Facebook sent me a message that I haven’t posted anything in a while. Talk about pressure!

It’s hard to complain that celebrations have kept you so busy the past two months that you need a break, but…that’s what I’m sayin’. Holidays, birthdays and the odd celebration peppered in are behind me now and I feel so free.

It’s February…I’m free!

So I devised yet another exercise plan. I need adventure so I am now on a kick to walk the five miles it takes to do a loop up near Lake Michigan and back. The first free day I had was about 24 degrees and windy. Wahhhh! It is winter. But I walked an hour of that trip – 30 minutes in and back. It’s a start!

I’m a warrior not a weenie!

Then I did do the 5-mile walk by lake. That is a long walk. I am no stranger to walking, although it has been a few months, but phew! Then…the weather was bitter and windy so no walking. Then I have had sick kids with me so no walking. Now, I finally am getting my snowfall, which took away my walk again. There are no sidewalks and the snow piles are so big that I would need to walk in the road. Not safe, so no walk again.

What do you do if you can’t walk? Eat!

I made “Jill’s Graham Streusel Cake” and boy did we love that. My kids are the world’s pickiest eaters, even with sweets, and they all loved this cake. It’s a great dessert or breakfast treat. Stay tuned for my cookbook…it’s in there.

Then, on a particularly snowy day, I made use of my new oil-less fryer and made homemade french fries.

Nothing like skin-on homemade fries.

I have a few books going on at the moment. Here’s my reading list:

I love reading cookbooks and I love home cooks and their recipes and food ideas, especially from our grandmas.

I also love desserts from a mix.

But I do have some beef with cookbooks.

In this day and age, it is not acceptable to have a cookbook that does not have a picture for each food you share a recipe for. I need a picture with a recipe or I tend to skip by the recipe. And I find it especially unacceptable for a cookbook published by a company that employs people to cook all day, to not have a picture. It’s your job. That’s what your company does. It’s taking me forever but my cookbook will have a photo for each recipe, and sometimes there are a few photos. Vote for me for President.

Then there are the business books. I recently finished one by Joy Mangano, the Miracle Mop inventor. I am now working on this one by Lori Greiner.

I love business books.

Chip Gaines cracks me up. I am in the beginning of his book and he is a lot of fun. I like people who follow the beat of their own drummer.

I absolutely love children’s fiction and have a stash of my own, that has nothing to do with my kids. I have pulled this book out of my daughter’s pile and am getting ready to read it.

Then, there is this…

Chickens.

For some reason, the idea of raising chickens scares me more than the idea of raising kids did. I felt that I needed a primer course, so I am working my way through this book. Currently, I am still opting for raising chickens, but a much more manageable amount than my original carefree “bring it” amount. I think I will start slow.

My “make a moment” suggestion for you is to get out there and enjoy the snow, beyond shoveling. Nighttime is especially wonderful if you can get out at that time. It’s so quiet and peaceful. The breaths that you take into your lungs are so cleansing. If you do not have snow, then I suspect it is for a reason, so get out there and enjoy the fact that you don’t have to live with snow.

Oh, and Happy Valentine’s Day, my BFF’s! Share some love with the people who mean the world to you – family, friends, neighbors and your BFF’s.

P.S. Did you notice? No sky pics!