Taking a break on prepping orders (since the mail has come for the day) and indulging in some self care with the kids. Owen and I are doing the Hollywood Magic Mask and Katie is just doing the Detox mask.
Taking a break for some self care!
Author Archives: Jen
Fun with iOS camera lighting!
I put on a new lip color to take advantage of having my makeup done… Plus had some fun with the lighting.
This is what needing absolutely nothing looks like at Sam’s Club.
Anna and I stopped by Sam’s today—I wanted to see if they still had clearance Christmas candy and she needed chicken stock. We decided one cart would obviously be enough.
Haha.
Hahahahahaa.
I taught Anna that the reason you go down every aisle is to look for clearance stuff! Today was Tootsie Rolls ($3.47!), Laser tag guns ($14), holiday jar sets ($5), satin pillowcases ($6 for two), and a styling doll head for Katie’s birthday (didn’t want to pay $49 at Christmas but I’ll pay $14.81 now!).
There was another layer, too. Both husbands love Snowdrift Vanilla Porter so we stocked up.
Please tell me we are not alone. Everyone else does this, too, right?
Challenge accepted!
So this morning a friend was having fun with the SeneLook app and I joked not to tempt me because I could do that look. So then another friend challenged me to make it a totally wearable daily look.
So here’s the look!
It isn’t perfect by any stretch—I need more blending, I need a liner and probably fake lashes, and the lips are too gold (I think I need to do an ombre)…but overall it’s not bad at all! 😂
Regardless, it was fun and really didn’t take that long!
Back at the table already.
Yep, I’m back to babysitting the kids at the kitchen table because they were both caught watching YouTube instead of being in class. Again. After just two days back in school after holiday break.
We thought Owen was in class. Had the chromebook out and looked busy. As usual. Then we got the email from attendance asking where he was. And the email from his teachers asking where he was. After some questioning and change of heart, Owen finally admitted he had been watching YouTube for two straight days.
So he got assigned to the table.
Katie felt all high and mighty because she didn’t have to sit at the table (the known punishment) and then got caught on YouTube an hour later. Hence them both being at the table.
Yes I am thankful that I have an at-home business where I can work at the table with them. Or at the very least walk through the kitchen or by their desks throughout the day. But this is exhausting.
I posted in a Facebook group and I am not alone. By a long shot.
Reach out to your friends.
People. Reach out to your friends. You might just have a great time!
I just had the best video call with a college roommate who I literally haven’t heard her voice in 20 or so years. We see each other on Facebook but that’s it.
So tonight we were chatting on messenger and she was like hey we should video chat why have we never done that?! Due to the time difference (she’s in New Zealand) our schedules don’t always mesh, but tonight it worked. So we chatted FOR AN HOUR and it was soooooo great. And we’re going to do it again soon—probably with margaritas if we’re being honest.
So just some advice to reach out to those old friends. You might just have a great time. And we all need more of that these days.
Just look at this cool kid.
Technically it’s “just look at this cool ass pre-teen we have here in his new hand-me-down Ray Bans” but that was too long of a title.
WOW. WHAT A PARTY!
I decided to throw a customer appreciation event on January 1 to thank everyone for my best year yet and to start 2021 with a bang!
Day one, I literally didn’t stop moving all day! I started working at 7:30am, took quick breaks to eat—didn’t even shower!—and was busy all day answering questions and helping people pick colors and decide on skincare solutions! The day flew by so fast I didn’t get nearly any of the extra things done that I wanted to…so I extended a day.
But y’all won’t believe this. My awesome clients helped me blow my first goal almost totally out of the water the first day. THE FIRST DAY.
So I upped my goal (and I eventually got well beyond that, too)!
Day two was a bit of a whirlwind as well. Extended again. Day three calmed down a bit. In the end, I did about 2.5 average months worth of business/sales in three days! (Now you understand why I was sooo busy all day long!)
If you want to join my group to be around for events like this, come on over!
Let the festivities begin.
5:25pm — Anna and David and the kids came over. Anna and I needed to do our makeup so we had a shot and then…
6:13pm — Next-level New Year’s Eve makeup!
7:10pm — Then we cooked and ate a delicious Hello Fresh dinner.
10:39 — Rum punch down!
10:55pm — Look at this cute little family, LOL.
11pm (Midnight EST) — Small fireworks! We did it for the kids but they didn’t even care.
11:04pm — Adult champagne celebration.
Showing off her favorite new Minifigs.
The kids got a full series of Lego Minifigs in their stockings. These are Katie’s favorite two. At least I think it’s two. It might be one with accessories.
This right here is the goal I met that I didn’t even know I wanted.
This. This right here is the goal I met that I didn’t even know I wanted. I still can’t believe it happened. And it’s all because of my amazing customers! And it’s why I’m having a huge thank you/customer appreciation event Friday!
Well, they’re happy at least.
We’ve been wondering when we’d start getting snow…and tonight was it. We are supposed to get 4-9″ but it has thus far stopped at about three. Hopefully there’s still enough tomorrow so they can go out for HOURS.
Katie’s card for Tom
So long story short, the kids didn’t get anything for Tom for Christmas because I told them it was up to them to give me some ideas and tell me when they wanted to go shopping. It never happened because, well, kids. And it’s always all about them.
Of course we don’t care if we get anything from them, but we’re trying to teach them to think about others. ON THEIR OWN.
So when I asked on Christmas Eve what they had gotten for him, they both looked so sad. I suggested they make him cards with coupons in them—which they both liked but didn’t get around to actually doing until today after I’d reminded them TWICE. And when they eventually did sit down to do it, they still didn’t really grasp the concept of coupons. And of course they didn’t really want to listen to me because they know everything. And I kind of hoped that a lightbulb would go off for Owen (because he hadn’t gotten me anything and was sad about it when he realized it) but nope. No lightbulb whatsoever.
So anyway—look at all the options Katie gave him of things he can choose. Yep, they’re pretty much all stuff she wants to do. Merry Christmas?!
Sidenote: Owen went shopping with Tom to get Katie something but didn’t think to get me anything. Gramma Jean asked him what he got me and he just hung his head and looked ashamed.
Katie, Buddy, and Owen
I had to take a quick photo before Buddy came down for the season. I always said I wasn’t a fan of blow up decorations but I finally gave in when I saw this one!
Showing off her fave new minifigs.
Did someone say more rum punch?
We went over to Anna and David’s for Christmas Day dinner. And another batch of Dave’s amazing Trinidadian rum punch.
Daaaaamn. I guess I do like rum. Merry Christmas!
The Santa hats aren’t working this year.
I take these pics every year. This year they just aren’t working. The hat didn’t fit. Someone can’t find their hat. They have the wrong hat. They aren’t in the mood. They don’t look cute. The lighting is off. The pics don’t turn out. They have to have the tiny hands in them…
Sigh.
So this is what we have thus far.
I guess 7:15 wasn’t too bad.
Tom and I had both taken Tylenol PM so we were both zonked in the morning when the kids came in together at 7:15 with a loud MERRY CHRISTMAS and hopped in bed with us! We always leave their phones outside their doors so they can let us sleep longer but apparently 30 minutes was all they could handle!
I must be slacking on my old age because I didn’t take any pictures! But they started with their stockings and were thrilled to find a ton of Lego Minifigure packs so they started building those right away! Before we knew it, this is what the room looked like (and I think this is after one mid-opening cleaning).
Santa brought the kids a few things they asked for so they were thrilled—Owen got a game for his computer (he was super sneaky and actually installed it on the computer!) and some video game cash and Katie got some dolls she asked for.
Katie was proud of her wrapping job. And she knows me…it was a stemless wineglass that said BEST MOM EVER.
Then we video chatted with both sets of grandparents AND had a zoom call with the Schwalmlettes. (We might have been a little unprepared since we were thinking it was noon our time. But it was noon Eastern. I am never going to get used to being CST.)
I’ve got a little secret.
I posted this on Facebook and it was hilarious. Someone guessed it was a pillow. Someone said I didn’t have nail polish on. Someone said I had a ton of unread notifications.
But look at my tiny hands! The kids got these creepy rubber things in their stockings. They love them. They’re really weird. Stay tuned for more fun with them that I’m sure will come soon…
Santa was here!
I woke up about 12:45 because I thought I heard something. I went out to look and yep—Santa had been here! The kids’ bags were moved (and filled!) and the cookies were missing!
Christmas Eve with our bubble!
If I haven’t mentioned it, we have created a bubble with our good friends Anna and David. Each family quarantined for two weeks and we always wear masks when we are with anyone outside our bubble—and even try to avoid prolonged visits with anyone outside the bubble. So we do hang out with each other a lot.
We usually share Hello Fresh dinners but decided to splurge tonight on not one, not two, but three orders of our favorite octopus appetizer from our favorite restaurant (Primo) and a homemade charcuterie board. That was seriously all Tom, Anna, David, and I wanted. Easy peasy.
We didn’t take one single picture of our amazing dinner, but it was delicious. We might also have drank an entire batch of Dave’s amazing rum punch and watched Christmas Chronicles with the kids. I’m not naming names but someone fell asleep.
Then we got ready for Santa!
We left out Girl Scout cookies because Katie texted Santa and asked if he liked them and gave him a choice and he picked the chocolate and peanut butter ones. The candy cane is for the reindeer.
I absolutely love the letters both kids left for Santa. Owen thanked him for being awesome (and gave him a spot for a Robux code) and Katie wanted Santa to write his name.
And this was where Maggie was. Maybe sneakily waiting for Santa, too?
My Christmas Eve look(s)!
I started with Pink Champagne lips and it looked okay…but that color is really just too light for me.
So since I am trying to redo ALLLL my color collage photos, I tried two other colors. My favorite is the Sheer Berry.
But check this out. I had Anna try the same Pink Champagne color and look at how different it looks! That’s simply due to the different color of our lips—hers are much more pigmented then mine!
Me and my bestie.
These might be the coolest lights we’ve ever had!
I tend to leave them on a solid color but the kids like the craziness.
She can stop growing up now.
We did a thing tonight!
I let her wear LipSense now and again and today was one of those days—and she always picks Skyline! So tonight I decided to just start adding some makeup…I’m not great at it (I’m barely good at it on myself) but she didn’t care and loved everything. I can’t believe she’s only 8.
I even made her do the full makeup removal and face washing routines to hopefully show her it’s not all fun so she won’t want to do it. We’ll see.
She’s been BEGGING for fake nails.
She has loved fake nails forever and always plays with them so I finally I let her buy some…and they were actually super cheap and didn’t stick so I eventually got her nail glue. I tried to get her to use the shorter ones she had but she wanted these. She is in heaven.
A fort sleepover!
I helped Katie build a fort today and she loved it so much she played in there all day and then invited Owen to sleep in there with her tonight!
Cookie decorating!
We haven’t done cookie decorating because I just don’t have the patience. Buuuuut Anna wanted to do it so we tried. And even though there was a bit of a shaky start…Katie was actually pretty good at the whole thing. I was impressed. Owen doesn’t like sugar cookies so he did like one cookie and that was it. Tom and I even got into it.
Frontera in my own kitchen!
We did a Frontera pickup today from Dwell Social. It’s a bit more prep than just dining at a restaurant, but we didn’t have to drive to Chicago, so it’s a win. This photo is missing most of the main courses but trust me, it was all there.
Short Rib Enchiladas
Six homemade heirloom corn tortillas, each wrapped around braised Creekstone Farms beef short rib, roasted local gold potatoes, tomato-guajillo chile sauce, Samuel’s artisan Jack cheese. Served with black beans and chocolate-pecan pie bars for dessert.
Tacos al Carbon
Wood-grilled Creekstone skirt steak and Gunthorp Farms chicken breast along with everything you need to make fabulous tacos: guacamole, roasted poblano rajas, black beans, classic Gulf-style rice, grilled knob onions, shishito peppers, two salsas and handmade tortillas with heirloom corn from Oaxaca, Mexico. Finish off with Mexican vanilla flan for a sweet ending.
Guacamole and Chips
Mashed Michoacán avocados, local Mighty Vine tomato, serrano chile, cilantro, lime. House-made tortillas chips served with red three chile salsa & green roasted tomatillo salsa.
Queso Fundido
Samuel’s artisanal Jack cheese, garlicky roasted peppers, and homemade chorizo served with heirloom corn tortillas.
BAR SÓTANO CRISPY TLAYUDA (TOSTADA) STARTERS
Six crispy Oaxacan tlayudas (rustic tostadas) with 2 toppings:
- Avocado Mash (luxurious Michoacan avocado, roasted poblano, pomegranate, fresco cheese).
- Local Corn Esquites (serrano chile, epazote, chintextle crema, queso fresco).
Mom Squad Zoom Christmas
Kim Ho Ho Ho’ed everyone today with treats and a #momsquad wine glass for our Secret Santa exchange…
We had a great time but can’t wait to see each other in person again…
