Hello Monday - first Monday of October 2026

 

We still have some beautiful outdoor flowers to already be into the 4th quarter of the year!! I replaced some begonias that didn't flourish in my garage urn with this array from Costco - I gave the mums and another random flower that came with the assortment to my mother-in-law down the street. Win-win! The flowers by the mailbox are so interesting (they are vincas) - last year, about mid-summer, I almost pulled some "weeds" that had popped up. Tom thought maybe they weren't weeds and we let them go - they ended up being vincas, which we sometimes plant up by the house. It was a nice surprise - just figured birds had brought seeds over and they flourished. The same thing happened this year!! After the daisies and black-eyed susans that I usually have down there had been cut back, these puppies revived. I do nothing to encourage or help them grow - there are some at the front of the house too:

Can you see them growing on either side of our steps? Crazy. But really nice. I took this picture and asked AI how I should decorate for fall and this is the image it spit back to me: 

Completely do-able, right? It even explained what it put there and why. AND left those summer flowers there too - ha! I don't know that I'll actually spend the money on that this year since we have a lot going on and I'm jobless right now but I like the idea it gave :)

Week 3 of full-time house-wife was another busy one!

Monday morning I had a long final-ish interview marathon at a local financial firm. I met with two people every 30 minutes for 2 hours. Everyone was very nice and it was good to learn about the people that work there and the culture they have and want to protect. I left there to meet a friend from two jobs ago for lunch. I worked with her on HR projects there and after hearing everything about the interview and company she said, "I don't think this is the place for you". I was sort of leaning that way but hadn't had a BAD experience either. I met with a managing partner later that afternoon - really liked him - but, ultimately, by Thursday decided that my friend was right, although the recruiter I was working with said they wanted me, I just didn't think it was a place *I* would thrive in so Tom supported my decision to say, "thanks for the time and sharing so much about what you do and who you are but I'm going to withdraw my candidacy". There were actually two things that confirmed that decision for me by the weekend so I'm at peace about it.

Tuesday I took my mother-in-law for her 6-week post-op appointment and I caught up on things around the house. I had a BIG interview scheduled for Wednesday that I had to put a presentation together for so that took a lot of my time also. Radar is also enjoying a few mornings this week at the dog park - 

Do you see him out there in his glow collar? I will continue to do this until it dips into the 50's - that's pretty cold for me. . .but right now these sixty degree mornings and eighty degree days are terrific!

Wednesday I went to an on-site interview that I had originally turned down when the bank offered me the new job in a different department. . .and then when the position was eliminated I e-mailed the recruiter for this company and asked if they were still interviewing - they were/are and three weeks later I was able to go in and meet the hiring manager and someone from HR. I think it went well, but it's a competitive position so we'll see. Nothing else is in the pipeline right now. . .the Lord's hand is in it all - unlike 2017 when I left a job and was desperate to find something else. . .this time I'm trying to be a bit strategic and look at the long game. A couple hours before my interview a friend asked me to sub in her tennis afternoon blocktime - so I had that and then my regular Wednesday evening pickleball - my kind of day all the way around!

Thursday, the first day of October, and by now we know that Laura is moving to New York City on Monday. It happened so fast!! She and I hosted another missionary friend of hers for brunch (it is a married couple - they are in the States to raise money to go back overseas) and it was so beautiful we got to eat outside!! 

And then we went to the grocery and got stuff for dinner too - 

We only did chicken - it was just Tom, Laura, and myself. Another ChatGPT thing that I put together back in January and have referred to many times since then. Tom puts everything on the blackstone and I generally air fry some spring rolls for the non-GF people eating with us. Laura had requested a movie to watch together - The Sheep Detectives. It was so cute - highly recommend! It's one of those movies that, as soon as it's over, you kind of want to watch it again because it's so clever. And it's very family-friendly.

My friend, Susan, has a podcast called Grove: Beyond the Couch. She and her business partner have been hosting this every-other-week for almost two years - last week she had my good friend Heidi Clopton and her husband, Dr. Jason Clopton on as their guests. You can listen to it here. Our family credits the Cloptons with helping us when one of our children was younger - teachers wanted to medicate, we wanted to try {everything} we could first and their therapy and diet suggestions changed everything for us. As a former teacher, I feel there is so much that parents can do to help their kids who have hyper-active tendencies that would help them get through life a little easier. Eye therapy was a new concept to us and this worked wonders for our child - I wish everyone had the opportunity to consult with the Cloptons! They are passionate about their community, the work they do, and the population they serve.

I also listened to Mel Robbin's podcast where she interviewed one of my favorite authors, John Grisham! It was a great show (I watched it on YouTube) and I'm already on Part Two of his latest book, The French Illusion, which was released this week.

Friday Laura and I took Nana to pickleball! 

Gosh, it was so good to be outside with them and look at Nana - 6 weeks post-op and she was playing GREAT! And then my sister sent me a picture of her and my dad Saturday - they were out playing together also :)

I hope I'm running around like them in my 80's too!!

Friday night was so.much.fun - I can't believe I don't have a picture of my friend Heidi (referenced above) and me - she has started a non-profit in Cookeville, TN called The Dream Cooperative. She was doing a fundraiser that Tom and I went to - we met up with Robert

and some of our traveling friends!!

We all went to Italy together two years ago. 

It was a dueling piano show at a local winery - they were SO GOOD. 

Tom and I drove in early and had dinner in town then drove out there - we were a bit early and Heidi needed help getting the silent auction stuff set up so I hopped in to do that while Tom went to find people he knew to chat with. ChatGPT to the rescue again! I would take a picture of the item, then it would give me a description and value for me to list :)

Isn't this remarkable?!? I would NEVER have been able to help her with the items that didn't come in with a description or value.  

Isn't this cool??? This is how it started (there were a few other items I wasn't certain about) and then I just started taking pictures and it gave me a title and approximate value, starting bid, etc.  

They had this neat 360 photo experience thing also - it was a lot of fun!!

We didn't get home until almost 1 a.m. so I didn't play pickleball Saturday morning. We had another big Tennessee game (Auburn) and invited whomever could come for dinner to say good-bye to Laura. I made some chili :)

Both sets of grandparents (one by blood, one by love) gave her a card with some "starting off" funds and I found a StreetSmart map of New York City that I'm hoping will be helpful to anyone visiting her!

We are all going to miss her so much!!

Sunday morning she and Tom were OFF - we went to church with her and the congregation prayed over her then we came home, they changed, she put one.last.thing in the truck 

and they were off! 
I peeked into her bedroom later in the afternoon - it has never been this empty - even for college or her two years at Austin Peay. This is where she wants to go/wants to be. I'm so proud of her and the work she is doing with Chi Alpha! Here is her link if you are interested in learning more :)

I spent my afternoon catching up on blog reading, scrolling Instagram (I'm "football'd out right now), took Radar to the dog park, and went to get my toes done. I stopped into Walmart because Amy had mentioned an iced coffee protein drink on her blog last week so I messaged her about it - I needed some of that espresso powder.

When I got home it was probably a little too late to have caffeine but wanted to try it. . .

Delish!!! I put the powder and water into my frother, poured it over ice, added the fairlife, then spooned the foam on top. I'm not sorry I tried it, although a 4:45 a.m. alarm is going to be EARLY for me in the morning!!

I got the dogs out, Stephen came over to check in and we took Radar out again then played a few rounds of backgammon. I just checked Tom's location and it looks like, after 12 hours, they have made it to NYC! I head out in the morning to join them (I get to fly though - ha!) and we'll spend some time with her and her team before flying back Wednesday. This will the first time either of us has been to NYC - really excited for all of it!!

I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah today to share our weekends (or, in my case, my week - ha!) - please head over to see what others are up to in blogland or join in if you want :) If you want to read about one of the coolest events I've ever read about and Holly leads - click here. What she has helped to bring to her community is nothing short of inspiring.

Happy Monday,

Love,
Jenni