Good morning, friends! Today, I am linking up with Shay from Mix and Match Mama, Mel from The Larson Lingo, and Sheaffer from Sheaffer Told Me To for a little What’s Up Wednesday!

So, I’ll be answering these questions…

Alright, y’all, here we go!

What We’re Eating This Week… 

As for the rest of the week, that’s a great question. But so far, we’ve been eating all of our main dishes smoked because Steven’s parents brought us our very own electric smoker this past weekend. So far we’ve had brisket, ribs, sausage, and chicken. I also attempted yeast rolls again (first time was New Year’s Eve- they didn’t ever rise, but tasted semi-okay). They were rising pretty well (after much longer than advertised), but reached their max potential and fell with little dents in them. But they still seemed to taste okay- definitely more fluffy than the last time!

One of Steven’s favorite meals is homemade chicken and dumplins. Several years ago, while the boys were out hunting, my mother-in-law and I worked for an afternoon in the kitchen and she taught me how to make them. I’ve made them once since then, and pretty much forgot what to do, so she walked me through it again on Monday afternoon while they were here. This time, I decided to be brave and use a whole chicken instead of the chicken breasts I’ve used before. They turned out well, but there isn’t really a recipe to share on this one. It’s a lot of a little of this, little of that until it looks/ feels right. Steven was excited, and we have a TON of leftovers that will tide him over for a little while (apparently these are even better not fresh?).

What I’m Reminiscing About… 

Well… about this time two years ago, we went to pick out my engagement ring 🙂

Of course, he hung on to it for about another month or so waiting to surprise me, but it was a special time going and looking, and picking one out together. It is the most gorgeous ring to me, and I love it, but as I told the lady helping us that day, I would have said yes to a bread twist tie. She said this was much prettier than a twist tie 😉 I agree! Now we’re a little over a month out from being married a year! The days are long, but the years are short, friends!

What I’m Loving… 

Our house is full of fresh flowers! I don’t buy flowers really ever because it seems like a waste of money (even though they are pretty, and smell wonderful!), and Steven (my sweet frugal man) doesn’t buy them either for that reason (they’re expensive and they die). But, it’s nice to have them on occasion!

My sweet MIL had her knee replaced last Wednesday at the hospital where Steven practices, and she got a few beautiful arrangements to her hospital room, and then over to our house…

 She recently served as president of a non-profit where they live, and the board members/ employees at Mission Center sent this pretty basket with a few cute balloons. The tulips were gorgeous, and I love those vertical purple blooms! They continued to bloom from the top down over the last several days.

Steven’s VA team let him come and go a little on Wednesday as she was having surgery, and then as she got settled in to her room, and then sent this sweet arrangement of roses and daisies! Shout out to VA Team 3!

And then I picked up this basket at HEB and took it up to her from Steven and me. That color of roses is just gorgeous! They continued to bloom out as the days went by, and the lilies were just starting to open and get big as they left yesterday.

What We’ve Been Up To… 

Well, we’ve been hanging out with Steven’s parents while they were here for surgery and recovery. As previously mentioned, the boys have been taking every opportunity to use the new electric smoker (we took a break Sunday night for some McAlister’s), and working/ playing with our three fur-kids. I took a week off work to hang out with them, so I’ve been enjoying later workout classes (8:30/9:30 instead of my usual 6:15), and having time to read and fold laundry and fun stuff like that 😉 We’ve watched a few movies- Sully and Deepwater Horizon. We had seen them before, but they are so good, we wanted his parents to see them, too. It was especially interesting to watch Deepwater Horizon with his dad because he just retired (about a week ago) from working as an engineer for ExxonMobil overseas in Africa, so he could give us more of a behind the scenes explanation for what they were doing on the offshore rig. Other than that, it’s just been the usual! 🙂

What I’m Dreading… 

Going back to work a little bit… I like my job, but I have to admit, I feel so much more caught up with things around the house after this week, and that’s a hard feeling to let slip away!

What I’m Working On… 

Steven has a few projects going, and I’ve been helping him with paperwork for some of it so that he can be studying for one of his upcoming board exams in March. Fun fact: you take 3 STEP tests (day long exams that test you through all areas of medicine) through medical school and then the first year of residency, and your score determines not only where you go for residency/ fellowship, but what areas of medicine you can specialize in. Lower scores are not really considered for higher profile specialties, or specialties with better lifestyles. He took STEP 1 between 2nd and 3rd of med school, STEP 2 between 3rd and 4th year, and will take STEP 3 in March, which is two days long. And then we will be DONE with STEP tests. All the praise hands for that, friends.

Other than that, I’m working on the usual mess around here. Laundry (it never ends, does it??), kitchen cleaning, etc. I’m about halfway through a good book, and need to work to catch up on my shows from the past week or so. And we’ve been working on obedience things with Gump, such as sitting and waiting to be told when he can eat. Ruger is already a champ at that, so Gump needs to learn a few manners. And Boudreaux is still a little young to start all that just yet.

What I’m Excited About… 

I don’t know that I have anything in particular that I’m excited about, but I’d say I’m pretty happy! How could you not be when this little buttercup snuggles up on you?

What I’m Watching/Reading…

I haven’t changed/added any to my shows all that much recently. I mainly keep up with This is Us, American Housewife, The Middle, and Speechless at the moment. I am currently reading A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallero and it is great! It’s a new take on Sherlock Holmes/ Dr. Watson following their present day descendants, Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson. It’s a series, so when I finish this first one, I think I’m going to try out the next few!

What I’m Listening To… 

I’m a little late to the party on this, but Hillary Scott and the Scott Family- “Love Remains” has been on repeat the last few days on my Spotify. That “Come Thou Fount”… y’all, talk about moving! I also pulled out some Daniel Martin Moore “In the Cool of the Day” the other day because I LOVE his “It Is Well With My Soul”.  (I have apparently been in an old school hymn mood lately). I will also admit that I pulled the Celine Dion “A Decade of Song” CD out of the $5 bin at Walmart the other morning, and I’m not ashamed. NO ONE has a voice like Celine.

What I’m Wearing… 

I recently got a rain jacket from Marleylilley and in the quest for free shipping, added this monogrammed engraved bracelet (it comes in a bundle with 2-3 other bracelets, but only one is monogrammed) to my cart. I’m in love with my new married monogram, and simple silver jewelry. When I’m working, I’ll stack this with my watch and maybe a few other pieces, but I think it looks simple and timeless by itself as well.

I’m also loving my Fabletics athletic pants…

I did the intro outfit for $10 and got these pants and a gray tank with a high neck and a weird knotty thing in the back. I like the pants because they are a heavy, structured material, even with the mesh inserts on the legs (my father-in-law joked with me that I had washed them too vigorously 😉 ), but I’m kinda neutral on the top. I don’t hate it, but it’s not my favorite. My favorites are actually the 10 work out tanks I got from Academy the last few weeks for $4 EACH. Yes, you read that right. They were on off-season clearance and marked down to $5 with an additional 25% off, making them $3.75 each. Get yourself down to Academy if you need some work out tanks, girl!

What I’m Doing This Weekend… 

You know, that’s a great question. I think as of now, we don’t have any plans. I think Steven has the weekend off because he starts ER nights on Monday, but I don’t know of anything specific we have planned. I typically go to a 10 AM Barre class on Saturday mornings, but that seems to be the extent of our planning so far. Sometimes our unplanned weekends turn out to be our best weekends! It is nice to have time to hang out and decompress together!

What I’m Looking Forward To Next Month… 

Well, I don’t know of anything super exciting happening then just yet, but we will see! Looking forward the the everyday life of next month! 😉

What Else is New… 

I think we’ve covered our entire lives for the time being! It was sad to see Steven’s parents go home yesterday because we enjoy them being close, but I know they were glad to get home and settled so his mom can continue to recover quickly.

Bonus Question: Who is Your Favorite Bachelor From Seasons Past? 

I’m going to be really honest with y’all… I’ve never watched the Bachelor. And don’t really have plans to. Just not my scene, jellybean, but I have a lot of friends that love it! I can’t even begin to tell you any Bachelor’s name, so I’ll spare y’all and just say none of the above 😉

Happy Wednesday! 🙂