Wordless Wednesday: Cold but Beautiful

 

New Recipe: Easy Chicken and Cabbage Stir-Fry

Happy Tuesday everyone! 

Today I wanted to hop on here for a quick post to share a new recipe that I tried on Saturday. I am trying really hard to not waste food. I had a half a head of cabbage in my fridge from New Year's Day that needed used up and I wasn't sure what to do with it. While searching online, I found a recipe for this easy chicken and cabbage stir-fry that sounded yummy. I decided to make it on Saturday, as I knew that the boys probably wouldn't like it. They were at their father's house. 

It is super easy and quick. Rebecca commented on how it didn't seem to take me that long to make it. Honestly, the hardest part was cutting up the chicken and veggies. I did deviate a little and add a sliced up carrot to the recipe as well. Also, I served it over rice. I will definitely be making it again! 

The original recipe can be found here at Salt & Lavender. 

If you make it let me know how you like it! 

Anyone have any other easy recipes that they think I should try? Please share if you do! 

New med, saving money on groceries, organizing, and laundry

 Happy Sunday! Hope everyone's weekend is going well. 

I have been puttering around the house this weekend. We had another snow event on Friday night into Saturday morning, so I just planned to stay home and do some things around the house...mainly laundry! 

I also wanted to stay home to make sure that I didn't have a reaction to my new medication that I began on Friday. Thursday I saw a nurse practitioner that my primary doctor referred me to, as he is very well versed in mental health issues. This NP spent a lot of time with me and as we talked about my history and things that have happened in the past few years and my responses to those, it became clear that my current way of dealing with my depression is not working. He also diagnosed me as clinically depressed. Makes a ton of sense to me, and was almost a relief to hear as I felt there was something wrong with me. He started me on a new medication that I am so glad that insurance covers as if I had to pay out of pocket it would be $1800+ for 30 days. I will follow up with him in a month to see how this new med is working or not. 

This year, I am experimenting with picking up groceries as a way to save money as I am the type of person that will only plan on getting 5 things at the store and end up with a whole cart full because I see something on sale that we can't live without or that I think we need but we already have some at home, etc. I got a Kroger pick up grocery order on Friday night and organized my freezer and pantry. I also placed a Walmart delivery order for Saturday for things like laundry detergent, toilet paper, backup chopped onions for the freezer that I forgot in my Kroger order, and batteries. 

I spent some time organizing. I went through a couple of totes in our basement and have a huge tote of stuff to throw out and some to donate. After I type this up, I am going to bag up the trash and take it out to the bin. I also went through a tote in my bedroom that had a bunch of saved love notes/cards from my ex-husband. I went through all of them and threw them away. 

In between all of that, I did ALL the laundry in the house.  I don't even know how many loads it was, but it was a lot. I used the timer on my phone and was strict about flipping laundry and folding it when it came out of the dryer. As I type this up on Sunday afternoon, I have the very last load in the washer. Yay me! Of course that will last until the kids start taking showers tonight so it will be a short lived happiness. 

I have a ton to do this coming week, including getting blood work done, 2 doctors appointments, work, Jacob has a track meet, bible study, etc. 

I feel like this post is all over the place. I should end this so that I can take the trash out and maybe get something else done, now that I have had momentum. 

What are you up to this weekend? Do you get the organizing bug at the beginning of a new year? How do you save money at the grocery store? 

End of 2024, Hello 2025

Happy 2025 everyone! It is already 9 days into the new year and it feels like this year is already flying by and is being crazy busy. 

The end of 2024 was crazy emotionally. Long story short, I received a phone call from our police department on the Friday after Christmas letting me know that the FBI had received confirmation that there was a "hit list" on a social media site that included students names from our high school. Jacob's name was on the list so they were calling to inform me and to see if he had any enemies, etc. They said that they were working on it and would be in touch with any updates. Thankfully the kids have been on break. It was all overwhelming as Jacob is a sweet kid. It definitely was a cloud over our head. (As an update, on January 2, I received a phone call from the sergeant who informed me that they had made 2 arrests of juveniles and that charges were pending. The school was aware and had banned them from school property and they felt that it was safe for the kids to go back to school. Apparently there were close to 30 names on the list and most of the names were girls with a couple boys. I found out that a coworker's granddaughter's name was also on the list.) 

The last Sunday of 2024 we had a "soup night" at my parent's house. One of our family goals that we had all talked about at Christmas was getting together at least once a month for a family dinner. We started with a soup night. I took a copycat Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup. My sister made chili. My sister-in-love made lasagna soup. My mom made corn chowder and a vegetable type soup. I also made homemade garlic bread. It was all super yummy. 

Our New Year's Eve was quiet and at home. The kids and I played Uno No Mercy which is a great card game. We then watched the ball drop at midnight; Ben opened the door and kicked the old year out and let the new year in. 

New Year's Day started with mass for the Solemnity of the Blessed Mother which was a great way to start off the year. Then it was home to putter around, get a planner set up, etc. I made a yummy pork and peppers dinner. 

I spent the rest of the week reading a couple books, putting away the Christmas decorations and switching it out for winter decor. I also had to deal with a visit from Murphy. My washing machine died. I ordered a new one and it was delivered on Satruday. Unfortunately the delivery men were condescending, acted mad that they were delivering in the snow, wouldn't hook it up as they said that my cold water valve was leaking, and couldn't understand how the drain hose got hooked up to the pipe as this is an old hose. They said that once I had a plumber come out and fix those issues I could call them back and get them to install it. Well, I called my landlord who came out and the valve was not leaking they just didn't turn it on all the way. I was able to get the washer drain hooked up after have the clasp come off twice, but I got it done. So yay for clean clothes! 

The kids were supposed to go back to school on Monday, but we got snow and had a snow day for them. I went to work and got some things done. The drive to work was crappy, but the drive home was much better. Tuesday and today the kids had a 2 hour delay due to snow. I will say they were all 3 glad to go back to school. I am back to work after our school had a snow day on Tuesday. I went into work and worked on some trainings. Last night I also had to go and take a CDA exam. I am so glad to get that over with. Now to finish my portfolio and plan for my observation day that is scheduled for 2 weeks from today. 

I have also been working on some goals for the year. One of the my goals is to get in a better place financially. I am trying to not eat out, have no spend days, and am doing a low spend January. So far so good. Tonight I really wanted to get fast food however I came home and made tomato soup and grilled cheese and it hit the spot. The kids really enjoyed it as well. 

Well, I need to get ready to head to bed so I can get up tomorrow for work. I haven't been sleeping well lately. I will leave you with a scene that I encountered when I left work yesterday. It was snowing and there is a farm field next to our center. The deer were having the time of their lives! 

Hope everyone is having a good start to 2025! Until next time, I wish you all well. 

Hello

Hello there.

Long time no see. 

I am peeking out from being gone for 5 months. I really didn't mean to not blog. Life just got in the way in a lot of different ways and my computer died are my two main excuses. I know that I could have blogged from my phone but that is such a hassle and honestly, mentally I just didn't have the capacity to do so. 

But... I am back, maybe. I received the generous gift of a new computer for Christmas from my parents and so I thought I would dust off this little blog and give some updates.

 

For the kids: 

Rebecca has made her final college decision. She has it narrowed down to her top 2 choices and it is dependent on how she does on her music auditions (which are in January for one school and February for the other). I will share her final decision when she makes it. She got a lot of presents for her birthday in November (she turned 18!) and for Christmas that will be useful in her dorm room come fall. She is doing well overall.

 

Jacob has joined the indoor track team at his high school and is enjoying throwing events. He is also enjoying singing in the school choir. 

Ben has been Ben. He has had some ups and downs with attitudes and adjusting to the divorce. I finally found a counselor for him that Ben really likes and seems to help him with some ideas to control his anger. It has been a long road, but I think with him we are finally on the right one. 

As for me, well... the divorce is still not finalized. I am not going to get into that other than to say that I have done everything in my power to get it done and it all comes down to a certain person who is not willing to sign a document. It sucks but it is what it is. It will get done eventually.  

I am still working for Head Start and have taken on the additional role of Assistant Family Advocate. It is a very rewarding job but also very hard. I am taking my CDA testing in January and will have my CDA observation done that month as well to hopefully get the credential and be able to move up. One of the downsides of the stress and working with preschoolers, is that I have been sick for over a month. It started with bronchitis, then to a sinus infection, to an ear infection, and am still coughing, draining and my throat is a little sore. So many people that I know are sick and antibiotics aren't doing anything. 

I have also been dealing with some major bouts of depression. It is rearing it's ugly head. 2025 is going to be the year that I approach it head on. I have an appointment in January to get into a counselor that my primary care doctor recommended. I made this appointment back in early November and this was the earliest they had. Speaking of 2025, I Have some goals I want to work on and I may or may not blog about them in the next couple of days. 

I am off work the rest of this week, and have enjoyed just being lazy and going at my own pace. It has been a nice break from the constant running lifestyle phase that I seem to be in. 

Well it is getting late and this is getting long, so I will sign off now. I hope everyone reading this had a wonderful Christmas and here's to a new year with new beginnings and never a loss of hope. 

Nature Photos on Sunday

Happy Sunday. I used to share nature photos on Sundays as kind of a soothing start to the new week and because it was something I enjoyed. I have decided to try to maybe start back with that. I love the soothing power of nature, so I want to share. I hope you enjoy. 

 

Found a tunnel, my niece is 1, walking, and Rebecca sang

 Happy Friday everyone! We made it to the weekend! 

I mentioned that it has been crazy busy again the last couple of weeks, so I thought I would do a quick recap. 

The kids and I went exploring Blackhand Gorge Trail. We were trying to find an old tunnel that we saw on Facebook. It is not on the main trail but we found it this trip. It was amazing to see. The boys were even impressed. 

Afterwards, I treated the kids to Raising Cane's for lunch. They had never been there. I had had it for the very first time when I visited Cuyahoga Valley National Park and it is so good. 

I visited an arts festival with my mom, niece and my sister on what is probably one of the hottest days this summer. It was so hot but was a nice outing to see art and to get inspired by the artistic talent. We ended our day with a late lunch at a yummy Mexican restaurant. 

We celebrated my niece's 1st birthday! How Naomi is 1 already is beyond me?? She is super sweet and sassy wrapped all in one. A perfect blend of her dad and mom. It was a fun party at her maternal great-grandparents house. My boys had fun in their pool. 

One day when the boys were with their dad, Rebecca and I went out to my mom's house as we were supposed to help my mom and sister plant flowers. Well, I ended up taking Rebecca and my niece and nephew on a walk instead! LOL. They helped me get my mile in that day! We also had some fun climbing a tree by my parents driveway. 

 

It rained later that day but we also had a great rainbow in the sky! 

We had a picnic at the park one night after I came home late from work. We walked our mile and the boys had fun throwing rocks. 

Rebecca performed her first paying gig. She was asked to play a 20 minute set during our town's July Front Porch Concert Series. This is a little festival where different porches on High Street are turned into stages and the community is welcomed out to listen to some great music, get food from some food trucks and just have a nice evening. 

We live close enough to walk to the festival. Rebecca did amazing. I am so proud of her. It was really fun! 

I took the kids to see "Inside Out 2" on Tuesday ($5 movie night and free popcorn!) The kids enjoyed the movie. Jacob said it was spot on. I thought it was just okay. I felt it was very choppy. 

I am still walking at least a mile a day. I also also doing a 8-10 minute yoga routine each night for health reasons. I have also been subbing and working. Life has been busy but good. Next week I will let you know about how a couple college visits went for Rebecca. Life is not slowing down and I can't believe it is almost August. 

Hope everyone has a great Friday! Any fun plans for the weekend?