Meet the Shaneyfelts

Archives for 2016

What’s Up Wednesday–June 2016


Linking up with Shay for today’s post!

What we’re eating this week…
Extremely healthy!  This is actually the first week in a very long time that I did not meal plan for–surprising for those of you who know me well.  Last night was crockpot BBQ chicken, tonight will be kidney bean burgers, maybe zoodles with turkey meat sauce tomorrow?  See.  I’m winging nightly suppers for the first time ever.  (And I don’t like it.  I’ll be back to meal planning next week.)


What I’m reminiscing about…
Our cruise to the Bahamas two weeks ago!  You can read about Part 1 and Part 2.  Plus, I also added a few tips and advice for first-time cruisers. 


What I’m loving…
Summer vacation!  
And this guy 🙂


What we’ve been up to…
Vacation Bible School, a cruise to the Bahamas, work (for Dustin, not for me ha!)


What I’m dreading…
School starting back–I’m loving the flexibility of my own schedule


What I’m working on…
Finding the right furniture for the dining room!!  We’ve been in our house one year this week.  That’s so crazy to think about!! I posted about our move here.


What I’m excited about…
Future plans!  I’m excited to pick out dining room furniture.  I’m excited for Dustin’s birthday next month and what I’m planning for that.  I’m excited for our vacation next December (yes, we’re already planning).  I’m excited for a lot of things!
(Note: Even though everything looks so bright and cheery all the time, that’s not reality.  My goal this year has been to find my joy in God in every single situation, so that even when He tells me not right now, I find joy in Him and not my situation.  This is why I’m choosing to be so positive all the time, and I just wanted to share!)


What I’m watching/reading…
I’m watching all of the reality TV: Real Housewives of everywhere, the Kardashians, Southern Charm, and Hallmark movies and series.
I posted yesterday about the books I read this month.  I started reading my first ever Elin Hilderbrand book last night.  I hear so many great things about her, so I’m hoping this book doesn’t let me down!


What I’m wearing…
These white jeans are pretty much my summer uniform.

What I’m doing this weekend…
I’m going to pretend I’m still in college and that the weekend starts on Thursday 🙂  Thursday night I’m going out to eat with my mom and sister!  And then maybe Dustin will plan a surprise date for us this weekend.  Hint hint…. 😉


What I’m looking forward to next month…
I’m hoping that the summer slows down!  Dustin turns 31 next month and then the next day we celebrate our 2nd anniversary–I’m excited for that!

Last year at his surprise 30th party.  
Please don’t judge me by the cake–it was not what I expected when I ordered it.  I mean, I picked it up an hour before the party and was like, “Uhhh….”  I learned my lesson and have already ordered from our usual cake lady this year!


What else is new…
Not much!

Bonus Question:
What is my favorite 4th of July tradition?
My mom and step-dad have a huge picnic on the 4th every year at lunch time.  I’m talking huge!  They invite a lot of my step-dad’s clients, and then our friends and family.  I look forward to it every year because there’s always really good homemade ice cream ha!

June 2016 Reads

Today I’m reviewing the books I read in June!  (To see the books I’ve read previously this year, click on the Books link on the sidebar.)  I was able to read three books, and I would have read another book except…..Netflix.
Anyone else feel this way when they read a book?  Sometimes I have to take a break from reading because I’m still grieving the end of the last book!


So, here’s what I read this month:
(I’ll include the short summary from Amazon and then my own opinion.)

the last star rick yancey
(3rd book in The 5th Wave trilogy)
    The enemy is Other. The enemy is us. They’re down here, they’re up there, they’re nowhere. They want the Earth, they want us to have it. They came to wipe us out, they came to save us.

     But beneath these riddles lies one truth: Cassie has been betrayed. So has Ringer. Zombie. Nugget. And all 7.5 billion people who used to live on our planet. Betrayed first by the Others, and now by ourselves.
     In these last days, Earth’s remaining survivors will need to decide what’s more important: saving themselves . . . or saving what makes us human.


I received this book from a sweet student at the end of May.  She got me started reading this trilogy, and her mom brought each of us a copy to school on the day it was released–isn’t that the sweetest!  With that being said, I did not enjoy this book!  If I’m looking at this as a teacher, I wouldn’t feel comfortable recommending this book to my students because of the excessive (and unnecessary) amount of language.  The first two books didn’t have this much language in them combined, so I’m not sure what possessed the author to include so much.  I did not like how the plot was all tied up at the end, and if you want to read any of this trilogy, I would recommend reading The 5th Wave only!

room by emma donoghue
    
 To five-year-old-Jack, Room is the world. . . . It’s where he was born, it’s where he and his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.      Room is home to Jack, but to Ma it’s the prison where she has been held for seven years. Through her fierce love for her son, she has created a life for him in this eleven-by-eleven-foot space. But with Jack’s curiosity building alongside her own desperation, she knows that Room cannot contain either much longer.     Room is a tale at once shocking, riveting, exhilarating–a story of unconquerable love in harrowing circumstances, and of the diamond-hard bond between a mother and her child.

I read this book for my book club this month and really enjoyed it!  First, I had no idea it was an award-winning movie from last year.  I loved the narration of this book–from the point of view of a 5 year old.  And I really believe that reading this book makes you look at the world a little differently–and also causes you to become more aware of your surroundings!  I highly recommend reading this book!


one true loves by taylor jenkins reid
       
 From the author of Maybe in Another Life—named a People Magazine pick—comes a breathtaking new love story about a woman unexpectedly forced to choose between the husband she has long thought dead and the fiancé who has finally brought her back to life.           In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.      On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.      Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.     That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.   Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?   Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying.

Because I’ve read Maybe in Another Life and enjoyed it, I thought I may enjoy this book too–and I was right!  I was hooked from the first page and didn’t want to put this book down.  Like I was so ready to get back to our room on the cruise so I could read a few more pages haha!  It really was my favorite book that I read this month.  I was rooting for Emma to pick a certain character from the very beginning, and I even cried at one point.  I loved this book so much, and I will definitely be reading another book by this author since I’ve like the two I’ve already read by her!  Go buy this book right now!

Have you read any good books lately that I should pick up?

Weekend Recap!

Do you ever have a weekend where you feel like you need another weekend to recover?  That’s how I feel about this past weekend!  Saturday night I told Dustin how tired I was and it wasn’t even 9 PM and I’ve done nothing!  I told him I was tired from having nothing to do all day haha.

I’m starting our weekend on Thursday night when we relaxed on the couch and caught up on the last two episodes of Southern Charm.  I had been waiting on the dinner party at Thomas’s house since the first episode started out with that scene.  My thoughts on the end of the season:  I don’t like Landon, Cameron has turned into a mean girl, Katherine will always be crazy, Thomas too, Whitney is weird, Patricia is condescending but in a hilarious way, and Craig and Naomi are my all time favorites!
Friday morning I ran.  We’ve been under a heat advisory the entire weekend so even though it was below 80 at 7:15 in the morning, the humidity was at 3,000% so it made for a miserable and short 2 mile run.
 It was way too hot to take a picture outside!


Then to pass the time since D was at work, I went shopping.  I got two great tops from LOFT, a table runner from Home Goods, and ate lunch at my favorite grocery store, Earthfare!
 Lunch there never disappoints–I just wish it were closer to home.

Friday night we had Dustin’s work picnic at a local water park.  Remember how I said at 7:15 that morning the humidity was already at 3,000%??  Well, by 7:15 that night, it had increased to 603,475,927%.  Seriously.  I was miserable, in a romper, and way too hot to even take pictures.  I was ready to get home and take yet another shower and wash my hair yet again.


Saturday I went with my sister to pick up the dog she’s going to be fostering.  While we were out, we stopped at her friend’s new tiny home to see it.  I think she said it was around 400 sq ft?  This was my first tiny home to see in person!  The inside is SO cute and decorated how I would decorate.  I love her tiny home, but I could never live in one–Dustin would never fit!
Saturday night wasn’t picture-worthy.  I cooked dinner.  Dustin got home and we ate.  We both sat in the living room to be together but doing separate things–he watched the TCU and Coastal Carolina baseball game, and I watched Netflix on the laptop.  I’m sure laid back weekend nights become picture-worthy once we have children, right?

Sunday morning was church.  I wanted to capture what my hair looks like right after I tease it.  Next time I’ll leave it just like that 🙂  Isn’t it so attractive?

There was a bridal tea after church, so Rachel and I rode together.  Can you see how much she copies me?  Similar sunglasses, similar dress style, both wearing long necklaces and our OTBTs.
Just kidding!  
(Rachel will be so made that I wrote that haha!  But it’s my blog and I can!)



Then we met up with Dustin a few hours later after he got off work to eat Mexican.  Rachel and I spent a lot of time together this weekend, and I wouldn’t change that for anything.  I’m so happy that we live close and are so close!


Linking up with Biana