Friday Things, 1/23

Er, maybe Saturday things. I don't know. The cold weather has thrown me off. Struggling to remember what day it is without Monday night and Thursday night football to keep me on track. 

1. I tried to make this my phone wallpaper last week and it won't fit. Either way, I woke up with this verse in my head every morning last week, completely unprompted. 

2. ICYMI: I wrote this the other day, inspired by the fact that a friend of mine is transitioning from SAHM with kids in school to homeschool mom. It wasn't until I was talking to her about it that I realized how different the two are! 

Also, I saw this on Facebook and it's so true: there are different versions of motherhood and my version is entirely different than my own mom's. I'm not just "bad at it" some days.  

The first two years with Wells were absolute survival mode. He left my sight maybe 20 times in 2 years. The first year with baby Sutton wasn't bad at all because I had preschool drop-off for Wells to give me a break. The next two years I worked were survival mode. 

I will say I have had time lately to reset and be by myself simply because they're 7 and 3 and don't need minute-by-minute supervision. Also, Scott will tote them along now when he goes places because they're independent and that can be done easily (no packing up supplies or diaper bags or bottles). But in the case of a military wife who has a baby every couple of years for a decade or more, there is no respite there. 

But my kids absolutely came to the dentist with me on Tuesday. We have a lot of talks about how children should be seen and not heard and they can answer questions but they can't start yelling and interrupting adults. 

It went well until the floodgates opened when they were asked "how was your Christmas?" (which wass an example I had given them about when they could talk as much as they wanted) and Sutton started talking about "our dog that died" and then educating the hygienist on demogorgons.

There's something about taking your kids everywhere to not-fun places with you though: they absolutely learn how to behave in public. It just takes a few tries. 

3. This is my Roman Empire true crime case. I've listened before but the youtube videos are enlightening. I have my theories. I re-listened over this last week. I can't believe more people don't talk about it.

4. Landman is over for another season. I spent the last two months hating it and then, all of a sudden, the season finale was GOOD and that annoys me. Was it their plan to redeem 9 crappy episodes with the last half of a 10th episode?.... probably. 

5. 

I told Scott we're done going to football games together. Many years ago, we went to a Penn State game and Joe Paterno lost his job two weeks later. 

Why are they like this? I don't understand. It's a sensory nightmare for a parent, in a bathroom that echoes, too. 

The 2016 thing is super annoying just because we were literally all here in 2016. (It was 3 years ago, right?)

Either way, if you're on the internet now, you were on the internet in 2016. 

Linking up with Friday Favorites

Friday Things, 1/16

For my birthday this week, I kind of wanted to share 40 random things and thoughts but I'm pretty lazy and honestly don't have the vanity (currently anyway) or spare time to think on coming up with a list that long. 

Here's what I got to before I gave up:

+The only acceptable topping for a hot dog is mustard. 

+I don't trust people who don't go to the dentist for cleanings at least once a year.

+Friends and How I Met Your Mother are pointless TV shows.

+The only wrong way to educate your child is if you have no idea what they're learning or aren't aware of their academic abilities. Public school isn't inherently good or bad. Private school isn't always the best value. Homeschooling doesn't work for everyone. As long as you understand where your child is, academically, and you're advocating for them, it's all fine. Literally, the only wrong way to do it is to stick your head in the sand. (In the same vein, enrolling your kids in an online program that has virtual teachers and the kids are learning via computer is NOT homeschooling.)

+I have never played Wordle. 

+ Never in my life have I threatened to quit a job. I ride it out and hand in my resignation with proper notice like a responsible adult. I actually see a lot of people I've worked with posting online about how much they love their jobs and they are the same ones threatening to quit every two months and crying in their classrooms. I don't get it.

+I would always rather be cold than hot, but being *out*in*the*cold* is never my preference. 

+I've figured out that you don't need $$$ skincare. I went back to cheap skincare this fall: my skin has never looked better. **If you have a particular issue to solve, that's different. But generally, I think we over-do it.** I went by ingredient instead of brand names. The same ingredients are in e.l.f. compared to the high-end brands. 

+I legitimately do not believe the chem trails theory. Whenever I see someone be extra-crunchy and talk about how the government is poisoning us from above, I unfollow. 

+I do think the moon landing is pretty questionable though.

+I loathe the color "periwinkle".

+I've considered myself an introvert for my entire adult life. Scott told me recently that, actually, I'm an extrovert so I have no idea what I'm talking about. I really had to think about it...I think I may be an extrovert? The evidence for this, honestly, is that I was working as a bartender when I met him and no 22 year old introvert works as a bartender. Also, I hate going places but I do feel a buzz after being with people? Like, that's how I get my energy? Lots of question marks here. I was absolutely an extrovert as a young person. I hated being at home and not out with others. I was a leave-the-house-at-9pm-person for quite awhile there.  

+I will never turn down a massage. It's by far the bougiest thing about me; I've had a massage place I'd frequent in every state we've lived in so far, except Alaska. I would go every couple of months in Colorado. 

+My favorite way to make coffee at home will always be the Keurig. Fool. proof.

+I am anti-ChatGPT. 

+I have unfollowed every cOnTeNt CrEaToR who is also a military spouse. I don't want them in my algorithm. In fact, unless you're a military spouse who I personally have had a friendship with, I'm not following you anymore. I don't want the comparison trap. Same reason I also haven't followed a lot of teachers over the year. I cracked the code on what I want my social media to look like at this point, and honestly it's just niche memes.

I bought one sweater from Shein, one time, for like $9 because a blog friend turned influencer swore by them. It smelled like plastic through multiple washes and then I threw it away. 

Very niche: If you get this, we can be friends. ^^^

If I have to wake them up, someone is either sick or they were already up (and kept me up) all night. 

Linking up with Friday Favorites!

In case you missed it, I did some Amazon buys and a birthday post this week. 

Friday Things. 1/9

 +I'm rebranding Friday Recommendations into Friday Things. I had Stuff and Things on Thursday for years. At some point I couldn't do both Thursday and Friday. And Friday Favorites isn't really my thing, mostly because half of those who ever write the abbreviation for favorite spell it "fav" with the short /a/ and I struggle to get past that. But also because I'm a glass half-empty kinda person and picking out favorites from the week when I'm completely worn down by Friday isn't my thing. I could do it on a Tuesday, I bet. So anyway, just Things for Fridays now. Some favorites, some not, some whatever. 

+I remain unimpressed by the Stranger Things finale, mostly because some of the fan theories were so good that the actual thing was a letdown. Either way, we enjoyed watching it through the years.

+Maverick found the empty dog food bag in the basement yesterday about 3am, got stuck, and Scott sent me this picture. Said he was banging into walls trying to get out. This is after he ate a bag of cough drops the other day. He has been on a tear lately, and seems to have a death wish.

+I made it back from Pennsylvania with these two items from my parents' house because they don't use them. This heavy metal weapon ice cream scoop is at least 40 years old. I have broken two or three ice cream scoops in the last year. We had the same one for 13ish years and it finally gave out and, apparently, they don't make them as well as they used to. I considered buying a heated one but they're like $40, so that was a no. 

And this wooden cutting board was my aunt's and is probably 50 years old. I don't have a wooden board right now so maybe this is just what I need for all that sourdough I don't see myself being successful with this winter. 

+I read that dark showers are supposed to calm. your nervous system. We put in this exhaust fan with different colored lights and connects to bluetooth to play music or whatever too. The kids love that in the bathtub but a dark shower with just this blue light on is really relaxing. 

My parents' bathroom (the one I grew up with) has a window right over the tub and the difference between showering in the dark and showering in bright natural light is really obvious once you compare! 

Scott thinks bathrooms should not have windows. 

Do your bathrooms have windows? It's probably been 50/50 on all the houses we've lived in. 

(don't mind the mess)

+I am constantly going back and forth on my feelings concerning homeschooling and I wrote this the other day on substack. I tend to put more substantive topics over there. What I realized later that I completely forgot to include: a lot of moms I've talked to think of homeschooling as an option only *if* they can find a "co-op" that meets "2-3 days a week". .....that's not homeschooling. That's hybrid schooling. That's part-time schooling. And you pay thousands of dollars for it every year. They will admit that it "still costs $3,000 a year" to "join a co-op" so why bother?

 

...because that's not homeschooling. Our co-op was $50 for the year. It's literally just an extracurricular day most weeks. It has nothing to do with their actual schooling. 

This is what I mean when I say that moms just don't *want* to homeschool. It's fine not to want to, but let's be honest about it. 

+

Speaking of substack! I wrote this too, quite awhile ago!  I stand by it. I can't imagine how exhausting it must be to never post a picture of your child. 

+ 

Linking up with Friday Favorites!

Stuff and Things, 11/6

Scott brought this matcha back from Korea. It’s been a great afternoon drink lately when I don’t always feel like making a pot of coffee. I’m kind of over the Diet Coke and lime I had all spring and summer. 

Scott told me that every guy he worked with the last few weeks was tasked with bringing back hundreds of dollars worth of Korean skincare for their wives. My actual Korean friend said it’s more “Korean genes, diet, and lifestyle + skincare” so it’s not like one pot of moisturizer will change your life. 

I did pick this up the other day. I don’t want to try something too potent because I reacted pretty strongly to tretinoin when I used it for acne. I feel like almost 26,000 reviews can't be wrong, right?

We saw a snake on our walk the other day and Wells was beside himself that I wouldn’t let him “pick it up”. He would not have caught it because this was not a garter snake. It was a black racer (google image search told me). I have spent all of our walks this week arguing with him about snake hunting (as in, he wants to). He asked for a snake hook. 

And then Scott took him to the store the other day and Wells came home with an orange Mountain Dew (?) and a bow and arrow...

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Alright here’s some clothes I’ve grabbed lately and highly, truly recommend, as well as what I sent back.

I got these sweatpants from American Eagle. LOVE. They are 100% the perfect sweatpants. I'm over the jogger trend but these are actual sweatpants in every way. 

I got these bounce fleece pants from Old Navy. Actually, I saw them at Old Navy and ended up buying them at the PX (where they sell ON) for about $10 less. 

They are on sale right now so I'd go for it. They run big. 

I got these jeans from American Eagle and they are pretty much exactly what I've been looking for for weeks now. However, I do not know what's going on with the model here because I'm 5'6" and got a long and they are barely long enough. 

It says she's 5'9" in a long. I had bought them in a regular and sent them back. 

And then, I got these barrel sweatpants. 

Do not. Do not. 

If you are 5'2", maybe. Otherwise, they just look like baggy joggers, without the gathered ankle, that are too short.

Has anyone successfully worn barrel anything? 

Stuff and Things, 10/23

+ I don't want to tell you to homeschool and I don't want to tell you public school is bad but I'm telling you that something is off. I saw a comment on this post on Facebook saying that teachers are an indicator species (telling other animals when something is not right) before a major change in the environment.  Again, I swear I'm not telling anyone what to do because we probably won't homeschool forever anyway. I'm just saying...revisit your schooling options if you can. 

Here's some posts I wrote that point to what's going on and why there's something not right in the schools:

Technology is the problem

Professional dress

The science of math

Will I miss teaching this year?

No more snow days

+ Speaking of, there's this incentive where you can fill out a form saying your child completed a quarter of homeschool successfully and take it to the military base and they give you a $20 gift card.  You're supposed to sign the paper as a parent and then you're supposed to have the "teacher" sign it and that's really weird and confusing you know? Apparently moms get together and sign each other's? Which makes no sense to me. So anyway, I was like who-do-I-get-to-sign-this? I'm both the parent and the teacher? 

+ I watched the LIB weddings last night...can we call them weddings? I mean, almost-weddings? Keep scrolling if you don't want spoilers..

I think Anton was a red flag with the drinking but I think that he's also Russian and it's cultural. 

I think that Ali 's friends weren't great because they were both getting divorced and that's a pattern there.

I do feel bad for Edmond. His teacher was so sweet though. KB is fine but Edmond wasn't for her and SHE KNEW THAT all along. 

No strong feelings either way. 

I think Megan (sorry, Sparkle Meg) is inherently too selfish to get married. This is why the boss babe culture is so dangerous. Why would she want to change her lifestyle? There's no incentive. I don't think she's a bad person, but I think she's lying to herself. It didn't work with men just like her, so she went on the show to find someone *different*. She's not going to get what she wants until she changes her pattern. She needs to adjust her life if she wants a husband and kids. (The LV bag in the background while she broke up with Jordan was exactly it: "maybe I'm too caught up in my own life"...she's so close.)

As for the others: I think Nick dodged a bullet with Annie and we're not seeing so many of their conversations. She's drinking so much that we feel like we're missing pieces but no, she's just randomly picking fights.  Kacie is causing problems (not shocking). Joe has a girlfriend now. Someone is going to announce that they have a baby (I think it'll be Sparkle Meg). Anyway, Reality Receipts has all the details. 

I was so annoyed by the thirsty contestants on season 9 that I actually went BACK and watched some of LIB season 1. I am floored at how much more real the men and women were. Also, they weren't covered in plastic surgery. The women had side parts! It was like a pleasant trip back to 2019 (probably the last good year, right?). 

+ I went on a massive sneaker hunt last week. I got a pair of plain black adidas and then I found these ^ for $50 at the PX. I tried on Hokas, On Cloud (on cloud?), Brooks, Asics, New Balance...every shoe I could find. The $50 Nikes were absolutely the most comfortable. I think we're being sold lies by these people who insist we need multiple pairs of $160 shoes. 

+Speaking of what we need: I posted the other day that when I feel really discouraged, I try to remember that the Corinthians got TWO letters from Paul. I can't even imagine how many letters our country would be getting. I feel like things are very rough right now. I could go on about it for days. 

Anyway:

Stuff and Things, 10/9

+Last weekend, Sutton went back to Missouri with Scott. That left me with just a 7 year old and I don't care how much hate I get for this: one child is not parenting. One child is like no child if you're doing kid-math because there's no one for them to fight with. One child who is over the age of 5 is like a vacation. I can outline this in more detail if you like, but go ahead and @ me. 

However, without Sutton around, Wells talked to me for 48 hours straight. Wells talks about exactly two things: snakes and electric cars.

Anyway. She missed him a lot and he missed her. It was the first time she'd ever been away from me for more than a few hours so that was something. A year ago, I don't know that I could've done it. Maybe next time he'll take Wells plus a dog or two, because Sutton is a lot more fun to shop with than Wells. Wells asks for everything. Sutton is just happy to look.

 +I took Wells shopping. I'm slowly starting to put together some fall-winter wardrobe purchases for myself. The only good thing about never-ending summer is that I'm not rushing into winter-weather clothes buying:

I got these at Target. I've been looking for a Chelsea boot that's not too chunky and also waterproof for years now. I don't want to invest a lot of money into them but I've always actually had luck with most Target purchases. 

These are $30 on the site but I went to try them on because I know immediately when a shoe isn't going to work. They were only $25 in-store because the price tag still said $24.99, even though the price has been officially raised to $30! The cashier changed it back to $24.99 for me and said the physical stores can't keep up with updating the prices in real time. So...check in-store!

I got an 8 and usually I'm an 8 or 8.5 in shoes. 

+Speaking of price changing: I saw a reel about Walmart not leaving price tags on items because they want you to scan them into their app and buy from your phone or whatever. It's also so they can adjust the prices whenever they want. I checked on Saturday and it's true. 

I usually make a grocery list within the Walmart app and use it to shop from while in the store. The app never works correctly when connected to 5G. Turns out, this is by design. In the store, they WANT you to connect to the store's wifi and then the app will work correctly. Not in a million years, Walmart. 

On the same reel, the man said if you can afford better quality, you shouldn't be shopping at Walmart (or Target) anyway. It's definitely the mentality of fast fashion that is getting us. I have had a tshirt dress or two from Walmart that have been great in the last 6 months and I've had MANY quality pieces from Target over the years, but I get what he's saying. 

I also got my Freedom sweatshirt in the mail a whole week early. So, great service from that company!

I got a medium. 

Now, this is my inspiration for hoodies and jackets but it's 80 degrees still so we'll see. 

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