Friday Favorites, 12.5.2025

 

Happy Fri-yay, friends! What a week. Re-entry after Thanksgiving break is no joke. The kids were great, though; it was the adults that were having all the issues. We have so much sickness going around right now! I'm doing my best to stay healthy; I'm drinking tons of water, taking all my vitamins, getting rest at night, and keeping my hands washed/sanitized. 

It's been super cold on top of all that, so mornings have been hard to get out of bed. I've been bundling up for carline each morning! You should see me: giant long puffer coat zipped all the way up to cover part of my face, hood pulled up, gloves on, hands in pockets. I don't even care, because it's too cold to think about looks. Ha! I still love my morning assignment of carline and consider it a privilege to be able to greet the students cheerfully each morning. I always say, "Good morning! Happy ____day!" They always say it back to me, and then I send them off with well wishes. I love my job! 

Okay, now that I've talked your ear off, I'll get started with some favorites from this week. 

I don't normally buy candy, but these chocolate "oranges" that come out each year by the Terry's brand are my favorite. This one is dark chocolate, but I like both the dark and the milk. A little goes a long way, so I only eat a couple of pieces at a time. It comes solid; you have to hit it on the edge of your counter to get the wedges to break apart like this. 

Sunday night was our first of what will hopefully be many Christmas lights date nights this season. It's so much fun to show him some of my favorite spots in town! 

Not only is Marilyn my favorite, she's Chloe's favorite as well! I love how Chloe always lays in her lap when she comes over here. It's the sweetest thing, and Chloe is the best emotional support dog to ever live! 

These are a couple of my favorite December images that I saw online this week. 

My December outfits just might be my favorite of the whole year! Do you have a favorite? Most of this is pretty old. The sweatshirts are from Walmart; the red pants are from Old Navy (years ago), the jeans are Halara, the wide leg pants are boutique brand, but I've seen them on Amazon. 

It's also red lipstick season, which is my favorite. I wish I could give you a brand that's a favorite, but I haven't found it yet. I do like the Morphe brand lipliner/lip glosses, but that's not what these two are. I prefer a matte gloss that I can add a clear gloss on top of, and I do think a liner keeps it from running on your lips. I'd love to hear from you if you have a brand you love! 

This carrot cake was a favorite at work this week! My co-worker and friend Karen made this from scratch over break and brought it to share with us on Tuesday. I really love carrot cake!

 

Christmas Bunco is my favorite Bunco!

I am so grateful for these ladies! My friend Karen (bottom row, second on the left) invited me to join this Bunco group in January of this year; my first game was in February, and at first I didn't think I'd keep going in 2026. That being said, I have come to love these ladies so much! This was not the original group, it's already changed a lot, and on this particular night, one of them was a sub. This has become one of my favorite nights of the month, though, and I'm going to keep on playing!

Here we are from June of this summer, and this is a better picture of Karen and me. She has loved me through the last year and a half of my life and is one of my biggest cheerleaders! I've known her for ages, but I'm so glad she comes to church with me now. 

These Spotify Wrapped summaries are a favorite of mine every year! I was feeling pretty good about my musical age of 21, and I found it hysterical that my taste in music had such a wide range. I literally went back and forth from worship to music that was fitting for a terrible mood that I was in at the moment. 

Yesterday was not a favorite day for me; it's not often that a memory is triggered by something, and it just about knocks me down. That was the phrase I said to God that morning as I prayed; I told him I was tired of feeling knocked down by memories and emotions. After I prayed, I listened to the Bible being read to me on the YouVersion app, and look at that first image above these words...verse 9 (of 2 Corinthians 4) literally says, "we get knocked down, but we're not destroyed." 

I had to write it down when I got to work and had some time to myself, because it was such a timely reminder from God on a morning that was hard for me. It's my absolute favorite thing ever when He speaks to me through His word! I prayed that prayer, and then I read those very words. Isn't that amazing?

 

My Christmas accessories are my favorite! 

I don't often have actual things that are favorites, but here are a couple: the Joy Spun brand of pajamas from Walmart, and this new soap I added to my grocery order this week, also from Walmart. It smells divine! 

Well that's a wrap for me with favorites...what was something that was a favorite of yours from this week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all! 

Jenn