Scattered Sundays
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
What in the world is a jade roller? Please, someone, explain this to me. Have I been missing out on the best-kept secret in the world?
I saw an ad for them while I was waiting in line at the grocery store and I cannot for the life of me think about what they’re for. Do you…roll your skin? Face? Hair? Will someone just please brush my hair?
Tell me more about these rollers. I need your expertise!
You all remember how we got two new chickens this summer – Kylo Hen and BB-Egg. And how Kylo Hen betrayed us and was actually Kylo Men. We rehomed him to a friend at church who was looking for a rooster for her flock.
We’ve enjoyed BB-Egg and how (she) has integrated into the new flock. It’s been pretty seamless and we felt like we were rocking this whole chicken owner thing.
Well, BB-Egg started crowing this week. Fuuuuuuuudge! This freaking bird is like seven months old now and just decided to demonstrate rooster tendencies. This is not the droid we were looking for.
It’s such a bummer and now we have to find him a new home too. We want to be good neighbors and would never keep a rooster. It also sucks because we were going to get other new chickens this summer but it didn’t work out and now we’re back to square one with trying to acquire new flock members. Motherclucker!
Jack has a 5k coming up in a few weeks and has been doing running club after school. It ended this week and now that soccer is also done, I feel like getting out of that moving routine might lead him to feel sluggish or cramping up. So, I’m going to do something super, super stupid.
Starting tomorrow, I’m going to run a mile with him after school every day that we can. It’s not going to happen daily, but I’m going to try to make it a thing. And here is my prediction – I will pass out and/or die.
I’m not a fast runner by any means. I would say my mile pace is about 9 minutes. Jack’s…is closer to 6:30/7 minutes. I’m going to have to speed up and he’s going to have to slow down to make this happen. But I’m definitely going to die. Serve soup at my funeral.
The boys and I hit up a park this week for a nice walk in the woods. They had been um…murder bait that day and getting out, getting fresh air, and being in nature was vital to their survival.
There is just something about walking outside that resets me and my crappy attitude. I will leave the house for a walk as mean mom, and come back as errr, less mean mom. And the boys needed that too and we had a lovely walk in the woods and everyone survived until bedtime.
During the walk, while Bennett was touching everything (EVERYTHING), Jack randomly asked why there are so many homeless people in the United States. I think he got more than he bargained for in my answer when I explained there has always been a homeless problem but it got exacerbated about 30 years ago when the mental health system was defunded en mass.
Then I went on to explain how policy decisions like that often take years to manifest and we are seeing the effects of that today. And then add on addiction, subprime mortgages, the great recession, the cost of living, and a few other factors mean that homelessness is now in crisis mode.
I’m not sure how, but from there we went on to talk about the electoral college and the different amendments of the constitution. Two things I know: one) my sister who teaches high school history and AP government is super proud of me and two) Jack will never ask me questions again. 🙂
I was at Trader Joe’s recently and while snagging a sample of their cheese of the week, I overheard the weirdest conversation. The very nice sample girl was probably in her early 20’s and she had her hair in short little pigtails. Perfectly fine, and definitely practical for keeping it up while you handle food.
There was a man talking to her who was probably in his mid to late ’50s. Old enough to know he was being a total creeper. He was telling her he really liked her hair and that it looked attractive. And then, you guys…I puked in my mouth. He said “it reminds me of a sweet little girl”.
NO. NO. NO. NO. NO dude. Take your free cheese, shut your dumb mouth, go buy some Everything Bagel Seasoning and go home and leave society alone.
I gave her the “is this guy bothering you and do you need help” eyes, but she was behind the sample section that was totally closed off from the rest of the store and was in a safe space. I then looked at him and gave him the “you’re disgusting” look and then promptly murdered him with my eyes.
Maybe it is my love of true crime, but I think as women it is our job to look out for each other. To have the “are you ok and do you feel comfortable” conversation. Each and every time I check in on someone, they end up being fine and honestly I never stop feeling silly about doing it.
But I’d rather feel silly and know someone was safe than to say nothing and realize later that I could have stepped in but didn’t. When in doubt, get loud, get weird, and help other people even when it makes you feel like a giant dork.
Last summer, Jack took part in Camp Invention which is a STEM-focused weeklong summer day camp. Jack loves math and science and while spendy, it was a great camp and he wants to do it again in 2020. It’s a national camp and there seems to be locations in almost every state.
They just came out with a referral program and if you sign up with my link you’ll get $20 off your registration fee. If I remember correctly, the price is discounted for a few months before the camp. The earlier we sign up, the cheaper it is.
Housekeeping
Sharing is caring! Did you know it only takes about 10 seconds and costs $0 to share a blogger’s post? Yep, free ninety-nine. Many bloggers, like myself, use a social sharing widget that allows you to easily share our content to Pinterest, Facebook, etc. If you see a post or recipe you love, bloggers would greatly appreciate a quick pin or FB share.
What I’m Listening To This Week
In 2016, a reader recommended the podcast Pantsuit Politics to me and I have been listening and enjoying it ever since. The two hosts are long-time friends who met in law school. One is conservative and one is liberal.
The discussions and ability to find commonality in the face of fundamental differences is very inspiring. And I learn a lot from both of them.
Also, they wrote a book called “I Think You’re Wrong, But I’m Listening” and I thought I would throw that out there for anyone who might be dreading discussing any form of politics with family members this Thanksgiving. 🙂
Reader Spotlight of the Week
Bethany left this five-star review on our Roasted Frozen Broccoli post {Pin this recipe}:
I had zero motivation to chop up broccoli when I remembered I bought a bag of frozen broccoli to try this recipe! Score!! It was a big hit even with my 8-month-old! I tossed the broccoli in lemon juice and garlic and sprinkled with lemon pepper seasoning and it was delicious! I don’t want to waste time with fresh broccoli every again!
On Sustainable Cooks This Week
Fried Artichoke Hearts – Crispy and dippable, you’re going to love these Fried Artichoke Hearts! Perfect as a healthy side dish or appetizer, a plate of air fryer artichoke hearts will be a new favorite! Ready in just a few minutes, you’ll make these easy artichokes again and again. {Pin this recipe}
How to Make Rice Heating Pads – This easy tutorial will teach you how to make rice heating pads that are a perfect project for any beginning sewer. Use essential oils or dried herbs to make homemade aromatherapy rice bags for easing sore muscles. Heat these for a microwavable heating pad or stick it in the freezer for a homemade ice pack. {Pin this tutorial}
Bennett and I snuggled up with these on the couch one night when it was cold but not cold enough for a fire in the woodstove. See photo above in the post.
Freezing Onions {How to Freeze Onions} – Learn all the tips and tricks for freezing onions to save a ton of time and money. Learning how to freeze onions (diced, green, sliced, rings, and whole) is a great way to preserve this delicious staple of so many recipes. A freezer stash of frozen onions opens the door to amazing and speedy meals. {Pin this tutorial}
The Five Most Popular Posts This Week
- Virgin Mojito {Pin this recipe}
- Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Rice {Pin this recipe}
- Whole30 Beef Stew {Pin this recipe}
- Instant Pot Orange Chicken {Pin this recipe}
- Canning Apple Butter {Pin this recipe}
Meal Plan
Monday:: New recipe I am working on. You’ll see it later in the winter.
Tuesday:: New recipe I am working on. You’ll see it later in the winter.
Wednesday:: Copycat Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi Soup and roasted frozen broccoli. Bennett has told me that this is the only soup he really likes. Whatever, you little soup eating traitor.
Thursday:: Jack’s soccer party at a pizza place. OMG, you guys I thought this was last week and totally screwed up our schedule. Thankfully, we had some ground burger from Butcher Box in the freezer and Troy made some of his delicious burgers and saved the day.
Friday:: Popcorn, leftovers, and movie night
Saturday:: TBD
Sunday:: Family dinner
What We Bought This Week
US Wellness Meats: $151.82 This came to our house on Thursday and now I am ready for Thanksgiving. I usually buy our turkeys from our local butcher, but I found out last year that they’re NOT actually local turkeys! I still love the idea that I’m supporting a local business, but I had some credits with US Wellness, so that was a no-brainer. Everything we have had from them has been great.
In the cooler – an organic free-range turkey and chicken breasts. I am not a fan of the styrofoam but we always repurpose them. If I’m taking food to the house of someone from church or donating items, I’ll use these coolers.
Azure Standard: $69.30 – we usually buy groceries from Azure, but this time it was just 80 pounds of organic chicken feed (we love Scratch and Peck which is a local company). We feed the chickens and they give us eggs so I guess it is groceries in a way…? You’ll find our favorite Azure products listed in this post.
Fred Meyer: $46.44. Bag of rice was for making the Rice Heating Pads on Tuesday because I had to re-photograph the process and final shots because the old ones were butt-ugly. Orange juice was for the Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce I am making to freeze this week, and the veggie juice was for the batch of Instant Pot Beef Stew I made last week.
Costco: $88.53. This was a cart full of things we normally don’t buy. The chips were Jack’s choice to bring to student council. And Troy took a random over-time shift at work and we had nothing in the fridge or time to prep food. Within his department, the practice is if you work OT, you buy or make dinner for those at your station during your shift. Chimichangas and street tacos were a fast last-minute option and I regret nothing!
What are you having this week?
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
I’m pretty sure that jade rollers are those little face massager things that they claim get rid of bags under the eyes and puffiness. I don’t think they really do, but a face massage is always nice.
And it’s definitely important to check in with other women to make sure they’re okay! Good for you that you do it even when you feel like you might look silly.
I hope so I had a lurking fear that it might be something Gynweth Paltrow might sell…
Haha, I knew I liked you!!!
I feel like I’d need injections or something to ever get rid of bags or puffiness. I have chronic bags.
I wish more people would share my stuff when I post it to Facebook. But one of my recipes is heating up on Pinterest so I must be doing something right.
That’s great about Pinterest!
FB is a black hole these days and has been for years. It used to be that you could share to FB and it would have 80% reach (business page) and shared thousands of times. Now, I’m lucky if 5% of people who have chosen to follow my page actually get to see the post! FB wants you to spend money boosting the post so they limit the reach unless you pay up.
Re: keeping it safe: I was in a pub bathroom in England (what a way to start a sentence!) and inside the loo door was a sign that said, “Ask for Angela.” It had some cute drawings but said that if your date was being weird or you felt unsafe, you should just go up to the bar and ask for “Angela” and they would call you an Uber/Lyft or do whatever they needed to do to get you out of the situation and to safety. I thought it was pretty cool because you didn’t have to explain any more than you wanted to. It was in a small town (Henley-on-Thames – you know, the crewing town where those many-buttoned shirts originated. And FYI, you can’t buy one of those shirts there, go figure.) and I don’t know if it was a local thing, but I think it was a more widespread program.
2)
Yes, getting the kids out of the house can be a lifesaver. I don’t think there was a day my mother didn’t send us out of the house. She called it “Blowing the stink off the kids.” 3) I’m making white chicken chili for dinner tonight since this evening it will cool down from the 86 degrees it was today. We went to Malibu for the afternoon. Still hot but the coast is my happy place. I think those rock rollers are a bunch of hoo ha. About all they will do is cool the skin a bit, so far as I can tell, but I’m not much into that ju ju.
I LOVE that idea A! How absolutely clever. In my county, they have domestic violence brochures and business cards in the lady’s room. I figure it is fairly safe from male eyes in there.
I think you have told me the “blowing stink off the kids” before and it always rings true!
My friends in the LA area are saying how hot it has been. I hope you enjoyed your “soup weather” for the night! 🙂
I totally get the being outside thing, I’ve been stuck in a (really great) conference all week and only found out on the last day that there was easy access to the outside world and daylight 🙁
Noooooooo! I’m sorry Heather! Must escape on the daily.
I started listening to Pantsuit Politics from a mention you made of awhile back. It is a great podcast. It does help with giving different perspectives on what is happening while also being educational on events and policies (their series on the Bill of Rights was well done). I have the book and it is next on my reading pile. I wish there was more space in society for these kinds of conversations and more people willing to listen and consider some other thoughts. And their accents are fun too!
I loved that series on the bill of rights! Thanks for reminding me about it because I keep meaning to send it to my sister to listen to. I think she could share it with her AP government kids.
I do love the accents. 🙂
Are you going to run in your hills?! I hope you have a track or other flatter place to pass out/die!
I’m sorry about BB-Egg 🙁
Thank you for the reminder to share your posts on social media. I’m on it!
Oh helllll no! Flat ground all the way. We have some flat roads that connect to the hills. Tonight was night one and we ran the length of one of the flat roads twice and then down a hill and around some roads.
We found a home for BB-Egg; someone Troy works with has lots of chickens and needs a rooster.
I am so jealous that you were able to find cranberries. Our (huge!) Kroger did not have any cranberries in the produce section, and I thought I was going nuts–we just moved and I’m getting used to the new layout. But the produce guy said “Um, none this week, but next week for sure!” WUT. It is two weeks to Thanksgiving, where are the friggin’ cranberries? Let me speak to your buyer.
My kids and I go running three times a week (indoor track) and my 8 year old (also a Jack) is SO FAST when he wants to be, we have to tell him to hang back with us. The track rules say the parent must be actively participating with the child, so he can’t just run on his own…but sometimes he sprints and I really have to pull out all the stops to keep up with him. I think I’ll hire him to train me for a 5K next year.
Don’t be too jealous. Bennett and I made the sauce tonight and it was the worst cranberry sauce I’ve ever made! It was the recipe I’ve been making for years, but even before I started cooking it I thought the cranberries looked sub-par. The flavor was horrible!
But seriously, how did your store not have cranberries two weeks before Thanksgiving???
Your Jack would be a great trainer! 🙂