Enjoying Life Filled With Blessings

💕 Midweek Blessings, Thoughtful Gifts & Things to Look Forward To

Sometimes you just have one of those weeks where you stop for a minute and realize, I am really blessed. And honestly, that is exactly where I am this week.

There have been little surprises, thoughtful gifts, good friends, family time, work wins, and a few things on the calendar that I am really looking forward to. So I thought it was time for a little midweek check-in!

🎁 Gifts That Were Made With Love

When I went to our company picnic in Ada this past Saturday, my cousin Dakota’s wife, Whitney, had some late birthday gifts waiting for me. And let me tell you, she knows me!

First of all, she got me a pink Starbucks cup. Everybody knows I love my cups and tumblers. I don’t care how many I already have—there is always room for another one! 😂

But she didn’t stop there.

She used her 3D printer to make me some adorable little fidget toys. There was a crab, some turtles, and several other cute little things. She also gave me an envelope filled with assorted papers that I can use in my journals, and she crocheted me a composition notebook cover for one of my journals.

Every single thing was so thoughtful, and knowing that she made some of these things herself made them even more special.

I just felt so loved and thought of.

I still need to get Whitney her late birthday gift, too. I had every intention of taking it to the picnic, and then somehow I managed to completely forget it at home. 🤦‍♀️ So, Whitney, your gift is coming! I promise!

📚 Then Nancy Spoiled Me, Too!

Monday brought another little dose of happiness.

I went over to my friend Nancy’s house, and Nancy and I go way back. We are childhood friends, our parents were friends, and I believe even our grandparents knew each other. So when I say there is a long history between our families, I mean it.

Nancy had recently been to the Frivious store in Duncan, where they were having a book fair, and she picked up some of the cutest things for me.

She got me bookmarks, postcards, lots of stickers, and the cutest little ghost journal!

That little ghost journal is going to become my October journal, and I am already excited about it. 👻📖

Of course, she knows my love of all things crafty and stationery, so every single thing she picked out was right up my alley.

And I know it’s not really about the gifts.

It’s about being thought of.

There is just something special about someone seeing something and thinking, “Karen would love this.”

When someone knows your personality, your interests, your aesthetic, and the little things that make you happy—and then takes the time to pick something out for you—it really does bring me joy.

I feel very blessed to have people in my life who know me that well.

💻 Work Has Been Pretty Decent

Work has been going pretty well, too.

Tuesday wasn’t exactly my best day. I left with seven saves, and when I’m working toward a goal of 11 or 12 a day, seven just didn’t feel like enough.

So Wednesday became my “okay, let’s make up for Tuesday” day!

And when I left work today, I had 13 saves!

That definitely made me feel better. 😊

I’m just trying to do the very best I can, one call at a time, and help as many members as I can understand the value of having LegalShield.

Some days are easier than others, but I’m continuing to show up and do what I can. That’s really all any of us can do.

🥳 Birthday Celebrations Are Coming!

Friday after work, I’m planning to swing by and pick up Mr. C, and then we’re supposed to head to Oklahoma City to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate Savannah’s 32nd birthday!

I’m really looking forward to it.

And, of course, I’m hoping Mr. C feels up to going. I wouldn’t want to go by myself. After all, Savannah is Brody’s wife, and family celebrations are always more fun when we can all be together.

So I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Friday works out exactly as planned!

🌳 A Little Family History Project

Saturday, I have tentative plans to head over to Lawton to see my cousin Sissy.

Sissy is 82 years old, and she has a lot of our family-tree information. I would really like to spend some time with her and take pictures of the information she has, especially since I’ve been working on our family history and genealogy project.

And let me tell you—our family tree is BIG.

When your grandparents had nine children, and then all those aunts and uncles started having children of their own, things can get complicated pretty quickly!

There are names, dates, marriages, children, siblings, and generations upon generations to keep track of. Sometimes I look at it all and think, Am I ever going to finish this? 😂

But the good thing is, I don’t have to.

This isn’t a race.

It’s a project I can work on a little at a time, and honestly, I think that’s part of what makes it enjoyable. Every little piece I discover gives me another connection to the people who came before me.

🎡 And Then There’s Sunday!

Sunday is another day I’m really looking forward to because my friend Cherrie and I are planning to go to the Oklahoma State Fair!

It will be the final day of the fair, and I really want to go see some of the exhibits.

I don’t necessarily need to spend the entire day there. I don’t even need to do everything. Sometimes it’s nice just to walk around, look at a few things, enjoy the atmosphere, and make some memories.

So we’ll see what Sunday brings!

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that everything works out.

❤️ Counting My Blessings

When I stop and look at everything happening this week, I realize there is a lot to be thankful for.

Thoughtful gifts from Whitney.

A sweet surprise from Nancy.

Friends I’ve known for decades.

Family birthdays to celebrate.

A genealogy project that connects me to generations before me.

A few good workdays.

Plans with people I love.

And, of course, my sweet Mr. C by my side.

Life isn’t perfect. Some days are harder than others, and some days don’t go according to plan.

But there are so many little moments that remind me how incredibly blessed I am.

Sometimes we just have to slow down long enough to notice them.

And this week, I’m definitely noticing. ❤️

Thank you for stopping by my little corner of the internet and spending a few minutes with me.

If you have a minute, leave me a comment and tell me where you’re reading from! I always love knowing where my blog friends are checking in from.

Until next time, keep looking for those little blessings. They really are everywhere. 💕

Life at Home

 

A Lazy Sunday That Turned Out Just Right 🏡📺❤️

Sunday, September 20th

Sometimes you just know when you need a lazy day at home.

Today was one of those days.

I had already made up my mind that Sunday was going to be an easy, stay-at-home kind of day with my sweet husband, Mr. C. After talking to my BFF, Cherrie, I was even more convinced. She was planning on staying home, doing some cleaning around the house, and watching scary movies because she had heard we were supposed to get some storms.

So I thought, you know what? I’m doing the same thing!

I had a couple of journals I needed to work on for a Swap-Bot swap, and I had been wanting to make a pineapple pie recipe I’d seen on Facebook. I also had a few little housekeeping chores that needed to be done. Nothing major—just the normal things that seem to magically appear no matter how often you clean!

I was perfectly content with my plan.

Then, at about 11:00 that morning, my phone rang.

It was Cherrie.

“Hey! I just saw that it’s not really going to storm. Do you want to go to the store with me? Maybe go to Ringling Oklahoma to Lori’s Bin?”

Now, I’m always up for an adventure, but I had to ask the important question:

“How long are you talking?”

She started adding it all up and said, “Well, we’ll probably be gone about five hours.”

Five hours?! 😂

I thought about it for a second and said, “Nope. I really do want to stay home.”

I had told her earlier that if she changed her mind and decided to go somewhere, she could call me. But by this point, I had officially entered Do Not Disturb: Homebody Edition.

I just wanted to relax, watch television with my husband, and enjoy a day where I wasn’t rushing around somewhere.

Cherrie completely understood, which made me feel better about my decision.

Of course, Mr. C looked at me like, “Why didn’t you go with her?”

And I told him, “Because I’m not feeling it! I want to be home.”

And honestly, I was.

Sometimes you just have to listen to yourself when your body and your brain are both saying, STAY HOME.

So that’s exactly what I did.

We had a new series we wanted to watch called Neagley, which is a spinoff from Reacher. And let me tell you—we didn’t just watch an episode or two.

We binge-watched the entire season! 😂

And it was really good. It was exactly the kind of thing we needed for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Of course, we couldn’t spend the entire day sitting on the couch. We did manage to get a few things done around the house, too.

We did laundry, emptied the trash, wiped down the counters, and straightened up a few things. Thankfully, our house never gets completely out of control, but sometimes you just have to stop and reset everything.

So we did a little housework, then watched some more Neagley.

In between episodes, we kept up with the football game to see how that was going. And, naturally, we had to keep an eye on the weather and check the news.

Because apparently, even on a lazy Sunday, you still have to know what’s happening in the world! 😂

All in all, it turned out to be a really good day.

It wasn’t exciting.

It wasn’t packed full of plans.

We didn’t go shopping.

We didn’t go on a road trip.

We didn’t even leave the house.

And you know what?

It was perfect.

Sometimes the best days are the ones where you get to stay home, get a few things accomplished, watch something good on television, laugh with the person you love, and just enjoy being together.

Today was busy enough to feel productive but lazy enough to feel like a Sunday.

And honestly, I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Here’s to more slow Sundays, comfortable clothes, good television, clean counters, football, and lots of laughter with Mr. C.❤️

Company Picnic 2026

Dinosaurs, Funnel Cake & Finally Finding Yoda! 🦖🍓💚

Saturday was company picnic day, and this year we were headed to Ada, Oklahoma, to Cornerstone Ranch for our annual company-wide picnic.

I told Mindy I would pick her up at 8:00 that morning at our parking lot in Duncan. From there, we picked up Sheila and headed out for a day of food, music, coworkers, and whatever adventures we could find along the way.

Of course, no road trip with these two girls would be complete without a few stops. I knew I needed gas because somehow I had only half a tank, so Ratliff City was our first stop. That worked out perfectly because the girls could use the restroom, grab any snacks or drinks they wanted, and I could fill up the car.

And, naturally, I had to make my Seven Brew stop for a frozen iced coffee. Priorities, people. 😂

We eventually made our way toward Ada, and once we got closer, we stopped at another convenience store. Same song and dance—restroom, drinks, and the girls getting their smoke break while I waited patiently.

But this stop turned out to be more entertaining than usual.

Sheila suddenly wanted to take a picture with the dinosaurs!

Now, here’s a fun fact I apparently did NOT know about Sheila: she loves dinosaurs! 🦖

She told me she had wanted to take a picture with them but didn’t want to ask.

I said, “Girl, let’s do it!”

So she got her dinosaur picture, and naturally, I joined in because why not? They also had a really cool lifelike horse with a cowboy sculpture, so we took a couple pictures with that too.

Mindy decided not to participate. I wish she would have joined us, but I don’t think she’s much of a picture person. That’s okay—we’ll just have to keep working on her. 😂

Finally, we arrived at Cornerstone Ranch.

Usually, we are some of the first people there, but apparently we were running a little behind this year because the parking lot was already filling up. We went inside and immediately saw Deanna, Shelby and Aubrey, so we stopped to say hello. We also saw Sherry and Danny, who were sitting at our usual table—the first table you see when you come in from outside.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough room for all of us, so we ended up finding another table on the other side of the building. We wound up sitting with some of our coworkers from Ada, which was actually kind of nice.

Sometimes you have to shake things up a little!

We visited for a while and eventually made our way over to the food trucks. I decided to get a to-go box and grabbed myself some white pasta. And when I say they gave me a BIG helping, I mean they gave me enough pasta to feed a small army! 😂

I also picked up a little sandwich and a bag of chips because I already knew I wanted to take some food home.

And then there was the strawberry funnel cake.

Y’all know I had to have one.

I actually asked the lady at the food truck if there was any way she could make me a smaller funnel cake because I knew I wasn’t going to eat a whole giant one.

She said, “It don’t matter. You’re not paying for it.”

I said, “Well, no, but I’m not going to eat it all!”

She explained that they only make one size.

So I said, “Okay, fine!”

And yes, it was HUGE. 😂

I ate about four bites and that was it. I felt a little guilty about wasting food because I really had tried to get a smaller one. But I have to say, those four bites were GOOD!

Strawberry funnel cake is definitely my favorite, hands down. Especially when it’s hot outside. There’s just something about strawberries, funnel cake and powdered sugar that screams summer.

I also knew I wanted to bring home some street tacos, so when Sheila went over to the taco truck, I asked her if she would bring me some back.

Thankfully, I had planned ahead.

I brought our Yeti cooler with me and filled it with ice before we left. Once I got my street tacos, I put those in the cooler along with my little sandwich and the rest of my pasta.

I was NOT about to spend my Saturday at a company picnic only to spend Sunday with food poisoning because I left food sitting outside in the heat. Nope. Not happening! 😂

We stayed at the picnic until around 1:00. We listened to the live music, visited with people, and enjoyed the day. The band was called Conflict of Interest, and it gave us some entertainment while we hung out.

To be honest, we spent most of our time inside the air-conditioned building. Other than walking out to the food trucks, we weren’t exactly trying to roast ourselves in the Oklahoma heat.

After we left, we stopped outside Ada to use the restroom, and then I had another idea.

I asked the girls if they would mind riding around with me to see if I could find some murals I hadn’t photographed last year.

And guess what?

I FINALLY FOUND THE YODA MURAL! 🎉

I have been wanting to get a picture of that mural for YEARS, and I finally did it!

That honestly made me pretty happy. Sometimes it’s the little things that make a day.

Eventually, we headed back home, and I dropped Mindy and Sheila off before making my way home. By the time I walked through my own front door, it was around 4:30.

Of course, I couldn’t come home empty-handed for Mr. C, so I stopped and picked him up some Little Caesars pizza and breadsticks for dinner.

Because that’s what you do when you’ve been gone all day—you come home with pizza. 😂🍕

Looking back, it really was a good day. I enjoyed spending time with Sheila and Mindy, and I got to visit with some other coworkers too. We laughed, ate, listened to music, took some silly pictures, and I finally got my Yoda mural.

Do I think I need to go to the company picnic every single year from now until the end of time?

Well…

Let’s just say I wouldn’t be heartbroken if I missed one. 😂

It seems like every year is pretty much the same thing—food trucks, music, visiting with a few people, and trying not to melt in the Oklahoma heat. And while I enjoy seeing everyone, I don’t really spend enough time visiting with the other employees to make the long drive feel like a must-do every year.

But maybe that’s okay.

Not every tradition has to last forever. Sometimes it’s enough to enjoy it while you’re there, make a few memories, take a ridiculous picture with a dinosaur, eat four bites of funnel cake, finally find Yoda, and head home.

And that’s exactly what I did.

A pretty good Saturday, if you ask me. ❤️