Friday, June 12, 2026
It’s Friday and that means it’s time to link up with Andrea and Erika for a fun post about all the things that made our week happy.
Look what I woke up to on Monday:
What a gorgeous sunrise. I’m glad I’m an early bird because missing that would be sad. I love to use Mondays as my admin day – laundry, calendar, phone calls, scheduling, etc. I made myself a pretty nice breakfast around 10:
It was diced potatoes, bacon bits, a little cheddar and some scrambled eggs.
It was gloomy and rainy but I had gotten lots of sun over the weekend so it was fine by me. Eddie Otis and I took a few little wandering walks. He likes to read his “p-mails”. Get it? Also, we have a neighborhood fox. He is pretty cute and has a den in the trees by the schoolyard. We see him sometimes on our walks. I get a little worried that EO will take off after him and if I see the fox I quickly leash EO up.
EO and I enjoy filling our bird feeders. Man, these birds are eating me out of house and birdfeeder. The squirrels also partake and I’m ok with that. I also saw a chipmunk. I see the birds and the squirrels eating together in harmony so it seems ok.
I talk to Eddie Otis all day long. I tell him it’s time to do certain things like fill the bird feeder. He seems like he understands. I guess I treat him like I treated my kids when they were toddlers. My sister Kate once commented that “I talk to my kids a lot” and she “didn’t know you were supposed to do that”. Kate always makes me laugh.
In addition to my home stuff this Monday, Mason invited me to meet him for ice cream after he got off work at 2:30. I did a Target return on my way (I returned the entirety of my impulse online Target shop – two sandals and a “set”) and met him at Retta’s which has been on my list.
If one of my kids asks me to do something I really try to say yes and if it’s nice outside, I really try to get outside. Those are two “Rules of Amy”.
They have house made ice cream, fancy desserts after 5 pm, and a chef’s tasting menu of food.
I picked caramel and it was probably the best ice cream I’ve ever had.
I can’t remember what Mason picked but he loved his, too.
I came home and made manicotti and a salad for dinner. This time, I used jumbo shells and they were much easier to stuff. I also added a bit of goat cheese to the ricotta, egg, parmesan mixture. Here is the recipe I used.
I really enjoyed this movie this week! Sadie Sandler is Adam Sandler’s daughter.
I also enjoyed this:
I love Brett Goldstein!
And, look at this news…
Louisville is getting a Jeni’s. We are a Graeter’s town, but I think we have room for Jeni’s, too.
My favorite part of every evening is when Eddie Otis climbs on his Dad’s lap with a stuffed animal.
96.6 pounds of chocolate labrador love!
Natural nails this week to let them heal. I really enjoy doing my nails in front of a show.
My friend Victoria and I tried a new place for brunch this week. Victoria and I have been friends since before she was pregnant with her 24-year-old and since before I was pregnant with my almost 24-year-olds. She was a French teacher at my school. This was a Mexican breakfast and lunch place, and it was pouring rain and storming when we were there.
After we ate, we walked through the Logan Street Market, which is a small food hall with some shops, too.
Our phones started blowing up with flood alerts, so we made our way home.
I made Tom Sloppy Joe’s this week. I use Pioneer Woman’s recipe because my mom didn’t write hers down. My mom made these all the time. The grandkids hated them! I sent a photo to my sisters and brother-in-law in honor of my mom.
Tom’s plate:
He never tells me what he wants for dinner and he eats whatever I make, but I can tell when he’s excited!
Sadly, I finished this book this week. I loved it so much! I might have loved it more than Nora Goes Off Script. So, my fave books of the year include this, Mad Mabel, and This Book Made me Think of You. Notice that I did not say Theo of Golden or The Correspondent. I liked them.
I started this and I’m loving it so far! Can I tell you just how much I love summer books?
I went for two weeks without seeing Mason but then I got to see him twice this week! We met for happy hour to celebrate his completion of recording an audio book. He auditioned and got the job and it took him about 100 hours to read the book and record himself reading it. This is why he has been so busy.
We got small plates off of the happy hour menu and this was my lunch.
Then, he came to see brother Eddie Otis and stayed for dinner. I made spinach salmon salad.
This might be a new thing. Eddie Otis decided to watch the neighborhood from the driveway gate.
I got a “mention” on Instagram this week that filled my cup…
This former student is a new mama, and she mentioned me in her Instagram story as she was reading a book with Spanish to her baby boy. I got to “tag” the mama’s siblings and say that I also taught them. I taught many sets of siblings during that 25 years and it’s something I really cherish. At one time, I could name all the families where I had taught all the kids and I did so in class sometimes “The Pulliams, The Burches, The Givens, The ___, etc.”
Both of the other siblings wrote me a message, too. See? That’s why I can’t hate social media. This connection is really important to me. I am now “coffeecocktailsamyscott” if you want to follow. I’m not looking for a 10K following but I like sharing things that make me happy.
I looked at Tom’s work website because I needed the address. He works for a large commercial construction company. While there, I clicked on their employees tab. I don’t think I had ever seen this photo and I told Tom he looks like a movie star. He looks super laser focused on the job at hand. That’s his “blue steel” gaze. Lol.
He comes from a long line of non-smiling Germans. Speaking of non-smiling Germans, Tom was born in Wiesbaden, Germany many moons ago tomorrow. That means his birthday is tomorrow! I am having trouble getting out of him what exactly he wants to do, so wish me luck today trying to prepare to celebrate him! I love birthdays!
What filled your cup this week – other than coffee? Ha!
Amy
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 
That ice cream looks delicious and more like a gelato texture which I enjoy too. As much as I love the birds I make it a point to only fill our feeder once a week because they do eat so much– or more accurately seem to toss lots of it to the ground.
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It was so creamy! The flavors were really artistic and gourmet, too. I wish I could remember what the flavors were in addition to choc, van, and caramel.
That’s a good rule for the birds.
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I love EO is your little bestie and you talk to him- I talk to Remi all the time too and I do think they understand 🙂 Yummy eats! Looks like some great books too- will def refer back here- thank you
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I do, too. Eddie for sure knows certain words like “daddy” and “walk”. Good eats and good books!
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Tom has a nice, serious gaze! I like Donnie’s picture on his firm’s website. It’s a few, er, maybe more than a few years old but it’s a good one. Your week looks like a good one. Congrats on your son on completing reading an audiobook. That’s really neat! I also like to always say yes when I can if one of the kids asks to do something with me. The manicotti looks delish- stuffing shells is a really good idea!!
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Thank you! I don’t know where I was that I didn’t notice Tom getting dressed up for work. I guess I was already at work!
It was a good week! He worked so hard and was quite the perfectionist. Me too! The shells were good – I wanted even bigger shells but that is what I found.
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That’s a nice picture of your hubs. My hubs was born in Germany too, but he’s a smiler. He has a lot of Irish in him to go with the German : ) Books hit different in 2026. I read Theo when it first came out. I have no idea how I found it but nobody had heard of it and I told everyone I knew to read it. When a book is overhyped I will sometimes put off reading until the buzz dies down. Congrats to your son on the audio job. I imagine that’s pretty competitive. Your dog is livin’ the life! Our is currently not well and it’s low key stressful. We’re always aware of it, and they so far cannot figure out what’s wrong. It’s been going on for about a month now, but still a mystery. They ran a test yesterday that required three trips to the vet. We could have left him for the day, but we live close so we brought him home. It’s also getting expensive which isn’t the main thing, but it’s not nothing either. Really hoping they can solve the mystery soon. Have a great weekend!
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Haha – the Irish part helps! Tom’s dad doesn’t smile for photos, either. I swear Tom smiles in real life.
He had to audition for the recording job! He makes royalties off the sales. We shall see.
Oh, poor little brown dog. I hope so, too. Thinking of you.
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What a great list of favorites! I smiled when you mentioned talking to EO all day long; I do the same when I’m at home with J’s and N’s dogs. I tell them “goodbye” and “I love you”, because they need to hear that. I know you loved seeing Mason twice this week…how amazing that he recorded an audiobook! That ice cream looks amazing. I’m on an ice cream kick lately! Happy Friday to you, my friend!
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Thank you so much! Right? You have to talk to your dogs! I did – I had really missed him. We have had vanilla ice cream in our freezer all summer. I have only gone out for it once. I hope you have a fab weekend!
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That is a beautiful sunrise and a great looking breakfast! I spend a small fortune on bird seed. I swear the ones in my garden are the best fed birds in the county. lol How great to spend some time with Mason. I feel the same, if my girls ask me to do something I always try to say yes. There will come a time with their own lives when they are too busy for me. Yum to the ice cream and congrats to Mason with the audio book job. I watched Roommates a little while ago and didn’t realise it was Adam Sandler’s daughter.
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Thank you! I’m enjoying following you on IG now! I decided I would spend $12 a week. That’s what this new bag costs. Yes – it’s a good policy to spend time with kids. I really liked Roommates.
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We have had a cute fox in our backyard lately. We can hear them at night and they sound like a wounded horse!! Such a creepy sound! 😳 A kid was bitten by a rabid fox when he was playing in his backyard in an area several miles from us. I’m not too concerned as there haven’t been any other reports of rabies in the area and our fox isn’t acting weird!
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Their cry is so creepy. We had one crying on our front porch this winter. That’s horrible!
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I talk to my dogs like they’re my kids too. Love all the EO pictures. I stopped putting birdseed out because I started seeing lots of rats. I don’t mind the squirrels, but rats…no thanks! Ugh! How cool about the audio book narration!
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Right? Thank you! Oh, that’s a heck no for me. I don’t want to bring all the rats to the yard! Very cool – he majored in theatre and philosophy and has a very nice narration voice.
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My kitchen remodel is progressing and our cabinets went in this week. The downside is that there’s alot of dust and it’s very loud but I’m trying to escape and go shop for my grandson haha!! My daughter enters her 3rd trimester tomorrow!!! It’s gone by so fast (for her dad and I!) haha have a great weekend!!
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Nice! I’m dreading ours. I don’t know when it’s starting yet, but I’m dreading every bit of it. The dog will bark at the workers, too.
I think I would escape, too. I’m not sure I can with Eddie Otis.
It seems to be going by fast in my opinion, too.
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I just read to expect gorgeous sunrises and sunsets because of a wind storm in the Sahara Desert! I’m lucky to see one every once in a while! I talk to my Jack as if he were a kid, too. I mean, he is my fur kid. I think that’s so cool your son did an audiobook! I have never listened to one. Am I missing anything? So cool to be recognized on Instagram, too! Love the nonsmiling photo…that’s Mike, too. Very rare to catch one!
https://marshainthemiddle.com
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Nice! Well, not nice for them, but…
He is your fur kid!
I have never listened to one, either. I will have to buy his, though! He says it will be boring to me. I can’t even remember what it’s about.
Tom smiles in real life but not for photos. Lol.
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It sounds like you had a good week! Your breakfast with a friend looks so yummy. I 100% agree with you about meeting up with your kids on their schedule – sometimes you can blink and miss them. When when they say hey Mom, can I come over, I immediately say yes and make it happen!
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I did! It was an ordinary week at home but a good one. It was delicious!
Yes!
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You were busy this week! That’s soooo cool that Mason is the voice of an audiobook. Wow! I watched Office Romance this week too. I want to get to the library soon. I mostly read on my Kindle, but I’d like to take a lap around the library.
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A birthday AND Father’s Day in the same week is rough! I love that he is so no-nonsense. Should’ve been a school administrator! Very cool that Mason recorded an audiobook. I can imagine it takes a lot of time. Jeni’s the definitely the best ice cream I’ve ever had.
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It is! The boys and I have always struggled with how close his birthday is with Father’s Day – lol. He could never have worked in a school. His suggestions to me over the years would have put me on the news. I can’t wait to hear Mason’s voice! I will be buying it. He thinks it took 100 hours but I don’t know the length of the book. Jeni’s Ooey Gooey Butter Cake is so good.
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