Category Archives: 31 Days Of Writing

I had something else planned for this, 10th day of 31 days. But I just found out that it is getting pushed back a bit. I’ll leave you with this nugget of wisdom instead.  From this day forward, I declare that they only person allowed to make me feel guilty is ME.

This post is part of a 31 day series about Big Girl Panties. Click here to read the rest of the series. 

Everyone in my area knows that the REAL Santa can only be found at the Yankee Candle Flagship store, where he works all year. Except for his days off. Then Mrs. Claus flies in, of course.

I’ve taken Malone to see him on numerous occasions. In the summer months Santa spends his time sitting in his workshop, dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and folding origami. As it moves closer to fall, he changes into a lumberjack type outfit complete with suspenders. And for winter, well you know he wears his dress suit! And in case you’re wondering, Santa’s workshop is filled with toys…that you can buy. Yankee Candle is no fool.

See.. here is sweet baby Malone and Santa circa 2009.

So, fast forward to last Friday morning. I and several of my friends are sitting in a funeral, listening to and honoring the wonderful legacy our friend Eric’s dad left. The man in the front row of the choir behind the pastor looks very familiar to me, but I can’t put my thumb on it.

Somewhere between “Amazing Grace” and “I Did It My Way”, it dawns on me. THAT is the REAL Santa. And he’s AT my friend’s dad’s funeral.  A Celebrity sighting!

What happened next is something I am quite ashamed of. I basically PUNCHED the person I was sitting next and yell whispered (yeah, like YOU’VE never done that before.. don’t even try to say haven’t), “Oh my goodness! Look! That guy in the choir it is SANTA!!!!!!!!!!!! THE REAL  YANKEE CANDLE SANTA IS HERE!!!”

Because, obviously I’m six years old when it comes to Santa sightings.

And then I reached for my phone. To take a picture of Santa at a funeral. Because, of course it would have been the most epic of all epic Instagrams. I would have been Twitter Famous.

Then I took a really deep breath, put phone away, and remembered.

I WAS AT A FUNERAL.

Not only that, I was there to support my friend who had just lost his dad. This wasn’t a wedding I crashed, I came here on purpose. I rearranged my day because I wanted to be near my friend. To sit in silence. To mourn with him. To give him a hug and tell him I know just how hard it is to lose a parent.

And then I felt like a huge oversharing jerk. I know I DIDN’T do it. But I thought about doing it, which is basically kind of the same.

I spent my drive home reflecting on what social media means to me and what is okay and what isn’t.

I realized that Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram are stealing too much of my time. Time that I never seem to have enough of to WIN against my to do list. Time that I could be using to play or read with Malone instead of reading the SAME status update I read from a friend when I looked at Facebook an hour ago.

I went to bed that night with new limits for myself and social media. Both how much I consume and how much I put out. I am working towards finding a balance in all of it.

Disclaimer- I spoke to my friend about this before writing this post to make sure he was okay with it. He said yes, and that Santa has been going to his church since he was a little boy. Also, I know that this person has a real life and a real name, but I don’t know it. So Santa it is. 

Do you struggle with your social media consumption? If you saw Santa in an unusual place, would you try to capture a picture too?  Let me know in the comments below.

This post is part of a 31 day series about Big Girl Panties. Click here to read the rest of the series. 

 

This one really speaks for its big girl panties friend self.

I will tell you this, there was a time in my life when I let things stew instead of going to my friend- you know, like a “real” grown up probably would have. As it turns out, she’d been holding back too. Our little things turned into big things. And one day, those big things turned into a hot mess knock em out drag em out epic battle. We both hit below the belt and said dirty UGLY things to each other.

Because of the below the belt punching we BOTH participated in, things between us have NEVER been the same. And to be honest, I’m not sure they ever will. I own my mistakes and she owns hers. 

And when we see each other, we’re friendly to each other. But I’m not so sure that we’re friends anymore…

Big Girl Panties lesson learned.

This post is part of a 31 day series about Big Girl Panties. Click here to read the rest of the series. 

I am a helper. Helping people brings me SUCH joy, it really does. Volunteering makes my soul sing. And not only that, I am an ENFP  so I’ve got the kind of personality that dives into new things hard and fast.

A few years ago, I dove head first into too many things. I was hardly every home. Combine that with working part time and being  a full time mama and wife and it was a recipe for disaster.

And on top of it all, I didn’t REALLY want to be doing any of those things that I was running to. I wanted to be home with my husband  and baby after work. I wanted to take my weekends slow and not spend my time going in circles. I carried a lot of the weight of the world on my shoulders because of this volunteer position. It was stressful. And that stress came home with me.

It took me stepping back from everything and spending a few days in my tiny hometown in Illinois to gain some perspective. But then I realized something really important. I HAVE A CHOICE with how I spend my time. And that includes volunteer work. If it was no longer mutually beneficial, it was time to part ways.

It was the right move. Since then I’ve added a few bits of volunteer work back into my life, but I have gotten MUCH MUCH better about not getting in too deep too quickly.

Do you volunteer? Is it for something you love doing? Have you ever felt “stuck” in something you didn’t actually want to do? Tell me in the comments below. I’d love to hear more.

This post is part of a 31 day series about Big Girl Panties. Click here to read the rest of the series. 

 

This is a super hard big girl panties lesson for me. Taking criticism with grace is SO HARD sometimes.

During my first year at my first real grown up job, I cried a lot. I cried because the constructive criticism I was getting seemed like a personal jab to my ego. It wasn’t. But for real- I spent months bawling over stupid stuff.  It took a mentor pulling me aside, investing in me, and really teaching me what growth looks like.

It’s hard. It’s messy. And sometimes it isn’t fun.

But the end result. Always always worth it.

Have you had a recent “growth” opportunity? Let me know in the comments below.

This post is part of a 31 day series about Big Girl Panties. Click here to read the rest of the series. 

Ah mistakes. I’ve made a few, including this week. I’m not going to go into a ton of deals but I wills say this- there are very FEW mistakes that can’t be fixed if you decide to own them instead of playing the blame or excuse game.

AND, if you add in an apology things usually tend to get better so much quicker than if you add in an ugly spirit.

 

Happy Saturday friends. May your weekend be restful and your coffee cup full.

This post is part of a 31 day series about Big Girl Panties. Click here to read the rest of the series. 

If you’re looking for some non big girl panties writing this is what I was up to this week at Simple Diaper And Linen.

5 Adorable Simple DIY Halloween Costumes

Big News & Behind The Scenes

You Know You’re A Cloth Diaper Lover When 

 

Confession time. Over the weekend my husband and I had a pretty big miscommunication that lead to some pretty big hurt feelings. Our house was (who am I kidding.. is) a disaster. We’ve got a newborn, a preschooler, and just about ZERO storage space. You do the math.

I spent most of the day seething until all of those big ugly feelings came out. I was TRYING to ask for help nicely. But my tone told a different story. After I exploded at him and apologized, my husband reminded me that he’s not a mind reader. It is OKAY to ask for what I need help with, especially around the house.

I had been avoiding telling him exactly what I wanted done because I didn’t want to sound like a nag. Big girl panties lesson learned- People do not live inside of my head. I need to ASK for what I need.

 

Last year, I heard about the 31 Days Writing Challenge put on by The Nester and thought it was a really cool idea. I was too late to the game and didn’t jump in. Wondering what it is? Basically, for the month of October a lot of blogland is going to be picking a theme or topic and writing about it for 31 days. Last year there were over 1200 participants. The blogger picks a topic and runs with it. So if you’re looking for some new reading material, you’re sure to find it.

I had high intentions of getting my 31 days posts done before August 1st. But then I realized that Malone and I were just having too much fun during our last days before Lola was born, so I rearranged my focus. We had more adventures and outings and less time at home where I could have wrote. I’m realistic and know that other blog and life things will come up. My goal for this

So here we are on the first day of this writing challenge and I’ve got zero written ahead.

But I’ve got an awesome topic.

Ladies and gentleman, I’m putting on my big girl panties. And I’m taking you along with me for the ride. Where will it take us, I don’t know. But I’m pretty sure at the end of it I might finally be  a real grown up.

Interested in following along? I’ll post the links to each day at the bottom of this page. Or…You can like my Facebook page , connect with me on Twitter or subscribe to my blog via the sidebar.

1. Introduction

2. Because People Can’t Read My Mind

3. On Remembering Appointments

4. {Five Minute Friday} On Writing

5. On Mistakes

6. On Criticism

7. Volunteering Is Awesome…Except when it isn’t. 

8. The One About Friendship

9. On Seeing Santa At A Funeral

10. On Guilt

11. Why I’m Okay With Ordinary

12. Medicine Cabinet Jenga Aka The Project I’ve Been Avoiding

13.  I Have Needs Too

14. On Gifts With Strings Attached

15. A Day In The Life

16. Pause For Fall In New England & The Sunshine Award

17. The King Of The Laundry

18. Grief Comes In Waves

19.

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