Friday Night Photos

It's only 5:00 PM as I start this, but man, it feels like it's so much later! I don't like that it gets dark so early. I actually have a lot of photos from this past week, so I'll just get right to it...

When I bought those Muk Luks from Kohl's the other day, they were in a large bag. For some reason, the cats were all obsessed with this bag! Estelle hogged it for a while, and then when she finally got out, Chick went in there and leaped out to attack anything walking by. (Don't worry, they were supervised and not in danger of suffocating themselves.)

Oh! And the Kindle Paperwhite I mentioned was only $85 a few days ago? Well, two days later the price is now $160 for the same model with the same options! I had been planning to buy one to give away on the blog, but I was going to wait to see if they were even cheaper on Black Friday. Well, that definitely did not happen. If you got one for $85, that's awesome! I've never seen them cheaper than that.

These are just some more pictures from when Luke and Riley were over. In the morning, Luke and I played a squirrel game (for ages 3+) and it was so cute! If you're looking for a cute game for kids around that age (I'd say about ages 3-6 years) this one is super easy for them to learn. It reminds me of Hi-Ho Cherry Oh from when I was a kid. Here is the (affiliate) link on Amazon: The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game

The kids love to make popcorn at my house! We use various methods of making it, which is what they find most entertaining.

Luke and I went for a walk in the morning and he loved running up the dike and then sliding down. He happened to sit down right here and I thought it would make an awesome picture.

I thought this was cute--Jerry was outlining the kids in chalk on the chalkboard clock. I just wished there was more room so he could get a full outline!

We told the kids (Noah and Eli) that we were having a family night--pizza for dinner, a board game, and setting up the Christmas tree. I was surprised that the kids were actually into it! (Clearly, Joey was, too.) Jerry was making that face on purpose--no idea why. Notice the three water bottles--one holds my water, one holds my ice, and one holds my decaf coffee. I have an obsession with water bottles!

The game we played was SUPER fun and I highly recommend it for a family looking to reconnect (with older kids--I'd say at least 12 or 13 years old). It's called "Do You Know Your Family?" (Amazon affiliate link) and it's basically a box of questions that you take turn asking. Things like:

-What do I complain about the most?

-What do I wish we could do more of as a family?

-What is my favorite family memory?

-Who is my favorite singer?

... and things like that. Then everyone has to guess what that person's response is. Keeping score was kind of irrelevant for us; we just had some great conversation with the kids and we all learned a lot about each other! (There are "challenge" cards, too, where you are supposed to do some sort of challenge for points; we just discarded those and stuck with the questions.)

The only downside to the game, in my opinion, is that you wouldn't be able to play it over and over. We went through a lot of the questions in the first game. To me, though, it was totally worth the money to even play it one time. It was a heck of a lot cheaper than a night at the movies or something and we all truly enjoyed playing it. I felt like the kids talked more to us in 90 minutes or so than they have all year! (Not really, but as teenagers, trying to get real responses to questions is like pulling teeth.)

One of Noah's questions was one thing he finds to be a disadvantage about himself, and I was surprised that his answer was his height! I wanted to see how he measured up to Eli, who is the tallest in the family at 5'10". I think Noah is about 5'7"--he really hopes to grow taller, but he's 17, so I'm not sure he will. (Most boys reach their peak height at age 16.) I don't think Noah looks short, though--I wish he didn't feel insecure about it.

Then we started putting up the tree. Jerry took some pictures, and since I was wearing all black (a black hoodie and black yoga pants), along with my black hair, I asked him if I looked like a person or if I looked like a hole in the wall; he said you could totally see me, but I laughed when I saw the pictures, because I really do look like a black hole. Hahaha!

Duck was SO FUNNY the entire time. He immediately climbed the tree (as I showed in yesterday's post) and then he was trying to grab the lights, garland, and ornaments the entire time.

Look how focused he is on the garland Noah is holding!

My boys <3

And here is our final tree--just before Duck climbed up and knocked several things off, hahaha. 

Do you notice the squirrel skeletons in there? ;)

Speaking of squirrels, I nearly died when I saw this review on Amazon. A reader sent me a link to these squirrel finger puppets (because I'm obsessed with squirrels, of course):

I thought they were funny, but I wondered what people did with them, so I started reading the reviews. I was crying laughing when I saw this one...

I'm not at all a fan of taxidermy, but I love that this person bought this poor squirrel to save it from going in the trash. And that they dress it up now! I would have bought it, too. Poor thing.

This meme made me laugh. Remember when I posted about my kids not putting their laundry away? (You will only understand this if you've seen Squid Game on Netflix).

So, like I said I was going to, I used my winnings from my last DietBet game to buy a new tool--this is a plunge router! (Remember how I tried using my fixed base router to cut out a circle and I almost started a fire in my garage? Well, this will keep that from happening.) I ended up winning more than the previous games I did (I got a little over $120 on a $100 bet). This router was $135, so it was close enough! ;)

I used it today to FINALLY build the jig I need to cut perfect hexagons for the cat shelves I'm making. I need to be able to cut a perfect hexagon for the back of each shelf (the part that goes against the wall). So, this will help me do that:

I was excited when I saw that the angle was a perfect 120 degrees. It's adjustable for larger and smaller hexagon sizes, and also for different angles (in case I want to do octagons or something in the future). I haven't tried it out yet, so I'm just hoping that it works! It took me a long time to build it.

And finally... I was on my own for dinner last night, so I made a huge dill pickle sandwich. I stuffed as many tomatoes and pickles on there as I could. (There was only one slice of pickle left in the jar, so I just ate that. This was a delicious Thanksgiving dinner ;)

Have a great weekend! xo

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An Ironic Thanksgiving

Today has been kind of ironic, considering it's Thanksgiving. I know I have many blessings to count (more than I could EVER count!) but everything seems to be going wrong and it was just one of those bad days--a day that I wish I could fast-forward to tomorrow.

I've been in a LOT of pain for the last two days--so I guess I spoke too soon when I said I thought the new medication was working. Then I learned that my insurance company denied my cervical spine MRI, even though they approved the lumbar spine MRI. I have so much pain in my neck and shoulders, I'm just stunned that they denied it.

I was supposed to write my weekly running recap today but I haven't been running much--only 1-2 times per week for the last couple of weeks. I don't want to blame the new medication, but I really do think it has made me tired and unmotivated to run. I don't get dizzy anymore unless I take the doses too close together (I take it three times a day) so I try to allow at least six hours between doses.

Last night was super fun, though. We had a "family night", since both Jerry and Noah were off work. We ordered pizza for dinner, played a fun game that is all about talking to one another (I'll link to it in my favorite things post--which I will publish on Saturday. I wish I'd gotten it done last week!) Then we set up the Christmas tree; this is the earliest we've ever set it up.

I'll save most of my photos for tomorrow's Friday Night Photos, but here is my favorite. Naturally, Duck was already climbing the tree before we even finished putting it together. I couldn't even see him in there, but I was trying to get him to look at me so I could at least see his eyes for a picture.

Finally, I said, "Treat?" and immediately, he popped his head out and looked right at me. It was perfect! Hahaha

I hope you all had a very happy Thanksgiving!

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Wednesday Weigh-In : Week 26

I'm losing track of the week numbers! I always have to go back and look at the previous week to see how long it's been. Now that I've hit 26 weeks, I've been working on losing the extra weight for half a year now. It does not feel that long at all! I think that because I'm being pretty relaxed about it, I don't feel like I'm "dieting" or "back on track". It just is what it is--just eating less food (a "normal" amount) by way of counting calories.

After such a large weight loss the last two weeks (because of my DietBet), I said that I was sure I was going to gain weight this week. I had been pretty strict about my calories for those two weeks and I just wanted to get back to "normal" (meaning eating a little more and not being so meticulous about my portions). Sure, I could have kept doing that to lose weight more quickly, but I'd rather relax a bit and lose the weight at a slower rate. There is no finish line, so it's not worth racing for!

Now, contradicting everything I just said (as well as my statement last week), I actually signed up for another four-week DietBet yesterday *groan*. I did it because I really want to continue to lose weight through the holidays. This time, however, I am not going to wait until the last two weeks, and then try to lose 4% of my weight in two weeks rather than four weeks.

If I eat normal-sized portions like I have been for the last six months, I think it's totally do-able to lose 4% in four weeks. So, I'm giving it a go. I did my first weigh-in yesterday, which is why I'm wearing what I'm wearing in that photo above. (I'm cringing at those tights--I bought them for running on the treadmill where no one would see them; so naturally, I'm posting a photo on the internet of me wearing them, hahaha.) Black is much more flattering than that blue. But when I do my DietBet photos, I never care how I look.

Ohmygosh, I nearly had a heart attack just now. I went to the DietBet website to see what my 4% goal is and it showed that my game is from Nov. 13-Dec. 10! I panicked, thinking that I had accidentally signed up for a game that started almost two weeks ago. Then I remembered that my sister needed help signing up for one, so she had me log into her account and I guess I never logged out. So I was looking at a game that she had joined for Nov. 13. Whew!

I have to get down to 152.4 by December 20th to win my game (that's weighing in with my clothes on--when I do my Wednesday Weigh-ins, I just wear my underwear). 

Last week, I was at 154.6; and today's weight...

I was at 155.8, so I gained 1.2 pounds. Not bad! I really thought it was going to be more, especially considering Thanksgiving dinner (we did that early with my family) and the leftover pie I ate the next day (I probably had four pieces of pie in two days). AND I'd made those pumpkin bars on Saturday. I definitely indulged this week, which is probably why I felt like I wanted to do another DietBet.

This was my Thanksgiving dinner plate... YUM. (Yes, I skipped the stuffing/dressing; I clearly was in the mood for mashed potatoes!) But my very favorite Thanksgiving item is my mom's sweet potato casserole. I could eat an entire plate of just that and be totally happy. (Here is her recipe)

So, even though my weight is up a tad, I'm happy with this weigh-in. I do hope to see a loss next week though ;)

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Requests (and a couple of cool deals)

This has been Jerry and me lately! I was going to post a Friends meme to start off today's post, but then I came across THIS Friends meme, and it seemed more appropriate, hahaha:

Sadly, I did not get any transformations to post today for Transformation Tuesday! Please please take 10 minutes this week to transform something--anything--and take before and after pictures. In August, I posted a few five-minute transformations I did, so there is always something that can be done to make a difference. Even if you think it's insignificant, you might inspire someone to clean out a closet or cut their hair, or organize their shoe rack. ;)

I also want to say that I really hope to get more people to participate in advertising your handmade items shops (like Etsy or otherwise). I only have two people participating so far, and in the past there were a lot more. This is an awesome opportunity to advertise your craft! (Especially during the holidays.) If you're interested, please check out this post for the details: Looking for Crafty Readers.

I also miss doing random "Reader Emails" posts--just fun news from readers (if you get married, buy a house, get a promotion, or anything else that you find exciting and want to share). Just send me an email and share your news (make sure to attach a picture as well).

Finally, I found a couple of cool secret deals (they're not really secret). I was super excited about them, though, and I wanted to share! You know I'm always raving about my Kindle Paperwhite. I cannot tell you enough just how much it has changed my reading life. I never used to read books, but I've already read over 20 books this year!

Here is what I love about it:

1) It is thinner and lighter than a paperback. It is much easier on my hands (which I now know have arthritis). It's much lighter than my iPad mini, too! I used to think that the Paperwhite was pretty much the same as a tablet, but it's not.

2) The screen looks just like a paperback page. I keep the backlight off (unless I'm reading in the dark) and without the backlight, it looks like a regular paper page.

3) There is no glare. I can read this in the sunlight outside (and I've done that lots of times!) and see it just fine.

4) I can get books instantly via my library for free, or if I reeeeeally want a book that my library doesn't have, I'll pay for it on Amazon and it's delivered instantly. 

5) If there is a word I don't know, I can just tap it and see the definition in the dictionary. Or if there is a person's name that I can't remember from the book, I can tap it and see all of the places where that person is mentioned, so I can be reminded who it is. I can also highlight things which are saved to a different file so you can go back to them later if you want.

6) It is small enough to fit in my purse and I take it with me when I know I'll be in a waiting room or in the car waiting for the kids, or whatever. It's so slim and light that I don't even notice it in my purse.

7) You can change the size of the font--I make it bigger so I can read on the treadmill, and then smaller when I'm just reading on the couch or in bed.

Before the Paperwhite, I was an old-fashioned book person--I needed to hold the book in my hands! But then I decided to try the Paperwhite and I was instantly hooked. I knew I could never go back to reading physical books again! And if you don't like it, Amazon's return policy is amazing--you just return it, no problem.

I'm not telling you this to get a commission for my review--I LOVE MY PAPERWHITE. I just have to share that! (That said, if you use my link, I may get a small commission.) I have even bought two of these with my own money as giveaway items for my blog readers--that's how much I love them. ETA: (I just looked it up, and my commission would be $3.39--so I am clearly not writing this for the commission! Haha)

Now, the not-so-secret deal that I was talking about... the 2018 Paperwhite (which is the one that I have) is now only $84.99! I actually have the 8 GB one, and it's the 32 GB one that is cheaper--which is an even better deal. You can hold literally thousands of books on the single tiny device. That's the cheapest I've seen it. There is a 2021 version, so I imagine they are trying to sell the rest of their stock of the 2018 version. I don't know if there is a difference in the new one, but it costs quite a bit more.

Okay, if you are convinced to buy one and give it a try, I'd be thrilled if you'd use this link (it doesn't cost you anything more): Kindle Paperwhite (2018) 32 GB. 

(I was confused about the "with ads" or "without ads" option (see below). If you get the "with ads" option, it just means that the screen saver if you leave the Kindle on for a long time will show ads. There are no ads shown while you're reading or anything like that. It's $20 cheaper, so I would definitely do that option.)

These are the options to select if you want to get it for that price:

ETA: I just looked again on--November 25--and the price is back up to $159.99!

One more item that I wanted to share about today is that Kohl's has a Black Friday sale for Muk Luks slipper boots (I call them my house shoes because I am always wearing them around the house) for only $8.49! (They're $9.99 and then with their coupon for 15% off, they end up being $8.49.)

I LOVE my Muk Luks; Becky bought me a pair for Christmas a few years ago and I was hooked ever since. But they're expensive! On Amazon, the kind I like are $30. When I saw they were only $8.49 today, I bought two pairs for myself and a few more as gifts. These are a perfect gift for pretty much any woman you know. (I do not get any sort of commission for these--but I was excited about the sale.)

Here is the link to my favorite models on the Kohl's website: Muk Luks Fawn Bootie Slippers, Muk Luks Amira Slippers and Muk Luks Hazel Convertible Slippers.

I planned (and still am planning) to do a "favorite things" post this week. I like to share some of my favorite things--some of them make the list every year, like my Paperwhite! But it's a fun post to do. I'd better start working on it; the holidays have arrived. Yikes!

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Measure Twice, Cut Once

It's 9:27 PM as I start this (there is no way I'll get it done before 10:00, which is when I usually publish my posts) and I just got in from a run. In the dark! The craziest thing happened today... I got a burst of energy in the afternoon(!) and it lasted all evening (which led to the run).

I used to have energy in the afternoons until my chronic pain started a few years ago. I started getting tired earlier and earlier in the day and the list of things I could no longer physically do was growing. (Still no real diagnosis--my doctor is calling it fibromyalgia for now, but still testing.)

I still have the pain, but I started a new medication after my last appointment with my rheumatologist and I think--I THINK--it might be helping! I've tried so many different meds this year while trying to figure out what's wrong with me and nothing helped even a little bit.

The past few mornings, I've gotten out of bed without moaning and groaning and so hunched over I could barely walk. The main pain that I still have is the old one--the very specific spot on my back (my T10-T11 vertebrae)--that's been there for 30 years. I don't want to downplay it, because when it really hurts, it hurts badly enough to make me just lie in a ball and cry. There is also a new (very bad) pain in my L5-S1 area (lower back). I feel super confident that it's a herniated disc. But the other pain I've been feeling all over my body seems to be getting better.

I really hope that the medication is working and I'm not just having a good day. I have an MRI scheduled for December 2nd, and I really hope that it shows something. (Interestingly, she ordered it for my cervical spine (neck) and lumbar spine (lower back) but not my thoracic spine (where the T10-T11 pain I have is). My neck and lower back have been really bad, though, and the x-ray showed some enough degeneration to prompt the MRI, so we'll see.)

My dad told me he had a project he was working on and asked if I could help with it. He was making a chess board out of an old piece of plywood (repurposed from something or another). He put all the squares on it, but they weren't quite square to the board, so he just wanted me to square it up.

This is no big deal--like seriously a three minute task--with a table saw and a miter gauge. You just set the angle of the miter gauge and cut.

Now, I have some pretty cool tools, including the fancy saw I splurged on recently; but I don't have a miter gauge! A miter gauge to a woodworker is like a skillet to a chef. It's just a given! There was one that came with my saw (albeit a poor quality one, but a miter gauge nonetheless), and it broke. So I've been without a miter gauge for months, trying to get by with jigs and other tools. (A good miter gauge is expensive--$150-250--so I've been waiting to get one. I don't want to buy a cheap one only to have it break again, so I'd rather wait and get a good one.)

Anyway, my dad dropped off this board as well as another board that he wanted squared up to the same exact size as the chess board he was making. I figured I could get it done in an hour or so, if I got creative with my other tools.

I finally decided to use my router to get one clean edge, then move it over to the table saw to get another clean edge. Then use a table saw jig to cross cut each end.

It did not go as planned.

I was really worried I was going to mess up the chess board he so carefully painted, so I was careful about my cuts. It took forever, but I finally got it nice and square with the edges how he wanted them. Next up was the easy part! Cutting down the plain board to the size of the chess board.

The board was not at all nice looking, so I cut away the bad edges, keeping the best part in the center. I had three cuts done, and was on to the fourth and final cut. I laid the chess board on top to make sure it would be perfectly sized and I drew a line (there were already a couple of other lines on there).

I carefully made the cut on the table saw, and was happy when I saw that the whole thing was square. Then I realized that it was too short on one side!

When I put the piece up to the table saw, I was thinking that the cut line was the innermost line; but it should have been the outermost line that was on there. I got confused about which line I'd just drawn, so it was a an inch or so too short.

I was grateful I didn't screw up the chess board, but I felt terrible about the other board. I had a very nice piece of oak plywood that I was saving for something special that might come along (when I have nice plywood, I get very excited about it--I can't buy it often because I don't have a way to get it home). So, I reluctantly pulled it out to measure it, and it was just slightly bigger than the chess board--so it was perfect to use as a replacement.

My dad hasn't picked them up yet, so he doesn't know about my mistake, but he got lucky in a way--the oak plywood is so much nicer! ;)

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How Gratitude Can Lead to Generosity (a project by my friend Erin)

I am super full and tired--we just had Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house because it worked into everyones schedules better than Thursday. I didn't eat anything all day, knowing I was going to be having a big dinner, and I definitely splurged. I limited myself to one plate of food, however, so I didn't go too crazy.

As always, my favorite thing was sweet potato casserole. When I asked Luke what his favorite food on his plate was, he said, "this orange stuff" (meaning the sweet potato casserole). That's all he wanted to eat! ;) (Here is my mom's recipe for it--it is SO SO SO good.)

Anyway, a blog reader-turned-friend of mine, Erin, posted something on Facebook recently asking for water bottles. Here is how she explained what she'd like to do...

"I've lived a pretty sheltered life, in the suburbs where homelessness isn't as obvious as it is in bigger cities. I now work in the downtown Indianapolis area and I see so many people that are homeless and it makes me uncomfortable to stop at a light and see them.

It reminds me of how fortunate I am and I've tried to get to the bottom of why I felt so uncomfortable seeing them. I think it was because I knew I could do something, even something small to help. Up until this point, it was easier to ignore them. I was thinking about it one night and saw a post on Pinterest and knew I wanted to use large-mouth water bottles to package the goodies; they can use it for water or to keep their things dry.

I will fill the water bottles with moisture wicking socks, hot hand warmers, a food gift card, and $5 cash. I hope to continue to hand these out all winter and give them to others to had out if they want to as well."

I absolutely love this idea! I sent her an Amazon gift card to buy a couple of water bottles, but then I wanted to share this to make it even bigger. Before I go on, I have to say that I adore Erin--you would, too, if you knew her. Remember when I had a reader meet-up for the Indy Mini in 2017? 

Well, I ended up walking with Erin for the whole race and her story just sounded more and more unbelievable. She's been through so much--including beating cancer. TWICE! And she's one of the most humble people I've ever met. If I didn't truly believe she was doing this out of the pure goodness of her heart, I wouldn't be sharing it.

So, if you're feeling generous and/or especially thankful this time of year, this is the perfect opportunity to help out someone who is in need! Erin is doing this on her own, with or without donations, but she could do a lot more with others' generosity.

Here is an Amazon Wish List that she created for this purpose. If you purchase something from her list, it gets sent to her and she'll package it up in the water bottles to hand out. Here is one of the bottles that she made:

This one has socks, hand warmers, a gift card for food, and $5 cash

With her Amazon Wish List, she can put a big variety of items in there. I am sure she will be happy to give updates on how it's going.

This Thanksgiving, I am so grateful that Noah and his friends weren't hurt in their car accident. I can't stop thinking about how bad that could have been, especially if they hadn't been wearing seatbelts. He was super sore for a couple of days afterward, but he's doing much better now. Mentally, it hit him the next morning; he couldn't stop thinking about how lucky they were. But he's not fearful of getting in a car, so I'm glad about that.

Well, if you're looking for a little something you can do to help someone in need this season, make sure you check out Erin's Wish List. I know that she will appreciate anything that she can get to supply these water bottles!

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HERITAGE RECIPE: Pumpkin Bars

"This is the best heritage recipe you've ever made!" -- Jerry, as he's eating his third bar in a row.

Jerry and the kids LOVED these (as did I). I knew that they were great when Jerry said he liked them better than pumpkin pie. Pumpkin pie is his favorite! And honestly, these bars really are the perfect dessert (not just for Thanksgiving, but any time). I had told Jerry he could take them to work tonight (so I don't eat them all) and the kids said, "No! Keep them here." 

This recipe was submitted to the Rockwood, Michigan Area Historical Society by Joan Pickens. I searched, but found absolutely NOTHING about her online; usually, I'll find a relative or obituary or something and then go searching that way. But I just can't find anything about her, unfortunately. 

I chose this recipe simply because I wanted to make something festive for Thanksgiving-time, as long as it wasn't pumpkin pie. I love cream cheese frosting, so that's what pulled me in. It was actually the bars, however, that had me saying WOW.

As always, when I make these recipes I don't alter or substitute anything--I try it exactly as-written. Here, I am writing it word-for-word, but in the "printer-friendly" version, I've typed it out to include my own notes.

I don't normally write "You have to make this!" on my recipes posts, but I am going to state that here: YOU HAVE TO MAKE THIS. The bars have this perfect texture that is hard to compare with other foods. It's dense and spongy, kind of like a very moist spongy pound cake. The cinnamon gives it the festive-pumpkin taste without being too "pumpkin spice-y". (Yes, I'm making up words.) And I don't even have to describe the cream cheese frosting--YUM.

Just make these bars--you will be so glad you did!

Here is a printer-friendly version!

Pumpkin Bars

2 c. sugar
2 c. pumpkin
4 eggs
1 c. oil
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix by hand in a large bowl the pumpkin, sugar, eggs, and oil. Add flour, mixed with soda, cinnamon, and salt. Grease and flour a 15x10-inch jelly roll pan. Pour in mixture and bake 25 minutes at 350 F. (Do not overbake.)

Grease and flour a 15x10-inch jelly roll pan. Pour in mixture and bake 25 minutes at 350 F. Do not overbake. (I did mine for exactly 25 minutes and it didn’t look “done” to me—but I pulled it out anyways and it was PERFECT.) Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

6 oz. softened cream cheese
2 sticks softened butter or oleo
2 tsp. vanilla
4 c. powdered sugar

Mix with mixer.

My Notes:

All of the ingredients are very self-explanatory. I used canned pumpkin in the bars since it didn't specify that. For the frosting, I used butter (just because it tastes better).

The mixture had the texture of a thick cake batter when I poured it into the pan.

It was interesting--I set the timer for 25 minutes, because it said not to overbake, and it definitely didn't look "done" to me when the timer went off. However, I pulled it out anyways, and later, I learned that it was perfect just the way it was. So, set your timer for 25 minutes and pull it out no matter what you think when you see it. It won't look much different than when you put it in!

Just trust the recipe!

The frosting was easy to make--I just threw the ingredients in the mixer and let 'er rip until it was the fluffiest, most delicious cream cheese frosting ever.

I put (most of) it on the bars (I'm embarrassed to say how much frosting was "leftover" in the mixing bowl, hahaha).

(Yes, that is a skeleton hand in the background. He's sitting at the snack bar.)

I cut it into 20 pieces; the bars are pretty thick, so each piece is pretty satisfying. Except you'll still want more because it's just so good! Seriously. Go make these!

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Friday Night Photos

This is going to be a quick post--well, I'm going to try to make it quick, anyway--because Luke and Riley are here for a sleepover. Riley is three and Luke is four years old, which means it's crazy busy at my house right now! Haha. (I'm not going to proofread this when I'm done, so excuse any typos.)

Can you believe this is a single serving of cashews?! It's 160 calories for this tiny little amount. I usually have an ounce of cashews and an ounce of almonds in the evening (along with some vanilla wafers!) and every time I measure these out, I can't believe how few cashews you get in a serving.

I took out some old clothes to try them on (I also moved my mirror temporarily to my bedroom, so I wouldn't have to walk back and forth to the bathroom). I tried on these pajamas that the kids got me for Christmas a few years ago--there is a cat pouch on the front, and the cuffs even have little toe beans. Estelle actually really likes being in there! Haha.

It's funny how the cats all like to sleep right up against the heater vents. They each have their favorite spot. This is where Duck has been hanging out.

Noah had some friends over and he asked me if I had any ideas how to keep everyone off their phones so they could actually interact (it drives him crazy when everybody is on their phones). So I went old school and made a game that I used to play in college--we called it "The Forehead Game" (yes, we were drinking when we made it up!).

We wrote a famous person or character (someone that everybody would know) on a post-it and then put it on someone's forehead without them seeing it. Then we went in a circle asking yes or no questions to guess who we were. (I wrote out a bunch of the post-its beforehand so that the kids wouldn't have to think of people on the spot.)

The bonus? I told the kids that they can't use their phones at all because then they might accidentally see their reflection and know who was on their forehead! It actually worked. Afterward, I busted out some Shrinky Dinks and the teens loved it! It was so fun to see teens doing something that I used to do way back in the day. They made several of them and we watched them shrink in the oven. Then I added keychains to them.

I have been SO TIRED this week. I had an appointment with my rheumatologist and she prescribed a new medication to try. I had a couple of side effects--dizziness and exhaustion. The dizziness was weird--I would turn my head and it felt like it took my brain a moment longer to turn with my head. (Yeah, that sounds ridiculous.) Thankfully, that only last a couple of days. The tiredness is getting better, but I'm still feeling it. This pic was from Day 2 on the med and Chick curled up on my chest. We laid like that pretty much all afternoon. It was so hard to keep my eyes open.

I didn't get any runs in last week--I was just too tired and dizzy. Hopefully back to it this week!

The doctor also ordered an MRI of my cervical spine and my lumbar spine. That's on December 2nd, and it's pretty much my last hope of finding answers. I really hope it shows what's going on.

Phoebe has made a new friend... she loves lying between the skeleton's legs for her naps! She's so funny.

This has been my favorite lunch for weeks now! Toast (on good bread) with butter and peanut butter (it has to be Smucker's Natural--that's my favorite). And fruit--right now, I have lots of raspberries because they were on sale this week.

 

Riley actually asked me if she could sit next to the skeleton for a picture to send to my mom! Hahaha. 

Riley found my giraffe hat and looked adorable in it!

Noah has a pretty extensive computer set-up in his bedroom for gaming, and Riley was fascinated with it. She basically became a podcaster as soon as she saw the microphone.

Here is a video, too--so cute!

Finally, here is a funny video of the kids playing with Chick. Chick loves to be covered with a blanket and then for someone to poke the blanket--he grabs at your fingers and it's always startling even when you're expecting it.

Okay, I'm going to play with the kiddos some more--have a great weekend! xo

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