She bought her own iPad!

She had an old one that was handed down to her but it was too old to do what she wanted so we told her she could buy a new one if she had the money. She thought they were much more expensive than it was, so she actually had most of the money for it! She used Christmas money from Gramma Jean (which I had made her save) and found a bunch of money stashed in multiple places. Of course she didn’t want to do chores to earn anything (because that’s not fun) so we had some discussions. But she was able to get it pretty quickly.

Fab Squad Retreat Day 4: Heading home

Since Lin only lives an hour away, she came and picked me up so we could hang out before heading to the airport! We went to Disney Springs where we wandered, shopped, and had lunch!

They were closed the first time we walked by and then the line was too long on our way out…but I got a pic anyway!

Then I ran into a SeneSister at the airport!

And it was good to get home to everyone…

Squeeee! I have a Dream Box!

I wanted a Dream Box back when we were redoing the office…but they are super expensive (and then we figured out it wasn’t what I needed for my business).

Fast forward to Tom finding a used Dream Box on Facebook marketplace and the price was right so I grabbed it! It was 1.5 hours away so it was a little bit of work but she’s home and beautiful in the basement bedroom.

Now to fill it with all my Christmas stuff, crafts, art supplies, Cricut accessories…

Yes we have a dog stroller.

Katie has been begging for one and we finally told her she could buy it with her own money—thinking it would put a stop to it. Nope. She had most of the money and said she’d pay off the rest. Okay then.

And they liked it. They let Katie roll them around the house.

The next day Tom and I watched them sniffing around it and trying to get in it. So I helped.

Our beach, Mount Battie & food!

Our view to the left.
Our view to the right.

There were LOTS of rocks between us and the beach.

Heading back up to the house to get ready for the day’s adventure!

On top of Mount Battie.

Then it was off to the surprise for the kids—Uncle Willy’s Candy Shoppe. They each got $10 to spend there ($5 from Grauntie Rose and $5 from me) and Katie spent all of it plus some of her own while Owen didn’t spend a penny and saved it instead.

This was one of the things she got—fruit flavored if you were wondering.

And this was what I got—it was interesting.

Then we went to mom’s favorite place for dinner—The Happy Clam. And of course I had to try their infamous Blueberry margarita!

Katie was enthralled with the old school playground so she spent most of her time out there! After dinner we took pictures!

Then Owen got involved!

Friday Fave: Goodwill memories

I love wandering Goodwill because I love finding something cool I didn’t expect. It’s especially neat when I find something I used to own that brings back memories!

I found this single bowl… that I received as part of a full set for our wedding from my Aunt Rose! I was tempted to get it…but didn’t.

Do you like shopping at Goodwill?

Shopping continues to be challenging.

So, I took katie to Old Navy today and it wasn’t AS painful. But it still wasn’t fun. She did okay trying things on, and I’m trying to teach her things like “Even if you take a 14 at Old Navy, that’s just a guideline because every brand is different” — and then she tried a 16 in another brand and it was perfect.

Some things she didn’t need to try on (tee shirts) but toward the end one thing she liked I wanted her to try it on and she was like IT’S AN XS I KNOW IT WILL FIT. Yes. I said, it might, but I want you to make sure it fits how you want it and that you like it. (Because she had picked like three other things that she didn’t like once it was tried on.) But would she do it? Nope, so she had an attitude and was like FINE LET’S JUST GO. I said you could get this if you just go try it on and make sure. And she refused. Oh well.

School shopping was a challenge

So I took Katie school shopping and let’s just say it was…challenging.

Surprise! She didn’t like a single thing I picked out.

You’d think tennis shoes would be easy, right? She doesn’t like black. She doesn’t like bright colors. She didn’t like gray, aqua, or mauve. Oh she likes those—but nope, I’m not spending $60. She actually told me everything was mom shoes. What?

These are cute.

No, they’re mom shoes.

How are these mom shoes?

Ugh. You’re a mom—if you like them they’re mom shoes.

She finally accepted a beige pair.

And then HAD TO HAVE a pair of combat-looking boots pretty much exactly like the $60 Doc Martens she had to have last year (that still fit, mind you, but she doesn’t like them). I made her spend her own money on those. And then I had to say ABSOLUTELY NOT to a pair of black platform heels that she claimed were her most favorite shoes ever—when that’s what she said about the pink platform heels she got earlier this year. I had to keep saying “We’re filling holes in your wardrobe with things you can wear to school.”

And clothes? I think she liked one of 32 things I suggested. She just wanted 12 more Stitch t-shirts. No.

I texted Anna and told her this was her job next year.

Friday Fave: Senior essential!

Today I’m letting you in on a little secret: I should have bought this thing YEARS ago.

🛒 EZ Off Jar Opener for Weak Hands – Under Cabinet, Easy Grip, One Handed Jar & Bottle Opener – Removes Tight Jar Lid for Seniors with Arthritis – Essential Kitchen Gadgets for Home Assistance – White https://a.co/d/9lk0DiR

☺️ Essential, indeed! And don’t laugh at the “seniors with arthritis” bit—I think everyone needs one in their kitchen, senior or not!

You’re welcome.

Tell me…do you have one? Are you going to Amazon right now to buy one? 😂

Friday Fave: Sam’s shrimp ceviche

If y’all know anything about me, you know I love Costco and Sam’s Club. I have so many favorites at each place it would be hard to narrow it down to just a few things.

But today, I’m going to tell you about my new favorite thing from Sam’s Club—🦐 Shrimp ceviche! You may scoff at getting something like this from a warehouse club, but it was really good! Plentiful shrimp, fresh veggies, decent cost—I will admit that it needed salt, and then I ended up putting a little too much in … but I still had to stop myself from eating the whole thing in one sitting. 🤤

Friday Fave: Native shoes

Time for a new thing — Every week I’m going to (try and remember to!) share one of my favorite things!

This week, it’s one of my favorite pairs of shoes—from a brand called NATIVE!

I initially had something similar but off-brand and the color started wearing off pretty quickly (and looked awful) so I decided to spend the money on these…and I couldn’t be happier! I had to look back this morning to see when I bought them—and it was November 2019!

✔️They are kinda like Crocs (material wise) but look more like regular shoes!
✔️They go through a machine wash well.
✔️They don’t have a ton of cushion but it’s enough to make my annoying feet somewhat happy.
✔️There are a ton of different styles and colors.
✔️I got mine directly from Native but you can get them tons of places (Native or Amazon being two).

Exotic snack store attack!

I looooove chips. So I might have gone a little crazy at the local exotic snack store!

The last time I did something like this was probably over a year ago when Tom and I wandered into a Japanese grocery store and we bought a bunch of chips (and I think we only have one bag left—we just open a bag every now and again and do a taste test with Anna and David). So I dragged her along with me…

I know the flavors are probably hard to read, so I’ll share a few:

  • Roasted Cumin Lamb Skewer
  • Salted Egg
  • Fried Crab
  • Seaweed
  • Sweet Basil
  • Spicy Garlic
  • Sichuan Pepper
  • Wild Mushrooms and Sour Cream
  • Creamy Forest Mushroom
  • Green Onion
  • Scallop Butter Garlic
  • Salmon Chili Lime

Christmas lights on my car!

I saw these on Amazon and had to try them. They are reflective — which is cool but obviously I can never see them because I’m in the car. And there was only enough to do this on both sides (unless I wanted to add more “string” between each bulb). Also, can’t wait to see if they stay on as the magnets aren’t that strong. But it’s cute, right?