Believe in the Magic Traci Diary

Recipes, Travels, and Stories

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  • 2017 Summer Bucket List

    I’ve been on summer vacation for the past almost month.  (May 26)  Some of the items have been completed or about to be completed.

    Travel

    Rochester, NY – I’ve already taken this trip.  I’ll start sharing blog posts about my trip as soon as my Berea, Kentucky trip blog posts are completed in late July.  I got to visit 3 of the 11 Finger Lakes, Letchworth State Park, and the Seneca Park Zoo.  I took over 1400 photos during the 6 days I was in the Rochester area.

    Folly Beach, SC – Folly Beach is located about 20 minutes from Charleston.  My whole family – mother-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, niece, nephew plus my family are sharing a beach front home.  I’m so excited because it’s going to be the biggest one I’ve stayed at while there.

    Toledo, Ohio / Louisville, Kentucky – The boys have Boy Scouts camp in the Louisville area.  While they are gone, we plan to go up to Toledo so that we can see the Toledo Zoo.  That’s the only zoo we haven’t been to in Ohio.  During that same week, we will travel down to their camp for family night.  We might be taking them home from camp.

    Hershey, PA – While the boys at the Boy Scout camp, the Imaginative One will be turning 14.  So he and I are going to go visit Hershey to celebrate his birthday once he is back from camp.  He’s wanted to visit Hershey for 5 or so years.

    Pittsburgh, PA – Labor Day would have been my sister’s birthday.  I’m going to go to Pittsburgh to celebrate her 40th birthday.  It was a special place for us.  We traveled there at least 5 times so it’s fitting to go there.

    Reading

    I have three items on my bucket list involving reading.  The first two help with the third.

    #1 – I’m playing Cozy Mystery bingo on Goodreads.  This bingo has culinary themes.  You sign up to play bingo.  The moderator chooses teams.  Each team is given a bingo card.  Every week, you are given a new theme.  It is up to you to find a book that fits the theme.  Then you read the book and write a review on the book.  Once all members of the team read a book on a theme, you request a stamp.  Once a team gets five in a row they win the bingo.

    #2 – I’m also reading through the cozies.  I have different themes that I need to find books that fit that theme.  Then I read the book and put it on my list.

    • – One from culinary (anything dealing with food: restaurants, baked goods, etc.) – On What Grounds (Coffeehouse Mystery, #1) by Cleo Coyle
    • – One from animal related (cats, dogs, birds, etc.)
    • – One from craft related (any kind of hobbies – knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, etc.)
    • – One from paranormal (witches, vampires, etc.)
    • – One from British cozy mysteries (example: Belinda Lawrence series)
    • – One career-based cozy mystery (housekeeping, wedding planner, etc.)
    • – One holiday based (set during any holiday – Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentines, etc.)
    • – One travel mystery (character could be on a cruise, touring another area, etc.) Banana Cream Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen, #21) by Joanne Fluke
    • – One historical mystery (any mystery not set in the present) Murder in Little Italy (Gaslight Mystery, #8) by Victoria Thompson
    • – One is your choice! (freebie!) The Chocolate Falcon Fraud (A Chocoholic Mystery, #15) by JoAnna Carl

    Again this is from Goodreads.

    #3 – Complete the Adult reading program at my local library.  I’ve already read 6 books so far this summer.

    Work

    I’m taking an online class about ADHD.  Fortunately for me it’s a self paced class.

    I also have a seminar about Growth Mindset.  I’m excited about the seminar because it’s going to be the theme for next school year.

    House

    Get it clean in preparation for next school year.

    Staycation

    I don’t have any real plans just yet.  However, once I’m done traveling, the boys and I will probably do some fun day trips around the area.  This year it’s going to be less than normal.

    What is on your summer bucket list?

    Have a magical day,
    Traci

  • Holland, Michigan – Sunday Night – The Town

    Join me on Wednesdays for the Holland, Michigan photos.

    Last July, Hubby and I decided to pick up the Imaginative One and his buddy from their DeMolay‘s Conclave.  If you have not heard about DeMolay, it’s a teenage boys’ Masonic organization.  Conclave is their state meeting.

    We drove them from Conclave to Michigan for their Boy Scout Camp.  Hubby and I decided we were going to find somewhere in Michigan to spend the night.  We wanted to explore a new place.

    Even though we only spent less than 24 hours in Holland, it was a town I won’t forget.

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  • Jumping in the Pool – A Summer Tradition

    One of the boys’ favorite activities in the summer is to play in our pool.  I rarely get in the pool with them.  Usually I’m taking photos of them jumping in.  I love capturing them while they are in the air.  They enjoy trying to make it look as though they are floating.

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  • The First Night – Dinner, Town, College, and Sunset

    Join me on Saturdays where I’ll share my photos from my road trip with my mom.

    The Way Down

     

    After we got down to Berea, we went and got dinner because we really did not eat any food on our way down so we were starved.

    We went to Cracker Barrel for dinner.  I had chicken with an apple cranberry topping, baked apples, and a sweet potato.  Mom had fish, cooked cabbage, baked apples, and cornbread muffins for her dinner.

    I loved the rocking chair wind chimes.

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    After dinner, we went to the center of town.  I learned quickly there is one route that gets traffic jams because of the lights.  I avoided that route during the next two days.

    Here are some photos of the town.

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    While we were in town, we stopped at the Berea Coffee and Tea shop.  I visited there 3 times during the days we were there.  I got an iced latte with mint at the coffee shop.  It was delicious!

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    Mom headed back to the car after we got done with the coffee shop.  Meanwhile I walked around Berea College taking photos before I headed back to the car.

    (I’ll have more photos and information about the college in future posts.)

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    The flowers were in full bloom that week so I took a lot of photos of the flowers.  (Ohio’s flowers were lacking at that point.)

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    After we visited the town, we drove over to my mom’s friend’s apartment.  We ended up on a road that was basically back roads – windy and a single lane.  Luckily we only saw one car on the roads.

    I don’t have any photos of the visit with my mom’s friend.

    When we got back to our hotel, the sun was setting so I got a few photos of the sunset.

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    Join me next Saturday for more of our visit.

    Have a magical day,

    Traci

  • My Top Ten Pixar Movies

    I got a new book called “My Top Ten.”  It’s a journal with topics such as “My Top 10 Favorite Artists” or “My Top 10 People I Would Have Lunch With.”  I bought it to help with possible blog topics.

    I’ve decided that every Friday I’m going to share a list from the journal.

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  • Scoops

    2. Write a blog post inspired by the word: treat

    Last week, I traveled to Rochester, New York to visit one of my best friends, Molly. We hadn’t seen each other since July. I had only been to western New York once and that was on our way to Niagara Falls so it was an adventure for me. (more…)

  • Random Photos From Our Thanksgiving Trip – The Way Back Home

    I’m not including the these photos in the Universal/ Disney blog post series.

    Sometimes the trip back and forth to your destination can create some of the best memories.  That is certainly true for our trip in November.

     

    The Way Down

    We left Florida on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

    Goodbye Florida, Hello Georgia

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    The Georgia Welcome center

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    Of course, we had Zaxby’s for lunch.

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    Sleeping with Hei Hei.

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    Once we got to the hotel in northern Georgia, the Imaginative One had some fun with the shower cap.

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    Breakfast and the traditional sleeping shot of the boys – I take a few photos of the boys sleeping on the trip.  

    The next morning, we drove from northern Georgia home.  The GPS unit had us go off of I-75 for a bit.  Boy are we glad we did because it was a gorgeous drive.

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    We were there during the Tennessee wild fires so we saw some of the smoke.  We could smell it in the car so windows were up while we were driving.

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    We ended up in a traffic jam for most of Tennessee/ Kentucky.  Our plan was to make it to the Kentucky Welcome Center and then the artisan’s center in Berea, Kentucky.  It took us longer than we expected because of the traffic jam.

    20161127121913_IMG_0545-COLLAGEDrive and then the traffic jam

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    Kentucky Welcome Center
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    Artisan Center in Berea, KY
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    Artisan Center in Berea, KY
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    Artisan Center in Berea, KY
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    Artisan Center in Berea, KY

    We did not stop for the rest of the way home.  We were anxious to get to our house.  Both the boys and I had to be at school the next day.

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    Cincinnati

    Have a magical day,

    Traci

  • Canandaigua Boat Houses

    These historic boat houses are located on one of the 11 finger lakes in western New York.

  • Mom’s First Time at Second Street Market

    My mom had never been to Second Street Market.  I had a chiropractor appointment on the first.  I had not been to the market for a while so I thought that after the chiropractor appointment I would go down there for lunch.

    I decided a Thursday afternoon close to the opening of the market would be the best time for my mom to experience the market for the first time.

    She had a blast while there.   (more…)

  • The Boys’ Last Day of School Photo Shoot

    May 31st was the boys’ last day of school.  My tradition is to take photos on the first and last day of school each year.

    When the Wee One walked into the house, he informed us that he was going to relax the next day and then start cleaning the day after that.

    Enjoy the photos. (more…)