Tuesday Talk

 

Happy Tuesday, friends. I'm not feeling talking about the weekend here on my blog today, so I thought I'd continue on with a post from the book I've been writing from the last couple of weeks. I'm here with Marilyn doing this, so make sure to check out her post as well! This is a little book that she bought for me called Burn After Writing. I'll jump in!

Life quote: It's a prayer from Proverbs that I've prayed for as long as I can remember, and here's what I pray: Lord, don't give me so much that I'm tempted to try to live life without You, but don't give me so little that I'm tempted to steal. And you know what? He has always provided for me an amount that is just enough. The verses I took that from are Proverbs 30:8-9. 

Things that make me happy: my list is long, friends. Here's my list: early mornings spent doing just this, time spent reading (or listening to) the Bible, being with my girlfriends, dogs, music, sunrises and sunsets, driving in the country with the windows down and music turned up on nights when the weather is cool, fall, my sons, traveling, fires in the firepit, singing, writing, reading (I'm including this because I know the love I have for that will come back someday), meeting new people, dogs, hugs, passionate kisses, cuddling, watching shows that I love, my home, decorating it for the seasons, good music, going to concerts or hearing live music, getting to know someone...I could go on, but I think this is a great start.

If I could give one thing to one person, it would be: another hug to Dad.

Things that make me laugh: videos of people being scared or falling. I know; I'm a terrible person for this, but I can't help it and laugh every single time.

I secretly envy: people who are thinner than me. But let me also say that I'm 100% confident in who I am and the way that I look. I don't love how I look and feel all the time, but as long as I'm eating healthy and getting exercise, I could stay the same that I am now, and I'd be good with that for my whole life. I just want to feel good, be healthy, and remember to be confident. 

I felt great in my outfit choice Sunday; I'm glad that I did, because I had no idea when I got dressed that morning at seven, that I'd be seeing and spending a couple of hours in a tiny room with my three Memphis sons, my ex and his girlfriend. I can't make this stuff up, friends.

My greatest fear is that I'll be alone for the rest of my life. And maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing if that's what God has in store for me, but I don't want to be alone for the rest of my life. I want someone to share all of life's moments with, to travel with, to laugh with, to make new memories with, to grow old with. On the flip side of that, sometimes I think that I never want to get remarried because I love the freedom I have in my life at the moment. I love not having to consider anyone's thoughts when I make plans, and I definitely love not having to explain myself to someone. 

How would you answer some of these? I'd love to hear from you! I'm linking up with Joanne for today's post. Thanks for reading, friends! Love to all. 

Jenn xoxo

Hello Monday: the one about Crash, 9.29.2025.

 

Happy Tuesday, friends. I hope all of you had a good weekend; mine sucked, honestly. I was at church yesterday when I got a text from Graham in our group text that something was wrong with our old dog, Crash. It turns out he was having seizures all of a sudden; he'd been perfectly fine the night before and even that morning, but he declined very quickly. I left church and met them (and the ex and his girlfriend) at the vet, and we made the decision to have sweet Crashy put to sleep, because who can stand to see a dog suffer? 

I have so many stories of this dog from his younger days; I used to call him Evil Knievel, he was so bad. To have been so rotten as a puppy, he sure did turn into the bestest boy ever. We used to take him camping with us when we would go twice a year, which he loved. This one time some geese walked by him for the last time, and he charged at them so fast that when his little paws left the deck at its end, he was practically walking on water. He was loyal, he loved car rides, he loved our sunset watch hours and Christmas lights date nights with me in my car. He loved going to the vet, and he thought everyone was there to see him when visitors came over. Our family will forever miss his absence, but we're grateful for the fourteen years we had with him. 

This is all I've got in me for a blog post today, friends. I'll be back here tomorrow. Thanks for being here to love and encourage me when I'm more than a little sad. Love to all. 

Jenn xoxo

I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah for today's blog post.

Share 4 Somethings, September 2025

 

Happy Saturday, friends! Can you believe we're at the end of September? This year has flown by with lightning speed! 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!

This month I loved:

...all of the time I spent with my friends! Wednesday nights are my favorites, as you all know; I love that it's the midweek push to get us through until Friday. The weather has been perfect this month for sitting outside! I look forward to continuing this tradition. 

I also loved all the time I spent with Chris, and I'm looking forward to even more as time goes on! 

This month I learned:

...well, I remembered that writing is therapy. I've taken to journaling my week days while I'm at work each day. I have a long break every morning, and this is the perfect opportunity for me to do this. Sometimes students come in during that time, but I never mind that. I love them and they're always curious to see what I'm doing when they come in to our classroom. This being said, I've almost filled a whole journal since the end of July! 

What went well this month:

I would say that at this point in time, I'm in a relationship. We have talked about this and have agreed that it's what we're calling it; it feels weird to say this in my late forties, that I have a "boyfriend", but apparently that's what he is to me. I feel like this is my something that has gone well this month; we're about to hit the eight week mark. We've learned a lot about each other, and we've had some moments in which there was a misunderstanding. What I like about him is that he knows how to get me to open up to him. He's a great communicator, and though I thought I was too, I've always been the kind of person to  hide things. That's not healthy, though, and Chris wants none of that, even if it's something that is hard to say. Anyway, I only said all of that to say that I loved these two images when I saw them recently. 

I really like that he never calls me by my name and that he seems to know me really, really well. He's super observant.

Something I let go of this month: once again, I'm still learning to let go of expectations. Today, for instance, the blog took a back seat to my actual life and I forgot to hit the publish button for this post. I appreciate your grace in this; I'm busy over here living life and rolling with the changes that always seem to come my way. I love my life at the moment and wouldn't have it play out any other way. 

Thanks for being here today, friends! Sorry about the late timing of the post. I hope you enjoy your weekend! Love to all. 

Jenn xoxo

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Friday Favorites, 9.26.2025.

 

Happy Friday, friends! I've never been so glad to see a Friday, y'all. Wednesday and Thursday felt like they were fifteen days long combined, and yesterday was rough. I didn't have the usual kind of drama, though I did have some drama; at least this time it was something new and different. 🤣 Life is all about the little things, right? I have some favorites this week that I want to share, so I'll jump right in. 

It's officially fall! It's my favorite season, and you know what that means: a more fall-like phone case and a pretty screensaver like this one pictured above. Do you do this? I get these off of Pinterest; I take a screenshot and then make it my wallpaper and background. 

 

This is one of my favorite things that I saw online this week.

And so was this! 

When I answered a prompt for one of my blog posts this week, I listed this account/artist as my favorite: Wes Anderson, or Accidentally Wes Anderson on Instagram. I love the colors in his photography! 

Having Graham stopping by unexpectedly on Monday night was a favorite! 

Tuesday was a favorite! I had an errand to run out in Marilyn's hometown, which is about 40 minutes away, so she went with me. We went to visit her parents, whom I met for the first time, then we had dinner and margaritas, then we went to the store. It was a fun night, and one in which we laughed ourselves silly yet again. I'm so grateful for this friendship that we have! 

I got an Amazon order in this week with more of this Brazilian perfume. I love it so much! I also love this Dolce and Gabbana perfume that I bought over the summer; it's way more expensive, so I use this more sparingly. I ordered a second Brazilian perfume as well, that's a different scent for fall. 

Choir is my favorite! And so is the fact that we have a new student choir that sings with us each week. I help with them when I remember...I've forgotten for the last few weeks, but I went this week. Look at all those teenagers! 

You all know how much Wednesday nights are my favorite! Kendra and I met at Rotolo's again, and we each ordered our own app of truffle fries; Marilyn joined us about a half hour later. 

This patio is seriously my favorite!

I bit the bullet and ordered some hair perfume as well, this week, making it the week of all the perfumes! Have you tried this? It's yummy!

This sweet student acted like my favorite this week! He remembered a conversation we had about how much I love blueberry muffins and/or donuts, and he brought me some on Thursday morning! How sweet is this? 

These adorable babies watching YouTube videos will always be my favorite! 

Thursday night's paint party with co-workers was my favorite! I love doing this kind of thing, but I sucked at doing a portrait of my friend Connie who sat across from me. 

Getting dressed for work/church/errands each day is still a favorite! Here are some outfits from this week. Do you have a favorite? 

Sunsets and country drives are my favorites; I hope to experience both this weekend! I'm not entirely sure what the weekend holds, but I know I'll see Chris at some point. 

Lastly, this is one of my favorite pictures of my sons; look how young they all were! This seems like both forever ago and also just like yesterday. How is that possible? Those were the days. 

Don't forget that tomorrow is the monthly Share 4 Somethings blog post! I hope to see you back here bright and early. Thanks for reading my blog, friends! Love to all.

Jenn xoxo