Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Tuesday Tidbits

Good morning! It's the last day of February and, even though spring doesn't officially arrive for another three weeks, it is putting on quite a show here in southwest Missouri! It's sunny and 65 degrees at the moment, but the high today is supposed to reach 72.


The daffodils are in full bloom and the robins are back! 


Amber met me at the vo-tech school in Lamar yesterday where I dropped my car off to be worked on. It needs an oil change and it's annual 'spring check-up' just to be sure that everything is ship-shape and ready for summer travel. They have always done a good job and the labor charges are mininimal.

While we were out and about we met Patrick for lunch at Subway. Afterwards, we went to Walmart where we ran into some fantastic deals! The biggest one was 2 1/2 pound bags of chicken tenders (regularly $13.96) marked down to $2.00 per bag. When questioned as to why so cheap they said they had way too many of them and just needed to get them cleared out. I bought four bags, so ten pounds of chicken tenders for $8.00, with a savings of $47.84. Not bad! 



I also got a package of pork thick chops on markdown and the winter house slippers that I prefer were on markdown for $1.00 a pair. I bought two pair. 

While I'm thinking about it, today is the last day to enter the book giveaway. To get your entry in click HERE. A winner will be selected tomorrow. 

Well, I suppose I should get on with my day. I want to spend as much time outside today as possible while it's nice. I think I need fresh air and sunshine more than anything else right now. You have a nice day and I'll see you again soon!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Monday, February 27, 2023

Master To-Do List and Menu Plan Monday - February 27, 2023

Good morning! It's the last Monday of February and spring will be here before we know it! I can hardly wait! 



How was your week and weekend? My week here was good and my weekend quiet. I piddled around the house most of the week, but didn't really accomplish much. I got some baking done and had a good day at work on Saturday. After church and lunch on Sunday I settled down to a gloriously good book and read the afternoon away. 



Now it's time to delve into a brand new week. Let's get started...shall we?

This week's master to-do list...

- Clean house
- Do laundry
- Take my car in for an oil change and its annual 'spring check-up'
- Wish Bud a Happy Birthday
- Flip the calendar page over to a brand new month
- Figure March budget
- Go to the bank
- Pay March bills
- Gear up for the 2023 Iditarod
- Plan St. Patty's Day celebration
- Work



This week's menu plan...

I still need to tweak the food situation. I can cook for a big family or a churchful just fine, but am wondering if I'll ever get the hang of cooking for just one. I didn't make but about half the meals that I had planned to last week and, even with eating a lot of leftovers, still ended up with a freezerful of extra meals. I guess that's not a bad thing, as long as I remember to schedule them into the menu in a timely fashion. 

Meals this week will largely be made up of leftovers...THM pancakes (or eggs and toast) for breakfast, homemade pizza, chicken ranch salad (or soup and salad) for lunch, and green chili burritos, oven-roasted chicken or meatloaf with fresh vegetables (baked Yukon Gold or baked sweet potato, corn-on-the-cob, and asparagus), or turkey burger and oven fries for suppers. One evening this week I have been invited to enjoy homemade Chinese with some of the fam! It's been a good long while since I've had Chinese, so I'm greatly looking forward it!



Well, that's all for today! You have a nice day and a great week ahead!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Thursday, February 23, 2023

Book Giveaway Reminder - In Less Than A Week A Winner Will Be Chosen - Will it be YOU???



To enter the giveaway simply leave a comment below (or on the Hearth and Home Facebook page) telling me why you'd like to be the winner; share the post to tell others about the giveaway (and leave a comment below telling me that you did so) and you'll get a second entry! That's it! Just leave a comment below and you're in the drawing!

The giveaway started Wednesday, February 15th, 2023 and will run through Tuesday, February 28th, 2023. A winner will be selected and announced on Wednesday, March 1st, 2023. The winner will have 48 hours to make contact. If they have not done so within 48 hours an alternate winner will be selected. 

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Winter Food Challenge Update - February 21, 2023

Hello! I thought that those of you who are following along, might enjoy an update on how the winter food challenge is going.

I still have plenty of canned and boxed goods on hand (mostly pasta, some sugar-free Jello, instant brown rice, and organic chicken and beef bone broth), but was down to pretty much nothing in the freezer, except grains and nuts. I did still have the two packages of chicken breasts that I purchased on mark-down a couple of weeks ago, but I vowed that I would not to get into them until everything else was cleaned up and I didn't...until last night!!! 😊



It may have taken most of the winter to do it, but I have finally used up all the little bits and pieces of meat that were left in the house...two or three small packages of ham, several bags of oven-roasted turkey (sliced and cubed), chicken (whole), bison steak, salmon fillets, deli meats (turkey and ham), cod fillets, and more. I was down to the last few slices of cooked turkey bacon and a pound of ground turkey, when I went to the store over the weekend to restock. It feels great having plenty of meat in the deep-freeze again!



There are a still a few weeks left until the official arrival of spring, so I will continue to focus on cleaning up canned goods, boxed items, and grains on-hand, but, in future, will only purchase select items, mainly canned beans (black, chili, and green), green chilies, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and albacore tuna, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. My goal is to choose from as many whole foods as possible and make right (or at least better) food choices at every opportunity.  

I plan to make most of my own sweets and treats from scratch using high quality and healthful ingredients. Things that immediately come to mind are protein snack balls and my mother's oatmeal drop cookies (right now I've got a batch of oat bran muffins in the oven), and I plan to substitute stevia for sugar as much as possible

Anyway, the challenge is coming along quite nicely and I have saved a bundle by cleaning up the food on-hand and not buying meat all winter. Plus, I actually have room in my freezer now for other things that I enjoy...like frozen berries, frozen grapes, and frozen yogurt! Yum! 😋

Well, that's a look at where I'm at with the winter food challenge and, in all probability, this will be last update that I give concerning it, as there's really not too much left to say about it. If anything interesting arises I will just include it in my regular posts. 

How about you? How have those of you who have been following along fared with your own clean-up-the-food challenges?

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Monday, February 20, 2023

Master To-Do List and Menu Plan Monday - February 20, 2023

It's a beautiful spring-like morning here on the tallgrass prairie of southwest Missouri!



Cream Colored Crocus Blooming in My Yard

It's 48 degrees and the sun is shining. The birds are singing and the crocuses are blooming, and, well, where I live, it just doesn't get much better than that in mid-February! I'm ecstatic!!!

That is in spirit, of course; physically, I'm still feeling pretty puny. I've had one ailment or another going on since the beginning of November. This last round has gone on for a solid six weeks now and I'm tired of it, but I continue to press forward no matter what. I'm thankful for the strength and resolve to do so. 

I worked Friday and Saturday. Friday I ran the nature center while the guys did a prescribed burn. 

Prescribed Burn @ Prairie State Park - March 2022

It's always intriguing to watch the flames leap high in the air as they lick the prairie clean of tall grasses and thick undergrowth, and there's nothing on earth as interesting as a blackened clean-swept prairie after a prescribed burn. 

Rock Exposed After a Prescribed Burn
@ Prairie State Park - March 2018

Every rock, rivulet, bone (sometimes an entire skeleton!) of a deceased animal, shed (deer antler), etc. is exposed and the whole landscape looks rather other-worldly. 

Bison Bones On the Blackened Prairie - March 2022

It's fun to go trapsing across a blackened prairie to see what treasures of nature the fire has revealed. 

Prescribed Burn @ Prairie State Park - November 2021

Once I found a mostly burned nest of some ground-nesting bird with the clutch of long-ago hatched egg shells, singed, but still intact. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of it, but that was probably my neatest blackened-prairie find to date!

Well...wow...I really got off-track with THAT! Didn't I? I'm sorry! Let's get on with today's post...shall we? 😟

American Bald Eagle
Photo Taken February 19, 2022

This week's master to-do list...

This week promises to be a little slower than the past few have been and, truthfully, I'm glad! I need some down time and rest.

- Clean house
- Do laundry
- Make THM pancakes (freeze)
- Bake (bread and muffins - freeze)
- Get gas and check fluids in car
- Write and mail a letter to a sick friend
- Go to the bank
- Get in a visit with Carla
- Work

"Nana nana boo boo!" - Febrary 19, 2023

This week's menu plan...

I plan to share an update on the winter food challenge this week, but will tell you that I went grocery shopping after church yesterday afternoon. My house is stocked with fresh and nutritious whole foods and I'm so thankful! Meals this week will include...

- Oven-roasted chicken breast with garlic roasted radishes, corn on the cob, and fresh asparagus
- Green chili burritos with black beans and rice
- Chicken ranch salad
- Pasta with sauce, meatballs, salad, and garlic bread 
- Oven-roasted chicken breast with baked sweet potato topped with sauteed greens with onion and brussel sprouts
- Enchilada casserole with black beans and rice
- Homemade pizza



Well, the day is getting away from me. so I guess I better get off of here and get busy. You have a nice day and a great week ahead and I'll talk with you again soon! 

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Thursday, February 16, 2023

Master To-Do List and Menu Plan Monday - The Thursday (?) Edition - February 16, 2023

Yes, it's been a busy week and I am just now getting around to posting this week's master to-do list and menu plan Monday post. I know, it seems like, at this point, why bother to post one at all...right?

Purple Crocus

Well, even if posted late, these entries aid me greatly in keeping on track and staying focused. They also give me a written (and dated) record of what's been done when to look back on as needed. In their own way they serve as a journal, of sorts, and that can be very helpful to me at times.

So, as late as it is, let's take a look at the week in process...shall we?

This week's master to-do list (most of these have already been completed)...

- Clean house
- Do laundry
- Wash bedding
- Clean fridge
- Celebrate Valentine's Day
- Announce book giveaway
- Figure mid-month budget
- Go to the bank
- Pay mid-month bills
- Sort through and organize tote of recipes and food-related information
- Answer a couple of letters
- Spend time with family and friends
- Work

A Tiny Bluet

This week's menu plan...

Obviously, the week is half over. As mentioned in an earlier post, with all the birthdays, having company in, and, then, the holiday, I've hardly eatten a meal at home this week. I finally got back to cooking my own meals at home on Wednesday. I had a turkey burger and chips for supper that night and broiled salmon, baked potato, green beans, and a roll last night. 

Plans for the rest of the week include... 

- Breakfast for supper (turkey bacon, egg, and toast) 
- Oven-roasted turkey breast with mashed potatoes and green beans
- Turkey bean soup (or bison vegetable) with Good Earth Rolls

Well, that's it for now. I hope your week has been good one and the weekend ahead is the same. 

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Book Giveaway - Biblical Minimalism by Cheryl E. Smith

Recently I posted a book review over Biblical Minimalism by Cheryl E. Smith and promised an upcoming giveaway for the same. Well, today's the day! 



To enter the giveaway simply leave a comment below (or on the Hearth and Home Facebook page) telling me why you'd like to be the winner; share the post to tell others about the giveaway (and leave a comment below telling me that you did so) and you'll get a second entry! That's it! No fancy-schmancy nothin'! Just leave a comment below and you're in the drawing!

The giveaway starts today (Wednesday, February 15th, 2023) and will run through Tuesday, February 28th, 2023. A winner will be selected and announced on Wednesday, March 1st, 2023. The winner will have 48 hours to make contact. If they have not done so within 48 hours an alternate winner will be selected. 

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Happy Valentine's Day!




Were he still here, John and I would be celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary today.

February 14, 1988

I love and miss him so much, but I have assurance in Christ Jesus that I will see him again, and know that we have all eternity ahead to look forward to.

"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but
then face to face: now I know in part; but then
shall I know even as also I am known."
(1 Corinthians 13:12)


I am so extremely thankful for the many years that God gave us together upon this earth...fifty-five years of friendship and thirty-three years of marriage.



"I was a child and she was a child,
   In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love—"

(from Annabel Lee by Edgar Allen Poe)

He entrusted us with a beautiful family and has bountifully blessed us with twenty-two (soon to be twenty-three) grandchildren. Who could ask for more?

From J.K. 2/14/18


We were (and still are) beyond blessed!

 Thank You, God! Thank You for John, for our marriage, for all that we shared as friends and, later, as husband and wife, for our beautiful family, and for all the goodness and many blessings that You have bestowed upon us. I am truly humbled. In Jesus' name...Amen!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Monday, February 13, 2023

Monday Check-In

Good morning! It's Monday morning, yes, but I've, literally, been on the run since I posted Thursday morning and still am. I haven't even looked at my planner since then, either, so, have no idea what's happening past today. Perhaps I'll be able to take a look at it a little later in the week and make a proper plan for what's left of it then. 

In the meantime, weekend highlights...

I worked Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The weather was crazy...spring-like on Thursday...




...wintery on Friday...




...and late fall-like on Saturday...




We celebrated the birthdays of three grands over the weekend...



Dante turned 8 on Thursday, Kira turned 5 on Saturday (their combined celebration was Friday night), and Jed turned 10 on Sunday.



Aaron, Amanda, and Alysia arrived Saturday night to spend the weekend and are still here. 



I don't think I've ate a single meal at home this weekend, as different ones of the kids have invited me over to eat with them in celebration of birthdays or to just visit and fellowship (except breakfasts, of course, and packed lunches taken to work). It's been a very enjoyable weekend to say the least!

Sunday evening the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl, of course. We didn't watch the game, but I wore my Chiefs shirt and the grandkids and I kept track of live updates throughout the entire game. That final quarter? Whew-wee! Were we ever on the edge of our seats and what a ruckus we made when the Chiefs won!!! WOOO-HOOO!!! CHIEFS!!!!!! 



Now, here it is Monday morning. I am finishing up a cup of tea as I prepare to leave shortly to attend a Valentine's Day get-together for the grands. I just finished icing the cookies that I made (and froze) last week and will take them along as my offering to be added to the festivities.



Hopefully, I will get a chance to sit down soon and plan the remainder of the week. When I do, I will share a belated master list and menu plan post here.

In the meantime, you have a nice day and I'll be with you again soon!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Thursday, February 9, 2023

Thursday Things - February 9, 2023

It's Thursday morning and I've got to leave for work shortly, but, since I had a few extra minutes, I thought I'd share them with you while I finish my tea.



How's your week been? Mine here has been good. I've managed to stay busy with a variety of projects, including getting those greeting cards sorted and organized.



I told you all at the beginning of the year that I probably had enough greeting cards, tissue paper, wrapping paper, gift bags, and tags to open my own gift shop, and I wasn't kidding. It feels so good to have all that stuff sorted and organized. I will save a ton of money this year by 'shopping' out of my own stock instead of purchasing more of what I've already got.



In addition to that I've done quite a bit of cooking and baking, reading, and...uh-oh...it's almost time to leave. I better be going. 

You all have a nice day and a great weekend and I'll be with you again soon. 

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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