Currently: Work Overload

Current Book

Current Song

I love Turnpike Troubadours and have been having a renewed love affair.

Diamonds & Gasoline being my current favorite

Current TV Show

I have felt like season 3 started off shaky 

but the last 2 episodes have been so, so, so good.

Current Podcast/Audiobook

I almost screamed when I saw these 2 ladies started a podcast!

AND IT'S ABOUT BOOKS!!!!!!!

Current Drink

My desk might say I have a love of too many drinks {grin}

Current Food

I know I just posted about Noom last week,

but I'm having a love affair with some specific green and yellow foods.

Our grocery store has an amazing chicken and dumpling soup.

And they also have these parmesan crusted green beans.

I eat one or both of them every day.

Current Shame-Inducing Pleasure

It's so nice to not have any food-related shame right now ha.

Current Outfit

I look like garbage, so I'm sharing a picture of a romper I just bought.

WAY cuter than how I look now - can't wait to wear this!

Current Celebrity Crush

Almost finished with Friday Night Lights and LOVE Eric and Tami!

Current Mood

Work has been BANANAS for the past couple of weeks.

My brain is beyond full, and I'm ready for this to settle down.

Current Anticipation

I'm chaperoning another Girl Scout adventure this weekend. Yay!

Current Wishlist

We've thrown around some ideas for a summer trip,

but nothing has stuck.

I'm getting so excited for summer and what we might decide to do!

Current Movie

This looks super cheesy but also cute and fun.

Current Picture

Pretty cute for a raging ear infection, I'd say!

Noom Check-in #1

I've been using Noom for just over 9 weeks, and I thought it was time to do a check-in on how using the app is going as well as my overall weight loss goal.

Bottom line - I love the app and think it's really working for me! I'm down 12 pounds and still find it easy and enjoyable to use the app, and I love what I'm learning too.

In addition to being down more than 1/3 of the way to my goal, here are some non-scale victories I've celebrated as well:

-I'm wearing jeans that have been incredibly snug for a year! It's nice to pull clothes out of the closet that I haven't been able to wear for a while - it's like getting new clothes. {grin}

-I enjoyed 4 different treat days and got back on track when they were over. Enjoying a celebration or day out can stress me out because I can struggle to get back on track. 'One more day' can become my mantra that lasts for months. I love that with Noom you early treat days {1 treat day for every week that you follow the plan} that you can schedule and even save up for a vacation. You are ENCOURAGED to splurge! It was stressful to get back to weighing in after the treat days...but guess what, my day wasn't ruined by a small 'gain' and because I just enjoyed a day, that 'gain' was off within a few days. These 4 treat days have been Saturday and Sunday the past 2 weekends {Easter and Two-Step Inn Festival} - my weight has stayed just about flat since April 1, and I'm mostly ok with that because it means I've practiced good habits. I had to tell myself though 'April might be about learning patience and moderation' more than once!

-I am practicing better moderation with 'treats'. I love that as long as the food fits within your calories and your colors, there are no limits. If I want something, I look at where I am with my colors and sometimes have had to put back what I've wanted because it didn't fit...and that's ok!

-My wedding rings are comfortable again! I don't like when these don't fit, so it's really nice to get them back on.

-My friends/family who know I'm doing this are noticing the weight loss! It is amazing to feel better about yourself, but it also feels amazing when people notice your hard work!

My sister also joined Noom, and I have a co-worker who has followed Noom for awhile, and it's really great to have people to text with about all of this - having community is key!

I'm sure I'm still in the honeymoon phase, and I have a ways to go before I reach my goal...but 2 months in, and I'm feeling really good and positive!

Two-Step Inn

We went to an awesome 2-day music festival in our town this past weekend and had a BLAST. The company that puts on ACL put it on and did an amazing job. It was largely country music {and A LOT of 80s and 90s artists} but then with random people like T. Pain haha. We went with a bunch of our closest friends and had a great weekend. And the kids had a great weekend - they spent Saturday night with my parents and Sunday night with Brent's.

Saturday - it was much warmer on Saturday, got up to 90 degrees, and was very sunny. I might have over imbibed on the alcoholic libations {I hadn't had any alcohol since February}! We saw Doug Stone, Charlie Robison, Jo Dee Messina, Shenandoah, and finished the night with T-Pain! 

Saturday - sitting with my ladies!

Susie didn't get the memo, ha

T. Pain was incredible!

The bad part of the whole festival was...leaving. The lines for rideshares was so bad, so Brent and I started walking towards home to try and get away from the crowd. Eventually we just called his dad who came and got us. We made a plan for Sunday night for him to pick us up again. Best father-in-law ever! 

Sunday - a 'cool' front blew in so the weather was perfect - upper 60s and low 70s. I was a bit more responsible with my alcohol consumption {grin}. We saw Clay Walker, John Michael Montgomery, Paul Cauthen, Little Texas, Wynonna Judd, and finished the night with Tyler Childers.

Neighbors and friends with great taste in music

I like this progression of our photo bombers - look at each pic for these 3

John Michael Montgomery killed it!

Tyler Childers!

Trying to be cute but her hat was in the way

We really love Tyler Childers

We really enjoyed the festival and can't wait to do it again next year!

Easter 2023

We had a good Easter - I'm so excited spring is here! School is almost out, whoop!

We started our holiday weekend with Paige having strep throat. Cracks me up that 5 years ago Drew had strep this same weekend! Poor baby did NOT feel good - her fever got up to 104.3!

Luckily she felt better by Saturday {and no one else had any symptoms} so we were able to spend the day with my family!

Lots of cousins ready to hunt eggs!

Feeling so much better!

When your 6'5" cousin hides eggs. {grin}

Mamas and their babies

Can't believe Miles is almost as tall as Brent!

The 2 silliest 10 year olds you'll find

The OG Swopes have grown - I love when we can all be together!

Sunday we had a very full church service and then we went to Brent's parents' house for lunch. It was a small affair as his niece and one of his nephews had to work. Branden was able to come which was great {no pictures though oops} and he and Trent had a lot of fun playing Yu-Gi-Oh together - I'm so glad Branden loves that card game because I do NOT understand it!

Much smaller hunting party - they still got way too much candy!

Love this family of mine!

Now the countdown really begins for summer - we have 6 1/2 weeks left until we're done!!

Beautiful Bluebonnets

I was getting stressed about getting our bluebonnet pictures - I could tell they were starting to fade a little. So I got the kids out the other day to GET IT DONE. You can tell these aren't the best flowers we've ever had, but I'm just happy we did it. I'll check on Easter Sunday if the ones by my in-laws house look any better.

With that lead-up...I present our Bluebonnet Pictures - 2023 Edition.

And my adorable nature photographer, Drew, snapped a neat picture of this flower {weed?} that was also in the bluebonnet field.

Until next year...or maybe Sunday. {grin}

Broadway Across America: Ain't Too Proud

Another Sunday, another Broadway play! This one made lucky #18. Rhonda, Susie, and I went to see Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations.

I don't think I have to tell anyone what this musical was about given the name, ha. But from a 'plot' perspective I knew nothing about The Temptations, so it was really interesting just to hear their story!

Rhonda ~ Allena ~ Susannah

We all thought this was AMAZING! The music {of course} was incredible, but on top of that the performers were magnificent. The production value was top notch overall. If you have a chance to see it, you have to! 

Rhonda said it was her favorite musical of all time, and I know Susannah ranked it up there for her. I struggled with where to place it and decided on this: 1) Wicked, 2) Hamilton, and 3) Ain't Too Proud. It is THAT good!

March 2023 Book Review

 1/4 of the way through 2023! Time is flying. In March, I read 12 books bringing my total for the year up to 37!

 

I read 3 non-fiction books, 1 classic, a few rom-coms, the book that will likely be my LEAST favorite of the year... it was a wild month!

The Gentlemen's Book of Vices by Jess Everlee - This was a pretty good M/M Victorian love story! I enjoyed the characters and felt their backstories felt real. I loved the found families they had made. I wasn't sure how this was going to get resolved, and I was pretty stressed about it and thought it got wrapped up well.

Trans Like Me  by C.N. Lester - We read this for Blog Friend Book Club and we all had a similar reaction - none of us are experts in understand Transgender people but we all felt like we need a decent amount, so this wasn't a shocking, eye-opening read. It was interesting reading about 1 person's story and there were some good things to think about and work toward. If you don't know much about the trans experience, this would be a great first read.

The Haunted and The Hidden by Jessica Verday - Yuck, yuck, yuck. Last month I read the first book in this trilogy and didn't enjoy it. I wanted to finish the trilogy because the friend who loaned them to me loved them, so I just decided to plow/skim through them. Almost nothing redeemable about them. Reminded me a worse-written Twilight with a terrible ending.

Make a Wish by Helena Hunting - I really enjoy Helena Hunting's rom coms. This one wasn't my favorite but still enjoyable. This was the 3rd in a trilogy about sisters, so I enjoyed getting to revisit this family and seeing all 3 sisters with their HEAs.

This Naked Mind by Annie Grace [audiobook] - I gave up alcohol for Lent and thought this would be an interesting book to listen to. I learned a lot about what alcohol does to your body, but I'm not sure I liked some of the way the author presented it. She kept talking about 'The Naked Mind approach', but I never felt like she actually gave details for people who wanted to completely stop drinking except talking about how bad it is for you AND splashing in a healthy dose of sanctimoniousness. The points were good, the delivery wasn't.

Just My Type by Falon Ballard - I LOVED Falon Ballard's debut novel, Lease on Love, so I was really excited for this to come out. This follows 2 writers {and former lovers} who are competing for a column in a newspaper. I thought it was cute - I really enjoyed the main characters and their dynamic - but it wasn't quite as good as Lease on Love, so I couldn't help feeling a smidge disappointed. It was still very good though.

The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder - Drew and I are continuing to enjoy Laura Ingalls Wilder's somewhat autobiographical Little House on the Prairie series. This one was pretty crazy, and we enjoyed hearing how the Ingalls family survived this crazy winter. We cheered on Almanzo as he saved the day!

Flags of Our Fathers by James D. Bradley [audiobook] - I have developed a slight obsessed for WW2 historical fiction {especially stories about women and usually in Europe}. I haven't read much nonfiction about WW2, and I don't know much about the war in the Pacific {past watching The Pacific}. My grandfather was actually stationed there, but we never talked about it, and he died when I was 18. This was such an amazing story - of the 6 men {boys really} who placed the flag on Iwo Jima. I loved hearing each of their stories, and the story of this battle was equal parts devastating and awe-inspiring. I am definitely going to be reading more WW2 nonfiction!

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna - This was cute! A little slow to get going, but once I was into it, I loved the characters and story. I love fantasy stories and this one about witches, found family, being true to yourself, and finding love was a solid read!

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - This was my #1 oldest book on my Goodreads TBR, and one of my 2023 goals was to read or remove my 10 oldest books. I would say I'm glad I read this...but it was very slow and at times boring. I liked the March sisters and the story of their lives, but I would have been happier if it had been 20% shorter.

The Measure by Nikki Erlick - This was our book club selection {chosen by me}, and it led to a lot of discussion, which was nice! Imagine if you woke up and there was a box on your porch with a string inside that showed the length of your life. Would you open it? What would you do with what was inside? This book made me sit in my discomfort {because I am petrified of death}, and I also couldn't put it down. It was also a winner with most of book club, yay!

I have been pretty underwhelmed with books so far this year, with a few exceptions. I haven't had much I would recommend to people, and my monthly average rating was 3.2. My average last year was 3.9! I'm hoping for better in April!