August 26, 2022

Friday Night Photos

I'm still having a very rough time with depression/anxiety lately, so I won't get into that right now. I always try to sound more upbeat on my blog than I actually am (otherwise I get called ungrateful and a Debbie Downer). I will just say that I have had more "heavy" things thrown at me (figuratively) in the last three weeks than I have in the last three years. I will write about what I can another day.

Anyway, now for Friday Night Photos! My favorite post of the week. If I didn't post these photos they would just sit in my Photos app on my computer until the day I die, so here they are. And I'm going to do them in alphabetical order (based on what I named them), so they will will likely be all over the place. :)

Jerry sent me this picture from New York yesterday. Since he's eating a plant-based diet, he was worried about the food options up there. A local man told him to try the beans and greens--totally not something I would ever picture him ordering--but Jerry LOVED it and wants me to recreate it. So if any of you have suggestions for a good beans and greens recipe, please email it to me!


Riley's birthday was on the weekend and Becky let Riley do her make-up. I thought it was so cute!


Pretty much what our bathroom looks like right now. My favorite part is Duck poking his head out of the bathtub, hahaha.


Brian mixed some sort of compound mud to put under the shower, which holds it into place once it cures. We are going to do a shower surround (to the right in the photo) that matches the tub because the last thing I want to get into is doing tile! This is enough work as it is. Besides, I like the look of the tub and surround.


After I posted a couple of weeks ago that I saw these cat beds at TJ Maxx and I wanted them, but they were too expensive ($40), Jerry saw my post and just had to go buy them. When he went back, they were down to $30 each! Still a lot for a cat bed, but definitely a challenging DIY project, so they were worth $30 for sure.


I don't remember at ALL what show I was watching (it looks kind of ridiculous) but Duck was totally into it. I thought this picture was hilarious because the cat on TV is staring directly into Duck's soul and he clearly avoided making eye contact for fear of losing said soul, haha.


I saw these at a garage sale for $1 and they were so cute! I couldn't help but get them for Riley. The woman at the sale told me the charms were in an advent calendar (such a great idea!). So, since Riley just turned four, I let her pick four for a necklace and I told her that each time I see her, I'll let her choose another one. The ones she chose are on the bottom. Since her wrist is too small for a charm bracelet, we made it into a necklace.


There is a small space between the window and our couch, and one day I felt terrible--I saw Chick trying to look outside, but the blinds were closed and he was lying in that cramped spot between the couch and the window. So naturally, I pulled up the blinds so he could see.


I feel like I might have posted this already, but Noah went disc golfing with Jerry a couple of times and I love that they have that in common. Eli isn't interested, but he's been regular-golfing ALL THE TIME. That's how he spends most of his money from his job. Golfing is expensive--$25 each time he goes. Jerry and Noah have been bonding quite a bit, though.


Duck is pretty much the only thing that can boost my mood when I'm feeling sad or depressed. Just look at how sweet and innocent he looks in that bed!


This is kind of hard to see, but I had this canvas tote on my bed (full of dust, of course, thanks to all the plywood, drywall, and whatnot). Anyway, I was lying there and then suddenly, quick as a flash, I saw what looked awfully like a Duck-size cat arm reach out. Hahaha! He kept pulling it back in and then sticking it out again, which is how I got the picture.



While the other cats understand that these are cat beds, Chick just thinks they are for playing. He jumps on top and plays with whatever cat is underneath. And definitely, they are annoyed when they are trying to sleep.




I'd given Luke Noah's old iPod a while ago so that I could text him pictures and FaceTime him and all that. When I was babysitting them, I found it and showed him again how to use it. He was really interested in looking at the pictures he took a couple of years ago when I first gave it to him. It was cute to see what pictures he liked! Normally, those would be the pics I'd delete ;)


This was my first batch of sprouts (mung beans). It was exciting to watch them grow, but I'd hoped they'd get thicker. Did I harvest them too early? Is this what they are supposed to look like? I'm bummed because I put them in the fridge and they actually froze! I have no idea why. So I'm sprouting more right now. These filled the entire quart-size mason jar, so I didn't want to let them go longer. But I started with just one tablespoon of seeds!


These mushrooms have been quite a mystery. I'll see a big patch of them in the mulch when I walk by in the mornings (when it's shaded), and then literally a couple of hours later, the whole patch is completely gone and you can just see wilted stems. I think it's when the sun comes out that it happens! It's so odd.



So this was from Noah's last "real" first day of school. Technically, he's all college kid now (he's been taking college classes for two years), but I wanted the first day of school picture anyways. The pic on the left is from his first day of kindergarten. So sweet!


This is kind of random, but when I went garage sale-ing with my parents, I saw this dress--it's a young girls' dress--but I thought the lace on it would be great to use for altering jeans. I could use it to sew patches or to add to the hem or some thing like that. If you have any cute ideas, let me know!



Ohmygosh, when I was babysitting Riley, she wanted to paint her nails. For being a brand new four-year old, you can see she's on her way to being a nail tech ;)  (It literally looked like she had just dunked her fingertips in a bucket of paint.) The mark on her forehead is paint as well. It was also in her hair, as I later found out!


I only took a picture of this because I thought it was so odd and kind of out of place. I saw this when my parents and I were garage sale-ing. It was just in front of someone's yard. Maybe it's symbolic of something I know nothing about--who knows?!


The things you do/wear when you babysit your unicorn-loving niece are true testaments of how much I love this kid! (Yes, I wore that the entire time)


I realize this looks really gross, but I promise it tasted delicious! I used a quick homemade vegan mozzarella (it's becoming my go-to--it's delicious!) and homemade vegan parmesan. I added some Brussels sprouts and broccoli, too. It was sooo good! I don't miss "regular" pizza at all. 


Finally, and this is COMPLETELY random, but I thought I'd throw it out there as a long shot. This was the day of my wedding in 2003 and my hair stylist came to my house to style the bridesmaids' hair.


I'd gone to this stylist for half of high school and then for the next 3-4 years I think. She left to go work on a cruise ship, and now I have no idea where she is or if she's still doing hair or what. However, I would really like to reconnect with her if I can! This is the best pic I could find of her face. Anyway, her name is Niky (I am pretty sure that's how she spelled it) and she used to work in Trenton, Michigan at a salon called The Hair ID.

Sooooo... if you happen to know who she is or where she is working or any way I could get in touch with her, I'd love to know--she was the BEST. I do my own hair now, and have been ever since Niky left, but it'd be great to see her again.

And that's all I've got for this Friday night. Tomorrow, I'm going to try to get some serious work done in the garage to help take my mind off of things. Have a great weekend! xo

10 comments:

  1. Sending more hugs. I too love Friday night photos because they are so random.

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    1. I've found that by doing the Friday Night Photos, I remember a lot of things I normally would have forgotten all about. Maybe I'll print out those posts one day for a memory book--an odd memory book, but one all the same!

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  2. Be careful with beans and greens! They often are made with chicken broth.

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    Replies
    1. Good call! Jerry hadn't thought of that and now he's bummed he may have "cheated"--I told him it's fine, I'm sure it happens to all vegans/plant-based eaters at some point! But hopefully I can find a good vegan recipe for the beans and greens. I've never tried it myself, but I bet I'd like it.

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  3. The bathroom already looks amazing!

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    1. Thank you! I'm not expecting it to be one of the beautiful spa-like bathrooms that people submit for Transformation Tuesday, but I will be so happy to have downsized the bathroom itself and put in a linen closet. We don't need a big bathroom, but a linen closet would be so nice!

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  4. I love your Friday night photo posts! I'm hoping you find your old hair dresser. The internet can be a powerful place so you never know! Sending you love! <3

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    1. I really do, too. I'm sure I'd have more luck posting on Facebook, but I don't feel right about that. It's a long shot, but *maybe* I'll get in touch with her. It's funny how someone I knew for only a few years (waaaay back in the early 2000's) could have an impact on me enough for me to want to get in touch!

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  5. That statue is a statue of David and based on the Ukrainian colors underneath, I believe it is a symbol of Ukraine as the David to Russia's Goliath.

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  6. I love reading your blog and appreciate how real you are with your mental health so if it helps to post that shit DO IT! Delete any comments that aren't helpful. But if you aren't ready that is understandable. I am on a journey to be as REAL as possible so I love it when you are so open! I like all your postings and if I could just remember to take a single before picture.... :D

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I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

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