Friday Favorites, 7.4.2025.

 

Happy Independence Friday, friends! I have had the most fun, busy week ever. I've loved having my brother and nephew stay with me this week while they're here from OKC. It was fun to buy groceries for them and to have lots of activity in the house, and Jax (my nephew) has loved being with Jonah's dogs. He has worn them out each night! It's been the funniest thing. I am leaving town for a week today, so because of that, you won't see me around here while I'm gone. I'm in need of a blog vacay! I probably won't even do any blog reading, truth be told, so I'll catch back up with y'all the week of the 13th. 

Here are my favorites from this week! 

Hanging out in J's truck while he did work last weekend was a favorite. I helped him with a couple of computer issues that he was having one of the days I was there. 

This series is my favorite! I'm re-reading it now.

Delicious salads and a serious catch up session with Marilyn was a favorite this week.

I made my sons' favorite dinner this week for them, Trey, and Jax!

My sons at home will forever be a favorite...and Graham is one of Stella's!

On Tuesday, Trey, Jax, and I went to Jerry's Sno Cones; this was a favorite of my sons' when they were younger. I had fried mac-n-cheese bites and lemon lime sno cone. This is an iconic Memphis spot.

After that, we went to Shelby Farms, one of the largest urban parks in the country!

Peabody was next, to see the famous ducks!

Jax's favorite thing to do is to pose with me for a picture! 🤣

For the rest of Tuesday we went to Gibson's donuts (another iconic Memphis spot), Tom Lee Park to see the river, and then to the Pyramid (Bass Pro) to ride up to the observation deck (a first for me). We ended the epic day by meeting up with my Memphis guys at Huey's. It was my favorite day!

Wednesday was my last official day at work. They threw me a going away banana split ice cream party; you better believe I ate and loved ice cream for lunch that day!  

Work bestie #1 above is Amy B. I don't know how I would have made it through the last year of my life without her! She's my friend who recently completed her chemo treatments for breast cancer. I literally fell apart in front of her so many times this last year! She was the first to find out about my ex husband and me, she was there to support me emotionally, and she let me sit in her office a lot and just pour my heart out. To say she was invested is the understatement of the year. We grew so close very quickly! I look forward to getting to know her more in a different way apart from work now. 

My sweet co-writing friend, Amy. 

Second, equally as wonderful, work bestie Mandy and me. We've cried and laughed together so much since I started working at church two years ago!

Last but not least, Wednesday night at Mom's and Bill's was my favorite. We had a catfish fry, then shot off fireworks once it got dark enough. I took Jerry with me, and felt like that went well! He was a little nervous going out there, but he warmed up quickly and enjoyed meeting the family members that were there. It was a fun night, and I'm glad I got to see him again before leaving town today.

What was a favorite from your week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. I'll see you back here on the 13th! Love to all. 

Jenn ❤️

Currently: July 2025

 

Happy Wednesday, friends! I'm glad you're here today for the currently link party. It never goes without saying how thankful I am several of you join me for this each month; I hope you keep it up! This month we're talking about some things we're currently loving, savoring, celebrating, remembering, and trying. Some of this will be redundant...sorry about that! I'll jump right in. 

Loving

I am loving these summer time sunsets!

I'm loving feeling like a boss lady every time I do something considered "masculine". I'm loving having friend connections that are men that give me estimates, advice, and perspective. This picture above was me on Friday at Auto Zone having windshield washer fluid added to my car; this man showed me how to do it, even though it turns out that I would have figured it out on my own, thanks to the marking on that tank underneath my car's hood.

I'm loving concerts, and doing things like that with J! I bought my next set of tickets; Mar and I are going to see Teddy Swims at this same venue mid-August! 

I am loving pool time!

Savoring

I am savoring sweet summertime, and salads, and catch up girl dates with my friends! Mar and I hadn't seen each other in eight days when we met for lunch on Monday; we were like teenagers getting caught up. She was giddy, and I cried, but whatever! Today is the one year anniversary of my dad dying; I've been an emotional wreck all week/weekend. 

Celebrating

I know I should say that I'm celebrating the fourth of July, but honestly? I'm celebrating the life of my sweet dad. He saw Jesus face to face one year ago today; in some ways it seems like it's been a decade since I've seen him. In other ways, it seems like it was just yesterday that I was planning out our Fridays together. This was us in the waiting room of the hospital after he died; the chaplain was praying for us.

Remembering

With this anniversary comes lots of remembering! I kind of went down a rabbit hole here yesterday and looked back on old pictures of our times together. How fortunate am I to have had such a wonderful relationship with my dad? And all of that quality time we got to spend together? I'd give anything to have a little more time with him here on earth, honestly, but in the same breath, I wouldn't wish him back here for all the money or things in the world. I'm glad he wasn't around to see this last year of my life. It would have been hard on him, because he wouldn't have understood how his (then) son-in-law could walk out on his youngest daughter. It would have been hard on me, because with his dementia, he would have forgotten every five minutes that Todd was no longer part of my life. And boy did he love Todd! It pisses me off when I think of it, if you want to know the full truth. 

Trying

I'll be trying to end this post on a positive note, so I'll brag on myself about some things I'm learning along the way. I'm going to have some work done in my home here in the next few weeks, and it feels great to know that I know people either personally, or who know other people, for me to reach out to inquire about such things. There's a song that I love that is on one of my playlists on Spotify that I listen to when I need to feel validated...it's Badass Woman by Megan Trainor. Pardon the cuss word, but it's a song that makes me laugh and feel strong! 🤣🤣

Thanks for being here today, friends! I always appreciate your love and encouragement. Love to all! 

Jenn 

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weekending

 

Happy Monday, friends! I hope you had a great weekend; mine felt epic again. Here are all the details!

I always start the day with a picture text!

I had plans to eat lunch with Mom on Friday; she was running a tad behind, so I went to check out the new boutique we have in town and found this dress. I bought it and two chunky gold bracelets that I'm in love with! I've worn them since Friday. 

We had sushi for lunch! After that, I had an order to pick up from Sam's, then I ran into Auto Zone when my car wouldn't stop screaming at me that she was out windshield washer fluid. This kind man showed me how to change it myself from now on, but he was in my car trying to figure out why the fluid wasn't coming out; it turns out that for about ten minutes, my wipers didn't work on my car. They had worked the day before when I picked it up from my friend who did the repairs for me, so I reached out to him to ask about it. He told me to bring it by and they'd work on it for me, but all of a sudden, everything started working again and it's been fine ever since. 

On my way to Jerry's for the concert! I wore my new dress, because it was cute and very lightweight/breathable. I'd been kind of dreading the concert all week, to tell you the truth, because of how hot it's been here, but once we got there, it was pleasant outside! We didn't have to walk as far as we did the last time we went, and when we got to our seats, we decided to just stand. There was a blocked off section that we stood in front of, because there was a nice breeze as long as we stood there. I still got hot, don't get me wrong, but it was nowhere near as bad as I'd thought it would be. 

We saw Old Dominion; Redferrin and Ernest opened up for them, and all three acts were incredible! I love it when the artists sound like they sound on Spotify; all of these guys/groups are incredibly talented. Friends, I am having a moment with concerts! I have already bought my next set of tickets; I'm seeing Teddy Swims in August with Marilyn, and I am beyond excited. I love his music! I could have listened to Old Dominion all night long; it was a great way to end a fun night. Full disclosure, though, our date got started off a bit rocky. It got better the later the night got, and by the time Old Dominion came on, everything was fine and normal again. 

Saturday found me at the pool again! I didn't stay very long, because somehow I was sweating while in the water. I don't enjoy swimming when is warm like that. It felt good to get some more sun, though! 

This made me laugh way too hard! I was scrolling and floating while at the pool. Later on that day, I went to Jerry's again...the whole night was kind of strange, and I'm kind of processing things and trying not to overthink things and read into something that isn't there. I refuse to let it get me down, though, because I have a busy week planned! 

This was my excited face over Sunday being my last Sunday to work in the bookstore! I had lots of sweet friends who stopped by to thank me for doing such a great job with the bookstore the last two years. It feels good to be honored like that! I wasn't sad at all; I'm thankful for the fact that the Lord gave me this job two years ago for the year He knew I would most need to stay busy. Through my job, He taught me finances! Isn't that incredible? I wasn't looking for a job when this job found me, by the way. He is such a good Dad to me! 

Church was incredible; afterwards I went to lunch with Mom and Bill, then I went to Lowe's. I feel like a boss lady every time I walk into a store like this, and I was getting some looks in my pink dress and churched up self. 🤣 I'm kidding...I really wasn't getting looks, except for the two people I ran into inside who stopped to talk to me. I had to buy indoor bug spray and weed killer for the grass growing in the cracks of my driveway. I had a chill rest of the day, and went to bed early. 

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun and noteworthy? I'd love to hear from you! Also, here's your friendly reminder that Currently is happening this week on Wednesday! In July we're talking about what we're currently loving, savoring, celebrating, remembering, and trying. I hope you make plans to join us! Thanks for being here to read as well, friends. Love to all!

Jenn ❤️