Weekend/Life Lately ~ July 18, 2022

Good morning.  It has been a minute since I have been here....just a lot going on honestly so blogging has taken the back seat, even though I have missed it for sure!

Here is a little bit of the weekend and life lately.....

1. Work - I have been trying to keep up with all going on at work and stay on top of things there.  I am thankful for my part-time job!

2.  Visits - We had a family stay with us last week for a few days and it was so fun!  I had not seen them in 5 1/2 years, so it was great to catch up again.  They served 9 years in Bogota leading the international church there and are preparing to move to Norway to plant a church there.

The second night of their visit, our oldest daughter came home so it was fun to have her here for a few nights.  We also had another couple join us for dinner as we served Memphis BBQ and talked about church planting and mission work.

3.  This doesn't rank high on blog post excitement, but doing business stuff of life has been busy. I am shopping for new car insurance. Does anyone have a favorite?  I am researching to change to hopefully find a better price.  I am also in crunch time of getting 2 daughters ready for college.  The oldest will be a senior and the youngest a freshman.  Crunch time includes payments and the check list of things for our freshman.

4.  It is hot.  This heat and bugs are not my thing.  I would rather have fall, winter, spring any other day of the week.  We do have some friends on vacation this week and have been invited to swim at their pool anytime this week.  In the midst of the heat, I am reminded there is beauty by this simple photo I took in my yard last week.

5.  My weekend consisted of watching a random movie Friday night, catching up on some shows Saturday night, college and trip planning, a little bit of swimming and I got in a trip to the grocery store and Costco.  It was uneventful, but I got a few things done, so that felt nice. 

6.  I had a few random purchases the last week or so with the Nordstrom sale, Prime and Target days.

I will work on sharing those items soon.

Hope you all have a good start to your week & thanks for reading!

 

Cincinnati ~ July 2022

 It is Friday!  And it is hot.  I don't mind the heat from time to time, but the consistency of heat makes one stay indoors as much as possible.  However, I did get some time outside on a quick trip to Cincinnati this past week.  It had been 30 years probably since I had been there.  I liked it then and still find it to be a nice town. 

There were so many murals around town.

Went to see the Reds play the Mets....the Reds lost, but it was good to be back at a MLB game

The next day started with a delicious breakfast from a place called Taste of Belgium.  I love a Belgium waffle....and fries too, but I went with the waffle and omelet.

After breakfast, next stop was the Creation Museum, which was really well done.

This picture below explains how they think the Earth is approximately 6000 years old.

The museum was followed up with Cincinnati chili.

The next day was a visit to the Ark Encounter.  It is an actual size replica of Noah's Ark that you can walk through and see how the animals and Noah and his family lived.  It was also well done and the construction aspect of it is quite impressive.

On the way home, this was a unique restaurant in Lexington where we had lunch.

I hope you have had a good week and stay cool this weekend!

Currently ~ July

Happy Wednesday!  Currently, I am link up for the July Currently series

 This month's topics are: 

Enjoying

I am enjoying a few days away for the 4th of July holiday and will be back at work tomorrow. 

I also am enjoying have a little shorter hair, just by a few inches, this summer.

 Having

We have been having house guests recently.  We had some friends from NC stay with us a few nights and during that same stay, our Texas friend spent the night after his flight was cancelled back to San Antonio.  

This month, we have a family we met in Bogota staying with us several nights as they prepare to move to Norway to be missionaries there.  I haven't seen them in 5 1/2 years, so it will be good to spend time with them.

 Hoping

I am hoping it cools off a little and doesn't stay this hot all summer.  This is the earliest it has been so consistently hot in the last few years.  I am not a fan of bugs and heat.  I have decided summer is my least favorite season, but am trying to make the best of it.

 Picking

I am working on picking my words a little more careful these days and trying to take every thought captive to Christ.

"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ." 

2 Corinthians 10:5

 Using

This one left me thinking of something creative to share, but I'm left with the daily things I use....my phone, computer, dishwasher, car and make-up!

Happy Wednesday and hope you all are having a good holiday week!

What's Up Wednesday ~ June

Hello!! It's been a minute, but I always love joining in on this blog post.  The past week or so has been somewhat of a blur that did not include any blogging, but I have included a few updates below.

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

Monday - chicken sausage and shrimp

Tuesday - women's event appetizers :)

Wednesday - going out with friends

Thursday/Friday - have no idea....this is life lately

Saturday - sheet pan meat & veggies, mashed potatoes, appetizer, dessert.....We are having friends over so therefore, I need to know a menu :)

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

All things about our cruise last month!!

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

I loved the Elvis movie!  I thought it was well done from a theatrical stand point and Austin Butler did so good portraying Elvis, down to the way he walked.  There are certainly some sad aspects of Elvis' life which were portrayed in this movie, but I did enjoy it.  Elvis was my first concert!

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

These past few weeks have just been busy with work and organizing around the house.  We have had some house guests, which has been good, but my attention has been towards things at home lately so the blog has taken the back burner.

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

Figuring out a few business items & the continued heat of summer

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

I need to do a little travel scouting for an upcoming quick trip we have.  

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

We have an upcoming quick trip and I always enjoy getting away for a little bit.  

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

We just finished watching Maid on Netflix.  It was good, but that is definitely hard and sad along the way. Most anything on tv in our home is baseball.  I still try to watch the new Hallmark movie of the week, but am usually a week or two behind.

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

All the podcasts....Story Tellers, Jesus Over Everything, The Open Door Sisterhood, Don't Mom Alone, In the Face of Illness, The Big Boo, Dwell, The Proverbs 31 Ministry, Office Ladies, I Hate Green Beans, The Father's House

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

Most days you will find me in a skirt or dress.  If it is under 90, I may wear pants and a short sleeve top, but otherwise, y'all, it is hot.

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

I am probably going to stay in my house getting caught up on laundry and maybe one of those Hallmark movies!

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

We may go see our older daughter for a weekend, but other than that, we have no big plans.  I am hoping it involves some swimming and relaxing too.

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

Our house was painted last week and we really like the new color.  It makes the stone show up and the house just looks crisp and cleean.

This is a before on top and after on bottom.  The pictures were taken at different times of the day, so the stone looks brighter due to the sun in the top photo.

Enjoy your day and hope to be back in this blog space soon!

10 on the 10th

 Happy Friday friends!  We have made it to another Friday and I hope it's a good one for you.  Today is a fun topic for 10 on the 10th.......Vacation Travel!

Are you planning on taking a vacation anytime soon?  

Why yes, we have a short vacation coming up soon.  We are going to Cincinnati in a few weeks to go to a Reds baseball game and hope to visit the Art Encounter as well.

Have you recently gone on vacation?

Why yes, we have.  I just spent last week and this week highlighting all about our Western Caribbena cruise!

(Link to most recent cruise post and others posted on blog)

What is your favorite way to travel?

Definitely, cruising is a favorite way to travel!  But, I don't mind flying as long as there is some flexibility with the trip because delays happen.  I feel like the same goes with driving.  I do enjoy a road trip from time to time as well. (**Updating the blog post to also include RV camping and traveling by train are fun too....basically, I will travel most any way it comes!)

If money were no object, where would you go and why?

A few places come to mind.  First, Australia.  It looks like a beautiful country and we have dear friends who live there.  While I am in the area, I would love to go to Bora Bora.  Those pictures look stunning to me.  A little more realistic, I would also like to visit Spain & Portugal and I want to take my girls to Austria for a Sound of Music tour.

Who would be your favorite person to take on vacation?

My husband and my daughters

What do you absolutely have to pack when you go on vacation?

Sunscreen, medicine and snacks are must haves and I do love my packing cubes whether it is a weekend or week long trip.

What are your memories of your all time favorite vacation?

Oh my goodness....this is hard to say.  New York City is my favorite city, so I love all my vacations there.  Disney has always been fun, even a trip to Disneyland a few years ago stands out to me.  As mentioned, I have always enjoyed a cruise.  A paticular favorite was going on a cruise out of New York City with my husband.  It was all of my favorite things and I'll never forget that moment!  I also love London, Paris and Belgium.  Our family spent a month in Belgium and were able to travel to other cities on the weekends when we had free time (we were there for training during the week).  

We lived in Bogota, Colombia for 3 years and were able to travel within Colombia and Peru.  Traveling to Macchu Picchu was amazing and we took a fun family trip to Cartagena, Colombia.  Another memorable trip was a trip to Hong Kong and Singapore that I received free as a travel agent.  My mom went with me on this trip and we visited a cousin who lived there as missionaries. This was back in 1996.  Most recently, I also enjoy a lot of shorter day/weekend trips to areas within a few hours of home.

Where would you never go on vacation and why?

The first place that comes to mind is India due to the crowds. I also am not a big fan of Indian food.

What is the worst thing you've ever experienced on vacation?

When I was single, in my mid-20's, I went to see a friend in Texas for a weekend.  I flew into Dallas from Memphis.  There were such bad thunderstorms, it took us close to 7 hours to fly there.  I could have driven to Dallas in the time it took me to fly. We kept getting re-routed, but finally made it.  My friend and I drove to Austin.  While we were there, the car we had was broken into and we drove back to Dallas with cardboard over the window.  This was eventful, but thanfully, we were safe.

The other quick story that comes to mind was a family vacation to Washington DC in fall of 2013.  The government had its first shutdown in 17 years the week were there, so all Smithsonian and monuments closed within 24 hours after we arrived. We completely had to pivot our plans.

What is the best thing that ever happened to you on vacation?

I married my husband on a trip to Glacier National Park in Montana.  On our 20 year anniversary, we took our daughters there to show them where we got married.

Love travel and so thankful for it!

Linking up with Marsha