Can we talk for a second about Wordle bringing out all my insecurities? There are people who finish these in three tries and here I am barely scraping through at six and honestly, some days I'm convinced that Wordle is an indictment against my intelligence and that I should quit my degree over it (not really, but also, hand me some chocolate because this girl is emotionally fragile).
Also, food. I am tired of cooking food and I don't want to order from the local thai restaurant or order pizza, I want someone else to do the shopping and put it away and cook a steak and veggies and let me enjoy it and then do the dishes. Just for a week, someone else can step in and do the thing instead of me, thanks.
The Teenager who moved in six months ago moves out this weekend, into a share house that my church has for university students (since she is now done with high school), and I am embarrassingly relieved about it all. She did really well in her final exams, by the way, and for a kid who was told that she would be lucky to even finish high school, I am so proud of her and her moxie in getting it done and her resilience. But also, I talked to my doctor recently and got a bunch of tests done to make sure my uterus is all good and my hormones are as balanced as a gymnast at the olympics, and apparently I am a picture of health (who still got the 'lose weight' talk even though tests indicate there is no issue, thanks fatphobic medical system). The doctor asked if there's been anything in the last six months in which my husband has been all good medically that's been stressful, because that could make baby things hard.
Oh, just a foster kid and a five month lockdown and the Christmas job from hell and... oh, oh okay, so I've been stressed.
Anyway. Long story short, she's gone this weekend and y'all, could this be the year we finally have a freaking baby? IS THIS THE DANG YEAR?
Send steak and chocolate and remind me that Wordle isn't errything, thanks.
Swipes! I love Beth Moore’s “wordle could be our hurdle” theory. I just discovered it on Wednesday and am v.v. into it! I am here for a quick check in and will dive into the comments this weekend!
👩🚀 I have an exciting new job prospect! I currently work for a contracting company supporting a government agency, but a job actually FOR the government just opened that my supervisor told me I should apply for. It would be a fairly large pay increase and doing similar things to what I already do so that’s exciting! I’ve got to get my resume polished up this weekend.
⚽️ I binged Yellowjackets this weekend and even though I had to hide behind my hands a couple of times, I REALLY liked it! I have some theories for season 2 if anyone wants to talk them - hit me up on Instagram (@mrslaurenheath)
📣 Speaking of binging TV, I’ll be hitting up cheer season 2 this weekend!
All this TV watching has me slacking on books but I’m ok with that right now. I feel like I go through phases where I read a ton so I know I’ll catch up!
Welllll, we avoided Covid for almost two years. My son tested positive Tuesday. I tested negative twice despite the fact that we all have the same symptoms and my husband and I are officially down for the count now. So tired. I’m enjoying reading through the comments but keep having to take breaks kind of tired! It’s crazy.
We went to my grandparents’ house on Saturday before any of us felt bad, so I’m on tenterhooks hoping we didn’t pass it to them. Everyone is vaxxed as much as possible for their age group but it’s nerve-wracking.
True Love Weights is the gym where the women are all issued sweatsuits three times their size and they have to lift the heavy weights, right?
This newsletter gave me a much needed laugh. Treasures this week have been wordle, books & Netflix. My whole house has Covid for the second time. The first time was before vaccines were available. I will say symptoms this time are not quite as bad, but it’s still been a rough time. We are all trapped in the house & I’m supposed to help my kids do virtual school while feeling like crap? And to top it off my boss informed me we only get paid covid pay once (like I can help I got it again), so I would just have to use pto. I have pto to cover this week, but if I want to be off next week, it will be no pay. Even if I choose to work, I can’t send my contagious children somewhere. It’s all very stressful. Unfortunately a week of no pay is a big deal to us. Sorry for the gripe session. When we first got Covid 1-1/2 years ago I had this optimism that we would get through this. This time around I’m like wtf is happening 😬. I’ve spent this week alternating between chills & sweating, but still parent & being positive for the kids, but honestly right now I really just wanted to say this sucks. Royally sucks and I’m over it. I know so many people have it even worse. My heart is with anyone really feeling it like I am right now. Maybe it’s okay that we just admit we are not okay & don’t have the energy to sugarcoat it at the moment.
Happy Friday y'all! I am very much ready for the weekend, mainly because that means my husband pauses his intermittent fasting and isn't so grouchy in the morning.
Treasure: My last baby (who is 3mo today) only woke up once to eat last night. Neither of his brothers even hinted at this until after 6mo. I'm absolutely certain this will be shot to hell within the next month, but I'm taking my Ws where I can get them. Also, I finally got my Nespresso pod order in after extended shipping delays due to COVID.
Turd: My FIL is suffering from what we believe is early-onset dementia, coupled with an epilepsy disorder. We are in another state 8hrs away, making our ability to help limited so we're contemplating moving. After looking into available listings, house prices in the area (read: the whole country) are asinine and we're not sure we can swing it financially. Not sure how that will play out over the next few months!
I'm another Gen Xer who missed the heavy duty purity culture stuff, for which I'm very thankful.
Treasures
In Love on Amazon Prime- 5 episodes with an extended Latino family. Sooo good!
My daughter and I have been watching The Righteous Gemstons and lots of Say Yes to the Dress variations- she has a (so far) light case of COVID and has been off work since last Thursday.
The Fair Isle wool sweater I got from LL Bean- a splurge(ish) but also something I can keep and wear forever!
So the author of the Redeeming Love piece- I have some major disagreements with her about romance novels, but that doesn't mean her larger points about Redeeming Love are wrong.
I finished The Obsession by Jesse Sutanto (YA thriller) and it was amazing. I've never been pro-murder before, but today is a new day! The tag is:
Boy meets girl.
Boy stalks girl.
Girl gets revenge.
Turds
I may have to testify at some point about a fight 2 students got into in my school library- it was a spillover issue from their Wendys jobs. Or as I like to call it 'Wendy's beef.'
Due to asthma and lung issues, my husband is staying at his mom's empty house while our daughter has COVID. Also a turd to people who leave houses empty rather than rent them out, it's annoying but good in this situation I guess.
Also the weather is very stupid here in Kansas, like 60 degrees one day (very not normal in winter) and then 0 the next. Thanks, I hate it.
Good morning eerrrr afternoon from my corner of the world here in toasty MN.
Just kidding it was -7 when I got to work and everything is nuttier than a Pearson Nut Roll (MN made candy come thrrrouuugh).
So much is going on you guys!
1. RIP Meatloaf
Do I have a love/hate relationship with some of his music? Of course. But he was an icon.
2. RIP Louie Anderson
MN comedian, seemed rather nonproblematic and loved his mother. Its a loss
3. From last Friday to this Friday it has been a whole thing with being exposed to Covid at work, having umpteen notices from both my son's schools about exposures (both close and just your standard "oh well 'someone' from the class has Covid" notices) I also got a gnarly cold. I took multiple Covid tests and was C-Negative - but yeah oodles of fun to get a chest cold in the Omricron era.
*It was not fun, it was not fun at all
4. I binged Cheer S2. I have many thoughts. It was a JOURRRRRNEY. Also. Vontae? When he stunted. I gasped. And "SMILE WEEENIES!!!" If you know, you know.
5. I also watched the movie Moxie (liked the book better overall but the movie was cute) and The Unforgiveable (Sandra, dang) - that move was dark but wow. Finally starting The Texas season of Queer Eye.
6. House stuff is still big on our agendas. This moving and selling and the timelines (we have about a month until our closing) is so muuuuuch.
7. Our solo senior dog Milo fell off our bed this morning - he seems to be better than he was at 6:30 this morning, but oof you guys. My husband's heart might never recover if something happens to Milo after we only lost Cosmo a month ago. I'm going to have to wrap this ding dang dog in bubble wrap. Max (my teenager) and I were having a whole conversation on how he's going to adapt to our new house and it's going to be a situation.
8. I want to hit up Dollar Tree to buy padded envelopes to mail out all the things but for weeks so many times when I have went to my local DT for this, they are just randomly closed -- either for staffing issues or who knows what. But it is a whole thing. I love being able to only pay $1 for certain things in my life like shipping envelopes and cotton swabs and nail polish remover.
8. Currently reading a book set in the 80s ad they reference the ice cream Frusen Glädjé (had to google it so I could copy all the proper punctuation) and I kind of died because it sent me down a wormhole of other random 80s food-stuffs I enjoyed. Anyone else remember the Oreo Big Stuf? Keebler Tato Skin chips?? My husband brought up Microwave french fries and MILKSHAKES (so you basically thawed really frozen ice cream?) and we were dying Also, did you know that both Frusen Glädjé and Häagen-Dazs don't have any actual connections to the Nordic countries they claim to be connected to. *The More you KNOOOOWWWWW*
Dropping in once more with a personal story after reading that link about REDEEMING LOVE.
I mentioned never reading the book despite it being a gift from my best pal, and now I’m seeing I dodged a speeding bullet. My friend was only a pen pal at the time and we’d been friends for just a few years then, but we met through a love for the tv show The Magnificent Seven. So it was the “western” setting of Redeeming Love that made sense for us, as well as us both being Christians and avid readers. *Of course* the book should’ve connected us! But I never read it so we never discussed it, and now I can see some of God’s protection in that. What my friend didn’t know — and I probably couldn’t have articulated 20 years ago — is that I was like the women in the post Erin shared: I was easily influenced by erotica and sexual content. I’d read a TON of Jackie Collins in college and had spent years running from God, even wrote a bit of erotic romance for a while, and I had a vivid fantasy life in my mind, even after returning to Jesus. At the time of that gifted book I was only 2 years removed from that thought life but still struggling. And I had become *obsessed* with the movie Moulin Rouge to the point that I had to make a conscious choice to never watch it again and to sell everything related to it or I would continue to spiral into “old ways.” That point in my life required me to actively avoid all sexual content in all media, and to this day I still have to look away from scenes on TV or skip forward entirely. Whereas some people guard themselves from profanity or violence, I have to guard myself against sexual content. And even moreso as a single woman. I don’t really talk about it — and most people don’t understand — but it’s a trigger for me and a gateway to my old pre-Jesus self. That post from Ms. Masonheimer was quite illuminating and also very comforting to remember that we are never alone in our struggles, be they pandemical, parental, or otherwise.
Solidarity to all the boats! I am bailing water as fast as possible, and haven't gone under yet so that is a win. A few treasures:
🎂 It was my birthday yesterday, and with omicron cramping our style we spent it at home. My husband did a great job celebrating me pandemic style. He printed a bunch of Schitts Creek memes as posters and hung them up and though not a baker he baked and decorated a very ugly but delicious birthday cake. He made me feel special. And the day even with work and meetings and deadlines and covid was lovely. It has been a long, sad, lonely season of loss and grief. How wonderful to be able to have a simple, homemade, happy day.
🤠 I signed up for the Little Swipes book club, so I read Whiskey When We're Dry this week. Woah, Nelly Olsen what a different story than I expected! Looking forward to hear what you all think.
📚 My husband gifted me a book of the month subscription. Do any Swipes read those? I selected The Magnolia Palace this time.
Anyone else doing dis/entangle now? It has been so good! It has also been very helpful that the Fr. Mike Bible in a Year podcast has been reading Job along with us this week :)
Before I dive into my own commentary, I have a question for all of you, if you please (and thank you).
>>> What does the word SOFT mean to you when thinking of attitudes / behavior / relationships? Do any synonyms or actions come to mind? <<<
Moving on…
🥰 Congratulations Tricia! I’m all swoony over Winnie (and her regal name 😍). And much love to Melissa and baby Crew! It’s joy all around.
📖 I’m Gen X, so I didn’t have to endure the purity culture guilt/shame cycle, but for *years* I had “Redeeming Love” on the bookshelf, staring its own guilt into me for not reading it. Tied up in it was the fact that my (10-years-younger) pen pal friend had given it to me because it impacted her so much, which meant I’ve felt guilt All.These.Years for never reading it. 😬 I’m going to have to confess that to my friend because of the movie. When the trailer came out I thought, “Oh, now I can fake my way through the inevitable conversation about the book. I’ll just watch the movie!” But then I watched said trailer. 😳 I don’t know if I can do it. I avoid all kinds of Hallmark-Lifetime-romance genre-schmaltzy sentimentality like the COVID, so I’m reeeeealllly not interested in this movie. There’s just no time for bad movies in my life! But I also know you guys are gonna talk it to the grave the way The Popcast does to The Bachelor, so my FOMO has been triggered. 🤦🏻♀️ Just when I thought that book guilt had been long buried! 😞
🦠 Also, has “avoid it like COVID” replaced “avoid it like the Plague”? Will that be our new catchphrase? What a world…
🗓 I’ve spent this month in a cycle of delay, and now I’m thinking it should be my forever habit. Instead of jumping into “new year new you”, I did the full Christmastide up through Epiphany, then declared Jan 10 to be my New Year’s Day (coinciding with Ordinary Time on the liturgical calendar). But that week brought a crash wherein I could only sleep and veg out, thus reverting me back to vampire hours. Then finally, yesterday, I broke through and woke rested and refreshed at 8:30am, so I spent the day cleaning up my craft room and resetting it for new projects in February. Instead of jumping forward on January 10, as planned, I’ve been moving like a sloth toward February 1st. But I like it! It’s been a true luxury to spend a month reflecting on 2021, completing journals and creative projects, and then slowly setting intentions for 2022 while building new journals and gathering inspiration for new projects. Such leisure is not lost on me! It’s, again, so bittersweet to be in a season of not having to work or provide for myself because of caregiving for my Mom. It’s simultaneously freeing and stressful, but truly such a gift. I have to remind myself to take joy in the “leisure” aspects, and January has been a lovely gift for that!
📚 I’m woefully behind on reading and have renewed 3 library loans to the maximum extensions so that this next week is do or die for them all. But first(!) I have to read Whiskey When We’re Dry for Tuesday’s book club chat. 🙈 Will y’all be sad if I join the chat to listen in without reading the book first? I fear I’ve run out of time again.
Wishing you the best weekend available. Love checking in with you guys! ❤️
Good morning all! What a strange week. Our co-op, which usually meets on Mondays, met on Tuesday due to MLK day and I have been off all week long. On the bright side, it felt like Friday came early! :D
The tweets this week are *chefs kiss*. Thank-you for this service, Erin.
Treasures:
- Wordle. I love it. My husband and I have two text threads sharing our scores with folks and it is a delight. Bonus: my gif game is getting real good.
- Turd/Treasure: my 9 year old has been showing off some ATTITUDE for the past 2-3 weeks, but this week I discovered some ways to help it, including doing school stuff WITH him: him at the bar while I am cooking dinner; or letting him continue a craft while we work on a paper. It's helped a ton. Anyone else with kids this age noticing an attitude change????
- Baking. I used to do a lot more baking before kids, but finding the time and energy to do so (plus not wanting to eat all the baked goods) is tough. This week, my 5 year old wanted to bake with me, so we made 5 Spice Cinnamon Rolls from Midwest Made by Shauna Server, and it sparked my baking joy anew. I then made banana oat muffins from the Skinnytaste Cookbook, and have all the things to make her pumpkin scones, too.
- I put all the Half Baked Harvest cookbooks on hold at my library (hurrah for libraries!) and her Simple Suppers one came in this week. I am DROOLING over her recipes, and am planning on cooking from it for all dinners next week so I can see if my crew enjoys them. If so, it's going on my birthday list!
- My husband is on a ski trip with friends this weekend, so I am solo parenting. There are tough times, but, though I miss him, I also enjoy the complete and utter alone time after the boys are all in bed. Last night I watched the train wreck that is The Eternals while "window shopping" on Zulily. Tonight I am going to try to finish up Whiskey When We're Dry for book club. Tomorrow, finish season 3 of Making It? Watch Bluey by myself? Who knows!
- Speaking of Bluey, I think I love it even more than my kids do. "Baby Race" makes me cry. "Movies" is a gem. Any episode with the grannies has me in stitches. Some of the subtle winks at parents have me guffawing and my kids have no idea why. I even love the conspiracy theories about the parents: https://www.tiktok.com/@zach_mander/video/6952708381207465217
Okay, gonna go make myself my 3rd cup of coffee and try to convince my boys to clean up their crafting mess (I love that they love to craft; I cringe at the mess they leave behind). Love you, mean it.
Popping in here to ask for HEAVY Ts AND Ps for my daughter and I to remain Covid-free this weekend because we have tickets to see Hugh and Sutton in The Music Man on Tuesday. Tickets that I ordered on June 22, 2021, the day they became available. While one full month into not being able to stand straight or walk because I had a badly herniated a disc in my back. When I tell you the thought of this day gave me hope in one of the darkest times, it is not hyperbole.
And I am currently sitting in my office, with my kn95 mask, while my Covid-denying boss in his adjoining office smothers an occasional cough and clears his scratchy voice because his kids gave him “some kind of crud they caught this weekend.” Y’ALL. Do I murder him? Or just leave for the day?
Just here to say yay to it being the eleventy first SWIPE UP! (because I'm a geek or a gem or both. For sure both)
Can we talk for a second about Wordle bringing out all my insecurities? There are people who finish these in three tries and here I am barely scraping through at six and honestly, some days I'm convinced that Wordle is an indictment against my intelligence and that I should quit my degree over it (not really, but also, hand me some chocolate because this girl is emotionally fragile).
Also, food. I am tired of cooking food and I don't want to order from the local thai restaurant or order pizza, I want someone else to do the shopping and put it away and cook a steak and veggies and let me enjoy it and then do the dishes. Just for a week, someone else can step in and do the thing instead of me, thanks.
The Teenager who moved in six months ago moves out this weekend, into a share house that my church has for university students (since she is now done with high school), and I am embarrassingly relieved about it all. She did really well in her final exams, by the way, and for a kid who was told that she would be lucky to even finish high school, I am so proud of her and her moxie in getting it done and her resilience. But also, I talked to my doctor recently and got a bunch of tests done to make sure my uterus is all good and my hormones are as balanced as a gymnast at the olympics, and apparently I am a picture of health (who still got the 'lose weight' talk even though tests indicate there is no issue, thanks fatphobic medical system). The doctor asked if there's been anything in the last six months in which my husband has been all good medically that's been stressful, because that could make baby things hard.
Oh, just a foster kid and a five month lockdown and the Christmas job from hell and... oh, oh okay, so I've been stressed.
Anyway. Long story short, she's gone this weekend and y'all, could this be the year we finally have a freaking baby? IS THIS THE DANG YEAR?
Send steak and chocolate and remind me that Wordle isn't errything, thanks.
Love y'all.
Swipes! I love Beth Moore’s “wordle could be our hurdle” theory. I just discovered it on Wednesday and am v.v. into it! I am here for a quick check in and will dive into the comments this weekend!
👩🚀 I have an exciting new job prospect! I currently work for a contracting company supporting a government agency, but a job actually FOR the government just opened that my supervisor told me I should apply for. It would be a fairly large pay increase and doing similar things to what I already do so that’s exciting! I’ve got to get my resume polished up this weekend.
⚽️ I binged Yellowjackets this weekend and even though I had to hide behind my hands a couple of times, I REALLY liked it! I have some theories for season 2 if anyone wants to talk them - hit me up on Instagram (@mrslaurenheath)
📣 Speaking of binging TV, I’ll be hitting up cheer season 2 this weekend!
All this TV watching has me slacking on books but I’m ok with that right now. I feel like I go through phases where I read a ton so I know I’ll catch up!
Happy weekend, gals!
Welllll, we avoided Covid for almost two years. My son tested positive Tuesday. I tested negative twice despite the fact that we all have the same symptoms and my husband and I are officially down for the count now. So tired. I’m enjoying reading through the comments but keep having to take breaks kind of tired! It’s crazy.
We went to my grandparents’ house on Saturday before any of us felt bad, so I’m on tenterhooks hoping we didn’t pass it to them. Everyone is vaxxed as much as possible for their age group but it’s nerve-wracking.
True Love Weights is the gym where the women are all issued sweatsuits three times their size and they have to lift the heavy weights, right?
This newsletter gave me a much needed laugh. Treasures this week have been wordle, books & Netflix. My whole house has Covid for the second time. The first time was before vaccines were available. I will say symptoms this time are not quite as bad, but it’s still been a rough time. We are all trapped in the house & I’m supposed to help my kids do virtual school while feeling like crap? And to top it off my boss informed me we only get paid covid pay once (like I can help I got it again), so I would just have to use pto. I have pto to cover this week, but if I want to be off next week, it will be no pay. Even if I choose to work, I can’t send my contagious children somewhere. It’s all very stressful. Unfortunately a week of no pay is a big deal to us. Sorry for the gripe session. When we first got Covid 1-1/2 years ago I had this optimism that we would get through this. This time around I’m like wtf is happening 😬. I’ve spent this week alternating between chills & sweating, but still parent & being positive for the kids, but honestly right now I really just wanted to say this sucks. Royally sucks and I’m over it. I know so many people have it even worse. My heart is with anyone really feeling it like I am right now. Maybe it’s okay that we just admit we are not okay & don’t have the energy to sugarcoat it at the moment.
Happy Friday y'all! I am very much ready for the weekend, mainly because that means my husband pauses his intermittent fasting and isn't so grouchy in the morning.
Treasure: My last baby (who is 3mo today) only woke up once to eat last night. Neither of his brothers even hinted at this until after 6mo. I'm absolutely certain this will be shot to hell within the next month, but I'm taking my Ws where I can get them. Also, I finally got my Nespresso pod order in after extended shipping delays due to COVID.
Turd: My FIL is suffering from what we believe is early-onset dementia, coupled with an epilepsy disorder. We are in another state 8hrs away, making our ability to help limited so we're contemplating moving. After looking into available listings, house prices in the area (read: the whole country) are asinine and we're not sure we can swing it financially. Not sure how that will play out over the next few months!
I'm another Gen Xer who missed the heavy duty purity culture stuff, for which I'm very thankful.
Treasures
In Love on Amazon Prime- 5 episodes with an extended Latino family. Sooo good!
My daughter and I have been watching The Righteous Gemstons and lots of Say Yes to the Dress variations- she has a (so far) light case of COVID and has been off work since last Thursday.
The Fair Isle wool sweater I got from LL Bean- a splurge(ish) but also something I can keep and wear forever!
So the author of the Redeeming Love piece- I have some major disagreements with her about romance novels, but that doesn't mean her larger points about Redeeming Love are wrong.
I finished The Obsession by Jesse Sutanto (YA thriller) and it was amazing. I've never been pro-murder before, but today is a new day! The tag is:
Boy meets girl.
Boy stalks girl.
Girl gets revenge.
Turds
I may have to testify at some point about a fight 2 students got into in my school library- it was a spillover issue from their Wendys jobs. Or as I like to call it 'Wendy's beef.'
Due to asthma and lung issues, my husband is staying at his mom's empty house while our daughter has COVID. Also a turd to people who leave houses empty rather than rent them out, it's annoying but good in this situation I guess.
Also the weather is very stupid here in Kansas, like 60 degrees one day (very not normal in winter) and then 0 the next. Thanks, I hate it.
Good morning eerrrr afternoon from my corner of the world here in toasty MN.
Just kidding it was -7 when I got to work and everything is nuttier than a Pearson Nut Roll (MN made candy come thrrrouuugh).
So much is going on you guys!
1. RIP Meatloaf
Do I have a love/hate relationship with some of his music? Of course. But he was an icon.
2. RIP Louie Anderson
MN comedian, seemed rather nonproblematic and loved his mother. Its a loss
3. From last Friday to this Friday it has been a whole thing with being exposed to Covid at work, having umpteen notices from both my son's schools about exposures (both close and just your standard "oh well 'someone' from the class has Covid" notices) I also got a gnarly cold. I took multiple Covid tests and was C-Negative - but yeah oodles of fun to get a chest cold in the Omricron era.
*It was not fun, it was not fun at all
4. I binged Cheer S2. I have many thoughts. It was a JOURRRRRNEY. Also. Vontae? When he stunted. I gasped. And "SMILE WEEENIES!!!" If you know, you know.
5. I also watched the movie Moxie (liked the book better overall but the movie was cute) and The Unforgiveable (Sandra, dang) - that move was dark but wow. Finally starting The Texas season of Queer Eye.
6. House stuff is still big on our agendas. This moving and selling and the timelines (we have about a month until our closing) is so muuuuuch.
7. Our solo senior dog Milo fell off our bed this morning - he seems to be better than he was at 6:30 this morning, but oof you guys. My husband's heart might never recover if something happens to Milo after we only lost Cosmo a month ago. I'm going to have to wrap this ding dang dog in bubble wrap. Max (my teenager) and I were having a whole conversation on how he's going to adapt to our new house and it's going to be a situation.
8. I want to hit up Dollar Tree to buy padded envelopes to mail out all the things but for weeks so many times when I have went to my local DT for this, they are just randomly closed -- either for staffing issues or who knows what. But it is a whole thing. I love being able to only pay $1 for certain things in my life like shipping envelopes and cotton swabs and nail polish remover.
8. Currently reading a book set in the 80s ad they reference the ice cream Frusen Glädjé (had to google it so I could copy all the proper punctuation) and I kind of died because it sent me down a wormhole of other random 80s food-stuffs I enjoyed. Anyone else remember the Oreo Big Stuf? Keebler Tato Skin chips?? My husband brought up Microwave french fries and MILKSHAKES (so you basically thawed really frozen ice cream?) and we were dying Also, did you know that both Frusen Glädjé and Häagen-Dazs don't have any actual connections to the Nordic countries they claim to be connected to. *The More you KNOOOOWWWWW*
Well my to-do list is giving me major stink eye.
Happy Friday all
Mel
oh man - those tweets and links gave me a much needed laugh. Thanks so much! Sharing that Jimmy Kimmel video with everyone lol
Dropping in once more with a personal story after reading that link about REDEEMING LOVE.
I mentioned never reading the book despite it being a gift from my best pal, and now I’m seeing I dodged a speeding bullet. My friend was only a pen pal at the time and we’d been friends for just a few years then, but we met through a love for the tv show The Magnificent Seven. So it was the “western” setting of Redeeming Love that made sense for us, as well as us both being Christians and avid readers. *Of course* the book should’ve connected us! But I never read it so we never discussed it, and now I can see some of God’s protection in that. What my friend didn’t know — and I probably couldn’t have articulated 20 years ago — is that I was like the women in the post Erin shared: I was easily influenced by erotica and sexual content. I’d read a TON of Jackie Collins in college and had spent years running from God, even wrote a bit of erotic romance for a while, and I had a vivid fantasy life in my mind, even after returning to Jesus. At the time of that gifted book I was only 2 years removed from that thought life but still struggling. And I had become *obsessed* with the movie Moulin Rouge to the point that I had to make a conscious choice to never watch it again and to sell everything related to it or I would continue to spiral into “old ways.” That point in my life required me to actively avoid all sexual content in all media, and to this day I still have to look away from scenes on TV or skip forward entirely. Whereas some people guard themselves from profanity or violence, I have to guard myself against sexual content. And even moreso as a single woman. I don’t really talk about it — and most people don’t understand — but it’s a trigger for me and a gateway to my old pre-Jesus self. That post from Ms. Masonheimer was quite illuminating and also very comforting to remember that we are never alone in our struggles, be they pandemical, parental, or otherwise.
Solidarity to all the boats! I am bailing water as fast as possible, and haven't gone under yet so that is a win. A few treasures:
🎂 It was my birthday yesterday, and with omicron cramping our style we spent it at home. My husband did a great job celebrating me pandemic style. He printed a bunch of Schitts Creek memes as posters and hung them up and though not a baker he baked and decorated a very ugly but delicious birthday cake. He made me feel special. And the day even with work and meetings and deadlines and covid was lovely. It has been a long, sad, lonely season of loss and grief. How wonderful to be able to have a simple, homemade, happy day.
A few treasures:
🖌 This artist does beautiful portraits of women from the Bible. I want all of them?? https://www.sarahbethart.com/shop
📉This epidemiologist (who I found through Modern Mrs Darcy) gives such good info, and she had good news for us this week. https://substack.com/profile/27227002-katelyn-jetelina
📜Slowly working my way through the Lazy Genius New Year Questions has been good! https://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/blog/30questions
🤠 I signed up for the Little Swipes book club, so I read Whiskey When We're Dry this week. Woah, Nelly Olsen what a different story than I expected! Looking forward to hear what you all think.
📚 My husband gifted me a book of the month subscription. Do any Swipes read those? I selected The Magnolia Palace this time.
🧼 I am trying to move back from coping mechanisms to hobbies and spent yesterday learning how to make bath bombs and bath confetti. https://happydealhappyday.com/heart-shaped-diy-bath-confetti-with-essential-oils-easy-diy-valentines-day-gift-idea/ I will take any tips/tricks/links from folks who have done this.
Well. That's me. I look forward to seeing what you all are up to. Happy Friday from Too-Sunny (Please Let It Rain Some More) California!
The Jimmy Kimmel tweet is too funny. I cannot. Love your letters. Makes me laugh every week!
Anyone else doing dis/entangle now? It has been so good! It has also been very helpful that the Fr. Mike Bible in a Year podcast has been reading Job along with us this week :)
Before I dive into my own commentary, I have a question for all of you, if you please (and thank you).
>>> What does the word SOFT mean to you when thinking of attitudes / behavior / relationships? Do any synonyms or actions come to mind? <<<
Moving on…
🥰 Congratulations Tricia! I’m all swoony over Winnie (and her regal name 😍). And much love to Melissa and baby Crew! It’s joy all around.
📖 I’m Gen X, so I didn’t have to endure the purity culture guilt/shame cycle, but for *years* I had “Redeeming Love” on the bookshelf, staring its own guilt into me for not reading it. Tied up in it was the fact that my (10-years-younger) pen pal friend had given it to me because it impacted her so much, which meant I’ve felt guilt All.These.Years for never reading it. 😬 I’m going to have to confess that to my friend because of the movie. When the trailer came out I thought, “Oh, now I can fake my way through the inevitable conversation about the book. I’ll just watch the movie!” But then I watched said trailer. 😳 I don’t know if I can do it. I avoid all kinds of Hallmark-Lifetime-romance genre-schmaltzy sentimentality like the COVID, so I’m reeeeealllly not interested in this movie. There’s just no time for bad movies in my life! But I also know you guys are gonna talk it to the grave the way The Popcast does to The Bachelor, so my FOMO has been triggered. 🤦🏻♀️ Just when I thought that book guilt had been long buried! 😞
🦠 Also, has “avoid it like COVID” replaced “avoid it like the Plague”? Will that be our new catchphrase? What a world…
🗓 I’ve spent this month in a cycle of delay, and now I’m thinking it should be my forever habit. Instead of jumping into “new year new you”, I did the full Christmastide up through Epiphany, then declared Jan 10 to be my New Year’s Day (coinciding with Ordinary Time on the liturgical calendar). But that week brought a crash wherein I could only sleep and veg out, thus reverting me back to vampire hours. Then finally, yesterday, I broke through and woke rested and refreshed at 8:30am, so I spent the day cleaning up my craft room and resetting it for new projects in February. Instead of jumping forward on January 10, as planned, I’ve been moving like a sloth toward February 1st. But I like it! It’s been a true luxury to spend a month reflecting on 2021, completing journals and creative projects, and then slowly setting intentions for 2022 while building new journals and gathering inspiration for new projects. Such leisure is not lost on me! It’s, again, so bittersweet to be in a season of not having to work or provide for myself because of caregiving for my Mom. It’s simultaneously freeing and stressful, but truly such a gift. I have to remind myself to take joy in the “leisure” aspects, and January has been a lovely gift for that!
📚 I’m woefully behind on reading and have renewed 3 library loans to the maximum extensions so that this next week is do or die for them all. But first(!) I have to read Whiskey When We’re Dry for Tuesday’s book club chat. 🙈 Will y’all be sad if I join the chat to listen in without reading the book first? I fear I’ve run out of time again.
Wishing you the best weekend available. Love checking in with you guys! ❤️
Good morning all! What a strange week. Our co-op, which usually meets on Mondays, met on Tuesday due to MLK day and I have been off all week long. On the bright side, it felt like Friday came early! :D
The tweets this week are *chefs kiss*. Thank-you for this service, Erin.
Treasures:
- Wordle. I love it. My husband and I have two text threads sharing our scores with folks and it is a delight. Bonus: my gif game is getting real good.
- Turd/Treasure: my 9 year old has been showing off some ATTITUDE for the past 2-3 weeks, but this week I discovered some ways to help it, including doing school stuff WITH him: him at the bar while I am cooking dinner; or letting him continue a craft while we work on a paper. It's helped a ton. Anyone else with kids this age noticing an attitude change????
- Baking. I used to do a lot more baking before kids, but finding the time and energy to do so (plus not wanting to eat all the baked goods) is tough. This week, my 5 year old wanted to bake with me, so we made 5 Spice Cinnamon Rolls from Midwest Made by Shauna Server, and it sparked my baking joy anew. I then made banana oat muffins from the Skinnytaste Cookbook, and have all the things to make her pumpkin scones, too.
- I put all the Half Baked Harvest cookbooks on hold at my library (hurrah for libraries!) and her Simple Suppers one came in this week. I am DROOLING over her recipes, and am planning on cooking from it for all dinners next week so I can see if my crew enjoys them. If so, it's going on my birthday list!
- My husband is on a ski trip with friends this weekend, so I am solo parenting. There are tough times, but, though I miss him, I also enjoy the complete and utter alone time after the boys are all in bed. Last night I watched the train wreck that is The Eternals while "window shopping" on Zulily. Tonight I am going to try to finish up Whiskey When We're Dry for book club. Tomorrow, finish season 3 of Making It? Watch Bluey by myself? Who knows!
- Speaking of Bluey, I think I love it even more than my kids do. "Baby Race" makes me cry. "Movies" is a gem. Any episode with the grannies has me in stitches. Some of the subtle winks at parents have me guffawing and my kids have no idea why. I even love the conspiracy theories about the parents: https://www.tiktok.com/@zach_mander/video/6952708381207465217
Okay, gonna go make myself my 3rd cup of coffee and try to convince my boys to clean up their crafting mess (I love that they love to craft; I cringe at the mess they leave behind). Love you, mean it.
Popping in here to ask for HEAVY Ts AND Ps for my daughter and I to remain Covid-free this weekend because we have tickets to see Hugh and Sutton in The Music Man on Tuesday. Tickets that I ordered on June 22, 2021, the day they became available. While one full month into not being able to stand straight or walk because I had a badly herniated a disc in my back. When I tell you the thought of this day gave me hope in one of the darkest times, it is not hyperbole.
And I am currently sitting in my office, with my kn95 mask, while my Covid-denying boss in his adjoining office smothers an occasional cough and clears his scratchy voice because his kids gave him “some kind of crud they caught this weekend.” Y’ALL. Do I murder him? Or just leave for the day?