Friday Favorites, 12.19.2025.

 

Happy Friday, friends! It's been a week; all of us at school are limping into the weekend like we've been around sugared up elementary school kids all week. Oh, wait; we have! I have a lot to catch you up on, so I'm going to jump right in, starting from last weekend.

I enjoyed reading for the first time in ages on Saturday morning! It was heavenly not having anywhere to be that morning. I got dressed after that and headed out to meet my mom and Trish for a day out together. 

We had breakfast at my favorite place, then we went to John Mark's so that I could see the holiday goods he has out in the shop. It's stunning! 

We ended our time together by stopping to see Dad's grave. I love it when the Christmas wreaths are out! This is one his wife put out, but I think it looks beautiful. 

I love spending my birthday with Mom! After this I came home to relax before having to be at church that night. Sunday was more of the same. 

I enjoyed a leisurely birthday morning spent drinking coffee, reading the many beautiful cards I received, and writing in my journal. I felt a little sad that day; I think it was discernment that something seemed off. 

I wore my birthday top to church that morning! It's my favorite Umgee boutique top from a few years ago. I met Mom and Bill for lunch after church, then came home for a nap before heading back to the church that night. In the midst of all that, Chris came over and showered me with birthday love. 

Monday was Grinch day at school, so I dressed in tacky clothing to celebrate. It's a favorite thing to have such a fun job! This week was a lot at school, but it really has been a blast. 

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Freezing in the car line that morning was not my favorite, but...

...having a coffee truck at work was! 

My sister Lisa calls this activity "taking to the bed". It's become my favorite thing to do at night lately, and it's what I did Monday night. I barely slept a wink the night before, so I was beat. This was around eight o'clock; I read blogs, I shopped on Amazon for Christmas, and then I talked on the phone a lot before finally calling it a night. 

It was a favorite this week seeing what the naughty elves at school were up to each day. This was one day when 67 was posted all over the walls of the school. 

It was a tacky but favorite week of dressing at work. Yesterday I wore the brown leggings with the sweatshirt that says Jenny Lake. Debi bought me this for my birthday, when she was in Wyoming this fall. She's the only person in the world who's allowed to call me Jenny, and that's why she bought it for me. 

Something else that wasn't a favorite this week was Chloe being attacked by another dog. Our neighbor's dog bit her front paw Wednesday afternoon and just about tore off one of her "toes". Jonah had to rush her to the Vet after hours so they could stitch her up; they had to sedate her to do be able to do this, and sent her home with this cast and lots of medicines since she was bitten. I can never unsee this! Poor baby girl; blood was everywhere, and we're all traumatized. 

One last favorite was hanging with my sons last weekend and Wednesday night. Drew and I did some Christmas shopping Wednesday night since I didn't have church, then we ended at the usual Rotolo's where he devoured his calzone and half of mine, plus an entire order of truffle fries. He loves food! 

I wasn't ready to go home after choir on Friday night, so after a failed attempt to get ahold of Kendra, when I talked to Jonah, he invited me up to where he was hanging out with friends. It was such a fun night! They bought me birthday drinks, then we had fun dancing a little. I cracked up over Jonah being out on the dance floor; turns out he's the life of the party once he's had a drink or two, and he can dance! Also, he willingly posed for pictures for me for the same reason. Graham joined us, and I made it back home by eleven. It was such a fun night, and I had one of those moments of awe when I realized how much I love hanging out with my grown-up sons. They're pretty amazing! 

As far as the start of my week, it was rough. I was glad to feel better with each passing day, but it was touch and go for a while. I learned some shocking news late Sunday night: my ex-husband is marrying the woman he left me for. I shouldn't have been so surprised, because I saw it coming and it's why I got rid of his name ASAP in my divorce; I knew that if he married her, there would have been a second Jennifer Goodwin (her name is Jennifer). I'm so thankful I did that, in hindsight! I didn't love finding out the way I did, and on my birthday no less, but it is what it is. I've always been an open book here, you know that. This is why my week started so badly. I said some things about this to him, let off some steam, and then I felt better with each passing day. 

All that to day, it's been a week, and I am more than ready for winter break! I need a break from everything: life, work, responsibilities, etc. Unfortunately I'll only get a break from work, but I'll take that with much gratitude. I am so ready for time with my family and some fun things that we'll do once we're all together. 

What's a favorite of yours from the week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all!

Jenn 

the Wednesday hodgepodge

 

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. What's one thing on your to-do list that you need to get done, want to get done, or must get done before the year ends? I have a lot of things I want to get done while I'm on winter break from work. The thing I need to get done is the last of my Christmas shopping and the wrapping of all the things. Aside from that, I'd like to get some cleaning/organizing/purging/donating done. There are lots of trouble spots in my home that need to be sorted through. I'm on a mission to simplify! 

On that list of things to go through are the things in Dad's hutch and I want to go through all of my books. 

2. December 17th is National Maple Syrup day...are you a fan? Do you like maple in other food items such as candy, cookies, donuts, oatmeal, hot toddies, coffee? I like maple syrup, but I don't think I'm a fanatic about it or anything crazy. We have a local candy store that's been around Memphis for generations called Dinstuhl's; one thing I used to love getting from there were their maple creams. I think it sounds like it would be delicious in coffee! 

3. Time Magazine names a person of the year every year. The tradition started back in 1927 with a man of the year but has since changed not only to an individual, but also to consider the impact of a group, movement, or idea that influenced the year. The selection is not always someone or something good (think Hitler in 1938 and Stalin twice). This year, they've named the AI architects as their "person" of the year. Is this a good choice, a logical choice, an obvious choice? Who do you think should have been named person of the year? I can see how naming the AI architects the "person(s) of the year" would be a logical choice; even though we don't think of AI as human, someone had to start it up at some point, and the mastermind behind it is pretty brilliant. That's just my humble opinion. While AI is pretty scary, it's also something that is making life easier for a lot of people. I don't think it's good in the sense that it will eliminate jobs for people, but it's something that is around and not going anywhere for a long time. Like everything in life, there are pros and cons to this newer form of technology.

I'm still all for letting the big wigs at Chick Fil A running the country; why not let them be the people of the year? 

4. What's a city, state, or country that you've visited that you never care to visit again? Tell us why. I'm about to say something super controversial here, so I hope we can still be friends after today. I think Disney is overrated. I get the magic of it for young kids, but I've been there several times and don't really care to ever go back. I'd go back to Epcot, but even that seems far fetched. I realize that this isn't a city, state or country, but it's all I could think of. 

5. Next Sunday (December 21st) marks the first day of winter. What's one thing you love about this new season? I kind of love winter, friends. I love the early nights, the season of embracing all of the cozy vibes, the snow, the promise of an impending new year, and that magical week between Christmas and New Year's day. I love the thought of snow days and time spent snuggled up at home with nowhere to be. I don't necessarily dislike January, either, like most people. I'm told that February is the longest month at school, because it's the only month with no breaks. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. Thanks for being here for me this week, friends. I had a rough ending to my birthday/start of the new week. I received some shocking news and it literally almost took me down. I called Marilyn, because what else would I do? She was here within ten minutes, and came right upstairs to my bedroom and laid on top of it with me. She hugged me, encouraged me, let me cry, let me sit in silence, and just locked eyes with me while we talked. I will never ever take this kind of friendship for granted! I'm so thankful for her, and that she is so close to me these days. 

I'm also thankful for you and your kind words to help get me through a tough start to the week. I'm not sure if I'll be back here tomorrow, but I plan on being here Friday to celebrate the final day of school for me. I can't believe semester one is almost over! Time has flown, and I am still so grateful to have a job that I love. As I write this, I'm group texting the ladies I eat lunch with everyday. 

I spent some time at Dad's grave with my sister and mom for my birthday on Saturday. I'll share more about the weekend on Friday. Thanks for being here to read my blog today, friends. Love to all!

Jenn xoxo

a quick word and a possible blog break

 

Hey, friends. I wanted to share a quick post with you this morning that I made on social media yesterday. Here it is below and the words I wrote.

It’s a different and quiet birthday morning. For the second year in a row, I’ve woken up with this deep longing of missing people who used to be in my life, my dad being at the top of that list. It’s weird waking up not knowing if your people will even remember your birthday since they don’t have anyone to remind them anymore. I’m sure they will eventually reach out to me today, they’re good like that.

But it’s different being on your own. I’ve had several cards that I’ve been hanging onto because I wanted to have something to read when I woke up this morning. I’m not one who treasures things, but words? I hang onto those. It was a blessing to save those cards and read all the messages my friends and students at school wrote. Honestly, a lot of them made me cry, but that’s also not a hard thing to do.

I am feeling extremely grateful for another year of life, for my sons, my amazing family, and for this incredible support system of friends who love me dearly. I often don’t feel worthy of that kind of love, but God gave me all of these wonderful people who have been life lines to me. Because of that gratitude and because I’m a reflective kind of person, I spent some time doing one of my favorite things already today: I wrote out a thank You prayer to God in my journal while Christmas worship music played in the background. I savored my coffee and enjoyed not having to rush off so early to be anywhere. I loved waking up to texts and FB birthday messages and responding back to some of the more personal ones (I’ll definitely get back to all of them at some point).

And where else would I want to spend my birthday then at church with so many friends? I’ve been there all weekend, actually, but have loved that time spent singing. I write all of this just to say that I’m grateful for today, for the start of another year of life. Life looks so different than what I thought it would be like, but I’m okay with that. There are still days when I struggle and honestly I felt that when I first woke up today, but the Lord was sweet to turn it around for me. Even saying it all here is like therapy. He really has been faithful to me all of my life. Here’s to year 49.

It was an okay weekend; I don't mean to be all maudlin here, but I feel like I have so many things on my mind. I literally woke up with all the feelings yesterday. I wanted to mention this today, because I honestly don't know if I'll be back here to write this week. Of course that could change and I'll be back each day. I'm okay, nothing has changed with me and Chris, and my family members are all well. It's just me feeling all of the things, and after spending part of last night with Marilyn and telling her this, I may just need a break to prevent even more of the burnout that I'm currently feeling.

I'm only sharing this today because I feel like if I don't, a lot of you will wonder or even text me. I'm open to talking! Just not here. I pray you have the best week, in case I don't "see" you here again for a while. Thanks for always being here to encourage me and to read my posts. Love to all.

Jenn ❤️

Friday Favorites, the merry everything edition (12.12.2025.)

 

Merry Friday, friends! I have four and a half days of school left for the first semester after today. I'm officially on countdown mode, and everything is holiday celebrations from here on out. I'm here for every bit of all the festive fun! I had so many favorites from this week; I'll jump right in! 

I'll start with outfits from the week:

I didn't do Christmas clothes everyday this week, but I alternated. Do you have a favorite? I think mine is the one with the red flats, or the one with the Merry sweatshirt and green pants. I rewarded myself for making it to Thursday by wearing something comfy and cozy, which was when I wore the Dallas Mavericks hoodie and leggings. I'm writing this on Thursday night, and today is our actual comfy/cozy day; I don't know what I'll be wearing as of yet. 

One favorite from this week was seeing Marilyn Sunday night; she went to a fun jazz concert at my church called Jingle Bell Jam. I love this type music! It will always remind me of my dad. He loved attending this with me each year! 

These were my favorite wintry images from Instagram this week! I love this last one; it's by the account Accidentally Wes Anderson. His photography is stunning! 

Judging from the views this post got, Tuesday was your favorite blog post day, when I shared my Christmas home tour for this year. Here's the link if you'd like to check it out after you read this post! Lots of you had such nice things to say to me on that one; thank you! 

My Christmas cups are my favorite! 

Doodling in my planner at work has been my favorite this week. I've gotten to the point where I'm doing so many different things at work each day, that I have to write it all down to keep up. I had a moment on Wednesday when my memory completely failed me when it came time for second grade intervention; I tried starting over on the lesson we'd been working on, but one of them corrected me immediately. 🤣

This little ten minutes of peace each day at 11:45 with fifth graders is my new favorite. I eat my snack, I drink the water I keep with me, and I catch up with two of the students in this room every single day. 

I've been going to the chiropractor twice a week in the afternoons after work, and to get there, I drive down one of my favorite streets in Memphis: Shady Grove. The homes in this neighborhood are massive! I was stuck in traffic yesterday, so I used the opportunity to take some pictures. 

Choir practice is always a favorite! This was Wednesday night when we had an extended rehearsal to prepare for our Christmas program this weekend. 

My little space at work is my favorite; I want to figure out something to help it be more organized on the table behind me at some point. I haven't wanted to move things around or change them, but I'm comfortable enough now that I feel like I can start to make it reflect me more. 

Christmas nails are my favorite! 

Lastly, this one is my favorite. I won't be seeing a lot of him this weekend, unfortunately, due to my schedule. I was talking to him about this on Thursday as I was driving home from Memphis, and he told me to make time for him sometime on Friday before I have to be at  rehearsal, otherwise he would be parked outside at the church until I came to see him. Well done, Chris, well done. That being said, I will be seeing him tonight before I have to be at the church, and I'll see him on Sunday. 

What was a favorite of yours from the week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all!

Jenn