Chelsey, our little gray cat, that came and stole our hearts before becoming our supervisor left us on Monday.
Goodbye, sweet cat. Until we meet again.
So much I could write but I don’t have the emotional capacity right now.
Heartbreaking Week
Rough One Last Week
Last week was rough. Before I continue, I just want to say it was rough here but compared to other parts of our country and the world, I do know this is all small stuff. Still it is the day to day here. And with that said, here’s a look at my photos from last week with a bit more background as needed. 
I’m starting with my winter branches against the sky from last Sunday. Last Saturday’s photo was an evening sky and I can’t get it to transfer over and am not in the mood to fight the computer right now. I was trying to get a winter robin but they weren’t cooperating.
Monday and Tuesday
I snapped this photo of the moon in the morning on Monday before the week got so crazy.
And sometimes it’s hard working and thinking of what to photograph so I simply shared a photo from the fridge on Tuesday:
Wednesday
I shared this photo on Wednesday of our sweet little gray cat curled up in the chair: 
However, the first photo I took of her was this one: 
She is not doing well lately and my heart is breaking just a tiny bit more each day. Yesterday was really hard as we could see she was having trouble moving, getting tired walking just to her food bowl and such. So, we’ve moved things closer to make it easier for her. She’s still eating, drinking, wanting to be with us so I know it’s not quite time but it’s getting near.
Thursday
This day started out with great promise:
Look at that sky!
However, it went downhill quickly as a work situation escalated and one of my dear friends at work is no longer working there as they let her go. She was the reason I wanted to be in the classroom full-time, tried to keep the peace, etc. SIGH. Can’t comment much but if you can believe it the tipping point was over a Valentine’s Day party planning process?!
A church facebook post had a little quiz (?) thing where you paused for your verse later that night and here’s what I got:
Going to need to do that. And work on the whole trust thing (whole sermon yesterday was on trusting God…oh boy, did I need that).
Friday:
As you might imagine, Friday was a bit of a stressful, chaotic workday where I ended up having a meeting with my boss that was almost 2 hours long. I wasn’t in trouble, she was just letting me know about everything. The other 2 teachers were told on Thursday but I had to wait until Friday as she ran out of time to talk to me plus I’m fairly busy at the end of the day. Of course, I kind of knew what was happening by that point but clarity is always nice. And I was able to make my 2 requests for moving forward (I want absolutely nothing to do with the class pets, lol, and requested slightly different hours. We’ll see.) That night I mainly wanted to just curl up under my blanket. 
It also spit snow very briefly on Friday. Not enough to be pretty or anything though. 
It’s been a year has it not? Wait, what we’re only halfway through January? 
And Saturday, I took a pic of my prayer plant just to finish out last week:
(thought it was a goner but it’s maybe going to come back)
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So between phone calls and worrying about the cat, I didn’t have a lot of time to visit blogland last week.
(I have very sweet coworker friends who called me to check in a lot this weekend. Actually my friend who was let go had a few of them over and called me Thursday night on speaker phone to make sure *I* was okay. So kind. She’s okay and relieved to be out of a very stressful environment herself.)
So glad it was a long weekend to relax and mostly watch football. Today, I’ve been doing laundry and re-organizing the pantry. Weather’s not been super cooperative for outdoor time.
Hopefully, I’ll have something a bit less chaotic to share after this week. Now, I really do need to go finish up the pantry, almost done.
Weird First Week of January
Here are my everyday photos from this past week. It was a bit exhausting and weird. Also, I’m hoping the photos get a bit more interesting as the days get longer and we get closer to spring or at least have maybe some real winter weather. I’ve decided to also share some extra photos each week as I only post one each day on Instagram. I don’t have too many extras this week so don’t get too excited. 
Sunday and Monday
I took a picture of the tv on Sunday, clearly before the Chiefs lost but I knew they were likely not winning. Seems strange to not be cheering them on in a Superbowl run this January. It’s been a minute since we weren’t in the playoffs. Maybe next year.
Monday, I took a picture of the very strange looking pinkish sky. This is the photo I edited for Instagram and the photo at the top of my post is what my phone did to the sky. Neither photo gets the sky quite right. It was just very surreal looking outside.
Also, took this one as a reminder to myself: 
Tuesday and Wednesday
You know I love my spring/summer weather and we’ve been having some! 
It was 61 degrees outside at 2pm on Wednesday. We’ve been running around in t-shirts and no coats. It’s nice and yet, I admit to missing winter a bit. The weird sad thing on this day, I hit a hawk with my car. It was in the medium of the highway and I was going wow, look at that as it randomly took flight and clipped my right bumper. I really hope it was okay. It did go back down into a wooded area.
Wednesday was just a basic back to the routine of working, bit of buyer’s remorse on taking the full-time job this week, that day. Took a picture of the pineapple I had after dinner.
Lots of sickness floating around in our area, one teacher in our classroom is getting over the flu. Few kids out, the news covering the large number of flu cases at the local hospitals. So, I’m taking my vitamins and trying to double down on the fruits and veggies.
Also, tried getting a sunset picture on Wednesday, however, as you can see, it wasn’t great. We just aren’t at a good location to get proper sunset photos. 
Thursday and Friday
Thursday was still warm but rainy almost all day until early afternoon. This random cat from the neighborhood was hanging out on the front porch when I returned home. 
I didn’t recall seeing it but my husband said he visited often leaving his mark around our home (ugh). Our little gray cat is hanging in there though has slowed down so much. She mainly sleeps in my husband’s recliner but always perks up to see who has food and will sometimes go to the door to sniff the air or step on the porch a minute if the weather is nice enough. She usually doesn’t stay out there very long.
On Friday, I simply shared another photo of my sock monkey mug. This is where my husband would like to remind you that they are NOT mine but rather his that I wouldn’t let him trade away. Ha!
These mugs just make me smile and are such a fun way to start the day with my morning coffee. Of course, today they were both in the dishwasher so it was a plain boring cup this Saturday!
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Next week I’ll start with today’s photo since I’m posting this somewhat early this morning. Not sure what today’s plans might be….either cleaning house or trying to get out of the house. Maybe both. Trying to talk the husband into going to the nature area about an hour north of here to see the bald eagles. Need to treat houseplants for fungus gnats, SIGH. Watching the playoff football games on tv. Laundry. Usual weekend chores.
How was your week? What are you doing this weekend?
Elvis Birthday and Quote
This isn’t really an official post with photos but just a quote that was on my Farmer’s Almanac daily email. I really liked it and thought I’d share it here.
They shared an Elvis Presley quote as today is his birthday. So, I’m just sharing the quote with all of you:
Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t going away.
(Elvis Presley 1935-77)
(Old photo from January 2022)
Photos This Week
I’ll have to think of a better title later. Hopefully, this idea will be more exciting next week when I have a full week worth of photos but I wanted to get into the habit.
So, one of my list items was to take a photo every day in 2026 and post it somewhere probably Instagram. Then, I thought maybe I’d do a weekly post here each Saturday of all the photos and when I have the energy, a bit more explanation.
Photos This Week:
First we have a snowman decoration, it lights up and changes color. An unexpected early Christmas present from a friend. I took this photo randomly last night after realizing my plans to capture the first full moon of the year wouldn’t work on a cloudy day/night. 
We did see the moon tonight and it was amazing but we were on the highway so I didn’t even bother trying to get a photo.
Tonight’s photos are a bit more Christmas. We had a white elephant gift/housewarming party to attend at a friend’s new home.
One of our gifts we took: 
Inside this bag is a mini tabletop pool table with all the parts. And a couple of small tabletop games. It pleased the recipient and that made me happy. Not pictured, the other gift we took was a small peppermint dip bowl with a little spoon. I also put some Twisted Peppermint soap from Bath & Body Works in there along with some candy canes taped together to make hearts. Someone traded another gift for it and so they were also happy.
The gifts we received: 
I traded away a 500 piece Christmas puzzle for the Art Game (I’m not a puzzle person and thought maybe I could do something with the art game parts for my work). And I was thrilled with my husband’s gift of the sock monkey coffee cups with the cocoa inside. I wouldn’t let him trade them away! One of my list items was also to treat myself to a new coffee cup each month. So I’m counting this one as a list item completed for January!
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Not sure how detailed this post is going to be next week. Honestly, I already have Sunday night anxiety even though it’s still Saturday night. It’ll be fine, just struggling to wrap my head around going back to work on Monday. I miss the kids but I’m just not quite ready for it all. I’m also already preemptively missing my quiet at home, everyone else is at work after the holidays time. However, I chose this and I know I’ll be fine and happy once I get there. 
Anyone else not quite ready to get back to the routine next week? Also, on a lighter note, do you consider a snowman decoration to be Christmas or not?
Happy New Year!
Happy 2026! Praying it’s the beginning of a kinder, gentler, more peaceful year for all of us.
We had a great end to a not the best year. My practical husband made me spend the last day of 2025 getting new tires (much needed) on my car. A bit annoying but that’s part of why I love him because he thinks of that kind of stuff. Up to me? I’d be thinking about new tires when they were falling off the car.
Also, saw a fun joke later that said: Always get new tires on New Year’s Eve so you can be sure to have a Good Year. Ha, such a bad joke. However, fitting for me this time. (For anyone who doesn’t know, Goodyear is a brand of tires)
Then, we rang in the new year with friends eating good food and playing games. This Stinky pig game I gave my husband for Christmas was a big hit. Just silly and fun.
Yesterday, I didn’t do much to start off the year. Made a little mini brunch from leftovers for 3 of us (G slept in quite a bit) and then, simply read my book and rested.
Just what I needed. Everyone is Lying to You by Jo Piazza is the best book I’ve read all year! (haha). It was really good though, a bit of a thriller about a murder revolving around influencers and social media but it also had a good friendship type story.
And now for the 2 traditional items I post around the beginning of each year…
My Word of the Year
I probably won’t be posting as much this year (see full-time work hours) but I doubt I’d be posting too much about my word of the year anyway. It’s a bit more personal this year but I still wanted to share it. I know I like seeing what words everyone who does this picks. So I’ll share mine. I considered many: rest, gentle, relax, pause, pray, trust. Got some answer so stupid I don’t even remember it on a buzzfeed quiz. The surrender answer (again!) on the Dayspring quiz. However this is the word that settled on my heart:
Pray
Trust is definitely the companion to my word of the year as well. So, it just means I plan to talk to God a lot more this year and leave things in his hands. Also, not just pray for wants/needs but I also plan to offer up more prayers of gratitude.
Hopefully, I’ll do better than I did with last year’s word of notice. I “noticed” I didn’t do a very good job at it past oh I don’t know January. SIGH. Again, where did last year go? Note: In no way whatsoever, do I want another 2025.
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Moving on…I’m also making a basic 26 things for 2026 list. Did I do many of the 25 things from last time? Uh, no. I did do a fun hot chocolate challenge though! Still, I enjoy making these lists if nothing else and who knows maybe someone reading can be inspired and will do something I ultimately skip over.
My List of 26 for 2026
The no thrills just a straight up list edition. I am going to throw in some eye-break photos from last year though. And some of these are going to be vague, sorry, I know it’s going to bug you detail-oriented types out there!
- Take one photo every day and post somewhere (probably Instagram though my big plan is to try and post all the photos for the week here each Saturday. The brunch photos above were my photos from yesterday)
- Go on one walk a week
- Take one box a week/maybe a month? to the donation center. Basically, declutter!
- Frame the calendar cross-stitch months my late mother-in-law made (found these in my father-in-law’s things. I’ll share them at some point)
- Organize the holiday tubs (in progress)
- Subscribe to 3-4 magazines that I want to read and enjoy (physical subscriptions, not digital!)
- Plant more green beans and black-eyed peas in the garden.
- Date with husband once a month (better share this one again, we didn’t do great last year but I can’t remember if I shared it with him, LOL!)
- Continue to strive to set an example of peace and kindness over hate and anger.
- Improve our home decor (I know that sounds shallow and materialistic but I lived with a lot of half-finished spaces for a long time and I miss completed spaces)
- Step back and let others step up (This is going to be so hard to do!)
- Clean out my email AND hit unsubscribe as I do so
- Read a book a week (this should be easy for me as I read every night before bed)
- Give myself permission to NOT finish crappy books/tv shows/movies
- Treat myself to a fun new seasonal coffee cup each month (hubands gonna love this one, ha!)
- Get another facial (I did this for the first time last year as part of our mom’s night out fun at a local beauty school and it was so relaxing…)
- Actually, use my gift cards! And maybe for myself? Are you a gift card collector as well or is it just me? Oh, I’ll just pay normal this time instead of digging out the gift cards that you know are somewhere in your purse/wallet? I need to see what I have…mostly Target ones, I think.
- Organize our hall/linen closet. It’s sooo bad right now.
- Do something brave
- Pick a new restaurant to check out once a month (hopefully, we can do this as a family)
- Set up laptop my son gave me (It involves finding many of my passwords that connect automatically on the desktop so I keep putting it off)
- Learn to use the laminator I got for my birthday
- Organize my bill payment system a bit better
- Don’t replace feelings with being busy (something I was getting better at and then, this year, a setback…reference working full-time hours)
- Get my passport (Something I probably should’ve done a long time ago)
- Try a new drink off my Pinterest “drinks” board each month (hot drinks in the winter, most likely, cold drinks in the summer…)
If you’re still reading, thank you! And of course, you know I’m going to ask. Word of the year for you? Did you make a list? Anything fun on it (I might want to trade)?
Hello and Happy Holidaze!
Pretty sure we’re in the holidaze portion of the season, right?
Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday or is still enjoying a wonderful holiday season!
Ours was nice. I worked Monday and Tuesday (more on my work to follow) and really most of December so things were a bit chaotic but like always “Christmas came just the same.” While J didn’t play in the band this year (the church had a bigger choir and the contemporary band this time), we all still went to the candlelight Christmas Eve service which I loved.
Christmas morning, we had my husband’s brother over for breakfast (my sister-in-law had to work at the stadium later so it was just him), followed by opening our family gifts, and then, we went to my brother’s home for Christmas dinner. My brother’s spaghetti dinner did not disappoint! Nor did his homemade limoncello, something new to us. It was a nice day.
Now we’re all off work for this week between Christmas and the new year. And I’m spending some time today to do a little catching up with things.
So if you are wondering….
Where I’ve Been?
Well, I did something a bit crazy around early November. I like to say I lost my mind the week of the time change and full moon (though I did discuss this with my husband a bit). Some of you might remember I spent a good deal of time working full-time in a classroom last spring leading up to pre-k graduation. And of course, I always work full-time hours in the summer.
The classroom I spent a lot of time in during the spring was losing another teacher and I was struggling with the idea of those kids going through yet another teacher/change. Now, you’ll need to refer to the lost my mind sentence above. Yes, I agreed to be in there full-time through the end of the year. No longer am I subbing but rather I’m a full-time teacher. My parameter was through the end of the year and then, we’ll re-evaluate.
Fun fact: husband thought I meant end of the year-2025 while I meant end of the year-school year. SIGH. This is because I told him he had to talk me out of it if I ever had any crazy ideas about doing just what I’ve done. Ha!
Time Management Skills
I have none. Well, not true. I can manage time at work. However, at home? Not so much. Thus, the complete silence around here.
Though some of the silence came from a bit of emotional upheaval/sad news from this fall as well. First, our lovely little gray cat, while still with us, has taken a turn and it not doing so well. Out of the blue back in September, the vet informed me she had a mass on on her abdomen but without doing further invasive tests no way to know if it was cancer or not. When the vet didn’t offer any referrals, I kind of knew. He said it could be a month or a year. As I said, she’s still here though not quite as bossy as she used to be.
Then, in October, we lost my father-in-law. Unexpected in a sense but not completely as he was 85 & not in great health. Mostly, I need to say here that family is complicated (most his children were not on speaking terms with him at the time of his passing) and keeping the peace (waves at you all) between two families (his wife and her daughter & my in-laws) is exhausting!
Final Thoughts
And now, my time is apparently up as my husband is wanting to play his video games (I can’t concentrate while he’s doing that).
Regardless of how much I post, the blog’s going to be here in blogland for another year at least. Really, I do want to do better with this. My blog came up for hosting renewal in November and I almost let it go. However, I just couldn’t do it. I still do miss this (and anyone still reading!).
What’s Happening This Wednesday
Just a quick little post before I go work a short afternoon here in a bit.
The sky yesterday:
Every day, there’s a chance for rain and then, a few sprinkles or more commonly NONE. Ugh. We need some rain! (Just not on Friday as the preschool kids have an outdoor event that night). Oh, and can’t believe I’m saying this one but cooler might be nice as well. Still in the 90’s in these parts.
This little guy was being pretty resourceful, getting his drink after I watered my herbs: 
This doesn’t bother me. Now, if he’d just stay out of the birdseed!
Finally, what’s happening today besides my work? Nothing really. And I’m okay with that. I made a loaf of banana bread this morning.
I’m re-washing the clothes I forgot yesterday (ugh) but that’s okay because I threw the coffee stained shirt from this morning into the batch. On top of spilling coffee on my shirt this morning, I also dropped the hose while watering the garden and it fell backwards getting me fairly wet. Wet enough I had to completely change clothes and put my shoes in front of the fan to dry. Interesting start to the day.
Threw a roast in the crockpot for dinner later.
My purple asters from last year are returning and starting to bloom again. 
By the way, did you know there are now 99 days until Christmas? Mrs. Claus does have a few stocking stuffers stashed but really needs to get on it, I guess.
Well, time to finish this and go back to paying a few bills and finishing up an online training class. What’s happening for you on this Wednesday?
September
I’m still here. End of July, beginning of August is simply a blur to me now. My husband and I did manage to take a much too short getaway to Omaha for our wedding Anniversary at the end of August. We did nothing for Labor Day (which was nice).
And last week, I managed a walk at the local nature center. So to show I’m still here….a few phone photos of the butterflies I spotted.
This last one is not the best photo but this poor butterfly was just trying to hang on (or take off) in a pretty good wind. I could relate.
Chickens, Tiny Flowers, and Dinosaurs
A bit late with my Saturday post of simple joys but wanted to do one. Been a bit of a busy week so I’m going to keep it shorter.
Chickens
One day last week at work, the kids made paper plate chickens. I loved all the unique personalities of each one. 
(The one with all orange is mine. Made it at home the night before and only had orange construction paper. Not even sure why I had that.)
Tiny Flowers
The asparagus fern is happy again and showing it with tiny little white flowers. 
I bring them in each winter and they struggle so much but then, outside in the summer, they are happy again. Also, not exactly flowers as tiny as on the asparagus fern, but the brown-eyed Susan flowers are as tall as me and blooming again.
(I love my garden and flowers some theme of flowers or plants probably going to be mentioned every week.)
Dinosaurs!
We went to see this today and I enjoyed it. Had some nice throwbacks to the original film without pandering. Definitely a lot less silly than Dominion.
Kind of went back to the scary roots of the franchise. Wouldn’t have minded seeing it in 3D.
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What simple things brought you joy this week?