Random Monday Catch-up

Well.


That was a failure.


I meant to blog last week but I left for my parents' house on Wednesday with Wells and that's always an undertaking. I got real lucky this time and he slept the whole way (almost 3 hours) because I intentionally took him to Toddler Time to tire him out in the morning. Scott followed on Thursday with the dogs because he had to work on Wednesday.

We headed back to Pittsburgh on Saturday because there was a winter storm watch on Saturday night into Sunday. Pittsburgh was supposed to be fine, but everywhere else was to be a mess. Oddly grateful that we didn't get hammered with snow and ice!

I do always take my computer if I'm gone for more than one night and I meant to get some blog posts together for the end of last week and this week and then...I always end up reading all the back editions of the local newspaper that my parents keep in a recycling pile instead. It's weird.

But here's some random catch-ups...

 This episode, that I listened to on Saturday, goes over actual documented history not of the first Thanksgiving but of the relationship between Massasoit and the Pilgrims. Start around 18 minutes and go to about 32 minutes. I liked that he pointed out that there was real political strategy/maneuvering between all of the tribes. And Squanto's history is fascinating. 

I posted this about a book I realllllly didn't get the hype over...and so many of you DM'd me to say you agreed! Whew! I'll talk more in my books post next week, I suppose.

Last week, I wanted treat bags and pom-poms. I could find none on Amazon (that I liked). I went to Michael's since it was a Sunday because it's two miles away and the website said this store had what I wanted in stock. Nope. None of it. And I couldn't even find an employee to ask.

I was super annoyed because I had packed up Wells and gone through the whole "going-out" process for nothing (he's been realllllly fighting the carseat lately).

 Then I went to Hobby Lobby first thing Monday morning. 

Lesson learned. Just wait for Monday and go to Hobby Lobby.

I try to give him freedom but I always come back to creating a pen with this play-yard. I just need to know he's safe while I do dishes or cook dinner or whatever. (I know that's expensive, but it was worth every penny. Just wait for a 20% off coupon. It's invaluable and doesn't look like a dog pen, which is my complaint about most play-yards.)

There's plenty to explore when we go to my parents' house.

It's so funny to see him interact with babies. These two are 10 months apart and should be able to really interact...by the time we move away. Sigh. 

Another podcast! This was good. The last 20 minutes of the episode are important. 

I bought exactly two things this weekend for myself (actually I only bought two things this weekend). If you look at the times, you'll see that I bought them while lying in bed, on my phone. Because technology is wonderful. 

I bought a Naked palette for half-off 3 years ago and have used only that for eye shadow ever since. I figured it was time for some new colors. Also, trying some new lipstick. 

These fleeces have been popping up everywhere and all I wear are comfy clothes. They were out of mediums in this color and I like things loose, so we'll see. The entire store was half-off so I have to try it.

Funny.

He has two firetrucks and he likes to drive them around the house and try to sit on them.

Scott's birthday was last week and he wanted "nothing", but I think he's supposed to be ordering new dog collars that have GPS this week. However, his "gift" was a new set of wedding rings. We've gone through multiple sets of silicone rings in the last 4 years. He loses them constantly. Luckily it's like $10 for four. His real ring has been lost and found more than once, so it stays home now. 

Happy to be home? He's such a toddler these days. So many emotions and he can't talk so I can't tell what he wants at least half the time. He did just run around happily while I unpacked on Saturday, after only three days away, rediscovering all of his toys and was perfectly pleasant until bedtime. 

Tomorrow: December goals.

3 Things November

Things I'm looking forward to before the end of the month:
I guess Thanksgiving (see below)
...not having a sinus infection any longer? We all have to get better at some point, right?
Seeing if my baby-proofing works out ^^^ I don't have high hopes.

(That was weak. Sorry.)

Things I'm happy with:
My semi-progress getting Christmas gifts together
Completing a lot of my to-do list from the weekend
Taking the chance to go to bed early (before 9pm) multiple nights lately

Things I don't understand (i.e. why do people like these things):
Tattoos
Pumpkin pie
Dancing with the Stars

Things I love to eat at Thanksgiving:
To be perfectly honest, I'm not a huge Thanksgiving food person.
Basically, I'm a dinner rolls and dessert person.
Here's a post with perfect Thanksgiving desserts. Here's a round-up of Thanksgiving food

Things I need from the store:
Crafty supplies from Hobby Lobby
Dog treats
Grapes

Things I don't like to do:
Clean up the kitchen
Put away clean laundry
Brush Wells' teeth

Things I've said out loud to strangers this week:
I don't say much to strangers because my stranger-conversation is usually limited to grocery store cashiers and translating whatever looks Wells shoots in their direction.
But I've said...
"I love you soooooo much" while hugging Jett
"Where's your sock?" to Wells
"Leave Scouty alone" to Wells
Also, "He's going to bite you". I say that a lot to Wells.

Things that smell good in this season:
The scented pine cones they have at grocery store entrances
Baked goods fresh from the oven
Cold air

Borrowed from Steph! Feel free to play along!

I think bloggers have a shopping problem.

In case you missed it, I basically missed my own birthday last week, but here's what I posted on Saturday...

On Instagram, like a month ago, I posted a realization that I had come to:

Because I wanted to recommend a facewash that my friend told me about but I felt like I couldn't for some reason because there was no "click here" or "swipe up" or "link in profile" to add. Like, it's just a $5 charcoal wash from Target (and it. is. amazing.) but it seemed pointless to talk about it without linking to it...

And then I realized why.

At this point, in 2019, blogging is all about buying things and recommending that others then also buy those things.

Literally.

I came across a post a few weeks ago. Someone was linking 5 or 6 clothing items they've bought lately and have loved and you should check them out too. There were no pictures (if you put pictures, I somewhat cut you metaphorical slack and also if you put the actual item names so I can look them up myself, not just number them with links). I would love to see those items, but they're Shopstyle links and I don't like the idea that someone makes money off of me just looking at something on J.Crew's website.

Don't get me wrong.

I like seeing what others buy. I'm always slightly in awe of how much money some of these bloggers spend, to be honest. I mean, these last 7 months have taught me that there's not actually much I need because the SAHM-life isn't brimming with opportunities to dress up and, when we do go places (that aren't grocery stores), I just need to have like 4 or 5 go-to outfits that I love. I'm actually in a state of shock, still, about how many clothes I needed as a teacher. I can't imagine having a closet that full again.

And I can't get over how much people buy their kids. Wells already has more toys than he knows what to do with and they were mostly all gifts, so I can't imagine adding to the pile.

Clutter is my least favorite thing and part of the stress I've felt lately is that we had x amount of stuff in Wyoming, y amount of stuff in Colorado, and z amount of stuff in storage. x, y, and z all needed to get sorted, donated, sold, packed, etc and be put en route to Pennsylvania. This was/is my issue with moving all the time. I'm convinced that we were not meant to be slaves to our stuff in this way.

I'm also in awe of how. much. money. some bloggers spend on repetitive items. I usually buy one good purse a year ("good" meaning $80+). Currently, I'm still using my $28 Target bag because it has multiple pockets and  I don't care if a bottle leaks in it, and it has held up like new over a few cycles in the washing machine. It's great for traveling and for everyday use.

Anyway.

Blogging used to be about sharing non-affiliate link related things. Stories, recipes, things that happened to you...that aren't weekend recaps. There's nothing wrong with a good weekend recap, but the formula of blogging is just getting to be tiring when all you post is the places you went to eat over the weekend, some (usually whiny) confessions around mid-week, and then a recap of your favorite things on Friday...which usually includes no less than 7 affiliate links.

You can say what you want about how I may need to just get over this and I will at some point, I'm sure, but I feel like it's the big pink elephant that has slowly crept into the room over the last few years and no one wants to point it out.