This was an impulse purchase! I clicked on a blogger’s link to her pair in black and tan and saw that the green was seriously discounted. I like green!
I wore them this past weekend with my old Loft green and white button up.
I am still on a big graphic tee kick. I was really into them last spring, summer, and fall. I bought a new “That’s Life” in French from Old Navy and wore it to dinner this weekend like this:
During the day for errands, I wore it with my corduroy Paris hat:
I had to “boots and bling’ for hub’s company party and I had everything already in my closet!
I wore old Target suede Western-ish boots that I bought in both tan and black, my Old Navy silver sequin skirt that I also bought in black, my Chico’s black silk button up, and an old fringey sweater vest from TJ Maxx. My earrings are sparkly bourbon bottles that have silver and black in them.
Forgot to take a full length photo but I wore my black sweater poncho with this cool necklace on Friday:
I love this necklace and have had it for years.
Monday for work I wore the black Halaras, Adidas Stan Smith with gold on the heel, and old blue Umgee blouse, and a Walmart lady sweater jacket. I really never had the sweater jacket on during the day because I would have been too hot.
And, the next day is when my world turned upside down. My sisters and I found out our mom had passed. We were in our hometown all day Wednesday and Thursday and my sisters wanted to look for a visitation and funeral outfit. I had plenty I could wear and here is where having a solid wardrobe comes in handy. I went shopping with them and helped them. When I was home over the weekend I went to a consignment store just to see what else I could find.
Here is what I ended up wearing for the visitation:
I had bought the dress at the warehouse sale recently for $15. The weather turned pretty warm and I switched last minute from my pants outfit. The dress was cool, flowy, and had pockets. The shoes were J.Jill from the consignment store and frankly they are sitting shoes. I had to swap out for my silk ballet flats after a bit.
I also stopped in Versona and picked up these pretty designer look earrings for only $12.
For the funeral, I wore another pair of consignment Bandolino heels I found, a Chico’s dressy coat, and an Umgee dress. My mom would have been thrilled at me finding all of this at a consignment store. She taught us to bargain shop!
I am laughing my head off about a new trend I heard about! Have you heard of “Fisherman Core”?
1. Did you watch the Super Bowl? Did your team win? What’s your favorite game day snack for whatever sport is happening?
I don’t know if I have ever cared less than I cared this year. I usually at least enjoy the halftime show and the commercials. I did like the red, white, and blue of the halftime show but I felt very old since I did not enjoy the music. My Facebook feed was blowing up with people talking about how bad the half time show was and other people saying they just didn’t get it.
2. What’s your ‘superpower’?
Right now, according to my sisters, it’s talking on the phone and talking care of business. I reported to them what I got done on Monday and one sister said, “that’s what I would’ve taken a month to do”.
3. Will you do anything special on Valentine’s Day? If so do share. Any thoughts on/about this particular holiday? Share a favorite verse or quote relating to love.
Valentine’s decor on a rainy night in my hometown:
It’s too late to make a reservation so we will eat at home. I am thinking of picking up gourmet grocery items for Tom of things he enjoys. I think I will be fine to stay home. I don’t love being out on Valentine’s Day with all the people, anyway. With it falling on a Friday – even worse. I was originally going to cook and that might still happen. I am giving myself grace, for sure. We will not do gifts. I want us to buy each other a new set of nightstands for our bedroom that we finally agreed upon. We also found a console and we need a new flat screen. We have been looking and waiting since 2020! We moved into our bedroom and just lived with our old stuff.
4. Are you a fan of the rom-com genre? If so what’s one of your favorites? If you’re not a movie go-er then what about a book you love that features a great love story? How about a favorite love song?
I love a rom-com! How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is a favorite!
My original fam sporting our 80s attire and hair:
5. Let’s get creative…write an acrostic using the word L-O-V-E.
L – laughter that fills my cup. Tom is one of the funniest people I know and we share the same sense of humor.
0 – opportunities to show my love for the people in my life
V – velvet – red velvet – is a favorite Valentine’s Day flavor
E – Eddie Otis – my brain is blank. I bought him a new toy called “Moo Cow” – Tom named it and he can find it when we ask for Moo Cow. He looks so funny running around with the cows long legs dangling. I love that this dog loves his toys. He makes us laugh so much and he brings so much energy to our home. He can still be very naughty, though.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
I might invite a friend to go to this on Thursday. I love finding little events around town. If I do this on Thursday, I will be even more content to stay home on Friday.
My sister Kate stopped at Starbuck’s on her way to work yesterday and look what was on her cup…
Is this a sign? Signs are all around us if we are open to receive them according to the book I’ve been reading.
Both Kate and Molly had to go back to their teaching jobs yesterday. I had the privilege of online school from home due to widespread illness. I hate that we have so many sick but it was a nice way to ease back in for me.
Both Kate and Molly have become disgruntled with teaching and they are both in the elementary setting. I get it and I agree with them – maybe it’s because I am an elective in a high school and because I have been teaching for longer, but I am much happier in my job than they are. We had so many former students of my mom’s talk about her at the visitation and the funeral and this was Kate’s quote:
“Maybe this will reinvigorate my teaching after hearing all the nice things said about mom”.
What if? Wouldn’t that be nice because both sisters have so many years of teaching left before they can retire.
I have a suspicion that all three of us just put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be more than average teachers. My Dad always said that our 50% was someone else’s 100%. Yes, he was biased. He was thrilled that we were all teachers. I’m not sure why but he really loved this. He wanted us to have families, too, and I think he thought it was family friendly. It’s very family friendly in the summer!
I sent this book to each of them and I hope they get the comfort I have gotten.
At the start of our preparations together from the day after my mom passed I was using the word “gauche” and my sisters made fun of it. So, after that everything became “gauche”. I was using it to mean “tacky”.
So, this may be gauche to tell you, but we had a meeting with my mom’s financial planner and we had been hearing about him for years. My mom always said, “Nicholas says” I can buy this, spend this”. So, during our meeting we told Nicholas this and said we needed to make t-shirts that said that. The most recent “Nicholas says” was about which pie to pick out for Thanksgiving. My mom would group text us while we were teaching or very late at night. It became a family joke. My mom would text, “Nicholas says he will give me pumpkin, pecan, apple, or cherry. I need to know right now so I can tell him'”. My mom also liked to say she needed things RIGHT NOW and we channeled her RIGHT NOW energy so often over the past two weeks. We didn’t care which pie she picked, but she wanted us to be the ones to decide.
Nicholas brought us a homemade cheesecake with homemade vanilla the day after our meeting and the day of the visitation:
Maybe this is why my mom loved and trusted Nicholas so much. Does your financial planner make homemade vanilla and homemade cheesecake?
Food is always appreciated. Please bring it in a disposable container as Nicholas did. We did have to return a couple of things to people but it was ok. We couldn’t believe the stuff people brought us. We didn’t have to think about food once.
I have a very funny family and our family has funny friends. I think I place too high of a value on humor but I was born this way. My Dad thought everything I said was either funny or brilliant. I can assure that is not the case. So, both of my parents were funny, my sisters and I laugh so much together, and we have a new generation of funny kids – my kids are super funny and especially the teen nieces are really becoming funny. We also try to find the humor in everything and we make fun of too many things, I am sure.
A couple of stories…
We displayed several pieces of my mom’s art in the funeral home. During the receiving line of the visitation, a lady we have never met before was trying to make us a deal on buying some art work we had displayed. Molly said she said, “How does one go about purchasing a piece?” This ain’t no art gallery, lady! Gauche.
A lady slipped me an envelope at the funeral – like right before the service in the church.. I read it about 24 hours later and it said, “I recently paid your mom money for a trip we were going to take so if you could call the travel company and get the money back and send it to___ that would be appreciated. I am sorry you have to deal with this and with your loss”. I said maybe she needed the money and Heather said to at least wait until the day after the funeral. Gauche.
A few people in the receiving line asked us for details of how exactly our mom passed away. Gauche.
We realize that some of these people are old and they just say whatever.
People have been really kind, though. People in our hometown and people on the phone have been so nice and helpful.
I generally still think there are good people in the world.
I was not really sure where this was going but come back tomorrow for non-funeral content. I promise.
It is Saturday morning and I sit in my mom’s house typing. My family went home last night but I stayed and we have a house of my sisters, my brother-in-law, and four nieces, and three nephews. It’s a packed house.
I’ve been here since Wednesday morning. I’m ready to go home. But, I’m also not. Among the tears there has been so much joy and laughter. Seeing my mom’s legacy of family and friends, hearing stories, eating all the good food we have been showered with…I have felt so, so loved.
A funny photo we found….my mom and I getting our hair done on my wedding day. My whole bridal party was there and I have a feeling my dear cousin Kelly snapped this photo.
I love these girls. We all have the best parts of my mom in us.
A beautiful fruit tray for breakfast on the day of the funeral from my mom’s friends…
Hometown donuts that are the best from my mom’s friends…
Beautiful flowers from family and friends, my department at work, and Tom’s work family made us feel so loved…
We are all taking the ones home from our friends and then we are donating other arrangements to nursing homes with a program the funeral home has were they disassemble and make smaller vases for the residents of local nursing homes. My mom would like that. We found out there were a lot of acts of kindness that my mom did that she never told us about.
So, on Wednesday we met at my mom’s house and we spent the day doing tasks that needed to be done. I still can’t believe everything we were able to do – the business type stuff. I told my sisters we should go to a nice dinner that night before the families descended.
We drove downtown and our little hometown is all decorated for Valentine’s Day. The buildings are lined in white lights and they have these hearts on street lamps.
We had the nicest dinner at the new steak house on Main Street and split some dishes and a bottle of wine.
We talked about our mom, our memories, our goals, and all the things. I am so glad we took the time to do this. We went home and went to bed pretty early but none of us slept great.
We got up Thursday and I went and got us McDonald’s egg Mcmuffins. My mom always ordered hers without the egg so I guess she just got a Mcmuffin. We always thought that was so funny. We started doing all the things – cleaned the house, steamed clothes, and I made phone calls. There are a lot of phone calls to be made. My sisters said they would rather clean toilets than make phone calls and I said I would much rather make phone calls. We have talked a lot about what our skill sets are and tried to use those to our advantage throughout this time.
Our mom got things done. We know that she was with us in spirit because if I told you how many things we did from Wednesday to Thursday you would probably not believe me. We didn’t fight. I actually don’t remember us really fighting? What a testament to my parents that they raised us to not only be good humans (I hope!) but also good sisters. They didn’t compare us or pit us against each other and I don’t remember feeling like it was a competition. I think they saw us as individuals with different strengths and interests. They also were always very fair and equal.
Around noon, the masses started arriving…
First came Kate’s family – her three kids and her boyfriend. He brought the kids and he is wonderful. It was nice to hug some nieces and nephews. Then came Molly’s family and again it was nice to have all the nieces and nephews in the house. So, that was 7 kids. Then, we started getting ready and my family arrived. Now we had 9 kids in the house. We all left dogs at home with dog sitters. I was worried about how sad the kids would be arriving at the house for the first time without Grandma there.
Family friends had brought us lunch and we had chicken pot pie, pulled pork, slaw, chicken salad, chips, and more and everyone ate something.
We went to the funeral home for the visitation and saw the slide show they put together and the pastor led us in a prayer. The funeral home director gave us an hour in the room before the public was allowed to come in. We had displayed my mom’s artwork of several different types, a photo album of her window dressing at Marshall Fields in Chicago (a job she did for about a year in the late 1960s), photographs, and we also had a box of notecards she had made with her artwork on them. We asked people to take one. I got very emotional seeing all the flowers from the people in my life and from Tom’s work. It was hard to see my mom but for many it gives closure but you also have to think – do you want closure? You want to remember the person alive and vibrant.
We did a receiving line (is that the word for this situation?) in birth order – me, Kate, Molly – I was touched that the nieces came and stood by their moms for much of the time. Those girls are poised, mature, funny, and smart. That line did not stop for about two hours – a testament to my mom. My mom had current friends, former colleagues, former students, and family come through. We heard time and time again of kindnesses my mom had shown them or ways in which she influenced them. And, I had high school friends and current friends that drove hours to come. Tom had a work friend and wife who came. We were an hour from our current home, too. So, this is something I won’t forget. My high school boyfriend and his mom came! Ha – but they live in town. My favorite high school teacher came. For the third hour, we were able to get out of line and mingle a little more. But, so many people came. I don’t have the register back yet to know how many, but it was a lot.
And, then, get this – the funeral home people took all the young grandkids to Dairy Queen in a limo. They dropped them off at the house for us!
We were so beat after the visitation and our legs and feet hurt so bad. My sisters and I said so many people touched us and got in our faces. Yes, there were many close talkers. (Seinfeld reference) I found out my school went to online for Friday and Monday because of widespread illness – flu I guess! We had lots of food at the house but Jack and I thought pizza would be nice so we ordered pizza for everyone and it was a hit. We stood around the kitchen and talked and ate. I got a hotel room across the street for my family just so we could spread out more. So, we left and everyone crashed at the house, too.
I didn’t sleep well and got up early to get back to the house. My mom’s friends were providing breakfast so I wanted to be there. Also, we had to be at the church at 9:30. It ended up being a pretty hectic morning of getting everyone fed, dressed, hair and makeup – I had to do two heads of hair besides my own and we had four girls squeezed together in one bathroom. We made it on time and had another hour of visitation in the church sanctuary and so many more people came that hadn’t come the night before. The church was packed when the service began at 11:00. The service was emotional and my niece Mia spoke some eloquent words and my sister Kate wrote the eulogy. I was so proud of her for being able to stay composed. I could not have done that. Because her eulogy was so personal it made me cry and even more. She is giving us all a copy and I may share it hear for anyone interested. I wrote my mom a poem 30 years ago and she had told me it would be part of her funeral and it was printed in the visitation card. Maybe I should have read it, too, but I don’t think I could have.
We then had the processional to the veteran’s cemetery and the family was in two limos. We had a short service there and one of the funeral directors also went to church with my mom and dad and he shared some personal and special words and got choked up. He gave the three daughters roses from the casket spray. He then gave all the grandkids one type of rose and all the extended family another type.
The family was the last to leave and some of the grandkids wanted to say things to their Grandma. Kate, Molly, and I had done this the night before just the three of us too.
We were taken back to the church for fried chicken and all the casseroles you could ever want. My mom loved a casserole. “Casserole Carole” was one nickname! I tried to sit and eat but I felt like I also needed to make my way around. I tried to talk to the people who wouldn’t be coming back to the house.
We told anyone that wanted to come back to the house to come and it was really nice. Even though we were tired, it was great to put out some cheese and crackers, cookies, and drinks. Our neighbor at our house growing up brought wine and treats, my bestie Heather brought a charcuterie board, and we had some other stuff we had brought. We sat around from 2:00 to maybe 7:00 and even had a little music. Our friend’s son is a banjo prodigy and he played for us. Tom loved it! Our niece Mia played Amazing Grace on sax.
We shared stories and laughed a lot. We realized the banjo player had chosen my mom’s favorite spot on her couch and she would have loved this.
Around 7:00, my family – Tom and kids – went home to relieve the dog sitter. I stayed but everyone was really so tired at this point that we were all ready to shower and crash. I slept on a couch in the basement with the teen girls but I didn’t sleep much. I was up at 5 am and started this post!
I am now finishing it on Sunday morning at my house…
So, Molly got up around 6:30 and wanted to go get coffee. She and I left and sat inside Dunkin’ and talked for about an hour. We went back and started the job of cleaning up and getting ready to pack up. Everyone else started getting up and we sat around and talked and laughed for a bit. Then, we got everything cleaned and packed and all left for home around noon. My sisters and I felt the same – we desperately wanted to be in our homes, but we also didn’t want to leave.
Kate and Molly have to go back to teaching Monday. I have a day of online teaching from home and we also have some snow coming in on Tuesday. We have a house to manage in a town we no longer live in. There’s a lot to do. It’s pretty overwhelming.
I drove back alone and cried most of the way. I didn’t talk on the phone or listen to anything – no music and no podcasts – for most of the ride. I also thought I could fall asleep driving I was so tired. But, I made it. Tom met me at the door and helped me unload. I unpacked and napped and then we actually went to a 50th birthday party for a bit because I was reminded that you show up for the people you care about. We came home and I crashed hard and slept 8 hours with only one wake up.
I’m sad. I know different things will hit me at different times. Our houses are full of stuff from my mom. She was a gift giver. Everything on my walls is from my mom practically. She loved to frame things for us. Also, losing your second parent feels like too much. Parents are always there for us. They are a safety net. As the oldest, I feel responsible for my sisters and I always have, but now I really do.
If you are still here, I appreciate all your kind messages. I know many of you have been here in this same place in life. It sucks.
I am not quite sure where this post is going but I thought writing/typing might be therapeutic. It is Sunday morning and I’m at home and grateful for the gift of a good night’s sleep. Tom and the beast (chocolate lab puppy) are on a hopefully long walk, Mason is asleep, and Jack is at church singing.
First off, let me say thank you for your kind words. I was receiving them on my phone Wednesday through my blog app (and still am receiving them) and I felt loved and supported.
I was at school teaching last Tuesday and got a phone call around 1:30 that my mom had passed away at her home. Kate (the middle sister) had Molly on the phone at the same time and was able to tell both of us. It may sound crazy when your mother is 82, but it was unexpected. So, shock was my first reaction. I had kids leaving at the bell while I was on the phone and new kids coming in. I was unable to get off the phone or really say anything. I think one of the students went and got Bill (neighbor Spanish teacher) and Erica (work bestie) and they led me into Bill’s room because he had planning and they took over for my class and made arrangements for my last class of the day, told the office, and all that stuff. I got off the phone with my sisters and called Tom and he said he would have Mason pick me up and he would meet me at the house. I said I could drive home. I also found out later that another teacher from the art department offered to drive me home.
The rest of the day was phone calls. I told my sisters to let me handle it so they could go home and tell their kids and make work arrangements and all of that stuff. I was on the phone from probably 1:30-6:00 but SIL Jessica and bff Heather stopped by to hug me. Tom just stayed in the room with Eddie Otis or got EO out of my hair when I was on the phone. My kids happened to both be home – one was a little sick – and they came up and comforted me and asked what needed to be done. One of them took care of dinner ordering and Tom picked it up I think. At 6:00 I took a shower and ate dinner and then didn’t sleep much at all.
Wednesday I went in to school to leave sub plans for the rest of the week. At this point we had no idea when the arrangements would be, but I knew I needed the rest of the week. I had colleagues who offered but I knew myself and knew I would feel better. I wrote Google Classroom messages telling the kids what was going on and I received nice emails from them. We have a pretty big flu outbreak going on right now, too. I have had lots email me that they are sick, too.
My sisters and I had made plans to meet at my mom’s house around noon Wednesday and that no one should go in alone.
Kate is turning 50 soon and is an elementary art teacher in Columbus, OH. She has a 19, 17, and 11 year old. She has about a 3.5 hour drive.
Molly is 47 and is a first grade teacher in an Indianapolis suburb and has 18 year old twins, a 14 year old, and a 10 year old. She has about a 2 hour drive.
I am the oldest at 53 and live about an hour away.
This is where it’s really hard to be a teacher. It just is.
There was some debate about going immediately on Tuesday but after making phone calls we determined that it would be better to get our work and family ducks in a row and meet there the next day. Tom had offered to go with me to check everything out but we decided it was ok. Maybe we should have? I don’t know.
We also decided it would just be the three of us.
I’m not going to lie. My drive there was rough. Heather met me at Starbuck’s to give me muffins. It was nice to see her before I drove. I cried off and on and I’m sure some thought I was driving impaired. Well, I was!
My little hometown has utility boxes covered with art work. My mom was so proud to have her art work on one and it’s right when you cross into Indiana from the bridge over the Ohio. Wahhhh. It made me cry again. I felt I needed to be in my hometown and with my sisters and I also felt that I needed to shield my sisters from some of the pain. I went to the funeral home and picked up my mom’s purse and cell phone. They had me sit at a table while they retrieved it. On the table was a bowl of my Dad’s signature Lifesavers mints. He kept a huge bowl next to his spot on the couch. My kids would leave their house with pockets full. My Dad has always shown up to us through finding these mints and through leaving us pennies.
I pulled into my parents’ house driveway to wait for Molly. This was not my childhood home. They moved from my childhood home in the same town when my twins were 3 so I guess that would be 19 years ago. My Dad passed away 6 years ago and my mom wanted to stay there. She could live on all on level pretty well and she really loved her “new house”.
Molly arrived and she and I went ahead in. Kate was running late but was fine with us going in. I’m not going to lie. It was hard. I won’t get too detailed, but my mom had her clothes laid out for the day and her jewelry laid out. She had her lipstick stained straw in take out cup that she loved. Well – she had one in her car, one in the fridge, and one on the coffee table. And, she loved buying and returning things. She had a TJ Maxx return in her car. I’m sorry – I did get too detailed.
Anyway, the house was in perfect order just as she liked. Molly and I found two pennies next to each other and I can’t tell you the comfort that brought me. I hope my Dad picked my Mom up.
I love this photo of them. I think they were in Hawaii during the Vietnam War when my Dad had some R and R time. They were already married at this time. I was born two years later, I believe.
So, Wednesday Kate arrived and we went through some papers together and then went to a very late lunch. We were happy to be together. We did a late night Kohl’s and TJ Maxx shopping trip that Mom would have loved! When we got home, we started going through old letters and found a really funny one my Dad wrote my Mom. Wednesday night we found a travel video on DVD my Dad had shot from a trip in 2012 on a European riverboat cruise and it was fun to hear my Dad’s voice.
Kate didn’t sleep at all that night and Molly and I slept a little.
Thursday morning I got up at 6:00 and started going through all the photo albums. When Kate and Molly got up we had to pick out an outfit for my mom and finalize the photos we needed for the slide show. We went and got breakfast at a drive thru and did a Kohl’s and TJ Maxx return and then went to the funeral home for our appointment.
My mom basically had everything planned for us. It was paid for, too. We only had to fill in some blanks. She had the obituary mostly written. She had already given photos to them for the slide show. This is the ultimate act of love. We also started seeing signs that maybe she had a feeling it was close to her time.
The pastor came to the funeral home so we didn’t have to go to him. She even had her hymns picked out.
We set the visitation for a week away and the funeral for the day after. We thought Thursday and Friday would help some people from out of town, too.
My mom’s best friend took us to lunch and it was so nice. We shared stories and we think it helped her, too. They had been friends since 1977.
We did a few more tasks after lunch and then I left that evening to go home. My sisters stayed and left early the next morning.
So, we have all had the weekend to tend to the stuff at home, the clothes, getting dog sitters, and all the other details.
I didn’t feel right keeping my regular post scheduled for today and since you all have been with me through a lot of life and I do consider you my friends…
My mom passed away unexpectedly yesterday.
If you are my IRL friend I apologize if I didn’t get to tell you before this post.
Sorry, Gretchen Rubin – I didn’t do very well with your January Happiness! We will get to that in a minute!
I am wrapping up January a little early. It’s been long enough, right?
However, I did pretty well with my own January list:
I enjoyed my twinkle lights and my eye patches in January and spent lots of time at home!
-wear my blues, burgundies, white, and other non-Christmas colored winter clothes and toward the end of the month start wearing my Valentine’s Day sweaters – Yes! Still doing this!
-read more and tv less/read more and scroll less/really try to stay off social media as much as possible – I read 3 books! My neck light is one of the reasons, but also I just had more time at home with snow days. I also scrolled less!
-plan something fun to do on MLK Day since I am off school – It was just too cold! I enjoyed my day mostly at home and made chili!
-at least one coffee shop date with Mason – this will have to be on a weekend or on MLK Day unless I get a snow day. We want to try a witch/Halloween coffee shop that is relatively new – We only did the Con Huevos breakfast but it was great!
-just found out one of my favorite restaurants is having a January special Tuesday through Thursday in the month of January so I plan to do that– I did this with a friend last week and it was lovely!
-bake/cook a new dish – Mexican beef in the crockpot. I finally bought crockpot liners so I am more motivated to crock. I only rock the crock on the weekends because it’s just too long during the week to be away from whatever I make.
-enjoy a snow day – if I get one – if not…might be making my own if you know what I mean (I swear I wrote that before Snowpocalypse and 4 snow days for teachers last week and 5 for students!) – this is hilarious!
-get excited about meal prep again – this is hard to do when I’m off my routine/still on winter break mode – yeah, not really. I’m not feeling too inspired.
-walk with Eddie Otis after school even when it’s really cold – no – it’s just been sooooo cold.
-listen to more music in the house – the Echo Show is already making this easier – I am not really doing great with this yet.
-go to a speakeasy – not yet. Did I mention it’s cold?
-plan some cozy happy hours at places that have fireplaces or a dark ambiance– went to Mojito for tropical ambiance!
-work smarter, not harder with home chores-create a routine and assignments for people inlcluding myself, of course – stick to it. – doing ok with this. My laundry and dish routine are going pretty well
-work on January happiness project – much will be the declutter part – not found the motivation yet
-read How to Winter when it comes in at the library for me – with my luck it will come in on the first day of spring!
-start a bath night ritual – I have a wonderful tub and never use it -too cold! I have been wanting to shower quickly!
-re-start my spray tan membership to fake Vitamin D toward the end of the month- it really helps! This time I will go clear and light or medium and no double leg. That’s too much. I just want that – ‘did she or didn’t she just come back from vacay?’ look – not yet but they are running a 5 spray deal for 7.99 if I can buy that by the end of January
-see friends that I haven’t seen– saw one and that was great!
-continue with “Soup Sunday” where I make a different soup and use that for one of my lunches during the week – some Sundays I have done this but not every one
-start planning my spring break whether I plan to go somewhere or stay home – not yet
I am sure I am forgetting things! As you can see these are very “low level goals” in the words of the Big Boo podcast. They just help me to be more intentional with my time and help me to enjoy life more, frankly.
What about you? January goals?
Some unexpected things that happened in January:
So many salads! Erica is doing the garden cup salad delivery thing and we are having that for lunch plus I have been bringing salads to go with some of my meal prep meals. I have been making my own simple dressings and craving salads at dinner, too. Crazy!
I read 3 books in January – that is about my summer number! I can’t believe I have read this much!
I have had an unintentional damp January where I haven’t had alcoholic drinks very much.
Official Happiness Project:
I was supposed to get more sleep and declutter. My sleep was really good after I was sick and felt better and then my sleep was very good when I had the one 5 day week of school. My problem was lack of consistency. When I knew I didn’t have school I stayed up about an hour too late which makes it harder to fall asleep right away – missed my sleep window? – and I still get up about the same time. The sweet spot for me is 9:30-5:30 or 6.
I just wasn’t in the mood to go through areas of the house. I did do the front hall closet but then it was mainly just a shuffling of junk to another area. I do plan to come back to this!
I really enjoyed January! It went by faster this year for some reason!
How was your weekend? I am happy to link up with Sarah and Holly to share a bit about mine!
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Thursday at 5;00, to be precise, I had a reservation at Grassa Gramma with my friend Jessica. I don’t think we had seen each other in person since August? The restaurant was offering 50% off entrees to celebrate their anniversary. I got homemade pasta for $13!
The decor is so cool in the restaurant and we had a really nice dinner getting caught up on each others’ lives.
Friday at school was a day. We had a pep rally. Here are half of the Spanish teachers being “peppy” in the senior section.
After getting my pep on, I went home to get my “boots and bling” on. Tom’s company has moved their holiday party to January the last couple of years and it’s kind of nice since December is so busy. They were doing a casino game night and boots and bling theme and Tom picked me up at 5:30 without coming in the house. He wore his boots and bling to work.
I wore my old black suede Target boots that have a western vibe, my Old Navy sequin skirt – can you even believe how much I wore it this year?, my Chico’s black silk button up (turned out to be a great purchase), and my old TJ Maxx fringe sweater vest (another rock star piece in my closet that works as a great third piece). I wore my sparkly bourbon earrings, too.
I didn’t have to buy a thing!
The sky was just stunning! I don’t get out much this late!
Tom and his first work friend…
I only took three photos but it was a nice evening.
Saturday I got myself up and ready fairly early. I put on my new Old Navy graphic tee with French on it with my Paris hat – too much French stuff at once? It was going to warm up to 40 degrees. 40 degrees is still pretty cold I found out.
I went to the library because some requests came in:
And, I had to grocery shop in person!
I bought 4 boxes of the cookie mix! I thought I could give a couple to friends…”I don’t like you enough to actually bake them for you; bake them yourself”. Just kidding!
I was super lazy after the grocery. Both kids were off working and Tom had requested Velveeta Rotel dip so I made that for him and a salad and tuna for us to have for lunch. Then, he and I, and Eddie Otis lounged in the living room all afternoon with sports and stuff on the tv. I also read and napped.
We made a last minute dinner plan with friends and I kept the same outfit on but did my hair and changed from my Uggs to my clogs.
We went with our friends to a new to us pizza and beer place called Hop Atomica. My friend and I shared a flight of beers. Little baby beers.
Tom and I split this glorious salad!
I forgot to take a photo but we split a pepperoni pizza and a fig and pig pizza with bacon and fig jam.
After dinner we went to a dessert place called Baked AF. It was next to Breakfast AF and Pizza AF. Young people these days!
Yesterday I slept in until 7:00 am! Woohoo!
I was excited to try a new flavor! I ran into a former student and she said this one is good – agreed!
And we still have lingering ice and snow…
We are supposed to have 50s and sunny on Wednesday! Happy hour on my patio? I just hope it all goes away by the end of the day Wednesday!
And those are my highlights!
What about you?
Amy
P.S. – The Bachelor starts tonight if you are going to watch along with me!
What a weird week! But, it’s Friday so who cares? Hehe. I could use one of the above!
I am happy to link up with Andrea and Erika today to share some eclectic favorites that I collected on my camera roll.
I had off Monday for MLK day and then due to the cold we did online school from home on Wednesday. It was so nice not to have to get out. I actually had a nice day and got to respond to some emails from students and they did their work like good girls and boys.
We went back to school yesterday and today we have a pep rally at the end of the day. Send Advil.
Are you a fan of Nate Bargatze? Tom has been showing me and the kids clips of his stand up or skit comedy and we have watched a couple of his Netflix specials. We both hate that music and comedy happen so often on week nights rather than weekends and so late, but I said let’s live a little and we purchased tickets!
We have always enjoyed going to see comedy! So, I am proud of us for making plans.
I had chili envy during Snowpocalypse 2025. Everyone was making and posting their chili pics on social media. I had lentil soup and thought it would be enough. It wasn’t. But, I will tell you that lentils will clean out your system.
So, I made chili on Monday and it was good. Here you see the fat macaroni noodles from Trader Joe’s. and Frito’s Scoops. My chili is my preferred. It’s hard to go to someone’s house for chili when you don’t know their chili religion. I believe in noodles (only macaroni) on the side, cheese on the side, and the chips on the side. Let each do their own. You are gonna cook a pot of chili and throw in fat spaghetti strands? NO! My chili is also pretty tomato forward and has a dash of cinnamon and a dash of sugar to cut the acidity. My mom likes to say this is called “chili mac”. I grew up eating chili without noodles but when I met Tom I converted.
I made the most delish yogurt bowl that day, too. Frozen fruit, vanilla Greek yogurt, and granola.
I’m back to using Chobani creamer. Cookie Dough is my fave but they are all good. I like their stout cartons, too.
This stance cracked me up. EO was acting a little weird Monday like he was on high alert. Can you see his dog bite wound on the left? He looks like a doggie model. Blue steel.
Cute boy with lambie gigante:
I am ready to wear V Day sweaters! I like this green and white with pink trim because it’s kind of unexpected. I went into Old Navy out of cabin fever boredom Monday and I bought a long sleeve ribbed tee to wear under this for $4.99. I have never seen ON prices so low in store. It was literally like a garage sale. Jeans for $6.47, t-shirts for $8 or $5. I bought the aforementioned white ribbed long sleeve tee and two graphic tees. I guess they are getting ready for spring stuff. I get kinda giddy when I see the spring stuff come out in stores. Do you?
I feel like a CareBear in this one:
No truer words were spoken:
Nah, honestly, January has been a nice month of hunkering down.
I bought this mix on a whim while I was in person grocery shopping…
It was on closeout for $2.80. I’m impressed and I tagged Chrissy Tiegen on IG and she said thank you!
My kids are cc cookie snobs and they were super impressed as well.
How cool is that? Love you, Chrissy! Say hi to John!
I talked about my hair woes in my Tuesday post in regards to wanting the L’ange Le Duo Grande to work for me. This is my hair clean (washed the night before) and curled with my regular one inch barrel curling iron:
I am due for a highlight, by the way. I think my last one was the day before Thanksgiving?
This is my daily makeup:
I have no mascara on. I only have a little eye liner done with a tiny brush and eyeshadow.
How you doin’? Have you had much fashion lately? I am happy to link up with the fashionable Kellyann and Jill today!
I warned you that all I wanted to style lately were my Halaras. I have denim flares and light black flares and I am waiting on my third (and hopefully final – lol) pair in a light denim. They are really taking a looooonnnnnggggg time to get to me. (Update: they came Tuesday after school!)
The denim ones had a very bad smell. I soaked them in a vinegar and water solution over night and then washed them. Now when I wear them I get potato salad cravings, but they are better. The black did not smell at all! I read that this smell is from denim dying techniques and it is common. The light denim that just arrived on Tuesday had a mild smell and I washed them right away.
So let’s see how I have been wearing them…
Friday I wore black on black. I love this slightly puffed sleeve Amazon Basics sweater. I coudln’t find it on Amazon but this is similar. I put my black puffer vest over for my outerwear and I was fine. I am wearing my Koolaburra Uggs and carrying my Clayton and Crume tote with a little scarf tied on it.
I changed after a few periods into my new polka dot stocking socks from World Market (bought over the break before Christmas) and my velvet Cayumas Mary Janes from Spain.
Wednesday I wore my hot pink savage blouse, the black Halaras again, and an old black cardi with the Uggs.
Thursday I wore the blue vinegar Halaras, a white button up, and a white/cream sweater with the Uggs.
Yes, I do recommend the Halaras. I ordered short and as you can see, they are still a bit long on me at 5’4″. But, you can pull them up a bit higher on the waist. They would also look cute cut and frayed, but I don’t think I will do that.
New reading glasses but I really don’t need them? I need to go to the eye doctor my vision is confusing. It’s improved? It’s different?
This short four day week is our Winter Homecoming and therefore spirit week. Tuesday after MLK day was Twins Day and Erica and I twinned. I ordered this sweater in a smaller size and then it was too small after I gained some weight back and then re-ordered it in a larger size since I loved it so much. So, Erica was the recipient of the smaller size.
Being silly for our photo…
I thought about making this a separate post, but I was too excited for this topic!
Spanish women are very stylish. They seem effortlessly so! I have been following “mamainmadrid” for a bit on IG and I have been seeing my former student Ali’s ‘fits. So, I got the idea to ask her to collab on a post!
Here she is with her classic camel coat, nice jeans, white bodysuit top, and quality shoes. You walk so much in Spain that you really need to wear quality shoes.
Classic trench:
I want one of these big scarves in a colorful motif.
Her friend in her classic blazer and cute scarf:
Jeans and sweaters:
I like the cream sweater vest over button up look with jeans and sneakers:
So, sometimes WordPress lets me edit photos in a blog post and other times it doesn’t. ugh.
So, here is what Ali said about favorite stores/brands of Spanish women:
Zara, Bershka, Mango, Mulaya, and Primark are their favorite stores. She has seen a lot of trench coats, fur coats, scarves, hats, matching cute sets that are fashionable, tall boots, long skirts, and Adidas shoes.
She said that she and her friends have commented that if you put on an outfit and it doesn’t seem quite right to your American brain that it is probably Spain stylish.
So, sorry for the messy photos! Do you have any comments on any of my fits, Ali fits, or Spanish style?
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 