What’s Up Wednesday {JANUARY 2023}
1: WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK
Truth: We don't really eat together during the week. When it's "just us" we prefer to not eat dinner. I made a ton of food for the cabin last weekend though. We had shredded chicken nachos with homemade guac and salsa Friday night and stuffed shells with meatballs on Saturday.burgers and Sam's club Southwest Salad kit
and Ms. Barbara's chicken pot pie!!!
Next "big" meal will be Ms. Barbara's and my birthdays in February -- hoping Tom and the kids will grill something and the kids make some great appetizers to usher in another year for us :)
2. WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT
Time with my family:
3: WHAT I’M LOVING
"Loving" might be a strong word, but I'm really, really enjoying my new job. I have taken on a second PT job with a local professional services group as Director of Learning and Development. 
We had four new hires one day in January and I coordinated all of the onboarding for them (I'd only been with them 3-4 weeks at that point!) and am enjoying learning a new industry and setting up another training program.
I'm still doing Client Experience at the engineering contracting company I previously worked for 8-12 hours a week too. I do like being busy!
4: WHAT I’VE BEEN UP TO
All the same as #3. . .and lots and lots of football
Happy to see all the teams that are advancing. . .the Bengals against KC and SanFran vs the Eagles this Saturday -- obviously rooting for those Bengals!!! This past weekend we watched two full games on Sunday -- that is a LOT for us. The Dallas/San Francisco game was a nailbiter to the end.
5: WHAT I’M DREADING:
Absolutely nothing. It's a good place to be. My mom will have hip surgery coming up, which is a difficult recovery since she lives alone, but happy that she can get that done. We have to think about purchasing a replacement vehicle for this unfortunate incident a couple weeks ago (our youngest hit a couple of cars heading to work early one Monday morning -- his car and one of the others was deemed "totaled" by the insurance company). 
It's just an unexpected expense and never one of our favorite things to do :/
6: WHAT I’M WORKING ON
Unfortunately, this is it. Blogging a few times a month seems to be it. . .unusual for me but the cold weather and short days don't motivate me much.
7: WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT
Our family vacation!! That's not until the end of May, but it's a BIG one so something to look forward to for a long time (we put our money down on it over the summer). We have some February birthdays to celebrate, my dad turns 80 in March (!!!), Laura graduates in May. . .we should have a FULL spring ahead :)
8: WHAT I’M WATCHING/READING
Believe it or not, I've watched four movies this month. That is generally what I watch in four months, so that is something. I liked them all:
How have I never heard of this movie?? It's right up my alley -- love movies about real events and this one was extremely interesting to me.
Not my "usual" go-to but I had heard about it on a podcast and thought it would be worth trying. Erin would have really liked it but she said I was starting it too late (9 p.m.!) for her to stay up and watch it with me :/And, of course, The Chosen is always at the top of Tom's and my list.
Only 2 more to go in Season 3 after this one. . .I highly, highly encourage anyone and everyone to watch this -- Christian or otherwise. And then call me to chat about it :)I've read The Matchmaker's Gift and This Time Tomorrow so far this year. They were both "ok" -- I would only recommend them to specific people I think. I'm trying to get through The Most Fun We Ever Had and The Lost Summers of Newport -- both of which are "good" but not keeping my attention for too long. The former I'm listening to and the latter I have on my Kindle. Then, when we were in Gatlinburg, my sister brought me a book from my mom -- The Sweeney Sisters, so I started that too. Hopefully I'll have somewhat of a book re-cap in early February? I'm waiting for another "can't put it down book" like "In The Wild Light", which was the last book I finished in 2022 or most John Grisham books.
(All links are for your convenience -- I don't have any affiliate contracts)
9: WHAT I’M LISTENING TO
If I'm not listening to books, I'm listening to podcasts. I found an episode on a podcast that I had never listened to before that I am sharing with everyone - Am I Using My Morals as a Weapon or a Gift? So, so good.
The other podcasts I listen to are either people I've been listening to for ages or leadership/L&D podcasts that inspire me in either of my jobs. I listen to almost everything on Spotify but don't stray much in my music -- either contemporary Christian, 80's, or any (mostly country) playlists the boys put together to listen to on the boat.
10: WHAT I’M WEARING
Work clothes! It's nice to be going into an office most days out of the week. I don't like layers so I won't be excited about clothing again until summer rolls around and the bright colors come back out :)
11: WHAT I’M DOING THIS WEEKEND
Absolutely nothing -- 10 years ago every single weekend was some kind of sporting event (usually multiple events and often in multiple locations) and although I miss that, I also like the quietness of hanging out at home with Tom.
12: WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH
Ummmmmm. . .not much. Although February is my birthday month, it is generally the yuckiest month weather-wise and my life is all about the weather. Truly.
13: NEW FAVORITE AMAZON FIND OF THE MONTH
I'm not shopping these days -- we took it "light" at Christmas because of our big family trip. . .and what would I shop for in January?!!? Man, I'm a wet blanket -- this blog post is really making me look at myself and think "get to IT -- do SOMETHING" -- ha!
14: WHAT ELSE IS NEW
Tom and I joined a new small group with our church and meet for the first time tonight. I'm looking forward to meeting new people! Our previous group met on Sunday nights and that was just too much on the weekends and not enough during the week. Maybe this will help balance our schedules a little bit.
I'll have to think on this and/or make sure that I have a little more to report next month :/
Again, if you blog feel free to join in. . .if not, head over to Mix & Match Mama's or Sheaffer Told Me To to read some more WUW posts :)
Love,
Jenni
I'm so sorry to hear about the totaled car. It really isn't an ideal time to shop for a new car, as I have found out since we are planning to add a car to our family for our college daughter. Loved hearing about life lately, and thank you for all the movie recommendations!
ReplyDeleteLet me know what you like!! I appreciate your book reviews -- it's great to get recommendations from people that seem to have the same interests as you :)
DeleteYou are not a wet blanket! January is the wet blanket! I can't wait to hear about your trip plans. I desperately need to plan a trip but I just don't have the energy and I don't know anyones' schedules. It is so hard with college kids that we want to travel with. It's just our season, I guess. We also need to do a small couples trip, but our money keeps going to unexpected expenses like a new oven. Now I'm the wet blanket!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a cozy and relaxing weekend!
Amy - ha! You and I are in the same stage of life :). This trip will still be difficult to get all the kids to b/c of work schedules, a May 20th graduation, etc. but they will make it work. Sometimes experiences just have to come first. I get it about the "unexpected expenses" -- we just had two cars go this month alone. Ugh. We try to stay on top of it, but. . .it's always something. At least we both have boats to enjoy in the summer months :).
DeleteOh, how exciting to have a big trip plan. I just LOVE travelling. And I'm sorry you have to shop for a new car. That is never fun. We have been putting it off for close to a year now. Ugh.
ReplyDelete