Happy Homemaker Monday 04.11.16

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Carrie Ann Alexis

Morning!! Spring is broken!! But it really doesn’t do any good to complain, since spring around here is like one day anyway 😀 I only look forward to the warmer weather for my flip-flops!! Me and heat don’t really get along, not since I was pregnant with the twins during the hottest summer on record!! Anniehow…here’s to warmer weather…it has to get here eventually!!

Linking-up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

MOVIE REVIEW:
My family loves Star Wars. I like the movies, but I’m just not that into it, and really can’t tell which episode is which. But I did watch The Force Awakens this weekend with the boys, and I really enjoy it. Since I did see the original one in the theaters, it was nice that they brought back all the original characters, albeit the very old original characters, lol. I really liked the new BB8 droid, he was really cute, and it was good to see my all time favorite Chewbacca.

LOL CHUCKLES, AND GIGGLES:

RECIPE I TRIED AND ONE I WANT TO TRY:
So…I tired the Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookie thingy. Yeah…bleh. First of all I didn’t actually make cookies, I usually don’t make individual cookies, I make pan cookies, spread everything in a pan and whala…cookie bars. The flavor wasn’t disgusting or anything, I just didn’t like how they turned out, they were really flat. Probably from the greasy bacon, which I did drain. It also wasn’t a taste like…wow…this is absolutely amazing!! I’ll stick to the normal Toll House Squares thankyouverymuch!!

But up next… is this!!

FAVORITE VIDEO FROM THE WEB:
Nature is amazing!!

~~HOMEMAKING~~ LIFE TIP:
A FB Post from my feed: Frosted Mini Wheats challenge. Eat all the frickin’ things before the powdered sugar dissolves off because of the milk.

After having this show up on my FB feed from my daughter’s friend, I shared with her how I do it, and her mom eventually chimed in, and thought it was Genius!! (her word not mine) Made her have a bowl right then and there, LOL. So I thought I’d share it with you:

I dip mine individually in a glass of milk, and eat them one by one. It’s the perfect amount of milk for each piece. My son also eats his this way as well. Spoons are optional, LOL. ♥ LOVE Frosted Mini Wheats!!

FROM THE CAMERA:

QUOTES:

Ugh!! Writer’s Block

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Carrie Ann Alexis

I haven’t written anything for the last couple of #Blogbattles, and I miss it!! The last two writing prompts were rather difficult, for me anyway, they were Leviathan and indiscriminate, when I saw them, I was all like….

But that’s how Rachael Ritchey keeps it fun and challenging.
Maybe life will slow down for me and I can jump back in soon!!

Battle on my fellow battlers!!

Happy Homemaker Monday 04.04.16

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Carrie Ann Alexis

Good Afternoon!! It’s slow going today, as we get ourselves back in the swing of things, so hard to get motivated after a break like that, plus I have one sniffly kid as well. It’s a gloomy, freezing day outside, so that doesn’t help. Hope everyone has a great week ahead!!

Linking-up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:
Bullsh…lol, sorry that just sums it up.

WHAT’S FEEDING MY BOOK ADDICTION:
House on Cooper Lane by Oliver Phipps. This is based on a true story. When I read the summary, it sounded pretty interesting; a haunted house that was turned into apartments. The story is about what one guy and his dog finds when they rent an apartment on the bottom floor, and why the other apartments haven’t been rented out for years. One of the reviews stated that it was chilling, and very scary. Eh…it was mediocre. The story was decent, but nothing bone chilling or suspenseful. When I am reading on my kindle, the bottom shows the percentage of what was read. So I’m like at 78% and the story ends, and I’m like that’s it? There was a sample chapter of another story at the end of this one 😐 If your looking for a typical haunted house story, it’s worth a read, it’s not horrible. I guess I was expecting more.

LOL CHUCKLES, AND GIGGLES:

RECIPE I TRIED:
OK…so now I’m getting fancy. This one just looked so yummy, I think it’s because it’s so colorful, lol. I did add Water Chestnuts to mine, I just like the little added crunch they add to a dish like this. I also served it over rice, turned out good.

Here is the link for the recipe: http://bit.ly/1PrlKux

FAVORITE VIDEO FROM THE WEB:
There is something so calming in watching this video. I. Want. One!!

FROM THE CAMERA:

QUOTES:

How I Spent My Spring Break…

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Carrie Ann Alexis

Spring break is coming to a close, this week went by fast. We didn’t have any real big plans, but we did get some things done, and had some fun in the process…our little stay-cation. The weather wasn’t cooperating too much, we had a lot of rain, and it’s been cold. Today, we have high winds, occasional snow, or bright sunshine. Go home Mother Nature, you’re drunk!!

Glad that I had planned to paint my son’s room at the beginning of the break. Got that out of the way, and he’s been enjoying it ever since. When my mom saw the before and after pictures, she was very impressed. She saw the progress, and when it was all done, but when you can see it back to back, it shows what a difference it makes. She also told me that it really is amazing when you realize that that room was actually the coal bin when the house was first built. #loveoldhouses. I posted these before, but here they are again 😉

The orange circle thingy is a Star Wars Symbol

As I did some running during the week, I took a couple of rides through the park, and got some of these pictures.

I love the seagulls out here!!

The water was a really weird blue, it almost looked like it was glowing.

The one really nice day we had temperature wise, had rain in the forecast. So I checked my weather app, and saw a window of opportunity before the rain hit, and went out to my spot with my tennis racket and new tennis balls my son gave to me for Christmas. With my tunes streaming, the cool breeze blowing, it felt good to get out and whack a few. A great stress reliever 🙂 This is my tennis opponent:

I do get out with my sons or my daughter on the courts, but I enjoy this time to myself, and it’s good practice. This little area has batting cages behind me, and it also has a roof, so if it does start to rain, I don’t get soaked. There is also a garbage can to the left, with a small whole in the top, which I do manage to hit some of my tennis balls into, and I don’t like digging through the trash to retrieve them thus the need for new ones 😐 But I realized, since I take two rackets with me, that I can place one of my tennis rackets over the whole, to prevent them from going in.

After all the painting we did, I was feeling soreness in my right hand, and had trouble bending my fingers. I don’t know if playing tennis helped or hurt it. But then that same evening, I ended up bowling with the boys and my daughter. Now I know that didn’t help, but it was fun nonetheless. I won’t share my score, but I did win…by 1 pin, and got in a few strikes. It’s been awhile since the last time I bowled, but we had fun.

So now I’m back to getting things together for the week ahead. The countdown to Summer vacation begins!! Forty-four. There are forty-four more days until Summer break!! 😀

Happy Homemaker Monday 03.28.16

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Carrie Ann Alexis

Good Afternoon!! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. We had a relaxing Easter, my mom decided not to cook, and I didn’t either, which was a good thing, because Sunday morning we lost power. It wasn’t out for long, but at a time when we were to get ready to go to church. I had showered the night before, and let my hair dry naturally, which is naturally curly and quite wild. So needless to say, without a flat iron to tame my locks, I missed the service 😦 Had I planned an Easter bonnet with my outfit, I would have been good to go, LOL. Hope everyone has a good week ahead, I plan on enjoying my break from doing school with the boys.

Linking-up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

WHAT’S FEEDING MY BOOK ADDICTION:
Holding Back Daylight by Carrie Crafton. I don’t remember where I found this one, probably on one of my Kindle lists. When I read the description, which described the story taking place in Chicago, I thought it would be interesting and familiar, and I was drawn to the author because of her name 😉 It took me awhile to read it, it wasn’t that the writing was bad, or the story wasn’t interesting, I guess it was just an average story, nothing too exciting. I did like the references from the city that I recognized. The main character, Claire is a bar owner, which she inherited from her Uncle that passed away. I loved the name of the bar which was called Ziggy’s, which was my nickname in high school since my last name began with a Z-y-g. It was a story about friendships and the loss of family, with interesting characters. Just a normal story, with a lot of drinking I might add, about a girl’s journey to allowing herself to live life, and let people in.

LOL CHUCKLES, AND GIGGLES:

RECIPE I TRIED:
These were really good.

S’mores Pinwheels

10 oz. Mini Marshmallows
¼ c. butter
5 c. Rice Krispie Cereal
¾ c. Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 jar Marshmallow Fluff
½ bag mini Chocolate Chips

Following recipe to make Rice Krispie Treats, adding the graham cracker crumbs to cereal. Spread on a pan lined with parchment paper. Spread Marshmallow Fluff over the top. Sprinkle Chocolate Chips over the top of that. Places in over at 200* for 2 minutes. Spread melted chocolate chips until smooth. Roll up width-wise to form a log. Chill for 1 hour. Slice and serve.

FAVORITE VIDEO FROM THE WEB:
OMG, I don’t know how many times I have watched this, it just makes me laugh. What the heck is wrong with this hamster?

OUR LITTLE DIY PROJECT:
The house we live in is very old, built in the early 1900s. So the basement is a bit dungeon-esque. There is a small room with a table/desk built in, and this is where my son works on his custom Lego mini figures. So, we decided it needed a little makeover. We didn’t do anything extravagant, the walls are pretty bad and concrete, but we knew cleaning and some paint would make it look a lot nicer, so we started Thursday night, and finished Saturday afternoon. We painted the floor, walls, ceiling and desk. It’s that industrial style that is so popular now 🙂 My son chose the color scheme and both my sons helped with the painting and cleaning, it was a lot of work, but he is very happy with it. It’s perfect for a teenager, not to mention when the weather gets warmer, it’s about 20 degrees cooler down there. Perfect place to hang out. Here are the before and after pics.