What's Up Wednesday: February 2019 Edition

What We're Eating This Week

Last night we ate this Easy Shrimp Fried Rice that Drew declared one of the best things I ever made. Please, hold your applause. It really is very easy and quick to make as are most recipes from Mix and Match Mama's blog.

What I'm Reminiscing About

Our women's ministry had a lovely retreat this past weekend out at Camp Highroad in Middleburg, Virginia. It was a great time to get outside and breathe after such a hectic few weeks. It struck me again how very important it is for me to get quiet, to listen to my breath, to remove myself from distractions, and to understand the value in just being still. God speaks in a whisper and I so often drown out His still, strong voice. 

What I'm Loving

Joe hosts a podcast with a friend at Penn State called Turning Two where they discuss the MLB and a whole lot of players and things that mean absolutely nothing to me. Doesn't matter though. I love watching him on Facebook Live and listening to him talk even when I have no idea what he's talking about. To listen to his podcast you can go to your podcast app on your phone and search Turning Two with Joe Skinner and Josh Starr.

What We've Been Up To

Basketball, basketball, and more basketball. Kyle's Varsity team plays in the State Quarterfinals on Friday and Drew's 8th grade team plays in the Division Semi-Finals on Saturday.

What I'm Dreading

The end of basketball season. We've been so blessed to have it last as long as it has. Whether the end comes this weekend or whether it ends in a State Championship, it really doesn't matter when the end comes. I won't be ready. And yet, for every thing there is a season, right? We'll be okay. :-)

What I'm Working On

Yep. Pretty much working on this. Every night.

What I'm Excited About

I get just about all of my beauty product advice from Jamie Golden on her Instagram stories. Recently she mentioned this Nivea cream made in Germany (apparently the German part is important) and said that it has the same first five ingredients as La Mer which is the queen of all facial moisturizers that I've been coveting since I first read in my InStyle magazine that JLo used it. Unfortunately, to afford LaMer I would have to sell my house and all my belongings and live in a van down by the river. Jamie says that if you get the Nivea that is made in Germany from Amazon you are on your way to having almost the same potion as LaMer and you can actually live in your own house at the same time. For $10 I figure it's worth a try.

What I'm Watching

The whole fam has been watching Parenthood. I watched this series when it aired, but didn't start it until the 2nd season. I'm loving watching it with my guys. I think it's one of the best shows ever.

I finished watching Schitt's Creek last week, so I needed a new show to pull up when I'm trying to avoid life or responsibility. Enter The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Ellie Kemper is a delight. Hilarious.

What I'm Reading

I randomly picked up this book at Barnes and Noble purely based on the title and a vague recognition of the author's name.  It's about writing and careers and dreams and family and kids and trying to make it all work.  Sign me up. I'm really enjoying it.

Also, I still have this book on the Enneagram personality test sitting by my bed for a couple of weeks and haven't really spent much time reading it after I took the initial test. Honestly, I've been wanting to read this for about three or four years and never have fully committed to it. According to the book, my type (#9) procrastinates a lot. Shocker.

What I'm Listening To

As I've mentioned a million times, I love the podcast, Armchair Expert with Dax Sheperd. He interviews quite a few celebrities which is always fun, but he also has a series called "Experts on Expert" where he interviews philosophers, writers, professors and psychologists. This episode with Jonathan Haidt is one of the most interesting interviews of all. Haidt is a moral psychologist and professor of Ethical Leadership. He is incredibly thoughtful and compelling. His book, The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, is now on my To-Read List.

What I'm Wearing

Yesterday, I received a surprise birthday package from my sister with all kinds of fun gifts including this adorable, soft top from Anthropologie that I immediately put on this morning. The surprise is because my birthday was January 14th, but I was so excited to open my belated gift. Never underestimate the positive points of sending a birthday gift six weeks late! It's a great strategy!

What I'm Doing This Weekend

I will be sleeping so well as my house will be full. Joe will be home for his Spring Break. We can't wait to have him home.

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month

For my birthday, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law gave me tickets to John Crist's comedy show which is next weekend in Baltimore, Maryland. John is a Christian comedian which I realize sounds totally lame, but I promise you he is hilarious. If you don't follow him on Instagram you are really missing out. His stories are so funny. My favorite is THIS ONE where he discusses the differences in "Air Pod Guy" and "Regular Ear Bud Guy". It seems that every teenager in America - including mine - got those dumb Air Pods for Christmas this year and I'm sure at least half of them have lost them by now. I promise you that this will make your day if you're tired of wondering what that weird growth is coming out of your son's ear.

What Else is New

Kyle was blessed to receive an acceptance letter to the University of Tennessee a few weeks ago so we are planning a visit to Knoxville and the campus as soon as the basketball season ends. We are thrilled for him - even though if he goes there he will clearly be wearing the wrong shade of orange. ;-)

Well, that's all, Folks. Have a great Wednesday!

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