October Daybook

 For Today: October 12, 2020

Looking out my window...it's a beautiful Fall day! The colors are gorgeous

I am thinking...about our recent trip to The White Mountains with Andrew and Charles. Here we are at The Flume Gorge.

I am thankful...that I've been leading choreographed dances at church. 

One of my favorite things...is going for walks with my friends. This was a spur of the moment nature walk with my friends Chris and Ann.

I am creating....two worship dances right now - Ever Be (which we are doing this Sunday) and The Blessing. The Blessing has been especially cool because there are four of us choreographing different parts.

I am wearing....black leggings, a white shirt with black hearts on it, and a sweatshirt. I'm going to dance class soon.

I am reading.... You Carried Me: A Daughter's Memoir by Melissa Ohden. It's about a woman who survives an abortion and was given up for adoption. She finds this out in her teen years, and later meets her birth mother. Good book!

I am watching...historical movies with Sophie. Last night we watched Hidden Figures. I haven't been watching as much YouTube lately - which is good. We've also been watching the series Once Upon a Time together some evenings.

I am listening to... monthly playlists I create on Spotify. I've had the free trial before, but I finally got a subscription and I'm so glad I did! This morning I listened to Bethel Music instrumental worship during my quiet time.

I am hoping...to start a new organizing job next week. I've already been given partial payment for it, and I'm looking forward to getting started.

I am learning....a lot from Beth moore at a weekly woman's bible study. 

In the kitchen...last week I made lasagna. I put the leftovers in small portions in the freezer for quick lunches or dinners. I did the same thing with the banana bread I made recently. The fall weather is making me crave soup, so today I made chicken noodle. Not my favorite soup, but Sophie requested it, and it turned out great!

In the school room...Sophie's been taking live online classes on Outschool. She is currently taking Essay Writing and Creative Fall Crafts, and she will be starting a Diary of Anne Frank book club soon. We've also been getting out and doing as many field trips as we can this year. Last month, Andrew, Sophie and I enjoyed going to the Currier Art Museum.

In my garden...I had a good year. I got tons of tomatoes, cucumbers, and hot peppers! The onions and green peppers didn't do so well - I only got a few. This week I'm going to clean out the beds. I saw lots of bunnies around the garden, too!

A moment from my day...Sophie and I went for a long walk around Keene today.

April Daybook

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For Today: April 30,2020

Looking out my window....the rain is coming down hard!

I am thinking...about how God never leaves us. I am always in relationship with God because of what Jesus did. It's my fellowship with Him that can get disrupted.

I am thankful...that He keeps drawing me close. He loves me so much!

One of my favorite things...is Ballet class! I'm thankful that since the Covid19 quarantine we've been able to switch to online classes.

I am creating...more bullet journal pages:

I am wearing...black leggings, purple top, and long gray sweater

I am reading...the Bible with my son, Christian. We are in the book of Jeremiah now.

I have been watching... Wife Swap and Bringing Up Bates on Amazon. I also saw two good movies lately: I Still Believe-Jeremy Camp's story, and The Space Between Us-a sci-fi love story.

I am hoping...that we can see our family for Sophie's birthday next week. She has been home for over a month because of the quarantine! My baby is turning 15!

I am learning...how to use Wordpress (I switched from Blogger)

In my kitchen...I have been making shrimp stir-fry, granola, sourdough bread, and black bean brownies ( I tweak the recipe-I use 1/2 cup honey, 1 tes vanilla, 1 tes baking powder, and 1 cup of chocolate chips)

In the school room... we are trying something new. Sophie is now doing English and algebra on Mon/Wed/Fri, and all other subjects on Tues/Thurs (Korean, history, health, PE, music. and geography) On Tues or Thurs she does another algebra lesson, so that she has four days of it. Over the week-end she also does some music and PE. So far she likes the change.

In my garden...I'm going to plant: green peppers, jalapenos, zucchini, parsley, Roma tomato, another tomato, cucumbers, cilantro, and green onion. I'm planning to get the beds ready next week.

A moment from my day

I haven't been able to see my older kid's for the last couple months, so on Sunday nights we've been playing games on Zoom.

Homemade cleaners and more

 Glass cleaner- Mix 1/4 cup vinegar, 1 T cornstartch and 2 cups hot water in a spay bottle. Make sure to shake well each time before using. I got the recipe here.

All-purpose cleaner- Put 1/4 cup castile soap, 3 cups of water, and 10 drops of tea tree oil or lemon essential oil into a spray bottle. Another one I've been making lately is: Orange Vinegar Cleaner.

Laundry detergent-I've used this homemade laundry detergent for years. Sometimes I do use a cheap dollar store detergent to wash my dish cloths, rags and towels.

Fabric softener- I put 1/4 cup vinegar in every wash, and dryer balls with a few drops of lavender or orange essential oils.

Napkins-My daughter gave me a number of large cloth napkins, so I cut them in fours and sewed around the edges. I've also made my own, which was very easy. We use these every day; after use we put them in a bucket under the sink to wash with towels.

Paper towels-We use dishcloths and rags. I also had a set of old terry cloth sheets that I cut up into a bunch of squares. I've saved so much money by not buying napkins and paper towels!

Toilet bowl cleaner-I take two seconds once a day to spray my homemade all-purpose cleaner into the toilet and give it a swish.

Shower cleaner- I use my homemade all purpose cleaner, and wipe or squeegee often.

Drinking glasses-Throughout the years we've broken so many glasses! For a while we've been using mason jars and recycled jars.

Taco seasoning-here is my recipe.

Light brown sugar-With a fork, mix 1 tablespoon molasses into 1 cup of white sugar. Use 2 tablespoons molasses for dark brown sugar. This is so easy, and molasses lasts a long time.

Buttermilk- stir 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar into 1 cup of milk ( I use almond milk). Let sit for 5 minutes. It's that easy!

Taco Seasoning Recipe

 Mix together all ingredients in a glass jar:

• 4 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes *optional
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian seasoning
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon white flour

Use 2 tablespoons per lb of meat.