Hello Monday

 

Happy Monday, friends! I hope you had a great weekend! I can't wait to hear from you at the end of today's post. I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah for today's blog post. I'll jump right in! 

Chris' work was slow last week because of the ice, so because of that he took Friday off. He came and got me so that I could ride around with him while he ran some errands. We ended up going to his office to grab something he'd forgotten on Thursday, then we went to a couple of different stores that he needed to go to before eating lunch and coming back to my house. We were only here for a couple of hours; we both had a slice of pizza that I'd had the night before, then we left to go to a movie.

We went to the Dollar Tree first for movie candy, then we went to see The Housemaid. I read the book but wanted to see the movie only after a friend told me I needed to. It was freaky! Both of us were creeped out the whole time and midway through the movie he told me I was never allowed to pick movies again. 🤣 I laughed so hard when he said that; he also threatened to make me follow him every time he had to go somewhere alone. 

I started watching Landman again on Paramount +, so I watched an episode of that before calling it a night. I love a lazy Saturday morning!

I love sitting down with my Bible and journal; I don't do it as often as I would like since I've gone back to work. I sure have enjoyed that part of being off this week, though! I like to keep track of where I'm reading in the Bible in my journal; on this day (January 31, I read Exodus 4,5, and 6). I also like to write what day of reading it is; after I do that, I like to journal about moments that I call weekend happies. Sometimes I actually write a prayer or tell about something I'm going through; other days I just keep with things I'm thankful for or happy moments. 

I love posts like this that I see on Instagram! This second one above is from Pippi Post; do you follow them on IG? I love their page, and I've bought a few things from them before. I have a cute Stanley style cup from their shop.

Speaking of cups...I went to Aldi to grocery shop on Saturday when Chris picked me up; look at this cute one that they had for $10! We all know how much of a thing I have for hearts, and I use them in my house for ten out of the twelve months of the year. 

Once Chris got here we went to lunch first, because I cannot grocery shop when I'm even slightly hungry. We ate at Mug Shots; we often split meals because neither of us eat much, and that's what we did Saturday. We ordered a blackened chicken sandwich with fries, which was delicious. We sat at the bar; do you ever do that? I love sitting at a bar and people watching. I rarely actually get a drink at a bar, I just get food and a soft drink or water. I do this pretty often if I'm eating alone. 

After lunch we went to Aldi, Harbor Freight (he loves the hats there and Reese recently ate his), Baskin Robbins for ice cream, then Lowe's. I've had a slow draining sink in my bathroom for the last two months; I fixed it once, but it had started stopping up again. I asked Chris to see if he could get it to drain again while he was here, so I bought the tool he needed at Lowe's and then he fixed it for me. That night we ate here; he cooked some really good pork chops, and I made the sides for us. After that we watched Landman together.

Chris met me at church Sunday morning. Look at the snow pile! They're all over our city. After church we went to lunch, and look who I ran into...

Bestie! I love running into people I know, but what a treat to run into Mare! After lunch we ran his truck through the car wash, then we went to my happy place.

I got a nice stack of books, and Chris checked some out as well!

We came back here to read; I loved Chris' Wilson impersonation. Remember the show Home Improvement with Tim Allen from the 90's and how Wilson the neighbor would never show all of his face? We ate an early dinner and watched a movie, then he said our goodbyes. I was in bed pretty early after a quick shower; I'm trying to get back into the groove of going to bed at nine and waking up at five for when I go back to work tomorrow (hopefully). 

What did you do that you loved this weekend? I'd love to hear from you! I'll see you back here tomorrow, friends. Love to all!

Jenn 🖤

Share 4 Somethings, January 2026

 

Happy Saturday and bonus blog post day, friends! I'm so glad you're here with me today for this month's Share 4 Somethings. I've created a graphic that you're welcome to use, but if you don't want to, it's not a big deal. One thing I will ask is that you visit a new blog each month! Consider leaving a comment on the blog before you; I've gained new readers in doing this, and I have found some of my favorite blogs on the internet. Also, who doesn't love blog comments?! Here are the prompts that will stay the same each month in 2026; on the last Saturday of the month, we will meet here to talk about something we loved, something that sustained us, something we're carrying forward from this month to the next, and something we're making space for.

I'll jump in on that note! 

Something I loved this month: I loved being back at work after winter break. I was sick a lot over break, so it kept me home more than I'm used to. Of course then I went back to work and the second week back, I was diagnosed with flu A. I recovered from that, then the sky dumped tons of ice in my area. 

These are my friends and coworkers that I eat lunch with everyday; we call ourselves The Lunch Bunch. Talking about them is making me miss them as I write this! I haven't seen them since a week ago yesterday. The icy roads kept us out of school all week.

I loved that one of my friends pictured above made us each coloring books to bring home with us in case we got bored! This was my contribution; my son Jonah's dog Stella made the book and Lindsay created this AI generated image of her in an igloo. The students loved this coloring book and were all begging for one by the end of the week!

I loved this thoughtful gift from Graham! It took it forever to come in, so he brought it over the day it arrived. I love this so much and I feel super fancy using it on my books. It says, "From the library of ___", and then it has my name. It came with gold stickers that I can use with it, and then the stamp will be on the gold sticker. 

I love that Chris got a puppy this month; he got her for his dad, but then his dad changed his mind about wanting a dog. I named her Reese, because she looks like a Reese's peanut butter cup. We call her Reesey. She's really smart and such a sweet baby girl. She's growing like a weed! She'll be a big girl.

I loved that Chris decided to make my church his church; he loves my Pastor and comes with me every Sunday. He asked me how I felt about this, and of course I didn't mind. He lives in a very small town, so the churches near him aren't quite what he was looking for after moving to the area back in the fall.

The first week he came that I sang on the praise team is one that I'll always remember. We got into his truck afterward and were driving to lunch, and he was excitedly telling me how proud of me he was as he saw me singing on stage. I remember laughing when he said this, because of how excited he was about this and the way he was saying it, but what sticks out to me is what he said to me and knowing that he meant it from the bottom of his heart. Somehow I've managed to meet and keep this wonderfully sweet, kind, gentle, and beautiful man. I call him beautiful because of his heart, but I find him extremely attractive. 

Something that sustained me this month: My friends definitely sustained me this month. I've been home a lot because of the sicknesses I mentioned, so being out with them on different nights has been life giving. I've done girls nights out and dinner, and I've had Bunco. It's all been amazing. 

I'm so grateful for my friends and my people! I literally couldn't go through life without them. I was praying Thursday and thanking the Lord for the many people that He has given me in life: my parents, siblings, other family members, my amazing sons (and many bonus kids), and my friends. James 1:17 says that every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights with Whom there is no variation or even the slightest hint of change. His good gifts to me are in the form of people. He has been so good to me, friends; He is good because He is God! His goodness is never based on circumstantial things in life, but is actually a characteristic of Him.

I haven't asked this in a while, but do you know Him? If you ever want to talk more about this, please email me at allboys@gmail.com. I would love to talk to you more about Him, and if you need a Bible, I'll send you one. Please reach out; we are never guaranteed tomorrow.

Something I'm carrying forward from January into February: I'm carrying forward time and the gift that it is. I've been guilty of taking my time for granted; once I started working full time again, it became more valuable to me. This just means that I'm very particular about how I spend my weekends. It's one of the only times during the week that I can get a lot of things done at home that I don't have the energy for during the week; it's one of the only times that I get to spend quality time with Mom and my sister Trish, and it's one of the only times that I can spend quality time with Chris. I try to divide these things into segments of time that is fair to everyone I mentioned. It's not always easy, and sometimes I'm terrible at it, but I try my best. 

This month has given me a lot of time at home, and I'm grateful for this. I want to carry this forward into February and use the time I have wisely. I love my job and I'm so thankful to have one that I love so much and that I feel like I'm making a difference in the lives of little people. I didn't plan to go back to work full time in my late 40's, but I also didn't plan to be divorced either. Life gives you lemons sometimes; it's what you do with the lemons that matters. Even though I didn't ask for either of these situations, I'm grateful that I get to live a life that I genuinely love.

These are just a few reasons why I'm grateful for my job and why I shared what I did about carrying forward the gift of time from this month into next. 

Something I'm making space for this month: I'm making space for free time this month. I'll do the same next month! Most of you know how much I love to read and how I haven't been able to focus on a book, movie, or tv show since my ex-husband left in July of 2024. I have tried and tried to keep reading, but to no avail. And then January 2026 happened, and guess who finished four books this month? I'm the girl! Because of this, I'm going to continue to make space for free time each month, because when I have free time, I am able to read. I'm glad I never gave up on trying to keep reading; I've been a bookworm for 44 years and I always will be. 

 

Speaking of books, and these two that I'll be reading next, keep reading and go to the bookish blog post under this one that I published late Friday night.

Thank you for being here to link up with me today! Don't forget to look for a new blog to comment on today after you share yours in the link party below. I'll see you back here on Monday for my weekend recap/Hello Monday blog post. Love to all!

Jenn 🩷

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Friday Favorites, 1.30.2026

 

Happy Friday, friends! How has your week been? Mine has been great, terrible, short, long, freezing, warmer, and icy. That's a lot of opposites, right? I've actually enjoyed being at home; I've been able to stay caught up on the chores that I only ever have time to do on Saturdays. I've also enjoyed writing blog posts this week! Speaking of that, check in tomorrow morning; I'll have a bookish blog post that will post late tomorrow night, and the Share 4 Somethings post will publish at twelve a.m. Saturday morning. I hope you link up with me! Stay tuned for details on that at the end of this post. As far as favorites go, I have lots from the week...

These are my favorite gummy bears of all time! These came from Target, but you can buy them at the Dollar Tree as well. 

I bought these adorable measuring cups from Target yesterday; hearts are my favorite! 

Their Valentine's day themed clothing is adorable...this may or may not have been Marilyn's favorite.

Speaking of Mare...this picture of her with this mug is my new favorite!

And this one is too! This was us at Tony's Trophy Room Wednesday night; please note the "please do not bring any food or beverages in" sign, and then notice that she had both in her hands. 🤣

This picture of me is terrible, but laughing is our favorite!

We were posing with this picture I have of Amy on my phone; we're both sad that we won't be seeing her anytime soon. 

Dinner out with the girls Wednesday night was a favorite for all of us! It was our first time out since Friday night before the ice came. 

Seeing Chris at the same time Wednesday night was also a favorite! He picked Marilyn and me up after work and drove us to dinner; after we left, he drove Marilyn home and then he brought me home.

Being at home and in cozy clothes all week was my favorite!

And so was this day when Jonah's friend Olivia stopped by the house. I love this girl so much! She's one of my (many) bonus kids who considers me another mom. 

Chris came over after work Tuesday and cooked dinner for me and Jonah! A man who cooks is my favorite; bonus points if the food is complicated and delicious. Both of those cases are true.

Card games have been a favorite this week!

Riding a four wheeler for the first time in 35 years was also a favorite this week! I was glad that Chris was able to come over after work a few times. He helped cure my boredom, and it's nice that he gets off early everyday. 

Last, but not least...

Busting out of the house midday with Marilyn yesterday was my favorite. We walked around Target for two hours. I kid you not. It was amazing, and this was me being thrilled at the thought of being out among civilization again.

What was a favorite of yours this week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. I'll see you back here tomorrow...I'll have a bookish blog post that will be published late tonight, and tomorrow is Share 4 Somethings, with the details below. Love to all.

Jenn 🖤

P.S. Don't forget that it's almost time for Share 4 Somethings! Each month on the last Saturday of the month, we will meet back here to talk about something we loved, something that sustained us, something we're carrying forward, and something we're making space for. I hope you make plans now to join me Saturday!