Hello Monday

 

Happy Monday, friends! I hope you had a great weekend! I can't wait to hear from you at the end of today's post. I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah for today's blog post. My weekend was super low key, and not the best I've had, if I'm being honest. I had lots of let downs and disappointments, but it's a new day and I'm pressing on. 

This road was beautiful to drive down as I drove to Marilyn's on Friday morning. I needed to run a couple of errands before I went to her house, so this was a cut through from one part of town over to her old house. I will never get tired of country drives with these fall leaves! I got to her house and we finished emptying her house of odds and ends. I helped with wiping surfaces down, doing double checks on every closet/cabinet in the house, and vacuuming. We stopped to get lunch before heading to her new house, where we unloaded everything and put some things away. She and I left again to go back to her old house one more time, then we ended by getting frozen yogurt. We parted ways for a couple of hours so that I could home to check on the dogs and feed them, then I went back to her for dinner. We didn't do much at that point, well I didn't. She had been a busy bee all afternoon and had gotten lots done in my absence. 

We ate dinner, listened to Christmas music, then took our first picture together at her new house! This felt like a milestone. I didn't stay late since she had to be a work event early the next morning. I woke up and watched a Hallmark Christmas movie. This was cute!

I had some Bible reading time on my couch...

And then I got my hair colored on Saturday; those were the big plans of my day, it turns out. It's a long story, but my Saturday night plans didn't happen. Instead, I grabbed dinner with Marilyn at a favorite local bar/grille type place, Skybox. 

My other big activity of the day was making sourdough. I haven't made it in months! 

Chris did end up coming over later in the evening, so at least I got to see him for a little bit. I had to be at church early Sunday morning to work in the tech booth again this week, and then I came home after church. I took a shower because my hair was super frizzy, then I took a nap and did some things around my house in preparation for the coming week. Chris came to pick me up that afternoon, and we headed to my mom's house for dinner. I finally got to see my niece and her family!

 

It was a fun night, and I'm glad Chris was there with me. I kind of broke him in for Thanksgiving next week. Next week! Eeeekkkk! 

How was your weekend? What did you do that you loved? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all!

Jenn 

Friday Favorites, 11.14.2025.

 

Happy Friday, friends! It's my favorite day/blog post of the week, and it's my Friday as I write this. I'm taking the day off from work to help Marilyn out with some final things at her old house and then set up again at her new place. I am so glad I did this! I also had a couple of appointments this morning, so it's a productive day. I have loads of favorites from this week, so I'll jump right in!

It's always a favorite when one of my sons is at church with me! This is Graham on the right, laughing and talking to my friend/worship pastor Joshua; I love their banter and that Joshua told Graham that he smelled handsome that day. 🤣 What?! 

I had lunch with Graham, Mom and Bill after church, then came home for a bit (and caught up with my three sons who live here) and changed to go to Marilyn's. Any time with Marilyn is my favorite; it was so cold this day! I will do anything for this dear friend. We did a few things at her house, then took some things to her parents' house, and finally ended with dinner and yogurt. 

Frozen yogurt is another favorite! This was dark chocolate, white chocolate cheesecake, and peanut butter. It was so good!

I love both of these that Marilyn sent me! I have made my way through all the steps of the one titled The Stages of Letting Go, and I'm mostly through the one right above this one. Number nine doesn't really apply to me, though...but still. Aren't these great? I think this could be said for a lot of things. 

Monday mornings are not Chloe's favorite. 

I made my favorite soup for dinner on Monday night since it was so cold outside! This was the night that I realized how much I'd made, so I invited Kendra over for dinner. I'm glad she took me up on my offer! 

These were my outfits from the week; do you have a favorite? 

The Veteran's Day program and parade on Tuesday at school was my favorite! How sweet is this? 

Celebrating Marilyn at the birthday dinner her friend Tuesday night was a favorite! 

This kind of activity is my favorite thing to do with students; we read this passage and worked through the questions together. Do you know what PQA is? I made them do that with each question, which isn't their favorite, but oh well. It means, "put question in answer" and it assures that they write in complete sentences. 

Dinner with this one Wednesday night was a favorite! 

This was one of my favorite things from social media this week; how true is this? I can feel every bit of this statement. 

It was a favorite getting to see the students perform a snippet of the play they're putting on this weekend, Suessical. They were amazing! I stood out in the hall with my two little first graders for fifteen minutes watching; they were mesmerized! So was I, for that matter. 

I made my favorite little hot ham and cheese sliders for dinner last night for Jonah and me. My niece was going to come over with her family, but she didn't feel great and seems to be coming down with something. I was exhausted from the day, so it was easy for me to tell her to stay home and rest. I ate, showered, and then got comfy by six thirty. 

I feel like it was a quick week and was filled with some great moments. Do you have a favorite from your week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all! 

Jenn 

a day in the life...a normal Wednesday

 

Happy Thursday (again) and bonus blog post day! When Joyce mentioned she was doing a link up for a day in the life post, I couldn't help but join in. I love these types of posts! Here was my Wednesday. Happy reading!

I wake up every morning between 5:30-5:45. The first thing I do is let the dogs out, turn on the lights, and make my coffee. Most mornings I like iced coffee, but when it's cold, I prefer it hot. I've had hot coffee everyday this week. Isn't my mug cute? After I let the dogs in and feed them for Jonah, I sit and read blogs/correspond on my own with the comments. Sometimes when I'm done with that, I'll work on a post for the next day. 

This is what each morning looks like with the pups; they love to play! On this morning, I folded some clothes for both Jonah and myself, then made my lunch and to go drinks (water and protein iced coffee). I took the dogs back to Jonah's room, then went to put up my laundry. I always make my bed while the moisturizer dries on my face, then I start with makeup, hair, and I end with clothes. 

Here's the outfit I chose for yesterday; I was both comfy and cozy, and I'm still getting my money out of this cute Amazon sweater. 

I came downstairs and put on this pretty lipstick and took a picture to send Chris. He asked me to do this a long time ago, and told me it brightens his day. Isn't that sweet? I ended up removing this lipstick when it got darker on me, then replaced it with my usual neutral. This makes me want to find a burgundy lipstick, though! 

I loaded my car and let it warm up, then drove to my church and called Marilyn. I do this every morning! I love this about our relationship. I always call my mom next as I drive to work. Look how pretty the trees are at my church!

I always walk in around 8:15-8:20. I put my stuff away, then kind of chill/talk to co-workers until 8:40 when I walk outside for car line duty. 

Thankfully it wasn't as cold Wednesday! I wore my puffer vest instead of the coat I've worn all week.

I went down to work with my little first grade friend, then made it back to my classroom until I left again at 10:40. I have a huge break in my mornings, so I use this time to do personal things like pay bills, scroll socials, journal, and anything I need to do to help anyone. Actually that's the first thing I look to do, but nobody ever needs anything, so I do all the other things.

Look at these cute fifth graders I saw on IG yesterday! They were dressed up for our Veteran's day program and parade. The one second from left is one that I work with sometimes; he is a doll! 

I work with 4th grade at 10:50, 5th grade at 11:40, then my lunch starts at 12:30. Second grade comes in at 1:00, then third grade at 1:50, then I leave for my 1st grade friends at 2:45. Each class is 45-50 minutes long, so you can see why my day flies. From there I walk a couple of students out at 3:40 and walk out for the day at 4:00. I always, always, always call Chris when I get to my car; we get off work at the same time. I came home yesterday to admire my newly painted garage, then I met Chris for dinner. 

He makes me laugh really hard; we're terrible at selfies, because he's so tall. It works best when he stands behind me, which is my favorite. I think we're cute together! It's been a long time since I've been this happy, friends. We have a deal that when we eat together, we spend half the time across from each other so we can see each other's eyes, then when we're done, he sits next to me so we can be close. That's my preference. 

After dinner I went to choir practice until 7:30, then I came home afterward for the first time since school started. Nobody could do Rotolo's on this night (both of them had great reasons), so I was glad to come home. I've been tired the past couple of nights, so it felt good to be here. I headed upstairs at nine to wash my face and lay down, and I talked to Chris on the phone until I got sleepy. I would much prefer to talk to him than watch TikTok videos. 

So that was my day, in a nutshell! I can't wait to read your posts about your day. Thanks for reading my bonus blog post, friends. Love to all! 

Jenn ❤️