What's Up Wednesday ~ February 2020

It's time for the monthly link up of What's Up Wednesday!

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

Monday - salsa chicken verde, cauliflower rice, keto biscuits, roasted veggies

Tuesday - grilled cheese & salad

Wednesday - church night

Thursday - grilled chicken, potatoes, green beans, carrots

Friday - pizza

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

Our trip to Texas last month...

If you missed the recaps, you can check them out here-part 1, part 2, and part 3.  It was such a fun, life giving trip.

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

After a few weekends out of town, we have enjoyed being in town last weekend and this upcoming weekend.

What we've been up too...............

I'm afraid just work really  :(

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

No vacation days coming up for a long time :(

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

Keeping my sanity with work. It seems like I have had my share of problems this year.

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

The weekend....2 days off :)

What I'm watching.................

We have enjoyed this new season of Survivor after meeting contestant Kim a few weeks ago....at her house!!

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

Huey Lewis and the News have a new album and everyone should listen to it!  Go to Spotify and search for their new album called Weather.  The music is so good and I think everyone will enjoy it.  Due to it was recorded before he lost his hearing in both ears, it only has 7 songs, but some of the best yet, so it is a quick listen too.

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

It has been so cold and rainy lately, so anything to keep warm....sweaters and leggings.

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

We have a high school play to attend and I have a baby shower to attend.

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

My girls have spring break, so Isabella will be home a few days and Brook will have some down time at home.

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

We recently had a great afternoon visit with our dear friends we met while in Colombia.  They have been on the mission field over 30 years and we were thankful to call them teammates. It was special to host them at our home for an afternoon.

Here we are with month #2 almost behind us in 2020.  It's been a busy one.

Have a great Wednesday!

Texas ~ Part 3...with a touch of Colombians

Hi.  If you missed part 1 or part 2 of our Texas trip, you can read about it by clicking on the links.

Today is part 3 and was a pretty special day.

After part 1 and part 2 of our weekend in San Antonio, we left there with full hearts.  It was so life giving.  Then we rented a car and drove to Houston.

As some of you may know, my family and I lived in Bogota, Colombia as missionaries for 3 years.  While there, we met many special people, but one of our favorite Colombians is Edwin.  He became like our Colombian son.  He just got married 2 days prior to us going to Houston.  He and his new bride, whom we also had met before in Colombia, flew through Houston and had an afternoon there.  

This was Edwin's first trip to the USA.  I am telling you, to greet someone when they get off the plane for the first time in the USA, it is the neatest experience and even more fun with people you love.

I was so happy to see them.  It had been over 3 years since I had seen them, so I was pretty excited to hug necks!  

Of course, our first stop was Chick-Fil-A!   They wanted to see what all the fuss is we Americans make about this place.  They really liked it and even tried Dr. Pepper too, which is made in Texas.

We went to Best Buy and then to Wal-Mart.  We walked up and down the food aisles and showed them the food we have here.  They laughed that most flowers sold in the USA are imported from Colombia.  It's true....just look at the labels when you look at flowers at your local grocery store.

They were amazed at all the packaged/frozen/boxed/canned foods we have and all the choices.  

We also went to a mall, because they wanted to see how they are in the states.  Malls are a much bigger deal in South America.  That is where people do most of their shopping, including their grocery stores are often in malls.  After the mall, we went to a McAlisters, just so they could try a fresh cookie and sweet tea.  They liked the cookie much better than the tea :).  They are not accustomed to such sweet food as most Americans are and their baking is so different, so chocolate chip cookies are not sold there for the most part.  If you do find one, it is quite different from what you find in the states.

We ate some Tex-Mex, then we went to a sporting store and they held guns for the first time.  Guns are not sold there like they are here.  They were amazed by all the parking lots, no taxis and no motorcycles.  The driving is very different than in Bogota, which is one the worst traffic cities in the world.  It actually ranks number 3...IN THE WORLD! (behind Bangalore, India and Manila, Philippines, if you're interested in the one and two rankings).

We felt like they got a small taste of life in the South in the USA....Chick-Fil-A, Wal-Mart and holding a gun.  We did tell them a lot of what they saw is similar in any big city, but there are many differences around our country.  They definitely want to come back sometime.

We only had an afternoon night with them, but needless to say, it was wonderful, beyond what we could have expected and now are hearts were overflowing.  I honestly hated saying goodbye.

But, the next morning, we were ready to come home to see our daughter who had been staying with friends.  Flying out of Houston is fun to see NASA/space things at the airport.  I am a fan of space and the International Space Station, so I thought it was cool to see this model ISS which is the size of a football field.

Hope you all have a good Wednesday!

Texas ~ Part 2

Today is my part 2 of our Texas trip re-cap.  

If you missed the first part, click here.

We took a day trip to Gruene, Texas, which is the cutest little town.

We ate at the Gristmill Inn, which is such a unique place.  If you are ever in this area, you must go eat here!  Walking in was unique and there was so much seating, inside and out.  It was the perfect time of year for outdoor seating in Texas...70 degrees!

Our food was delicious.  I had grilled chicken, with homemade mashed potatoes, zucchini and squash.

Such a fun time!

And we all had dessert, which was the first I had had since finishing whole 30.  I finished every bite of my lunch and dessert.  Needless to say, I didn't eat anything else the rest of the day.

This is the oldest dance hall in Texas and there is so much history here.  When you step inside, there are photos of so many musicians who have played here, including George Strait, who got his start here.

Random note, there was also an episode of The Bachelorette filmed here a few years ago with Kaitlyn and Ben.

Inside the dance hall...

We also made a stop to Buc-ees...a phenomenon in convenience stores in Texas.   It is also unlike anything we had ever seen.

Look at all the gas pumps!  It was a huge place.

Texas is known for its Blue Bell Ice Cream, and it was represented here.

I came out with a reusable mug and a magnet to remember our trip to San Antonio.

It was a great weekend and the final and part 3 continues in Houston.

Have a great day!

Friday Favorites / Valentine Decorations ~ 2020

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Today, for Friday Favorites, I have a few things to share.

First, I shared earlier this week about our weekend trip for a belated birthday trip for our daughter.

We also saw 3 inches of snow fall Saturday morning!

I also shared about the first part of our Texas trip, including a visit with past Survivor winner, Kim Spradlin Wolfe, who is on the new season of Survivor:  Winners at War, that started airing this week on CBS.

Third,  I am sharing my Valentine decor in honor of the holiday.

Dining room table decor...I am hoping to buy some flowers for this vase by Friday (I took this photo midweek but I did get some flowers for this vase...will update next week with a new photo).

Entryway with printable 

Display of old Valentine cards 

Welcome sign on our back door...It has been so busy the past few weeks, I haven't bought anything new for my front door. I am hoping to buy something on clearance after Valentines :). 

Mantle

On the hearth.... 

In the den, I have some old artwork hanging up from Brook when she was 5 1/2. 

Valentine pillow and candle 

In the kitchen, I have my winter wreath still hanging and a Valentine dish towel. 

I will post next week of our celebration.

May you celebrate those you love and most importantly, feel the love of our Saviour!

Texas ~ Survivor / Part 1

Avery and I had the best Texas get-away a few weekends ago!  I had not flown anywhere in a year and a half, so it was so fun to get away. 

It was so, so cloudy as we left.

But always so cool to see the clarity above the clouds...definitely a spiritual parallel.

We finished the Whole 30 the day before in perfect timing for our trip.  These Cheez Its were so good!

We went to San Antonio to spend the weekend with our dear friend, Larry.  We met him in 2005 and since that next year, we have called him a dear family friend.  He even came to see us for a week when we lived in South America!

While in San Antonio, we were also looking forward to seeing some other friends.  We spent time with Joel and Cayce, whom we met through church about 14 years ago.  They moved to San Antonio about 10 years ago.  We saw them when we were there 9 years ago, so it was so great to see them.

One of the coolest things that happened was we met Kim Spradlin Wolfe from Survivor!  She won in 2012 and is on the new season beginning tonight on CBS!  We were at her house and she was so kind to facetime our girls, who are huge fans.

Really, she could not have been more kind and down to earth.  This was such a fun treat to meet her.

This is her promo picture on CBS for the new season.

The next day, we started our day like this.....

If you have been to Texas, you know breakfast tacos are everywhere.  Mine was full of scrambled eggs, bacon and avocado on a homemade tortilla.  We also got some doughnuts too.

We answered one of life's puzzling questions...how many doughnut holes does it take to make a doughnut?  We decided on 6 :).

We went to look at Larry's new house he is building and then took a guided boat ride on the Riverwalk. 

For dinner, we had brisket.  This is the brisket grilled cheese....so good!

After dinner, we went to visit some other dear friends, Doug and Colby, who we met as well in 2005.  It was just like old times visiting with them.  We loved all the time with our dear friends.

Part 2 coming up tomorrow......