What's Up Wednesday (On A Friday): May 2022

You guys, for the first month since January 2019, I did not post a What's Up Wednesday post on time. Why, you ask? Well, if you follow me on Instagram, you will already know that three out of four of us have Covid this week. Ugh. And Dave and I have been hit especially hard. So welcome to a "We have Covid What's Up Wednesday" post.

And as always with this post, I'm linking up with Shay at Mix and Match Mama and Sheaffer at Sheaffer Told Me To.

image from here

What we're eating this week... Honestly, this week I haven't had any appetite. So I've been drinking lemonade or hot Earl Grey Tea with sugar, and eating grapes. Yes, my nutritional intake is amazing right now! Hahaha! Before we got Covid, we were hitting food trucks regularly which has been so fun. I've had poutine (fries, gravy, and cheese curds), fish and chips, and a lobster roll. Hmmmm... I'm not sure I was eating all that nutritiously before Covid hit either :)

What I'm reminiscing about... We went to a Jays game with our best friends last weekend and I'm reminiscing about other Jays' games we've been to with them over the years. It's been a lot of fun cheering on our favourite team with some of our favourite people.

game for Sam's 10th birthday, March 2019 * game in May 2016

What I'm loving... Lemonade! Hahaha! For some reason it's been very appealing this week :) And I'm loving all the laundry I've been able to hang outside lately. A full laundry line makes me very happy.

What we've been up to... Well, this past week we've been up to "not a heck of a lot." We're in survival mode over here. Thankfully, I think we're through the worst of it so now we've been working on some yard work while we get through our last days of quarantine.

Our front yard is in pretty good shape but we need to get to the back too.

Before we had to quarantine, however, we went to a Jays game with our best friends...

 

...and helped Janice pack up her mom to move.

Other than that, it's been work, school, and soccer around here.

What I'm dreading... Well, I'm no longer worried about getting Covid. Hahaha!!! I guess I'm dreading if the fourth member of our family gets Covid at an inconvenient time -- like right before our summer trip, for instance.

 

What I'm working on... Yard work. We have a reel mower and it doesn't mow over dandelions well. So the kids and I have been picking dandelions out in the yard. Yesterday, they set a goal of picking 1,000 dandelions each. They cleared the front yard and now we just have the back yard to do.

 

What I'm excited about... I'm excited about all the annuals I bought for my outdoor pots. Dave's parents gifted me a spending spree at our local greenhouse and I bought way too many plants, of course! I also scored a hanging basket of night sky petunias. Aren't they incredible?

What I'm watching/reading... I've been watching our Covid tests turn positive which is fun times. Or not. Other than that, I haven't been watching much of anything.

 

And my reading is still the same old, same old -- yep, I'm still working my way through the In Death series.

What I'm listening to... My family. How many more days until we get out of quarantine again?!?!?!

 

What I'm wearing... Pajamas! Because we've been sick, we've all been hanging out in pajamas this week. It feels like Winter Break but with a lot more coughing, runny noses, and fevers :) We did get free hats at the Blue Jays game this past weekend so I think I'll be wearing mine a lot this summer.

 

What I'm doing this weekend... Getting out of quarantine!!! Whoooo hooooo!!! I can't wait to leave our house/yard again :) I was supposed to go to a bridal shower on Saturday to celebrate a special bride but Saturday is my last day of quarantine so I'm disappointed to miss that. Boo.

What I'm looking forward to next month... We were supposed to host a belated 50th birthday party for me this weekend but we had to postpone it so I'm really looking forward to it happening in June. Some special guests are coming for it and I'm so excited!!! Also, Rachel turns 11, Dave and I celebrate fourteen years of marriage, and the kids will have their last day of school. There's a lot of excitement around here in June!

Amazon purchases... We rarely buy things off Amazon but Dave ordered this rowing machine for us. I haven't tried it out yet but I'm happy to have some indoor exercise equipment for days when the weather doesn't cooperate for being outside. Maybe today, if I have some energy, I'll try it out as we're expecting rain all day today. Yay?! (Also, I'm not fully convinced I've linked to the correct rowing machine, even though that's what Dave's account said we purchased because we did not pay that much for it. Maybe the price has really gone up???)

What else is new... I think that's about it. I know this post hasn't been that exciting but I didn't want to miss out on this fun way of documenting our month.

Happy weekend to you. I hope it's a good one.

I Spy 2022: Week 19 (Week 71)

Are you guys ready for my third "I Spy" post of the week? This is the post I should have published this past Saturday, May 14th. It's been surprising to me that I've managed to have as many pictures from the week as I've had. "Spot in town" was taken last night, but otherwise, these pictures are all from last week. As always, I'm linking up with Lysha, and the other more timely "I Spy" bloggers, at A Camera and A Cookbook.

{Spot in Town – Quarterly}

 This is our public square last night. We walked uptown to get ice cream and then sat here and ate it. Someone was offering free salsa lessons so Sam watched, Rachel and I briefly participated, and Dave went to get beer. I love all the various things which happen at our public square. You can go here to see it in winter.

{Starts with 'M'}

I love that our neighbours have a magnolia tree so I can enjoy it in the spring. They're so beautiful.

{at last}

"At last" food trucks are back and we've been taking full advantage of them. I had a lobster sandwich from this one and it was delicious!

{in the moment}

I was so "in the moment" on Mother's Day that this is the only picture I took. We had our first BBQ meal outside of the season. I loved all the salads which Dave and the kids made.

{your choice}

I know I recently posted a picture of ice cream (you can see it here), but ice cream can always be "our choice" right?! :)

10 On The 10th: May 2022

I know I have been posting a lot of picture heavy posts this week, so true to form, here's another one for you :) In April's "10 On The 10th" I was frustrated with our lack of spring. You can read that post here. Thus, this month I decided to share my joy in spring finally arriving!

I love this picture of dandelions mixed with forget-me-nots which I saw on the path on my walk home.

After school at our house looks like this in the spring -- school stuff dumped on the back table so the kids can go out to play, windows open, and a box of soccer things waiting to be sorted through.

After work, I love reading outside with a cold Coke, or something a little stronger :)

These are some of my favourite spring flowers. They're called "pulmonaria" or "lungwort" and they're so small. I was lying down to get this photo.

Rachel and a friend were having an after school play date on the trampoline.

I love how the daffodils bloom among the dead raspberry stalks in the spring. They provide a spot of colour in an otherwise brown and grey area.

Rachel made this birdhouse at VBS last year. We need to get some bird seed in it as we've seen a few birds check it out. It hangs in our maple tree.

I love this basket of pansies I bought through our neighbourhood fundraiser. It brightens up this corner bed so much.

Our tree and our neighbour's tree are so pretty in full bloom -- even when they significantly activate my allergies.

These are such weird tulips. They fully open throughout the day and then close up every night. They are definitely not what I was expecting when I bought them.

And that was my "Spring is finally here!!!" May 10th.

Halfway Through April And What I'd Read

I am only publishing this post now, but I wrote most of it at work one day in April. However, I couldn't load the book cover images from work so it's been sitting in my drafts for a few weeks. 

Last year I read 200 books and I thought, "Well, I can read more than that in 2022." I didn't count on working full-time, and how lack of lock downs, would interfere with my reading. Instead of staying up until all hours of the night, I'm asleep before 11 most nights. And you won't hear me complain about the fact that we don't have to stay home all the time anymore :) However, my reading is going to be a little light for the next few months...

After seeing our friends' daughter play Anne in the play, I really wanted to reread the book. Now I just need to make time to reread the rest of the series :) Also, I don't remember when I first read these books but with all the descriptive writing, they really aren't geared to younger readers.

It took me over a week to read this book but that was because I was tired, not because it wasn't engaging. I loved the quirky characters although April's parents made me sad. I just wanted to take care of her and give her a safe place to land. And I loved the ending :)

I thought this book was good but it was one of those ones which was way overhyped for me so I felt a little let down by it. I was expecting it to be amazing and, for me, it just wasn't. However, I did enjoy reading this and the way the author wrote about her relationship with her mother, through food.

Oh Liane Moriarty -- I'm giving up on you. I read your best book first (What Alice Forgot) and it's all gone downhill from there, in my opinion. I just don't love your books and I am officially breaking up with you. This book was... okay... but I just didn't love it.

Jodi Picoult, on the other hand, always gets my vote. She has done it again with a book that took a twist in the middle I absolutely did not see coming. (Sorry if I've just spoiled it for you.) I seriously gasped out loud, and flipped back a few pages to figure out what had just happened. I highly recommend this book and want to talk about it with someone, so if you've read it, let me know.

And that's what I've read thus far in April. The end of my April (and beginning of May) reading will feature a lot of JD Robb's In Death books so I figured I'd let you know that now :)

Do you like Liane Moriarty? Do you think I'm breaking up with her unfairly? What author will you not read again? Let's discuss :)

I Spy 2022: Week 18 (Week 70)

I'm going to post another "I Spy" post. This is the post I should have posted on May 7.  I did actually take most of these pictures during the previous week except for "plant" and "inside out." As always, I'm linking up with Lysha at A Camera and A Cookbook.

Also, if you didn't get a chance to read the introduction to my post from yesterday, which explains why I haven't blogged lately, you can read it here.

{Plant – quarterly}

This is my "quarterly" picture of my "plant." I didn't think it would change all that much but it's gotten a lot bigger since last time. You can see this plant in February here.

{Inside Out}

I learned to hang our favourite clothes "inside out" from my mom a few years ago. This way they don't fade as much from the sun when I'm hanging them outside. It's a pain to turn them all right side in before I fold them, but I'm happy to have the colours last longer.

{Split}

I don't know if this is the best picture but a nail "split" (or just plain "broke") our tire this week. Boooo. Dave had to change the tire twice, and we had to get the tire fixed twice. What a pain. Thankfully, this was a small annoyance in the grand scheme of things and Dave had the time to deal with it.

{Green}

 

This is my birthday dinner which I happened to eat off a "green" plate. Dave made Earl Grey Tea Salmon (using steelhead fish instead), Sam made delicious baked potato, cheddar, and chive balls, and Rachel made a "green" Caesar salad. This dinner was so good!!!

{Your Choice}

 

Are you guys at all shocked that these lovely flowers, which my parents sent me for my birthday, are what I chose for this prompt?!?!? Flowers are always "my choice."

I Spy 2022: Week 17 (Week 69)

I'm pretty far behind on blogging due to a few reasons.

1) My allergies have hit pretty hard and I've been exhausted.

2) Work has been busier and that's taken a lot of emotional energy. I love what I'm doing but it's just... a lot. I'm really hoping I'll get used to it soon.

3) Our life is busier when we're not in quarantine :) Rachel's had a dance performance, neighbourhood soccer has started up again, and there's been a lot going on with synagogue and church and extra meetings related to those two things.

4) I've never loved my "new" computer and lately it's gotten worse. (And yes, this computer is almost a year and a half old.) It's so slow that there are days I don't sit down at it because I can't stand how long it takes to start up and load web pages. What should take me a minute, takes about ten. My parents and Dave are buying me a new computer for my birthday so hopefully, eventually, this problem, at least, will be solved.

I want to try and catch up on some of my "regular" blog posts, and others, I am just letting go of. One of the ones I am letting go of is "One Sentence A Day." I realized in April that my sentences were all sounding the same, especially during the week. "I worked, I folded laundry, I was exhausted." And really, that just isn't all that interesting :) Maybe over the summer, I'll try to do that post again but, for the next few months, I'm letting it go.

And before, I get too much further, I want to say a huge "THANK YOU!!!" for all the love and birthday wishes a few weeks ago :) You guys are the best blog readers and thank you for helping to make me feel special on my birthday. And thank you to Dave for writing such a special birthday post :) If you haven't read it yet, you can check it out here.

For my first post back in awhile, I am posting my (very belated) "I Spy" post. This post was supposed to publish on April 30, and while I did take all of these pictures that week, I just didn't get this post written in time. As always, for "I Spy" I'm linking up with Lysha at A Camera and A Cookbook.

{On Your Plate – quarterly}

This was the week of Rachel's dance performance dress rehearsals. Therefore, "on my plate" this day was a takeout salad. While the rest of my family ate chicken nuggets, fries, sushi, and Asian noodles, I tried to be a little healthier with this salad. It was delicious with roasted sweet potatoes, quinoa, corn, tomatoes, and avocados.

{Outside}

I was so happy to see so many daffodils (and other spring flowers) blooming "outside" this week. I smiled every single time I saw them :)

{Starts with 'T' }

Two new minted 50-year-olds "starts with 't'". And one of these people is our best friend, Tim! I was thrilled to be celebrating birthdays with Tim and Janice again!!!

 {Where You Are Now?}

Did I mention we spent a lot of time at dress rehearsals with Rachel this week?!?! I was thrilled to be able to watch her dance again and to see all the excitement surrounding the year end show. Unfortunately, we're not allowed to take pictures in the theatre so I had to take these in the main lobby to show "where are we now?".

{Choose Anything – monthly (same vantage point)}

 

In April our dining room was decked out to celebrate Passover (left) and Easter (right). It was a busy weekend :)

It feels so good to be back blogging again and I'll see you again soon.