Hello Monday ~ June 16, 2025

Good Monday morning to you! I hope you had a great weekend.

Mine was busy and I am writing this at 4am, because I rarely sleep through the night anymore and being up for a few hours has unfortunately become normal for me.  Here is a brief recap of the weekend.

I have spent a lot of time with family the past few days and it has been fun.  My brother and his wife were in town staying at my parents.  My niece and her girls have been staying at my sister's while her husband is out of town. Friday after work, I took lunch to a friend at work then met up with Jenn for an errand and a trip to Sonic.  I went to my parents house and had dinner with all the family.  I also got to set up the doll house with 2 of my great nieces.  One put things in, while the other pulled things out, ha! 

After hanging out with family, I met up with a friend for a drink.

Saturday morning, I met a friend from church for coffee/tea.

Afterwards, Brook, Wade and I went to my sister's house for a swim/Father's Day cookout.  It was fun having all the greats there and a treat to have my brother and sister-in-law too.  I love them so much and love when my siblings are all together!

My brother-in-law has this new grill/smoker and he smoked a block of cream cheese and put cinnamon topping on it.  I could have eaten the whole thing...it was so good!  He also made one with a peach topping and an apple topping with caramel sauce on it. We served this with crackers as an appetizer for the afternoon.

I got a last minute offer to go to a concert with Jenn.  I went there after the cookout and it was fun, albeit a little sticky and hot.  I had fun with Jenn, meeting her friend, and I got to spend some time with a friend I knew there as well. :)

Sunday morning, I went to church then went back to my sister's house to sit by the pool with her and my sister-in-law.  My sister lives about 45 minutes away, so I have spent a lot of time in the car the past few days!  I got gas Sunday afternoon when I had 5 miles left in the tank.  I don't think I have ever come that close to running out of gas!

My siblings and I took my dad out for coffee later in the afternoon and spent some time with him.  He does so much to be the caretaker for my mom. I am so blessed to have such a Godly dad who loves us and takes such good care of us.

Family of origin photo

I spent the rest of the day at my parents hanging out while Brook spent the afternoon and evening with her dad.  I was able to see him briefly and wish him a Happy Father's Day.  After all, I have the gift of the 2 most incredible daughters with him! I know this day can be hard and honestly, there are some new hard parts about this day for me.  I don't take for granted the fact that I was able to see my dad yesterday.  He will be 82 next week.

I am glad to have a little time at home this week after being gone so much last week.

Have a great day and thanks for reading!

Friday Favorites ~ May 23, 2025/Reflections and Going Forward

 Happy Friday everyone!  I hope it's been a good week so far.  I am doing a a throwback to this day last year with some reflections in the past and going forward.  I am sharing some a piece of my heart with my blog friends today and ask for your grace and kindness.

Last year on May 23, it was my 26th wedding anniversary.  It was the first one I spent married, yet separated.  If you're following today's date, today would be my 27th.  Today, I will spend this day as a single woman again.  I am thankful to be with friends today, but wanted to share pictures from last year that I never talked about on the blog.

I began the day with breakfast at my favorite breakfast place meeting with one of my favorite people. My breakfast was delicious (pardon the sideways photo....it is from a year ago & I didn't edit it) and I loved the encouragement from not only a dear friend to me, but a dear friend and mentor to my daughters.

I went to Target afterwards, then it was time to meet another dear friend for lunch at my favorite place, The Salad Station.

After lunch, she and another friend joined me and they treated me to a pedicure and manicure.

You can probably figure out by the name of this place why I picked it!  These are both dear friends who go to church with me.  They have had me over to their homes multiple times and been so dear.  

After my meals and afternoon outing, I drove to my sister's house to celebrate my mom's birthday.  Yes, today is my mom's birthday too!  I was happy to have something else to celebrate as well. Seeing these kids was a joy, as always.

My brother lives out of town, but here is my sister and I with my parents.  A year later, my mom is in a wheelchair now. It seems like she has aged a lot in the past year honestly.

In a turn of events, and I will write this so I won't forget it, my husband actually met me at a restaurant for a drink later that night.  He reached out and we sat for a bit and talked.  Afterwards, I went to a local hotel.  I knew I didn't want to stay at my house.  I honestly felt encouraged and proud of myself for doing this alone (side note, I don't like to sleep in a king bed anymore and always get a room with 2 beds. I have slept in my guest bedroom at home for over a year now).  I know it was the Lord's presence with me to feel peace.

I enjoyed breakfast the next morning and then proceeded with a normal day.

Most of you know by reading my blog, I live alone now.  I have been on my own for over 2 years now, with the exception of a few months.  I do miss someone to help me with the little and big things at my house.  I miss having a built in friend, confident and partner in life.  I never once dreamed in my life I would be in this position, but God has brought me so far in healing and strength.  I will forever stand by the fact I had an unwanted divorce & it took me a long time to accept it & begin to move forward.  Betrayal trauma is the worse thing I have lived through and there are still so many legal issues that I can't discuss here on the blog, so I do still need your prayers, especially in the upcoming weeks as I am trying to settle some other related issues.

A few other thoughts....

I am so thankful for my marriage.  I married a wonderful man and we had so many happy years together.  He was a wonderful husband and father.  I have 2 amazing daughters.  By amazing, I mean that to my core.  That being said, this experience is hard for them.  Honestly, that has been one of the hardest parts of this is watching my daughters hearts break over this reality that will affect them forever. 

If you know of someone going through a hard time and coming up on an anniversary, check up on them.  We get so busy in our own lives, but even a text can go a long way. We live in a hurting world & we all need each other.  I am so thankful for friends along the way who have supported me and loved on me. If you know someone who is struggling with healing from betrayal trauma and divorce, I would love to be a resource of hope to them.

A few of you have asked about me moving since I have been working on cleaning out my house so much this year.  I do plan on eventually moving, but have some things preventing that at this time.  I am looking forward to a fresh start in my own place.  Even though that seems a little scary at times, I am excited about it too.  I bought my first house when I was 23 and did that alone, so I know I can do it again. Although, at this time, I can't afford to buy a home, but I am excited to rent something, whether it be a home or apartment.

I am looking forward to the future God has for me.  Sometimes it can be easy to think about all the things lost not having a spouse, but I know I can have those things again.  Time will tell if that happens, but either way, I'm okay!  I am so content being happy with myself and I enjoy myself and my life. If I ever meet someone to add happiness to my life, that would be a gift, but I do not look to having someone to bring me happiness.  I am a strong, independent woman, but I do need help from time to time and am learning to ask that more and more.  I go to bed and wake up every night by myself.  I don't have anyone else coming and going, although, that will change in a few weeks when I do have my college girl home for the summer!  I am thankful I have been the one to take care of most of the behind the scenes stuff of the house when it comes to bills, so I know how to do those things.  

I do get sad, angry and lonely from time to time, but I am so thankful for the joy I have. 

The things that have saved me in these dark times have been music, which I have shared a lot here on my Hodgepodge posts.  I have a playlist I listen to almost daily and sometimes, I have listened multiple times a day.  It is about 7 songs that are so encouraging to me.  I have a huge tribe of friends who have been there for me, listening to me talk, be angry and cry. 

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement as blog friends.  I'm so thankful for this community too!  I am thankful that today, I get to spend this anniversary with 2 of my in real life blog friends!

I leave you today with pictures of my girls below and a passage of scripture I read every day for months when I first began living life on my own and I will always treasure this from Isaiah 54:

4 “Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.

    Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.

You will forget the shame of your youth

    and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.

5 For your Maker is your husband—

    the Lord Almighty is his name—

the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;

    he is called the God of all the earth.

6 The Lord will call you back

    as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—

a wife who married young,

    only to be rejected,” says your God.

7 “For a brief moment I abandoned you,

    but with deep compassion I will bring you back.

8 In a surge of anger

    I hid my face from you for a moment,

but with everlasting kindness

    I will have compassion on you,”

    says the Lord your Redeemer.

 

Hello Monday ~ May 19, 2025

Hello Monday friends!  I hope your weekend was good.  Mine was filled with all the simple joys.

I worked from home Friday morning and my Friday afternoon plans got cancelled.  I was honestly so happy to have an afternoon at home.  That evening, I went to my niece's house for my great-niece's birthday party.  Y'all, there is not many things better than arriving and having them all run out to greet me screaming "Aunt Marilyn!".  You can see 2 in the driveway and 2 more in front of the house trailing behind. These kids fill me up so much!

And a hug from the birthday girl!

Birthday girl's little sister :)

And my other precious great niece!

Friday nights, I get so excited to be able to sleep in on Saturdays.  I wake up early, but I stay in bed for a lot longer on Saturdays and it has become my favorite time of the week.  I love my Saturday mornings!

Once I finally got up & did a few things, I sat by the pool with Jenn where she was dog sitting. I have packed so many things up in my house, I couldn't even find a swimsuit, so I just put my feet in the water. After some time there, I came home and used the weed eater in my backyard then took a walk to get some more movement.  I went to dinner Saturday night with an old friend and we caught up for several hours.

Sunday morning, I made this egg quiche.  I used 6 eggs, a cup of cottage cheese, sprinkle of salt and pepper, a handful of bacon bits and a handful of shredded cheese.  I baked it at 350 for 45 minutes and it was so good (as you can see I had taken a piece before I took this picture).

I went to church then headed to see of my 3 greats in their dance recital.  I got to sit next to my great nephew and hold this great niece in my lap.  I was loving every minute of it.

I just happened to match the girls since I was wearing a shirt with green on it.  The sun was in her eyes below!  Bless them, they were so tired after the performance.

Sisters

And this sister officially turned 5 yesterday so I loved getting an official birthday hug.  Oh my goodness, I love this girl so much!

After the recital, I went to a dinner at church and it was fun to be with friends there.  I came home to the sweetest surprise.  My next door neighbor had mowed the grass for me.  This means so much to me & is such a help, as I don't even own a lawn mower any more.  I do have a weed eater that I use several times a week in my back yard. I am so thankful for good neighbors!

I am looking forward to a fun day ahead and hope you have a good day!

What did you do fun that was fulfilling this weekend?

Thanks for reading friends!

Talking About itTuesdays ~ Easter weekend 2025

 Good morning!  I couldn't quite get a blog post in order for Monday, so I am joining up today to talk about my Easter weekend.  I hope you all had a lovely weekend and Monday!  

I headed out Friday morning and this was my ride over to Charlotte, North Carolina.  I was so thankful to have a weekend away and a change of scenery.

My oldest daughter had flown in town the night before and my youngest drove in from Savannah and picked me up at the airport.  We went to my sister-in-law's house that night and had a fun night laughing with family and new friends to us.  We also celebrated my nephew's 20th birthday as he grilled hamburgers for us.

Me and my sister-in-laws

Saturday, we went shopping at the Re-clectic store. Have you heard of this store?  There are  about 5 or 6 major cities around the country.  Here is the description:

"Reclectic, a division of Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN), is an eco-conscious solution to sell overstock and retired products from our family of brands."

They sell a lot of Anthropologie and I saw some Farm Rio dresses here too. 

We went out for a late lunch/early dinner.

My girls with their grandparents.

This was the first time the 3 of us had been together since Christmas!  Isabella had to leave Saturday evening, so we only had 24 hours together, but it did my hear so good to see them both at the same time!

Meanwhile, an Elvis tv was on tv with subtitles in German.

Sunday morning, we went to church and I always love the music on Easter!

We had a huge brunch with family.  There was bacon, quiche, deviled eggs, chicken and waffles, hasbrown casserole, ham and fuit.

My in-laws, Brook and my niece and nephew.

It was a great, short weekend with family I don't see that often. I am so thankful for them.  I flew home Sunday night and my flight was delayed by an hour and a half, which is why the blog post didn't happen for yesterday.  I am also thankful for Jenn who picked me up from the airport late last night!

Enjoy your Tuesday friends!