Hello Monday ~ August 19, 2024

 Good Monday morning to you!  It was a fun weekend here with lots of little joys of life, for which I am so thankful!

First on the list was Friday...I worked that morning, then had lunch with some friends.  I had a steelhead trout fish taco, which was excellent!  I didn't take a picture, but I will go back and get one next time.

After lunch, I met with Jennifer and she did a thing...stay tuned to her blog! I was curious with all the questions & it was such an adventure for me.     

Afterwards, we got frozen yogurt from my favorite place and were able to spend some together catching up, which is always fun.

That evening, I met with a friend at Panera and got a hot tea.  Isabella was flying in from Florida (she had been on a cruise all week), but she was delayed.  I was picking her up from the airport at 11pm, so it was another late night for me.  Thursday, I was up late at the Elvis vigil.  Come back tomorrow to hear more about that event!

Saturday, Isabella and I ran an errand and she got back on the road to go back to her house.  She lives about 5 hours from me.  We made plans and I will get to see her in a month.  

I held both my girls hands & prayed for our family.  If you think of us, will you pray too?  We are going through the hardest time of our life right now.  I cried and hugged them both at the same time.  The 3 of us will be together again at Thanksgiving, but I will see them seperately at different times before then.

Later that afternoon, I made me a homemade pizza using my sourdough discard as my pizza crust.

Saturday evening, Brook and I picked up one of my closest friend's son and went to a soccer game.  This was our first time going to see our local team play.  They are part of the USL, which is a professional men's soccer league.  It is division II, so it is right under Major League Soccer in hierarchy.

We were on the club level of the stadium, which is also where our AAA baseball team plays, which is why the field looks like a baseball diamond!

Sunday was church, a little relaxing, a little cleaning and then I cooked dinner for a family from my church who came over to eat dinner with us.

I am thankful for a good weekend and hope you all have a good Monday!

Friday Favorites ~ August 16, 2024

 Happy Friday!  We are half-way through August....both good and sad.  Good that the "ber" months are coming, but sad because I just have 3 weeks left with my daughter at home.  Here are a few favorites from the week.....

I love butterflies and how they represent new growth, new life and new hope!  This is the new life I am encountering and I loved seeing this one fly on my butterfly bush at my mailbox this week.

I didn't take a picture, but a favorite of mine this week was going with Brook to dinner at her boyfriend's house.  I met his parents a few weeks ago, but it was an honor to be invited to their home and they cooked shrimp ceviche for us & I brought a dessert.

Another favorite of the week was this new (impulse) dress I bought from Wal-Mart online.  It was only $20 when I purchased it and I wore it to work Tuesday.  

Wednesday, I worked in the morning and got lots of errands done afterwards.  I wore a new t-shirt I ordered and also got this sweatshirt from a company called Eternal Light Company.

This shirt says:  "In the morning when I rise, Give me Jesus".

One of my sweetest favorites was going to family dinner at my sister's house last night and seeing these greats.  I had missed them so much and loved all my hugs!

The oldest girl tried on my new pair of glasses.

2 Two year olds playing in the bathroom sink under my close supervision!

My favorite 3 and 4 year olds!

Later that night, Brook and I did a thing.  I'll write more about this next week, but here we are in our Elvis shirts on the lawn of Graceland at 11:15pm last night!  Today is the 47th anniversary of Elvis' death.  We attended the yearly candlelight vigil in his memory. 

I have a few fun things planned for the weekend and plan to be back on Monday!

Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend!

Hodgepodge/Let's Look ~ August 14, 2014

 I am happy to join up with Joyce today for this Wednesday's Hodgepodge & also participating in Let's Look.

1.What was the best (or one of the best) summers of your life? Tell us why. 

I loved summers when the girls were little and we would go on trips.  We had a travel trailer and went for a 10 day trip one summer.  We went to museums, an amusement parks and saw a little bit of the country. I loved that time with my family.

2. When you have a trip coming up do you make a list and check it twice to ensure you don't forget anything? Or are you a 'throw whatever you can think of into the suitcase at the last minute' kind of packer? When returning from a trip do you unpack immediately or leave the suitcase right where it lands? 

I sometimes make a list, but if not on paper, at least in my head of the activities.  I have become a pack the night before I leave kind of person.  When I return, I do like to unpack the same day, if I don't arrive back home too late.

3. What's your favorite food or beverage made with lemons? Is that a flavor you enjoy? 

My favorite food with lemon is lemon pie and beverage would be diet lemonade, especially from Chick-fil-A!

4. When was the last time you had to make lemonade out of lemons, figuratively speaking I mean? 

I am learning to pivot quite frequently when things don't turn out like I think.  A small example would be last Saturday night, I thought I would be home with the girls, but they both had last minute plans.  I went out for a drive and ended up at a friend's house eating steak and drinking Rose at 9pm!

5. Did you like school growing up? Why or why not? 

I liked it overall.  I do remember a few hard days, which are part of it, but it was a positive experience for me.  I attended public school from 1st-12th grade.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Once again, this was a fun questionaire to ask my daughter and her boyfriend last night as I was writing this! It is a fun way to learn also about the people around you :)

What's In My Pantry

My pantry is behind a small door in my kitchen.

The top shelf is baking goods, misc. boxed goods on the next shelf and 2 baskets below that with chips, tea bags and a few misc. items.  I keep a small little basket for my bag clips.

I have another shelf with baskets that holds some breakfast baking goods and then a basket of bars and snacks. The bottom floor holds some cereal containers, refill plastic bags (I keep my main stache in a drawer) and grocery plastic bags.

The door holds all of my spices and some oils.

Next to my cooktop/oven, I have a pull out drawer where I keep my smaller canned items and cooking spray.

Nothing revolutionary here, but it works for me!  

Have a great day!

Hello Monday/Share Our Lives ~ August 12, 2024

 Good morning.  I am sharing a little about the last few days and also linking up with Share Our Lives.

I am starting with going back to last Thursday.  I worked that day then  came home and prepared a quick appetizer to take to a gathering of women from our church at a friend's house.  I picked up these small peppers as my inspiration for an appetizer.  I washed them, cut them in half and took the seeds out the peppers (as best I could).  I added a little cream cheese, then topped with cooked ground beef , which had been cooked with taco seasoning, and sprinkled a little Mexican cheese blend on top.  I baked them for about 15 minutes at 350 and they turned out so good.  It was a somewhat healthy snack and was good for the gluten free people there too.  

On a side note, there are so many other variations of using peppers as an appetizer.  One option is cream cheese & everything but the bagel seasoning and serve it cold.  Or you can also add spinach artichoke dip or any other dip you prefer.

I worked Friday morning, then Isabella and I ran errands Friday afternoon. We went to a local church's bookstore here for the first time and she bought a new bible.  We went to 2 of her other favorite stores, Target and a trip to Smoothie King for an afternoon snack.

Friday night, we went to dinner with my best friend here and her blended family (2 of her daughters are not in the picture).  We love them all so much & I loved having my girls with me.  

I love having a friend who loves my girls so much!

My girls went to the lake Saturday with a group from my former church (they usually go to a different church when they are in town).  I spent the morning at home doing a little cleaning and weed eating.  I went to a cousin's house that afternoon and was able to see a few of my first and second cousins who were in town.  My girls both ended up going out Saturday night.  Sometimes, I enjoy time at home, but this night, I knew I needed to get out for a bit.  I took a drive and then ended up at a friend's house for a late night visit.  

Sunday morning, I took Isabella to the airport super early for a trip she is taking.  I am behind on reading and listenig to books, but I am listening to probably 2 books worth of podcasts each week!  I caught up on podcasts and went to church & ran some errands later in the day.  

Now on to Share Our Lives topic this month....Least Favorite Activities

Least Favorite Activities 

sleeping in a tent 

I have done this many times in my life, but those days are gone.  I don't mind sleeping in a camper and have even considered getting a small RV, but pitching a tent to sleep in doesn't sound fun anymore.

running/long hikes

 Oh how I have tried, and I just haven't caught on to this yet.   I will stroll, take a walk, or a trail walk, but running or taking long hikes isn't my thing.  A few miles on a trail is probably as long as I want.  I do enjoy that, but serious hiking, no thank you. 

playing a sport

This may go hand-in-hand with the last answer that I am just not very athletic.  I do enjoy white water rafting, if that counts!  

making the bed

I know, I know....I can hear my mom now and know most of you do this.  I live alone now, (except for when my girls are in town) and I just don't have it in me to make up my bed anymore.  Maybe one day I will do this on a regular basis.  I only do this after I wash the sheets or have a guest.

endless stacks of paperwork

I feel like I get bogged down with receipts, advertisements and such things.  I have a filing cabinet that needs to be purged probably of papers.  That will be a fall project.  I try to go through a stack of papers each week, but it is for sure a dreaded task of mine.

I'm sure after reading some of your responses, I may be prompted to think of some more.  I thought of a few things, but those are things that are super rare to happen.  I feel like I am pretty flexible for most things.

Enjoy the start to your week!

Friday Favorites ~ August 9, 2024/Richmond & Virginia Beach

Happy Friday! Today for my favorites, I am doing a re-cap of my vacation this week, which was definitely a favorite, other than having both girls home this weekend!

Last Friday, Brook and I flew to Richmond, Virginia where my brother and his family lives.

Airport drinks!

She had a window seat...but there was no window, ha!

Oh the many faces of my newest great niece!  She was born in May.

Saturday, we got up and did some shopping at this cute outdoor shopping area.

The girls came home and made 2 key lime pies.  This is Brook and her cousin.  They are 6 weeks apart in age and have always been so close.

My niece and her husband came over with the baby for an afternoon cookout. Below is their little family, plus my sister-in-law, nephew and brother.

Sunday, the girls drove over to Virginia Beach. Brook and I had not been there, so it was pretty to see.  This was our view sitting on the beach, looking back at our hotel.

Next to the hotel were these beautiful homes.  

We saw so many dolphins, to our surprise!  It was hard to get good pictures of them, but you can see their fins in this one below.

Here are some collages to avoid 50 pictures, ha!

I love the beautiful skies and watching the military planes fly overhead.

We had dinner Monday night at this hotel, which was cool to walk through and see the decor & history of this building.

Me, Brook, my niece, my sister-in-law

Tuesday morning breakfast on the beach

The water was cold, but I loved my walks along the water!

My brother and I (my Irish twin! ~ we are 11 months apart in age)

It has been a while since I've posted a flying picture :)

We came back to Richmond Tuesday and we flew home Wednesday morning.  We stopped at the grocery store on the way home.  Brook and I prepared an easy dinner and Isabella came home, so that was so fun to have both girls here.  I did laundry & caught up on a little work before I went into the office Thursday morning so I could leave ontime that day and be with the girls.

Enjoy your weekend!