I feel like the year is almost over! The last quarter is almost here, and it’s always jam-packed. Last year, I did something that turned out really well, so I plan to do it again this year: I did all my Christmas shopping by early November. I might have gotten a few last-minute gifts, but it made the whole season much less stressful. I wasn’t scrambling to figure things out. So it’s early, but I have already bought a few small things for people! They’re tucked away in a closet where I’ll put all the gifts.

Another note, Amazon Prime Day (didn’t they just have one of those?) is coming up in a couple weeks. Remember, a lot of times, items are marked up shortly before Prime Day just so they can say it’s a great deal. I’ve mentioned it on Instagram a few times, but I want to mention it here as well:

CamelCamelCamel.com is a great resource. It shows you the price history for items on Amazon. For example, our espresso machine that I LOVE (Breville Barista Express - affiliate link!) is currently $699 (we have had ours about 5 years now, and it was closer to $500 then). It also says that its list price is $749. Now, here’s a screen grab from CamelCamelCamel:

You can see that, back in July of this year, it was down to $550. So keep that in mind, especially for big ticket items. If it says it’s a great deal, hop over to CamelCamelCamel and check out the price history first!

Speaking of buying stuff online

I was talking about overconsumption on IG recently. I think it’s easy, especially nowadays, to just buy things because they’re a good price, or because you MIGHT need it one day, or because someone else has it and loves it. But as Prime Day is coming up, maybe pre-decide what you actually need. And if it happens to be a good deal, then awesome! But avoid the trap of buying things you don’t actually need simply because it’s a good price. Just my two cents (pun intended)! Use your funds however you want 🥰

It’s become saturated on IG and TikTok (and probably other sites too, but IG/TT are the two I’m actually active on) with BUY BUY BUY. I follow one lady in particular who I really do like. Half of her content, though, is the newest thing she just got from Amazon or Walmart or Target or wherever, and it’s always on sale, and she got it in every color. And here’s her promo code for an extra 15%! But it’s only good for the next 3 days, so act fast!

“Buy it before it runs out!”

“The price will never be this good again!”

“I can’t believe how soft it is!”

I’d love to see folks sharing their top 5 favorite items (clothing, home stuff, etc) that they have had for several years, still love, and it’s still held up. Do you have any brands you’re loyal to because they’re high quality, last a while, are reliably comfortable? What about home stuff? I may put together a list in the next newsletter, but then again, I don’t want to feel like I’m being a hypocrite! Like “Hey don’t buy stuff just because someone else loves it” and then in the next breath, “Hey here’s some of my favorite stuff!”

Anyway, I’m rambling now… just food for thought!

Have you heard of 75 Soft?

A couple years ago, Cameron did 75 Hard. It’s an intense challenge. For 75 days:

• Two 45-min workouts every day, and one of them must be outside

• One gallon of water per day

• Read 10+ pages of a book

• Pick a particular eating style and stick to it for 75 days

• Daily progress picture

If you mess up one day, you have to start back at Day 1.

That’s a lot, especially if you don’t work out much or drink a lot of water. So I came across 75 Soft:

• One 45-min workout, six days a week (inside or outside)

• 3L of water per day (that’s about 100 oz)

• Read 10+ pages of a book

• Eat well - whatever that looks like for you

If you mess up, just pick up where you left off the next day.

I’m only on day 12, but I feel good about it! I’ve got a handful of people on IG who are doing it with me. They’re messaging me every day or two with their own progress reports. For me, the water is the hardest part; I’m just not used to drinking that much! My day 75 is December 2. That feels so far away, so I’m just not thinking about it. 😜

For the workouts, I’ve been using YouTube…

I find a workout online, then I walk on my walking pad for the remaining time (until I hit 45 minutes).

The other day, I was moving a heavy wheel barrow and pulled something in my lower calf. So I’ve been hobbling around a couple days. That’s why these workouts are low intensity or even seated. And once I hurt my leg, I didn’t do the walking pad!

Here are some of the videos I’ve followed! I really like Grow with Jo, Blogilates, and Yoga with Adriene.

1. 15-minute arms workout

2. Fat burning 90s themed dance workout

3. Seated abs workout

4. 30-minute sweat on the couch

5. 20-minute yoga for beginners

Books!

Another requirement for the 75 Soft is to read. I’m reading both Another Gospel? by Alisa Childers (it’s about her journey with the deconstruction and reconstruction of her faith as well as her experience with progressive Christianity) and Anxious for Nothing by John MacArthur.

And speaking of books, the kids and I have started reading The Wild Robot. It’s a small series of 3 books, and there’s a movie coming out (I think next week).

To go along with the reading, I purchased this read-aloud poster from Ruby Reads Books. We’re about 25% finished with the book, and I’ll just say, Alexander (my capable but hesitant reader) is really into the poster!

A quick shout-out

to Mrs Susan - she got me this adorable butter container. It’s called a butter crock (or butter bell), and it keeps your butter fresh and spreadable! Plus it just looks cute on the counter!

to Pauline for the beautiful baby blanket!

to my IG subscribers - I don’t say it often, but I’m really grateful for your support over on IG!

Eat the frog

Someone on IG said it this way: Worst thing, first thing.

We started using this method with our homeschooling last week. Alexander’s least favorite part of school is writing, specifically creative writing, not the practice of handwriting. It’s funny because we have a huge box filled with books he has written over the years. He’s got a 14-book series called Silly People with characters and themes and everything. So I know he DOES like writing, just not on a specific prompt. I’m not totally sure how to navigate that; like, I do think it’s worth the energy to write about things you don’t necessarily want to write about because you have to write essays for college and beyond. It’s good practice to do things that are a little uncomfortable. Right? If you’ve got a thought on this, let me know!

Currently my “frog” is drinking 3L water every day as part of 75 Soft. I should probably commit to drinking 1L before 10:00am, or something like that, but I just really don’t like drinking water. 😄 I’d rather do what I’ve always done: drink an iced latte with breakfast, then drink some water around 3:00pm when I finally realize I haven’t had anything else to drink since breakfast.

What’s your frog?

It’s been a busy week for us!

We all had dentist appointments on Wednesday. I was told I need to floss more (they always tell me that). Honestly, I can’t stand it. I gag every time. Whenever the lady at the dentist does it, I nearly vomit every time. It’s just… it’s just so gross to me. We all have our things. So I decided I’ll try doing it a few times a week and then use a water pick the other days. And maybe one day, I’ll get used to it. But all of us had positive reports: no cavities, good hygiene, and “see you in 6 months.”

I recently got new glasses, but they were “off” and I couldn’t figure out why. I visited my eye doctor, and she said the pupillary distance (PD) was wrong in my prescription, which causes a fishbowl effect. So I’ve contacted the company who made my glasses, and they’re going to send me new ones. 👏

Then the fam went to Lowe’s for some paint and trim and some other stuff, to fix up Charlie’s new room (the big kids’ old room). Afterward, we went out to eat (Tex-Mex).

And then today, we visited Cameron’s grandma, who lives about 45 minutes from us, and had lunch there. My parents (who live 2 hours from us) were in town so my mama could buy a new car, so we went and met up with them for a short while before fiiiinally heading home.

AND I’m singing with the worship team in the morning!

What’s that meme about being an adult?

TikTok round-up

And for those of you don’t have TikTok or can’t access it where you live, I’ll try to add the IG video link too (if I can find it!):

1. Matilda magic dance with friends! (TikTok)

2. Fire hydrants?!? (TikTok)

3. I would NOT be this cool if I saw a bear (TikTok, Instagram)

4. Mushroom chicken tortellini (TikTok)

5. If you haven’t seen any of Kenzie’s styling episodes, you’re missin’ out. It’s like today’s What Not To Wear. (TikTok, her Instagram page)

6. The outfits! The dog! The castle?? (TikTok, Instagram)

7. Harry Potter theme in a major key (TikTok, Instagram)

8. They thought they were popping blue confetti but it was blue powder instead 😭(TikTok, Instagram)

Anyway…

I’ve got so much more on my mind these days. But I’ll stop for now. And hopefully I’ll hit you up again in a week or so!

Have a GREAT week. Feel free to reply to this email! I see them all and reply to most. ❤️ 

xoxo,
Bethany