Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts

July 8, 2016

friday favorites #27: week of july 8, 2016

Posted by Becky with 2 comments
Happy Friday! Why is it that holiday weeks feel longer than usual? It can't be just me, can it? I only worked Wednesday through Friday, but boy did those days feel long! So I'm thrilled that the weekend has arrived! Here are some of my recent favorite things:

 1. 4th of July in Indiana
Spending the 4th in Indiana is becoming a bit of a tradition. Last year, my mom and I went out to see my sister and brother-in-law, and this year, my dad went along, too! We were gone Friday through Tuesday, and, despite some horrible delays due to road construction and bad traffic, we had a wonderful time!
It's never a sure thing that Dad's going anywhere until he's in the car, so I snapped this pic as we left to prove to Val that he was with us.

When we got there, Miss Chloe decided she really liked my bed. She's such a fluff ball, and she's so full of personality. Not very cuddly, that one, but certainly entertaining. She also scared me to death the first night—I saw her leave my room while I was getting ready for bed, so I closed the door. At 3 a.m., she jumped on top of me! Apparently, she snuck back in before I closed the door.

We went blueberry picking! Most of the blueberries weren't ripe yet, so we had to do some searching, but we ended up with 10 pounds for Val.

Dad was very tired after picking blueberries ...

We played lots of Rummy and Golf. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of my perfect Rummy hand. I went out on my first turn, and I was the first player!

We went to a "patriotic" concert in the park at Winona Lake ... only the concert didn't include much patriotic music. The highlight was the Four Seasons medley the band played. (In retrospect, I'm not sure that the concert was even advertised as patriotic—I just made that assumption because the concert took place over the holiday weekend.)

We girls saw Ragtime at the Wagon Wheel. It was phenomenal. Last year, we saw Bye Bye Birdie there, and it was really good, but Ragtime was something special.

It was almost chilly the whole time we were there, and we took advantage of the coolness by taking several walks—at Grace, around Winona Lake, and in Val & Greg's new neighborhood. As we walked, I was totally obsessed with the hostas. Now that I have my own baby hostas, I'm eager to see everyone else's! They seem to be a very popular plant in Val & Greg's neighborhood.

We had to head home on Tuesday, and we made sure to stop at a Chick-fil-A. Oh, how we need one in central Nebraska!

2. Galaxy Quest
I have loved Galaxy Quest ever since I saw it in the theater way back in '99. I've seen it multiple times over the years, but I'd forgotten just how clever the writing is! And, in addition to the at-the-time stars, it has so many now-famous people in it: Corbin Bleu, Enrico Colantoni, Rainn Wilson, Sam Rockwell.

We (and by "we," I mean "everyone but Dad who was sleeping") watched it at Val's, and it was a pure delight from start to finish. If you're in need of a good laugh, check it out on Netflix!

 3. 30 for 30 documentaries
I recently discovered that many of ESPN's 30 for 30 documentaries are on Netflix, and now I can't get enough of them! My favorites so far are This Magic Moment, about the rise and fall of the Orlando Magic in the 1990s, Jordan Rides the Bus, about Michael Jordan's foray into minor league baseball, and (obviously, if you know me at all) The Price of Gold, about the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan scandal. Up next: Believeland. We'll see if it can make me stop loathing the Cavs.

(Tangentially related note: I love that Kevin Durant has joined the Warriors. And, while I can understand Thunder fans' disappointment, I don't get why people who aren't Thunder fans are upset, and I don't see how "chasing rings" is a bad thing. If the goal of NBA basketball is to win a championship, why wouldn't you do whatever you can to get there?)

 4. The Great British Baking Show
It's back! My mom and I enjoy watching baking competitions together, and The Great British Baking Show is by far our favorite. Season 3 just started (which apparently was season 6 in the UK). It airs on PBS (and on the PBS app), and it's so fun! You can watch episodes here. Just do it!

 5. INSPY award winners!
Instead of just one book recommendation today, I'm going to give you a bunch. At the end of last month, the INSPY award winners for 2016 were announced. I was privileged to be one of the Contemporary Romance/Romantic Suspense judges this year, and it was such a great experience. I've read several of the winners (see them all here), and they're great—but the winner I'm most excited about is Sarah Sundin's Through Waters Deep. While I generally prefer contemporary to historical fiction, I can't get enough of Sundin's books, and I'm so excited to see her win this award!

But seriously, check out all the winners. You're sure to find something great to add to your TBR pile.

(Fun fact: When I first posted about Through Waters Deep last year, my friend Jennifer commented that the guy on the cover looks like Ryan Reynolds. So now all I can think of is Ryan Reynolds when I look at it!)

If you've made it to the end of this post, bless you! As usual, I'm linking up with Erika, Christina, and Karli. What are some things you've been enjoying this week?
THE GOOD LIFE BLOG
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November 10, 2015

california through photos

Posted by Becky with 2 comments
Late Monday night, I got home from a weekend trip with my parents to visit my uncle (my mom's brother). He has had some health issues, and I hadn't seen him since his last trip to Nebraska over Christmas 2013, so it was great to see him again! Here's a glimpse at our trip through photos ...

Friday
We left around 9:30 on Friday morning. Fortunately, we had time built into our schedule, as we encountered an unexpected detour. We still arrived in plenty of time.
On the shuttle to the airport. I forgot to alert Dad that we were taking a picture.

We ran into some of Steph's friends at the airport, and they ended up sitting right behind us on our Southwest flight to Vegas. Please excuse my wild selfie eyes.

As we neared Vegas, I couldn't help but take picture after picture after picture of the topography. So pretty, and these pics don't do it justice.

From my previous visit to the Las Vegas airport, I knew there would be a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, so we had to get hot drinks. I had hot tea, as I wasn't sure how my system would react to coffee after being on the AIP diet for eight weeks.

And then the fun part ... our first celebrity sighting! After boarding the flight from Vegas to Burbank, we got all settled, I turned off my phone (which was dying--my battery has the shortest life), and I looked up to see Nick Carter searching for a place to put his carry on. In case you've been living under a rock (or you weren't a teenage girl in the 90's), Nick Carter is a member of the Backstreet Boys and a current contestant on Dancing with the Stars. His partner, Sharna, was also on the flight. He ended up sitting about three rows behind us. Absolutely no one even let on that they knew who he was, and I played it cool, too ... until we landed and went to baggage claim. Mom noticed a man holding a sign that said "N. Carter" and told me to get a picture. So I did--not of the sign but of N. Carter himself.
Unfortunately, the picture was blurry, and there wasn't time to snap another. But I swear that this is Nick Carter!

Our friends Lee & Jean picked us up at the airport. Our first stop? In-N-Out, where I had my first fries in two months. And one very sorry "protein style" burger.

Saturday
California is beautiful. I know that's general knowledge, but it's different when you're experiencing it for yourself! The weather was so fantastic--and there were practically no bugs! We spent most of our morning relaxing--and I spent a considerable amount of time in Lee & Jean's backyard.
Mom wanted to get a new Facebook cover photo. I think this one will do nicely.

My uncle is very protective of his privacy, so I cropped him out of the photos, but you can see that Mom and I enjoyed being with him! We spent much of the day at the assisted living place where he lives.

Back at Lee & Jean's, we started to watch the Husker game, but then it was supper time, so we went to Souplantation, where I neglected to take any photos. The food was good, though :-)
A photo posted by Becky Ritta (@beckyritta) on
After supper, we went to Walmart to get some things for my uncle. I'd been following the game on my phone, and, as we were standing in the checkout, I saw that we were up by one with 17 seconds left. I began obsessively hitting "refresh" on my Twitter feed ... and when I saw that we won, I yelled. In the checkout. The Californians though I was nuts.

Sunday
We went to Lee & Jean's church on Sunday, and it was so nice to finally meet the people who were so helpful when my uncle had his health crisis. It was also, once again, nice outside ... so we walked home from church.
A photo posted by Becky Ritta (@beckyritta) on

While the others went to pick up my uncle for lunch, Mom and I relaxed in the back yard.

We had a wonderful time eating (outside!) and visiting with my uncle and Lee & Jean. Then Mom and I spent time with my uncle in his room.
While my uncle went to supper, Mom and I waited on a bench in the hallway. One cute little lady was so concerned about us because there was a fan on, and surely we were cold. I wasn't at all :-)

Monday
On Monday, it was time to head home. Pretty uneventful, except that we did have another celebrity sighting (though celeb might be pushing it a bit). "It's that guy from Spin City!" I exclaimed to Mom. No, not Michael J. Fox. Richard Kind. So not too exciting, but still fun to spot an actor.

We had a very long layover in Denver, and we ended up eating at McDonald's for lunch--because it was the ONLY fast food we spotted, and no way was Dad going to pay for a sit down meal. But then we found this, and all was right in the world.
This time, I took a chance on a latte made with coconut almond milk, and it tasted so good! Also, my body didn't rebel, which I appreciated.

A short flight to Omaha, supper with Blendy, and we headed home. I was greeted by these goobers, who didn't seem too excited to see me at first but have been very clingy in the last two days.

Overall, it was a fantastic trip, and I'm very grateful that I was able to go along with my parents. Also, I somehow managed to lose a pound--maybe I should disregard my diet more often!
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August 13, 2015

happy birthday to me!

Posted by Becky with No comments
Yesterday was my birthday, and it was an exceptionally good day. Here's a look back through pictures:

I arrived at work to find this on my desk, courtesy of my mom:
Dark chocolate always makes me happy, as does my Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice tea! Then I got a text from my sister-in-law, who wished me a happy birthday filled with Vietnamese coffee. I adore G7, but it can't be good for me, so I've been avoiding it. But I decided that it was my birthday, so why not have some?

Also note: I'm wearing my For the Love launch team t-shirt. Jen Hatmaker's For the Love releases next Tuesday, and it's so, so good! If you haven't preordered yet, you should. Or you could just walk into your local Barnes & Noble and pick one up, as they already have them on the shelf. Also, one of the things we did as a launch team was write endorsements for the book. Mine wasn't chosen for the printed book, but they did include all of them on the website. If you want to scroll, scroll, scroll, you'll eventually find mine!

Unfortunately, the G7 wasn't the greatest idea on earth--the rush of caffeine and sugar caused me to get a bit jittery around lunchtime. As my friend Steph suggested, perhaps I should just have a sip of someone else's G7 next time!

After work, my mom and I headed to Grand Island. I had two main goals in mind: 1. Find a chair for my reading nook in my newly-rearranged bedroom. 2. Find goodies for my mug swap girls.

Here are the details on the mug swaps: Someone in the For the Love launch team Facebook group posted about a mug swap hosted by @cuppakim. I clicked through, read about it, and thought it looked like loads of fun, so I signed up. Then some girls on the launch team decided we should have a mug swap just between us, and, well, I had to sign up for that one, too! I have had so much fun getting to know (aka Instagram stalking) my girls and picking out things for them. Because while it's technically about the mug, it's fun to find other goodies to send along, too!

 Our first stop in GI was Qdoba. Love me some Qdoba!

Then we went to T.J. Maxx. I found a chair I loved, but it cost $50 more than I was willing to spend. I did find a few little goodies to throw in with the mugs, as well as a gift for my cousin whose college going away party is tomorrow night, so I consider it a win ... but Shopko provided the biggest win of the night when we found The. Perfect. Chair. It was exactly the price I was willing to pay, too! It's not the chair I thought I was looking for, but I absolutely love it ... and so do the cats.

The problem? We had my mom's old Cadillac, and the box the chair came in was huge. Fortunately, the furniture carryout guy knew some kind of magic and was able to wedge the box into the back seat. So then we headed for Topperz for some frozen yogurt.

We'd left my car at work, so we went there before heading home ... and when we were about a half mile away, we ran out of gas! That had never happened to either one of us before. We walked up to the school, got gas from my dad (who was, of course, back at work trying to get some last-minute stuff done before the beginning of school), and then headed home.

It was a very eventful and fun birthday--so far, 34 is looking pretty good!

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
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July 8, 2015

a spectacular fourth!

Posted by Becky with No comments
I intended to post this yesterday, but then I got a speeding ticket and my day went to pot. Now on to happier things!

 My mom and I just returned from a wonderful weekend in Indiana visiting my sister and brother-in-law. Val and Greg live in my college town, and it's always fun to go back, especially when we happen to be there on a Sunday and can go to the church I attended in college (which is also the church they attend).

We set out mid-morning on Thursday ... and it was just about the longest trip ever. From heavy rain to me not feeling well to my mom's shingles (which she came down with the week before), it felt like the trip that would never end! (This picture was obviously taken at the beginning of the trip.)

Finally, though, we made it. And we met this cutie:

Seriously, Miss Chloe is just about the cutest thing ever! Just like her "cousin" Skaara, she loves chasing pink fabric.

We slept in on Friday, and then we wandered around the shops in the Village at Winona for a while. We also hit the local T.J. Maxx, which is a bit, uh, classier than the one in Grand Island ... and there I bought some size 10 pants. Seriously? Size 10??? I haven't been a 10 since junior high! (I'm probably closer to a 12 normally, but the 10 of this particular brand is what fit.)

That evening, we ate at The Boathouse, where I longed to have my favorite dish, the chicken & bacon wrap ... but I was good, stuck to the gluten free thing, and had a cheeseburger with no bun. Then we girls saw Bye Bye Birdie at the Wagon Wheel Theatre. I'd heard all about the Wagon Wheel when I was at Grace, but this was the first show I saw there. It was fantastic! The acting was great, and the show was so fun. Bravo!

Saturday was super relaxing. I read this book for a while, we played Rummy (I lost ... but it wasn't a massacre like it sometimes is), and Greg grilled burgers for supper. Also, Val and Mom conspired to kill me--Val prayed for our meal, and she tacked on a quick "and please help us get good seats for the concert" onto the end. Mom proceeded to mock her, and I couldn't help but laugh ... with a mouthful of water. Basically, I ended up choking--I absolutely could not breathe. I did eventually recover :-)

Then we went down to Winona Lake for the Masterworks Patriotic Pops Concert and fireworks.

Lots of people were already there when we arrived, so we ended up sitting to the side of the orchestra. Val decided that, since we couldn't see very well anyway, we should face the lake, as that's where the fireworks after the concert would be.

So Mom spent the concert like this:
Something about her discomfort at being turned a different direction than everyone else was hilarious to Val and me. And when you think about it, Val's reasoning didn't make any sense, but we all went along with it.

Then, when it was time for fireworks, we moved--so Mom's discomfort was for nothing!

On Sunday, we went to Christ's Covenant (it's always so great to be back, even though I really don't know anyone there anymore) before heading to Fort Wayne for the afternoon: lunch at Granite City, shopping at Target, and watching Jurassic World.

We had to say goodbye to Greg, Val, and Chloe and head back to real life on Monday. This drive didn't feel quite as long as the first, though. Maybe because we stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel, and then we meandered through several stores at the Tanger Outlets in Iowa. Mom even found a deeply discounted dress and ridiculously cheap dress pants (something like $7)! And we had to get coffee and chocolate at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory before getting back on the road. (My selfie skills were not on point ...)

Really, we made great time! And then I came home to this:

It's not pretty; it's a $35 stove I got off a garage sale. It's not my dream stove by any means...but it is a GAS stove. For someone who learned to cook on gas and hasn't had a gas stove since moving out of her parents' house 10 years ago, this is a big deal! My dad, who stayed home to work on a variety of projects, made running a gas line and hooking up the stove one of those projects. Thanks, Dad! It's very much appreciated :-)

Overall, it was a fantastic way to spend the Fourth of July. I just wish the vacation could have lasted longer ...
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March 6, 2015

five friday favorites #13: week of march 6, 2015

Posted by Becky with No comments
So, it's been 1-1/2 months since the last Friday Favorites post. I think we can still safely blame speech, but not for much longer, as we're in the home stretch! Beginning with this week, I'll be highlighting four random favorites and a book ... because you know I'm all about the book recommendations!

Today I'm linking up with Erika, Karli, and April.

THE GOOD LIFE BLOG

1. TOMORROW IS OUR LAST SATURDAY SPEECH MEET OF THE YEAR
Can you sense my excitement? 'Cause I am very excited. After tomorrow, my Saturdays become mine again! We've had a good year, and I have high hopes for several of our kids heading into districts in a couple weeks and then state (God willing!) at the end of the month.
The team. Small but mighty!
2. Tea Samples from a cousin
As you may know, I love tea. I'm not really a tea snob at all, choosing to go for the cheap over the more expensive, high quality teas most of the time. I mean, one of my absolute favorite teas is Bigelow's Orange & Spice herbal tea. $3.00-ish for 20 bags at Walmart. But I may soon be purchasing more expensive teas. My cousin (once removed? I can never quite remember how that works...) recently sent me a package of tea samples she's received with her Harney & Sons orders.
I. Am. In. Love.

The Hot Cinnamon Spice black tea is my favorite so far. I've been disappointed by cinnamon teas in the past, but this tea I could drink every day. The only thing that has kept me from ordering already is that I'd like to try the rest of the samples first to see what else I should order! (One that I won't be ordering? Tilleul, which is apparently linden leaves. Blech!)

3. These Two

 Last weekend, my parents celebrated 39 years of marriage! They were just kids when they got married, obviously, as they're not old now! I'm so grateful to have grown up with parents who have modeled a godly marriage for me and my siblings. They're still so obviously in love!

4. Fifteen Pounds
That's the amount of weight I lost in the three months between endocrinologist visits. My endo was floored. She told me that they always tell their overweight patients to loose 10 pounds before the next visit, and they never do ... but I did it! I'm still doing Trim Healthy Mama, though I am modifying it a bit to fit me. And I'm thisclose to convincing my mom to try it with me. Here's to the next fifteen!

 5. An Uncertain Choice
On Tuesday, Jody Hedlund's An Uncertain Choice released. This is Hedlund's first novel for the YA market (she's most known for her inspirational historical romances, like the fabulous A Noble Groom). I reviewed the prequel novella The Vow a few weeks ago, I'll have a review of this novel up on my book review blog soon, and I'm also participating in a fun blog tour promoting the book. My post for the tour will be up on March 17.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fabulous weekend!
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January 2, 2015

five friday favorites #11: week of jan. 2, 2015

Posted by Becky with No comments
Happy 2015! Where exactly did 2014 go? I'm not sure. It feels like we were just wrapping up speech season, and now here we are, just one week from our first meet. (Yeah, I kind of measure time by speech. For now, anyway.)

I took a blogging break over Christmas break, so I missed a week of favorites, which means this week's favorites will actually encompass the past two weeks. I'm linking up again at A Little Bit of Everything and Housewife Glamour.

1. Wise Men
After my grandma passed away, my mom got her nativity scene and passed my childhood one to me. Grandma bought both sets from an Italian company called Fontanini, and while she ended up with the complete set for herself, the one she bought for us consisted of the stable, Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and an angel. Our shepherds, wise men, and animals didn't match the set. Ever since I've had this nativity scene, I've wanted to replace the knock off pieces with Fontanini pieces ... but boy are they expensive! So I was thrilled when my parents gave me the wise men for Christmas.
Old wise men & new wise men
Here's how my nativity looks now. I still need to replace the shepherd, and maybe eventually the animals.
Notice that the wise men aren't at the stable because they weren't at the stable. I watched The Nativity Story for the first time this year, and I couldn't get over the fact that the script had the wise men arriving at the stable the night of Jesus' birth ... it's not a difficult thing to verify! (See Matthew 2.)

2. Trader Joe's
I set foot in a Trader Joe's for the first time a couple weeks ago, and I just about lost my mind. I was like a kid in a candy store! I was able to pick up lots of gluten free necessities, like almond meal and coconut flour, for a fraction of what they'd cost elsewhere. I really went a little crazy, and I didn't even pull out my shopping list ... which meant I forgot to buy GF oats. I guess I'll just have to go back again! If only the nearest store wasn't 90 minutes away ...

3. Celebrating Advent
Growing up, we didn't really celebrate Advent. I have vague memories of families taking turns lighting the advent candle at church, but, as a non-liturgical church, we didn't focus much on Advent. That's not to say we didn't focus on Christmas, but Advent wasn't ever a focus.

This year (or I guess technically last year), I decided to change that. While I didn't celebrate Advent in the traditional way with the different weeks and the meaning attached to them, what I did was meaningful to me.

I chose several YouVersion Advent plans to go through, and I also read through Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room, a daily Advent devotional that I got free for Kindle at the beginning of December. And, because I felt like ambiance was important, I lit a pillar candle while I read.

It's a tradition I hope to continue ... but I might choose a prettier candle next time.

4. Somebody Like You by Beth K. Vogt
I have another absolutely fantastic book to tell you about. It made lots of bloggers' best of 2014 lists, so I used some Amazon credits to buy the Kindle version. Basically, from start to finish, I was obsessed with this book.

Somebody Like You is the story of an Army widow and her late husband's identical twin brother--a twin brother she didn't know he had. It sounds like it could have been ripped from a soap opera, but it's actually an emotional, fascinating, thought provoking read.

This is the first book I read and reviewed in 2015, so I know it's early to be making this prediction, but I'd bet it'll end up on my best of 2015 list. It's that good. Check out my review, and then go get yourself a copy.

5. Family Time
Everyone's gone back to their respective homes and dorm rooms now, but we had a fabulous time with everyone in Central City for Christmas (well, for our family Christmas on the 27th). While my brother and his wife could only stay for the day, Blendy was home until New Year's Eve, and my other sister and her husband went home yesterday. We played games, watched Psych and Downton Abbey, worked on a maddening puzzle, saw The Hobbit, played piano duets, hung out, and ate lots and lots of food. And it was spectacular :-)

Strangely, I didn't really take any pictures over Christmas, but here's my favorite of the ones Blendy took.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and here's hoping for more regular blogging in 2015!

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
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