Scattered Sundays
Well, it finally happened. I’ve become mortally embarrassing to my (almost) teen. Honestly, it’s a shock that it took this long.
Jack respectfully asked that I not um, be so loud at soccer when they score, but especially when HE scores. I do admit to using my ROTC voice when cheering them on. I apologize for nothing.
But I did tell him I’ll try to restrain from being as loud and then I “delightfully” offered him various cheering alternatives.
My overly exaggerated golf clap got the most laughter, so his butt better look up to the stands after his next goal to see me looking like a tipsy WASP at a polo match.
Y’all, this was a pretty wild week. As in boring and tame with a lot of lame adult stuff. Three days of photoshoots and I did our taxes. And then deep-cleaned my portion of the closet. As I said, WILD. Slow down lady, that’s too exciting.
Troy’s W-2 has two special boxes with codes in them, and when entering the info in, I somehow selected the wrong code. And before I knew it, we owed $20k in uncollected railroad taxes. I couldn’t stop giggling. Monopoly comes to life.
It’s probably Spring cleaning fever but I have felt called/drawn/compelled to just start cleaning and purging EVERYTHING. My closet was still pretty full of business casual clothes and shoes that I have had since um, 2003(ish). They do still fit at least.
I think I held on to them thinking that at some point I’d need to get a “real” job and go back to an office. But, the IRS considers blogging a full-time job (ouch this year!), and it’s time to unload the clothes and let another tall person enjoy them.
My cleaning spree has also had me set my sights on our handtowels. I want to declare handtowel bankruptcy and start over again.
They’re all OLD and have been doing the Lord’s work for years. As soon as I can find some I like at Costco, the ones we’re using now are getting sent to Troy’s bin of shop towels.
Bennett and I also picked out a new plant last weekend and I looked around for a larger/permanent pot for it. And I found one at Grocery Outlet of all places.
It was only $24, vs $50-65 for something similar at home stores. I’m getting more potting soil tomorrow and will move it into its new, more spacious digs.
I’m not quite sure why, but Troy and I never agree on colors for things in the house. I always want brighter and more pops of color and he, well, doesn’t. As a result, we’ve been living in this place for 11 years and almost everything is white, blue, or grey.
I finally got a bug up my butt a week or so ago (the spring cleaning bug?) and decided we needed something on the super blank wall between our table and the kitchen. The kitchen has been done for 14 months now and this wall is still blank.
We found some art that we could actually agree on and it will be here this coming Wednesday. The one I REALLY wanted on that wall was not Troy’s favorite, so we compromised and got it for our stairs. That one did arrive this week and I’m in LOVE!
Troy: siiiiiigh
For Christmas, my friend gave Bennett a gift card to Neko Cat Cafe in Seattle. Now that transmission rates are lower, we’re finally going to go in a few weeks. Our friends are joining us and as Troy put it, “Bennett is going to have a seizure”.
Troy, will have to wait outside while Bennett has the absolute best day of his life. Recently Bennett asked me if he could have a kitten. I told him he could have a kitten or he could keep his dad. Before I even finished the word “dad”, Bennett yelled “KITTEN”. Poor Troy.
Speaking of kittens, Bennett’s teacher (a saint amongst saints) created “Fursday” last week. It’s basically, bring your small stuffy to school on Thursday. This was the first Fursday and it is all Bennett has been talking about for DAYS.
On Thursday, he woke up at 5:30 am because “Baby GG was too excited”. Uh-huh. He got up, packed his own snack, water bottle, and got his backpack ready, and tried to leave for school by 6 am. He was so wound up.
As Thursday was St. Patrick’s Day, Bennett was slightly worried about the other stuffies pinching Baby GG for not wearing green. I found some fabric ribbon in the storage sewing bench that belonged to my grandma. You can see it in my sewing closet in this post.
Bennett floated out to the car at pick-up time on Thursday. He was so happy; it was the best day of his life to date. I think they’re going to have additional Fursdays, I do believe the other kitties might be rotating in and out.
The middle schools in our district added intramural bowling this year. My sweet little nephew loves to bowl and joined the team. My sister’s family has supported Jack through various sports for years and we’re really excited to go see my nephew play this week.
I bought some poster board and will have Troy do a sketch or something. I’m thinking “Pin it to win it” with some bowling pins? But if any of you are more versed in bowling puns, please help! Oh, and Parker is NOT embarrassed by our cheering. He still loves it.
Ok, I have finally watched the new re-release of Law & Order. And I have notes. First off, Anthony Anderson is a gift and I’m so glad he’s back. And everything is better with Sam Waterson involved. But I do miss S. Epatha Merkerson as Lt. Van Buren.
One of the things I was worried about with the reboot was wondering if they would address the current state of policing. And not only did they address it, but they’re almost trying tooooooo hard to address it.
The guy from Burn Notice (I’m sure he has a name) has been cast as the white dude who doesn’t quite get it. I think they’ll find their feet soon, but it’s a bit in your face at the moment.
Also? The look of the show is a little weird. I think they used to do the show on film and have switched to video…but it’s like HD video from the moon or something. Everyone is too shiny and smooth. It’s confusing.
And to be honest, I hate that they didn’t take this opportunity to fix the structure of the DA’s office. For almost the entirety of the show, it’s been: white male DA, white male as the more experienced ADA, and then pretty young female as the junior ADA. Annnnnd, that’s exactly what they did for the reboot. Dumb.
I have had the travel bug for a few weeks now. Our passports expired in 2015 and at the time we didn’t have any money or time to travel, so we just let them expire. Other than going to Canada to see Katie and her family, my boys have never been out of the country.
Part of the responsibility of raising middle-class white males is making sure to get them out of their bubble. These kids need to know the whole world doesn’t revolve around them.
Long-distance travel and Troy do not mix. I feel the need to go somewhere, but I haven’t decided where. Or when. Or how. So you know, details.
Reading Still Life made me feel called to go to Italy. I also would love to see Sweden and Norway at some point, but if the whole point of traveling with the kids is to get them outside of their bubble, taking them literally to the land of their people wouldn’t accomplish that. Maybe someday.
In the Garden This Week
Who-hoo, our first garden update since last fall! This week I started to finally tackle our strawberry bed…something I have only been talking about since um, last year.
I had zero clue how overgrown this bed was until I started clearing space for pavers. In some places, the plants had grown up to six inches over the concrete. This seriously impacted our little walkway since some jerk also planted mini drawf apple trees in this space that grow over the walkway. That jerk was me!
I need to build the bed UP so that I can make the soil deeper. I looked at lots of different border options, but none of them would hold the increase of soil I needed.
I finally held my breath and decided to get some pavers. What an expensive PITA that will be. But at least it’s something you only have to do once. Unlike paying your railroad taxes.
We’ll get the pavers sometime this week and then some soil in the coming weeks. After that I’m sourcing some new strawberry plants. Most strawberry plants only last 2-3 years, so the refresh was greatly needed.
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO THIS WEEK
I discovered and binged “Welcome to Paradise” this week. It’s another fantastic production by the CBC, our friendly neighbors to the north.
About the show: “Love, marriage… and a secret history of trauma. Anna Maria Tremonti has been keeping her past a secret for over 40 years. As one of Canada’s most respected journalists, she has a reputation for being fearless and hard-hitting. She’s reported from some of the world’s most dangerous conflict zones. But none were as immediately threatening as life at home.” (source)
READER SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK
Tina left this five-star review on our Air Fryer Egg Rolls {Pin this recipe}:
I made these for dinner they were awesome put extra vegetables in and put bacon and chicken in. Making more on the future!
ON SUSTAINABLE COOKS THIS WEEK
Lemon Garlic Pasta – This Lemon Garlic Pasta is a simple and easy dinner that you can throw together in minutes. The whole family will beg you to make this cozy pasta dish over and over again. {Pin this recipe}
Crispy Turnip Fries – Crispy and perfectly seasoned, you’ll love these Turnip Fries! There is so much flavor in these low-carb turnip chips, that even picky family members will ask for seconds. {Pin this recipe}
Garlic Paste – Learn how to make Garlic Paste to save yourself time in the kitchen. A homemade stash of this incredibly aromatic ingredient can easily be added to main dishes, soups, and sauces for quick meals. {Pin this tutorial}
THE FIVE MOST POPULAR POSTS THIS WEEK
- Air Fryer Egg Rolls – vegan and vegetarian as written but super customizable! On, and did you know you can FREEZE these? {Pin this recipe}
- Instant Pot Garlic Butter Rice – so easy and so comforting! {Pin this recipe}
- Homemade Pizza Rolls – freezer-friendly too! Basically, I think everything should be frozen. {Pin this recipe}
- Air Fryer Pretzel Bites – one of my favorite air fryer recipes of all time! And these beautiful bites of dough are freezer-friendly too. {Pin this recipe}
- Air Fryer Cookies – Soft and delicious cookies are an easy dessert that won’t require heating up your kitchen. {Pin this recipe}
MEAL PLAN
Monday:: Two new recipes that I’m photographing. It was supposed to happen last week but I was missing an ingredient and life just didn’t work out.
Tuesday:: Takeout to support a local small business and my sanity. We’re going to be on the move from the second the kids get out of school. Watching bowling for my nephew and then Jack has early soccer practice.
Wednesday:: Troy is making Instant Pot Mac and Cheese and veggies.
Thursday:: Baked potato bar using our Crispy Baked Potato recipe, Gluten-Free Tomato Soup, and salad.
Friday:: Movie night. On the actual normal day; what a treat!
Saturday:: Instant Pot Gnocchi Soup and bread. I need to make more soup veggie packets for the freezer so this will motivate me to get that done.
Sunday:: Troy is making pasta with meatballs and salad.
What are you having this week?
Love your amusing posts.  I was thinking of sanding and painting the railing as a concession to Troy who doesn’t need to replace it and you get to pick the color!  You can pick a color that goes with the new painting. Win/win.  Bennet’s drawings are worthy of making cards.  They are very nice.  Onward into spring.
Ordinarily, I would say yes, but Troy replaced all the old windowsills in the living room and wants these to match as well. There are three windowsills in this stairwell as well as a random ledge for photos and things. And they’re all fairly beat up.
Even in Sweden and Norway, the language and culture are different, so don’t let that stop you from taking the kids. The first time anywhere in another country is a great learning experience. And you want it to be somewhere that you want to see, too.
True! Good point.
My youngest adores cats (well, we are all big cat people, anti-dog), and it grieves his heart that both I and one of his brothers are allergic to cats. We used to have indoor-outdoor cats, mind you, but where we live now we can’t. He’s asked me off and on, “Isn’t there medicine you can take for allergies?” Yes, but it doesn’t always work, and once when I was on allergy meds and we had two cats, I ended up in the ER with anaphylaxis from, and I quote the doctor, “your immune system’s cup ran over with fighting the allergens.” When I explained that even with medication, allergies can be dangerous, he said, as if thinking out loud, “If we rented two houses…and we got a cat…the allergic people could live in one house and I could live in the other house with the cat.” Sure, kiddo.
Ha, that has definitely been brought up in our house too! 🙂
Goodness, the anaphylaxis sounds horrible! Do you have to carry around an epi pen?
I’m supposed to, I guess…I haven’t had another episode in 20 years, so I suspect it was a case of living in an older house that had mold issues, two cats (including a longhaired one) that lived in the house, not outside cats, and everything just built up. The night I had to go to the ER I was scrapbooking at a friend’s house, and she had an older home, was a bit of a hoarder (dust) and also had a dog (I am allergic to dogs as well). So I just overloaded!
I liked Burn Notice but BN guy sucks in this reboot. The entire show is stilted. I can’t stand it. It’s like they need to go back to acting 101. I didn’t realize Black-ish had ended (it needed to — it wasn’t funny any more) and kept scratching my head like “how’s AA going to do both shows?”
I have always been embarrassing to my sons. I will proudly wear the banner and never stop LOL.
Happy Sunday.
I think part of the charm of Burn Notice is Bruce Campbell. He never stops being hilarious and charming.
I think Blackish ended a few seasons ago? Maybe a year or so but I’m not sure.
We can sit together and be loud and embarrassing together.
Sarah, paint the railings with a gloss white or whatever. Â John painted our dark wood railings and I just love it! Â No need to replace wood.
Hi Lulu!!! I was thinking about you yesterday. I found one of mom’s old coats to donate. Before I gave it away I checked the pockets, and yep, there was used Kleenex in there. Classic mom. 🙂
White paint would work great in a house that is not full of boys. 🙂 I’d be spending A LOT of time with a Magic Eraser chasing after those fingerprints and dirt.