Re-Living with Lady

April 30, 2023 Lady

You know when you have an idea, but haven’t quite thought it all the way through? That’s what is happening here.

Because videos and links and stories disappear so quickly on Instagram, I wanted to create a place where we can catch up weekly in case you might have missed something throughout the week, or that you have a place to refer back to if looking for something specific. I also wanted a place to just jot down random thoughts I had, or share things that inspired me, things that made me think, things I am loving, or pretty much just whatever feels right for the week. So without further ado; our first weekly recap:

Monday

There was a viral video going around of a bird feeder made to fit in a window, with the birds essentially going “in” one’s home. Because so many know my love for birds, this video was sent over and over and of course, I just had to try it out. I ordered it (linked here) about a month ago and it finally arrived on Monday, and I dropped everything to install it. Little tip! There is a QR code on the back of the very vague instructions page with more detailed instructions. Don’t struggle for 20 minutes first like I did trying to decipher the front instructions. It should go together in about 10-15 minutes if you do it right from the start.

It has almost been a week now that the feeder has been in our window with no luck, but I am most definitely not giving up! There WILL be a bird in there at some point! I am just hoping I don’t get anything else in there… (I will DIE!)

For dinner:

I cooked a delicious chicken sheet pan dinner; thank you again @zoemat for sharing!

One Pan Chicken Dinner

Tuesday

With no luck in the bird department the first day, I decided to try and lure the birds in. I took it upon myself to set up a lovely oasis (thanks to all of your wonderful suggestions) to let the birds know I was ready for them to visit. A welcome sign, decor, the whole nine yards! Now we are officially rrrrready!

I tested Gwyn a couple of weeks ago on things from the 90s (watch here), and we had a GOOD laugh over that. She had the idea to see how many slang words I know that are being used these days… I got 5/9; not bad! Here is that video if you missed it. How many did you get?!

Wednesday

The hummingbirds ARRIVED! I repeat; the hummingbirds arrived! So I grabbed my hat (that I made with mini feeders attached), plopped my buns in my chair, and got a little action. Not as much as last year, but it just takes some time and I am confident they’ll be eating out of my hands in no time.

For dinner:

Franklin and I cooked up a delish Home Chef meal that we all enjoyed! You can grab 50% off your first 4 boxes with the code LIVINGWITHLADY50 Sign up here

Thursday

I met with my bible study girls this morning and I always leave feeling so good. We are reading a book called Unoffendable right now, which isn’t our traditional bible study format, but it is a really good Christian book about viewing the world in a more unoffendable way. For example, one might become peeved when getting cut off on the freeway. Instead of letting that get to you, why not just let it go? What real GOOD does it do you to become angry? (It goes much deeper than this, this is just a quick example. One of my friends in the study shared a story about how she was recently pulling into a parking spot and someone else sped up and swooped it from her. She couldn’t believe someone would want that spot badly enough to do that. Out of curiosity, she wanted to get a look at this person, and in the restaurant, she saw she was a nurse in her full scrubs, probably on her lunch break. My friend concluded this nurse most likely had a very limited amount of time to get lunch before heading back to her job at a nursing home. She remembered our book and how if we view the world in a different light, there is probably a reason for people’s actions, and to give them the benefit of the doubt; rude or not.

(Sidenote: I finished writing this post yesterday around 7:00 PM. I checked my e-mail and look at the headline…

So incredibly sad that something so preventable ended in tragedy.

Sometimes brushing things off is easier said than done, though, right? What about the people who truly serve you wrong? Can you not let them trigger you in that way and still love on them? This author will try to convince you it is the way to go. And I will say, it has really triggered some emotional feelings and has even kept me up at night after reading. I would like to be better at this myself.

Later this day I tested J on the lingo Gwyn had tested me on and he did way better than I thought! However he didn’t know “yeet,” and I did! To see the answers, look in the caption of the reel linked above.

For dinner:

I made the Summer Pasta with Sausage and Peppers; a big thank you to @bekahzacharias for sharing! I did sub the pasta with Bonza protein pasta and doubled the sausage. Very light and good!

Summer Orecchiette with Sausage and Peppers

New to LTK this week…kitchen organizing!

Kitchen Organization | Baking Organization | Fridge + Pantry Organization

Memorable moments of the week:

Cal asked me a question about Adam and Eve the other day that I didn’t know the answer to. I told him that I was going to buy a storybook bible that we could read together that would better teach him (and me!) these stories and give more details than what I might be able to remember. I got online and read a lot of reviews, and ordered two.

This one is our favorite. It seems to do a really good job of not being too simple that it doesn’t give the details he is wanting, but not too formal that he loses interest. It is condensed to one story per page and even has a “Christ Connection” at the bottom of how the story relates to the Lord. We are LOVING this time together and have been reading every night. In fact, he begs me to keep going and going, and the only reason I stop is when my voice is just done for the night. In fact, last night he said, “No come on, one more, Mom. Please?!” I can’t possibly say no to that.

While I can’t go into detail much here, even though I don’t expect a certain someone to see this; I was on the hunt for something this week and decided, even though I was a little nervous, to see if anyone on Instagram had any leads to where I could find it. I knew it was a LONGSHOT, but felt it was worth at least asking. And I still can’t believe it, but someone came through (thank you, Chelsea and Chris!) I hate how vague this is, but it’s just not worth spoiling it so for now, we are keeping it shhhhhhh. What I really wanted to share with this vague annoyingness, though, is just a reiteration of how extremely grateful I am to have been blessed with a community of people who continually show up for one another, who are so kind and helpful and generous, and who want to help make something very special for a certain someone. A community of people who also show up for me. And as I briefly mentioned, I sometimes don’t feel like I deserve it. But my goodness am I grateful. So, so very grateful. Thank you. Thank you for continually being here with me. Thank you for making me laugh, for crying alongside me, and for being a listening ear.

As always, thank you for being here.

<3 Shannon