WHAT'S UP WEDNESDAY | MAY 2020

Hey friends!  Welcome back to the May installment of What's Up Wednesday with Sheaffer and Shay!



These posts are always a little long so let's dive on in!

I am currently obsessed with mashed cauliflower, green beans, red onion, roasted okra (always), and andouille sausage.  Any flavor andouille sausage--turkey sausage, cheddar and jalapeno, cajun style...it's all so good.  I've been back on Keto for a while now after putting on a few unwanted (but but very warranted) quarantine LBs. In all honesty, they were totally worth it and I relished in eating whatever the heck I wanted when I wanted and didn't really worry about it.  But now, I've got to reign it back in before things go sideways.  😬  But when you can eat things like this, it's really not so bad.

Here's a quick shot of my leftovers from my meal yesterday.  This will reheat so nicely for lunch today!

I forgot how much better I feel in general when I'm doing Keto. My #ketoversary (I just made that up but maybe that's an actual thing?  I've seen dumber stranger things.) was May 20th.  That was the first day of my Keto journey last year and I am so thankful to the girls who inspired me to start!  I finally was able to shed some excess "fluff" that was weighing me down emotionally, socially, and physically and let me start to feel that confidence again that'd I'd been missing for a few years. If you want to read more about my story and how I lost 20 pounds over about 8 weeks last summer, you can find that here.

Ahhhhhh!  My little baby nugget (as he's lovingly been called since before he was born) turned 12 this month!!  If you've been around here long, you probably have picked up on the fact that I have a very hard time understanding how I have gone from this...

to this...

SUNGLASSES / SWIMSUIT (so cute! I ordered one size up.) / HOOP EARRINGS (I wear these almost every day..and even sleep in them!)

(We didn't get a family shot this year since there was no one to take one for us so just imagine Craig in there somewhere.  haha.  Sorry, babe.)

We celebrated our big kid with a day full of his favorites!  Surprise waterslide, surprise scavenger hunt, surprise birthday donuts, surprise Chickfila nugget tray... All of his favorite things.  

EARRINGS / TANK / SUNGLASSES

It was the most perfect day we could have dreamed for him. I still can't believe I have a 7th grader now.  Wasn't I just a 7th grader...like last year? No? 🤷‍♀️

What I'm currently HATING are mosquitos.  The other night, my culdesac crew ladies and I decided it was high time to catch up!  When I first moved into this culdesac about 13 years ago, the culdesac was 7 houses full of kids.  Over the years it has changed.  People have moved in and out, kids have grown up and gone off to college but one thing has remained and that's our sweet friendships!  There are several very important ways that God has shown himself at important times in my life and choosing this house was one of them.  The families in my culdesac were THE.VERY.BEST. I thank God for leading us to this house at that point in our lives.  It is exactly what we needed and the ladies I met and bonded with will be friends for life.  Even when they move away.

So we got the original members back for a little gab session even though they don't all still live in the culdesac. (One lives just around the corner but she will always be part of the Culdesac Crew.)  We parked our chairs in the culdesac from 7-11pm and talked about anything and everything like we'd just seen each other last week.  When really it has been at least a year or more since we've all been together.  We kept saying "Let's take a picture!"...and then we'd be off on some random tangent about who knows what and would forget.  

When you forget to take a picture, you know you're having fun! ;) 

But after we finally decided it was time to close up our lawn chairs and head inside, I realized my ankles had basically been eaten alive by all the dang mosquitos!

I had just ordered some of this Repel Mosquito Insect Repellent earlier that day and it sure would have come in handy while I was out there!  Thankfully, I've been able to test it out since it came in on Sunday and I can say that I have yet to be bitten by a single bug while using it.

So to answer what I'm loving...it's this!!

I originally posted this in my Deals Group because it was on sale for just $4.97 (reg $7) and I just checked and (as of when I'm typing this) it is still available at the sale price.  The 2 pack is still at its regular price but you can grab two singles to work around that!  It's deet-free and smells so much better than regular bug spray (kind of like lemon essential oils).  Plus it WORKS and has really great reviews.

Gahhhhhhhh I hate mosquitos!!!

And speaking of lemon smells, this candle has been burning frequently in my house.  If you love a baking smell filling up your house, you might love this! (I know there are people who love the baking smells and some who hate them but if you love them...this one's for you!).

I have a thing for lemon cake, lemon cookies, lemon anything.  (Have you ever tried the lemon cookies from Zoe's Kitchen? HEAVEN.)  Anyway, this lemon butter pound cake candle smells AMAZING and is also so darn cute!

Whoop whoop!!  Today is the last day of school, y'all!!  Hallelujah!  I'm going to be honest with you and tell you that we (ahem...my kids...) haven't done alllll their schoolwork over the past week or so. 

#badmom 

But from what I can gather by teacher emails, they totally get it.  There is a lot of "If your student finished his project...." and "...even if your student didn't complete the project..." wording going on lately so I have a feeling our teachers are pretty understanding.  Especially because none of this is for a grade.  Am I a bad mom for admitting this?  Probably.  Am I bad blogger for admitting this?  Oh for sure. 😂 (But we all know I'm a fairly terrible blogger anyway so what else is new! 😂😂😂) I'm pretty sure most bloggers are way better at...well...pretty much everything than me.  Including homeschooling!

I helped Matthew with this ELAR assignment yesterday which was actually kind of fun.  It was a Fortnite theme and they had to figure out all these puzzles using certain reading comprehension skills in order to solve the whole thing.  I kept grabbing the computer from him so I could figure it all out by myself.  😂 I love riddles and puzzles and things like that.

I'm dreading the thought of my kids not going back to school in August. ;)  #anyoneelse?

All the Etsy orders! For those of you who are waiting ever so patiently for the glittery skinny can coolers to return, I've been told they'll be back in stock on June 1.  (I still have a couple left in that gorgeous deep red shad!)  So just a few more days.  We hope!  In the meantime, I have a few left in the matte colors and they look so great with the opal vinyl!

This is the matte black with Opal 1 vinyl in the "boss" font. I love this color combo and it also looks perfect with the matte navy!!

Matte seaglass is another that's sold out and on backorder but how pretty is this one!?

These can coolers have been a huge mover and shaker in my shop lately and I'm dyinnnngggg for my supplier to restock so I can get my hands on more!!

I also sent out a ton of my stemless wine tumblers this month and just restocked them in some of the most popular colors PLUS two new glittery ones!  Aren't they perfect for summertime sippin'?!

Glitter white and glitter lilac are also available now!

Also, if you have a sign order in right now, please know that it's coming to you as fast as I can get them cranked out!  So many teacher name sign orders came through over the past few weeks and I'm getting them out as fast as I possibly can (even canceling a girls night last night for them!) so that I can get them to you before your school year is over.

Well, normally in a May What's Up Wednesday post I would say I'm excited about summer vacations but we are not sure where those stand at the moment.  We had hoped to get back to Branson or the beach this summer at the very least and I'm just not sure about anything right now!  Making decisions at this point in time is HARD, y'all.  I know y'all get me!  It's a lot of "Am I doing the right thing?" "Is this the best thing for our family?" "Am I being responsible but still allowing us to safely have a LIFE?!" These are questions I go through every single day and guess what?  It is exhausting.

I have been on a binge-watching kick lately, friends!

So first of all, you must watch Sweet Magnolias!  I will say that the first episode or two started off a little shaky to me.  The acting was a little stiff and B-movie level but as the season unfolded the actors began to sink into their roles and all of their acting abilities were forgotten.  I was in love with this sweet little town of Serenity and the final 5 minutes of the season left me BEGGING for more.  Literally.  I'm not sure if the book series this show is based on covers the final scene of the season but if it does, can y'all let me know?!  I want to read the series now but I'm dying to know if I can get past that cliffhanger by reading one of these books!  Please bring on Season 2, Netflix!

Another binge-worthy show this month was Outer Banks.  I LOVED THIS SHOW. It's very "The O.C." meets "Fools Gold".  I loved it and can't wait for next season.  (There better be a next season!)

Dead to Me (Season 2) is out, friends and if you haven't watched this show before, DO IT.  Definitely start with the first season and binge that bad boy all the way through season 2.  I love this show and it definitely leaves us with some crazy twists and cliffhangers that'll come in Season 3. 

And for my last Netflix binge, I just finished up Never Have I Ever after several people on IG told me I should watch it and I thought it was so good!  At first I kept skipping over it thinking it was a ridiculous teen show but it's deeper than that and really funny too! It's definitely another show that I hope comes back for another season. 

As for what I've been reading...oh girls!! I've read so many awesome summer reads lately!! I will be sharing a full review very soon (I've learned to not give myself a public deadline because I always fail at those when it comes to the blog) but it could be tomorrow or it could be next week.  It just depends on Etsy orders, rescheduled girls nights, and of course the various goings-on in my house. 🤷‍♀️ #nevercantell

But as a sneak peek, let me just say that I'll be reviewing some of the most anticipated summer reads like Emily Giffin's new book, Lies That Bind...

I started this book one night at around 6:30pm by the pool and finished it around 12:30 that night (morning...whatever). I couldn't stop reading!! No, I didn't sit by the pool until 12:30 but I did last a good while out there (past dark for sure) then snuggled up in the sunroom for a while and then finally finished it up in bed.  I read mixed reviews on it but I still can't understand why! I LOVED the book so much. I'll save the rest of my review for the actual Book Review post but seriously...loved this book!

You can preorder it now!! (PS: I have the Kindle Paperwhite and LOVE IT. I also love my cute cover for it!)

I also read/listened to Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner...

Another A+ for me!!

And Hello, Summer by Mary Kay Andrews!

MK is never a disappointment.  Love her!!!

I'm currently listening to...

Feels Like Falling which is the new Kristen Woodson Harvey book and has great reviews!! (I'm about halfway through it on audible.)

And this time of year, I've always got a "real" book (as I call it) that I'm reading--not listening to--out by the pool.  My first was the Emily Giffin book but right now, it happens to be the new Kristan Higgins book!

I fell HARD for Kristan Higgins books when I randomly selected "If You Only Knew" a couple of years ago thinking it was just another chick-lit book.  I was so wrong!!  Kristan Higgins became one of my favorite authors immediately, especially when it followed it up with On Second Thought.  To this day, I still consider those two books in my top 10 chick lits of all time. I told all my book-loving girlfriends about her and they have also fallen in love with her writing as well!

For all my book reviews, click here. 

Oh lord.  I hate this prompt because I have not been wearing much of anything worth posting!!  This was me before our culdesac girls night.  When you're literally dragging a lawn chair out to the end of your driveway at 7pm you can't be bothered to get all cute, right?! I certainly can't!

My tee says "Coral Bay Craft Club" which I don't really get but thought it was cute and since I'm an Etsy seller I was like "Hey, crafts! I kind of do that! I need that shirt!".  Yeah, I don't know. 

My glitter tumbler is AMAZING and I bought it from a fellow Etsy seller who is unfortunately no longer selling things BUT there are a ton of other sellers who do the exact same thing so fear not! 

 You can still find one like this (or similar) HERE.

My "mama" hat is sold out HERE but could come back in stock any minute.  If you can't wait, there are some very similar ones here!

SUMMER!!  It's going to be a weird one for sure.  That's a given. But I'm hoping to find time to do some home improvement projects, layout by the pool and read, possibly find a way to vacay safely...basically try to do as many fun things as we can!  I miss my parents so much!  We haven't seen them since the last week in December and are hoping to finally see them in a couple of weeks.  That is a long time for us to go without seeing each other and the boys are missing them so much too!

That's about all I have for WUW!  Have a happy hump day, friends!!

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