What's Up Wednesday :: April 2016

It's the last Wednesday of the month, that means it's time for our What's Up Wednesday Link Up!

Link up with  me, Sheaffer & Shay the LAST Wednesday of each month so we can read about What's Up with YOU!

Here we go!

What We’re Eating this week..... 
Monday- Baked Ravioli & Caesar Salad

Tuesday- Taco Tuesday: 3 ingredient Crock Pot Tacos

Wednesday- Leftovers

Thursday- BBQ Chicken and Avocado, Bacon & Corn Salad

Friday- Friday Night Pizza Night!

Saturday- Spicy Turkey Burger Sliders

Sunday- Tri Tip, Grilled Asparagus & Baked Potatoes

It's going to be in the high 80's & low 90's this week/weekend, so that means a lot more Grilling & BBQing...bring on Summer weather!

I also like to bake some treats each week. This week I made:
Cinnamon Sugar Applesauce Muffins: 
and my Very Berry Cobbler

 

What I'm Reminiscing about.....

Prince.
*sigh*
Such an amazing musician.

It was 1985....I was 6 years old.
My next door neighbors got this thing called "cable" and a TV station called "Music Television" aka MTV was airing music videos. They invited us over to watch MTV.
Raspberry Beret was the first music video that I ever saw. I will never forget it.
We lost a legend last week...RIP Prince.

What I'm loving.....

 Last week on my Friday Favorites, I posted about my new favorite nail polish!

I am loving it because it doesn't chip easily!

 From left to right....

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

I also use step 1 and step 3:

HERE

 

What We've been up to.....

We just got back from a weekend in Yosemite.
It was SO much fun. It had been years since I have been to Yosemite.
I forgot how beautiful it is.

My highlight of our Yosemite trip was hiking the mist trial to Vernal Falls. 6 miles round trip...rocky, very steep & part of it you get wet from the mist of the waterfall. Once you get to the top it is breathtaking.

Amazing views & the waterfall was roaring because of the recent rain. The waterfall itself is over 300 feet long.

 

We hiked the long way back so that we could go up higher and see Vernal Falls from above (lower right photo...look at how small the people look compared to the waterfall!)

 

 If you have never been to Yosemite, but it on your bucket list!

 Pictures don't even do it justice!

I can't wait to go back next year!

What I'm Dreading.....

We are in the middle of SBAC testing at school....ugh.

 I am dreading the next week of testing.
Can't wait for it to be done with! 

What I'm Working On.....

My 2016 Garden!!!

 I switched things up a little bit in my garden this year...I will do a full post about it soon!


What I'm Excited About.....

We are doing some renovations to our backyard.....redoing the 40 year old cement, putting up a pergola, possible outdoor kitchen. Here is a sneak peek of our plans....

 I am so excited to have new cement/patio area that doesn't have cracks. The patio is 40 years old and since we live in California (earthquake country!) the cement is cracked & it is a tripping hazard. We are taking out some of the grass in our backyard (California drought!) and adding more patio so we have a more user friendly backyard space. We have lived here 6 years and have done 2 phases of a backyard update, so this is the 3rd phase.
You can see our Before & Afters HERE...can't wait for Phase 3 to be finished!




We are also moving our pool equipment to the side yard to make room for a possible outdoor kitchen area & we are converting our pool to a salt water pool. They started moving the pool equipment on Monday!

 We are in construction mode now! I am so excited for it to be done & we are only a few days in. LOL!

What I'm Watching........

 We are watching a lot of sports lately!
Warriors in the playoffs!

 We are also watching SF Giants baseball!

And, the only other show I am watching lately is The Voice.
 
New Girl, Grey's Anatomy, How to get away with Murder & Scandal keep piling up on my DVR.
I need to catch up...I am so behind!


What I'm Reading.....

I was able to read a lot of books this month (7!!!) because the first week of April I was on Spring Break & stayed up WAY TOO late each night reading. I read 4 books that week!

Book of the Unknown Americans

 This was interesting...I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

 Pretty Baby

 LOVED this book! 4.5 stars!!!

Death Wears a Beauty Mask

 Eh. My least favorite Mary Higgins Clark that I have read yet (and I've read a lot of hers!) It was a compilation of short stories. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Before I Go 

 

 This was gut wrenching good. 4 out of 5 stars

 The Secrets of Midwives

LOVED this as well. 4.5 out of 5 stars

Everything I Never Told You

 

 This was also fascinating...I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars

Me Before You

 I really enjoyed this book as well. 4 out of 5 stars.


The next book I am going to read is After You, which is part 2 of this story.


What I'm Listening to.....

 Carrie Underwood...went to her concert a few weeks ago...AMAZING

I am also still listening to Pandora's Top Hits on my runs!

What I'm Wearing.....

 We have had a weird Spring. The weather has been nice, but we have also had some windy days & rainy days.
This is what I wore to the Carrie Underwood concert:

Shirt  // Jeans // Booties // Necklace & Bracelets

 Shirt (Stitch Fix)  // Necklace (Premier)  // Pants // Shoes

Shirt (Stitch Fix ) // Jeans // Booties 
What I’m doing this weekend.....
 Running a 10K Race!
  I'm excited!

P.S. Last week I posted my Tips for getting into Running...you can check out my post HERE.

What I'm Looking Forward to next month.....

 The fact that it is May!
The month of May means that summer is almost here!

I love May... it is Kevin's bday month & my bday month!
Fun things I have in May:
My niece's 2nd Bday Party
Mother's Day
A weekend in Tahoe with my R+F Team
My nieces college graduation

Lots of fun things in store for May!

What else is new.....
I just finished working on a new Teacher Appreciation Printable!
I posted it yesterday on my blog.
 
Click HERE to see it and also to see other ideas that I have for Teacher Appreciation!

Question of the month is:
What is your favorite Mother's Day gift to Give or Receive?
The only thing I ask for each year on Mother's Day is to sleep in & go get a pedicure.
It's the little things :)

For my mom, I am getting her a gift certificate to have her house cleaned.
She watches Luke (and my nephew Jack & niece Olivia) 3 days a week in the morning while I am teaching, so once school is out, she can get her house deep cleaned by my house keeper (I have a house keeper come to my house once a month...heaven!)
My mother in law usually requests Rodan + Fields products for Mothers Day!
She loves the eye cream :)

So I will probably get her eye cream or our night serum since she has our AMP Roller and you need the night serum to put on after you use the roller!
FYI,  If you want to give R+F for Mothers Day, you have until April 30th to ensure delivery by Mother's Day! :) 

This month I have an AMAZING deal for a FREE eye cream on an order of any regimen with our Amp Roller or Acute Care and it ends on April 30th, so it is perfect timing to get the order placed to ensure delivery for Mother's Day.

Love these Reverse & AMP Roller results!

Let me know if you want to grab this awesome deal for yourself or for a Mother's Day gift.
This applies for current AND new Preferred Customers!

 If you don't want a roller or Acute care, we have another April Special

  $20 cash back, 10% off your order, Free Shipping AND a FREE SPF 20 Mineral Peptides Powder for all new preferred customers. 

 

We have products for ALL skin types! Wrinkles, Sun Damage, Acne & Sensitive Skin!
Take THIS quick questionnaire to find out what is best for your skin!

 Send me an email to get started! 

melissa_larson17@yahoo.com

Another fun idea as a Mother's Day gift would be to give a Stitch Fix Gift Card.
I have been getting Stitch Fix for a year and it's so fun!
You could give a $20 gift card (or any amount!) so one of your favorite mom's could get a Fix! 

Stitch Fix Gift Card

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Can't wait to read about What's up with all of YOU!