Friday Thoughts: Surviving Summer
Well, hello there! Even though it’s only mid-July, it’s hard to believe that summer break is more than half over for us.
It’s been a summer of ups and downs. Lots of fun, lots of challenges. Some wonderful memories made and some disappointments here and there. Just life, you know? But overall, I think we can all say it’s been a pretty good one.
This Friday Thoughts post is kind of long. It’s random. It’s a little weird. It makes me feel slightly vulnerable in parts. But it’s all real life stuff! I don’t blame you if you don’t read it all. Clearly I just needed to get a lot of stuff out of my brain and into this space, so no worries if you give up after the first paragraph. If you make it to the end, you deserve a super rock star award.
As I say with each of these posts, what I really want is to hear from you! Let me know how your summer is going, and weigh in on anything and everything below! It’s a highlight for me when I read all of your comments.
You can catch all Friday Thoughts posts here (some of the best discussion and information in the comment threads of these posts).
1) Card Game Obsession: In between the massive amounts of outdoor projects and yard work we have done and have yet to do, we’ve found our new game obsession. Oh man. This simple card game is SO fun. I bought it after one of you recommended it in one of my last game posts, and we’ve already introduced it to so many friends and family (who have instantly fell in love and bought it too). It’s called Play Nine {aff. link}. It looks like a game all about golf (which actually kind of turned me off initially, no offense golf people), but other than trying to get a low score, it’s not really anything like golf. Highly, highly recommend this, especially since it can be played with as few as two people or as many as six people, and it is super easy to catch on. Yep, we’re obsessed.
2) Craziest Cookie of My Life: I posted this pic on Instagram last week asking for help thinking of what to call these cookies. Seriously, you guys, they are insane. So, so delicious. I’ve made probably six or seven batches of them in the last two weeks (notably, I just made 150 of them for my cousins’ wedding dinner yesterday). I received over 400 messages on Instagram (!!) with name suggestions, and all I can say is: you guys crack me up. I’ll be posting the recipe next week, and I’ll definitely be highlighting the winning name as well as some of the others that are too good not to share. Any last thoughts? What do you think this cookie should be called??
3) Cookie Dough Business: Speaking of cookies, my older three kids are busy earning money for a church trek/camp coming up, as well as a family trip we have set for next spring break (each of them are earning several hundred dollars toward the cost of the trip). My older two boys have “official” jobs (one working hard at a horse ranch and the other doing upkeep/yard work/fix it projects on our rental property and 20 acres behind us). That leaves my sweet 12-year old who decided he wanted to sell cookie dough. He put together this flier and got to work!
He literally spent three full days in the kitchen making cookie dough and freezing it in preparation for sales. He’s done his best to get the word out to neighbors and friends in the area and so far he’s sold almost 20 dozen cookie dough balls! Proud of him and all his hard work as he has tackled this largely on his own (he’s an amazing chef/baker so it was a natural business choice). We do need to work a bit on degreasing the kitchen floor and “cleaning as you go” but overall, it’s been fun to see him work on this.
4) Family Reunion Recap: Brian and I planned his extended family reunion this year. The planning consumed my every waking moment for a long time, and I was equal parts relieved and sad when it was over. His family of 48 prefers to stay under the same roof for reunions, which is awesome but poses challenges finding a space for that large group.
This year after asking on Instagram for your recommendations, we stumbled on Three Peaks Lodge in St. Anthony, Idaho, and wow. Wow! It was amazing and probably the most perfect reunion location we could have asked for (totally unsponsored). We loved it so much, in fact, that his family has already booked it for the 2021 reunion. The kitchen is ginormous (seats 40+ people!), there are rock walls and slides and hidden tunnels all throughout the lodge, and outside there are basketball courts, tennis courts, picnic tables, a hot tub, tons of grassy/playing areas. Ten bedrooms, six bathrooms and a huge bunkroom. Honestly, it was perfect.
Brian and I basically packed up our entire house and brought it with us. Ha. Among all the kitchen and planning items, we brought our nine square game that our friends made for us, which was a total hit and occupied kids and adults alike for hours (along with tons of other outside games like spikeball, flimsee, Kub and others).
One of the highlights that I didn’t expect was this baby faces game. I printed out 5X7 pictures of every family member as a baby and put them on a wall (each picture had a # on it). The “scorecard” sheets had all the names…whoever matched the most correct #’s to names won the grand prize (a set of teething rings and a Baby Ruth candy bar :). I couldn’t believe how competitive Brian’s family was about trying to get the most right! I think his dad and older brother sat in front of this wall for at least four hours. It was hilarious.
Brian planned some epic family Olympic games involving everyone from the babies to the great grandmas. Super fun. Yes, those are ding dongs getting stacked on Jackson’s forehead. 🙂
And this bobblehead skit some of the grandkids did was hilariously awesome (faces of grandma, grandpa and the two great grandmas). I printed the high res photos at Costco (16X20) and glued them to foam board, cut them out, and glued a sturdy plastic cup to the back which the kids gripped in their little teeth. If this whole setup has you slightly concerned and freaked out, just google “bobblehead skit” and you’ll see how hilarious they are.
Mostly we did a lot of talking, laughing, game playing (inside and out), and of course, eating. I made this honey lime chicken and this lentil chili and served it as a build-your-own nacho bar with tortilla chips and tons of toppings. For a breakfast, I made this chocolate granola and this almond granola and served it with yogurt and lots of fresh fruit (and scrambled eggs and toast). Yum! His siblings brought some stellar meals, too. We definitely didn’t go hungry!
5) Quilting: Where are all my quilters at? I posted this on Instagram a few weeks ago, but I finished this flag quilt (pattern by Camille at Thimble Blossoms) just in time for the 4th of July. And even though I tend to say a lot of bad words when I sew anything, and I’ve never met a hobby that frustrates me quite as much as quilting, weirdly, I actually really enjoy it, too. I was visiting my mom when I finished this quilt – she took me to her local quilt store and taught me how to long arm quilt the top. I was a super nervous wreck (not the greatest hobby for perfectionists), but in the end, I’ll give it to my mom for pushing me out of my comfort zone and making me finish this 100% by myself. Geez. Why do moms always have to be right??
6) Pickleball: We are very, very recent pickleball converts (my brother taught us to play a few weeks ago when we were visiting in Montana), and oh my gosh, how come no one told us how fun this game is?? We quickly bought some paddles online {aff. link} and it has been a blast for our whole family. A few tears, but not too many. Our tiny little community doesn’t have official pickleball courts, but we have tennis courts that can be *pretty* easily modified and there are some public park pickleball courts 25-ish minutes away. I am the least athletic person alive, and I’m still halfway decent (haha, not great but decent). Am I the last one on earth to play this??
7) Fill in the Blank: I’ve been thinking a lot about boundaries lately. I’m not good at them. I never have been, really. But I’ve been trying to establish better boundaries in many areas of my life. Boundaries for things I do personally (blogging/social media) and also boundaries involving people in my life (for instance, trying to learn how to stop managing the emotions of those around me). Much of this initiative is to lessen some anxieties that I deal with on the daily. It’s not something I talk a lot about because it reveals some of my insecurities, and it’s probably a bit too deep to dive into fully here (we can pick it up in the comment thread, if you’d like), but mostly today, I’d love if you could fill in the blanks in this sentence for me. No judging! Any answer is safe here – be it deep, a little out there, hilarious, real, sensitive, whatever.”I want to do more _____________ and less _____________”
My responses today would be:
I want to do more being true to myself and less worrying about making others upset.
Or maybe: I want to do more reading in the New Testament and less scrolling through Instagram.
Or lastly: I want to do more cookie eating and less cookie baking. Def going to need to get my kids involved in this last one! 🙂
If you feel comfortable, I’d love to know what your response to that sentence would be!
Love you guys. Thanks for being here.
Friday Thoughts Update: By popular demand, I’m recapping a few hot topics from the last Friday Thoughts post. Namely, what do you use for photo storage and what is your signature recipe? First up, photo storage. I went through each and every comment and kind of compiled a quick and casual list of how you guys reported you handle your personal photo storage. The highest number of comments talked about their experience with Google Drive and Google Photos (the latter syncs to your computer and an external hard drive). Lots of other responses included: Amazon Prime, wd.com, backblaze, forever.com, carbonite, and good old-fashioned hard drives.
Signature recipes! It was impossible to categorize all of these responses, but I loved reading the recipes you are known for! Loved it, loved it. Everything from cinnamon rolls to chickpea curry to chocolate chip cookies to almond puff. The answers are golden and now I want all the recipes.
Disclaimer: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I think you are a great adventurer to jump right in with the long arm. We have lost all our local quilt shops here. You are fortunate to have such a great shop available!
On the quilting topic I wanted to suggest some of the great tutorials available on YouTube. My favorites are from Missouri Star Quilts, and Jordan fabrics.
The Missouri Star videos are fun and easy, and use precuts which means it is much faster to get to the actual sewing.
Jordan Fabrics uses precuts and yardage. The videos are shot with great close ups so you can see the details.
They also offer some kits that are precut in shop. All ready precise and ready to sew, no hassle.
Thanks for your fun blog and the great pictures.
Cheers, Sheri
Hi Mel, this is my first time posting on your website but a long time viewer/reader. I LOVE your website and my husband and I both LOVE your recipes.
What program did you use to create such an awesome flier for the cookie dough? I’m trying to teach myself how to create printable pdfs of (to-do lists, etc). Do you have any helpful tips?
Thank you in advance!
Hi Diana! Thanks for the comment! We used Photoshop for this one (my son has been learning it in school and keeping up with it during the summer and I use it for all my blog photos/design elements).
What a great post! You’re making me want to plan a family reunion! I think you should call the cookies Kitchen Sink Cookies. And I hate gold but maybe I’ll try that game because I LOVE games!
Thanks, Megan!
So many great things to talk about in this post! Thanks for sharing your awesome reunion ideas. We have several more years till it’s our turn to host again, but that cabin sounds just about perfect. And 9 square?? I’m going to have to look into that for sure. I showed my husband the bobblehead skit idea. Our reunion next week incorporates a lip sync battle, and I think we’re going to do it! I’m impressed with how hardworking your kids are! That’s something we’re working on. Good job on your quilt! So can you go to a quilt shop and rent the use of a long arm quilting machine? I am a self-taught quilter, and I really like it, but I don’t do it as much as I wish though. I finally bought a walking foot so I could straight-line quilt my own at home. I felt guilty always asking ladies at church to quilt them for me, and paying someone is so expensive! I hope you share more of your quilting! I’ve never played pickle ball, and now I feel behind the times. As for the fill-in-the-blank, let’s start with, I want to do more teaching my kids to work hard, and less bankrolling their stuff. I want to do more quilting for friends and less wasting time on facebook. I want to do more fundraising for pediatric brain cancer research, and less being anxious and afraid of rejection. I want to spend more meaningful time with my kids, and less time nagging them and being distracted by my phone. Phew! I have a lot to work on. Thanks for keeping it real, Mel!
I’m giggling just at the thought of the bobblehead skit that might make an appearance at your family reunion. They are so fun and so hilarious. So what I’m learning about quilt shops is that most of them require you to take a long arm quilting class before you can use their machines (my mom has taken the class which is how I got access to getting my grubby little hands on one). I think I’m going to take a long arm quilting class here local – it only costs usually between $15-25 per hour to rent the long arm machines (and that flag quilt only took an hour to quilt) so it is significantly cheaper than sending it away to have it quilted by a professional! Loved your fill in the blanks. I think if given the time, I could come up with a hundred more. Now the hard part is putting my responses into action!
I thought of you a lot this past week and have some things to report. 1) I am so impressed with how you are raising your kids. You are teaching them to work, teaching them the value of money, teaching them the gospel, and a million other things. You’re amazing. 2) I think your structured summers are awesome. I grew up that way. At times I resented getting up at the crack of dawn to work in our garden, but I’m SO grateful for the work ethic it taught me. I’ve seen other commenters question your making your kids work so hard, and I know my parents dealt with similar feelings from some of our neighbors. But I think it’s a great way to raise your kids. Keep it up. 3) I just got back from flaming gorge with my husband’s family. Five straight days of camping and boating and being in the sun/water and I DID NOT GET SUNBURNED. I don’t think I even got tan. I tried to stay covered and my hubby and I went through an entire bottle of sunscreen. I’m pretty proud of myself and thought you would be too. 4) At said family boating trip, I made your bbq pulled pork sandwiches. I made the meat in advance and reheated it in a stock pot over the camp stove. All the stirring during the reheating turned my painstakingly perfectly shredded pork into an unappealing mash. It still tasted amazing, but it looked despicable. Any tips on how to avoid this in the future? 5) To answer your question, I want to do more house projects and I want to judge people less.
Thank you, sweet Beth. I appreciate your kind words. One thing I’m trying to learn as a parent (and am getting a lot better at it!) is to distance myself from the criticism of others and actually value them for how they parent…and continue in confidence with how Brian and I are parenting. We make mistakes, I’m sure we’ll change course a million times with our kids and how we do things, but it feels right for now. So thanks for saying those things. Also, WAY TO GO on camping and boating for 5 days and rocking the suncare. You have no idea how bad of a happy dance I could do about that! Amazing. And just so awesome. Way to go you and your husband! Ok, on the BBQ pork, I totally know what you mean. One way to get around this is to cook it in advance but don’t shred it before freezing. Or just shred into maybe 4-6 large chunks. You can still pour in the BBQ sauce OR just freeze the cooked meat (I like to add a bit of the cooking juices), let it thaw, add the BBQ sauce and shred as it reheats. Does that make sense?
I think the cookies look a little like PRETZEL MONSTER COOKS! One caveat I’ve been focusing on is what I’m proud of myself for – whether it’s at work or stuff around the house. I find myself, when people come down me, saying how proud of myself I am for who I am & for doing what I actually do. Sounds weird, but it’s how I have been feeling for all of 2019. Gone are the days when I felt that that I wasn’t enough. In that vein I am proud of myself for the huge uptick in my water consumption (thx to some jazzy new water bottles I got) & less diet soda consumption. I’d like to eat less at night, & get back to exercising more than once a week~ I ❤️ You, Mel. Thank u for providing this safe community.
Great name suggestion! Thank you for sharing what you did, Lauren! I love that you’ve been able to turn the tables and be proud of yourself. That is huge!
Oh my goodness, I LOVE your Friday Thoughts posts. You are so real and genuine. I appreciate that you let us know you have normal human struggles too. That family reunion looks amazing! I love the bobble head skit and the baby photos games. So so fun. As for my fill in the blank, I wish I could do more service happily, and feel less overwhelm about all the service we get to do. Right now I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed by church, not at all testimony, just all the doing for other people. My husband is the Bishop and I’m in the RS Presidency and some days I feel like the two of us are doing everything. Occasionally I’m reduced to tears over it. It’s ridiculous. Today was a good example-this morning we did a funeral for a lady in the ward, then my husband and boys went and chopped trees down for an elderly couple, and now they’re helping with a move. I love church and I love the people at church, but I want to feel like I have more to give and less resentment about it. Whew, that’s probably too much sharing! Oh well, we love you at our house, Mel!
Madison! That is a heavy load. Don’t hold back the tears. There’s nothing wrong with shedding those. My husband is Bishop of our ward but my calling is the best one in the church (primary pianist) 🙂 so I have it easy. I wish I had the easy answers on transitioning to feeling less overwhelmed. I don’t! But I will say I think you are remarkable for serving even if it does feel overwhelming. That counts, you know – every last second of it counts. For you and for those you are serving. Hang in there, my friend!
You are the sweetest! Thanks for the encouraging words. And I would agree with you – Primary pianist is one of the best callings ever! I got to do that calling today and I love it.
Mel, you are a gem. You truly, truly are! I want to do less thinking and more doing. My mind stops me in my tracks and I keep hitting the same glass ceilings. Hoping someday to learn how to work through and beyond that. Love these posts! Hugs to you and your sweet family. ❤
Overthinkers unite! I’m right there with you. You are amazing, amazing inspiration to me at all you have worked through and overcome.
I want to do MORE of spending more time with my older boys. And LESS of….. there is so much of this I beat myself up about. I don’t even want to go there. But as my older sons are working/stuff with friends/church camps, etc… I feel like my time is slipping away with them. My days are spent doing fun things with my younger kids but I miss my time with my older boys!
I so agree with this! I was thinking the same thing just last week. I give a big amen to your answer…I’m making some goals to try to fit more time in with those teenagers whose lives are so busy!
The cookies look yummy! Name suggestions:
Kit and Caboodle cookies
The Whole Shebang Cookies
Love those names!
Hi Mel, I enjoyed your post, (I read it at 3am when I woke up with huge anxiety, our house was supposed to sell and the people backed out!) I appreciate your honesty, you don’t let us readers feel like your life is perfect and things just fall into place for you effortlessly. You have challenges just like the rest of us, perhaps, there’s some sort of weird comfort in knowing everybody has these hurdles and what may be difficult for some is just a walk in the park for others, they’re still issues nonetheless. I currently have a real struggle going on and over the years I’ve realized it’s time, it all passes with time, it’s still uncomfortable, but, chances are it’s not permanent and we can’t have good without bad. For me I need to realize I can’t change certain things, I need to let go of that and embrace the things I can change. Sometimes I need a little outside help, thanks hubby, to recognize what I can and can’t change.
If you haven’t already decided on a name for the cookie, maybe Crush Cookie since people will fall in love with them♀️
Thanks, again, Mel, for everything you do for us!
Oh man, Shellie – I am SO sorry to hear about your house sale falling through and the subsequent anxiety. That is rough. I’m working on letting go, too. It’s so hard, huh? Good luck working through some of those challenges…thank you for commenting!
Love your Friday thoughts! I want to do more loving and less criticizing.
Love, love, love this, Karen. Me, too.
I want to do more carefree fun and less stressing about my to-do list. My husband says I would make an incredible military leader 🙂
That cabin looks AMAZING! My mom has already looked it up and is planning on booking it for a family reunion.
These posts make me love you even more. Anxiety is my challenge in life and I must tell you that the Brooke Snow Podcast has been revolutionary in helping me turn this around. Her Gospel Meditation is the greatest thing I ever dedicated myself to doing.
Thanks for being such a bright light for so many yourself!
Haha, Marci, that made me laugh. I think I might make a good military leader also then?? 🙂 I’m excited your family might look into that lodge! It’s so amazing. Thank you for the podcast recommendation!
Two things:
Re: family reunion outdoor games. Best lawn game I’ve come across in a long time is called Kan Jam. It’s a team frisbee game that’s very portable and friendly for all ages. I can’t frisbee to save my life, but it’s a lot of fun and I think your family might like it!
Re: fill in the blanks. I want to do more participating and less watching. I’ve got anxiety/depression struggles that tend to trick me into staying on my couch 90% of the time. It’s been impossible lately to find the motivation to get up and out and be present with my kids and engage with friends and family… I wish I could engage with life more. My oldest goes to kindergarten in a month and I keep thinking of things we should do before we’re tied to the school schedule and the weather turns crummy, but making them happen just isn’t happening.
Kan Jam! My brother in law brought that to our family reunion and it was so fun! You are right, it’s a winner! Thank you for being willing to share your fill in the blank answer! Making things actually happen is a struggle for me at times, too. Good luck with that goal – I think if tackled in small bits, you (and I!) can do things that feel big and impossible. Thank you for your comment!
First off.. Can I just say completely amazing you are?? Life is so busy I cannot imagine planning and pulling off an entire family reunion. (I know not only LDS people do family reunions) but my husband and I have both parents that are concerts to the church, so we’ve never been able to experience a family reunion. I am so envious of people that have them. They sound so fun and such an amazing experience to be around all your family members at one time.
Anyways, back on track. I remember you recently said your husband was the Bishop. My husband was recently called and I just wonder HOW DO YOU DO IT ALL?? You have 5 kids, I only have 3 (ages 9-4) and I feel overwhelmed.
Also your answers to the fill in the blank sentence is beyond relatable. I often worry SO much about hurting other people or inconveniencing them that it hurts me and inconveniences me. I wish I could let that go. I have gotten a tiny tiny tiny bit better over the years, but not even close to where I should be. I was JUST thinking tonight if only I spent as much time on reading the Come Follow Me manual as I do Instagram my life would be so much better. Less comparing and more meaningful, spiritual downtime. I have so much room for improvement. I know I usually sound like an obsessed stalker so I’m sorry to seem that way (hahaha) but I truly do admire you so much. You have so much balance in your life, and I’m always so impressed how you share personal stories and testimony building experiences. I will never forget your cheese ball experience and it has made me really try to be aware and able to receive guidance from the spirit. Thanks for the AMAZING recipes and for the great example to me. You are amazing!!
For me I want to do more quality time with my kids and less being impatient with them”
Oh girl, we could be having a teary heartfelt talk on my back porch about all this. I DO NOT DO IT ALL. I cry myself to sleep sometimes. I pray a lot. A lot. I go on walks (or just put in my earphones and listen to an audible book on the floor of my pantry – no lie). You know, coping skills. I just feel strongly we all need to understand none of us can do it all. Right??? If someone has the secret, let me know! Haha. I feel overwhelmed a lot. You are not alone. No way, no way. Feel free to shoot me an email about all things venting related to Bishop stuff (and unrelated, too). We could chat for a long while about that. You are the sweetest – thank you for your comment. I think so many of us women in this comment thread feel instantly relatable to each other by just opening up about some of our insecurities and trials and fill in the blank sentences. You are an amazing momma.
Oh my goodness! This reminded me that my sister and I, when we were 8 & 10 years old (which was many moons ago), used to buy ingredients from our mom, make cookies and then load up our wagon and walk all over town selling “Freshly Baked Cookies” to earn money for summer camp…. I had totally forgotten about that so thank-you for reminding me! 🙂
I want to do more “Doing” and less “Planning” I can spend hours “planning” and not do so that needs to change.
Your quilt is beautiful by the way! Nice Job!
That is such an awesome memory, Jamie! Way to go you and your sister!
That quilt though! I’m in love. I want to learn to do that. I sewed with my mom as a girl. Hope I haven’t forgotten everything. I just don’t know how to juggle priorities and make time. I feel like nothing gets finished. And then I’m unhappy. I think I’d like to do more of living peacefully amid the chaos and make fewer decisions based on what I think others want me to do. I guess that’s my fill in the blank.
So grateful for all the wonderful thoughts and ideas you give. I love every bit. Much love.
I sewed with my mom a little bit as a girl and was pleasantly surprised at what I remembered when I picked up the hobby almost 25 years later (also, it’s amazing the amount of tutorials online – saved my life more times than I count in quilting crises). I also get stressed when I don’t finish things and then I get resentful and ornery…and usually have an epiphany that it’s actually no one’s fault but my own. Loved your fill in the blank.
Love the info on Family Reunions. Ours is in about 2 weeks. I’m using one of your recipes for the meal we are in charge of. I love the idea of the Baby face game! Most of our family is in Idaho and Utah area, and there are 50+of us, so we may have to look into Three Peaks Lodge.
As for the fill in the blank…
I want to do more playing with my kids and less nagging.
Have fun at your upcoming reunion, Emma!
Love this post! That family reunion site sounds amazing and so fun! Have you ever listened to The Life Coach School podcast by Brook Castillo? She is amazing and I’ve learned so many things about managing my emotions and setting boundaries, etc. You can scroll through her podcast episodes (she’s got tons of great ones) and I know I’ve listened to a good one on boundaries before. She’s full of awesome, sensible advice. As for me…I want to be more disciplined with my goals and less scared of following my dreams.
I’ve heard of her podcast, Cindy, but never listened to it. Thanks for the reminder!
Hmm…so many thoughts about this post. I loved your family reunion ideas as I am planning our family reunion next year. We are much smaller than 48 though! For my more or less statement: I want to do more laughing and less thinking/worrying. I think too much and lately do not know where my fun loving, hilarious self has gone. But even though life is hard it is meant to be enjoyed. I waited almost 20 years to have my daughter and then 18 months later my son and I am so thankful for them but life just still brings you hard times even though everything is pretty darn great. I’m trying to learn to control the negative thoughts I have about myself…getting older, post-baby body, how I am as a wife and mother, sister, daughter, friend, etc. Just trying to give myself a break and not be so much of a perfectionist or have such high/nearly unattainable expectations of myself. Mel, you are awesome. I’ve loved reading the comments while I ignore my cute chubby baby’s cries (he went back to sleep). You have a unique gift of bringing people together. Thank you for everything you do!
Oh gosh, Jill, I loved everything you said. So, so true about life bringing hard stuff even though there are miracles and blessings everywhere. I agree this comment thread is golden and it’s helped me so much reading through the comments, too! I got a little choked up (it’s late, I don’t know why I’m emotionally fragile right now??) that you waited 20 years to have your sweet kids…and I just wanted to wrap my arms around you in a virtual hug to say you are enough, you are amazing, you are a good momma, and I’ll work on my daily negative thoughts as you work on yours and we’ll take it one day at a time. Ok? ok. It’s been a really hard couple of weeks around here for me for so many reasons – I know I’m meant to be learning a lot of things right now namely how to stop worrying about things that are out of my control (but I also get stuck in a pattern of feeling guilty for feeling miserable when life is also really good). Anyway, I’m rambling. But thanks for checking in (and glad that cute little babe went back to sleep). 🙂
Filling in the blanks: I’d like to do more traveling and less worrying about things I cannot control! And I would call the cookies The Kitchen Sink and Then Some!
Love the name for the cookies! And love your fill in the blank response. Here’s to hoping you get more travel and less worry!
This reminds me of the everything but the kitchen sink cookie recipe I have !
I have been thinking all day about what I want to more or and less of. It is such a loaded question for me. Being a wife, mom and nurse for 25 plus years, you lose track of your own desires and boundaries. Thank you for reminding me and all your followers to think about what we would want more of or less of. I love reading about your beautiful family, your adventures and cooking. May we all fulfill our fill in the blank .
Ah, thank you for your comment. I hope as you’ve pondered the question today, you’ve been able to sort through those lost boundaries and desires to find a little clarity.
1. Never heard of the card game Play Nine but looks interesting will have to get it.
2. A name for the cookies could be This N That Cookies. 3. Nice to see that the kids are not afraid of working and earning money for camp and the upcoming family trip. 4. Your family reunions always look like so much fun, inclusive and surely memorable. Thanks for sharing with us.
Thanks, Melinda! Love the name for the cookies! And lest I make it look as though my kids never complain about work, let me keep it real by saying there are some painful days sometimes. Haha. All part of the growing up process!
Everything and the Kitchen Sink cookies!
So so many suggestions for that popular name! Very fitting! 🙂
Quilting – this has become a hobby of mine too. I paper piece quilt and it is so fun! Check out http://www.fandominstitches.com. I made a Harry Potter bookcase quilt. I LOVE it!
Oh my goodness, Tanya! My jaw dropped when I saw that quilt. My resident 12-year old would die, literally die, if I made that quilt, but it is WAY out of my quilting comfort zone. I paper pieced the Book Nerd quilt by Angela Pingel a couple years ago and it took my brain a while to understand paper piecing. You are so talented!
I CANNOT wait for that cookie recipe….all my favorites rolled or I should say baked into one!!! I would say I’ll be naming it my munchie surprise!!
And I would have to say I would want to do …more things that I want to do and way less micro managing others. Mel, I hear ya, on this one….I never want to upset anyone either and I’m the one upset at the end of it all. It’s a tough one for sure. Love your Friday Posts, they make me smile, make me think of new projects and enjoy every word!
Thank you for your comment, Judi! First of all, that cookie recipe will be posted very, very soon! I think you’re going to love it! Also, it sounds like there are a lot of us that don’t like upsetting others. It’s a real fear! And it’s ok to feel like that…but I’m like you, I don’t like feeling upset at the end either. Good luck managing that (as I work on my end, too!). Love you right back. 🙂
I love your Friday thoughts, I joke all the time that you are my virtual bestie!
1. I just got the game tiki topple, super duper fun for all ages and easy
2. Little nuggets of goodness
3. Wow! That is impressive 20 dozen already sold! My two oldest have jobs, but two youngest nope.
4. Your family reunion looked amazing. Totally doing the bobble head skit and baby face challenge
5. Quilting is a skill I have not yet tried to conquer. Way to make it look doable!
6. I love pickleball.
7. I want to do more things with my kids and less things by myself.
Haha, thanks, Julie! I’m up for virtual besties! Done! Lots of recommendations for that tiki topple game. I’m going to look into it! If you saw me groaning and complaining under my breath, I’m sure you would realize I don’t really make quilting look doable. Ha. But it’s a good side hobby for me right now even if I love to hate it. I actually really love your #7 fill in the blank. Thanks for sharing that.
Trail mix cookie!
We love Mexican Train with dominos.
Thanks for the lentil soup link – I’ll be trying that for my next soup night when it’s not 112-F here.
Not sure if I’ve ever been to a family reunion. I hope to do something with my kids and grandkids and start the tradition.
I love to quilt and I’d love to own a long arm
machine because it seems silly to build a quilt with my own two hands and then allow someone else finish it. But also hard to find time to quilt with 5 kids.
We discovered pickleball about 5 years ago on vacation in DE. More popular back east?? Just got dad his own net, paddles and balls for father’s day and then we drew a court in a cul de sac with chalk.
For the fill in the blank, I’ve been working on your first one. Doing what I need/want to do, not what I think will make others happy. It’s hard.
Thanks for the game recommendation! And yeah, totally icky thinking of making soup when it’s that hot. You poor thing! Yikes. I hear you on the quilting thing. It’s only been the last year or so that I could even think about quilting with five kids. And it’s also the reason it takes me years to finish one. Yes, years! I’m excited about pickle ball and possibly figuring out a way to rig up our own court! Love your fill in the blank answer. That is one of my top fill in the blanks, too, I think. It is hard. Keep at it, my friend.
Thanks for such a thought-provoking task!
I want to do more of the things I know to be right for me and my family and less trying to please everyone else around me.
[Couldn’t keep to just one. Haha!]
I want to do more sticking up for myself and less getting stirred up about it. 🙂
Thanks for all you do with your blog and recipes!
All those answers could be my answers, Nancy! I totally get it!
I have not developed this fully yet, but have been processing this the last few days. I am on a girls’ trip with two of my besties in Hannibal, MO. Not much to do here except visit all the Mark Twain exhibits, which I have found profound. I am amazed at the mind of Mark Twain. I reread Tom Sawyer prior to coming and loved it again. I started Huck Finn but didn’t get it completed. However, in one of the exhibits there was a 90 minute PBS video and it included Huck Finn and his relationship with Jim. At the end, Huck is battling with whether to turn Jim in or not and decides he would rather go to hell, if that is the consequence, than turn in his friend. This would have been earth shattering for this time, to go against the norm of slavery and view him as human. This got me thinking about what kinds of “slavery norms” do I carry as my baggage? What have I been taught as normal that I should reject? I haven’t fully figured all this out yet, but my girlfriend (who couldn’t come with us) texted me about the book “The Circle,” which I read a couple years ago. It is crazy what we do socially because we are told to and becomes the norm of which all others are judged. I turned 50 this month. I thought I would come up with some new goals for my next 10 years, which usually consist of the same things…. eat less, exercise more, read my Bible, volunteer more, think more positively. However, I think I want to start thinking for myself and recognize when I am not thinking for myself. Do more things that matter to me. I have been making things matter for other people my whole entire life and feel I have sacrificed myself in the works of kindness and keeping all my loved ones happy. I am not saying I won’t do those things too, but how many times have I done things that I didn’t want to do AT ALL, but did it to make someone else happy? I am getting off on a tangent.. Told you I hadn’t thought this through yet. I want to think for myself more. Now, we look back at Huck Finn and he was making the correct moral choice, but at the time he was going to hell for it. Every new generation has this responsibility to the moral fiber of themselves. I would love my next 30 years or so to be ones that help me live my best life, which would also help those around me to also do the same.
Beth…this is so profound. Thank you for sharing this. I appreciate your words. I think so often we think it has to be either/or. Like, I either worry about my own needs or I worry about someone else’s needs. But both can happen. I think what really matters is figuring out our own moral compass, staying true to that (even if it isn’t popular), and really just think for ourselves more. You are awesome.
I want to do more purging of all of my stuff and less “managing” of all of my stuff. I’m not a hoarder by any means but I feel weighed down by so many belongings.
Also, can we talk about pickleball?? Is it not the bet sport ever? I’ve been playing for about 3 years. We started a group here with myself, my dad, and my brother and it has grown to over 40 people. We bought two nets from Amazon and measured and taped out two courts in our church gym and we play there 3 days a week. It’s so fun and addicting!
Oh gosh, yes to the yes on this, Monica. Purge and stop managing. I could get behind this. That’s amazing about your pickleball league/group! I love that so much!
That nine square game looks like a ton of fun! And we have Play Nine and love playing it also – looks like a fantastic and memorable family reunion!
Thanks, Patricia! Happy you love that card game, too!
I am with you, I want to be true to myself and not worry about the emotions of others, (because they are not my responsibility).
Yes!
Mel, you’re the best! What an awesome family reunion. Can’t wait to see the cookie recipe. I’m home sick today, so more running, less laying down for me. But on a normal day, I’d probably say I’d like more free time outside of work, and less chores. I don’t mind going to work, but I hate having to come home and take care of necessary, but mundane tasks that I don’t enjoy. Like I wish I could just make dinner without chopping all the produce and doing the dishes. I’m sure most people commenting here wish they had their own personal assistant! But hey, maybe someday? ♀️
Good point, Anne – that fill in the blank sentence could change on the daily depending on circumstances! I hope you get feeling better soon! Haha, and yes, I could get behind a personal assistant. I try to tell my kids that’s what they are for but they just give me the side eye. 🙂
I love pickle ball! We got really into it last fall when we did a family reunion with Lisa & Shawn, and both of Tyler’s brothers (& wives). I may have gotten a tad bit competitive, but we had a complete blast with it!
I bet that was so fun, Tahnee!
I think your cookies look amazing! I would call them Crazy 8s!
Love that name!
It’s hard to fill in the blank.. I’ve read some of the comments and I want to agree to all of them. But I will just say: I want to show more love to my kids and less complaining or criticizing myself for my weaknesses.
Life is a roller coaster, there’s always ups and downs; fun and scary; and the good thing is that we don’t go thru it alone.
Thanks Mel, for the little auto evalution
Thanks for sharing your fill in the blank answer, Jocy! And yes, thankfully we don’t go through this alone. I can’t even imagine.
Hell of a Mess cookies
Heavenly Wonders
Love of my life Cookies
Whippersnappers
Pleasers
Little Messes
Braggers
Calorie Bombs? (Ha!)
Haha. Great name suggestions!
St. Anthony is ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ We’ve lived here for almost 10 years now. I hope you went to Big J’s for pizza bombs!
I have to confess we did not (I think if our size of group descended on a small town restaurant, we would create a lot of stress and chaos!). Next time, though, for sure!
I want to do more things with my kids and less nagging/complaining about/to them.
Love your Friday posts . . . and your quilt. I, too am a perfectionist, and quilting is definitely a love/hate relationship, ha-ha.
The reunion sounded perfect. Wish my family was geographically closer to take advantage of that house in St. Anthony – it looks like it would be perfect for my family too.
So glad I’m not the only one with a love/hate relationship with quilting! And I could easily have filled in the blank with that same answer. You’re a good momma for even recognizing it. It’s a day at a time type of process, I think.
Oh my goodness Mel!!! I am so proud of you and your quilt!!! I have followed you for YEARS on here and I am a fellow quilter. I LOVE Camille Roskelley and most of my fabric is B & C fabric. I have a quilting IG account if you ever want to give it a follow. @ reneesquilting I also have a longarm quilting business. If you ever want any more quilts quilted I would be happy to do them for FREE. That is the least I could do after all the hundreds of awesome recipes I have gotten from you after all these years. I mean it. I would be happy to quilt them for you. My daughter just got married and was asking me for a bunch of recipes and I just kept answering “that’s Mel’s recipe, that’s Mel’s…yeah that’s Mel’s too.” You are already influencing the next generation. My kids have literally grown up on your recipes. Thanks for all you do!!
Renee, oh my gosh, you are the sweetest. I love that now we can bond over cookies AND quilting. Haha. Your account is amazing – you are so talented! I would never (NEVER!) let you long arm quilt something of mine for free. I know the time that goes into that (ok, admittedly I was super slow when I did the flag quilt, but still!). But it would be so fun to see you work. 🙂 Your comment made me so happy. Good luck to your daughter in this new exciting phase of life!
Hi Mel!! I’ve been working and learning how to set boundaries this summer. It’s been hard. I felt like I was consumed by the actions and ideas of other people. A couple days ago I finally had a conversation to set some boundaries. I was so scared before the conversation that I was physically sick. I worried the conversation wouldn’t go well. It was actually AWFUL. Worse than I could have imagined, but I held firm and set my boundaries. Even though I felt terrible for the way the conversation unfolded, I feel totally liberated and free. I’ve spent so much time sacrificing things I wanted to do to try to gain favor with this person. Turns out they hate me anyway. I’m free to do whatever I want now because they aren’t going to like me either way. I feel so happy. I’ve been sleeping so well. I don’t worry about what they think. I feel empowered to hold firm with my boundaries. I wish I did this years and years ago!
I want to spend less time doing what others think I should do and more time doing what I feel like I should be doing.
Oh my goodness, thank you for sharing that experience! My stomach tensed up and I started sweating just reading about. I’m not even kidding. I was so bummed when you said it went worse than you could have imagined…but then reading how you still felt liberated…I was so happy to read that. I am just really proud of you for doing something that was so incredibly hard.
That’s the key, Mel. That’s what I’m still trying to learn fully, after alllll these years of trying. You can’t look for either permission or forgiveness for doing what you need to for yourself and your family. The rest (what other people do, the choices they make, whether they approve of my choices) is generally not my business.
We have to redefine success in setting boundaries. Success is setting them, not in other people being happy about the boundaries we’ve decided we need to set for our own health and well-being.
Is it a woman/girl thing? I fear it might be.
That line, Nicole, “redefine success in setting boundaries” and your follow up sentence is…wow…so profound and so true. I think I may need to tattoo that on my forehead.
I love reading your thoughts! Thank you for sharing and I LOVE your quilt! I miss quilting but with 2 young kids, life is too hard to quilt right now. I’ll get back to it. Cookie name idea… Kitchen Sink Cookie is good since you can put everything in it but if your kids are loving these then I would suggest the Mary Poppins Cookie because Mary Poppins is Practically Perfect in Every Way which is like this cookie. Good luck naming it!
Yeah, it took me getting to a phase of life where my youngest was six before I even took on quilting. I can’t imagine doing it with little littles. So many suggestion for the almighty kitchen sink cookie! It’ll take a miracle name resurgence of another suggestion for the kitchen sink cookie not to win out! But I have to admit, I think the Mary Poppins name suggestion might be my personal favorite!
I want to do more smiling, and less unintentional scowling (i.e resting grumpy face).
I love reading these responses. Thank you, Wendy!
You are totally NOT the last one on earth to play Pickle ball. Our family has never played but our city JUST finished some pickleball courts, and we can borrow pickle ball supplies from our local library, so I’m guessing we will soon join the pickleball party. 🙂 Thank you for sharing everything that you did for the family reunion. I will reference this post in a couple years when we are in charge of a family reunion. 🙂
Also, I want to do more loving and less criticizing. This is huge for me. ♥️
Oh man, LUCKY about the courts and borrowing pickleball paddles! I hope you love it! I’ll join you on the more loving less criticizing train. I need that reminder, too.
Mel wish I had more time to respond to all your thoughts! I loved seeing all the games and fun from your reunion and love the cookie business idea! My 8.5 son was all over that! I’m definitely still learning about boundaries so thanks for your thoughts. I would say today more family time and books, less screens and noises. More trust and less fear.
Thanks for your response, Rachel. Thank you, thank you! More trust, less fear. LOVED that one.
Cookie name idea: peanut butter insanity
Ooooh, yes, love that!
More laughing less yelling
I second this one!
I third it!
I like Fibber McGee cookies. Younger readers may not have heard of it , but I do still hear closets that are spilling over referred to as Fibber McGee closets. These cookies sound like spilling over with contents of all sorts of goodies.
Great name suggestion for these cookies!
Such a great comment, Elaine! I have a feeling my game closet could have been referred to as a Fibber McGee closet based on your description! Haha.
I forgot to comment on your last Friday Thoughts post with this cute thing that happened. When Hope returned from college this Spring, my littles where like “Yay! Now we get muddy buddies again!” I guess her signature dish was making MB every time she babysat them.
It has been much too long since we’ve had a face to face talk session where we solve all of life’s problems.
Ok, that’s way too cute about Hope and her siblings. They are going to have to wait quite a bit longer now that she’s in Romania. 🙂 And what I wouldn’t give for a life solving session with you. I need one pretty bad. Some hard stuff this week, and I just don’t really know how to wade through it all. Could use some expert mom advice.