Catching up...

Not sure how this happened but last week our son turned 20! TWENTY! I now have two children in their 20's! And our sweet baby girl is turning Sweet 16 in a few short weeks!

Sunday we celebrated all our October Birthdays... we are up to 7 now.

Ava and Dylan both share Sunday as their actual birthday.

  

I made yummiest mac m cheese in the slowcooker again and it was a hit! 

I at least doubled the amount of macaroni called for (maybe tripled) and it came out so great!

This past week I have been feeling under the weather and fell of the exercise band wagon. I, instead watched a lot of Outlander and also started watching Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas with Hannah.  We watched Noel Next Door and We Wish You a Married Christmas last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed! 

Happy Friday all!  I'm looking forward to catching up with some friends this evening, doing a Trunk or Treat with the Mister tomorrow and getting back on track with working out next week.  Have a great weekend! See you soon 💖

Lovely Fallish Weekend

Saturday morning we started off with a little run.  This little park is one of my favorite places.  The weather was perfect and the leaves were glorious.

There's also a Fairy Garden and a new Little Free Library.  It made my heart happy.

When we got home  I made some breakfast and the Rhett was off to run some errands and took the dogs with him for the ride.  I took advantage of everyone being gone to mop the downstairs and our bathroom upstairs.  Let me tell you I think I worked up more of a sweat mopping than on my run! :P

Another Crocktober success- I made Beef and Broccoli.  It was super delicious. Served with rice and frozen egg rolls cooked in the airfryer.

I finished this book Saturday night- it gave me all the emotions.  It was a little hard to read at times but so good, the power of prayer, forgiveness and reconciliation. I totally called the ending early on but still enjoyed it. (Trigger warnings it does deal with death of child, infidelity, suicide attempt and cancer.)

Sunday! I made Sourdough Dinner Rolls.  Super yummy!

I started reading my next book club pick and honestly I am not loving it so far- hopefully it will get better.

Sunday night Rhett and I had a night out- we went to see comedian Bert Kreischer.  We had a good time. 

Walking the streets of Syracuse back to the truck I started about the Syracuse Half.  When we got back to truck I got a text from my sister telling me the next one was just announced!  I am super excited to do this race again with my sister.  We did this race three years in a row when it was in November precovid.

Happy Monday! I hope your week is off to a great start!

Ah October

I am so happy it is October. I have been drinking in the glorious fall beauty all around. 

I am especially happy to be reunited with my old friend Fall Running.

 I made some yummy sourdough, not as round as I would like but still very tasty. 

It went great with leftover chicken gnocchi soup!

Also have been enjoy Crocktober with Passionate Penny Pincher.  We haven't made all the dinners- but have enjoyed the ones we have. Ryan made the yummiest mac n cheese last night (definitely double the amount of pasta called for- there is waaaay too much cheese sauce- but super yummy).  I have Ribs in the slow cooker for today.

The boys enjoyed playing in the yard last night.

My prayer for today, especially for my children...

September Books!

I once again slacked off writing reviews as I went through the month. It goes so much better if I write about each book while it is fresh in my mind.

75- Sense and Sensibility Graphic Novel by Nancy Butler 9/1 (ebook/hoopla)

I believe this was my first graphic novel read.  I picked it up after starting Sense and Sensibility. I found it a good companion to read along.  The pictures and abbreviated text helped me get into the novel and better picture what was happening. 

76- The Cookbook Club by Beth Harbison    9/5    (audio/library) ★★★★

I was scrolling through cookbooks on the library site and came across this one.  In my excitement for the cookbook club I was just starting in real life, I immediately downloaded and started listening.  It was a fun listen.  More about friendship and starting over and finding your people than cooking but still very enjoyable.  The only drawback to the audio version is I couldn't look at the recipes interspersed through the book.

77- The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd 9/12 (kindle/library) reread ★★★★★

I guess I requested the kindle version of this book in both library systems. So when it popped up again as available on Libby I read it again! I enjoyed it just as much the 2nd time around.  It was fun reading knowing the end and looking for clues as I read.

78- Heirlooms by Sandra Byrd     9/14    (print/library) ★★★

I had been seeing this book all over social media, rave reviews. The cover was so pretty! But for me it was just ok, a little slow and I feel bad even writing this because I wanted to love it.  Its a dual timeline between present day where Cassidy is trying to decide what todo with her grandmother's home and land after her death. And her grandmother, Helen's life in the late 1950's.

Helen answers a distress call from a widowed Korean bride one night. She brings Choi Eunhee into her home for a season and begin a friendship that lasts a lifetime and even generations.

79- By the Book by Jasmine Guillory    9/15    (kindle/library) ★★★★

This is a fun romance read. A sweet modern day re-telling of Beauty and the Beast. Isabelle thinks she lands her dream job in a NY publishing house but winds up feeling stuck.  While in LA for a conference or something pops into to see Beau who is supposed to be writing a memoir but has yet to submit anything or any sign this book is going to come to fruition.  She ends up staying at his home to help him get started on the writing process & . . .

February in New York was so depressing. It should feel better, shouldn’t it? Winter was almost over! But instead it was cold and dreary and endless, despite being the shortest month of the year.

 The only way out is through. I know it’s hard, really hard sometimes, but your options are to either give up, or push through the hard parts. And I know you don’t want to give up.

But if she’d learned one thing from this whole experience in California, it had been that she wouldn’t get what she wanted until she asked for it.

80- Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes    9/20    (print/own) 

This was a book club pick. It is very sad, dealing with cancer.  I was not prepared for this book. Jenny comes back home to her estranged family after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis.  She has her five year old daughter in tow, who her family has never met. I found it a sad hard read and might not have finished if not for book club.

81- If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy    9/24    (kindle/library) ★★★

I read this one because a- it was part of the same series as By the Book and b- I needed to take a break from the book below. A light romcom set on the set of a reality dating show like The Bachelor. It was funny and entertaining.

“Actually," Stacy says, "Stanley Tucci is everyone's type.”

82- Count the Ways by Joyce Maynard    9/29    (kindle/library)

My sister was reading this book and told me how much she was loving it.  Naturally I immediately looked for it to read too.  And man was it hard! It made me feel so, so sad.  I actually had to take breaks from reading it because parts of it felt so gut wrenching to me.  The first chapter is present day at a wedding and then she goes back and tells the story of how she got there.  This is the story of Eleanor and her family. Her broken, messy family.

How does it happen that a person with whom you have shared your most intimate moments—greatest love, greatest pain, joy, also grief—can become a stranger?

“Hard things will happen,” Cam told her. “They always do. It’s called life.”

Families didn’t always look the way you pictured them. And even if they did, that was just about never the real story.

83- Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen    9/30    (print/own)

I am very happy to have finally finished this! I struggle reading Jane Austen but I want so badly to love her works. I feel like if I just keep trying reading the older language will get easier. I do enjoy the stories. So I will keep trying.

It did seem to me though that all the sudden it wrapped up the sisters were married, without much explanation of how the suddenly got there.  Pages and pages of drama and back and forth and what have you and then suddenly everyone is married and happy.  I don't know maybe I missed something.

Total: 9     2022: 83

Kindle/Ebook: 5   Print: 3  Audio: 1

Library: 7   Owned: 2  Borrowed: 0

Unread Shelf: 1   Purchased: 2

Favorite: Probably By the Book, although still very much enjoyed The Cartographers on my re-read.

24 years... and counting...

How it started...

 

How its going...

Thursday was our 24th wedding anniversary! I am beyond thankful to be celebrating this day with him <3 

Rhett has Friday's off so I took this one off too so we could spend the day together. We didn't do anything great but it was a very enjoyable weekend over all.

We started off with a breakfast coffee date...

Ran some errands, including visiting the Amish Bulk Food Store.  We took the dogs along for the ride and Chance tried to sit on lap.

For dinner we went to The Cider Mill.  Our reservations were for 8:15 because that and 8:30 were the only times available when we decided to go there.  It felt weird going out to eat so late but it was really nice.  We both loved the restaurant, the food and drinks were amazing! My sister recommended it to us, they went for their anniversary last month. We were not disappointed.

Saturday I planned to start off the day with a run but Rhett wanted to make us breakfast.  Pumpkin pancakes from a mix we picked up at the amish store.

I was happy to indulge him, even if I could only eat about half the plate he placed in front of me. :P

Late morning I headed to the lakes with Bruno for our run.  He was ecstatic and I was so proud of how good he was with all the people and dogs we saw.

Saturday night Hannah requested Chicken Gnocchi Soup- I made it in the Pressure Cooker and it was sooooo good!  We also served it with garlic knots from Aldi.

Happy October!