Happy Homemaker Monday {12/31/2018}

Hi Lovelies!

Good afternoon everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. It's the last day of 2018 and I can say that I am ready to start 2019 off with a bang. 2018 was such a difficult year for us, we are ready for a fresh new start. The hubby and I have a few small project and 1 big project that we cannot wait to tackle in the new year!

Anyway, let's get started with this post, shall we?

The weather. It's in the 50 today, but tomorrow that all changes! It will be cold tomorrow with a chance of snow by the end of the week.

Right now I am... sitting at the dining room table typing this post. 

Thinking.  Still thinking about how I need to to update my planners and do some research on meal planners and writing a cookbook.

On my reading pile. Right now I am reading Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult (just started) and then it's on to Two by Two by Nicholas Sparks at the end of the month

On my tv. I'm watching some shows on Netflix and my Roku app and Amazon Prime and Hulu.

On the menu this week:

Monday-Pizza and breadsticks

Tuesday- Black eyed peas, fried potatoes, cornbread

Wednesday- Tacos

Thursday- Mexican cornbread

Friday- Pizza, bread sticks, salad

Saturday- Mississippi chicken, rice, and veggies

Sunday- Bean and cornbread with fried potatoes

On my to do list:

Laundry
Kitchen
Write and schedule blogs for the next two weeks (by end of the this week)
Update planners and bullet journal
Tidy bedrooms
Clean bathrooms
Vacuum all rooms

Looking around the house: The house is a mess. Every room needs to be tidied and the clothes are piling up in the laundry basket.

Bible verse, devotional, or quote:

Currently {12/29/2018}

 Time and place: 4:47pm  and I am in the dining room, typing up this post.
 
Eating: Chocolate chip cookies.

Drinking: A big glass of water (always)

Watching: Cleaning videos, planner videos, and bullet journal videos.

Reading: Two By Two by Nicholas Sparks

Loving: that 2019 is just a few days a way.

Working: I just started designing a meal planner. I cannot wait to see how it turns out! I'm so excited for this new project. I am also working on blog posts for January and working on some goals for the new year.

I am also planning on working on some smaller projects as well. 

Listening: to PBS kids

Buying: groceries and other neccessitites

Planning: I have most of my posts planned for January already. I just have to write and schedule them. I am working on setting up some deadlines for my meal planner. I am also working with my husband on designing a new website. I am also working on some planner inserts. This should keep me busy for a while!

Wondering: can I pull it off? How will I pull it off?

Feeling: tired, but happy, always.

What are you currently up to?

Christmas Craziness and an Update

It's been quite a while since my last post. With all of the craziness that surrounds Christmas, the class parties, class trips, and shopping, it's been pretty busy around here. Not to mention that we were all sick the week before Christmas which made checking things off my to do list even harder. Everyone is finally healthy!

We had a great Christmas! The girls were given every thing they asked for and we spent Christmas morning with a very special family. I have to say that this was hands down the best Christmas we have had in quite some time.

Now that Christmas is over ( the tree is coming down tomorrow), I can now concentrate on setting up my planner and bullet journal, writing down and finalizing my 2019 goals (post coming soon), updating my blog, revamping my routines, setting up a reading schedule (if I don't I may never read),  and setting up a more realistic blogging schedule.

With that being said, I still need to update my blog planner and plan out my posts for January. What are some topics you would like to see me tackle in the new year? Please leave comments below. I look foward to reading them.

Have a great day and I will catch ya tomorrow!

Short Break

Hi Lovelies!

The past few days have been hectic and filled with taking care of a sick 3 year old. She is feeling better today. So, the point of this post, was that I had taken a short break to take care of my little. I will be back tonight with a post all about what to clean when there has been an illness in your house.

The rest of this week's posts will be all about how to set up a morning and evening routine. So, please stay tuned, these posts will be fun as well as informative.

See ya real soon!!

Blogmas 2018- Day #15- 5 Things To Do Before The End of The Year

It’s hard to believe that we are days away from a new year. I am for sure the type of person who get’s excited for a new year. Not for the parties but for the new start. Who doesn’t love a new start? One of my favorite things to do is make a list of things to get done before a new year starts. Today I am sharing 5 things to do before the end of the year to ensure your 2019 is a great one!

5 Things To Do Before The End Of The Year

Get Organized: For some reason I get on rampages around this time of year to organize all the things. Lately it’s been the closets. They have reached crazy levels of disorganization. I feel like if my house is organized when the year starts I am much more likely to keep it that way. Also a great time to declutter and donate!

Find A Planner/Calendar That Works: I use a Classic Happy Planner. I love it. I have used one the last several years and I also use Google Calendar. Either paper or digital, find an organizer that works for YOU!

Find A Health Plan For You: I feel like this is the time that a lot of people start a new diet or health plan. I'm thinking about trying Weight Watchers again. I love how the program is set up and it's very easy to follow. 

Set Your Intentions: This could be resolutions, goals, intentions, whatever you prefer to call them. I like to make yearly goals and monthly goals to keep track of. I also like to make intentions. 

Find Your Word Of The Year: A lot of people do this. I never have but one think I want to do in this next week or so is figure out what my word for 2019 will be! Have you done this before?

Is there anything you would add to this list?

Blogmas 2018- Day #12- Christmas Crunch Popcorn

Hi and welcome to Day #12 of Blogmas!!! Today's post is all about Christmas popcorn. 

 Christmas Crunch Popcorn 

Ingredients

1/2 cup popping popcorn kernels, or 2 bags tender white popcorn

1 (12 oz) bag Vanilla Candy Melts (such as Wilton Candy Melts)

1 1/3 cups broken pretzel pieces

1 (12 oz) bag green and red Milk Chocolate or Mint M&Ms Red, green and white Sprinkles.

Directions

Pop popcorn in a popcorn popper into a large bowl (or alternately in the microwave if using microwave bags of popcorn) according to manufactures directions. Remove any unpopped popcorn kernels. Toss in broken pretzel pieces and M&Ms.

Melt Vanilla Candy Melts in a microwave safe bowl on 50% power in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until melted and smooth. Drizzle half of melted chips over popcorn mixture, then stir, tossing gently a few times with a rubber spatula. Then drizzle remaining half of melted chips over popcorn, and gently stir mixture until evenly coated (don't over stir though or your sprinkles wont stick if the white chips begin to set and harden).

Pour mixture into a single layer onto wax paper. Sprinkle entire mixture evenly with sprinkles (as many as you'd like) before vanilla chips set. Allow to cool and harden, then gently break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

Note: I was able to fill 8 - 9 1/2"x 4" party treat bags about 2/3 full with this recipe, just to let you know so you have an idea for gift giving.

Blogmas 2018- Day #11- Interesting Facts About Christmas

Welcome to Day #11 of Blogmas! After a quick search on the interwebs, I found some interesting facts that you may or may not know about Christmas. 

1. The Germans made the first artifical Christmas tree out of dyed goose feathers .

2.  Each year more than 3 billion Christmas cards are sent in the US alone.

3.  All the gifts in the Twelve Days of Christmas would equal 364 gifts.

4.  In AD 350, Pope Julius1, bishop of Rome, proclaimed December 25 the official celebration date for the birthday of Christ.

5.  Christmas trees have been sold in the US since 1850.

6.  Christmas trees usually grow for about 15 years before they are sold.

7.  Alabama was the first state in the United States to officially recognize Christmas in 1836.

8.  Christmas wasn't declared an official holiday in the United States until June 26, 1870.

9.  Oklahoma was the last U.S. state to to declare Christmas a legal holiday in 1907.

10. During the Christmas season, nearly 28 million sets of Legos are sold every second.

Blogmas 2018- Day #10- Favorite Christmas Recipe

Hi Lovelies!

Welcome to Blogmas Day #10! Today's post is all about a favorite family Christmas recipe. This is an easy one for me!  Our all time favorite Christmas recipe is a Nutella cheesecake that I make every year.

Ingredients

Crust

2 cups (264g) Oreo crumbs (leave filling in Oreos)

4 tbsp (56g) butter, melted

Filling

24 oz (678g) cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup (104g) sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups (470g) Nutella

3 tbsp (21g) cocoa powder

8 oz Cool Whip (or homemade whipped cream)

Nutella Ganache

1/2 cup (157g) Nutella

1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream

6 Ferrero Rocher, chopped

Instructions

1. Combine Oreo crumbs with melted butter.

2. Press crumbs into the bottom and halfway up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Set in refrigerator to firm.

3. Beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, Nutella and cocoa powder together in a large bowl until smooth and well combined.

4. Gently stir in the Cool Whip (or homemade whipped cream).

5. Pour filling into crust and smooth the top.

6. Refrigerate for about 4-6 hours or until firm.

7. Remove cheesecake from springform pan and place on cake plate.

8. To make the ganache, place the nutella into a medium bowl. Bring the cream to a boil in the microwave, then pour over the nutella. Whisk until smooth.

9. Let the ganache to cool slightly and thicken before pouring over cheesecake.

10. Sprinkle chopped Ferrero Rocher over the top of the cheesecake.

11. Refrigerate until serving.

Love you to the moon and back!!!

Blogmas 2018- Day 9- Holiday Baking

Hello Lovelies!

Welcome to day #9 of Blogmas! Today's post is all about Holiday baking, the tried and true recipes that you make every year and the ones you want to try. I always make the same cookies every year, chocolate chip, sugar, and peanut butter. This year I want to make something different, something that I have never made before... this is where the internet comes in real handy.

I did a quick search and found a few recipes that I would like to try.

Chocolate Cherry Snowballs

Snickers Chocolate Cookie Cups

Russian Tea Cakes

What are some of your favorite Christmas cookie recipes?

Blogmas 2018- Day #8- Pot Simmer Recipes

Hi Lovelies!

Welcome to Day #8 of Blogmas! Today's post is all about pot simmer recipes. Let's be honest, this is a foreign concept to me because I had never heard of them before until now. From what I understand, you begin by bringing water to a boil  and then adding your favorite ingredients and letting is simmer all day. As the water simmers away, you add more water. This not only leaves a pleasant fragrence throughout your house and also puts some moisture in the air.

So here are a few recipes that I have found and that I would like to try:

Recipe #1
Cinnamon sticks
Apple peels
Orange rinds
Whole cloves


Recipe #2
Apple juice
Cinnamon sticks
Whole cloves

Recipe #3
Vanilla (a few drops)
Orange peels

Recipe #4 – Christmas Potpourri Simmering Pot
3 sprigs evergreen or handful pine needles
2 cinnamon sticks
2 TBS whole cloves
2 bay leaves
2 pieces orange rind
2 pieces lemon rind

What is your favorite recipe?

Blogmas 2018- Day #7- Christmas Traditions

Hello again Lovelies!

Welcome to Day #7 of Blogmas! Today's post is all about memories from past Christmases. The only happy memories that I have from my childhood center around Christmas. Growing up, we had two Christmas celebrations, one on Christmas eve and then on Christmas day. The Christmas eve celebration was always my favorite because we celebrated with German traditions. I loved the food (bratwurst and spetzula, and strawberry cake) , the presents, and just being with my Grandparents. We always went to midnight mass afterwards. It has always been my favorite way to celebrate Christmas.

Spetzula

Strawberry Cake

What are some of your memories from past Christmases?

Blogmas 2018- Day #6- Christmas Play List

Hello Lovelies!

Here I am on day #6 of Blogmas 2016. Today's post has to do with your Christmas playlist. Now, we don't listen to Christmas music every day, we do listen to one christmas song over and over and over throughout the month of December. It also happens to be my 6 year old's favorite song:

Feliz Navidad

Another one is Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

What's on your Christmas playlist?

Blogmas 2018- Day #3- My Christmas Wish List

 Hi Lovlies!

Welcome to Day #3 of Blogmas! Today's post is all about my Christmas wish list. I have wanted the items on this list for a couple of years now, and I would be happy if I find at least on these items under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning.

So here is my......

 Christmas Wish List:

Instant pot- fully functional electric pressure cooker

The Outsider by Stephen King

Fitbit Flex activity tracker

Hamilton Beach bread machine

So, what's on your wish list?

That's it for today's post! I hope everyone had a wonderful Monday and I hope you have an even better Tuesday.

Love you to the moon and back!!

Blogmas 2018- Day #2- My Favorite Christmas Movies

Hi and welcome to Day #2 of Blogmas! Today's post is all about some of my favorite Christmas movies.You know those movies that you have to watch every year, without fail, or those that best represent the season for you.

Here's my list!

1. Christmas Vacation:

As the holidays approach, Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) wants to have a perfect family Christmas, so he pesters his wife, Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), and children, as he tries to make sure everything is in line, including the tree and house decorations. However, things go awry quickly. His hick cousin, Eddie (Randy Quaid), and his family show up unplanned and start living in their camper on the Griswold property. Even worse, Clark's employers renege on the holiday bonus he needs.

2. Home Alone: 

When bratty 8-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) acts out the night before a family trip to Paris, his mother (Catherine O'Hara) makes him sleep in the attic. After the McCallisters mistakenly leave for the airport without Kevin, he awakens to an empty house and assumes his wish to have no family has come true. But his excitement sours when he realizes that two con men (Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern) plan to rob the McCallister residence, and that he alone must protect the family home.

3. Elf:

Buddy (Will Ferrell) was accidentally transported to the North Pole as a toddler and raised to adulthood among Santa's elves. Unable to shake the feeling that he doesn't fit in, the adult Buddy travels to New York, in full elf uniform, in search of his real father. As it happens, this is Walter Hobbs (James Caan), a cynical businessman. After a DNA test proves this, Walter reluctantly attempts to start a relationship with the childlike Buddy with increasingly chaotic results.

4. The Holiday:

 Dumped and depressed, English rose Iris agrees to swap homes with similarly unlucky in love Californian Amanda for a much-needed break. Iris finds herself in a palatial Hollywood mansion while Amanda navigates the lanes of a picture-perfect English village. Soon enough, both lovelorn ladies bump into local lads perfect for a romantic pick-me-up.

5. The Family Stone:

Everett Stone (Dermot Mulroney) wants to bring his girlfriend, Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker), to meet his bohemian Connecticut family at Christmas. Straitlaced Meredith, feeling she needs backup, asks her sister Julie (Claire Danes) to come along. Hoping to win the approval of her boyfriend's parents Sybil (Diane Keaton) and Kelly (Craig T. Nelson) and the rest of the family, instead Meredith succeeds only in highlighting her uptight personality and making Everett doubt his intentions.

Now, this doesn't make up my entire list, but these are the movies that I have watch every single year.

What's on your must watch movie list?

Welcome to Blogmas 2018

Hello Lovelies!

So…It’s December 1st…WHAT!! Where did it even come from? I still feel like I am in the mindset of Halloween. The past couple of months have literally flown by. I have been focusing so much on my daughter's school activities as starting a new business with my husband. And then I blink and here it is…TIME FOR BLOGMAS.

Blogmas is kind of self-explanatory. However, I will explain it for those who do not know what it is and what it involves. Blogmas is an event which happens from December 1st until the 25th, although, it may last until the new year. Blogmas involves bloggers posting every day until Christmas. You can post whatever you like. It can be Christmassy or it can just be things that you are interested in. I like to think of Blogmas as a present for all those readers out there who get something to read every day… kind of like an advent calendar. There is also Vlogmas which is the YouTube version that requires a video or vlog every day.

I have decided that a new blog post will go live every day at 9pm to give me plenty of time to write up my posts without them being rushed. I am going to try very hard to ensure that I successfully complete Blogmas. I did finally complete Blogtober this year... so we will see how Blogmas goes.  Please let me know if you get the chance to read some. This year my Blogmas posts will include some Chrismassy content as well, mommy and lifestyle content.

Once again, welcome to Blogmas 2018!!!