All in Healthy Family
Team Pinches
My son was extremely mad at me tonight because I took him to hockey practice. Apparently the talks in the car on the way to school this morning or after football didn’t sink in. Fortunately for me, when I picked up my son and his teammate after hockey, all was good again.
Giving Props
There will be a thoughtful point to this post but it may take a story or two to get us to it.
I got married later in life, I was thirty-three. I once had a career in advertising and I made three times the amount my boyfriend (before he was my hub) was making during that time. But a year or two before we got married, because of total burn out, I became a pre-school teacher. It actually cost me money to be a teacher because my income was practically nothing after my expenses. {SIDE NOTE: the Thoughtful Pinch blog exists because teachers are special people}.
My Helpers
When I first got married I was taught early on that I would need help around the house because of the hours my hub would be putting into his career. Since I had never had to hire anyone before that, I began practicing my hospitality skills on anyone who would come into my home and help me. Whether it was a plumber, a gardener, a designer, a housekeeper, a painter, handyman, a/c repair person, etc. I practiced looking them in the eyes and remembering their names.
National Trail Mix Day
What do you think of when you hear the words “trail mix”? I’ll share what I think of: sunshine, 75 degree weather, mountains and a John Denver song playing in the background. Pretty much the backdrop of Colorado most days of the year. Trail mix is the perfect food for any activity that involves outdoors, hiking and/or camping.
Domestic Engineer
I may be slow in getting things organized around my house but I am very thoughtful in my approach. I’m pretending that we just moved into our “forever” house and I’m using this time to put up safe guards to ensure that I don’t collect too many things again.
Timeout for a Poem
When we were deciding what to get my mom for her birthday, both of my kids gave me many ideas. I told them that when I was packing up to move, I noticed that their grandmother treasured their gifts so much that she never even used anything. Including a daily Jeopardy! calendar that was still in the packaging and the years is more than half way over! I told my kids that my mom had plenty of great things from them and so sending something that can not be bought in a store would be best.
Moving Prayer
Many people, whether religious or not, have heard about putting a statue of St. Joseph in our yards to help us sell our houses. Some claim it’s superstitious or think it’s a hoax. Some truly believe in this ritual. For me, I indulged my mom’s emphatic believe and buried a St. Joseph statue in our yard.
Drive-Thrus
Besides getting late night munchies at Taco Bell or Carl’s Jr. as a teenager and young adult, I never fully appreciated the convenience of a drive-thru until I moved to Minnesota. We had arrived to our new home in August which gave me plenty of time to get the lay of the land while running errands with a baby before the first snow came down in November. It didn’t matter, I still struggled for years whenever I schlepped the baby(s) around for errands.
Party Pinches
Saying “Goodbye” to friends and family is not fun. In fact, I would advise everyone to avoid it at all costs. Unfortunately, skipping town without hugging friends and telling them how much we care about them is not the best thing to do. So when my friends decided to throw me a, “Not Goodbye” party (a.k.a. See Ya Later Party), I was thrilled. It was such a thoughtful idea. It turns out my kids’ friends had the same idea too. Many of our friends gathered on particular dates in order for my daughter, my son and I to see our friends one last time before we moved. Each event was an amazing experience.
Hotel Pinches
Like most, I take advantage of not having to make my bed when I stay in a hotel. I also like not having to squeegee a shower door after I take a shower. And another task that I don’t have to do while staying in a hotel is take out the trash. All of these tasks are minimal and it sounds really lame that I enjoy not doing them while I’m away from home. Nonetheless, someone will do these tasks because hotel guests enjoy having clean spaces wherever we are.
National Coconut Day
Thank you coconuts for being so versatile that it seems like there is really nothing a coconut can’t be used for. I’m actually surprised that we can’t use coconut oil instead of motor oil in our cars. And even though coconut is officially listed as a tree nut (but it’s drupaceous fruit), it is rare for people to be allergic to any derivative of a coconut. Which supports my theory that we can use the coconut for so many things, it’s like the “thneed” in the Dr. Seuss book.