what we've been up to

EATS: Instant Pot

Soooooo anyone else have an Instant Pot but are absolutely terrified to even touch the thing?  My mom bought me one for Christmas in 2017...and I've maybe used it a total of 10 times.  Oops.  I was very intimidated at first and I'll admit that I skipped over the manual and just went for it.  I called my mom at least 5 times asking her for help.  So a piece of advice, if you have one and you are nervous to break it out, read the instructions.  

However, awhile back I was trying to come up with something to make for dinner (I hate cooking) and came across the Beef and Broccoli recipe for my IP and I was instantly obsessed with how easy it was and then cleanup was so simple because I didn't have a lot of dirty dishes.  I have searched Pinterest for some easy meals that my family would like and I've tried a few recipes that were so good I have to recommend! 

What I'm Reading: 2018 Favorite Book + GIVEAWAY


While I haven't been keeping up on blogging these books, I did read quite a few these past couple of months.  I set a goal back in January of last year (whoa) that I wanted to read 100 books and unfortunately I fell short.  I started off strong but the end of the year was so crazy and I couldn't keep up.  With that being said, I did end up reading 73 books and I feel like that is still pretty good but I'm hoping for a few more this year.  I'm terrible at talking about books and have come up with a new system for the ones I read in 2019, so I'm just going to list the books I've read since September and then list my very favorite book(s) of 2018 at the bottom.  There also might be a giveaway down there so make sure you read to the very end!  Enjoy!

Year in Review: 2018

Hello, Friends!  Happy 2019!  I'm SO excited to see what this year will hold for myself and my family but I have also loved putting together this post and looking back at all the awesome memories we've made.  This has not been my favorite year, but one thing is for sure, I am so blessed and I love this little family of mine!  Here is a look back on our year!

january

We started the year off with lots of snow days and you would never find this teacher complaining.  In case you didn't already know, January is my LEAST FAVORITE MONTH EVER!  I'm still mourning Christmas being over and it is just so cold and dark and Spring Break if forever away.  I would totally skip this month if it was an option.