A sad day and an outfit

Today we had to put one of our dear furry sweethearts to sleep. It made me so very sad. His name was Dudley (named after Dudley Dursley) and he was the sweetest, most wonderful, laid back cat you've ever met. Out of everyone in the family my oldest daughter (Rhonda) and I had the hardest time, but we're doing much better now. I'm going shopping with my mother tomorrow and I'm going to get a cat ornament with his name on it for the tree.

Yesterday, Rhonda had her honor roll assembly. She's in 7th grade, taking two high school classes, and got one B (in French). Very proud of her! I had been wearing my jeans for cleaning that morning, but made the choice to change before going to the assembly.

I have a slightly vintage style. It would be more vintage if I could actually fit into some of the actual vintage clothing I own. I usually dress modern with vintage inspiration and just about everything I own come from the thrift store (I'm a thrift store junkie. I *love* it!) When I make the choice to do my hair and wear make up (which I am trying to do more of...on both accounts), I try to do it with a bit of vintage flair also. Here's what I wore yesterday.

 Red sweater that has a small zipper at the back at the neck, large "pearl" earrings

 Skirt detail, Mary Jane type shoes, mess in the background.

Hair detail

Jumping on the Christmas Train

I realize that in the blogging world, holiday crafts, decor, and food come way earlier than the holiday or even the month that the holiday occurs. It's understandable. Much like retail, you have to be ahead of the game when it comes to preparing for seasons or holidays. So, I apologize for bringing you Christmas things so late! Hopefully you'll still enjoy and perhaps draw some inspiration!

First up: Grinch Mousse!

Way back in October, I found this recipe in a Woman's World magazine and made it for the kids. It was pretty darn tasty and I thought I'd like to make it again. Yesterday, How the Grinch Stole Christmas was on, so I thought I'd make it as a special treat for the kids to enjoy while they watched this seasonal favorite. While mixing up the mousse I had the idea to color it green and add yellow M&M eyes (thank goodness there was Halloween candy lying around! All of my candy that is out is red and green now!), making it Grinch Mousse! The other change I made was to use eggnog in place of the milk which gave it a faint eggnog taste. All in all, the kids really enjoyed it!

Here's how to make your own Grinch Mousse (How the Grinch Stole Christmas will be on again Sunday, December 2 on ABC Family)

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk or cream (or eggnog)

1 small container (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed

50 drops of green food color (or enough to reach your desired shade of green)
Yellow M&M's (I had to use what I had so it was a combination of regular and peanut. The photo shows peanut)

Beat cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer until fully smooth.  Slowly add powdered sugar, then milk (or cream).   Beat about 1 minute on medium to medium-high speed.  Fold cool whip into cream cheese mixture, and stir until fully combined. Add food coloring until the mixture is a uniform color. Add the eyes and you're done!

Choices

Yesterday I mentioned a new to me blog where I had read an article that really stuck with me. Today, I'm going to share it. Perhaps it will motivate someone else :)

The blog is The Glamorous Housewife. Way back in 2009, Bethany (The Glamorous Housewife), made this post. In it, she references this post by Super Kawaii Mama. Candice's article is about why women let themselves go and Bethany's is about what you can do to stop. Both are excellent reading and I recommend them, especially if you happen to be a woman who has let themselves go. And if you are one of them, don't be embarrassed about it. I think the majority of women have been there. I know I have. In fact, it's something I'm still working on. And let's not even talk about the men!

What really stuck with me, though, was something Bethany said about making choices. Most of us have been told at some point "you have a choice." It's true, though I've never really thought about my mundane activities in that way before. But after reading the post I started to. And I was amazed about how much time I waste with poor choices. Okay, not really amazed. I know I make poor choices, but I didn't really consciously realize I was making a choice. Simplistic? Probably. But  I never had thought about my reading facebook was choosing not to vacuum. Or that watching tv was choosing not to mop my kitchen floor. I didn't say to myself "Self, you have a choice. You can play a game on the computer or you can fold the clothes in the dryer." I will admit though, that I just did what was easy, because quite frankly, I'm fairly lazy. It's easy to procrastinate. Or do things half way so that it's "mostly" done and I'll "come back to it." It's easy to put on a pair of jeans instead of dressing nicely. To just go to bed instead of setting my hair. To sleep a little extra instead of getting up and making my kids a good breakfast (they eat, it's just usually cereal. Which they like, but still).

This week I'm making a real effort to make everything a choice and hopefully, make the right ones!

Hello and welcome to my blog.

Blogging is something I've been wanting to do for quite some time now. I've even started a few that have fizzled after days, weeks, or months. However, yesterday I was reading a new to me blog and something I read really stuck with me. It's not new advice, but I guess it came along at just the right time. I will share that blog (and the post) tomorrow. Today though, is Monday! And you know what that means! That's right! It's time for Menu Plan Monday, hosted by orgjunkie.

I really struggled with my menu this week. Nothing really sounded good to me. This menu is pretty thrown together, but I think the family will enjoy it. If not, there's always peanut butter and jelly! On to the menu!

Monday-Potato soup, salad, biscuits

Tuesday-Comforting Cube Steaks, mashed potatoes, corn

Wednesday-Chicken Paprika, rice, peas

Thursday-Beef stew, biscuits

Friday-Out (date night)

Saturday-Friend's house

Sunday-Stuffed pork chops, green beans, sweet potato fries, peppermint ice cream with sugar cookies

For more menu planning ideas, visit here!