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! 

Friday's OOTD. I love this shirt that I got in the mail last week! It's a little tight, truth be told, so I went with all black that day to make me not feel like a stuffed sausage. 🤣 I think the pink sneakers were a nice touch, since there's pink in the shirt. 

I took this picture Friday morning as I was walking with one of my fourth graders to the sensory room; the kindergartners were having a Happy Birthday dance party with one of the assistant principals. Meanwhile, at the same time in the new wing, the fifth graders were also having their usual Friday morning dance party. I love this about our school! What fun times this is for all of us. I told one fifth grader I'd join them next week. The day before when I was walking to the bus loop down the kindergarten hall, I walked up on a few of the teachers doing cartwheels in the hall. They're so fun! 

I hung out with Chris after work on Friday, and again on Saturday.

Look at the difference a couple of weeks makes! The trees are bare now; it looks and feels like winter now. 

We went to our favorite little coffee spot, The Brew. I got The Dixie this time: it was a mocha frap with English toffee. It was delicious! Look at their pretty tree. 

I came back home that afternoon and did things around my house that always need doing by the time the weekend arrives: dusting, vacuuming, putting things away where they belong, starting/emptying the dishwasher, laundry, and cleaning the bathrooms. I did all of that after I showered and washed my hair and watched a Hallmark Christmas movie. I made dinner that night: broccoli cheddar soup. It's really easy if you want to try it this week! Here's what you need and what I did:

3 stalks of celery

1 medium onion

4 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup flour

2 cups half and half

4 cups chicken broth (that's a whole box)

1 large bag frozen broccoli florets

2 cups of good cheese (I used extra sharp white cheddar and smoked gouda)

1/2 tsp nutmeg (don't skip this!)

a few dashes of salt and pepper

Sauté the celery and onion in the butter and olive oil; when it's translucent, add the flour and let cook for a couple of minutes. Add the chicken broth, half and half, broccoli, and nutmeg; stir and let simmer for about 20 minutes (don't walk off or the half and half will scald). Off the heat, fold in all the shredded cheese. You can puree it a bit if you don't want larger chunks of broccoli, but I leave mine as is. 

This was wonderful! I hope to eat on it some this week, but I also made some to share with Drew, since it's his favorite. It was kind of an easy night and I didn't do much. I had church on Sunday; Chris went with me. I loved having him there with me, even if people stare at us and one friend told him if he hurt me that he'd kill him. (I'm not kidding, it was an intense moment.)

A December Sunday OOTD; I still love these little red shoes I bought last year! After church, we met Mom and Bill for lunch at Casa Mexicana. It was so good, and I have lunch for today from the leftovers. Woohoo! 

Chris left after lunch; I came inside and got cozy for the afternoon and took a nap with the baby dogs. Stella is the one standing up; look how big she's gotten! Chloe is my nap dog and curls up with me anytime I lay down. I love this and her sweet little (very naughty) self! 

For the rest of the afternoon I worked on my blog for the week to get a head start; I anticipate an extremely busy week because of the Christmas production taking place this coming weekend, and because sweet friends want to see me for my birthday. I have plans almost every (maybe every) night this week! It'll be another really quick week between that and working. Once again, I'm so grateful for my job! I love being at work, and I genuinely miss it when I'm not there. The break will be lovely for Christmas, but I know I'll miss it as well! 

What did you do this weekend that you loved? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all! 

Jenn ❤️

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

Thankful Thursday

 

Happy Thursday, friends. I hope you enjoy today's different spin on a post about being thankful.

Today, I'm choosing thankfulness. Not because everything is perfect, but because gratitude has a way of softening even the hardest edges of a week. On this Thursday, I'm pausing long enough to notice the quiet blessings I usually rush past—the way the morning light felt kind, the simple comfort of routine, the people who make my days feel a little less heavy and a little more hopeful. 

I'm thankful for the small things that stitch my life together; the warm cup in my hands, that laughter I wasn't expecting yesterday, the text from a man who makes me smile with every word he says, the strength I didn't know I still had.

I'm thankful for the big things too: the love that steadies me, the friendships that feel like home, the faith that carries me forward, and a heart that's learning—slowly, beautifully—to open again.

A Thursday like this reminds me that gratitude is its own kind of grace. It shifts my mood, lifts my spirit, and brings light into places that need it the most. I'll embrace that light today and I'll do my best to share it with everyone I come into contact with. 

What's something you're choosing to be thankful for this week? Is it an actual thing? A person? A moment in time? I shared a sweet moment with Chris Tuesday night when we met for dinner. Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you more about it then. Thanks for being here to read today, friends. Love to all. 

Jenn 

the Wednesday hodgepodge

 

Happy Wednesday and bonus blog post day, friends! After you read this post, scroll to the next one, it's the Currently link party. In the meantime, 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. What does it mean to have to the holiday spirit? On a scale of 1-10, how is yours this year? (10=off the charts, 1=still looking for it.) To me, holiday spirit means a spirit of kindness and/or giving. I'm not always in a position to give, but I have in the past, and there's nothing more rewarding than that. I would say my house is at a 10, but I'm still somewhere between 1-3. 

2. What's your favorite character from a December themed holiday movie, book, or TV special? Tell us why. I love the Mrs. Miracle Christmas books that Debbie Macomber writes. Not just those, but all of her holiday books are amazing! I also love the Christmas books by Nancy Thayer. That being said, I think my favorite movie and character is The Family Stone, and the character Sybil that Diane Keaton played. I cannot believe she passed away recently...she was one of my all time favorite actresses. I love her in that movie because of how relatable she is, and how fiercely protective she is of her family. I feel like that a lot of the time, and find myself getting riled up on their behalf a whole lot here lately. 

3. Do you like gingerbread? Are gingerbread houses part of your holiday tradition? I love gingerbread! They are not a part of our holiday tradition, though. 

4. Much of our vocabulary is determined by where we live or where we grew up. What say you? 

sprinkles/jimmies

lightning bugs/fireflies

soda/pop

trainers/sneakers/tennis shoes

sub/hoagie/grinder/hero

freeway/highway/motorway (I actually say interstate)

frosting/icing

sauce/gravy

5. Share a favorite holiday memory from your childhood. Memories that stick out are always wrapped up in family time. My grandma on Dad's side always spent Christmas eve with us; she would come over for dinner, and we would eat and open gifts, but Dad would wait on our gifts a lot until it was just us. At Mom's, I loved having my sisters and my nephews and niece over for Christmas lunch and gift exchanging. As an adult, I loved being part of being able to bless a family for Christmas. One year in particular, we provided a Christmas for a family at our church that we were friends with who had fallen on hard times. That was the year we had to tell Jonah and Noah that Santa wasn't real, because they would have found out had we not told them then. It is one of the best memories I have to date, honestly, and I'd do it all over again a million times. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. This is my favorite Christmas worship song! It's Come Thou Long Expected Jesus by Meredith Andrews. 

Thanks for reading my blog today, friends! I can't wait to read your answers to these prompts. I'll see you back here tomorrow or Friday! Love to all.

Jenn