving back on campus. It is administered at the college so that makes it easier for us since we are close. I guess the kids that are further away can do their testing at home. I am so over Covid. It just really stinks.

Mason has really gotten into thrifting. He goes to Vintage Vibe and Vintage Banana with some new college friends. Jack likes thrifting, too, but not as much. The whole family set out to go to Fleur de Flea around 3:00.

Looking at records and not realizing someone was taking their photo…

Some of the booths are boutiques that have gone out of business, sadly. It is a really huge space. I could’ve seen everything in about 30 minutes but Jack and Mason looked through lots of records and old books, and I think we were there for almost 2 hours. It made me happy to see them enjoying this. They both picked out a few gifts for friends.

When we got home I decided to cook some easy stuff. I made fried rice – guys, seriously, this is so much better than a restaurant in my opinion. Use my search bar to find my post on this if you are interested.

And, I made grilled ham and provolone on a fancier type of bread. I also made a slaw type salad from a mix but forgot a photo.

We watched some t.v. together and then I think I tried to watch some Christmas movies on Netflix but I was tired.

Saturday morning I read with my coffee.

And, then it was hair day. I always take the first appointment on Saturday and I go about every 2-3 months. You have to stand at the door and get your temp taken. I was the only person in the whole salon for quite some time!

Two sweet senior girls dropped off gifts on my porch this weekend. Brownies and a Target gift card and…

cookies and a candle. So sweet. I live really close to school and my next door neighbor is a senior so lots of my students know where I live. I am o.k. with that.

Saturday we had a plumber at our house most of the day. I think it was 3:00 by the time he left and Tom helped him most of the time.

I made a simple dinner of pasta with turkey sausage and corn and a salad and crescent rolls. I put a mixture of butter and seasonings on the inside and they were really good.

And, after dinner I started wrapping in my bedroom. I like wrapping but I am not that great at it. Also, I do wrap everything or almost everything in the stockings. Is that weird? I also wrap everything for the boys. We open one thing on Eve – pajamas and a game for the family – and everything else in the morning. The kids love seeing Ernie get his stocking. We need to get him a few more things.

Sunday morning I was lazy but did my coffee, some reading, showered, and then went to this cute little boutique owned by my friend. It is called The Prickly Pear and I have mentioned it before.

She has purse straps! And, the purse below comes without any strap on it. I think it is a great concept!

I made the pink meringue cookies! Mason wanted to take them to his friend’s house later in the day. They turned out kind of flat – meringue doesn’t like humidity and it had rained in the morning.

I am excited about Bridgerton coming to Netlflix! It comes out on Christmas Day!

My sisters and I decided over Zoom a few weeks ago that the smartest way to do Christmas was for each family to celebrate separately with my mom. So, one sister went there this weekend but wore masks. It stinks that we aren’t all going to get together, but we plan to do a re-do in the spring with maybe White Elephant gifts?

It is really hard not to get down about it, but things got real for us last week when one of our good friends tested positive. We also had a neighbor in the ICU – he is only in his early 50s. Thankfully he did come home yesterday!

I want to say thank you for filling out my survey. I will share the responses in a post because I am always curious to see results of the ones I fill out! There were some really good suggestions – a rating system for books that I read is one of those. Love that! I would also like to do a dedicated monthly book post. I am working to improve my photos. Anyway, you all are the best.

Happy Winter Solstice! Leave me a comment about your plans for the day or what you did this weekend!

Amy