Monday, July 13, 2026

Hello and let’s link up with Holly and Sarah to share the weekend happenings!

I’m still pretty private about going out of town, thus when I told you on Friday that I hadn’t done much socially last week it’s because I spent the week buying supplies and getting ready for…

On Thursday morning, Tom and I headed north!

It’s a 6-hour drive and we only stopped once! We did the same on the way back!

We arrived Thursday afternoon and some people were already in the water, and the weather was perfection and would continue to be until Sunday!

This is my mom’s side of the family. She grew up in Chicago and then came to southern Indiana for college. Her siblings stayed in the Chicago area and then moved to Michigan and now half the cousins live in Michigan and half live in Ohio.

Cousin Neal has the lake house, and he graciously invited us to come again this year. There is one main lake house and then on the hill above he has two other cabins. The lake is big enough for water sports and it feeds into Lake Michigan in the town of New Era, Michigan near Muskegon.

They have a floating dive platform, a dock…

a wake boat, two jet skis, a bunch of kayaks, paddleboards, sailboats, and all kinds of inflatables!

We wasted no time getting our suits on!

We walk to Lake Michigan to see the sunset and take photos, of course!

And, one day we designate a time for the “family float” to Lake Michigan from their smaller lake. It takes about 45 minutes.

The float:

One of my cousins is a new grandma to this sweet baby boy:

We spent lots of time just hanging out on the giant porch, too!

My Uncle Jim had the idea to take everyone on a dune ride at Silver Lake Sand Dunes. It’s really something to see!

Look at our group before getting on our “dune buggies” :

They stop on Lake Michigan and let you take photos:

After the ride, we visited a lighthouse:

Look at that sky!

Also, I want to tell you that the high each day was 77-79 degrees. The air feels so good!

We logged hours doing this:

We even got a kid to deliver us drinks on a paddleboard when we ran out!

Tom had some alone time:

Tom had some wakeboard action, too:

This is the only store and the place to be! Their ice cream stand is hopping every night! This is my niece Lena and my niece Nora is right behind her.

The sweet ice cream shop girls would try to yell the orders, but their voices were so soft so I started using my cheerleader/teacher voice to help:

“SMALL DEER TRAX IN A CUP!”

“TRAVERSE CITY CHERRY IN A WAFFLE CONE”!

“MICHIGAN POTHOLE IN A CUP”!

Niece Lena is always laughing:

My sister Molly and her husband Jason:

We had a glow stick rave/dance party the last night:

And someone started doing some really good fireworks over the lake on the last night!

There’s so much more to say, but I’m waterlogged, sunburned, dehydrated and my heart is full in the best way!

Tell me about your weekend!

Amy

P.S. – I took a break from social media and blog reading and commenting so if you left me a comment, thank you so much and I will try to get to it.

I posted about Dancing on Thursday and my regular favorites on Friday.

You’ll be happy to know I was the adult who danced with the kids during the rave/dance party!

Friday, July 10, 2026

Happy Friday! How was your week? What filled your cup? Linking up with Andrea and Erika to share a random assortment of things with you!

My week went by quickly and it was pretty routine – I did laundry, went to Kroger, did a Trader Joe’s run, went to the library, donated a trunk load of stuff (yay!), did a return, that kind of thing. I didn’t do anything social this week. That’s ok! Sometimes weeks need to be like this!

Here are some favorites…

Jen has gotten me into pretty match boxes, too! I bought this tiger on a couch matchbox in my hometown and it looks nice with my Volcano candle that is perfect for this time of year. I love the smell of a match – do you? I used to be scared to light them myself, but I faced my fear and I strike like a boss now.

After all the rain last week, our yard developed some giant mushrooms! They looked so funny! I’m glad Eddie Otis didn’t try to eat them.

This book deserves the hype in my opinion. The 650 pages went quickly for me and I was never bored. I can’t say the same about The Correspondent or Theo of Golden. I’m glad I read them, but they did drag at times. I decided to abandon Yesteryear after about 100 pages, so I can’t speak about one. My lesson this year has been to try not to get swept up in over-hyped books if it doesn’t appeal to me after reading the summary.

The cute shop in my hometown where I found the matches was having a 75% off sale and I bought this tray for Christmas:

I am obsessed with this plaid.

And these cute little spoon rests or jewelry dishes:

I’m a sucker for little dishes like this.

I’m loving my new shampoo and conditioner. I heard that the Elvive line is actually really good for your hair.

His face just cracks me up every time I see this photo! He is a very expressive dog!

I am keeping both of my new Amazon coverups! I sized up because this fabric is thin and without any give.

The striped:

It comes in other patterns, too. I don’t think you can tell from the photo, but the sides are stitched to give it more structure.

The black tassel:

It also comes in multiple colors and patterns.

On me:

Did you read my thoughts on dance yesterday? It was fun to participate in my second Global Writing Challenge! I shared a photo that I will share again.

The deputy mayor of my hometown that introduced us to Bo Duke:

Us my sophomore year and his junior year in our grey and peach finery for prom – I dug this up for yesterday’s post:

I also shared this dance recital photo of me:

My hair was really dark when I was younger and then it naturally got lighter and then in my twenties, I got some “help” keeping it lighter! My Dad was a blondie and my mom had dark hair. Kate is a natural blonde. Molly is dark. I’m in the middle!

I had a little bit of a dinner break this week! Tom requesed McAllister’s one night:

Chick Fil A one night:

He tried the new pimento cheese chicken sandwich and loved it. We split the market salad with the fruit.

I decided not to finish these books:

Look what was waiting for me:

This also caught my eye:

Tom and I are still enjoying on Apple TV:

We also started this on Netflix:

Something really exciting happened in my family this week. After Christmas and meeting my Dad’s former co-pilot, getting some old flight logbooks, and some encouragement:

The pilot Jeanne:

My nephew Miles has been working hard to get to this moment:

I’m so proud of him! Miles is 19 and has a twin, Mia.

Tom loves watching the Tour de France each summer and this summer is really fun for both of us because they started in Barcelona and we have gotten to see where we were in 2024.

My friend Rafa lives in a town that is part of the route and he was a volunteer. I have been enjoying his Instagram stories about it. Rafa is the second on from the right kneeling down. You might remember that Rafa visited me in 2025.

How fun! I like to read while Tom watches the racing and then he tells me what to look at!

What were your favorites this week? The week after a holiday is always a bit wonky, no?

Amy

Thursday, July 9, 2026

It’s time for another edition of the Global Writing Challenge and this month the theme is dance! Last month we talked about sunshine (as you can see from the graphic above) and mine is here if you want to go back and read!

Little Amy as a dancing mouse?:

My dance history…

I took dance lessons as a child and participated in the recitals with the cute costumes. I think all women of my age probably did so! I think I took lessons for about 3 years when it was determined I wasn’t going to be a dance prodigy or apply to any ballet companies. I kind of think my mom probably called me “Grace” because I didn’t have any.

I am the third one from the front:

I was a cheerleader in 6th-12th grades with the exception of junior year when I decided to swim on the swim team and we did dances in addition to our cheers. I wasn’t the best, but I could hold my own. I wasn’t DCC (Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader) material! Thunder!

I loved getting dressed up for all the dances. We had prom, a Christmas dance, and I was involved in Rainbow Girls, which was part of the Masonic organizations, and we had some formal dances. That was more about the outfit than the dancing, I think!

Am I “good”?

I can follow a beat and I have rhythm, but I wouldn’t say I’m necessarily a good dancer. What I lack in grace, I make up for in showmanship and unique dance moves.

Tom (my husband) is actually a better dancer than I am. Tom gets up during Pitch Perfect (secretly his favorite movie) and does some dance moves – don’t tell him I told you! We took a couple of dance lessons before our wedding, but I couldn’t tell you what we danced to, and it wasn’t a fancy choreographed number like the young ones do today.

I can’t sit still if a song that I like is on. I really like to snap along to music and my kids hated it. They would yell at me for snapping in the car. I love to snap and I’m a really loud snapper. I bet you don’t hear people brag about snapping very often?

My thoughts on dancing:

“Americans” don’t dance enough! What I mean is that people in the US don’t dance enough. Maybe that would help our politicians? They should have dance breaks during their sessions.

Dancing in the Latino culture is a big thing and we always talked about this in my classes. I was a high school Spanish teacher, if you are new around here.

I thought back to the times in my life when I danced the most…

Our high school had a casual dance after every home basketball and football game and they were so fun! We were in the hot small gym (not the large gym) and all the boys took their shirts off and tucked them in the back of their jeans. They also had a comb in their back pocket to keep their mullet in check. You danced to fast songs and prayed for slow songs to come on for you to get to dance with your crush.

In college and in the single years after, I danced so much! We went to bars and dance clubs at least twice a week. I probably should not admit this, but my signature move was the splits on the dance floor, but only when appropriate. I could also do “the worm” if a situation called for it. I liked to do the dance move where you grab your ankle and move the whole leg back and forth, too.

After the single years, I danced at weddings and with my kids. My kids would dance a lot after their bathtime and I loved those clean baby in diaper moments. They continued to do this until elementary school. For some reason I sang, “let’s get naked and run around the garden” which was an original song (I think) that someone sang in one of the bars I frequented in college. My twins would literally be in diapers and running around the house during this song.

Some favorite quotes about dancing:

“Dance like no one is watching” – This is about life in general. Don’t worry about who is watching you. Live your life.

“We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance for screams, we are the dancers, we create the dreams.” – I just liked this one.

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” – Friedrich Nietzsche, highlighting the freedom and individuality in dance – I love this one. Someone else can’t “hear” your music and you need to dance anyway.

This has been a favorite song for a long time…

I hope you dance by Leanne Womack

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty-handed

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance (dance)
I hope you dance (dance)

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Livin’ might mean takin’ chances, but they’re worth takin’
Lovin’ might be a mistake, but it’s worth makin’

Don’t let some hell bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to sellin’ out, reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance (time is a wheel in constant motion)
I hope you dance (always rolling us along)
I hope you dance (tell me who wants to look back on their years)
I hope you dance (and wonder where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

Dance, I hope you dance (dance)
I hope you dance (time is a wheel in constant motion)
I hope you dance (always rolling us along)
I hope you dance (tell me who wants to look back on their years)
I hope you dance (and wonder where those years have gone)

Tell me who wants to look back on their years (dance)
And wonder where those years have gone (dance)

The older I get, the more these lyrics speak to me.

We all took a chance by starting a blog. That’s not nothing!

What would you say about any of my dance adjacent topics today?

Amy

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

It’s Wednesday and time for Hodgepodge with Joyce!

1. What’s something you enjoy now that your younger self would never have appreciated? 

Gosh, this is a hard one because I feel like I haven’t changed much! Adult Amy and 9 year old Amy both liked: cooking/baking, reading, writing, being outside in nature, making up songs, poems, and silly rhymes, shopping, putting together outfits – see? I haven’t changed much.

Maybe a game like mah jong. I loved euchre and some other games, but I probably wouldn’t have had the patience to learn mah jong. Did I tell you one of my sisters is kind of mad that I like it? She said, “I can’t believe all the games you rejected in the past that I wanted to play”.

2. What was peaceful about today?  I will answer this for Tuesday (yesterday)…

My slow mornings with my devotional, water, coffee, blog writing and reading, and my dog lying peacefully beside me (after his initial excitement where he tried to unplug my laptop, bring me a couch pillow, and mouthed a shoe of mine).

3. It’s National Blueberry Day (July 8). Will you celebrate?  You can have one of the following right now-a slice of blueberry pie, a warm blueberry muffin, or a stack of blueberry pancakes…which do you choose?

I prefer frozen blueberries to fresh, I think. I would pick a blueberry pancake.

This or that-blueberries or raspberries? blueberries or strawberries? 

raspberries

strawberries

I don’t think fresh blueberries have much flavor. What am I doing wrong?

4. Do you need a break? From what? 

I think it’s good to break from routine and get a change of scenery when you can. I probably need a break from house chores and then I will be fine again!

5. What has surprised you most about getting older? 

I think the confidence it brings that you know more who you are, how you want to spend your time, and who you want to spend it with. You feel less apologetic about who you are. You stop trying to fit in as much. You aren’t everyone’s cup of tea and you are finally ok with it.

If someone consistently makes you feel bad when you are around them, that might be on you because you continue to be around them. Bye bye. If the person is someone you work with or that you are related to, it makes things a little bit harder, so I would say small doses and prepare yourself that it will be that way.

As I get older, I don’t want to become rigid and inflexible. So, I do try to go outside my comfort zone from time to time.

My friend was talking about how some older people she was around were complaining about everything and it was a very draining time that she had to spend with them. The food wasn’t right, the drink wasn’t right, they needed this, and they needed that. I don’t ever want to be that way.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

NO is a powerful word. It’s flattering to be asked to do something but ‘no” is a valid answer, as well. You can say, “thank you for thinking of me, but I am unable to commit”. If it isn’t a “heck yes”, then it might need to be a “no”. As lifelong people pleasers, we are used to always doing the thing, right? And, we need to stop saying we are sorry when it’s not a “sorry” moment.

So, as school gets ready to ramp up, you might be asked to coach, be on a committee, join a group, etc. It’s very flattering, but does is line up with your values and how you want to spend your time.

In education, they were very good about flattering you to get you to coach, sponsor, lead, do one more thing, etc.

Lots of food for thought today, no?

Amy

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Hey there! What have you been wearing lately? Did you don all the red, white, and blue? It’s been hot around here, so the name of the game is simply staying cool!

This is normally the time I start thinking about shopping the sales for back to school clothes for myself. Shoes were always my biggest issue. How could I be both stylish and comfortable to teach on my feet for 8 hours? What do I want to wear when school starts? That usually meant dresses every day until the end of September. It’s freeing to not have to think about that anymore!

Let’s see just a few outfits from the last week…

I wore this last week to grab coffee and chat with a former student. She is early 40s now, with two kids. She was one of the most motivated Spanish students I have ever taught. I wanted to wear pants so my legs wouldn’t stick to the chair.

This is a consignment J.Crew blouse that is a bit too big and gives me bad memories of the hottest Cincinnati Reds baseball game last June. The pants are from Loft and they were supposed to be swim coverup pants I think? They are probably 8 years old. A woman was returning them from an online purchase and I was behind her in line to check out. I swooned when I saw the print and asked if I could try them on when it was my turn. They are knit and very comfortable. I wore my Crocs Miami sandals.

I wore this to the leathergoods shop belt bar appointment and I regretted the long sleeves. The building is old and it was hot. I have on my Old Navy blouse that I wore out this spring, my Aerie cut offs (new this spring), and the silver Birkenstocks my sister Molly gave to me. I liked the outfit, but it was just too hot.

For dinner out Friday night, I wore this consignment Old Navy dress and my new this spring gold espadrille wedges from Spain via TJ Maxx.

I ordered some Walmart pajamas from their Joyspun line! The tops could be a little bit bigger for me but the shorts fit perfectly. This is the problem with me and “sets”. I need a bigger size on top than on bottom. Since they are just pajamas I think they will be fine.

I ordered two new coverups and I hope they work.

This one:

This one:

I will provide links if I can recommend them after they arrive. I found both on Amazon.

I really need some linen pants! I have a couple of lightweight Umgee pants, but I haven’t worn them this summer. I need a light pants option for when I don’t want to wear shorts, a dress, or a skort.

Anyway, I’m just trudging along. I’m not excited about the rest of the hot and sticky July and August weather!

Please link up with us here!

Amy

Monday, July 6, 2026

How was your holiday weekend? I was so glad for my hub to have a three-day weekend! He has been so busy at work and had to cancel a golf day in June along with a couple of planned days off in June a couple of weeks later. He didn’t complain but I did – for him! Ha!

Let’s link up with Sarah and Holly to share…

Friday was my parents’ wedding anniversary. If I am correct, it would have been number 61. I love this photo of them!

I had a list of some festive foods I wanted to make and on Friday, I made fruit pizza. It’s just crescent rolls baked, some frosting after the dough cools, and fruit.

I took this to Mason’s work. I feel like they kind of look like eagle eyes and beaks, no?

Tom had an “appointment” at the belt bar at the leathergoods shop where Mason works.

The belt came with a drink from their bar. Tom gave it to me and I picked a strawberry aperol spritz.

It was fun to do and the belt is beautiful. Tom got his initials embossed in case anyone tries to steal his belt or he forgets his name.

It was so hot and I was sweating just from our little outing. We came home and I read while Tom watched tv.

We made a spur of the moment plan to go to dinner with our friends. The six of us had not been out since April maybe? It had been a long time. Everyone has been going this way and that and our schedules hadn’t aligned. The restaurant is called Harry’s and it’s in a shopping center called The Paddock so Heather and I both ordered the Pink Paddock Fizz and it was so good!

I got two fish sliders and a baked potato. The food is always good there.

Saturday morning the heat had finally taken a break. I can’t remember the last morning you could open the door and not feel like you were entering a sauna. It was so nice to be able to walk EO and do some morning time outside. Tom went on a bike ride and accidentally became part of a 4th of July parade across the bridge in Indiana.

Gotta be festive – even with your electrolytes!

There was a chance of storms and the heat did come back later in the day. We decided not to boat because of all the crazies that would be out so we had a really laid back 4th. It is so weird to be empty nesters on the holidays especially.

I read this on IG and thought I would try it!

My lemons:

I went to Kroger for bird seed, lemons, watermelon, and Metamucil. Weird!

OMG – I read this for a few hours on Friday and on Saturday I was close to finishing. I finished right before dinner and told Tom I would have a “book hangover” for quite a while.

Sooooooo good. This could be my favorite book of 2026. So far we have this, Mad Mabel, This Book Made Me Think of You, and Dolly all the Time in my running for my favorite books of 2026. All of these books are very different, of course.

I’m going to say two bold things:

I think this is better than The Help.

This is so much better than The Correspondent and Theo of Golden. Notice that those are not in my list of favorites.

This book was 650ish pages and I didn’t think it was too long in the least. I was never bored by it.

The dialogue was so funny at times. I read several quotes to Tom.

I made sheet pan sliders/burgers and homemade mac and cheese. Tom had baked beans but I’m not that excited about those.

We spent a lot of time with our only kid living in the house:

We watched this goofy movie:

And, finally Sunday we did go out on the boat!

Tom jumped in with Eddie Otis!

Our friends Heather and Eric were able to come, too. It was a nice couple of hours on the water!

Tell me about yours!

Amy

Friday, July 3, 2026

Happy Friday to you! I am linking up with Andrea and Erika to share some favorites from the week.

Tom is off today so that is my first favorite. One thing he/we is/are doing is going to have a custom belt made for Tom at the belt bar where Mason works. This was Mason’s idea for Father’s Day. You get to pick your leather color, your hardware, and your stitching color. Tom is a belt guy so this will be so special for him – I hope!

The theme of this week was the heat and mainly staying at home, but I did have several things I would call my favorites!

1. A fresh pedi!

Everywhere you look in the summer you are exposed to feet pics! Sorry that I too, am joining in! I got a fresh gel pedicure and used white white (don’t remember the name but it might have been OPI Alpine Snow) with some “chrome” on top. The chrome came out of a little pot the tech rubbed on with their finger after the gel was sealed.

I do think a gel pedicure is a good investment in the summer because the bug sprays and the spray sunscreens can take off the polish or dull it. My last one lasted over 5 weeks!

It’s hard to tell the chrome is on there from this photo but it makes it just a little sparkly.

2. A little help with a fresh mani!

In my quest for a new mani solution, I got my fingernails shaped up and polished with this original illuminating nail concealer from Kur Londontown that I ordered on Amazon. I used this for years before press ons to give me a “your nails but better” look. Gel/Dip don’t appeal to me right now because of the removal process. Press ons aren’t doing it for me anymore.

This still looks perfect as I type this post on Thursday and I had it done on Sunday!

3. Target wandering

I took a wander around Target this week. These r,w,b Nerds gummy clusters are fun. My sisters and I put these in a drink we made in the Airbnb last week! I like to buy red, white, and blue products and make a little charcuterie board or a few snacks even if it’s just Tom and I.

I love seeing the new flavors and the World Cup themed snacks.

4. My Chobani creamers!

I did try a new Chobani flavor – Cookie Butter! So good!

And, this is my current favorite so I re-stocked.

I appreciate it but I don’t know about blueberry coffee. Excuse me, it’s “American Blueberry”. I have heard of blueberry lattes, though.

They are pricey at $5.69 but that is less than a coffee out and this lasts much longer.

I also picked this up – the best protein pasta I have tried. It’s delicious and your family won’t know it’s protein pasta!

5. Cooking/Experimenting!

I made my own Mexican rice this week and it turned out pretty much like the Mexican restaurant version. You cook your rice in chicken broth and add tomato paste.

I also tried my hand at authentic Mexican restaurant queso. It’s close. I need deli cheese next time. I’ve got this! I told Tom we might never have to go to a Mexican restaurant again! Wait – that would be sad!

I also tried a new to me German dish. It’s like a flat meatball and is called Frikkadellen. I paired it with a German cucumber salad and German potatoes. The flat meatballs are served with German mustard. I boiled Yukon Gold potatoes and then chopped them and cooked them in a skillet wtih some butter, bacon, and onion. Tom really liked this meal!

I made a good dinner salad this week, too!

6. Shopping!

This could be a post of its own, but I used the Prime Days as a way to stock up on makeup products that are working for me. I start with the Lumi and Sun Bum (taught to me by Jenn) then do the Elf Halo contour, add blush sticks (I use two and layer), then do brow pencil and brow gel, then eye liner, then lipliner, then on days where I’m going somewhere eye shadow and brown mascara. I add a lip gloss or a light something on my lips (not pictured). This is a 5-minute face for me.

7. Connecting with People!

I had a coffee out this week with a former student and it was great to catch up. This former student is now in her 40s and recently moved back to the area with her husband and two kids.

I also had a 3 way call with both sisters – we need to do that more! I had a long overdue phone call with my cousin, too!

8. Reading!

This book has me hooked this week! I have been spending more time indoors due to the heat but I’ve been entertained by this, for sure.

9. TV!

I also started Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders new season on Netflix and Elle on Prime.

10. My shadow Eddie Otis!

Eddie Otis and I walk the playground in the early morning and then I’ve been trying to take him in the car to a new place to sniff in the afternoon.

Good sniff at my former school’s practice field:

I look cool in my necklace fan?

I also like to spritz myself with my trusty spray bottle! Do you have one?

I’ve been loving my hair clips this summer.

Even though it’s really hot, Eddie Otis likes to sunbathe, too.

Another day, another field trip to a nearby park…

He won’t jump down from the car until I clip his leash on.

I froze some vegetables in water for him to play with and he enjoyed the bowl more than the ice…

11. Interesting side quests? I think the young people are saying that.

I heard that McDonald’s had “dirty soda”. They only have it with regular (not diet) Dr. Pepper so it is quite caloric at 330 calories. I bought it and a plain diet Dr. Pepper to make my own and do a taste test. The McDonald’s was slightly better and creamier but mine was really close and only 50 calories I would guess. So, I will be making my own!

12. A few more things I bought!

I bought Eddie Otis a new dog puzzle. I just worry he is bored in the heat.

This is the only brand of hand soap I have been buying. Love this smell!

And, I did some pre-gaming for the 4th!

This is an excellent idea! You heard it here!

I made the pretzel Rolo things!

Happy 4th to you!

Amy

Thursday, July 2, 2026

Wow did June fly! It was very different for me than last year. Last year I finished the school year on June 5th, maybe, and officially retired on July 1st. I spent June recovering! Ha! This year I thoroughly enjoyed the spring weather and got to read outside so much.

Let’s start with groceries. This month I did 5 Kroger deliveries! They don’t accept tips when it’s official Kroger delivery so it’s only slightly more expensive with their $6.95 fee. I am not a member of the Boost program. Tom’s bread is no longer available in our store so I guess the Kroger truck brings the groceries from a warehouse where the bread is stocked. I think I went in my Kroger store once for a big shop and a few small shops and then went to Whole Foods twice and Trader Joe’s once. I have greatly reduced my Trader Joe’s trips. I found I was mostly buying snack and dessert foods so it was making my monthly grocery bill higher. It wasn’t an “instead of” store but “in addition to” my groceries.

We’ve eaten out a bit more this month and my cooking has been uninspired! I will just be honest!

$757 – was up from last month.

On to summer reading…

I really enjoyed this first book of the month! It hooked me pretty early on and I couldn’t put it down because I wanted to see what would happen. I also liked that it was about podcasters.

This was just charming. It was a touch on the cheesy side. I pictured Brett Goldstein playing the role of the male character in the movie version – lol.

Oh my gosh – this book had everything I want in a summer read. I liked that it was set in Rhode Island as I am also watching Real Housewives of Rhode Island (horrible!) and I also have a new fascination with Newport, RI due to The Gilded Age. Everyone gets invited to Newport from NYC – lol. I am now saying “summah”!

This was a fun summer read! I liked the NYC setting and the throwback to dial up internet and no smart phones. It was also fun as Mason went to NYC this month!

DNF – I made it about halfway and I enjoyed a lot of it but all it talked about was relations between the couple and I kept thinking that the female was going to get a UTI but then the author made the character say, “I’m going to get a UTI” and I was out.

DNF – This one jumped from what I thought the story was going to be to focusing on other characters and I could have stuck with it to see if it would come back around but I had other books awaiting me.

I called my sister one day and she said she had just gotten back from the library and started the new Abby Jimenez book and I said, “OMG! I’m reading that right now, too!” Loved it! Great summer read!

I started this and I like it ok…

I started this and I like it ok…

I found this on the new release shelf at the library and now I’m in it! So, I’m not sure if I will go back to the last two books since they are already due back.

So far, The Calamity Club is making me laugh out loud. Some of the characters have some really funny lines.

Also this month, when I felt like I was about at my 10 book mark for summer reads, I did something silly and fun…

I got myself a personal pan pizza for lunch! Do you remember the Bookit! program? It wasn’t during my childhood and maybe it was before my own kids’ childhood, too. Anyway, you read 10 books over the summer, recorded them, and got a free ppp. Mine wasn’t free; I had to pay $7, but it was a really fun thing to do!

Tom and I both used to work at Pizza Hut, by the way!

How often do you do child-like things? I giggled at myself when I did this. It was a bit of whimsy and I think Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project would have approved.

My June Highlights…

A few games of mah jongs, a few boat rides, reading outside, coffee with two former students, and

My high school class of 1990 pool party complete with a pup in a pineapple bikini!

Niece Nora’s graduation pool party – right after this we got in the pool!

Celebrating Tom’s birthday with the whole family of four!

Re-teaching Eddie Otis to be a boat dog!

Boutique hotel pool day pass complete with a mimosa!

Visit from the Memphis blog gals!

Summer Sister Stay in our hometown complete with golf cart rental and a margarita from Bo Duke!

Live music!

Mason’s adventure in NYC and hearing all about it!

It was a good and full month!

What are you reading now? Any recs?

What was the highlight of June for you?

Did your grocery bill go up this month?

Amy

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Sparkling – What is currently “sparkling” in your life? Beside my personality (haha), I like sparkling wine like prosecco. I also bought and have been enjoying Waterloo sparkling water in summer berry flavor. Stay tuned for another prosecco idea I am planning!

Grilling/Cooking – I am cooking a lot of salmon, sheet pan fajitas – love me a sheet pan meal!

Heating up – The temps for sure! After a really nice June temperature wise (we did have lots of rain), we all knew it was coming. I will need to get outside earlier now. I wrote a post a long time ago about how to beat the heat and I plan to employ some of these things now that we are in the “armpit of summer”.

Using – Chobani creamers. Chobani, call me. I can be your ambassador. I still haven’t made it to Aldi, but Target has the best selection. My new favorite is toasted coconut vanilla.

I just discovered Cookie Butter and it’s so good, too!

I totally credit these creamers and my frother for saving me tons of money in hot and iced coffees.

Celebrating – Our country’s 250th birthday of course! July is also a big birthday for my mother in law and it’s my wedding anniversary.

And, now for Hodgepodge with Joyce…

1. What do you love most about your country? 

I really do feel that the “American Dream” is still alive. We have a huge Cuban population in my city and so many have become small business owners. Do you know what life was like in Cuba for them? Ask any Cuban what it’s like here compared to there and you will literally cry. I had precious Cuban students in my classes. They tended to put native speakers of Spanish in my classes to give them an “easy class” or to help them learn English. One girl was going back to Cuba for Spring Break and taking an entire suitcase of basic toiletries for her family.

I love that people still have relative freedom here and can freely share ideas. I think we have a beautiful country full of beautiful landscapes.

2. Your favorite patriotic song? 

“America, the Beautiful” – also, I tend to cry when I hear a patriotic song.

3. Red, white, or blue? Stars or stripes? Something you own besides a US flag with some combination of those colors or decorations as part of its design? 

How can you pick just one? I like all three colors and both stars and stripes! I own clothing, decor, papergoods, and probably a few more things.

4. What’s one thing you want more of this summer: fun, rest, adventure, connection, quiet, or confidence? Elaborate. 

I feel like I had a year of rest and quiet and maybe even confidence in my new stage of life.

I want more fun, adventure, and connection.

I hope to continue learning to slow down and live in the moment instead of thinking of the next thing that is coming. Are you like that, too? Sometimes I am busy thinking of what’s next.

5. What was your ultimate, go-to summer activity when you were a kid? Do you still do any version of that today? If you answered yes, does participating in this activity as an adult make you feel like a kid?  

This is such a good question and something I love to talk about. Swimming! I still swim whenever I have the chance. Water is so healing!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We don’t have any big plans for the 4th but we hope to take the boat out. I like to make these waffle pretzel Rolo things.

I like to buy seasonal products.

I found these cute little star pretzel crackers that would be good for charcuterie boards.

This is delicious! My sisters and I made a cocktail with this and Nerds gummy clusters.

This year, I want to try this strawberry pretzel salad dip.

And, I’ve already bought my bomb pops! I’m so excited to try this!

Please join us for Currently here!

Amy

Tuesday, June 30, 2026

It’s time for another edition of Fashion Files with Amy and Marsha!

Let’s start off with a really bad photo of me in my gauzy stuff with my phone charging! I was going to hear music on Father’s Day in the hot sun of the afternoon, and I will admit my hair was damp (a little stay cool trick). I wore my turquoise shorts and my white shirt with my tan flip flops and I had my tan hat in the car.

I wore this together with Jenn and Marilyn and wore it again on Tuesday to go to my hometown with my sisters. I was pleasantly surprised that the navy in the blouse matched the navy in the skort. Skorts are really great in my opinion. There are the more athletic type and the slightly dressier type. I have found that flat fronted skorts look best on me. Send me any skort links that fit that bill. I would like to add a couple.

I am not sure why my flip flops are not all the way on? Eddie Otis steals towels from our towel basket, by the way.

I wore this to my hair appointment. The kimono didn’t work well under the cape so I had to remove it. Lol! Can you see Eddie Otis’ Halloween lambie stuffed toy?

I wore this after the hair was done to go hear music. I thought it was too hot for the kimono at this point in the day. Also, I ended up having to wear my rain jacket over it!

I placed a Walmart order for a new swim suit in red, a white cover up, a black cover up, and a swim skirt/coverup that you can wear over a tank swimsuit.

I am more into skorts than dresses this season but I don’t have very many short-sleeved blouses.

I am still working with a much smaller wardrobe.

Molly gave these silver Birkenstocks to me. She said the big toe enclosure bothered her. I really like this style.

I stand by my claim that rubber Birkenstocks are the most comfortable. I really want to get a new pair!

What have you been wearing lately?

Please join us here!

Amy