It’s been awhile since I posted. I didn’t really mean to take a blogging hiatus, but it naturally just happened. I’m trying to ease back in now with hopes of blogging again more regularly. I figured a good jumping back in place would be a “What Are You…Wednesday” post.

One of my very favorite questions to ask is…

What are you reading?

Lately I have read two wonderful historical fiction novels.

The Midwife’s Revolt by Jodi Daynard was the first one I read a few weeks ago.

This novel was recommended to me by several people earlier this year. I have to say, their recommendations were spot on! I really enjoyed this book. The Midwife’s Revolt is set in Revolutionary War times and this particular novel centers mainly around Lizzie Boylston. I was endeared to Lizzie right from the beginning because her character is a strong woman who realizes her own strengths and shortcomings, is fiercely dedicated to her family and friends, is very skilled at her midwife profession, and is unwavering in her devotion to the patriot cause in early America. This was a lovely read and I anticipate that I will read the remaining books in this series in the near future.

That Deadly Space by Gerald Gillis is the most recent historical fiction novel I’ve read.

While this is a departure of sorts from my typical southern fiction reading, as was The Midwife’s Revolt, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.  In full disclosure, the author and his wife are great friends of ours, but my review and opinions are completely non-biased. I genuinely enjoyed this book and I found myself invested in the character development of the main character, Conor Rafferty.

As I noted in my Amazon review, I also appreciated Conor’s stance on the Cause of the Confederacy. I don’t like reviews that give away plot details, so I’ll just say that Conor’s convictions are ones I find myself in agreement with even today.

This novel wonderfully weaves two story lines together. Readers get to know Conor the Civil War soldier and we also get to know Conor the grandfather who has reunited with his grandson late in his life. The story lines highlight elements of leadership, commitment, forgiveness, and redemption. Conor’s character strengths and flaws are prevalent in the book and you see how he grows emotionally and spiritually as the result of his life experiences.

If you want a real deal, snag this great read on Kindle for only $2.99! Get to know Conor Rafferty and I think you’ll find, like me, that he’s a character you will certainly remember.

Hope Heals by Katherine and Jay Wolf is the book I’m reading currently. Amazon recently notified me that the Kindle version of this book had gone down (temporarily) to $1.99 and since I’ve been wanting to read it, I jumped at the chance to get it. I have heard such great things about when Katherine and Jay spoke at Passion City Church during the sermon entitled “Don’t Waste Your Pain“, so I finally just recently watched it and — WOW!  I’m not all that far into the book yet, maybe a quarter done, but it’s absolutely inspiring. I’ll post back again once I’m done reading it.

So, that’s it for me and my reading of late. How about YOU? What are you reading these days?

Best,
Kelly

Here we are again — it’s “What Are You…Wednesday” again. Wasn’t it JUST Wednesday something like two days ago?! I don’t know about y’all, but the weeks in this year so far are ticking off rather quickly around here. Not that I mind because winter weeks go ZIP by and get us to spring and summer, please and thank you. (*wink) In all reality, I have very little complaining that I can legitimately hold up this winter because other than a random snow/ice storm, it hasn’t been THAT cold. As odd as it seems to say this, I wouldn’t mind another cold snap to kill off some bugs and such, but, at the same time, I won’t gripe about not having to wear a coat much.

What are you eating?

As I posted on Friday, I’m walking more these days and have challenged myself to get a quarter million steps this month and a MILLION steps before our annual beach trip after school gets out for the summer. To go along with that, I’m trying to eat better by cutting out snacking, trying to limit carbs…that kind of thing. I must admit that Sunday, being Super Bowl Sunday and all, was a total cheat day. And, I’ve been a tad lenient with myself this week too, so I’ve got to tighten up the reigns, but I am getting my steps in daily, so that’s working in the right direction. (I almost said “a step in the right direction”, but that sounded incredibly corny. Right?) Mickey’s got a spreadsheet set up for us to track our steps and, as of yesterday, I’m over 90k steps, so far, for this month. Can I get a witness, y’all?! Within a couple of days, I should be more than halfway to my quarter million steps for February goal. Woo hoo! If you’re working on a similar goal, how’s it coming?

Today’s “What are you…” question is “What are you eating?” What’s on the menu these days?

• On Monday, Macey helped me prepare Lemon Chive Salmon with roasted potatoes from Green Chef. We had sauteed squash and onions as our additional veggie side. This meal was fantastic! So good!
• When I’m low carb’ing, flat bread pizzas and a simple salad are an easy go-to for lunch. I use any low-carb flat bread (such as Joseph’s), no sugar added pizza sauce, whatever toppings I want, and load it up with cheese. My salad is typically lettuce, toasted nuts, a bit of tomato, and ranch dressing. Really easy, low carb, and delish!
• We were the very opposite of low carb for Super Bowl Sunday. Mariana made red velvet cupcakes, Macey made Oreo Truffles, and I made buffalo chicken dip. I also made some chili which can be low carb friendly.
• I just recently got a doughnut pan too. I had to kill some time on Monday, so I went to Goodwill and happened to find a brand new pan right there on the shelf. Hello. It had to happen. So far, I have made Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts and Chocolate Chip Doughnuts*. Both were VERY tasty, I will say. The good thing about my new baking pan is that it only makes six doughnuts, so it’s not like it makes a ton of sweets to have here tempting me these days.  I had half of the cinnamon sugar one and a whole chocolate chip one — just on different days, of course. So good! (*I didn’t have corn syrup, so I made a simple glaze with chocolate chips and butter and it was fantastic!)

What are y’all eating these days? I’m always in the market for great recipes and ideas, especially if you have some fabulous low carb meal ideas to share.

Happy Wednesday,
Kel

 

I missed blogging yesterday. Macey was home again, but she is feeling MUCH better now and she’s back at school! Very thankful that she’s turned the corner to wellness. Strep is no joke and I hope it stays far far from our house from here until forever.

Wednesday has rolled around on us again, so that means it’s “What Are You…? Wednesday” around here.

What are you reading?

I asked this question on my first “What Are You…? Wednesday” and I’m back to it again. What are you all reading these days?

As for me, I finally got my reading groove back and finished A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. Several friends had recommended this book to me and to those who did I say…THANK YOU!!

It almost never takes me THAT long to read through a book, especially one this good, but between having a lot of After Christmas/New Year things to do, then getting sick, and being in some sort of reading slump – well, it just took me longer than usual to read it. But, last week I finally carved out more reading time and finally got properly into this book and did NOT want to put it down. It’s such a good read, y’all! Even though Ove is a bit of a curmudgeon, to put it lightly, he’s a main character that you come to like and appreciate. And, so do his neighbors, as you’ll see in the book. I won’t give too much away, but if you’re looking for a wonderful read, this is it! And, I just found out there’s a movie too. It’s a Swedish film with subtitles and I am planning to watch it soon.

I took a couple of days off reading because, I don’t know about y’all, but sometimes I need a break between reads in order to refresh and reset for a new book with new characters. I’m currently reading Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks.

This book has been out since 2012. I happened to find a hardback copy at Goodwill last autumn, so I had it at home, but hadn’t read it yet. A friend recommended it, so I’m giving it a read. I’m not far into it yet, but I’m enjoying it. What I like about Sparks’ novels is that they tend to be the kind of books you can get right into and they are good, easy reads. The way he writes keeps me turning the pages too.

I’ll try to post a review on Safe Haven at some point soon. In the meantime, tell me…what are YOU reading?

Happy Wednesday, y’all…
Kel

Happy Wednesday, y’all!

For the first time since late December, this is the first week our girls have gone to school on a Monday, so this mid-week thing is once again LEGIT. (wink) Fortunately for us, no one had that “hit the wall” feeling going on this morning, so we’ll take that as a victory. Tomorrow, as Miss Scarlett would say, is another day, so we’ll just hope this week keeps clicking along in a nice manner. Amen?

A couple of Wednesdays ago, I asked “What are you eating” and I got some great responses here and on FB. Yesterday for lunch I made the Hearty Vegetable Soup that Ashlea linked for me that day. I made a couple of modifications because, well, that’s how I cook, but it was seriously SOOOO good! If you’re looking for a good soup recipe, this is it. The modifications I made were really simple and I’ll share on the blog in a post one day, but I’ll share basically what I did. I used a large can of tomato sauce (29oz) and about a can of water, I also added in a bag of frozen “gumbo” (okra, corn, peppers and celery*), and I dashed in a little extra balsamic and chili powder. (*I cannot stand celery, but it’s in the mix, so…) Other than that, I went basically by the recipe and it was fantastic! I had it for lunch yesterday and, fortunately, I had enough left to freeze a gallon size bag for later AND have enough left for lunch today. Score! So, thank you, Ashlea…and JamieLyn over at IheartNaptime for this recipe!

What are you watching?

I’m curious – what are y’all watching these days? My DVR used to be hopping and full of shows, but I’m really down now to just a few.

• This is Us — Seriously, if you’re not watching this yet, go binge watch to catch up, and then set your DVR weekly. This show is just SO SO GOOD! I love the character development and the way the story-lines are interwoven from past to present. The characters are all so real and it’s easy to relate to them. And, it’ll get to your heartstrings in a quick second. I have a pretty set rule not to get into new shows from the beginning because I’ve gotten burned when they canceled, but this one was worth the risk. Not only is it a great show, but I know it’s going to be around because they just renewed for two more seasons. Yay!! As of the writing of this entry, I still haven’t seen the most recent one, so, please…no spoilers.
• Fixer Upper — You’ve probably already determined that I have a fan thing going for Chip & Joanna Gaines, right? I just love watching how they are together. Not only are they an incredible husband and wife team, but they also live out their faith in such real ways, and they are both incredibly talented with homes. If they wanted to come “fix up” my house? Have at it. This show is one I always look forward to because I’m inspired by them in several ways AND I always get good laughs. Their outtakes shows make me LAUGH OUT LOUD, for real. I have said to Mickey more than once that Chip and Jo seem like the kind of people you can just hang out with and feel comfortable with right off the bat. I’m a fan and I hope the show stays around a long time. I also hope to get out to Waco to the Silos and shops one day.
• American Housewife — This one is new, so it’s a wonder I’m watching already, but I’m HOOKED! Mickey and I watch it together, actually. Y’all, this show is so stinkin’ funny! I like that it doesn’t take itself too seriously and just keeps things comedic. The way Katy Mixon plays her character is spot on! She’s got such timing! If you need a little comedy in your life, check out this one!
• Chopped — Food Network is a channel I will often default to because there is usually something on there that I like. My all time very favorite Food Network show? Chopped! I don’t care how many times I’ve seen it or if I’ve seen the same episode more than once, I’ll watch again and again. I’m always thinking what I would do with the ingredients. (Except when it’s really weird stuff like chicken feet – who eats that?!) I always know the judges cringe when they see a dessert contestant make bread pudding or French toast and I can’t figure out why the contestants don’t know that by now? I also wonder if they get tired of ice cream since that ice cream maker gets a workout?! Chopped is so fun to watch and I doubt I’ll ever get tired of it. I’m also very thankful that I’ll never be asked to judge because…no.
• Grey’s Anatomy — Yes, I’m still watching Grey’s. It’s been around a long time and I’m invested. I know we’ve been put through the ringer as fans and you feel like you never know who is going to die next, but I can’t stop watching. The last couple of seasons have been better, in my opinion, but nothing is better than the first few seasons. At least, so far. I’m eager for the return this week.

So, that’s pretty much what I watch on a regular basis. Sometimes I watch Live with Kelly, old reruns of 90210 when I come across them (the best), Friends, and some other Food Network shows. And, I always LOVE to watch Andy Griffith when it’s on and I have time too. That one never fails to be funny! I’m also still watching back through Downton Abbey via Amazon Prime, but taking my time about it.

What are YOU watching? Any shows you recommend?

Happy Wednesday,
Kel