Currently in March 2025
It's the first Wednesday of the month and time for Currently with Jennifer. This month we'll be talking about the things we're currently loving, craving, pinning, planning, and appreciating
Loving: I have so many great things I'm loving this month. I am loving how Evan's room turned out (he picked such a great color!). I LOVED seeing the otters playing in the water/ice last week. Alec and I had the most fun grabbing dinner and seeing the show & Juliet in Providence (we even got comped better seats at the show since we arrived so early!). And of course I am loving having Alec home this week.
 |
| We hadn't made any reservations anywhere so we ended up at the counter for a coal fired pizza place; it was so neat watching them make the pizzas all night (and so delicious too!). I forgot to take a photo of ours but we split a Magherita-- sauce, mozzarella, and fresh basil |
 |
| It was such a fun show! So lively and the storyline was great; we laughed a lot and the music made me want to get up and dance. There were all sort of fun special effects too. |
 |
| Fresh fruit, plain Greek Yogurt, chia seeds and raw pecans |
Pinning: Oh I am always pinning something-- anytime I host or co-host a link party I pin all the entrants blog posts (as long as they allow me to; some block pinned content and that's fine!). I've been pinning lots of whole food recipes and sugar free "treat" ideas. I've even started pinning some spring/summer outfit clothing ideas. This week I've been looking for some scrapbook layout ideas and pinning those.
You can follow me here: https://www.pinterest.com/ctcrafter/
Planning: Evan and I checked off the last college on our list to visit just a couple of weeks ago and we had so much fun. I am loving this whole college planning process and I think he's enjoying it too.
 |
| Hampshire college in Amherst, Mass. |
Appreciating: Lots of quiet activities like puzzle making, scrapbooking, card making, and reading.
.png)
.png)
Those sea otter pictures are neat! I don't know anything about sea otters- are those in your lake?? The theater you went to looks neat on the outside and the set of the musical looks really cool, too. I'm glad you guys had a good time!
ReplyDeleteThey're river otters and yep we've only seen them a handful of times in our 20+ years of living here but we do have them in our lake.
DeleteWow, cutting sugar, seed oils and wheat flour is HARD - but I bet after a little while you feel so much better? I'm shocked by how many things have seed oils. We had been buying organic granola for several weeks, and then realized it contained seed oils. Cooking from scratch is really the only option to avoid them.
ReplyDeleteIt was really hard for the first week or two but after that I really did feel so much better and I was impressed that all cravings stopped! The seed oils are the hardest to avoid because like you said, they are in just about everything. I'm sure I'll still have them occasionally like when we eat our or go on vacation because I can only "police" my diet so much.
DeleteMargherita is my favorite kind of pizza and that place looks awesome. Wow- good for you to make those diet cuts-that is tough stuff! We are just getting college tours booked now after a couple last year- I am going to try to enjoy it but right now I feel stressed- ugh ;)
ReplyDeleteI really did not stress out about college at all and kept reminding my boys that this should be an enjoyable process and not super stressful for them either-- there are NO wrong choice that can't be changed, reversed, or tweaked. I impressed upon them the importance of giving it a full semester once they made a commitment but kids change majors, schools, living arrangements all the time and they wouldn't be the only ones if they felt they had made a wrong decision. I also had a very zen attitude about any college that might not accept them too; I figured if if they didn't get in then it was not meant to be and that was not the right place for them.
DeleteHas Evan chosen the college he wants now he's seen them all? What an adventure... For both of you! I want to see & Juliet, I've heard great things about it and how great that you tickets got upgraded!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure he plans to apply to most of the ones we toured but he does have a hierarchy list from favorite to least favorite. I think there was only one that we eliminated.
DeleteI love sitting at a counter like that! So fun!
ReplyDeleteI really want to cut out seed oils and sugar. Tell me how to start! lol! I have been listening to Bobby Approved stuff especially at Costco. He tells you what to buy at certain stores and he even has an app.
I had heard of his app and it's a great way to get started because really to start it's all about reading labels (which is such a pain at first! but it sounds like that's what the app does for you). Honestly, I pretty much cut out anything processed and just eat fruits, vegetable, raw/unsalted nuts of all kinds, meats, eggs. Then I mix in what are called lightly processed foods like whole wheat pasta, quinoa, farro. I started making all my own marinades, salad dressings, etc. and use either olive or avocado oil. I use the Yuka app sometimes too (though mostly I forget to use it for food).
DeleteEvan's room looks fab! I love the colour that he picked. I've heard good things about & Juliet, it sounds like a great evening!
ReplyDeleteThe whole college planning does sound interesting. Good luck with the process.
Thank you! We loved the show so much.
DeleteI do love the color of Evan's room as well. We have a bathroom that color.
ReplyDeleteThanks! It's such a fun color. I'm pretty sure the boys' bathroom was the same color when they were younger.
DeleteWow that bedroom color is so beautiful! Thank you for the reminder to work on my puzzle - sometimes I forget its in there, waiting for me to finish it.
ReplyDeleteLOL! It's easy to do. I try to keep our puzzles out where I walk by them frequently.
DeleteOtters! That is so cool.
ReplyDeleteWe thought so too! We so rarely see them-- I think the last time we saw them was probably a good 5 or even 10 years ago.
DeleteEek, the otters! So cute. I also love the colour of Evan's room, very nice. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you!
DeleteWe loved visiting my daughter when she was in college in Providence. How nice to see that show with your son. The pizza sounded so good. Providence has a lot of good restaurants. It must be hard cutting out sugar. I always crave something sweet and just have an apple to eat. I hope you enjoy the month of March.
ReplyDeleteThey do have a lot of good restaurants! I thought cutting out sugar was going to be a lot harder but I do still plan to splurge/indulge on occasion. Knowing it only takes a few days for the cravings to stop entirely helps a lot. I can fight it for a few days!
DeleteCutting out sugar entirely is probably not a thing for me, but I am trying to cut back on it. I have such a sweet tooth! I try to choose sugar free when I can. Look how cute those otters are! Have a good day!
ReplyDeleteI said the same thing a year or so ago but I found limiting it was so hard since even sugar free items have fake sugar that actually makes cravings much worse. I still plan to allow myself the occasional ice cream, cake, cookie, etc. but the less I eat it the less I'm even tempted.
DeleteI love the brightness of Evan's room. Those otters omg so cute.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It was a fun change over from the blue he used to have.
DeleteBrava for cutting out those cravings. I'd love to share with my community too...what do you think has made it work for you?
ReplyDeleteXoxo
Jodie
Thank you!
DeleteOTTERS!! Omg. I would be in heaven if I saw those in my vicinity. 💜🤣
ReplyDeleteAren't they so cute? We so rarely see them so it's such a real treat when we do.
DeleteI love the wall color!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteThe otters are so cute! We have some in the lake but it's rare I see them. The show sounds like fun. We always sit at the bar when we can...we've met some fun people that way too. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteI think this might be only or 2nd or perhaps 3rd otter sighting in the 20+ years we've lived here.
DeleteThe sea otters are so cute. I also love the color of your son's walls!
ReplyDeleteI cut out all sugars and white flour several years ago and felt great. I will be working on that again. It absolutely cut out my cravings and even know after adding some back I don't have cravings like I used to at all. Now I just crave less tangible things like peace over all. Ha!
I'm glad you and your son are having so much fun looking at colleges!
Aw, thank you! It's been a real fun process and so funny to compare the whole college process across all 3 boys and how vastly different they've all been.
DeleteWhat a treasure to have those otters so close by! We, too, have cut out sugar and seed oil as well as gluten and its made a tremendous difference, especially for my husband's overall health (he has an autoimmune condition). He's also mostly dairy free so cooking has, at times, been a challenge. Now that we are on this side of things, it's totally been worth the change!
ReplyDeleteI am trying to get to a dairy free point too but I just love my yogurt so much I'm finding it hard to cut it out completely!
DeleteThat's so cool you have otters near you! And I love the colour of Evan's room. I love bright colours!
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you!
DeleteI would love to see otters in the wild...so exciting. The trip to the theater and dinner looks really special. I'm so impressed with your dietary changes! You have a lot of self-discipline - way to go!
ReplyDeleteIt really only took about 2 weeks and then all the cravings stopped completely. We have all sorts of ice cream and chips and things in the house and they hold zero appeal to me. I'm sure I'll indulge on occasion but I feel so much better eating better.
DeleteHi Joanne, I love your sea otter photos. How cute are they?! Believe it or not Margherita pizza's are my fav! It's funny how you've shared a pic of a meal with Chia Seeds and my post this week was a recipe for Chia Pudding. Good luck with your college planning and thank you for linking up with #WWWhimsy ! xo
ReplyDeleteYes, I thought that was rather funny too. I can't wait to try out your chia pudding recipe; I recently bought some protein powder and have been looking for recipes to use it.
DeleteSo many good things here, Joanne! I love the color of Evan's room...bright colors are so cheerful. But, those otters!!! I think they're my favorite animals to watch at the zoo. And, margherita pizza all the way for me! There's a Blaze pizza near my son's so my granddaughter and I always manage to go there. You make me almost wish I still had kids to take on college visits...almost!
ReplyDeletehttps://marshainthemiddle.com/
They are so fun and so playful! I just wish they came around a tiny bit later in the day when the lighting was better so I could watch them more easily.
DeleteI love love love that room color! Great choice!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteJoanne,
ReplyDeleteLove the sea otter pictures and I adore the color of Evan's room...I am a color gal...
I too just could not get warm yesterday and it was 50 degrees outside but raining..The dampness does me in. I am getting all my papers for the tax guy together and looking forward to getting that out of the way as it is the first time I am doing it because Joe always did it...Take care and enjoy the weekend!!
Hugs,
Deb
Debbie-Dabble Blog
That is how I felt all day yesterday too! My toes were freezing.. and I kept adding on more layers.
DeleteWhat a wonderful list: I love that paint color and what fun to see otters in the wild. My kids would be jealous, they really like otters! I need to do a better job at cutting out sugar: since it's lent, I am not eating dairy which I know will be good for me. But I often tend to make more desserts albeit vegan ones. Looking at your pictures makes me hungry!
ReplyDeletewww.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
Thank you!
DeleteHello, great books, I also really like reading. Unfortunately, I don't read as much as you do, because I work a lot. I really like John Grisham. Greetings!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I rarely listen/read Grisham but I did really enjoy the latest one I read by him.
DeleteWhat a fun color Evan picked out for his room!
ReplyDeleteIsn't that so fun?! It matches some of the art work he has hanging up perfectly too.
DeleteSo many lovely things happening, Joanne. As always, I enjoyed your photos!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteWhat a great month! So much good time with your boys! The show sounds like such a great evening! Isn't it interesting how our taste buds adapt and stop craving things. I think that's such a good perk to eating better!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It was so much fun and we have another show night coming up soon.
DeleteThat's so awesome that you could see otters right near home! What a treat. We have to walk over to the nearby wetland preserve to see much in the way of wildlife, but there are some otters over there. Your yogurt with nuts and fruit looks like something I would crave - yum!! Hope you're having a great week!
ReplyDeleteIt is so fun seeing so much wildlife; through the years we've seen a lot.
DeleteHow cool to see otters!! &Juliet is such a fun show!!
ReplyDeleteWe loved & Juliet so much! It was a lot of fun.
Delete