A short but sweet Lil Treasures this week: we are halfway through our quarantine and all my time is going to breaking up sibling fights and setting screen timers. But I would be remiss if I did not at least mention how grateful I am for all of you who show up here: whether you drop in every week, you’re a sporadic commenter, or you lurk in love, what you have built here is nothing short of wonderful. There have been weeks this year when knowing you would be here got me out of bed. So thank you. You never cease to make me laugh or think (sometimes both), and I can always count on you to bring the goods. And if it’s too hard for you one week, someone else is always there to fill in until you’re ready to come back. Thank you for the ways you’ve encouraged me this year: even just watching your conversations with one another is the absolute delight of my heart. Just…thank you.
Erin, That job video is a Mood! I missed y'all last week or two (time is a weird construct at this point) but I had to step away for a bit as my 3-ness is very unhealthy in this season and pushing me to be the best at ALL THE THINGS. In this case, the best at commenting and reading all the comments and crafting my own treasures and turds and then feeling like I failure because I cannot do it all, read it all, respond to it all. So in a truly "healthy" reaction I do none of it. What a turd!
Dipping my toe back in today to say hello and dance among your treasures and remind myself that being present when I can how I can (not just here, but everywhere) is better than overwhelming myself to the point of shut down. Much Love, La
Hello, ladies! I’ve been getting the newsletter for a while, but because my job has me on FB & IG all. of. the. time., I haven’t ventured here before today. But we’re quarantined (precautionary) and I NEED people to talk irrelevant nonsense with! (Mainly because I can’t buy any more pillow covers or Christmas gifts!) I need laughter! And nothing does that like Lil Swipes!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of the positives of your week/weekend. And am praying over all the turds.
My most recent column came out today. It’s about the unseen burden of women. I won’t post the link here unless the majority ( or some) want to read it. I don’t want to presume y’all want to read it or be the weirdo who posts links to her own words.
Oh y’all I’m here, I’m here! It’s taken me all the live long day to get here but here I am!!
Thanksgiving was a quiet-ish delight. It was just our family but there are eight of us so it’s still no small thing. We did our usual and ordered everything, except my husband who struggles to boil water researched for weeks how to cook a turkey. Y’all I’m so proud it was amazing! Everything came precooked and ready to heat from Cracker Barrel except the turkey.
I believe we’ve turned the corner on my daughters post break up grief. The crying has stopped! The confidence she has is beyond me! He’s texted her several times, she’s deleted them without even reading them. He told a mutual friend that she could be friendlier to him since they just broke up- she replied with “We broke up. I don’t owe him anything.”
While we are still on the struggle bus with Denver, I can see teeny tiny glimmers of healing. They are fleeting, but someday they will last.
My last baby turned 3 today. He spent the day bossing every one around in his very raspy voice.
We finished the day off by having our family photos done. This is the first year that I bought clothes for everyone just to have photos done. Usually I just pull things from all the closets and make it work. It was fun to shop for all of us and so much freaking work!! Y’all I wore a tutu skirt!! That’s right I wore a grown up tutu! I don’t care if it makes me look extra fluffy in my photos! I wore a tutu! We’ve used the same photographer for 10 years and she always makes me feel beautiful and that I have the best behaved kids on the planet. Give her all my money!!!!
Happy Thanksgiving! I am glad Erin published the email this week as I was looking forward to checking in with y'all!
I celebrated Thanksgiving with friends instead of family for the first time, not even for pandemic reasons but for #trauma reasons. I'm happy to report that I have absolutely no regrets. It was the most chill time; I ate and slept and that was about it. Our gathering was small and in a tiny town in TX with almost no Covid cases and it was so nice to spend some time in the country, when I'm normally in the heart of Dallas all the time.
My health is still struggling, but I've been able to drink water and take my medicine without pain (which is progress). My neurologist, who is beloved by me and the Swipes for helping me out financially, is genuinely distressed at his inability to help me right now. Fingers crossed we get lab results back in time to get new treatment going soon, but for now it's a waiting game.
Huge treasure is that I had a performance review last week and it went so well! I was convinced I was going to lose my job, but apparently that was never on the table. I have a lot of things to work on but my job is secure for now and I am beyond thankful because I have no other financial recourse.
And of course, I'm thankful as always that the PMG has created a ton of content I can listen to while I've alone this week. :)
We are celebrating Thanksgiving today with in-laws so I am hoping to catch up on everything on here later tonight. We had a delightful day yesterday with just the 5 of us - including Stupid Walk, Hawaiian tacos, and introducing my boys to the Macy’s parade. One of my treasures of the week was Mario Lopez’s toddler acting like a toddler the whole time he was on screen. “Oh, they’re kinda normal!” I thought to myself. 😆
I didn’t keep track of treasures as much as I usually do during the week, but here are a few:
☀️ Nice weather on Thanksgiving Day after 3 gloomy days in a row.
🚐 We bought a camper last month and I have been enjoying having a “small house” to set up and decorate. We can’t wait to take it on the road.
🥧 Gooseberry Pie - we get gooseberries from our neighbor every summer, and I freeze a bunch to make pie for our annual Pie Night. Alas, Pie Night was cancelled, but pie was not. It is the perfect sweet and sour pie; really, 2020 in a pie.
🎄Putting up the Christmas tree way earlier than usual. I forget how peaceful it makes our living room feel.
Thankful for all of you in this space! Have a great week!
Hey all. So glad you’re here to brighten my week! It’s been a helluva week, to be sure. I’ve been thrown into “parent mode” with my mom’s health situation, and, in case you forgot, I am neither a parent nor have I been a spouse, so caring for anyone other than myself is NEW. To do it for my own mother is... something. 😞 But I’m doing it! And she’s not incapacitated so we’re making it as best we can. Last week was a tough one in that my sister dropped by unexpectedly and saw my mom’s bruised face and Hellboy knots on the head and was LIVID at not being told that she had fallen again. Because my mom is still an adult and mentally capable, I let her make that decision to keep it between us (especially when she showed no signs of internal issues from her falls and had no residual symptoms of concern). But my sister went *off* and has now been trying my mom’s patience with follow up texts. Our other sister hasn’t even checked in with us (though I’m sure she’s been told), and honestly I have more aggravation with the sisters than with all my mom is dealing with.
This week also included a couple days of blood sugar issues (still Mom) that culminated in having a full-on Thanksgiving tradition meal — which I prepared for just us two, mostly by myself, for the first time ever (and which I did not love doing) — and it was delicious until my mom promptly vomited it all back up. 😩 We’ve had a week.
Was there joy? Of course! But it was quiet joy of stillness, new TV episodes of shows we’ve watched for years (mostly CBS broadcast series), episodes of The Crown (that video! It’s exactly what I’m taking from this season! 😂), and quite a lot of online shopping (it is soooo difficult to shop for a family of adults with a budget of $25 per person and no one having true interests! 😣). I did realize I wasn’t going to read any more books this year (no focus for long stories), and felt a bit of relief in that, which made me see that I was holding up reading as an ambition instead of a treat. I’m going to focus on Advent reading and newsletters and longread online articles instead.
Lastly, I realized my new Word of the Year for 2021 and it makes perfect sense, although it’s a bizarre word to focus on: Lament. I’ve come to understand in this (ahem, say it with me) “unprecedented year” that I have never truly grieved the events of the past 5 years — personal health, job loss, my dad’s death, my mom’s health problems, current pandemic, sister struggles — and I’m finally ready to tackle the grief. I’m ready to mourn and to begin healing the emotional trauma. I realized that the word and the concept of lament has been brought back to me again and again all year, but I’ve never really allowed myself to go deep. I even participated in Ms Erin’s study in the spring, but didn’t seem to process it fully! So I’m thankful for this moment to try again, and I’m no longer afraid to do the work. I love having a focus for every year, and this one is admittedly strange to choose, but it’s nice to know what’s on the horizon and to be ready to meet it.
Thank you all for being joy for me, as well, and for sharing your lows, too. I’ve needed this community in ways I never anticipated. 🥰
Oh Jules, what a week. I totally feel you on the challenges of parenting your parents and dealing with/coming to terms with their declining health. Lifting you up in prayer.
I have felt for so long like the American Church as a whole doesn’t understand lament very well. It’s so important! When I was processing infertility and the death of my dad, I did a study on lament from She Reads Truth- Mourning and Dancing. It was really helpful in putting words to my laments.
Much love to you and praying for you as you navigate all of this *stuff* ❤️
Ugh. It’s the worst. I want to live them but I really don’t even like them. I struggle not to feel like a victim with regard to the way they see me and talk about me. Often I just want to leave them to their own lives and ignore that I even have sisters. And that makes it even worse. 😞
My brothers often drive me bonkers too but in a totally different way. They are at least emotionally healthy. It used to not be so complicated with my sister, it was quite lovely, two rehabs later, after having custody of her three kids for a year and her refusal to actually do the work to stay healthy it became clear it would always be complicated. 🤎
Oh, Jules, what a week! Big internet hugs. Your paragraph on lament really moved me and made me realize I need to grieve a few things as well, so thank you. Praying for you and your mom. ❤
Grief is such a lingering struggle. When my dad died I was told to take a period of time to “mourn” as the Bible shows, but I didn’t realize that grief was something different. And it wasn’t until this year that I understood how grief is so varied and that I haven’t really processed all the circumstances of the past years. This year made me stop long enough to understand how that grief is affecting my sleep, my heart, my attitude, and how it’s made me more anxious about my mom. None of which is healthy, and all of which can be traced back to losses in my life.
Thank you for prayers (she’s having a good day! ❤️). Prayers for your journey, as well.
Jules! Wow. What a week, indeed. So sorry for all that your mom is going through. And to be such a close witness as you care for her. I can’t imagine the emotional toll. Praying for you as you continue to be there for her and navigate all the family communication that goes along with it. And that word of the year is a big one, but what a comfort to know you do not walk alone in it. 💗
I’m back for one more treasure (don’t know if anyone else has posted about this yet). Geoffrey and Pauline dancing this morning. Oh. My. Word. The actual best.
I think this might have been my favorite Thanksgiving in recent memory. My mom always gets SUPER stressed cooking for a big group, so the fact that it was just my parents, me, and my husband helped a lot. We had yummy wine cocktails, we ate too much, we napped, we watched football, we played Pinochle, we ate pie. It was a delightful day all around.
I did a Turkey Trot in my neighborhood yesterday, the whole 10K, despite my past year of almost no running. I was feeling a little sad before I went out—that I knew I wasn’t going to be able to run the whole thing as I have in the past and just some general sadness about how my body has changed over my recovery—and my husband asked Alexa what the definition of “trot” actually is. Lo and behold, the definition is “between a walk and a run.” So. I trotted. And I cried when he hopped up and down in front of our house as I finished up.
I’ve been reading the book “Digital Minimalism” this week, and it’s soooo good. Unlike a lot of other books about reducing tech use, the goal isn’t to shame the reader about liking tech or social media. The goal seems to be to remind us that our brains need quiet and solitude in order to process emotion, relationships, and problems. When we fill every moment with the hum of the outside world, we lose something important. The author really encourages readers to consider their values when they decide whether or not to integrate a new app, tech, or platform into their day to day. It’s a solid book. I recommend.
Tomorrow is my annual “Watch All 3 Lord of the Rings Movies in a Row While Decorating for Christmas” Extravaganza. It’s probably one of my top 3 favorite yearly traditions (and I have a lot—I’m a traditions kind of gal). I can’t wait.
I’m incredibly grateful for this community. I refer to you all as my “Friday Friends”, and I appreciate the encouragement and laughter that I know will accompany each Friday. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! ❤️
Hey gang! I'm home, I'm wearing lipstick, I have knitting and coffee within reach....the sun is pouring through my window. Basically this is a corner of perfect...
Keeping this short-ish because I'm home and that means I have to make sure the children are doing more than being on screens and bickering. But I did just make two holiday purchases from small businesses
2. Goat Milk Soap (goatmilkstuff.com) - I think a swiper turned me on to this company
I woke up with a migraine today. 0/10, do not recommend. But my quick hydration boost plus my OTC med combo (1 advil migraine, 1 excedrin, 1 tylenol arthritis) helped, I am blessed that I get some super clear visual indicators a migraine is happening so I can take things before the pain kicks in. But later, I know I'll have a 'migraine hangover' which I'm not a fan of.
Thanksgiving was easy peasy lemon squeezy here yesterday. One, because I made my turkey and gravy on Weds. So I had containers of sliced turkey packed up that I could literally toss in a cake pan with some gravy and put in the oven to warm up and get delicious with the mac n'cheese and green bean casserole that were easy to throw together. I woke up yesterday feeling very not stressed about what I had to do because I kept it simple for myself. I asked the family what deal breaker elements we HAD to have and what areas we could simplify. Deal breakers did include the aforementioned macaroni and casserole, making things easy included getting stove top stuffing (note for the audio, one year I slaved over making super homemade dressing and what did my famiy say? "Huh. we kind of like stove top better....." -- so its a running joke now to just get the boxed stuff and be totes okay with that ---- oh and premade pies/rolls. LOL. So there you go, a mix of homemade and storebought and we are a happy household.
We had a Facetime call with relatives last night. Only had to go on mute at one time and be sure I was offcamera for a full body eyeroll as some of my in-laws who think Covid is a myth were all about wanting to plan some big summer vacation in South Dakota where we could just get a big ol' cabin. My husband chimed in "really? We don't think its a little premature to plan this?" -- also, learned from my sister-in-law who works for a marketing firm that it seems that some big stores (think Walmart) are working on ways to promote you getting back INTO the stores. Sure the fact that Walmart has had an 80% INCREASE in online sales this year isn't enough, they want you t get back into their stores. ...... in a pandemic. BLERGH.
Other treasures.
Knitting and podcasts have been my favorite things as of late. I finished all the pending We Got You Club projects I finished a quick sock yarn cowl (it needs a home!) and am working on a kerchief scarf (it's very sassy and will also need a home). So if you want something -- I am really using knitting as my yoga right now and I am so grateful for it.
Making Treat Yo' Self purchases for myself from Copper Cow and also joining a wine club. I did one of these a couple years ago but it sometimes was an issue when we weren't home for deliveries. Well since my husband is probably working from home until who knows when, deliveries are NOT an issue ;) I think 2021 is still going to be a year everyone....so having win at the ready is just going to be ......... medicinal. ;)
I want to echo my pure thankfulness for this community.
I cannot begin to truly state how much I love it here.
When the rest of the world seems loud, angry, confusing, hurtful and scary.... you all bring some light, joy, truth and kindness....you are real with your struggles and we unify in ways that fuel me so much. Thank you Erin, thanks to each of you.
Ah! So excited to see The Swipe Up in my inbox today!
Turds - my MIL tested positive for Covid on Monday so they stayed home for thanksgiving. This is the same MIL whose friend told her she shouldn’t worry about covid because she is “covered in the blood” 🙄 She has now had it TWICE which is so crazy because she is retired and doesn’t have a car. How is she getting it?!? Thankfully after an ER visit to confirm she didn’t have blood clots in her lungs (??), she is home recovering.
But that turned into a treasure because I got to really do thanksgiving my way! It was just our little family of 4 and my 23 year old nephew who lives alone and has a strained relationship with his folks. We smoked a turkey on our green egg (best turkey ever), I made all of the sides, appetizers, desserts in the few days before, and we had a wonderful meal. My five year old declared it “best dinner EVER!” I really love to cook and got to try some new recipes and it was just magical for me. Reminded me of thanksgiving at my grandmother’s with all of the prep and planning (which I got a little shout out in the Faith Adjacent podcast for!! Thank you Erin! ❤️❤️)
A final treasure - Dash & Lily on Netflix is a delight and is putting me in the Christmas spirit! Highly recommend it!
We did our Turkey on the Egg this year too and it was declared by all to be the BEST EVER. Even my brother-in-law who admitted he doesn't like turkey and only ever eats a few bites to appease his dad - he went back for seconds!
Your MIL! Seriously, where’s she going to get COVID? How? What...?
And I second your 🙄 about being protected by the blood of Jesus. When people of my faith started tossing that around as if it was immunization, I nearly lost my actual religion. My response is always the same: God gave us plenty of warnings and instructions to protect each other (masks, step AWAY from each other, etc), and He also said “do not tempt the Lord your God.” Those are our instructions. Not “your faith will make you immune.” Aargh.
Yes! It’s so frustrating to me that people can think “I won’t wear a mask, God will protect me!” and forget the “love your neighbor” part of this whole thing too.
My only guess is that my FIL is picking it up (he still works but in a pretty socially distant job filling propane tanks) and is just completely asymptomatic.
Well well well, I forgot to log in and went to comment on someone’s comment and then had to log in and lost the comment (because that’s who I am as a person. So, to whoever had the list on TikToks containing the MCU deep cut of Tom Holland doing Umbrella and the Avengers watching - your taste in Tiktoks is hilarious and impeccable.
Last week I had a sore throat and then all of the sudden at around 1:30 I had a stuffy nose. The school I teach at has rapid testing, and if you have 2 or more COVID symptoms you have to get tested. So in the span of 30 minutes I told the nurse I needed to be tested, packed all my stuff so I could leave immediately if I was positive, walked out of my 7th period class, and never came back. I tested positive and have been in quarantine ever since. While spending a holiday like this is a bummer, I hold the hope that this will one day be only a memory. The last 2 days I’ve woken up before noon so I know I’m feeling better.
Treasures:
- Rewatching One Tree Hill and not letting myself feel shame for rewatching TV. I ALREADY KNOW WHAT HAPPENS SO I KNOW IT’LL BE OKAY.
- very very very very slowly getting my taste and smell back
- GIFT GUIDES ARE HERE. I stinking love gift guides. I don’t know what it is but geez I can look at stuff I’m not going to buy all day.
- Everyone has said it but this week’s Bachelorette recap is phenomenal. As a Special Ed teacher I need an embroidery of Knox’s quote, “Paperwork is NOT sexy.”
Things to watch:
- The Fresh Prince of Bel Air reunion (it’s beautiful).
- The Right Stuff on Disney+ I really liked it and I don’t care about space at all. The last episode isn’t great unless they make a season 2. If there is a 2nd season then the last episode is fine.
Yes to The Right Stuff!! I’m glad to know that someone who doesn’t care about space likes it so I can confidently recommend it to people who aren’t space/aviation nerds like me ☺️
Girl, I’ve rewatched Dawson’s Creek so many times. You will get no shame from me on the rewatch. Sometimes you just need the warm blanket of “I already know what happens.”
Thanksgiving has been such a weird mash up of turds and treasures. I'm coming up mostly treasures though.
Two biggest turds: you may remember I sprained my ankle three weeks ago. It was feeling much better. Then I stood for hours wednesday night and thursday making thanksgiving dinner. Today I feel like I can barely stand and it's all swollen again. Sigh.
It was sad to not be with my extended or immediate family for the holiday. Out of state travel for the extended family, including older relatives was completely out of the question, but not seeing mom/dad/sister who were all together was hard. But ok. Christmas will be much harder I think and even though it's my favorite holiday I'm kind of dreading it because I'm scared it will feel bad, even though I'm positive me, SO, and pup can have a lovely christmas together...I've never not had christmas with my parents at their house. So...there's that.
On to treasures: we had a super great day yesterday despite ankle woes. Last weekend we put up our outdoor christmas lights which I love! I always wanted them growing up but we lived in the middle of nowhere so parents said no. I still live in the middle of nowhere but now it's my house! I also live much closer to the road so anyone who drives by can see them...although it's a not often traveled dirt road...but I digress.
I'm reading the fifth outlander book and it's been great for taking my mind off things. SO has been working a ton at a christmas tree farm and it's lonely and I miss him but just a few weeks left for this job AND free christmas tree coming our way this weekend.
Ok now a request. I think I want some advent reading even though I am extremely bad at keeping up with anything I have to do daily. I've seen a few recommended and I was just wondering if anyone can recommend one for someone who is bad at remembering to do it...maybe they're short readings or easy to read or something? I don't want to buy a book and not use it...but I also want to focus myself this holiday season.
Also looking for recommendations for stretchy pants that look reasonably decent for leaving the house in. Pandemic weight is not going to get better for the holidays and I need to start wearing pants as it starts getting colder. Help!
My church has an advent plan on the YouVersion Bible app called Advent: The Journey to Christmas. It's daily, but it's short, so if you get behind you can catch up really quick. I like it.
I recommended one a few weeks ago that my friend and her twin sister put together- original poetry, artwork, music, and short readings. They’re also posting reminders throughout the week on social media, which I feel like will help me remember to actually interact and participate in it! @kategoescreating and @sarahsparksmusic for more details (Kate’s Insta bio is where you can go to purchase the guide, or to download a free version)
I think my treasure this week is that my kids (14 and 10) are finally old enough to actually help prepare for Thanksgiving. They chopped veggies for the stuffing, peeled potatoes, arranged cheese plates, rolled out crescent rolls and pie crusts, and ironed the table cloth. I love the logistical challenge of putting together a big meal like this (only once a year though - Christmas is ham and potatoes and a salad), but it was so great to have cheerful helpers (not usually the case) who actually did more than make a huge mess and sneak extra samples of dough.
I've also been listening to Troubled Blood, book four in the Cormoran Strike series by J. K. Rowling (pen name Robert Galbraith). It's basically Rowling's position paper on feminism, and it's fascinating, considering her recent fall from media glory around transgender issues. Trigger warnings all over the place: lots of violence against women. But if you want to understand her opinions (and those of others who came of age in the 70s and 80s) on women, feminism, and motherhood, it's great. And the narrator is top notch!
I love the logistical challenge of thanksgiving too!! My grandma was so good at it. My boys are still young to be of any real help (ages 2.5 & 5), but I did a lot of the prep while they were in daycare Mon - Wed and them being out of the house was the best help they could have given! 😆 I am glad to know there is a day in the future when they can help more!
I'd recommend starting with book one, Cuckoo's Calling, and read the whole series. I think it's possible to read just book four, but there's a lot of backstory with the main characters that might get you lost.
Pandemic thanksgiving wasn’t as stressful as I expected. I tried to watch the Macy’s parade, but it made me so sad. It felt awkward and lackluster. The energy of the spectators really make the parade magical and that was missing this year. I did really like that they did a land acknowledgement of the Native peoples whose land we now live on. I hope that acknowledgement continues in the future.
I made corn casserole and chocolate pecan pie for our small thanksgiving dinner outside on my parents’ back porch. We had a last minute delivery of Gramma’s dressing and gravy thanks to my aunt which was delightful. I think that made it really feel like thanksgiving.
My brother took some nice pictures of me and my dog for our Christmas card, and I’m just thrilled at how well they turned out. I’m glad to have some good pictures from this year that aren’t selfies in my apartment
I’ve had a breakthrough on the reading front. I accidentally stayed up til 1am reading a silly rom-com book. That hasn’t happened since before covid, and I’m thrilled despite throwing off my sleep schedule. (My dog doesn’t care when I go to sleep just as long as I’m awake with her by 7am 😂)
If anyone else has horrible allergies and needs a good air purifier, Costco has the Winix HEPA air purifier with two years worth of filters on sale for $129. Its only been a few days but it’s already made a huge difference and clearly my prior purifier wasn’t purifying anything
I’m trying meditation (my PT told me too. I’m holding all the tension in all my muscles. Ugh.) and I’ve downloaded the Headspace app. Does anyone recommend it or any other app? I’m all ears for recommendations
I actually enjoyed the parade because it felt intimate, but yes, not hearing the cheers after musical moments was disconcerting. I LOVED all the cultural and diversity efforts and hope hope hope they make that a default in the future instead of a gazillion marching bands from random schools across the country.
The parade in Detroit was also super janky. It was funny because it had to be funny or else it would have just been super sad. I was wishing they had just televised an old parade and added new commentary.
Erin, That job video is a Mood! I missed y'all last week or two (time is a weird construct at this point) but I had to step away for a bit as my 3-ness is very unhealthy in this season and pushing me to be the best at ALL THE THINGS. In this case, the best at commenting and reading all the comments and crafting my own treasures and turds and then feeling like I failure because I cannot do it all, read it all, respond to it all. So in a truly "healthy" reaction I do none of it. What a turd!
Dipping my toe back in today to say hello and dance among your treasures and remind myself that being present when I can how I can (not just here, but everywhere) is better than overwhelming myself to the point of shut down. Much Love, La
Hello, ladies! I’ve been getting the newsletter for a while, but because my job has me on FB & IG all. of. the. time., I haven’t ventured here before today. But we’re quarantined (precautionary) and I NEED people to talk irrelevant nonsense with! (Mainly because I can’t buy any more pillow covers or Christmas gifts!) I need laughter! And nothing does that like Lil Swipes!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of the positives of your week/weekend. And am praying over all the turds.
Erin, thanks for curating this community!
Why don't I understand what's funny about the picture with the cars...?
It took me a bit! They’re parked backward (backwards?) where they should be stopping at the stop sign! 🤦🏼♀️
My most recent column came out today. It’s about the unseen burden of women. I won’t post the link here unless the majority ( or some) want to read it. I don’t want to presume y’all want to read it or be the weirdo who posts links to her own words.
This was a great reminder, Erin! It’s been a doozy.
I’d love to read it!
You are the sweetest!!
https://gabnewsonline.com/index205.htm
Erin, that was lovely a reminder!
Also, I didn’t realize you were in SC (or at least I’m assuming you are based on the news paper) I am too!
Oh you are?!? Where? I’m on the coast in the lowcountry
I love the low country, but I'm smack dab in the middle in Columbia :)
I’m not sure how much longer we’ll get to be here.
Oh y’all I’m here, I’m here! It’s taken me all the live long day to get here but here I am!!
Thanksgiving was a quiet-ish delight. It was just our family but there are eight of us so it’s still no small thing. We did our usual and ordered everything, except my husband who struggles to boil water researched for weeks how to cook a turkey. Y’all I’m so proud it was amazing! Everything came precooked and ready to heat from Cracker Barrel except the turkey.
I believe we’ve turned the corner on my daughters post break up grief. The crying has stopped! The confidence she has is beyond me! He’s texted her several times, she’s deleted them without even reading them. He told a mutual friend that she could be friendlier to him since they just broke up- she replied with “We broke up. I don’t owe him anything.”
While we are still on the struggle bus with Denver, I can see teeny tiny glimmers of healing. They are fleeting, but someday they will last.
My last baby turned 3 today. He spent the day bossing every one around in his very raspy voice.
We finished the day off by having our family photos done. This is the first year that I bought clothes for everyone just to have photos done. Usually I just pull things from all the closets and make it work. It was fun to shop for all of us and so much freaking work!! Y’all I wore a tutu skirt!! That’s right I wore a grown up tutu! I don’t care if it makes me look extra fluffy in my photos! I wore a tutu! We’ve used the same photographer for 10 years and she always makes me feel beautiful and that I have the best behaved kids on the planet. Give her all my money!!!!
Y’all are the legit best. Much love!!
A tutu! I love it!
I’m so happy for your treasures! Your family has been in my t’s & p’s for weeks (months? time?) and I’m glad you have treasures to share ❤️
Thank you! We have felt them for sure!
I can’t wait to see the tutu!
Great news! Can't wait to see your tutu picture.
Hi friends,
Happy Thanksgiving! I am glad Erin published the email this week as I was looking forward to checking in with y'all!
I celebrated Thanksgiving with friends instead of family for the first time, not even for pandemic reasons but for #trauma reasons. I'm happy to report that I have absolutely no regrets. It was the most chill time; I ate and slept and that was about it. Our gathering was small and in a tiny town in TX with almost no Covid cases and it was so nice to spend some time in the country, when I'm normally in the heart of Dallas all the time.
My health is still struggling, but I've been able to drink water and take my medicine without pain (which is progress). My neurologist, who is beloved by me and the Swipes for helping me out financially, is genuinely distressed at his inability to help me right now. Fingers crossed we get lab results back in time to get new treatment going soon, but for now it's a waiting game.
Huge treasure is that I had a performance review last week and it went so well! I was convinced I was going to lose my job, but apparently that was never on the table. I have a lot of things to work on but my job is secure for now and I am beyond thankful because I have no other financial recourse.
And of course, I'm thankful as always that the PMG has created a ton of content I can listen to while I've alone this week. :)
Praying for swift test results and relief!
We are celebrating Thanksgiving today with in-laws so I am hoping to catch up on everything on here later tonight. We had a delightful day yesterday with just the 5 of us - including Stupid Walk, Hawaiian tacos, and introducing my boys to the Macy’s parade. One of my treasures of the week was Mario Lopez’s toddler acting like a toddler the whole time he was on screen. “Oh, they’re kinda normal!” I thought to myself. 😆
I didn’t keep track of treasures as much as I usually do during the week, but here are a few:
☀️ Nice weather on Thanksgiving Day after 3 gloomy days in a row.
🚐 We bought a camper last month and I have been enjoying having a “small house” to set up and decorate. We can’t wait to take it on the road.
🥧 Gooseberry Pie - we get gooseberries from our neighbor every summer, and I freeze a bunch to make pie for our annual Pie Night. Alas, Pie Night was cancelled, but pie was not. It is the perfect sweet and sour pie; really, 2020 in a pie.
🎄Putting up the Christmas tree way earlier than usual. I forget how peaceful it makes our living room feel.
Thankful for all of you in this space! Have a great week!
These are great treasures, I'm smiling just reading them!
Gooseberry pie is my dad's favorite! Enjoy the day with family.
Hey all. So glad you’re here to brighten my week! It’s been a helluva week, to be sure. I’ve been thrown into “parent mode” with my mom’s health situation, and, in case you forgot, I am neither a parent nor have I been a spouse, so caring for anyone other than myself is NEW. To do it for my own mother is... something. 😞 But I’m doing it! And she’s not incapacitated so we’re making it as best we can. Last week was a tough one in that my sister dropped by unexpectedly and saw my mom’s bruised face and Hellboy knots on the head and was LIVID at not being told that she had fallen again. Because my mom is still an adult and mentally capable, I let her make that decision to keep it between us (especially when she showed no signs of internal issues from her falls and had no residual symptoms of concern). But my sister went *off* and has now been trying my mom’s patience with follow up texts. Our other sister hasn’t even checked in with us (though I’m sure she’s been told), and honestly I have more aggravation with the sisters than with all my mom is dealing with.
This week also included a couple days of blood sugar issues (still Mom) that culminated in having a full-on Thanksgiving tradition meal — which I prepared for just us two, mostly by myself, for the first time ever (and which I did not love doing) — and it was delicious until my mom promptly vomited it all back up. 😩 We’ve had a week.
Was there joy? Of course! But it was quiet joy of stillness, new TV episodes of shows we’ve watched for years (mostly CBS broadcast series), episodes of The Crown (that video! It’s exactly what I’m taking from this season! 😂), and quite a lot of online shopping (it is soooo difficult to shop for a family of adults with a budget of $25 per person and no one having true interests! 😣). I did realize I wasn’t going to read any more books this year (no focus for long stories), and felt a bit of relief in that, which made me see that I was holding up reading as an ambition instead of a treat. I’m going to focus on Advent reading and newsletters and longread online articles instead.
Lastly, I realized my new Word of the Year for 2021 and it makes perfect sense, although it’s a bizarre word to focus on: Lament. I’ve come to understand in this (ahem, say it with me) “unprecedented year” that I have never truly grieved the events of the past 5 years — personal health, job loss, my dad’s death, my mom’s health problems, current pandemic, sister struggles — and I’m finally ready to tackle the grief. I’m ready to mourn and to begin healing the emotional trauma. I realized that the word and the concept of lament has been brought back to me again and again all year, but I’ve never really allowed myself to go deep. I even participated in Ms Erin’s study in the spring, but didn’t seem to process it fully! So I’m thankful for this moment to try again, and I’m no longer afraid to do the work. I love having a focus for every year, and this one is admittedly strange to choose, but it’s nice to know what’s on the horizon and to be ready to meet it.
Thank you all for being joy for me, as well, and for sharing your lows, too. I’ve needed this community in ways I never anticipated. 🥰
Oh Jules, what a week. I totally feel you on the challenges of parenting your parents and dealing with/coming to terms with their declining health. Lifting you up in prayer.
Prayers much appreciated! 🥰
I have felt for so long like the American Church as a whole doesn’t understand lament very well. It’s so important! When I was processing infertility and the death of my dad, I did a study on lament from She Reads Truth- Mourning and Dancing. It was really helpful in putting words to my laments.
Much love to you and praying for you as you navigate all of this *stuff* ❤️
Thank you, Jacki. ❤️ I had forgotten about the SRT study!
I feel the sister situation with you. Such stress! 🤎
Ugh. It’s the worst. I want to live them but I really don’t even like them. I struggle not to feel like a victim with regard to the way they see me and talk about me. Often I just want to leave them to their own lives and ignore that I even have sisters. And that makes it even worse. 😞
My brothers often drive me bonkers too but in a totally different way. They are at least emotionally healthy. It used to not be so complicated with my sister, it was quite lovely, two rehabs later, after having custody of her three kids for a year and her refusal to actually do the work to stay healthy it became clear it would always be complicated. 🤎
Complicated... that’s a very good word for sibling relationships. 😞
Oh, Jules, what a week! Big internet hugs. Your paragraph on lament really moved me and made me realize I need to grieve a few things as well, so thank you. Praying for you and your mom. ❤
Grief is such a lingering struggle. When my dad died I was told to take a period of time to “mourn” as the Bible shows, but I didn’t realize that grief was something different. And it wasn’t until this year that I understood how grief is so varied and that I haven’t really processed all the circumstances of the past years. This year made me stop long enough to understand how that grief is affecting my sleep, my heart, my attitude, and how it’s made me more anxious about my mom. None of which is healthy, and all of which can be traced back to losses in my life.
Thank you for prayers (she’s having a good day! ❤️). Prayers for your journey, as well.
Oh Jules. I wish I could hug you and sit with your mom to watch CBS shows while you take a minute. Prayers for your process of Lament.
😂 CBS crime shows are comfort food, I think, and for sure my mom’s favorites.
What a week. I’m so sorry for how difficult it must be to carry these heavy things right now. I’m glad we can be together here from week to week. ❤️
Oh Jules, what a tough season. Sitting here with you 💕💕💕
Jules! Wow. What a week, indeed. So sorry for all that your mom is going through. And to be such a close witness as you care for her. I can’t imagine the emotional toll. Praying for you as you continue to be there for her and navigate all the family communication that goes along with it. And that word of the year is a big one, but what a comfort to know you do not walk alone in it. 💗
Prayers much appreciated! And yes, such a comfort. ❤️
I’m back for one more treasure (don’t know if anyone else has posted about this yet). Geoffrey and Pauline dancing this morning. Oh. My. Word. The actual best.
I love them so much. I hope I'll be able to swing my hips like that when I'm 90.
So sweet! It gave me such wonderful warm fuzzies. 🥰
Yes!!!!
I think this might have been my favorite Thanksgiving in recent memory. My mom always gets SUPER stressed cooking for a big group, so the fact that it was just my parents, me, and my husband helped a lot. We had yummy wine cocktails, we ate too much, we napped, we watched football, we played Pinochle, we ate pie. It was a delightful day all around.
I did a Turkey Trot in my neighborhood yesterday, the whole 10K, despite my past year of almost no running. I was feeling a little sad before I went out—that I knew I wasn’t going to be able to run the whole thing as I have in the past and just some general sadness about how my body has changed over my recovery—and my husband asked Alexa what the definition of “trot” actually is. Lo and behold, the definition is “between a walk and a run.” So. I trotted. And I cried when he hopped up and down in front of our house as I finished up.
I’ve been reading the book “Digital Minimalism” this week, and it’s soooo good. Unlike a lot of other books about reducing tech use, the goal isn’t to shame the reader about liking tech or social media. The goal seems to be to remind us that our brains need quiet and solitude in order to process emotion, relationships, and problems. When we fill every moment with the hum of the outside world, we lose something important. The author really encourages readers to consider their values when they decide whether or not to integrate a new app, tech, or platform into their day to day. It’s a solid book. I recommend.
Tomorrow is my annual “Watch All 3 Lord of the Rings Movies in a Row While Decorating for Christmas” Extravaganza. It’s probably one of my top 3 favorite yearly traditions (and I have a lot—I’m a traditions kind of gal). I can’t wait.
I’m incredibly grateful for this community. I refer to you all as my “Friday Friends”, and I appreciate the encouragement and laughter that I know will accompany each Friday. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! ❤️
PROUD OF YOUR 10k!! Well done, Friday friend! Enjoy your LOTR watch 💕💕
Thanks so much, Jillian. 💗
Friday Friends, I love that! And I love that your husband hopped up and down cheering you on!
Your husband cheering for you also brought a tear to my eye. Way to go on powering through that 10K!!
I’ve had my eye on digital minimalism! Non shame-y sounds good :)
And Friday friends, how perfecr
Hey gang! I'm home, I'm wearing lipstick, I have knitting and coffee within reach....the sun is pouring through my window. Basically this is a corner of perfect...
Keeping this short-ish because I'm home and that means I have to make sure the children are doing more than being on screens and bickering. But I did just make two holiday purchases from small businesses
1. Penzey's spices (from Minnesota) (penzeys.com)
2. Goat Milk Soap (goatmilkstuff.com) - I think a swiper turned me on to this company
I woke up with a migraine today. 0/10, do not recommend. But my quick hydration boost plus my OTC med combo (1 advil migraine, 1 excedrin, 1 tylenol arthritis) helped, I am blessed that I get some super clear visual indicators a migraine is happening so I can take things before the pain kicks in. But later, I know I'll have a 'migraine hangover' which I'm not a fan of.
Thanksgiving was easy peasy lemon squeezy here yesterday. One, because I made my turkey and gravy on Weds. So I had containers of sliced turkey packed up that I could literally toss in a cake pan with some gravy and put in the oven to warm up and get delicious with the mac n'cheese and green bean casserole that were easy to throw together. I woke up yesterday feeling very not stressed about what I had to do because I kept it simple for myself. I asked the family what deal breaker elements we HAD to have and what areas we could simplify. Deal breakers did include the aforementioned macaroni and casserole, making things easy included getting stove top stuffing (note for the audio, one year I slaved over making super homemade dressing and what did my famiy say? "Huh. we kind of like stove top better....." -- so its a running joke now to just get the boxed stuff and be totes okay with that ---- oh and premade pies/rolls. LOL. So there you go, a mix of homemade and storebought and we are a happy household.
We had a Facetime call with relatives last night. Only had to go on mute at one time and be sure I was offcamera for a full body eyeroll as some of my in-laws who think Covid is a myth were all about wanting to plan some big summer vacation in South Dakota where we could just get a big ol' cabin. My husband chimed in "really? We don't think its a little premature to plan this?" -- also, learned from my sister-in-law who works for a marketing firm that it seems that some big stores (think Walmart) are working on ways to promote you getting back INTO the stores. Sure the fact that Walmart has had an 80% INCREASE in online sales this year isn't enough, they want you t get back into their stores. ...... in a pandemic. BLERGH.
Other treasures.
Knitting and podcasts have been my favorite things as of late. I finished all the pending We Got You Club projects I finished a quick sock yarn cowl (it needs a home!) and am working on a kerchief scarf (it's very sassy and will also need a home). So if you want something -- I am really using knitting as my yoga right now and I am so grateful for it.
Making Treat Yo' Self purchases for myself from Copper Cow and also joining a wine club. I did one of these a couple years ago but it sometimes was an issue when we weren't home for deliveries. Well since my husband is probably working from home until who knows when, deliveries are NOT an issue ;) I think 2021 is still going to be a year everyone....so having win at the ready is just going to be ......... medicinal. ;)
I want to echo my pure thankfulness for this community.
I cannot begin to truly state how much I love it here.
When the rest of the world seems loud, angry, confusing, hurtful and scary.... you all bring some light, joy, truth and kindness....you are real with your struggles and we unify in ways that fuel me so much. Thank you Erin, thanks to each of you.
Find your corner of sunshine today,
Love to all from my corner to yours
Mel
Love this, Mel! Glad that Thanksgiving turned out as it should have
Your corner of perfect sounds, well, perfect!
Glad yesterday was good, and hoping the migraine is as gentle as possible on you. Thankful for you!
Ah! So excited to see The Swipe Up in my inbox today!
Turds - my MIL tested positive for Covid on Monday so they stayed home for thanksgiving. This is the same MIL whose friend told her she shouldn’t worry about covid because she is “covered in the blood” 🙄 She has now had it TWICE which is so crazy because she is retired and doesn’t have a car. How is she getting it?!? Thankfully after an ER visit to confirm she didn’t have blood clots in her lungs (??), she is home recovering.
But that turned into a treasure because I got to really do thanksgiving my way! It was just our little family of 4 and my 23 year old nephew who lives alone and has a strained relationship with his folks. We smoked a turkey on our green egg (best turkey ever), I made all of the sides, appetizers, desserts in the few days before, and we had a wonderful meal. My five year old declared it “best dinner EVER!” I really love to cook and got to try some new recipes and it was just magical for me. Reminded me of thanksgiving at my grandmother’s with all of the prep and planning (which I got a little shout out in the Faith Adjacent podcast for!! Thank you Erin! ❤️❤️)
A final treasure - Dash & Lily on Netflix is a delight and is putting me in the Christmas spirit! Highly recommend it!
We did our Turkey on the Egg this year too and it was declared by all to be the BEST EVER. Even my brother-in-law who admitted he doesn't like turkey and only ever eats a few bites to appease his dad - he went back for seconds!
Best dinner!! I’m sorry for the circumstances but not sorry how it turned out!
Your poor MIL. So glad you ended up with the Thanksgiving you wanted! Sounds lovely.
I'm planning a Dash & Lily rewatch as my treat for next weekend after I finish papers. It's just a delight.
Your MIL! Seriously, where’s she going to get COVID? How? What...?
And I second your 🙄 about being protected by the blood of Jesus. When people of my faith started tossing that around as if it was immunization, I nearly lost my actual religion. My response is always the same: God gave us plenty of warnings and instructions to protect each other (masks, step AWAY from each other, etc), and He also said “do not tempt the Lord your God.” Those are our instructions. Not “your faith will make you immune.” Aargh.
Yes! It’s so frustrating to me that people can think “I won’t wear a mask, God will protect me!” and forget the “love your neighbor” part of this whole thing too.
My only guess is that my FIL is picking it up (he still works but in a pretty socially distant job filling propane tanks) and is just completely asymptomatic.
Yay, you made the best dinner EVER!
I keep hearing good things about Dash & Lily, I'm definitely going to check it out!
Dash & Lily is the new Christmas show/movie standard. It’s cheesy and predictable with twists and great characters.
Well well well, I forgot to log in and went to comment on someone’s comment and then had to log in and lost the comment (because that’s who I am as a person. So, to whoever had the list on TikToks containing the MCU deep cut of Tom Holland doing Umbrella and the Avengers watching - your taste in Tiktoks is hilarious and impeccable.
Last week I had a sore throat and then all of the sudden at around 1:30 I had a stuffy nose. The school I teach at has rapid testing, and if you have 2 or more COVID symptoms you have to get tested. So in the span of 30 minutes I told the nurse I needed to be tested, packed all my stuff so I could leave immediately if I was positive, walked out of my 7th period class, and never came back. I tested positive and have been in quarantine ever since. While spending a holiday like this is a bummer, I hold the hope that this will one day be only a memory. The last 2 days I’ve woken up before noon so I know I’m feeling better.
Treasures:
- Rewatching One Tree Hill and not letting myself feel shame for rewatching TV. I ALREADY KNOW WHAT HAPPENS SO I KNOW IT’LL BE OKAY.
- very very very very slowly getting my taste and smell back
- GIFT GUIDES ARE HERE. I stinking love gift guides. I don’t know what it is but geez I can look at stuff I’m not going to buy all day.
- Everyone has said it but this week’s Bachelorette recap is phenomenal. As a Special Ed teacher I need an embroidery of Knox’s quote, “Paperwork is NOT sexy.”
Things to watch:
- The Fresh Prince of Bel Air reunion (it’s beautiful).
- The Right Stuff on Disney+ I really liked it and I don’t care about space at all. The last episode isn’t great unless they make a season 2. If there is a 2nd season then the last episode is fine.
I too will study a shopping guide all. day. long...love them so much.
Oh Natalie...a speedy recovery to you!!! Take good care of yourself. 💕
Yes to The Right Stuff!! I’m glad to know that someone who doesn’t care about space likes it so I can confidently recommend it to people who aren’t space/aviation nerds like me ☺️
Girl, I’ve rewatched Dawson’s Creek so many times. You will get no shame from me on the rewatch. Sometimes you just need the warm blanket of “I already know what happens.”
Soooooo confession. I was an extra in two episodes of Dawson's Creek LOL
Wow!! do share more!
Thanksgiving has been such a weird mash up of turds and treasures. I'm coming up mostly treasures though.
Two biggest turds: you may remember I sprained my ankle three weeks ago. It was feeling much better. Then I stood for hours wednesday night and thursday making thanksgiving dinner. Today I feel like I can barely stand and it's all swollen again. Sigh.
It was sad to not be with my extended or immediate family for the holiday. Out of state travel for the extended family, including older relatives was completely out of the question, but not seeing mom/dad/sister who were all together was hard. But ok. Christmas will be much harder I think and even though it's my favorite holiday I'm kind of dreading it because I'm scared it will feel bad, even though I'm positive me, SO, and pup can have a lovely christmas together...I've never not had christmas with my parents at their house. So...there's that.
On to treasures: we had a super great day yesterday despite ankle woes. Last weekend we put up our outdoor christmas lights which I love! I always wanted them growing up but we lived in the middle of nowhere so parents said no. I still live in the middle of nowhere but now it's my house! I also live much closer to the road so anyone who drives by can see them...although it's a not often traveled dirt road...but I digress.
I'm reading the fifth outlander book and it's been great for taking my mind off things. SO has been working a ton at a christmas tree farm and it's lonely and I miss him but just a few weeks left for this job AND free christmas tree coming our way this weekend.
Ok now a request. I think I want some advent reading even though I am extremely bad at keeping up with anything I have to do daily. I've seen a few recommended and I was just wondering if anyone can recommend one for someone who is bad at remembering to do it...maybe they're short readings or easy to read or something? I don't want to buy a book and not use it...but I also want to focus myself this holiday season.
Also looking for recommendations for stretchy pants that look reasonably decent for leaving the house in. Pandemic weight is not going to get better for the holidays and I need to start wearing pants as it starts getting colder. Help!
My church has an advent plan on the YouVersion Bible app called Advent: The Journey to Christmas. It's daily, but it's short, so if you get behind you can catch up really quick. I like it.
I have a couple of advent books I enjoy:
Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas https://www.amazon.com/dp/087486917X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabt1_XUwWFbWAGXNDS
(I would imagine you can find it more cheaply elsewhere)
There is also a sequel to it called Goodness and Light. I’ll be adding Tsh’s to my collection at some point.
For stretchy pants - I got the colorfulkoala joggers from Amazon in on Wednesday and they are very comfy & stretchy, but not too tight/clingy!
I asked for these for Christmas, and I'm so excited! Hopefully they won't be too long for me.
I recommended one a few weeks ago that my friend and her twin sister put together- original poetry, artwork, music, and short readings. They’re also posting reminders throughout the week on social media, which I feel like will help me remember to actually interact and participate in it! @kategoescreating and @sarahsparksmusic for more details (Kate’s Insta bio is where you can go to purchase the guide, or to download a free version)
Tsh Oxenreider's Shadow and Light is designed for each day is standalone, so if you skip some it's no big deal. Rest that ankle!
I think my treasure this week is that my kids (14 and 10) are finally old enough to actually help prepare for Thanksgiving. They chopped veggies for the stuffing, peeled potatoes, arranged cheese plates, rolled out crescent rolls and pie crusts, and ironed the table cloth. I love the logistical challenge of putting together a big meal like this (only once a year though - Christmas is ham and potatoes and a salad), but it was so great to have cheerful helpers (not usually the case) who actually did more than make a huge mess and sneak extra samples of dough.
I've also been listening to Troubled Blood, book four in the Cormoran Strike series by J. K. Rowling (pen name Robert Galbraith). It's basically Rowling's position paper on feminism, and it's fascinating, considering her recent fall from media glory around transgender issues. Trigger warnings all over the place: lots of violence against women. But if you want to understand her opinions (and those of others who came of age in the 70s and 80s) on women, feminism, and motherhood, it's great. And the narrator is top notch!
I need to start this one....it's a long one but you're right the narrator is fantastic.
I love the logistical challenge of thanksgiving too!! My grandma was so good at it. My boys are still young to be of any real help (ages 2.5 & 5), but I did a lot of the prep while they were in daycare Mon - Wed and them being out of the house was the best help they could have given! 😆 I am glad to know there is a day in the future when they can help more!
Oooo good book rec. Thanks!
I'd recommend starting with book one, Cuckoo's Calling, and read the whole series. I think it's possible to read just book four, but there's a lot of backstory with the main characters that might get you lost.
Pandemic thanksgiving wasn’t as stressful as I expected. I tried to watch the Macy’s parade, but it made me so sad. It felt awkward and lackluster. The energy of the spectators really make the parade magical and that was missing this year. I did really like that they did a land acknowledgement of the Native peoples whose land we now live on. I hope that acknowledgement continues in the future.
I made corn casserole and chocolate pecan pie for our small thanksgiving dinner outside on my parents’ back porch. We had a last minute delivery of Gramma’s dressing and gravy thanks to my aunt which was delightful. I think that made it really feel like thanksgiving.
My brother took some nice pictures of me and my dog for our Christmas card, and I’m just thrilled at how well they turned out. I’m glad to have some good pictures from this year that aren’t selfies in my apartment
I’ve had a breakthrough on the reading front. I accidentally stayed up til 1am reading a silly rom-com book. That hasn’t happened since before covid, and I’m thrilled despite throwing off my sleep schedule. (My dog doesn’t care when I go to sleep just as long as I’m awake with her by 7am 😂)
If anyone else has horrible allergies and needs a good air purifier, Costco has the Winix HEPA air purifier with two years worth of filters on sale for $129. Its only been a few days but it’s already made a huge difference and clearly my prior purifier wasn’t purifying anything
I’m trying meditation (my PT told me too. I’m holding all the tension in all my muscles. Ugh.) and I’ve downloaded the Headspace app. Does anyone recommend it or any other app? I’m all ears for recommendations
This cracks me up every time. I have a love hate relationship with Excel https://www.instagram.com/p/CHtybtVHkZk/?igshid=1rbqq3n9wixm2
This makes me want to get rain boots for my Wheaten 😂 https://www.instagram.com/p/CH_wIwjn36d/?igshid=fbiol8j13tmq
Grocery vibes https://www.instagram.com/reel/CHlBSSCAZq3/?igshid=1rpglmjxm9qjs
I can’t get over the fact that this is a thing https://time.com/5294136/gloucestershire-cheese-roll-2018/
Time to eat leftover pie and dressing and casseroles, but mostly pie! Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
What book are you reading? I need something new.
I love the Calm app so much. Meditation, sleep stories, music...so much goodness.
I actually enjoyed the parade because it felt intimate, but yes, not hearing the cheers after musical moments was disconcerting. I LOVED all the cultural and diversity efforts and hope hope hope they make that a default in the future instead of a gazillion marching bands from random schools across the country.
I have been looking for that excel meme since I saw it a few weeks ago!! Thank you!!
I haven't used Excel in years and that still got me! And the dog! 😂
The parade in Detroit was also super janky. It was funny because it had to be funny or else it would have just been super sad. I was wishing they had just televised an old parade and added new commentary.
That would’ve been a great replacement! Like a 30 years ago parade to see how much it has changed over the years
Leftover pie for breakfast for me today! 😬
What kind of pie??
Bourbon brown butter pecan
Yum!!