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Happy Friday afternoon Swipes!

Lots o' treasure:

- I am PUMPED for this weekend because I am meeting up with two other friends WITHOUT KIDS! We are heading to Holland, MI, so any of my Michigander friends that have recommendations for me, please share!

- I somehow ended up here last night and honestly, this whole video is my vibe going into the weekend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGy9kbL77g8&t=1s

- Also this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cxHwQl9pNM

- On a whim yesterday my husband decided to make this marble cake and it is bonkers good

https://www.lovefood.com/recipes/59887/paul-hollywoods-marble-cake-recipe

- I know Prime Day JUST happened, but Audible is having a HUGE sale and if you're a member, you can get some really great books for yourself and your kids. Janssen is my go-to as far as book recommendations go, and she's compiled a fantastic list here!

https://everyday-reading.com/audible-sale/

Otherwise, June was meh. Everyone here got colds, so bring on July. ONE LAST THING: if anyone can suggest why flies have suddenly decided my back deck is the new hip spot to hang out, I would absolutely love it. Between them and all the thunderstorms/tornadoes in Chicago of late, it feels a bit plague-ish around here. THANKS, LOVE YOU FRIENDS!

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Hello lovelies....

What a day.

What a week.

Today, I just want to dive into the comments.

But I cannot go without saying how I am already ECSTATIC about how I have booked a flight and an adorable AirBnb for Houston to meeting some of our Texan Swipers. I am just....I have cried, squealed and now have that light I get to approach each day. Texas. Y'all ain't ready. The joyous screams and hugs are going to be NEXT LEVEL.

My "Plussies" - you know who you are. Thank you. I thank God for each of you each day.

Did anyone have great Prime Day purchases?

These were my two favorites

1. Mascara: https://www.amazon.com/essence-Princess-Effect-Mascara-Cruelty/dp/B00T0C9XRK

2. Gel Pens to use on some black lined paper: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0948L94TB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And with that, I keep it brief (shocking?!) aaaaand here come my comments

Love to all of you,

Mel

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If you want an unsung hero from the true crime podcast genre, check out Detective Trapp. She's a latina homicide detective solving the murders of women on the fringe. The story is wild and Detective Trapp is so cool and has a background that gives the story some extra sparkle.

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Hey y'all! It's been a minute but there's so much comfort in knowing you are all here every Friday, even when I don't get a chance to hang out in the comments.

some stuff to share...

Oh No - My girls summer time with their dad is quickly approaching and while I look forward to getting to soak up time with my hubby and some friends, etc. there is always a tremendous shift in energy the week before they leave as we all navigate ALL. THE. FEELINGS and we are in the deep of that transition as we speak. That coupled with other ex-husband related stupidity has me on edge...bleh! Trying not to dwell on this and soak up the silly before my house is super quiet and the closet purging begins.

Oh Ya! - Florida trip was so fun (even with a few bumps from staying with family) we soaked up the sun, fished, beached, ATE, and enjoyed all the Universal Studios and Island of Adventures has to offer (Heavy on the Harry Potter - much to the delight of my heart) AND got to meet Jillian N and hug her neck! Y'ALL SHE IS A DELIGHT!

My in-laws visited from Ohio for a few days. I am blessed with the most low key in-laws who insist on staying in a hotel when the visit and really don't need much other than to just hang with us and the kiddos. They usually visit in the Spring and/or the Fall so the Texas Temps in June were a bit warm for them so we mostly hung out at the house and played in the pool and worked our way through a bunch of board games.

I got to spend a full day crafting with my mom and sister. It was so relaxing and good for my soul.

Speaking of things that are good for my soul... I get to hang with Mel, Avery, Amanda and hopefully Beth at the end of August! We're going to hang in Houston for a long weekend #LilSwipesMiniCampTexasEdition I have been squealing in glee and pinching myself since Mel booked her flight! I CANNOT WAIT!!!!

I hope you all have week full of blessings and things that make you squeal with glee! XO

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Hi folks - I haven't been in the comments recently because everything has just been too much lately. My SO is back to working that 5am to 6:30pm grind and I feel so lonely and I am so TIRED of all the life admin I have to do alone right now.

More than that though (because that is a temporary situation until strawberry season is over here in vermont) I am feeling more and more fed up by my job and feeling like it might be time to find something else. But it's so hard to know what the right thing to do is and while I have found some jobs that would be perfect they all involve moving and I just...the thought of moving right now makes me feel like a panic attack is coming. We moved into our first house two years ago and I don't feel ready to leave it. But things with my job keep downward spiraling (or that's what it feels like because maybe I'm over reacting? Or this is still pandemic madness? I don't know.)

There is a perfect job opening at a VERY good organization for more $$ than I make now. But it's in Maine. And while I would not be opposed to living in Maine (it's top of list for places in the US I would find acceptable) moving now feels too hard and SO has his job set through end of year.

Doesn't help that I've been at my current job for 6 years and it was my first career job after grad school. Also I know remote work is an option I just don't know if that's what I want either.

So basically thinking about this makes me want to cry and the only people I have any real contact with these days are SO (who is working so hard and then sleeping), my coworkers (who I obvs can't tell all this to), and my therapist who is surprisingly unhelpful.

Thanks for listening.

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Hello! It's been a weeeeek. Definitely some turds: my 6 year old woke up on Saturday with both lice and a stomach bug (which caused her to miss 2 birthday parties that day, and a week of her beloved jiu jitsu [just in case]); I backed over an unnecessarily tall concrete, curb-like, storm drain entrance causing damage to my car; I got a touch of the stomach bug my kiddo had.

Treasures: my amazing husband who has been doing laundry almost 24/7 since Saturday to make sure we have the lice contained; my amazing 6 year old who is so resilient and kind; she also had a week of half-day art camp that she LOVED; we found out that the owner of the art studio also attends the church we were going to before the pandemic started (very much looking forward to starting back to in-person church sometime soon); my happy happy 5 month little love who makes us all smile; re-watching Schitt's Creek while everyone else is asleep.

I can't remember if I ever actually introduced myself here. I've been reading for awhile but not commenting too much. The last few weeks I've been trying to be more intentional about commenting because this is such a lovely space that Erin has created and I crave more connection in my life with some awesome grown-up ladies! I work in the admissions office at a university in Texas (north of DFW). I have been married to my delightful husband, Jason, for 9 years and we have two beautiful daughters; Lily, who is 6, and Hazel, who is almost 6 months. I want to write children's books, but I haven't done it (despite files of drafts and ideas and support and encouragement from both Jason and Lily). I would also love to figure out how to break in to the world of recording audiobooks, but I'm not sure where to start (I have no acting experience, and I feel like that might be important somehow). I LOVE books, and would like them to be more centerstage in my life. I am an Enneagram 9. Not sure if my wing is a 1 or 8 (both seem pretty balanced between righteous anger over injustice and semi-crippling perfectionism), which seems pretty par for the course as a 9.

So, since I want to be a bit more active here in this kind corner of the internet, I felt an introduction was in order. I hope everyone has a lovely week full of treasures! And for all the rest of you who are in the hellish landscape of a southern summer, may your deodorant be as strong as you are.

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Love the Bird Buddy shout out! Backing that on Kickstarter was my Christmas present from my husband. I am VERY much looking forward to it. Also, Wild Birds Unlimited is great if you want to feed that addiction further, and I believe theyā€™re always locally owned!

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Happy Friday! This has been a restful, but full week at home. I'm taking 2 classes this summer and one is just way more work than I wanted it to be. I'm trying to motivate myself to work ahead so I can enjoy my girls trip over the 4th... We'll See how that goes.

Treasures!

I've finished 4 books this week. My fav was Much Ado About Books which I think someone here recommended. MAAN is my fav Shakespeare so I had to read it.

Made a new top and messed around with some other sewing projects.

Took my pastor's 4 year old to the park and library yesterday. I lived with them for 1.5 yrs and I'm just so thankful for this family and the opportunity to be a bonus aunt to their 4 little ones.

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Happy Friday! These weeks seem to be flying by, but also dragging as we wait for this little dude to decide to make an appearance. I am equal parts ā€œget here already, kid,ā€ and ā€œstay in and cook - I have so many things to try to get done!!!ā€

On to treasures:

šŸŒ”: we had one delightfully cooler day this week that had me packing up dinner and heading to a park with the fam. It was so nice to sit outside and not feel blisteringly hot inside and out.

šŸ“š: I realized this week that I just want to read fun fiction during the summer, so I abandoned a few books and started Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy and People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry. They are perfect summer reads in entirely different ways. I also read The Penderwicks in a day, and loved it.

šŸ“ŗ: I had a rare evening at home alone last night and finished up some tv series - The Mighty Ducks and Zoeyā€™s Extraordinary Playlist. The Ducks were pure sweetness and nostalgia; Zoey had me weeping AGAIN. I also started Crime Scene Kitchen, and I feel like someone peeked inside my brain to come up with this show. Baking? āœ… Mystery? āœ… Joel McHale as host? āœ… I love it all.

Weā€™ll, I hear the troops stirring, so Iā€™m off to start the day. Have a great weekend, all!

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Good morning swipies! :D

I'm gonna Add "Lets talk about Sects" to this podcast list - its an australian podcast about cults - its refreshing to listen to something that's not Ameri-centric!

Treasury-iest Treasure is that James and I bought a house! - a condo really- kind of Federal style? I don't know architecture. but its a HOUSE for us to LIVE IN! We close July 7th, Lord willing! (and at that point we'll be in the 20s of our wedding countdown!!!)

I'm reading 200 picture books this summer for a class, and cataloging them all here https://speden1.wixsite.com/thereadingnook - if anyone has a favorite that I should add to my reading list, PLEASE share with me!

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Hi Swipes!

Just a quick drop in before taking my little men hiking this morning. I survived solo parenting this week as my husband took a last minute work trip (first travel since COVID) and the kids were surprisingly awesome - so much easier now than when they were toddlers (go figure!).

The church hunt continues but we spent our second week at the church that is currently at the top of our list and were welcomed back warmly. I'm starting my own personal church history/roots of Christianity digging which is both overwhelming and informative; I am a late comer to the faith and am still working to understand denominations/church words/etc. Anyone else done this work that has resource recs?

My treasure is booking a 48 hour trip back to IN (home state) in a few weeks where we will stay in a tiny house! I am obsessed with all things tiny house related/minimalism and hope to downsize to one when we are post-kiddos. Thanks to the grandparents who are making this dream possible :D

Have a beautiful weekend, friends!

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Happy Friday, my friends!!!

Oh, I'm so glad the weekend is here, even if it is already so unbearably hot in Alabama and we can't really do anything other than find a pool to jump in.

Last week I told y'all about a job interview I had coming up on Monday and here is a little update. It went really really well. Like, I don't think I could have come up with better answers for the questions they asked. The next day they told me they wanted to proceed to the next step and would be contacting my references and doing my background check. I know they called my references on Wednesday, but that's the last I've heard. I've never hired anyone myself, so I don't know what all has to go into it, but I'm hoping I'll hear something by today or beginning of next week. The team I met seemed really supportive and like they would be fun to work with, so I'm hoping and praying hard that it will work out :)

Here's some internet treasures to kick off your weekend:

- Celebrities singing Driver's License: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQM4RGpD7aT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

- Memes for Britney: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQhagHPHXpB/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

- Joey Fatone and 3 members of BSB doing boyband choreo: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CQYoNTSHywA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

- This racoon has a secret to tell you: https://twitter.com/LloydLegalist/status/1406275572280532997

Okay, that's it. Can't wait to catch up with y'all in the comments!!! Love always!

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Hello Swipes!

The HBO email and subsequent nice responses from others had me feeling the world was a better place. ā¤ļø

In the ultimate of turds news, my father in law passed away in our home while they were visiting on Tuesday morning. My mother in law couldnā€™t wake him when his alarm when off and called us in to help. My husband and I rushed in there, and I could tell he had already passed but we called 911 and took turns doing CPR until they arrived. It was a traumatic experience, to say the least. Luckily my kids were easily distracted in my room and didnā€™t have to watch this happen. Obviously, we are devastated. This comes 6 weeks after their son (my husbandā€™s brother) died, and a few months after my mother in lawā€™s cancer diagnosis. To say we feel defeated is an understatement.

Iā€™m incredibly thankful I had started seeing a therapist for other things a few weeks ago, so her and I spent some time processing through this yesterday. We have a long road ahead of sorting through my in laws finances (spoiler: itā€™s not great, Bob) and trying to clear out their giant barn full of crap to sell their land. My mother in law will be staying with us (likely permanently, I do not think she could truly ever live alone).

If there is any bright side in this, on Monday night my father in law got to spend time with his grandkids (my boys), see my husbands transcript that showed he had finished college (at 41, Iā€™m so proud of him!), eat ice cream cake from my birthday as his last meal, and fall asleep next to his wife of 49.5 years. He died peacefully in his sleep and was received by Jesus.

Truly, I am coveting any and all prayers you can give us right now - dealing with the trauma of Tuesday morning, the sadness that comes from losing a man we loved, supporting my husband and children through this loss, and getting through the next months of hard work to deal with their barn/land sale and expected financial impact this will be while we sort it all out.

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Good morning!!

Hank woke me up this morning with a loud ā€œgood morning and Merry Christmas!ā€ For a hot second I thought how long did I sleep?!?

Eric- the saint is at summer camp with two of our teenagers, plus 65(?) others. The house he rents is a very very old farmhouse that sleeps a zillion but has no TVs and no internet and very spotty cell service. He did manage to call with his annual swear word about camp.

The following is a list of things heā€™s has said about camp/mission trips or the actual kids on trips when he calls home:

šŸŒ“Good morning from Hell.

šŸŒ“If we werenā€™t in a third world country Iā€™d send her ass home ( this girl was also our babysitter. She loves to tell this story).

šŸŒ“Why did he sign up to be a camp counselor if heā€™s just gonna be a jackass the whole time?!

šŸŒ“Can yā€™all just shut the F*** up?!? Iā€™m trying to talk to my wife!

Twenty-years in student ministry can make one a little short on patience by day four of camp! All the kids whoā€™ve been sworn at or around LOVE to tell the stories of when Eric was sweary. I say all this I suppose to remember that your pastor/priest is not perfect. Camp is hard and sometimes swearing really does help. Also pray for my family as they drive home today.

In other news I cleaned the actual crap out of my daughters room yesterday! I sent the kids that are still home to my parents house and spend five hours cleaning their room. A least six bags of trash and four bags of clothes later the ā€œcave of wondersā€ is gone!!

Last night my oldest son got his first tattoo. Itā€™s so cool looking and Iā€™m sad I couldnā€™t go with him. Heā€™s been saving up for it and I think picked a very classy, interesting tattoo.

Iā€™m taking the sons of thunder and the tween daughter to the beach today but Iā€™ll check back in later!

Much love to my favorite internet gang in all the land!

šŸ¤ŽšŸ¤ŽšŸ¤ŽšŸ¤ŽšŸ¤Ž

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Hello, happy friday!

My mom flies into town today and my husbandā€™s birthday is on Tuesday, with his party being on Sunday - a pool party nonetheless! (If any of you, like me, are itching to go to a pool but donā€™t want to deal with 1,000 screaming kids and maybe youā€™d also like a margarita? Might I suggest Swimply - basically an airbnb for pools! You can rent peoplesā€™ backyard pools. It sounds weird, I know. But people who leave reviews are painfully honest and you can read reviews and see if the owner was weirdly watching through a window or something. Weā€™ve never had a bad experience, though!)

I just want my husband to have the best birthday party and birthday ever. Last yearā€™s birthday was kind of meh and lately heā€™s been feeling like he doesnā€™t have a lot of true, good friends. He asked me to plan his party and plan it I did! Ice cream cake, chicken kabobs, fun pool floaties et all!

Also, do you have a budgeting app/tool youā€™d recommend? (One that is NOT Dave Ramsay pls and thx). We have had some expenses come up and it has drained our savings and we have a wedding reception to pay for so I am trying to build our money back up right quick šŸ™ƒ

Happy Friday, Friends. If you follow me on IG I will definitely post about the birthday party and the fun in the sun if you want to see my experience with Swimply!!

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Last week I mentioned a matchmaker had contacted me as a possible match for one of her clients, so that's screening call was Monday. It lasted less than 10 minutes, because when she asked if having someone who shares my faith is important to me I was all, "YUP, very." This guy didn't fit that criteria, so The End. She did say she'll put a note of that in my bio so at least if other matchmakers come across my profile they'll know to only contact me as a possible match for guys who are also Christians and looking for a woman who is one as well. It's mildly disappointing, but I know it's what's right for me so I don't regret answering that way.

In somewhat related news, please enjoy this ballad about a snail named Jeremy who couldn't find someone to mate with, because I guess I relate to snails now. šŸ˜‚

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UDZmxfZfRWY&feature=youtu.be

I definitely considered one of those Sleep Pods during the darkest days of the pandemic, because single + working from home + living alone was a brutal combo for a hug lover. But I do have a weighted blanket, which, when it's cool enough to be able to use, really helps me sleep.

On Wednesday I got to hold a baby for the first time in well over a year, and it was great. A co-worker entrusted me with their 4-week-old son, and even though it was only for a few hours, as a non-mom I was weirdly proud of my newborn caring skills. Turns out watching my siblings do parents has taught me a few things!

One podcast I've really enjoyed is Ungeniused. They're all quite short episodes (mostly under 20 minutes) , and they look at all sorts of unusual Wikipedia articles. The other day I listen to one about exploding lakes!

Also, my internet has been out at random points the last couple days because they're "upgrading" it in my neighborhood, which has made working from home quite the task. šŸ¤¦

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