Currently ~ July 2021

 Good morning!  I am linking up with Anne for the July Currently series. Today we are talking about what we are eating, feeling, going, ordering, and realizing.

Eating ~  I told someone the other day I had eaten good, but that doesn't mean healthy :).  By eating good the past few days, I mean I have had pizza, steak and BBQ.  Along with that, I have enjoyed some desserts.  They have been a mix of "healthy" desserts.  This is my favorite brownie mix and it comes from Costco. This is really a good tasting brownie, but even better when you add red, white and blue M&M's to make it festive...which is of course how I have had some lately.

I also made some frozen yogurt bark and added strawberries and my festive M&M's.  At least the base of this dessert is yogurt and not chocolate though.  This taste so good and is such an easy treat that you can add anything you like.

Feeling ~ I am a mixed bag of emotions, trying to not react with emotions and respond better to situations.  Physically, I am feeling tired at night and in the mornings and it is rare I sleep through the night anymore these days.  Thankfully, I am not too tired during the day, but mornings are slower and I am ready for bed early most nights.

Going ~ I've been going this summer a little more and it has felt great.  I went to the beach with my family and then to Philadelphia with a friend.  This month, I have a weekend trip with my husband. In the day-to-day, I am running errands, meeting with friends and still enjoying downtime at home.

Ordering ~ I have been ordering on Amazon, which I will catch up on in another post. That service and just ordering online in general has me spoiled.  I have also ordered a few things lately online for store pick-up.  

Realizing ~ I am realizing more and more how short life is.  I am trying to re-connect with friends this year, especially after 2020.  I am trying to let some things go quicker that truly do bother me, but just tr to take a deep breath and get some perspective.  

Hope you all are currently having a great week!

Philadelphia Freedom

 I hope you all had a good 4th of July celebrating the USA's Independence Day!  And hopefully today is a day off from the regular routine as well.  

It seemed like a good time to re-cap a little more of my trip to Philadelphia last weekend.  While living in Bogota', Colombia in South America for 3 years, I got to know my sweet friend Sarah.  She is in the states visiting family in Pennsylvania, so I flew to Philly and she met me there to spend the weekend catching up and seeing the sights. I promise you, the airports are so crowded and you would never know we had a pandemic last year, except that we are still wearing masks at airports and on the airplanes.

This was a beautiful sight of a river with a bridge across it as I was in flight.

We ate dinner from a food truck from an area near the water.  It was such a fun area of people hanging out and they had a wall of locks.

This was our hotel, which was in a great location, right on the water.

The first full day there we set out to see some historic sights.

The famous Liberty Bell

This room below is the Old City Hall of Philadelphia and where the Supreme Court met from 1791-1800. This is also the room where George Washington was inaugurated for his second term as President and where John Adams was inaugurated as our second President.

We then went next door to Independence Hall.

This signing of the Declaration of Independence happened in this building in the room pictured below.  Our tour guide told us we were standing in the most historic room of all our country.  The chair in the middle is the same one George Washington used, but the other items are re-productions.

This is Benjamin Franklin's grave.

Of course, a trip to Philly is not complete without a Philly Cheesesteak.  These restaurants are not hard to find up there!

Speaking of food, my friend brought me lots of my favorite Colombian goodies, including this candy bar.  It did not make it back south with me :).

The next day, we did my bucket list item of running the Rocky steps, which are located outside the Philadelphia Art Museum.  Next to the steps is the Rocky Statue.

We also walked by Love Park and saw the current city hall building, which is beautiful.

After a stressful morning at the airport, I had these Platano chips from Colombia for breakfast on my flight out of Philadelphia.

Philadelphia was a great weekend city and I was so thankful to have time away with a friend I don't see very often with us living in different countries.  

Happy Monday friends!

Friday Favorites ~ July 2, 2021

 

Happy Friday and Happy July!  Here are some recent favorites....

Celebrating Independence Day is a favorite. In honor of the upcoming 4th of July holiday, here are some of my decorations around the house.  I bought some new dish towels for the kitchen that are red, white and blue, but not over the top :)

Spending time with my greats is a favorite too.  Last week, we went to the zoo and this week, I went with the older ones to the Children's Museum.   I love these little people so much.

This girl loved touching the stingrays.  She looks so much like her momma!

They love playing with Brook!  

Wishing you all a Happy Independence Day!  So thankful for our freedoms in this country.

More pictures from my Philadelphia to come next week, but here I am standing where our country began. It seemed appropriate for the holiday!

What's Up Wednesday ~ June 2021

 

Happy What's Up Wednesday!  I am back from latest trip and joining in on this fun monthly link-up.

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

Monday - I got back in town, so it was everyone on their own for food!

Tuesday - grilled chicken, roasted potatoes, green beans

Wednesday - ?

Thursday - tacos

Friday - hamburger & fries

And a throw back to last week's meal one night...We had a friend in town who stayed with us and I made skewers that were so good and served with rice.  I had marinated chicken, bacon, pineapple, green peppers, and red onions.  The grilled pineapple gave it such a good flavor!

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

Brook and I went to the zoo with my sister, her daughters and all 5 of my greats! I will post more about this next week.

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

I have started going to a Dance Fusion class at our gym whenever I can.  It is an exercise class with a Latino dance feel and is so fun.

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

This month has been quick and busy.  Brook celebrated her last day of school and sold some art at a pop-up shop.

We took a family vacation to the beach.

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

Not too much at the moment

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

I am working on bookkeeping and a few other quick trips before the end of the year to plan.

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

Something I may can share next month

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

We've been watching the college world series this week on TV.

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

I am listening to my stomach growl, ha!  Trying to resist having a bedtime snack. Other than in this moment, I'm just listening to podcasts and ceiling fans during the day :).

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

Skorts, dresses and all the cool things!

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

No huge plans, except a pool party on Sunday for the 4th.

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

We have a quick weekend trip & hopefully some more fun time with friends and family. I am also looking forward to the 3rd season of Virgin River being released!

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

I just got back from a weekend trip to Philadelphia, which I will blog about next week too.  On that trip, I did something on my bucket list....I ran the steps of Rocky!  The original Rocky movie from 1976 is one of my favorites and I have always wanted to do this.  It was so fun!

Not sure if you can see him or not, but in the picture below, I am towards the right and in the center was a guy in a gray sweat suit.  Everyone up there is there to see where Rocky stood.

More on the zoo and Philadelphia next week, but thanks for reading today!