Friday Favorites (February 20, 2026)

 

Hi Friends and Happy Friday!  We made it- yeah!!  Here are a few faves from our week...

MEMEs

 

 

New Fave Tiktok Account

 

DeJuan In Action

"Aries Queen" and her beloved cat "DeJuan" who is always with his "sophisticated cat gang"..I can't...in hysterics with all of her vidoes- love love her commentary!!

 

 

 

Teacher Appreciation Night

 

Diana honored Mr. Bass on Monday night during the Teacher Appreciation Game.  I blogged about it on Tuesday HERE .  It was such a special night and one of my favorite Senior Traditions!

 

 

 

 

 

 Senior Night!

 

 

 We enjoyed Diana's last Senior Night on Tuesday night.  Wow!  How did we get here?  So cliche I know but seriously how?

 

I blogged about it HERE 

 

Send Help :/ 

 

 

 

 

 A Fun Drink/Meal

 

 

So given that I am a big Tiktok fan, I have been getting great ideas on just about everything.  This drink was suggested by a gal I follow on a similar health journey.  It is a great boost of caffeine AND a big punch of protein with 15g in the shake. It is a total of 165 calories when all is said and done.

 

You mix 1 Alani (preferably strawberry or one of the pink ones) and 1 strawberry protein shake.  I picked up a four pack of Atkins ones.  You mix them together and enjoy over ice.  Delish 

 

You can use any kind of shake you like and you may even find some that have more protein.  LMK if you try and what combinations you come up with.  Always looking for new ideas! 

 

 

Wishing you a wonderful weekend friends!  I am so looking forward to some down time with my girl.  Wishing for a successful, fun, yet restful and safe week in Aruba.  I have some pre-scheduled posts for next week but other than that,  I am out! Peace XO

 

Diana's Last Cheer Senior Night- Basketball Season

  

 

It truly feels like we were just celebrating her Senior Day for Cheer- Football Season.  It has already been almost four months- just crazy to me!  People aren't joking when they say don't blink because Senior Year is over in a flash.  I am truly feeling that!

 

Tuesday Night was so very special.  I was looking forward to it but also dreading it at the same time.  Does that make sense?

 

Excited to celebrate our girl and be honored as a family but so sad that we are getting closer to the end.  We  are excited that Diana will be cheering in college and can't wait to watch her perform but there is so much sadness knowing that high school cheer is winding down.  We may have even experienced our last high school game watching her.  The Jags will most likely make the playoffs but if they get a home game, is still TBD.  If they do then they will cheer.  If the game/games are away, they will not so we shall see!

 

Anyway...I digress...on Tuesday Night, before the basketball game started, we were honored in a special little ceremony.  They announced Diana and our family and her coach said some special words about her.  I was so nervous but did catch that "no one loves the sport of cheer more than Diana- her enthusiasm is contagious and we can't wait to see her cheer in college!"

 

 

The Jags lost unfortunately but we had a blast with our parents and torturing Diana with her Fat Head- ha!

 

 

 

 Oh My Monkey...how did we get here?  XO

 

 

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

Hi Friends!  I am here with Joyce and her fun linkup.  As always, we are answering her very thoughtful questions!  Here we go...

 

 

1. The Hodgepodge lands on Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent. Do you mark this season in some way? Will you be giving something up or adding something to your life in this Lenten season?  

 

 Yes...this marks the start of the Lenten season and my favorite season in church...it is a time for me to repent and sacrifice and start anew.  I am going to mass first thing and getting my ashes.  We won't eat meat tonight or during any Fridays during lent.  I will give up something and also try to do one act of service each week of lent.  We also try to catch one of the Friday night "Stations Of The Cross" events at our church during lent.

 

2. Pancakes...are you a fan? Syrup or no syrup? Plain, blueberries, chocolate chips, bananas, or some other add in? Are pancakes on your menu this week? 

 

 Yes!  With syrup please- just a little.  Blueberry pancakes in the summertime are an absolute fave.  Doesn't happen often.  I probably had some, I would guess, 2-3 years ago maybe?

 

 

3. Tell us about a time recently when you felt 'spread too thin'. 

 

 

 September- Work- Home- Blackout- Cheer Parenting- it was alot!  I look back on that time with fond memories but it was a lot at once!

 

 

 

4. What's your favorite jewel or gemstone? In terms of your wardrobe would we find more gem tones, pastels, black and white, or primary colors? 

 

 My favorite jewel, or maybe it is a gemstone?  It is the pearl- so classy- traditional- elegant and a tad preppy.  You would find mostly pastels and black and white.  They are my jam 

 

5. What responsibility do you think is hardest about being in charge? 

 

 

 Managing multiple schedules- meal planning and cooking on my lunch break or after work and managing the school stuff- I guess the hardest part is managing it all at once right?

 

 

 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

 

 I am looking forward to a spring with lots of outdoor time...long walks on new trails and lots of buttery/banana yellow in the mix ;)

 

 

 

 

Teacher Apprecation Night- Basketball Season- Diana's Senior Year!

 Last night, we enjoyed one of the lasts!  It was Diana's last Teacher Appreciation Night for Basketball Season.

 

The Senior Basketball Players and Senior Cheerleaders got to choose a teacher to honor and thank during this special night.

 

The Jags played Concord and experienced another amazing victory- 65 to 47!

 

We set up and decorated a designated area for the teachers to all sit and enjoy the game together.

 

 

 

During halftime, they were honored in a special ceremony.  We had given them special shirts to wear ahead of time and during the halftime announcements they met their students on the court and received special certificates.  Then the pictures ensued

 

 

It is one of my favorite events and reminds us that it takes a village- truly.

 

Diana chose Mr. Jacob Bass- he believed in her from Day 1 when she was a tiny freshman.  He helped build her confidence and always saw the potential in her.  We loved witnessing this special time.  He is a newer teacher and so young in his career and he said to us after, "this has been the highlight of my teaching career so far."  He felt so honored and we did too being able to witness their journey!

 

Another special night and tradition- really holding onto these times and recognizing how truly special they are!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello Monday (February 16, 2026)

 

Hi Friends and Happy Monday! Sarah and I are so glad you stopped by!  We are sharing about our weekends and hope you will join us!  Here is what our little festive weekend looked like...

Friday Night

 

I got to take a walk after 4pm and it was still light!  I am excited to share that I was able to invest in a few pieces to up my fitness game.  I invested in athletic hiking boots, ice cleats and Beats!  I was giddy that I was able to finally purchase these things and even giddier when I saw how I could almost walk on top of the snow!  No excuses!  Stay tuned....I will share as I dive into the AllTrails App once the weather warms up a bit..for now it is the rail trail! 

(Didn't snag a pic with my Beats outside- I forgot but snapped this real quick so you could get the picture)

 

(The Boots)

 

(Once the ice cleats were strapped on)

and of course Friday Night means Pizza Night!

 

After dinner, I decorated for a Galentine Party Diana would be having and then we crashed early and watched some Mens Skating Highlights from the Olympics

 

 

 

 Saturday

 

Happy Valentine's Day!  We were up bright and early to trade valentines and enjoy our tea/coffee and I threw on Dirty Dancing as it is one of my favorite romance movies of all time.  

 

 Rob, Diana and I had to leave the house by 8am to head to Merrimack for Accepted Students Day- it was amazing-we had a blast and had so many questions answered!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 They spoiled us with chocolate fountains and even a cannoli truck- Diana opted for a chocolate chip one and Rob and I shared one with the Merrimack colors of course;)

 After that, we raced home.  Diana headed to work and Papa, Rob, Eva and I headed right back down to Merrimack for Eva's hockey game!  Learning to love it there for sure :)

 

 

 

 Then we headed home to get cozy for the night.  Rob picked up our Valentine Dinner- we have a great place near us called Rig A Toni's- they do Italian Takeout and Catering- our dinner was perfect.  Eva was supposed to eat her heart-shaped pizza with us but after the game, she went to a fellow hockey player and bestie's house to hang for the night so she would enjoy her pizza later on Sunday.

Our dinner ended up being pretty quiet and excellent- it came with an app platter, Caesar salad, two entrees (we chose eggplant parm and shrimp scampi), homemade bread with the famous butter candle and chocolate covered strawberries.  We have enough for three meals and will be enjoying leftovers with the kids for a few days!

 

Snapped random pics of the food as I thought of it

 

We crashed pretty early and watched some bobsledding events.  Diana headed out after work and Rob ended up having to pick her up at 1am- ahhh parenting teens is not for the faint of heart ;)

 

 

Sunday

 

Rob and Eva headed out for indoor softball and I scrolled on TikTok for a bit.  Then Diana and I hit Nutrition Corner and drove around a bit to catch up.

 

When we headed home, I made some chocolate covered strawberries for her Galentine party and then met My Father In Law at mass.

 

After that,  I made some rice Krispee treats and my pasta sauce (both also for her party). I then meal planned and did the grocery ordering and started this post.  I also ordered our ED cards for Aruba.

 

Then it was party prep... a few snapshots of all of the love ;)

 

 

 Once the girls started arriving, Rob brought me to a pub down the street to meet up with Tina and Misty so we could catch up (while staying out of Diana's way of course)

 

 

 We had a blast catching up and listening to Tina tell a story...is always so epic...ha!

 

I was blessed with a group photo from Galentines and big thank yous :)

 

 

 That's a wrap!  What were you all up to?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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