What's Up Wednesday (September 2020)

 

Hi Friends...how are you all doing?  Settling in to your new school schedules ok?  We are getting there....grateful that our kids are able to have some in-person school and activities right now and we are trying to enjoy it all as long as it will last!

 

As always, linking up with Sheaffer and Shay HERE and sharing "What's Up With Us"

 

What We're Eating This Week

 

Sunday- we were treated to a homemade dinner by Robby B- Pan Seared Chicken Breasts stuffed with Brie and Apples, Mashed Potatoes and Mama's Harvest Salad (which was kale, roasted butternut squash, candied cranberries and goat cheese)

You can find the chicken recipe HERE

Monday- Cheesy Chicken, Rice and Broccoli

Tuesday- Chicken Quesadillas with Carrots and Celery

 

Wednesday- Chicken, Broccoli and Ziti

You can find my recipe HERE

  Thursday- Breakfast for Dinner will be Chicken and Waffles with Strawberries

 

Friday- Friday Night Pizza and Salad Night! 

 

 

What I'm Reminiscing About

 

Halloween Traditions....and trying to think positively and not about all of the loss this year

 

 

 What I'm Loving

 

Lunchtime Walks with My Hubby-perfect way to sneak in extra steps... (to close those rings on my Apple Watch!) get some fresh air and spend some QT together ...warms my heart!

 

 

 What We've Been Up To

We wound down the summer by spending some QT with friends..dining al fresco...playing golf...having dinner and sharing laughs...

Diana finally got to take her RAD exams and thinks she did pretty well (we have to wait for another month or so for her scores to come in)

and while she wasn't dancing this summer...she took the opportunity to get involved in some field hockey clinics and played in a jamboree!

 

 

Labor Day Weekend was spent celebrating my birthday....

 

with a beach overnight with my Lea...

 

 a lunch by the beach with my besties.....

 A dinner with my little fam...minus Diana who was at a birthday party...

 

 

An awesome night at our friends' firepit..

 

 

Recording the Girls' Nutcracker Auditions....

 

 

A family celebration of birthdays and an anniversary

 

 

Our Annual Mommy and Daughter Boogie Boarding Adventure

 

 

A Bike Ride for Pidge

Back To School Haircuts

and a family fire pit night to wrap it all up

 

 We went BACK TO SCHOOL for the first time in 6 months!

 

Diana is following a hybrid schedule so she is in school every other day and at home every other day and we are proud of the way she is adjusting- it is her first year at the Middle School as she is in 7th Grade!

 

 

and Eva is going every day right now and LOVING it...every day after school we ask her how it was and she always says "AMAZING!" She is just so grateful and happy to be in school around her peers and teachers...we are grateful too...for as long as it may last...

 

 

The girls went back to dance....

 

     

and were both cast in the Nutcracker- this year- a feature film

Diana will be a Party Girl, Angel and Russian and

Eva will be a Baby Doll and a Polichinelle

 

 

Eva went back to soccer....

 

 and hockey!

 

 

Diana tried out for the Middle School Field Hockey team and made it!

 

 

and she is really starting to enjoy it now that we got Mrs. Mullen's blessing :)

 and she is loving her Advanced Ballet Class on Saturday mornings

 

We have enjoyed some cozy Fall nights with friends...

 

 

and a round of Family Golf!

 

There have been Nutcracker Rehearsals and Costume Fittings!

 

 Mama enjoyed spending an afternoon with her firm to take new pics for our website...was a beautiful day and an eye opener for so many reasons...sneak peak of my new head shot...actually the only one I sort of liked/approved of...sigh

 

and our beautiful view...yes right on the ocean in Massachusetts...I know I am biased but nothing compares to New England and its coastline :)

 

and we started to decorate for Fall...I say started because we still need to put our ghosts up in the yard and I keep changing and adding things to the repertoire this year ;)

 

 and lastly Lea's husband, Mike, is home and resting comfortably after a life-saving surgery in Boston...we are all grateful! 

 What I'm Dreading

 

Honestly?  Nothing...really appreciating every day...and forcing myself to live in the present (most of the time)

 

 

What I'm Working On

 

Jobs!  I am so busy with work and absolutely loving it....appreciate every single client and candidate!

 

 

What I'm Excited About

The Nutcracker...even though it is a film this year...there is a premier planned and I am so excited to see my girls so happy and at rehearsals all weekend long...it almost feels NORMAL...ha!

 

What I'm Watching/Reading

 

Since our favorite shows are just starting to go back to taping at this point...it is all about bringing back some old faves...we have watched some of our fave movies over the last few weekends including

 

Rudy

 

 

 

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

 

 

 

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

 

 

 

Wonder

 

 

The Wedding Date

 

 and a new recommendation to me by my Mama...it is an incredible movie that I devoured on Sunday...incredible to me as it portrays someone in our industry...as my mom said it was eye-opening...yes I saw some folks operate ruthlessly like he did when I was young/in my 20's and at a very large firm BUT the reason I am where I am now is because of the ethics and the way our group treats people...regardless it is such a wonderful story about doing the right thing...treating people the right way...conducting yourself ethically and most important, spending the time with your family while you can...because nothing is guaranteed...oh my word friends...watch it...today

A Family Man

 

My Books this month and I am hitting THREE FTW....

are as follows...

Confess by Colleen Hoover

At age twenty-one, Auburn Reed has already lost everything important to her. In her fight to rebuild her shattered life, she has her goals in sight and there is no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry.

For once, Auburn takes a chance and puts her heart in control, only to discover that Owen is keeping a major secret from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it.

To save their relationship, all Owen needs to do is confess. But in this case, the confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin.

 

 

Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory

 

 

 Dating is the last thing on Olivia Monroe’s mind when she moves to LA to start her own law firm. But when she meets a gorgeous man at a hotel bar and they spend the entire night flirting, she discovers too late that he is none other than hotshot junior senator Max Powell. Olivia has zero interest in dating a politician, but when a cake arrives at her office with the cutest message, she can’t resist—it is chocolate cake, after all.

Olivia is surprised to find that Max is sweet, funny, and noble—not just some privileged white politician, as she assumed him to be. Because of Max’s high-profile job, they start seeing each other secretly, which leads to clandestine dates and silly disguises. But when they finally go public, the intense media scrutiny means people are now digging up her rocky past and criticizing her job, even her suitability as a trophy girlfriend. Olivia knows what she has with Max is something special, but is it strong enough to survive the heat of the spotlight?

 

and I am wrapping up this month with

 

Someone We Know by Shari Lapena

 

"This is a very difficult letter to write. I hope you will not hate us too much. . . My son broke into your home recently while you were out."

In a quiet, leafy suburb in upstate New York, a teenager has been sneaking into houses--and into the owners' computers as well--learning their secrets, and maybe sharing some of them, too.

Who is he, and what might he have uncovered? After two anonymous letters are received, whispers start to circulate, and suspicion mounts. And when a woman down the street is found murdered, the tension reaches the breaking point. Who killed her? Who knows more than they're telling? And how far will all these very nice people go to protect their own secrets?

In this neighborhood, it's not just the husbands and wives who play games. Here, everyone in the family has something to hide . . .

You never really know what people are capable of

 

 What I'm Listening To

When I am carting my kids around to and from practices, rehearsals, etc, it has been all about the Nutcracker soundtrack and show tunes recently...sometimes Diana asks to DJ and you will often hear Ariana Grande blaring from her phone ;)

What I'm Wearing

I have traded all of the Lilly in for my Fall Black and Neutrals....haven't been good about snapping pics but found a couple of one outfit anyway ;)

Love this top- snagged it on Amazon for SO cheap...it is so romantic...just love lace and the off-the-shoulder style is right up my alley!

What I'm Doing This Weekend

Carting the girls around to dance, soccer and several Nutcracker rehearsals!

Oh yes and we are celebrating Robby B's birthday on Saturday night (his actual birthday)...all the kids will be home and I will be making a special dinner :)

 

What I'm Looking Forward To Next Month

Some type of Halloween Fun...not sure what it will look like yet...stay tuned!

 

 

What Else Is New?

 

Eva is wanting to pick her outfits out every day....so cute...funny right?  She is in first grade...Diana didn't start caring until this year- 7th Grade- any advice?  :)

 

 

Actually...check this out...same dress...six years apart....

That's a wrap!  What have you been up to?