Summertime

We've been enjoying beautiful weather in Pennsylvania for the last week or so, and it's been amazing. Unfortunately, working full time has limited my ability to actually get out there and enjoy the gorgeous weather. What can you do?

The past few weeks, I've been really good about menu planning, and then actually following through and cooking the meals I've planned. All except today. Today was pretty much a wash out. I came home, had a tv dinner and fell asleep on the couch for an hour and a half. Yes. I was a slug. But that's okay. I'm convinced that if you are tired, and your body needs rest, take it. I slept poorly the night before and I'm fighting an ear infection, so I'm perfectly okay with my crappy tv dinner choice as well as my slug nap.

My friend/neighbor Kristin and I got together tonight and went for a nice walk. It was so nice to have someone to do something with! We must get together more often. Since we live next door to one another (actually we're in the same house, since it's a duplex) it's always like "Oh, I'll see them some other time" or something like that till we're both starved for conversation and company.

I think I need to find something to do after work once in awhile, as well. My life is rather boring and sometimes monotonous so it'd be nice to have a game plan to change things up once in awhile. The big problem with that is the anxiety that tells me I must go right home after work or else bad things could happen- namely car accidents. I'm still not really over that accident from a few years ago, I guess. Oh well. C'est la vie. I try to just trudge through whatever it is I'm dealing with. This too, shall pass.

How's your life going?

We've been pretty busy on the weekends. We went camping 2 weeks ago and had a wonderful time...with the exception of it being incredibly cold on Saturday night. So so so so so cold. I don't think I've ever been colder while sleeping. lol Other than that, it was quite a good time.

Last weekend, we went to my husband's company picnic and had quite a nice afternoon. We ran into some friends, enjoyed chatting with everyone, and rode a few rides at the amusement park where it was held. Hubby even won a nice prize- a Kindle! What a treat it has been downloading free books and enjoying them on this new toy.

This weekend, we are planning on taking our boat out to Bald Eagle State Park and enjoying a nice day there. We're planning on grilling up some hot dogs, trying our luck at fishing, and possibly enjoying the little beach area.

Do you like magazines? I subscribe to quite a few right now, but my favorites are Southern Lady and Family Life. Southern Lady is a beautiful magazine with lovely (and usually rather expensive-looking)recipes, beautiful southern scenery and so many pretty ads. I love looking through it.

Family Life, on the other hand, is a bare-bones publication put out by the Old Order Amish in Ontario, Canada. It's nothing but articles written by these folks, and ranges in topic from farming, caring for home and children, Christin living, and so forth. I always enjoy reading it, as well.

I also enjoy Ladies' Journal (another Amish publication) Keepers at Home (a Christian Women's magazine) Every Day Food (a free subscription I got...and I haven't found many recipes I want to try yet...) Redbook (my grandma sent me that subscription) and I just started receiving Martha Stewart Living today (another free subscription from...oh, I don't know, somewhere). Hubby just gets Pennsylvania Game News.

I hope that you are doing well, reader. I pray that you are healthy, happy, and fulfilled with wherever it is you are in your life right now. There is joy all around us. Look around and you'll see. Take care of yourself.

Till next time!

Mandy

PS- If anyone has experience with Blogger and could tell me why my post isn't showing up with the paragraphs I put in, please let me know. It takes my nice little paragraphs and smashes them into one big chunk of writing and I'm not sure why it would...or how to fix it. Thanks so much. :)

Finally...a new post

Well friends, it's been quite some time since my last post. Here's what's been happening since my last post: I felt better about 2 days after my last post. I knew I would. I just needed to give it a little time. It's funny how things work like that. April wasn't all that eventful. I turned 33 on the 24th of April...by the 25th, I was sick with a 104 degree fever. For the next week, I endured a very depleting flu. I am still so very glad to be done and over with that. Last week, we went on vacation with our friends Josh and Renee. We visited north western Pennsylvania. Some of the highlights included a trip to Lake Erie, feeding the fish at the Linesville Spillway, having frozen custard at Hank's in Meadville, and spending a lot of time fishing. It was a very nice vacation- relaxing and quiet. Since returning home, I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things. Tomorrow will be Friday and I couldn't be happier. Work is starting to get very busy with it getting close to graduation time, and I will be incredibly glad when it is over. We have put down a deposit on Anderson Coach and Tour vacation and I am so excited to go! Our trip isn't until the end of October, but it doesn't matter- I'm excited! The thought of not having to worry about directions, car troubles, being somewhere at a certain time, having a hotel reservation, and a million other little things, makes this a vacation where I feel like I can truly relax and just enjoy our vacation. No need for worrying! This weekend our little community is having a town-wide yard sale. Hubby and I were originally going to fly the coop, so to speak, in order to stay away from the chaos, but since he found out our friends were coming down, we've decided to stay and check out the bargains. Who knows what we will find? Hopefully not too much, because I'm trying to downsize, not acquire more stuff! This is the first day this week that I haven't taken a nap. I have been so sleepy all week, and it's because I've taken an hour nap on the couch around 6:00, then I am unable to fall asleep at 10:30 or 11:00 and lie awake for a few hours before I can doze off. Below, I'm posting a few pictures from our vacation:

Kinzua Viaduct "Sky Walk"

Picture of the cabin we rented

A view of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon

Another view from the PA Grand Canyon

Entrance to the Leonard Harrison State Park (PA Grand Canyon) views

My hubby and I enjoying some time together

Well, that's just a few of the many many MANY pictures that were taken during the past week. It was an amazing time. I don't think there's anything cooler than being out in God's creation. I love the outdoors! My prayer for you this week, reader, is that God draws you closer to Him. Have a great day! Till the next time we meet (which, hopefully won't be another month) Mandy :)

What a lousy day!

Well friends, I try to stay pretty positive on here- after all, I love being a wife and I love taking care of my hubby! But I have to say- I am in a terrible, rotten, no-good, unhappy, unloved, unwanted, mood tonight.

Do you get days like this, too? When you feel like, "I'll never accomplish anything, no one will ever take notice of me, and if they do, it'll be because I've failed somehow?" I do. Every now and again. I know it will go away- it does. It's a miserable feeling when you're dealing with it though.

At times like this, I just try to pray for love, compassion, and understanding. I don't know that there's much else you can do! lol

So, if you're sitting out there, feeling the same way...I'm sorry! Have a hug on the house and know that it will pass. These negative feelings are temporary and they are untrue.

You ARE loved, you are cared about, and you are important.

So, if you're having a rough day, you're not alone and you'll be feeling better soon. (And if you're not, for heaven's sakes, see your doctor! Life is too short to be sad and miserable feeling for more than a few days at a time. They have medicines that can help!)

So, here's hoping that the next time I post, I'll be feeling more like myself and less like this lump of useless nothingness. lol

Bless all of you, friends. Take care of yourselves!

:)

Mandy

Spring is in the air!

Howdy all-

It has been absolutely BEAUTIFUL here for the past 2 weeks. We've had unseasonably warm temperatures- in the 60's and 70's. The sun has been shining and all the flowers are popping up out of the ground and making the neighborhood cheery. The daffodils are a sunny yellow, hyacinths a blushing rose or pale white, and although the tulips aren't blooming just yet, I expect them to make an appearance soon!

While browsing the internet tonight, I came across restaurant commercial that features my brother-in-law! I'll share the You Tube link so you can view it.
In case you're curious, he's the fella in the blue shirt saying "They always check my order for me, they care about getting it right." Give it a watch and see his television debut! I'm sure Karan, my nephew, will be excited to see his daddy on tv! Eat'n Park

I know I haven't posted in awhile, but to be honest, not much has been going on. I'm getting ready to start my spring cleaning and I may post a few tips on here, if I can think of anything different or relevant.

I guess that's about all for now. Take care, all of you and may God Bless you!

Have a wonderful day!

Mandy

Making the most out of your cookbooks!

Hello there!

It's been a few weeks since I made a post, and I figured I better get going and blog already!

I was looking through my cookbooks the other day, and as I organized them, I realized how MANY I had! How about you? Do you have a shelf (or shelves, in my case) full of cookbooks that are old and forlorn, covered with dust?

I like to pull one out at a time and pick 1 or 2 recipes I'd really like to try. Then, plan them into next week's menu. It's pretty simple, really.

If you haven't amassed an enormous collection of cookbooks, you can still find fun new things to try. Check You Tube for lots and lots of fun cooking videos. Two of my favorite You Tube "chefs" are Betty of "Betty's Kitchen" and Titli of "Titli's Busy Kitchen". Type what I have in quotations into the You Tube serach and you'll pull up lots of neat things.

Betty's Kitchen is great for you ladies (or gents) who don't have a lot of kitchen experience. She's really thorough in explaining each step. (Don't despair if you're a seasoned veteran- she posts the recipe at the bottom of each video and you can just use that, if you'd rather!) I think you'll really like her channel. "Lazy Day Lasagna" is one of our favorite casseroles that came courtesy of her.

Titli's Busy Kitchen is filled with lots of dishes from all around the globe! This lovely lady is from the UK, but she's traveled all over and makes many different dishes (some I'd never heard of before!) She also has a website that has lots of helpful conversions. Her sense of humor is fun and unique. Just tonight I made "Baked Courgettes (Zucchini) with Feta" and it was very very good!

So, that's my tip for today- use your cookbooks! Make those investments actually pay you back with delicious meals!

If you don't have many cookbooks, try using the web to find recipes.

Now, off topic, let's see. I hope that you're having a good day. If you're in an area of the country that's been plagued by nasty storms and tornadoes, I've been praying for you.

I want you to know that though we may never have met, I hope you feel some kind of care radiating out of this blog. I care about you and so do so many others. Reader, you are blessed because our awesome God loves and cares about you, too. He's actively pursuing you, you know. Have you noticed? :) He loves you!!

God's love and pull for you are so strong that it knows no bounds. He reaches out to you every minute of every day and is constantly searching for his lost sheep. His heart breaks when they turn away, but He doesn't give up on them. No matter what has happened in your life, or what will happen in the future, there's never a bad or a wrong time to turn to Jesus. He is here for you. All the time, 24/7, 365. No problem too big, no worry too small. He's here for you. Just ask.

And there's the Holy Spirit at work, folks. That paragraph flew off of my fingers. I didn't even have to think about writing it. It practically wrote itself. If you look at it, it's not really even the same writing style. Anyway, I digress.

My point was trying to be that I care about you and I hope you're all having a good week. Share any thoughts you'd like with me below. I'd love to know what's on your mind.

Have a great day and God bless you!

Mandy

A thought that won't leave me alone...

If, as a Christian, I am only able to get one thing right, I hope that it's to love everyone I meet to the best of my ability.

Without love, everything else seems pretty pointless.


That's all for right now. I just felt a very strong urge to write that down.

I hope you are having a marvelous day. I pray that you are finding love, comfort, and peace in your life today.

:)

Mandy

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hello to one and all and a very Happy Valentine's Day to you!

Do you celebrate this holiday? If so, what do you do that makes it special?

In this household, we keep things simple. We exchange cards and do something small and inexpensive to let the other know how much we care for them. I baked peanut butter cookies for my husband, put them in a cute container, and then put some assorted conversation hearts on top of the container to dress it up a bit.

If he was home, I'm sure I'd make us a special dinner, but since he's working, it's just a regular old dinner for me tonight.

Actually, I was trying to use up some of the stuff in the fridge, freezer, and pantry, so I kind of just came up with dinner on a whim tonight. I started with 3 Italian sausage links, added in a decent sized onion, roughly chopped, and let that brown. Next, I stirred in a 16 oz can of diced tomatoes, added some water, and finally put some quick cooking rice into the pot. When the rice was fully cooked, I stirred in Cajun seasoning and finally added some uncooked shrimp that had been lurking in the freezer. It turned into a gumbo-like skillet meal. Not too bad, for just throwing stuff in on the fly! lol

Do you ever feel helpless about certain situations? I know I sure do. I keep turning it over to God, but I'm afraid there isn't much progress being made. I pray that things will turn around soon. I'm not terribly worried- God knows what He's doing and it's not my job to be like, "Hey, hurry it up already!" lol He'll do things in His own time. Humans are ridiculously impatient, aren't we?

Have you prepared your income tax return yet? My husband does ours every year with the aid of the H&R Block tax software. Our refund should be in our account shortly. Woohoo!

I'm planning a post on utilizing your cookbooks soon- using them, when it's time to get rid of them, etc. I'm looking forward to it!

Happy Valentine's Day to you. I sincerely hope that someone has taken the time to tell you how important you are to them. You are important, and you are loved! Have a great day!

May God Bless you!