Monthly Medley: March 2025

Continuing to wave the white flag, but trying to get back on track a little at a time! 

Reading

I started and put down two books this month, including one by Jodi Picoult, which has never happened to me before. I guess I've decided that I'm too old to keep reading a book that doesn't hook me by about 50 pages in. I did, however, finish Miles to Go by Richard Paul Evans, which is the second book in The Walk Series. I won't jump immediately into the third, but not because the story isn't good - it's because I've found the books in this series are great palate cleaners in between darker, stormier mysteries.

Watching

Right now I find myself turning on a television show in the background and then paying zero attention to it because I'm running around like a crazy person trying to get everything done. I did, however, binge the entire first season of Doc over two days of laundry catch up and a couple of hours of working on Will's Lads senior poster. I'm excited it was renewed for a second season!

Listening To

I'm struggling to find new podcasts. I like true crime, but I need a little break from Crime Junkies and Dateline in favor of something more like Scamanda or Betrayal. I also like stories written for the podcast forum, like Deadly Manners, but I don't really like listening to actual audio books. Any suggestions?

Following

Belle of the Kitchen recently came across my Facebook feed. I liked the first couple of recipes I saw, so I dug deeper into the page and the woman behind the recipes...and discovered that I know her in real life! I'm looking forward to trying many of her recipes this summer.

Trying/Using

After finally using up all of my Billie razor blades, I officially made the switch to Athena. I loved Billie when the company first started offering razor subscriptions, but a couple of years ago they changed their formula and not in a way that improved their product. It's been surprisingly difficult for me to adjust to a differently shaped handle (is this because I'm old? 😂) but I've been really happy with the blades and the shave they provide. Plus the razors are pretty - Hallie has the Sugar Plum and I have the Frost!

I bought myself this Nikolay dance bag for my ballet shoes - as an early Mother's Day present - and I love it. The color is gorgeous (I chose "coffee," which is kind of a pinky brown and really hard to photograph accurately), and the bag is exactly the right size for my ballet needs.

We needed to upgrade Hallie's make up brushes, so we picked up both this one for foundation and this one for blush from Target. Both are fantastic, and VERY reasonably priced!

Wearing

Not much to share in the new-to-wear category in March...which is good, because in April (Monthly Medley coming soon) I bought 17,000 summer dresses trying to find one for graduation and one for a wedding we're attending in July. 

Eating/Drinking

Hallie and I have recently discovered the gloriousness that are pickle bites. (Thanks, Jenn!) While I've always enjoyed a pickle spear alongside a sandwich, beyond that I've never been a huge fan. But it turns out pickle bites - particularly the Oh Snap! and Buc-ee's brands - are the perfect snack on a road trip, or even on the short drive home from Target. 😉

I don't have any new recipes to share, however I hope I will in the months to come. I'll be trying out Belle of the Kitchen recipes, as well as recipes from my Simplified Cookbook, which Tom preordered for me for my birthday back in November and finally arrived in March! I can't wait to start working my way through her "delicious meals with effortless prep." 

Smiling About

• An orangutan mama comforting her baby...
• And a cat mama who HAS. HAD. ENOUGH. (We've all been both of these mamas...)
• As the title says, this video of mic-ed up kids learning how to play football is peak entertainment. 

Happy March, friends...and I'll you soon for April's Monthly Medley! 😂

Sweet 16

In preparing to write this post, I happened upon a description of 16 years old as "middle aged teen." It's fitting, really: at 16 years old you have three years of teenhood behind you and three years of teenhood ahead of you. It's also fitting for Hallie, who, while a middle aged teen, also has quite a few middle aged woman tendencies...maybe that's why my girl and I get along so well.

I've written this about her time and time again, and it remains true that Hallie has no interest in growing older. Where many (most?) of us don't recognize and appreciate the beauty of childhood until it has come to an end, in a wise-beyond-her-years sort of way, Hallie has seemingly always known just how precious and fleeting these years are, and that she can never go back.

And yet, she has a beautifully old soul. She likes quiet evenings at home, baking cookies and watching reruns of her favorite (circa 1996) sitcoms on television. She gravitates toward smaller, intimate gatherings with her closest friends than large, rowdy social events. I wouldn't describe her as completely confident in her own skin, though she manages to give that impression most of the time.

~

While not without its challenges, this year brought more joy and less strife than the previous one.

She said goodbye to a dance studio she'd considered her second home for more than a decade, and while making the transition to a new dance studio was emotionally strenuous, she ended up exactly where she was meant to be. 

She pushed and stretched herself a dancer, taking on her first demi-soloist and lead roles and competing for the first time. She may not yet know exactly where this road will lead - or where she hopes it will lead - but every time an opportunity presented itself she took the next step forward...even when doing so felt scary.

She has done academically well, but just as importantly for Hallie, she has done socially well, finally finding friends within the high school arena. She auditioned for and was cast in the musical (High School Musical), an experience that forced her outside of her comfort zone and helped her develop stronger relationships with kids who have similar interests and most of whom are kind and inclusive.

She has proven herself as the best little sister, and while I don't think Will understands or appreciates it yet, she has been a rock - a quiet voice, a tender heart, a calm and steady presence - for him throughout the emotional journey that is senior year of high school. The hardest part about Will leaving for college will be ending my night without hearing her call, "goodnight, Will. I love you" - which she does, without fail, every night - before she climbs into bed.

She is genuinely sweet. Not in a fake, syrupy way, but in a kind and authentic way. Her heart is tender, and she cares deeply for...all of it: family, friends, animals, the earth, humanity. She finds the good, even after she's been burned or hurt. She is strong and brave and capable, not in a bold or flamboyant way, but in a quiet, modest way. People think we look alike (we don't agree), and we certainly share the above-mentioned middle aged tendencies, but when it comes to personality, she is exactly who I hope to be when I grow up.

~

13 years ago I began the tradition (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024) of sharing a song - one that reminds me of her and encompasses what I hope for her as she grows older - with Hallie on her birthday. This year's song was an obvious choice for my sweetest 16 year old.

 

Sweet Sixteen

Momma never lies and daddy's superhuman

Time is just something to waste

And you don't know it's moving

As sure as the grass grows back and the hot sun sets

Your five best friends will be your best friends forever

Remember?

Wasn't that sweet sixteen?

Just candles and a never-broke heart

First miles on a hand-me-down car

Tryna cross those county lines

Summer nights, shotgun seats

Stealing one more kiss before curfew

Covering smoke with my sister's perfume

No ceiling on that big blue sky

Before I found out getting out of that small town

Really wasn't that sweet

Wasn't that sweet sixteen?

Turning off the news in my one-bedroom apartment

Damn, I wish I knew how good I had it back then

Back when

I was dying to be one of the popular girls

And the game rained out was the end of the world

Wasn't that sweet sixteen?

Just candles and a never-broke heart

First miles on a hand-me-down car

Tryna cross those county lines

Summer nights, shotgun seats

Stealing one more kiss before curfew

Covering smoke with my sister's perfume

No ceiling on that big blue sky

Before I found out getting out of that small town

Really wasn't that sweet

Wasn't that sweet sixteen?

~

Today she turns sweet 16. And she deserves the sweetest of years to come.

Waving the White Flag

For the the first time ever, I was SO busy - and lost track of time to the point - that I just plain forgot to finish a post. (What felt like) 100 different responsibilities pushed Friday's HFFF post so low on my to-do list that it didn't happen at all, and while I stressed about this "failure" for a few hours, I had to pretty quickly move on because (what felt like) 100 new responsibilities needed my attention. 

Because I don't have another option, I've decided to wave the white flag of surrender, grant myself the grace I'd give anyone else, and publicly declare that blog posts could be kind of spotty between now and Will's high school graduation at the end of May. Hang in there with me, won't you? I promise to return to my regularly scheduled programming once we all come up for air.   

A glimpse into (just a little bit of) the chaos of the last couple of weeks...

I may be waving the white flag, but I wouldn't trade a single minute of this. Thanks for taking this journey with me, friends.