Friday Favorites, the "it's finally May edition" (5.1.2026)

 

Happy Friday, friends! Happy MAY! I loved turning the calendar at school over to May before I left work yesterday. It feels SURREAL that it's this month. I remember thinking way back in late July that May felt forever away, and now here I am. This might go down in history as my favorite month! How's your week been? Mine has been long with TCAP and some other highs and lows. I was so relieved when we finished the last part of state testing yesterday with the fifth graders. It was intense! And now we're back to our regular schedules. Alright, I'll jump in with some favorites from the week...

These moments with Chris last weekend were my favorite; while I know that isn't technically "the week", I remember this feeling as we took these, and how he was making me laugh. I want to go back and redo part of that trip, but this night? This was wonderful. (Relationships are hard.)

Sweet little happies at work are always my favorite. This hand cream is velvety smooth! My sweet friend Karen knows how dry the skin on my hands get because of all the sanitizer and handwashing that I do on a given day. 

This cake that Karen made for us Monday at work was a favorite! She and I might have enjoyed a piece of it before we cracked open our lunches. 🤣

Chat GPT is my favorite! I asked her to make a headshot for me, and this was what she came up with when I uploaded a picture. Pretty cool, right? 

I came across this quote that I found and fell in love with last year; it's one of my very favorites! 

The changing weather hasn't been my favorite, especially on Thursday, when I came home with a headache. Even so, getting dressed still remains to be one of my favorite parts of the week! I pulled out a couple of things for the cooler weather we had. 

Wednesday night's sunset was a favorite. We had rain this week, which was also a favorite! 

Starting this to-do list was a favorite this week! I have two and a half more weeks of intervention with my kiddos at school, then I'll start packing up our room and maybe redecorating some since we can keep our wall hangings up this time.

I'm hoping some of these beach reads will be my favorite this year! I need a pool to float in ASAP!

These two helping Mar at her place this week was a favorite! I love their banter. 

Other favorites include talking to my sons, seeing Graham last night, having a good cry about something new this popped up this week unrelated to my old life, having something to looking forward to, today being the first of May...I could go on. 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 

Monthly Musings...April, 2026

 

Happy bonus blog post day! I thought I'd join in with Patty for this fun little monthly post. I'll jump right in!

1. Favorite spring flower? I love to see daffodils along a roadside! I also love tulips, but the daffodils (or buttercups as I've always referred to them as) are a telling sign of spring. 

2. Do you have flowers planted at your house? I have bushes planted at my house. 

These pictures are a few years old. My hydrangeas no longer look like this. 

3. Any gardening tips? I wish I was a gardener, but I'm not. The one thing I do know is that it's best to weed beds after a rain. I need to do this soon!

4. What is your go-to spring outfit? Without a doubt, my Halara leggings and a button-down boyfriend style shirt.

5. What spring fashion trends are you loving right now? I'm still enjoying the relaxed tailored trend.

6. Best wardrobing tip for when the weather can't make up its mind? Layer, layer, layer! I have a jacket with me at all times, whether a rain or a denim one. 

7. What beverages do you love in the spring? I don't know that this changes any for me; recently I've enjoyed a couple of diet cherry lime-aids from Sonic. I love something sparkling and effervescent. 

8. Spring can be busy; share your easiest spring meals. I don't know that it's any easier, but I'm all about grilling in the spring! It's nothing for Jonah or me to throw some meat on the Blackstone. We've used it twice this week alone! He did burgers on Monday night, and last night we had chicken and really good homemade rice that I made. 

I always love these! Thanks for being here to read again; I'll see you back here tomorrow for Friday Favorites. Love to all!

Jenn 

thankful Thursday

 

Happy Thursday, friends! It's been a while since I've shared this kind of a Thursday post, so I thought I'd do that here today. I hope you enjoy and are inspired to do your own version of this! 

I'm thankful for the living, active Word of God. I'll never forget my Pastor saying that what this means is that as a believer reads the Word of God, the Word of God reads the believer. That's why certain verses or passages will jump out sometimes as if you've never seen it before. Have you experienced this? 

I'm thankful for downtime at work! I've had lots of that the last two weeks, thanks to state testing. I have started keeping a gratitude list at work, and I add to it throughout the week. I do this on a sheet of notebook paper, and then I bring it home to add to a binder I have for that kind of thing. 

I'm thankful for morning phone calls with my people: Mom, Marilyn, a sister or two. I have this ridiculous routine of leaving my house at 7:30 even though I don't have to be at work until 8:40. I just figure that if I stay here too long past that time, that it'll be that much harder to leave. It works for me! I'll leave, and then I'll go sit in the parking lot of my church and talk on the phone until about 8:00; I'll walk into the building around 8:15 because I like to have a minute to myself before the day starts to get things organized. 

I'm thankful for after work plans. I was at Marilyn's Tuesday night and I looked forward to it all day long. I love it when I have something to get me out of my house, but I only like one or two nights of that. I need to be out pretty often, still! I had thought that would change with me working full time, but it's remained the same. I do enjoy the nights I'm here, though...I just can't have too many in a row. 

I'm thankful for my friends and co-workers. We really feel more like friends than anything else at this point in the school year, and I'm grateful that they've helped me through the ups and downs of the year. They've made me feel loved, welcomed, competent, and part of a team. 

I'm thankful for the rain we had this week! My yard and flower beds desperately needed that. 

What are you thankful for this 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. Are you feeling more reset, restart, or full speed ahead as we move ahead into May? Tell us why. I definitely feel more full speed ahead as the calendar turns to May this week. I'm excited about summer break! I know I'll be working, but it'll be a shortened schedule and way different. I can't wait to find out if I actually got hired or not. I'll find out soon! The weeks are going to fly by; I realized today that we have two and a half weeks left of intervention for the students. so that last week will be one that I work solely in my classroom. 

I am excited about doing more of the decorating in the classroom this coming school year; isn't it crazy that I'm already thinking ahead like that? 

2. Painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, cinema, theater, music...what's your favorite form or art? Elaborate. I have always been an admirer or architecture and I follow several accounts on Instagram that allow me to see that. My favorite form of art, by far, is music. I have it going almost nonstop at my home. I've also loved theater my whole life and have enjoyed going to see plays this year.

3. What time is dinner at your house? How do you feel about leftovers? Dinner last night was at 5:30; it depends on how hungry I am, though. Sometimes I like to wait until six or six thirty, but more often than not I'm starving by then. I love leftovers! 

4. What's the last thing you recently fell down a rabbit hole investigating? I laughed when I read this question! This happens to me regularly, I will have you know. The last time I fell down that rabbit hole was over the weekend when I saw a house that I loved. I love looking on Realtor or Zillow to see what homes cost in different parts of the country. I love to do this with homes in New England. 

5. And now for a question from the book Marilyn (Memphis Bridges) gave me...

At what are you self taught? I taught myself to do a lot of things! I taught myself to tie my own shoes, to swim, to dive...I could probably go on, but as a leftie, nobody could teach me how to tie my shoes, because nobody knew I was a leftie yet. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. As I write this blog post, I'm sitting in Marilyn's home watching Jonah and Noah hang curtains for her. I love this! 

Also...one year ago this week, I was still fangirling over the Derby events and the tour I'd taken with Mare at Churchill Downs. 

I posted this to celebrate last year. I kind of love this picture! 

I can't wait to read your answers to the prompts this week!  Thanks for being here to read mine, friends. Love to all!

Jenn 

everyday images- April 2026

 

Happy bonus blog post day! I wrote a very serious one for today as well, so if you want to read that one after this, keep scrolling and you'll see it. Until then, I'm happy to link up with Kym at A Fresh Cup of Coffee for the linkup Everyday Images. This is where I share everyday images from my phone to follow the changing prompts each month. I hope you enjoy! 

purple

One night after it had rained, the sky had taken on this blueish-pinkish-purplish color, and I had to stop to take a picture. Of course the pictures never do the real thing justice, but this was me trying. I love a brilliant sunset!

out for a walk

I did some walking on my weekend getaway recently. I love walking near water! 

 

grow/trees

I'm combining grow and trees because of how these cypress trees grow from the water. Look at those roots! This was at Reelfoot Lake in Tiptonville, Tennessee over the weekend. 

 big and/or small

This one is kind of random, but I was gifted this adorable knitted "plant" last week. It's tiny and adorable! All the kids at school love it so much and keep asking to hold it. 

birds

It's kind of hard to see it here, but there was a beautiful white egret on the water (and then in the tree) Saturday morning on the lake as we ate breakfast. I was mesmerized by this creature! It looks like a heron! I'm not a huge fan of birds, honestly, but this one was graceful as it flew from spot to spot. 

at home

I love my home so much. End of story. 

Next month's prompts are Saturday scenery, current project, green, on my plate, miniature, tower, and  connected. Thanks for being here again today to read my blog! Love to all. 

Jenn 

Tuesday Talk...a heart condition

 

Happy Tuesday, friends! Welcome to my Tuesday Talk post...it's been a while since I've gone deep, so settle in today, because I have something to share. 

Because I was away this weekend, I got behind in my Bible reading plan, so as I got dressed for work yesterday, I listened and got caught up again. Yes, I listen to the Bible being read to me; it's life changing! I'm kind of between books in the Bible right now, and am flipping between 1 Chronicles, 2 Samuel, and Psalms. It was in the reading of Psalm 73 that I was literally stopped in my tracks. I'm going to share the part that made me draw in a breath.

Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside. I was so foolish and ignorant—I must have seemed like a senseless animal to You. Yet I still belong to You; You hold my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Whom have I in heaven but You? I desire You more than anything on earth. My health my fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever. Those who desert Him will perish, for You destroy those who abandon You. But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do. (Psalm 73:21-28)

This is a Psalm written by Asaph; many things could have been happening as he wrote this, but it's definitely a Psalm that was written out of bitterness. He was struggling at the time that this was written, and he was bitter towards God. That bitterness was probably the result of a deep wound, but that's what he wrote this out of. And it dawned on me that I don't want to be like Asaph was at the beginning of this Psalm. His proximity to God dictated how he viewed things; he was very self focused. 

And that's where this whole post idea comes from today. I have been like this recently. I don't want to write one more word about my life prior to the finality of my divorce last year, but in that year's time, I have taken my eyes off of God. I don't really know how or when this happened, but it was probably a slight shift in perspective. And this is where it becomes a very slippery slope. I'm not saying that what I've shared here isn't validated, but enough is enough. I want my focus to be off of myself from now on, and I want to be focused solely on the Lord (and all the good things I have going on in my life, all thanks to Him!). As Tara Leigh Cobble stated in yesterday's podcast, proximity gives us perspective, but the opposite is true. This is me starting fresh with my eyes fixed dead ahead.

So once again, I'm done sharing negative things here. I know I don't always share posts like that, but I have changed and I feel like I've lost a little of myself. This is me hanging on by a thread and fighting my way back. I know that the Lord has had His hand on me, and I know He will continue as I walk forward starting today. Right now. On another note that's also a little bit tied in with all this maybe is that I have made a very difficult decision, and I put words to it yesterday to back it up so that I don't change my mind again. 

I've decided to start visiting other churches. I resigned from the praise team at church, and when I emailed this to my friend and worship pastor Joshua, he immediately called me while I was still at work. I texted that I'd call him back later, and I did. I wanted to make sure he knew where my heart was in this, and it's not that anything happened to make this seem like a last minute decision. It's something I've been wrestling with for months and months, and I've been back and forth. It's based on the memories that I have there of being a family in that church. Though part of those are wonderful, it's very painful for me. I'm tired of running into people who ask me things about the demise of my marriage, and who lament with me. As sweet as that gesture is, it's exhausting, and it's prohibited me from fully moving on. 

I won't be out of my church all at once; this will be gradual, but I think I may start looking this weekend. There are two that I have in mind that I want to visit, even if I go alone. I'm okay with this! I assured Joshua that I would be in and out as these weeks go by. More than anything, I feel so excited about this much needed change in my life! I want you to be excited with me and for me...I don't consider this a sad thing at all, but just another necessary move due to this new life that I'm living. So many other things have changed...what's one more? 

Alright well, this is where I would love for you to chime in. Please feel free to leave me honest opinions here! I welcome them all; I'll also reiterate for the thousandth time how much I love my family and am thankful for them. I need truth spoken to me! Thanks for reading here today, friends. I'll see you back here tomorrow for the Hodgepodge. Love to all!

Jenn