Friday Favorites ~ April 29, 2022/Senior Art Show

Happy Friday!

 This week for Friday Favorites, I am concentrating on my favorite thing from the week which was going to my daughter's Senior Art Show.  As an art student, there are not many opportunities to showcase your talent like you get with a musical or sport event.  Below are some highlights from her display of work.

Proud parents

My parents came

And my sister

And her youth directors and friends from church

What a great way to honor Brook and all her hard work.  This girls spends every night and most of her weekends working on art.  She is so talented, particularly in portrait art.  For her AP Art Portfolio, she has concentrated on self portraits drawn of her in different eras.  We are excited to see how art talents develop at SCAD this fall.

Monthly Musings ~ April 2022

 

Hi.  I am linking up with Patty and Holly for April's Monthly Musings all about Vacation!

1. What trips do you have planned for this year?

Oh my, so many trips!  We have a cruise booked for May, which will be my daughter's senior trip and our family vacation.  This fall, we will be going to Savannah twice.  We also are planning a road trip to Virginia for an expo and then a weekend to Dallas to meet up with a friend from San Antonio.  

2.  Best packing tips?

I always like to carry backpack to have a hands free way to carry some of my basic items, like wallet, keys, phone, medicine, water and snacks.  

3.  Packing cubes....yes or no?

So this is my other packing tip....Yes to packing cubes!  I bought my first set back in 2015, so before they were so readily available and popular.  I bought my first few sets through Ebags.  They offer so many different sizes, colors and coupons.  I love using these to pack my clothes and then use them as a dirty laundry bag towards the end of a trip.  Even if I am going somewhere for 2 nights, I use my packing cubes.  They can be packed for entire outfits for the day or can be packed for specific items, like shirts, pants, or pajamas.

4.  Favorite travel outfit?

I don't have one particular outfit, however, my two parameters are to be comfortable and modest.  I typically always wear pants and often bring a lightweight sweater along as well.

5.  Favorite vacation destination?

My goodness, this is a loaded question because of so many favorite places!  As I've mentioned here before, I spent most of my professional career as a travel agent.   I specialized in corporate travel, but often got some travel benefits, even though I spent most of my day booking for other people.  

When I read this question, the first place that came into my mind is New York City.  I have always loved NYC.  Speaking of which, I am also working on planning a trip to NYC this December so my girls can see it at Christmas time.  

Some other trips that stand out to me as favorites are Los Angeles, San Francisco, Montana, Philadelphia, Richmond, San Antonio, Washington, DC and Orlando. Other countries I have been to that are favorites are Colombia, Peru, Singapore, Beligum (this is probably my favorite European country), Germany, Switzerland, England and France.  Small town USA favorite trips have been Pawhuska, Oklahoma (home of Pioneer Woman) and lots of towns in western North Carolina, like Boone and Blowing Rock.

My husband and I in Paris

My dad and I in NYC

Standing in the lodge of Pioneer Woman

6.  Have you flown since March 2020?

I have flown twice.....once to Richmond, Virginia and then to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  I am looking forward to flying again next month.

7.  Beach or mountains?

I like them both, but if I had to choose, I am going mountains.  I do like a mountain stream though too, so that offers some water :).

8.  Do you prefer to sightsee or relax on vacation?

A little bit of both sightseeing and relaxing on vacation is good with me.  I do like to explore a new area, but do it with time allowed to relax.  This is what I hope to do on the cruise....sightsee at ports and relax on the ship!

9.  Hotel, camping or AirBNB?

I have done all 3 of these lodging options.  Most trips, we do stay at a hotel, however, more and more hotels allow pets in the rooms.  I prefer to stay at a hotel that is not pet-friendly.  I know a lot of people may not agree, but I would rather not stay where a pet may have spent the night prior in my bed.  For several years, we had a travel trailer when the girls were younger and we would camp.  I loved this option as well.  We have also stayed at AirBNB's a few times.  We tend to do these when we travel with other people.

10.  Overpacker?  Underpacker?

I am a slight overpacker.  I say slight because I usually just have 1 or 2 items I may not use on a trip.  We will see how it goes on a cruise ship though....I feel like I will be overpacking for that trip.  I have been on several cruises before, but it has been a while.

Such a fun post!

What's Up Wednesday ~ April 2022

Greetings!  I am back at blogging this week.  Life has been busy with work and all the things listed below, so sometimes, I just can't get around to blogging, but know I will always be back and still try to keep up with reading when I don't post.

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

There is not much cooking going on around here this week.

Monday - taco night,

However, for lunch, I ate at a Chick-fil-A and it was the first time to sit inside a restaurant in 2 1/2 years!

Tuesday - My husband went to the Grizzlies game, so I had a bar and Brook had ramen.  This is real life. 

Wednesday - Maybe some veggies and whatever leftover meat I have on hand

Thursday - I am going out, so probably pizza for the other 2 at home

Friday - date night

Saturday - out 

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

Last week, I was able to go by the driveway of where my grandparents lived when I was a little girl.  My goodness, I miss them and treasure all of the memories I had up on this hill.

Also, last Sunday was 8 years ago our family moved to Bogota, Colombia.  We lived there for 3 years.  I put on my Colombia hat and my husband and I went out on a little boat ride on our neighborhood lake.

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

We had 5 people over last weekend from church to eat dinner.  None of these people had ever been here before and it was nice to get to know some people better.  I made chicken spaghetti, veggie appetizer plate and stuffed mini peppers for appetizers too.  Friends brought bread, salad and dessert.  

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

Last Sunday, we spent the day celebrating our daughter.  Our church recognized the seniors during the service & they had a lunch afterwards.  

Afterwards, she had her senior art show.  Her work was exceptional and it was so nice to see friends and family come support her and hear her teacher just raving about her work. I will post more on this later this week.

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

I am happy to say that my taxes were finally filed!  This has been my dreaded event so far in 2022.  So thankful to have that behind me.  Granted, I finished taxes with snacks to get me through!

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

With an upcoming high school graduation, I am planning a graduation party.  We just received some party supplies we ordered, so now to decide on where to put decorations.

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

I am so excited about our cruise next month! We have been planning this since last fall.  Now just to get negative Covid tests and flights to go smoothly.

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

I am watching the Grizzlies game in the play-offs, hoping they win!

I'm reading the same books.......Gentle and Lowly and The Hard Good.  Both great books, I just don't read as much as I should. 

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

I am listening to podcasts and the sounds of nature as we are sitting outside more.

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

As the weather warms up, I am wearing more dresses with a denim jacket or lightweight cardigan.  

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

I am looking forward to visiting my oldest college girl.  She is moving this week and I am going to help get some furniture, do some cleaning and eat some good food as well!

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

It seems like a lot of fun stuff.  First, I have a retreat away for a night to myself.  I have been wanting a night to go reflect, journal and pray without distractions.  

Mother's Day is always a fun day with family at a crawfish boil.

My youngest graduates from high school!

Our family is going on a cruise!

What else is new.......

One of my great nieces came to my house for the first time a few weeks ago for a short visit while her mom had an appointment out this way. She is such a cutie.

Speaking of my greats, I also had some facetime with 3 of my others last week. I just smile the whole time. Little sister seemed to like holding the phone most of the time, ha! This is what you truly call Facetime!

It's good to be back with a blog post!  Enjoy your day!

 

Recipe Tuesday

 Hi everyone.  I am sharing a random recipe for this Tuesday.  I saw this inspiration for this dinner on a video, so I don't know what the "official" recipe name is, but I made a few adjustments and called this Naan Chicken Pesto.  This was an easy, quick meal we had for dinner last night since it was the only night the 3 of us will all be home probably any night this week.

Ingredients:

Naan bread (found in the deli section of your grocery store)

Olive oil (not pictured)

 A small jar of your favorite pesto

Grilled diced chicken ( I had some pre-cooked chicken from a previous meal in my freezer)

Fresh mozzarella (I used the pearls, but you could also use slices)

Preheat oven to 425.  

Drizzle olive oil on Naan bread.

Mix diced chicken in a bowl with pesto.

Spread the chicken mixture on top of the bread.

Top with mozzarella pearls (or slices).

Bake for 10-12 minutes until cheese melts and bread is crisp to your liking.

Cut and enjoy!

Hope this gives a quick meal inspiration and would be easy to pick up and prepare for dinner one night!

Hello Monday ~ April 18, 2022 : Easter Edition

Good morning!  After taking a week break due to the holiday, I am back blogging this morning linking up with Holly & Sarah for Hello Monday with an Easter weekend recap. 

Our college girl came home Thursday night for the weekend.  Friday morning, we took it easy around the house and enjoyed being outside.  There was some jump roping and hammocking going on, with a little bit of outdoor cleaning in between.

I enjoyed a make up free morning!

My oldest and husband having fun with the jump rope.

Friday afternoon, our college girl spent the afternoon with her group of friends who were home from college for the holiday weekend.  She has a strong group of friends here who all met in youth group in middle school and they have been going strong ever since.  It is such a great group of girls and guys.  That night, our family of 4 went to our favorite pizza place.  Later that night, Isabella went out again with those same friends while my husband and I took a walk after eating pizza.  My youngest stayed in doing art work.

Saturday was also a low key day for us, doing little things around the house.  Isabella spent some time in the afternoon with another church friend.  That night, we went to see Andrew Peterson in concert.  We brought a picnic and sat outside watching the concert on a screen.  

Sunday morning was rainy, but the weather did break a few times during the day.  For Easter morning, I always use these bags my mother-in-law made for the girls when they were little.  These days since they are older, I just put candy in them.  For gifts, I gave them each a budget and I bought what they wanted/needed.  This year, I bought them each a pair of shoes and skincare and makeup.  

After church, the 4 of us went to eat lunch with my parents at a BBQ restaurant.  It was very untraditional, but also nice to go straight to a restaurant that wasn't crowded.  My sister and her family were doing an Easter event with just their crew later in the day, so we just did a quick lunch with my parents. Afterwards, we took a few family selfies.

It was a great weekend with our family and felt like we had 2 Saturdays before a Sunday, which was so refreshing.

So thankful to celebrate our hope as Christians with my family and hope you had a great Easter celebration as well!

Currently ~ April

 Good morning!  I am joining up with Anne for the Currently series. This month, we are talking about what we are currently getting, going, planning, posting, and thinking.

Getting

My plan this weekend is to get my guest room organized.  I go through phases where I have it organized and clean and other times, like now, it has become an overflow room for all the stuff.  I store my seasonal/holiday items in there and it always seems a little messy as I change my seasonal decor.  

Going

I am going to run errands and work the rest of this week.  I may be going to see my daughter later this month, but not sure yet. We are going to see an Atlanta Braves game next month for a quick get-away.

Planning

I am planner to a fault and have had to get more relaxed and lower expectations lately.  Planning can be a double edged sword for me...sometimes helpful, but sometimes not.

Posting

I have posted 3 days in a row this week, so that's something!  Some weeks are just better than others for me to make time to blog and then also to have some content.  I do really enjoy this platform and have actually had this blog for 10 years now!

Thinking

Wow, this is deep.  I am really trying to think about God's promises.  I want to spend some time writing down promises to help when the enemy attacks my mind.

Thanks for reading and may your mid-week day go well!

Prime Purchases ~ April 2022

Good morning.  I am linking up with Tanya today for Prime Purchases from March purchases.

I only have a couple of things to share this month.

I replaced my eyelash curler with this one.  I think my previous one I had been using since I was a teenager or college student!  So far, I really like this new one.

My Ugg slippers I have had for 4 years finally had to be tossed.  They were great, but I wore them so much, they literally had a huge hole in the side of one shoe. Even though they were definitely worth the initial purchase, I was looking for a less expensive house slipper.  I found this pair and have really liked them so far.  You can slip into the shoe with the elasic over the heel or just step into them and leave your heel out of the shoe.  Make sense?? These come in many colors and are good for indoor/outdoor. I bought the black and hoping they would look more put together :).

I also bought 5 different swimsuits!  However, I sent 3 of them back.  I was shopping for a new one for our summer vacation and it was easy to shop all the styles on Amazon and I love the option to add filters.  I don't have any pictures of the two I kept.  However,  I still wanted to share with you Amazon is a great place to shop for swimsuits, try on at home and then return what you don't want.

That's all for today and always love looking through other's recommendations!

 

Hello Monday ~ April 4, 2022

 Good morning and sure hoping it is a good week ahead.

The weekend started out very busy with work on Friday and then working an event Friday night.  I helped run a cocktail/auction fundraising event, which I had never done before.  They had the me, the oldest person in the organization, running the technology! Thankfully, I had a technician on standby who I could call and text througout the night.  It was a busy night for sure, but so thankful to raise some money for our organization. My sweet neighbor next door is a hair stylist and she styled my hair for me.

Saturday, I went to meet with our accountant for him to help me with my mess of business taxes.  I am still not finished, but got a lot of help and answers.

Saturday evening, we went to the high school play at my daughter's school.  They did a prodcution of Footloose and it was a fun to go and watch my daughter at her school.  A friend went with her and we went out to eat beforehand at a restaurant I had not eaten at before, so that was good too.

Sunday morning was church and the afternoon was spent doing laundry and cleaning up around the house.  My husband also did several handyman projects for me this weekend.  

Now it is off to a busy Monday with work.  Enjoy this new day!

Linking up with Holly and Sarah