Friday Thoughts: Life Lately

Summer, Summer, Summer!

We took a family vacation over spring break, so the kids were realistically prepped that this summer would largely consist of work schedules and not vacation schedules. 🙃

Both my teenage boys living at home (16 and 17) are working full-time at different landscaping companies. One is in the shop of his job learning and doing small engine repair and the other is out doing lots of mowing, weed whipping, building retaining walls, etc.

My youngest daughter (13) is living her best life spending a week at grandma’s house and then coming home to make and sell cookie dough to earn money for a tennis racquet she really wants, work on making her first quilt (a really simple design we found on Etsy here), and playing a lot of tennis. Thirteen is a really great age – as her brothers remind her daily. 😉

Brian and the boys are heading up to Alaska to go deep sea fishing with my dad and several cousins and uncles in July, but otherwise, we are here at home base, and I am not mad about that. The garden needs tending, and the kids are bottle feeding a calf that was born to one of our cows on our property – so that’s a daily investment of time.

Mission/Grad Updates

My third son, Cade, graduated high school last month and also received his mission call (for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) to New Zealand Wellington, Tongan speaking. I think we were all a little shocked! My dad served a church mission in Tonga way back in the 70’s and never thought he’d have one of his posterity be able to speak the same language. It’s very exciting (and a lot of work helping with the visa paperwork and gathering clothes and supplies).

My son serving in the Philippines (Manila mission) has been out for almost a year. He is thriving in the midst of very remote living conditions, and we love talking to him on Sunday afternoons (his preparation day is on Monday, but because he is so far ahead of us time-wise, we talk to him on Sundays).

Sidenote: Hands down, all my boys’ favorite ties are these ones (gifted to us originally by my sister-in-law, Mary, and they’ve been my go-to ties in packages and prepping for their missions).

Favorite Things

• these are my favorite jumpsuits for summer: loose, flowy, soooo comfy
• cutest dress: the blue color is stunning! It’s roomy (I’m usually a medium-ish and I have it in small)
• comfy crop denim jacket: this is probably a better item to share for cooler weather, but I love this jacket! It has stretch to it, and it is really soft and comfortable. I have it in the light blue color. The crop isn’t severe – I think the length is perfect for dresses, especially.
• fun bracelet: I’m not a huge jewelry wearer, but I was influenced on Instagram to get this bracelet, and I can attest that the thousands of reviews don’t lie. It’s fantastic, and I always get compliments on it. Sometimes I pair it with this one when I’m really dressing up. 😉
• really great sandals: these shoes are a bit of a splurge, but they live up to the hype (I have them in the natural color) – they are also available on the Born website. I have worn them everywhere from sightseeing in a small mountain town to church to kid’s tennis matches. They are insanely comfortable and so cute dressed up or down!
• hands-free mop and bucket: ok, so kind of a departure from the fun light fashion recs above, but this mop bucket has saved me the last few months. I’ve struggled with hand/wrist pain for months, and wringing out my other mop by hand was killing my fingers and hands. This mop has been a lifesaver for me! I’m still using it even after my hand pain has started to improve.

Quick Note About Work and Blogging

I know things probably look the same on the surface of my website, but there has been a lot going on behind the scenes. Most of it is a little too techy/boring to share here.

However, I greatly appreciate your patience if you notice posts or recipes or formatting looks a little wonky over the next little while. I am working feverishly to get everything in tiptop shape.

In the ever-evolving quest to manage family life and work life and all the life in between, I am at an exciting but also overwhelming point with food blogging. I have a long list of ways to improve my website so that it continues to be a long-lasting resource for tried-and-true recipes. My mission that started me out on this blogging journey almost 18 years ago is still the same: giving you the best recipes of my life and staying true to who I am in the process.

Because my website and business has grown in ways I never could have imagined, it is looking likely that in the very near future, I will be hiring someone to help me with some work-related tasks so that I can continue to focus on what I love the most: creating content, taking photos of food, and posting and writing about those recipes. I am very, very excited for the future and all the recipes and content I have to share with you. 💗

1-Year Anniversary

The amazing launch event for my cookbook was almost exactly one year ago!

I am still overwhelmed with gratitude when I think of the hundreds of you that showed up that night (you can see a snapshot video of the event here) and the thousands of you that have bought cookbooks over the last year. Your messages of how you use and love the cookbook are a treasure, and I read each and every one of them.

Thank you for all of your support; it means so much to me.

Speaking of cookbooks, I just pre-ordered these two cookbooks, and I am so excited to get my hands on them!

• Sally’s new upcoming cookbook
• Amy’s showstopper sourdough cookbook

And that’s a wrap on this Friday Thoughts post! Longer than I anticipated, but I’ve always been a talker, what can I say. 😉

Thanks for being here, friends.

Remember to chime in below with anything and everything on your mind and heart right now! I am here for it. 🤍