Hello friends (and an extra special hello to the new friends who subscribed over this past year while I have been on a blogging hiatus),

How are you all doing so far in 2025? This past year flew by and I have no words for how I blinked and it was 2025 in a flash.

I have intentionally stepped away from writing content for various reasons that I will explain below and because of those reasons I haven’t been eager to dive back in just yet. I want to write when I feel inspired and I worked very hard in previous years writing content because I felt compelled to. Since early last year (especially approaching the summer time) I felt a bit dulled and brain dead in the writing department and I want(ed) to respect this season of my life. This blog site is a passion project for me, not a business. It helps me get ideas and words out of my head, but is not an obligation to me so I have been honoring myself when I do not have content I genuinely and sincerely want to write. Early last year my inspiration started fizzling when life began changing at rapid speed and I started crafting content that was easy to write, but not anything exceptional nor authentic topics that I wanted to write about. It’s what some bloggers do to fill in their posting schedule with fluff that may keep some readers engaged. This was not true to myself and I didn’t feel inspired, so I pressed pause on blogging (again).

So, what’s been happening this past year? Well, buckle up. ;)

Life really is a funny thing. It twists and changes so fast sometimes it can be difficult to recognize where we are on our journey through it if we don’t stop to reflect. Sometimes we have no reason to stop and reflect until life gives us a substantial reason to and then we have no choice but to stop in our tracks to acknowledge the *plot twist*. My life is far removed from where I thought it would be by now and it’s quite comical that I ever thought I knew how it would unfold. We all have ideas on what we expect of our lives whether realistic or not and those ideas may or may not ever come to fruition. My life has taken many wild and unexpected turns, many many times over; however, I am beyond accepting of how it has all transpired. Has there been hurt and disappointment? Undoubtedly. Do I have regrets? Not at all. Everything single thing that has happened has a purpose and learning lesson in it somewhere. I try not to have regrets as we cannot change the past anyway.

So…I’m officially divorced. This is both good and bad. It is “bad” because NO ONE gets married thinking they will ever get divorced. I worked very hard in my marriage and very hard in therapy for myself and for my marriage, but you can’t force something that was apparently never there. I ultimately decided after a lot of consideration and other* events that I needed to walk away. We acknowledge(d) we are better off as friends and have remained good friends. I am grateful for the years together, the experiences, the laughs, the love, and the support. God brings people into our lives for His own divine reasons and I was blessed many times over.

I do not advocate for divorce. I advocate for marriage. I fought hard for my marriage. So, I want to be clear before any person (random or not) comes at me with negative commentary - keep your judgmental comments to yourself. They are not welcome here and they will be deleted. Again, no one gets married thinking they will EVER get divorced. That decision carries a magnitude of unfathomable weight and personal reasonings that no one else will ever really be privy to nor understand. That being said, I want to acknowledge it on my personal space here so that I am transparent. I’ve spent countless hours since 2012 reading and studying about marriage and relationships (see my books section) as a passion and desire to be the best that I can be. While some things are irreparable, I still believe in the values and hard work it takes to make a marriage work.

And so…I’ve also MOVED!

I bought a new home and moved last summer. My ex helped me look for houses and helped me with many things during and after the move. Moving is hard work and takes time, effort, and energy. Considering I just did this in 2023 (check out the previous home’s renovation before and after pics), it felt like an undertaking of epic proportions again. I have moved FIVE times since 2017. I have moved 14 times in my life. YIKES. I’m over it. Is this my final, forever home? Doubtful, but I have no idea what my future holds.

I feel good in my new space. I painted some rooms and added pinks. I changed some of the tile. I removed carpet from the guest rooms. I changed some of the lighting fixtures. I added a patio and astroturfing to the back yard. I have some additional projects on my to-do list for my home (stair runner, wall paneling, more tile changes, and painting), but none of it is a rush or a necessity. It is my new space and my pups are happy here. I am grateful and happy in my new home.

Perhaps I’ll share a home tour at some point once I decide if and when I may tackle the remaining projects. Here are some sneak peeks at the tile and possible paint decisions I chose when I moved in.

In addition to the life changes this past year, I’ve had friends and family pass away. Death doesn’t get easier so despite the many times now that I have encountered the loss of a loved one it still stings. I struggle with grief and death. It is a personal journey that is different for each person experiencing the loss and it is different for each person that you are grieving.

My Mammaw went to her Heavenly home just weeks after we celebrated her 99th birthday.

My mom’s best friend, Sandy, went to her Heavenly home not even a week after we celebrated her 76th birthday together.

My best friend’s sister, Meli, went to her Heavenly home 9 days before her 39th birthday. My friend, Laura, went to her Heavenly home in June of last year when her own grief became too much for her to bear. I know of many others who lost loved ones this past year as well. It is a heavy reminder that life is fleeting and each moment is precious.

I think my mind and body are in a continuous state of disbelief when I think about them, unable to reconcile that each person has entered their Heavenly home. We selfishly grieve the losses we feel in our lives and we grieve for the person who will no longer get to experience life on Earth. However, as scary as death can feel to me I try to reassure my thoughts and heart by thinking about Heaven. Would my loved ones actually want to come back here? I feel assured they would not. That helps calm my heart, but I still experience concern of what may be left undone when my moment comes. I’ll drop this blog post here about estate planning that I encourage everyone to read. I currently have everything in order which is important because we never know when our time will come - as morbid as that sounds. However, after experiencing and handling many estates I know one can never be too prepared and that is why I try to remind everyone to consider it.

Aside from all of the above, I have been happier this past year than I’ve been in a very long time. I have been abundantly blessed with my family and friends, their love and support, the memories we’ve made, the laughs we’ve shared, the tears we’ve cried, the hugs and deep conversations. I have NO REGRETS and cannot express how excited I am to have this new chance at the life ahead of me. Will there be moments of uncertainty and loneliness? Of course. Will there be moments of exhilaration and anticipation of the new experiences and the unknowns? Of course. I trust God has forged this new path for me to embark upon.

I hope that my experiences in the past, present, and future may be of help to others somehow. If you ever need to talk through something, I will always offer an open and non-judgmental ear and candid feedback. I hesitate to call it advice as I’m by no means a registered or licensed anything. I’ve just experienced quite a bit in life by now and if nothing else I know I have tried my best. I’m nowhere near perfect and will never be. I am just me. Perfectly imperfect.

So, what’s next? I truly do not know. My mind keeps wanting to shut down my blog site in September this year when the domain and the host site renews. I haven’t had particular topics in mind that I want to write about for a while. However, Google Analytics’ monthly stats inspire me to keep my site up and active based on the number of hits I receive and I feel like this blog is helping people in various ways.

I guess I’ll figure that out in the months to come. I also haven’t had time to actually write content anyway so it’s a moot point at this present moment in time. =)

All that being said, I wouldn’t trade in my lack of free time to be able to write content anyway. I am living in the moment every chance I get in this new chapter of life and soaking up every bit of positivity and joy.

Meanwhile, you can always follow me on my ShopLTK page where I share outfits and home decor posts more frequently (should that interest you). If you ever have questions about anything feel free to email me. I may not be actively blogging but I am still here.

Thank you all for being a part of my blog and following this little online space where I share my thoughts and ideas. While I’m in this hiatus, please peruse the various recipes I’ve shared, all of the books I’ve shared, the book reviews, and utilize the search option at the top to find content that may interest you. =))

XOXO

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