Can I tell you that this Substack app is going to be a gamechanger for how I interact here. Truly, I tell you, I have never looked at the comments before but now HERE I AM. My treasure this week is that I am reading the book Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino and it is absolutely a fantastic read. Highly recommend. Ok see you in the funny pages.
The degree to which Greg Abbott is just completely fine with people dying in his state, on his watch, absolutely scrambles my brain. And that's all I've got to say about that (for now).
Yo Yo Ma content!
- I hadn't listened to this Tiny Desk concert in awhile and when I pulled up the link just now I decided I should. He is an absolute delight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uiUHvET_jg
Hello - I have been struggling to feel my emotions. I feel a little on autopilot until yesterday when I went down the Broadway Baby spiral I like to call Jeremy Jordan and it goes on from there. Here are some gems:
Hello friends! Commenting from the app which is a delight!!
That salary negotiation tweet SENT ME - I just recently went through this with a new job offer, and though writing and submitting my counteroffer made me want to puke, I did it and guess what?!? I got some of the things I asked for (including increased salary!!)
👩⚕️ I went for my first ever “skin check” at the dermatologist and besides one small spot on my arm she needed to freeze, I was all clear!! Plus I got a retinol RX so I can work on my JBG skin
📚 I am reading and loving “Prayer” by Richard Foster as part of my Lenten feast each night and I’m really enjoying it.
I am stealing a few sunny minutes on my back porch before pre-school pick up. The highlight of my week was definitely yesterday, when I saw a dear friend face to face for the first time in weeks and met her new baby! And then came home to an impromptu backyard happy hour with the neighbors. It truly felt like Before Times - kids running around screaming and playing together while the adults clinked glasses and ate tortilla chips. Sometimes my introvert self forgets how very important my people are.
Eagerly anticipating finishing Love is Blind this weekend while (fingers crossed) finishing up the basement reno we began in November. We're supposed to get 3-5" of snow tomorrow, which is wild considering I'm wearing sandals right now. I suppose the biggest news is that we are officially joining the church we've been attending on Sunday, which feels exciting and overwhelming and very adult all at once. It's the first place we've really chosen, as opposed to stumbled into, and though it took a few years to get to this point I am so grateful for all the kind and patient people who listened and asked questions and were curious alongside me as I began to rebuild my faith.
See you in the comments and may your weekends be filled with lovely little moments.
Hi everyone - I'm trying to get better about being in the comments. Friday's always tend to be busy work days for me (definitely not because I spend most of the week procrastinating) and so I don't get to the email until Saturday and then it feels like folks are out of the comments.
Things around here are feeling pretty bleak. The friend I wrote in about last week looking for prayers - he had another "stroke like event" (where he is losing feeling in parts of his body for a time, but I guess it isn't actually a stroke?) and isn't doing well. Being tested for a lot of different things with no definitive answers. He also is the type to not ask for help or accept what is offered so I am both scared sick for him and also kind of mad at him for being so stubborn. I saw him last weekend on a "good day" and he seemed fine, so it's a shock to hear a few days later that he's back in the hospital. Ugh my heart hurts.
I'm still looking for a new job, I have a few applications out there and I hope something comes soon because my current job is making me miserable.
My treasure is that I am reading the 6th (?) Outlander book right now. I love a good 1000 page book where I can forget myself and be completely in another world, and I really like this series. Sometimes it feels like all the comfort I have in what is otherwise an oppressively dark world. Idk here's to spring, hopefully new beginnings, and finding some answers and stronger footing on shaky ground. Amen.
Well, this week is my university’s spring break, so I was very excited to have a light work week, WFH, and get allll the house projects and errands done. And then Monday night I sprained my ankle. 😬🙄
I’m grateful nothing is broken, but it is a bad sprain. And I live in a two-story apartment that also has a set of stairs to get to my car. 😑 Thankfully my sweet husband was able to work from home this week (bless), but this stress has brought up my old pattern of “I can do everything by myself, I don’t need any help”, when LOL I really do need help. That, and it’s just so inconvenient. 😂
Anyway, I’d appreciate allll the prayers for a speedy healing - I am giving a toast at a friend’s wedding in Portland next weekend and would love to be dance / walk normally / not need crutches. I’m also having a hard time giving myself grace. I was being silly and that’s what caused me to miss a step and fall.
Also, I haven’t sprained my ankle or been on crutches since middle school, so friends, got any advice for ya girl? (Besides the rest, ice, compression, elevate bit which I am working on). Also, is it normal to get bruises on your ribs after only using crutches for a day or so? 🥴
🫖 My treasure for the week is my favorite brand of tea, Harney & Sons. Have been drinking copious amounts of their Paris blend and it is lovely. They sell them in the cutesut tins *and* you can find them at target! What a win.
Okay, looking forward to spending my Friday in the comments with you all! 🥰
Oh, happy Friday! Thanks to the Substack app, this is the first time I’ve checked out the comments!
Anybody feel like this Substack app is giving Google Reader vibes? (RIP Google Reader, that got me through MANY a boring day temping in my early twenties!)
Hello everybody! It's my every-other-Friday off, and I made myself sauteed greens with an egg on them, and I'm still in my pajamas because my amazing husband took the kids to school so I wouldn't have to get up.
My parents have come out to Denver for a couple of months. They have a townhouse about half a mile from us, so they have their own space, but it's draining to have to keep them in mind all the time. They don't have any kind of social network out here - that's all back in Illinois, and they're here for the grandkids anyways - so every day I have to debate about whether we need to invite them over for dinner. I can barely be civil to my own husband and kids by the end of a typical day, and my parents are decidedly guests. And we're all introverts. It's exhausting.
I just finished reading Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher, and it was just what I needed. All of her books should come with a snuggly blanket and a perfect cup of English tea, and should only be read when water is falling from the sky in some form. There's very little plot, just a bunch of people who end up together because of the hospitable nature of the main character. And now I want to move to northern Scotland.
That's it from me! Off to try to finish turning the office/storage room into the teenager's basement lair.
I'm glad everyone is enjoying the new app, but I'm feeling a little old because I always read the comments on my computer. I just keep a Lil Swipes tab open all morning to check in on what's happening.
❤ Hope and I met up in the cute little town of Anderson, SC on Saturday. It was so fun to finally meet in person and get to know each other a little bit more. I did have to explain to several IRL friends how I had internet friends from the comments on a newsletter which made them even more confused.
🎂 My pastor's youngest turned 2 Monday. I lived with them 2 years ago! It feels wildly far away and yet like yesterday. E is not really a cuddler, but kept coming to me to hold him all night which was really sweet. Living with a family during the first few months of the pandemic was such a blessing.
🎂 My mom's bday was Wed and her boyfriend took her out to a fancy dinner. We talked yesterday and she's so happy being with him and it sounds like he treats her like the treasure she is. I'm just so glad, relationships of any kind have been hard since the divorce. She lost a lot of friends simply because she choose to leave her husband and people were unwilling to see past my dad's church mask to see the abuse.
💩 Kind of in the same vein, I've been realizing that I carry a lot of fear and imposter syndrome around being a happily unmarried almost 30-year-old woman. None of the men in my church have made me feel less than for my choices and have often encouraged me to continue pursuing education, but when the loudest voice growing up was very conservative/fundamentalist views of women it's hard to cast that off. I'm thankful to be able to see it for what it is and start working through it, but it's been a challenging thing to sit with this week.
Alrighty, friends, I'm off to reshelve some library books and write a midterm essay that's due tomorrow.
Hey gang, happy Friday! This week has been pretty "meh" and uneventful. I had two medical appointments/treatments and spent the rest of the week on the couch recovering from them while reading books and watching the latest season of Queer Eye. And that's pretty much it. 🤷♀️
Oh right, I went back to the Big Library to return a book and accidentally left with three more, even though I still had twelve unread library books at home. Is there maybe a support group I can join? 😂
Hi friends! Coming in late with lots of Big Feelings. My dad sent me an email this morning, and while the situation with my parents is long and complicated to type out, suffice it to say that it emotionally exhausted me before 7am, and I haven't even responded yet!
I'm trying to decide whether to apply for a promotion at my library, even though I've only been in my current position for a few months. I'm qualified for it, but also I don't want to overstep anything since I'm still so new?
Going to wrap myself up in my coziest cardigan and try not to think about my parents today. Looking forward to getting to the comments when I can!
Hello, happy Friday! Erin, gah, your story on your amazing dentist - should I move to Birmingham just so I can go to this dentist? Maybe? I once drove 5 hours each way from coastal Mississippi to Bham and slept in a Walmart parking lot in my car so I could attend a Needtobreathe concert. Which leads me to think that Birmingham is somewhere you go when you're doing something that doesn't 100% make complete sense? lol
Speaking of dental work, I had the 2nd part of my gum graft yesterday, and so far it seems to be going better than the first one. My husband leaves tomorrow for his 9-day work trip. I decided to lean into this week/month/Lent of "doing hard things now in the hopes of a good outcome at the end," and am also doing Whole30, #day9. So hoping April finds us with a better looking bank account, oral surgeries behind me, and having detoxed from a bunch of food sensitivity issues. But I am hoping this coming week goes okayish & I can report next Friday that we enjoyed it and not survived it.
Treasures -
- realized I had never watched Big Bang Theory season 9, so I have that to look forward to this week
- our hellebores are blooming
- we got a new HR person at work who immediately created a work from home policy, so now I can work from home on Mondays instead of burning vacation days, due to childcare reasons
- snagged a Boden dress I had wanted to get 2 years ago but didn't want to pay the $$, on Ebay for $24. Now I just need it to warm up 10-ish degrees
Morning, Swipes! We returned from Epic Road Trip 2022 on Monday night and the rest of the week has been spent getting our feet back under us and the mounds of laundry done (so. Much. Laundry.).
🎡: We had such a great time at Legoland California with our friends. It is such a great park for families with young kids, and the park hotels do a fantastic job of making kids feel seen and special.
📚: I read 7 books on this trip. 🤯 Favorites were The Guest List by Lucy Foley, A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah Maas, Spellbreaker by Charlie N. Holmberg, and Dessert Can Save the World by Christina Tosi.
✈️🤠: Booked flights and Airbnb for the Dallas live show! I am SO PUMPED! Any other Swipes going to be at the Dallas Popcast Live?
🥾: A mom in our co-op started an Adventure Club, and we met up this week for a fantastic 2 mile hike/walk and enjoyed a beautiful Kansas day.
🎮: Hubs and I finally watched Free Guy, and it was the perfect way to veg out after our trip. It’s funny, and we’ll acted, and I think Ryan Reynolds might be my season pass.
Treasure/Turd:
😴: Sleep training the wee one. My husband and I are going on a trip sans kids in 3 weeks, and I need to get my 7 month old Re-sleep trained so my in laws don’t need to do overnight feedings. It’s going to be great once we are through it, but I forgot how tough it can be on me in the moment. Note to new mamas: sleep training is way, way harder on the mama than the baby! 😭
Okay, Swipes, I still have two more loads of laundry to fold (it never ends!!!!). I hope you all have the very best weekend available to you. ❤️
Happy Friday, friends! My week started off with breakfast at a farm in Texas. My first time having biscuits and gravy. That’s the biggest treasure I could have asked for.
I have a meeting with a realtor today to start the process of buying my very own home. I know nothing so today will be a day of a lot of questions but this realtor seems great so I’m hopeful!
The new Substack app is so good. Enjoyed reading your post!
Can I tell you that this Substack app is going to be a gamechanger for how I interact here. Truly, I tell you, I have never looked at the comments before but now HERE I AM. My treasure this week is that I am reading the book Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino and it is absolutely a fantastic read. Highly recommend. Ok see you in the funny pages.
The degree to which Greg Abbott is just completely fine with people dying in his state, on his watch, absolutely scrambles my brain. And that's all I've got to say about that (for now).
Yo Yo Ma content!
- I hadn't listened to this Tiny Desk concert in awhile and when I pulled up the link just now I decided I should. He is an absolute delight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uiUHvET_jg
- Cello Support: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPv4ohPTC4M
It has been a very long day, but the housing situation is looking up and I probably won't be homeless at the end of the month.
Hello - I have been struggling to feel my emotions. I feel a little on autopilot until yesterday when I went down the Broadway Baby spiral I like to call Jeremy Jordan and it goes on from there. Here are some gems:
- Found/Story of Tonight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aQykuIaJVI
- 10 Minutes Ago/Next 10 Minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g03joGMamlg
- Glee's Take me to Church: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCmjd4b2OAw&list=RDMM&start_radio=1
And finally Jeremy Jordan Run Away With Me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVwtGU3KOro
Hello friends! Commenting from the app which is a delight!!
That salary negotiation tweet SENT ME - I just recently went through this with a new job offer, and though writing and submitting my counteroffer made me want to puke, I did it and guess what?!? I got some of the things I asked for (including increased salary!!)
Ok other treasures this week:
🌎 my husband and I are about to do the Infinite Experience and I’m so excited! (see here https://theinfiniteexperience.world/?gclid=CjwKCAiAyPyQBhB6EiwAFUuaklRfiVV-P-xQAeOeV2-XnZlUxUmU6N_oJoKo162srtZP4wbqgmiVCBoCcyEQAvD_BwE#rec358337976)
👩⚕️ I went for my first ever “skin check” at the dermatologist and besides one small spot on my arm she needed to freeze, I was all clear!! Plus I got a retinol RX so I can work on my JBG skin
📚 I am reading and loving “Prayer” by Richard Foster as part of my Lenten feast each night and I’m really enjoying it.
Ok that’s all today folks - Happy Friday!
Hello all,
I am stealing a few sunny minutes on my back porch before pre-school pick up. The highlight of my week was definitely yesterday, when I saw a dear friend face to face for the first time in weeks and met her new baby! And then came home to an impromptu backyard happy hour with the neighbors. It truly felt like Before Times - kids running around screaming and playing together while the adults clinked glasses and ate tortilla chips. Sometimes my introvert self forgets how very important my people are.
Eagerly anticipating finishing Love is Blind this weekend while (fingers crossed) finishing up the basement reno we began in November. We're supposed to get 3-5" of snow tomorrow, which is wild considering I'm wearing sandals right now. I suppose the biggest news is that we are officially joining the church we've been attending on Sunday, which feels exciting and overwhelming and very adult all at once. It's the first place we've really chosen, as opposed to stumbled into, and though it took a few years to get to this point I am so grateful for all the kind and patient people who listened and asked questions and were curious alongside me as I began to rebuild my faith.
See you in the comments and may your weekends be filled with lovely little moments.
Hi everyone - I'm trying to get better about being in the comments. Friday's always tend to be busy work days for me (definitely not because I spend most of the week procrastinating) and so I don't get to the email until Saturday and then it feels like folks are out of the comments.
Things around here are feeling pretty bleak. The friend I wrote in about last week looking for prayers - he had another "stroke like event" (where he is losing feeling in parts of his body for a time, but I guess it isn't actually a stroke?) and isn't doing well. Being tested for a lot of different things with no definitive answers. He also is the type to not ask for help or accept what is offered so I am both scared sick for him and also kind of mad at him for being so stubborn. I saw him last weekend on a "good day" and he seemed fine, so it's a shock to hear a few days later that he's back in the hospital. Ugh my heart hurts.
I'm still looking for a new job, I have a few applications out there and I hope something comes soon because my current job is making me miserable.
My treasure is that I am reading the 6th (?) Outlander book right now. I love a good 1000 page book where I can forget myself and be completely in another world, and I really like this series. Sometimes it feels like all the comfort I have in what is otherwise an oppressively dark world. Idk here's to spring, hopefully new beginnings, and finding some answers and stronger footing on shaky ground. Amen.
Good morning from California, Swipes!
Well, this week is my university’s spring break, so I was very excited to have a light work week, WFH, and get allll the house projects and errands done. And then Monday night I sprained my ankle. 😬🙄
I’m grateful nothing is broken, but it is a bad sprain. And I live in a two-story apartment that also has a set of stairs to get to my car. 😑 Thankfully my sweet husband was able to work from home this week (bless), but this stress has brought up my old pattern of “I can do everything by myself, I don’t need any help”, when LOL I really do need help. That, and it’s just so inconvenient. 😂
Anyway, I’d appreciate allll the prayers for a speedy healing - I am giving a toast at a friend’s wedding in Portland next weekend and would love to be dance / walk normally / not need crutches. I’m also having a hard time giving myself grace. I was being silly and that’s what caused me to miss a step and fall.
Also, I haven’t sprained my ankle or been on crutches since middle school, so friends, got any advice for ya girl? (Besides the rest, ice, compression, elevate bit which I am working on). Also, is it normal to get bruises on your ribs after only using crutches for a day or so? 🥴
🫖 My treasure for the week is my favorite brand of tea, Harney & Sons. Have been drinking copious amounts of their Paris blend and it is lovely. They sell them in the cutesut tins *and* you can find them at target! What a win.
Okay, looking forward to spending my Friday in the comments with you all! 🥰
Oh, happy Friday! Thanks to the Substack app, this is the first time I’ve checked out the comments!
Anybody feel like this Substack app is giving Google Reader vibes? (RIP Google Reader, that got me through MANY a boring day temping in my early twenties!)
Hello everybody! It's my every-other-Friday off, and I made myself sauteed greens with an egg on them, and I'm still in my pajamas because my amazing husband took the kids to school so I wouldn't have to get up.
My parents have come out to Denver for a couple of months. They have a townhouse about half a mile from us, so they have their own space, but it's draining to have to keep them in mind all the time. They don't have any kind of social network out here - that's all back in Illinois, and they're here for the grandkids anyways - so every day I have to debate about whether we need to invite them over for dinner. I can barely be civil to my own husband and kids by the end of a typical day, and my parents are decidedly guests. And we're all introverts. It's exhausting.
I just finished reading Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher, and it was just what I needed. All of her books should come with a snuggly blanket and a perfect cup of English tea, and should only be read when water is falling from the sky in some form. There's very little plot, just a bunch of people who end up together because of the hospitable nature of the main character. And now I want to move to northern Scotland.
That's it from me! Off to try to finish turning the office/storage room into the teenager's basement lair.
I'm glad everyone is enjoying the new app, but I'm feeling a little old because I always read the comments on my computer. I just keep a Lil Swipes tab open all morning to check in on what's happening.
❤ Hope and I met up in the cute little town of Anderson, SC on Saturday. It was so fun to finally meet in person and get to know each other a little bit more. I did have to explain to several IRL friends how I had internet friends from the comments on a newsletter which made them even more confused.
🎂 My pastor's youngest turned 2 Monday. I lived with them 2 years ago! It feels wildly far away and yet like yesterday. E is not really a cuddler, but kept coming to me to hold him all night which was really sweet. Living with a family during the first few months of the pandemic was such a blessing.
🎂 My mom's bday was Wed and her boyfriend took her out to a fancy dinner. We talked yesterday and she's so happy being with him and it sounds like he treats her like the treasure she is. I'm just so glad, relationships of any kind have been hard since the divorce. She lost a lot of friends simply because she choose to leave her husband and people were unwilling to see past my dad's church mask to see the abuse.
💩 Kind of in the same vein, I've been realizing that I carry a lot of fear and imposter syndrome around being a happily unmarried almost 30-year-old woman. None of the men in my church have made me feel less than for my choices and have often encouraged me to continue pursuing education, but when the loudest voice growing up was very conservative/fundamentalist views of women it's hard to cast that off. I'm thankful to be able to see it for what it is and start working through it, but it's been a challenging thing to sit with this week.
Alrighty, friends, I'm off to reshelve some library books and write a midterm essay that's due tomorrow.
Hey gang, happy Friday! This week has been pretty "meh" and uneventful. I had two medical appointments/treatments and spent the rest of the week on the couch recovering from them while reading books and watching the latest season of Queer Eye. And that's pretty much it. 🤷♀️
Oh right, I went back to the Big Library to return a book and accidentally left with three more, even though I still had twelve unread library books at home. Is there maybe a support group I can join? 😂
I'm going to leave you with this reminder that spelling is important. 😳😬 https://twitter.com/HeyMPT/status/1499785661989232649
Hi friends! Coming in late with lots of Big Feelings. My dad sent me an email this morning, and while the situation with my parents is long and complicated to type out, suffice it to say that it emotionally exhausted me before 7am, and I haven't even responded yet!
I'm trying to decide whether to apply for a promotion at my library, even though I've only been in my current position for a few months. I'm qualified for it, but also I don't want to overstep anything since I'm still so new?
Going to wrap myself up in my coziest cardigan and try not to think about my parents today. Looking forward to getting to the comments when I can!
Hello, happy Friday! Erin, gah, your story on your amazing dentist - should I move to Birmingham just so I can go to this dentist? Maybe? I once drove 5 hours each way from coastal Mississippi to Bham and slept in a Walmart parking lot in my car so I could attend a Needtobreathe concert. Which leads me to think that Birmingham is somewhere you go when you're doing something that doesn't 100% make complete sense? lol
Speaking of dental work, I had the 2nd part of my gum graft yesterday, and so far it seems to be going better than the first one. My husband leaves tomorrow for his 9-day work trip. I decided to lean into this week/month/Lent of "doing hard things now in the hopes of a good outcome at the end," and am also doing Whole30, #day9. So hoping April finds us with a better looking bank account, oral surgeries behind me, and having detoxed from a bunch of food sensitivity issues. But I am hoping this coming week goes okayish & I can report next Friday that we enjoyed it and not survived it.
Treasures -
- realized I had never watched Big Bang Theory season 9, so I have that to look forward to this week
- our hellebores are blooming
- we got a new HR person at work who immediately created a work from home policy, so now I can work from home on Mondays instead of burning vacation days, due to childcare reasons
- snagged a Boden dress I had wanted to get 2 years ago but didn't want to pay the $$, on Ebay for $24. Now I just need it to warm up 10-ish degrees
Looking forward to reading the comments!
Morning, Swipes! We returned from Epic Road Trip 2022 on Monday night and the rest of the week has been spent getting our feet back under us and the mounds of laundry done (so. Much. Laundry.).
🎡: We had such a great time at Legoland California with our friends. It is such a great park for families with young kids, and the park hotels do a fantastic job of making kids feel seen and special.
📚: I read 7 books on this trip. 🤯 Favorites were The Guest List by Lucy Foley, A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah Maas, Spellbreaker by Charlie N. Holmberg, and Dessert Can Save the World by Christina Tosi.
✈️🤠: Booked flights and Airbnb for the Dallas live show! I am SO PUMPED! Any other Swipes going to be at the Dallas Popcast Live?
🥾: A mom in our co-op started an Adventure Club, and we met up this week for a fantastic 2 mile hike/walk and enjoyed a beautiful Kansas day.
🎮: Hubs and I finally watched Free Guy, and it was the perfect way to veg out after our trip. It’s funny, and we’ll acted, and I think Ryan Reynolds might be my season pass.
Treasure/Turd:
😴: Sleep training the wee one. My husband and I are going on a trip sans kids in 3 weeks, and I need to get my 7 month old Re-sleep trained so my in laws don’t need to do overnight feedings. It’s going to be great once we are through it, but I forgot how tough it can be on me in the moment. Note to new mamas: sleep training is way, way harder on the mama than the baby! 😭
Okay, Swipes, I still have two more loads of laundry to fold (it never ends!!!!). I hope you all have the very best weekend available to you. ❤️
Happy Friday, friends! My week started off with breakfast at a farm in Texas. My first time having biscuits and gravy. That’s the biggest treasure I could have asked for.
If you struggle migraines, I was just gifted something that has been a game changer. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082WN9NJL?pd_rd_i=B082WN9NJL&pd_rd_w=Jy5Hx&pf_rd_p=d3994b33-ac52-4180-a64c-4b6aa007fe3e&pd_rd_wg=KmM5s&pf_rd_r=GZG2QD1QPG4T74J99G7P&pd_rd_r=29f5b952-56d0-43ad-9bea-878e50e4fbf8 And thank the sweet Lord, you can get it on Amazon! 🙌🏻 My friend that gave it to me told me that the real move is to have this and the heating pad at the same time. I’m real excited about my old lady status 👵
I have a meeting with a realtor today to start the process of buying my very own home. I know nothing so today will be a day of a lot of questions but this realtor seems great so I’m hopeful!