I am thankful

 For this Nana dog, who I believe was a gift from heaven. I found her a year ago in two days and we have wonderful walks. She is very loving and the balm to my soul when going through teenagerism moments

 The sunrises and sunsets of this land of enchantment. The skies are just magical and declare the glory of the Lord

 The roof over our head. The backyard to play catch with my youngest. The kitchen where we cook as a family.

My Nana. Today is her Heaven Day. It has been a year. The love that we had and the memories we made. Thank you Lord for those 43 years.

Lots of W's on my mind

Ever have moments of thinking and realize all your thoughts begin with the same letter? That is me this weekend. Weird...and no that's not one of my W thoughts.

Weight Loss- I'm breaking a blogging/facebook rule and stating I need to lose weight. This is a need, a goal, a focus. I need to do this for health, for image, for me and my family.

Water- Browsing thru pinterest I saw where if you drink more water and focus on hydration this helps with weight loss. Teachers at my school that have lost weight walk around with gallon jugs of water so there must be something to this right?

Walking- Another goal of mine this week is to walk one hour every day. This is not hard for me as I have that husky dog that needs walking. So I am adding 20 minutes to our daily walks.

Work- I have moments where I wonder what I want to be when I grow up. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my job. I wish I made more money. I didn't go to college and I'm tossing around how to take a step forward.

Quilt Layout

 I came home from work and decided to play around with my Russian Doll Blocks.

 The best way to do this is to place the blocks down and take a picture. I always see something new that I don't see with my naked eyes. Oops......I said naked....tee hee.

 My main goal is to balance out the colors and spread them out.

Can't wait to have a block of time to put this baby together and I'm itching to buy some fabric for the back, although I should just go to the stash.

Cook Book Reading

 We went to Barnes and Noble and I scored on some awesome cookbooks and they were on CLEARANCE. Wahoo!!!!

 I can't wait to check out all these books and try some new recipes.

October meal planning is going to have some new fun options

 

A Quilt and Doll Quilt Part 1

 I've started quilting again. It's so good for me. This one is very colorful and girlie. I bought the russian doll fat quarter set and then pulled lots of different fabrics from my stash.

 I've ended up with 30 -12.5 inch random log cabin style blocks

 Then because I couldn't waste this cute fabric, I used a few scraps of linen and sewed all the little bits together to make a doll quilt

 Now off to do some stitching.

September Meal Planning

 Meal planning just makes life easier. I go to magazines and internet for ideas or past month meal plans. I keep a binder that I can go back to. Yesterday after the apples ,laundry, cleaning etc. I took a cool drink and my baby Jack out in the backyard, sat in the shade and planned away.

1. Potato soup, bread and salad
2.Pulled Pork sandwiches and cole slaw
3.Grilled chicken and sauteed veggies
4.Ham frittata and red potatoes
5.Grilled sausage (brats and beer)
6. BBQ pork chops, applesauce, broccoli
7.Hamburgers and fries
8.Dog class- out or take in
9.Bean burritos and mex.salad
10.Tortellini and veggies
11.Taco plate
12. BBQ chicken thighs and potato salad
13.Grilled Steak and salad
14.Pork chops and peach chutney, rice
15.Dog Class- out or take in
16.BLT sandwiches
17.Zucchini and pepper Frittata with bacon
18.Sloppy Joes
19.Pizza and salad
20.Roasted Chicken and root veggies
21.Meatball Subs
22.Dog Class- out or take in
23.Spaghetti, caesar salad, french bread
24.Grilled cheese and tomato soup
25.Oakie Nachos
26.Chicken Tenders
27.Grilled Ribeye
28.Lasagna
29.Dog Class- out or take in
30.Chicken pot pie

You'll notice there is no cooking on Mondays. Dog class is from 6-7 and is easier for everyone to just grab something on the go.

Apples Part Two

 Just had to show off our apple goodies. We each had a part of making this pie. I peeled, Avery chopped and Riley assembled. Served with vanilla ice cream and homemade carmel sauce. YUM

 We also finished the applesauce. I missed one very important step with canning and that is letting the air bubbles out so although my cans sealed I unsealed them and in the frig they went. Guess we'll be eating some applesauce the next few weeks. Good thing it was only two quarts. Nothing says fall like applesauce and our mornings are  beginning to feel like fall. Maybe french toast and applesauce....Hmmm possibilities.