Reflections on April A to Z 2026

 

Reflections on April A to Z 2026

The A to Z of Things that Make Life Better

Reflecting back on April, I find myself with a full heart and a deep sense of gratitude for this year’s A to Z journey. Even just reading back through my list—from A is for A Good Cup of Coffee or a Cold Diet Pepsi to Z is for ZZZZZ’s, I’m reminded how much joy can be found in the ordinary, everyday moments.

This challenge was such a gift. I truly enjoyed the topics, and I’m especially grateful for a little help along the way when I needed it—sometimes with titles, sometimes with finding just the right words when they wouldn’t quite come. My husband wondered about the crazy questions! Having that nudge made it possible to keep going on the days when my brain felt just a little too full.

One of the biggest helps was being able to prewrite several posts during that quiet week after Easter. The breathing room made all the difference in balancing this creative project with working full-time and being a full-time (older!) college student. April A to Z is no small undertaking, but it felt manageable—and even restful at times—because of that preparation.

What surprised me most was how much I needed this creative outlet. I miss having time to craft - especially activities like scrapbooking where I was constantly remembering good (and sometimes not so good) times. In the middle of a very full life, April A to Z gave me a way to pause and notice things: quiet moments, kind words, sunshine, conversations, laughter. So many of my posts reflected simple gifts, and I think that’s what made the experience so meaningful. I was focused on those things - both big and small - that do make life just a little better.

I also loved connecting with others. Visiting fellow participants’ blogs became something I genuinely looked forward to. There was one blog I followed where, unfortunately, I couldn’t leave comments—but I would have loved to, because their writing stayed with me. Even so, it was a joy just to read along.

And to those who visited and commented on my blog—thank you. Your presence added so much encouragement and fun to the process. It’s a special thing to feel seen and heard in this little corner of the internet.

All in all, April A to Z was a beautiful reminder to slow down, pay attention, and celebrate the small things. I’m grateful I said “yes” to it this year.

I hope to participate in April of 2027 and actually put a reminder on my calendar for March 1, 2027. April 2027 will also be my last month as a college student!

Cheers!

Weekend in Review

 Wow - a weekend without homework! I actually feel a little lost. Seriously.

On Friday I had lunch with three of my besties. We tried to figure out how many years we've been meeting on the first Friday of the month for lunch -- we can't remember! We raised our kids together and now our nests are all empty.

The exciting news is we ate at ZoZo's - on opening day. Zoe's Restaurant was a long-time favorite started locally by the Cassimus family. There was ONE original restaurant. The restaurant expanded and expanded until there were 300 locations (I think that is right) all over. Cava entered the picture and bought the restaurant chain from the Cassimus family. There were stipulations about Zoe's not reopening, but their original location became available a few years ago and they obtained approval to open ONE Zoe's. Cava recently closed and ZoZo's was born. It was almost the exact same menu, which I love. It is fast casual. You go in and order at a counter and they bring it to your table. Since we were there on opening day, the Cassimus family was there and we were able to thank them for reopening. Our food was good and the conversation even better.

Mark and I didn't do anything on Friday night - watched some TV?

On Saturday morning, I went to my Weight Watchers meeting. I am so close to my goal (set by my doctor). I am going to stop at that goal and do maintenance for six weeks and then I may try to lose six more pounds which would put me in the correct range for my height.

While I was at WW, Mark and our son, Glenn, were taking care of some family car stuff and then Pops (Mark) went to Home Depot with them. Our son and granddaughter have been doing this monthly event for years! Our son-in-law takes our middle granddaughter sometimes, too (in their town).

Mark and I ate an early lunch and I headed back to Homewood (15-20 minutes away) where we go to church, where I work, where Mark grew up. Our church hosts Art in the Lot two times a year and I wanted to check out the booths.

This picture is actually from a previous Art in the Lot.
I forgot to take any photos this year.

I bought one piece of art. I need to take a photo of the art and show you. A friend is an amazing artist - she even makes the paper she paints on. If I take the photo before I publish this, I will show y'all. Here you go . . . let me tell you that I took the first photograph and then saw that the floor was dusty and the kitty cat toilet paper holder was dusty and I didn't have that cute basket on the back of the potty. One photograph caused me to clean the bathroom and buy a new basket hahaha! You can check out her work on Instagram at @marylizingramart or her website marylizingramart.com

I stashed the painting in my car and walked three blocks to the Homewood Park where "We Love Homewood" day was happening. I had signed up for a shift in our booth. I work with the best people -- let me introduce you to Timmy and Laura!

The high school band was playing. There were so many people (and dogs) in attendance.

The Chick Fil A cows came to visit.

And then the best surprise -- our oldest granddaughter and her momma showed up! She (granddaughter below) was dancing to the music (DJ at this point).

After my shift, I walked around the park with the two of them to see all of the "things to see." I don't have any photos of the rides, but there was one section that had small-ish fair type rides.

We saw the antique fire truck which was polished to a fine sheen!

We then walked back over to the playground. Our girl is 10 and she is poised between childhood and midde school-ish. We took the obligatory big chair photos.

She climbed up to the very top.

This playground is for ALL children. They have the big swings, shaped sort of like a recliner, which will accomodate children of all abilities. A mom could sit in the swing and hold a small child or a larger child could be buckled in.

Our daughter-in-law snapped this selfie.

When I got home, Mark wanted to show me his container garden of peppers and one flower.

On Saturday night, I placed an order at Taco Mama and we picked up and watched TV. All around these activities I did things like strip the bed and wash our sheets and blankets. We did other laundry. I made a double batch of cheese straws. I don't do well just sitting still. I have two speeds - full tilt and full stop haha!

Sunday morning found me back in Homewood working the welcome desk. I didn't put any foundation on and oh goodness - I was standing in bright light and ALL of my age spots show. Oh well - it is what it is.

It is now Sunday afternoon and we took a 24 minute nap! Mark has loaded the car and he is headed to his mother's house. They have a contract on the house (hallelujah!) and hope to close in 10 days. They have a little more furniture to remove. Mark, one nephew, one brother-in-law are loading two pick up trucks and then they are headed to the farm. They have a canoe, along with furniture!

So . . .what did you do this weekend? Any fun activities?

Sunday Stealing from Life of a Fool

 

I am joining with the other Sunday Stealing folks. They steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere and we answer and link up. Cheers to all of us thieves!

They stole this meme about last month from Life of a Fool. This blogger maintains this meme has "been seen everywhere." The questions only require a yes or no, but they said we could elaborate. Sure!!

In the Past Month Meme

During April, did you ...

1. Drink alcohol? Yes, I did. I think I had one drink during the month of April. That makes me laugh out loud! I am now trying to remember . . .I think I drank a Moscow Mule at my high school reunion. To be honest, I might have ordered a Cosmopolitan . . .but I think it was a Moscow Mule. It was such a tiny detail that I truly don't remember -- but those are my two "go-to" drink orders.

2. Eat sushi? I did not. Sushi is not on my personal menu. On Thursday night, we plan to meet a group of friends at a "new to us" restaurant - Okinawa. We pulled up the menu and there is a lot of Sushi on that menu. Mark will be happy - he loves it!

3. Go shopping with friends? I don't remember the last time I "went shopping with friends." I did shop some in April and I actually went into a brick and mortar store. I wear dresses to work because I love the comfort and ease of dresses. I purchased several new dresses in April.

4. Eat an entire box of cookies by yourself? No. I don't eat sweets. In the past, I have eated a whole box of Girl Scout Tagalongs!

5. Dye your hair? Yes. I have my roots touched up about every five weeks and my wonderful hairdresser, Terri, did a color touch-up and trim a week or so ago. 

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week. 

This and That Lately

 

On April 11, we headed to a neighbor's house for our neighborhood supper club.The house is totally amazing. Mark and I were in charge of appetizers. They were having Greek night and I took hummus and veggies and pita chips and pita bread.

I also made Spanokopita triangles using this recipe. I forgot to take a picture. They were delicious.

Did I tell y'all about falling that night???

The home has a basement space that is luxurious - a full bar, a viewing room, a pool table, a sitting area, etc. I had already gone down the steps once and placed the spanokopita triangles on the designated bar. I went back up the steps to help Mark carry the basket of pita chips/pita bread and the tray of veggies. I am always moving at a fast clip . . .and I caught my toe on the leather binding on the Sisal rug and faceplanted. I caught myself on one elbow, one hand, and a little on my knees. The hand popped up a HUGE goose egg. I did not go to the ER. More on that later.

Mark had his follow up and they took off the ginormous bandage and it is a tiny little wound. Yes . . .that is a bullet on his arm. He was pranking the young adults telling them the doctor found that bullet - that did not happen.

They crammed 14 around our table a couple of Tuesdays ago. We love these people so much.

Did I show y'all these cute goodie bags? We have a TERRIBLE parking problem at our church and when you add in extra service plus extra people on Easter Sunday . . .let me just say . . .it creates an even bigger problem. I line up a shuttle van that goes to the local board of education parking lot and picks up the orchestra and/or choir members. Those folks are there for the duration of the morning so they are taking up a parking space over multiple services. If they parked off-site, we met them at the door with a goodie bag. A choir member told me that we included all of the right things this year so I took a photo!

Jump ahead to Thursday, April 23. We joined our "out to eat" Sunday School supper club at Taj India. It is now Mark's favorite restaurant. I had shrimp korma which is a rich creamy slightly spiced curry - it reminded me of a silky coconut soup with shrimp. It was delicious.

Mark ordered a much spicier dish of lamb. I can't remember the name. He LOVED it.

Mark is not in the photo and neither is Paula. I didn't do a great job. Mark was at this end of the table. Paula was directly across. Paula's husband Bill and then Mark L. and Patty. Bill and Rhonda are beside me. We were missing one couple in April. We really enjoyed this group of folks. On this night, we were witnesses to a cool connection of long ago campers/camp counselors. I love to watch connections happen.

At my high school reunion, we met the wife of one of my classmates. She is Suz of Mama Suz's Fried Pies. They have a store front in Pelham. Mark loves fried pies.

We were headed to our regular supper club (been together since 2004) and Mark told me to sign up for dessert and order pies - so I did!

They literally fried them while I waited. Mark ate a peach one as soon as I got home!

We packed enough for our supper club, along with a half gallon of ice cream, and headed out.

They have a new outdoor table. It is a solid piece of Alabama Limestone and it is gorgeous and it is not going anywhere.

The photo below is the view from their house - looking out over the city of Birmingham.

Here is one view of the table (looking away from the bluff side).

Look at this one - isn't that gorgeous? They bought a very big and very old home and totally restored it.

I saved enough pies to serve for Sunday lunch. We had our local kids over for lunch after church last week. The pies were a hit once again. I didn't eat one, but everyone said they are really delicious.

So . . .April A to Z is over. I have a couple of weeks with no schoolwork. I will still be going to work every day and hosting the young adults.

What is going on at your house lately?

50th High School Reunion

 

Tarrant High School Bicentennial Class of 1976

Let me just ask a question . . .how in the world am I old enough to be celebrating a 50th reunion of anything?? Anyone else feel that way?

I attended our 10 year reunion. I was pregnant with our twins at the 10 year! I am on the third row - far right - really short hair - I'm sort of at the end of the row - I am third standing from the far right.

We had a 15 year reunion, but I have no idea if there are any photos from that night! I actually was on the planning committee for that reunion.

There was evidently at least one other reunion, but I didn't attend. I think it might have been on a weekend when one of our kids was graduating from college.

A few years ago, there was a multi-class reunion and I did attend that one with two close friends and had a great time.

Here we are in 2026. There were about 125 people in our graduating class and 25 of them have died.

Below is half of the folks . . .

And here is the other half. I am on row two - if you count the guy who is turned the wrong way . . .I am the fifth person from the far right (standing).

Here is one of everyone - I am pretty sure we had a professional photographer at our 10 year reunion. Spouses were trying to snap these photos - we even asked one of the young servers to take some. None of the "big group" photos is very good. I did not help plan this year . . .I just couldn't take on anything else at this time.

It was great reconnecting with folks. I was a little surprised at how easily we picked up conversations after all of these years.

The reunion was held at Trussville Social which is about 40 minutes from our house. It was a really nice entertainment area with some other eating establishments, bars, etc. We were on an outdoor patio and were told it was "casual." I always chuckle at the different definitions of casual.

Every Friday during football season, you could purchase a sticker much like the ones above. Back then, I think the words were "beat whatever team" or something similar. I thought the choice of nametags was very clever and someone told me the same company made our nametags that made the stickers back in the 70's!

Mark kept walking around shaking hands with folks . . .saying things like, "I bet you don't remember me." He is such a nut.

Below is a picture of me and Mariea. She and her two sisters grew up in the house directly across the street from the house where my two sisters and I grew up. We attended all 12 years of school - first through Senior year - together plus we attended the same church!

The same goes for Ann in the photo below. She has always had the most beautiful Auburn hair!! I think she and I have aged really well hahaha!

The reunion was to be from 5:30 - 8:30, but around 7:30 . . .someone pulled up the radar and there was a huge storm about to hit. We had already taken the group photo and I had talked to a lot of folks. I told Mark that I was ready to go. We were parked across the road. We made it to the car and drove 1/2 a block and the bottom fell out!

Fifty years later, time revealed itself in different ways across familiar faces—deeply etched in some, gently in others. One female classmate was almost bald - I've been wondering if it was "chemo bald." As the evening unfolded, there was laughter, stories, and food and drinks. I was amazed at how confident I felt and how comfortable I felt. Those things that separated us years ago, seemed not to matter, though one husband introduced me to his wife as "one of the smart ones." haha! Stripped of time and pretense, we met again simply as ourselves, on level ground. 

I didn't take many photos . . .I was just present . . .in the moment!

Have you attended any class reunions?

Z Is for ZZZZZ's

 

Yay! We did it! April A to Z Challenge Finale is here.

I've been writing about things that just make life better.

Our final letter is Z and Z is for ZZZZ's

I love a good nap.

Not a long, drawn-out, wake-up-confused kind of nap. Not the kind where you wonder what day it is or why it’s suddenly dark outside. Just a good, solid 20–30 minutes. Our daughter can take a LONG nap - not me.

I've learned that 20-30 minutes is my sweet spot.

I settle into my favorite chair (you know the one - I wrote about that chair this month!), turn on a little white noise, set a timer, and close my eyes. Sometimes I even put my sleep mask on. Room cool. Everything just right.

And then… rest.

It doesn’t take long, but it makes such a difference.

I wake up clearer. Lighter. Ready to keep going.

Truth be told, I don’t always get a full, good night’s sleep. Most of the time I don't actually seem to need as much sleep as many others. So when I do get a great night's sleep, those nighttime ZZZ’s are a gift. But on the days I don’t?  A tiny little nap can carry me through. Now I just need to convince the church to give all employees a nap map and a 20 minute siesta time haha!

20 minutes is a small thing.

But like so many of the things on this list, it’s one of those simple rhythms that makes life better.

Rest isn’t lazy. It’s necessary.

And sometimes, the very best reset is just a few well-timed ZZZ’s.

Do you ever take power naps? How many hours of sleep do you need per night?

It's a Refreshing May Hodgepodge

 

I am joining up with Joyce at From This Side of the Pond and all of our friends for the Wednesday Hodgepodge. I apologize for two posts today -- The April A to Z Challenge is coming to a close. I'm going to make it through Z (tomorrow). Yay!

1. Are you feeling more reset, restart, or full speed ahead as we move into May? Tell us why. 

I took my second final on Monday night and I have about four weeks before summer semester begins. I guess that means I am in "reset" mode . . .or maybe another option would be "refresh" mode. I know that wasn't an option, but it would fit, right?

2. Painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, cinema, theatre, music...what's your favorite form of art? Elaborate.  

I think my favorite is theatre, but I do love architecture! I also love to read, but I'm not sure the books I read are classified as art haha!

3. What time is dinner at your house? How do you feel about leftovers? 

We normally eat dinner around 6:00 or maybe 6:30. Neither of us likes to eat and then go to bed a short time after so we've never been the kind of folks who eat dinner at 8:00 p.m. We eat leftovers all of the time, but I have a strict limit on how many days something can hang out in the fridge and still be edible. Mark, on the other hand, will eat thing FAR longer than I will. Nope. Not happening.

4.What's the last thing you fell down a rabbit hole investigating? 

Trips, maybe? You start looking at one trip and then you realize the dates don't work . . .so you find another. . .and it goes on and on. 

5. And now for a question from the book Marilyn (Memphis Bridges) gave me...

At what are you 'self-taught?' 

I have no idea. Others taught me the basics of cooking, but I did work hard on my own. I guess I am self-taught in the area of preparing large quantities of food - cooking for 15-20 people every week has honed that skill. What else do I know how to do . . . .Many years ago, I participated in smocking classes and sewing classes. I've even taken a photography class (long ago) so I'm not self-taught in any of those skills.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I need to clean out my pantry! My pantry isn't large but I've been thinking about painting the walls and shelves a dark and moody color - like dark blue?? I don't have anything else in that color scheme, but just wanted to do something totally crazy. Do any of you have cool pantries that you've painted a fun color? If so, please share with me! Let's be honest, I will be doing good to just get it cleaned out.