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I similarly also had my first Costco hot dog experience this month and let me just say that this side of heaven it’s the closest I’ve felt to Jesus. The bread, the weiner, the Diet Pepsi, and the aggressive staff literally slinging hot dogs into aluminum foil?? Transcendental is all I can say.

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I would use “I need a grown-up” at least once a week. At least. Loved the Andy Squires post. I always appreciate it when someone points out the unlikeliness of Christianity since I have those thoughts all the time. I’m on “vacation” with my husband and 3 year old and 5 year old. Really it’s just parenting in another location with uncertain and treacherous scenarios abounding. Extreme parenting. It will be fun though. We’re going to the zoo. Pretty sure that we could’ve gotten by with just dragging them around our hometown with the wagon that we bought for the occasion and had the same positive results 😂😂😂. Seriously though, I’m very grateful for the chance to literally get away. Hoping that others are having a restful weekend in these chaotic days.

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Greetings from no-soup-for-us North Texas. My days will look the same for another couple months, but I am finally starting to creep out of my Gollum girl cave a little. The past 6 months have been ruufff and I realize now that it started at the beginning of March when I had a c-r-a-p birthday. Everything went downhill from there, and I can only recall 2 good weeks since then. That’s a *terrible* stretch of misery, lemme tell ya. So the moral of the story is: always find a way to celebrate your birthday and make a good memory. If you lean into the crappiness, the effects could be devastating. 🥴

Treasures of Note, Summer Edition:

😴 I’m mostly sleeping like a human again, leaving the night living for the actual vampires. 🎉 Even when I’ve seen 2-3am, I’ve still been waking 8-9 hours later and fully rested. Huzzah! It’s true that good sleep is the key to health. I’ve felt more stable and sane this past month than I’ve felt for years. And the TIME I’ve gotten back is astounding. So much productive time! Although I don’t always use it for actual productivity... ⬇️

📺 Despite my mom’s insistence on bingeing the One Chicago series (she finished all 10 seasons of Chicago Fire – I liked – and is currently on season 4 of Chicago Med 😝), I’ve been able to catch up with some long-delayed bingeing of my own. I finally saw Only Murders in the Building (reminding me how charming Steve Martin has always been), and I did some Marvel catch-up (LOVED Ms Marvel; enjoyed Moon Knight bc of Oscar Isaac but *so weird*). I’m now catching up on Snowpiercer for the new season (Daveed Diggs 4eva), and I tried Westworld but it may be too creepy for me. My bingeing time will end soon because Mom still does network/broadcast tv and all the series start up again in September. But it’s been nice to feel a little “caught up” with the hype I missed out on.

📚 I tallied my summer reading and discovered I’d given the books three 5-star ratings, two 4.5 stars, six 4-stars, and one 3.5 stars, plus only one DNF. Either I’m really into my reading experience this year or the books have been truly great. (Both.) It’s been a very satisfying reading year, for sure! My faves were The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (sorry I missed book club!), Upgrade, What Just Happened, Sea of Tranquility, and Trust. My library says Carrie Soto is due to me in 18 days, so I’m finishing up summer reading to prepare for that one.

🎁 It’s time again to celebrate my longtime pen pal’s birthday, and I finally pulled together an idea I’ve been hoping to accomplish for at least 7 years. She’s a fan of all things pirate-y + Disney and even hopes to write a pirate novel someday, and I finally found just enough perfect items to build around that theme. She’ll be receiving a box with: t-shirt that says “why be a princess when you can be a pirate” (links below), a gorgeous mermaid pattern mug from her own wishlist, a candle called “But Why is All the Rum Gone?” 😂, some pirate-themed temporary tattoos, Pirate’s Booty snacks (of course!), and a sticky notepad titled Plan of Attack (because I love a good pun 😄). Each item is wrapped in this truly ugly-awesome paper covered in old maps with compasses, sea creatures, old ships, and bizarre Michelangelo cherubs in clouds. 🤷🏻‍♀️ This package hits all the marks between my friend’s love of pirates and my weird sense of humor, and I could not be more proud of myself TBH. 😂

** https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09TSJM49H/ref=yo_ii_img?customId=B075386ZHD&ie=UTF8&psc=1

** https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07H5BZBPV?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

** https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09C7JPBX4?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Lastly, the constant 💩 in my life remains: the chronic hives are still a problem but I may have narrowed down the cause a little bit. I found an article by a pharmacist connecting sudden hives to Hashimoto’s (which I have), and she suggested that a specific bacteria (protozoa) in the gut can lead to a random onset. Her protocol was 2 months of S.Boulardii supplement plus diet changes of gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, sugar-free, and caffeine-free. I’ve been taking the pills and doing fairly well on the gf, but not 100% diligent with dairy and certainly not sugar or caffeine free (Dr Pepper is a daily NEED). But still, this week I’ve had several days’ reprieve from the misery. 🙌🏻 I haven’t needed antihistamine most of the week, and I’ve not had the welts on my skin come up as usual. But then last night (TMI), I experienced severe digestive disturbance before bed and woke up this morning covered in the itchy hives. So now, at least, I can definitively say the hives are related to gut distress. So that’s good? It’s misery, but maybe I’m solving the mystery. Good with the bad, I guess. 🥴

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Re: the domestic arts, the Facebook group "Quilting" is visually stunning. Yesterday someone posted, "Show me your cat quilts." Over a hundred cat-themed quilts appeared on the comment thread and they were all so beautiful and different, I wanted to make one too. I don't even like cats.

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Treasure of all treasures! We finally got keys to our house this week and are moving in this weekend! 2 months of living out of suitcases in a 1BR apt with 2 kids and 4000 legos was 😅🤪 but I can now say the words I’ve longed to say since my son could walk, “GO PLAY OUTSIDE!”

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I moved into college last week. Am I exhausted? Yes. Am I loving every second? Also yes. I’ve never been happier. Started counseling yesterday. She asked me to consider the concept of EMDR. Ya girl may be more traumatized than expected. I live with all of my best friends. My neighbor has an ESA and he’s the cutest lil kitty in all the land. One of the ed professors has golden retrievers that he brings to work on a regular basis. So, this ed major uses that resource ALL. THE. TIME. Anyways, I’m just so freaking happy and I needed y’all to be aware.

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That domestic artistry piece got me.... I am a firm believer that we are all artists. That creativity just comes out in different ways in different people, and I hate that we have hierarchies of what "counts" as art.

I have a co-worker who told me she "doesn't have a creative bone in her body." Meanwhile, her house is beautifully decorated and she plays the most elaborate pranks on her husband that are perfectly calibrated to be hilarious and not too much/ too mean. I tried telling her that I would literally never think to visit my husband's work to put reindeer antlers on his car to confuse/ annoy him at the end of the day, etc.

Hope your long weekend is great, fellow artists!

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I will not be shifting into soup mode and I’m very afraid of who I will become should the power go out. The predicted temps for my area are as follows: 103, 102, 106, 111, 111, 108, and 101. I am unwell.

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Erin, I lost a tooth in a Costco hotdog when I was about 6, so maybe stick that in your pocket for when Cyrus has some wiggly teeth...

Treasures:

- When I moved to Arkansas two years ago, I really missed my favorite coffeeshop in my Oklahoma college town. Turns out you can order their chai powder in bulk on Amazon (so authentic), so I have been slowly working through several pounds of chai powder for the last two years. My "fall" tradition ("fall" because it is still about 82 degrees) is to put a scoop of chai powder in my coffee, so that is what we've got going on this rainy morning. Here's the link if you need 3.5 pounds of pretty sugary chai powder in your life. https://a.co/d/5tx74ok

- We moved into our new house a few weeks ago and the microwave is built into the kitchen. We've discovered that when your food is done and the timer beeps, instead of zeroes or whatever, the screen reads "GOOD". Here's to microdosing affirmation from a kitchen appliance.

- Found out I'm pregnant this week. :) This is our first, and we're excited and nervous and all the things. verbal gif, elsa from frozen, into the unknooown!

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Hi Swipes! Good luck Erin Sports Mom. May the odds be ever in your favor. The question is - what kind of hotdog does Jesus like? Is he a full Chicago dog guy? Chili dogs? Classic mustard? CORNdog? (It's Corn!)

🙏 Anyone who is the praying sort, would you pray for my teammate Lisa? She is going through something (many things?) And seems to be struggling, but won't tell us what's up or let us help. We are worried about her but can't find a way to connect. Reached out to her manager yesterday, and am hoping she can figure out how to support her.

So bonkers busy this week, but as I become a person again, I have more Tweetering Time.™

💰 I want to do this so bad!

https://twitter.com/Yoda4ever/status/1565354143866241031

💰 This tweet with comments of the songs people sing to their dogs/pets. (Beware the initial cussing, but the way people are with their pets was charming to me). We have several around here: You're the Very Best Dog (In the Whole Wide World); Whiskey Tron is the Tronniest Tron; We Are the Cuties with Waggly Booties; Its Time for Foodie Time; and fan favorite - There's a Giant Tube of Poop inside your Body.

https://mobile.twitter.com/raxkingisdead/status/1554473312381804544

💰This video of mom's tackling their football player sons:

https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1562812804599402497?s=20&t=AV3lIIygff62viJpRUda3Q

💰 This one is old, but I first saw it yesterday:

https://mobile.twitter.com/aaronreynolds/status/1275287134203777030

💰 I have never done this, so I can't vouch for accuracy, but of all the memes of this I saw yesterday this one made me laugh the hardest:

https://twitter.com/DaveMcNamee3000/status/1565125073089966080

💰 Got this one from Beth Moore liking it:

https://twitter.com/pastorjgkell/status/1565157174124462081

💰 Preach.

https://twitter.com/PatrickKMiller_/status/1565304429980549120

📻 The other day I wanted to sit in my hammock and listen to a baseball game. I love baseball on the radio. There were no games being played/broadcast, so I did some googling and found a vintage broadcast. Game 1 of the 1974 championship Dodgers vs Pirates. It was perfect - right down to the old commercials:

https://youtu.be/xLl15j3aLcA

📺 Emma (2020) - gorgeous, but meh. Miss Potter - cute

📚 A Hole in the World by Amanda Opelt. - almost done. The chapter covering the mirrors was good!

🃏 Uno with the hubs during dinner.

📝 Sad reads to balance out the funny teeets, I guess:

A New Yorker article about how the earlier generation of Biden family lost wealth. Sad tales of alcoholism and bad choices. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/08/22/the-untold-history-of-the-biden-family

And Sara Bessey sharing about Ada Tozer. 😔 I have read so many stories like that. Some by the pastors at the end of their lives realizing they had blown it with their families. And it doesn't just apply to ministry jobs. Any job can do this. Or volunteer work. It is a good reminder. https://sarahbessey.substack.com/p/pursuit-of-god?r=1vmrh&s=r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=direct

Looking forward to seeing your 💰 and 🗑in the comments!

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We made it to the long weekend!

Old man coworker has been back on his BS this week and I finally asked him why he's been coming in early and doing all the work before I got there. He happily explained that if we didn't have to work together then their wouldn't be tension... so, this 60yo man is just avoiding the problem by avoiding me! I tried to explain that this was weird. When I came in the next day he was sitting at his desk in the dark, didn't even turn the lights on himself. I went to our boss after work.

Aside from that, it's actually been a really good week!

📚 I finished House on the Cerulean Sea yesterday and it was a delight! It took me a bit to get into it, but I loved it.

💖 I've been helping a patron learn Canvas all summer for the course she's teaching this fall. She's three weeks in, it's going great, and she came by the library with the kindest note and little gift for me.

✨ When I was in StL a few months back, I randomly ran into my hs pastors ex-wife and learned that this man not only didn't help my family, he was hurting his own. It's made church hard the last few months even thought I know and love my current pastor and his family. I was finally ready and able to talk to my two close church friends about it last Saturday and it was so reassuring to just have people I love sit in that grief with me.

😍That conversation was made possible in large part by K.J. Ramsey's new book. If you haven't read it, read it! If you have, I'd love to chat about it!

That's all for me. I'm planning on doing some serious sewing this weekend, eating whatever I want and quite possibly staying in my cozy introvert home all weekend. I hope you have the best weekend available to you!!

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I would just like to give a hearty round of applause for the tweet about being unwell until October 21st…. I imagine this was referring to Taylor Swift’s new album… but that happens to be my due date for Baby #6. So to say THAT SPEAKS TO ME would be an understatement.

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Good morning sweet swipes!

- I think today may be the last day of 90 degree weather where I live 👏 I got a sweater at Costco yesterday to celebrate. Ugh I hope I didn’t jinx us 😩

- college football is back and so is tailgate food! My husband’s fave food is Buffalo chicken anything, so I will make him Buffalo chicken everything. Started off last night with a simple buff chicken sandwich, but I will eventually work up to buff chicken spring rolls, pizza, tots, and dip of course.

- my husband works in the banking industry and periodically has to attend “banking schools” for professional development. He just finished the Alabama Banking School last week and he was named Salutatorian of his class AND his team won their big group project! I am so proud of him! It’s made him super happy 😊

- I finished reading House in the Cerulean Sea and Sea of Tranquility and loved them both

What kind of special foods/recipes do y’all like to cook in the fall/autumn?

Can’t wait to catch up in the comments 💗

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Hello hello!

OK, who do I talk to about getting a What We Do in the Shadows/Schitt's Creek crossover?

My head is spinning this week because I've just been told I have to move out of the apartment where I've lived for 13 years. Just like that, completely out of the blue. I'm panicking slightly because my (lack of) health and finances is going to make it very difficult to find another place but I also feel like I am ready to move on and I've been craving a change for a long time so fingers crossed the right solution/home/winning lottery ticket turns up before I need to start packing.

The Great British Bake Off is coming back in less than two weeks and I cannot wait!

On Wednesday a friend and her 16-month old daughter came for a visit and we had a lovely time. I'd made brownies and got lots left over so I may or may not have been eating my feelings since they left. Basically, this has me this week: https://twitter.com/paddingtonbear/status/1563470851713818625

Hope you're all well and I'll see you in the comments! 🧡

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Wellllllllp.

That Andy.

I was unprepared.

Thank you for sharing at just the right time.

I’m packing my little bag (reading this instead) to go to have surgery today. It’s o think my 11th surgery? I lost count.

Anyway. I’m tired of doing it.

I am tired of asking my husband to meet me after recovery. I get scared of the IV every time.

And the idea of God meeting is in prayer every time being such a wonder, such a ridiculous, such a sure thing..man do I need that today.

Love y’all.

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I never remember to get on here and comment. But here is my treasure of the week, for y’all’s entertainment:

We just moved from Vermont to Mississippi, and I am now teaching in a predominantly black school after being in a rural almost completely white school for five years. Definitely lots of culture shock and fun experiences!

The other day one of my six graders said, “Mrs. Evans, I bet you wish teachers could still spank students.” I said, “Actually, student name, I don’t even believe in spanking my own kids,” to which she replied, “Ohhhh Mrs. Evans, there is a place for you in heaven!”

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