May 2026 Family Update
Skylar finished up her freshman year with a 4.0 and the keys to her first apartment. She’s completed all of the steps for her private pilot’s license and is just waiting for her FAA check ride to make it official. They are on about a 2-week wait. In the meantime, she’s started her summer classes: Weather and Physics. She’s also applying for summer jobs but she has one in particular that we have our fingers crossed for. I’m so incredibly proud of this kid!
My friend Jamie graduated Nurse Practitioner school and we had a lovely afternoon celebrating her. The weather was absolutely perfect! I had the best time swinging on the back porch while we all sat around chatting and playing corn hole. Now that graduation is here, this also means that Book Club is back. We read Remarkably Bright Creatures and I can’t wait to watch the movie on Netflix.
Gracie and I went to another Mahjong event to get some more practice! I wish I knew more people that play this game. It’s a lot of rules but so much fun once you get the hang of it!
I had a lovely Mother’s Day this year including a homemade steak lunch. I didn’t think I was going to see Skylar because she had to work, but she was able to get off early and stop by to see me. She’s on the scrimp and save plan trying to pay for flight labs but she did thrift me an Eagles hoodie AND she made me a pizza recipie book. I really appreciated her creativity!
Been playing a lot of pickleball, especially when it’s not raining. I’d say we play a solid 3x a week now. It’s not as often as 2 summers ago since a lot of people aren’t playing at night but it’s enough to keep me active. Homemade pizza making is still a weekly event with our Solo Stove pizza oven. We’ve pretty much mastered the process to our liking.
Our friend, Bobby Kendrick, recently started up his band again and had a community event out in Lebanon. One of my most favorite things, is seeing people do what they love. The whole community came out and I was grinning ear to ear watching the band play and everyone else dance and enjoy themselves. It was such a fun evening!
Despite having big plans for Memorial Day, I spent mine in the ER with a kidney stone. Ugh! I don’t recommend those little buggers but I highly recommend IV drugs and a bestie to take good care of you. I slept almost the entire day but I haven’t had any more pain so far. I go back to the urologist in a few weeks to see if there’s any other stones still in there. In the meantime, I’ve been drinking lemon water like crazy.
Books Read
- Remarkably Bright Creatures – Can’t wait to watch the movie.
- A Marriage at Sea – Fast read. The human will to survive is fascinating!
Restaurants
- Paper Mill – Mt. Juliet
- The Avo Bowl is my forever fave!
- The Trailer Park – Off 109 in Lebanon
- Went 3 times this month. Tacos, tacos, tacos!
- Milestone Craft Deli – Golden Bear Pkwy in Mt. Juliet
- They are from Philly and have GF buns
- Pokeworks – Providence Area in Mt. Juliet
- Super easy to order
- Gotcha Poke Bowl – Providence Area in Mt. Juliet
- Ordering was tricky-ish but the ingredients and presentation of the bowl was better
- Rock N Roll Sushi – Donelson
- I was definitely craving sushi-esqe meals this month
- Hattie Jane’s Creamery – Donelson
- NEW FAVORITE ICE CREAM SHOP!!
- La Madeline – Golden Bear Pkwy in Mt. Juliet
- Coffee was great! Not a lot of GF options but Skylar’s Avacado Toast looked amazing!
- Hillside Hangout – Lebanon Rd in Mt. Juliet
- I got the grilled cheese but should have gotten a burger
