Happy Friday, friends! How has your week been? Mine has been really good; it's felt both long and fast. Isn't it strange how that happens? I have lots of favorites from this week, so I'll jump right in.
My favorite young mom (and niece Erika) celebrated her birthday on Sunday! I Facetimed her bright and early that morning and talked to three out of her four girls at the same time. That is always a favorite! Every time we talk, we say that we should talk more, yet somehow we don't. I'd love to do this with her more often!
Sundays with Chris will always be my favorite. I love having him at church with me every week, and I've introduced him to so many people. After church we had lunch at a local restaurant with my Memphis sons; Graham and Drew were at church, and Jonah met us at Booya's. On the flip side of this, goodbyes are not my favorite. I always get so sad when he leaves to go back home after lunch on Sundays.
Fires in my fireplace have been my favorite lately! I'm so happy to be using my woodburning fireplace again; this week Jonah brought some firewood into the garage in preparation for the Snowmageddon 2026 that is coming this weekend.
Taco soup with Marilyn was my favorite on Sunday night! So is the little icon glass that you see.
Monday was my favorite day of the week! I could get used to having Mondays off. I loved this quote that I found above from Martin Luther King, Jr. I talked about this yesterday with some of my fourth grade students about what this means, and how we all need to walk with integrity.
These were my favorite things from socials that I saw this week.
I've talked about Dollar Tree finds that I love lately; here are my favorites. The pictures above are of the most amazing lip oil. I think it may be a dupe to an expensive brand, but I can't say that for sure. I have tubes of this in my car, purse, in my bathroom, and in my kitchen.
This is a dupe for the Vaseline brand body stick! I love this stuff and have been using it on the dry patches of skin on both my hands.
Before I found the lip oil, this Palmer's lip balm was my favorite.
Someone asked me which nighttime moisturizer I've been using lately; it's this one from Dollar Tree!
I also love these serums from the Pure brand; the one on the left is one I use in the morning, and the other goes on after I put on moisturizer before I go to bed at night. You should try to find some of these products! I've been shocked at how good they are.
Coming home to a goodie on my front porch yesterday was my favorite. This adorable mug is from my sweet Abbey that I talked about this week!
This is Abbey. I talked about her in two blog posts this week! Speaking of blog posts, here are links to the week's other posts that I've made in case you'd like to read them.
I got us our favorite pizza last night; this Elvis always makes me laugh.
These ladies are some of my favorites! We call ourselves The Lunch Bunch.
This is a new favorite song I discovered yesterday. It's by Passion, Melodie Malone, and Jenn Johnson.
I had a little girl tell me how much she loves all my earrings yesterday; they're my favorite, too. I have three on each side, and my cartilage is pierced, too. I just don't keep an earring in that piercing.
This is my favorite shirt! I talked about it last week, but it's from Walmart.
My outfits are always my favorite! Do you have one that you like the most? This sweatshirt in the picture above was Chris' favorite; the hoodie is his. He left it at my house, and I told him it's mine forever. 🤣 I feel like a teenager wearing my boyfriend's letterman jacket.
Wednesdays at Rotolo's are still my favorite!
The pep rally was my favorite this week! And so is this sweet student. I have known him since he was in first grade; he reminds me of one of my sons!
Spending time with my first grade girl B is a favorite! She is such a hard worker, and I am so proud of her. She's come so far since August!
Artwork in the halls at school is my favorite! I love these lanterns with a snowy backdrop.
My friend Laurie sent me this Wednesday; she said Drew made this collage ten years ago when he dated Laurie's daughter. He told her we didn't look alike, but I would beg to differ!
Seeing this sweet friend was a favorite this week! Marcia and Brad (her hubby) are dear friends of mine that I've known since my boys were little. I love this sweet lady! She took me out for lunch on my anniversary last year; she and her husband have been so kind to me.
What was a favorite from your week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all!
Happy Thursday, friends! This week feels fast, since school was out on Monday. I know this isn't always the case with a short week, but it's like that this week for me for some reason. I missed choir last night again, because I didn't want to take a chance on making my throat sore when I sing. I feel better now, but my throat hurt so bad the last time I sang that it took almost a whole day for me to get it under control again. That's another reason that the week feels fast and a little strange...because I was diagnosed with the flu last week, the doctor sent me home for the rest of the work week; I missed Thursday and Friday. Anyway, fast does not equal bad, please hear me say that. I love a fast week, and we're anticipating snow! The days have felt fun at school, and the kids are beyond excited over the snow possibilities.
This week I'm thankful for:
time with Jesus in the mornings
being back on a schedule after missing work unexpectedly last week
Here's my morning routine: I wake up from 5-5:30, let the dogs out, make my coffee, and read blogs until six. I feed the baby dogs, make my lunch, take my vitamins, and will start a blog post for the next day. I walk upstairs at 6:55 to start getting dressed, and while I brush my teeth, I start listening to the Bible being read to me on my Bible app. I'm reading along with the Bible Recap community again this year, so each day is planned out. I put moisturizer and serum on my face; while it dries, I make my bed. I put on my sunscreen and Lumi Glotion by mixing it together in my hands, then while that dries, I put lotion all over my body. After that I put on my makeup, get dressed, and finish my hair. My hair is easy, so all that is required is a short blast of heat to smooth it out on top from where I slept with it up the night before. I put on lip balm, take an OOTD picture, then walk downstairs. I grab my bags and am walking out the door between 7:30-7:40. I drive to my church parking lot and talk to Marilyn until 8:00, then I call Mom as I drive to work and park. I walk into work everyday at 8:20.
I said all that to talk about my quiet time, but that leads me to the next thing I'm thankful for...
routine
the sweet students (who were so excited to see me again on Tuesday)
a job that I love and that the Lord Himself hand-picked for me
music that I listen to each morning (and sometimes fall asleep to at night)
worship music
a fun place to work
a basketball pep rally
getting to catch up with old friends over food and football
friends
my amazing family
that Mom is feeling better after being really sick
the living, active word of God
that I finished three books already for the month of January (stay tuned for a bookish post)
excellent health insurance
conversations on the phone with Chris
having a midweek date with him at "our" Huey's, a local restaurant
hugs
my Apple watch
pretty lights in my home that make me smile
a night of great sleep
medicine that works
being able to catch up with a friend on the phone when we can't meet
candles that smell really good
the gift of writing both here and in a journal
that I get to read the Bible everyday
that I get to go to work each day
how my life has turned out
the joy that I feel each morning when I wake up
pictures of me with Chris that I have in my home
that he calls me for everything, even though he hates to talk on the phone
I love these girls! I had a blast watching them cheer at the pep rally yesterday. What are you thankful for this week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all!
Happy Wednesday, friends! I'm here with Joyce again today for the weekly hodgepodge...this is a post that I dearly love; thank you, Joyce, for your inspiring and thought provoking questions each and every week! I'll jump right in!
1. Ice skating, skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, playing in the snow, or a snowy walk...which winter activity do you choose?Have you done any of these activities so far this winter? None of the above! I choose to stay inside and read/watch tv/listen to music when or if it snows this winter. I'll take a cozy day inside my warm home any day of the week! While I would like to see snow this year, I don't want it to stick around too long; preferably it'll be on the ground for a day or two, and then melt quickly. Yes, I realize I'm very specific about my snow and its duration.
We're predicted to have snow this coming weekend! I'm kind of excited. I'd love to have a snow day next week! I thoroughly enjoyed the Monday that I had off this week, thanks to the day that we honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Speaking of that...
I love this quote by him; it's one I'd never seen before Monday.
2. Everyone is posting pictures from ten years ago on their socials; let's jump on the bandwagon! Share a photo and a thought to go with it from 2016. And maybe everyone isn't doing this, but many are, so let's be part of the fun!
I actually talked about this very thing in Monday's blog post (click that link if you'd like to read it), so I won't say anything more than what I said earlier in the week. I love a good collage photo, and I talked about my dear friend Abbey in that post, but for today I took it a step further and created this graphic. I would say that we haven't changed that much, except for my hair. 🤣 I will never have dark hair again; if I ever say that I want to dye it like that again, know that it's code for the fact that I've been kidnapped and I need you to call 911.
I guess some things have changed: I'm no longer married and my sons are all grown. She wasn't married at the time of this picture, but now she's married and is a mom to four amazing kiddos. Our roles have changed, and we may not see each other as often as we'd like, but when we do catch up, it's like we were never apart. Abbey is ten years younger than me; we became best friends by being prayer partners. For years, she and I prayed together every week. As she had kids and her life became more busy, we naturally dropped off with this, but we've always said we'll return to it someday. I adore this woman! She's one of the ones who was with me when my friends took me out for dinner when my divorce was final.
3. What's a trend you hope disappears this year? I had a hard time coming up with an answer to this question. The only thing that came to mind was the "67" thing that is prevalent in schools right now. I would love for that to disappear. When I asked Gemini this question, she had some great things to say as far as trends for 2026. Here are a couple of things she mentioned:
core styles are being replaced (think cottage core or Barbie core)
tangible gifts are going out of style and being replaced with life experiences like travel and concerts
I love this! I may not love the "style" of 2026, fashion wise, but I love that people are doing their own things. This feels right and appropriate for us! Or maybe it's just me and I feel it makes sense for my own life. What say you?
4. They say there's a day for everything and January 21 proves it to be true. It's National Granola Bar Day! Do you like granola bars? How about just regular granola? Do you like bars of other kinds? This made me laugh because there really does seem to be a day for everything under the sun. That kind of reminds me of what King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes, and how there's a season for everything. Anyway, to answer this question, I do like granola bars, granola, and other bars. I don't have a particular kind that I like, but I did recently buy some from Walmart that are like cereal bars. I bought a variety box of strawberry, blueberry, and apple cinnamon.
5. A frozen lake, a trickling stream, a raging river, or a deep well...which one describes something about your life right now? Elaborate as much or as little as you like. I hesitate to say this in fear of jinxing myself (I'm kidding, I don't believe in that), but at this present date, my life feels like a trickling stream. It feels calm and peaceful in all areas: at home, at work, in my relationships with family, friends, and my Chris. And now I'm going to go pray that it remains that way.
I thought it'd be fun to include pictures of me by water; this was at the beach with Marilyn last summer, and my more recent trip to Maine on fall break in October 2025. The one of me with the wind whipping my hair cracks me up.
6. Insert your own random thought here. I loved my Monday morning! I was off work for a holiday, and I spent the morning leisurely reading blogs, writing for my own, I gave myself a pedicure, and I browsed socials. In doing that, I came across my friend Robin's post on FB that she made on Sunday; her husband David died right before Thanksgiving. David was a friend to me from a very young age; I lived on his street briefly and grew up with his younger sister, Rachel. He was one of my favorite people on earth! He always called me Smiley, and later on he became my youth pastor when I was a teenager. He was about eight-ten years older than me, and Robin eventually started dating him. I kept in touch with them over the years, even though I changed to a different church, but David dedicated Graham when he was one year old in the old church I grew up in. Later on down the road, he joined the staff of the church that I went to with my family before I changed to the church I currently attend. How sweet, right?
I shared all of this to say that in reading a post his wife Robin made, she talked about how much this song helped her through the year and a half that he fought for his life. I'd heard this before but forgotten about it, and when I listened to it Monday morning, I knew I wanted to share it with you. It's called One More Day, and it's by a group called Sons of Sunday.
I hope you enjoy this song as much as I did on Monday.
I'm excited to read your answers to these questions today on your blog! Thanks for being here to read mind, friends. Love to all.
