Week 31 was officially the end of summer ball. The boy was in an all star tournament, and they did fairly well. They ended up 4th place, but it was a not really a full tournament. As per the usual this summer, rain made it hard to play all the games. They ended up in the championship bracket, but weren’t able to play out the bracket games. They all just got seeded based on pool play and they ended up in the 3rd and 4th place game. A bummer.
Week 32 the kids were off to their aunt and uncle’s farm, and got to spend some quality time with family. They still love going even though they are teenagers now. We get the week off of sports, and get to go out to non-kid friendly eating places. It was a nice break for all us, though we do all miss each other!
Now we are gearing up for school and high school sports. Two a day practices are coming up for the kids. August is going to be a bit of a pain. I can’t wait for some drivers’ licenses around here!
My accomplishments this week
Focus Photo –
We haven’t really been out in the yard much this summer due to sports, but I have noticed less bees. I was glad to see our Joe Pie Weed was blooming, and the bees were all over them. We have a lot of that plant. I propagates like a weed, but the bees and butterflies like them, so we just try to keep it in check.
And here’s a sports picture from the last of the summer ball.
We had a family wedding last weekend. I brought my big camera and had good intentions, but took not a one photo. I need to get back to taking photos…especially when I go to the effort of bringing that heavy thing! There was a lot of family from out of town, so I am, of course, kicking myself for not getting photos.
Sewing –
- I finished another romper for the girl. I had cut out a few weeks prior. It is bamboo lycra and the fabric is from Twisted Needle Textiles. No blog post. It was the same pattern I drafted for this one.
- I also made some things for the wedding last weekend. My goals was that it needed to be comfortable for dancing, including swing dancing (so no circle skirts!), and hide my “I’ve been eating and drinking too much” tummy. I made a dress that didn’t look good and then settled on a top. I will get pictures of both eventually and get a blog post up. I got a lot of compliments on the top, so it was a winner!
- I made a lace cover up shirt to go over a sheath dress I wore to dinner last week, too. Hopefully, I will get pictures soon.
- This week I need to start on a sewing project that is due in a few months. I don’t want to wait until the last minute like usual. My goal is to at least try to get one item done.
- I would like to make a new purse with some leather I bought a month or so ago.
House cleaning –
I have fallen off the “give the kids a list of stuff to do” wagon. They have not been helping a lot, so I need to get better at that.
Time with family –
More games and stuff, and even had some family coming to watch! We shipped off one kid to the family farm, and the other one went off after tryouts this last Monday.
Health, exercising, making healthy meals –
Yeah…not going well here.
I did buy a bunch of dried beans to try to get the family away from needing meat at every meal. We’ll see how that goes.
Meal plan for the week –
- Monday – cold pasta salad – Rotisserie chicken, pasta, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, shredded parmesan with a homemade Greek seasoning vinaigrette. Pretty yummy.
- Tuesday – Great northern beans and ham in crockpot. Served with toasted homemade focaccia bread
- Wednesday – Leftovers?
- Thursday – Grilled chicken, grilled summer squash and sweet onions, grilled peaches
- Friday – Steaks and new potatoes on the grill, homemade focaccia bread
- Saturday – Sausage enchiladas (have a lot of sausage in the freezer yet)
- Sunday – Leftovers or frozen pizza for dinner. So. Healthy.
Creative Design –
I just did some ribbon drawings. Something simple to do while waiting for games to start. These end up overlapped or part of larger designs.
Reading –
I’ve been re-reading the Immortal Guardians series by Dianne Duvall. Lame, I know. I have so many other books to read, but at least I can put down the book when it gets late. That is usually my problem. 😉
I have a tendency to re-read books several times. I kind of love paranormal romance, so those are ones that I usually re-read. I like the Black Dagger Brotherhood books by J.R. Ward, Duvall’s series and the Elder Races novels by Thea Harrison. They have great dialogue and intertwined characters. I like ones with a bit of humor. A have a few books by each of those authors that I need to read yet. Thea Harrison started a new series within the Elder Races world, so I think she is at almost three books in it now. I like to have a few books at a time to read…especially if they are a new series. I hate waiting.
We are now starting in on the high school sports, so at least the evenings are mostly free. Club softball will be starting up, too, so that is just a few nights a week. Being organized and figuring out carpool schedules is a big challenge!
