Happy Sunday!

Good morning, friends! Happy Sunday! ☀️

I'm just getting up and moving around a little bit. I ended up catching that little stomach bug that Norah Harper had, although thankfully mine wasn't nearly as bad as hers. I was nauseated for most of the day yesterday and did get sick once, but after that, I felt considerably better. I was still able to tolerate a little food here and there, so it certainly could've been worse. I just didn't feel like myself.

I think my body decided the best way to deal with it was to sleep because that's pretty much all I did yesterday. I laid down on the couch and slept for four hours, got up and did a few things, and then went right back to bed. I slept so much that I didn't even hear Gary leave for work this morning. He said he kissed me goodbye and talked to me for a minute, but I don't remember a single thing. I was OUT. 😂

Thankfully, I woke up this morning feeling great! Whatever it was seems to have passed, and I'm very grateful for that.

I didn't cook dinner last night because I was pretty much out of commission. I just let everybody fend for themselves with leftovers and whatever else they could find. I think Gage had some steak left from LongHorn and Gary had part of a baked potato, but beyond that, I couldn't tell you what anybody ate. They survived, so I suppose that's all that matters. Lol.

Since I'm feeling better today, I think I'll make a good Sunday dinner. I'm torn between making gumbo or doing a barbecue dinner. I picked up a big container of pulled chicken at Sam's, and we've got some really good sugar-free barbecue sauces that we've been enjoying. Gary loves my baked beans. I make them with ground beef, bell peppers, brown sugar, and all that good stuff. I thought about making those along with some homemade potato salad. That sounds so good! Then again, gumbo sounds pretty wonderful too. I've got everything I need for both, so maybe I'll just let the kids decide.

Other than cooking, I'm planning on having my usual quiet Sunday. I'm going to snuggle up, do my Bible reading, and watch a church service on television. I have to admit that when I watch church online, I usually skip straight to the sermon. It's not that I don't enjoy the worship music, but it just doesn't translate the same way through a television.

There's a local pastor we really enjoy listening to, and we visit their church from time to time when it works out, but it's out in Pensacola, so we don't always make it over there. They have an incredible band and sound system, and the worship experience in person is wonderful. It's just not quite the same on YouTube. There are actually several pastors we enjoy listening to, so I usually find a sermon and settle in with my Bible. That's one of my favorite ways to spend a Sunday morning.

We're also thinking about taking the kids to the bowling alley tonight when Gary gets home. They don't even want to bowl. They just want to spend a couple of hours playing arcade games, which is perfectly fine with me. Gary and I will probably bowl or play virtual golf while they do their thing. It's all set up where we can easily keep an eye on them, and it gives everybody something fun to do. I think it'll be a nice little outing before they head back to school tomorrow.

Of course, I already know the kids are going to ask if we can go out to eat too, and the answer is NO. Lol. We just went to LongHorn Friday night, and I have absolutely no desire to spend another hundred dollars eating out this weekend.

Eating out has gotten so ridiculously expensive, and lately I find myself leaving restaurants feeling a little underwhelmed. It's not that the food is bad. It's usually good! But then you get a check for $120 or $130 after the tip, and you're sitting there thinking, Well, that certainly didn't feel like a $130 meal.

Especially when it's something simple that I know we could've made just as well, if not better, at home. Gary makes a wonderful steak on the grill, and I can make a pretty darn good one in my cast-iron skillet. Sometimes I just don't see the point in paying that much money for something we could've enjoyed just as much in our own kitchen.

I think that's why I enjoy going out to eat more when it's just Gary and me. We tend to choose places that serve things I don't normally cook. We love hibachi, Korean food, Chinese buffets, noodle houses, and places like that. It's something different, and I don't mind spending the money nearly as much when it's a meal I wouldn't ordinarily make at home. When we take the kids, we naturally gravitate toward steakhouses and places with more traditional menus because that's what they prefer.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy a good restaurant, and I certainly enjoy not having to cook occasionally. I just think eating out has gotten so expensive that it's harder to justify when the meal itself isn't anything particularly special. I’d rather order Panera or Chick-fil-A or something and know that it’s gonna be mediocre and pay about half the price of what you pay going to a sitdown restaurant. I get my break from cooking and the food is about as good as it’s gonna get for pick up.

So anyway… tonight we'll eat a good dinner here at home and then take the kids to the arcade so they can burn a hole in their little pockets with OUR money instead. 😂

Anyway, that's about all I've got planned for today, and I'm perfectly content with it. I'm just happy to be feeling good again. I think I'm going to spend the next few hours snuggled up in bed with my sweet little dog because he's entirely too cute, and I don't have anywhere else I need to be.

I hope everybody has a wonderful, peaceful Sunday! Enjoy your families, get some rest, and do something that makes you happy.

Happy Sunday, y'all!

xoxo - Jenny ❤️