HHM and Hello Monday!

   

Happy Monday Friends!!!

Today is one of my favorite linkups!  I like to linkup here both with Happy Homemaker Monday with Sandra and with Hello Monday with Holly!    These parties are such a great way to start a new week, and they are probably my favorite parties that I join during the week!

   Last week was basically everything I didn't want the week to be lol.  It was a crazy busy week for us, and I've really tried so hard to pull away from that.  I feel terrible sometimes, like I'm saying 'no' all the time- but at the same time I know that its something I need to do and learn to not feel guilty about.  I know that I need to create a better margin in my life, and I don't want to feel so stressed and 'busy' anymore.  Unfortunately, that means saying no a lot.  The important things are my marriage and my family, and honestly everything else has to fall into its place behind all of those! I'm powering through, and learning that my health is important.  I feel like there's a lot of people in my life that equate being busy to being successful, but Stephen and I are learning that's simply not true.

   I'm trying to learn to just slow down and relax too.  To spend time doing things I want to do. I remember reading blogs and thinking- how in the world do people even find time to read?  They just make time.  I have spent so many years with a dysregulated nervous system and I'm determined to fix that!  Unfortunately that means living extremely different than most people that we are around.  But I'm learning!  

   Last week was catching up and getting back into normal routines, so naturally it was busier than I wanted it to be.  But we had a basically good school week- I start with the minimal things that don't take as much time and add in the extras and fun things this week.  We don't have as many obligations at church this week, so that will help a little as well.  I was busy all weekend so I didn't get around to meal planning, but I know now to protect my weekends a little better as well.  It's a learning curve, and I'm working on it.  

   I also was successful at getting up earlier for an entire week!  I know that a lot of you are early risers and that's not all that impressive- but for me it's a huge win!  I haven't incorporated much into my morning routine besides just getting up and getting going, but that's going to change this week, I'm determined to fix my mornings!  

   So lets jump into our questions for HHM, thank you all for being here!  Thank you to all of my new followers and I have tried to follow back but hopefully this week will bring more time for blogging and visiting blogger friends!  I want to be a good blogger friend this year as well!   Have a great week!  And again, its so good to back in this community!

Currently in January

 

 I'm excited to be Linking up with Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa for Currently in January!

Currently I am...

Loving...

  I'm really loving some quiet time and getting back into a routine!  As much as I really love the holidays, they do tend to make me exhausted!  We had a lot going on the last three months of last year, and since my daughter has started school we have slowed waaaay down with making plans.  Last night was our first church council meeting so now I can start planning vacations and time away.  Honestly though, we are not doing a lot this year and I'm for it!  We need some time to settle and rest!

   I'm also loving my new Roomba 105 that my sweet hubby got me for Christmas!!!  I have had two others before this one, and I'm finally completely happy with everything that this one has to offer!  I've never had one with mapping before, and to have it stay away from those "keep out" zones is priceless.  No more getting stuck under the couch and the treadmill!  YAY!  lol.  It also has perfect automations, it starts at 7am and is done around 8:30, then in the evening it does a quick pickup in the kitchen, livingroom and dining room.  I'm always shocked at how much she picks up!  Her name is Rosie, affectionately after the robot owned by the Jetsons.  It does have a mopping function on it, but I have had a bravva jet mop (Jarvis) for a couple of years now so I don't use the mop.  I'm VERY happy with the roomba though!

   I'm also really loving studying about neuroplasticity!  My new books for new years have been great, the Get Out of Your Head book by Jennie Allen has been great!  I haven't had a ton of reading time, but I just realized that's a prompt in itself so I'll move on from that!

   I'm also loving all the family time.  We had a graduation party for my girl on the 2nd and a ton of our family members showed up!  We dont live close to any of them, so its always wonderful when we get to spend time together

I'm also loving my ice cream maker that goes with my kitchen aid!

And just spending quiet days at home...  I love days when we can let the chickens out 

and just hang out with them!

Resolving...

  I have lots of resolutions lol!  My resolutions post is here if you're interested in reading!   my biggest resolution is to improve my thought life and make the health of myself and my family a priority.  

Planning...

   I'm planning out our calendar year.  Our daughter is in college now so our family plans are limited to her schedule.  That means a lot more days at home, which I'm okay with.  This year is my 20th wedding anniversary, so I want to plan something really fun for that.  Also, I'm the VBS director at church and in January I usually order my kit and get the ball rolling at least!  

Eating and Drinking...

   We have been doing a lot of soups and comfort foods.  I need to get back into healthy habits after being so scattered over the holidays!  That's my goal!  Meal planning is the key, if its planned out I won't order takeout or go out to eat as much, and everytime we go out we don't make the healthiest choices lol.

Writing/Reading...

   I've been writing tons of blogs!  My reading list is: 

Jennie Allen: Get out of Your Head,
Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked

An Amish Christmas: December in Lancaster County

I didn't finish the Amish Christmas book over the holiday season but its still winter so I'm going to finish it up!  I didn't read much over the holidays, so I've got to get back into the habit!

I'm excited to join you all for the first Currently of the year!  And now with a new host!  I love this linkup and I'm looking forward to visiting all of you this week!

*Amazon links are affiliate!

Wednesday Hodge Podge

   Hi friends!  I was excited to find this linky party last week, and I am excited to visit today!  Each Wednesday, Joyce  at From this side of the pond shares a Wednesday Hodgepodge!  It's so fun to answer her questions and meet new friends!  This is her first party for 2026, and I'm really looking forward to hearing all of your responses!  So here we go!

Happy Homemaker/Hello Monday!

                                       

   Hello friends!  It's so good to be joining all of you today!  It's hard to believe its an all new year!  I LOVE the idea of starting with a new year, a blank slate and a chance to start again!  I've done great with some of my resolutions, and others need work- and since we were out of town this past weekend I haven't gotten a chance to type up my resolutions post.  Today is the day for that, as well as undecorating the remainder of our Christmas decorations.  As much as I LOVE the holiday season, I'm ready to see the decorations back in the box.  I think that's the only time of year I have up a lot of decor, and its fun but as I said, I'm ready for it lol.  

   We had a great New Years eve, my kiddos were still in the mountains so I enjoyed a lazy evening watching a movie with my best friend (my husband) we actually went out to order pizza from Pizza Inn, and since it was New Years and just the two of us, I enjoyed one pizza and two pizzerts lol (dessert pizzas!) we def didn't eat it all but it was a fun way to ring in a new year, and of course we were facetiming our kids when the ball dropped.  The next day we headed to the mountains to spend time with family and celebrate my daughter's high school graduation!  She had an amazing party!  It was a great visit!  Now I'm ready to settle back in and find our routine!

   So today I'll be joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at home Mom as well as Holly at Pink Lady for our Monday catchup posts!  We aren't starting school until Tuesday so I will be able to visit some of your blogs today and I'm super excited to catch up!  If you're into resolution posts stick around and I'll have that up today, and if you made some resolutions yourself leave me your blog in my comments, I would love to follow and encourage one another!

Hodgepodge: 2025 Recap and Resolutions!

                                                 

Hi there friends!  Joyce stopped by my blog on Monday and told me about her Hodgepodge linkups on Wednesdays!  I've joined this before, and when I saw you were linking up about resolutions I thought I would LOVE to jump in, meet some new folks and join with the Hodgepodge, so visit with Joyce at From This Side of the Pond and join the fun!

Happy Homemaker Monday: Goodbye December

                                              


I'm back... again!
Where do I even start?
I have all of these long thought-out blog posts in my head about how I return to the blog world, how I explain where I've been and all of the amazing things that God has done in my heart and in my life over the last year of my life, but mainly over the last month during my time away; but I decided to start again with a Happy Homemaker Monday/Hello Monday post instead. What was I thinking? LOL.
Actually I know exactly what I was thinking. I was thinking that you ladies are the folks that I have linked up with for a long time now. If anyone knows my inner struggles with blogging, its you ladies. You have seen me come and go, never judging me. You have never asked why I linked up a few days ago then deleted my blog. You have never written me off and decided I'm just going to disappear so I'm not worth following. Nope. You've still stopped by my blog, read and commented. Some of you have even followed me, then re-followed when I posted a new blog. You never made me feel like something was wrong with me, which was absolutely the lie I was believing that made me act so strange. You just hung in there with me, visited me when I was here, and made me feel like I had never had a moment of crazy when I deleted my blog and had to restart. You ladies got me through, and I appreciate that, so instead of starting with my long explanation (which is coming, because the work God did in my heart is good, and I can't wait to share!) I decided to come back and start here, with you ladies on this quiet last Monday in December.
So I am back, and I'm starting again with a new blog because at this point I have no idea where any of my old ones may be stored. I got a new computer for Christmas because I have the best husband in the world- and I'm thankful. I'm thankful that God changed my mind and gave me truth. I'm thankful that I can write this blog without apprehension- and I'm thankful for any of you who are reading, especially if you've ever read before. Thanks for hanging in there. I have some really exciting things to share on my blog. I am past my writers block, I am healed of so many things, and I'm so ready to jump in and start sharing my heart! So for today I say thank you, and I can't wait to re-follow all of you who I was following before I - again- deleted my entire blogger account. It's a pain, but I'm thankful, because every step and every pain brought me to this place of peace that I feel today, so I wouldn't change a thing!
December is almost over and January is just around the corner! I have started to slowly take down our Christmas decorations, but I'm not sad at all because the season was so wonderful I believe we squeezed every bit of Christmas out of it! We are ready for a new season, and we are excited about all of the new things beginning in our lives. Since I've written a very long introduction, I'll save updates for next post. So for today, its sooo very good to be visiting with all of you lovely ladies today! I have so much to share its spilling over, so I had better move on with HHM now!

  Today I'm joining Sanrda for Happy Homemaker Monday and Holly and Sarah with Hello Monday!