Talking About it Tuesday ~ Blog Trip/April 14, 2026

 Hi!  I am happy to be back here today with you all talking all about the blog trip!

As most of you know by now, we had our 3rd annual blog trip this past weekend.  It was wonderful!  We haven't had the same group every time, but it has become a yearly fun girls trip I look forward to every year. We met in North Carolina and stayed at this cute AirBNB.

We started our Friday evening with snacks and lots of talking! It was great to see each other again.  Tanya and I drove together from Nashville so we had some extra time to catch up in the car.

Saturday morning was so nice to have Joyce join us for the day.  For breakfast, I brought sourdough bread and we had a delicious quiche and coffee cake from Joyce and Maria provided some fruit.  It was after 12pm when we even looked at the time to decide to leave the house.  After a curvy drive up a mountain that Maria navigated like a champ, we had some beautiful scenery along the way and once we arrived at our destination, Jump Off Rock.  There were lots of rhododendrum, a plant I don't see in my area.  It always makes me think of NC.  I lived in North Carolina for 5 years in my late 20's, early 30's. 

Maria is such a joy!

Joyce is so delightful to be around and I have loved both times being with her.

(side note...this is one my new tops from Old Navy)

I am thankful for each of these ladies & loved our time together!

After the hike, we had Celtic ice cream.  It was so creamy and delicious!  Y'all know I am a frozen yogurt girl, but I really enjoyed this style of ice cream.  I had the "From the Sea and Bee" flavor, which a mix of caramel, sea salt and honey.  We then did some local shopping.

Saturday evening, Joyce returned back home and we went to dinner at Sierra Nevada Brewery, a beautiful brewery that serves farm to table food. I had a burger with bacon and it was delicious.

I am not a beer drinker, but it was very interesting to hear/read about the brewery & see some of the process.

It was a great evening!

Maria left on Sunday morning and Joanne, Tanya and I went to the Biltmore. I had been twice before, and this place is stupid expensive, but it is beautiful to see the architecture.

Here are Tanya and I modeling our matching Amazon jeans in black and white!

This is the inital view walking into the home.

I love ceiling in buildings and these were impressive.

A few other random pieces that caught my eye were this globe

And this rolling ladder for the library

This furniture in the sitting area between Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt's rooms was unique.

I noticed the picture molding in this room which standard for older homes.  The older home we lived in North Carolina had this throughout the house.  It was used to hang pictures, as seen here.

Below is the bowling alley and swimming pool.  The last time this pool had water in it was in the 50's.

This is the kitchen.  In the lower part, you can see the big pot on the stove and the one small oven and small refrigerator in the center picture.  The bottom picture on the right is the dumbwaiter to send food up to the floors.

We walked in the gardens after the house tour, so we all got our steps in this day.

I enjoyed the greenhouse plants the most and loved this unique pink flower I had not seen before.  This got me motivated to get some plants soon!

I did some wine tasting afterwards since it was included in the ticket.  I wanted to get my money's worth, ha!

We ate dinner at Tupelo Honey afterwards and I love their "Bless Your Heart" glass!  I had an egg/veggie omelet with tomatoes, which was delicious.  I had taken a snack with me for a light lunch that day, so I enjoyed every bite of this dinner meal.

I was so, so tired when we got back to the AirBNB and we all went to sleep earlier this night.

Monday, we took Joanne to the airport early and Tanya and I drove back to Nashville.  On the way, we stopped at Buc-ees for breakfast, which was so yummy!  I loved having the car time with her once again.  I dropped her off and continued my drive home.  

What a fabulous trip with fabulous ladies!  

We missed you Jenn and Amy!

Thanks for reading my long post and enjoy your day!

Friday Favorites ~ April 10, 2026

 Good Friday morning to you!  I have a few favorites and few random things for this Friday.  

Monday - I spent the morning at home and then Jenn and I reunited at our favorite lunch spot, Salad Station. It was so good!  I had not been there since January.  We ran errands afterwards then I was back at home for the evening packing.  Packing alone is about to take me down.  I will be so glad to be done with this for a while.

This precious niece of mine had her baby boy on Tuesday!  Yes, that's right, I have a new great nephew!  This is my sister's 12th grandchild and my 13th great (my brother has a granddaughter and another one on the way). Here she was on Sunday and he is here with us now.  So precious.

I went to see him after work yesterday.  

Wednesday night, I had dinner with a new friend and it was delightful.  

Now on to just a few random things I found on my phone....

And my other favorite thing is happening this weekend that I will blog about next week.

Enjoy your weekend!

Hodgepodge ~ April 8, 2026

 

Good morning friends!!  Happy to be Hodgepodging today with you and our hostess Joyce.

1. Egg on your face, putting all your eggs in one basket, a good egg, walk on eggshells, nest egg, or a tough egg to crack...which eggy idiom currently applies to your life in some way? Explain

 I feel like like a mix between walk on eggshells and tough egg to crack.  I feel like I do walk on eggshells sometimes with certain people, trying to keep people in my corner.  I think I fight for this so hard because of the lack of encouragement I have had from within my home the past 5 years. I feel like some people are tough eggs to crack to get to know them & for honesty. Before these answers seem to take a turn, I will proceed to number 2.  

2. April 7th is National Beer Day...are you a beer drinker? If so do you have a favorite? Beer battered fish, beer bread, beer can chicken, beer brats...which one sounds good to you? Have you made any of these? 

I am not a beer drinker and have never drank beer.  Yep, the smell was always a turn off for me.  However, I like battered fish, bread, chicken and brats so I would taste any of these items made with beer.

3. Do you have siblings? What's the best thing about being your sibling? If you don't have siblings, what would you say are the pros and cons of being an only child? 

My mom had 3 of us in 3 1/2 years and I am the youngest.  I have an older sister, 3 1/12 years older and an older brother, 11 months older.  This means my brother and I are Irish twins.  I love my siblings and am close with both, even though we are all so different.

4. How do you feel about floral scents in products? Do you have a favorite?

I like a lavender for relaxation and I like vanilla for body soap/lotion.  

5. What's one thing in your home that begins with the letter G that you would say is a keeper, something you'll hold on to? Tell us why. 

From a practical standpoint, I need to have my glasses to see!  

One thing I won't be able to have at my apartment is a gas stove.  I really miss that.  I have had one for the past 25 years. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Did you know Spotify has its own Enneagram?  My Enneagram number is a 2, but on Spotify, I am a 7 apparently. This was fun to see!

Wishing you a great day!

Hello Monday~April 6, 2026

 Happy Monday friends!  It is a new week and hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Late Thursday night, my oldest arrived and brought her Mahjong set home.  We played one game.  She won, I was confused.  I am convinced this is a game of pure luck and not much strategy.  I don't know if it's my thing, but it was fun to play with her.

She was gone all day Friday.  I went to Target and look who I saw!  Jenn!

Later in the day, my daughter and I got pedicures and then headed to a birthday party for my little great who turned 4 this weekend.

Little Cinderella came running to meet us.  It is the sweetest thing.  

She wanted lots of gum :)

I loved the brief time with her and will actually get to see her again at the end of the month!

She left Saturday mid-day and I spent the rest of the day at home packing up for my move.  It gets overwhelming fast doing this.

This was my first Easter Sunday of my life I have ever woken up in a house alone and went to church alone.  I was okay until I wasn't.  I had a good cry & then was better. I have been out of town the past 3 years & will probably do that again next year.

I haven't bought anything at McDonalds drive through in probably 55 years either, but I did buy myself a diet coke Sunday afternoon prior to meeting for another Facebook marketplace transaction.

One of my closest friends, Lori, invited me over and then I went to my sister's house.  Here I am with 11 of my greats! It is rare to have a picture with all of them!  

Enjoy your better Monday!

Friday Thoughts ~ April 3, 2026

 Happy Friday! Today, I am sharing a few highlights of my week and some things on my heart on this Good Friday.

Monday, I was able to babysit for a new friend and it was a lovely day to take a walk and see all the azaleas in bloom.

Tuesday was work and I got a massage afterwards.  This is a monthly self care activity I do for myself!

I worked Wednesday morning from home then took one of my greats on her birthday lunch/shopping date.  She turns 4 on Saturday and is such a joy!  The store clerk referred to me a few times as her grandmother :).  

Thursday, I worked and went to a church dinner/Maundy Thursday service.  This is a service that remembers the Last Supper. 

Today, I want to share a few things on my heart.  

March was a month of some reflections for me. Like I mentioned this week, lonely sums up my month. It sums up 2026.  The ice storm was really hard on me going so many days without seeing people.  Readjusting to not having friends to hang out with on the weekends has been hard.  Eating 99% of my meals alone is a reality.  Going to bed alone and waking up alone is a reality.  Supporting myself is a reality.  I don't get any financial support.  Divorce is hard and there are so many layers of grief.  

As I say all of these things are true, I also want to share that in my alone times, I am not always sad.  Yes, often I am sad because I long to have a partner.  I feel complete and whole without someone, but I do miss having someone to share life. I wanted to share here that when I state I am lonely, that is a true feeling, however, it is not always a sad lonely.  Sometimes, it is just truly being alone & being okay with that.

I am so grateful for all your support, encouragement and prayers over the last 3 years on this blog.  I still need them going forward, but I want to also share here I have hope.  Even though my dreams with my former spouse won't happen, I can still have those dreams on my own or with someone new.  Sometimes, I may skip over relationship posts, because I honestly just can't relate to that anymore.  Maybe one day I will and maybe not, I don't know, but I do know that I am okay in my loneliness.  I am okay to feel sad with it at times and I am okay to be content with it.  Sometimes, it is really nice to not have to consider anyone else.  I often enjoy the time at home and other times, I need a change of scenery and need to take a drive, go get yogurt, or just run errands.  Winter is hard, so I am glad it is spring.  With spring, I have so many exciting things happening!  Would I rather still be married? Yes.  Would I rather still be able to stay in my house or buy a new house? Yes.  But, I am trying each day to face life with excitement for what is to come. Thanks for being on this journey with me as my friends.  

It seemed like Good Friday was a time to share about my lonely feelings in a week where Jesus experienced so many feelings of suffering, loneliness and betrayal.  The past 3 years, I have gone out of town for Easter to get away.  This year, I will stay at home and go to church by myself, as I do each Sunday, however, I am so thankful for my church family.  I hope that you can find a place to worship this weekend and reflect on the hope that the resurrection of Jesus brings us on this side of Heaven.

Currently Hodgepodging

 Happy Hodgepodge and Currently Day!  These ladies are some of my favorites.

1. March is rolling on out of here. Sum up your March in ten words or less. 

March was lonely, except for the week Brook was home for Spring Break.

2. Are you afraid of heights? When was the last time you found yourself dealing with a height, and did it make you nervous?

Less and less do I like heights.  I will ride a roller coaster, but I won't do a zipline, sky dive, or anything like that.  Oh goodness, I can't remember a literal height I have dealt with in the past year.

3. What's a word you struggle to spell on a regular basis, and sometimes need to double check before writing it down? Use the word in a sentence that tells us something about your April calendar. 

Cinnamon.....For some reason I can't ever remember if it has 2 n's or 2 m's.  

"I made cinnamon sourdough bread this month and hope to make some in April".

4. Love 'em or hate 'em, with Easter comes the sweet treat known as Peeps. So... do you love 'em or hate 'em? Speaking of peeps, what's your favorite way to have chicken? 

I would have to go with hate 'em. I certainly don't love them or would eat them.

I like a good grilled chicken with seasonings.  Chicken salad, chicken spaghetti, and poppy seed chicken are some other favorite ways I like it. I actually made poppy seed chicken last night for dinner.

5. This week's Hodgepodge lands on the first day of April, which happens to be National Poetry Month. Do you like poetry?  Share a favorite line or two from one of your favorite poems. What makes this one a favorite? 

I don't follow typical poetry, but my thought goes to the Psalms in the bible for poetry.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

Planting or hatching (literal or figurative – like planting an idea or hatching a plan)

I would love to have a houseplant for my new apartment!  

I plan on walking outside in my new neighborhood.  It is a very walkable area & I am excited about this.

Cleaning (spring)

I will be cleaning my new apartment next month when I move in and decorate.  I will also clean in the house where I am currently living.  I have a pile of donations to make as I have been getting rid of clothes and a few other random things as I pack up again.

Eating and drinking

I have been eating frozen yogurt, sourdough bread and a lot of Mexican food in the month of March!

Reading and watching

Age of Attraction

 Virgin River

Kelly and Mark

When Calls the Heart

Bachelor Mansion Remodeling Show on HGTV

Loving

Spring weather

Texts/phone calls from my daughters

Baseball season

Shopping for my new apartment - I have bought oh many new things for my apartment, but the biggest purchase I have made is a new sofa!  I am very excited about this.  It did seem weird/sad to go do this by myself thought.  It also felt very independent too and I am definitely an independent woman.

Any time with my greats

Hope you have a great day & thanks for reading!