Life Is Sweet July 2019

Life Is Sweet July 2019 - a glimpse beyond the mixer into what we've been up to in July.

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Oh, July. It’s been quite a month.

I decided early into the month that I was going to take off from sharing new recipes so that I could “get caught up” and “get ahead”. I am not exactly sure I was successful on either front but the break was needed and welcomed so that I could tackle all of July’s crazy.

July was a month filled with time well spent with my nieces and nephew, satisfying my fried pickle obsession, losing my shit over another month of very little progress on our house, and celebrating turning 39 with a much-needed weekend away with my hubby.

Let’s dive beyond the mixer into Life Is Sweet July 2019 with a little more detail.

Bay Beach Amusement Park

The house is a full-time job and then some, which doesn’t leave a lot of time for extra-curricular activities these days. Meaning, I don’t spend nearly as much time with my nieces and nephew as I would like.

Thankfully July brought several occasions where I got to hear Lila’s endless stories, snuggle with my Ella, and giggle at Memphis’s goofiness. It was bliss.

July started off with the Menomonee Falls July 4th Parade. I got to watch with the munchkins and enjoy time spent with my family.

Then July continued with more well-spent time with the kiddos with a trip to Bay Beach Amusement Park.

My sister and I took the kids to Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay, WI. We’ve been wanting to take them forever because we heard such great things but were always reluctant about the 1.5-hour drive. Suffice to say, it was totally worth it.

Bay Beach is basically an amusement park for kids. The rides are all centered around the littles and the prices are perfect for the Aunties. The rides are mostly a quarter, with a few being fifty and seventy-five cents, even the snacks are affordable.

We had a fabulous time on our visit! The girls loved the Tilt-O-Whirl, the Scrambler, and the Giant Slide. Memphis really enjoyed the Giant Slide too. And this Auntie went on all the rides!! 😬😍

All around it was a great time and experience. We’re hoping to take them back once more before both girls are back in school all day, but summer is going by at super speed. It’s August already!!

Fried Pickles

I think it’s important to mention my fried pickle obsession. The obsession didn’t just start, but I ate fried pickles like a fiend this month. It’s no wonder my diet was less successful BUT it was my birthday month so I went fried pickle crazy.

I had fried pickles from Stack’d Burger Bar TWICE!! They have awesome food there and their fried pickles are AMAZING!! 🤤

Then there were fried pickles from AJ Bombers, excellent breading but not enough pickles in my opinion.

I also had fried pickles twice on my birthday trip but only one is worth mentioning and that was at T Murtaugh's Pub and Eatery.

Seriously, I am on the hunt for all the BEST fried pickles and I will eat them where ever they are being served! #friedpickleobsessed #willtravelforfriedpickles

Birthday Weekend in Minocqua, WI

Ugg. I turned 39 this year. I wish I could say I am not bothered by this, but I am bothered by this. I can’t believe I am going to be 40 next year. Where did my 30s go? I swear my parents threw me a surprise 30th just yesterday. Sigh...I just hope my 40s are better than my 30’s. Perhaps less stressful. That would be nice. I guess that’s dependent on if Steeple Pointe Homes can finish building my house by then (*Update - Nope).

I digress, I am getting mopey. Let’s talk fun stuff.

The hubby and I took an extended weekend trip to Minocqua for my birthday weekend. The four-hour drive up turned into a casino tour. We hit up seven casinos on our weekend, five on the drive up. We ended up about $100 ahead in the end. I’ll take it.

We, of course, ate way too much. I am told calories don’t count on your birthday and I figured that extended into my birthday weekend.

It was a really nice trip away. No irritating and anger-filled thoughts about our house. No cat waking me up because she wants some lovin'. I slept so well and I needed it.

It was a good weekend and when we got home I got to celebrate my actual birthday. I had a much-needed massage, went and saw The Lion King, and celebrated with my family. The kids gave me flowers and wrote me birthday messages. So cute! 😍

Birthdays are a thing in my family. We make a big deal.

Our House

It’s become common practice that I end each Life Is Sweet with a monthly update on my house build.

Honestly, how could I not? Building this house has consumed the last three years of my life and the last year has been a waking nightmare. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that building our dream house would or could be such an awful experience.

As for the update, July was another lackluster month. It was another month where the house sat more than it was worked on, which is consistent with how it’s been since April. They are still working on things that were supposed to be done in May.

No, they didn’t run into problems, our builder, Steeple Pointe Homes, just send the sub-contractors to all the other homes they are building, including two Parade of Homes models over ours. We are at the point where houses they are building that were started months after ours are as far along as ours, further, or already complete.

So, let’s get to what was done. Most of the first-floor electrical was installed. Most of the siding was done. HVAC finished on the first floor. The fireplace is partially installed. Insulation in the walls of the first floor. Lower level framed.

Any progression is a miracle.

We have absolutely no completion date in sight. Steeple Pointe Homes can’t even tell us if anyone is working on our house from one week to the next. There is no schedule, which only guarantees that the sub-contractors will be working on other houses. The last time we had a completion date was back in May and they told us August. It’s August and they have months worth of work to do. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I will continue with the house updates. I am hoping to share more of our selections and the build when there is more to actually share.

You can follow along with a more virtual share of our house on Instagram Stories, which I started this month. They are also saved in the highlights section on my Instagram profile.

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And that's all I've got for you in Life Is Sweet July 2019!

How was your July? Anything you’d like me to share or get into next month?