HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY

So, I missed doing Happy Homemaker Monday and Menu Plan Monday last week and then the week felt like it was only 2 days long just flying right by me.  We were at a destination wedding the weekend of the 24th for my brother and got home late the 26th and by the time I picked up the dogs from the kennel, drove home, unpacked and did the laundry I was beat. That 72 hours seemed to take the whole week.

The wedding weekend started out iffy with no water at the Bed and Breakfast on Friday night and then ran out again on Saturday morning while I still had soap in my hair (but that's a story for another post).  We ended up with water in time to get showered after the BIG 7 course breakfast that I could not really enjoy because I had soap in my hair and fortunately the rest of the weekend was fairly drama free, but that is for an upcoming post I'm working on.  I'm getting caught up again on everything around the house and blog just in time to start the final packing for the BIG multi-layered move.  That too will be an upcoming future post with lots of before and after pictures.

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

WEATHER OUTSIDE
Last week was SUPER hot with record breaking temperatures and compromised respiratory health from the smoke of all the fires in and around the area.  Yesterday it rained and that helped cool things down a lot though it didn't do much for the smoke lingering in the air. LOL while I loved the cooler temperatures, I hate wet smoke smell.

TO DO FOR THE WEEK

• Physical therapy twice for hubby
• Paperwork
• Cleaning
• Packing

CURRENTLY READING
I've been slacking a little on reading lately. I'm hoping to get some done this weekend while we are away.

• Dead Wrong (Blackmore Sisters series) by Leighann Dobbs
• Bloodshed in the Bayou by Leslie Langtry a companion piece to the Miss Fortune series by Jana DeLeon

TELEVISION / DVR

• Astronaut Wives Club 
• Hell On Wheels
• Complications
• The Strain
• Proof
• Dark Matter
• Devious Maids
• The Last Ship
• Falling Skies
• Under the Dome
• Rookie Blue

CRAFTS & PROJECTS
I finished my Christmas Cards!  I'm so impressed with myself.  Unfortunately I packed them all up for the move before I remembered to take a picture. But here's a picture of halfway done.  I even got labels for the new address made and pasted into each one and the return address labels are on the envelopes.

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

	BREAKFAST	DINNER	DESSERT
MONDAY	Cereal & Fruit	Y.O.Y.O. / C.O.R.N.
TUESDAY	Bagel & cream cheese	Ground Beef Reuben Melts
WEDNESDAY	Yogurt with Blueberries & Granola	Spinach Salad with warm Bacon Dressing
THURSDAY	Scrambled Eggs with cheese & Toast	Sideways Taco Salad
FRIDAY	Yogurt with Blueberries & Granola	Mexican Cobb Salad with Jalapeno Ranch Dressing
SATURDAY	Cinnamon Raisin Banana French Toast	Chicken & Tomato Bacon Salad
SUNDAY	Hash Brown Ham & Cheese Quiche	Aloha BBQ Ribs and Hawaiian Potato Salad

SUCCESSFUL RECIPES  FROM LAST WEEK

• Aloha BBQ Pork Ribs
• Sweet & Sticky Pork Chops with Dirty Rice
• Hawaiian Potato Salad

So often we become so focused on the finish line 

that we fail to enjoy the journey. 

~Dieter F. Uchtdorf

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS
Are you getting bitten to death by bugs this summer? Don't go buy pricey bite creams.  Instead saturate a cotton ball with apple cider vinegar and dot the bites.  Apple cider vinegar is an anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and anti-bacterial all rolled into one and a pantry staple 99% of us have in our kitchen. It will stop the itch, reduce the swelling and heal the skin all at once naturally and inexpensively.

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP
I keep a tray of vinegar ice cubes in the freezer to use once a week in my garbage disposal to keep it fresh and help sharpen the blades at the same time.  I also use a lot of lemons in my cooking and try to time cleaning the disposal to also grinding the rinds of the lemons for not only a fresh smelling disposal, but also a fresh smelling kitchen.

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY

• HUGS from my favorite neighbor kids!
• Fresh baked chocolate chip cookies!
• When an experimental recipe turns out PERFECT like the Aloha BBQ Pork Ribs did!
• Reading a book that I get so lost in that I forget ALL about time.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

View from our room in the Light Keeper's cottage for 2 glorious days and nights!  There were so many pictures to choose from, but I have to say this was one of my very favorites. I'm doing a post about the entire destination wedding soon where I will be sharing all the other photos.

INSPIRATION