What's Up Wednesday: January 2024 edition

It's the last Wednesday of the month and that means it's time for What's Up Wednesday.  Does anyone else feel like January was both super long and yet somehow also went by fast? I'm not sure how that can be either but that's what it felt like... I think certain days/weeks flew by while others seemed to really drag on.   

What We're Eating: We had a delicious month and got so spoiled on our trip!  Amazingly I didn't gain a single pound either.  That felt so great! 

Caesar salad

chocolate/caramel cake

French onion soup

Ravioli

Lots of fresh fruit, some bacon, and croissants too

salad and turkey sandwich

cinnamon gelato

Burrata and butternut squash salad

pasta, chicken, and cheese sauce

Fried shrimp, grilled chicken, roasted vegetables and plantains 

A delicious and light dessert called mille feuille

Fruit and yogurt

tiramisu 

Eggs, bacon, potatoes, and roasted vegetables with cinnamon swirl bread

Shrimp and steak fajitas

Chocolate cake with ganache 

Lots of roasted vegetables 

fruit, yogurt, and granola

haddock, lobster, and vegetables. 

cauliflower flan with shrimp, and prosciutto 

Carrot cake

Veggies, cinnamon bun, and bacon

Bacon burger with fries

chicken, potatoes, and veggies

1/2 an order of chicken parm. my husband and I shared 

I made chicken fajita rice bowls for dinner one night

Pesto pasta with mushrooms and chicken 



What I'm Reminiscing About: Alec turned 18 this month; we haven't had a chance to celebrate with him yet (my husband and I were sick and then my mother in law landed back in the hospital) but I still can't help thinking about how we now have another full grown adult living in the house! 

Alec (and Ian) on their first Disney trip

Alec at Sesame Place 

Alec (with the goggles on!) meeting princesses at Disney with Ian

Alec in December... 


What I'm Loving: Our Cruise was fabulous! The ship was beautiful and we had 4 main dining rooms to pick from... great shows each night.. and some fabulous (and some not so fabulous) shore excursions. 







I spent time each day reading on our balcony


We loved the quiet calm of the (indoor) adult only pool




Our first port was Roatan Honduras:







We tendered over to Belize, City Belize and then went snorkeling off the 2nd largest reef in the world:






 
We toured ancient Mayan ruins in Cozumel, Mexico.. met a shaman... and spent our afternoon on the beach:







Our last stop was in Grand Cayman and we nearly didn't get off the boat due to rough seas.  We finally managed to get off the ship and had a fun time biking around the island. 














Our last day was an "at sea" day:






What We've Been Up To:  We started our new year out with breakfast with the whole family before my sister and nephews headed home to North Carolina.  Then my husband and I went hiking.  After our week at sea we were both sick at home for a few days and then it's been a whole lot of snow and ice and rain. Which means lots of reading, puzzle making, and TV viewing. 
















What I'm Dreading: Filling out our taxes... I hate trying to gather everything together and making sure I haven't missed anything or forgotten anything.  

What I'm Working On: I've been planning a family trip to Hawaii for this coming Christmas.  We decided to visit 2 islands-- Maui and the big island of Hawaii... and that's about as far as my planning has gotten so far.  

What I'm Excited About: I have a little blogger meet- up in the works for early spring and I'm really excited to put some actual real-life faces to the names and blog images. 

What I'm Watching/Reading: Red, White, & Royal Blue (Prime), Happiness for Beginners (Netflix), Love at First Sight (Netflix), Five Feet Apart (hulu), Queen Bees (Netflix), Sound of Freedom (Prime), Lift (Netflix), started re-watching Duck Dynasty-- pretty much ALL while I was sick... 




I did manage to finish up 8 books this month and my review of them will be up tomorrow!




What I'm Listening to: Absolute silence that only seems to happen in the winter.. it's such a foggy quiet morning on the lake. 

What I'm Wearing: Between extreme winter here and lots of sunny heat in the Caribbean I've been wearing a little bit of everything! 





























What I'm Doing This Weekend: We have zero plans but I bet I'll end up grocery shopping at some point. 

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month: Alec presents his SCAP-- Senior Culinary Arts Project (he's making a 5 course Greek meal and we get to listen to his presentation and try all his food). 

What Else is New: My mother in law ended up back in the hospital after my husband and I got home from our trip and had surgery last week. Hopefully she's on the mend for good now!  

Linking up with:











Comments

  1. Love all of your outfit pics- the warm weather ones and the cold weather ones. You have been in both temperature extremes this month! Your food pics from the cruise look really good- how cool to not gain any weight. Have a great Wednesday!

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  2. That polka dot dress is my favorite!! And I love the rainbow picture. How fun to have a blogger meet up!!?? And a trip to Hawaii - one day I’ll be able to travel…hopefully!

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  3. Oh what a great WUW! Your trip outfits were spot on spectacular. The jumpsuits, rainbow dress and polka dot are my favs. I loved this post. .

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  4. You've had quite the month! I'm hoping to get a puzzle in this weekend. I only did one (and it was a Christmas one) in January. I do hope everyone's health improves in February. And how to fun to meet up with some bloggers!!! Can't wait to read about it!

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  5. So glad you guys enjoyed the cruise and got to avoid some of this gross weather!! My sister just had to go to Maui for work, pretty nice place to visit in January.

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    1. Oh I bet that was such a hardship for her.. LOL! I have always wanted to see Hawaii.

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  6. So fun to read about the trip again and see all of the beauty. BTW I am obsessed with that jumpsuit on you- you have a cardigan on with it- so so pretty!

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    1. Aw, thank you! That was my first purchase from Clara Sunwoo this past spring and it's one of my favorites too.

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  7. That's amazing you didn't gain weight on the cruise! Quite a difference in weather from the Caribbean to back home.

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    1. I couldn't believe it; I thought for sure I'd put on at least a few pounds with all the food we were eating.

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  8. What a great post! I'm amazed that you didn't gain any weight with all that delicious food! Ugh, tax time. Your Hawaii trip planning sounds fun as does the blogger meet-up. We enjoyed Queen Bees.

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    1. Thank you! I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't gain any weight.

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  9. Ugh, I was going to ask about your MIL. I was hoping she was better once and for all. I hate to hear she had to go back to the hospital again. I hope she's truly on the mend this time!

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    1. Oh me too! The doctors seem quite confident that she should be on the mend and I'm praying that is finally the case.

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  10. I know what you mean. January has dragged but some days have really flown over!!
    The food on your trip looks so good and that's fantastic that your weight has stayed the same.
    Aww! The photos of Alec are so cute.
    Your whole trip away looks amazing.

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  11. You certainly did have lots of fabulous looking food, Joanne, and the cruise looks wonderful. It's been a long time since my husband and I have been on a cruise, but we've been talking about booking one. Looking at your pics encourages me to do so. I hope you, your husband, and your mother-in-law are all feeling better.

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    1. Thank you! It seems like everyone is on the mend now.

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  12. I'm sorry to hear about your mother-in-law. I just worked on our taxes...definitely not fun! Your cruise looked so fun!

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  13. Sorry to hear about your mother in law and glad y'all are feeling better now. I am glad I had eaten dinner when I looked at all the delicous food pictures, ha!

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    1. I know what you mean; we ate so much delicious food this month.

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  14. All of that amazing food, and you didn't gain a pound...that's a huge win! Those snowy photos are just gorgeous. You know, it just dawned on me that you take your photos in front of a mirror. For some reason, I thought that was a long skinny hallway! Duh! I do hope your MIL is recovering well.

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

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    1. I thought that was a huge win too! And thank you for the well wishes for my MIL

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  15. Goodness me what a post...the opposite seasons seen in your outfit pics and from your cruise. I am so glad you enjoyed your trip away and sorry it ended with you both getting sick...but onward to planning Hawaii...that will be fabulous! Glad your MIL is better...fingers crossed.. Denyse

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  16. oh my look at all that fab food. that chocolate cake looks so delicious! cheers sherry #WWWhimsy

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  17. All the food looks spectacular and I love your outfits. The cruise looks like it was so much fun, so lovely to have some time away with your husband. Sending good wishes for your Mother-in-Law's quick recovery.
    Ruth@playworkeatrepeat

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  18. What an amazing cruise! I could use some sun right about now. All the food looks spectacular and yes, our kids grow up too fast. I will be an empty nester in August.

    https://www.kathrineeldridge.com

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    1. Thank you; I was trying to soak up all the sun that I possibly could before returning home.

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  19. Looks like you had a fabulous trip! I'm sorry you've been ill and hope your mother-in-law is on the mend too. Enjoy your Greek feast!

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  20. Time really flies! Love seeing the throwback photos of your boys! Your cruise sounded amazing! Love all of your outfits!

    Jill - Doused in Pink

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    1. It sure does! I'm enjoying all the senior year fun though.. especially since my other two were/are homeschooled and we don't really have any way to make senior year special.

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  21. I'd say you have a lot of really great "what's upping" things! Oh my -- being sick -- not good. That salad looks so wonderful. Well, all the food does!

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    1. Aw, thank you! All in all it was a pretty good month.

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  22. The SCAP sounds so cool --and neat that you get to be involved. Your trip looked so amazing - the food too!

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    1. Thanks! I am really excited to see how he does; but I know he's so nervous!

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  23. Hi, Joanne. I sure enjoyed looking at all of your images! I noticed when you commented on the snow, ice and rain that in one of your images you have a wood stove. The heat feels so good. And your vacation images were fun to see too. Thanks for sharing all of them!
    Take care and best wishes.

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    1. Yes, we have a woodstove in our basement and whenever it's on I spend most of time down there! :)

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