mondaymorningwithmona

Intentions, Resolutions, Oh My…

I love goal setting. I love new starts. Almost every Sunday, for as long as I can remember, I would say “this is going to be a new week, and this week I am going to get my act together.” Most weeks, I’d say it with excitement. The new week meant that it was anContinue reading “Intentions, Resolutions, Oh My…”

5K Fundraiser

A lifetime ago, I was a race director. Well, it wasn’t a lifetime, but it sure feels like a lifetime ago. Instead, it was closer to a decade ago. So, a decade ago, I was a race director for a national non-profit. That year, our small organization grew the race series, grew our exposure, andContinue reading “5K Fundraiser”

Preparing Tamales – Our Holiday Tradition

My family began making tamales back in 1960.I obviously wasn’t a part of the first annual Christmas Eve tamale making event. Even my mother wasn’t around at that time. Many years ago, my dad’s family began making tamales, and the practice stuck. I often wonder if they knew that sixty-two years later the family wouldContinue reading “Preparing Tamales – Our Holiday Tradition”

The Final Blog for This Exercise

I can’t believe that this is my final blog. Well, it’s not the last one that I will ever write. I have actually enjoyed this experience, and I feel like someday, I will come back to these thirty-days of blogs, and I will be reminded of this time in my life. Overall, it was anContinue reading “The Final Blog for This Exercise”

House-hunting

I have been thinking about buying a “forever house” for several months. It’s been an interesting situation because the economy has shifted which has made me think of this investment differently. When I started looking, money was cheap, and the prices of houses was high. I knew the market would shift, but I had noContinue reading “House-hunting”

Sterling City, Texas

Today, we made the short drive from Lubbock to Sterling City, and I was reminded of how long it has been since we have been down here. My hometown is Lubbock, Texas. Most people haven’t heard of it, and some people think they’ve heard of it, but have no idea where it is. When weContinue reading “Sterling City, Texas”

One Guy from Italy

One Guy from Italy might be my favorite restaurant. Well, it’s not my very favorite, but it definitely ranks in the top five restaurants in my hometown. It’s been around for over forty-years, and twenty-five-plus-years-ago, when we were going to Tech as a young couple, we frequented the place. The location is great. The foodContinue reading “One Guy from Italy”

Suijin

I got a note from my neighbor that her dog went to our house looking to see if Suijin wanted to play. Part of me wanted to cry because I miss Suijin so much. Most of me was just so happy to have such amazing neighbors and dog-friends. Suijin and Jack live next door toContinue reading “Suijin”

Traveling Feels Different

The last time we went home for the holidays was Christmas 2019. Flying home was long, but I don’t remember it being hard. We had made the trip across the ocean and half the country more than once, and this trip would be stress-free. Little did we know that we would not be able toContinue reading “Traveling Feels Different”

Tattoos

My parents gave us a lot more freedom than we deserved. We didn’t have a lot of rules in our house, and I remember our house being wild and crazy because of it. We had a ton of fun growing up, but ONE rule that we always had was NO TATTOOS ALLOWED. Interestingly enough, asContinue reading “Tattoos”