Share 4 Somethings; January 2023
First off I just had to say that I was re-reading my post from yesterday while responding to comments last night and realized I never answered question 8 and I just love that not one person called me out on that either! LOL. Honestly, being a homeschooling mom I have a very, very flexible schedule so I don't really need morning habits. I naturally fall into a routine but have been known to break it (at least a time or two each week!). Anyway... onto today's post!
For this month's Share 4 Somethings (with Jennifer at Overflowing with Thankfulness) we'll be sharing things we loved, read, learned, and ate this month. I've never really joined in the share 4 somethings before and I'm really excited to join in this year.
I am a bit fearful that they might be a bit redundant with my What's Up Wednesday posts and my Sentence of the Day posts but hopefully will incorporate some "new" things.
loved-- So much about this month! We had a wonderful afternoon at Cirque Du Soleil, we got to celebrate our baker turning 17 (and he made us a wonderful strawberry Oreo cheesecake-- yes, he asks to bake his own dessert each year!). I've been cranking out projects like crazy from my crafting table and loving them all so much. We've had so many beautiful sunrises and sunsets and our weather, while quite rainy, has been so nice and mild for January that we've gone on more hikes than most winters! My favorite hike was one we just took this Tuesday; the snow was sticking to the trees but it wasn't super cold out and it was just so beautiful!!
Just a few of the photos I took that day:
read-- Oh, I read so many good books! I finished 10 and have started 5 others. Out of the 10 I read I'd have to say my top picks are... Finlay Donovan (I'm reading the next book in the series right now), The Night of Many Endings was so sweet, Pray for Silence (book 2 in the Kate Burkholder series) was just as gripping as book 1, and Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating was completely adorable; I loved both main characters.
learned-- That insurance companies take forever to process claims as we're still waiting to hear about our broken solar panels (the ones that blew over in the windstorm the afternoon before Christmas eve). I guess we should be thankful that we've never really needed to actually use our insurance coverage much before.
ate- All the healthy foods! I've been doing great tracking my points each day on my Weight Watcher's app and have been filling my plate with lots of vegetable and lean proteins. Oh and the scale FINALLY went down a pound yesterday!
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| salad with boca chick'n patty & mandarin oranges |
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| crustless quiche with zucchini, green beans, and mushrooms |
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| Salmon with potatoes and broccoli |
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| I made some homemade granola and use just 1/4 cup each day to top off my fruit and yogurt |
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| Crustless quiche with mushrooms and butternut squash "fries" |
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| Another favorite this week was tuna fish on white cheddar rice cakes (I had two but ate one before remembering to snap a photo!) with my salad this was a 6 point lunch but I'm one of those people that actually enjoy eating rice cakes. |
Yah, for that scale budging ;). And your pictures are gorgeous and really showcase the beauty of winter. You are killing it with reading and crafting, too. I love that your son makes his birthday dessert. I almost always make, rather than buy birthday cakes/ goodies from stores. I think that my icing tastes better than any store bought icing so I prefer to make it!
ReplyDeleteIt was such a relief... I refused to weigh myself today though since we did eat out yesterday and I knew it probably went back up. My son is a stickler for making everything from scratch and has been since the day he learned to bake-- and I have to say most things he make turn out far better than anything we've ever bought at the store.
DeleteYour healthy meals look so yummy and what a beautiful winter wonderland you photographed! There is so much to be thankful for in this post!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.kathrineeldridge.com
Thank you!!
DeleteThose snowy pictures are gorgeous! I wonder, though...do you tire of snow? My sisters who live in Denver get really tired of it, particularly when a big one comes in or around mother's day, which has happened two years in a row. Thanks for linking up with S4S tomorrow! Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, yes! I HATE snow... LOL. It is beautiful and I love seeing it on the trees but I'd be perfectly happy if it never snowed again. I keep trying to talk my husband into at least moving south when he retires... and threatening to move down there by myself if I have to! :)
DeleteCongrats on the pound! Your meals look awesome as always!
ReplyDeleteYay for losing a pound! Mine went down yesterday too but I fear it will be up again today. Maybe I shouldn't weigh so often?? I see Love on the Brain!
ReplyDeleteI do tend to weigh myself most days-- I know the scale will fluctuate up and down some but in all I hope to see slightly lower numbers most days. I'm just over 1/2 way through Love on the Brain and it's pretty cute.
DeleteThe books sound good. Sorry about the insurance company!
ReplyDeleteThanks; I know it will all come together eventually.
DeleteYour winter snow photographs are lovely.
ReplyDeleteI like to place tuna on a portobello mushroom, top it with a bit of cheddar cheese and cook it in the oven. Very tasty!
Have a great Friday.
OH that sounds delicious! Adding some portobellos to my grocery list right now.
DeleteWhat a hassle with the insurance company. Yay for one pound! Enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteYour meals look amazing (haven't been great here) and as usual I am jealous of your snow!
ReplyDeletewww.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
Thank you! I'd happily send it go you.
Delete*to* you..
DeleteInsurance, of all varieties, can be so aggravating. It is amazing what poor service they provide and, yet, we all have to have them and keep paying them. Grrr. Your winter photos are so pretty. Snow is just so pretty - especially when it is in someone else's backyard!!:) I forgot to make the granola! Must put that on my list for this week!
ReplyDeleteI think it is crazy how much we pay them and yet each year they seem to foist more of the work off on us and cover less than before! I completely agree that snow is prettier at someone else's house!
DeleteHiking in a winter wood is one of my favorite things on earth. And congrats on losing! Your food looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful pictures. Love them. Hope the insurance issues gets solved soon.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on losing a pound! I just love looking at your winter photos with all that snow. The trees look so pretty and I'm just fascinated by it because we never get snow where we live. I love how our son likes to make his own birthday dessert. I bet it tastes so good too! I hope things get sorted with the insurance company soon. We had to deal with our insurance last year when my husband had a car crash. I had to spend so much time chasing them up and it was so frustrating. They were probably sick of hearing from me but they messed up our claim so badly. And it took months to sort out.
ReplyDeleteRuth@playworkeatrepeat
He does make the best desserts! I remember hearing some of your struggles with the insurance company over your husband's car. Thankfully my husband is the one that been running point with them so far; he has a lot more patience than I do.
DeleteFood looks delicious and the photos of winter are nicely captured too. Sorry to hear about solar panels and the insurance claims. I hope you will get it solved soon.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
#Weekendcoffeeshare
Than you!
DeleteThat Boca chicken salad look yummy. I'm sorry about your solar panels. 😒
ReplyDeleteThanks! That boca salad is one of my favorites.
DeleteI love your snowy hike pics! Cirque du Soleil is amazing! I always enjoy their shows. I can't believe you've already read 10 books this year! Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteYou always make your meals looks so yummy! I need to make that crustless quiche...but with the price of eggs, I could almost eat steak! The photos from your walk in the woods are stunning! And, I hope you get some resolution from your insurance company soon.
ReplyDeletehttps://marshainthemiddle.com/
Aw, thanks!
DeleteThose snow photos are gorgeous, although I'm not even a winter person.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm no fan of the snow either but it does look lovely.
DeleteThe photos you post of the area around where you live always looks so interesting, but the snow makes it look absolutely beautiful. Though I can see you may get fed up with it. We had snow for a week in December and we were all complaining about it by day 5 so I don't think I'll be moving there any time soon ;-)
ReplyDeleteKeep going with the healthy eating (I'm also keeping an eye on the scales at the moment - those Christmas chocolates have a lot to answer for ;-).
Sorry to see the damage to your solar panels, hope the admin of getting that fixed doesn't take too long.
LOL. I love how pretty those first few beautiful dustings of snow look I do get so sick of it by winter's end.
DeleteCongrats on the scale going down. I felt pretty sure with your consistency that it would! I need to get the Boca chicken. I only have the beef right now. What good products! What a winter wonderland! I want one more snow here and then I'm good! I know you can relate. Happy Saturday!
ReplyDeleteThank you! (of course it's right back up there today but I'm okay with that; it won't stay up for long and weight fluctuations do happen).
DeleteI love that kind of snow too, that you can get out & enjoy without it being so darn cold. Yum, I'm going to try the tuna on white cheddar rice cakes. We have lots of tuna & we like rice cakes from time to time. Karen #Weekendcoffeeshare
ReplyDeleteI hope you like it!
DeleteEveryone of those meals look delicious! And I thought I read a lot in January, but look at you! The photos from your Tuesday hike are beautiful! January definitely sounds like a good month for you all! Hope you have a great weekend,
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you! Funny enough there always seems to be someone that reads more... I have a few bloggers I follow that manage to read around 300 books a year!! I could NEVER do that!
DeleteI love that you're joining this link-up! :-) Sorry that dealing with insurance over the solar panels has been a hassle. That seems to be the case with insurance most of the time. I'm learning that's especially true when it comes to health insurance.
ReplyDeleteOH yes, health insurance is the worst one to deal with!
DeleteGorgeous winter photos!
ReplyDeleteAs always, your nature photos are perfection. The snow is stunning. I want to read the Finlay Donovan series. I've been back to tracking my points too...and feeling better getting back in a routine. This Saturday post is fun!
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you!
DeleteGlad to hear you've had a great month. Beautiful winter scenery in your photos. We haven't got that much snow yet. Thank you for your weekend coffee share.
ReplyDeleteThank you! We only had that much snow for 1 day: then it rained and all washed away. I think that is my new favorite kind of snow!!
DeleteBeautiful snow pictures but I hear you on liking the look of it but not having to actually deal with it so much. Happy birthday to your son! Other than putting a load of laundry in first thing every morning, I could never get into a routine as a homeschool mom. My kids always had minds of their own, lol, and wouldn't get with the program. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen my boys were younger we were firmly in the unschooling field for many years for that very reason but as they all hit middle school age they settled down to more traditional book work. My only homeschooler left actually HATES hands on learning and asked for a pile of workbooks that he could just work through and then check off school for the day without worrying about finding hobbies and interests! LOL.
DeleteHi Joanne. Loved your snow photos. I live in Sydney Australia and it's Summer and pretty hot here. There are days I could just bathe in your snow. Hope you have a great week.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes,
Rowena
Thank you! There are days I would just love to soak in your sun and warmth! LOL.
DeleteYour winter photos are absolutely amazing!!
ReplyDeleteI am simultaneously really glad it hasn't snowed here and really taken with your snowy hike pictures! They are gorgeous! That is probably the ideal way for me to "do" winter--vicariously, though someone else, haha!
ReplyDeleteLOL.. We've really lucked out that this year all our snowstorms have been followed by rain and so our snow has only been lasting 24 hours-- that is the perfect snow! I get to enjoy how pretty it looks, I don't have to shovel it or deal with ice, and then *poof* it's gone.
DeleteThe snow pics are so pretty! I love snow... as long as I don't have to shovel it. Sometimes I miss the beauty and peacefulness of a snowy morning, but I'm just fine watching it on my computer screen from Arizona.
ReplyDeleteExactly!
DeleteThis is such a fun link up! I will have to join in. I love your snow pictures. I always love taking pictures after a nice snow. Sorry that insurance is taking so long to process your claim. Hopefully it will happen soon. And yay for the scale budging! It's always nice when that happens after you've been trying hard to stay on track.
ReplyDeleteYes! We got our insurance check in this weekend-- finally. And we already have everything in motion to hopefully get it fixed and working soon.
DeleteSnow is lovely to look at and I enjoyed see your photos. I don't want to have to deal with it, but photos are wonderful. Lots of yummy looking food too. #MMBC
ReplyDeleteLove your winter pictures! Visiting from Share Four Somethings :)
ReplyDeleteJoanne, those winter pics are fabulous. Sad face about your solar panels blowing over. What great food choices, they look so yummy.
ReplyDeleteVisiting today from Share Four Something's #17
I'm so glad you have had a great month! I love all of the snow pictures. They are all so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI was going to pick a favorite of the snow photos but then realized I liked them all so I can't choose. That's a lot of books read. Way to go. I have thought of joining the 4 things but haven't yet. I'll see how you like it. Sounds like you had a great month!! You also reminded me I need to make some homemade granola!
ReplyDeleteLOL! I'm pretty sure I'll stick with it; it's a fun and easy way to wrap up my month.
DeleteI love the pretty snow scenes and the food all looks so good and healthy.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry the insurance company is frustratingly slow. Ugh. And I love the pictures from your snowy hike. So pretty!
ReplyDelete