#1 Always tell the truth & own up to when you've made a mistake. Lying about it just makes it worse.
#2 People over technology - every time. If a friend comes over and invites you to play, you put down the Nintendo and go outside and play with your friend.
#3 Experiences over things - Spending time together is more important than stuff.
#4 Wear whatever you like - your style is your style - EXCEPT when it's not appropriate for the weather or breaks school dress code - so when I tell you to put a coat on, put on the dang coat - it's 29 degrees outside!
#5 Always answer mom & dad's texts/phone calls in a timely manner. ALWAYS.
Love you all, but could you stop saying “the church” when you mean “Baptists.” I promise you I am in the church, and so are all the other Lutherans, Methodists, Catholics, etc out here who are not Baptist or Evangelical.
Erin, thank you so much for making last night's conversation available for those of us who couldn't join live. (I really wanted to but it was at 2 am my time so I was asleep 😴)
I'm doing Kate Bowler's Bless the Advent We Actually Have this year and it's doing my heart a lot of good. So that, along with the snow we've been having, are my treasures.
My first treasure: My community college finally approved an accommodation for me that has taken me about a year and a half to get! I will be able to complete my associate degree by the end of next year! I can go on to higher education! I'm so excited.
Other treasures not involving the fight for the basic right to an education include:
-Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See on Audible. This book has been so good and the narrator's voice is very calming. I still have 4 hours of it left but I don't want it to end. Btw, next up for me is All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir. Has anyone else read it? Thoughts?
-The Seed Savers Exchange catalog and The GoodNewsPaper arrived on the same day. Time to plan next year's garden already! (plus, happy mail)
-Drew Jackson's 'God Speaks Through Wombs' continues to blow my mind. Whew!
-An Advent 1008-piece puzzle that my mom got for me to count down the days. It's the perfect way to spend an evening.
-This weekend one of my best friends is coming to town, and I'm so excited to see her! We were in the 3-year-olds class in preschool together, and I feel so lucky to have a friendship that runs so deep.
-I realized at 9:50pm last night that I completely missed the conversation with Kelley Nikondeha, so I'll be listening to the recording this weekend. I'm really, really enjoying the book so far.
-My heated blanket on the couch is absolutely giving me life right now.
-I finished Iron Flame this week and cannot stop thinking about it. Grateful for the ability to look up hashtags on instagram so I can learn allllll the fan theories about what's going on.
Cackled at the "thanks we had to earn love in my household" - cuts deep!
My kids have their Christmas choir concert tonight & nearly all of my family members are joining us for dinner & the show, which should be fun. My 4th grader usually looks like he wants to melt into the floor when asked to perform (though this is his 5th term of choir, so he likes it enough to keep coming back?) and my first grader is front and center, snapping his fingers and flossing. Memories!
Tomorrow my husband & I are taking my parents to a Yuletide event at Wheatland (President James Buchanan's home) & then grabbing drinks at a new wine bar and seeing Joesph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat at our local theater. Very excited - and also tired thinking about it. I started a new job this week which I LOVE but also ... tired.
Hope you all have the weekend you need - festive, quiet, and hopefully full of holiday treats. I made some peppermint bark yesterday at a cooking class (early Christmas present with my mom & SIL) that I cannot wait to dive in to. Cheers!
Thank you for hosting the conversation last night. It was so so so eye opening and challenged me to be more intentional in my holiday season. I woke up thinking about so many things said last night. And Cheesecake Factory forever. Even if they took away the spicy cashew chicken! :(
Both the “where are the elder millennials hanging” and the Cheesecake Factory reel are on point. Don’t sleep on CF’s salads with their free bread. Delish, and more room for cheesecake.
I am in the thick of potty training my two year old (last one - no more diapers!! 🎉) and I am feeling 🤪 Some things keeping me sane:
1. Kayla Craig's Every Season Sacred as my Advent reading. The breath prayers are what I need to start my day. I know it’s meant that you read them weekly, but I’ve been reading them everyday during this week and they are keeping me centered.
2. Bluey, specifically “Fruit Bat” and “Sleepytime” to show my 2 year old that even Bluey and Bingo use the potty. “It’s a tactical wee” may be the greatest line in a cartoon ever.
3. @makegood on IG. She is a thrifter who finds the most amazing gems and resells them live on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I rarely buy, but her livestreams are weirdly calming and fun.
4. Tea. All the tea.
5. Filling my own stocking. I cannot thank you enough for the stocking stuffer post, Erin. I have been picking up items here and there for my own stocking and it has been bringing me so much joy. I ordered a nice gift set from Lume, got myself some GBBO stickers from our local British shop, a new reading light, and the seatbelt cutter tool. Am I shopping for my fam too? Yes, of course, but knowing I’ll have fun stuff to dig out of my stocking, too, is fun anticipation for this E9 who’s love language is gifts.
Low of the week: I have the cough that does not go away and am over it. Any recs for cough remedies?
I hope this week is one where you can hold grief and hope if needed. ❤️🕯️
Tea bags: Trader Joe’s Chai, Celestial Seasonings Mandarin Orange Spice, Twining’s Lemon and Ginger and Taylor’s peppermint are my favorites. We have a really great British shop in town and I love stopping in there to see all the teas and try something new.
A few non-negotiables for our family.....
#1 Always tell the truth & own up to when you've made a mistake. Lying about it just makes it worse.
#2 People over technology - every time. If a friend comes over and invites you to play, you put down the Nintendo and go outside and play with your friend.
#3 Experiences over things - Spending time together is more important than stuff.
#4 Wear whatever you like - your style is your style - EXCEPT when it's not appropriate for the weather or breaks school dress code - so when I tell you to put a coat on, put on the dang coat - it's 29 degrees outside!
#5 Always answer mom & dad's texts/phone calls in a timely manner. ALWAYS.
Love you all, but could you stop saying “the church” when you mean “Baptists.” I promise you I am in the church, and so are all the other Lutherans, Methodists, Catholics, etc out here who are not Baptist or Evangelical.
Erin, thank you so much for making last night's conversation available for those of us who couldn't join live. (I really wanted to but it was at 2 am my time so I was asleep 😴)
I'm doing Kate Bowler's Bless the Advent We Actually Have this year and it's doing my heart a lot of good. So that, along with the snow we've been having, are my treasures.
Wishing you all a lovely weekend!
Hello. friends!
My first treasure: My community college finally approved an accommodation for me that has taken me about a year and a half to get! I will be able to complete my associate degree by the end of next year! I can go on to higher education! I'm so excited.
Other treasures not involving the fight for the basic right to an education include:
-Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See on Audible. This book has been so good and the narrator's voice is very calming. I still have 4 hours of it left but I don't want it to end. Btw, next up for me is All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir. Has anyone else read it? Thoughts?
-The Seed Savers Exchange catalog and The GoodNewsPaper arrived on the same day. Time to plan next year's garden already! (plus, happy mail)
-Drew Jackson's 'God Speaks Through Wombs' continues to blow my mind. Whew!
-An Advent 1008-piece puzzle that my mom got for me to count down the days. It's the perfect way to spend an evening.
Have the best weekend available to you, friends!
All My Rage is very good, but will also leave you filled with rage and what happens
The mean sister reel TOOK ME OUT.
More treasures:
-This weekend one of my best friends is coming to town, and I'm so excited to see her! We were in the 3-year-olds class in preschool together, and I feel so lucky to have a friendship that runs so deep.
-I realized at 9:50pm last night that I completely missed the conversation with Kelley Nikondeha, so I'll be listening to the recording this weekend. I'm really, really enjoying the book so far.
-My heated blanket on the couch is absolutely giving me life right now.
-I finished Iron Flame this week and cannot stop thinking about it. Grateful for the ability to look up hashtags on instagram so I can learn allllll the fan theories about what's going on.
Cackled at the "thanks we had to earn love in my household" - cuts deep!
My kids have their Christmas choir concert tonight & nearly all of my family members are joining us for dinner & the show, which should be fun. My 4th grader usually looks like he wants to melt into the floor when asked to perform (though this is his 5th term of choir, so he likes it enough to keep coming back?) and my first grader is front and center, snapping his fingers and flossing. Memories!
Tomorrow my husband & I are taking my parents to a Yuletide event at Wheatland (President James Buchanan's home) & then grabbing drinks at a new wine bar and seeing Joesph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat at our local theater. Very excited - and also tired thinking about it. I started a new job this week which I LOVE but also ... tired.
Hope you all have the weekend you need - festive, quiet, and hopefully full of holiday treats. I made some peppermint bark yesterday at a cooking class (early Christmas present with my mom & SIL) that I cannot wait to dive in to. Cheers!
This may be the best Swipe Up ever. I LOL'd so many times! Thanks for being the bright start to my Fridays every week. I love it!
Thank you for hosting the conversation last night. It was so so so eye opening and challenged me to be more intentional in my holiday season. I woke up thinking about so many things said last night. And Cheesecake Factory forever. Even if they took away the spicy cashew chicken! :(
Both the “where are the elder millennials hanging” and the Cheesecake Factory reel are on point. Don’t sleep on CF’s salads with their free bread. Delish, and more room for cheesecake.
I am in the thick of potty training my two year old (last one - no more diapers!! 🎉) and I am feeling 🤪 Some things keeping me sane:
1. Kayla Craig's Every Season Sacred as my Advent reading. The breath prayers are what I need to start my day. I know it’s meant that you read them weekly, but I’ve been reading them everyday during this week and they are keeping me centered.
2. Bluey, specifically “Fruit Bat” and “Sleepytime” to show my 2 year old that even Bluey and Bingo use the potty. “It’s a tactical wee” may be the greatest line in a cartoon ever.
3. @makegood on IG. She is a thrifter who finds the most amazing gems and resells them live on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I rarely buy, but her livestreams are weirdly calming and fun.
4. Tea. All the tea.
5. Filling my own stocking. I cannot thank you enough for the stocking stuffer post, Erin. I have been picking up items here and there for my own stocking and it has been bringing me so much joy. I ordered a nice gift set from Lume, got myself some GBBO stickers from our local British shop, a new reading light, and the seatbelt cutter tool. Am I shopping for my fam too? Yes, of course, but knowing I’ll have fun stuff to dig out of my stocking, too, is fun anticipation for this E9 who’s love language is gifts.
Low of the week: I have the cough that does not go away and am over it. Any recs for cough remedies?
I hope this week is one where you can hold grief and hope if needed. ❤️🕯️
love your stocking ideas!!
Oooohhhh what kind of tea? Tell me all your tea thangs.
So, for loose tea, I have really loved this tea diffuser: https://a.co/d/iQHMHxf
My favorite loose teas are BLK&BOLD’s peach tea: https://blkandbold.com/collections/organic-loose-leaf-teas/products/peach-tea and Some Call Me Crunchy’s Chai, which I cannot find on her website now so it may be a seasonal thing, but it is so good.
Tea bags: Trader Joe’s Chai, Celestial Seasonings Mandarin Orange Spice, Twining’s Lemon and Ginger and Taylor’s peppermint are my favorites. We have a really great British shop in town and I love stopping in there to see all the teas and try something new.
That infuser is too cute! 😂