Week/Weekend Wrap Up

Happy Monday and the last day of April!

Due to continued internet problems and just keeping things going around the house, blogging has taken a backseat the past few weeks.  Here is an update from the past week of life.....

Taking this back to Friday, 4/20....I took off for a few hours to take the girls to the dentist and then we had a breakfast date to Rise, a new place near us.  They have amazing biscuits and doughnuts....not a great place to go if you are avoiding carbs, but we splurged and it was delicious.  Pictured below are cinnamon twists, maple bacon doughnut and an apple fritter.

This is one their chicken biscuits.  I had the grilled, like healthy choices mattered at this point, but it was good.

I loved the extra time with my girls. 

Last weekend, my nephew came to spend the night with us and we took out the canoe and kayak...and the dog! 

Avery and I had a dinner date and ordered this as an appetizer...buffalo chicken mac-n-cheese.  I decided on a side salad to accompany it since this was so rich. 

 The weekend started with a little Huey music! 

The girls were both out of town Friday night at different places, so Avery and I did yard work Saturday.

We cleaned out flower beds, he worked on the fence and I mowed the lawn for the first time this season.

Isabella came back in town and we went to get dinner then stopped to take sunset and moon pictures on the way home. 

 This 13 year came back in town Sunday night after a choir trip.  Of course, she was just 3 here and this picture popped up in my memories of photos yesterday.   

Wishing you all a happy Monday with smiles and good tunes represented in this picture!

What's Up Wednesday ~ April Edition

Hello again!  It's been a week since I have blogged due to internet issues.  I have been without internet on my computer for a week now, and still won't have it for another week or two, so that has been frustrating, but life goes on.....just a little slower :).  I am glad to participate in one of my favorite monthly blog link-ups though today.  

What we're eating this week........

Monday - ham, potatoes, green beans, and cheese sticks :)

Tuesday - dinner out w/my parents

Wednesday - church

Thursday - family night out

Friday - everybody is going different directions so we will all be on our own for dinner!

What I'm reminiscing about..........

4 years ago yesterday, we moved to Bogota, Colombia.  We checked in 32 bags for a one way international flight.  There were so many emotions and unknowns.  God was faithful to us every step of the way.  

What I'm loving.........

I am loving watching my girls pick up more responsibility at home since I have been working.  They have been a huge help to me!

What we've been up to.........

We now have a dog to take care of, so that is new in our daily routine. Avery is working on repairing our gate and fence in our backyard, the girls are close to finishing school work for the year, and I am doing my work routine every day.

What I'm dreading..........

Not having enough vacation days for time off I want this year, but I am also trusting God with my schedule and putting faith above fears.  

What I'm working on..........

I am working on the transfer of old VHS tapes to digital format .  I will send them off to a company to do this.  I thought about buying the equipment to do this myself, but I simply don't have the time to do a project like this myself.  It is worth it to just send them off and pay someone else to do this for me.  I'll let you know how it goes!

What I'm excited about................

Getting some projects done this weekend!

What I'm watching/reading.............

We are still watching the Voice (most of it.....it comes on so much, we've definitely missed some too!) and we are finishing up our series of When The Calls the Heart and Married at First Sight.

What I'm listening to............

I still like my morning and evening podcasts.  I have added some Focus on the Family to my library and also Downtown Presbyterian Greenville, SC.

What I'm wearing................

Our weather has still changed some lately from cool to warm afternoons, with rain this week.  I have been wearing my rain jacket this week, because I never know when I will be caught in rain walking in or out of my work building. So, I have also been wearing rain boots, and I am still wearing my other boots anytime the weather is under 70.   I hope I have a few more weeks before I part with wearing my boots for a few months.

What I'm doing this weekend.............

I have a long list of errands and projects to do, so I am looking forward to the time off and good weather.

What I'm looking forward to next month..................

Mother's Day,  my wedding anniversary, and we have friends coming on 2 different weekends

What else is new.............

The big news of the week is of course, Princess Kate had a baby boy!  This is fun news and always exciting.

If you don't already, follow @mrskatecambridge on instagram for all baby and royal updates.

Tuesday Talk ~ Broadway

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Today, I am linking up for Tuesday Talk about Broadway!

I love New York City. I love a Broadway play.  I love Broadway in NYC, but enjoy plays locally too.

For the most part, I usually only see musicals.  I think my first musical was Annie and I remember my dad taking me to see this.  My parents enjoy musicals and took us to see them as children, so my family enjoys doing this together.  I am thankful to have seen a variety of shows, and thought I would mention some of my favorites, but probably will forget some too!

My #`1 favorite musical has always been 42nd Street.  I saw this in NYC when I was 12 when my favorite actress at the time played the lead role.  I was swept up in all of it....the music, the tap dancing, the story line of a chorus girl who gets the lead, and seeing my favorite actress.  I even used a quote from this play when I was chosen for Hall of Fame my senior year of high school "There is a sunny side to every situation".  I still like this play and it is coming to a local theater this summer!

My other favorites are some of the Disney performances.  My favorite Disney plays are:

 Aladdin ~ saw this twice in NYC and was amazed each time!

 Lion King ~ the music live is so inspiring and my favorite is the opening scene.  I could sit through that night after night

Mary Poppins ~ I mean, who doesn't love Mary Poppins?  And I love the chimney sweeps Step in Time scene.

I have also seen Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast on stage, but the others are my favorites in the Disney category.

Other classics are Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables and Wicked.  These are all great with some powerful music.  One highlight of Les Miserables was when we surprised the girls with tickets to the show while we were in London.  It was awesome.

I have yet to see Hamilton, but it is on my list.

Some other plays I enjoyed are my most recent play I saw, Something Rotten. I also really liked Legally Blonde. And this is not a comprehensive list, but here are some others I've seen in the past:

Annie
A Christmas Carol
An American In Paris
Annie Get Your Gun
Carousel
Cats
Chicago
Fiddler on the Roof
Finding Neverland
Pippin
Grease
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Mama Mia
The Music Man
Oklahoma
Oliver
Pippin
Starlight Express
Sound of Music
Singing In the Rain
Thoroughly Modern Millie
Titanic
War Horse

What are your favorites?  Any suggestions?  Go see a play, whether it be a high school play, local theater, touring production, or broadway production!

Weekend Wrap Up

A new Monday is here, and I am hoping for a good week.  Friday was a pretty rough day at work, so I was pretty happy to be off work for the weekend. While Isabella babysat Friday night, Avery, Brook and I went to grab a bite to eat.

Saturday was busy and rainy.  While Isabella was taking her ACT, Brook and I went to Chick Fil A for breakfast.  I had coupons and received our breakfast free! I went to the eye doctor and did my Saturday grocery shopping.  We were able to go see the movie "I Can Only Imagine" Saturday afternoon and it was really good & powerful. Isabella babysat again Saturday night and I watched a Hallmark movie.

Sunday was church, lunch with the family, then Avery and I joined my family to eat downtown and see "Something Rotten" at the theater. 

It really was a great, funny, creative play that we enjoyed. 

Thankful for another day!

Friday Favorites

It's Friday Y'all!  I am so ready for the weekend.  I am tired and looking forward to getting a few things done at home this weekend.  The first part of my week was pretty normal and routine.

Then this happened Wednesday night.... 

I misplaced my wallet, which of course had credit cards,drivers license and other misc. things that I use.  I cancelled most of it, then Thursday morning when I arrived at work, Isabella called to tell me she found it in our medicine cabinet!   Lord, I must be losing my mind!  I was thankful she found it and she helped me Wednesday night to look for it and make a phone call for me.

 Wednesday was apparently National Pet Day.  So this happened....

Meet Saint.....the newest member of our family.  I wanted to wait until summer to get a dog, but the opportunity came now, so he is now our dog.  He is a shepherd/terrier mix .  So far, he doesn't jump or bark much, just a little whining as he is getting use to the new surroundings.  

We had some beautiful weather this week, so I took a few minutes to breathe in fresh air while I was at work.  I put in my headphones at break and lunch to listen to music or podcasts. 

USA,  city and state flags flying high!

We went to dinner at Chick-Fil-A for dinner Thursday night.  I was hungry while waiting on the rest of my family to arrive, so I got an appetizer....frosted lemonade :).  I started my Thursday sitting at the dentist office at 7am to get in an appointment before work.  This weekend, I have another appointment on Saturday.  This is working life trying to schedule appointments early mornings and Saturdays.  

If you think of it, say a prayer for my oldest teenager who is taking the ACT this Saturday.  

Thank you and enjoy your weekend!

How We Wednesdays.......

This month's how we Wednesday topic is how we spring clean and organize.

I must admit, I haven't done too much of either of these.  But I will begin with spring cleaning....I do the normal cleaning most weekends, but spring cleaning makes me think of the deep cleaning.  We have been in our house for just a little over a year, so this would be the first year to spring clean since we were still unpacking last spring! The spring cleaning item I would like to do this year is clean our windows. Yes, there is so much more I could do, but I'm just keeping it real!  In the meantime, my tip would be to do a little bit at a time and be constant in regular cleaning.

Now on to organizing....in some ways, I am organized because we have only been in the house again for such a short time. However, I always have things to organize!  Some of my keys to organizing are

~ use baskets and containers  to organize drawers and cabinets or basically anywhere you can!

~ throw away any unwanted papers as soon as you receive them

~ go digital with music, photos, and movies

~ donate or throw away things that don't bring you joy, like clothes that don't fit well, things you have two of or other household items.

I have quite the list of things to organize this spring that I hope to tackle in small spurts this spring.

I will admit, moving to another country to start over and then moving back to the US and starting over really makes you think about how much stuff you have.  I haven't read the latest decluttering books that are popular right now.....moving to and from another country was the inspiration I needed!

I am looking forward to reading some tips of organizing and spring cleaning from others linked up to this blog.

This and That ~ Home, Work, and Family

Good Monday morning to you!  Here's a look of this and that from the past week......

Avery spent a few days this week working on our kitchen.  We have been so close to finishing it for a while, but just needed to patch some holes, sand and paint.

I earned this at work this week, which means basically I have a free, excused tardy slip to use if I am ever late for work.

Y'all, it got cold last weekend.  This was the temperature Saturday afternoon.

I saw this and texted it to my best friend.   So funny!

My sister, Brook and I did some impulse shopping Saturday afternoon at the Spring Market.

It was a good weekend of relaxing, cleaning, and cooking.  I cooked breakfast both mornings, soup for a cold Saturday, a a cheese and sausage plate, and a 13 lb. turkey!

Hope you all have a good day!

Easter Weekend ~ 2018

We had a great Easter weekend.  Thursday and Friday of last week weren't my best days at work, so I was ready for some fun events.

Backing up to last Thursday night, we had an impulse decision to go watch the ECS Lacrosse game.  Our friend is the head coach and we hung out in the hospitality suite with friends because it was a little chilly outside! 

Saturday, we went to Railgarten to celebrate Wilder's 1st birthday.

I got some snuggle time holding the birthday boy and putting him to sleep :). 

That night, we went to a crawfish boil at friend's house and it was a fun little reunion with my homeschool mom friends who we use to go camping with each Easter.

I made some resurrection rolls and eggs for breakfast Easter morning. 

The girls received skin care, makeup, an alarm clock and candy for Easter.

We went to my parents after church for a delicious lunch and then did an egg hunt with my greats.  Basically, we just watched them do whatever! 

Isn't she so cute? 

Crawford girl was standing by herself! 

Oh, and I love this boy so and his outgoing personality. 

Avery and Brook took some time to sing along while my dad played music from La La Land on the piano. 

Easter Sunday night, we went to another friends house and had ham sandwiches and a nice visit.  It was a lovely weekend with family and friends and beautiful weather!