Journeys With Jani

Loretta’s “Not Really A Playlist” Playlist

January 5, 2026

Music

Let’s Talk About It…

Some days the internet is a dumpster fire with a Wi-Fi signal.

And then some days it hands you Loretta Lamberth.

Loretta is one of Take Time To Travel’s long-time homebased advisors and she’s the real deal. We swap grandkid stories, recipes and the kind of everyday life chatter that somehow turns into a full therapy session without anyone scheduling it. She’s a gem. For sure. And clearly she also has great taste in music.

So when Loretta dropped a “not really a playlist” playlist in the comments on one of my Facebook posts… yep. Today’s blog became a music post. Because this list is too good to leave sitting in a comment section like it’s not the main character.

Here’s Loretta’s lineup, with a little added flavor from me.

💿 Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody

Loretta said it’s the best song ever and must be on every playlist. Period.

And honestly… she’s not wrong. “Bohemian Rhapsody” isn’t a song, it’s an emotional event. It’s theater, chaos, heartbreak, harmony and that moment you realize you’ve been singing the lyrics wrong for years and you don’t even care because it still hits. Every playlist deserves at least one track that makes you feel something. This one makes you feel twelve things at once.

💿 Billy Joel: Only the Good Die Young and River of Dreams

Loretta’s exact vibe was basically, “Aw heck… all of Billy Joel.” Which is the most accurate Billy Joel review I’ve ever heard.

“Only the Good Die Young” has that rebellious thing. Catchy, bold, slightly don’t clutch your pearls too hard. And “River of Dreams” is pure late-night-driving energy. Reflective but still moving. Billy Joel doesn’t just write songs, he writes scenes. You can see the story while it’s playing.

💿 Elton John: The One, Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me, The Bitch Is Back, Original Sin and basically all of Made in England

Loretta came in strong with Sir Elton John and I respect it.

Elton can do heartbreak that sits you down gently and then turn around and deliver a song that struts into the room wearing sunglasses with no apologies.

And “Made in England”? That’s one of those if you know, you know picks. Loretta knows.

“The One” is soft, grown-up love. The kind that feels earned. “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” is a full-body emotional experience. “The Bitch Is Back” is glittering confidence blasted from a cannon! And “Original Sin” is moody, dramatic and criminally underplayed.

💿 NSYNC: Bye Bye Bye

Loretta said out of all the boy bands, NSYNC was the best.

I’m not here to fight her. “Bye Bye Bye” is pop perfection. Catchy, sharp, attitude with a beat. Also… the second it comes on, your body remembers choreography you never officially learned. Your body starts acting like it was on TRL in 2000. No consent. It just happens.

Every good playlist needs at least one track that makes you grin and time travel.

💿 Meat Loaf: the storytelling king

Loretta said Meat Loaf never gets enough playtime or recognition and she’s right. He is irreverent, dramatic and ridiculously good at telling a story through a song.

She called out most every track on:

🦇 Bat Out of Hell and Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell

Meat Loaf is for people who like their music with a plot, a storm rolling in, a motorcycle revving somewhere in the distance and a heartbreak so loud it requires a spotlight. He didn’t just sing songs. He performed emotional car crashes in the best possible way.

The takeaway:

Loretta’s “not really a playlist” playlist is exactly what a good playlist should be: legendary voices, big feelings, a little humor and a lot of personality. This lineup works whether you’re cleaning the kitchen, driving to work, wrapping up a long day or planning your next trip and pretending you’re in a movie montage.

And the best part is this: music is personal… but it’s also communal. It’s how we share pieces of ourselves without having to explain all the messy details.

Loretta, if you’re reading this… you’re a gem and your taste is immaculate.

Now…

Who’s next?

🤔 Drop 3–5 songs that never fail you and I might turn your picks into the next blog post.

🤔 Or just drop 1 and I’ll bundle it faster than Jake from State Farm!

🤔 If you want to make it easy, answer these:

❤️ One “best song ever”

❤️ One song that kicks you right in the feelings

❤️One song that makes you dance in the kitchen

Tell me yours in the comments. I’m collecting favorites and grouping them into future playlist blogs… and yes, I will absolutely quote you!

XOXO, Jani

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When Your Hallelujah Comes Out Cracked

January 4, 2026

Eat, Pray, Love, Music

This weekend’s blog was supposed to be my usual kind of reflection… the regular weekend post. But somewhere between my thoughts and my coffee, it turned into a music post too. Because one song kept coming back around and it wouldn’t let me go.

“Hallelujah.”

A couple days ago I wrote about the weight so many women carry. The mental load. The emotional load. The kind of tired that sleep doesn’t fix because it isn’t your body that’s worn out, it’s your spirit.

That’s what made me think of “Hallelujah.”

If you grew up thinking Hallelujah was meant to sound like a church song, Leonard Cohen gently proves otherwise. He wrote it, but Jeff Buckley made it feel like something you don’t just hear, you carry. This one isn’t a polished hymn. It’s a human one.

And let’s be honest… so many people have covered this song over the years and I love most. Pentatonix can bring down the house, no doubt. But “Hallelujah is one of those songs that changes depending on who’s singing it and where you are in your life when you hear it. For me, it’s Jeff Buckley. There’s a reason people still talk about his version like it’s a lived-in prayer. It’s tender, it’s wrecked in the best way, and it fits that I’m still here feeling without trying to clean it up. Just go listen to it. I am going to include links to a few versions with this post.

“Hallelujah is what you sing when life is beautiful and when it’s a mess. It’s what comes out when you’re grateful and when you’re disappointed and when you’re not even sure which one you are yet. It’s praise, yes, but it’s also confession. It’s that quiet realization that faith and doubt can sit at the same table and still share the same air.

That’s the line I come back to, even when I don’t mean to: the broken hallelujah.

Cohen pulls in old Bible stories, not to preach at us, but to remind us we’ve always been complicated. David, Bathsheba, Samson, Delilah. Love that feels holy. Love that hurts. Desire, regret, devotion, betrayal. The whole tangled storyline of being human.

And then he does the part that stays with me. He keeps repeating hallelujah… a word that literally means “praise the Lord”… but he doesn’t save it for the bright and shiny moments. He uses it when things are cracked. Like he’s saying, I don’t have a perfect song to offer, but I can offer an honest one.

Not the pretty, polished version people sometimes expect. The real one. The kind you whisper when you’re doing your best to hold it together, even while something inside you feels cracked.

Because sometimes you don’t have the kind of faith that stands up straight and sings loud. Sometimes you’ve got the kind that sits on the edge of the bed, heart tired, and whispers, I’m still here.

And maybe that counts more than we think.

I have one precious soul on my heart right now. I won’t share their story because it isn’t mine to tell. But I will say this… if you’re reading this and you’re in that same place, I see you.

If your faith feels tired, if your hope feels thin, if your hallelujah comes out more like a sigh than a song… it still counts. It still matters. You’re still here.

And I believe this with everything in me: they will get to the other side of this. Not because it’s easy. Not because they aren’t hurting. But because they are stronger than the moment that’s trying to take them down.

So perhaps Hallelujah isn’t meant to make us feel religious as much as it’s meant to make us feel real. Like we’re allowed to be tender and tangled, hopeful and hurt. Like it still counts even if your praise comes out with a crack in it.

So today I’m saying a prayer for the ones who keep going anyway. The ones holding families, marriages, jobs, and emotions together with sheer will and a heartbeat.

May the broken hallelujah be the beginning, not the ending.

This morning, I’m letting that be enough.

A hallelujah… even if it’s a little broken.

And one more thing. Women and men can carry that same quiet weight. More on that later.

XOXO, Jani

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If I Have to Pick One Album… I’m Lying

January 3, 2026

Eat, Pray, Love, Music, The Sitcom Called “Mary Jane”

Since today is Saturday, we’re doing an album… and it feels downright wrong not to kick this whole thing off with Back in Black (AC/DC).

But here’s the problem with favorite album questions… they’re a trap. Because the second I say Back in Black, my brain goes: What about Rumours (Fleetwood Mac)?

💿 Then it’s, Hold up… What’s Going On (Marvin Gaye)?

💿 And of course you can’t not respect The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

💿 And Straight Outta Compton (N.W.A.)… don’t judge me, judge your own playlist.

💿 Then somebody screams London Calling (The Clash)

💿 And a faint whisper of Led Zeppelin IV and I’m done for

Point is… there isn’t a single BEST. There’s just what hits you in the moment, what raised you, what saved you and what still makes you crank the volume like you’re paying the electric bill in vibes.

So tell me…

What are your favorite albums?

What was your favorite at 16 at 21 vs now?

Two quick updates before I go…

1️⃣ I just realized I didn’t even mention Billy Idol or The Doors which is honestly shocking and possibly a misdemeanor.

2️⃣ If you’re doing Back in Black, you do it right

♠️ You start at Track 1 and you go straight through Track 10

♠️ All 42 minutes.

♠️ Do not interrupt this concert.

♠️ No pausing.

♠️ No skipping.

♠️ No “hold on I gotta answer this call.”

♠️ Respect the experience.

And because my brain refuses to behave… let’s just go ahead and toss Sam Cooke in here too, because that man belongs in every conversation about music. Period.

XOXO, Jani

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Rock ’n’ Roll Before It Had a Name

January 2, 2026

Music

The Crossroads and Robert Johnson

Alright. Rock ’n’ roll did not begin when somebody finally pressed record. It started way earlier… in juke joints with sticky floors, in little churches where the tambourine had an attitude, on front porches, in the Delta, in the hills, in places where folks didn’t have much except a voice, a beat, and something to say.

So when people ask what was the first rock ’n’ roll song what they’re really asking is… when did all those ingredients finally land in one pot at the same time and boil over?

Tonight’s starting point: “Rocket ‘88” (1951)

Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats (which was really Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm) cut this in Memphis at Sam Phillips’ studio. It’s widely cited as the first rock ’n’ roll record, or at

least the one that makes the best okay, fine, we’ll start here argument. And, if you have never heard it …Jear Desus!

Jackie Brenston …aka: IKE TURNER!

Listen for what makes it feel like rock:

🎸 That driving backbeat that makes your shoulders move before your brain gets to vote yes

🎸 The rowdy sax

🎸 The boogie-woogie piano

🎸 And that famous gritty, accidental guitar distortion that sounds like trouble walking in the room

Also… it wasn’t just important later. It hit No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1951.

But I’m not letting Rocket ‘88 hog the whole spotlight!

Because if we’re talking the sound before it had a label, we have to tip our hat to the folks who were already doing it.

🎤 Sister Rosetta Tharpe, “Strange Things Happening Every Day” (recorded 1944, hit in 1945)

Gospel, electric guitar, boogie energy, holy-ghost meets Saturday-night rhythm. It became the first gospel record to cross over and it hit No. 2 on Billboard’s “race” chart. If rock ’n’ roll has a birth story, this is a big chapter.

🎤 Fats Domino, “The Fat Man” (1949)

New Orleans piano triplets, that big rolling beat, the kind of groove that basically built the front porch of rock. It’s widely recognized as one of the earliest rock ’n’ roll records.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Appalachia 101

Fats Domino

My Ruling for Music Begins

Rock didn’t show up with a birth certificate. It showed up like a rumor… passed hand to hand, town to town, church to club, Black to white, country to blues to R&B, until one day it kicked the door open and everybody pretended they discovered it.

So for today, we’ll plant our flag on:

Song of the Day: Rocket ‘88

And we’ll keep the truth in the room… it had a whole lot of ancestors.

And because this is Journeys With Jani, I’m going to keep mixing it up, weekdays can be one song, one story. Saturdays and Sundays can absolutely be album weekend… because sometimes you need the whole meal, not just the appetizer.

If you want in on this daily music rabbit hole, send me a genre, artist, era, year, producer, record label… anything. I’ll get to you. Even if it takes me 365 days.

XOXO, Jani

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Resolutions

January 2, 2026

Eat, Pray, Love, The Sitcom Called “Mary Jane”, Travel Advice

Let’s Talk About It…

So… everybody’s got their New Year’s Resolutions locked and loaded, right?

Some folks make a list. A LIST. Like we’re about to storm the beaches of Normandy with a planner and a protein shake.

Others pick one BIG, shiny goal and slap it on January like a fresh bumper sticker: New year. New me.

And look, I get it. Something about January makes us feel like we’re supposed to overhaul our whole existence before the Christmas tree even finishes shedding its last needle. But is the BIG CHANGE approach actually helpful… or is it just loud?

Because every year, we all watch the same thing happen:

🎉 People post lofty aspirations

🎉 People feel inspired for about 9 days

🎉 Then life shows up with groceries, traffic and a lower back that suddenly has opinions

What if the problem isn’t motivation… what if the problem is scope?

Big goals aren’t the enemy. Vague goals are.

“I’m going to travel more in 2026.” Okay. Love that for you. But that sentence is like saying, “I’m going to eat better” while standing in the chip aisle. It’s not a plan, it’s a wish.

Try this instead:

🤔 Pick one or two specific destinations.

💋 Not Europe. Not the beach. Pick actual places.

💋 Then do the most magical thing known to mankind…

Talk to your travel agent. Make the deposit. Boom. Done.

That’s not just a resolution. That’s a decision.

Same with reading. “I’m going to read more” is sweet, but it’s slippery.

Try:

📕 1 book a week if you’re a fast reader

📕📗 2 books a month if your life stays busy

📃 10 pages a night if your attention span has been personally victimized by social media

Now you’ve got something you can actually measure. Progress feels good. Progress keeps you going.

Resolutions, but make them smaller and meaner

Not mean like hateful. Mean like effective.

😕 Instead of: I’m going to get organized

🙌 Try: Every Sunday, I’m clearing one surface. One.

😕 Instead of: I’m going to get healthier

🙌 Try: I’m walking 20 minutes three days a week. Start there.

😕 Instead of: I’m going to save money

🙌 Try: I’m auto-transferring $25 every payday.

Quiet. Consistent. Powerful.

Tiny wins stack up. And stacked wins turn into real change without the drama.

My twist this year: I’m not really doing the whole New Year’s Resolution thing. I’m switching it to my birthday. Because honestly… wouldn’t that make more sense?

January is everybody’s fresh start. It’s loud and crowded and full of other people’s expectations. But your birthday? That’s your personal page turn. Your individual new chapter.

And here’s the thing… it’s not just a chapter in some fancy hardcover book. It’s a journal you’re writing in real time. You choose what goes on those pages. You choose what gets remembered.

Those pages become the kind of memories our children, grandchildren and people we love carry forward. Maybe they’ll read them one day, maybe they’ll just feel them long after we’re gone on to be with real Jesus instead of hanging down here with tiny Jesus.

So yeah… I’m making my commitments on the day that belongs to me.

And if you’re reading this on Journeys With Jani, consider this your permission slip to do the same. Skip the giant vague promises. Pick a couple of specific things. Make them doable. Put dates on them. Put money on them if needed. Put accountability on them if you’re serious …like, get an accountability partner!

A resolution isn’t a personality trait. It’s a choice you repeat.

Now… go make one that actually sticks.

And I promise DJ MJ will be back this afternoon with a music blog.

XOXO, Jani

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33, 45, 78

January 1, 2026

Eat, Pray, Love, Music

33-45-78

Music Education with DJ MJ 🤣

For today, my brain is stuck on three numbers: 33, 45 and 78.

Because honestly… what was better for my generation than vinyl? And those 45’s with the little spinner? Yep. The spider. The tiny plastic magic that made the whole thing work.

I had so many little carrying cases for my 45s and I would do just about anything to have them back.

When I was in elementary school, my mother gave me $1.00 for an allowance and trust me when I say I did absolutely nada to earn it. Unless you count taking care of myself in her absence like every other Gen X kid.

But that dollar meant something. It meant freedom. It meant music.

Saturday at Ashley Gardens Apartments in New Holland, Pennsylvania in the late 70’s, I would grab my dollar, hop on my bike (which was basically a treasure for any kid) and take off to Stauffer’s Drug Store down the street. My mother sort of knew where I was but that was just standard back then. We did what we did as kids and showed back up for lunch.

Back to Stauffer’s.

Stauffer’s had this display of 45 records… as in 45 RPMs… and it was always the most popular 45’s for that timeframe. With tax, one record was $1.00.

Heck. Yes.

My music lovin’ little heart was fulfilled nearly every single Saturday.

And if it was raining? I pouted. Unless I could talk my mother or her boyfriend into taking me. Which usually worked.

Denny and my mother were the essential base of my love of music.

So I’d walk up to the counter with my 45 in hand and the cashier would place it in a flat brown paper bag along with a “spider.” A spider is actually called a 45 adapter but spider was the slang. I had one spider for every single 45… red, blue, yellow, maybe green.

Out the door, package in the basket on the front of my bike and back down the street. Key in lock. Up the stairs to my bedroom. Open the cabinet to my record player. Yes, I had my own because music was essential in that house.

Then the ritual.

Shimmy that spider onto the spindle.

Turn it on.

Move the speed to 45.

Place the needle exactly right.

Listen to the crackle (IYKYK).

Then it would begin.

I would sit right there and listen for two or three turns and if it was some pop or disco song, I would dance around my room like a Solid Gold dancer. Slower songs, I would lay on my bean bag and dream about being Leif Garrett’s girlfriend.

These are the memories I hold lovingly to.

Because in our childhood there can be so many painful things that happen and it can be so easy to allow those to swallow us whole. I absolutely would never say to bury that because I sure as hell can’t nor want to.

What I do believe is this. I choose to allow my soul fulfilling memories to be greater than soul draining ones.

Happy New Year Friends! Rock On!

XOXO, Jani

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Closing the Chapter on 2025

December 31, 2025

Eat, Pray, Love

Let’s Talk About It…

If 2025 had a soundtrack, it would be a mix of Rebel Yell (I’ve got something to say) & Don’t You Forget About Me (…while my brain is buffering). That pretty much sums up my year of writing.

Some days the words showed up like they owned the page. I had something to say & I said it. Other days I sat there staring at a blank screen like it was a personal attack. Writer’s block is such a cute little phrase for something that can feel so frustrating. It’s not that I had nothing in me. It’s that I had too much… it all got tangled up somewhere between my heart & my hands.

That’s when I have to talk about my mental library… because that’s exactly what it feels like up in there. Some parts of my mental library are beautifully organized. Label makers, color-coded tabs, a whisper-quiet reading room. You could eat off the floors. Other rooms are… not that. Other rooms are like a blind chia pet is the librarian & everything is just flinging itself off shelves for sport.

Then there’s the vault.

The vault is the mysterious part of my library that stays locked down so tight that even I only have limited access. I truly believe it’s my soul’s protection mechanism. It’s the place where certain memories, certain truths & certain stories stay tucked away until my mind & heart decide I’m ready.

Here’s what I’ve learned this year though. The more I write, the more often things get released from that vault. Not all at once & not always when I expect it. But piece by piece, the pages start sliding out like, “Okay… you can handle this now.”

That’s why I kept coming back.

Because this blog was never just a blog. It was the beginning of something bigger. The book is the reason I started all of this in the first place. The blog became my practice ground… where I could find my rhythm, test my voice, tell the truth in smaller pieces & remember that I’m allowed to take up space on a page.

This year I wrote about travel, about life, about people, about kindness, about the things that make me laugh & the things that make me stop & think. I wrote through the busy seasons & the tired seasons. I wrote when I felt inspired & I wrote when I felt stuck. Sometimes I published with confidence. Sometimes I hit post & walked away like I’d just jumped off a cliff.

And somehow, that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be.

Now let’s talk about 2026.

I’ve got a notebook full of ideas already. Not a vague -oh I should write more- kind of notebook. I mean a real deal, filled up with titles, notes, half-formed thoughts & little sparks that I refuse to ignore. Travel stories I can’t wait to share, reflections that need room to breathe & topics I’ve been circling for a while, waiting until the timing felt right.

And yes… I’ve got a few little surprises up my sleeve too.

I’m not ready to spill every detail yet, but I will say this: 2026 is going to have more intention. More follow-through. More depth. More humor. More honesty. And more of me showing up on purpose instead of only when everything feels perfectly lined up.

If you’ve been reading along, sharing posts, commenting, messaging me, cheering me on quietly from the sidelines… THANK YOU. You’ve made this feel like more than me talking into the void. You’ve made it feel like community.

So here we are. End of 2025. Page turning. Deep breath.

I’m walking into 2026 with a notebook full of ideas, a heart full of stories & a promise to keep writing… even when it’s messy, even when it’s hard, even when it’s not perfect.

Because I’m not done.

XOXO, Jani Aylsworth-Gunter

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End of Year Soul Cleanse: 2025’s Greatest Hits of Ridiculous

December 27, 2025

Eat, Pray, Love, The Sitcom Called “Mary Jane”

Let’s Talk About It…

Welcome to my annual purge. Not a meltdown… a cleanse. A spiritual exfoliation. The Hold My Earrings edition where we say the quiet part out loud, then go make somebody a glass of sweet tea & move on with our lives.

Because 2025 was loud. Like, exhaustingly loud.

So here we go. Bundled up nice and neat… like a rant basket with a bow.

💥 Bundle #1: Travel Advisors Are Not Free Google–

Let me clear my throat for the people who keep just wondering all the way to booking on their own. It costs you nothing to use a travel advisor. If you ask me for ideas, resorts, routes, best areas, is this a good deal, what would you do… that’s planning. If you take all that info then book it yourself, agents make $0.

If you want to DIY, do it. I respect it. Just don’t treat my experience like a free sample tray.

You’re not saving money by skipping an advisor… you’re just skipping the person who could have saved your trip when the airline decides to act possessed.

💥 Bundle #2: AI Is a Tool, Not the Devil-

AI photos, AI captions, AI planners, AI whatever… some folks are acting like a robot snuck into their house & stole their moral compass.

Here’s my take:

👩‍💻 If an AI photo makes someone feel better about themselves, good

👩‍💻 If someone uses AI to write, plan, create, organize, market, brainstorm… also good

👩‍💻 If you don’t like it, scroll on with your righteous thumbs

People are out here trying to survive life with confidence held together by caffeine & duct tape. Let them post the picture.

💥 Bundle #3: Keyboard Kowboys & Holy Rollers w/ Wi-Fi–

Now the religious & political rants all over Facebook… whew.

Some of y’all are out here preaching, judging, condemning, threatening to unfriend like it’s a spiritual gift.

Newsflash: being loud isn’t the same as being right.

If your faith makes you cruel, you missed the point If your patriotism requires you to hate everyone, also missed the point If your entire personality is arguing online, baby that is not a hobby

More listening. Less running our mouths.

💥 Bundle #4: The Mom Wars & the Grandma Olympics–

Let’s talk about the parenting gatekeepers.

The young moms who think they’ve got a lock on motherhood because they watched three parenting reels & bought the beige toy set.

And the grandmas who think they know more than the young moms because back in my day their babies survived on love, Tylenol & questionable car seat decisions.

Here’s the truth:

It all falls somewhere in the middle.

Young moms have valid instincts & new info Grandmas have experience & perspective Nobody needs to act like the Supreme Court of Parenting

We could all calm down & help each other instead of competing over who has suffered more and who knows best.

💥 Bundle #5: Breathe Before You Blow a Fuse–

Half the internet needs a snack & a nap.

Let’s do more breathing and less holding it in until we explode on somebody who didn’t even deserve it. Let’s stop living on the edge of a meltdown like it’s a personality trait.

And when that irritating neighbor gets under your skin… instead of fantasizing about doing something you’d regret…

Make them some sweet tea.

Extra sugar.

Because bitterness will wear you out way faster than people will.

❤️ The Point of This Whole Rant

This is Journeys With Jani, and I’ve learned something this year… Peace is a decision. Boundaries are holy. Silence is powerful. Kindness is still a flex.

So in 2026, I’m trying to do less arguing, more living.

Less reacting, more observing.

Less internet warfare, more actual joy.

If you agree, come sit by me honey. I’ve got sweet tea & zero desire to fight strangers online.

XOXO, Jani

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Christmas in the Apple Universe…

December 27, 2025

The Sitcom Called “Mary Jane”

When I say Apple I do not mean Snow White’s poison snack, Eve’s oopsie in the garden, or that poor apple William Tell had to play target practice with. I mean Apple. Steve Jobs Apple. The one that basically walked into our lives, redecorated the place and never left.

And Christmas? Christmas is basically the Super Bowl of Apple gifts. iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, iMacs, AirPods, watches… the whole shiny spaceship collection.

Now… confession time. I’m all in on gadgets. Any kind. Kitchen. Yard. Cleaning. Toys. Toys. Electronics. Yes, toys twice. IYKYK.

Once upon a time I refused to get an iPhone. I was stubborn. I was principled. I was also wrong. I finally broke down because of work integration and one swipe across that screen had me hooked like a my dogs on a dropped chicken nugget.

These days I’m walking around with an iPhone 16 Pro Max, an iPad 12.9, an Apple Watch (don’t ask me which one, it does the things) and AirPods Pro 3. It’s ridiculous how much I love my tech.

The part nobody tells you when you unwrap a brand-new Apple device…

You pull that new iPad out of the box and it’s gleaming, it’s perfect, it’s giving “I have my life together.”

Then Apple says: Surprise. Update time.

And they’re not wrong.

Apple pushes updates constantly because they’re fixing bugs, patching security issues and sometimes dropping new “BAM” features that make you feel like you got a whole new device. Apple’s own security guidance basically says keeping software up to date is one of the most important things you can do.

But here’s where people get mad: they update… without knowing what changed… then act shocked when something looks different.

That’s like getting a new haircut with your eyes closed and then yelling at the mirror.

Here are the kinds of updates Apple has been sliding in lately, the ones people miss, then complain about, then love once someone explains it.

🍎 iPadOS 26: Your iPad got more “computer-ish”

Apple’s iPadOS 26 feature list calls out things like Spatial scenes (that 3D photo effect), plus updates to windowing and multitasking so you can work across more apps like a grown adult… or at least pretend.

It also mentions Advanced Fingerprinting Protection expanding beyond Private Browsing which is a fancy way of saying Safari is doing more to stop sneaky tracking.

🍎 iOS 26.2: It wasn’t just “bug fixes,” it was real features

Apple’s iOS 26.2 update notes list updates to Apple Music (like offline lyrics) and Podcasts (like auto chapters), plus the usual performance and security work.

And yes, security patches can be the real headline even when the update feels “small.” Apple’s security docs for iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 describe fixes for WebKit issues that Apple notes may have been exploited in targeted attacks.

🍎 AirPods update too… because of course they do

Most people don’t realize AirPods get firmware updates quietly in the background. Apple says they update automatically while charging and near your iPhone or iPad on Wi-Fi, and you can check the firmware version in settings.

So if your AirPods suddenly do something new, or stop doing something old, don’t assume they became possessed. It was probably a firmware update.

iPadOS 26 even calls out some AirPods integrations like using AirPods as a camera remote and recording higher quality audio with supported AirPods.

🍎 Apple Watch: updates add features and fix the little annoying stuff

Apple’s watchOS 26 pages highlight new capabilities, and the watchOS 26.2 update notes mention things like Sleep Score refinements, Enhanced Safety Alerts (US) and fixes like Music not advancing tracks.

My favorite part of all this: learn what changed in 10 minutes!

I follow a couple tech people on YouTube, but my favorite is Brandon Butch because he talks plainly. No tech snob energy. Just “here’s what changed, here’s what matters.”

He regularly posts those “What’s New?” videos for updates like iOS 26.2, plus AirPods update breakdowns and big feature roundups.

And honestly? Not understanding updates is why people get mad about updates 99% of the time.

My quick “new Apple gift” routine (steal this)…

Because yes, I’m busy too… but I did not drop big dollars to use 40% of a device.

📲 Update it immediately (Settings > General > Software Update)

📲 Turn on automatic updates so you’re not behind

📲 Watch one “What’s New” video while you drink coffee and pretend you aren’t addicted to screens

📲 Pick one feature to learn today instead of trying to learn everything at once

That’s it. Small bites. Big payoff.

Because these Apple babies can do way more than most people realize. And if I’m going to own them, I’m going to get every ounce of magic out of them.

And that, my friends, is the gospel according to Journeys With Jani.

Now tell me… what did Santa bring you?

XOXO, Jani

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Everyone is Different. Have a Little Grace.

December 22, 2025

Eat, Pray, Love, The Sitcom Called “Mary Jane”

Let’s Talk About It…

All families have stuff. The difference is back in the day, there was no social media. Unless you were famous, nobody knew your mess… except the local Baptist ladies who met up once a week to “pray.” And by “pray,” I mean they had a full report, names included.

We also didn’t have cell phones. Or caller ID. The phone rang, you answered, and if a relative made you mad… there was nothing more soul-satisfying than slamming that heavy receiver down on the base.

BAM.

“End call” doesn’t hit the same. It’s like trying to win a fight with a sticky note. You can throw your $1500 iPhone into a brick wall but then the only person you punished is your own wallet. Apple is not moved by your emotions.

But here’s what I was thinking about today: people are different.

Even inside the same family, raised in the same house, by the same parents, kids can come out wildly different. Like straight from the womb. One is cautious. One is fearless. One is tender. One is a tiny CEO with opinions and a five-year plan.

And before anybody gets their feelings hurt… none of those personalities are wrong. None of them are right. They’re just different. Different wiring, different strengths, different ways of moving through the world.

Some people are regimented. They stick to the plan. They don’t veer. Those are the steady ones. The dependable ones. The ones you can count on to show up, handle it, keep the wheels on the bus.

And then you’ve got the “fly by the seat of your pants” folks. They go with the flow. They hate boxes. They roll with change like it’s their natural habitat. That can look like chaos to the structured people, but it isn’t always. Sometimes it’s creativity. Sometimes it’s adaptability. Sometimes it’s survival. Sometimes it’s just how they’re built.

Neither one is better.

The steady ones give the world stability. The flexible ones keep the world from breaking when the plan goes sideways. We actually need both. Families need both.

And it’s not just work and church and social circles where we run into people who are different than us. It’s in our own living rooms. At our own tables. In our own bloodlines. The people we’re tied to whether we like it or not.

Me? I’m somewhere in the middle as an adult.

What I know is the people who truly loved me made room for me to be me. And I’ve always tried to make room for people who aren’t like me.

Because we have got to learn to be gentle with each other.

Not fake gentle. Not “bless your heart” gentle while you silently judge somebody into the ground. Real gentle.

We’ve got to stop labeling people like they’re either “the good kind” or “the bad kind.” We’ve got to stop acting like different automatically means difficult… or wrong… or less-than. It doesn’t.

It just means different.

And yes, sometimes the differences are annoying. Sometimes they clash. Sometimes you want to go outside and scream into the wind like an 80s music video. But if we can learn to pull the positive instead of hunting the negative, we’ll see something else: most people are just doing the best they can with the tools they’ve got.

And sometimes… family isn’t just different. Sometimes it’s painful. Sometimes it’s wounds

Not just Sunday God.

Everyday God.

The God who shakes His head when I’m driving down the road and somebody is going slow and I say all the bad words. Yep. Same God.

And let me tell you something else I know for sure… I’m real glad He doesn’t treat me the way I’ve deserved over the years. Whew. If God loved me only when I earned it, and handled me based on what I “deserve,” I’m pretty sure I’d already be sitting in the hot place with no sweet tea.

But He doesn’t.

He keeps loving me anyway.

Can I get a HALLELUJER!

I 100% know me and God are different. And yet… there He is. Loving me anyway. Handling my craziness anyway. Laughing at my fourteen prayers in thirty-one seconds anyway.

So as we walk into 2026, can’t we just TRY to be better to each other?

In our families. In our friendships. In our churches. In our workplaces. In our daily interactions with strangers who might be carrying more than we’ll ever know.

Can we pause before we react? Can we assume there’s more to the story? Can we choose grace even when it’s not convenient?

As I sit here writing this, tears have started streaming down my face. I usually take hours and sometimes days to write a blog. Today was just a pouring out.

If someone out there needed this today, I’m glad it found you.

This is Journeys With Jani and I love you.

XOXO and Goodnight

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