Friday, June 19, 2026

How was your week? I am linking up with Andrea and Erika to share some of my favorites from the week. The week passed quickly after Monday. Did you read about my Monday in my “day in the life post”? If you are struggling with insomnia, it might put you to sleep.

A favorite this week was a visit to the Myriad Swim Club! It’s a boutique hotel that lets you get a day pass. I met my friend Beth (I have lots of Elizabeths and Beths in my life!) who I met at my second teaching job in 1998.

I had a wonderful mimosa and we just stood/sat in the pool and got caught up on all the stuff of life.

We ordered homemade potato chips and onion dip. Sometimes simple is best.

I was thoroughly relaxed and couldn’t find it in me to cook when I got home so we had Chick Fil A for dinner.

Jen shared this post of your “green flags” and your “red flags” based on your birth month this week. Guilty as charged. If you want to look yours up on IG, search “awakening people” and it’s maybe 5 or 6 posts down.

If Eddie Otis were writing this, he would say Mason coming over was his ultimate favorite! I love EO’s facial expressions and thought this was just adorable.

Mason came over one day to get something and he stayed for lunch. We sat on the patio and talked.

We had some gorgeous weather until yesterday which is a favorite. I feel like June is sublime. July turns uncomfortable and August feels like an armpit. Still, I’m thankful because we don’t have this weather for months on end.

I love looking at fluffy clouds.

I was invited to play Mah jong at a stately country club one afternoon this week. It turned out to be lovely with a girl I hadn’t talked to in years and who was so positive and bubbly.

It was fun! I almost won a couple of times!

I am not motivated or inspired to cook much this week but I chopped up some turkey sausage, onion, and green pepper and put it in a freezer bag and then threw it on a sheet pan. I added corn on the cob and sweet potato that was already cooked. My plate has no green pepper as I don’t care for it!

Sometimes Eddie Otis acts like he’s doing me a favor by walking. He wasn’t interested in going too far one day and again, his facial expressions are so funny.

I tried out two brands (but only one flavor of each) of canned cocktails that you all recommended to me.

Carbliss Strawberry Margarita is so delicious! It had the perfect amount of fizz. I will re-purchase this.

Surfside Blueberry Lemonade + Vodka had zero fizz and not much flavor and I don’t think I would re-purchase it.

I tried Fresca Peach Citrus this week and I think I like it. I think the original is better but I was intrigued enough to try this.

I love this flavor so got some for the summer.

And I tried Chobani toasted coconut vanilla and it’s so good. My friend told me to try making a dirty soda with Diet Dr. Pepper, sugar free vanilla syrup, this, and lime juice. I am going to try it! I just need to buy a Diet Dr. Pepper.

Another meal I made this week was baby carrots, onions, potatoes all cooked on a sheet pan and German noodles that I still had from the winter so I boiled them up. Tom also had leftover meatloaf.

This is not a very summery meal but I was trying to use up stuff I had.

I started going through my mom’s (and dad’s) photo albums that are part of my stash. My sisters and I divided up the Rubbermaid totes of sentimental stuff to deal with later and now is later. I am such a sentimental person that I am finding this task so hard.

And, not a favorite was waking up to tornado sirens yesterday morning right after Tom left for the gym. Yes, he was at the gym and not home protecting Eddie Otis and I. Eddie Otis howls when the sirens go off.

I am thankful we didn’t lose power.

Boy, has Facebook been giving me memories lately! This is sister Molly’s 30th birthday party at a roller skating rink! I loved that chunky bead necklace that was popular during that time.

One thing I loved about my Dad was that he didn’t sit on the sidelines. He roller skated at the above party, he jumped on trampolines with the grandkids, and he rode around Molly’s acreage in the back of a pickup truck with all the kids. That’s Jack with his arm around Grandpa. Our dog Ernie is there, my nephew Miles appears to be tortured by Ernie, and niece Lena is in the truck. Before Eddie Otis we had chocolate lab Ernie, and before Ernie we had chocolate lab Archie. Tom is also on his third beige Suburban. The man likes what he likes.

My Dad’s side of the family used to have a summer picnic each year and this photo shows the 3 sets of twins that we have – my cousin Kelly had boy/girl twins, I had boy/boy twins, and my sister Molly had boy/girl twins. In this photo they were 19, 14, and 9. Another funny thing is that they are five years apart from each set!

In honor of Father’s Day…

It looks like Tom and his boys were all headed to the office in their khakis and polos!

Reds game. This was the day after we said bye to dog Archie so everyone has a sad face.

A paddleboard experience gift one year

And my Dad – the best girl Dad there ever was before “Girl Dad” was a thing.

Tell me a favorite of yours this week?

Amy

24 thoughts on “Friday Favorites”

  1. That pool day looks absolutely lovely. We had a tornado watch for a good portion of the day yesterday but I don’t think any ended up appearing anywhere, thankfully. The wind was crazy though and I did attempt my afternoon walk despite feeling like I was going to be blown off the road.

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    1. I could have stayed longer, honestly. It was so relaxing. Oh no! That’s good. I am very afraid of tornadoes but now they use the sirens for just storms and it’s too much. I can’t stand when it’s that windy!

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  2. I thought of you Thursday morning when I looked at radar. We’d had the bad weather the evening/night before. I checked the radar Thur. morning and saw that it looked like it was in your area. Not fun but like you said, we’ve had amazing weather, too, temperature wise and I guess you take the occasional bad with the good (I say that as we did not lose power or anything while some people did Wed. evening). It’s amazing you have so many pictures from your youth! We have some- my mom took pictures but they got developed on slides not paper. You can get them printed and I’ve done some of that but overall I have very few pictures of me as a child and with my parents. That is really sad to me and honestly is one of the reasons I’m the shutterbug that I am today! Your week looks nice- love that CC building!!

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    1. Thank you! I forgot to respond to your blog post about the sirens going off for anything now! It truly has lessened my sense of urgency.
      We have some slides, too, and people would show slide shows! I actually took two cameras to Spain in 1989 and one had slide film and one had regular film!
      You will never regret too many photos!

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  3. This was awesome! Love all of the throwback pics- love how you said the guys are going to the office in their khakis- they all look so handsome! Ok that pic of EO had me howling- you can tell he was done with that walk- ha!!

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  4. Oh my goodness, such sweet memories! I cannot believe how many sets of twins are in your family! That is really so cool.

    I love how front and center your dad was and how he looks like he loved with his whole heart. Amazing and way before the whole involved dad was really a thing, you know?

    I am dying over EO’s facial expressions – if we could hear his thoughts!!!

    xo,

    Kellyann

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    1. Definitely!
      Isn’t that cool?
      I attribute so many of my attributes to my Dad. He made me a confident woman!
      Right? He is so expressive. He really makes me laugh all day long.

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  5. I love all of your dad pictures ❤️ especially the pick up truck one. I remember the days when we rode in the back of a truck. Can’t do that now especially in an urban area! A favorite for the week: I have used up alot of products and food in my pantry/fridge. A not so favorite: waiting for an a/c repair guy on one of the hottest days of the year. 😬

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    1. Thank you! Yes! Such a fun thing to do in the summer. It’s sad we have to be so safe, now.
      That’s great! I need to do that, too.
      Oh no! I’m so sorry!

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  6. That birth month post is so accurate. I love all of the old photos. They definitely make you appreciate how fortunate you were growing up. Time goes quick! On a lighter note, I’ve started only using Chobani creamer. I think the Smores is my favorite. I bet my kids would love the dirty Dr. Pepper.

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    1. Yes! Thank you so much! They really do. I had a wonderful childhood. It really does, sadly. Apparently Aldi has the S’mores. It’s kind of hard to find! I don’t regularly shop at Aldi, but this would make me go there!
      Yes, some people are making Dirty Soda bars at parties and give some “recipes”.

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  7. The swim club looks like a great place to spend the day! Oh gosh! That is a so true about the green and red flags for November, it describes me totally! Aww! Eddie Otis and Mason are so cute together. We’ve had that armpit weather here over the last few days. As soon as I stand up I start sweating. That Strawberry Margarita sounds good, I do love a cocktail in a can! Sending love and hugs. It sounds hard going through your parents photo albums. Fab photos!

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    1. I just think it’s so nice! Yes, me too! Ugh – hate that weather. It is really good! Thank you – it is hard but also I’m so thankful my mom took so many photos.

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  8. I love all the retro photos. Your dad sounds just amazing. I think I had a chunky necklace just like the one in the roller skating photo. EO definitely has the best expressions. Your comment about day in the life at the beginning made me laugh out loud. Hope you have a good weekend.

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    1. Thank you! He was a great Dad! Yes! They were all the rage. I went to jewelry parties where a girl sold them with a matching bracelet for dirt cheap. I had quite the collection.
      It’s pretty ordinary but I love my days and I’m really happy most of the time.

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  9. Eddie Otis wins for best facial expressions! I’d love to hear what he’s thinking! I love to look through old photos because my dad died when I was in my teens. My older sister is the keeper of the photo albums which is a good thing as she has more memories and can tell who the people are. We had horrendous weather Tuesday night. My bushes and plants are polka dotted with holes! I guess Mother Nature follows the fashion trends, too.

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

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  10. Love your pool day! It’s so nice to bring sun screen, water bottle, snacks and just hang out! Used to do that a lot when I was younger…

    Love the throwback photos! Yours, not mine… It’s crazy how time flies!

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  11. Those are some sweet “dad” memories for sure. (: Your dog is very expressive – such a sweet face! Not sure what my favorite anything is for this week…maybe catching up on a bunch of reading? Napping, for sure.

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  12. I think that June and September actually have great weather, but because we have to suffer through July and August, we don’t realize it.

    EO would get along so great with Maverick. The chunky necklaces. Gah. What a memory.

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