Category: Lifestyle

We had family over this weekend and it was wonderful!! I was so wrapped up in seeing everyone and interacting and having conversations that I have very few pictures of any of it, which really tells me I was fully in the moment and that makes me happy. I did however snap a couple of pictures of Mike enjoying his Father’s Day afternoon. It’s always something around here. The ice maker went caput and then Mike stole mowing from me Sunday. Saturday night our son Jake, his wife and daughter, along with our daughter Anne and her husband and kids came over for burgers and dogs. Sunday morning my in-laws came over for coffee and donuts on the deck. This was the first time they have been to our house in months so they had not seen the screened in deck and it was so nice to have a shaded […]

I am loving how early the sun rises and how late it sets. It allows more daylight for that outside walk either early in the morning or later after dinner when it’s cooler outside. I feel like these longer days allow me to accomplish all that I want to accomplish while also getting in a little “do absolutely nothing” time. There’s just something to be said about more daylight. When I roll over and see the light sky before I really want to get up, I get up anyway and come out to the deck. It’s so peaceful and cool that early in the morning. Good thinking time, and let’s be real, there’s a lot to think about right now. I’m having all sorts of trouble loading pics to the blog these last two days so I’m behind. Today, no time for story telling, just my salad craze this week […]

That’s right. Lots of salad eating planned here this week and Mike is on cloud nine with the progress of the garage. Yesterday the Epoxy crew came and were here all day long. The floor had to be sanded and prepped, then they tossed some specks all over that basically look like confetti. Today they will be back to put the clear finish on it. Friday we (and by we I mean Mike) can unload the trailer that is parked in the driveway and put everything back in the garage. Now Mike is building cabinets for the garage. I’m not sure what to expect, but I love when he gets super involved in a project. Me? I’m just making salads and taking hot walks. After my hot walk yesterday, I really wanted something cold to eat. I put together a yummy bowl using Almond Milk, Protein Powder, frozen Blueberries, frozen […]

After dinner Mocktail of Coconut LaCroix with a splash of Pineapple Juice. Refreshing! Sunday was a morning of relaxing with more coffee than I needed and an afternoon of laundry, meal planning, grocery shopping and a little prep. When Mike said he was going out to mow, I pretended like I forgot I’d reclaimed that job. It was HOT out and I was happy to have him mow while I focused on meal planning. I thought of a few salads we’ve had in the past that we both really liked and a few things to grill that we really like. On the menu this week…. Asian Chicken Salad, Chopped Salad, Marinated Flank Steak Salad , Skinny Taste Salmon Kabobs for me and Chicken Kabobs for Mike. This will likely get us through the weekend. Breakfast and lunch is typically eggs, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit. Hummus and Veggies seem to be a […]

It’s Sunday morning and I’m curled up in one of my happy spots, on the deck with coffee. I don’t pretend ever to be an expert on anything other than my own life experience, and sometimes I’m not even an expert at that. I am embarrassed at how little I know about topics that I should be more informed about, including history, politics and world events. But I’m always open to learning, growing, having conversations and sharing my experiences with others. I sometimes don’t speak up because I feel I don’t have the knowledge to back up what I’m saying. I’m usually speaking from the heart without having the information to back up any facts. I’m working on this as well. We all have opportunities for growth. Over the last few weeks I’ve done a lot of thinking, reading, listening and learning. While I’ve read so many great great things […]

I haven’t known what words to use to describe how I feel about everything. This I do know. I have listened harder in the last several days than I have ever listened before and I’ve still got work to do. I’m taking a break from the blog to read some recommended books on Black History and Black Autobiographies and watch some recommended documentaries and movies. I’ve always been one to speak up, but I need to speak louder and more often. I’ll come back to the blog and share my resources. For today, I’m getting ready to head over to Effie with my 10 year old grand daughter, Amiyah, and I could not be more excited! We are camping this weekend with my dad, stepmom and a group of other Vintage Trailer owners. I’m not really sure who is more excited to play house in my trailer, me or Amiyah. […]

This trooper is home. Surgery went great! She posted the above picture on Facebook after getting settled in her hospital room. The hospital had just began allowing one visitor per day as of this Tuesday, so she asked me to come up. I got to spend the afternoon with her and she was doing great! Getting up to walk and exercising her lungs as directed. She was having some difficulty keeping down the fluids they were giving her, so they kept her an extra night to get that under control. She came home Sunday afternoon!I I’ll keep you posted on her recovery and success. I spent a little time over at Effie this weekend making sure she is all ready to go camping Friday. That’s right. I get to camp! I camped for my very first time one year ago with my dad and stepmom and met this particular group […]

My girlfriend Betsy made this sign/tray for me for Effie and gave it to me last night. I think it’s just the cutest! Thanks Bets! If you’ve not made Betsy’s Zucchini Soup, well that’s the same girl and it is delicious! Thank you all so much for your sweet comments either here on the blog or via Facebook for Kate. When you’re headed into something big like she is, it’s nice to have support and the prayers you all offered up mean the world to the both of us! It’s late but I didn’t want to skip a post again. I’m liking my daily “habit”. We’re talking about the importance of habits in the Workshops this week and it has me thinking about some of the healthy habits I’ve developed over the years. Blogging daily had become a healthy habit for me as a great accountability tool. Getting back to […]

Kate is our oldest daughter. Kate is the kind of person that would truly give you her last dime if it would help you out, and she’d do it in a heartbeat. She has always been a giving person with a heart of gold. Kate is married to Shelby and together they have four children. If you’ve been reading for a while, then you will remember that it was Kate and Shelby that experienced the flood in their home, not once, but twice, in the summer of 2017 when everything over here seemed to have a dark cloud looming above. Kate and her family moved in with us while Mike and Shelby worked liked crazy to get their house put back together. Since that summer, many great things have happened for them, including buying their first home and being able to put the “flood house” behind them. Kate had a […]