weekly ramblings – Believe in the Magic Traci Diary

Freezer Clean Out

So today, I cleaned out and organized my fridge’s freezer. Since I started my master’s program, I needed to ensure I had ready meals when I went back to school in a month. With the rising food price, I am happy I have meat ready to go so I can feed my family.

I’ve had my food saver for almost a year but had never figured out how to use it. Now that I’ve finally mastered using it, I’m food-saving everything. My favorite gluten-free bakery had donuts this week. I got some and put them in the food saver for later. It will be nice to have some when my work has a donut day. I’ll be able to bring in my own and not feel left out.

When I went grocery shopping today, I discovered that some cheaper steak pieces were selling for $5.49 a pound. I could not pass that up. So I got them and then marinaded them. Hey, you won’t know the difference with a good marinade. (Just an FYI: I only used the first marinade on the steak.) My family is happy because they know we will have steak on the menu next week.

I bought 3 packages of steak. Marinaded them and then used the food saver on them. As I said, my family will have one of those packages next week. It’s nice to have that meat ready to go in the freezer.

Some of the other things I did besides marinade steak and freezing donuts is I took some chicken legs and marinaded them with a bottle of zesty Italian dressing. This will be another quick protein for my family. The package of chicken legs was 7 something, and the bottle of dressing was around $1.50. So for $4ish, I will have a protein for the meal.

I also organized my freezer to see what I had for future dinners. It’ll be easier to meal plan knowing what I have in the freezer. Next up will be the pantry. But that will be for another day. Maybe when I need to step away from my studying.

So what did you do today?

Weekly Ramblings | July 2, 2022

So I started a thing yesterday. For the past 10 years, I’ve put off returning to school for my master’s degree. The boys were young. I worked full time. Writing IEPs takes too much time. Those were all of my excuses.

Now I’ve taken away one of those obstacles. The boys are teenagers. One has graduated from high school, so I can take that excuse away from my reasoning.

Yesterday I began my master’s degree. Instead of going to a brick-and-mortar school, I’m doing it online at Western Governor University. It’s self-paced, so I don’t have to go to an actual class. I can sit down for half an hour at a time to complete some of the work. (My attention span is small. If I tell myself, “You have to work for half an hour,” then I will. If I’m truly into the material, I won’t move for a few hours. Movement breaks will allow me to reflect on what I’ve learned from my reading or the video I watched.)

So what is my major? I’m getting a master’s degree in science in the area of Learning Experience Design (LXD) and educational teaching, K-12. I will be able to create a learning experience for students that will take into account their needs. I’m also considering getting the adult portion also. That way I can do professional development for teachers.

I’m both excited and scared but know I can do it. Thank you for reading about my newest endeavor.

Stay kind!

Have a magical day,
Traci

March 12, 2020

2 years ago, it was a typical Thursday. It was the last day of the quarter. The next day was supposed to be a teacher’s workday. Spring break was in 2 weeks.

Right before car rider duty, I get word that schools were going to be closed to flatten the curve. I can remember it was a beautiful day outside.

The next day, we came in for the teacher’s workday. Meetings were scheduled to address how we were going to teach the students while they were at home. Some parents opted to do it on the computer while others opted to do it on paper and pencil. Packets were made. I can even remember which drawer I placed them in so I could help give them to the students I serviced.

Monday was a day I will never forget. A few students came in for their last day. For some, it would be 7 or 11 months until they entered a school building for others it was going to be almost a year and a half.

Parents were coming in to get supplies or the paper packets. No one knew what was going to happen next.

The school district I teach in had already had its world turned upside down when the tornado ripped through that previous May. In less than a year, more trauma was created in those young lives.

I was dealing with my own trauma at the same time. I had just lost my mom 5 months prior. As I was beginning to feel some sort of healing, my life was flipped upside down.

So when you say it’s been 2 years, for me it’s been much longer since my life was “normal.”

Oh, and I may have had Covid that February before the shutdown. I remember being gone for over a week and when I came back one of my students said to me, “Did you have the coronavirus?”

My reply was “no,” as I continued to have coughing attacks until the shutdown.

Weekly Ramblings – November 8, 2015

I usually do the weekly ramblings on Saturdays. This week I’ve decided to do this blog post on Saturdays.

This week I’ve posted three recipes for the Countdown for Thanksgiving series.

Creamy Mac and Cheese is a new favorite of ours. It’s a delicious side dish or even as a main dish for a meatless Monday.
Creamy Fruit Salad is a favorite of mine. It’s my own version of a salad from a local meat market.
Makes It’s Own Gravy Turkey Breast and Easy Gravy is a main dish my mother-in-law raved about for a week after I served it to her.

Makes It Own Gravy Turkey Breast (Pics deleted by accident) — Makes It Own Gravy Turkey Breast (Pics deleted by accident.)

I also reposted my Aunt Janet’s Pecan Cookies this week.

The boys and I have started what the Imaginative One calls the proto-types of the Christmas baking. On Friday night, we made peanut butter blossoms. The batch is almost gone because it’s one cookie we can’t can’t stop at one.

Yesterday Wee One and I tried out a candy recipe. It’s an easy two ingredient recipe. The candy is also delicious.

On my Timewarp today, I found a recipe I posted 6 years ago for a pumpkin spice cream cheese. After church today, I went and got the missing ingredient for the recipe. I had 3 of the 4 ingredients at the house. I will posting the recipe later this week. It’s absolutely delicious.

This morning I also made Honey Vanilla Creamer for my coffee. It’s absolutely delicious. It’s another recipe I’ll share in the next couple of weeks.

I haven’t forgotten my promise of a giveaway after the 31 day challenge. The giveaway prize has been bought. However, I am going to delay the challenge until after the holiday mailing season. The giveaway will be in January.

I’ll see you tomorrow with our weekly menu!

Happy eating,

Traci

Peanut butter blossom time

This week we are getting ready for the Christmas baking season. Last night, we made peanut butter blossoms. A treat made usually only during Christmas.

Happy Eating,
Traci

Weekly Ramblings – Halloween 2015 – Write 31 Wrap Up

Today is the last day of the Write 31 challenge. I can’t believe it’s over. During the challenge, I have cooked a lot of meals and desserts in the crockpot. It’s been a fun experience. In fact, as I am typing there is chicken and hamburger meat cooking for later meals.

I’m going to continue cooking dinners in the crock pot. During the month, it’s been a much easier way to get dinner on the table which is much less stress on my part. One thing I would love to do is more freezer kits and share them with you.

My 31 day post is going to be attached to a page later this week so you can still refer to it later. I’m also going to provide printable recipes. I’ve already put some of the recipes on my Google drive. Once I get done with that, I’ll provide you with a link to all of the recipes. 🙂

Here is a list of some of my new and some old blogs that feature crock pot meals. I’ve shared a few of them on my menu plan Monday blog posts.

Here are 23 of the recipes I’ve shared over the course of the last 31 days.