Mandii's Muse

Did you know that today starts Lent? (*I'm not Catholic, but still like that challenge of giving something up!)  I usually give up something like pop or sweets, and while I think I am still going to do that, I have a different plan in mind. First of all, our Women of Faith group is going to be completing a 40 day devotional on the Bible App. It gives us a short devotional, a piece of Scripture to read, and then a question prompt for us to discuss. The best part of it, is that is all through the app, so we can complete the days reading at our own pace. I am pretty excited for this! One thing that I have decided to do for Lent is to commit to working out every day except Sunday's. I know this will be a struggle, I know I'm going to have to get up early, but I know it will be worth it in the end. Summer is coming, ya'll! I have some videos already prepped on YouTube, and I bought some exercise bands and sliders I will use as well! I'm giving myself a rest day on Su...

My mom has gifted me the Pioneer Woman's cookbooks for the past several Christmases. I can typically be found Saturday mornings on my couch at 10:00 watching her show. I don't think I've ever said "I don't think I'll like that" with one of her recipes. Instead I'm usually drooling over what she is cooking. Her cookbooks are just fantastic. They are step by step, which I LOVE because you know exactly what you dish should look like at a certain point. I've made many things of hers, and they never disappoint. This dish came out of one of her very first cookbooks. I had to tweak it a little bit because I didn't have the ingredients to make homemade pesto, but I had a jar of prepared on hand. It was a simple swap, and one that you can easily do yourself! Let me know if you like this recipe card format. It might be easier for you to read while you are cooking! I served mine with a piece of breaded chicken, but grilled chicken with this would be abs...

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great week and has something fun planned for this weekend. This week was pretty good. Anytime your Monday starts off with a 2 hour delay, it is always good. We had some crazy wind in our area Sunday night and into Monday morning, so lots of trees were down and people without power. Somehow we managed to keep our power, and have limbs down and no trees. Thank God! Another favorite of this week was getting our Women of Faith group together. I so, so, so look forward to these get togethers. We had a great discussion about our fear and faith. It is such an amazing feeling to be surrounded by like minded women, and I strongly encourage you to find your faith tribe. So far we’ve made plans to do a 40 day devotional on the Bible app for Lent. Another favorite has been that I have consistently stuck with reading my Bible. I have tried in previous years and fizzled out, but I have remained consistent so far. Now that I am in the book of Leviticus I have b...

I thought I would share some of my recent dinners with you! Sometimes finding something for dinner can be a chore! I mean how many times has your family asked “what’s for dinner?” You have no idea, and end up with a grumpy family because no one got what they wanted! So here’s a glimpse of what I’ve been eating lately! Tacos are my love language, so I try to have any type of Mexican food once every two weeks or so.   Soup is always great for winter, and while I was sick, this potato soup was a lifesaver for my throat and head.   This is a recreation of a restaurant item! We call it a chicken wedge-a, but it is simply a flatbread with cheese and chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, fries, and Italian dressing. We love it!  A staple in any house is fried chicken! We have ours with a baked potato, broccoli, and coleslaw! I hope this gives you some ideas for dinner! If you want recipes for anything, leave me a comment, and I will make sure to post one for you!...

I hope everyone had a nice long weekend. Mine was just ok, nothing too spectacular. On Monday of last week, I came home with a scratchy throat, and my voice was starting to go. When I woke up on Tuesday, I could hardly swallow, and had no voice. I went to Urgent Care, and while I tested negative for strep, I did have a bad case of laryngitis. They put me on steroids, and I just kept drinking tea. My voice still wasn't back on Wednesday, and I developed a cough and runny nose in the meantime. By Thursday my voice came back a little bit, so I pulled myself together to go to a concert that I had bought tickets for. My mom, aunt, and myself are really big Karen Carpenter fans. A small theater was putting on a tribute show, so we spent Valentine's Day listening to her. It was absolutely fantastic! Her show was approved by Richard Carpenter, and she took us along on a musical journey throughout their career. There was a lot of TV watching while I was sick, so watching my Blue De...

I meant to post this last week, but never did! So you are getting to see it today! This is just a little "what's up" on this Wednesday! 1. What I’m Eating this Week: I am thinking some soup, pasta, and baked chicken with a baked potato! 2. What I’m Reminiscing About: It has to be my recent experience at the Duke game , and all my trips to North Carolina to Cameron Indoor. I absolutely love basketball season! 3. What I’m Loving: I’m loving all the cozy winter wear I get to wear! Now, it doesn’t have to be below freezing, but I’m enjoying the sweaters, cozy robe, and warm fuzzy pajamas I get to wear. 4. What I’ve Been Up To: Not much! Just working, doing the usual grocery shopping/Costco runs, family time I get to have! 5. What I’m Dreading: I think I say this every single time, but I dread the Winter to Summer clothes switch over! It is such a chore that I dread every season. 6.  What I’m Working On: I’m working on upcoming blog posts for you! I’m a...

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! It was nice to be above freezing, and see the sunshine for a little bit! Did your team win the SuperBowl? Here's a little glimpse into my weekend!  My mom made this delicious chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. It was as good as it looks, and we can't wait to eat some after dinner tonight again!  Can you tell who we were rooting for based on our table decor? We had meatball sliders, kielbasa, mini tacos, spinach/artichoke dip, pimento cheese, and potato salad. Yummy!  Since it was going to be nice most of the weekend, my dad was nice enough to wash my car off at the car wash.   I have been doing a #girlreadyourbible challenge for February, in addition to my normal daily readings. I'm doing the book of Philippians. Starting off this week right with a Patriots win on Sunday, and hopefully a Duke win on Tuesday! How was your weekend? Leave me a comment and let me know!