weekending

 

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! 

By the time I got off work on Friday, I was so ready to start the weekend! It wasn't a bad day, but the day just felt long. I didn't love what I took for lunch, so I convinced my friend to order lunch for us; we got Chicken Salad Chick, and it was delicious! I headed to Chris's as soon as I left work. I made one stop along the way, and made it to him by  5:30. I have missed this drive! It dawned on me as I was driving that I've seen this road in all the seasons...late season, fall, winter, and next up is spring. I thought that was really cool that we've been together that long. I met him at his house, then he drove us to to a really great barbecue place that we've missed.

This is The Rib Shack, and I think everyone in town was there that night. I love that small town life, because people mentioned it being good to see us again. We usually get a couple of different things, and then we share. On Friday night I got smoked chicken, and he got the brisket. Both were amazing! We took the leftovers back home. 

We love to go to Trade Days, a big event where he lives near Ripley, on the first weekend of each month. The previous month was canceled because of ice and no power; this month was packed! It was eighty degrees by the time we got there after breakfast and a coffee stop that morning. The last time we did this we were able to rent a golf cart; this time there were none available, so we walked. It got hot quickly, so after one loop, we left. I helped him get a few things ready for his week at home, then I left...but he actually followed me home. I loved this! We enjoyed a full day of doing things together, most of which were of the mundane variety. He made a fabulous dinner for us, and we watched F1 together...well, he watched and I fell asleep midway. 

I loved turning the calendar from February to March! I'm so ready for spring. 

It's officially "I don't know what to wear" season in Memphis. I literally didn't know what to wear when I got dressed for church Sunday morning, but I settled on this. I was so hot by the time I got back home, because it was near eighty degrees! 

I was on the praise team Sunday, so I was there bright and early. All the adults sang from the loft and the kids/students were all on the stage. It was a multi generation worship day, so we had kids in preschool, elementary, middle, and high school singing with us. These are always my favorite days! Chris and I went to lunch and then to Kroger before coming back to my house. We both got stuff to make for our lunches this week, so we did that together, and I made him coffee to last him all week for his iced coffee that he drinks every morning. I love doing things like that with him; it almost feels like we're a married couple except for the saying goodbye part. I miss him the second he leaves, and I usually cry. Honestly, so does he. We hate the saying goodbye part. 

Meanwhile, I love that he loves to take pictures with me.

These are terrible pictures of me, but he sure does make me laugh and smile really big. I'll get to see him at least two times this week, which will be nice. We may shoot for a third time, depending on what we have going on. 

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

Jenn 

Share 4 Somethings, February 2026

 

Happy Saturday, friends! I'm so glad you're here today; thanks for linking up with me again this month! Today we're 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 right in!

Something I loved: giving my home a little February refresh.

I loved eating ice cream out of this adorable mug!

I loved having a library stack around...even though I didn't really read any of these. Mwah mwah.

Something that sustained me: the promise of spring sustained me this month. I noticed that the sun started setting later, and there were some warm days that made me hopeful of what is just right around the corner. February felt long to me, for some reason. Maybe it was all the time I spent at home being iced in? 

Something I'm carrying forward from this month to next: the hope and reality of becoming a first time home owner at the age of forty-nine. Since my divorce was final, I had to prove that I could pay the mortgage on time each month, and I had to build up my proof of consistent income. Since I'm staying in my house, I'm refinancing it and getting it out of his name and into my own. It's never too late to start over, right? I'm so close to this becoming a reality! 

Something I'm making space for: time at home. I'm trying to welcome the habit of cooking at home more and sharing dinner with people I love, whether my sons, my friends, or Chris. I don't like eating out so much, honestly, and it feels good to be home more. I love the nights when I don't have anything going on! I've felt tired a lot this week, so maybe that's why I'm writing this. 

I can't wait to read your answers to these prompts! Thanks again for being here today and for showing up to read my blog everyday. Love to all! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Friday Favorites, 2.27.2026.

 

Happy Friday, friends! I hope you've had a great week! My week has been...well, it's been a week. I won't focus on the negative, but let's just say that I'm really glad it's Friday. I have some favorites that I thought I'd share today!

I can't remember if I ever showed you this, but this little frame with me and Chris at Christmas time is my favorite! I got both of us one of these, and I put this picture in the frame; this was one of his Christmas gifts. 

The sunrise Tuesday morning was a favorite! My whole house turned pink while it made it's debut in the early morning sky; the picture doesn't do it justice, but it was breathtaking.

Church is my favorite home away from home. I was sitting there Sunday after praise team rehearsal, waiting on Chris to bring me breakfast. He's the best!

Serving with Graham last night at a children's hospital was my favorite! I always love doing this with him. 

Doodling in my work planner is my favorite! I always use the last pages of the month for a gratitude list that I add to daily.

My Flair felt tip marker pens are still a favorite. It's about time for a new batch! 

This was a favorite image from socials this week. It's a true story!

Having fun with Chris is always a favorite. 

Being comfy and cozy all week was a favorite at work! I am so glad I get to work at a place I love every single day. Some days are easy, some are tough, and this week held a lot of hard days. There's a little bit of change in the air, I'm sensing, and I don't know what will happen with the next school year. No matter what, my love for the students is unwavering, and I'll be glad to keep on working with them. I think we're all getting spring fever or something, because it's been weird at work all week. Hopefully the littles haven't picked up on it yet. I've come home exhausted every night!

Just a quick reminder and some blog business...

Just a quick reminder that 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.

What was a favorite of yours this week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all!

Jenn 

February Monthly Musings

 

Happy Thursday, friends! I'm linking up with Patti for the February edition of Monthly Musings. I'll jump right in!

1. Paper planner, digital calendar, or other options? Yes to all of the above! I have a planner that I keep at work to keep up with what I do with students each day. I think for next year I'll get one that's a lesson planner/calendar combined, but it really does help me remember what I do everyday. For my own life, I use the calendar on my phone. I don't love that method of things, but I'm a realist, and it's something I always have on me. I need the reminders constantly! Another thing I use my phone for is an alarm; I have so many set for work! I'm all over the building all day, so I have alarms set to tell me when I need to start walking. I also set alarms for the five minute warning when a class is about to be over. 

This is what I use at work; I love that there's a monthly and weekly spread. I use both! I use the notes section at the end of each month as my gratitude journal.

2. Meal planning, meal prep, or wing it? I sometimes do all three, but at the very least, I try to have a game plan in place every Monday. I order my groceries to be delivered while I'm at work, and then I'll cook at least two nights each week so that I can have the leftovers for the rest of the week. A lot of times, Chris will come eat with me, and I'll send him home with food for his lunches at work or dinner for a night when we're not together. I try to shop with all the meals in mind: for breakfast I always have a protein coffee drink, I try to do easy (cold) lunches for work each day (because hot lunches make me sleepy), and then easy dinners. 

3. Do you choose your outfit the night before? Sometimes I do, but I don't usually. I do always look at the weather, though, so I won't be too hot or too cold. I have an easy rotation of pants for work, so I base what I'll wear on the pants situation. I will typically do jeans for a day, some flowy pants for a day (either khaki or pink), black pants, and then two days of leggings. I usually wear leggings on Mondays and Fridays as my reward for showing up to work faithfully everyday. I'm so glad I work somewhere that I can wear leggings! I will say that I always pair them with a cute/professional top, so that it doesn't seem like I'm wearing leggings. 

4. Tips for managing laundry and ironing? When my sons were little or all at home, my advice was to do one complete load of laundry every single day. This meant washing, drying, folding, putting away. I don't buy things that require ironing; I use my dryer for that. I'll wet something with a water bottle and toss it in the dryer for ten minutes to get the wrinkles out sometimes if it's bad. Now that it's just me that I do laundry for, I wash once a week. I'll use weeknights for my clothes and towels, and a lot of Saturdays I'll do my sheets. 

5. Grocery shop in store or online? I prefer shopping online for groceries, or shopping with someone in the store. I've done a lot of grocery shopping with Chris lately, and I love that we can give each other ideas for work lunches and easy dinners. He's a great cook, so we like to stay home one night each weekend to cook/dance in the kitchen together. As far as online shopping goes, I've found that I don't spend as much money when I shop online for groceries. When I went back to work full time last year, my treat to myself was joining Walmart + again; it's wonderful showing up at home after work on Monday with my groceries on the front porch! Sometimes I'll pick them up at the store; if Chris needs to go as well, we'll go inside.

This is usually what we look like: he's got the basket and is pulling me along behind him. 

6. Best tips for getting out the door in the mornings without chaos? Wake up early! I started doing this after the first winter break (at Christmas). I was waking up before that at 5:30 each day, but after the break I started waking up at five. I'm such a morning person, that I love having extra time in the mornings. I do this because I don't like to rush. I spend that extra time in the mornings reading blogs, writing blog posts for my own, and lingering over the best cup of coffee of the day each day of the week. I allow myself to sit until 6:30, then I get up and start cleaning up, making my lunch, and going upstairs at seven to get dressed for the day. I leave at 7:30-7:40 everyday. This has made my mornings so smooth this year! 

7. Share your easiest dinners for crazy weeks. On the crazy weeks, I default to a favorite soup or pasta dish and then I eat the leftovers. On Tuesday night night I made potato soup in my crock-pot, and have been eating on it all week. 

I changed the soups to two cream of chicken, and two potato; I also add in cream cheese and instead of water, I use one box of chicken stock.

8. Best tips to keep your house organized during the week? Put things away! I've told all of you this a hundred times already, but when I cleaned out my closet in January, I've been able to keep it clean since, because it has made it easy to do so. Having cleaned out spaces is motivating! Your future self will always thank you for this, trust me.

9. Share your easiest breakfast. My go-to weekly breakfast is a protein shake with coffee and a splash of creamer. It's delicious! I use the Premier brand chocolate peanut butter and the brown butter cookie dough creamer. My easiest breakfast is when I'm out and about, but that doesn't happen all that often. 

10. Share your best overall tip that we haven't covered yet. Consider making your bed every morning. I know that's not everyone's thing, but somehow, doing that one thing motivates you to move onto other areas in your home. It's so nice getting into a made bed every night! 

I always love reading these, so I'm excited to read your answers today. Thanks for reading my blog, 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. America celebrates turning 250 years old this year. Primary cities set to lead the celebrations are Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington D.C. Other significant locations will be Charleston, South Carolina and the "historic triangle" which includes Jamestown - Williamsburg - Yorktown, Virginia. 

Of the cities listed above, how many have you seen in person? Of the cities listed, which would you most like to visit this year? Any plans to do so? What's one place in America you think everyone should see? If you're not American, which city would you most like to see? I've visited Boston, New York, Washington D.C., Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg. I think the city I'd most love to see is Charleston, South Carolina since I've never been there. I've been close, but I haven't been all the way there. I think every American should visit our nation's capitol. It's beautiful and filled with wonderful things to do and learn about! 

This was my favorite family vacation, even though I was extremely sick the whole time. I've relived so many of these memories over the years! 

2. Three sounds you love to hear? I love to hear students yell out, "Ms. Lloyd!" in excitement when they see me each day. I love to hear my sons laughing when we're all together. I love to hear the sound of Chris' text come through my phone when he sends me one. (I gave him his own text tone, one called tweet. It sounds like a bird whistling, or a cat call.)

3. Three sounds you hate to hear? I hate to hear the sound of my ex-husband texting me, because I gave him his own text tone as well. 🤣 I hate to hear the sound of people calling me "Jennifer". I hate to hear the sound of a dog being sick. 

4. February 24th was National Tortilla Chip day. Are you a fan? With salsa, guacamole, queso, or just plain? Do you like nachos? With what on top? Is there anything (besides nachos) you make that calls for tortilla chips? I love tortilla chips! I like them with all of the dips, and I like them plain. I love nachos! When I go to my favorite place in town to get them, I always get black beans, chicken, queso, pico de gallo, black olives, and more queso. They're delicious! I make a Dorito chicken casserole that my sons love; those aren't technically tortilla chips, but they're close enough. 

5. We march into March with next week's hodgepodge...what's one thing on your March calendar that makes you smile? Something huge on my March calendar that makes me smile is spring break! I'm deciding on what I want to do the entire time; I am taking one trip on the back end of our break, but I may do something on the front end as well. Stay tuned! 

6. Insert your own random thought here. I paused writing this to talk to my niece Erika, the mom to all my twin great nieces. She's having her fifth girl in May, and I will get to see the Colorado side of my family three weeks from today! I cannot wait. I spent an hour on the phone with her last night, and it was wonderful to hear her voice and catch up.

I can't wait to read your answers to the prompts today! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all!

Jenn