Blaze of Glory

Happy Wednesday, friends and fam!

I'm on a Glen Powell kick that started with Chad Powers then watching Twisters again...

Glen Thomas Powell, Jr.  He is almost comically attractive - he was perfectly cast in Top Gun: Maverick, and his mentor/friendship with Tom Cruise makes me happy!!  He's great at playing the arrogant frat boy type, but he's pretty versatile, and his real personality seems super down to earth, a little cheesy, kindhearted, and driven/committed to success.  Anyway, I am a fan and wish him a lovely life and alllll the success he desires in Hollywood!

I was also happy to learn he's only four years younger than me - see how cute we'd be! lol

Mmkay, moving on.  Apple Music gave me my 2025 recap - I really laughed about Jon Bon Jovi being my top artist for the month of March!  I was on a Blaze of Glory kick and apparently listened to that one song enough to outrank any other artist that month. lol  So random.  I would have assumed I listened to Opalite more than Cancelled, but apparently not.  T-Swift's reign was not a surprise... get excited for her Disney+ "The End of an Era" documentary coming out on Friday!! ❤

I took this pic on my drive because I think of JMM every time I notice this Wellston sign.  January 2007, he was at my new Tulsa apartment helping Mom and I clean and move - he and I were sitting on the floor putting something together, and Rach was on speakerphone with Mom heading our way.  She was unfamiliar with the Tulsa drive and said, "I'm getting pretty close - I just passed Wellston."  And Josh whispered to me, "She is not close." lol  He was not wrong, and now it's a mile marker I tend to notice.  Not sure why that memory stuck with me, but here we are.

Going back to catch up on photos, Tate Haywood and Chet Lee ran Fleet Feet's Turkey Trot fun run on Black Friday this year... fun!!

One of my fav yesteryear pics of Rach and Jace! =)

My podcast besties... well, them and Mel Robbins and Melanie and Sophie!

The Wilsons (finally) made the official FB announcement that Karli is pregnant with another baby girl! #getexcited #cuteness

"Paige... something Wilson!" lol

Or maybe not even Paige, but I do think Paige Noelle would be cute! ❤

'Tis the season for Christmas treats, and a bail bonds office brought us bundtinis.  Judge grabbed a carrot cake thinking it was pumpkin, then threw most of it away...

Judge:  Has anybody tried the chocolate?  What's that one?

Me:  Oh, it's just chocolate cake with chocolate chips!

Judge:  "Okay good.  I'm gun-shy now - if only they wouldn't make cakes out of vegetables... what a ridiculous notion!" lol  He was adamant, and it cracked me up!

(For the record, I had the other carrot cake and quite enjoyed it!)

Yay, Christmas leggings!  And yay, Norman Christmas tree!

I took a free sample 15-minute class yesterday for my first super-official Peloton ride -- yay, Robin Arzon, and yay for the full bike experience --  loved it!  As soon as my work TV is re-mounted in that room, I'll make this a regular workout! ❤

Okay, that's all for today.  Time to buckle down and focus, getting caught up with transcripts and finishing strong with school work!! 

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Final Books for 2025!

1.  SPSS Survival Manual: A Step by Step Guide to Data Analysis Using IBM SPSS by Julie Pallant -- My statistics textbook - riveting, as you might imagine!  But I learned some new things, and I'm officially done with math courses forevermore at the end of this week -- HUZZAH!!

2.  How to Do the Work: Recognize Your Patterns, Heal from Your Past, and Create Your Self by Nicole LePera -- Read this three years ago and revisited it recently based on Emily's recommendation since it has some great content on calming and resetting your nervous system! ❤

3.  It Doesn't Have to Hurt: Your Smart Guide to a Pain-Free Life by Dr. Sanjay Gupta -- He was on Mel's podcast, and he is good at explaining medical things on a relatable layperson level.  This book has great evidence-based insight on how our mindset affects our pain tolerance and experience of physical pain.

4.  Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age by Dr. Sanjay Gupta -- Again, strong medical content that feels accessible for the average reader... with relevant lifestyle changes and medical tests that would be helpful for anyone dealing with cognitive decline or hoping to prevent it.

5.  Collective Illusions: Conformity, Complicity, and the Science of Why We Make Bad Decisions by Todd Rose -- my favorite book of 2025, found through Mel Robbins' podcast!!  The author researched how our false assumptions about the majority opinion quietly shape our decisions and our culture.  He argues that most of us hide our preferences and conform in an effort to belong, chasing goals we do not really value and reinforcing systems most people do not believe in.  This drives political polarization and personal dissatisfaction, not to mention the issues it creates within the church... and this book is a roadmap for questioning the perceived norms, speaking honestly about our true values, and building healthier environments where AUTHENTICITY replaces conformity!

6.  The Lion and the Bear: A 100-Day Guide for Facing Your Giants by Caroline Shankle -- A solid devotional book intended for teens and college girls... I was excited to support Caroline's first book (Melanie's daughter from the Big Boo Podcast), and I wanted to listen to it before giving it to my niece as a bonus Christmas gift! =)

7.  That's a Great Question, I'd Love to Tell You by Elyse Myers -- Another first-book effort I was happy to support!  I always enjoy Elyse's reels and the way she shares her personal stories with vulnerability and humor, and this book was sweet and fun.  I appreciate the stream-of-consciousness-style storytelling, and it was nice to learn more about how she and Jonas (her husband) first met.

8.  Hiring for Attitude: A Revolutionary Approach to Recruiting Star Performers.. by Mark Murphy -- Did not love this one - maybe because it felt outdated and a little condescending, or maybe because the author used the phrase "brown shorts" approximately 100,000 times when I'd have preferred "workplace culture" or "company values."  I understand the general message of "prioritize hiring people who share your core values," but I did not love the way it was delivered.

9.  Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck - Why Some Thrive Despite Them All by Jim Collins -- Loved this one, found through Craig's Leadership podcast.  Another research-driven book (yay for thinking ahead on dissertation ideas) where they compared the performance of several top companies and analyzed the main qualities that led to 10x greatness: fanatic discipline, evidence-based creativity, and productive paranoia.

So that officially wraps up my reading list for 2025.  The 40 books pictured below + my annual re-read of Atomic Habits, for a total of 41 books at age 41 - YAY!  A happy accident this year, but one I will be intentional about continuing!! =)

Seven of this year's books were re-reads from past years,
but of the books that were new to me:

Gold = Collective Illusions

Silver = I've Never Been Here Before

Bronze = Here Be Dragons

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3 Parties in 3 Days!

And last but not least, today was Mom and Dad's Christmas party for Dad's Fantasy Football crew, our long-time family friends... the Wallaces, Minnichs, and Lemieux fam! ❤  Three Christmas parties in three days this weekend... all fun times and good crowds and an abundance of great food... and now I'm genuinely looking forward to healthier eating through the week ahead!

This = Ty, Clint, Rach, me, and Michelle (aka the kids of yesteryear) =)

Kingston and Jaceman!

Bill & Jill!

The Fam!

Bob and Terry!

Wallace Crew!

Pic with Kyndal Faith in her "Sleigh Girl Sleigh" shirt! lol

Wallace boys and Muecke girls!

A quick look back at the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s... birthdays, Sea World, San Antonio, Beverly Hills, and Clint's wedding at 9121. =)

Group pic... everyone but Rick made it for this event (he was home with a migraine).

'Tis the season for extensions, apparently. lol  This = Autumn (red) and Michaela (copper/brown), my new hand-tied hair extensions by Janelle on 12-5-2025... I think I'll be very glad to have them through the Christmas season and Disney trip and birthday season ahead!

And on this day last year (12-7-2024) was Vivian's first public appearance at Mission BBQ with the Wilsons after Parker's ballet! =)

After that dinner, I drove straight to Rachael's house, where she curled that Halo hairpiece for me to use in my first and only legit photo session the next day... YAY!!

GRACIOUS - I'm tired.  Outside of two Tulsa parties and today's family party, I finished some intense stats homework, recorded a school presentation with my qualitative research group, processed deep thoughts, and wrote three party-recap blogs! ;-)  Thirteen weeks down, one to go for this fall school semester!  This weekend has been rich and full, and I'm grateful!!

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A Very Bougie Christmas

Saturday night was Chet Lee's 5th Annual Bougie Charcuterie Board Christmas Party, his favorite event of the Christmas season!! ❤

Chettles decided to make the entire kitchen island a grazing board... it was a hit!!  He prefers the fancier cheeses, but I was very happy that this year's board included some easy grab-and-go cheese cubes and slices... yes, please! =)

The fruit tree! =)

Sushi platters, courtesy of Debbie - also a hit, just not in my world! =)

Dessert boards, including Little Debbie Christmas tree cakes!! lol

There was also puppy chow and fruit dip and great punch and hot chocolate and tea!  The Wilsons do such a great job putting together this fun party every year!!

As per usual, Chet was busy hosting and helping newbies feel comfortable, so we caught up after the party.  Chettles is a natural connector who befriends everyone he meets, so this yearly event includes his neighbors, church friends, new pastor, coworkers, lenders, clients, dentist, Chick-Fil-A friends, and the usual core friend group!

Leasa from Chick-Fil-A, aka Chet's mobile office. lol

Tree pic with the fabulous Foster fam before they left!

New piano player this year - she didn't take requests on the Christmas carols, but she played fantastic background music like the Home Alone song and Where Are You Christmas and other movie gems!

Christmas carols... always entertaining and cute!  We sang without booklets this time, so we were struggling and Googling the words for some of the verses. lol

It was a drill weekend for Steve, so he and Sarah arrived around the time Don and Kantrell were leaving... but I insisted on this photo since they all had on bright red sweaters with sparkling Chrstimas lights! lol

Bill and Melissa brought the kids back home toward the end of the night... I was so happy to see them again, and they were thrilled to get some fun snacks and see everyone for a bit!

Stephen took our annual friend trio pic... cuteness!  He had the phone up nice and high, then wordlessly started to bring it down to a far less flattering angle, and Chet and I both said "No" in unison. LOL

When I wasn't snacking in the kitchen, I spent quality time at the dining table laughing and talking with the Fosters, Myers, and Bradleys... then that group left and the Fultons arrived, so I caught up with Sarah and Steve for a while (getting updated on David's hospital drama and other family and school stuff).  This is a kid-free event, so when all the parents had gone home, it was the Iwanagas; Chet's neighbor, Mark; myself; and the Wilson fam!  Here's the final pics with Paul and Stephanie and the Wilsons (this photo was by Tate)!  It made me happy that Stephanie and I both went with our bling jeans for this bougie soiree! ;-)

Stephanie set her phone up on a timer, resulting in some cute selfies of the kids! lol

And a fun group shot that included all of us!!

All in all, it was a very fun party with lots of great food!!  My favorite quote of the night came from Jon Foster - Jessica was talking to Kantrell about how she has to be more careful about what she eats because her metabolism has changed since she was in her mid-20s, and Jon chimed in with "Pretty sure my metabolism changed when I was 8!"  lol  Kantrell and I quickly joined him in lamenting that we've really never experienced the lovely high-metabolism life, but kudos to those who did!!

"Mini-wave in celebration of ME!" lol ;-)  
(This is courtesy of Steve not paying attention to my fun photo prop.)

Mmkay, that's all for this post!

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"These are a Few of My Favorite Things"

Friday night was Kelly Marie's "Favorite Things" Christmas Party, a fun girls night pajama party with a really cute gift exchange!  JEM was mostly hanging out upstairs watching movies with Ellie, but I got a Christmas tree selfie with him and Kelly right as I came in - yay, Moss fam! ❤

There were 19 women total - a great crowd - several who were new to me, but a few I've known for several years!

Ellie Faye was tired and uninterested in being in a photo, so we tried a selfie that cropped her out. lol

Each of us brought 3 unwrapped gifts - one of our favorite items in the $15-$20 range... there were cozy blankets, nonstick pans, Dawn powerwash, mascara, seasonings, coffee, journals, books, snacks, moisturizer, scented candles, geometry towels, perfume, and more!  I went with Write the Word journals and a fun glitter pen... but one didn't show up on time, so I substituted a cute copy of Little Women, one of my fav books!

There was the classic naughty and nice drink options (reminiscent of the Convivial Cozy Christmas parties!!)

And so much great food, including the awesome slider sandwiches, chips and dips, bundtinis, brownies, cheesecake, cookies, fudge, fruit trays, and more!!  

We drew numbers 3x for the order to choose our three gifts... I was #1, #3, and #13, which felt very Swiftie-themed and fun!  I grabbed a cute pic with Jessie on my way out while holding my new blanket, balsam fir candle, fuzzy socks, and new mascara! ❤

This was a fun and creative Christmas party idea, and it was nice to catch up with a few old friends and meet some new ones!  I'm grateful for the invite and for Kelly being a great party hostess!!

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