GTKY: Keeping Busy

ReesaAnne16

I'm stealing this idea from someone on the IF board because I thought it was fun.
What are you doing to try to keep your mind of your cycle, meds, treatments, testing... ect


What are you reading? recommendations?

What are you watching? (movies, hulu, ect)

What are you doing? (Hobbies, vacations, home projects?)




What are you reading? recommendations?
I'm in the middle of a book called Simplify: Ten practices to unclutter your Soul by Bill Hybels
It's pretty good, usually I get 15 pages into Christian books like this and give up because of all the fluffy stories; this one has substance.
I'm also in the middle of a fantasy series by Diana Wynne Jones (it's actually a young adult series). The first book is "Howl's Moving Castle" (surprise! The book is better than the movie, but we love the movie). The next in the series I need to read is "House of Many Ways" and "Castle in the Air"  

What are you watching? (movies, hulu, ect)
We just finished Gilmore Girls (in prep for the new season coming soon) so now we'e started Park & Rec. 
Planning to see Finding Dory sometime soon as well  

What are you doing? (Hobbies, vacations, home projects?)
Started horseback riding lessons again in March, and JUST started jumping again! This is been such a great work out, and fantastic stress reliever. The horse I'm riding for my jumping lessons is my teenage self's dream horse, a calm palomino mare. 

We're starting to plan a trip to Spain to visit my SIL & BIL who are moving there in October. Anyone know what the weather is like in Spain in January? 

Lastly, I have several art project's I've been trying to finish. Here is one I finished last night. My motto lately. 

hoffmanr7

What Are You Reading? Recommendations?
I am an avid reader so I am always reading something. I just finished a book called "A Fine Balance" and will be starting one called The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street" for the book club I am in. I would highly recommend to anyone "All Creatures Great and Small" by James Herriot. It is my all time favorite book and has it all. It's based on the life of the author and his work as a country veterinarian in Yorkshire. You'll laugh, you'll cry. His writing brings the beauty of the English country side to life. Just a wonderful read.

What Are You Watching?
I am currently on Season 5 of the West Wing. Tonight my husband and I rented My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, and we are big fans of Game of Thrones so very much looking forward to the finale tomorrow.

What Are You Doing?
Now that the weather is nice, DH and I have plans to get in as much golf and kayaking as possible. I am also looking at vacation ideas for end of August. Nothing big, just a trip somewhere in either Wisconsin or the UP area....somewhere by water where I can get away from the stress of work

@ReeseAnne16 Where in Spain are you going?

ReesaAnne16

@hoffmanr7 I love the James Herriot books! I read them the summer before I went to vet school His stories so funny. 
We're going to Barcelona! and maybe we'll visit some other places as well, but the family is in Barcelona. 

PS we live in Wisconsin; last summer we canoed the Kickapoo river and camped at porcupine mountain state park (separate trips), I would recommend both. Also, canoe camping along the wisconsin river is fun too, just pick a sand bar and camp

Ducks&Cats

Books- I am not a huge reader.  Right now I am very slowly reading The Alchemist

Watching- The Americans on Amazon Prime, Catfish on Hulu, and Dr. Phil on youtube on my computer!

What am I doing?  Swimming, making fun cocktails, yard work.  On Monday I am taking my nephew to a waterpark which will be a ton of fun. 

Most parts of Spain will be cool/cold in January so dress warmly! 

hoffmanr7

@ReeseAnne16 Aha, a fellow cheese head! I will keep those suggestions in mind thanks! Right now my top two thoughts are Apostle Islands and Lake Geneva.

Worldtravler0522

Reading- I am slacking big time on my book reading. The last book I read was Every Bitter Thing is Sweet.  

Watching- I just finished up Orange Is The New Black and next weekend we plan to go see Finding Dory if I'm up to it.  

Doing- Trying to figure how in the world a chipmunk keeps getting in our house little jerk.  I'm starting to feel like Bill Murry in Caddyshack.   I'm also planning a quick weekend trip to the Northern part of Michigan once I know when my TWW is.  I figure getting away will be a good distraction.  

I'm also working on plans for our trip to the Smoky Mountains in October.  DH and I have been lusting after a fall trip there for years and it's finally going to happen! 

Great post @ReesaAnne16!  Also I love your project you posted! 

ReesaAnne16

@Worldtravler0522 what part of northern MI? I'm from Traverse City orginally; beautiful area! The Smoky Mountain trip sounds amazing!

Worldtravler0522

@ReesaAnne16 what a small world!  Traverse City and Ludington are on our short list.  We will end up where ever the hotel is the cheapest for the weekend to be honest.  I'm such a planner so living day by day is tough for me haha.  

MandyBeeSLP

What are you reading? recommendations?
I love to read. I just finished a series by Hilari Bell called the Knight and Rouge series which is great if you like fantasy/adventure-ish books. I'm trying to decide whether to start reading Cinder by Marissa Meyer next or read Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs and finish the Peculiar series. 

What are you watching? (movies, hulu, ect)
I've been watching Fixer Upper and House Hunters International while I elliptical. I'm not really keeping up with my fandoms very well right now. I really like Dr. Who, Sherlock, Flash and Downton Abbey. My hubby wants me to start watching Warehouse 13 as well. 

What are you doing? (Hobbies, vacations, home projects?)
I really like to quilt and just finished one for a friend. Hubby and I are also working on Kon-Maring from the book The Life-Changing Art of Tidying Up. It takes a ton of time but it is so worth it! 

MandyBeeSLP

@Worldtravler0522 My husband and I just got back from a trip to the Smokies! It was beautiful. We stayed in Gatlinburg, TN. Where are you planning on staying? 

Worldtravler0522

@MandyBeeSLP we are staying at Butterfly Gap Retreat in Maryville.  I think it's about 30-45 mins from where you stayed.  Any suggestions for while we're in the area are most certainly welcome! 

MandyBeeSLP

@Worldtravler0522 Well, the stuff we did might be a far drive for you, but I would highly suggest going to Clingman's Dome. It's the highest peak in the Smokies and has an observation tower at the top. There is also a trailhead for Andrew's Bald that takes off from the parking lot and those were some of the most gorgeous views we saw the whole trip. There are lots of waterfalls in the area and we chose to hike to Laurel Falls because if you hike past it for about a mile you can see old growth forest which DH wanted to see. It was lovely but very crowded at the falls. If you like history, Cade's Cove was also very neat. 
Edited because I wanted to add a picture! This is me at Andrew's Bald. It was a 3.6 mile moderate round trip hike and absolutely worth it. 

zigzag8412

What are you reading? recommendations?
I'm actually reading through the HP books for the first time ever!  I'm currently mid Goblet of Fire.  DH and I went to Universal with his family for vacation last fall and I wanted to know the story before I went so we watched the movies knowing I wouldn't be able to finish the books in time (but was on book 2 by the time we went.) Now I'm completely in love!  (PS- I'm a Ravenclaw)

What are you watching? (movies, hulu, ect)
Feel like all my shows just ended!  Arrow, Once Upon a Time, and GOT are the three I'm keeping up with currently.  Always an NCIS and Criminal Minds fan!  On the lighter side, I enjoy Baby Daddy and New Girl.  Can't wait for the Gilmore Girls revamp!

What are you doing? (Hobbies, vacations, home projects?)
All the projects! But there's not really a rhyme or reason.  I just finished painting our bedroom and finished a painting for the bedroom.  Sewing/monogramming out the wazoo for all the babies popping up in the friend group (not really distracting).  I want to organize our guestroom/my craft room to consolidate the sewing/monogramming/photography stuff to all be organized in their own sections.  (Three years in the house and they've blended over time.) I also want to finish replacing the miniblinds in our house with nice wood slat blinds (which we have) but DH had a bad experience hanging first go-round so that's been on pause till I can convince him to help me finish.  I'd love to makeover our dining set since our chairs and table are mismatched from multiple sets and I feel like a coordinating paint job will help the over all aesthetic.  BIL and his wife bought a house and move next month so more painting will be in my future.... 

@MandyBeeSLP, DH and I were planning a Gatlinburg trip for our anniversary in August (we haven't been since we went with our group of friends back when we first started dating) but treatment cost has probably put that on hold.   But it's a gorgeous place to go!

Plainjanie

Thanks @ReesaAnne16 for posting! I love getting to know everyone!

What are you reading? recommendations?

I decided that this summer was for re-reading my favs! I just re-read 'The Art of Racing in the Rain' by Garth Stein. One of my favourites. It has been making its rounds with family and friends for the past few years and I finally got it back. Next on my list is the Poisonwood Bible.

What are you watching? (movies, hulu, ect)

I just started season 4 of The Fosters. DH and I are finishing the last season of Parenthood and making our way through Big Bang, The Odd Couple and Grandfathered. Neither of us get a lot of time together to sit down and watch something and when we do, it's hard for us to agree on something. We have an android box.

What are you doing? (Hobbies, vacations, home projects?)

We are planning out some day trips for a week of holidays we both booked in August. Just planning on exploring our own province. Go up North maybe ride the 'Chi Cheemaun', explore some historic houses. We are in the middle (very very long middle) of renovating our basement and one corner of our kitchen and I bake/knit/crochet A LOT.  

hoffmanr7

@zigzag8412 I love the Harry Potter series. Goblet of Fire is one of my favorites from the series.  I also am a big GoT fan.  What did you think of the finale??

SummerBrooke13

What are you reading? recommendations?

I am trying to start reading Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children! I want to finish it before I see the movie!! 

What are you watching? (movies, hulu, ect)

I just finished season 4 of Orange Is The New Black. So I have been trying to find a new show to get wrapped up in. No luck so far.

What are you doing? (Hobbies, vacations, home projects?)

Always doing projects! I actually have a small business where I make home decor, mostly signs. It's called Girl Cave Creations, I have a Facebook page and an Etsy too  No more big vacations planned for this year, though we are planning a mini trip to go see Hank Williams Jr & Chris Stapleton in August! Other than that I stay pretty busy with work! I am an EMT and we work 24 hr shifts. Love my job though, only work 2 days a week so I can't complain.

zigzag8412

@hoffmanr7 I was shocked that they left it at, what I consider, quite a resolved place (maybe this is especially contrasted by last season's finale...) but over all I followed with everything they did.  I was almost disappointed at being so pleased with it cause I had worked myself up for a cliffhanger! DH is a big theorist when it comes to GoT and he read the books forever ago when they first came out so he had actually predicted the majority of what happened in the finale with scary degree of accuracy shy of the very beginning of the episode, which I personally kinda felt no one had foreshadowing for before the episode started (though the chase was a bit of a give away once it started). I mean, we knew the prophecy re Cercei had been accurate to this point, but I didn't think there was particular context for this episode playing such a big part in it. DH was, of course, ridiculously happy over the events in the north.  I'm pretty sure he actually re-watched that scene a dozen times last night while I was getting ready for bed! Haha!  What were your thoughts? 



*Edited to add meme

hoffmanr7

@zigzag8412 We'll, I am a big fan of the books as well and pretty familiar with a lot of the fan theories. I was very happy with the episode. Loooooved everything going on in the north. I thought the beginning of the episode with Cersie was very well done. And I was absolutely ecstatic with Arya's awesome return and finally getting to see the Tower of Joy scene. I could have watched that part a dozen times alone. I was geeking out so bad I had a hard time falling asleep

Worldtravler0522

@MandyBeeSLP thank you for the recommendations!  We plan on spending time in that area a couple of days we are in Maryville.  I wish we would have stayed a little closer but the place we're staying is the main reason we are going! 

ReesaAnne16

@zigzag8412 I'm glad you're reading the books!! I recently reread them and enjoyed them even more the second time. I'm a Ravenclaw too

@Plainjanie  I have had SO many people recommend The Poisonwood Bible to me, but I always forget about it when I'm at the library! I need to add that to my reading list for sure (IR I need to make a reading list, so I don't forget that I want to read it) ... oh man, I just read a synopsis for The Art of Racing in the Rain, and it sounds terribly sad! Does it have a good ending?

Plainjanie

@ReesaAnne16 Oh it is terribly sad. Especially if you are a dog lover. But it is so good. I bawled through the whole thing but still loved it. I find it so unique because the story is told by the dog.

Poisonwood Bible is long and has some slow parts but I really enjoy it.

Also I keep a list on my phone. Any time I get a recommendation I add it and every time I read one I mark that it's read. I don't erase it, incase I want to recommend to someone else.

lablover78

Hi ladies! I enjoyed reading through this thread now that I have some downtime.

I'm currently reading To Kill A Mockingbird...one of those that I feel like I should've read at some point but never did. 

I watch way too much trashy tv- lots of Bravo, Bachelorette, etc. My DH and I also recently watched all the seasons of Graceland on Netflix.

Our house needs a lot of work and my husband has an equity line we need to pay off before we could think about moving - we live in the house he has been a bachelor in for 10 yrs - so I've literally been updating our house using Home Depot gift cards that I get from my business Amex points b/c I refuse to spend $$ when we have debt (& expensive fertility stuff!!!) The past month it has been updating light switches, doorknobs and hinges and replacing all of our ceilings fans. We have 3 fans to go!  

We we just arrived in NH for a week of vacation! Enjoy your weekend ladies.

lablover78

@ReesaAnne16 The Art of Racing was a great book but it's sad all around....not something I needed to read when I cry at commercials more than I care to admit! 

MandyBeeSLP

@lablover78 I love, love, love To Kill a Mockingbird. I've read it multiple times and it is one of my favorite books.