Friday Favorites ~ August 28, 2026/Amtrak

 Happy Friday.  My week has been good overall, but has seemed a little slow.  Since my trip, I have kept up walking every day, which has helped me feel better.  I try to walk outdoors most evenings, but have also walked inside on my walking pad a few days.  I am thankful for some shade and evenings that have not been too hot to walk. This is my first favorite!

A few other favorites:

I had lunch with a former travel agent co-worker that I hadn't seen in at least 2 years this week.  We sat for 2 1/2 hours and it was so fun to catch up with her! 

 My apartment complex had a paint night so we went to paint little flower pots one night too. When I came home from work yesterday, they had left me a small gift at the door for coming.  I love where I live!

Now I am going to jump back into my trip from last month.  To end my time in Canada, I took an Amtrak from Vancouver to Seattle, Washington early one morning.  The train stations are so pretty.

I bought the business class ticket, which is not too much more than coach and it was 100% worth the extra cost.  I felt like I had my money's worth before I even boarded simply by being in a shorter line!

This was my chair for the 4 hour ride, but I did have someone sit across from me, but that was okay.

The scenery along the coast was so pretty to see.  

Then I arrived back in the USA in Seattle, Washington.

I had a view of the baseball stadium from the train station.  I walked a few blocks this time with my luggage to the Seattle ferry station. I felt like I utilized planes, trains, automobiles and the ferry a lot in my first week!

It is so pretty to see the sights of Seattle from the ferry!  

I will do a post on Bainbridge Island and Seattle next week.

I hope you have a great weekend and thanks for reading friends!

Friday Favorites ~ July 23, 2026

 Happy Friday friends!  This post is short with minimal pictures :)

A few favorites....

I had a dance lesson and learned mambo!

I was able to help my niece after work with her four kids while she did a little of unpacking at her new house.  A bonus was my other niece dropped by with her 5 kids.  Seeing 9 of them is always a highlight!  I love those sweet kids so much.  I am just crazy about them.

On my way home, I saw this rainbow! It has been a while since I have seen one, so it made me smile.

I got caught on on a lot of things at work, which was a good feeling.

Overall, it was a good week and hope you all have a great weekend!

Friday Favorites ~ July 17, 2026

 Happy Friday!  This post is a little recap of my week so far. The fact that today is Friday is a huge favorite!

Monday 

This was a car morning.  I had an early morning oil change (I was there by 7:05am) and other car maintenance, then I went to renew my car tag in person due to my new address.  This only took an hour, which I was pleasantly surprised actually! I got gas, so I had spent a lot of money before 10am on my car!

Afterwards, I had an appointment and had lunch with my parents and sister.

I did a little remote work throughout the afternoon, visited with a friend at work and went to TJ Maxx & found Halloween is in the store!

I then had dinner in another suburb about 45 minutes away.  It was a long, but good day.  I left home at 7am and got home closer to 8:30pm that night.

Tuesday 

I started the day at a work event where I tried an official dirty soda (I had made one at home but this was the first one I ordered).  This was coke zero, sugar free vanilla and half and half.  I enjoyed it, but this isn't something I would get on repeat.  I was able to get this complimentary so it seemed like a good time to try it!  After work, I had a coffee meeting and then came home to watch the All Star game.  I watch this every year, but I think this is the first time I have watched it by myself.  American League won if you didn't watch.

Wednesday

I worked at home, went to a meeting, then had a quick visit with Jenn.  It had been a long time since I had stopped by her house and so I was greeted with some Chloe love!

I came home to do a little more work, but first was lunch.  I blended some cottage cheese with a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese and mixed it with some shredded chicken (which was already seasoned with taco seasoning). I ate this with some chips and it was delicious.

I then met a friend at a coffee shop to do a little more work and enjoyed a London Fog.  This is my favorite place to get one and it is delicious here.

After the coffee shop, I was hungry but wasn't sure what I wanted for dinner.  It was honestly a little later than I like to eat.  (I like to eat embarrassingly early...before 6 if I am eating on my own, which is most nights). I stopped by Whole Foods and picked up these snacks and drink.

I made 4 little treats of the parm crisps with the turkey pepperoni.  This was the perfect protein snack to keep me satisfied the rest of the night.  I saved the other snacks for work.

Thursday 

This was a work day with 2 different hospital events, one in the morning and one at night. I was exhausted at the end of it.  Since I had my long day at work, I was able to take a break to meet up with my sister at a 100 % gluten free cafe/restaurant.  My sister is a school teacher and yes, she started back to work this week.  She eats gluten free and everything is good there! I had a small piece of quiche.  It was good, just not filling, ha!

One random favorite I saw this week was this magnet:

Ha, ha!  Hope you all have a lovely weekend and thanks for reading!

Friday Favorites ~ July 3, 2026

 Happy Friday friends!  Here are a few highlights of my week and favorites.....

USA!

USA won their World Cup game Wednesday night! It was so fun to watch.

Modern conveniences

I am thankful for so many conveniences such as clean water, medicines, electricity, indoor plumbing and all the things the colonists didn't have when fighting for our freedom.  Two conveniences that stand out to me from this week are air conditioning in this heat and a garage when it is raining.

Sleepover

Last night, we had us a little sleepover with 4 of my great nieces...a 9 year old, 6 year old, 5 year old and 4 year old.  Love these girls (and of course their siblings) so much!

Memes

Here are a few memes that have been around social media this week I have liked...

Drinks

I was able to buy a drink for 25 cents on a promotion one day this week!  I couldn't refuse at that price.

I also created my own dirty soda with a coke zero.  I added ice, a splash of coffee creamer and a little bit of lime juice.  It was pretty good.

Wishing you a Happy 4th!

(sharing this picture from 20 years ago or so...I often would use candy as decorations...M&M's, twizzlers and yogurt covered pretzels)

Friday Favorites ~ June 26, 2026

Happy Friday friends!

Here are some favorites to share from my week:

I worked Monday morning, and then met a friend for lunch. Sitting outside on the patio catching up and the weather, when I could have been wearing a sweatshirt, was definitely a favorite on a June day.

I cooked dinner for Brook and I Monday night.  This is only the 2nd time we have had a night at home together for me to cook.  I have lived here for 2 months now and actually used one of my pots for the first time, ha!  I made pasta bowls with pesto, cottage cheese, spinach and chicken.  It was a delicious, easy protein dinner.

I mixed 1/4 cup of pesto with 3/4 cup of cottage cheese to blend as sauce.  I then added a little bit of cooked spinach I had on hand, which could be optional.  I mixed the sauce over the cooked pasta.

Meanwhile, I seasoned some chicken with my new bourbon marinade and seasonings.  I cooked the chicken in my air fryer and loved the flavor.

I cut up the chicken and added it to my pasta and sauce.  I really enjoyed cooking and eating this meal.

Tuesday, after a difficult funeral for a baby in my church I attended, I was able to see an amazing rose garden that belongs to the great grandmother's property.  What a beautiful sight to behold in the midst of a sad morning.

Wednesday morning, I was able to take Brook and Wade to a famous breakfast spot in town where I had a gift card.  My breakfast was so good!  It was an open faced omelet with onions, peppers, avocadoes, salsa, cheese and turkey sausage...delicious!  It was served with potatoes and toast.

It filled me up for most of the day!  We ran a few errands then I worked from home in the afternoon and took a walk that evening.  It was so fun to see these deer!

This picture made me think of the song based on the verse, Psalm 42:1...

As the deer pants for water, so I long for you, O God. 

Another favorite this week was watching the new Ryan Hamilton show on Netflix.  If you need a good laugh with not a long time commitment, this 1 hour show is worth the watch! (side note, he has an older Netflix special called Happy Face, which is also funny).

Thursday was a 9 hour day at work for me, but my co-worker and I had fun enjoying a diet coke from McDonalds!

Today is work, pool time and trip planning, with probably a few episodes of Outlander.

Hope you enjoy your weekend!