May 2021: Things I am Loving

I'm bringing this back. I think it is fun to look back on posts like these years later.

1.) Strawberry Honey Bunches of Oats 

Have you tasted this magic?! Bryn and I were fighting over it! So good.

2.) My Nails Painted

Let's just say that quarantine didn't do much for my inner Josephina. I didn't paint my finger nails once and I only painted my toenails when it was a dire necessity. No mani/pedis for me from my favorite nail salon. All. Quarantine. Long. Now I am all about having my nails painted and, yes, my toenails must match. I'm that person. I can't have one color on my fingers and another color on the toes. Heavens no.

3.) Going out to dinner with friends

Yes! Yes! and Yes! We have had the best time going out with friends again! It is the BEST! It is never to be taken for granted again!  

4.) Fresh Bark

I love fresh bark in my flower beds! I ask for fresh bark for Mother's Day every year. I am very picky. I only like a certain size (small) and a certain color. It can't be too red or too orangey. And...I only like to spread it myself. It puts me in a Zen state doing it! I love it!

5.) McDonald's brought back the Hi-C Orange

The fact that McDonald's discontinued this beverage a few years ago remains the biggest irritant. This was my go-to drink. I was bereft. My mom said that as an 18 month old I could recognize McDonald's and would call out my order every time we drove past. "A cheeseburger and an orange drink!" How dare they ever take this quenchy orange drink away! I am beyond THRILLED that they FINALLY brought it back. It's about time.

Things I am Loving: February

1.) Life In Pieces

My friend Mary recommended this TV show and she was right! I laughed so incredibly hard watching this show. Tyler too. It is the perfect show when you need a good laugh!

2.) The Crown: Season 4 

Tyler and I caught up on the most recent season of The Crown. We love this show! It was so good! I love all things Royal and this season was great! I love the actor who plays Prince Charles. He is one of my favorite actors from another one of my very favorite shows, The Durrells in Corfu. If you haven't watched that TV series you absolutely must!

3.) The Joseph Smith Papers Podcast

So many friends recommended this podcast to me. I really enjoyed listening to it and I look forward to many more episodes. Tyler listened too and he also liked it. It is great preparation for General Conference.

4.) Getting to Bed by 10pm

My life in a nutshell. I cannot tell you the absolute joy it gives me to be in bed by 10 pm or even earlier!!

5.) Projects!

I am starting to get back into working on my business. Farm Chicks is rapidly approaching. This month I have been working on updating Ailey's room. I found her a new desk and chair that I painted and a nice mirror for her room. I am still on the hunt for a great new bed and bedding for her. Slowly but surely and piece by piece her room is coming together. Both she and Kaiya were really inspired by Carol Hicks Bolton's store Antiquities in Fredricksburg, Texas last summer and both girl wanted their rooms decorated in the Carol Hicks Bolton style. I love it!

January: Things I am Loving

1.) Diffuser with Peppermint Oil

I have resisted the essential oil craze for YEARS. I love aromatherapy but I don't believe that smelling essential oils or rubbing them on your skin actually does much. Sorry. But I do believe that certain scents can affect mood. Smelling good smells makes me happy!! My love of all things peppermint has extended into January and as I still haven't found the perfect peppermint candle I moved on to diffusing peppermint oil. I love it!

2.) The Kardashians

Yeah, I like the Kardashians. Well...some of them. I like Kourtney and Kim. The rest...not so much. I still needed mindless TV this month and lucky for me there was a new season on Hulu.

3.) Ice Spikes/Cleats/Crampons

Whatever you want to call them. They are great! After our colossal fall while walking at the park in December; Tyler got us both some spikes. I LOVE them! We can walk and hike anywhere and at anytime. No worries about ice. This was super helpful and got us outside and enjoying nature and the fresh air. Much needed.

4.) The Morning Show

Tyler and I binge watched this show. It was disturbing and yet we couldn't stop watching.

5.) The Kansas City Chiefs made it to the Superbowl!!

This was so exciting!! I am so happy for my old hometown. Finally after years of being mocked for being a Chiefs fan there is some vindication!! LOL.

December: Things That Are Getting Me Through

1.) Chai Tea Dupe

I love chai tea but can't drink it obviously. But I created a dupe that I can make that fills the hole that chai tea left in my life 30 years ago. I love this tea with a cinnamon vanilla creamer. It gets the job done!

2.) Peppermint Scented Everything

I love the smell of peppermint! It is the smell of Christmas to me. Tyler bought 6 bottles of the Mrs. Meyers Peppermint Cleaning spray. That stuff is AMAZING! I also had peppermint Scentsy style wax melts going and several peppermint scented candles. I am still on the hunt for the *perfect* peppermint candle. Don't waste your time on the Mrs. Meyer one. It DOESN'T smell at all like peppermint. It is awful. How does their cleaning spray smell so delicious and their candles are garbage?

3.) Heavenly Caramels or Homemade Caramels

I love caramels. Plain caramels...no chocolate on them. I have tried making them and all of my attempts have been failures. So I am EXTREMELY grateful when kind friends gift them to me at Christmas. My friend Arianne dropped off some fabulous homemade caramels and I ate them in one sitting and didn't share them with anyone. Yikes. Tyler and I randomly found some good ones...the Heavenly brand...but finding them around here is difficult. For instance we found some in the LDS bookstore in town and we found some in TJ Maxx but nowhere else. We will obviously have to buy them online to get our fix. The sea salt caramels are especially good!!

4.) Christmas Decor

I've talked about it in previous posts. I needed all the cheeriness I could get. Christmas lights, trees, decorations, decor, music, smells... you name it... it all worked together to lift my mood this holiday season. I'm going to put up the Valentine's Day decor early this year too.

5.) Pudding in the Instant Pot

This is life changing. Our family loves a good cooked pudding...tapioca, rice... you name it and we like it. But we HATE standing over a stove slowly cooking it for hours and then invariably it would scorch. It is always such a hassle. BUT... we have now cooked pudding twice in the instant pot and it turned out perfectly. LIFE CHANGING!

November: Things That Are Getting Me Through

1.) Schitt's Creek

Where has this show been hiding... I guess on Netflix. I am more of a Hulu girl. Anyway, this show made me laugh until I cried so many times. I demanded that Tyler watch it too so that he could start *getting* all of my jokes, references, and quotes. He kindly did and liked it as much as me. I even bought myself a shirt. That is love.

2.) Sweet's Orange Sticks

These are some of my very favorite candies. My Grandma and Grandpa McKinnon used to bring these to Thanksgiving and would also give them to us on Christmas. They are the taste of the holidays for me and I have eaten more than I care to admit just in the month of November. Yikes.

3.) The Crown

It's back!! I love this show!

4.) Candles

There is something so soothing and meditative about lighting and burning candles. I especially love candles with a wood wick. They appeal to my ASMR loving heart. Crackling is my favorite ASMR sound...especially wood crackling. I've got goose bumps just typing that. Isn't ASMR weird but cool?

Lighting candles in the morning and at different times throughout the day during this stressful month was very calming to me. The flame, smell, sounds...all are soothing to my soul. I've always loved churches where you can go and light a candle for someone. I wish that my church had that practice. Maybe subconsciously I am doing it myself, at my own house, in stressful seasons of life.

5.) Pecan Pie

Pecan pie is the king of pies. Enough said.

October: Things That Are Getting Me Through

1.) My Brother

My brother is the best! He really is. I am so grateful to have him in my life. With my mom gone he is my first call (after Tyler and our kids) with any kind of news or when I am feeling sad and missing my mom. He is such a great person and I am grateful to call him brother and friend.


2.) Late Notes Instagram Account

Do you follow this guy? If not, you should! Basically this Utah dad takes carpool driving to the next level. He dresses up in all kinds of crazy characters to make his grouchy teenage daughter laugh. She pretty much hates it and doesn't often laugh but I do! Hard. Go check out his Instagram account and watch all of his highlights. Hilarious.

3.) Book Podcasts

Reading has been slow to return after my mom passed away. I have had a hard time concentrating. So while I may not be reading many books I enjoyed listening to podcasts about books and growing my TBR list.

4.) Sister Wives

This show is mind numbing and that is exactly what I needed this month. Most often it puts me straight to sleep. Those women?? And Kody?? He is the worst.

5.) Gratitude Practices

My mom had me start writing in a gratitude journal right after I had Reilly. Suddenly being a new mom and staying at home all day with a baby was very challenging. My mom recommended the book Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach and bought me a copy. It really changed my life. We have talked about this book so many times over the past 23 years and how being grateful and *noticing* all of the things to be grateful for and learning to love and appreciate the simple things in our lives made both of us much happier people. This was one of the greatest life lessons that my mom gave to me. It makes sense that during one of the hardest times of missing her I didn't skip writing in my gratitude journal and still noticing and appreciating all of the things that I have to be grateful for. Thanks Mom.

September: Things That Are Getting Me Through

Slight alteration on my monthly favorite things due to present circumstances. Obviously.

1.) Beverly Our Support Animal

This puppy has gotten so much love and affection and in return she has given us so much love, peace, and emotional support. Studies show that animals can help with the grieving process. I am here to say that it is true.  Playing with, caring for, and petting animals increase the levels of the stress-reducing hormone oxytocin and decrease the production of the stress hormone cortisol. Miss Beverly has been super helpful and we all just can't get enough of her plus she humors us by sometimes wearing clothes and thinking that she is a human and not a dog.

2.) Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Sometimes you just need mindless reality tv and this is my show of choice. Watching someone other than my own siblings argue was quite soothing. Plus I have not been able to read much which has been a really crappy side effect of stress and grief.

3.) Long Walks/Work Outs

I cannot stress enough how much exercise has helped me this month. Long walks and hard workouts have been my saving grace. Tyler walks with me nearly every day (I feel like a dog needing its daily walk but it is true) and I have been able to process my emotions, feelings, frustrations, and thoughts. It is my favorite part of the day. Beyond being extremely helpful it has been necessary to keep me healthy mentally and physically.

4.) My Friends

This part makes me cry. Like beyond cry...more like ugly sob.  I cannot even express the gigantic outpouring of love that has come my way in the last two months. It is staggering and humbles me to the core. I knew that I had great friends but... wow...they are incredible! Within the tiniest fraction of time after hearing the news that my mom had passed away my kitchen was full of my friends who were organizing meals, carpool, rides to and from sports and activities, and all of our kids extracurricular activities. So many of my friends comforted our kids and made them laugh as they organized everything down to the most minute detail. Tyler and I were with my siblings...trying to cope... and these amazing friends went around me...  (I didn't even know it was happening) and had my life and my family's lives under control. So many sweet friends took the most amazing care of our family for weeks. WEEKS! They refused to stop and they wouldn't take no for an answer. I am so grateful! I cannot even say how many friends have come and cried and sat with me in my grief. We have been well cared for and well loved. It inspires me to be a better friend and a better human being in return. I am so grateful to be surrounded and buoyed up by so many wonderful people.

5.) Lounge Wear From Costco

The week after my mom died I went to Costco. I don't even know why; we had food and meals delivered for weeks but I needed something and apparently it was this lounge set. Listen... grief does not want to wear snug fitting jeans or anything with a restrictive waist band. Grief and stress need comfy stretchy pants and soft comfy shirts. I got this set in charcoal. Get a pair! You will thank me.

August: Things I am Loving

Since life changed drastically on Sept. 13th it has been hard to know what to write or to post. Everything I need to write about seems heavy and hard and yet I really miss blogging. I am posting some of my old posts that I wrote but never got around to posting. Eventually I will post about losing my mom...maybe in bits and pieces. We are doing okay under the circumstances but it has been a hard and difficult 5 weeks. Here's something a bit more cheery.

1.) My Flowers

 I grew these!!

My roses have been truly spectacular this year! Especially my white rose bush. The previous owners of our house had a few rose bushes planted when we moved in. None of the roses were scented. That is a travesty. I have done my best to plant many highly fragrant rose bushes since we bought our house. This white rose has been one of my least favorite rose bushes...no scent and mediocre blooms...but in the last few years the old girl has been surprising me. This year she knocked my socks off with her profusion of blooms. Maybe they don't have a fragrance but they sure look pretty.

This was just one stock/cane. I had huge clusters of gorgeous white roses all over this rose bush. It was a beautiful sight to see. I am hoping for another big bloom before the cold weather kicks in.

2.) Weight Training

Like I mentioned in my August post, Tyler and I have started weight training at the gym and we are loving it. I used to be really good about it but in the last year or so I have really slacked with weight lifting. Tyler doesn't love the gym and prefers to exercise outside but we made a goal to add weight training to our workouts several times a week and it has been great!

3.) Lake Days with the Little Girls

I guess Ailey isn't so little anymore but whenever Tyler and I refer to our two groups of children we always refer to our youngest two as "The Little Girls". Kam has worked so much and Reilly works full time and Tyler has had a busy summer with work so it has just been me and the "little girls" at the lake. We have had so much fun picking out our food for our "dock lunch", enjoying the water all day, doing some work around the property for my mom, and then getting a treat on the way home. (The girls only get a treat if they do work for Grandma....and they always want a treat!)

4.) DQ Dipped Cones

Our family loves DQ dipped cones. THIS is the treat of choice for Ailey and Bryn on our lake days. Lucky for us we go right by one on our way home. Ailey and Tyler love the chocolate. Bryn and I love the cherry. Reilly and Kam love the butterscotch. (I really like that one too!) This summer they had a creamsicle dipped cone and it was delicious too!

5.) Daiquiri Ice at the Grocery Store

This was perhaps the TRUE highlight of the summer!! Our family's VERY FAVORITE ice cream is Daiquiri Ice from Baskin Robbins. Imagine our joy when Kam called late one night while he was on a date to tell us that he had found it at Albertsons!! Now I know that Baskin Robbins has had some of their ice cream flavors available in the grocery store but never Daiquiri Ice!! Tyler immediately went and purchased a whole bunch. We texted Reilly who immediately went to the store near her and purchased a whole bunch. Happiness!!

A funny story about Daiquiri Ice and my Grandma Ellersick:

When we were kids we used to come up from Utah without our parents and would spend a month at the lake every summer with our grandparents. My grandparents were big ice cream fans and big Baskin Robbins fans. When we would stay out at the lake, our cousin Tania who lived in Spokane, would also come out and stay at the lake too. Often when we would go into Coeur d' Alene, which we usually did about once a week, our grandparents would take us to get ice cream. We always wanted Daiquiri Ice, our favorite, but my grandma (a devout Mormon) REFUSED to allow us to get it. By "us" I mean me and my siblings. My cousin Tania WAS allowed to order it any time she liked and did so! She would even kick it up a notch by ordering an additional scoop of Jamoca Almond Fudge which "we" also weren't allowed to get. When I asked my grandma about this injustice she replied with, "Tania, doesn't go to church." I reminded her that NEITHER DID WE!! She replied, "Well you ARE a member of the church whether you go or not and you should KNOW BETTER!!" She never allowed us to order Daiquiri Ice our entire childhoods. Lucky for us... Tania (daughter of an atheist) would sneak us a few tastes when our grandma wasn't looking. She must have thought that either there was some kind of alcohol in the ice cream or that it would give us a *taste* for the real thing! Now my grandparents on our other side (also devout Mormons) and UTAH MORMONS at that....let us order it any time we wanted. Too funny!!

July: Things I am Loving

1.) The Return of Stranger Things

As I said in my last post this was good old fashioned family TV viewing. You would have thought it was the 1980s or something with all of us in the living room watching this show. We stretched it out and made it last three weeks. (Some people watched ahead....ahem...Kam and Ailey...but they still watched with the family too. Loved it!

2.) The Return of Big Little Lies

This was not good old fashioned family TV viewing but I love it and I finally got Tyler to watch this show. I liked this season a lot more than the previous seasons because...hello...Meryl Streep and because this season passed where the book ended and so it was all new to me which was fun. Also having just been to this part of California it was even more fun to watch and think... Hey, I've been there!"

3.) Beverly as ET

Ailey texted this to me when I was in Utah and I just cannot get enough of it! HILARIOUS!!

4.) Dock Reading

Forget beach or pool side reading...dock reading is where it's at! Who wouldn't want to kick back and read with this beautiful view before them?!? Perfection.

5.) Greek Yogurt in place of Sour Cream

We officially made the switch and it was hard because we are real fans of Tillamook sour cream but we did it and we haven't looked back. It is THAT good. Greek Gods is my favorite brand of Greek yogurt. Delicious.

June: Things I am Loving

1.) Living Proof Dry Shampoo

I have tried a TON of dry shampoos! (Dry shampoo is a girl's best friend if you have hair extensions.) I wasn't a fan of most of them. They either smelled good but didn't work or the opposite they worked well but smelled terrible. Finally I DMed multiple Instagram Beauty Bloggers/Influencers (that was my level of desperation) and this one was always recommended. It is pricey but it works well and lasts a long time. The smell isn't bad either. This is my favorite dry shampoo by far!

2.) AirPods

Are they as great as everyone says. Yep! 

3.) Algenist Eye Cream

I have also tried about a million different eye creams. Every time I go to Sephora and buy something I always get a sample of a different eye cream. I don't want to pay that much money for something I don't like.  I tried a bunch before I finally found one that I like. This eye cream is so rich and soothing. I love putting it on my tired eyes before I go to bed and again in the morning. Is it getting rid of my wrinkles?? I doubt it. But it sure feels good!

4.) Armchair Expert Podcast with Dax Shephard

When the TV show Parenthood came out years ago I thought that the character of Crosby (played by Dax Shephard) was just like my brother Kirk. Same humor and personality. Turns out Crosby is just Dax Shephard being himself for the most part. Through the years I have continued to enjoy Dax and have continued thinking that he reminds me of my brother. While we were in San Francisco Kirk kept referring to Dax and Dax's podcast. Turns out Kirk loves Dax Shephard...I wonder why?! LOL. So due to Kirk's continuous recommending and quoting I started listening to Dax's podcast called Armchair Expert. I love it!  In fact, listening to multiple episodes of the podcast got us all across the big ol' state of Texas! Be warned. It is not PG or kid friendly...and they are long episodes...2 hours...but enjoyable and hilarious.

5.) Queso

Speaking of Texas... I'd be terribly remiss if this wasn't on my list for June. I ate as much queso as I possibly could as I traveled throughout Texas and it wasn't nearly enough! And no... not all quesos are alike. Texas queso is highly superior. I recently had queso at a trendy mexican restaurant and it was garbage. TEX-MEX QUESO FOREVER!!

April: Things I am Loving

Things I am Loving:

1.) Miss Beverly Beatrice Beauchamp the Pug

No further explanation needed. We bring her home next week!!

2.) Open Water at the Lake

The ice is gone! Summer is on its way!

(Seems like the dock is gone too. LOL. Time to drag it back into place.)

3.) Triscuits

It has been a REALLY long time since I've eaten a Triscuit. I am not a cracker person so I think it has literally been years since I've had a Triscuit. Well... that is unfortunate because they are delicious! We had an assortment of crackers and toppings while we watched GC and at Easter and Triscuits were the hit of the assortments! I'm not saying that suddenly I will be eating a bunch of crackers now but...if and when I do...they will be Triscuits.

4.) Early Bedtime

When everyone was sick we got into the habit of going to bed early and guess what? It was amazing! Clearly we were not getting near enough sleep before! A true 8 hours really does make you feel great in the morning! We instituted something recently..."Quiet House by 9" on school nights. Obviously our high schoolers aren't going to go to bed at 9pm...BUT...we do want the house to be quiet by then. Bryn's bedtime is 8:30pm and she is allowed to read for a half hour but she must be in bed. She very rarely lasts that long and is usually sound asleep before 9pm. It is also the cue for Kam and Ailey to begin preparing for seminary and school the next morning and that it is time to head to their rooms to finish homework or time to shower. Me, I HAPPILY go to bed!! If I can get to bed between 9-9:30 pm I am truly giddy with joy! Tyler is able to have some down time of his own then. He usually watches a show that only he is interested in; but even he is getting to bed now by around 10-10:30pm. This is HUGE for him! He is a total night owl and would go to bed most nights between midnight or 12:30 and then get up at 5am. That is not nearly enough sleep for anyone. Even he is seeing the benefits of getting more rest. We aren't great at it yet...maybe we hit a quiet house by 9 three out of five nights but it is definitely an improvement over what we were doing before!

5.) GOT is back!

I have been reading these books for about 18 years. I NEED to know how this story ends!