Share 4 Somethings: November 2024

 

Happy Saturday, friends! Thanks for being here to link up with me for today's Share 4 Somethings; make sure to visit some other bloggers who link and leave them some comment love. I'll jump in!

Loved and/or Disliked

This month I loved having my house decorated for Christmas. Most of you remember that I was in Dallas from October 31-November 5th; by the 8th it was all lit up for the holidays! I will always love doing this early, and nobody will ever tell me not to do that again. Read that again if you didn't catch it the first time. 

It's my favorite time of year! I disliked some of the things that I faced this month, but it's just par for the course in a divorce, unfortunately. I don't ever recommend going through one, by the way! They're terrible and I don't enjoy feeling like a mean person, but it feels like that I'm being that way. It's against my nature, and I will be very jaded when it's all over and done with. 

Accomplished

I accomplished my goal of being done with Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving! I'm amazed by this, and it was a lofty thing to attain to, but I did it and I couldn't be happier. Now onto the wrapping! 

Improved upon and/or Needs Improvement

This month I improved upon my attitude. Pertaining to my divorce, I blocked him from my social media accounts, and I blocked his girlfriend, because they were both watching me on those platforms. (My profile is public because of my blog.) In doing that, I also stopped stalking them, and I feel a million times better now that I did that. Another benefit of that is that it's helping me walk more toward the road to forgiveness, not that he will ever know this. I'm trying to do that for myself, because I don't like feeling like I'm in turmoil all the time. I did have one big thing that happened on Thanksgiving night that set me back a few steps, but I'm working through it all, or at least trying to do that. 

I'm sure a lot of things still need improvement after this month, but it's late and I can't think of anything off the top of my head. I guess I will add that my reading habit needs improvement. It does seem a bit better, so maybe that's progress? Hopefully I'll be able to focus more than the last few months, and I can get back to reading regularly! 

Noticed

Have you noticed that almost everyone decorates early for Christmas these days? I'm not complaining, trust me, because I'm in that category! I've been seeing a lot of homes with outside lights in our neighborhood, and I love the festivity that it adds to this time of year. I love that our town square does its tree lighting the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week now! I think it's smart, because people have family in town from all over, and it's a nice thing for them to be able to do together while they're in town. 

Thanks for being here today, friends! I am excited to read all of your posts. I'll see you back here on Monday! Love to all. 

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Friday Favorites, 11.29.2024.

 

Happy Friday, friends! How has your week been? In case you missed out on it, I shared a late post yesterday after I was settled in at home for the night. Also, before I forget, know that tomorrow is our regularly scheduled Share 4 Somethings since it's the last Saturday of the month. Can you even believe there's one month left in this wretched year? I'm laughing...I know it wasn't that way for everyone, but I'm ready for a new year. Enough of that, though, and onto my favorites from this week!

 

We all know that sourdough bread is my favorite! I loved having a loaf in the house again the last couple of weeks; before that it had been several weeks since I'd baked any at all. 

This robe that my mom gave to me for my early birthday present is my favorite! I sound like I'm about seventy years old when I say that, but it's true. It's long, has a zipper and hood, and deep pockets. Chloe cuddles are another favorite! 

This body butter from Trader Joe's is my newest favorite way to moisturize my very dry skin. 

I really enjoyed these two movies recently! The Little Women one is from the Great American Family network. 

Serving families dinner at this children's hospital was my favorite this week, and so was running into the famous John Mark!

This little area is one of my favorites all decorated for Christmas. 

I threw it back and made these reindeer noses for my sons this week, because they're a favorite for all of them. 

This was a favorite book to read! I'm sincerely hoping this will pull me out of my reading issue. 

Working was a favorite on Wednesday because it was just a few of us around. We decorated for Christmas in the office, which is where I worked that day to fill in for my friend, and then we played Thanksgiving Day Bingo. I was comfy and loved wearing one of my favorite outfits. 

I read this book while I was there, if that tells you how busy we were, and it was on a favorite topic.

And Jonah and I are tag teaming taking care of two of our favorite pups that live across the street. 

Spending Wednesday night with Mom and Bill was a favorite, and it was fun to do something different and new. 

How pretty was "my" room? 

This was one of my favorite things that I saw online yesterday. 

And this is my favorite Lime Jell-o Salad!

And these guys, well. It goes without saying that they're my favorite human beings on all of the planet. 

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

Thankful Thursday

 

Happy Thanksgiving day to you, friends! I pray that your day was filled with family and/or friends, delicious food, laughter, fun, and memories to savor for a lifetime. I was dreading this day so much, but it surprised me and I wasn't sad at all. I cried once, when Noah mentioned something about the fact that Dad's red truck is in our garage, and all of a sudden, the tears started. But that was the only time, and it was only over my Dad. I will take that, because I  thought I'd be a lot sadder about the other aspect of my life. Bonus! 

Because it's Thanksgiving day, you know I had to write a thankful post, late as it may be. Here's what I was thankful for this week that I listed in my journal:

• the privilege of prayer
• being surrounded by my family
• new traditions!
• being comfortable around people
• my work family and the most fun day at work the day before Thanksgiving
• my sons and the gift of togetherness
• being able to finally finish a book I loved
• movies galore
• the people I'm honored to call friends and the ones who check in on me all the time
• the prayers of the saints
• you!

Thank you for showing up here day after day to comment, love on, pray for, and encourage me. I don't know what the last five months in my life would have looked like if not for this wonderful and caring little community we've built here. I am so grateful for the fact that you show up here everyday and faithfully read what I write. Thank you from the very bottom of my heart friends. I pray your day was wonderful and filled with people that you love. I know mine was. 

May the Lord Himself bless and keep you, make His face shine upon you, and hold you close. Love to all. Happy Thanksgiving! 

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

Happy Wednesday, friends! I'm here linking up with Joyce today for her weekly hodgepodge of questions...guess what our theme is this week? 

1. Talking turkey...are you cooking one this year? Does ham belong on your Thanksgiving menu? When it comes to gravy, do you pour it over your whole plate, skip it all together, or do you land somewhere in between? What about cranberries? Do you like fresh, out of the can, or none at all? Do you look forward to the more savory main course, the sides, or the desserts? 

I have only ever cooked a turkey breast, and it was in the year of 2020 when food was scarce in the grocery stores, and it wasn't during the holidays. I just thought I'd share that little tidbit first, because it still makes me laugh thinking about how crazy that year was. I absolutely do not think that ham belongs on the Thanksgiving menu! I love gravy, but I only pour it over the dressing. Have I mentioned that my mom's is the very best? I love cranberry sauce, but only the can for me and Noah, please! 🤣 I am most excited about the main course; I do also enjoy the desserts, though. Leftover Thanksgiving food is my favorite! My mom makes something we call lime Jell-O salad that I love and look forward to the week after while I eat my own container that she makes for me. It's lime Jell-O, lemon Jell-O, chopped pecans, cottage cheese, and pineapple chunks. It's delicious! 

2. Holiday movies...tell us your favorite and what it is about the film that makes you love it. Is it the film itself or a memory it stirs? My all time favorite will always be White Christmas, but I also love all the new Hallmark movies that come out each year. I have some old favorites, too! I always love watching classics like The Holiday, The Family Stone, the Griswold's Christmas Vacation, Elf, New Year's Eve, and maybe one or two others I'm forgetting. The thing I love about White Christmas is that I grew up watching it every single weekend with Dad. We would sing the songs together, and we can both quote just about every line. I will watch it this year and imagine him laughing along with me as I watch. 

3. A favorite way to give back and help others? I've been thinking for a while of ways that I can start serving people in some way now that I have so much free time, and I took steps toward that this week with my son Graham. I'm looking forward to doing the same thing in December and in the months to follow. 

4. Name a place or setting this month you encountered that made you feel grateful. I have to say that last Friday night with my friend Abbey, her husband Steve, and their precious kids left me feeling so very grateful to have been invited into their home and be included in the dinner and nighttime routines. I actually got really emotional over this as Steve read to them from the Bible, and I thought I was going to have to excuse myself. It was such a sweet, sweet time. 

5. Knowing what you know today, if you could redo yesterday, what would you do differently? With yesterday being more figurative, I don't know that I would do anything differently. I did everything right in my marriage; I wasn't perfect, but not one person is. He certainly wasn't perfect either, but I gave him better than he deserved, apparently, because of all the lies. I did my very best, and I will say it until the day Jesus calls me home: I have no regrets. 

6. Spill your own random thought here. I've been working on forgiveness lately, and though I'm still not all the way there, I know that I am making steps in the right direction. I mentioned here that I've heard a couple of sermons on this topic lately, and I even caught the same theme in a Christmas movie I watched last week. My sister made a profound statement to me, though, that I thought I'd share. She said that I can forgive the person without telling them, and I wholeheartedly agree with her statement. I was never asked to be forgiven, so why would I share it with them? If I was asked for forgiveness, that would be an entirely different, but that isn't the case for me. I'll forgive because the Lord has forgiven me, and His word says that as I have been forgiven, so should I forgive. 

That being said, I would love your prayers for tomorrow for my sons and me as we go through the holiday with two major losses in our lives. Thank you! 

Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. I am so grateful for all of you and hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Love to all! 

Jenn 🖤 

my holiday to do list

 

Happy Tuesday, friends! Today's post is a little tongue-in-cheek since I'm not contributing anything to the big meal this year. My mom gave me a pass because of my life circumstances. 🤣 I'll gladly take that, so thanks, Mom! That being said, there are some things that I don't want to forget to do this week, so I thought I would share. 

I will keep being here everyday leading up to the holidays. This blog community is one of my happy places, so I don't feel like it's extra "work" by continuing to write. Writing is like therapy for me, and so is the gift of friendship and communication, so plan on seeing me here all throughout the days leading up to the new year. 

I want to grocery shop with my sons in mind! I'm so excited about Noah coming home that I can hardly stand it, and the thought of quality time with all five of us over his stay is enough to make my heart so very happy. I'm placing my order today to be picked up tomorrow after work, but I want to have some things I know they all love, from dinner things to special treats. 

I will keep on spending time with the Lord every morning. At this time of year, I feel like I need it more than ever! Along with that, I am trying to find things to be thankful for each and everyday. My Pastor preached such a great sermon on Sunday about the life of a Christian and what it should look like, and having a heart of gratitude was one of the things he mentioned. I do this anyway, but I really want to be mindful of things this week leading up to the holidays. 

I want to do fun and different things, and I started off with this last night by volunteering to serve dinner to families who have kids in a children's hospital downtown. My Graham went with me for this, and I'm so glad we did this together. We both thoroughly enjoyed doing this! Tonight is our town tree lighting, and I'm contemplating going to that as well, but I'm not sure just yet. I want to enjoy all the fun things that this time of year offers!

 

I want to focus on the joy of the holidays and soak in all the moments, odd as that may sound given my life right now. I'm done with my Christmas shopping for the most part, except for three or four small gifts for others, so it feels nice to not have to be frantically rushing around. 

I want to wear all the festive clothing and jewelry that I have to wear! I am ready for all of it, red lipstick included. These things bring joy to my life, small as they may be. 

I want to watch all of my favorite holiday movies and finish the ones that come on each week from the three channels that put so many out each year (Hallmark, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Great American Family). I have the time to spare to do this since I'm alone a lot at home, and I am not complaining! 

These are just small things that bring me joy leading up to the holidays. What's on your to do list for the holidays? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all!

Jenn 🖤

Linking up with:

weekending

 

Happy Monday, friends! I hope you had a good weekend! I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah for today's post. Did you do anything fun this weekend? Here's a little peak of a few things I did. 

I love my Fridays! I started off with watching a Hallmark Christmas movie, then I just enjoyed my coffee before moving onto reading my Bible. I got to read the book of James on Friday in The Bible Recap plan, and that is one of my favorite books in the New Testament! That got me to thinking about my Bible, and how much my life has changed since I've been using this current Bible, so I've talked myself into wanting a new one for the new year. I'll be doing research to find the one I want, but I don't want to keep reading this one where someone's name is written all throughout the pages. I'm excited over the thought of a new Bible! 

Is it even a blog post if Chloe isn't pictured somewhere in it? 

She was being really needy that morning. I finally got up to get dressed, though, because I had a hair appointment! I had my friend go a little warmer with the highlights this time. 

If you ever wonder what my hair looks like brushed out, here you go. 

It's growing on me! It's different, but I don't regret my decision. That night I went to my friend Abbey's house. She's a good bit younger than me, and they have three precious kiddos that I loved getting to see and be a part of their nightly routine. The reason for me going over there was to teach her how to make sourdough bread. 

I thought it was so sweet that they made this sign for me!

Everly is six, Asher is five, and Violet is three. These children are precious, but so are Abbey and Steve. I left there with a heart full of warmth and hugs galore. 

I loved being with them, and I adore my sweet friend. She's been one of my best friends for a very long time! We decided to start doing this more often, and I am here for it. 

Because it's cooler here now, it works better if I wait until the afternoon to bake the bread. That morning I met up with my Mom and Trish, and we ran a few errands together. Mom needed to pick something up, and I needed two things from Target, but I also came home with these adorable paper plates. I bought them since Noah will be here this week and we'll be eating more meals here at home while he's here. 

That was my Saturday night dinner: lasagna that I'd frozen and a piece of bread fresh from the oven. 

I watched a terrible movie on Netflix while Chloe napped on me (Merry Gentlemen), then we eventually called it a night around nine thirty. I didn't feel great and wanted to shower before going to bed, so I was glad to head upstairs early. Yesterday was church as usual, then I met up with Marilyn for a light dinner. What did you do that you loved? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all! 

P.s. Saturday is Share 4 Somethings (loved or disliked, accomplished, improved upon or needs improvement, and noticed), so mark your calendars! And next Wednesday the 4th is Currently. The prompts for December are things we're currently loving, looking forward to, buying, hoping, and baking. I hope you plan now to join up with me for both!  

Friday Favorites, 11.22.2024.

 

Happy Friday, friends! I'm linking up with Andrea and Erika for today's blog post. How has your week been? Mine has been good, and without some of the drama that has become so prevalent in my life. I have some favorites from this week that I'd love to share with you!

favorite Christmas movies

I shared about Jingle Bell Run already, but this second one takes the current first place prize. I love Candace Cameron Bure, and anything she stars in will always be my favorite. This one had such a great message of redemption that spoke right to my heart. It's on the Great American Family network, or the GAC network on streaming apps or cable. Do you have any favorites in this category yet? 

around town

Graham came over Monday night to show off his decked out truck! I've never been so proud of one of my sons in all their lives. I love that he loves Christmas as much as his mom; he even put up his tree the day after I did mine! I love that my sons love Christmas, although some of them more than others. 

at home

This is a flocked Christmas tree that my mom gave me a few years ago; I actually think it was part of my birthday gift, but for whatever reason, I never put lights on it until this year. It's my favorite part of my bedroom!

Some of my favorite things are in this beautiful hutch that came from my dad's house. 

Seeing Jonah and his friends enjoying a fire in the firepit will always be one of my favorite things! 

This book is listed as one of Shay's favorites, and I'm hoping it will become one of mine!

Several years ago, I decided I wanted to use cloth napkins at Christmas, so my Mom made these for me that year. But I never used them as napkins! I am now, though, and I couldn't be happier. 

These are some of my favorite items in my collection of Christmas decor. 

When I was in Colorado earlier this month, my sister Debi bought all of us matching sisters Christmas coffee mugs. I love this one! It came from Home Goods and has a lid. Insulated mugs with lids are my favorite thing to drink coffee out of in the morning because I like my coffee to be piping hot. 

These added things to make my bedroom cozy are my favorite. Who doesn't love twinkly lights and plush blankets? 

What 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 🖤