{"id":17650,"date":"2017-02-07T09:45:55","date_gmt":"2017-02-07T15:45:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/?p=17650"},"modified":"2026-01-21T08:09:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T14:09:51","slug":"no-place-like-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/2017\/02\/07\/no-place-like-home\/","title":{"rendered":"If Kisses Were Snowflakes (& More Fun Stuff)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"If
[scroll to the bottom of this post to download your free “If Kisses Were Snowflakes” poster]<\/figcaption><\/figure>We made it back to Tyler Sunday after a two-week road trip to Florida<\/strong>. Truly, there is no place like home! And we were all so grateful to pull into our own driveway.<\/p>\n

Getting locked out of our house<\/h2>\n

Unfortunately, we had to stand outside for about 45 minutes when we first got back, because our son had locked all the deadbolts before he left for church, and we didn’t have a key. So we looked wistfully through the windows. And danced in place, wishing for a restroom. Were we ever glad when he made it home and we could finally go inside!<\/p>\n

\"There's<\/p>\n

Sorting through a pile of mail (& FREE books from My Reader Rewards<\/a>)<\/h2>\n

There was a ton of mail waiting for us<\/strong> on Dad’s desk. Including — my favorite — a box full of books.<\/p>\n

\"earn<\/a><\/p>\n

Thanks to My Reader Rewards<\/a>, all six of these titles were FREE<\/strong>. I love being a rewards member. It costs nothing to join the program, and you can earn free books in lots different genres. As you can see in the photo above, I tend to gravitate toward marriage and parenting titles, but they also offer children’s books, Bibles, Christian novels, and even audio books.<\/strong> You can earn a FREE book with as few as 15 points, and you never even have to pay shipping and handling! And here’s a nice bonus! If you follow this link<\/a> to sign up, they’ll give you 25 FREE points to get you started.<\/p>\n

Resolving to shed the extra pounds<\/h2>\n

One of the first things I did when I got home (besides sorting through the mail) was to weigh myself. I had not stepped on a scale in over two weeks, and I was afraid I might have gained back all eleven of the pounds I lost last month, and then some. That wouldn’t be good, since I’m hoping to lose 50 before my son gets married in May.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"A
[for women only – click to request an invitation to join this support group]<\/figcaption><\/figure>Wonder of wonders, I was less than two pounds heavier than when we left town! That’s a win in my book, especially considering the fact I’d gone 16 days without weighing or counting calories<\/strong>. But that’s all about to change, as I’m definitely back on the healthy-eating wagon now.<\/p>\n

Cooking quick meals in my new pressure cooker<\/h2>\n

Fortunately, the big box of My Reader Rewards books was not the only package waiting just inside the front door for me<\/strong>. This little beauty also arrived while we were out of town:<\/p>\n

\"my<\/a><\/p>\n

I’ve been thinking about getting a pressure cooker for a long time and finally decided to splurge<\/strong> and buy this one.<\/a> It has an 8-quart capacity, which means I can easily prepare enough to feed all nine of the family members still living at home.<\/p>\n

I used it for the first time to prepare dinner last night. It cooked a huge batch of garlicky lentil soup<\/a> in six minutes flat. Now I’m wondering why I didn’t invest in this game-changer years ago!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since pressure cooking is totally new to me, I also got a couple of cookbooks: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook for Your Instant Pot<\/a> and Vegan Pressure Cooking<\/a>. They’re both full of delicious-looking recipes I can cook in a fraction of the time it would take me to prepare them on the stovetop. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Recapping our recent road trip<\/h2>\n

Our family had a lot of fun in Florida<\/a>, but we also enjoyed some educational stops. In the next couple of weeks, I’ll be posting pictures and reviews of some of the things we did while we were gone<\/strong>, including:<\/p>\n