Hello Monday ~ Beaching/July 21, 2025

Happy Monday!  

I want to say thank you for the prayers for my Brook this past month.  She was in Beaumont, Texas for the weekend for the funeral services for her dear friend, Joyce, who tragically lost her life on earth in the Texas floods.  Returning back to school this fall will be a hard reality for her, but trusting through prayers and the comfort of other good friends, she will be stronger and hold grief and joy at the same time.

I went to the beach with Jenn to get away and have some time to relax.  It has been a few great days, although with a few tears of reflection and looking forward to the future.  

We started the trip out with some energy drinks. I needed one after a long night Thursday.

A song by Coldplay came on as we were driving.  Oh my...

We stopped 5-6 times, maybe 7, on the way down.  One of the stops included a Sonic drink and I love chewing fun gum on a trip!

We also stopped at a Pie Shop that I heard about on the Big Boo Podcast.  I bought a key lime pie that we shared and it was honestly the best ever.

As we made our way into town, we at a place I had eaten on a trip here in 2021.  The view is great and the food was outstanding.

Asparagus, hushpuppies, grilled shrimp, lobster crab cakes and blackened redfish...yum!

This area is called the Emerald Coast of Florida.

We arrived at the condo, took a walk on the beach and enjoyed relaxing.

Saturday morning, it was great to sleep in then headed to the beach. The weather was wonderful!

This was one of my beach snacks.  This helps balance out all the key lime pie and yogurt/ice cream I ate on this trip!

This is where we had dinner Saturday night.  It was another place along the water.

I did get a salad this night with some excellent grilled chicken.

Random picture, but the bathroom stall had a cup holder!

We went to get frozen yogurt, of course I found a place at the beach!  I actually got 2 cups....one was huckleberry with a little vanilla.  The other one was a mix of chocolate flavors.  I didn't want to mix the two, so I got a little in 2 cups.

We took a walk to the inlet beach from our condo at sunset.  The ray beaming up to heaven reminded me of sweet Joyce, whose funeral was earlier that day.  I sent this picture to Brook.

I am so thankful for the friendship I have with Jenn and for this trip.

We then enjoyed a glass of wine, laughter and sending reels to one another.  It was a great day.

I will recap the rest of the trip this week.

Thanks for reading and have a great Monday!

Hodgepodge ~ July 16, 2025

 Thank you my blog friends for still coming back to read after I have been hit or miss in the blog world over the past 2 weeks.  The Texas floods and how they have affected my family, along with life, just hasn't found me here blogging as much.  I am glad to be back today though with Hodgepodge!

1. What's a characteristic you admire in others? Elaborate. 

Faithfulness.  Dare I elaborate on this one?  Don't cheat. Be faithful.

2. Do you have a favorite mug? Let's see it. Why is this one your favorite? 

These are a few of my favorites....

Marilyn - the meaning of my name

a mug from Colombia

Stuckey Bowl - anyone else watch the TV show, Ed?  It starred Tom Cavanaugh and Julie Bowen and was one of my favorites.

Yankees - I am a NY Yankees fan and this is from their old stadium

3. July 15th is/was National Give Something Away Day...will you (or did you, depending on what day you answer these questions) give something away? If so what? Do you regularly give away or do you tend to  'accumulate'? 

I have been giving a lot away over the past year as I go through things.  Last week, I donated a set of sheets and a mattress topper.  I am trying to give away things if I don't use it so I don't accumulate.  I am learning my kids don't want my stuff for the most part, so no need to save all the stuff I don't use.

4. You're planning a trip. Do you prefer exploring big cities or smaller, more off the grid towns? World Atlas lists these 12 'off the grid' towns to see in 2025. How many on the list have you seen? Of those listed which one would you most like to visit? Tell us why? 

Boothbay Harbor Maine, Middlebury Vermont, New Hope Pennsylvania, Rehoboth Beach Delaware, Brevard North Carolina, Saugatuck Michigan, Medora North Dakota, Ouray Colorado, Lamoille Nevada, Neah Bay Washington, Hood River Oregon, or Cambria California

*You can read more about each destination by clicking the link above. 

Brevard, NC is the only city of these listed I have visited.  I enjoy visiting both the big cities and smaller ones as well.  I would love to explore any of these small towns!

5. Have you ever...ridden a motorcycle? been to a Disney park? met a celebrity? won a contest? Tell us something about whatever you answered yes to on this list. 

I have ridden a motorcyle with 2 different people.  It always makes me a little nervous though and I have never driven one.  Needless to say, I trusted the 2 men that were driving.

I have been to Disney World I think 6 times over the course of my life and Disneyland twice.  I like Disney, but I also enjoy seeing other places in our country.

I have met a celebrity.  Back in my Jr. High/High School days, I met my favorite soap opera actor, Jon Hensley.  He played Holden on As The World Turns.  Anyone else watch that back in the day?  I also met my other favorite soap actress, Lisa Brown.  I have had a few other brief encounters...rode with John Schneider in an elevator, seen a few people on the streets of NYC, met Hoda Kotb, flew on a plane with Alex Trebec, and then of course, met my favorite, Huey Lewis a few times.

I use to win a few things off the radio back in high school, but it seems like a while since I have won anything in an online giveaway.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Sharing this picture from July 4th.  We had no idea what was happening in Texas at this time.  It wasn't until later in the day when we got the call.  Please pray for my Brook this weekend and the family of Joyce Badon.  Brook will be traveling to Beaumont, Texas to celebrate the memory of Joyce's life which was lost in the Texas floods.

Hodgepodge ~ July 9, 2025

 It has been about a week since I have posted much here on the blog.  Real life, laziness and the tragedy in Texas has kept me occupied the past week.  

Before I jump into this week's hodgepodge, thank you all so much for praying for my daughter's friend, Joyce.  As you may have read/seen on the national news and even in People magazine, Joyce was confirmed deceased as of Monday morning.  Joyce was one of my daughter's best friends at college.  There are so many pictures of them together as they were in the same area of study and in the same classes and both upcoming seniors.  They were together all the time and even had a trip already booked for December.  It has been so hard to see my daughter lose someone so close in such a tragic way.  My oldest daughter surprised us and came home Monday night to be with her sister.  That's what you do when grief happens, you show up and sit with someone.  I will never forget Isabella doing that for her sister.  Please continue to pray for the Badon family and those who knew Joyce.  Of course, there are so many other tragic stories from the floods as well.  

1. What's an adult problem nobody prepared you for? 

I think about all the random bills I pay that aren't part of a monthly bill schedule.  I guess I thought about paying for electricity, but didn't think about the car tags, HOA, all the insurances, etc.

2. How tuned in are you to all the recent food related health news? Have you gotten rid of your scratched cookware? Did you pay attention to food additives before they made the news? What's one healthy eating/cooking/food shopping habit you need to adopt? 

Honestly, not too much that it has made a huge difference.  I don't even cook that much, but I did get new cookware in 2017, so it isn't too old.  I always need to drink more water.  Eating less sugar/carbs would be good too, but I won't give up my sourdough...yet!

3. What's getting worse and worse as you get older? How about better and better? 

Have you seen the "I don't care club" taking over the internet with her getting older/menopause things she doesn't care about?  I love watching these.  What gets worse about getting older is the less time we have to live and the health issues.  What gets better is accepting things, lower expectations of people, accepting responsibility and watching your kids become adults!

4. Are you more of an indoor person or an outdoor person? Elaborate. 

Oh, I guess it depends on the weather/season?  I enjoy the outdoors, but don't really want to be too hot or around bugs!  I enjoy the indoors catching up on things, watching tv and cooking.

5. If you had an expert personal assistant today, what would you have them do? 

Fix all the repairs in my home!  I mentioned last week I was going to try my hand at plumbing.  It didn't go well and I need help for several things falling apart at my house :(.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I am not sure if I will be back on the blog this week, so I am going to share a few favorite pictures so far from my week. I will explain them since they probably seem random!

When my oldest surprised us Monday night by driving 5 hours and showing up at our door without us knowing, I was so surprised and happy. I hugged both my girls and just sobbed. The 3 of us and the boyfriend went to dinner and this was just what we needed....time together and laughter. It felt like I had my family. No people pictures were taken, but this table represented so much to me. 

Waking up to seeing both my girls cars in the driveway is always a favorite thing. I was in full momma-ing mode when I took both their girls individually to fill them up with gas.  I was also able to fix Isabella's key fob and this just brought me joy to be able to do something for her.

One of my sweet friends brought us dinner last night.  Along with the food, she brought us some French Butter from Paris!  This is so good as a spread on bread.  I am thankful for so many friends praying for Brook as she is going through another hard loss in her life.  It is so hard to watch our kids hurt.

Thanks for reading today friends.  I will get back to my normal 3-4x weekly blogging soon.

Have a great day & hug your people.

Hello Monday

 Good morning friends.  I thought I would be back to a "normal" post today, but after the weekend tragedies, I can't do it just yet.  

One of the missing young adults in Texas is one of my youngest daughter's best friends. It has been such a hard and sad weekend.  

Please say a prayer for Joyce Badon to be found and for her parents, Kellye and Ty.

Thank you.

Friday Favorites ~ Holiday Break edition

 

Happy 4th of July y'all!

It has been a busy week of work and on the go for me this week.  I apologize I am behind in blog comments and reading this week. I hope to get caught up this weekend, but wanted to at least come and wish you all a happy holiday weekend!

Be safe and enjoy the day with your people!

Lots of love and I will be back next week.

Currently Hodgepodge ~ July 3, 2025

 

1. What does freedom mean to you? 

Freedom means the liberty to worship freely, own things, sell things, travel, speak freely with respect to other people and  still abiding by rules and having boundaries.

2. How will you celebrate Independence Day this year? If you live outside the USA answer this question as it relates to your own country's patriotic holiday, wherever that may land on the calendar. 

I will celebrate with family at my sister's home, who has a pool.  I am sure we will eat together and snack too.  I have no idea what I am bringing yet!

3. This or that...red, white, or blue? Stars or stripes? Watermelon, home made ice cream, or blueberry pie? How do you feel about fireworks?  

White

Stripes

Strawberry pie, if I can add a new choice :)

I am indifferent to fireworks.

4. What have you purchased recently that made you excited? 

I do plan on making an Amazon post soon, but until then, this one purchase that has made me excited.  I have a new purse and wanted some organization within my purse. I ordered these bags and love them!  They have a magnetic closure and keep little things organized.  I have some lipstick in one, makeup and hand sanitzer in one, eyeglass cleaner and some sweetener packets in another one (which I realize makes me sound old, but I don't care).  I love that they are different colors too.

5. I'm thankful to live in America (or fill in whatever country you call home) because____________.

I have lived in another country for a few years and honestly, it does make me thankful to live in America.  I am thankful for our freedoms and conveniences I have.  There are so many simple, little things that make me thankful to live here.  

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I bought these snacks last week at a Trader Joe's and they are so good! If you are not a fan of fried okra, it may not be your thing though.

Now to join in with Jenn for Currently...

loving

I am loving time spent with friends & family.  I am so thankful for each of them, especially during this season which still has a lot of ups and downs for me.

 savoring

I am savoring the time of having Brook at home for the summer.  She has been home one month and I have 2 months left with her.  We often go at different schedules, but it is still nice to have her here at night and in the morning, even if we don't see one another.  

celebrating

I am celebrating the Independence Day holiday Friday with swimming and cooking out with family.

remembering

After seeing some friends from Bogota' last week, I was remembering stories from living in Colombia.  It was funny to think back on some of these!

 trying

I am trying my hand at doing some plumbing repairs this weekend.  These are some things I wish I didn't have to do, but I am thankful I live in an era of You Tube, ha!

Have a great Wednesday!