What's Up Wednesday: January 2023

 

January has felt long and quick all at the same time. Does that make any sense? As this is the last Wednesday of the month I am linking up with Shay and Shaeffer  for What's Up Wednesday to share all of January 2023. I have definitely been easing into this new year and I think it is serving me well. Settle in and find out how our January has been going.

What We Are Eating This Week

This is going to be a busy week. We have some hockey, we have some meetings at school and I have some work events. That is not leaving a lot of time for dinner at home.

I have been working really hard over the last couple of weeks to make food over the weekend to prep for the week ahead and have Good but quick food to make in the house.

This past weekend I made taco chili and I hope the recipe will appear here over the next few weeks. I also have the freezer stocked with french bread pizzas and chicken nuggets just in case. I also have chopped salads, grilled chicken strips, berries and grapes. Depending on when we come home, we should be able to heat any of these up. It's just one of those weeks when dinner won't be how I want it but some weeks you just need to prepare for things to be on the fly. What do you plan for dinner those weeks that are super busy?

What I'm Reminiscing About 

I am actually not reminiscing about much right now. I did have some photo memories come up this week from some of the presidential inaugurations that I have worked in the past and that was nice to see come up. Those are the only things though.

What I'm Loving

This is not going to be very exciting, but I am loving my wedge pillow. I have been having some trouble with acid reflux and increased asthma since I had COVID. I always prop my head up when I sleep but really needed something more. Enter my new wedge pillow similar to this one. 

It flips up nicely like this so it is not too bulky when you make your bed. I do think it is helping with my coughing at night.

What We've Been Up To

We rang in the New Year at a friend's house and it was very fun. It has been so long since we have been out for New Year's, probably five years.

Our sweet dog got a really bad case of kennel cough/K9 flu. It's super contagious right now so be careful with your dogs. Stormy boarded at the place we take him all the time for one night and picked it up. Part of the month of January was giving him meds and helping to ease his cough.

Hockey is back from break and in full swing. There was a tournament up in Rhode Island that they did really well in but I was home nursing the four-legged patient. 

When the boys were in Rhode Island I actually had four days to myself, well with Stormy, and I got a lot done. I organized things, hung pictures that needed to be hung, binged some shows and movies that I will share below, had some of my ladies over or lasagna and salad, and my friend came down from Delaware to surprise me and to join our other friend here for takeout. It was a really Good break for me. For the record, my house was totally picked up and organized the entire time the boys were gone even though I did miss them, I didn't miss the mess.

What I'm Dreading

I think the only thing I might be dreading is any potential bad weather that may come up this winter. I am always up for one Good snowstorm but that is it.

What I'm Working On

My word for 2023 is deliberate. I am working really hard on being more deliberate with my day. That is translating into some other things I am working on.

I am also working hard on food prep on the weekend. Some of the dishes I have been making on the weekends to help our busy weeks have been lasagna, meatballs, chicken rice soup and taco chili.

With the long weekend at home, I was also able to clear out some clutter and hang some pictures. These are projects I have been wanting to but we are basically never home.

What I'm Excited About

I don't know that I am super excited about anything right now to be perfectly honest. I am just trying really hard to live in the moment.

What I'm Watching/Reading

Beyond my morning scriptures, I am not really reading anything. I try to read a few pages of some books I am working on at night but don't have a ton of time to read.

On the other hand, I did watch a bunch of things this month. I did a lot of relaxing during the New Year's and MLK weekends and gave myself permission to binge-watch to my heart's content.

I finally watched Where the Crawdads Sing. I have not read the book because when the book came out I was actually in a reading phase and everyone was reading it, which of course made me not want to read it. I typically don't do dark movies but they did a Good job of telling this story without making certain difficult scenes last too long.

I definitely enjoyed this movie.

Speaking of movies, I checked out She Said over the long weekend. This movie shared the story of the reporters from The New York Times that broke the Harvey Weinstein story leading to the #MeToo movement. 

 

In an era of people yelling "fake news" all the time, this movie really showed the work journalists put into these types of stories. It was so interesting to see how this all came together. 

Besties, I tried really hard to get into Yellowstone but I couldn't do it. I liked the political intrigue and the back stories but in general, it was just too dark for me. Does someone need to get killed every week? How about every other week instead? 

Listen, I like looking at Kevin Costner in a cowboy hat as much as anyone, but in the end that was the only thing keeping me interested in the first four episodes. 

I am about halfway through Emily in Paris and loving it as usual. Hoping to finish it this weekend.

Hockey Guy and I checked out the first episode of The Bachelor on Monday night. He had a little bit of a stressful day and watching the krazies come out of the limo on night one was a great way to relax. I l really don't know much about Bachelor Zach as I got bored a few seasons ago and kind of took a break. From what we have seen of episode one, this is going to be an entertaining season.

Now for my favorite show I watched in January, The Way Home on Hallmark. This show has strong female leads and an interesting story. I am very in for this drama and you should check it out.

I was sad when Chesapeake Shores ended but Hallmark upped their game with The Way Home. It's not overly Hallmarky and if you didn't know it was on Hallmark you probably wouldn't think it was Hallmark.

What I'm Listening To

I have a song to share with you and a new podcast I found this month.

Looking for You by Chris Young dropped this month. I heard it while I was working from home and it is just delightful. I shared it for you here.

I am typically not a true crime junkie but there are two cases that have really caught my attention lately. I am fascinated by the University of Idaho case and the case of the woman that is missing in Cohasset, MA (ok, we know her husband totally did it...allegedly.)

The Going West podcast does a really Good job of breaking down the latest breaking news on these cases and explaining all of the legalese.

What I'm Wearing

I am not wearing anything too exciting these days. I am still really loving my Timberland shoes and they are perfect for the weekend, casual Fridays and hockey games. Size down half of a size in these if you order them. They are currently on sale too!

Timberland Skyla Bay slip on

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You can also find me most weekends in my Lululemon joggers. I have these in multiple colors and they are perfect for weekend errands, sporting events or just being in the house. 

Adapted State Joggers

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What I'm Doing This Weekend

We have three hockey games this weekend and I am looking forward to those. I am hoping to do some additional cooking for the week, going to acupuncture and getting some rest. 

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month

There are several hockey games coming up that we are crossing our fingers about. February is a very fun hockey month.

I am looking forward to the sweetness of Valentine's Day and getting my Valentine's Day decorations out. Hoping to do that the first weekend in February. 

Here's the truth Besties, I am also looking forward to the return of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. I think this season is going to be crazy and just what we need to get us through the winter.

What Else is New

The only other thing that is new is that tomorrow is the first Monthly Musings of 2023. Holly and I host this monthly link up and our topic for January is Beating the Winter Blues.

Make sure you stop by tomorrow as a reader, writer or both. We will have the linkup ready to go tomorrow morning.

Thanks for stopping by for all of the January fun. See you tomorrow for Monthly Musings.