I love Dante Stewart. Thanks for sharing his article. I can’t keep up lately. Things are going so fast as my teens live their best lives this summer 🤣😩. I needed to read these funny tweets. TGIF!
📚 I've been reading comics (Ultimate Spiderman), a history book about Ghengis Khan, and just finished my BOTM book (The Good Left Undone)
📺 Stranger Things. (I'm only on Season 2)
This weekend I hope to actually start unpacking from our move last month. 😬 And maybe make some art. Look forward to seeing what you all are up to in the comments!
Erin, I just watched your story and the way I GIGGLED with delight over the giraffe is a big treasure.
I just got a free year of Grubhub+ through my Prime account, and I am very excited to explore the food of my new city without actually having to go anywhere. Italian tonight, now I just have to decide what to watch since the latest multi-month run of new Star Trek is over.
Last week's VBS episode was hilarious. However, the kitchen of the church I grew up in was staffed by a woman named Joy who absolutely Knew Her Business, so I have never been able to relate to jokes about bad church snacks. I recognized my privilege here.
Having suspected for awhile that I may have some kind of neurodivergence and through the prompting of the Holy Spirit, aka D.L. Mayfield, I took several online assessments recently...and comfortably cleared the threshold for autism on all but one of them. So I'm now in the "making a big list of books to order" phase of research. Stay tuned, I have a feeling I'm in for a ride.
Wishing you insights and aha moments as you learn more about how your brain works. Thank you for sharing. If you read anything good let us know. My daughter is autistic and I am always on the lookout for good resources.
That website (Embrace Autism) is run by a couple of autistic researchers and has several assessments along with a ton of information about what each one measures, strengths/weaknesses of each, etc.
I’m late to the game, but happy to get to read about your treasures and turds this week!
⭐️ My mom got to come home from the hospital on Monday! She has an appointment this coming Monday and depending on her blood cell counts and when they want to do her next biopsy, she may be headed back soon, but it has been a needed breather for her.
💩 The kids and I have colds so we haven’t been able to see her yet 😩 because of her lowered immune system due to chemo.
⭐️ My husband and I had a lovely, relaxed trip to Asheville last week and the kids enjoyed their time in Gatlinburg with my in-laws.
💩 I’ve been a SAHM since my 8 yo was almost a year old. I have no idea what I would like to do, I don’t want to give up the flexibility I have for summers, before and after school, etc., and the only thing I really want to do--write--is unlikely to make money. I technically don’t HAVE to work, and I recognize what a privilege that is, but money is always tight and it makes me feel guilty. Maybe I need to go back to school? Nothing sounds like a degree I want to tear my hair out for. I don’t want to be a counselor and my undergrad was psychology. I also know it’s a bad idea to make any decisions while in the midst of some serious summer doldrums, when my mom has been fighting leukemia and my mind is not the clearest. Anyway, I don’t even know what I’m asking here other than just venting.
Do you have a JC/community college in your area where you could take classes? Not necessarily working towards a degree, maybe just a class here and there to explore some interests or grow your writing? Would part-time admin-type work be an option? Some of those may be remote positions, if that's a draw for you.
Hi Swipes! Thanks to all of you who prayed for my family & my mom a few weeks ago when my grandma died. It was so comforting to know there were people holding us ❤️
Onto some treasures:
- week-long VBS for my 2 oldest kids, that they absolutely LOVED
- our 1st-time garden is actually growing stuff! It might all get eaten by animals tomorrow but at least it’s growing today!
- bought myself some prescription sunglasses and I feel like a freaking millionaire. Such luxury!
Turds (just one, really): LICE. Somehow after 3 out of 5 of us caught covid, we all had lice. No idea from where/who. Proud of myself for not burning all our possessions. It’s over now but holy 💩.
It’s been a while since I’ve been on here. Summer has felt so busy, partly my fault for signing the boy up for so many camps but he loves them and it keeps them busy. God bless having a daughter who can drive (though she’s busy with her own charge as a nanny this summer) and other parents who help carpool. All that being said, summer has been great really, just going too quickly as always.
Today, I was supposed to be in a fun tennis tournament but my middle brought Covid home from cheer camp earlier this week and now it seems like the other two have it as well. 👎🏻 They’re all vaccinated and have been doing ok, but I still worry some. It’s coming up on a year since my cousins died and that is creating a lot of feelings as well.
We are still hoping to get away with the kids in a few weeks but still haven’t booked anything. Our go to is Pensacola Beach but we were maybe wanting to try somewhere different. We usually drive but are not opposed to flying. My husband wants to go to Puerto Rico since that’s somewhwre we can take the kids since we keep slacking on getting them passports. Hotels are pricey though. We can rent a VRBO or AirBnB but I’ve never done that outside the US. Anyone have any recommendations on what area to stay or what to do there?
This has been a WEEK and I am so so glad it’s Friday. PTL. Here’s a couple of my 💩& 👑:
💩 I work at a Christian university in Los Angeles and we are in a lot of transition + have big leadership gaps right now. Our provost, our dean, & CFO have resigned, and my boss’ boss (who leads our small team) is about to resign *and* we have a new president that started this month. It has been utterly exhausting. It feels a little like everyone is jumping ship and I feel very spinny. Thankfully my boss is amazing and she’s not leaving. 🙌
💩 HR/my boss’ boss have also been working on a promotion for me for a few months, so I’m praying by the end of the summer I get a new title (that matches the work I’m already doing) and a *freaking raise*. I learned this summer I’m making much less than the rest of my team, for equal work - so OUCH. 😤😭🫠 (The turd is also that it’s taking months to do what should maybe take a week or two. 🙃)
👑💄 Last night, I took my best friend to see Moulin Rouge! She’s had a rough year battling/in recovery for alcoholism and I’m so proud of her, and it was really lovely to do something FUN together. Also the show was a riotous good time!
👑❤️ Today is my 5-year wedding anniversary! Weirdly, my husband and I have had some little miscommunications and frustrations this week, so I’m looking forward to spending some time together this weekend celebrating (what feels like) our first big marriage milestone. 🥰
🤰 On Sunday we will do a 10 hour road trip to see my pregnant SIL and spend a week with her in AZ. I love being around her, and my in-laws will be around too, so it will be a lovely breather to be with family in such a weird season at work.
Okay thanks for reading my whole monologue here! Lol. See you in the comments! 🥰
I'm so glad you were able to celebrate with your friend at Moulin Rouge! I hope everything at the college gets sorted and you get the raise you deserve.
I'm driving to Kansas City to spend time with a couple of great friends from high school. One friend's son died by suicide in November, and I haven't seen her since the funeral. I'm hoping we can meet her wherever she is today.
We have lots of cherry tomatoes and zinnias in my garden right now. Everything is planted in mineral rubs and an old stock tank. My tomatillo plants look good I think but I don't know how to tell when they're ready to pick.🤷
I have been feeling a little down and sort of hermitting, so probably this Type 7/enfp needs to do more stuff with friends and also actually go to yoga classes instead of lazing about at home. Blech.
I saw Mr. Malcolm's List and Top Gun Maverick on Wednesday and enjoyed them very much. It was nice to remember a simpler time when we didn't know how incredibly weird Tom Cruise I!
👍🏻: My kids love them. I get to be in the water with my youngest. Pool time.
💩: We spend the entire morning at the pool due to staffing issues and none of my kids’ classes overlapping. 🙄 I feel behind all day.
Streaming:
👍🏻: Hubs and I were going to start The Bear, but when we clicked on Hulu, The Bob’s Burgers Movie was being advertised to us and we fell for it and loved it.
💩: Doctor Strange and MVOM. I will just quote my husband here, “I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the horror; I didn’t like the plot; I didn’t like his pithy one liners.” Amen.
Baby Finnegan turning 1 this weekend.
🥳: Weaning
💩: Weaning
Love you all. Hope you stay cool wherever you are!
Hellooooo, friends! Hope everyone's Friday is off to a good start. Here are my treasures and turds from this week...
--I got to see "My Fair Lady" with my mom at the Detroit Opera House. It was amazing! I have season tickets to Broadway in Detroit, so I've seen some wonderful productions, but this revival was awesome. The sets were incredible and the voices...oh, the voices. I never get over how talented people are and how much more beautiful their talent makes the world.
--I finished a big biography of Charles Dickens this week, which I really enjoyed. It does appear he was sort of an a-word toward his wife and children, which I enjoyed less. My husband and I discuss all the time that in order to be a genius, something in your life has to suffer, and is it worth it (since what usually suffers is relationships). This appears to be true with good ol' Charlie D.
--We are one episode away from finishing "Peaky Blinders." It's dark and violent, so it's not for everyone. But I've really enjoyed this final season (although they are making a movie, I guess...?) and Cillian Murphy's portrayal of Tommy.
--We are fighting Japanese beetles in the garden. We triumphed over squash bugs this year, so I feel confident in our ability to win here, too. But man...I hate un-helpful bugs.
--I am starting the last book in the Dublin Murder Squad series, and I'm quite excited! Tana French is so great.
That's all for now! Much love to everyone. Stay cool!
So, my husband started checking zucchini leaves for eggs immediately after seeing his first squash bug. He hand-picked bugs (as well as using a specially allocated dust buster for sucking up squash bugs 😂) and cut off leaves that had eggs. By doing this process every day for about 1-2 weeks, we haven’t had or seen any now for about 2 weeks. According to him, it’s all about getting rid of the eggs.
Live theater is just my favorite! I will never get over watching someone do pure magic with their voice 😍 I haven’t seen the revival of MFL yet, but it looks so good!
- I've managed 3 different evening engagements this week & have one more scheduled for tonight. I remarked to my SIL yesterday, I'd forgotten how many things there are to attend..... her response: when you're an introvert who needs some socializing? Yes. 🤣
- i had the bandwidth to engage more with my business and that's felt good.
- we haven't yet gotten a definitive 'no' on our home loan so......... still hoping? That's more of an update to a former turd than a treasure but I'll take the good even if I have to make it through delusion 😆
This brought me peak joy this week: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cfz66larYNM/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
literally vs. seriously - so on the mark. Ha!
I love Dante Stewart. Thanks for sharing his article. I can’t keep up lately. Things are going so fast as my teens live their best lives this summer 🤣😩. I needed to read these funny tweets. TGIF!
"I don't know this man!" 🤣🤣🤣 Deep sigh. These tweets/videos made me laugh so hard!
In lieu of an anniversary out my husband and I are ordering take out and sitting at our new bistro set on the patio. https://a.co/d/dGh7NCC
Year 12 is linen, se we bought each other linen "vacation shirts" so we can complete the coastal grandmother vibe as we sit in our shirts and eat fancy food at our bistro set. Mine is from LL Bean: https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/92573?page=womens-premium-washable-linen-shirt-tunic-long-sleeve-misses-regular
📻 I've been listening to vintage Italian music lately while I cook dinner: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0jABlXmvlbRqc6PlJkJAtZ?si=BpsPkDz_ST6lXkew9RE9hQ&utm_source=copy-link
📚 I've been reading comics (Ultimate Spiderman), a history book about Ghengis Khan, and just finished my BOTM book (The Good Left Undone)
📺 Stranger Things. (I'm only on Season 2)
This weekend I hope to actually start unpacking from our move last month. 😬 And maybe make some art. Look forward to seeing what you all are up to in the comments!
Erin, I just watched your story and the way I GIGGLED with delight over the giraffe is a big treasure.
I just got a free year of Grubhub+ through my Prime account, and I am very excited to explore the food of my new city without actually having to go anywhere. Italian tonight, now I just have to decide what to watch since the latest multi-month run of new Star Trek is over.
Last week's VBS episode was hilarious. However, the kitchen of the church I grew up in was staffed by a woman named Joy who absolutely Knew Her Business, so I have never been able to relate to jokes about bad church snacks. I recognized my privilege here.
Having suspected for awhile that I may have some kind of neurodivergence and through the prompting of the Holy Spirit, aka D.L. Mayfield, I took several online assessments recently...and comfortably cleared the threshold for autism on all but one of them. So I'm now in the "making a big list of books to order" phase of research. Stay tuned, I have a feeling I'm in for a ride.
Wishing you insights and aha moments as you learn more about how your brain works. Thank you for sharing. If you read anything good let us know. My daughter is autistic and I am always on the lookout for good resources.
Of course! This post and the linked assessment was kind of the catalyst for the whole thing: https://dlmayfield.substack.com/p/what-is-autistic-masking
That website (Embrace Autism) is run by a couple of autistic researchers and has several assessments along with a ton of information about what each one measures, strengths/weaknesses of each, etc.
I haven't had a chance to start on my reading list yet, but here it is (this is my all-purpose book wishlist, so there's other stuff on there too - ignore as needed): https://bookshop.org/wishlists/fef6b0e9b400fbf819dd111a783b71fb10f864e3
THank you for sharing the Parents Article. Very informative and made me see how R vs. W are impacting others in different ways.
The Subway Twitter feed!!
Happy Friday Swipes!!
Hi, Swipes!
I’m late to the game, but happy to get to read about your treasures and turds this week!
⭐️ My mom got to come home from the hospital on Monday! She has an appointment this coming Monday and depending on her blood cell counts and when they want to do her next biopsy, she may be headed back soon, but it has been a needed breather for her.
💩 The kids and I have colds so we haven’t been able to see her yet 😩 because of her lowered immune system due to chemo.
⭐️ My husband and I had a lovely, relaxed trip to Asheville last week and the kids enjoyed their time in Gatlinburg with my in-laws.
💩 I’ve been a SAHM since my 8 yo was almost a year old. I have no idea what I would like to do, I don’t want to give up the flexibility I have for summers, before and after school, etc., and the only thing I really want to do--write--is unlikely to make money. I technically don’t HAVE to work, and I recognize what a privilege that is, but money is always tight and it makes me feel guilty. Maybe I need to go back to school? Nothing sounds like a degree I want to tear my hair out for. I don’t want to be a counselor and my undergrad was psychology. I also know it’s a bad idea to make any decisions while in the midst of some serious summer doldrums, when my mom has been fighting leukemia and my mind is not the clearest. Anyway, I don’t even know what I’m asking here other than just venting.
I hope you all stay cool this weekend.
Do you have a JC/community college in your area where you could take classes? Not necessarily working towards a degree, maybe just a class here and there to explore some interests or grow your writing? Would part-time admin-type work be an option? Some of those may be remote positions, if that's a draw for you.
Hi Swipes! Thanks to all of you who prayed for my family & my mom a few weeks ago when my grandma died. It was so comforting to know there were people holding us ❤️
Onto some treasures:
- week-long VBS for my 2 oldest kids, that they absolutely LOVED
- our 1st-time garden is actually growing stuff! It might all get eaten by animals tomorrow but at least it’s growing today!
- bought myself some prescription sunglasses and I feel like a freaking millionaire. Such luxury!
Turds (just one, really): LICE. Somehow after 3 out of 5 of us caught covid, we all had lice. No idea from where/who. Proud of myself for not burning all our possessions. It’s over now but holy 💩.
Hope you all have a pleasant weekend!
It’s been a while since I’ve been on here. Summer has felt so busy, partly my fault for signing the boy up for so many camps but he loves them and it keeps them busy. God bless having a daughter who can drive (though she’s busy with her own charge as a nanny this summer) and other parents who help carpool. All that being said, summer has been great really, just going too quickly as always.
Today, I was supposed to be in a fun tennis tournament but my middle brought Covid home from cheer camp earlier this week and now it seems like the other two have it as well. 👎🏻 They’re all vaccinated and have been doing ok, but I still worry some. It’s coming up on a year since my cousins died and that is creating a lot of feelings as well.
We are still hoping to get away with the kids in a few weeks but still haven’t booked anything. Our go to is Pensacola Beach but we were maybe wanting to try somewhere different. We usually drive but are not opposed to flying. My husband wants to go to Puerto Rico since that’s somewhwre we can take the kids since we keep slacking on getting them passports. Hotels are pricey though. We can rent a VRBO or AirBnB but I’ve never done that outside the US. Anyone have any recommendations on what area to stay or what to do there?
Thank you!!
Thank you!!
Good morning friends!!
This has been a WEEK and I am so so glad it’s Friday. PTL. Here’s a couple of my 💩& 👑:
💩 I work at a Christian university in Los Angeles and we are in a lot of transition + have big leadership gaps right now. Our provost, our dean, & CFO have resigned, and my boss’ boss (who leads our small team) is about to resign *and* we have a new president that started this month. It has been utterly exhausting. It feels a little like everyone is jumping ship and I feel very spinny. Thankfully my boss is amazing and she’s not leaving. 🙌
💩 HR/my boss’ boss have also been working on a promotion for me for a few months, so I’m praying by the end of the summer I get a new title (that matches the work I’m already doing) and a *freaking raise*. I learned this summer I’m making much less than the rest of my team, for equal work - so OUCH. 😤😭🫠 (The turd is also that it’s taking months to do what should maybe take a week or two. 🙃)
👑💄 Last night, I took my best friend to see Moulin Rouge! She’s had a rough year battling/in recovery for alcoholism and I’m so proud of her, and it was really lovely to do something FUN together. Also the show was a riotous good time!
👑❤️ Today is my 5-year wedding anniversary! Weirdly, my husband and I have had some little miscommunications and frustrations this week, so I’m looking forward to spending some time together this weekend celebrating (what feels like) our first big marriage milestone. 🥰
🤰 On Sunday we will do a 10 hour road trip to see my pregnant SIL and spend a week with her in AZ. I love being around her, and my in-laws will be around too, so it will be a lovely breather to be with family in such a weird season at work.
Okay thanks for reading my whole monologue here! Lol. See you in the comments! 🥰
I'm so glad you were able to celebrate with your friend at Moulin Rouge! I hope everything at the college gets sorted and you get the raise you deserve.
Thank you Eliza! 💛
Your monologues are welcome here! ❤️
I'm driving to Kansas City to spend time with a couple of great friends from high school. One friend's son died by suicide in November, and I haven't seen her since the funeral. I'm hoping we can meet her wherever she is today.
We have lots of cherry tomatoes and zinnias in my garden right now. Everything is planted in mineral rubs and an old stock tank. My tomatillo plants look good I think but I don't know how to tell when they're ready to pick.🤷
I have been feeling a little down and sort of hermitting, so probably this Type 7/enfp needs to do more stuff with friends and also actually go to yoga classes instead of lazing about at home. Blech.
I saw Mr. Malcolm's List and Top Gun Maverick on Wednesday and enjoyed them very much. It was nice to remember a simpler time when we didn't know how incredibly weird Tom Cruise I!
Hoping your meet up with your friends is exactly what you & they need ❤️
Thank you, Katie!
This week has been filled with both/ands.
Swim Lessons:
👍🏻: My kids love them. I get to be in the water with my youngest. Pool time.
💩: We spend the entire morning at the pool due to staffing issues and none of my kids’ classes overlapping. 🙄 I feel behind all day.
Streaming:
👍🏻: Hubs and I were going to start The Bear, but when we clicked on Hulu, The Bob’s Burgers Movie was being advertised to us and we fell for it and loved it.
💩: Doctor Strange and MVOM. I will just quote my husband here, “I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the horror; I didn’t like the plot; I didn’t like his pithy one liners.” Amen.
Baby Finnegan turning 1 this weekend.
🥳: Weaning
💩: Weaning
Love you all. Hope you stay cool wherever you are!
I dropped a couple feeds with my baby and I have been so dizzy. Weaning is hard 😩.
I wanted to like MVOM, but going in Wanda was my favorite character and just 😭. Not happy about her character arc here 😒
MVOM was rough. I hated what they did with Wanda!
There were so many better ways to handle Wanda’s trauma after Endgame and WandaVision...MVOM wasn’t it. 😣
Right?!? I had so much hope for Wanda’s character after WandaVision. 😢😡
Hellooooo, friends! Hope everyone's Friday is off to a good start. Here are my treasures and turds from this week...
--I got to see "My Fair Lady" with my mom at the Detroit Opera House. It was amazing! I have season tickets to Broadway in Detroit, so I've seen some wonderful productions, but this revival was awesome. The sets were incredible and the voices...oh, the voices. I never get over how talented people are and how much more beautiful their talent makes the world.
--I finished a big biography of Charles Dickens this week, which I really enjoyed. It does appear he was sort of an a-word toward his wife and children, which I enjoyed less. My husband and I discuss all the time that in order to be a genius, something in your life has to suffer, and is it worth it (since what usually suffers is relationships). This appears to be true with good ol' Charlie D.
--We are one episode away from finishing "Peaky Blinders." It's dark and violent, so it's not for everyone. But I've really enjoyed this final season (although they are making a movie, I guess...?) and Cillian Murphy's portrayal of Tommy.
--We are fighting Japanese beetles in the garden. We triumphed over squash bugs this year, so I feel confident in our ability to win here, too. But man...I hate un-helpful bugs.
--I am starting the last book in the Dublin Murder Squad series, and I'm quite excited! Tana French is so great.
That's all for now! Much love to everyone. Stay cool!
Oooo! How did you triumph over squash bugs? They're the bane of my gardening life in so many ways
So, my husband started checking zucchini leaves for eggs immediately after seeing his first squash bug. He hand-picked bugs (as well as using a specially allocated dust buster for sucking up squash bugs 😂) and cut off leaves that had eggs. By doing this process every day for about 1-2 weeks, we haven’t had or seen any now for about 2 weeks. According to him, it’s all about getting rid of the eggs.
I love MFL, I got to see the tour when it was in Charlotte las year. I'm so glad it was an awesome performance.
Live theater is just my favorite! I will never get over watching someone do pure magic with their voice 😍 I haven’t seen the revival of MFL yet, but it looks so good!
Treasures:
- It's raining. In July. In northern Utah. It's basically magic.
- i stumbled across an old clip of Gordon Ramsay sending a teen to culinary school (watch it only if you need a happy cry: https://youtu.be/5-A_Srgkv30) & did a quick Google to see if there'd been an update which there has been! https://www.oklahoman.com/story/entertainment/columns/dave-cathey/2021/07/21/chef-gabriel-lewis-discusses-life-after-masterchef/7991074002/
- I've managed 3 different evening engagements this week & have one more scheduled for tonight. I remarked to my SIL yesterday, I'd forgotten how many things there are to attend..... her response: when you're an introvert who needs some socializing? Yes. 🤣
- i had the bandwidth to engage more with my business and that's felt good.
- we haven't yet gotten a definitive 'no' on our home loan so......... still hoping? That's more of an update to a former turd than a treasure but I'll take the good even if I have to make it through delusion 😆
Okay that Masterchef clip was so good 😭 And the update! Oh my heart. Thank you for sharing that treasure!!
Right? I found it earlier in the week & was immediately like 'put this in a note so I can share with the Lil Swipes!'
"Introvert who needs some socializing" is me exactly!