Thankful Thursday & Week One Outfits

 

Happy Thursday, friends! It's been so long since I've made a Thankful Thursday post; it seemed appropriate for today as I'm close to wrapping up my first week of working full time again. I'll jump in! 

I'm thankful for a work place that feels like home, for people that have welcomed me, and for the friendships I have with people there both new and old! I'm working with a previous co-worker again at this school; we worked together when my kids were in elementary school, and she was Drew's second grade teacher. I was so surprised to see her there Monday morning!

I'm thankful that public speaking doesn't scare the daylights out of me like it used to! The principal actually had me come to the front of the auditorium and introduce myself with a microphone on Monday morning; I thought she just wanted me to stand, the speaking part surprised me. I went with it, though, and it was fine. Singing in choir on a stage has helped me with with this, so I know to make good eye contact and to speak with confidence. 

I'm thankful for fun things to look forward to! I haven't actually been alone at home since I've started working this week; I had plans Monday night, Tuesday and Wednesday nights I had company, and tonight I'm getting a much needed hair cut. It's okay for this week, but I know I'll have to slow my roll once the students come back.

I'm thankful for lunches at home! I've been coming home to eat lunch each day so that I can help with the dogs and let them out while Jonah works. Hopefully his schedule will clear up some in the coming days so that Stella won't have to sit for so long in her kennel. I'll miss leaving campus for lunch when the students return, so I'll enjoy this for as long as I can. I might join some co-workers for lunch out one day, but for now it's been nice to come home and decompress a little since I'm so close. 

I'm thankful for fun Fridays to look forward to at work; I learned yesterday that it's an easy day for us all day on this day each week. Often this is the day that we get PTA treats, as well, or fun lunches, so I know I'll love Fridays even more this year! 

I've had fun getting dressed this week! I won't dress this way when the students start, but here are the outfits I wore each day this week so far. I need to clean the bedroom mirror, so please don't judge. 

I'm thankful that Amy suggested Monday's outfit! My only instructions were to dress comfortably, but I also wanted to look cute. This was the perfect combination of that!

I had district training on Tuesday, so I wore these leggings and this new denim shirt I ordered from Shein over the summer.

Wednesday was a work day! I wore gray leggings and a nice t-shirt that covered all the things.

I wore this new romper today! It's another work day, but I won't get as dirty, and I have meetings at school again all day. 

Do you have work outfit suggestions or a favorite or least favorite? And tell me something you're thankful for this week!

Look at me posting on a Thursday on my first week of work! Thanks for being here to read my blog today, friends. Love to all! 

Jenn

the Wednesday hodgepodge

Happy Wednesday, friends! I'm linking up with Joyce today for my favorite post of the week. I'll jump right in! 

1. On July 29th, 1957 The Tonite Show premiered with Jack Parr as its host. This marked the beginning of the modern day talk show. Do you watch daytime or late night talk shows today? Do you have any thoughts on the hubbub surrounding the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, or are you in the camp of 'who is Stephen Colbert'? 

I don't really watch daytime TV anymore, but when I'm home and have the streaming apps to do so, I love to watch all the hours of The Today Show. I love the lighter, fluffier news at the end of it the most. It's such a luxurious feeling to be able to lounge around and do that kind of thing! It's the very best. I know who Stephen Colbert is, but I don't really care about late night shows.

2. What's the best part of your day? For sure, it's laying down at the end of each day. I love to talk on the phone or text while I'm in bed; other times I just scroll and watch IG reels or TikTok videos. 

3. What's something your generation does that you actually dislike? I had to look up things that Gen X'ers do to figure out what annoys me, and when I started digging, I immediately had one pop up. It's how we use Facebook! I'm including myself in this one, because I've definitely been guilty of it, but why do we feel the need to share so much there? Or why do we go off on rants there; does that really ever help? Like I said, I'm including myself in this one, so don't think I'm talking about just one person. 

4. When cooking, do you clean as you go, or all at once when you're finished? What's the last thing you cooked/baked in your kitchen? I definitely clean as I go! The last thing I made in the kitchen was when I made dinner a few weeks ago when my brother and nephew were here staying with me. That's shameful! I do have grand plans to bake sourdough bread when I get home from work today. I'm excited about that! 

5. Sum up your July in ten words or less. It was fast, fun, and furious!

6. Insert your own random thought here. I'm adjusting well to working full time! I'm tired at night, but it's a good kind of tired. I'll talk more about this tomorrow or next week. 

Thanks for reading my blog today, friends! Love to all.

Jenn

weekending

 

Happy Monday, friends! I am not reading blogs this morning; I have to come up with a new routine, and have decided that I'll probably not do that until the afternoon hours from here on out. I may read one or two if I have time to spare, but I'm saying this now lest you think I've fallen off the face of the earth. I'm also probably not going to be posting everyday; I'm aiming for 3-5 times a week...but I feel like it's going to be three times each week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If you posted a Share 4 Somethings post over the weekend and didn't find my link, it's because I forgot! It's there now if you want to join in and link up with your blog. I'll keep it open for a couple of weeks. I'm also going to keep up with the Currently post each month, in case you were wondering. Thanks for bearing with me in my forgetfulness! 

I hope you had a great weekend! I tried to soak mine up as best I could before going to work this morning. I'm ready for my day, and for this new chapter in my life. I appreciate that you're all excited with and for me! This little space online is so, so sweet. 

I spent some time on Thursday night putting this extra downstairs room (formerly known as the dining room) back together. This was the rug I had in the living room; I rolled it out and like the way it looks in here. If Stella ever gets to live outside of her kennel while we're gone and we can break that monstrosity down and put it away again, I'd like to make this a little reading nook for me with my old recliner that was in the living room. I'd get a floor lam to add to the space if that happens and maybe a little side table for a drink.

I spent some time catching up on my Bible reading Friday morning. It was a great, leisurely morning...my last one of the summer! I wrote in my journal, I worked on laundry, I read blog posts, and I straightened up some downstairs and in my bedroom before dressing for the day and getting started on the weekend. That morning all I had to do was run a couple of errands; I dropped off some packages for a friend of mine, then I made a Target run. I was bombarded with work emails and dates Friday morning, so I decided that I needed a planner. I bought one that I'll keep at work, and I also bought a new journal since my life is changing, and I'm seeing things with a perspective in my thinking. I'll get into this more someday, but today's not the day...but know that I love to switch out my journals for seasons of life. 

I worked on laundry and cleaning on this day, to kind of get ready for the weekend. My plans that night involved Marilyn! We met up at our favorite place (The Salad Station) for dinner, then we walked down a few doors to get some yogurt and made ourselves miserable. 

I got really excited when I was sent this invite to sing in choir on Sunday at church! I laughed when my friend and worship pastor sent me this back when I accepted. It was so great to be back! 

This was me Friday night and Saturday after finding out something interesting about a man I dated (not J). It put me in the WORST MOOD ever, and I spiraled all night long and part of the next day. On Saturday, this is why it was good for me to be with Marilyn again, since she was kind of in the same boat. We did a little shopping while it was our tax free weekend, and laughed ourselves silly over things that could only happen to her while we were together. I had a date that night, which was nice. 

Sunday was church with choir, then to lunch with Mom and Bill, then I went to swim at my friend's house for the afternoon. I had grand plans of being in bed early last night, and they came to fruition, I'm thankful to say! What did you do that you loved this weekend? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all! 

Jenn 💜

Share 4 Somethings, July 2025

 

Happy Saturday, friends! Sorry about the late start to this post; would you believe it totally slipped my mind? This may not be shocking to you, now that I think of it; anyway, better late than never! I'm glad you're here to link up with me today for Share 4 Somethings, when we talk about some things we loved, some things we learned, some things that went well, and some things we let go of this month. I'll jump right in! 

I loved all the travel and fun things I got to do this month! 

I also loved celebrating the fourth of July with my brother Trey and his son Jax while they were in town and staying with me. It's been an epic month!

I learned (am still learning) that actions speak louder than words. 

Something that went well was the redecorating and repainting of my home!

I love how it all turned out, and I'm finding that I love to be in my home again! 

Something I let go of again this month are my expectations. I will say this to myself until the day I die; if I go into something with no expectations, it's less likely that I'll be hurt or let down. Life feels hard sometimes; this has nothing to do with my ex-husband and his girlfriend. We've actually been okay recently, which I am thankful for. This has to do with the stupid, shallow dating pool, and being a victim of unspeakable things that men to do women to try to get them to date them these days. It's horrible, and I always am so tempted to just stop trying and meet someone "in the wild" as they say nowadays. I don't want to talk about that anymore, though, so don't pry! I'm trying to forget some things and definitely one person in particular. 

I always hate to end on a negative note, so I'm going to talk about some things that I'm grateful for from this month:

• the never ending mercy and love of God
• my amazing family (sons, parents, siblings)
• my friends, particularly Marilyn because she is my safest space and the only one who totally gets my life right now and what I've walked through the last year
• the gift of travel
• meeting a new friend through a traumatic life event and messaging her for hours on end about our similar (very disturbing and scary) circumstances
• loving being at home again
• my new job that I have to look forward to
• life in general~I have so much to look forward to in the next few months
• late night conversations over the phone
• sweet Jerry...proof that I can date someone, end things kindly and in a mature manner, and still be friends with him...he checks on me regularly and sends me funny things over Instagram all the time
• perspective...once again, it is everything

Sorry again about the lateness of this post, but thanks for being patient! I'm glad you were here to link up with me today...I'll keep this up and going for a couple of weeks. Love to all, and happy Saturday!

Jenn 

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Friday Favorites, 7.25.2025.

 

Happy Friday, friends! I hope you've had a great week! Mine started off in the best way: on vacation, and I'm ending it with getting things lined up for me to return to work full time on Monday. I'm excited about it and curious to see what all we'll be doing once we're back together for the 2025/2026 school year. It's been ages since I've started a school year as part of support staff. I'll be excited to update you on this next week...but for now, let's jump in on some of my favorite moments from this week. 

The beach is my happy, most favorite place on earth! Here's what I said on Instagram when we got there Friday night: 

Vitamin sea is good for soul! It's been a long year and a lot of life has happened since I was in this same place last year; I'm ready to be here with new memories this year for a new season of life. I'm so grateful to be here with my dear friend and the one I lovingly refer to as Soulmate.

The food that I ate while on vacation was my favorite! I love seafood; are you a fan? I always told my sons that anywhere they went that the area was known for a certain type of food, to eat that kind of food. I lived it up this week with all the seafood and key lime pie my little heart could take! 

Sweet Marilyn is stuck with me until the end of time; she knows entirely too much about me to not be my friend for life. 🤣 Have you seen the videos of someone whose best friend died being told that her friend died, and all she's concerned about was finding her phone because of all the incriminating evidence that could possibly be found? That's what we are to each other. If I die, someone better give my phone directly to this woman. 

My new living room is my favorite! I mentioned the "new" to me couch that I found for a steal on Facebook marketplace last week; these new chairs came last Thursday that I'd ordered from Walmart, and the painting above the couch is new. I am thoroughly impressed with this rug from Amazon! Do you have thoughts about the new space? 

Here's a better picture of the artwork I bought from Kirkland's.

My new Apple watch is my favorite! I decided I wanted one for work since I can't be on my phone. It's a learning process for me, but I'm happy with it so far. I like that it reminds me to get up and move, and that I can easily see notifications at a glance. I've already been on my phone less; I may be addicted to the stupid thing, friends. My new job will be good for me with this! I'm finding myself looking forward to coming to my house after work and unwinding after a long day; I know it's psychological, but having a newly decorated space helps me with this! I had a feeling that this would happen; I'm glad that I thought right. 

I had a killer headache all day long yesterday; it's my favorite thing in the world when Chloe is my emotional support dog. I needed her by my side, and she was my faithful little companion. Stella was fixed yesterday, so Chloe enjoyed being the only (doted on, loved, and spoiled) pup for the whole day. 

I saw this on Instagram yesterday, and it just may be my favorite thing that I saw online this week. I've struggled with my thoughts this week for reasons that I don't want to get into here today, and I am really good at beating myself up, so to speak, about decisions I've made lately. I don't know if it's me being an enneagram one or what, but I am so hard on myself. Needless to say, this spoke to me for that reason. 

What was something that 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 ❤️

weekending at the beach (part 2)

 

Happy Thursday, friends! I'm talking about the last day of our beach vacation on the blog today. It'll be short and sweet!

This was about the time that I woke up each day at the beach. I'm showing you this screenshot of my phone because you need to note that Mare and I were literally steps away from each other, and we never stopped sending reels and memes to each other while we were together. 🤣

We picked up some avocado bread from Publix Sunday night, so we had that toasted with bacon for breakfast. It was really good! 

I was ready for the beach! I walked down ahead of Marilyn while she caught up on a bit of work that morning. 

I talked to Mom as I walked, and noticed there were yellow flags out that day; I told Mom I wasn't going to get in the water, but I did. We did together, but after getting knocked down a few times, we called it a day and got out of the water. Poor Mare face planted in the ocean...I'm laughing as I type this sentence out. 

We sat and talked until noon, then we made out way back up to the infinity pool. 

The water was perfect! It was wonderful sitting there in that pool letting the sun turn my skin a little browner. We walked back to the condo and decided to order pizza for lunch that day; it was around two before we got around to eating, but we spent the rest of the day in the condo packing, cleaning, and laughing. 

It was a perfect way to end our trip!

When you want to sit outside, but you're having a hot flash.

We watched the sunset, and we called it an early night. We wanted to leave there by seven the next morning, and we were able to pull out just before that time. It was an amazing little vacation; I'm so thankful that we have each other as friends, and that we spent all that quality time together. I wouldn't have wanted to be there with anyone else! 

Thanks for reading along about our trip, friends. I'll see you back here tomorrow for Friday Favorites! Love to all.

Jenn ❤️

(Beach hair, bare face, no cares in the world...or so it would seem, right? We all know better, though.)