Happy NaBloPoMo!

Today is the first day of National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo)!

San hosts NaBloPoMo every year. If you want to join, go sign up on her site! If you don't know what to write about every single day of the month, we have crowdsourced some ideas and have them here in a Google doc, so feel free to get an idea from that list (and feel free to add ideas to the list, too!). 

I'm aiming to post every day this month. I'm going to try to limit them to pretty short posts, though, for everyone's benefit. 

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For today, I want to do a brief (re)introduction. 

My name is NGS and some people call me Engie. None of that is true in real life, although my husband does sometimes jokingly call me Engie when I'm talking too much about my blog. I've had this blog for twenty years, though, so my relationship with it is longer than that of my relationship with him, so sometimes he has to listen to me blather about it. 

I live in a small town in Wisconsin where I work for a local regional university and I have a cat and a dog who I'm pretty obsessed with. Zelda is the cat and she is the queen of the household. Hannah is the dog and she and I just do what Zelda tells us to do. Zelda recently had a medical treatment and she is radioactive for 80 days, which means I am not supposed to cuddle with her. I'm not sure how that is going to go. 

I read a lot of books and so I write about books a lot. If you don't read books, just don't tell me, okay? We'll still be friends as long as I don't know about your reading habits. 

I'm obsessed with Taskmaster and The Great British Baking Show, have killed too many houseplants to mention, and have read every book in JD Robb's In Death series. I'm always trying to complete lists of books because I am a completionist at heart. I like nectarines, cherries, and plums. Purple is my favorite color. I like to send snail mail. I have a dozen post it notes on my computer at any given moment. I like my job and feel useful at work. I hate making adulting decisions like when to buy a new appliance or car, how often I should visit family, and what photo to use for the Christmas card.

Current adulting conundrum: My uncle, who has been a jerk to me since I got married more than fifteen years ago, is a thorn in my side. Why is he so grumpy with me? One, I didn't invite his children to our wedding because we didn't invite children to the thing (for legitimate reasons having to do with limiting the guest list! if we added cousins to the list, it would have doubled the number of guests!). Two, I didn't have my father walk me down the aisle because my relationship with my father was rocky and also, I am not property to be "given away." Three, he's kind of a jerk. ANYWAY. His daughter is throwing him a big birthday party later this month and I was invited. It was the first family thing I've been invited to in a bit and I could go. But I don't want to. It would take up an entire weekend. Should I go? Just send a card? Why do I have to make hard choices?

Anyway, that's me! If you have questions, feel free to throw them in the comments. Otherwise, weigh in on the adulting decision for me. 

NaBloPoMo Idea List

In the comments section last week, Sarah suggested that we do a group Google doc with our ideas for NaBloPoMo. Such a good idea! Actually, this is a good idea for when you're just fresh out of ideas during any month, I think.

So I created a Google doc. Here it is! I would love it if you added an idea or two of your own and also if you wrote about some of those topics.

Meanwhile, as I have started thinking about, I'm a bit on the fence about doing NaBloPoMo myself. I'm a bit underwater in life and I'm not sure how this is going to work out. Here are my options:

1) Don't do it. If I just write my regular posts, I can concentrate on supporting people who do write daily with comments and encouragement.

2) Half-heartedly do it. Maybe write a bunch of posts ahead of time? Just acknowledge that not every post will be as good as I want it to be?

3) Do a quality post every day and just give up on commenting on every post I read. This feels sort of gross.

I don't know. I'm really wasting a lot of energy on this when I could just be writing posts. Maybe I should get to that. 

In the meantime, please add something to the list of NaBloPoMo topics!!

13.3 A Year of Direction

I just finished a yearly project. Each day of the month I posted on a pre-determined theme. During the month of November, I'll post a collage of all my photos on the daily theme from the past year. The theme for the third day of the month was "Direction."

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One Fewer Worry - Ha ha ha! This is when the new director of the community center took the job that she then resigned from within months. Remember when I thought this was a good hire?
Our Ornaments Through the Years - Oh, this is such a lovely look at our yearly ornament tradition.
New Year, New Goals - In which I introduced my quarterly goals for the year. 
Hair Decisions - To color or not to color?
The Entire Store - When a trip to a home improvement store goes wrong. 
Election Day is Tomorrow! - Why am I always so excited about elections? They never really work out the way I want them to.
Aimlesss - Updates on the girls. 
So Many Experts - Listening to smart people talk about interesting things is always fun. 
Never Eat Soggy Waffles - My neighborhood by direction.
A Little of This, A Little of That - Life updates. 
Joymaking Habit - My girls.
Change in Perspective - In which I vow to be more optimistic on my blog. 

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Hannah count: 1

Artistic renderings of animals count: 5 (I counted the dragon as animal. Discuss.)

Sign count: 3

Community center count: 1

Blaze orange count: 1

I was hoping there'd be a theme with these posts, but there is not. Unless the theme is that I'm constantly thinking things will get better only to be disappointed later on. LOL. I love the post with all our ornaments, though. 

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Wednesday after dinner, I took myself over to the urgent care clinic to have my six stitches removed. To be totally honest with you, it hurt like the dickens. I was maybe in more severe pain than the actual slicing event because I had all those awesome painkilling endorphins to keep me unaware of how severe the cuts were at that time. ANYWAY. I closed my eyes, breathed deep, and tried to be as brave as I could be. I was joking with the nurses that they should treat me like a toddler and give me a sticker when I was done because I was so stoic. And when they gave me this Spiderman sticker and I laughed and laughed. Let's hope that in 2024 I start a new trend in which I do not injure a finger. Can this be done? Only time can tell. 

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Would you classify a dragon as an animal? What about Spiderman? Have you ever had stitches taken out? Did it hurt?

13.1 A Year of Hats

Happy National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo)!! Welcome to new readers as well as all my regular bloggy friends. 

I just finished a yearly project. Each day of the month I posted on a pre-determined theme. During the month of November, I'll post a collage of all my photos on the daily theme from the past year. The theme for the first day of the month was "Hat."

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As I started making these collages, I wondered to myself if any of them would omit Hannah and/or Zelda. Hannah makes an appearance here, albeit not wearing a hat in any of them. Poor Zelda was left out. 

Craft- My favorite hat!
Frosty - I have beefs with Frosty the Snowman displays.

Happy New Year - The dalmatian appears again!

Cold Snap - Hannah's frosty muzzle is too cute.

Dream Getaway - In which I went to the botanical gardens in the middle of winter.

On a Hot Tin Roof - Still snowing in April and boy was I mad about it.

Trick - Sculptures of children without eyes are super creepy.

In the Books - This may be the most important of all of the posts - this is the first time I started looking for the word HAT in BOOKS. Now it's my thing.

Sorting - I still laugh at this meme.

The Last Three Days - We had a big storm and lots of trees came down.

Definitionally - What is a hat anyway?

A Trip to Costco - Christmas decor in September and NO Halloween decor. I'm STILL grumpy about this. 

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Hannah count: 3

Hat count: 15 

Public art installation count: 4

Artistic renderings of animals count: 6

Me being me count: 2

Sign count: 2

Book count: 1

Blaze orange count: 1

Obviously, I think In the Books was the most influential of these posts, although I like the sheer bravado of the Craft post in which I thought writing about hats for a year would be a good idea. 

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Lena Milking a Cow by Carl Jensen (bronze, 2005)

I couldn't resist another hat photo. Or maybe I'll post a hat photo on the first of the month for the rest of my life because it pleases me so much. 

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Which is your favorite photo?

12.31 Activity - NaBloPoMo 2023

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the thirty-first day of the month is "Activity."

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Balustrade by Monika Sosnowska (Steel and PVC, 2015)

It's the most wonderful bloggy time of the year!! National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) is starting TOMORROW. San has been organizing it for years and the rules are simple - you post to your blog every day in November. (And if you miss a day, I promise no one will come to your door and scold you.)

The best part? Reading what everyone else is writing about and building a fabulous, supportive community. 

If you're interested, sign up on San's site, read her best practices, and dive in starting tomorrow. If you do not want to write a post every day, feel free to read, comment, and cheer on everyone else's posts!

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Last year, I did an AMA during NaBloPoMo and I'd like to do one again this year. It's a great way for new readers to learn about me and for people who have been reading for a while to ask their burning questions! If you have questions for me, leave them in the comments!

2.21 Decision - Keeping Going

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Every day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined topic chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-first day of the month is "Decision."

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In 2004, I started this blog on a whim. My roommate had a blog and I thought it would be fun to have someplace to jot down my thoughts about life. I kept at it, blogging at least once a month ever since then. I started it before I met my husband, when I was struggling with graduate school, and having some issues with housing. I've kept at it through my engagement and wedding, several moves, new pets, the death of my father, and more jobs than I can list.

For most of those years, no one read my blog, there was no engagement, and I was all alone in marveling over the extraordinary nature of my cat's tail. But I primarily thought of it as a record for myself and purposefully made the decision to spend no money on the blog, but to keep on keeping on. I blogged about my day-to-day life, my mental health, books (of course), family struggles, and my career ups and downs. 

But in the last year or so, there has been this growing blogging community that has reenergized me. People are so encouraging and smart and wise and witty and they have adorable kids and dogs. On Monday afternoon, I was feeling a bit down by the world at large and stress related to my job search and my volunteer gig, but when I got the mail, I had letters and cards from Meike, Nicole, and Elisabeth. I am so happy for our little community that has so many connections. I happily added these to my holiday card display which is looking less and less sad with every passing day.  

Later that afternoon, I also got this super exciting package from San! I was the winner of her giveaway for people who did NaBloPoMo and it was such a true delight to have all these lovely goodies arrive out of the blue.  What a lovely thing to do! I'm so thankful to all of you in this blogging community and I wish all of you a happy surprise when you're feeling down, too!

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To see what Bestest Friend has to say about decision, go visit her at Too Legit to Quit.

1.30 Depression - 2022 Stocking Stuffer Ideas: $25 and Under

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Every day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the thirtieth day of the month is "Depression."

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I am in a funk. My job has ended and I don't have any firm offers in hand. NaBloPoMo is over after today and my reader is not going to be jam packed with posts to read every morning. The best way out of that depression, though, is a bit of retail therapy. Here are my stocking stuffer ideas for the year.

Here's my guide from 2021. Those are great ideas, too. 

Games and Toys

Game of Phones ($25 from Uncommon Goods) - My goals is to host more game nights in 2023 and I think this would be a great modern addition to the game selection.

Slingshot with felt ammo ($17.50 from Handcrafted Buffalo) - We have a slingshot and it's great fun. Also, I'm terrible at it.

Unstable Unicorns ($19.99 from Amazon) - I think a game in which unicorns might be the bad guys sounds like fun.

Personalized Yo-Yo ($9.95 from Hazel Grove Customs) - What kid doesn't love a yo-yo?

Pet Lovers

Pet portrait necklace ($19.50 from Mignon & Mignon) - These are so cute and any pet lover would love one.

Memorial pet ornament ($14.98 from Pawfect House) - I have a friend whose absolute favorite cat died this year and I think I might get this for him.

Cat oven mitts ($13.95 for a set of 2 from Amazon) - Am I the only one who has to replace my oven mitts once a year because I burn/stain/ruin them?

Paw soother stick (5.65 for a 0.15 ounce stick or $17.05 for 2 ounce stick) - I have some wax for Hannah's paws, but it's not in stick form. I think I would appreciate not having it all over my hands. 

Gear

Water filter straws ($19.99 for a 2-pack from Amazon) - If you know someone who is outdoorsy or planning a big camping trip, this might be just the thing for them.

Whoosh! screen cleaner kit ($16.99 at Amazon) - I mean, who here has really cleaned their computer screen? Ever?  I think we could all use this.

Windproof, rechargeable lighter ($15.99 at Amazon) - Have you ever tried to light a fire outside in December when the wind is blowing? Matches are not cutting it. This can save so much effort.

Portable Bluetooth speaker ($17.99 at Amazon) - I love the idea of having a speaker in the shower without spending a ton of money.

Girls

Fortune cookie bracelets ($9.69 for a 4-pack at Amazon) - I think my nieces would LOVE this. Inside each fortune cookie is a bracelet. What a fun idea.

Personalized spiral notebook ($9.95 from Purple Crush Creations) - Now I'm just picking things I wouldn't mind getting in my stocking.*

Paint by Stickers book ($9.95 from Fat Brain Toys) - My 13-year-old niece loved these a couple of years back. Her mom said she would finish a book every weekend!

Lip balm ($2.97 from Wild Child Lip Balm Co) - I do not know a girl or woman who would object to some fun-flavored lip balm. Ever. Just, you know, on a random Tuesday would be good, too.

Boys

Robot crayons ($15.63 for eight shaped crayons from Pastello Rosso) - This list shows that I basically think little boys should like robots. 

Personalized harmonica ($9.99 from Little Raven Toys) - Maybe this isn't a treat for the parents' ears, but I like the idea of introducing musical instruments to kids early.

Personalized flat flashlight ($$6.47 from Karen 25 Shop) - These are also magnetized and can stick to the fridge and I think it's a great idea for a place to keep a flashlight in case the power goes out. Plus, if the kids in your life are like the kids in my life, you can never have enough flashlights for playing ghost in the graveyard.

Cubebot ($12 from Areaware) - Who doesn't love a transforming robot thing?

Fashion

Wool socks ($22 at Smartwool) - You guys. I love socks. That is all.

Cute stud earrings, like these strawberry ones ($12 at Lilliput Little Things) - I have a lot of stud earrings, but I could always use more.

Ridiculous beanie with oversized pompom ($16.99 at Everything Jolie Shop) - If you don't have a silly pompom on your winter hat, what kind of life are you living?

Scarf ($20.25 from ionnass) - I think everyone deserves a fashion scarf. Every day. (For my loyal readers, I am wearing the animal print infinity scarf as I type this. FYI.)

Personal care

Hand sanitizer ($15 for a three pack from By Humankind) - I would kill for some hand sanitizer that smells decent at this point. This comes in rose, eucalyptus, or unscented.  

Wizard soap ($8 from Orange Tulip Creations) - I am tempted to buy some of these for everyone I know. Hedwig for life.

Wet brushes ($11.99 for a 3-pack at Amazon) - Did you know there are special brushes for brushing your hair when it's wet? These brushes prevent breakage. I feel like buying this pack and splitting it with the best women in my life.

Eyeshadow palette ($15 from Sephora) - This is a real bargain for eyeshadow. The Sephora collection is usually pretty good quality, too, so this is a steal.

For Your Nerds

Welcome to the shitshow pens ($12 for a set of 5 from Shop Fun Club) - I laughed a lot when I saw these. Who doesn't love slightly naughty office supplies?

Demotivational pens ($11.95 for a set of 5 from Offensive Crayons) - I honestly think these might be a good graduation present, too. Ha!

Magic wand pencils ($15 for a set of 4 from Stuff by Sawyer) - I am an utter fantasy nerd.

Book of the Month membership ($49.99 for three months, which is $16.66 a book) - Okay, this is a little bit outside of the budget, but it's under $25 each month.  If there's a book collector in your life, this might be a good option.

Decor

Vintage map magnets ($10.95 for a set of 2 from Tanner Glass) - I am tempted to get sets of two for everyone I love who lives far from me - one with a map from my town and one from a map where they live. That way, we can always be together.

Holiday ornament ($16.98 from Little Prairie Craft Co) - Obviously, there a gazillion ornaments out there to choose from. I think it's a sweet thing to give as a present.

Personalized coasters ($22.95 for a set of 4 from Personalization Lab) - We use coasters for a lot more than holding drinks in our house and I think everyone should have lots of coasters!

Flameless candles ($19.50 for a set of 4 from Pottery Barn) - I have a set of three flameless candles on a coffee table in our living room that automatically go on from 5:30 - 10:30 every day. I love how they create a soothing ambience without me having to do anything.

What's a stocking stuff you love to get? Have you been thinking about holiday presents yet?

*We don't have stockings, actually. There's no place to hang them in our house, so we've never gotten any.

1.29 Song - A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like a Kiss)

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-ninth day of the month is "Song."

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The last song I listened to was "A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like a Kiss)" by Glasvegas. My husband has spent years cultivating the perfect holiday playlist for us, with lots of goodies, including awesome Christmas albums from Los Straightjackets and Dwight Yoakum. But this is the one that we listened to as we finished decorating the tree.  

My question is for you, my friends. Is this a hopeful song? Or just sad? 

First verse:

The breeze from the graveyard keeps murmuring death
Too much time harbors thoughts in heads
Now I'm compelled to are
About a future that's going nowhere

Chorus:

Now I don't feel so all alone in the cold wondering where I'm going today
For a snowflake fell and it felt like a kiss
Now I'm okay

What's even going on with this song? It came to us via an Apple playlist a few years ago and it's become one of our favorites, but we also always end up feeling a little less happy than we start listening to it. 

What's your favorite melancholy holiday song? My second place is Fairytale of New York by The Pogues.  

1.28 Meaning - 2022 Advent Calendars

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Every day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined topic chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-eighth day of the month is "Meaning."

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Last year, I bought a Harry Potter Lego advent calendar and it made every December evening a little special to stop whatever we were doing and build a little something. I'd never really had an advent calendar before, but I decided that this year I was going to research them and buy a really special one and advent calendars are going to be a holiday tradition for me, like the great ornament search each year. I want my advent calendar to be meaningful, though. Here were my top five contenders. Which one do you think I actually bought for myself?

1. Bonne Maman 2022 Advent Calendar ($39.99 for 23 fruit spreads and 1 honey) - What can I say? I saw this at Costco and was instantly transported into the thought of opening one of these each night at the end of dinner and having a little fruit spread on a cracker.  

2) Wishing You Advent Calendar from the Sephora Collection ($45 for 24 beauty surprises) - I actually think this is kind of a bargain. I have been on a bit of a product moratorium for personal care products, so I wouldn't be mad to get all these little treats.

3) 24 Days of Tea from David's Tea ($55 for 24 tins that each make 1-2 servings) - What I love about this is that these are all gluten-free, so Dr. BB and I could share! Also, what could be better than opening up one of these after dinner in December and having a nice warm mug of tea?

4) Harry Potter Advent Calendar from Williams Sonoma ($44.95 for 24 individual wrapped treat packs) - Instagram marketing worked for me on this one. I bought a wedding present at WS for an October wedding and then kept getting ads for this. Who doesn't want some butterscotch drops and lemon sherbets?  Also, I like the idea of keeping the Harry Potter theme through the years.

5) L'Occitane Classic Advent Calendar ($80 for 24 travel-size versions of L'Occitane classics) - I have some of the almond hand cream on my desk right now, am on my last bit of shower oil, and love the lip balm. I would definitely make use of every tiny bit of this, but it is a bit on the pricey side.

6) Walker's Shortbread Advent Calendar ($29.99 for 24 shortbread cookies) - What a true delight. A cookie every day!  It does seem a bit expensive - that's more than a dollar per cookie, but it's Christmas. Why not splurge?

Does your family do advent calendars? Which of these do you think I actually bought?

1.27 Priority - 2022 Book Club Books

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write about a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-seventh day of the month is "Priority."

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In 2021, our book club managed to meet eight times. This year, we only managed to meet seven times and our next meeting isn't until January, so this is the end of it for us. Here are the books and a brief bit about how each went over with my book club.

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr - I liked this book a lot and still think about it, but I'm not sure I fully understood what I was supposed to take from it. Lots of good discussion about this one and I think it's a great book club choice.

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell - My book club peeps loved this one. I didn't care for the writing style or the graphic depictions of domestic violence.

The Art of Losing by Alice Zeniter - Not a successful choice for our book club since no one but me finished it. I did learn some world history, but it was a slog.

Dark Lover by J. R. Ward - I jokingly recommend this book because this is the first book in a series, the Black Dagger Brotherhood, that actually does follow long-term relationships. I honestly love this series and was pleased that most of my book club members also accepted this book for what it was worth and thought the worldbuilding was interesting.

What's Mine and Yours by Naima Coster - Beautiful writing, but the structure was just a bit too confusing for us. It was an interesting discussion, but I'm not sure I'd recommend this one.

Raft of Stars by Andrew J. Groff - Local author and our outdoorsy people really liked this one. I sort of skimmed it because the child abuse was just a bit too much for me.

Writers & Lovers by Lily King - Not a book we enjoyed overly much, but is much beloved by my readers here and in the greater world of book nerds. 

In general, I think I'd recommend Cloud Cuckoo Land and Hamnet for other book clubs. I am not sure exactly why so many of them were blah this year, but that's the reality we faced. 

1.26 Moment - Things I Love Right Now

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Every day we write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-sixth day of the month is "Moment."

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San regularly writes posts where she lists her favorite things of the moment and I'm always amazed that she has new things to talk about. I mostly just rely on old standbys, so I would rarely have enough to fill a post beyond my Kindle, the public library system, my special pillow, my SAD lamp, and my podcasting app (Podcast Addict, if you're curious), but I thought I'd mention a few of my favorites that I haven't mentioned recently or at all. 

1) Jockey Skimmies - I'm a lady who wears dresses. I mostly only wear dresses, to be honest. And I'm also a lady who has curves. So that means my thighs can chafe when I wear dresses and for years I used to avoid wearing dresses because of this reason. Enter Jockey Skimmies. They're lightweight and prevent all chafing and are absolutely wonderful.  I have them in a variety of lengths in beige and rarely wear a dress without them.  

2) Chom Chom Roller - Do you have a dog who sheds no matter what the season is? Or a cat who constantly rubs up on the corner of the couch closest to where you usually sit as she angles for pets? Well, let me tell you - you need a Chom Chom roller. Hannah the Dog regularly sits by me when I'm the couch and I just absentmindedly pet her and by the time we're done, there's a giant pile of dog fur on the rug. I don't want to get out my vacuum to clean the mess, but the Chom Chom can remove it. You can also use the Chom Chom to clean very disgusting cat trees. Ask me how I know. Anyway, if you know a pet owner who doesn't have one of these guys, spend the $20 and get them one for Christmas.

3) Canmake sunscreen - In my sunscreen roundup, I dithered about what my favorite sunscreen was, but I want you to know that I have settled on Canmake and don't regret it. It's lightweight, moisturizing, and scent free. What more can you ask for out of a sunscreen?

4) Fanny May S'mores Snack Mix - I was at Costco without my husband and I browsed a tiny bit and this accidentally fell in the cart. You know, as that happens. It's freaking delicious and if I ever see it again at Costco, I will definitely be getting more of it.

5) Helping Hands from Lush - The eczema on my hands is exacerbated by stress, so you can probably imagine how it's going these days. I've found that if I use Helping Hands on a regular basis, I can usually get away without the topical steroids I sometimes use to treat my eczema. It doesn't irritate my hands and it has a scent that goes away almost instantly. It's a tiny bit greasy, but if you rub it in, that doesn't last long. I've found very few skin products that work for me (basically it's this or Vanicream), but this one is great if you have sensitive skin.

What's something you're recommending to everyone these days?

1.25 Relationship - On Shopping: 800 Words on Groceries

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-fifth day of the month is "Relationship."

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A while back, I wrote that I had been to Costco without my husband and it was a game changer for me. Kae wrote a comment that she and her husband rarely go to the store together because it seems like a waste of time for them both to go and she was happy to go to the store without him most of the time. So I'm going to talk about shopping because I have a very different philosophy about it and I bet your philosophy is different from either of ours. 

We do go grocery shopping together every week. We like to go on Friday nights because the store is pretty empty then. If we can't go on Friday nights, that's a real bummer and it can throw off our entire schedule. We go to a big warehouse grocery store called Woodman's. 

I. Why We Go Together

I'm picky about some stuff and my husband is picky about some stuff. I will not have anyone else choose my produce. I just won't. This is one reason why I do not think we will ever use a grocery delivery service. If I'm going to buy a bad cantaloupe, I want to know it's because I picked out a bad one. I write "breakfast fruit" on the grocery list because I know I need to buy fruit for breakfast, but I don't know what I'm going to buy until I get there and look around. If I sent my husband to the store with "breakfast fruit" on the list, he'd probably bring back apples in March and oranges in July. (Those would be bad times for those fruits, in terms of seasonality.)

My husband's food issues are much discussed here, but as a brief recap, he has celiac, an intolerance to many grains, including wheat, rye, and barley, and he has a metric ton of other mild allergies to foods. He also is just weird about packaging and sell by dates. His neuroticism about food makes it incredibly challenging to shop for him. As an example, we used to buy Busch's chickpeas, but there was a batch that was a tiny bit weird (there was a smell to them) about a year and a half ago. Since then, he will not buy any Busch product at all and we have switched to using a brand called S&W. However, the S&W brand is frequently beat up in transit from what I can tell and the cans often have dents. He will go through them making sure the dents aren't at any seams and I DON'T HAVE TIME TO KEEP TRACK OF ALL HIS DUMB ISSUES WITH CHICKPEAS. So he must go with me to the store so he can deal with his own eating disorder. I am not here to enable him.

Lastly, and I think this will make Kae roll her eyes, I like going with him. Going to the grocery store sucks and is boring and tedious and all the other people annoy me. He's funny and charming and sings Bon Jovi with me as we go down the aisles and sometimes, if one or both of us have had a busy week, it's the most time we will spend together in days. It's nice to punctuate the end of the week with this one thing we do together.

II. Why Woodman's 

Our local grocery store is probably a fourth the size of Woodman's. The gluten-free aisle at our local grocery store really only has one granola option, but at Woodman's we have half a dozen. Woodman's is significantly cheaper, too. I recently ran to the local store for a three day run and the price was roughly equivalent to what we spend for six or seven days at Woodman's.  We drive about twenty miles to get to this store and I don't see us changing our system any time soon.

III. My Dream Scenario

In an ideal world, I would love to be able to do most of our grocery shopping at a discount grocery purveyor like ALDI. However, I have been there once or twice and I just don't find the labelling clear enough about the gluten free status of what we consider basics, like cheese. I also feel this way about Trader Joe's, although it's been near a decade since I've been inside a TJ's, so that may have changed. TJ's has terrible parking lots, too, so that's a thing that deters me from going there. 

In this ideal world, we would also have access to a co-op or bakery that does decent gluten free baked goods in a safe manner. When we lived in Minneapolis, we used to go to a co-op that had an okay GF bread that made amazing French toast. But most of the places here don't have GF specific kitchens and my husband's celiac is sensitive enough that the risk of cross-contamination is too great for us to trust those sources. So here we are. 

Do you shop with your spouse? Why or why not? 

1.24 Family - Gratitude

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Every day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-fourth day of the month is "Family."

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I'm not going to lie to you, my friends. I'm not writing this on Thanksgiving. I've written it most of it ahead of time because there's no way I'm going to fit it in otherwise.  A piece of gratitude for every day of the month.

Things I am grateful for:

1) My wonderful husband. I won't be too mushy about it, but he's supportive, hilarious, and just that right combo of grumpy and smart that gets me right in the heart.

2) Zelda the Cat and Hannah the Dog. Look, we are two child-free people who honestly would have very little to talk about it if weren't for the antics of our pets. Also, look at my kitty and tell me that you wouldn't do whatever she wanted you to do.

3) Evenings alone in the house. I don't get them as often as you might think, but being alone in the house is a blessing.

4) Access to modern medicine. I had to have a procedure done today and while it wasn't fun, it always wasn't terrible and it relieved my mind greatly. 

5) My mom. We texted about her dog today and she's so obsessed with him. I get it. He IS really cute, although maybe my feelings should be hurt that she's crazier about him than she is about me?

6) The ladies in my book club. Smart women who have smart things to say and also will let me talk about my dog endlessly.  I mean, what's not to love?

7) Yoga at the community center. Such a nice way to start the week.

8) The ability to vote. Things are kind of scary right now, but at my polling place, it was busy, but normal. There were no skirmishes, no raised voices, and it's such a privilege to be able to cast a ballot.

9) Can I hear it for my bloggy friends?  You guys, under the fearless leadership of San, NaBloPoMo has been a rousing success. I've found new blogs and have felt really supported throughout my job search and stress over a certain dog whose precarious health seems to be improving.  This blogging community is real and important.  So many people participating!   Let's bring blogging back to the mainstream. (Ha ha ha!)

Beckett • http://birchwoodpie.blogspot.com
Elisabeth • http://www.elisabeth-frost.com
J • http://jellyjules.com
Jamie • http://mostgladly.com
Jenny • http://www.runnersfly.com
Meike • http://www.homehereandthere.wordpress.com
Melissa • http://www.thebrightonjotter.com
NGS • http://www.ngradstudent.blogspot.com
Rachel • http://www.rachelinwales.com
San (me!) • https://www.theinbetweenismine.com
Sarah • http://www.harrytimes.com
Stephany • http://www.stephanywrites.com
Suzanne • http://www.lifeofadoctorswife.wordpress.com
Tierney • http://www.portmanteausuitcase.com
Tobia • http://www.craftaliciousme.com
Zenaida • http://www.zenaida.net

10) My giant extended family. One of my cousins called me because of family drama and it was so nice to just realize that I am part of a huge network of people.  The gossip's nice, too.

11) The library. It goes without saying that I could not possibly afford my own reading habit and all the great work that libraries do should never go unnoticed.

12) A Saturday with nothing on the calendar. Is there anything better than being able to sleep in and just read books on the couch all day?

13) A safe, warm home. Such a blessing to live where we live in this gorgeous old house.

14) Long-term friendships. Two of my best friends live in Columbus and I was able to see both of them just last month. My accountability buddy lives in New Hampshire and it's such a delight to be able to chat with her every day, even if it's just a quick check in.  

15) Finding a replacement for the ED at the community center. It's such a relief for me.

16) My fearless fitness instructor. I was asking her for a favor outside of her actual job of teaching fitness classes and she really came through and did far more than she needed to.

17) Hannah's neurologist. She's so good with Hannah and has not given up, even when Hannah was not helping by being a difficult case. She's consulted with other vets, called me after hours, and takes such good care of my dog. I am so grateful there are medical specialists like this in veterinarian care. 

18) The ability to do my job interview. Even if I don't get the job, it was good to get the experience of doing it and it gave me confidence that I'm a desirable candidate. 

19) My heated vest. It was so cold today and having my vest made walking Hannah much more pleasant than it would have been without it.

20) Safe places to walk the dog. We have so many options for where to go when we leave the house. We can basically go in any direction and have a lovely walk. We are so lucky to live where we live with sidewalks, safe neighborhoods, and lovely views.

21) Cell phones. How did we even keep in contact with our loved ones without them?

22) Having a husband who doesn't flinch when I call him into the bathroom to look "at this weird rash" in the morning. Ha!  What a guy.  Human bodies are weird, yo.

23) The family I married into. Sometimes I hear stories about in-laws that sound so nightmarish. My in-laws are generous, kind, and funny, although they do sometimes talk about disgusting medical things at the dinner table, so that's a tiny demerit. I'm excited we'll see them on Thanksgiving and am grateful that they welcomed me into their family lo those many years ago.

24) Bountiful food. I will not take for granted that we will have a full spread of food this year. It's hard times with inflation, food shortages, and such high travel costs that a lot of people won't be able to have their regular traditions or spend it with the ones they love and I'm grateful that we will be able to.

1.23 Atmosphere - Morning Walk

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-third day of the month is "Atmosphere."

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I am decidedly not a morning person, but it has been determined that Hannah IS a morning dog. She wants nothing more than for me to take her for miles and miles in the morning and is constantly disappointed when we hit the half-mile mark and turn around for home. Since DST, there is a little light in the mornings when we go out there, but only just. Hannah relishes this time of day and I spend most of it thinking that I should really put on warmer clothes. See, I just go downstairs in my pajamas (a sweatshirt and a thin pair of yoga pants that I bought at Old Navy what must have been more than fifteen years ago), throw on a coat and hat, and head out the door.  And we really could go for longer distances if I weren't so cold. So maybe that's something I should have a talk with myself about.

ANYWAY.

Hannah. She greets both me and Dr. BB as if she has not seen us for years every morning. She dances and prances and tries to lick poor, neglected, overpowered Zelda. She skips around the mudroom in sheer excitement when I grab her harness, making it surprisingly challenging to actually put the harness on her to get her out the door. And, oh, the excitement of everything outside.

The snow! The squirrels! The yellow snow! The fire hydrant! Leaves falling from trees! The guy in the red truck who always waves at us! OH MY HEAVENS, DO YOU SEE THE STICK?  

And this is the reason why we have pets, isn't it?  If not for Hannah, I would still be tucked inside, drinking my tea, warm and cozy. But I wouldn't feel the infectious joy of a dog rediscovering her neighborhood after eight hours away from it.