The outside temperature may be warmer this week than last, but it is not springtime yet. Getting there, but not quite there. But DH brought tulips to me for Valentine’s Day and they are a great encouragement!
How could the heart of a tulip not be cheering? They can’t help themselves.
It won’t be long before past Valentine tulips are popping up in the garden.
So take heart. Warmer, flower-filled days are coming.
~~Rhonda
I found this in a drawer today…
Us…at a college banquet…seems like a long time ago…
1976…I guess that *is* a long time ago…
DD thinks Dad has some kind of hairdo, though it’s hard to see in this dark picture…
My, what we didn’t know then! It might have scared us off, you think?
Do you like the way we match?
We still match.
~~Rhonda
Have you ever seen the last moment of a sunset caught in a paperweight? If you look in the lower right hand side of the paperweight, right against the glass seashell, you can see the setting sun.
The sun is rising earlier and setting later as the days progress toward spring. This week our temps are supposed to hang out around 50*. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Welcome news! Yesterday I saw a robin in our back yard. And the daffodils are up almost two inches. So happy to see them!
Here’s our menu for the week.
Monday Happy Valentine’s Day!
Baked Chicken Parmesan
Baby Baked Potatoes
Creamed Brussels Spouts with Almonds
Corn
Pear-Walnut Salad
Strawberry Shortcake
Tuesday
Beefy Mushroom Soup
Biga Bread
Wednesday
Bruschetta Chicken
Stir Fried Zucchini and Yellow Squash
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas
Green Salad
Thursday
Tacoritos
Tortilla Chips / Sour Cream / Shredded Lettuce / Diced Tomatoes
Friday ~ Trivia Night at Church
Potato Soup (made with hamburger and French Onion Dip)
Candy Coated Popcorn
Saturday
Fridge Food
Sunday
Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry
Rice
You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday. Check it out. This week Laura is offering a giveaway. Leave a comment on her post for a chance to win the cookbook “No Whine with Dinner.” It includes 150 healthy, kid-tested recipes. Sounds like something we could all use! You don’t have to be a regular subscriber or reader of her blog to comment. Just leave a comment on the linked post and you are entered in the drawing for the cookbook.
~~Rhonda
Happy Valentine’s Day, my Sweet. Here are a few of the many things I love about you.
Happy Valentine’s Day. I love you! ~~Rhonda
Last week, we missed a big ice storm at home while we enjoyed the sun and warm breezes in lovely Florida. We stayed several days in Orlando where DH and DD spent two fun-filled days at Universal Studios.
I stayed “home” and enjoyed the peace, the quiet, and the view.
They rode the roller coasters, explored Hogwarts, and ate at Bubba Gumps.
From Orlando, we went to Sarasota, where we enjoyed another great view.
And saw a chapel float by…
The temps were in the mid to upper 70s the entire time we were in Sarasota. DD enjoyed the hotel pool.
And the beach. We *all* enjoyed the beach.
But vacation must end, right? Sad, but true.
We had a wonderful time. Ate a lot of delicious seafood, soaked up the wonderful sunshine and warm air, and enjoyed the beach. I’m already looking forward to the next time we’ll be able to go!
~~Rhonda
We left vacation in Florida, with temps in the 70s and even 84 on the day we left, to come home to ice and snow. What a rude awakening!
From this:
To this:
You can see why a nice, hot, filling soup is the first item on the menu for this week!
Monday
Cheesy Potato-Sausage Soup
Tuesday
Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Rice
Wednesday
Hamburgers / Homemade Buns
Veggies / Dip
Thursday
Roast Beef in the Crock Pot
Baby Baked Potatoes
Roasted Cauliflower
Peas
Spinach Salad
Friday
Chicken in the Crock Pot
Rice
Snow Peas
Cornbread
Green Salad
Saturday
Fridge Food
Sunday
Baked Salmon
Green Salad
Broccoli / Cauliflower / Carrots with Cheese
Toasted Garlic Bread
You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.
~~Rhonda
There’s still some time for snow and snowflakes, but I prefer to see them inside rather than outside…like this one…
Or these…
Here’s the menu for the week.
Monday
Beef and Veggie Stir Fry
Tuesday
Chili
Cornbread
Carrot and Celery Sticks
Wednesday
Oven BBQ chicken
Corn
Peas
Fruit Salad
Thursday
Baked Chicken Parmesan
Baby Baked Potatoes
Napa Cabbage Stir-Fry
Red Grapes
Friday
Pan Seared Shrimp
Rice
Stir-Fried Sugar Snap Peas w/ Cherry Tomatoes
Saturday
Lunch -Fridge Food
Supper – Tacoritos / Tortilla Chips
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Sunday
Crock Pot Turkey
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans / Corn
Green Salad
You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.
~~Rhonda
Outside, it’s cold and snowy and harsh.
And, no, I didn’t go outside to take that picture. I took it right through the window, screen and all, from my cozy perch in the scrapbook room on the second floor. Outside looks rather uninviting to me!
So I stay indoors, enjoy my homemade toasted roll topped with last year’s summer berries and my freshly ground coffee and wait for spring.
Because I know it’s out there. Somewhere. And I can wait.
~~Rhonda
We begin a new week still feeling under the weather. DD has a return of her head cold and I am still favoring my left leg which is healing from an infection. But we plug away…DD is curled up in the library with her school work and a warm blanket and I am doing some computer work, then will finish lesson plans and assignment sheets for the week.
I’ve made the menu, but we’ll see how the week unfolds. The menu isn’t set in stone. We try to be flexible. We may substitute something else, may have a carry-out, or may switch days around, depending on how the day pans out, what we “feel” like eating, etc. But having a plan sure does make grocery shopping and dinner-getting a lot easier than without a plan. Do yourself a favor and plan a menu!
Monday
Homemade Pizza
Tuesday
Chicken Stir Fry
Rice
Wednesday
Rosemary Ranch Chicken
Oven Fried Potato Wedges
Pear Walnut Salad
Peas
Corn
Thursday
Chicken and Noodles
Biscuits
Corn and Peas
Friday
BBQ Chicken in the oven
Baby Baked Potatoes
Steamed Carrots and Sugar Snap Peas
Endive Pea and Avocado Salad
Saturday
Fridge Food
Sunday
Pan Seared Tilapia
Rice
Steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower
Green Salad
Red Grapes
You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.
~~Rhonda
I’ve been sick. Came on me quickly Monday evening. Fever, chills, etc. Big time. Today I am feeling better and able to be up and about. It’s times like these that make me especially thankful for laptops, Ipods, cell phones, and my Nook. I don’t have to leave my bed to check my email, look at Facebook, watch a movie, etc. Though I spent a lot of the past four days sleeping. But, I’m on the mend and am feeling better.
I had a couple of posts I wanted to put up this week, so need to work on those. Just wanted to check in and let you know I’m still around.
Tuesday evening two of our daughters ended up in the ditch (icy roads and about 10* out there) and that took some time to set things straight. We are thankful for God’s watchful care over them while they waited in the car, then at a nearby gas station, then on the way home from there with DH, who had to go get them. And we’re thankful, too, for all the people who stopped and offered and/or tried to help them. Someone even tried to pull them out, but the ditch was too deep and too steep. They finally accepted a ride from a young lady and her little girl to the nearest gas station to wait for Dad. The lady offered to take them to DD’s house (30 miles away), offered them money to buy food, offered to sit with them at the gas station, offered to charge DD’s phone that was running down, etc. An hour after she left them there, she came back to check on them. How kind is that?? God set His angels around them and I’m very grateful. They are safe and sound and that is the important thing.
Today our temps are up to 36* and the snow and ice are melting. The south facing slope in our back yard is snow free, though the opposite north facing slope is still snow covered. From my perch on the second story, in the scrapbook room, it’s beginning to look better out there.
I’ve spent a little time working out patterns for a couple of vintage putz houses I saw online. I have bookmarked more of the little glitter houses online that I want to draw patterns for. January and February seem like good months to sit at the desk and work on such projects. I’ll keep you posted.
~~Rhonda