Five on Friday: The Tube and Food

It's Friday! Yay!!!

It's also time to link up for Five on Friday.

This week is all about the tube and a new recipe!!

Here's my disclaimer...I am NOT a TV watcher, but recently I've gotten really excited about a couple of "viewing opportunities".

.......ONE
There were several premiers this week that I couldn't wait to watch. I just love Parenthood! It is so incredibly realistic. I've been watching since the first season and have been hooked ever since.
I have to say I was not as wowed by the premier as I wanted to be, but I have confidence it'll pick up quickly. See all the details of this season's first episode here.

 

.......TWO

THE BLACKLIST! I couldn't decide if I wanted to invest my precious evening time into this show - but I'm so glad I did. It was very Silence of the Lambs-ish. I can't wait until next Monday night! Here's the pilot!

 

 

.......THREE





I ADORE Jimmy Fallon AND Justin Timberlake. Both of them are incredibly talented and precious guys. I can't stay up late enough to watch every night, so I cannot wait until Jimmy moves into Jay Leno's spot. It'll give me just enough of my Jimmy-fix before I drift off.

This week he and JT did a skit on what it would sound like if we spoke the way we "tweet" and use social media. It was hilarious!!! I especially loved the hand gestures and really long hash tags (#whichImayormaynotdofromtimetotime). I missed this the night that it aired, but Shan kindly replayed it for me because he knew I'd love it!



 

.......FOUR

I'm not typically an ESPN watcher unless the Gamecocks are playing. However, Shan insisted that I watch The Book of Manning with him this week.  So unenthused at first, I thought "yeah, yeah, yeah! I know. The famous football family. Blah, blah, blah." I have nothing against the Mannings. I've just always thought they're one of those sports anomaly families. But it was so much more! You got a great glimpse into their family dynamics. It wasn't all rosy as I suspected. They were so normal.

 

{source}

 

As a mother of 3 very active boys, I could relate to so much of the documentary. So many of the clips from their childhood reminded me of my own boys and their MANY games of football, soccer, and baseball that they play in my backyard. I really fell in love with their family. Archie and Olivia seemed to be so unassuming, yet supportive of their sons and their innate passion for football. If it airs again...it's a must see, especially for boy moms.

 

Here's a link to the scoop behind the documentary.

 

.......FIVE

And finally! A yummy recipe for General Tso's Chicken. I pinned this recipe earlier this week. One word...Awesome! Just enough sweet, just enough spicy. And I was so proud when everyone chowed down. General Tso's Chicken is a family fave. We order it pretty much every time we go out for Asian food. This was every bit as good as a restaurant and I love knowing that it was prepared in my kitchen.

 

I served it with a side of steamed teryaki rice. I also added a bag of broccoli florets to ours. If you're a fan of General Tso's...y'all gotta try it! Did I mention how easy it was? My little helper thought it was too. ;-)

Any who! It's late on Friday, but that's my 5 for this week.

 

 

Fall Bucket List

Fall is here! Finally!

And while it doesn't really feel like it at 85 degrees, at least I know there is hope of sweater weather very soon.

This year I compiled a little Fall Bucket List. There are things we always do that I want to keep as traditions and some new things I'd like to try.

And let's not forget all the "givens"... consume lots of chili and yummy soups, go trick-or-treating, and putting out beautiful mums! It's without a doubt my favorite time of the year!

What's on your Fall Bucket List?

Summer Highlights: The Baker Beach Vacay

Summer Highlights: The Beach

We headed to the beach the second week in June to do our annual beach trip with Shan's family. We spend 70% of our time sandy and in bathing suits. The rest of the time we eat and sleep. It's the BEST!

Here's a glimpse of the week in pics...

The whole gang!

Our little posse.

Fun with cousins from near and far, boccie ball, and yummy seafood!

This is a mom's desperate attempt to get a decent pic of her boys. FAIL. And then it got dark.

All the reasons I love our week!

 

 

Five on Friday!

It's FIVE on FRIDAY! I love reading all these linked posts. It's great for inspiration, motivation, and new fun ideas. I've also found some great bloggers that I need to add to my Bloglovin feed! Here's one of the girls behind these shenanigans.

...ONE
With all this extra quiet time since the boys have started school, I've actually been able to think! About what? Keeping my house tidy, possibly redecorating, and reorganizing. This week's project...I've started working on some window treatments inspired by VERY talented Courtney at A Thoughtful Place! These are the ones she made for her master bedroom...

 

 

...TWO

I've also had some time to think about personal goals. I posted a looong time ago about how I'd lost my mojo. Well I'm slowly getting it back. For 2 weeks I've been back on my run/walk routine as soon as I walk the boys to school. I've been using the Galloway Method which is wonderful for asthmatics. It's very similar to the Couch 2 5k method and app which I have had a serious love-hate relationship with forever!

I've also been finding lots of motivation and tips from Pinterest and Instagram! Here are two that really helped me this week...

 

 

...THREE

I am back on the MY FITNESS PAL App, again. I've been logging everything I put in my mouth for a week and am happy to report that I've lost 3.4 pounds!!! Yay, me!

 

{I blacked out the gory details...all you need to pay attention to is that line going down}

I've stayed the same for so long, it's nice to see it go down. And the best part is today is my splurge day!!!

 

...FOUR



Misty and I had to speak in front of a couple hundred people last night at our Junior League General Membership Meeting. YIKES!!! We were there to sell the cutest T-shirts ever, discounted Preview Party tickets, and pass out bumper stickers. The energy and excitement was FANTASTIC! I can't wait and can't believe we're a smidge less than 3 months away.

 

 

How cute are these T-shirts and Bumper Clings?!?!

 

 

...FIVE



After reading my friend Erin's post about Fall TV Premiers, I have it on the brain. I can't wait to watch the most realistic show about a family, PARENTHOOD. It is my favorite!!! And I think the new Michael J. Fox show will be fantastic. Who doesn't love MJF?!?! I am done with the lame summer TV selection. Bring on the premiers!!!

 

 

Any who, that's my 5! Y'all have a good weekend!!!

 



Our Labor Day Weekend

Labor day has come and gone. I have to admit that I am really ready for the fall! We had some unseasonably cool temps a few weeks ago that were a huge tease, but our usual scorching and insanely humid weather is back and free to leave any time!

For Labor Day weekend we usually head to the beach with friends or go to the lake. This year we just enjoyed our long weekend with no obligations. We spent much of the day Saturday purging and reorganizing cabinets, which happens to be so therapeutic. I am gathering all things "garage sale" as I am in total de-clutter mode.

Sunday we asked the boys what they'd like to do. Their choice, go get yogurt and play football in the park. It was steamy, but fun!  I wouldn't trade these days for anything. Sam is getting so big now and already craving some time to himself. I know it won't be long before he rolls his eyes and moans, "Uhhh the park? I'm supposed to meet my friends... ." I loved seeing them happily play ball together and teach Oliver how to do the monkey bars. It just warms my heart.

 

 

We are so fortunate to be surrounded by several great parks that have recently been renovated here in "The Acres". The one we frequent has the most comfy bench swings, so Shan and I took advantage of the boys entertaining themselves to swing and chat a while.

 

Monday rolled around and everyone had slept in. It was lovely! While Shan was hopping onto an airplane that afternoon, we headed to my Aunt Judy's house with my mom's family for a Labor Day dip in the pool and cookout. Waterlogged doesn't even begin to describe my boys after their 4 hours in the pool {with a short break in between to eat}. I was exhausted just looking at them! They all slept really well and were refreshed for another week of school.

In my opinion, it was a nice change from the usual get-out-of-town rat race and a nice unofficial end to summer.