Currently

I think I say this every month, but I can’t believe that it’s already September!  We had such an enjoyable summer traveling around New York state and the time just flew by!  The kids just started school again and I am looking forward to all things Fall. I am joining Anne and her co-host Lowanda for the monthly Currently linkup.  Here is what I am currently:

Celebrating – My birthday this month.  As I’ve gotten older, birthdays aren’t a big deal to me anymore.  Sometimes, I actually forget how old I am! But September 16, I will be turning another year older so there will be some celebrating going on around here.

Watching – For the first time this summer I started watching Bachelor in Paradise.  Since I watched the most recent seasons of the Bachelor and the Bachelorette, I’m familiar with most of the cast.  It’s been surprisingly enjoyable and a recent guilty pleasure.  I just wish I didn’t have to commit four hours a week!

Welcoming – The kids had their first day of school yesterday.  I’m going to miss the relaxed, care-free days of summer.  However, I’m welcoming being back into a routine.  I think it’s easier for the kids when they have a set bedtime and a regular morning wake-up time.  Plus, with homework and after-school activities, they will be much busier and have less time to be on electronics or be “bored.”

Preparing – Is it too early to start preparing for next summer’s vacation?!!  I’m not totally joking though.  Next summer we’d like to do a tour of the National Parks out West.  It will most likely be a two week trip and figuring out all the logistics will take lots of time and planning.  So, I’m hoping to get started on the research and planning of this trip soon.

Photographing – Summer is over and I will be home now to cook dinner every night.  I am going to restart my Monday weekly meal plan posts.  So, this means I will be back to photographing dinner each night! LOL!  While traveling this summer, I also started using and experimenting with the manual mode on my camera.  I’m hoping to get out more while the kids are in school to continue practicing my photography skills.

The summer is flying by and I cannot believe that it’s already August!  I am joining Anne and her guest host Shea for this month’s Currently linkup.  Here is what I am currently:

Snacking (on) – leftover dessert!  Sunday we had a belated birthday party celebration for our son with our extended family.  For the past couple of years he’s requested a carrot cake for his birthday cake.  What the birthday boy wants, he gets! Since, not everyone enjoys carrot cake, I also picked up a blueberry pie to have as well, with ice cream.  One of our guests also brought a selection of cookies from a local NYC bakery.  So, we have lots of leftover treats and we leave for vacation tomorrow.  It’s a hard job to eat these these treats up, but I’m helping out as much as I can! LOL!

Anticipating – Tomorrow we leave for our next #NYSummer2017 road trip to Niagara Falls.  Although my husband and I have already been there, this will be the kids’ first trip to the Falls.  I’m hoping we have nice weather since we plan on camping at a nearby state park.

Borrowing – Books from the library of course!  We borrowed two audio books for our most recent road trip and were switching between Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and School of Fear (my daughter’s pick).  We haven’t finished either but will hopefully finish one or both on this upcoming trip.

Admiring – The beauty of New York state.  As we’ve been traveling around New York this summer, I’ve just been in awe of the amazing sights that I’ve seen.  This picture was taken on Whiteface Mountain, 4,867 feet above sea level.  We were literally in the clouds.  It was a very cloudy day but the views were still breath-taking!

Purchasing – Back-to-school supplies.  My son found this lunch box at Children’s Place that he had to have.  It’s a little early for us since school doesn’t start until after Labor Day, but lunch boxes seem to sell out very quickly, so we picked it up.  Soon enough we will have supply lists and be buying all the school things.

Happy July!  I hope everyone is enjoying the start of the summer!  I’m linking up with Anne and Stephanie for the monthly Currently link up.   Although I’ve been away these past couple of days and am currently on my way home after a little family vacation, I wanted to make sure I was able to get a post up and join the link up.  Short on time, I apologize for the lack of photos in this month’s post.  Here is what I’m currently……

Documenting:  Our summer travels.  We leave in two weeks for our first road trip around the state.  I will be documenting our trip on social media, as well as taking lots of notes for future blog posts!

Accomplishing: Feeling like I’m not accomplishing much.  With the kids home I’m busy trying to keep them entertained while also trying to keep on top of the errands and housekeeping.  Trying to get in a few minutes here and there to work on this blog is a bit difficult a times!

Enjoying:  The first lazy days of summer.  It’s nice not racing around from one place to another and waking up at 8 AM most mornings instead of 6.

Reading:  Although we were up in Rhode Island for the past several days I didn’t have much reading time.  Most of my reading was done in the three hour car rides traveling to and from. I’m almost finished with my current read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, the newest book by Taylor Jenkins Reid.  I put this book on hold at the library as soon as I found out it was being released!

Spending:  Time with family!  We are on our way home today after spending six days with my parents and siblings in Rhode Island for the 4th of July.  This is an annual family tradition that we all enjoy.  My kids love spending time with their cousins and going to the beach!

June is here and that means school will be ending soon. We are busy with all of the end of year activities going on as the school year comes to an close. I’m sure I say this every year, but I can’t believe how quickly the school year went by!  I am linking up with Anne and Erin for the monthly Currently link up.  Here is what I’m currently…..

Planning – Our summer vacation.  This summer I’ll be taking my kids on a tour of New York state.  I’m going to have a more detailed post coming soon on the blog, but my plan is to visit different areas of the state that they (and sometimes I) haven’t been to.  I’m hoping this will be a fun and educational experience for us all!  I didn’t realize how much planning would be involved in such an endeavor though!  So, yes, lots of planning happening here.

Wishing – For some warmer weather.  Yesterday it was rainy and in the 50’s.  I don’t want to complain too much because once the heat comes it stays!  However, it’s definitely not feeling like June!

Learning – I’m currently reading up on all things blogging.  Although this blog started out as a hobby of mine, I’d like to learn to monetize it.  Instagram and twitter are my favorite social media platforms.  However, I think using Pinterest, and more specificially Tailwind tribes, will be beneficial.  Any resources and tips are appreciated!

Browsing – Goodreads and online book lists for some summer reading recommendations!  In the summer I prefer to read lighter, chick-lit and quick, suspense type reads.  If you have a good summer read you can recommend, let me know!

Going –  Tomorrow night I’m going to a local Beer and Burger Fest.  Many area restaurants are participating and I plan to have a fun and tasty night out with my husband!

I am so excited to be Anne’s guest-host this month for the Currently link up!  It’s hard to believe that it’s already May. The school year is almost over and summer will be here before I know it.  This month is super busy with fun! We will be celebrating my mom and my brother’s birthday and of course, Mother’s Day.  There are class trips and extracurricular activities.  And the month ends with a long Memorial Day weekend.  Here is a look at what I’m currently:

Baking –  Yesterday I made an adapted version of these Raspberry Lemon Ricotta Muffins.  These muffins are tasty and a hit with the kids! I’m not much of a baker, but I usually make a weekly batch of muffins.  They are just so easy and convenient to have on hand.  I give them to the kids with yogurt and fruit for a quick and easy breakfast or lunch. Then I freeze the extras, which are super easy to defrost when needed.

Listening To – I love listening to podcasts.  Besides my regular rotation including Happier with Gretchen Rubin, For Crying Out Loud, Heather Dubrow’s World, Spawned with Kristen and Liz of CoolMom Picks and Call Your Girlfriend, I’ve recently added The Travelers into rotation.  Although the podcast is no longer producing new episodes, there are 222 old ones for me to get through!  I love hearing how people get into traveling and their tips.  Once the kids are grown up I plan on doing some serious traveling!

Loving –  My library book haul!  Yesterday was library day and I came home with this haul!  The Perfect Stranger is my current read, but the rest just came in.  All of them except The Circle are new releases and two of them are 14 day books!!  I know what I’ll be doing the next two weeks!  I love my reading time…..now I just need to make sure I fit more of it in!

Planting – We haven’t actually started planting anything yet, but have plans to!  The weather has been rainy and chilly.  Once we get some free time and nicer weather, we want to plant some flowers around the outside of the house.  I’m also debating whether to do some container gardening.  My husband made the container planters, pictured above, last year.  Unfortunately, we don’t have great sun exposure on our back deck and the plants didn’t do as well as I would have liked.  We got this idea from my parents who have full sun exposure in their yard and get amazing results with these container gardens!  Plus, I’m not sure how much we’ll be home this summer, so we will most likely pass on the container gardening.  I will be planting herbs though.   A summer fave is fresh basil and mozzarella on a ripe tomato!  So, I have to make sure I have plenty of basil.

Remembering – Thank you family calendar and Happy planner!  Without these two life-savers I could not remember all that is going on this month.  With the end of the school year quickly approaching there is so much going on.  Girl scout events, cub scout events, class trips, the school book fair that I’m helping out with, doctors appointments…..the list goes on and on.  Every night I check the family calendar and write out everything that needs to be done in my Happy planner.  If it’s not on the calendar and in the planner, it’s not getting done!

Now it’s your turn!  Link up and share what you are currently up to!

Happy April!  I am ready for some April Showers and warmer weather.  April is a busy month for us as we celebrate my wedding anniversary, my daughter’s birthday, Passover and Easter.  I am joining Anne and Jess once again for the monthly Currently link up.  Make sure to join us next month,  Wednesday May 3, when I co-host with Anne and we share what we are currently baking, listening, loving, planting and remembering!  For April, here is what I’m currently:

Accomplishing – I am accomplishing lots of birthday planning.  We are celebrating my daughter’s 11th birthday with the family on Easter.  So, with some input from her, my husband and I are working on getting the menu finalized.  She’s also having her friends party the weekend after.  Since she’s a game lover, she’s having a Minute To Win It themed party with lots of games.  There’s definitely lots of planning that needs to be finalized for this party.

Feeling – lucky.  My husband and I just celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary yesterday.  While 13 may be considered an unlucky number to some, we are feeling very lucky.  We have created a beautiful family and wonderful life together over these years and can’t wait to create lots more memories.  To celebrate, my parents took us out to dinner this past weekend and we have a belated lunch date tomorrow!

Needing – to eat healthier.  Spring is here!  While I belong to the gym and have been taking lots of classes, I haven’t been the best about eating healthy.   My husband and I have agreed that for the next few months, while eating at home we are going to make healthier choices.  However, all bets are off when we go out!  LOL!

Practicing – shopping restraint.  It’s so easy to run into the store to buy something I need and come out with a bunch of other things that I didn’t!  While I pride myself on being a bargain shopper and getting a good deal, we are trying to cut down on extraneous spending.  So, I’ve really been trying to stick to the shopping list!

Pinning – lots of recipes, as usual, as well as NY focused travel pins.  This summer I’m planning on taking the kids on some road trips around the state.  Some of the stops include Albany, Niagara Falls, Lake George and the Catskill Mountains.  Plus, lots of day trips around the area and NYC.  I love living in NY state and it has so much to see and do.  I figured this summer is a great time to explore the state before we venture out further in our travels.

March is coming in like a lamb…..I only hope that it goes out like one as well!  We were spoiled last week with spring-like temperatures and although rainy, it’s still unseasonably warm today.  I’m enjoying as much of this warm weather as I can while it lasts!  Here we are, the first day of March and it’s time to link up with Anne and her guest host Carrie for the monthly Currently linkup.   Here is what I am currently:

Watching – My usual weekly shows that include The Bachelor, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, This Is Us, Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal.  I’ve also been recording the new Bravo series Imposters.  I’m not totally invested yet, but the few episodes that I’ve seen have me interested.

Eating – Lots of tasty food!  I attended a kick-off event for Hudson Valley Restaurant Week last night and got to enjoy lots of great food and see some friends.  It was a good time and I’m looking forward to even more great meals during HVRW!

Saying –  Recently, my son (8 1/2) and daughter (almost 11) have been fighting like cats and dogs.  I keep spelling out “W-A-Y” or  just say “WAY” (Worry About Yourself).  They like to keep tabs on one another and tattle and I just can’t take it!!!

Wearing – The usual jeans and a long-sleeve shirt or sweater.  I’m always cold! So, even though the weather has been warmer I’m still layered up and wearing at least a light jacket outside!  I’m loving all the spring colors and florals that I’ve been seeing in stores.  However, I’m just not quite ready to shop for warm weather clothes yet!

Posting – I think I finally have a posting schedule down and have been posting regularly at least three times a week. I participate in this monthly linkup, the Show Us Your Books monthly linkup and a couple of weekly Friday Favorites linkups.  Otherwise, I’ve been trying to focus my content on food, travel and family events and entertainment.

And just like that, I blinked and it’s February!  I feel like we had a busy but fun January and I’m looking forward to all that we have planned in February.  I’m joining Anne and Erin for the monthly Currently linkup.  Here is what I am currently….

Packing – Suitcase-wise, I’m not packing anything!  We have no big trips planned anytime soon.  I’m packing lunch for the kids everyday though.  My daughter is a breeze.  She eats pretty much anything.  My son is much more difficult.  He doesn’t like cold cut sandwiches and has recently stopped liking the bagels I was giving him for lunch. So, packing lunch has not been fun.  For now, he’s been happy with PB&Jelly, BLTs, and crackers with cheese and a yogurt.

Jonesing – for a diet pepsi (or coke!).  In my quest to be healthier I have stopped drinking diet soda…..at home.  I consider it a rare treat when we dine out, and even then sometimes I choose to drink water instead.  Instead, I’ve been drinking seltzer with a little bit of juice, since I don’t like the taste of seltzer (yes, even the flavored kind) or lemon water.  However, every once in awhile, a diet soda sounds really good!

Texting –  Since my kids discovered iMessage on their iPods they have been texting me.  Especially my son who loves sending emojis and “funny” (to him) memes.

Reading – I am in the midst of reading two books right now.  I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh is a thriller/suspense book that is moving a bit slow for me.  I went to NYC this past weekend with my daughter.  Since it’s an hour train ride I packed Unbelievable (#4 in the Pretty Little Liars series) since it’s a paperback and was easier to carry around with me.  It’s brain candy and reads quick, so I’ll probably be finishing that one up soon.

Hearting – Surprise, relaxing, cozy afternoons.  Yesterday the kids had an early dismissal because of snow.  I love being forced to stay inside, change into comfy clothes and know the rest of the day will be relatively relaxing…..after shoveling!

Happy 2017!  I’m excited to be joining the first Currently linkup of 2017, hosted by Anne and Jessica.   Here is a look at what I’m currently:

gathering: up all the Christmas presents and decorations.  The tree is still up and decorated but all of the presents have been collected and put away in their new homes.  Our plan is to take the tree down this upcoming weekend.

making:  a vision board.  This is the first time I’ve ever made one.  It’s still a work in progress as I gather my pictures and words.  But I’m having fun as I create my focus for the year.

sipping:  as I’m currently typing this over New Year’s weekend I’ve been sipping lots of tea and gingerale.  I’ve been battling the flu for over a week now.  I’m grateful to have gotten through the Christmas holidays and to have been sick over the vacation and not during a regular week where I’m up at 6:15 AM and shuttling the kids from one activity to another.  However, it’s been rough!  I didn’t get a flu shot and it hit me hard.

following:  This past week I started following The LV Guide and Sheaffer Told Me To, both new to me fashion blogs.  I’ve never been big into fashion.   However, I’m trying to up my game this year and  be a little more aware of fashion trends and style.

resolving:  I am still trying to figure out my one word for the year.  Last year’s word was “happy.”  I have a couple of words that I’m thinking about but have not decided on.  Hopefully, I’ll have it figured out by the end of the week.  Does anyone else choose a word for the year?

Today I’m joining Anne and Kellie for the monthly Currently linkup.  This month I’m currently:

Doing: a 25 Books of Christmas feature on my blog!  From December 1 through December 25 I am posting a review of a Christmas book.  So we are reading lots of Christmas books and I’ve been busy writing review posts for them.  It’s been a lot more work than I had anticipated, but I love the holiday season and love reading.  What better way to combine the two?!

Enjoying: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I joined a gym back in September for my birthday and I am enjoying going!  I’ve always thought I was anti-gym.  However, I’ve been going to classes including barre, zumba, yoga and occasionally spinning, several times a week.

Cooking:  This weekend I will be making homemade pizza and cookies for our Supper Club’s annual cookie exchange.  Instead of going out to eat, which we usually do, we’re having all the kids come to this month’s get together and also doing our annual homemade pizza theme.  I still have to figure out what kind of pizza and cookies I’ll be making!  Last year I made Melt-In-Your-Mouth Eggnog Cookie and my husband made Bourbon Balls.  Stay tuned to see what this year’s cookies will be!

Wrapping:  So, I’ve currently wrapped not a single thing.  However, I’ve finally started to do some online shopping and the packages have just started arriving.  I will hopefully have done more shopping and can start wrapping presents this weekend!

Playing: I’ve been playing lots of podcasts while I clean and do laundry, run errands, etc.  I’m planning an upcoming post on what I’ve been listening to lately!