What's Up Wednesday #1

Happy Wednesday friends! Today I am linking up with Mix and Match Family, Pinterest Told Me To and The Larson Lingo for the What's Up Wednesday Post.  What's Up Wednesday occurs on the last Wednesday of every month and this is the first time that I will be linking up with these lovely ladies.

1. What We're Eating This Week

Justin and I had Nacho Pie planned for dinner yesterday but it turned out that I did not have all the ingredients so we ended up with spaghetti with ground turkey instead.  For dinner tomorrow I am planning to make us Shepherd's Pie and Friday we will likely grab dinner out.  

2. What I'm Reminiscing About

 

Last week was my Gramma Jackie's birthday and my dad was in town this weekend so my Gramma has been on my mind lately.  She was such a kind and elegant woman so it has been so pleasant to sit and think about her over the past week or so.

3. What I'm Loving

My friend, Danielle, has been kicking butt on her reading goals for 2015 and she has been such an inspiration to me that I thought it was about time I get my rear end in gear and start kicking my reading goal in the butt.  Since I got back on track I have been REALLY enjoying using Goodreads as my source for book tracking.  If you want to be friends on Goodreads, you can find me here. 

4. What We've Been Up To

On Saturday, my cousin Amy, got married in Downtown Detroit.  So we spent the evening enjoying the company of family and friends.  We have a few more weddings coming up this Summer/Fall that I am looking forward to.

5. What I'm Dreading

Spring Cleaning.  I really hate cleaning and Spring cleaning is the worst type of cleaning that I have experienced.  I know it is important to clean every year but I just really do not like doing it.

6. What I'm Working On

I signed up to swim 10 miles with my friend Christina.  She currently signed up to swim 25 miles while I only signed up to do ten.  I think if I had signed up when it started I maybe could have done 25 miles with her but since I signed up a little late I only did 10.

2 down... 8 to go! 

7. What I'm Excited About

I'm super excited to go back to the Smash48 Retreat this year with Sarah! I had a blast last year and look forward to having a good time at this year's retreat!

8. What I'm Watching/Reading

I just started reading Girl, Interrupted for one of the many May Book Club reads I am participating in next month.  So far I am fascinated by the book, so I think it will be a good read.  When I post the Month @ a Glance Post for May, I will make sure to share all of my other reads for the month. 

This show is about to wind down for the season, but I have really been enjoying watching it.  The humor is very dry but also witty so it is right up my alley.  I am also into Dancing with the Stars, Revenge and Game of Thrones right now.  

9. What I'm Listening To

I just started listening to this book on "tape" through Audible and I am not 100% certain how I feel yet, but I am only 3 chapters into the book so I obviously need to give it a bit more time before I jump to any conclusions.  If you're interested in reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt, you can buy it on Amazon.

10. What I'm Wearing

Michigan is going through this awkward phase of flipping from 60 degrees to 30 degrees so my wardrobe has been all over the place.  Nothing new or exciting to share with everyone at the moment. 

11. What I'm Doing This Weekend

This Saturday a group of us are running The Super Run and I am super excited.  Justin and I are going to pick up our packets tonight and I am thrilled that we are getting capes to wear.  The best part of this race is it raises funds for local charities in every city that it goes to.  Should be a fun event to participate in.

12. What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month

We have two birthday's to celebrate next month: Mine & My Mom's.  Plus Mother's Day and Memorial Day - it should be a fun month for sure!

13. What Else is New

Nothing new to report here which is okay with me! I'm enjoying the consistency in my life right now to be completely honest.

14. What I am giving for Mother's Day...

I still have no clue what I am going to get my mom for Mother's Day.  I have a few ideas floating around but nothing too exciting yet.  I will see her tonight so I am hoping to get a few good ideas from her when I see her tonight.

If you have not had a chance to enter into the Meal Enders Drawing please make sure to do so!

I'd love to hear from you!

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Painting with a Twist: Girls Night Out

 Happy Friday Friends! I hope your week has been going well and you have some exciting things planned for this weekend.  Justin and I are going to my cousin's wedding on Saturday and Sunday is supposed to be beautiful so we will hopefully be spending some time outside.

Last Friday my sister-in-law, mother-in-law and I went to Painting with a Twist.  What's Painting with a Twist you ask? Let me tell you! 

You go a class with your friends/family and you re-create a painting from scratch.  The twist is that you can drink alcohol while you are making your artwork.  This is my third time going to Painting with a Twist and let me tell you, this class was hard.  I did not expect it to be so detailed and time consuming, but I am super glad we went!

  

Yay for a blank canvas! So fresh and so clean!

Getting the background started!

Add those clouds yo!

Next came the sidewalks and the buildings in the background.

Then came the buildings in the foreground - jeez this picture looks so dark! I swear it is not that dark in person.

Ta Da! Didn't they turn out great? Janelle added a little extra touch to her picture by making her umbrella purple and shirt pink.  I changed up my guys shirt to be blue since Justin wears blue all the time.  

This class took so long but it was soo much fun and I cannot wait to plan another girls night with Janelle and Marcy.

Question of the Day:

What fun things have you done with your mom/mother-in-law?

I'd love to hear from you!

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Easter Weekend... a little late

 Hi Friends! How have you been? I clearly have been super busy between work and spending time with friends and family over the past three weeks and I am so sorry I have neglected you all!

This year for Easter I attended three different events to celebrate Easter: Passover Seder Dinner, Easter Dinner with the In-Laws and Easter Dinner with my Family.

Every year my friend and her family host a Passover Seder dinner at their home and I was so excited and so honored when they invited me to join them for the dinner.  I have never been to a Passover Seder so I was nervous/excited to learn something new about a different culture.

Altogether the Seder took three hours from start to finish.  We did participate in almost all of the traditional portion of the Seder.  It was so humbling to participate in something so sacred.

This year for Easter we had two separate dinners: one with Justin's family and one with mine.  The day before Easter we headed to Justin's parents home to have a delicious dinner and spend some time with the family.

After dinner the kids went on a "Treasure" hunt outside.  It was so cute because Justin's parents drew a treasure map for the kids that they had to follow around to find their Easter Eggs and then the big prize at the end.

It is always so precious to see children looking for Easter Eggs.  At one point an egg cracked open and my niece was so excited because there were skittles in there.  I do not think she realized that there were things inside the eggs until I heard her yell out, "Oooo kittles!".  The rest of the afternoon was spent playing with their toys and enjoying the company of Justin's family.  

On Easter Sunday we got dressed up and went to a local Church with my family.  After church Justin and I grabbed a Biggby Coffee on our way to my parents house before eating dinner with my immediate family and some extended family.  My family get together's are never a small bunch... in fact it's considered small if there are less than 15 people in attendance.  

This ^ is just the "kids" that were at the family dinner.  There is no such thing as an intimate gathering in our family. haha

Question of the Day:

What fun things did you do for Easter?

I'd love to hear from you!

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Show and Tell Tuesdays: Names

 

Happy Show & Tell Tuesday!  I'm linking up with Andrea today and we're discussing names. 

Names have always been something that fascinate me - why are you named that? Does your name mean anything? Where did your name come from? 

I think this fascination came from the fact that my name is significant: Jacqueline Lee Vore.  My first and middle names were passed down so of course I have always wondered if other people had the same thing with their names.

^ This is my Gramma Jackie.  Wasn't she beautiful? She aged with such grace and elegance and she was also so well put together.  Just a lovely woman that I strive to be like on a daily basis.  

My first name came from her - well technically.  Her legal name was Zelma Jackie, but she went by Jackie.  So my parents named me Jacqueline in honor of her.  Of course, I have the traditional spelling of Jacqueline, but my mom has always said that she thought Jacqueline Kennedy was the most beautiful woman, so she spelled my name the same way she spelled hers.

Of course, my parents had to pay homage to my other grandmother with my middle name Lee.  My grandmother, my mom and myself are all middle name Lee.  So essentially I am third generation middle name Lee.  And of course, when the time comes, we will pass that name down to our daughter (if we have one).

So that's my name and where it came from!

Next time on Show & Tell Tuesdays, we're showing our favorite parties!  And to see posts from the past...

Most Embarrassing Moment

Favorite Room in the House

Ground Hog Day Edition 

Up next....

I'd love to hear from you!

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April: Month @ a Glance

Happy April Friends!

Hello There! How have you been? Sorry I have been MIA the last week and a half! Work was super crazy last week and then I got sick for the past four days.  Not exactly how I wanted the week to start off that is for sure!. 

April is always a great month for us because it means the weather starts getting nicer and we can start going outside more.  Plus, Justin's sister has a birthday this month AND the Tiger's have their Opening Day in April as well.

In Chronological Order:

• Easter celebration with Justin's Family
• Easter Sunday with my family
• Celebrate Janelle's Birthday/ Opening Day for the Tigers
• Game Night at Our House
• Ladies Night with Justin's Mom and Sister
• Lazy Sunday with my girl friends
• My cousin, Amy's, Wedding

Other Happenings in April:

I guess reading books is really not my forte right now as I was only able to finish one book in March.  Life seems to be getting away from me and I am beginning to get a bit overwhelmed with everything.  My main focus this month will be to get myself a bit more organized with things - both at home and at work to help keep myself on track.

I also have a goal to finish the book I'm reading now and work on reading three other books 1. You Knew Me When by Emily Liebert and 2. The Tumble Inn by William Loizeaux & 3. The Kill Order by James Dashner.  I'm excited to read the Kill Order because I have already read the other three books in the series and The Kill Order is the Prequel to the series.  

I am also going to continue working on my Health & Wellness Page and should have that up and running starting May 1st.  I know a month seems like a long time, but with being sick right now I cannot exactly start a new fitness routine today.  Plus, I want the page to be comprehensive and include everything.

Like in previous  months, I am continuing the #PhotoaDayRWJ challenge.  If you would like to participate, check out my Instagram for an opportunity to participate.  I love seeing everyone's interpretations of the photo of the day!

Question of the Day: What fun things do you have planned for April?

I'd love to hear from you!

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