Holiday Wish List

 

1. Beeswax wax melts or a beeswax candle. I have heard so many good reviews of melting beeswax, compared to regular candles or melts. I made a note months ago to put one on my Christmas list.

2. A new cozy winter-themed blanket.  We have another like this and it's been a favorite for 10 years now. 

3. I always find myself ordering a new planner over Christmas break. While I have enjoyed my Erin Condren this past year, I want something large and flat for next year. I've always liked the Blue Sky planners. 

4. Hourglass blush. I prefer a powder blush. This is my favorite one and I've been out for awhile. 

5. A heated neck wrap is an absolute must, in my opinion. Last year, a parent at school gave me a $10 one from TJ Maxx and I have used that thing no less than 300 times in the last 350ish days. It is so great for those I-slept-wrong injuries and also for tension and stress relief. Now it has a hole in it so I'd like another one. 

6. A Clare V. Moyen Messenger is something I've been eyeing up for awhile. Scott told me he wanted nothing for his birthday, which is next week, and then he asked me "....what do you want? So I can financially prepare" because my birthday is in January. This would be it but I don't know that I'm ready to insist on it, you know? I also kind of have a thing for the green one. 

What's on your wish list this year? 

Meal Plan and Memes

 Continuing with some general dinner inspiration...here's last week's meal plan:

Here are the recipes for the Steak with Gnocchi and the Honey Garlic Chicken. 

Some of these memes are kinda niche, so it's a peek into my algorithm for sure. 

(Did I already post this one? Too much good material out there.)

(Have I posted this one before?)

"Gisele never cooked for us" LOLOL

Friday recommendations, 11/14

This week, I also posted Amazon in October and Memes and BBQ Chicken Nachos. 

1. The Ellen Fisher Podcast. I love this podcast because I love debate style shows that are long-form. Definitely worth listening to a few episodes! 

2. Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed by Maureen Callahan. 

American Predator is one of my favorite non-fiction books because she writes in a narrative way that makes the nonfiction so interesting to read. This is the same. You'll be thoroughly appalled. 

3. Let your kids be bored. Last weekend, I was like I should take the kids somewhere and then I was like No, their rooms are a mess. They don't play with the toys they have. I'm tired. So we stayed home. 

(and had our hearts broken 3 times in a row by our favorite football teams)

It sounds weird, like I'm of the Silent Generation or something, but our kids don't always need to be going somewhere and doing something. I say the Silent Generation because that was both my grandmothers (and Joe Biden) and that seems like something they would've said. Like, kids can just exist as kids. I pulled a box of baby and toddler toys out of the basement for Sutton and it kept her busy for hours.

I've tried to curate things for them--organized toy bins and boxes, crafty projects I end up finishing, themed piles of books and activities--they prefer to choose their own adventure, you know? 

My theory is that Gen X overcorrected their neglectful childhoods and helicopter-parented Gen Z to the point where they don't know how to apply for a job or make a phone call or drive a car by themselves. Whereas, Boomers told Millennials we could do anything we set our minds to and we got some crazy anxiety out of unlimited possibilities and forced independence, but we did learn how to take care of ourselves, you know? 

4. Get your kid out of bed to see the northern lights.

(Kid, singular, because Sutton would not wake up.)

5. Make your own dried tangerine decorations. It's kind of crazy that they are selling these for a lot of money as high-end decorations this year. I found a how-to in a novel study guide I had downloaded LOL. So I was already planning on trying this before I noticed it was popular.

Slice them 1/8 an inch thick, place on parchment on a sheet pan, at 175 degrees for about 4 hours. You can go longer, it doesn't really matter. You'll know when they're done. 

That's also Pizza Dough up there. 

Let sit out to cool/dry completely. 

Decorate.

These are cinnamon pine cones from Aldi. 

Make sure you take lots of curated photos too, so the other moms can't see the junk lying on your counter :)

6. Pumpkin Cookies. I made these yesterday to take to our last co-op for the semester. Everyone has a few recipes that they'll pass down forever. I know this is the one I've made every year because my mom used to make them every year and I'll teach my kids to make them. 

I don't like pie and I especially don't like pumpkin pie so this is what I make instead. 

Do you like pie? I'm usually the odd one out on this.

Linking up with Friday Favorites

Amazon in October

...coming in a little late here to show what I grabbed from Amazon in October. 

Some strategies I use when it comes to sites like Amazon that offer 1-click ordering:

1. I use it for what I need that I cannot get here at the regular grocery store (eh, Walmart).

2. If it's something I want, I put it on a wishlist and usually put a price alert on it via Chrome so I'll see when it drops. 

3. I always check the address for where it's going. Seems silly but we have 15 addresses in our account and I cannot say for sure how many times an item's gone to the wrong place. But the answer is more than once. 

LG Universal Remote for SmartTV. We bought a new tv in June. Maverick chewed up the remote about 3 days after we got it. It still worked so I procrastinated this and last week he got it again and then it didn't work. I overnighted this for an extra $3. There are rules about keeping things out of a 1 year old dog's reach but 7 year olds and 3 year olds don't follow rules. 

This $4 math workbook is worth it if you want to encourage review and extra practice. We started it this week. 

Scott puts these bells on the dogs' collars when they hunt in high grass so he can hear them. We've had them before but have misplaced them over the years. 

Another hunting purchase: Scott used a GPS collar on Scout last year because he's deaf and Mav got a GPS collar this year for his first real hunting season. 

I told myself I was going to start taking inositol again. They didn't have it at Walmart the one time I checked. It has so many benefits. I used to take it twice a day, years ago. 

Handwriting Without Tears is my favorite writing series for kids. After we finished our first handwriting practice book from The Good and The Beautiful, I had this ready to go. For 2nd grade, they make a print book and a cursive one. This one reviews print first and then moves into cursive. Highly recommend this writing curriculum. I used it in the classroom too. 

We used to have two orthopedic dog beds. Both were destroyed slowly over the last 4 years, so I finally bought a new one and I accidentally bought the jumbo size. So now it lives in the basement. It's holding up so far. 

These boot/slipper combo shoes are fantastic. I would put a price alert on them because I got them during Prime Days for $35. Black Friday deals start next week so if you, too, refuse to pay $124 for Ugg slippers/boots, this is a great compromise. 

Affordable phone case. I've been doing well with not buying phone cases in 2025! I bought a Casely with a gift card from my birthday back in January and then I tried a new Loopy over the summer, hated it, and sold it on Poshmark since it was still so new. Better to get something from it than nothing (I don't think all Loopy cases are created equal). But my Casely was starting to get beat up so I got this and it's pretty much exactly what I wanted. I got it during Prime Days for $8, so if you're like me and don't prefer those silicone cases that attract fuzz, fur, hair, and dirt, this is for you. 

I have some lists in Amazon for Christmas but I haven't been in the spirit this year yet so I'm not ready to start buying/thinking about gifts. How about you? 

BBQ Chicken Nachos and Memes

Once in a while, I make shredded bbq chicken in the crockpot for chicken sandwiches and then the next night we do nachos.  

To make the chicken, I usually do 2-3 chicken breasts in the crockpot with seasoning (I like Weber mesquite) and then I pour in bbq sauce to cover it (maybe half a bottle? I like Sweet Baby Ray's Sweet and Spicy) and let it cook on low for 5-6 hours. I take it out, shred the chicken, and then put in more sauce to coat well. I toast, usually, Hawaiian rolls and top the sandwiches with tomatoes, pickles, and sometimes coleslaw. 

I put the leftover chicken in the fridge and make nachos the next day. 

You need chips, the chicken, cheese (shredded or jarred queso, or both if you want), and homemade pico de gallo (tomato, onion, cilantro, and lime) or whatever other toppings you like on nachos. Sometimes we do sour cream, lime, guacamole...whatever is on hand. I also love the green verde sauce I mentioned a few weeks ago and a sprinkle of Tajin. Most people would probably do lettuce but I rarely buy it. 

These ingredients are pantry staples for us, so I know I can make this as long as I have the chicken pre-made.

You can make this one of two ways:

1. Layer chips, shredded cheese, and chicken right from the fridge onto a baking sheet. Broil until it's heated through and the cheese is bubbly (about 5 minutes). Top with pico and whatever else and enjoy. 

2. Spread the chips onto plates. Reheat the chicken and the jarred queso (or get crazy and make your own) in the microwave or on the stove, separately, and then top the chips. Add the cold toppings after that. This could also be a nacho bar for each person to customize. Sometimes I add black beans, or a packet of that microwaveable cilantro rice on the side. 

So this is either a sheet pan meal with minimal clean-up or repurposed leftovers just warmed up into a whole new meal. Either way it's two full meals made from one protein. For us, it's really just two adults who are eating and then the 7 year old will eat but he doesn't eat that much and the 3 year old won't touch the chicken. It's plain rolls and plain chips for her with maybe some queso.

Literally, it could not be any easier. I've been doing this once a month or so for the last few years and figured I should've shared it long ago. 

My favorite thing when watching football is when the announcers get in on it. There were so many penalties in this awful game on Thursday that, when the flags were thrown, the announcers started saying things like "there's a shock" and "big surprise".

I have been staying up til midnight and it's not good for me. 

Friday Recommendations, 11/7

I'm going to start with a confession:

I haven't read a book in like 2 months. I don't know that I expect anyone to do anything about that, but I just want to put it out there and now I feel better. 

1. The Mayor of Kingstown is back. Cannot recommend this show enough. It's currently on season 4 but all the episodes are on Paramount+. It's a wild ride from episode one.

2. I posted a few things I've bought lately, now that shorts season is over. 

3. This week I posted a comprehension guide to my favorite book to teach for Thanksgiving on Teachers Pay Teachers. 

4. I made this soup for dinner last night. 

5. And I made pumpkin muffins to take to our co-op today. 

6. I also posted some meal ideas on Monday. I'm trying really hard to only go to the grocery store once a week so I'm planning ahead when I can. Any fall recipe staples? I'm into soup again.