Monday, March 10, 2025

Well, can you tell by my post that I’m not really ready for the week? I have a 5 day week staring down at me (yes, 5 days seems like a lot these days) and we have super nice temperatures this week! Fiebre de primavera, alguien? Spring fever, anyone? I am linking up with Sarah and Holly to share what I did this weekend.

One of my goals is to entertain more. I invited Erica over after school Friday very spontaneously. I had wine, new taper candles, new retro candle holders, and a bag of potato chips, some salami, and some cheese. What else do you need?

Dare I say it was better than what we would have gotten in some establishments? And, it was $ Zero – well it was for Erica! Ha!

Somebody was very very happy to show our guest his big lambie.

After Erica left my fam decided to order Thai. Mason has been getting this beef dish at our nearby Thai place. He loves it. Tom and I always split chicken pad thai and it is enough for four people so it is a huge portion.

I went to bed pretty early and got up pretty late for me around 7:00. I am so tired right now. I am physically, mentally, and emotionally tired. I know many of you can relate to the tired you feel when you are grieving.

I had some Amazon returns Saturday morning and I went and did my spray tan since I have a membership again this month. My goal is to go once a week and just get a little color.

The St. Patrick’s Day parade has become a bit of a tradition for Erica, our old teaching buddy Elizabeth, and I. Some years we have had others join us.

We weren’t sure what the weather would do so our plan was to go to lunch and then see if it was warm enough to stand outside.

We found a newish British pub! It’s called Pints and Union and I can’t wait to take Tom and our friends Eric and Heather.

We decided to split a Scotch egg, fish and chips, and bangers and mash and it was perfect.

It was fun but it was a lot for me. I find my social battery depleting much quicker lately. Well, I haven’t done much, but what I have done is two hours or less. I was out from noon until five. It was too much and I was feeling like I was low energy and didn’t want to affect my friends.

It was great to be out in the sun, though, and I got to wear my green!

Speaking of green, Eddie Otis has had my phone in his mouth several times – don’t ask – and it was time for a new phone case. I liked it so much I ordered a more springy color instead of the emerald green I had.

Pretty color, right?

The aforementioned candles and holders:

I am enjoying these unscented old school candles. I think I got the inspiration from my student in Spain – she has them in wine bottles! They look so cute!

I received a funeral basket of five plants. I ordered these to separate them to try not to kill them.

The candles burn quickly but I love how they look with all the drippings. Am I weird?

Plants that have now been separated:

They will be moved eventually. We are sprucing up some spaces in our home right now.

Saturday night Tom did our taxes and was in a very bad mood. Lol.

Sunday morning Tom and I went out for bagels. Yum!

Then, Tom went to Target with me.

The sun was bright on Sunday and you can see how light the spray tan is here:

I had to change into shorts! I spend most of Sunday reading in the sun! Yay! I also did laundry, picked up groceries, put them away, vacuumed and made dinner so you don’t think I’m sooo lazy.

Tom’s gym friend had just been to Vermont and always brings Tom some cheese. This time he brought him blue cheese and it inspired a dinner of a Cobb salad:

I made potato skins but in the round to go with the salad.

It was a pretty nice Sunday dinner. Yesterday seemed so long! Ha!

Eddie Otis was a bit confused about the time change, too.

“So, like, when do I eat?”

Tell me a highlight from your weekend?

Amy

Friday, March 7, 2025

It’s Friday! It’s link up with Andrea and Erika day.

The week has gone by pretty quickly for me. Of course, it’s only Thursday morning as I write this post – lol.

Tom and I had talked about this and he surprised me by going ahead and getting it while I was out of town last weekend. It’s amazing! Eddie Otis sheds more than our other labs did. I mean – it costs almost as much as my first car, but what doesn’t these days?

Yes, I am at the age where I am excited about a vacuum. Once you go cordless, you can never go back to a corded version!

Monday was nice and sunny and Eddie Otis somehow knows it’s time to go get his margarita toy around 4:00. #advancedpuppy #likemotherlikeson

Eddie Otis loves to grab a kitchen towel. He kind of sneaks up and very gently pulls it off of the counter.

After school with the dogs out – wearing my new Target flip flops. They are great quality! The white version is tempting me, too. They also have them in black.

The mystery of the photos on the piano is solved. Niece Mia found them in a desk drawer and placed them side by side and didn’t tell anyone.

I don’t think I have ever worn out/used up a tube of lipstick until now. Revlon’s Goldpearl Plum is a great color.

I am almost finished with this memoir and I am really enjoying it.

And, I am about halfway through this and I’m really enjoy it, too.

During the week I only have tiny pockets of reading time, but it’s still better than nothing! I am hoping to have some good reading time this weekend.

I was finally able to plan dinners again and cooked the following this week…

Sunday – spaghetti and Texas Toast

Monday – salmon, frozen green beans, sauteed Yukon gold potatoes

Tuesday – jambalaya and spoon bread for Mardi Gras

Wednesday – fish sticks, mac and cheese, peas

Thursday – hot dogs and baked beans and a bagged salad

Nothing too fancy or too homemade, but it’s been over a month since I’ve been able to do this. People have been feeding us or we have been relying too heavily on take out, Door Dash, and I knew it had to stop.

My kids and I found a show that I think is pretty funny! A former Harvard professor gets stuck teaching an AP Biology class and doesn’t want to be there. It’s been awhile since we have had a show we enjoy together.

I started the Meghan Markle series on Netflix. I don’t know if I can do it. Even if I didn’t already have an opinion of her, she just comes off so pretentious. And, I love Ain’t Too Proud to Meg on IG and apparently Meghan is getting a lot of haters that say she is copying off of Meg.

Meg is very gracious and says that she doesn’t have a trademark on the rainbow fruit platter and isn’t the first to do it!

Anyway, I will probably watch more of the series.

I did something crazy this week. I have been having foot trouble/shoe trouble. I took two pairs of sneakers to Spain and was not very comfortable. I chose fashion over comfort in my choices of Adidas Sambas and Vejas. I have been struggling with my shoe size – am I an 8 or an 8.5. Something has been feeling off and I don’t realize it until after it’s too late to return the shoe.

I went into a locally owned athletic shoe store – Swag’s if you are local – and got fitted. The salesperson had me walk with my pant legs pulled up both forward and back again to him, had me place my feet on a mat that makes an imprint of your foot, and then had me try on a few sizes and a few brands. I decided not to pick based on brand or coolness. I tried on Brooks, New Balance, On Cloud, and Hoka. He also had me put on compression socks. I’m in a wide. He said that my left foot was measuring wide but my right wasn’t really – lol. I put more pressure on my left foot when I stand. So true and that’s also how I held my babies – on my left hip while putting more pressure on my left foot, I guess. I have had to go to the chiropractor for that side of my body in the past. One time when my twins were 2, I bent over to pick one up and my back just locked up.

So, here is what felt the best – not necessarily what I liked the best…

I wore them out of the store!

If you haven’t had your foot properly fitted, I highly recommend doing it. They felt so good I wore them the rest of the day.

Eddie Otis hopped up on the ottoman to watch Real Housewives with me.

Tom sent me an email Wednesday from his company congratulating him on 12 years with them. So, I picked up a little Oreo cake from Kroger. Remember that I just said I want to celebrate big and small?

The cake was $6 and it was delicious if you have a Kroger!

And, I had already planned to make one of his favorite meals so that was his celebratory dinner – lol.

It snowed Wednesday evening!

I love this little tradition…

I have each kid write on and decorate a shamrock for my little corner of the school. Each of the four leaves has a statement: “Tengo suerte porque…” which means “I am lucky because…” and they list four things in their life that make them feel lucky. I also talked about having a gratitude practice and how it makes me feel. We went around the room and each shared one statement before hanging them up.

It’s funny because this year’s students really love taking a couple of minutes to color or draw something. Some years the kids have not enjoyed it as much. This year I’m getting a lot of “Oh, do we get to color something today?” when I have the markers out.

Yes, I will miss aspects of teaching and I am now starting to savor the good things even more.

Anyway, I hope you also had some favorites this week!

Amy

Thursday, March 6, 2025

It’s Thursday and it’s fashion day with Kellyann and Jill!

Are you just giddy for spring clothing like I am?

I bagged up two trash bags this weekend of spring stuff that no longer fits my style or looks too worn, pilled, or dated. I thanked the pieces for their service – some had served me for close to a decade – and didn’t give them another thought.

Before you start spring shopping, you should do this, too!

Then, look at Pinterest or Google images for inspo. Look at the mall. See what’s on trend and what’s for sale. Look at catalogs. Look at ads.

What do you like? What do you already have? What fits your lifestyle? Be true to yourself in terms of colors and patterns, too. I am such a pattern person, but I have realized the need for solids in my wardrobe.

I use my job as a testing ground for my outfits. If something doesn’t work when I try it on in the morning or I come to a realization after wearing it for a full day, I put it in the donate pile.

Last week I decided to have “blouse week” due to our wonderful 60s-70s temps.

You saw Monday and Tuesday outfits last week.

Here is Wednesday – this blouse is a fun print from TJ Maxx. I actually saw this print still available on the clearance rack in January. I wore it with pull on black dress pants and my new Target Mary Janes. I look very “teacher-y”.

Here is Thursday – another TJ Maxx top – knit in the middle with sheer floral sleeves. I wore it with my light Halaras and my Stan Smiths. I’ve gotten away from long necklaces, but I liked this Kendra Scott with it.

And, Thursday after school I went to Aerie. I had two things in my online cart and decided to just go in store and try on and feel the material. What a concept! Can we sing praise for in store shopping, try ons, and no returns needed? No waiting for Mr. UPS to show up? It was great. I got this butter yellow dressed up sweatshirt and immediately wore it the next day. I love yellow!

I also got this button up:

I didn’t wear it yet; this was just a try on. I put it over my new Old Navy graphic tee that kind of fits the fisherman core aesthetic. Lol.

Saturday for work day at my parents’ house…

Black short sleeve with black knit cardigan and the leggings that Jenn found from Walmart a couple of years ago. I copied off of her.

Monday for school. Meh. Donating these jeans. They stretched as day wore on. The whole outfit is just meh.

Tuesday I wore my Target blouse that Tanya found a few years ago. I am such a copy cat! I wore my light Halaras and my green Vejas.

I’m not cool enough for these…

So, that’s it. What have you been wearing?

I have been thinking a lot about what my retirement wardrobe will look like!

Amy

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Thank you for all of your responses to my big news yesterday!

1. What do you love most about March? 

Spring! The feeling that spring is almost here! I also have always loved St. Patrick’s Day; it’s my middle sister’s birthday! I also love the color green; it just makes me happy. Also, I just started attending our St. Patrick’s Day parade a few years ago. It’s really fun!

I want to make Jen’s Irish meal and I think Sunday, March 16th would be a good day to have that going in the crockpot.

Of course I started out the week wearing my green. I am having a green week or having a green week as much as I can.

2. Hey! Did you know March is National Celery Month? Do you like celery? What’s something you make (or like to order out) that calls for celery? 

I love celery with buffalo sauce and ranch. I love it with Laughing Cow and everything bagel seasoning. I love it with peanut butter. I love it as a sub for bread with egg salad or tuna salad.

But…please do not cook celery or put it in a hot dish. Gross!

3. _______________ is the soundtrack to my life right now. 

I really don’t know, but I do have Pink Pony Club stuck in my head!

4. Share a favorite motivational quote for overcoming challenges. 

“The storm will pass. You are stronger than you think, and you will weather this.” 

My regular readers know what I am going through right now. I lost my mom and now I have no living parents. This feels big to me. No one loves you like your parents do. I feel a responsibility to be the rock for my sisters who are both younger than me. We have to be each others’ safety nets now.

I know I am not the first to go through this. Right now it feels like a storm of emotions. But, I have already seen how we are all stronger than we thought. I hope we can weather this together and create a new family normal.

5. The Hodgepodge lands on Ash Wednesday this year. Do you participate in Lent in some way? If so tell us more. 

I didn’t really grow up giving up anything for Lent as a Methodist. I always want to be better and do better. I would like to give up negative talk this year.

Louisville is a huge Catholic city with tons of fish options on Fridays and we have lots of Catholic friends. We eat fish with them in solidarity.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

It’s even more important to me now to celebrate all the little things in life. Celebrate the big and small holidays, milestones big and small – anything, really. Let yourself be celebrated, too. You better believe I am going to celebrate my 31 years of teaching. I miss hosting people at my house. We had a lot of people visit Eddie Otis back in the spring but since then I have not done much hosting.

What is on your mind this Wednesday? Any Hodgepodge responses? Random thoughts?

Amy

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Happy Mardi Gras! Happy Fat Tuesday!

My short Tik Tok career…

Some of you may have already figured this out. Some of you I have hinted to and some of you I have outright told…

I am retiring at the end of the year! Well, I will officially retire on July 1st.

I can now tell you because I told my principal last week – last Tuesday to be exact. I was still doubting myself on Monday and honestly, I was a ball of emotions. On Tuesday I woke up with a sense of peace about my decision. I had made an appointment with my principal during my planning period.

I started with, “I have made the difficult decision to retire at the end of the year” and he really did seem surprised and sad. I teared up and got choked up a little. Darn it!

But, we talked for about 20 minutes and I made him laugh about 5 times. So, me getting choked up just says I care, right? Not that I am an emotional perimenopausal woman?

I probably gave him more information than he needed, but then I always do…

I said I kind of thought going in this year it might be my last year, but I’ve loved my students and my new microphone – lol. I said I was ready for more flexibility in my life and now I am dealing with my mom’s estate.

I said I didn’t think I could be effective if I stayed another year, but that I am going out on top of my game just like Michael Jordan. Ha!

I made him laugh and chuckle several times and he said I have done so much for my department, which was nice.

I also told him I wasn’t ready for it to be public. I think it’s too early to tell my students. Also, I would like them to hear it from me.

This is 31 years. Kentucky has a really good pension and I could have retired after 27 years based on when I started teaching. Many teachers do retire after 27 years. I also had some teachers say, “why are you still here?” Weird and rude. Don’t project your feelings onto me and it’s different for everyone. I was told I would know when it was right.

So, I’m sad. I’m relieved to have made the decision. I’m excited. I’m all the things. I have been a teacher for longer than I haven’t been a teacher.

Teacher = 31 years

Not a Teacher/Normal Person = 22 years

I want a new chapter! I think? I am not sure what I would like to do but it would need to have a lot of flexibility – I think? I would like to boss people around. Anyone?

If you are retired or you changed careers, what can you tell me?

Amy

with Sarah and Holly!

Monday, March 3, 2025

I had a really busy weekend and when you hear what I did you might think I’m really sad. I am, but I also feel peace.

Friday night we got a spur of the moment dinner invite so we took it. We met our couple friends at Drake’s where it was nosy and the table was tiny.

Tom and I both felt spent after that dinner. We do not like going out at prime time!

Saturday I knew I had a big day ahead of me. I headed to my hometown and they were having a girls’ shopping weekend with a Mardi Gras theme. I looked around a bit before meeting my sisters at our parents’ house.

We decided to just have the three of us this time to assess and make a timeline of clearing out their estate. Now this was not the house we grew up in…our parents moved when I was 33, Kate was 30, and Molly was 27. So, we were all married and out of the house.

Something weird…

We have never seen these photos of our parents and they were sitting side by side on the piano. We are going to ask the kids and anyone who was last at the house if they found them and placed them there.

First we sat at the kitchen table and I had made a list and a copy for each of us. We divided up the remaining thank yous and went through some paperwork. We decided how to start going through things.

We worked for about 5 hours. Then we stopped to get ready for dinner out and on the way we stopped to see if our mom’s gravestone was done. Our parents are buried in the Veteran’s cemetery so my mom will have hers on the back of our Dad’s – I didn’t realize this. As we were walking toward their spot I just snapped a quick photo without really looking and when I looked at it…

Pretty cool, right?

We had a little time to kill and stopped in a brewery and tried a couple of local beers…

Remember the hearts last month? Now the town has shamrocks on the street lights…

We had a lovely dinner downtown…

We split a few things and then went home and watched a silly video we had made in 1998 that was Kate’s idea. Kate had wanted to make future predictions in 1998. She had it converted to a DVD in 2018. It had been since 2018 that we had watched it. So, we laughed and laughed. In the video I am 26, Kate is 23, and Molly is almost 20.

And, in this part of the video we did a sorority girl skit in old formal dresses we found.

Our parents, aunt and uncle, cousin, and family friends were also in the video. Kate’s first husband and Tom were also in it! So, it was a lot of fun to see them 27 years ago. We also looked at a family photo album.

Sunday morning we got up and got coffee – of course. Then, we jumped back in to cleaning out a few more areas. We put post it notes on certain things we want certain people to have.

I got home around 2 on Sunday and the fam had picked up the groceries and put them away and I collapsed. I rallied and made spaghetti, though.

Anyway, I think it went better than I anticipated. I feel good about what we did and how we did it. There were so many good things in the 24 hours we were together. We found penny after penny in so many places – lol.

I’m going to need a lot of coffee today!

That sounds right!

I am so excited for it to stay lighter out later! Yay!

How was your weekend? It turned cold on us again after such a nice week. Darn it! March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. The weather very much had lion qualities this weekend. There was a nasty cold wind.

Hope your Monday isn’t too bad?

Amy

Friday, February 28, 2025

Ahhhhh….Friday! It’s time to link up with Andrea and Erika to share what made us smile this week.

How was your week? A highlight for me was definitely your comments and trying to get back into a routine of responding and interacting.

I knew it would be a long week. I can’t remember the last time I did a five day week. Maybe it was the second week of January? It wasn’t that bad, though, and our school board made the kids very happy. They forgave 4 or 5 snow days and the kids’ last day of school is earlier than I can remember – Friday, May 23rd. That is before Memorial Day. Now, they haven’t stated the teacher last day. I have a feeling we will be going a whole week after the kids because they aren’t going to pay us for not working. We had to do this once before and it was as bad as it sounds. We were so done and had to continue having meetings. Lol. Oh well… there is nothing I can do about it and no sense worrying about it now.

I was inspired by this and it’s so true. What is the tomorrow you want? Sometimes it’s hard to know the answer to that question.

Sunday afternoon Tom and I (and Eddie Otis) drove down to see how high the river had gotten. It had already gone down at this point but it was still a nice little drive and seeing the blue skies and the sun shining was a balm for the soul.

I found the best Rothy’s dupe I have seen. I think Rothy’s prices are ridiculous at full price. And, they really make your feet sweat in a weird way. Target had these and I wore them for a full day. They really have no support, but they are cute and great for a shorter time period.

I recommend if you are in the market for a black flat. I do think we will be seeing Mary Janes a lot this spring.

If you read my Fashion Files post yesterday, you know I showed this photo.

I am starting to get excited about a major closet purge. I will still love and wear my gauzy fabrics but might need to let go of an older white piece or two. White just doesn’t last as long.

I am getting rid of anything that doesn’t fit right now, has stains, is pilled, looks dingy, or that I am not excited to wear.

I know we aren’t done with winter weather, but I always start this process around this time of year.

I didn’t get a great picture, but Tom has taught Eddie Otis to give him a hug. He sits on the ottoman and Eddie Otis jumps up and wraps his arms/paws around him. It’s the cutest! I’m going to remind you of one of the most sweet and heartbreaking quotes of Tom…”I don’t like who I am without a dog”. He said this after Ernie passed away.

Tom is also watching Pitch Perfect in this photo. If Pitch Perfect is on the tv, Tom watches it. He knows every word and sometimes stands up and does the choreography. Tom doesn’t fit in any mold – let me tell you. But, neither do I. That man keeps me laughing.

Why is this so good? I kind of always thought Ina was a snob. I love watching the guy on IG who imitates her. I guess I was wrong. If her memoir is true, she is a scrappy, self-made woman. Her story is super interesting. I think her tone of voice is kinda snobby on her show so I think I am glad I’m reading it and not listening to her read it.

And, for my fiction, I am still reading Winter Wish. It’s so cute but right now Ina is taking the cake for me.

I am so proud of my 2025 reading! I’m doing way better than I have in the past. I’m choosing books over tv and it’s so much more satisfying.

This has been our forecast this week and I’ve managed to read outside each day for a bit.

I don’t have a photo, but Mason’s college roommate came over after work Wednesday night and they went to the playground behind our house and played basketball for like 2 hours. Then, they came back and I had made chicken teriyaki, rice, and broccoli and they sat on the patio and ate and talked. Jack got home and joined them. It was so nice to see them have fun. We are hoping they do this a lot as the weather warms up.

I have a huge thing of Good Culture cottage cheese from Costco. I used it to make my low carb egg casserole for the week – a carton of liquid egg whites, two real eggs, and a cup of cottage cheese. Mix all together and add whatever spices. Add green chilies if you have them (I didn’t this week) and bake for 350 for about 40 minutes. Holy fluffiness!

I also tried the high protein bagel recipe I saw Bethenny Frankel talk about on IG. Pretty darn good and one kid thought so, too!

She didn’t say how long to bake for so I tried 10 and then added 10 more I think.

Tom and I have made do with mismatched bedroom pieces for our whole marriage. I brought my armoire from my single gal days and two mismatched nightstands that I got from my mom and a consignment store, I think.

We finally purchased a console – is that what it is called. We will have a tv on the wall next to it. Don’t worry – I will change the photo frames. Tom did that.

And, I will be getting a new comforter/quilt and new lamps. Any suggestions on places to shop for bedding and lamps? Eventually we will get a new bedframe.

Baby steps.

Well, that’s about all I’ve got in me today.

Tell me a favorite of yours this week!

Amy

Thursday, February 27, 2025

It’s Thursday and time to link up with Kellyann and Jill for Fashion Files.

But, first I am officially tired of my winter clothing! It’s a good thing it’s been so warm this week! It’s been wonderful! Everything is easier when it’s not so cold out.

I have dubbed this week…

Blouse week!

We are having temps of 50s-60s so I decided to do Halaras and blouses each day or blouses and other pants.

But, first here is what I wore to end last week. On Thursday it was snowing and icy and I wanted to wear my boots so I did my black dress pants, a stiff white button up, and my green sweater. Erica accused me of being dressed up. I wouldn’t call this dressed up.

For Saturday hair day, I wore this with my black vest. These are my medium blue Halaras and a top I got at TJ Maxx a couple of years ago.

Funny story – I was telling Laura, my hair stylist, about Halaras; she had heard of them but was scared to order without trying on. She didn’t think she could do wide legs. I went home and brought her a pair to try on. She is ordering them!

For girls dinner out, I wore the black Halaras, my black silk Chico’s button up blouse, and the black wrap I bought for $5 at Versona for the funeral.

You really can’t go wrong with all black. I love all black so much!

And, for Monday to start my blouse week, I wore this new $8 TJ Maxx blouse with the blue medium denim Halaras. I walked in and my co-worker Sarah had on her cargo Halaras.

I wore my Macy’s Softwalks.

And brought these velvet Mary Janes to change into if I felt like it.

For Tuesday, it was even warmer and it was super sunny, so why not go with florals?

This is a blouse by Umgee and my lighter Halaras with my Softwalks again.

Walmart trench coat as my topper…

I talked my friend Beth into getting some gauzy things a couple of weeks ago and I made a gauze section of my closet to see what I have! Good news – gauze is still popular and it’s a great material for those of us who need some temperature control. I have loved and worn my gauze a bunch.

I will continue on with my blouse week and show you the results!

What are you wearing lately?

Amy

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Linking up with Joyce today and I found this week’s questions to be hard to answer!

1. February 26th is National Tell A Fairy Tale Day…have you read a fairy tale lately? What’s your favorite fairy tale? Do you believe in ‘happily ever after’? 

I haven’t read one lately and I don’t have a favorite. I do believe in happily ever after. Happy means many different things to different people. Some people can be happy with a simple small life. I like to use the word content. I like when I feel content.

2. Complete one of the following sentences with a thought relating to your life currently-

• Once upon a time___________
• A long time ago________________
• In a place far far away________

Once upon a time there was a girl who moved to the cutest little southern Indiana town at the age of 5 from her birthplace on the other side of the state. She had to move there for her Dad’s new job. She lived there until she was 18 full time and then every summer until she was 22. But the people and the town are so special. She never forgot that. Today she is struggling with losing ties to that town, not having a home base or a house there anymore, and what that would mean. That town is Madison, Indiana and she just won an award.

3. Which of the following ‘fairy tale foods’ is your favorite? Which have you made/eaten most recently? 

porridge/oatmeal (Goldilocks and The Three Bears), an apple (Snow White), a gingerbread cookie (The Gingerbread Man), pumpkin soup/pie/bread (Cinderella), peas (The Princess and the Pea), beans (Jack and The Beanstalk) or a cup of tea (Alice in Wonderland) 

I have most recently had a cup of tea in the afternoon at school. It was a treat to drink from a real mug!

4. What’s your idea of fun? 

Fun these days is a pretty low bar -a show I am looking forward to, a dinner out, checking out a new place, or having great conversation with people I care about. And, laughing. Laughing is my favorite.

5. Next week’s Hodgepodge lands in March. Is that right? I guess so.  Give us one noun, one verb, and one adjective that tell us something about your February. To make you think a little harder, you cannot use the words cold or snowy. 

expressions of love in the form of food, flowers, presence (very long noun), to appreciate, difficult…

Sorry for my choices of parts of speech. My mom’s visitation was February 6, her funeral February 7, and really the whole month has been me being loved on and cared for and me trying to also love and care for my sisters and their kids and my kids and my husband. This month has been difficult juggling all of that, my job, and now the business of my mom’s estate. I’ve done hard things I wasn’t really ready to do.

But, I really, really felt loved in the month of February.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I can’t believe it will be March on Saturday. I haven’t even cracked open that section of The Happiness Project but I plan to do that soon. March seems like spring. Winter was hard this year. We have to have the hard to appreciate the easy – or the easier, though.

Amy

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

I guess all of my posts are chatty and coffee talk-ish, but let’s make it a dedicated coffee talk today!

Grab that coffee!

If you know me in real life, I’m a pretty open book. You know my emotions. When someone asks how I am I assume they want the truth and not just a “fine”. Are you an open book?

I got a surprise delivery of flowers Sunday night and I thought what in the world? Blonde Heather bestie was not happy with the flowers she sent to the funeral home and told me at least 5 times that is not what she ordered. She called them and they made it right. What a gorgeous arrangement. She cracks me up!

I am really enjoying looking at them!

My mom’s butterfly cork placemats are by pimpernel and she loved them when I gave them to her. She loved them so much she ordered another set for her long table. The cork bottom placemat was in every Airbnb in England. They are actually available on Amazon and I have linked them.

I have learned over the last several years to not save all the treats and good things for the weekend. Every single day should have some luxury and some things you enjoy and that make you happy. Get up earlier! Enjoy that morning quiet! I have come to really embrace not having to walk out the door until about 8:10.

I have also brought tea to school for the afternoon.

Mason loves Biscoff cookies and buys them himself. What a treat on a weekday to have tea and biscuits.

I have done really well with reading instead of scrolling this year. This is so cute so far! Don’t let the title Winter Wish keep you away because so far it has nothing to do with winter in my opinion.

Grab that sun when you can! This is such a funny picture. Look at the snow!

Why do men love Costco so much? Tom and I are buying a new bedroom tv and it made Tom happy to look at the options.

We got Sunday bagels from a new place. We didn’t love them but it was still fun to go do this.

Tom is super easy going most of the time. But, this dryer ball set him off.

My sister gave me a set of three for Christmas and I have been wanting to cut down on toxic stuff in the home. First off, Eddie Otis thinks they are his. When I open the dryer he steals one.

So, Tom says, “Can we please buy some dryer sheets? I have suffered in silence for too long. My towels smell disgusting. Those are disgusting. I can’t take it anymore.” Ok, Tom, tell us how you really feel about dryer balls.

I replied, “We have been married 25 years and I you have never shared how important dryer sheets were to you.”

He responded that it had never been an issue in 25 years but now it was.

Marriage.

What would you share today over a cup of coffee? Or, if you don’t drink coffee – why? What is wrong with you? Just kidding!

Amy

P.S. – My nails look bad. We are taking a press on break again.