Share 4 Somethings -- May 2026

 

Happy Saturday, friends! I'm so glad you're here today; thanks for linking up with me again this month! Today we're here to talk about something we loved, something that sustained us, something we're carrying forward from this month to the next, and something we're making space for. I'll jump right in!

This month I loved...

...reminders like this...

...thoughtful gifts like this mug for Mother's Day and Teacher's Appreciation week...

...visiting the new Barnes & Noble in town...

...the calendar being flipped to May...

...all the beautiful foliage that looked so green and vibrant after rain...

...seeing my sons outside enjoying life with friends on the back porch without a phone in sight. I love these people and consider several of them bonus kids! My OG bonus kid Alex is pictured back there, too, in the black hat. I love him and am always so happy to see him when he comes around!

Something that sustained me...

...realizations like this one above...

...prayers like this...

...and reminders like this. All of these things sustained me this month, along with really good conversation with lots of people. 

Something I'm carrying forward from this month to next...

I'm carrying forward moments like these captured above. It's almost a new month, and I am ready for some new memories! I consider each weekend a new opportunity to do new things with my guy, and he's always up for whatever I want to do. I won't see him next weekend; he is hoping to have one of his motorcycles ready to race by then, and he'll be off in Steele, Alabama. I'd hoped to go with him, but I'm dog sitting. 

Something I'm making space for...

I'm making more space for daily reading! Most of you know me really well, and how much I've missed reading. My brain took an almost two year hiatus on this favorite hobby, but your girl is back and getting better than ever. This book is amazing, by the way. 

I'm making more space for lunch dates with friends and for dining al fresco while I can. It'll be way too hot before long, so I'm basking in the moments for now. 

I'm making space for intentional time spent getting things done before work starts back. Also, I have a little life update! I had applied back in the early spring to work at our summer learning camp (old fashioned summer school) this year, but I didn't think I'd gotten the job, because I never heard from HR. Then this week, I got the email! So I have two weeks off at the beginning of the summer, then will have four weeks of summer learning camp (only Monday-Thursday), then I'll have an additional two weeks off at the end before returning back to work at the end of July. I'm grateful for this opportunity, because I didn't really know how I was going to make it without getting a paycheck...I get monthly alimony, but that doesn't cover all of my bills. 

Once again, I have to sing God's praises, because never once has He let me down. Things always turn out, no matter on the timing or how it might look different. Additionally, my other side hustle is helping friends out with their dogs while they vacation. Any extra money I make will go directly to my savings account! You know me...I'm an open book here, and I always hope that a little part of my story encourages someone else on their own journey in life. 

Thanks for being here to read and link up today! I can't wait to read all of your answers to the prompts over the next few days. I'll see you back here on Monday. Love to all!

Jenn 

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Friday Favorites, 5.29.2026.

 

Happy Friday, friends! How was your week? Mine was great! This was my first official week off from school, and I have to say...it was glorious. I have some favorites that I thought I'd talk about today...some of which you might have already seen pictures of, but it'll be okay. 

Social media trends are always a favorite for me...I found this one yesterday on Instagram and added my pictures to jump on the bandwagon. 

These two images above were some of my favorites from the interwebs this week. I'm starting to realize some things in my life to be true, and this week I've had a couple of eye opening revelations about being the best version of myself. 

Memorial day was always one of Dad's favorite holidays...and this picture will forever be one of my favorites of him. He was 82 in this picture; this was us at the Veteran's cemetery for a Memorial day tribute when my sons were little...and this is his final resting place today. 

Years and years ago, Scripture writing was one of my favorite ways to have quiet time. I took a break from it for several years; when I saw this on my FB memories yesterday, I had the thought that I might start back up again. Now that I'm saying this out loud to you, I kind of can't wait to start and I might get a head start! I'm probably going to do the one on friendship, but in sharing this, I wondered if any of you might want to join me in this? 

Lunch with Mom and Trish yesterday was a favorite! I got an order of pan seared gyoza. These were delicious! I sent Chris this picture and told him that I felt like I was cheating on him, eating this without him. He told me I was fired as his girlfriend. 

While I waited on Mom and Trish yesterday, I sat in my car and read. I took this picture while I waited; this is one of my favorite areas in town and just so happens to be Marilyn's new community in which she lives. I was talking to her as I sat there for a good while; I miss her! She's in Savannah, Georgia for her daughter's college graduation. 

I only have two outfits to share this week! It's been so gross and rainy here...I'm ready for sunny skies once again. After tomorrow, it clears up a good bit. 

It was a favorite sitting here with my friend Andrea on Wednesday; we sat there for over three hours catching up on all of life! 

This book might be a favorite of summer! It's so, so good. Have you read it yet? 

These images that Chat GPT generates of you based on what it knows about you is a favorite and kind of spot on, truth be told. 

Being home and getting to snuggle has been their favorite this week! 

And finally, spending a lot of quality time with this one all week has been a favorite. I love him so much and am grateful that we found each other. Our relationship has been nowhere near perfect, but we are willing to fight for what we have and to keep pressing on. I have high hopes of being remarried someday, and I can genuinely see Chris being the one. He loves me so very well; he loves my sons, and he is such a kind and gentle soul. We were watching a show at one point this week, and he told me didn't think he could keep watching it because of all the violence. I think I fell a little deeper in love with him when he said this. I thank God for this sweet man every single day. 

I didn't mean to say all that, but I think I'll leave it out there. It feels like a great way to wrap up this post. Thanks for being here to read and encourage! In case you need a reminder, tomorrow is the May edition of Share 4 Somethings; I'll see you back here then! Love to all. 

Jenn 

Monthly Musings, May 2026

 

Happy bonus blog post day! I love being off work for this kind of thing...these posts rarely happen during the school year for me. I wanted to post again, because I love reading these types of things! I'll jump right in, but I'm linking up with Patty over at Good, Better, Best for this extra little tidbit today. 

1. Tell us about your Memorial day weekend. It was rainy and very low key because of that. I spent the better portion of Saturday exploring my city with my guy, which was fun. We went to a new to us car museum, and had breakfast at a place we'd both heard of but had never been to. It was a fun day! The rest of the weekend was very chill. I missed doing something this year, though...not that we usually do anything from year to year, my sons and I, but this year it would have been nice. 

2. What were your summer jobs when you were younger? My best memories are when my mom and sister owned a flower shop with a tanning bed salon upstairs. I loved working there at the florist with them, and our friend Patti (and owner of the tanning salon) would ask me to work for her on occasion. And I got to tan for free! Don't come at me for this, please...it was something almost all of us did. I loved laying in the tanning bed! It felt like I was at the beach with the smells, fan blowing, and music playing. My other summer jobs were always babysitting. 

3. Ice cream or popsicles? Favorite flavors? Ice cream all the way, please! I love chocolate and strawberry mixed. 

I often go out with Chris at night to make an ice cream run at the local Baskin Robbins! The first picture contains my all-time favorite flavor and brand of ice cream. I became obsessed with this on the first ever blogger's trip I took in the spring of 2024; Jeni's ice cream shops are all over Nashville.

4. What do you like on your hamburgers and hot dogs? On my hamburgers, I like lettuce, onion, pickles, and mustard. I'm my dad's daughter! On my hot dogs, I like mustard only or sometimes grilled onions and mustard. I rarely eat hot dogs...and I don't know why. They're so delicious, even if they're not great for you. One every once in a while never killed anyone. 

Huey's is a local favorite; I love their hamburgers! I also really love a Sonic burger.

5. Beach, lake, or mountains? Yes, please! I love them all, honestly. It'll be a lake season for me this summer, and I'm okay with that! But I do love the beach and the smell of the salty air the minute I reach the ocean. 

The first lake picture is Drew jumping into one several summers ago; that was one of the most fun days we had as a family of six. We spent the day of the fourth of July with our friends Tiffany and Jeremy. I was in a boot that summer, so I did a lot of sitting, but my sons all had the time of their lives. 

6. Share any travel for summer of 2026! So far I have two long weekend trips planned! One will be visiting Amy in Louisville, and the other will be with Chris when we celebrate a year of us being together. I'm excited for both! I don't know what else is in store, though.

7. Do you visit any amusement parks in the summer? Tell us your favorites. I'm not one for amusement parks, to be honest. 

8. Do you enjoy dining outside in the summer? I love dining al fresco when the weather's nice! I love doing this while I'm on vacation and there's water nearby. 

9. Favorite summer beverage? My favorite adult beverage would be a margarita or some other cocktail with coconut flavored anything. Rum comes to mind? Or maybe this year it'll be this new viral soft serve pineapple margarita!

10. Favorite side dish for summer parties? Feel free to share recipes! My favorite summer recipe is hands down this key lime pie.

It's so easy! All you do is mix together the juice of 6-10 lemons or limes and zest, two cans of condensed sweetened milk, and 1/2 a cup of sour cream; pour into a graham cracker crust and bake at 350 for ten minutes. It's amazing! Another side that I like in the summer is a cold pasta salad; I use the boxed kind, but I spice it up with Olive Garden Italian dressing, olives, capers, and lemon juice. 

Thanks for reading my second blog post of the day, friends! I'll see you back here tomorrow for Friday Favorites. Love to all!

Jenn 

summer bucket list

 

Happy Thursday, friends! Don't think I didn't pause before I said the day of the week. I'm always confused by the days when there's a holiday at the beginning, no matter if I'm working or off for summer break. I digress. I thought I'd talk about a few things I'd love to do this summer! I hope you enjoy this and are inspired to create your own list of sorts. I think it's great to have things that are both realistic and out of the box; also, I am one who likes to romanticize life, because I always need something to look forward to. Are you like that? I'll jump in now. 

I'm excited to travel again this summer! I don't have anything extraordinary planned, but I'm taking two long weekend trips that I know of so far: one will be to Louisville to visit my girl Amy with Marilyn, and the second will be with Chris as we celebrate a year of being together (location TBD). I'm excited about both! 

On the travel note, one thing I'd love to do is to take some day trips to a nearby town or city. There are some great options near me, and I think that sounds like so much fun on a random Friday. 

Because I don't have a lot of travel plans so far, I would love to be able to sit by a pool (or float in one) while I catch some sun and read. I'm looking forward to using Marilyn's pool when she gets back home after the weekend! I also have plans to help out friends and neighbors with their dogs over the summer, and a few of them have pools I can use. 

I'd love to continue to explore new and differing things with Chris this summer. We got off to a great start this past weekend and spent the better part of our Saturday trying a new restaurant and going somewhere we'd never been. I would also love to witness him at the racetrack again, which is something he loves to do. I think it's fun to watch people do what they love, and I love seeing him on or around motorcycles.

I'd love to visit the farmer's market that's near me more. I'd like to incorporate more fresh veggies into my cooking and eating this summer. I feel like I always say this, by the way. And I'm pretty sure I never follow through with this one. 

I have a few things that are mundane that I need to get done this summer: I need a new copy of my divorce decree papers because Jonah's dog Chloe ate mine, I need a new driver's license with my new legal name, and I need to get my utilities put into my name. That last one will require a visit to them in person, not that I'm looking forward to that, but I also need to just get it done. One other thing that is mundane is that I need to get my teeth cleaned! Is that TMI? 

I want to use the time I have off work catching up with my friends in real life. I have people that I never get to see because I'm too tired at night; now is the perfect time for lunches, lunches, and more lunches! 

(This was me enjoying the first of such outings yesterday! I met my friend Andrea at a local favorite, and we sat there for three and a half hours catching up on all of life.)

I want to see my mom and sister Trish more this summer. I'm doing this today, actually! We're meeting for pedicures this morning.

I want to nail down a couple of trips for the fall of this year: one for fall break and another for my birthday. I had wanted to go to NYC for my 50th birthday in December, but realistically, I don't know that it'll happen. It's okay, though! I have a great plan B.

I want to spend some time getting rid of things in my house. I need to clean out my kitchen cabinets, the hutch in my dining room, and a couple of upstairs closets. I spent part of Tuesday cleaning out my own closet again; I've done a great job of keeping it organized, but as time has gone on, it had gotten messy again. I purged a few things, straightened some items on hangers, and refolded the things I have situated on the shelf inside where I keep pajamas, leggings, and tee shirts. 

I would love more outdoorsy date nights with Chris. Things I love are picnics, sunset watching, and listening to music under the light of the stars. I'd also love some pool date nights! We'll see...

I want to read all the summery books I can! I finished one yesterday and immediately jumped into another one, only to be sucked right in immediately. I love it when that happens! 

I'd love to find a summery show to binge watch! I'm here for all your recs. 

What would you add to this list? I'd love to hear and am open to suggestion! Thanks for reading today, friends! Love to all.

Jenn