A Full and Fun Weekend in Review

 

This post has a ridiculous number of food pictures and random pictures. After work on Thursday, we met our long-time friends for dinner at Soho Taco. My shrimp kebabs and black beans were yummy!

After we ate, we walked around the corner to the Homewood Theater for the season opener. This is our least favorite "entertainment" of the season. It just isn't our kind of music, but we love the theater - the rest of the shows will be plays and they will be really good.

On Friday morning, I had a 7:15 a.m. doctor's appointment and I was in and out by 7:55! I headed back home and did some laundry and rode the stationary bike and then headed back to Homewood to meet three friends for lunch at ZoZo's. 

It was a weekend of eating . . .we met Mark's twin brother and wife and her cousin and spouse at Stix. The cousin and spouse were in town for a dental conference.

Mark enjoyed sushi -- the tuna was minced which was very different.

I was disappointed we didn't sit at the cooking tables, but I was able to order shrimp . . .like I would have ordered if they were preparing tableside. We both ate my leftovers on Saturday - 3 meals (plus some still went in the trash!)

On Saturday, it was HOT here in Alabama. It was opening day for the fifth grade tackle football team (along with the other teams). Most other school systems cancelled their outdoor activities on Saturday, but not this one. Our oldest granddaughter was cheering so Gran and Pops loaded up and headed 30 minutes southeast. See the two blue tents? She is the cheerleader "between" the two tents.

It was so HOT! Did I already say that? haha!

I had on my hat to cover the tops of my ears (remember I had a sqamous cell removed a couple of years ago). I had on sunglasses and had my neck fan. When we stood up, the back of our shorts was wet - seriously hot.

As soon as they completed their dance routine, they called it and we all left. The teams they were supposed to play had backed out so the team was divided and they were playing against each other.

While driving to the game, we had decided to stop at Aldi on the way home and buy charcuterie stuff. It was too hot to cook. Our friend, Marietta, who is one of my monthly lunch bunch friends (ZoZo's above), brought us a cute reusable bag. I still had it in my purse from lunch on Friday and we used it at Aldi. We bought my favorite crackers and cheese and turkey and other fancy meats, along with olives. The bag folds back flat and fits in the square with the kitty cat face!

We had the baby dills, mini saltines, and carrots at home. We usually have figs or dates, but all I had was prunes haha! We were still hot from the football game so came in the door and I went straight to the shower! While Mark was showering, I started putting together our plates. It wasn't really a charcuterie, but more of a cold cut plate.

I worked on Sunday morning! Everyone was back in worship - it was a great Sunday. Our new campus opened and they are already out of space. They literally used every chair in the building (even kid's chairs) and people still had to stand (photo below).

Working the welcome desk - it was a great day in all of our worship services.

We even had fog bubbles greeting everyone. All of the kids loved the bubbles.

I taught Sunday school and afterwards we had family over for lunch. I thought I would grab a picture of all of us at the table, but that didn't happen!

We had a weekend full of eating and fellowship!

Sunday Stealing from Country Dew

 

This week's meme was stolen from Country Dew. A decade ago, she shared these "get to know you" questions she found on Facebook. Let's use them to go to know you better.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ...? JUST FYI - I am horrible at favorites - I like an assortment of things! 

1. Flavor? Flavor of what item? I love strawberry - I have strawberry no sugar jam/jelly. I also enjoy chocolate - sugar free fudgsicles. Fresh lemon (not fake) is really good, too!

2. Movie? I so rarely watch movies that I don't have a favorite. We do love a portion of Four Christmases and watch it, along with Christmas Vacation, every year. I also loved the Wizard of Oz and Lion King. I enjoyed the Indiana Jones, James Bond, and Pirates of the Caribbean movies, too.

3. Piece of jewelry? I love my engagement ring. Compared to the rings of many of the young women today, my "a little over a carat" ring seems small, but it is just right. I also love my diamond earrings and necklace that Mark gave me. For costume jewelry, I love pearls - earrings, necklace, bracelets.

4. Place to be? I'll give my selfish answer first - traveling the world or lying on a wonderful beach. My non-selfish answer would be "with my people"!

5. Boy's name? We are too old to have any more children (haha!), but I love the name Griffith for a boy. I guess you would call him "Griff"?

6. Girl's name? Same thing - not going to have anymore but I think I would choose Elizabeth.

7. Candy? My all-time favorite candy is Reese's cups - I prefer the pumpkins or Christmas trees. I don't eat candy anymore, but I do love those.

8. Sports team? Auburn tigers - War Eagle. Our granddaughters cheer - one team is the Hornets and the other is the Panthers (I think).

9. Color? Red, hot pink (fuschia), light pink, vibrant blue, green - I love all of those. I'm the kid who always wanted the biggest box of crayons so that I could have all of the colors!

10. Month? I love the "ber" months - September has football, October has Halloween, November has Thanksgiving (my favorite), and December has Christmas. BUT . . .I also love May, June, and July. 

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Hodgepodge Wednesday

Joyce writes the questions and we join up! Come on and join the group!

1. I saw a meme on Instagram that went like this-'The movie Dirty Dancing came out in 1987 and was set in 1963, so if remade in 2026 it would be set in 2002. Now I need a little lie down in a dark room for a while." 

Time is crazy isn't it? So...what were you up to in the year 2002? Where was I in 2002? I think our kids were Freshmen in high school . . .so I was driving people everywhere in my big Expedition. I always drove carpool to school and they were involved in youth choir and youth activities at church so we were burning up the road between Hoover and Homewood. I was a SAHM at that time.

2. "Me? I'm scared of everything..." What's something that scares you that you'd like to try anyway? I don't know that these things scare me . . . but I really want to go up in a hot air balloon and I want to zip-line through some trees.

3. Watermelon-yay or nay? Which melon is your favorite-watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew. Of the watermelon food/beverages listed which would you say yes to...I love a good watermelon . . .and I love a good ripe cantaloupe or honeydew. They are all sooo good!

watermelon salsa~watermelon feta salad~watermelon sorbet~ 

a watermelon Jolly Rancher~a watermelon margarita 

4. August 12th is National Middle Child Day. Are you a middle child? If not, where do you fall in the birth order in your family of origin? Do you think this has influenced your personality? Elaborate. I am the baby. I had two older sisters and I'm pretty sure I was spoiled. Our mom died when I was 15 and my daddy did spoil me (some). I am bossy and still boss my middle sister if we are together. Mark asked her why she put up with it. I guess she loves me haha!

5. Would you rather talk to everyone at a crowded party for a short time, or have a significant conversation with two people? Explain. It depends on what kind of mood I'm in and if I'm already "peopled out." I do love talking to everyone at the party for a short time, but I love a real conversation at some point during the event.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Weekend in Review

 I know it is now Monday night . . .but I've been busy! On Thursday night, I took my final - 3 hours and 15 minutes worth of writing. I'm still waiting on the grade, but I have a high A in the class so unless I totally bombed it . . .I should have an A - yay!

On Friday, I went for a pedicure. Oh my goodness! I needed to sit in massage chair and just rest a minute!

Mark came home from the farm and we didn't do anything that night.

On Saturday morning, I went to WW and then I had an appointment for an hour long massage. Yes, two treats in one weekend. On my way home, I went to Trader Joe's to buy flowers for Sunday's workshop. Having a front seat of flowers was sort of fun!

We didn't do much of anything else. It was so hot that I didn't want to do anything. I think it rained again! We actually sat on our front porch for a little while before the rain.

I was at work by 6:45 on Sunday morning. There was a wedding at the church on Saturday evening so I could not set up for the Hospitality workshop. I made flower arrangements for all of the tables. Teal is one of the colors we use a lot in our "Hey Neighbor" logo and I found some inexpensive teal tablecloths. The workshop was well attended. We had about 60 people. We watched about 10 minutes of an Andy Stanley video where he talks about an inward focused church vs. an outward focused church. I did a power point presentation that lasted about 20-25 minutes - included some table discussions. We fed everyone some Full Moon BBQ and sides. I think it was a success.

My co-worker was introducing the video.

On Sunday afternoon, we made the Poppyseed Chicken casseroles for Tuesday night's young adult group and we took a 30 minute nap -- EXCEPT we had another thunder storm so I didn't sleep. I rode the bike. We got cleaned up again and went to dinner with three other couples. It was a nice evening of laughter and conversation and good food.

Here are some random photos from the weekend that our family took at various events.

This is our daughter - this will be year 14 for her
as a teacher! She is back to third grade. This was
on meet the teacher night!

Check - this class is over!! Woo hoo!

This is our sweet middle granddaughter at
meet the teacher night. She attends the
same school where her mama is a teacher.
She is healing nicely from her "shattered
shower door" incident.

It was "blessing of the backpacks" at their
church on Sunday. Our daughter found a clear
plastic one for the little so she didn't
feel left out. 

Ok - this is our daughter on the left. Our son texted
and asked how in the world I allowed that hair cut.
I don't remember . . .but it is bad! Mark's mother and I
used to collaborate and sew matching outfits for our daughter and
son - twins! Anyway -- top right photo is our middle granddaughter
several years ago and bottom right is our youngest granddaughter.
They are all wearing the same dress. This makes my
heart happy.

This is our oldest granddaughter. She
went to "meet the teacher" today. She
is so grown up.

I hope to visit some of your blogs and read about your weekend!!

Sunday Stealing -- Bragger??

This week's meme is inspired by Bragger, a blogger who enjoyed memes "so I don't have to think" about a topic for her posts. She stole this one from Tense Teacher, sadly, who took her blog down.

Cheers to all of us thieves!

When You Can't Think of Anything to Blog About ...

1) Describe your typical weekend, and tell us how this weekend has been different. My work week is Sunday through Thursday. Since I've been back in school, my Fridays usually include a lot of homework. I usually order groceries to be delivered. Most weekends, we have at least one outing planned with friends. I wash our sheets and remake the bed. I do my work laundry (I do it separately from the other regular laundry). I ride my stationary bike. Our Sundays include church and Sunday School and work for me. How is this weekend different? I took my final on Thursday night. It was five essay questions and the time limit was five hours!!! I was finished around the three hours and fifteen minutes mark. She hasn't graded the finals yet, and I'll be honest. I'm not sure I turned in A work. I headed into the final with a strong A . . .we shall see. The professor also hasn't graded a video presentation, so there are two big assignments hanging. Guess what that meant? Friday was a free day!! I still washed our sheets, but I went for a pedicure. Heaven. I am writing this on Saturday morning (early) while Mark is still asleep. Today, I will go to my regular WW (Weight Watchers) meeting. I forgot to include that in my typical weekend description. I will leave the meeting and drive about 20 minutes where I will be getting a one hour massage. I have two weeks before Fall A semester begins. I told Mark last night that I would not mind going to the Summit (outdoor shopping mall) or the Outlet Mall this afternoon. We might go to a restaurant for dinner. Sunday will still be a work day, but I am in charge of the hospitality workshop. I have worked on my Powerpoint, but I'm not sure it is good enough. I am having self-doubts. On Sunday night, we will eat dinner with friends. We are meeting at The Pita Stop Express and I love middle Eastern food. I usually order shrimp kebabs over a big salad. Are y'all eating salads again? I'm still not sure about eating one.

2) What food hits your bliss spot? French fries are one of my very favorite foods but I don't allow myself to eat real ones (actually fried, not air fried) very often. I also love a good steak that melts in my mouth! A couple of weeks ago, I baked some loaves of bread using bread dough from the grocery store. I must admit that a bite of warm bread with real butter hits my bliss spot, too!

3) Where did you stay on your last vacation (hotel, Airbnb/Vrbo, friends/family)? When we went to the beach in June, we stayed in a four bedroom condo rented through Vacasa. We recently stayed one night with our daughter's in-laws, which wasn't a vacation. Last fall, our vacation was on a small cruise ship plus a hotel room in Amsterdam. When we go to England and Ireland this fall, we will stay in hotel rooms.

4) If you had a personality eraser, what part of yours would you erase? I would erase the part of me that can be quite snarky and snappy at times. I would like to erase the selfish parts of me, please. I would also erase my lack of self-confidence.

5) Think of your friends. Tell us about the first one who popped into your head. One of my closest friends is Phella. I actually used her as the basis for my Relationship Timeline project in my Communications class this semester! We met when our babies were teeny tiny. Laura and Glenn were six weeks old. Phella's son, Chris, was maybe two and she was pregnant with her middle child when we met. She is my "ride or die." She knows my deepest darkest secrets haha! We have been blessed with several good friends and I can't imagine doing life without them.

Thank you for plaing! Please join us again next week!

Calling Part A . . .Part B . . . what else do I need??

Oh my goodness! I assumed signing up for Medicare would be straightforward. After all, I'm reasonably organized, I make lists, and I generally like knowing exactly what I'm supposed to do.

When I turned 65, I signed up for Medicare Part A. Signing up for Part A wasn't difficult nor very time consuming. Since I am still working full-time, I didn't sign up for Part B. I continued on my employer's plan - a major plan plus a gap insurance.

Let me just say this from the very beginning. I realize I am spoiled when it comes to health insurance. When I was young and worked for a very large international corporation, I had excellent insurance. When Laura and Glenn were born six weeks early, there were two of every specialist in the delivery room. We arrived at the hospital in the wee hours of Tuesday morning and stayed until Sunday afternoon - all three of us! The bill was large, but all we had to pay for was the TV and telephone. That was it! (also, how funny - no cell phones! We had to pay for an in-room phone!)

When I became a SAHM, all three of us were on Mark's insurance. He had a hefty monthly payment to cover all of us but the three of us stayed on his policy. When Glenn got married and was gainfully employed with benefits, he came off the policy. When Laura had good insurance through the state (school teacher), she came off Mark's policy. At that point, I came off and went on the church's insurance. Over all of these years, our coverage has been great except for one year - I think Mark's company changed to United for a year. Thank goodness that only lasted a year! It was not great!

This summer, it was time to sign up for the next part of Medicare. My quest to change started mid-June. I tried to register online . . . but my information would never load. I finally mailed actual pieces of paper to Medicare. It took forever for them to receive it and to process it. 

Finally, about a week ago I was able to have a very long phone appointment with our insurance broker. She gave me three options and I chose one. I received a new insurance card today. Woo hoo! 

Navigating the Medicare road was time consuming and it was not easy. I hope I made the right choice. Was this process easy for those of you who are now on Medicare?

August Hodgepodge

 

Joyce writes the questions and we answer and link up at From This Side of the Pond. Come and join us or feel free to answer in the comments!

1. What's something on your August calendar you're looking forward to? Or dreading if that's easier to answer. We are going to eat a couple of meals with friends which is always fun. Mark has a birthday this month (I need to plan something!). We will pay our last fall tuition payment (and then we will have to pay for just one more semester!). It is almost time to get out the fall decorations! I love fall decorations.

2. August 5th is National Oyster Day...do you partake? How do you feel about pearls? I am not fond of oysters. I have eaten one raw oyster in my life just so I could say I had! Mark loves them but the last few times he has eaten them . . . he has not felt well after. On the other hand, I LOVE pearls - I have several different types of pearl earrings and several different pearl necklaces.

3. Tell us about a time when you felt like 'the world was your oyster'. I am not sure I've ever felt that way. Surely I did when I was young?? Actually . . . maybe I'm living it right now.

4. Trip Advisor lists seven islands in the US that require no passport (for US citizens). If you're answering today from outside the US you'll still need to produce yours. An-y-way, have you been to any of the seven? Let's pretend you get an all expense paid trip to one this month...which one do you choose and why? 

Catalina Island California~Martha's Vineyard Massachusetts~Mackinac Island Michigan~Key West Florida~South Padre Island Texas~or Kauai Hawaii

I've never been to any of those islands! I've been to Hawaii, but not to Kauai.

5. Sylvia Plath is credited with the following- 

"August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time."

Agree or disagree? In other words, how do you feel about this month? 

When I arise at 5:00 a.m., it is still dark outside. I much prefer the length of the days in early to mid-June. Sylvia's words are a little depressing for some reason. I guess there is truth to her statement. The kids are all gearing up for back-to-school. I want to sneak a couple of pool days in this month if it will ever stop raining on the weekends and that will make it feel a little more like summer. I am rambling at this point so I'm going to stop typing!

6. Insert your own random thought here. I found some more quotes about August. I'll use this one as my random thought:

“The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, lke the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless, and hot. It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color. Often at night there is lightning, but it quivers all alone.” — Natalie Babbitt