Author: jgalvinwhite

Posted in Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites {#97}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Happy Friday! How was your week? You know how sometimes the short weeks feel the longest? Well, a short week due to a Monday holiday and two snow days sure did make this week feel long. I’m not mad about a few snow days, but my family just still isn’t really in a routine which can make the days seem extra crazy and extra long.

As always, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites.

This week, I’m sharing my favorites day by day.

Saturday:

My favorite from Saturday was the cookie cake Travis and the kids got me for my birthday. I love that tradition, and of course, the cookie cake was delish.

Sunday:

A big WIN for the Chiefs was a favorite of mine…and a favorite for Hayden too!

Monday:

An obvious favorite from Monday was having the three day weekend.

It also would have been Betty White’s 100th birthday. Have you seen Google? When you type in her name, roses float down the screen. What a tribute!

Have you seen this post? What a beautiful sentiment.

Also, Hadley had been wanting to watch Sing 2, so we did that. It is such a sweet movie. We all loved it.

Tuesday:

Well, Tuesday was a snow day, but it was a NTI (non-traditional instruction) day for us….our first ever NTI snow day. The kids did a great job completing their work, and we are thankful to not have to add these days to the end of the year.

In the evening, I met up with my friend for drinks and an appetizer. She gave me the sweetest birthday gift. It was so great to catch up with her.

Wednesday:

Wednesday, we had school…which was honestly a favorite. I’m in the midst of planning our school’s credit recovery session, and I needed to get quite a few things accomplished.

Then, I had a great surprise when I get home. My new T3 curling iron arrived. Do you follow @mommaflum (another teacher named Jennifer!) on Instagram? A couple of weeks ago she shared some of the T3 products that she loves because T3 had a sale going on. I messaged her to ask about the curling iron, and she realized it wasn’t on sale. Anyway, over the weekend, she messaged me to say the curling iron was on sale which I thought was so sweet of her to do. I would never spend $160 on this, but with the sale, it was $100 off, so I used birthday money to treat myself.

Hadley has already used it! I’m going to give it a try over the weekend.

Thursday:

Well, we woke up to about 3 inches of snow which meant another NTI day.

…and snow cream for a mid-morning snack!

Part Husky Homer thinks the snow is so fun, and we love watching him run laps in the backyard!

I love snow too! If it’s going to be cold, then I’m all about the snow. By mid-February, I will be ready for spring.

Favorite Mom Meme:

I’m Team Forever Needs a Nap!

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday

This photo from 2016 popped up in my Facebook memories yesterday. I remember taking this photo on a snow day. Hadley has always been able to sleep anywhere, and she sure was worn out!

Weekly Recap:

I had a few posts this week including a recap of the weekend, sharing my favorite cookbooks, and some quick lunch ideas.

Weekend Wrap Up
Favorite Cookbooks
Let’s Lunch

Well, as I finished typing this, we got the call that we have another NTI day today. While the roads are in better condition than the snow earlier this week, the temps are frigid and some side streets are still icy. Honestly, I think our sub shortage is also an issue. Maybe next week will be more “normal.”

This weekend, Hayden has some basketball, and then we’ll be cheering for the Chiefs and hoping for another win.

Thanks so much for reading!

Posted in Meals and Recipes

Let’s Lunch!

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello! Well, since January 1st, I can honestly say that I’ve done a much better job about meal planning and meal prepping. One thing I struggle with is packing my lunch. I don’t know why, but that always feels like such a tedious task for me!

I have a few recent lunch faves that I’m sharing with you today!

Sweet Potato:

I’ve gotten out of the habit of eating sweet potatoes, and I’d forgotten how much I love them. Here’s a quick lunch I love:

  • Microwave the sweet potato.
  • Sprinkle Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel seasoning on it.
  • Add chicken (I use Perdue shortcut chicken bites)
  • I add a pinch of shredded (Monterey Jack) cheese.
  • A dollop of salsa

Salad:

This may seem like a random combination, but I love it.

  • 2 cups of arugula
  • Sprinkle some Feta cheese on top
  • Add a scrambled egg
  • Top with salsa

Stir Fry Bowl:

What I love the most about this dish is that it’s a great way to use up any veggies I have on hand.

  • Sauté’ some shrimp in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and I use Trader Joe’s Chile Lime seasoning.
  • After those are cooked, I remove them from the pan and scramble three eggs.
  • Then, I remove those from the pan and sauté whatever veggies I have and add a few sprinkles of garlic powder and a couple of dashes of soy sauce. I usually do zucchini, onion, mushrooms, and broccoli (if I have it). Then, I add it some shredded carrot when everything is pretty much cooked through.
  • While the veggies are cooking, I put the cauliflower rice in the microwave.
  • When the rice is finished, I add it into the pan, and I also add the shrimp and eggs back in.
  • I stir everything together, and it’s ready to eat.

By using one bag of microwave cauliflower, I can get three lunches out of this stir fry which is why I scramble three eggs.

This is my most “time intensive” meal, but like I said, I get three lunches out of it and can use up what ever veggies I have in the fridge.

And…

Sometimes, I end up bringing some fruit, a protein shake, and some pretzels or popcorn as my lunch.

I’ve found if I can have a rotation of a few lunch ideas, I can get through a month at a time without thinking that packing a lunch is much of a chore!

One more idea:

Since we had a snow day on Tuesday, I was home for lunch. That gave me a bit more time to eat, so I prepared another fave:

Shrimp Tacos:

  • I just cooked the shrimp like I do for the stir fry bowls.
  • I put the shrimp in the Trader Joe’s Carb Savvy whole wheat tortillas, top the shrimp with shredded lettuce or cabbage and a sprinkle of shredded cheese.

What about you? What are some of your favorite quick and healthy lunches? I’d love to add to my recipe rotation!

See you back here tomorrow for Friday Favorites.

Posted in Meals and Recipes, Tuesday Talk

Tuesday Talk: Cookbooks

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello from snowy Kentucky! I’m pretty sure that was my intro one day last week, and now we’ve gotten more snow…with more on the way later in the week! I will be honest…I’m not mad about it, but by mid-February, I will be ready for spring!

I’m not sure if this link up is still a thing, but I still have things to talk about…on a Tuesday 🤣 …like my favorite cookbooks.

January is always the perfect time to regroup after the holidays and take more time to meal plan and meal prep. I don’t ever really stop meal planning, but sometimes I slack off with meal prep.

Anyway, today I’m sharing some of my favorite cookbooks that I turn to very often (and a few favorite recipes from each).

Growing up, I didn’t think much about cooking (besides the fact that my mom made dinner for us every night), but I do love to cook, and have taught myself a bit along the way.

Here are some of my faves:

Simmers:

If I had to choose one cookbook to have for the rest of my life, Simmers would be it. Dramatic or what? haha Seriously though, the busier my kids have gotten through the years, the more and more I turn to Shay’s cookbook for slow cooker recipes.

Some of my favorite recipes:

  • King Ranch Joe’s (We are having these this week.)
  • Taco Tortellini Soup
  • Chicken Tortilla Soup
  • Beef Enchilada Tacos
  • Old-Fashioned Sloppy Joe’s

Eat Better Feel Better

I often ask for cookbooks for Christmas, and Travis got me one of Giada’s cookbooks. He knows I try to make healthy meals for the family, and that my love for Giada runs deep! I’ve made a few recipes, and I know I will continue to use this book to plan our family dinners.

So far, I’ve made:

  • Fusilli with Pesto and Green Beans
  • Green Fried Rice
  • Chicken Milanese

That Bowl Life:

Beth used to live in Lexington, and she’s a fun follow on Instagram. She’s had great success with the Faster Way to Fat Loss and created this cookbook after creating so many meals while on the program. I love how easy the recipes are, and the idea of just tossing some goodness in a bowl and that eating healthy can be pretty effortless is a win. {*Not all the recipes are in a bowl…}

Some of my favorite recipes:

  • Egg muffins
  • I’m a big fan of a snack plate because of her: a handful of almonds, a hard boiled egg, a few pickles, some lunch meat, pretzels and hummus, etc.
  • Arugula with shredded parm and proscuitto is another fave.
  • Watermelon, mint, feta salad
  • Lots of a great drink concoctions too!

She has another one, The Village Cookbook, coming out too!

Mix and Match Mama Meal Planner:

This is another cookbook by Shay that I love so much. What I love the most about it is that it is organized by season. Sometimes I think cookbooks can be overwhelming, but I love that I can turn to each season and there are four weeks worth of meals from which I pick and choose what to feed my family. There’s also a “sweet treat’ each week as well!

Some of my favorite recipes:

  • Beefy Cornbread Casserole (Winter)
  • Shrimp Caprese Pasta (Spring)
  • Caesar Salad Burgers (Summer)
  • Roasted Chicken and Sweet Potato Risotto (Fall)

What about you? What are some of your favorite cook books that I can add to my collection? Of course, I also turn to Pinterest for recipe inspiration, but kind of like the book vs Kindle debate…sometimes, I just like turning the pages to see what inspires me while making my grocery list!

Well, today is a first…our first ever NTI (non-traditional instruction) snow day. Of course, we became familiar with NTI in spring 2020 (followed by fall 2020 and winter 2021), but this will be our first snow NTI day. I guess the neighborhood roads are still a bit dicey. I feel like if we have to miss school for the weather, NTI is a good compromise. We had regular snow days (that we don’t have to make up) last week, so I’d rather my kids do a bit of learning now rather than be in school until June. As a teacher, I did weather NTI days in my previous district, and I thought they were a good option if we were going to miss lots of school due to weather.

Wish us luck!

Posted in Uncategorized, Weekend Top 5

Weekend Wrap Up

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello! How was your weekend? We had a great one filled with birthday fun, basketball, downtime, winter weather, and more. One of the best parts? Today still counts as the weekend!

Here’s what we were up to this weekend:

On Friday, I picked up the kids up from school and then headed home after a very busy day at school. As I shared in my Friday Favorites post, Friday was my birthday.

Hayden had his first middle school basketball games that night, but I had already made plans with friends before the schedule came out. Travis and the kids dropped me off at my friend’s house, and we had a drink before going to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Carson’s.

The salmon is my favorite!

After dinner, we made our way to the Lexington Opera House to see our girl Heather McMahan. Her show was so funny, and we had a great time.

On Saturday morning, I woke up to a card and cookie cake from Travis and the kids. With a hectic Friday night, we pushed some of the celebrating to Saturday.

We actually had a pretty low key day, and then Hayden had two basketball games.

After the games, we picked up dinner on the way home, and watched football the rest of the evening.

Sunday started with us keeping an eye out on the weather. It started to sleet around the time we left for church, but Hadley was scheduled to be the acolyte, so we headed that way. After church, it was just raining, so we went to another favorite restaurant, Josie’s, for lunch. I had the quiche and side salad. Both hit the spot!

Then, I braved the grocery store. I decided it was probably best to go ahead and shop myself rather than do Clicklist because items have been so limited and I was afraid with the weather, items would be even more limited. I was at the store about an hour and found 90% of what I needed.

After everyone helped me unpack, Travis and the kids took Homer for a bath.

In the late afternoon, the sleet picked back up, and we settled in at home for the evening. I had time to read for a bit, and even took a brief nap.

For dinner, I made Bev’s Chicken and Wild Rice Soup.It hit the spot on a cold and wintry evening.

Then, we watched the Chiefs playoff game against the Steelers. The first half was a bit too close for comfort, but we really enjoyed the second half! Hayden loves to watch every second of the game! With now school today, I let him stay up.

You know I love books, and of course I love the Chiefs. I saw this floating around Facebook. The local KC library sometimes puts books together, and this was perfect for yesterday’s game.

We don’t have big plans today. I need to do a few things around the house, and then I think I will watch a few episodes of The Golden Girls in honor of Betty White’s birthday today. Hadley also wants to watch Sing 2. We’ll take one more day of downtime, and I bet the kids will play some out in the snow.

Take care,

Linking up with Sarah & Holly…

Posted in Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites {#96}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and Happy Friday. Well, after a two week break and then only two days of school last week, this week sure felt like a marathon. Are five day work weeks really necessary?!? 😆 We were back to doing all the things: schools, activities, sports, errands, and more!

As always, I’m linking up with Erika and Andrea for this week’s Friday Favorites.

{I love their new graphic! It’s so cute.}

Favorite Moment(s):

The big news and favorite of the week is that the kids officially received their second dose of the vaccine. Our district had some vaccine clinics, so it was super easy to get the second dose on Wednesday afternoon.

After I took this photo, I got to thinking that I feel like the next time they are showing me cards, they will be 16 and showing me their licenses!

I don’t have a photo, but another favorite this week is an email I received on Wednesday. A teacher in the building who was covering Hadley’s science class recognized Hadley for having great citizenship. Hadley helped her with attendance and finding the teacher materials when her teacher was out sick. Hadley wanted me to print the certificate which was really sweet.

Favorite Food:

My favorite new recipe is this (dairy free) (low carb) PB & J smoothie. I’ve made it a couple of afternoons this week, and it’s been the perfect afternoon treat to tide me over until dinner.

  • 1 c. frozen berries (I used strawberries)
  • 2 Tblsp peanut butter powder (I use PB2)
  • 1 scoop dairy free vanilla protein powder
  • 1 1/2 cups almond (or coconut) milk

A few other faves:

1.

With the snow days last week and a relaxed weekend, I took that opportunity to watch movies. I watched:

  • Sleepless in Seattle
  • Betty White special on Netflix
  • Becoming the Ricardos on Amazon

Sleepless in Seattle is one of my faves, the BW special was a special look back on her life and career (It was made before her passing), and Becoming the Ricardos was SO good. Nicole Kidman as Lucy and Javier Bardem as Ricky were lights out amazing in their performances.

2.

Since I missed my facial in October, my esthetician upgraded my facial service on Wednesday to the Diamond Glow. My monthly facials are definitely a “me time” treat, and a favorite every month.

3.

When my mom visited at Christmas, she left my birthday present. Well, as we tidied up and broke down boxes over break, Hadley and Travis both opened it. I had given my mom a few ideas, and I figured I knew what was in the box but was going to wait until today to open it. Well, since the box had been opened (twice!), I decided to go ahead and use it. It won’t be my everyday purse, but I wanted a sizeable Neoprene tote to carry extra things when needed. It was perfect for packing my toiletries, Kindle, wallet, chargers and more for our overnight Cinci trip. I’ve also used it as my school bag when I’ve packed light. I think it will be great to take to sporting events when I need a sweatshirt, book, and other essentials.

4.

Hadley had a gift card to use, and I was ready to change out my holiday polish, so we went and got manicures on Wednesday evening. More pampering is always a favorite.

(Too many choices which is why I usually stick with Funny Bunny)

5.

Hayden brought home a few art pieces on the last day of school before break. He was so excited to show me the basketball mug he made. The other two pieces were shuffled in with some other papers, so I just had a chance to look at them. I love the colored pencil drawing and the water color lady bug. I’m so glad that bringing home artwork continues past elementary school.

Also…

Have you heard of the “Betty White Challenge?” Of course, she was a champion for animals. She had so many sweet sentiments including:

  • “I just like animals more than people. It’s that simple.”
  • “Animals don’t lie. Animals don’t criticize. If animals have moody days, they handle them better than humans do.”
  • “Animals are near and dear to my heart, and I’ve devoted my life to to trying to improve their lives.”

In honor of her upcoming January 17th birthday (when she would have turned 100), many are donating to local rescues in her honor.

Our pets have always meant the world to us. I grew up with dogs, and then convinced Travis we needed our two Boxers, Shiloh and Scout, after we’d been married a year.

Homer is our first rescue dog. He and his two brothers were found on the side of the road. Tails of Hope Rescue in Cincinnati got them healthy and helped them find their furever homes. He’s been such a wonderful addition to our family.

June 2019

Yesterday, I made a donation to the Lexington Humane Society in Betty White’s honor. I hope you’ll join in on the challenge too and donate to a local rescue.

Favorite Kid Quote:

Hadley was reading her book earlier in the week and said she was excited to read the next chapter because the chapter before was a “hang twister.” We both cracked up. She said, “I mixed up “tongue twister and cliff hanger!” 🤣

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday:

In honor of my birthday today, here’s a little throwback to 1985. Were you even an 80’s kid if you didn’t have a birthday party at Show Biz Pizza?

Weekly Recap:

This week we had our first NJAM post of 2022, I shared a home update, and then linked up with others for Let’s Look.

Not just a Mom: Fave Bloggers
Home Update: Shiplap
Let’s Look

I have some fun plans with some friends tonight, snow is in the forecast over the weekend, and we don’t have school on Monday. This birthday should be a good one.

What are you up to this weekend?

See you back here on Monday!

Posted in Let's look

Let’s Look

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello! It’s a new year with new Let’s Look topics. I’m excited to link up with Shay and Erika for the first Let’s Look of 2 0 2 2 !

This month’s topic is Let’s Look at…how you organize for the new year.

I’m not sure if I’m really any kind of expert on this considering I’m still looking for two pillows that go on my sun room sofa! (*insert all the frustrated emojis, here!*)

Organizing my house:

Step one of organizing for the new year is purge in order to organize my house.

This typically means “all hands on deck” as we move throughout the house and empty closets, toss expired spices, organize the junk drawer, make stacks of books to donate, and so much more.

Last year, I bought this three pack of storage boxes in order to organize my “off season” clothes. Since it finally gets cold after Christmas, I take out my sweaters from these boxes, put them in my closet, and then put my warmer weather clothes in the boxes until late spring. I tried for years to make everything fit in my small closet, and even just using these to move out a few things in the “off season,” does help so much.

Then, it’s time to put away the Christmas decorations. Last year, I bought these storage bags to hold my seasonal pillows. It’s a two pack, and I put fall pillows in one and Christmas pillows in the other one. They are perfect for holding my “regular” throw pillows from September until January.

{looks like these are currently be out of stock?}

Last year is also when I purchased my pencil tree, so I bought these bags. Since I bought another tree this year, I ordered two more. Now, two bags hold the two pencil trees, and the other two bags I use for the kids’ small bedroom trees and our two front porch trees. These bags are definitely life savers for organization.

Storage tubs for Christmas decor and the tree bags are the only things that we store in our attaic. I learned the hard way our first year in this house that the candles should not go up in the attic…they won’t survive the heat of the summer months. Now, I put candles in a smaller storage container with lid and leave them on a shelf in the basement.

Planning Meals:

Not to be cliché’ but January is always the perfect time to get back on track with meal planning. I always search Pinterest for new ideas that will get me excited about cooking. I plan meals throughout the year in order to ensure that we eat mostly at home during the week for dinner and to plan what I need to get to place my Kroger Clicklist order. That being said, I like getting organized with some new recipes to use and meal plan and prep for lunches too as a “fresh” start for the year.

Organizing my life:

Lastly, I always take the time to sit down and write down dates, upcoming practices, activities, to do lists, and even projects that we hope to tackle in the new year. Some of these things I do all year long, but January is always the perfect time to take a look at the upcoming year and plan accordingly.

I’m excited about this link up in 2022! The topics look like so much fun:

How is your week going? We are halfway to the weekend! I can’t wait.

Thanks so much for reading,

{this post contains Amazon affiliate links…}

Posted in Home Updates

Shiplap Update

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello! Today, I’m sharing a quick home improvement project that we recently did.

I’ve been wanting to add shiplap to two walls in our living room. I knew it would be an added touch that would make the house feel cozier and brighten up the walls a bit.

It’s been a minute since we’ve done a home improvement project, and I was excited that this all fell into place pretty easily.

Once I saw Sarah share her shiplap update with links to where she bought the shiplap (Home Depot), I shared the idea with Travis. This way, I knew that what we were buying would look great because I was able to see the finished product on someone else’s walls.

As per most projects, I had the vision, our neighbor did the handywork, and Travis did the painting! #teamworkmakesthedreamwork

Before:

Well, I’ve shared these photos before when I did the Tuesday Transformation series, but here is the living room listing photo when we bought the house over seven years ago.

After we moved in, we had most of our walls painted a gray color.

Finally, after seven years, I purchased a mirror back in the fall. Remember when we were home for two weeks on quarantine? I finally took the time to purchase a mirror! The wood tones on the mirror really made the chest (a family heirloom) stand out instead of being an after thought in the room.

During:

We purchased the shiplap, and our neighbor measured and cut the boards before nailing them to the wall.

It took him a couple days to do both walls, but the difference was amazing!

Here’s the other side of the room before the shiplap. Also, the built-ins were in need of a fresh coat of paint.

…with the shiplap installed but not yet painted:

After:

Once all the shiplap was installed, Travis painted it white. He kept it simple and used Behr Ultra Pure White Satin.

Close up: (of some of my favorite things: shiplap, cotton stems, books, and a candle)

Before photo

Of course, it helps that my Christmas decor is *finally* put away, but the room looks so bright and airy.

…with my “regular” decor put back in place:

Another close up:

I’ve still left a few winter touches out for the next month or so. This was my view on one of the snow day mornings last week:

And…one more close up of the finished product:

I swear sometimes I think our house will never be 100% finished, but it’s been a fun process through the years. #foreverfixerupper

Technically, the only major project we have left is to update the hall bathroom. That being said, we still think about an addition of some sorts in the future to give us a bigger master bedroom. We’ll see. For now, we are happy completing little tasks along the way.

Per usual, I have to thank Travis (and neighbor Bob) for making my dreams come true!

I hope your week is off to a great start!

Posted in Not Just a Mom

Not Just a Mom: Favorite Bloggers

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello! Happy Monday! I’m excited about today’s post because it’s our first Not Just a Mom link up of 2 0 2 2 !

We had so many fun posts in 2021, so I’m excited to continue this link up this year as well.

Today’s post is very fitting because the topic is: favorite bloggers

Before I get started, I’m re-sharing some previous posts where I shared favorite blogs and Instagram accounts.

Favorite Blogs
Fave Blogs & Instagram

Honestly, my favorite blog list is ever evolving. When I first started reading blogs years ago, I started with Bev and Shay. Then, that list continued to grow and expand.

I love starting my day with a cup of coffee and reading some of my favorite blogs.

Of course, some of my faves to read are in the NJAM link up (see list above!)

I also regularly read:

  • Amy (Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa) Amy is a teacher, and she is so funny. I love that she often shares a recap of her weekend, meals she’s making, and what she’s wearing. Her weight loss journey is inspirational.
  • Sarah (Sunshine and Books) Sarah is one busy lady! She’s an elementary school librarian and mom to two boys. She loves to travel, and often shares where she’s been and what she’s been up to. Her book suggestions are always the best!
  • Holly (Pink Lady) Holly is one fun lady! Her personality seems so bubbly, she’s the mom to two beautiful girls, and she always seems to be on the go! I love reading about all the fun she has with her girl friends, Saturday morning walks with her husband, and all about her pup Remi.
  • Tanya (The Other Side of the Road) Tanya hosts the fun Amazon link up each month, and I love reading about her travels. She just shared all about their travels to Hawaii before Christmas. She’s such an awesome mom to two great kids, loves to read, and shares so many other fun tidbits!
  • Lauren (Sunwashed Linen) Lauren is a mom to two sweet boys. I love reading her Dear Jonathan and Dear Harrison posts along with the Quick Takes posts about her boys. I miss having kids that age, so I am always reminiscent while reading those posts. Her gardening skills are next level, and her home is so lovely!

All of these ladies have such awesome posts to read, so please check them out!

Ok, if you know me, then you know that I’m always afraid I’m forgetting someone or leaving someone out! I hope that’s not the case here. Some blogs, I get the email updates for new posts, some I follow on Word Press, and other I just check in on and catch up reading on Saturdays. I like to spread out my blog reading. It’s one of my favorite hobbies!

Speaking of blogging, next month’s topic is Day in the Life, and we’d love to have you join us.

Well, our 9+ inches of snow melted yesterday when we set a record for rainfall! I haven’t even looked at the forecast for this week. As much as I love a few snow days, we need to get back into a routine. We’ll see!

Thanks so much for reading.

*corrected link up code

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
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Posted in Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites {#95}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello from snowy Kentucky! Today, is snow day #2 in a row, and with no school on Monday, we had a very short week of school.

I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for the first Friday Favorites of 2 0 2 2 !

Favorite Moment(s):

After a hectic first week of break, it was nice to finally have time to do things that we normally don’t have time to do. Also, we had extra family time which is great too.

We saw the new Spider-Man movie, went for a hike at Red River Gorge, and went to Cincinnati for the Chiefs vs. Bengals game.

Our favorite moment from this week was the snow day yesterday! They were forecasting snow, and I thought we may have an early release, but as the time got closer, the forecast for snow was earlier, so we had no school.

We woke up to no snow, flurries around 10:00, and then inches (and inches!) of snow by noon.

The kids played outside quite a bit, and they went sledding too.

The forecast was for 4-8 inches, but kept getting bumped up. Yesterday afternoon, I measured 6 inches of snow and then the official total was over 9 inches by evening.

I’m always thankful that a snow day means not having to go anywhere. There were hundreds of people stranded for hours and hours on 64 and 75 due to collisions yesterday. Travis came home around 1:00, and even the main roads were backed up.

We celebrated the kids great report cards for 2nd quarter (and Hayden making the basketball team) with the You are Special red plate at dinner this week.

Favorite Picture:

My favorite picture this week is from Sunday at the Chiefs game. Unfortunately, the Chiefs lost, but it was a good game, and we had fun.

Favorite Food:

I’ve been able to meal plan and meal prep this week. We’ve had some great meals.

This week we’ve eaten:

Giada’s pasta was delish:

Another favorite food this week was our traditional snow day pancakes. I make these snowman pancakes every year on the first snow day!

Clothing Item:

I ordered these snow pants in just the knick of time. Hadley’s still fit, but Hayden’s didn’t. My kids usually get a couple years out of these, and I just buy the next size up as they grow. I ordered teal for Hadley and navy for Hayden.

Speaking of staying warm. I’m loving my new puffer coat from Walmart. I have a heavy winter coat, and this quilted one is a little lighter. I ordered it in dusky green which appears to be out of stock at the moment.

The orchid ice color has many size options. And there are plus size color and size options.

Favorite Kid Quote:

No specific funny quote, but the kids have been practicing presenting their science projects. They worked hard on them, and they have to share them with their classmates next week!

Favorite Memes:

Usually I share a “Mom Meme,” but these two “flashback” ones made me laugh.

I remember calling my mom at her school, speaking with the receptionist who would have to page my mom for the phone call. Then, I would have to wait for my mom to walk up to the front office to talk on the phone. As the years went on, she’d eventually have a phone in her room, and the secretary would connect me, but still more effort than texting nowadays.

This one is timely…this is the first school year the kids could know about school closing before bed. There have been years I knew school had been called off, and I would just send them to bed anyway. Wednesday night, they got the texts too saying “no school.”

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday:

In honor of all the snow, here’s a flashback to January 2014…the froggy hats slay me!

Weekly Recap:

Here are my posts from last week and this week:

2021 Year in Review
Christmas recap
Winter Break Recap
Prime Purchases
Currently

Not Just A Mom:

Monday is the first NJAM link up with these ladies:

Our topic is favorite bloggers. We’d love to have you join us…either by linking up or reading our posts 🙂

I hope you have a great weekend. I guess we got a surprise four day weekend, and I’m looking forward to enjoying it.

Thanks so much for reading! See you back here on Monday!

Posted in Currently

Currently

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello! Well, we survived the first day back to school in 2022. Once I got over the shock of my alarm going off in the 6’s, it was good to get up and back into a routine.

I feel like I haven’t written a Currently post in forever, so today I’m linking up with Anne for her monthly post.

I’m currently…

anticipating…

The first thing that came to mind was just anticipating a fresh start to the new year. January always provides a much needed reset for all the things: mind, body, spirit, schedule, diet, bank account and more.

Pinterest

organizing…

My life. The house. and More 😂 Just getting back into a routine, getting appointments and activities written on the calendar, planning meals and just organizing life is something that takes some time once we start the new year.

I’ve mentioned before that I decorated for Christmas kind of late…which apparently means that I take down the decorations later! haha My house was kind of a mess leading up to the end of break, but I think most everything is now put away. That being said, I haven’t put all my regular decor back out because I feel like the house needs a minute to breathe.

reading…

I finished Katie Couric’s book on Monday. It’s pretty long but with tons of short chapters which made it a quick read. I found it to be really interesting.

I started The Royals Next Door on my Kindle over the weekend, and I think I’m going to like it. It has a very Meghan/Harry come to America vibe.

resolving…

to clean(er) eating, drinking more water, and working out at least four days a week. While I don’t feel like the wheels totally fell off the bus between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, it’s time to get focused again.

Here are my January goals:

**January 14th is my birthday, so I assume I may consume a piece of cake that day! Just trying to be realistic 😉

scheduling…

all the things. Appointments, practices, grocery pick up, workouts, to do lists and more.

  • I need to schedule an eye exam for myself and Hadley, and the kids have ortho and dental cleaning appointments on the books already.
  • Hayden has a new basketball schedule and Hadley’s school dance practices have shifted, so I just need to get used to those times.
  • I want to start picking up groceries on Saturday instead of Sunday to make weekly meal prep easier.
  • When I’m in a good groove, I don’t need to do it, but I’m even scheduling my day to include workouts on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
  • Lastly, some weeks are so hectic, I need to schedule in errands and other things I need to do.

What about you? What are you anticipating, organizing, reading, resolving, and scheduling?

See you back here later this week for the first Friday Favorites of 2022.