Hello and happy Monday! We are in the dog days of summer and the afternoon heat is a bit oppressive, so I’m using it to motivate me to get some inside tasks done that have been hanging over my head. I can’t believe it’s almost August, which means I really need to shift my mind to homeschool prep. I have all our curricula, but I need to get up into the homeschool room and organize it. I’d really love to get rolling next week, but I’m not as mentally ready for it as I usually feel. Maybe I’ll get there this week by tackling my to do list?
Or maybe we’re just enjoying summer and being at home. We’ve been at the pool with friends, staying up later than usual, and relishing in our no commitment (lack of) schedule. While we’re on the subject, here’s what else is going on currently…
Currently Watching
As a family, we are watching The Men Who Built America, The Frontiersmen. I love a good history dramatization! David and I are rewatching Frasier as our before bed show because apparently we are at the age where we proclaim that they don’t make any good TV anymore, not like the great shows they used to make. If you have a series you think can change our minds, I’d love the recommendation!
Currently Reading
I’m in the last few chapters of Be Ready When the Luck Happens and I’ve really enjoyed learning more about Ina Garten’s life. I tend to like memoirs, so if you have any you recommend, please send them to me!
I also must admit I fell off of reading The Story, but felt convicted after yesterday’s sermon to place it in the middle of my coffee table and pick up where I left off. That begins today!
Currently Listening To
A lot of Thomas Rhett since we have plans to see him in concert soon! It will be the girls first country concert and we are going with friends. I’m crossing my fingers rain stays away and it’s a fun time for us all.
Currently Eating
Homecooked food and after our traveling, I’m eating it up (figuratively and literally). On Sundays, I’m cooking my way through this Ina cookbook and having the family rate each recipe. Our scale: 0: disgusting, 5: turkey sandwich, 10: I want to eat this everyday. It’s a fun way to branch out in my cooking without it feeling overwhelming. A few recent favs:
- Bacon, lettuce, (garden!) tomato, avocado sandwiches on sourdough
- Greek salads using this marinade for the chicken
- Mackerel salad – I’ve been trying to increase my omega-3 intake but struggle with sardines because I feed them to Finley, but I can do mackerel! This salad: mackerel, cucumber, red onion, capers, mayo, lemon juice, pepper.
- Baked rotini with a lamb ragu
- I used my favorite ricotta and spinach stuffed shell recipe and made it into lasagna roll up instead for a friend that just had a baby. I had a few extra that I froze, unbaked, in 2c souper cubes. I’m pretty pleased that my freezer is getting pretty well stocked with single portion lunches/dinners!
- I pickled jalapenos from the garden and I’m so tickled by it. I deseeded them because they are crazy spicy and they turned out just the way I like them.
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Currently Drinking
After plenty of adult beverages on our trip (nothing excessive, but nightly for sure), I’ve been drying out from alcohol. My daily beverage schedule right now looks like:
Currently Planning
Our fall! Gosh I love fall and I don’t even care how basic that makes me sound. My hope was to have our living room mostly pulled together before fall to create a cozy environment for hanging out and I’m pleased that that is well underway. I bought these lamps, cut the cords off, and put these rechargeable light bulbs in them and I’m SO pleased! There are so many options for light (warm, natural, colors, timers, brightness) and did I mention no pesky cords? Super pleased.
More so though, I’m planning our commitments (piano, musical theater, soccer), homeschool day routine (a new co-op has me working hard to figure out a good rhythm for our days), hikes we want to explore when the weather gets nice, and also planning what I might want to do as a fall garden.
Currently In the Market for
Art! I need art for my walls but these decisions paralyze me. Where does one go to find good artwork? I don’t need an original Picasso by any means, but also don’t really want a mass produced piece that every college student also has hanging on their walls. Any suggestions?
Currently Looking Forward to
Football season. Can I say that yet? I blame the fact that it’s almost August and soon we’ll be talking all about preseason rankings and game schedules. But truly, football season brings so much joy and coziness to our home because it represents time spent together, yummy food, fall decorations and weather, the exhilaration of cheering on our teams, and that happy background buzz of the games I don’t care much about watching. Oh yes, and GO DAWGS!
Currently on the Farm
Hailey built the chicks a toy to play with out of sticks she found in the woods! Sometimes I forget that eventually they will give us eggs because we just love them so much right now as little pets.
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Ok, my chattiness is getting away from me, so I’ll sign off here and wish you a very happy Monday! Thanks for stopping by ze ol blog <3
