This week I'm trying out "What's Up Wednesday," a linky party that one of my favorite bloggers participates in.
1. What we're eating this week...
This is my last week in South Dakota for the summer, so I'm trying to make sure I eat all my favorite Midwestern things before I go.
My favorite breakfast treat of all time comes from the Royal Bake Shop in Centerville, SD. They are most well known for their "zebras" - a thick glazed donut with a layer of chocolate donut in the middle. Zebras are great. However, not my all-time favorite. That title goes to their filled maple sticks. Yummm!
This little treat is a long-john filled with a maple cream and topped with mapley, crumbley goodness.
Next on the list...
There's also the good old-fashioned Midwestern comfort foods - basically anything Grandma makes!
2. What I'm reminiscing about...
While I've been back at the farm this summer, I have been going through the house and purging all the crap that has accumulated over the last 130+ years. I have found a lot of junk, taken a lot of things to Goodwill, and found a few treasures along the way. Just yesterday I found some school writings and art projects of my grandpa's from 1937 and 1938. Reading his papers, and just seeing the way he signed his name again has brought back so many memories of my first best friend.
3. What I'm loving...
Bachelor in Paradise! It's my favorite trashy TV show and guilty pleasure. And right along with it come Sheaffer's weekly recaps!
I laugh so hard during the show, then on Wednesdays I get to laugh at it all over again when I read her take on the week's events.
Normally I watch every episode of Bachelor/Bachelorette/Bachelor in Paradise with my friend Heather, then we read the recaps together after. We love the nicknames and comment on so many of the same things that show up in the recaps. Having been out of town for nearly two months, she and I have had to settle for texting each other after we've confirmed we've both watched the show (different time zones are a pain), and for reading the recaps together.
We'll be back together for it next week though!
4. What we've been up to...
We just finished our county fair, where my family was named the 4-H Family of the Year!
It was so much fun to be back at the Turner County Fair for The Four Best Days of Summer! I grew up going to the fair every year and spending all week there. We showed sheep and always tried to outdo our total number of head from the year before. It was fun - but a little strange - to be there for the sheep show without having any sheep of our own to show!
I've gotten to spend so much nice time with my family this summer, but the fair last week also gave me a chance to spend time with my "fair family" - those people that become like parents and siblings because of the amount of time you spend with them in the barn. Papa Flint is one of those people that I've known for so many years and he has always been like another father to me. I know that he and his family will always be there for me in any situation.
We can goof around and have fun just like I do with the rest of my family. Papa Flint still likes to give me a hard time about having a bony butt when I was growing up, so I had to sit down on his lap and see if anything has changed. This picture was snapped right as he was tickling me!
5. What I'm dreading...
Packing! I've been in SD for 6 1/2 weeks now and I'm finally going home on Saturday! I'm happy to be going home, but I'm dreading having to get everything packed back up into my suitcase!
6. What I'm working on...
Since everyone in my family teaches, this is a busy time of year for us. I helped Baby Sister set up her classroom for the first time, and then yesterday morning I helped my mom get hers ready for the start of the new school year too.
While going through her things, we came across this gem:
Wasn't I a cutie? :)
7. What I'm excited about...
This week marks my dad's third round of chemo for his neuroendocrine cancer.
When we finally figured out what type of cancer it was, the prognosis wasn't good. He decided to try chemotherapy anyway, in the hopes that it will do a little bit of good.
After two rounds, the oncologist ordered a PET scan, which happened last week.
We got the results on Monday morning and they were much better than we ever could have expected!
He's still going to complete his planned four rounds of chemo, then they will scan again. The chemo probably won't be able to kill everything, and he probably won't be "cured," but it's working and we'll take that!
8. What I'm watching/reading...
I just finished reading The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling.
I'll be honest, it wasn't my favorite. It took me a long time to read it. But it did have really great parts, as well as the beautiful language I've come to expect from Rowling. The character development was also incredibly well done. However, it was a bit of a slow read for me, partly because the narrator changes with each chapter, requiring me to mentally change gears more than I otherwise would have.
I've been working my way through Gilmore Girls on Netflix and am obsessed. I would watch it all day if I could. I watched the show growing up, but had never gotten even close to watching every episode, so it has been fun to go through them in order!
I'm also finally finishing Sherlock, the BBC miniseries. I watched the first two seasons right after they aired, and simply forgot to watch the third, so I'm finishing it tonight!
9. What I'm listening to...
Since I'm driving my grandma's '94 Ford Escort while I'm here this summer, and I'm spending so much time in the car with my dad, I've been pretty much restricted to whatever is playing on the two country radio stations we have!
10. What I'm wearing...
The weather has cooled off a little bit here, so I've actually been able to wear jeans and boots for the first time all summer! The problem with this weather is that I didn't bring home any jeans to wear with my boots, so I had to dig out some jeans that were still hanging around from my sophomore year of high school! To my surprise (and enjoyment), they fit!
11. What I'm doing this weekend...
I'm hoping to spend time with one of my SD best friends Friday night for a night out dancing before heading home.
Saturday will be spent flying!
And then, if plans don't change, Tall Dark and Nerdy and I will head up to Tahoe for Saturday evening through Monday!
12. What I'm looking forward to next month...
My birthday!
13. What else is new...
Counting down the days until I am back with my wonderful partner and my dog!
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