Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Today is a twofer – I am linking up with Jenn’s Currently and Joyce’s Hodgepodge!

Let’s start with Currently!

Currently Loving

In the food department, I am kind of obsessed with a Cobb salad. I made this for lunch on Monday for Erica (my old work friend and meal prep partner) and I. I started with one of those bowl kits (as opposed to bag kit) and then added more lettuce, tomatoes, more egg, more chicken, more bacon, and avocado. I just used the dressing it came with. For some reason, starting with a kit seems easier.

I invited Erica to lunch on my patio for her first teacher work day because she also wanted lesson planning help for a new course she is teaching that I taught. It worked out great. As a side note, I did not feel sad to not be teaching it one bit. In fact, the talk exhausted me. Lol.

We also had loaded baked potatoes. Is there a better lunch? I rubbed them in olive oil, pricked them, and then rubbed them in Maldon sea salt, wrapped them in foil and baked them the old fashioned way in the oven for a long time. They were perfect. They had butter, sour cream, chives, cheese, and bacon. I am constantly reminded that the simplest foods can be the best foods.

And, you guys…two eggs, a half cup of cottage cheese, and fresh chives – This is delicious for your breakfast!

So, I am loving the food I can cook for myself and for my people and I also love that I enjoy the act of cooking.

I love my library and I am on my second really good book in a row!

Currently Looking Forward To

I am starting to really think about fall and fall weather! We had a sneak preview of early fall temperatures this weekend and it was glorious!

My task is to go through my fall decor and to be ruthless in donating what I don’t still love/wouldn’t buy. Then, I will let myself go buy a few new fall things.

Currently Scheduling

I am scheduling my Shingles shot and my cavity filling appointment (ugh) and all the things. I am also scheduling fun with old friends!

Currently Buying

Well, I am still waiting on possible wedding guest shoes that I hope will work out because the wedding is Saturday:

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The bottom design is what I ordered to go with a solid hot pink dress.

And, I got a wild hair and bought these:

Aren’t they cute?

And, I got another wild hair and ordered these:

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Oopsie. Why do I love buying sneakers so much? If they don’t work, I will send them back. I just loved the tan/black combo.

Currently Gearing Up For

I guess going through the totes I have from my mom’s house.

Last week I started the process of kind of seeing where I’m at and how much I need to go through. When we emptied my mom’s house, my sisters and I just divided up the totes of photo albums, papers, and sentimental items. I think we were supposed to go through them on our own and then bring it all back together at one of our houses at some point. I am very daunted by this. I also have my totes of stuff I have saved for my kids to go through and my teaching stuff to go through. Eek!

And now, Hodgepodge time…

1. The midpoint of summer (believe it or not) is August 7th. Describe a perfect summer day. Have you had one this year? 

Wow! That is weird since that is the day the school buses start rolling in my city. A perfect summer day involves time outside, some sun, some reading, some water, and some good food or drink or both.

I would start outside with coffee and reading, then go to a pool or lake, then shower and eat on a patio. And, there would be no mosquitoes!

2. What’s one thing you wish you knew before starting high school? 

I guess how short of a period of time that would be in the grand scheme of life. But, even so, it’s such an impactful short period of time. The labels stick with you. The friends stick with you. The teachers – man do they ever – stick with you. I can’t tell you how often I think of a high school teacher and what they said or how they made me feel. I am so lucky to have had some great teachers.

Did I tell you that my beloved journalism teacher (I had her for three years) now works at the funeral home where my mom’s services were? I got to talk to her for about an hour when I picked something up before the visitation day and then she came to the visitation.

I wanted to be a writer/reporter for a long time.

3. What’s something that bothers you if it’s not done perfectly? 

I’m pretty chill about just getting things done/not expecting them to be perfect, but here is something I hate. Tom does this to me sometimes. When my dryer clothes aren’t all the way dry and someone takes them out and stuffs them in my basket. Tom is often deceived by the heat of the clothing when it’s still damp. Don’t touch my laundry! I am very good about folding/hanging it immediately.

Sometimes he will do this with towels and I hate a damp towel!

4. What’s the most overrated food you’re convinced people are just pretending to enjoy? What’s a trendy food you actually do enjoy and would say is definitely not overrated? 

I like sushi, but I’m not obsessed with it. Some people seem to be. I think it’s better as an appetizer – like a few pieces, you know? I feel like cottage cheese is talked about a lot right now but I don’t love it as it is. I do like it mixed in eggs or with a few recipes. The kale marketing team was hired by cottage cheese. Remember when kale was so sexy?

5. Wrapping it up this week with five fun this or thats…

personal stylist or personal chef?  I actually like both of these things so can I say personal house cleaner?
dance like nobody’s watching or sing like nobody’s listening? dance like nobody’s watching. I need to dance more.
unlimited tacos or free pizza? Pizza but there are some really bad pizzas out there so I can not be tempted by a cheap gross pizza

bookshelf organization-by size or by genre? genre
ten minutes late or ten minutes early? ten minutes early! I get the sweats if I’m late or going to be late. Early bird gets the worm!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I have decided how to spend my first day of school as a retiree tomorrow. I plan to have breakfast out with a mimosa and then get a pedicure. I will try not to be on the roads when the school traffic is heavy! I plan to take my first day of school outfit pic, too!

If you are still here (this post was long), what would you say to any of these topics?

Amy

22 thoughts on “Currently & Hodgepodge”

  1. Those wedding shoes are so pretty! Hope they work out for you 🙂 I am giggling at your first day of school plans- too cute!

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  2. I’m the same way with laundry- I want to take mine out of the dryer and put it away right away. Taking not dry laundry out of the dryer is a big no no from me. I like Cobb salads, too. Do you ever make the big ones like that you’d order from a restaurant? Like, put a bunch of lettuce in a dinner size bowl and add everything? I do that sometimes as my meal. I got the idea from ordering a Cobb salad at a restaurant. The salad toppings are very much normal items you’d have at home so it’s easy to make a big, full size one.

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  3. I bet Erica is going to miss you so much! I hope she has another lunch buddy but hopefully she can swing by your place and have HH with you after school.

    I sure hope your new shoes arrive and that you love them – they are so pretty!

    As much as I enjoy sushi, I feel like each piece is really one bite and that makes my dinner over very quickly. Even if the piece is larger it is hard to bite in half without making a mess. It’s a challenge for me to eat!

    xo,

    Kellyann

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  4. Yay for great library books and new sneakers! I want to read that Annabel Monaghan book; I love her. I love that your journalism teacher worked at the funeral home and that you got to see her. How sweet is that? I agree: great teachers stick with us for a lifetime. I’ve heard so many inspiring stories the last couple weeks!

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  5. You reminded me laundry is another thing I’m fussy about. I dry very little and sometimes my hubs helps by moving things to the dryer, which is sometimes not actually helpful. I’m glad you got a first day of not-school outfit and have a plan. My daughter is home with her babies now, but she said the other day this is the only time of year she really misses teaching. Everyone posting their classrooms and first day pics and the yellow buses rolling. Enjoy your day of no meetings : )

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  6. Lunch with your old work friend sounds great and that is good that you are not missing teaching. Those shoes are beautiful!
    The description of your summer day does sound perfect, especially being on the lake.
    Ahh! I get rather protective about drying our clothes in the dryer. I keep telling my family that just because they’re warm doesn’t mean they are dry.
    My girls love sushi but I am not a fan. I keep reading about cottage cheese too but I rarely have it.
    Have a fab first day of school as a retiree, it sounds like you have a lovely day planned.

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  7. I was going to express my outrage over anyone daring to call sushi overrated. But then I remembered that my overrated food is potatoes, and decided to keep quiet. lol

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      1. I know, I’m an outcast. (And certainly not only because of the potato thing). I don’t dislike them. They’re just…meh. Unless they’re fried, I’ll usually skip.

        I’ve never been big on the fricasse, either. It’s a texture thing.

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  8. I have never even tried sushi– I just can’t even! I think there are a lot of foods that seem overrated to me. Even kale I only enjoy in soups and stews and cooked. Your home cooked meals look delicious! I haven’t read either of those books but I’ll have to add them to my list. I’m an early bird gets the worm kind of person too and start feeling panicky if I’m running late (which is usually just on time for most others).

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  9. Cobb salads are so good in the summer! I crave these often. Those shoes are adorable and I can’t wait to see them paired with your pink dress.

    That’s straight-up summer goals! No mosquitos? Sign me up!

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  10. Love a good summer salad, and a loaded baked potato is one of life’s simple delights. My husband and I go to a fancy steakhouse for HH occasionally……we each get a nice cocktail plus our own salad, and then we split a baked potato. It’s plenty of food and much cheaper this way. Overrated food? Hmmm, maybe steak? See above, ha.

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  11. That’s a good idea to start with a salad kit because I never seem to get them as tasty as at a restaurant. I agree with lots of your other things. I’m definitely ready for fall and don’t get the whole sushi thing. Love your BTS idea.

    https://marshainthemiddle.com

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  12. So sweet of you to host Erica! Love your description of a perfect day and love the new tennis shoes! Are they Sambas ? Your kale comment made me lol
    Your first day of school as a retiree sounds perfect. Enjoy!

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  13. Oh, now I want to bake a potato! I need to try doing them the old fashioned way instead of the microwave! I’m also addicted to sneakers and have several on my wishlist. I’m thinking of retiring some of my older ones in order to feel better about buying new ones. You will wear ALOT of sneakers in retirement…ha, ha. 🙂

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  14. Looking forward to the back to school picture! The salad with more tomatoes, chicken, bacon and avocado sounds wonderful. I think no mosquitos would definitely be part of a perfect day! Enjoy your evening!

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  16. I don’t eat cottage cheese at all! I don’t understand the appeal. Yogurt is tolerable.

    We’ve been doing a lot of steak salads and chicken salads in the summer because you can quickly grill up the meat on the blackstone. Where I come from, fries go on salads, so it’s pretty filling.

    I went through my fall decor last year. I was ruthless bc I wanted it to go into ONE tub and It all worked out.

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