Talking About it Tuesday ~ Galentine's Day/February 17, 2026

Happy Tuesday friends!

 I know yesterday was Monday, but I didn't want to talk about Valentine's Day as the theme of the weekend since I wasn't with a guy or my kids.  This is one my boundaries where I can't spend too much time reading about these things. I was not on social media much at all over the weekend.  I am happy and I hope one day I will have this, so in the meantime, my Tuesday talk is all about Galentine's Day, celebrating friends!

I hosted a Galentine's party at my house Friday night and had bought this heart pasta at Aldi.

It was fun to decorate for Galentine's! Behind my table, is a string of old Valentine cards from my childhood.  They are from my parents, grandparents and even one from my brother.

I assembled a mixture of strawberry chex mix, a candy mix of popcorn, cookies and pretzels, and then I added a bag of red/white M&M's.  It was such a good mixture.  I ate so much of this over the weekend.

I also made red velvet M&M brownies and used my heart cutter with them.

Here are other pictures of some house decor...

I made sourdough foccacia bread, which turned out so good.  This is my favorite variety of sourdough.

I ordered a fun set of Galentine games (all paper games so we didn't have to leave the table :)) & we all started a little bit on creating ideas for a vision/bingo board for 2026.  In the background of these things was a great Galentine's playlist I created with the help of their imput on Spotify.

Kendra gave us each a gift, which was so cute and thoughtful. It was a fun night!

Hello Monday ~ December 1, 2025

Welcome December!  We have made it to the last month of 2025. November is my favorite month, but it kicked my butt this year.  I am coming up for air and welcoming the month that celebrates the thrill of hope for the weary world that can rejoice.  

The past week, I have taken such joy in following the travels of my daughter.  She spent a week in Scotland, with a 24 hour layover in London.  She went to London 12 years ago, but it was her first trip to Scotland.  I was so proud of her planning and paying for this trip on her own.  She grew up with a mom who loves to travel and was a travel agent.  Here are a few pictures...

She is a HUGE William and Kate fan and I loved seeing this picture she posted!

Last week, Brook and I went out for a meal, which was our first time to go out since she had been home.  We shared this pizza which was half BBQ chicken and half pepperoni/bacon/feta.  It was delicious!

Thursday morning, I did a turkey trot with my co-worker.  When we reached this Mile 1 sign, we felt like we had a long way left.  We walked 4 miles and it was not bad at all.  We enjoyed it and it felt good to get some exercise and be outside.  I love time with her!

Afterwards while walking to the car, we were stopped to take a picture of a family. They had a huge group and were basically tailgating post race.  They poured me a mimosa and we  talked like we were old friends.

I freshened up at my friend's house, then went to my realtor's house for a Thanksgiving lunch.  She and I have been friends for about 15 years. *Side note...I will give a house update tomorrow!*

 One thing I didn't mention is that I woke up that morning without a voice.  I was able to strain and talk a little though.  

There were 9 pies!

And they even were playing Darius Rucker radio!  Made me very happy and I felt at home!

After lunch, I drove to my sister's house to help with my great nieces.  Their parents have been out of town, so I went down to help while my sister prepared food.  I stayed for dinner where my parents and other niece/nephew and greats joined us.  It was a long day and I was glad to get the day behind me.  I really missed my girls.  I tried not to think about it too much. I will be honest with my feelings here....divorce sucks and it just cuts deeper on holidays.  I felt so betrayed and another level of hurt knowing I didn't have my daughter on a holiday & I was left behind.  I miss my in-laws and all of that side of the family.  There are so many levels of grief that come with divorce.  I do wish I had someone special in my life, but I don't and it sure gets lonely.  But, I know I am just getting stronger and stronger as a single person.  

I spent Friday at home and didn't see anyone.  I had a quick phone call but otherwise, stayed quiet to try to rest my voice.  I watched a ton of Hallmark/Great American movies and a little football.  I rested and went through a lot of stacks of papers.  It did feel good to get a little more organized.

Saturday, I helped my parents decorate their tree and clean up a little bit. I made a Wal-Mart run, then met up with Jenn at Salad Station before we went to a play.

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Sunday, I went to church and was thankful to have Brook back home.  We ran some errands and sweet girl treated me to some frozen yogurt.  I tried to rest my voice the rest of the day.  It is still rough.

Have a great Monday and I will be back tomorrow with a housing update!

 

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!

Tuesday Talk ~ Thanksgiving 2024

 I so enjoyed my holidays and enjoyed having a few days off work.  I hope you did as well!

Wednesday morning, I did work from home, but then we went to my parents to eat pizza and visit with family.  I was able to meet my newest great niece, who was 1 week old in this picture.  She is a precious little thing!

I have had 2 great nieces born this year and 1 great nephew.  These are the mommas and grandmothers (note....the baby in the middle belongs to the momma 2nd from left. the other 2 are the grandmothers, my sister-in-law and sister).

Y'all know I'm crazy about these 2 little munchkins!

Here they are with my great nephew, my daughter and my niece who stayed with us from Tuesday-Saturday last week.

Thanksgiving morning, I watched the Macy's parade and decorated the Christmas tree, with some help from Brook.  I made strawberry pretzel salad and pumpkin sourdough bread to take to the Thanksgiving meal.

The turkey my niece cooked was so good!  

Everything on my plate was delicious!  I love Thanksgiving food!

This is my niece and her baby who was born this summer.  They live in Richmond and were here visiting so I gave her an early Christmas present.

Elvis Presley bibs!  .....side note, her name is Preslie!

My big sister, big brother (we are Irish twins) and me

It was a fun day with all the kids and visiting and eating!

The hugs were pretty amazing too and they provided lots of laughter! These are my girls with 3 of my great nieces.

Me and silly Millie!

My niece and daughter

These are my parents with my oldest daughter.

My great nephew, nephew and brother

Thank you for the prayers.  I had a tearful moment the day before, but the actual holiday was good and I was thankful to be with people who are also thankful for me.  

Enjoy your day!