Currently… August 2025

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I try to do these “currently” posts at least once a quarter, and at the beginning of each year, I add four to my editorial calendar in random places.  However, for the past year, I have been bumping them for other content, and I realized recently that it’s been nearly a whole year since I’ve done one of these, which is just crazy!!  Y’all ready for some randomness?

 

I’m currently…

Making: Lots of plans as usual.  Right now, I’m working on Grandparent’s Day at the kids’ school as I am the chair for that event.  I’m also starting to think about our upcoming trip to Universal Studios this fall.  We have never been, so it will be our first time, and we’re going with friends which will make it even more fun!  And I’m already starting to look forward to the holidays… because it’s never too early to start planning for any of those.  I’ve already printed my Holiday Checklist and I’m checking things off, too.

Cooking: I would love to say that I’m trying a bunch of new recipes and getting out of the usual cooking rut that I’m in, but nope, I’m still sticking to quick and easy meals that I cook all the time – stir fry, turkey and cheese biscuit sliders, slow cooker chicken and ranch pasta, beef and parmesan pasta, etc.  And we have breakfast for dinner at least once a week.  I am really ready for a cool down so I can start cooking some soups and our favorite white chicken chili, too.

Drinking: Lots of water as always, my beloved Harney & Sons Hot Sunset Cinnamon Black Tea every morning and every afternoon, and my green protein smoothie every single day… it’s how I get my collagen in every day!  And on weekends, Brian and I pretty much always indulge in a glass of wine, a beer, or a cocktail.  My faaaavorite drink right now is a Manhattan.  I found them by accident back in February when my favorite local restaurant did away with one of their signature cocktails – the one that I always got – so I decided to randomly try a Manhattan, and friends, it ended up being the best thing because I can’t get enough of them!  They’re very similar to an Old Fashioned, but even better, in my opinion.  I love them so much that Brian found a recipe online, bought the ingredients, and we’ve been making them at home.  If you had told me 5 years ago that a whiskey drink was going to be my favorite drink, I would have told you there was NO WAY.  But here we are… 

Eating: All of the stuff that I cook, for starters.  In addition to that, I’m still on an eggs with cottage cheese for breakfast kick, and I often eat eggs with cottage cheese for lunch, too.  A green protein smoothie a day, Kind breakfast bars, and Kodiak protein bars round out my snacks.  I honestly don’t get a lot of variety for breakfast, lunch, and snacks each day, but dinner is always different.

Reading: I’m currently working my way through The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon (one of my favorite people on Instagram).  It’s a book about twelve unsung heroes in American History (who you probably haven’t heard of) who helped change the course of history in positive ways.  I don’t usually enjoy historical books, but this one has been great so far.  I’m also still reading my Bible daily and doing The Bible in a Year study guide.  And I’m reading my daily devotional, Everyday Gospel, by Paul David Tripp. 

Wanting: The weather to match the vibes in my heart.  I’m so ready for fall, but these 90+ degree temps are not allowing it.  Yet.     

Looking: Forward to everything that the next four months will bring – reveling in my fall, Halloween, and eventually Christmas décor.  College football.  Crisp weather.  Friday night lights.  Cozy evenings at home.  Sweaters.  White chicken chili.  Pumpkin spice lattes.  Going to Universal Studios for the first time.  Our Pumpkins at Callaway tradition.  A Brandon Lake concert.  Trick-or-treating.  Our Halloween play list.  Fires in the fireplace.  The time change (yes, I am one of those people who LOVES to fall back because my body feels like it is sleeping in).  Thanksgiving with family.  Christmas music.  Christmas movies.  Our Fantasy in Lights tradition.  Having a Christmas tree in the corner of the living room again.  Seeing the Frozen play at the theater.  Christmas Eve and Day.  The weeks after Christmas where we don’t know what day it is because the kids are out for Christmas break and Brian is off of work.  Cocktails on random Wednesday nights just because.  Sleeping in every day for 2.5 weeks straight because we can.  New Year’s Eve and the hope, possibilities, and clean slate that a new year brings.

Playing: Music, music, music.  I listen to it all day while I work.  Sometimes I just listen to Z100 (based out of New York) and sometimes I listen to my own collection.  Lately, I’ve been listening to a whole lot of Taylor Swift to gear up for TS12, but I’ve also been throwing some other random singles in the mix that I’ve recently downloaded.  And since it’s now fall in my book, the sounds of old standards and cocktail jazz will soon be floating through the house.  Yes ma’am.

Wasting: Nothing at this time, I don’t think?  I’m not really a wasteful kind of gal.  Time is precious so I rarely waste it (other than occasional periods where I will get sucked in to social media).  Food is precious because so many don’t have it.  Money is precious since the cost of everything has skyrocketed.  So, I really cannot think of anything that I’m wasting at this time (although, Brian may say money since I recently purchased three different copies of an album by a certain artist, hahahaha).  I’m a pretty intentional person, though, and I don’t really waste much of anything.

Buying: Not much this whole year until just recently.  We had to purchase all of the back-to-school things, but those were all necessities.  I did recently purchase three items from Hollister (more on that below) that I didn’t need but wanted soooo bad, and I also purchased a few of these tops when they went on sale for $8 because I love them so much.  But other than that?  Not much for myself.  I will be purchasing my new planner this week for 2026, though!  Simplified launch day is Wednesday.  Y’all know how much I love and utilize those planners!!  This will be my 8th year using a Simplified Planner and I still love it just as much today as I did eight years ago.  It has everything I need and nothing I don’t need.

Sewing: Nothing.  Ever.  Safety pinning?  Yes.  Liquid stitching?  Yes.  But sewing.  Never.  My mother-in-law does currently have a sweater of mine that came undone at one of the seams, so does that count even though she’s sewing it for me?  Haha.

Wishing: That our kids would stop bringing home so many dang germs… at what age does this end?  Haha.  At less than three weeks into school, we’ve already had one kid miss a day because of a low-grade fever and congestion. 

Loving: All of the Taylor Swift Easter eggs that have been dropped and all of the theories behind them.  I just love how she does this for her fans, and I love all of the fans who take the time to analyze every single tiny detail of every single thing she does to see how things are linked, and to predict when singles will drop, what album covers will look like, what songs could mean (even though we haven’t yet heard the lyrics), when she could potentially start touring again (or do a residency in Las Vegas!!!!), and whether or not she will be headlining the Super Bowl this year!

Hoping: That the weather starts to change really soon because I am so ready for signs of fall!  Georgia football starts this weekend, and I couldn’t be more ready for crisp weather, colorful leaves, and a chill in the air so we can finally start enjoying some time outside.  Not to mention, I’m ready to start making soups and slow cooker meals again.  And yes, this is my second blurb about weather here, so you can see just how much it means to me.  Haha.

Marveling: At how much thicker my hair is one year after starting my daily Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides regimen.  I have struggled with hair shedding / thinning since I had our two babies (and let’s be honest – I don’t have much to begin with as mine is very fine and thin), and it gets particularly bad when I am stressed or experience a long-term bout of bad anxiety.  I started taking Sulfurzyme from Young Living a few years ago, and it did help a lot with my hair loss and regrowth, but friends, when I started taking my Vital Proteins every day, the regrowth ramped up tremendously, and my hair is thicker than it’s been since I was pregnant.  (Gosh, I miss my pregnancy hair… I have never had hair so thick and long and shiny and healthy as I did when I was pregnant.  If someone could just bottle and sell the good pregnancy hormones without the pregnancy, that would be great.  Haha.)  My hair growth has ramped up so much, that I stopped taking Sulfurzyme several months ago and I never looked back.  I started taking Vital Proteins daily exactly one year ago, and my hair is growing in thicker all over my whole head.  There is a visible difference, but I can also tell because it takes me longer to dry my hair every morning now.  My hairline that had been receding by my part has started to fill in again, and I’m so grateful.  (And yes, I still have a deep recess in my hairline right there, but it’s been that way my whole life.  It had gotten reeeeally bad prior to taking the Vital Proteins, though.)  The serving size for Daily Proteins is 4 TBSP per day, but I only take two, so I’m seeing huge results and I’m not even taking the maximum amount each day.  While I’ve always wanted to try Nutrafol, it’s just too expensive, so I’m grateful that I found these Vital Proteins as they’re much more affordable.  I just mix my two tablespoons in my green smoothie every day, and that’s that.  It’s easy and delicious.  In addition to that, my nails are growing like weeds (which is actually kind of annoying – haha), my toenails have never looked healthier (they’ve always been brittle and damaged since I keep them polished 24/7), and my skin seems to have gotten some of its elasticity back in certain areas (mostly my neck/jaw area is where I’ve noticed the most difference, although that could also be due to my bone structure changing from my braces.)  Regardless, Vital Proteins has a customer in me!!

Needing: To deep clean our house.  I’m embarrassed to admit how long it’s been since I’ve done that.  I, of course, always keep the kitchen immaculate and we always wipe down bathroom countertops and swipe toilets clean and vacuum as needed, but a deep clean?  Well, let’s just say that I haven’t done one of those since before I started seeing my upper cervical chiropractor.  I’ll let y’all do that math.  Cringe.  In my defense, he did tell me in the beginning that I needed to be SUPER careful with my movements to keep my adjustments in place, and deep cleaning requires a whole lot of weird movement, so I just haven’t done it.

Smelling: Cinnamon and pumpkin pie oils in my diffuser.  Young Living started offering a pumpkin pie oil last fall, and y’all, about 5 drops of cinnamon and 2 drops of pumpkin pie oil in my diffuser smells almost identical to my beloved Bath & Body Works Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin candles that I used to burn religiously until I ditched them years ago because they were giving me headaches.

Wearing: Tanks, jean shorts, and these sandals on repeat.  After a very rainy and somewhat mild summer, we finally hit the extreme temps a few weeks ago, and it’s barely let up.  Tanks, jorts, and sandals are my “summer uniform” so that’s basically all I’ve been wearing.  These sandals have been awesome because I can wear them with literally anything as they can be dressed up or down.    

Praying: For many things, as always.  For my upper cervical chiropractic care – that it fully heals me once and for all.  While I have been feeling normal 95% of the time, I have had a couple of setbacks recently, I’m thinking from hormone changes, and I’m praying that eventually I will heal fully from all of the neck tension, dizziness, and unsteadiness.  For my cousin who has been battling cancer for so very long with no end in sight.  For someone close to me who has been looking for a job for nearly a year… that this person can find a sustainable job that provides abundantly.  For our administration, that they may learn empathy and compassion for one and all, especially those who don’t look and/or think like them.  That they will start putting humanity first.  That they will uphold the principles upon which our country was founded.  And that others in our administration will continue to stand up to those doing more harm than good.  And as always, I’m thanking God for our many blessings… for our good health, for our safety, and for putting this upper cervical chiropractor in my life since he has been able to help me heal almost fully.

Noticing: How well Jacob and Olivia have adapted to high school and middle school respectively.  Jacob is handling his very heavy course load with ease, he is navigating the hallways as if he’s been there all along, and he’s having fun while doing it.  And Olivia is changing classes like a boss, she has made new friends already, and she is being responsible about keeping up with all of her homework, quizzes, and tests.  Fifth to sixth grade is a big jump because that’s when teachers typically back off a bit from communicating with parents in order to give the students more accountability as they grow.

Knowing: That it’s probably past time to put away Maui’s things.  Her bed and blanket still sit in the same spot in my office where she last lay in them.  Her food bowls are still in the kitchen by the island where they sat for 15 years.  The last of her food and all of her tiny sweaters are still in the cabinet in the kitchen where they’ve been stored her whole life (almost as long as we’ve lived in this house).  It’s been six months since she passed away and I just haven’t been able to bring myself to move any of that stuff.  I know I will have to do it one day, and I know it’s going to be really hard, and I know it’s probably about that time.  I thought time would make it easier, but that has just not been the case.  I miss her so much every single day and I know that this fall and winter is going to be especially lonely without my nightly nap snuggles with her.

Thinking: That I really want to try to stay on top of things this season so I can just focus on being grateful and allowing myself to be happy and revel in my favorite four months of the year.  Last fall and winter was so tough.  Our beloved Maui was slowly fading away (we lost her in February), I was still struggling badly with my neck issues, vertigo, dizziness, and unsteadiness, and therefore, felt like I could barely function much of the time, and I was perpetually behind on LITERALLY EVERYTHING making it really hard to stay in the moment and just enjoy my favorite four months of the year.  I felt like I was drowning this time last year.  This year, I have every reason to hope that this season is much better than last.  And if for some reason it’s not, I pray that I can remember that there is always joy in the midst of sadness/stress/chaos because our joy should primarily come from one source… The One who never changes.   

Opening: Packages from Hollister… something I never thought I’d say at age 43.  Hahahaha.  But their Y2K Vault has spoken to me, I answered, and they have delivered… two graphic zipper hoodies and a pair of the comfiest, cutest sweatpants to be exact.  And soon enough, I’ll also be opening a bunch of Taylor Swift packages as I have now ordered three different copies of her new album – one original vinyl, one deluxe CD in the original cover for Olivia, and one deluxe CD with a special cover for me.  I am so PUMPED for October.    

Giggling: At so much of the commentary and the memes on Threads these days.  My Threads feed is a perfectly-curated-for-me mix of hilarious memes, Bible verses, Taylor Swift joy, millennial nostalgia, inspiring and encouraging quotes, Dave Matthews Band setlists, and people standing up for justice, the marginalized, and the Constitution. 

Happy Monday, y’all!