If you are here, thank you

 My blog is my little corner of the web where I write about my family and home - the two most important things to me.  Its not meant as an example of "how to do it", rather a place to share my family's life with whomever cares to read about it.  For that reason, you will notice it is not monetized or sponsored in any way.  I love all of the positive comments I get and I love following other blogs, too! 

So if you are here in my little corner of the world, cheering me on and celebrating life with me, thank you! You will likely have noticed that the focus of my posts have shifted as my life has. I think its interesting to write about how a family changes over the years, and that's the title of this blog after all.  I also write a blog about my thoughts at It's Just Me, Gina, where I do a fair amount of rambling.  Read along if you like, don't if you don't want to.  I am thankful to have had a platform to journal about my life for all these years.

Warmly,

Gina

Monday menus #106

Shutterfly keeps sending me freebies, so I oblige them. 

A beautiful photo that Scout took years ago on a campout became a mousepad for my shared desk at work.  When I'm not there, my hope is that my co-workers feel inspired by it as well!

Monday - kitchen closed {freebie chicken nuggets and kale salad from Chik-Fil-A!}

Tuesday - Green Curry Pasta with Shrimp and Spinach {telehealth appt.}

Wednesday - Italian Chicken and Rice (two meals), green beans {meet with dietician}

Thursday - Brisket Salad with spring mix, purple onion, tomato, jalapenos, pickles, and lo-cal Ranch

Friday - Eat out {Scout moving to new apartment!}

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed  {Happy Birthday, Firstborn!}

Gina

5 thing Friday - deer, books, thrifting, sink project, shoes

 Its very hard to see below, but those are a dozen deer staring me down from a neighbor's yard while I was on my walk.  That's a big nope for me, so I turned around.  Did you know that whitetail deer may actually chase you? At Highlands, they would snort and stamp and you knew to give them a wide clearance.

In NW Austin where the population of deer are so high, they are no longer afraid of humans and have acted aggressively, chasing joggers!  I would rather take the avoidance tack.

After my dentist appointment, I took myself to Half Price Books and got three new reads and a puzzle, then ate a KFC chicken sammie in my car while I watched a Brene Brown video.

Conveniently located next door is a Goodwill, so I stopped in and found this pretty Coldwater Creek long sleeve blouse for $6.  A kinda fun day.

The situation under the kitchen sink.  Not terrible, but I have wanted one of those vinyl cabinet liners for a while now.  There is some shelf liner down there, but any water spills can still cause problems (ask me how I know).

The vinyl liner has a lip to hold spills in and is the exact size of the space.

I pulled everything out of the cabinet and gave it a wipe down.  I'm just going to leave the shelf liner in place as the subfloor to this cabinet is warped and ugly.  Some of the things got tossed or went to live elsewhere.

Then I placed the new liner inside, with all of the stuff I use often. Neat! Literally.

Someone take my credit card away.

I ordered myself THREE pair of shoes this month.  One pair to replace the disintegrating ones.  Then two more pair of casual shoes to help me with outfits I already own.  The thing with my foot (bursitis?) is still happening, so comfortable well-supportive shoes are a must. Its a good thing I worked some overtime over the holidays.  That, and being so darn cute.  Ha!

Gina

Monday menus #105

 On New Year's Eve, I decided that it was as good a day as any to take down the Christmas decor.  I got everything organized and stored, house cleaned and smelling nice, then took myself to get Chinese take-out.  I would say it was a pretty good New Year's Eve.

And then on New Year's Day, I worked, and it was quite pleasant.  We are off to a great start at Camp Rustown - just gotta keep our heads up and our eyes straight forward.

Monday - kitchen closed

Tuesday - 5 Ingredient Cranberry Chicken, (freezer) mashed potatoes, salad

Wednesday - Taco Rice Bowls {dentist appt.}

Thursday - Steak for One, zucchini

Friday - Rotisserie Seasoned Chicken Breast Strips over chopped salad {payday}

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed

Gina

5 thing Friday - Mesmerica XL, Boomer, hearts, winter prep, puzzle progress

 The week before Christmas I took myself to a show at the Bob Bullock Museum in Austin:

This was the screensaver as we were seated - you wore 3D glasses for the show and couldn't take photos.  I don't know how anyone would anyway - it was mesmerizing.  I went to a late show and the garage parking was free.  If you are in Austin, I highly recommend!

I haven't been here in years - it was one of the field trip locations I took my kids to in the summer.

I had zero issues with traffic making my way downtown, parked easily, and had a good time - all solo.

The therapy dog that comes to see us once a month or so on Mondays has his own name badge WITH an award pin.  He goes directly to you and leans against you for pets and love.  We love on him for about 20 minutes then pass the lint roller around.  Worth it.

After I put Christmas up, I did a tiny bit of purging.  These vintage-y glass hearts were from Pottery Barn from at least 20 years ago.  They will find a new home with The Girl.  Six was our lucky number!

I noticed this flap of gutter guard about to fall and I sincerely hope its not because a squirrel decided to nest in the gutter.  It is on my Friday list of things to deal with.  I got the faucet covers put on and I think the plants are safe for now.  Winter usually begins for us in January.

Slow progress on the puzzle, but there's no deadline.  I will look for smaller ones at Goodwill next time I go, but this one was a gift from Scout and I turn off my mind and listen to music while I work on it.  So much better than doom scrolling!

Happy Weekend,

Gina

Monday menus #104

I don't do a lot of dressing up, so I wore some old heels (20+ yrs) to church on Christmas Eve.  Throughout the service I kept noticing black gravely debris all over the floor beneath me - more and more of it, until just before time to stand for communion I discovered that the soles of my shoes were literally disintegrating!

Even with the missing pieces I was able to hobble up to the altar - thank goodness I was seated up near the front - and when seated again, I gently and nonchalantly scooshed the pieces of my shoes under my pew.

Maybe I was being divinely inspired to laugh at myself instead of crying!

Monday - kitchen closed

Tuesday - Pulled Pork Sweet Potato, salad {on call}

Wednesday - Crockpot Green Curry Chicken, rice, broccoli {work 'til 3 p.m., then on-call}

Thursday - Crispy Crusted Tilapia, twice baked potato, salad {telehealth appt., take Christmas decor down}

Friday - Turkey Pasta Soup {grocery shop}

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed

Gina

Christmas 2024, in brief

Christmas was everything I wanted it to be.

Luminarias lining the walkway to the front of the church

A beautiful service that filled me with hope

The tree ready to welcome my peeps

Time spent together as a family

Scout

Firstborn

Bubbie

The Girl and Teddy

A peaceful, loving day full of relaxation, good food, time together.

A beautiful ending to the year!

Gina