Friday, February 07, 2025

5 on a Friday: Things I Heart

 YOU GUYS. Ben also got Strep and Flu-A. WHAT THE WHAT? And now! He and Cooper are off to Minnesota for a dive meet (Dorothy has dance rehearsals all day Saturday, so we could not go with) and will probably get snowed in at about the exact second strep, flu, and RSV hit me. #itfigures #patriarchy


ANYWAY. Onto 5 things I love this week:

1. THIS hand sanitizer. You can also use it as a hair refresher, and I love the smell. Dorothy has the watermelon onne and also likes it a lot. I am kind of obsessed and will definitely be buying these for basically every purse.

2. THIS podcast episode. Lowered my blood pressure for a hot second anyway.

3. THIS series on audiobook. YOU GUYS. DRAGONS. AND SMUT. BUT NOT DRAGON SMUT (don't google that).

4. Annabel's really really awkward groom



5. MINNIE'S TAP COSTUME.



Bonus: Cows who have been blown dry. (Their feet and legs don't NOT look like Annabel's)




Tuesday, February 04, 2025

Bedroom makeover-- not a terrible distraction.

Minnie!! HAS STREP AND RSV AGAIN!!!! She got swabbed for everything last week on Tuesday (EXACTLY A WEEK AGO) and was NEGATIVE and then was fine on Wednesday, sick again Thursday, fine Friday, Saturday, and Sunday-day. But Sunday night at bedtime, she said her throat hurt when she swallowed, and Ben took her to the doctor Monday afternoon: positive rsv and strep tests**sob**


 

Dorothy asked me to make a double recipe of THESE for a school project, and I have TONS AND TONS of leftover custard and buttercream (mixed together into the most indulgent mess of frosting I have EVER EVEN TASTED). I think I am going to use the rest in eclairs? Or maybe chocolate cupcakes? With fudge frosting? All of this-- the cupcakes themselves and the leftover recipes-- are a ridiculous use of eggs, but I am sitting on SEVEN DOZEN because I am a panic buyer, so... (I blame the NO FOOD WASTE FEBRUARY for my need to use up the rest of the custard/frosting).

2025 status symbol: CUSTARD



I washed my dirty little sentient mop this weekend, and then I immediately booked her a grooming appointment for a bang trim and to have her nails done because honestly? She kind of grosses me out when she's wet, and I think someone else should wash her.



We shopped all weekend for furniture for Dorothy's bedroom because she wants a bedroom makeover for her 12th birthday (SHE IS GOING TO BE TWELVE NEXT MONTH AND WHAT?!?!?! I feel like THIS DAY JUST HAPPENED. My dad dressed all 3 boys in their matching big bro outfits and had them waiting for Ben to come home and bring them to meet their new sister, and that's just so sweet). I hate furniture shopping with Ben because he is SO SLOOOOOOW to make up his mind, and I could drop 4500 for a basement skee ball table in NO TIME. (We bought nothing). (Dorothy said she just wants an 86-inch TV and a sleeping bag LOL). 

She needs a new bed (unsure whether Minnie will get her old bed or a new bed herself because the IKEA one hasn't held up great, but would get replacement slats and hardware, which would go a long way. Minnie also needs a new bookshelf because hers is technically a changing table), and Dorothy needs a new nightstand. She also deeply wants a makeup vanity with a stool and a cute chair for reading. HER ROOM IS VERY SMALL. Also, we will paint, buy stuff for the walls, etc etc etc.

I am sold on this Costco daybed for both girls

I tried to talk Dorothy into this Costco fold-up vanity (we saw another slightly bigger version at a furniture store, too)

But she wants something silly with lots of lights, even if it means she won't have room for a cozy chair. Ben doesn't know if he wants to buy something from Wayfair or a similar place that will require assembly or of he wants to buy whatever big gaudy thing our local furniture stores have in stock.

Minnie is getting this bookshelf though because I mean seriously

Dorothy and I walked around At Home so she could show me her vibe (she says coquette as inspired by the Loveshack Fancy collection at Pottery Barn Kids), and I found a hilarious picture of a flamingo in a gilded frame that I am using as a starting point. (Mentally. I bought nothing).

Anybody bought a vanity lately that they love?



Monday, February 03, 2025

Money Monday: Welcome to FOOD WASTE FEBRUARY

 We spend over two thousand dollars a month on food-- mostly groceries (typically around $500/week for groceries-- more if we are going to Costco to stock up on things). And then! Nights out, quick dinners, takeout-- all of the things. So closer to 3k (and over?)

Soooo, when we are taking a look at our budget and trying to cut the fat, this is, of course, the first/ most obvious category to consider.

This month, I am going to keep doing the 2 no-spend days a week, and I am also going to tackle the problem of food waste. I think (based on nothing but casual observation and a hunch) that we are wasting quite a bit of fresh food, and if we ate it, we'd all be healthier.

Frist, Ben and I cleaned out the two giant (and really annoyingly deep-- I think the shape of our kitchen cabinets really contributes to food waste) cabinets where all of our meal ingredients and snacks live. We only got rid of expired things and stale things, and the the difference is startling. We can SEE what we HAVE, which is radical for us.

Also, say hello to the winning expired products of shame (beating corn bread mix from 2021 and green beans from the start of the panny): RAMEN FROM 2018

Next, I have started encouraging everyone (including myself) to open the fridge first when they are looking for a snack, not the cupboard.

Third, I have started cutting up veggies in small amounts every other day or so (I used to wash and chop and prep them all when I put away groceries as part of weird pandemic hygiene theater), and then I have them on hand to offer as a pre-dinner snack or eat myself when I need something crunchy.

Fourth, I am saving and re-serving fruit the kids don't eat. Dorothy, for example, ate like a third of an apple at breakfast, and I knew she had another apple in her lunch (and giant off-season organic honey crisps are like $2 a pop). I sliced up her breakfast apple and put it in a bag and returned her lunch apple to the fruit bowl. Minnie might find, for example, her leftover cutie wedges from breakfast mixed in with sliced strawberries at lunch. She eats half a banana every night after dinner and refuses the other half the lext day because iut gets brown. So now I have a tupperware of browning bananas for bread/muffins.

What other suggestions do you have for me as I solve this problem in February?


Saturday, February 01, 2025

January: What I Read

Not my Favorites:

Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash: I just don't have the attention span for another WWII book it seems.

James by Percival Everett: It appears I am not smart enough for this book.

Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI by Madhumita Murgia: Listen, I really wanted to like this because I have huge ethical and labor rights concerns about AI. But, this book was based off of an excellent long-form article the author wrote, and there just wasn't enough there there for a book. Or she couldn't weave all the threads together?

Reboot by Justin Taylor: Solid meh, but the concept was terrific. **audio

Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show (While also in an Actual Cult) by Bethany Joy Lenz: Meh. But great title!

 Backlist Beauties:

Ward D by Freida McFadden: I like her books better the more terrible they are, and this one **chef's kiss** **kindle

What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman: A perfectly serviceable, page-turning thriller.

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen: THIS IS TERRIFIC. **audio

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen: Maybe I should read more books by dudes? **audio

The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery: Darling. *kindle

The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand: HOW DID I MISS THIS ONE? **audio

These Titles Are so Last Year

What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould: SO SCARY! Also YA, which I didn't realize until no one was having any sex even though they had Feelings. **audio

The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI by Fei-Fei Li: WELL THIS WAS TERRIFYING.

After Annie by Anna Quindlen: This is really wonderful-- you should read it. **audio

The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer: YES! I loved this so much!!!! 

My First 2025 Book!!

What Happened to the McCrays by Tracey Lange: Hockey! Romance! Sadness! Liked it a lot.

Book Books: 8

Kindle books: 2

Audio books: 6

2025 books: 1

BTD: 16

(Dorothy is reading the book)



Friday, January 31, 2025

5 on a Friday: Complaints and Obsessions

 1. I LOVED LOVE LOVE a newly discovered drugstore lip stain: Milani Color Fetish Hydrating Lip Stain in Pink About It. It goes on glossy and then dries to a long-wear stain. As I have gotten older, my mouth has become really hard to make up. My lips are sort of just melting into the skin around them, and all the teeny wrinkles from my smoking days in the 90s make it REALLY HARD to wear lipstick, especially bold, matte colors (my favorites) I have been using Laneige lip mask every night and THIS wonderful local-ish lip balm when I put my makeup on, but for color? Things have been grim outside my long time stand by Lancome Sugared Maple WHICH HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED. Anyway-- this stuff is great, and I will be back for more colors.


2. Minnie has been sick this week. Not a shock after Dorothy's strep and Coop's strep and influenza-a. And also all of the kids at her school are hacking little snot balls (which drives me up a WALL because it is a 3-hour school day. KEEP YOUR SICK KID HOME. Like I am doing. Even though keeping her home makes me  see in STARK RELIEF how inequitable Ben's and my current work/life balance situation is. **shakes fist at universe**. Plus, when she has a cough (WHICH SHE DOES), I can't sleep and have major flash backs to when she was SO SICK last winter. She got swabbed for All of the Things and has none of them, so she went to dance, where everyone was hacking and blowing snot bubbles and they tired on their ballet costumes. (She felt crappy but was fever-free until Thursday AM when I has been planning to send her back to school so I could attend a bunch of meetings. Sigh.)



3. Maybe related to my sickness anxiety: my hot flashes are OFF THE CHAIN this week. Which makes me think my hormones are well and truly fucked-- which explains my general anger and anxiety/ insomnia. Also! MY FINGERS ARE TOO FAT FOR MY WEDDING RINGS. I am going to HAVE to get my rings resized. And commit to life with sausage fingers.

4. This week was a rough one in terms of news. On Wednesday, I ate 2 donuts and part of a third in the random mid-afternoon and then had a kiddie meal from Culvers for dinner. I CANNOT HANDLE MY FEELINGS LIKE THIS. One day? Funny. Habitually? NOT AT ALL FUNNY. Especially since early-ish menopause raises my risk for heart disease and my cholesterol is already kinds high and I am VERY ANXIOUS ABOUT MY HEALTH. And my sausage fingers.


5. Thanks to Annabel, I see all the pretty sunrises. Also! Minnie is her favorite chew toy.







Thursday, January 30, 2025

January goals check in

Something that is becoming a bit of a pain point is PLANNING. I am starting to miss one-off Zoom meetings ( this frustrates me to no end, especially when I am just, like, SITTING IN MY OFFICE), and I have missed yoga a few times (LOTS OF TIME YOU GUYS). One of the items on my list was to develop an evening ritual that included my planner, and this is FOR SURE something I was to make sure I do every night in February.

I also want to hit my yoga goal, especially on the WEEKENDS, and I want to work in more writing time. These are really related-- I do a bad job of working most kinds of self care into my weekend because my routine gets thrown off, and we get busy. I am going to reflect on this problem in February and try to figure it out. Choosing a yoga video (Adriene all the way!) and making sure my mat is ready to go would go a really long way.

We had one day of ludicrous spending with many new non-necessary items (not all the kid stuff I complained about-- that was obvi all necessary, even the sequined Valentine skirt), and you know what? I TRACKED THEM ALL-- go me!!

I also can already check off my blogger meet up! (But I want more of these in 2025).

I fell short of my pomodoro goal, but I did use them to do some writing and also some work stuff that I hope I can tell you about later. I have set up a simple tracker going forward to make sure I get them all in.

January Kindle books: Ward D by Freida McFadden. I mean. You guys know I liked this one. The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery: this was for Engie's CBBC, so I will save my notes for those comments.

January new release: What Happened to the McCrays by Tracey Lange

January Albums: DeBi TiRAR MaS FOToS by Bad Bunny: This was GREAT cooking dinner/getting dressed music. (Also the title translates to I should have taken more photos, which,YES, I feel that). My favorite track is "El Club." I also listened to Lower by Benjamin Booker-- good writing music. I also think SZA's SOS Deluxe: LANA should count since it came out the last week in December, My favorite is 30 for 30.

January Cookies: Browned butter chocolate chip-- these were delish. Brownie cookies- YES PLEASE.

January word games: I randomly spaced out on completing Wordle (left with 2 guesses on the table and never came back!!), so instead of declaring the whole year a lost cause (first instinct, natch), I am going to track per month. 30/31 Wordle for Jan; perfect score on Connections; 28/31 Geniuses on Spelling Bee (forgot to play a few).

January date: We went out to breakfast, which was lovely. We will definitely do that again-- a great use of preschool time and rare morning lull. 

January restaurant: Old Glory in Clarksville, TN on our way home from Hilton Head.

January yoga tally: 18/25. I could not remember to practice on the weekends.

1/25 bags of donations are at the thrift store! Go me!

I BOUGHT PLANE TICKETS!! You guys!!! To go to Portland in April!!! More about this soon.

Minnie is FEELING her new clothes, and I love it so much



Monday, January 27, 2025

Money Monday: FAILS

 I think because I have been in more of a general funk about WORLD AFFAIRS this week and because I was distracted by impending WORLD AFFAIRS most of the month, my tracking has been… not the best, and I am buying WAY TOO MUCH.


Speaking of buying way too much, I would like to go back in time and un-buy some of this kinetic sand. (Just kidding— I love kinetic sand, and it is way less of a pain than other kiddie crafts).

Cooper demolished the zipper on his North Face coat (which, to be fair, was Very Old (hand-me downs for the win) and can be repaired for future use) which is also leaking feathers, AND it was so cold that school was cancelled. Sooooo, we had to buy him a coat STAT— which was trickier than you might think because most stores are all done selling coats in person, so sizes were hard to come by and Coop is very picky. But also! Most stuff is on sale, so the slim pickings were cheap. He got one for just under thirty dollars (SEVENTY PERCENT OFF ARE YOU KIDDING ME).

Then Cooper’s very favorite Speedo sprung a few teeny holes (too much washing! Too much wearing!). I found it on sale HALF PRICE, so he got 2 new ones for another fifty five dollars (when I am paying for shipping— which I freaking hate to do— I think ordering more is the best idea).

I noticed that Jack went out to shovel the sidewalk in a North Face fleece and I was all you should wear your winter coat, and he was all this is the only coat I have. OOPS. Kids grow, and you need to replaced their stuff, it turns out. Unlike Cooper, who is extremely picky and must try new things on unless he is getting an exact replica of something he already has— and even then it could be a few millimeters off and make him stabby— Jack is happy to order online. NOW is the very best time to buy a coat from Land’s End, so he got a down puffer for fifty bucks.

Speaking of growing!! Minnie Jedd! Is all of the sudden too big for all her clothes— too tall, arms too long, the whole nine yards. (Happened over night. One day she looked darling on her way to school, and the next day, she looked like she got dressed out of the oops-I-peed-my-pants bin in her classroom) This is sad because NO MORE TODDLER CLOTHES— she has to shop the big kids’ sections. But! It was a kick to take her shopping for… everything? She got 3 dresses, a sweatshirt, a pair of wide-legged lavender pull-on jeans, 3 pairs of leggings, 2 henleys, a sweater, and three skirts. Plus some cute tights and a pair of cowboy boots. For one hundred fifty bucks! (Dorothy and Minnie have not lined up well in terms of seasons and sizes, and Dorothy was a little girls 6 for like 3 years, so not much survived that size).

Even though these were good deals, that’s still like three hundred bones. Plus we had to buy Harry a new pair of Dunks ($130) because we literally THREW HIS AWAY when he came home (because they got tossed from his dirty clothes duffel bag into the garage in a Target bag, and we often toss trash into the garage for a kid to take to the can, and we use Target bags as trash can liners. I think a pair of Nike waffles got tossed, too, but they are discontinued? I don’t know— we are on the hook for another pair of sneakers is my takeaway) Also I had to refill my parking pass ($50). And Dorothy’s lunch account ($30). Plus there was a detour to the co-op for Naked Juice for Coop that turned int o a $70 trip and yielded some excellent wine. And! WORLD AFFAIRS made me go buy baskets and candles and pillows at Home Goods ($75).

IT WAS AN EXPENSIVE WEEK is what I am saying. And also I spent money every single day. I also blew my no-spend the week before. Blergh. I like the idea of this challenge, though, so I am going to extend it into next month.


Happy little shopper (in THE BEST reversible $8 coat from Costco— this is the second year we have bought this coat, and I hope they have it in her size next year, too).