What's Up Wednesday - August 2023

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation. 

On the last Wednesday of each month, Shaeffer & Shay host a link-up to talk a bit about what's going on in our worlds - food, entertainment, plans, fashion, work, whatever - in the What's Up Wednesday linky party. 

What We're Eating This Week . . . Let's see, so far we grilled hot dogs and brats on Sunday, had baked cod on Monday, and a Kentucky Hot Brown casserole on Tuesday. Tonight is Dinner + Discipleship at church, and I've loosely planned some meals for the rest of the week. Probably grilling hot dogs and hamburgers, and maybe doing chicken parm one night. We want to try smoking a chuck roast―we've heard this is "poor man's smoked brisket" so we're going to see how it turns out! Wouldn't be surprised at all if we eat out or get pizza as well, since our kids will be here for the long weekend.

What I'm Reminiscing About . . . I've been seeing so many Back to School, Back to Homeschool, and College Move-in Day things on the Book of Face lately that it's almost impossible not to reminisce a little about all the past First Day experiences. There's a lot I miss about our homeschooling years, especially kicking off a new year and convincing the kids we needed First Day photos. And first day of co-op was always a big deal too.

What I'm Loving . . . that I'm starting to feel like I have a life again. It feels more like we 'belong' at our church, and I feel less like the 'new kid' trying to fit in at chorus each week. It's a relief to not feel isolated, lonely, anxious, or depressed almost every day. 

I love that we were able to visit the family in Maryland a couple weeks ago, and that they are coming here this weekend. We also had a visit from my husband's sister and brother-in-law last weekend.

I loved this interesting visitor at our front door on Sunday. Not sure why this Cooper's Hawk was hanging out in our neighborhood, but it was kind of neat to see!

What We've Been Up To . . . working every weekday has been an adjustment for me, but I've mostly settled into a routine with that. Wednesday evening Dinner + Discipleship is going back to weekly now that the school year is starting. Last week I finally had that oral surgery to remove the annoying broken tooth, so that was a day off work and a couple days of minor pain. This week I finally got in with a new doctor, and I'm very pleased―I think I found one who is a great fit for me. And hopefully we'll find the cause of my frequent stomach upset problems too.

We try to get out for walks often, and explore a park or something with the kids every week. Things like visiting the pool or a farmer's market are on the agenda most weekends.

coffee and baklava from the farmer's market

What I'm Dreading . . . paying all the bills. Ugh, the oral surgery and now the diagnostics the doctor is ordering. Especially since I'm STILL trying to unravel the huge mess with our dental insurance. I suppose I also dread having to be careful about spending and feeling like I have to pinch pennies, and how inevitable that is with inflation and everything.

What I'm Working On . . . I have to get lesson plans updated and prepared for co-op to start in a couple weeks. I'll be teaching the high school writing class again, but remotely, so I do have lay out my plans a bit differently and share them with my co-teacher. And I need to get the proposed outline to her soon! I also cannot get my chromebook camera to work on anything like a consistent basis, so I've given up troubleshooting and will buy a basic webcam this week so our students will actually be able to see me!

What I'm Excited About . . . a long weekend with the kids! And we are now officially into the 30-day countdown to our Alberta trip! I'm also really excited about the upcoming Sweet Adelines International in Louisville―with each Scioto Valley Chorus rehearsal our excitement builds as we all work together to get our music ready. 

What I'm Watching/Reading . . . every now and again I'll join my husband to watch some comedy or a bit of Star Trek or some other show, but I spend very little time watching TV or movies. I've been in somewhat of a reading slump lately as well, even though the books I've been working on and have coming up are all so good. It's definitely not the reading material that's to blame for my slow-down!

For all the details on what I'm reading, see my book blog at Just A Second.

I'm currently working on:

 Composition As Conversation by Heather M. Hoover

The Starlet Spy by Rachel Scott McDaniel

The Vanishing at Castle Moreau by Jaime Jo Wright

Recently completed:

Reykjavík: A Crime Story by Ragnar Jónasson and Katrín Jakobsdóttir

Rebecca (Daughters of the Lost Colony Book 3) by Shannon McNear

Up next:

Voice of the Ancient by Connilyn Cossette

Queen of Exiles by Vanessa Riley

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

Murder Most Fair by Anna Lee Huber

A Fatal Illusion by Anna Lee Huber

What I'm Listening To . . . RadioU, my favorite podcasts, and my varied Spotify playlists, just depending on the time of day and my mood.

What I'm Wearing . . . t-shirts and jeans or capris most of the time. I'm wearing my hair a little shorter since my last trim on the weekend, but it will grow quickly!

What I'm Doing This Weekend . . . Well, I'm not sure what specific things we'll do, but we're having Landon and Meaghan and Aubrey, and Spencer here for the weekend. We told them to bring swimsuits so hopefully the weather will cooperate and the pool won't be too crowded! It was closed for maintenance yesterday and I haven't seen anything yet about when it will reopen. I'm sure they will prioritize getting it open for the long weekend. Right? 

What I'm Looking Forward To Next Month . . . I'm really looking forward to co-op starting and getting back to teaching, even though it will be so different and I don't feel ready yet! The Alberta trip begins right at the end of September, so technically that's something I'm looking forward to in October.

What Else Is New . . . A new city park opened this week, adjacent to our neighborhood. It's quite large and has an interesting looking playground that our granddaughter is excited about visiting, and a long wetlands walking path and boardwalk that we're eager to explore. We've previewed just a little bit of the boardwalk and are planning to see more of the park starting this weekend.

 I signed us up to participate in the 55+ Supper Club at church, so that will be a new experience for us! Owning our advancing age! haha

I was going to say this was my fun meme of the week, but it looks like this library was limiting the fun . . .

This post is linked at What's Up Wednesday for August, with Sheaffer & Shay.

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to A Fresh Cup of Coffee by email. 

 ©2006-2023 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.