borrowing: books. 

I have gotten back to weekly library trips and am enjoying reading fiction again. For years, I only read non-fiction and children's books. About 10 years ago, when I was pregnant with my youngest, I started to read romance (Debbie Macomber, Susan Mallory, etc) and then slowly shifted to young adult & sci-fiction (since I had two teens at the time). The last couple of years, I have enjoyed women's fiction, thrillers, biographies, and short stories. I fell in love with Wendy Wax after reading "While We Were Watching Downton Abbey" a few years ago. I was excited to find her new book at the library and can't wait to finish it!

The Break-up Book Club by Wendy Wax

buying: hiking shoes for the family! 

Pre-2020 we hiked several times a year but often just with tennis shoes. They worked well for hiking flat trails but on incline trails they just didn't cut it. I often found myself slipping or tripping over tree roots because they were not slip resistance and had bad traction. Another pet peeve of mine is the dirt they accumulated while hiking. Our shoes were often covered in Georgia red clay, Urgh! I dreaded the clean up after each trip; it was such a chore to come home after a day of exploring and have to clean shoes.

Bearpaw Olympus Women's Hiking Shoes

planning: hiking trips. 

I am hoping to break in our new shoes soon. I am looking for a place to hike near us. I have heard about some hiking trails behind a community garden in our area so I have put it on the calendar to explore one morning soon.  I would also love to get up to Helen this fall! It's been ages since we've enjoyed the North Georgia town. Just thinking of Hiking Unicoi State Park and seeing Anna Ruby Falls puts a smile on my face.

prepping: meals. 

I have gone back to meal planning on Sunday nights. We are all at home except for Mr. C as he is out and about most days with clients. My older children, CJ & Cal stay pretty busy with their online college classes and working for our business. I also work from home in our business and homeschool my youngest, James. He has adored being homeschooled for the past 8 years.  

I try to have one family "together" meal a day. That's the meal where we all sit down and eat together. Somedays it's lunch and other days it's dinner. It really varies depending on everyone's schedule. I have started to create a list of rotating meals that everyone likes and will eat so I can have less stress about what I'll cook for each "together" meal. 

Everyone is on their own for breakfast except for James and I. I tend to eat right after I get up and then have tea with him when he eats breakfast a bit later. 

No Bun Hamburger & Au Gratin Potatoes