The Junk Drawer Analogy

You know that random junk drawer everyone has somewhere in their house?  It's a bit of a catch-all for those things you don't know what to do with.  I just peeked into ours and found a couple of rulers, electric tape, command hooks, a pair of kids' scissors, a random protein powder scoop, a tube of chapstick, random screws, a pair of pliers, some glue, a couple of screwdrivers, a few rubber bands, and not one, but two tape measures....plus a few more random items I can't remember.  

I was just thinking that this blog is pretty much like that junk drawer there.   It's got a bit of everything from cute pictures of my littles, random vents, updates from when Spence was sick, my goofy attempts at humor, reflections bordering on serious, and  mostly just a bunch of  really, really mundane glimpses at the day-to-day of our lives. 

There was a time {a long, long time ago}, I thought I could widen my blog audience and turn it into an income stream.   I talked to someone about what it would take and they said that successful blogs have a "brand"...or a certain air that keeps people coming back.   I thought about what my brand would be and  quickly realized that a monetized blog was not what I wanted. I didn't have any desire to be beholden to any audience.  I just wanted to post whatever strikes my fancy on any given day.  Now I realize that the junk drawer style of this blog is my brand and it's also a pretty accurate reflection on the state of my brain on any given day.  

Sooooooooooooooooooooo....get ready for the randomest assortment of happenings from my least favorite month of the year...junk drawer style!  

I gave blood last week.   I made sure I was well-hydrated and it went super smoothly.  Easy peasy. Spencer had a gazillion blood transfusions during his treatment for leukemia, so I try to donate regularly, especially every January, which is the month he was diagnosed in 13 years ago.   It's a small thing, but it is a meaningful way for me to feel like I'm giving back. 

I tried to channel my inner Ellie and  decorated a friend from PA's  door for her birthday...

I also got a chance to talk with Emma L. a bit and it was great to see her!

Afterward, I had a very exciting appointment to get my yearly mammogram done.   Once again, I have been called back for further imaging.   It's an every-other-year tradition for me. 😑

Last week, I met a new friend, A., who was staying with my Mom.  She was in town for a singles' conference and her car rental had a bit of a snafu, so I drove her where she needed to be for a day or so.  She is a political refugee from Russia and her story is fascinating.   It was great to meet her!   

On Saturday, we had a Thai cooking party at our house with Heather and my Mom.  Heather had gotten a bee in her bonnet that she wanted to try to make authentic Thai food, so she got all of her ingredients from an Asian store and we made recipes that purported to be authentic. 

Emma made massaman curry...

 

 

Heather made tom kha gai soup....

Glen and Adam made chicken pad thai.

I made mango sticky rice....

Then  we ate a delicious Thai feast!  

It was all soooooooooooo  good and I ate way too much! 

I tried adding ube to my rice to make it purple, but it ended up being a weird off-color instead.   Luckily it still tasted good!    All in all...a delicious and authentic-ish meal!

After our Thai feast, Emma had a birthday party to go to that had the theme of "dress like you're going anywhere other than a birthday party", so I offered her my pink overalls and plaid shirt for the occasion. 

She looked pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself! 

Alright, alright.   We've covered food, medical imaging, donating blood, a birthday delivery, a cute farmer girl birthday outfit, and making a new friend.   Is that enough topics for you yet?   Or should we keep rummaging through the junk drawer I call my brain and see what else I can find?   

Since I can't see or hear you, I'll just assume you can't wait for more.   So, here you go....

Ellie hits one month on her mission (as of tomorrow) and is doing great.  She seems very happy, though she seems to forget that she's not in California yet and keeps wearing short-sleeves, despite it being freakishly cold right now.

 Okay.  I'm getting to the bottom of the drawer now.   Only a couple more things left. 

One of my sisters recently sent out a text on our sisters' chat and encouraged everyone to send a selfie of whatever they were doing right then.  We may look a little scary, but...no worries...we were just preparing dinner.    I knew you'd be scared if I didn't clarify.  Haha!

Speaking of a little scary...Glen is applying for a new passport and looks a little intimidating in his passport photo.   

But, it's good that he applied, because we just bought plane tickets for our next trip!   It's a destination that's been on our bucket list for a long time and we are excited!   

And that's it. 

There are a few more crumbs I could dig out, but this is getting pretty long now and  I need to save some more junk for the next blogpost.   Thanks for reading along!    

Have a beautiful day!  💗