Saturday, June 22, 2024
10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week
Thursday, June 20, 2024
Summer 2024 Bucket List
Happy First Day of Summer! It's the official start of summer although it's felt like summer for weeks now. As usual, I've made my annual summer bucket list. It's a tradition that I absolutely love. Some things on the bucket list are activities that we normally do every summer, but there are a few new things that I'd like to try to do or visit this summer. Check out my list below.
- Read 5 books
- Make 2 new recipes
- Go to 2 new or new-to-me restaurants
- Publish 3 personal essays
- Drink more water
- Drink less soda
- Finish 1 half-completed project
- Go to the pool
- Go to the Farmer's Market
- Watch 2 movies
- Finish watching the Dead Boy Detectives
- Visit a new park
- Go somewhere new
- Make s'mores
- Go to our local splash pad
- Create a photo essay
- Participate in Exhale's blog hops
- Journal more
- Visit the library twice a month
Sunday, June 16, 2024
10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week
Friday, June 14, 2024
And so I'll linger
1. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of Linger is as follows:
- To be slow in parting or in quitting something: Tarry
- To remain existent, although often waning in strength, importance, or influence
- To remain alive although gradually dying
- To be slow to act: Procrastinate
- To move slowly: Saunter
2. Another school year down. This school year was a big one for all three of my sons. The school year marked a lot of milestones for my sons. It was my oldest son, Michael, last year in middle school, my middle son, Gabriel, first year in middle school, and my youngest son, Raphael, started kindergarten. My heart felt full, but it also felt like it was breaking because it really started to hit me that my boys were getting older. I found (and still find) myself wishing time would just slow down.
3. I found myself almost panicking at my oldest son's school open house. The school year had just started and teachers and admin were already talking about SATs and careers. They mentioned that the eighth graders could take the PSATs and that we should talk about what kind of careers our kids may want. I won't even try to pretend to say that I immediately looked through all the flyers and paperwork the school gave us to look over. I definitely procrastinated a little, but we did eventually have a talk about his class options and careers.
4. My two older sons are starting to show signs of wanting more independence, especially my oldest son. He's already talked about where he would like to work for his first job. How strange it is that sometimes out of nowhere, I'm hit with the realization that I have a teenager. A teenager! Even typing those words blew my mind a little. In just a few years, I will have an adult child. I'm sure every parent says this, but my sons will always be my babies, no matter how old they are.
5. The other day, Raphael asked to see some of his baby photos. I happily obliged but was curious as to why my six-year-old suddenly wanted to see baby photos of himself and his brothers. When I asked him why he wanted to see their baby photos, he told me, "I want to see how little I was. I'm big now." As I pulled up some baby photos, I nodded while smiling down at him and said, "You guys got big so fast; time flew by". Raphael laughed and smiled while he continued to look at the photos. He seemed to be in awe of the photos of when I was pregnant which amused me and gave me so much joy. Looking at those photos brought back so many great memories. It is so true that the days are long, but the years are short.
6. One afternoon, the boys were unusually quiet. I crept along the hallway and peeked into the living room. My heart nearly burst at the sight before me. There on our large round chaise lounge, the boys were reading a book together. I lingered by the hallway for a bit, committing the sight to memory. And then, of course, I took a photo because I wanted something tangible, something that I could include in my memory book.
7. They say, "Time waits for no one." While that is true, I'm sure there will be times where I'll want to linger while savoring and holding on to these precious moments with my sons for just a bit longer. And so, I'll linger.
This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale - an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the post in the series "Linger".
Photo by Aron Visuals on Unsplash
Monday, June 10, 2024
If You and I Had Coffee
Friday, June 7, 2024
10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week
Wednesday, June 5, 2024
Target Finds
Happy Wednesday! It's time for another Target Finds! As usual, I've found some great things at Target over the past few weeks. You'll probably notice that most of my favorite finds this month are food and drink-related (don't judge me).
Starbucks Frappuccino Oatmilk Dark Chocolate Brownie Coffee
I was curious about how oat milk would taste in coffee, and the chocolate brownie flavor sounded really good, so I decided to get this Starbucks single-serve coffee. It was actually pretty good. You can definitely taste the chocolate brownie flavor. This definitely had oat milk, but it was good. The flavors were not overpowering and seemed balanced, but it was sweet. This was definitely a splurge, but it was a nice little pick-me-up. I plan to try the Starbucks oat milk caramel waffle cookie coffee next.
Mr. Beast Feastables Peanut Butter Crunch Chocolate Bar
I tried the milk crunch and really liked it, so I wanted to see if the peanut butter crunch bar was good. This peanut butter chocolate bar was good. You could definitely taste the peanut butter. I liked the puffed rice. However, it is a little pricey compared to other chocolate bars.
Sprite Chill Cherry Lime Soda (Slim Can)
I don't know what made me want to try this because I'm usually not a fan of cherry in any kind of soda. However, this was surprisingly good. You could definitely taste the cherry flavor, but it wasn't as strong as in other sodas like Coke and Pepsi. In fact, I think the cherry flavor pairs well with the lemon-lime. I don't know if I'd buy this often, but changing things up a bit was nice.
Olay Cleanse Gentle Foaming Face Cleanser
After my local Target stopped carrying my usual cleanser, I tried to find a decent alternative. I've started using Olay's gentle foaming face cleanser, and it's been okay so far. It foams well, and the product is a little thick, but a little goes a long way. The pump is not that great, and I wonder if I just bought one that was messed up.
What are some of your favorite Target Finds?
Thanks for visiting!
Until next time...
Monday, June 3, 2024
June Goals
Happy Monday! Can you believe that it's June? As much as I enjoyed May, I'm ready for a slower month filled with a decent amount of rest and relaxation. May was a fun filled month full of celebrations, last minute errands, and a mile long to do list.
In May, we celebrated my oldest son's, Michael, birthday. We also celebrated my nephew's birthday. We celebrated Mother's Day at Mami's house. It was a big school year for my boys. They each hit some milestones this year. Raphael started and finished kindergarten. Gabriel finished his first year of middle school. Michael graduated from eight grade and is now heading to high school! You guys...I'm going to have a high schooler! Time is going by too fast. And yes, I may have shed a tear or two for my boys. As for me, this was a big year in regards to my job and it was a wild ride. I definitely celebrated surviving the year.
This month, I'm looking forward to going to my local farmer's markets and handmade markets. I'm looking forward to having a date night with John at an event that I have been looking forward to for weeks. I'm looking forward to reading good books, relaxing at the pool, and eating delicious food and treats. I'm looking forward to working on some crafty projects. I'm excited to have this creative burst of energy and I'm looking forward to putting it to good use. Most of all, I'm looking forward to a slower month and savoring the every day moments.
Before I continue to ramble, let's get to the main reason of this post which are my new goals for June and a quick recap on my May goals.
Recap of May Goals
- Read 5 books: I read 14 books in May. It was a good month for books. My top three favorite books for the month are: The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo, Trigger by C.G. Moore, and My Begrudging Scent Matches by Naomi Phillips.
- Read 2 books I borrowed from the library: I borrowed several books from the library, but was able to finish reading exactly two books. I read Open Throat by Henry Hoke and The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo. I enjoyed reading Open Throat. It was truly an unexpected read, but a great read. I absolutely loved The Puppets of Spelhorst. 10/10 highly recommend.
- Catch up on reading Substack newsletters: I've been slowly catching up on several Substack newsletters and I'm loving the app. It's so much more convenient.
- Participate in Exhale's May blog hop: I did participate in Exhale's May blog hop. You can find my piece here.
- Work in my traveler's notebook: This did not happen. I completely forgot about this goal. However, I did work in my Project Life album.
- Try 2 new recipes: I'm still on a pasta kick so I made spicy chicken andouille sausage pasta with spicy marinara sauce. It was delicious and really easy to make. It's officially farmer's market season so I bought the andouille sausage from one my favorite farmer's market. I also made some breakfast sandwiches using some new-to-me brands. I'm not sure if I should even count this since it was a simple egg, bacon, cheese sandwich, but I'm going to count it since I actually made the sandwiches.
- Work in my sketchbook/journal: I did work in my sketchbook and used the Messy May prompts for a couple of pages.
- Participate in Get Messy's Messy May: I did participate in Messy May, but I didn't work on every single prompt and I also didn't work on it every day. However, I participated which I was glad to do. I plan to slowly work through the prompts.
- Read 6 books
- Read 1 book I borrowed from the library
- Participate in Exhale's June blog hop
- Go to my local handmade market at least twice in June
- Work on my Project Life album
- Try 1 new recipe
- Participate and complete the latest round of Here: 5 Things course
Sunday, June 2, 2024
10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week
Happy Friday! I can't believe it's June already! Today, I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly happy and grateful list link-up.
1. Cowboy Cookie from Crumbl Cookies
4. Katie Licht's latest Substack post on craft, frivolity, purpose, and time
5. Conversations with Mami
6. The Childcare Menu of Your Dreams by Heidi Fiedler
7. Learning about the Cricut Maker and Mug Press
8. Random conversations with fellow crafty strangers at Michaels
9. Our new mattress
10. New York Times Spelling Bee
What made you happy this week?
Thanks for visiting!
Until next time...