Friday Thoughts

Happy Friday!

This summer has been weird. It’s a new phase of life for us where my boys still at home are mostly working and my 13-year old is busy playing tennis/volleyball, selling cookie dough, helping around the house and property (including bottle-feeding three calves), and reading in all her spare moments.

What that means is that basically no one is around to go to the community pool with me in the afternoons or do arts and crafts or fill out homemade chore charts. 😉

Gone are the summers of the past (flashback ⬇️ going to the zoo with my kids 8 years ago). It’s bittersweet. 😢

Questions for You

• If you have children, do your kids/teens have summer jobs? Full-time? Part-time?
  • My teenagers tell me a lot that they’re the only ones their age who have full-time jobs in the summer. While that isn’t entirely true (one of my sons works with his best friend, for instance), it does seem like a lot of teens in our area don’t work during the summer. It leaves me with a lot of questions. Do you have the answers? 😜 I’m asking these questions in good faith – meaning, I’m not being critical of other schedules/families. I’m genuinely curious!
    • Namely, who is paying for all their “stuff”?? We pay for our teens’ car insurance, half of their monthly gas, school sports fees (and reasonable gear, if required), and phone, but otherwise, they pay for all of their own social activities, clothes, remainder of their gas, eating out, and anything else they want to spend money on (which is a lot or a little, depending on the kid 😆). They also save 50% of their earnings for future (college, church missions if they choose to go, etc).
    • Whether or not your kids work, do you require summer chores around the house/yard? Daily? Weekly? What does that look like at your house?

I’m fascinated by how other families manage life, so thanks for chiming in on this!

Things I’m Loving

• September travel plans. After years (decades??) of talking about it, I’m actually following through on a lifelong dream and going to Switzerland in September (with my mom, sister and cousin)!!!!! My sweet grandma (my mom’s mom) was born and raised there, so it holds a special place in our family’s history and hearts. I’m excited (and nervous! I’m such a homebody…traveling is way outside of my comfort zone). 💗
• This crepe maker. I even did an Instagram video about it. Not all kitchen gadgets are created equal (as in, most of them are overrated) but this one is worth it. I absolutely hated cooking crepes before I got this. Here’s my go-to crepe recipe.
• These two card games. Flip7 and Trio. Both of them are fast and easy to learn, and so, so fun to play. They’re out full-time on our table right now, because we are playing them so often. What are your favorite games right now?
• This puzzle. I like to keep a puzzle up all the time during the summer. I find that my kids will stop and work on it for a few minutes here and there, which is an opportune time to casually chat and connect with them. It also means I stay up way too late most nights. Puzzles are addicting!
• My evening walks. For the last month or so, I’ve made an intentional effort to get out of the house in the evening and take a walk. It’s been a really beautiful thing for my emotional and mental well-being to just walk for fun and to enjoy being outside. It’s not for exercise, not to count steps. Sometimes I walk fast, sometimes I walk slow. Sometimes someone comes with me, most of the time I go alone (some nights I ride my “grandma” bike instead of walk!). I usually pop in an audiobook, and I just love it. Apparently evening sunlight is good for you? So I guess I’ll take that as a bonus, too.

Things I’m Not Loving

• The tragic floods in Texas and New Mexico. I’ve been sick and heartbroken seeing the news accounts of the devastation, particularly in Texas at the girls’ camp, Camp Mystic. I sent my own daughter off to camp this week and couldn’t help saying an extra prayer (ok, lots of extra prayers) for her safety and also for those living in the midst of loss and grief right now. I donated to Convoy of Hope, a very reputable organization on the ground in Texas right now. Of course, it doesn’t feel like enough, but it made me not feel so helpless. I read a quote on social media this week that said something like “Do for one person what you wish you could do for everyone.” I suppose in moments of helplessness, all I can really do is lift where I stand. I’m trying to be better at that. 🤍

All of my other complaints ⬇️⬇️ seem awfully trite after talking about the devastating floods. So please take the rest of these bulleted points with a grain of salt and a roll of the eyes.

• Not sleeping well. I’m trying a BedJet (not sponsored, I bought it myself) to see if I can sleep better/cooler at night. No opinion yet, it’s only been a few nights. Have you tried one? Thoughts? I’m also trying for consistent morning/evening sunlight. Honestly, I’d give my right arm for a good night’s sleep right now (anyone else feeling this??). 😴
• Failed recipes. I usually recipe test for a full day each week to get recipes just right to post. This last week, I kid you not, I made six recipes, and most of them were pretty much unsalvageable failures (brussels sprouts salad, new brownie recipe THAT HAS SO MUCH PROMISE, icy lime drink). I had a little pity party for wasted ingredients and what felt like wasted time. Onward and upward! I shall persevere (especially with that dang brownie recipe).
• The heat. Oh my gosh, I’m dying. Give me cool, mountain air and crisp, fall weather any day of the week. I am not a summer girl.
• The pressure to be skinny. I feel like the influx of easy-access weight loss meds has exponentially increased the pressure to be super thin, fast (and has destroyed a lot of the work of body positivity/body neutrality over the last few years). My thick, athletic thighs and booty are definitely not “on trend” these days, but I sure do appreciate them! They take me on walks, they help me lift heavy weights, and they give me lots of cushioning for k-drama watching and puzzle doing. 💪🏼😍 I will go to my grave talking about how my body is an instrument not an ornament and how I appreciate it for what it can do for me. This is a message I want my sons and my daughter (and myself) to hear loud and clear, over and over.

If you are an every day, any age woman like me who is doing their best to keep their head above water (and drink enough water 😆), exercise for health and strength, and eat a well-balanced diet, just know that YOU ARE DOING ENOUGH. Even if you aren’t doing all of those things, if you are trying, whatever that looks like, you are doing enough. We are so much more than what our bodies look like. 😘

If you saw the salad I posted on Instagram the other day, it’s coming to the blog Monday! The ONE recipe that actually worked…and IT IS AMAZING!

(Also, we loved having my oldest son, Jackson, home for a few days over the 4th! 💙)

I love reading and listening to other’s opinions…so please feel free to share yours below in the comments! ⬇️

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