Monday, March 18, 2024

Currently… March 2023

*This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

It’s time for my quarterly “currently” post, so it’s time for some randomness!

 


I’m currently…

Making: Plans for Easter and our Disney trip!  Spring break is the week after Easter this year, so we leave for Disney World the day after Easter.  That means I’ll have to have all of my ducks in a row before Easter since we’ll be doing all of the church and family things that day.  So, I’ve been busy buying things for Easter baskets, our Easter egg hunt, and our Disney trip + I’ve been planning outfits and a loose itinerary for Disney.  Whew.

Cooking: Same ol’, same ol’… lots of easy dishes – chicken tacos, sausage peppers and onions tacos, beef and parmesan pasta, sheet pan sausage and veggies, various baked chicken recipes with veggies, and all of my other usual staples. 

Drinking: Lots of water every day (I aim for 60-90 oz. per day), and two cups of hot cinnamon sunset tea each day.  I drink mine straight – it has no need for milk or sugar – and it’s black tea so it has loads of health benefits.  Then, on weekends, I typically have an alcoholic beverage.  Usually beer or a cocktail on Friday and Saturday, and always wine at Sunday dinner.  :o) 

Eating: See above for what I’m cooking.  Haha.  For breakfast I eat an egg with a sprinkle of cheese every single day, and for lunch I’ve been trying to squeeze in extra protein and veggies by eating leftovers from whatever I cook.  I’ve also started making omelets for lunch – 2 eggs, spinach, cheese, and a dash of pink Himalayan sea salt and pepper.  And I still eat an apple every single day. 

Reading: I’m currently reading The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel at the recommendation of a friend, and I’m enjoying it so far.  In addition to that, I’m still working my way through The Bible and The Bible Recap, and I’m reading my daily devotional… by far, the best daily devotional I’ve ever owned. 

Wanting: The weather to stay warm.  For some reason this winter I had a very low tolerance for the cold.  I’m always cold, but I have felt chilled to the bone pretty much since November and I’m soooo tired of it.  It’s an odd kind of cold this year, too, and the only way I know to describe it is that it feels like there’s ice water running through my veins sometimes… kind of like when they put an IV in your arm and you first feel the liquid start to flow through your veins.  It’s weird, I know.  And I think that might be why I’ve started having issues with Reynaud’s Phenomenon this past year, too.  I’ve never experienced that in my whole life until April last year, and I’ve noticed that 99% of the time it happens, it’s when I’m freezing cold.  I’m a moderate weather girl, and my ideal weather is warm/cool depending on if we’re rolling into spring or fall, and I don’t like extreme temps.  However, when choosing between extreme heat and extreme cold, I’ve always been one to choose extreme cold… until this winter.  All of a sudden, lately, I’ve been thinking I would choose 95 degrees over 45.  I’m sure I won’t be saying that in July and August, though!  Haha.     

Looking: Forward to our Disney World trip!  Although, I won’t be able to ride everything because of my vertigo/dizziness/boat-rocking, I’m still going to be the happiest girl just to be there.  AND, I get to celebrate my 42nd birthday in Magic Kingdom this year!  AND we’re having Be Our Guest for my birthday dinner!!!!  The last time we went to Disney and my birthday fell during the trip, we made the mistake of going to Animal Kingdom on my birthday, and that’s my least favorite of the parks, so I had wished that we had planned better and chosen a different one for my birthday.  (You can see all of our trips here if you missed them.)  This year, we had the forethought to make sure we were in MK, and I’m so excited about that!

Playing: At the time that I’m typing this, Justin Timberlake’s new album hasn’t yet dropped, but by the time you’re reading this, it will have been out for a few days, so you can bet that’s what I’m playing right now as your eyes scroll through this post.  ;o)

Wasting: Time texting with friends, scrolling through social media, and generally procrastinating this week.  (And I am, by nature, NEVER the procrastinating type.)  The weather has been lovely, and I’ve had crazy spring fever, so I don’t feel like working on blog stuff or housework or house projects right now.  I’m also exhausted from this time change, so I think I’ve honestly wasted a lot of time staring off into space this past week.  There were a couple of days that I legit considered curling up in my bed and taking a nap, but I resisted.  And I’ve also been close to falling asleep in the car line every afternoon since we sprung forward, too.  It’s been hard to focus on work, and even reading my book, because I feel so dang tired. 

Buying: Everything for Easter and our Disney World trip.  I’m almost done shopping for Easter baskets for the kids, but I still need to buy items to stuff eggs for our Easter egg hunt that we do every year.  I’m also buying everything we need for Disney.  We don’t really need much this time around, but we did buy a couple of new tops for Olivia, and I bought this one for myself, too, because I absolutely could not resist it.  I mean!!  I also needed new shoes, so I grabbed some new Nikes… my go-to.  Oh, and a new swimsuit for our pool day!

Sewing: This prompt will forever go unused, so I’m removing it from the next post.  Haha.

Wishing: That my body would hurry up and adapt to the time change.  Springing forward is a huge struggle for me each year, and it takes me weeks to fully adjust.  My internal body clock runs like a top, so when the time moves, it takes my body a long time to catch up.  I feel like I do my best sleeping early in the morning before my alarm starts to go off, so now that we’re waking up an hour earlier, I feel like I’m losing the best part of my sleep, hence, the reason I have been exhausted for the last week.

Loving: That I can go on walks and runs after dinner now… that’s the only good thing about springing forward.  ;o) 

Hoping: That everything goes well on our trip to Disney World, and that my vertigo doesn’t end up rearing its ugly head.  While I’m going to be careful choosing which attractions to ride, I’m hoping I can at least ride a few.  I’m just hoping that none of them trigger any dizziness or vertigo.   

Marveling: At the fact that I’m going to be 42 in just a few short weeks.  I have no idea how that happened.  Haha.  I still feel 25 most days, so it’s hard to believe I’m going to be FORTY-TWO.  Aging has never bothered me, and I truly believe that you’re only as old as you feel, so hopefully I’ll continue to feel 25 for a while longer.  :o)  I’m also grateful for each year that passes by because that’s another year that I’m here!

Needing: To finish getting organized for Easter and our Disney trip, to start packing, to get way ahead on the blog, and make sure everything is good to go before our trip!  I have been blogging about a week ahead these last couple of months which has been so nice, but I know I’m going to lose my lead while we’re gone for spring break!

Smelling: Lime and peppermint in my diffuser in an attempt to wake myself up!  It’s my favorite scent for spring and summer, and it does give off all the energizing vibes! 

Wearing: All kinds of stuff… the weather can’t make up its mind if it wants to be rainy and warm, rainy and cold, sunny and cold, or sunny and warm, so I’ve had all kinds of outfits going on these last few weeks.  One thing I’ve been wearing no matter what the weather has been is these jeans.  They are the best of the best!  I’m also starting to bring back my beloved Target tanks that I lived in last summer.    

Praying: For many things as usual… for my cousin and Jacob’s teacher who are both battling cancer, for a dear friend who has struggled with infertility and loss this past year and is trying to get pregnant again, for a couple of different family members who are struggling with Alzheimer’s and Dementia, for Maui who was diagnosed with kidney disease a few months ago, and for a couple of other friends who are struggling with their mental health.  I’m also still praying really hard that one day this vertigo and dizziness will resolve… I don’t even care if anyone finds the real reason it happened… I just want it to go away.  As grateful as I am that it’s no longer interfering with most of my daily activities, the lingering dizziness and boat-rocking is still taking its toll on me.  I don’t mention it much anymore to anyone because I know everyone is tired of hearing about it, but unfortunately, it’s still very much present every.single.day. (there hasn’t been a single day since July 11, 2023 that I haven’t had it… most people just don’t realize that because I’ve gotten good at living with it/hiding it) and it’s getting really freaking old.  In addition to all of this, though, I’m constantly thanking God for my many blessings, the health of our immediate family, and my growing relationship with Him.  There’s always good to be found in the struggle.

Noticing: That summer break is right around the corner!!  We are coming down the home stretch – the kids just entered the fourth quarter of school this week – and it’s blowing my mind.  Every year flies by even faster than the previous year and it makes me so sad that time seems to be passing so quickly.  After this year, Jacob will only have five years left at his current school and then he’ll be going to college.  WHAT?!  Oh my word.

Knowing: That I really need to stop putting off cleaning out the rest of the house.  I always feel like I go into the new year absolutely ITCHING to get started, but then I lose steam.  Well, I lost steam much earlier this year, so I haven’t cleaned out half of the stuff I need to, so I’m hoping to muster the motivation soon.  Otherwise, I’m going to have a bunch of big X’s on my March goals list.  Haha.

Thinking: That 2024 is off to a much better start than 2023, and I’m hoping and praying that it stays this way.  Last year was one of the tougher ones for me, and I’m still hopeful that 2024 is going to continue to be better. 

Opening: Target packages!  I placed an order for some refills that we needed (mascara, snacks that the kids love, etc.) and I also ordered a couple more basic tanks that I love so much because they have them in an whole new array of colors for summer!  I also ordered some goodies to put in the kids’ Easter baskets, and I ordered a new swimsuit for myself (as mentioned above) so I can retire another one of my old ones this year.  Some of mine are literally 20 years old. 

Giggling: At memes, always and forever.    

Happy Monday, y’all!

Friday, March 15, 2024

Five on Friday - My Birthday Wish List

*This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

My birthday is right around the corner, so I’m sharing a few things I’ve had my eye on this spring…

O N E – For the Home

Flush Mount Ceiling Light (Color – Black) – I’ve been wanting a new light fixture for the laundry room for years, and this one is perfect.

 


Greeting Card Organizer – I keep greeting cards on hand at all times, and I’ve been wanting a new organizer for them.  This one is highly rated, and it has adjustable dividers which I love!

 


Swiftea Mug (Size – 11 oz., Color – White/Black) – I collect coffee mugs since I use them at least twice a day.  This one has been on my list forever because I love TS so much, and also, I drink tea (not coffee) 99.9% of the time.  :o)  (This one is currently on sale for 60% off until March 20, too!)

 


A Lot Going on at the Moment Mug (Color – Black) – Loving this TS mug, too… I do always have a lot going on!  ;o)

 


Dave Matthews Band Mug – I’m a diehard DMB fan, and I don’t have a DMB mug.  How is that possible?!  This one might just be my favorite one on the internet.

 



Newlife TheraPoint Trigger Point Massager – As most of you know from reading regularly, I suffer from horrendous neck and upper back pain that radiates into my scalp, face, and jaw and into my shoulders and sometimes my arms.  This thing specifically targets neck muscles and it has has insane reviews, and it sounds like exactly what I need.  I will try absolutely anything to get relief and this looks to be the most promising thing I've seen so far as it unlocks all of the trigger points that cause the pain.  Supposedly it helps with stiff neck (which I have), general neck pain (which I have every single day), tension headaches (which I have most days), TMJ issues (which I have every single day), migraines (which I rarely get but do have on occasion), upper back pain (which I have every day), arthritis (which, thankfully, I don't have), and neck hump (which I don't have yet, thank goodness).  


 

T W O – Clothes

White Jeans (Color – White, Size 24) – I have been looking for a good pair of white jeans for years, and these are the same brand as my beloved blue jeans that I’ve been wearing all winter.  Seriously the best jeans ever!!  I want these for spring so bad!

 


AE Next Level White Jean Shorts (Color – White, Size 2) – I’ve also been dying to get my hands on a pair of good white jean shorts.  I already have these in black and two shades of blue because they are fantastic, so I’m hoping the white ones are just as good!

 


Ruffled Tank (Color – Baby Yellow, Size – Small) – I have this top in blue and I love wearing it with my high waisted skirts and jeans.  I’d love to have it in yellow!

 


Ruffled Tank (Color – Sky Blue, Size – Small) – I have this top in lavender, and it is such a cute alternative to an otherwise basic tank!



Ruffled Tank (Color – Blue, Size – Small) – I want it in blue, too!  I actually think I like this color the best!

 


Ruffled Tank (Color – Light Green, Size – Small) – I want it in green, too!  It’s that good!

 


Target Basic Tee (Color – Black, Size – XS) – I love these basic tees from Target, and I wouldn’t mind having them in several colors!

 


Target Basic Tee (Color – Yellow, Size – XS) – In yellow, too!

 


Target Basic V-Neck Tee (Color – Red, Size – XS) – It’s rare to find basic tees in red, and it’s so important for me to grab them when I can since I’m a huge Georgia fan and I live in red from September – December!

 




CRZ Yoga Women’s Athletic Shorts 4” (Color – Black, Size – XS) – These are my favorite workout shorts and I need some new ones.

 


CRZ Yoga Women’s Athletic Shorts 4” (Color – White, Size – XS) – These are my favorite workout shorts and I need some new ones.

 


T H R E E – Accessories

Silpada “Balancing Act” Drop Earrings in Hammered Sterling Silver – I don’t change my earrings often, but I would love this pair of simple drop earrings for when I want to change things up.

 


ODODOS Mini Belt Bag (Color – Light Pink) – I have this bag in two colors, and I use them all the time.  I’d love to have it in pink, too, since it’s my favorite color!

 


Gold Shoes (Color – Gold/2 Inch, Size 7) – I’ve had these on my wish list for years, and I think they would be so fun to pair with all kinds of dresses during the summer.

 


F O U R – Books

Divine Direction by Craig Groeschel – This was recommended to me by a friend, and I immediately added it to my list because I read another one of his books last year and it was one of the best books I’ve ever read.


 

Heal. Grow. Love. by Pierre Alex Jeanty – I don’t remember where I saw this book, but I added it to my wish list a few months ago.  It’s a beautiful book of poetry that I’d love to have. 

 


Outlive The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia – I have seen this book so much on blogs and social media and everyone has been raving about it, so it piqued my interest and now I want a copy for myself!



 

F I V E – Gift Cards

Amazon – My Amazon wish list is always bursting at the seams, so these are always wanted.  And sometimes, when there’s a non-Amazon item that I want more, I just use my Amazon gift cards for necessities and then spend the gift card money on the thing that I want from somewhere else.  ;o)

 


Friday Funnies

 






On the Blog This Week

 A Year of Gratitude - February Snapshot

 Our Week – The One with a Movie Date, a Music Performance, and the Mother Son Dance

 How to Throw the Perfect Taylor Swift Themed Birthday Party

 


Happy Friday, y’all!

*Linking up with A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites.


Wednesday, March 13, 2024

How to Throw the Perfect Taylor Swift Themed Birthday Party

*This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

For Olivia’s 10th birthday party, she had only two requests – she wanted to have a sleepover, and she wanted it to be Taylor Swift themed.  I took that and ran with it, and today, I’m sharing all of the details from the party including all of the links in case you want to throw together something similar.  This party was so easy to put together, and it was also very affordable, and it ended up being the party of Olivia’s Wildest Dreams!  ;o)  She actually declared it her favorite birthday party ever – she even cried tears of joy at one point during the evening because she was just so happy, y’all – so it was a HUGE success.


We didn’t do formal invites… she only invited her four besties, so I just texted their moms with the details to keep it simple.  If you do decide to do formal invitations, though, these could not be cuter!  And these, too!

We invited the girls to come over at 5 PM on a Friday night, and pickup was at 11 AM Saturday morning.  That is quite a long stretch of time to have five girls in the house, and I wanted to make sure that we had some activities to keep them busy so they weren’t just running wild all evening.  ;o) 

Here's what we planned… 

 

The Décor

We kept the décor simple… I bought this banner to hang on the mantle to dress up the living room a bit since I knew the girls would be spending most of their time in there.  For just $13.99 it packs such a PUNCH.  It’s well-made and lightweight, and it was super easy to hang… I just taped it up on the mantle using painter’s tape.  And I always have those mirror balls sitting by the basket, so that just went right along with the theme.  ;o)  Oh, and the banner comes in different colors!





For the dining room table where they ate and enjoyed birthday dessert, I put out my white table runner, covered it in mirror ball lights that I already had on hand, and I put Olivia’s birthday dessert on our cake stand with ribbon holes and gold glitter ribbon (this was actually leftover from her famous Pink and Gold First Birthday Party that went viral years ago) as the centerpiece.  I also included the party favors for the girls on the table because they made such a cute addition to the décor.  More on the birthday dessert and party favors later…


I bought these mirror ball plates and these mirror ball napkins for the table settings.  Both are excellent quality, and they couldn’t have been cuter.  We had larger plates for dinner and smaller plates for the dessert.





Per usual, I had made a birthday chalkboard for Olivia, and it hung in the kitchen by the friendship-bracelet making station (more on that later).  And I already had the lyrics “Meet Me at Midnight” from the song Lavender Haze on our letter board, which I thought was fitting since it was a slumber party.  ;o)


And that was it for the décor!  Simple and oh-so-sweet!  I considered doing a balloon arch/backdrop somewhere, but this ended up being enough.  If you are looking for the perfect Taylor Swift balloon arch, though, this one is amazing, but expensive.  This one would also be cute, and wouldn't break the bank.  ;o)

 

The Party Favors

Olivia invited four girls over for her party, so we put together party favors for each of them that included the following:

 

-       These cute Eras clear zipper pouches (They are excellent quality, affordable, spacious, and have soooo many uses – makeup, friendship bracelets, school supplies, etc.)  This pouch comes in black, too, if you're going for the Reputation look.  ;o)



-       13 Taylor Swift stickers… because 13 is TS’s favorite number ;o)  (And these are the sturdy ones that can be used on laptops and water bottles.)



-       Sour Patch Kids Watermelon Candies… because sour watermelon candy is TS’s favorite candy (These fit right in that zipper pouch, too, to give you an idea of how much it can hold.)



-       An 8-inch mirror ball (Our Walmart had these for only $5 each, y’all!  And actually, at Christmas, they were marked down to just $2 each!  If your Walmart doesn’t have them, you can get them here on Amazon.)




The girls also made friendship bracelets that they were able to take home… more on that in the activities / entertainment section below.

The candy and stickers fit in the bags, and the disco balls sat next to them, making such a cute addition to the tablescape.  And the girls were thrilled when they realized that those were theirs for the taking, and not just for decoration.  “YOU MEAN WE CAN TAKE THESE?!”  Haha.





The Food

We had planned to do a whole menu of Taylor’s favorite foods for dinner.  Chicken fingers are her favorite food, but since we are Catholic, we abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent, so we opted for cheese pizza instead.  ;o)  I kept it simple, and this is what our menu looked like:

Cheese pizza

Assorted fruit tray (strawberries, grapes, pineapple, honeydew, and cantaloupe)

Assorted bags of chips

Capri Suns

Bottled Water


Olivia doesn’t like cake, so she asked for birthday donuts for dessert instead.  We have a local donut shop that will customize donuts, so they did glazed donuts with lavender frosting (because purple is Taylor’s favorite color) and pink sprinkles.  I took the donuts and stacked them into a donut tower on my cake stand, and then we topped it off with this cake topper and these mirror ball picks.  I LOVE how it turned out.  Seriously the cutest birthday dessert ever, and it’s so much easier to deal with because you don’t have to worry about cutting and serving and silverware… the girls could just grab one and go!  Also, it was worlds cheaper than a custom cake from a bakery.  Aaaand we had leftovers for breakfast the next morning.  #Winning







The Outfit

I bought this tee for Olivia to wear, and she LOVES it.  The quality is great, and it comes in tons of colors.

 


We also bought this black sequin skirt for her to wear with it, and it was just the cutest little combo.  The quality is so fantastic, and it’s soft… not itchy at all.  And the waistband has a very generous stretch to it, so she’ll be able to wear it for years.  It also washes and dries beautifully.  And it comes in tons of colors!

 


She also wore her white cowboy boots that she already had from the Daddy / Daughter dance, and it turned out to be the cutest little TS-themed outfit ever.  And the boots?  BEST.EVER.  Olivia has sensory issues when it comes to clothes and shoes, and she is notorious for thinking that everything is uncomfortable.  Well, these boots are super soft and padded and she has worn them nonstop since she got them, so not only are they cute, they are comfortable, too!  And the quality?  Fantastic.

 


She ended up wearing her TS outfit for, like, an hour, and then she wanted PJs for the rest of the evening, so sadly, she wasn’t wearing her outfit in most of the party pictures, but she has already worn all of the pieces multiple times since then, so we’ll definitely get our money’s worth. 

 



The Schedule/Activities/Entertainment

As I said before, the girls came over at 5, so we had a lot of hours to fill, so this is how the evening flowed…

First up, the girls arrived and spent an hour or so settling in and hanging out.

Around 6, we served dinner, and then we all sang Happy Birthday and had birthday donuts. 

Once that was done, she opened her gifts. 

And then it was time for the fun stuff… friendship bracelet-making and the Taylor Swift Eras Tour Concert!!!!

I had set up a friendship bracelet-making station at the kitchen table.  We had thousands of beads of all kinds from pastel pony beads to glittery pony beads to gold letter beads to an assortment of random beads, a ton of elastic, and scissors so they could make bracelets all night.


Then, we purchased the Eras Tour Concert and played that for the rest of the night.  We cranked the sound up super loud to give it that authentic concert feel, and the girls had the best time. 

Since the friendship bracelet-making station was right there in the kitchen, overlooking the TV, they were able to go back and forth between making bracelets and dancing and singing to the concert all night long.  That way, all of the girls could be together whether they were making bracelets or focusing on the concert. 

They danced and sang at the top of their lungs all night, they made 84 gazillion friendship bracelets, and they traded bracelets and their TS stickers all night, and it was just the best night celebrating our girl.

Bonus – since the girls danced for 3.5 hours straight, they were actually tired at the end of the night, and they went to bed at a decent time rather than staying up all night.  ;o)  So it was a win-win!

But first, they did grab leftover pizza and fruit (and various other things from the pantry) for bedtime snacks.  ;o)

The next morning, we had leftover birthday donuts and fruit for breakfast, and then the girls were picked up around 11, taking home their fun party favors!



 



And that was "the best party ever" according to Olivia, my friends!  

Again, this whole thing was simple and easy to put together and it didn’t cost a small fortune, and it ended up being Olivia’s favorite birthday ever.  So, if you’re looking to do an easy, budget-friendly party for your little Swiftie, I highly recommend buying the Taylor Swift Eras Tour Concert and letting the kids dance all night long.  I think I enjoyed it just as much as they did!

Happy Wednesday, y’all!