Currently

I guess I will try, yet again, to get back into blogging! At the end of September my mom and I flew to Washington state to visit my grandma. Little did we know that Hurricane Helene would be coming directly through our area. We had planned our trip to Washington months prior, so we didn't really know what to expect when we saw that Helene was coming through. 

It was surprising to see our area getting slammed by the hurricane considering how far inland we live in Upstate South Carolina. We had 14 inches of rain! With even more to the north and into western North Carolina. We got some pretty strong winds too. We weren't really worried about the house as we have no water or trees by our house, but my mom was getting notifications from the power company about our power going out. We did end up losing power for 3 days and our cable was out for almost 3 weeks. Not having TV wasn't a huge deal but a large majority of people in our area were without internet for 3+ weeks. So while we have a different internet provider our internet was really really slow because I'm guessing everyone was forced to use the hotspot on their phone. 

We were in Washington for two weeks and had a really nice time visiting my grandma. It was just really nice to spend time with her. We didn't get home from our trip until after midnight so on the drive back from the airport we weren't really able to see much of the destruction from the hurricane. But the next morning I was shocked to look out the front window and see almost all of the large trees across the street from us were gone! I wish I had a before picture but there was dozens of trees that came down. Since the hurricane came through at night I can't imagine how scary that must have been listening to those trees come down all night long! 

But since being back it's been so strange driving around and seeing trees down everywhere. Literally everywhere we go there are tons of trees down. One thing I've noticed is just how many trees came down directly next to peoples houses. Not on their houses fortunately, but right next to the house! So it's good to see that most people in our immediate area were safe! 

And then another thing that happened while we were gone was our fridge/freezer quit working. It was already not working very well before we left (the freezer wasn't staying as cold as it should) so I moved everything out of the freezer and most everything out of the fridge and sure enough, when we got back it wasn't working at all. It was 60 degrees in the fridge! Since we are renting they sent someone out to look at the fridge, found out it was going cost almost $900 (!!!) to fix the problem, and then we had to wait several days but we finally got a new fridge last week. Considering the house we are living in is only 6 years old, it's ridiculous that the fridge is already having a major problem like that. 

Anyways, it seems things are finally getting back to normal around here. I had hoped to come back from Washington and go on some hikes up in North Carolina to see the fall colors but that isn't going to be happening unfortunately. The areas where we like to hike were the areas affected by the severe flooding.

Watching - I've been enjoying watching the latest season of The Great British Baking Show on Netflix. I also watched the latest installment of Unsolved Mysteries. And I was glad to see Shark Tank and Dateline start up again!

Reading - I haven't really read anything particularly interesting lately, although Beyond Reasonable Doubt by Robert Dugoni comes out tomorrow and I am really looking forward to starting that! I really liked the first book in the series, Her Deadly Game. 

Buying - I haven't really purchased anything lately except for some pajamas. (I got this set: top | pants ) 

Looking forward to - Finally getting some real fall weather, whenever that may be! We got about a week of cooler weather when it almost got down to freezing at night and now it's back to being in the upper 70's all week. I am just over it. I have never been a fan of summer and hot weather and having about 7 months of summer is just too much! The leaves have just barely started changing color here! It's just so weird.

Starting - To begin thinking about Christmas presents for family. With Thanksgiving being so late this year I really need to get started on coming up with ideas. Have you started any Christmas shopping yet?

Eating - I recently made some homemade peanut butter cups and have been enjoying those!

Needing - To run some errands this week. I need to go to Costco, early voting starts today so I need to do that, and I also need to stop by Target.

What have you been up to lately?

Currently

Well, it's been a while! Again! Between having a miserably hot and humid summer and a lot of travel, blogging went to the bottom of the priority list. I have so much to get caught up on and so many things to post about! So I'm really hoping to get back into posting regularly again. 

Working on - Just getting caught up on a bunch of different projects. I still have some scrapbooking to get caught up on and I'm still working on all of my pictures from from our trip to Europe. Between a lot of travel and family stuff, I feel like I'm so behind in a lot of things right now! So just really working on getting caught up.

Looking forward to - Some cooler weather! The summer was extremely hot and humid here but it's been cooling down the last couple of weeks which has been so nice! Typically the entire month of September is pretty warm, so I'm really glad that the cooler weather has come so much sooner! And I'm looking forward to getting out and going on some hikes now that it's cooler. I have quite a few hikes saved on AllTrails that I want to go on.

Watching - Just watching America's Got Talent right now. Looking forward to all the regular shows coming back on soon!

Back in July I watched the newest season of Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix. It was pretty interesting. Although the third episode is a little disturbing/creepy!

Reading - I recently finished reading The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunningham Grant and thought it was an interesting read. A little predictable in some parts but overall an interesting and unique story.

Buying - I got a new phone recently and so I needed a charger, a phone case, screen protector, ear buds, etc. It's so annoying that they keep changing the USB part thing (it's USB-C now) so you keep having to buy new stuff! 

I've also bought a few new clothes which I'll share soon. 

Trying - I'm going to be trying a new small group at church this week. And while I'm not exactly nervous about it, I am maybe a little unsure about it. Being new and trying to make friends as an adult is so hard! So I kind of just decided that if I don't like it I don't have to go back. 

 

What have you been up to lately?

I'm Back! An Update and What I'm Currently Up To

It's been a while! Definitely not an intended break but I've been wanting to get back to blogging for a while now. My family had a pretty rough go of it at the beginning of the year. We had 3 deaths in the family within 5 months. Two of which were within 6 days of each other. All three deaths were extremely unexpected so as you can imagine it's been a difficult time for us. 

Losing my grandpa on my mom's side has been the most difficult though. I'm so grateful for the two weeks we got to spend in Washington last spring with my grandma and grandpa as that was the last time we got to see my grandpa.

My family traveled to Washington to be with my grandma as well as my entire extended family. My sister even flew in from Germany which was so nice. And also kind of crazy because she came home for Christmas and then less than 2 weeks later made a last minute decision to fly to Washington to be with everyone. We were all so glad she did.  

It was really nice to get to see family that we hadn't seen in a long time despite the fact it was for a difficult reason. My cousin asked at one point when the last time the siblings (meaning my mom, aunt, and uncles) had last all been together and we figured it had probably been over 10 years. It's just hard when everyone lives all over the country! So it was really nice to get to be with everyone.

Prior to that we had a lot of travel last year which included multiple trips up to Northern Virginia to help both of my siblings move. My brother bought his first place and we helped him move out of his previous place, brought some of his stuff here (things that couldn't be stored like food and other perishables) because there was about a month gap between when his lease ended on his apartment to when he could move into his new place. So then we drove back up to help him move in. Then my sister got relocated to Germany so we helped her clean out her apartment and deal with some of her moving stuff. 

And then just last week my parents and I got back from visiting my sister in Germany! We took 3 weeks to visit my sister and travel around Europe which was pretty fun. We got to see and do so many things! So I will have a lot to share about that sometime soon! 

Anyways, I want to start blogging regularly again and I have quite a few things to start sharing!

Buying - New clothes. Spring is typically when I like to buy new clothes as it's usually when I can find more things that I like. My family went on a big trip and I had been needing some specific things that I can bring with me. So I've been looking for sales and for some items that would work for me!

Playing - Still playing Animal Crossing New Horizons. I am well on my way to having my whole island done. I struggled with designing the entrance for a long time and I finally have it where I like it. I want to have a completed island and I think I'm well on my way!

Back in February I finished playing Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. I had put off the final battle for a long time but I had completed pretty much every single other thing there was to do (side quests/adventures, found all the Koroks, etc. The only things I didn't do were upgrade all the gear or find all the treasure chests.) so I finally went ahead and finished the game. The final battle was pretty difficult and I was surprised I completed it in one go (But just barely! I really thought I wasn't going to make it.) and now that I've finished it I'm thinking about starting it over again. 

Finishing - I finished this new blog layout. I had been wanting to make one for a while but decided to work on a new one while I was taking a break from blogging. I'm pleased with how it turned out and I also went ahead and updated all of the pages! Well, all of the pages except for the About Me one. Writing about yourself is a bit challenging!

Reading - I've recently finished Fatal Domain by Steven James and I really enjoyed it. I really liked the first book in the series, Broker of Lies, so I was really interested in the second book. I also finished The Roads We Follow by Nicole Deese.

Watching - Getting caught up on all the shows on the DVR from when we were gone. I've been watching Dateline, 20/20, The Amazing Race, Home Town, and American Idol.

Looking forward to - Not too much right now. We're hoping to visit my brother up in Northern Virginia sometime soon. He wasn't able to come to Europe with us (he had just gotten back from a trip to Italy and then is going to Europe again this summer for a friend's wedding). His birthday was in May so we are hoping to go spend some time with him and celebrate his birthday.

Eating - Since getting back from our trip to Europe I've really been craving salads, berries, and vegetables. I've started finding strawberries at Costco so I have been very into eating those. And I'm always buying blueberries, which are my favorite! Eating out so much while we were gone and not being able to eat how we normally do was hard. Obviously that's expected while traveling but it's always nice to be home and get back to eating how you like to.

And I have also really been enjoying this chocolate chip cookie recipe. I really really like chocolate chip cookies and these are the perfect soft and chewy cookie! 

Trying - I've tried a few new recipes lately. I've made this homemade cinnamon swirl bread 3 times over the last several months. It's so good and makes excellent toast.

And I've also made a couple versions of a Taco Bell crunchwrap. I've never actually had a Taco Bell crunchwrap but both of these recipes sounded good so I gave them a try. I tried this one from Half Baked Harvest and then I came across this breakfast one from Ambitious Kitchen on Instagram. Both recipes were a bit time consuming to make, but they were very good and very filling.

Working on - Several things. Scheduling and finishing up some blog posts. I have a lot of things I want to share. I have taken several trips I want to share photos from as well as some other fun things to post!

And I'm also working on going through all the pictures I took during our 3 weeks in Europe. 

Since it's been so long, how have you been? What have you been up to lately?

Currently

Watching - So many shows have started again! Dateline, Shark Tank, The Amazing Race, Lego Masters, and The Great British Baking Show.

Reading - I just finished One Last Kill by Robert Dugoni and it was really good! I did figure out who the killer was about halfway through but I still really enjoyed the book. 

Buying - I've purchased a few things lately! I bought severa items from Old Navy during their recent sale. (Although I'll probably end up returning at least half of it. Hopefully most of it will work!) I've also ordered some coffee from Peet's, and some joggers from Target.

Trying - Fried rice! I've for some reason never had/made fried rice before (just never thought about it for some reason even though it's exactly the kind of thing I would like) but I found a recipe on Instagram and gave it a try and I ended up really liking it!

Needing - To find a hike to go on. Now that the weather has finally cooled down some and the leaves are starting to change color it's time to go on a hike! I just need to narrow down which one we want to do.

Eating - Chocolate cake. I tried a new chocolate cake recipe yesterday and am looking forward to eating that later today! I still need to frost and assemble the cake, but I tried some of the extra pieces I had (I made 6-in round cakes so I had some leftover batter that I made and froze.) and it tasted so good! 

Working on - Always scrapbooking! I really am almost caught up this time. I want to get caught up on the current album, then I have a December Daily album (FROM 2 YEARS AGO.) I want to get done so I can share in December. And once I get THAT done I need to work on my Europe album from when we went to Europe back in 2015...So I guess I still have a lot to do! 

So what have you been up to lately?

Currently

Hello! It's been a little while again. I've been gone a lot over the last couple of months and just haven't had much time to sit down and write anything. That said I have lots of posts in my drafts ready to go! I figured a Currently post was the easiest way to kinda catch back up and get into the swing of posting again. 

Working on - Blog posts. I've taken several trips over the last couple of months so there have been lots of pictures to sort through and put together for blog posts. 

Eating - I made monster cookies recently and they're so good! I've tried several recipes in the past but they came out dry and not that good. I used this recipe and definitely recommend it!

Reading - Last month I read Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni on Kindle Unlimited and it was really good! Highly recommend if you like legal thrillers. 

And currently I'm reading Broker of Lies by Steven James which has been interesting so far.

Buying - I haven't bought too much lately. I did order a purse and a dress from Target recently. Although I haven't gotten them yet so we'll see if they work out! I'm pretty sure the purse will be fine but I'm unsure on the dress. My trusty Kate Spade purse is literally falling apart so it was time for a new bag.

I just looked back at my old posts and found that I bought my Kate Spade purse back in June of 2016. So I've definitely gotten plenty of use out of it!

Playing - I've been playing a lot of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom! I've really been enjoying it!

Finishing - Editing pictures. I made it a priority to go through and edit my pictures. I knew with being gone so much I was going to have a lot to go through and I just didn't want to put it off. I tend to wait until I get so many it's overwhelming to go through but it was nice to get it done!

What have you been up to lately?

I'm Back! And A Currently I'm...

Hello! It has been a long time! I was kind of getting burned out on blogging and needed a break, and with some other stuff that was going on I just really didn't have the time for a while. But now I think I'm ready to get back into it. I have a lot to share! And have lots of ideas for posts. Although I think I'm going to switch to maybe a two posts a week schedule. But we'll see. I tend to put too much pressure on myself to get posts done and then I get stressed about it and it's not as much fun anymore so I want to just keep this fun for now on. Anyways...

Reading - I'm reading First to Fall and A Woman of No Importance. A Woman of No Importance is really interesting it's just taking me a while to get through. It's about Virginia Hall, the American spy who helped to win WWII. My mom and brother both read it and liked it and I've listened to a podcast episode about her. I don't typically read a lot of non-fiction but Virginia Hall is so incredible it's definitely worth a read!

Eating - I made these chicken, avocado, and bacon wraps for dinner last night. I don't use the pesto and used the honey mustard chicken from this recipe. It's so good and one of my favorite dinners! I also made this funfetti cake yesterday.

Buying - I just dropped a good chunk of change on this new camera lens. I've been looking at it for years and finally saw that it was on sale so I figured it was time to buy it. It was $400 off and I've never seen the price go that low before so I figured I couldn't beat that price. I knew if I wanted it now was the time to get it! I haven't gotten to go out use it yet but I'm trying to figure out somewhere to go so I can try it out.

Playing - Still playing Animal Crossing New Horizons. I know pretty much everyone is over it but I still really enjoy it! I'm finally getting to the point where I really like how my island is looking (and I'm still trying to grow those dang blue roses! I think I've finally found a good method!). Although I want to start playing Zelda Breath of the Wild again to get ready for the new one coming out it May!

Pinning - I don't go on Pinterest too much but I do use it for saving recipes. And it's the best place to look for Animal Crossing island ideas as well as scroll through memes. You can follow me here if you'd like!

Needing - To find a new way to keep track of the blogs I read since apparently Bloglovin is no more. What do you use? Right now I'm just following people through Blogger, but I don't like their feed format very much. And I've heard of feedly but it sounds like it just keeps making recommendations to you which I don't really like. I just want to read the people I want to instead of it constantly recommending things to me.

Working On - I've working on some blog posts. We went to Charleston, SC, for a couple of days at the beginning of January, then I have a bunch of stuff from last summer I want to share. And I am also working on finishing up a scrapbook and I'll share some of those pages as well!

So what have you been up to lately?

Currently

As usual, taking a long blogging break was not planned. I was actually doing well with getting a bunch of blog posts put together and then I was in a scary car accident about a month ago that kind of took the wind out of my sails so to speak. Everyone was fine but it was a really scary experience for me. 

I was traveling southbound and had a green light (and had had a green light for a while! Cars traveling both north and south had already cleared the intersection before I got there) when as soon as I entered the intersection a car came flying out of nowhere and I collided with them. There was a semi truck stopped in the left turn lane (he had a red light) and the other car came flying up next to them, turned in front of the stopped truck, essentially running a red light. There was no way I could have seen them (since they were hidden by the truck) or done anything. Luckily the guy in the semi truck came running over to me and said I didn't do anything wrong and that he caught it all on his dash cam!

The other driver accepted full responsibility for the accident (not that they would have been able to deny it with the other witnesses and dash cam footage, but it certainly makes it easier with insurance.) 

I have a lot to be thankful for as far as the accident goes. That no one was hurt, that I happened to be driving my parents suburban that day (I don't normally drive it but I didn't want to go and get gas in my car that day so my mom said to just take the suburban!) our insurance was great and theirs didn't give us any problems with getting the car fixed. But it was still just a really scary experience. 

Moving on from hard stuff, I just thought a post talking a little about what I've been up to lately might be in order. We kind of skipped spring and went right on to summer as it's already been in the 70's and 80's lately!

Eating - Berries! We've gone to Costco after church the last couple of weekends and stocked up on strawberries and blueberries. I always look forward to eating fresh berries this time of year. I've also been making this spinach salad with dinner a lot.

Buying - Dresses. I just ordered 2 from H&M. I bought this one in my regular size and it came damaged and was also a little too small. So I exchanged it for a larger size and this one is now too big. The material is also incredibly thin (like almost see through!) so while I love the style of the dress I'm going to have to return it. I also got this dress. I was going to get it in floral but it was sold out in my size, but after seeing the floral pattern in person I decided I didn't like how it looked and just kept the black. I was kind of on the fence about having this dress in black, but it should be okay for just a casual dress. It's lightweight so it should be nice for summer. What do you think? Basically I've just been on the search for some nice summer clothes!

Watching - Dateline, Shark Tank, American Idol. We've also been watching some true crime shows on Discovery+ as well as The Chase on Netflix. They have the original version from the Game Show Network. The drama is ridiculous and the host is kind of annoying (the ABC version is so much better!) but it's good just for something to watch. (or have on in the background while I play my Switch!)

Reading - I recently finished Heirlooms by Sandra Byrd (I received it to review). It doesn't release until July but I'll have a review before then. I really enjoyed it!

Working on - Editing some pictures. My mom and I drove down to Georgia to visit the Georgia State Botanical Garden in Athens. I really miss visiting the Norfolk Botanical Garden when we lived in Virginia, so I've been trying to find another garden somewhere near us in South Carolina. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any gardens (at least that I've been able to find) where we live, but I did come across the Georgia state one that is about a 2 hour drive away. We were kind of between seasons with a lot of the spring flowers (like azaleas and such) having already bloomed and it still being too early for summer things like southern magnolia and crepe myrtles, but we did still manage to see a few things. And of course I did manage to take some nice pictures that I will be sharing soon! I was disappointed to miss out on all the cherry blossoms. I really didn't see any where we live!

Needing - To get back into scrapbooking. I haven't done any in a while and my album is sitting next to me waiting to be finished! I really would like to get caught up on it. I just haven't really been in a creative mood lately.

Looking forward to - Seeing my family this summer. Although I would like to see them much sooner! We have an event we're attending this summer that my whole family will be there for, so I'm looking forward to seeing everyone then.

What have you been up to lately? Are you looking forward to anything? Bought or done anything interesting? Let me know!