Friday Things, 2/20 (Empties!)

This week I shared about things that don't bother me and also some easy caesar chicken wraps, which are my new go-to for dinner when I don't feel like cooking. 

1. I've not watched a single second of the Olympics. Which is kind of sad. I didn't do that on purpose. We just don't have the TV on? I used to be glued to the Winter Olympics and now I feel all kinds of guilt for not watching with my kids? The first Olympics I really remember watching were the summer ones in 1996 when I was 10, so I guess I have time. But anyway, just depressing to think how I don't care this year. 

2. Since spring is on the horizon, my ads are warm-weather-related. This keeps popping up:

I bought these last year and they were the best thing I bought, maybe ever, in the shoe category. Cannot recommend enough. I do think that if I buy one sandal this year, it'll be another pair. 

3. Empties! I like to throw things away very quickly after using them so it pains me to have to save a pile until I'm ready to share. I love a good empties round-up though because it's where I get recommendations.

Arbonne facewash. I got this as a free gift with an order last summer and it lasted for several months. I only used it in the morning. It's extremely gentle and fragrance-free. I don't order Arbonne anymore but if you're having trouble finding a facewash for your sensitive skin, it's definitely worth a try. 

By Nature Vitamin C Serum. This is the end of my 3rd or 4th bottle in the last almost-two-years. If you're new to vitamin C and you want something gentle that also smells citrusy, this is for you. It also seems to fit the "crunchy" guidelines if you're reading ingredients.

John Frieda Frizz Ease leave-in conditioner spray. I love it. I use it to de-tangle Sutton's hair too. It adds extra moisture and makes it easier to smooth out and dry without extra heat treatment. 

Grace and Stella eye masks. I got these for Christmas and they're fine but I actually think just about all of these masks are created equal. 

Maybelline Full Time mascara. I bought this because the "full and soft" was like $10...it used to be $5...and I figured I might as well try something different for that price. I liked it a lot. I'm pretty easy with mascara though. 

Hi Pro Pac Conditioner for Damaged Hair. This is so great for blond hair or color-treated hair. I ended up being scolded by a stylist at Great Clips last fall because my hair was dry. Okay, well, a few inches off the end sort of solved that problem but then I tried this conditioner (found on a whim at Walmart) and it gave me new hair. 

I don't have a great "before" but this is after with just a blow-dryer and not even a round brush. 

I ended up buying the big bottles on Amazon after that and I use it a few days a week. The little packs are less than $3 at Walmart and you can get a 2-3 uses out of one pack if you want to give it a try!

4. This serum deserves its own number because I have a love/hate relationship with it and maybe you can help. 

I bought this in November-ish and used it for about a month and got amazing results. Smoothed my skin, evened my skin tone, seriously a fabulous product. Then it started to bother my eyes. Now it's not like I was putting it around my eyes or close to my eyes but I think it was migrating and/or it was just irritating to my eyes by being on my face. I switched to every other night and then a few days a week and it was always a problem the next day after I used it. I've gone back and forth with it for a month now and I've finally given up. The bottle is almost empty but I have to stop myself from using it because the burning/watery/irritated eyes are not worth it. (I have run through every other possible cause and this is what I've narrowed down as the likely cause.) 

So...does anyone else have that experience with retinol? Or with this particular product? I used actual tretinoin for acne for years and never had this problem. 

And then my friend (who is from Korea) gave me real Korean retinol serum and I've been using it VERY carefully and very sparingly hoping to get results but without irritating anything at the same time. 

Any advice in this department? It's the first time I've ventured into the retinol space. 

5. 

I can't wash and blow-dry my hair and get out the door in a reasonable amount of time. Add in getting kids ready and it's not physically possible. My hair is so thick and heavy that I have to wash it at night, and dry it and style it in the morning. If I have ANYWHERE to go with "done-ish" hair before noon, I have to shower at night. This is my lot in life. I used to wonder how everyone else could look put-together at 7am after showering and washing their hair...they don't have thick hair or they don't wash it often. It took me until I was like 30 years old to figure this out. 

I haven't had McDonald's, honestly, since college. Maybe a milkshake or fries when I was pregnant with Wells and the only place to get milkshakes was McDonald's in Laramie? (I mean, it was hit or miss with that, though.)

Wells has been BEGGING to go to Burger King for, like, years now (I think it's the commercials). Scott was planning on taking them last week when they were on a road trip and they were 2 miles from BK when Wells spotted a McDonald's and wanted to stop there instead. 

This is how I feel about the current season of Love is Blind. I think it's jumped the shark. Too many know too much about the show and what to say and what to do to get screen time. The first season was still the best because everyone was more authentic.

Linking up with Friday Favorites!

Things that don't bother me

I actually really don't like the kitchen in this rental.

1. Not closing the kitchen. 

I will often go to bed with a full sink and messy counter. I try to make sure the actual table is clean/clear/wiped but once in awhile that doesn't happen either. There is not a single wink of sleep lost over this. Dishes are the single easiest thing to remedy when I feel like it. When I'm working, it's actually relaxing to get up extra early and clean up the kitchen. When I'm not working, I don't get up early, but as long as there's space to make coffee and breakfast, the dishes get done eventually. 

2. My c-section scar.

I had a friend who got an infection in her scar because they did a poor job closing it. I worried about this a little, thinking maybe these army surgeons (the lowest in their medical school class, statistically) could've botched it. But it was just a c-section and every OB is trained to do one because they're pretty routine. I had no complications from it and it healed up really well and, looking back, a c-section is definitely easier in many ways (blinding pain for a few days and then I was good :). 

I do know moms who try to get rid of c-section scars. Honestly, it doesn't bother me at all. I always thought it would? It's not some "mark of pride" or whatever but instead it's just negligible to me. 

3. Piles of clothes everywhere.

Mostly this is because I do laundry and then I don't put it away. This doesn't bother me at all except that I often can't find things. However, I think we're all a little on the ADHD spectrum here because I feel like when our clothes are put in drawers, we forget about them? I hate sorting through drawers for a specific pair of, say, black leggings when I have 3 pairs and I can't find the ones I want. 

Anyway, the secret to 17 years of marriage is just making sure Scott has a stockpile of gym clothes and his uniform is clean and he can find it. Every other pile of clean clothes is fair game to be left wherever I feel like leaving it. (Scott will do laundry but I took it over 90% of it long ago because I don't like all my clothes going in the dryer and he doesn't know what is what.)

I do not leave dirty clothes on the floor though. There is one designated spot for dirty clothes and everything else lying around is clean. Believe it or not (Scott), I do have a system. 

One day in the last two weeks where there are not clothes everywhere. "Why don't I take pictures of my clothes?" Because I have to clean up the mess first.

What is something that does NOT bother you that drives everyone else around you crazy? I fit into the type A framework pretty easily in many regards and it's always shocking to others that I can let the dishes and the clothes go awry the way I do. 

Chicken Caesar Wraps

Here's an easy lunch or dinner. 

I came across something similar on an Instagram account where a mom made incredible meals for her large family every night. These were something they had for lunch. I can't be bothered to make actual lunch so that didn't quite hit for me but I decided to try them anyway. Along those same lines, I had to eventually unfollow because the unrealistic standards of making elaborate dinners every night and shopping only at Whole Foods made me a little crazy. I like to cook but I don't want to spend more than 30 minutes, hands on time, at the stove. Lately, since it's been staying light later in the day, I've been starting dinner later too. It's only a matter of time before we are eating at 8pm again because it's so light out that we lose track of time. 

But I've made this with frozen chicken nuggets cooked in the air fryer, rotisserie chicken, grilled chicken, chicken I've pan fried on the stove, etc. You can do whatever you want! I can see us eating this a lot in the warmer months because it truly can be a no-cook dinner. 

Large tortillas or burrito wraps

Cooked chicken, seasoned however you want

Caesar salad mix

Extra shredded parmesan cheese, extra dressing (I use ranch), extra croutons

In a large bowl, toss all the ingredients together. I add extra cheese and croutons because, depending on the mix you buy, they can be a little skimpy on the toppings. I also add extra dressing to make the wraps stick together better. 

Put together a burrito any way you can (I'm terrible at it) and slice in half. 

**This year, I'm rewriting or redoing or adding to my recipe index. I'm putting all of the ones I'm posting in 2026 at the top of the page.**

Friday Things, 2/13

This week I posted about some recent Amazon buys and then the content I've been taking in lately (tv, podcasts, books, etc).

1. I had a lot of trouble sleeping last week. Then I had one GLORIOUS night of sleep on Saturday night and now I'm back to not sleeping well again. I'm not nearly tired enough to nap and I also am not drinking a lot of caffeine...nothing after noon, really. And then 11pm comes and I'm not tired so I toss and turn. Help.

2. 'Tis almost spring which is when I'm faced with the crippling decision-making process of what's next. We literally have no idea. Making plans is pointless. But a military wife told me years ago that  "if you don't unpack, you'll never unpack", so trying to find community and purpose in every location is important; if we don't do it, we never will. More than one civilian friend has said I wouldn't even unpack if I was only going to be there a year. But, if you don't unpack, you'll never unpack. You have to settle in somehow. 

(Maybe this has to do with the trouble sleeping?)

3. We had our first day where I wore shorts on a dog walk (Monday). It was 80* in KC. I'm not ready for this. I'm not a fan of self-tanner so I'm not sure where to go from here.

4. I have no thoughts on the Superbowl. I am in an apoplectic state now that football season is over. Please respect my period of mourning-- 200-some odd days until the season begins again. 

If you are a football fan, here's the recap:

5. 
 

This meme is old and tired at this point, but it reminded me that when I took the kids with me to my dentist appointment a few weeks ago. The hygienist took them out to the hall and let them do the pushing of the button for all of my x-rays. For real, we've had great luck with dentists in our army life. 

Matching socks, unloading the dishwasher, putting away groceries.

What are your 3?

I saw a reel that said if you don't have kids and complain that you have no time, you're the problem because ALL YOU HAVE IS TIME. I legit did not understand this until I had a kid. ALL I had was TIME before. I still don't understand how I filled up my time.

I got this and it's my favorite lotion right now. I've found that some brands flat-out don't work for me. Eucerin Skin Calming does. 

(My husband)

We got an Alexa right after they came out. Scott had pre-ordered it on a whim. We used it for a year or so and then I packed it up when he was deployed and then he used it again in Wyoming? Mostly just for music. I don't think we really understood how the bluetooth thing worked back in 2015, aside from in our cars.  

I never trusted it. Who knows where it is now. I hate when people run their households off of these systems. It's so unnecessary and don't tell me it makes life easier; it doesn't. 

Linking up with Friday Favorites!

Amazon in January/February

IXL 3rd Grade math workbook I'm a broken record at this point, but I love these workbooks. Cannot say enough good about them. If you are one who likes to pick up workbooks for your child, homeschooled or not, this is the one you want. They have them for every grade level. 

Redmond Sea Salt This is the only salt we buy. If you go down the rabbit hole on salt, you might get lost, but this what I use for cooking, seasoning, bread making, and baking sweet treats. You can use it with everything. 

Dough scrapers After 2 years of making sourdough, I finally splurged on $5 worth of dough scrapers. 

My First School Book  Handwriting Without Tears is the gold standard for teaching writing and letter formation. I got this one for Sutton now that we've made it through the alphabet with these printouts from Teachers Pay Teachers. My goal this year was just to introduce number and letter writing to her as a 3 year old. This book is perfect if you have a preschooler. 

Amazon Essentials Underwear The best underwear I've found in the last 10 years has been from Amazon. I used to like Gap but they changed their designs. I've also ordered a lot from Amazon that I *haven't* liked too. I've found it has to be microfiber and it has to be the actual Amazon Essentials brand, not some off-brand lookalike. 

Vanicream I bought this giant container of lotion and it's great for my legs and arms but I actually prefer Eucerin for my hands. 

Dryel kit Scott needed to dry-clean his dress uniform. Actually, he was told to dry-clean his uniform for a random assignment he was given at the last minute, and it was to be dry-cleaned over a weekend where the entire world shut down because of snow and cold a few weeks ago and he was like WTH am I supposed to do? He also had to buy an iron (ours is packed away). They say millennials killed the top sheet and the iron but I think everyone still at least needs to have an iron around. 

Vanicream Vitamin C Serum I am a fan of the drugstore skincare these days and I grabbed this when I ran out of my other serum. A dermatologist I follow on Instagram recommended it. No complaints so far! I'm convinced the only way to start the day is with a vitamin C serum after you wash your face and before you moisturize. Remember when I tried a super expensive vitamin C serum from Arbonne, maybe a year ago, and it made me break out? Lesson learned. As long as it's not Cover Girl, I can use pretty much anything from the drugstore. 

Soccer cleats Wells is going to play soccer this spring so I grabbed these when the price alert told me they were $22. They're normally $30 and that isn't bad for cleats and they're really nice. I remember paying $47 for baseball cleats a few years ago (for a 5 year old) in a physical shoe store. As usual, Amazon wins. 

Content I'm Consuming (vol.2)

I've discovered this might be the easiest way to share what I'm doing in real time, instead of saving for quarterly or monthly round-ups because then I forget things. Here's volume 1!  
**I do wait until I FINISH something before I recommend it, so this all passed the test...the test in which I DNF 90% of what I start, it seems.**

Watching: 

1. Fallout (Amazon Prime)

 Last year we tried Fallout and I immediately disliked it because I hate thinking about nuclear war (a fun fact about me), so we stopped watching. However, when season 2 came out recently, we attempted season 1 again and I was immediately sucked in by episode 3. My initial criticism of the show was omg this is so dumb but it's supposed to be dumb.  It's a cross between The Walking Dead and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Make of that what you will. 

But, if you have not tried the show, it's worth a watch. It's not serious and scary; it's actually really dumb and silly and totally non-believable. Like, less realistic than Stranger Things, so make what you will of that analysis. 

I've liked Walton Goggins since Justified so he was, to be honest, the selling point because he's just a really good actor. 

2. If you're in the mood for some non-fiction, we watched Hiroshima Minute-by-Minute on Youtube the other day. It's 46 minutes and Wells actually hung around for most of it. 

Listening: 

1. The Nerve

If you like pop culture, history, and a little politics, you might like The Nerve. I've listened to many of Maureen Callahan's episodes over the last year and she was my favorite guest on Megyn Kelly's show before that (currently I'm 50/50 on MK...iykyk). 

But this episode about Michelle Obama was a serious delight. I love Maureen's subject matter knowledge and realistic takes. 

2. The Karen Read podcast series 

The Prosecutors covered the Karen Read trial in real time a couple of years ago and I don't like following trials in real time. I like to read or listen or watch once everything is done and wrapped up. So I could not get into it...I tried a couple of times. Recently, I decided I'd try again with Crime Weekly, since they did their series once the trial was over. I listened to all 6 episodes and THEN I went back to The Prosecutors' coverage. It made a lot more sense to me even though they were jumping around because I had a really solid background on the case. FUN FACT: Crime Weekly and The Prosecutors came to opposite conclusions and believe totally different things about what happened. 

And, finally...

Reading: My January books are here but I've read a couple more in the last week: Everyone is Lying to You and Read Between the Lies (which are crazy similar in a lot of ways). Both were good!

And, I ordered 3(!) Book of the Months for delivery because I thought I had put my subscription on hold and turns out I didn't so now I have 6 credits to use (it's paused now, don't worry). But I was able to grab new releases I have had on my TBR and were luckily offered through BOTM. 

Friday Things, 2/6

This week, I shared very easy tomato soup, my January books, and a Currently post. 

Scott was away most of the week so we were in survival mode. 

They were super into puzzles yesterday? 

I collected all of these classics earlier in the fall and put them out on Sutton's shelves this week. With a haphazard valentine garland I had made for my classroom in ...2012?

I meal-planned and went to Aldi. 

Wells put a very small sign on his door, in the off chance Sutton has suddenly learned how to read with a magnifying glass. 

We bought this spice grinder probably 10 years ago for $15. We had a fancier coffee grinder at one point and it kept malfunctioning so I threw it away. I've used this cheaper grinder for a few years now and I want to say it works really well...like better than the burr grinder we had. Just my two cents if, you're in the market. I know we got it at Walmart but they are cheaper on Amazon for $25, right now. 

We do a lot (a lot) more screen time if dad isn't around because holy cow. 

Wells finished his cursive book this week so now we're learning how to type. I'm just using Typing Club's free version online. We got this laptop for a project of Scott's and now Wells can have it and we're adding "tEcHnOlOgY" to our homeschool curriculum. I was initially going to move him straight to the 3rd grade cursive book, but I think learning how to type will be more valuable right now. 

I found Wells' old preschool books when I was cleaning out some boxes so Sutton has been doing those. His teacher in Missouri had given them to me at the end of his prek-3 year. 

Oddly, there are not a lot of memes on my phone this week.

I cannot stop laughing at this one:

The local government is back at the overreach and this time they're randomly posting dog tag regulations on Facebook. The only place we ever registered a dog was in Pittsburgh because we truly were in city limits. The fact that they try to regulate this in rural Kansas blows my mind:

The local citizens aren't having it. 

Most comments were like "huh?" or "hey what about the stray cats?"

My Facebook feed is exclusively KC news (haaaate) and the citizens here are also not having it when it comes to the new Chiefs stadium. 

I could explain all of this in detail at this point but the readers of this blog probably don't care. I just think it's funny, overall. I hate that I know so much about it. 

Linking up with Friday Favorites!