Hi, how are you?

It’s been a long week for us, busy busy. We got back into town on Monday. On Tuesday, a bug guy came and treated the house, so the kids and I had to leave for a few hours. Then Wednesday our church had a back-to-school party with water slides and stuff, so the kids did that. Thursday, I went swimming (that doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a 45 minute drive each way, so it always feels like a big thing!). Friday, finally, we didn’t do much… except that I painted the kids’ bedroom door. It took me about 5 hours start to finish. But at least we stayed home!

Anyway let’s get to it! 🥰

Flip phones!

I’m seriously considering getting a flip phone. Funny enough, back in the day, the only phones I ever had were those itty bitty Nokia ones. I never upgraded to a flip phone or a slide-y kind. I just went straight from the Nokia to an iPhone. I always thought the flip phones were SO cool and sleek looking.

Of course, the reason I’d get one is NOT because it’s cool or sleek. I am thinking I’d put my SIM card into the flip phone during the day, in case anyone needed to call or text. And once the kids went to bed I could switch the SIM card to my iPhone. I could use my phone as a camera if I needed to, and then at night, I could upload any photos and videos to my IG story (or Facebook or whatever).

But Cameron said that the SIM card is just for my personal contacts. I could still use my iPhone on social media as long as I have Wi-Fi.

The reason I want to try something simpler is to curb my social media habit. But this may not be the answer. The ONLY thing that’s worked for me in the past is cold quitting. I have to fully turn off my phone and leave it off for a week, or a month. If I give myself an inch, I take a mile. If I delete the app, I just use my internet browser to access it or I download it again “just for a second.” I’ve set app limits and that doesn’t work because once the limit is reached, I just select “remind me in 15 minutes” over and over. 🤦🏼‍♀️

I’ll let you know if I decide to get a flip phone! Have you ever seen the Light Phone? The only problem is that it’s $300. You can get a flip phone for about $10.

Newsletter template?

I realized last week that my newsletters are so unpredictable. Some weeks, there’s a theme. Some weeks, it’s a little of this, little of that. Sometimes funny stuff, sometimes food, sometimes kids…

The only feedback I’ve really ever gotten regarding this is that I should include more recipes, and I TRY to include one each week. Here’s the one for this week!! I may have shared it before, but I made them again this week, and they’re excellent. These are called Gideon’s Copycat Coffee Cake Cookies. It seems like a lot of steps, but it’s really not too bad. And they’re UNREAL. This past week, I split the recipe down by 1/3 and made 3 giant cookies.

Anyway, if you’ve got any thoughts on a more predictable format, let me know. And if you’re okay with the randomness, let me know that too! It helps me out as I decide what to write week to week. 🥰

Old movies I need to watch + unrealistic expectations from old movies

When I say “need to watch” I’m really not sure. There are literally thousands of great movies out there, and I’m not going to sit and watch them all. But here are some I’ve never seen that I probably should … 😅

• Fox and the Hound

• Hunchback of Notre Dame

• Lilo and Stitch

• Coco

• The Godfather

• Saving Private Ryan

• The Green Mile

• Good Will Hunting

Those are some that have come up and people are like “WHHAAATTT?!? You’ve never seen THAT?”

Now, a random unrealistic expectation from movies that came to mind.

1, in Little Mermaid, she got the prince to fall in love with her in DAYS. And then they got married, and she was like, 16 years old?? “I’m not a child anymore!” Girl.

A few memories

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about my time in New York City. I only lived there 3.5 years, but it was so. much. fun. I want to share a few of my memories from my time there! I’ve got virtually no pictures of any of this because I had a dinky little Nokia phone (as mentioned above) and would have to remember to bring my digital camera with me, which didn’t happen much.

1. In 2007, I decided to get Invisalign. My doctor’s office was around 35th street in Manhattan. I went in for a consultation and found out it would cost around $4,700. I asked if I could get a discount if I paid it all upfront, and they agreed to $4,500. Then I said, what if I paid in cash, and they agreed to $4,100. So I walked a few blocks away to my bank, withdrew $4,100, and walked back to the dentist. I was SO scared I’d get mugged in those few minutes, but luckily, I made it.

2. Part two of that same story. One day, after I got my new Invisalign set, I was walking back toward the 34th Street subway station when two women + a double stroller turned in front of me. I was walking behind them for a couple blocks and realized that the people walking toward us kept looking at this woman and saying, “Julia! Julia!” I realized it was friggin Julia Roberts. I quickly changed my plan and decided I’d walk down to Union Square instead (that’s 1 mile from the 34th Street station). Eventually, I needed to turn, and she kept going straight, but we were stuck at a red light together. Right before I turned, I said, “Julia! I think you’re wonderful!” And she just smiled, and that was that!

3. Every Thursday night for at least 1.5 years, I went to a comedy show at a place called The Kabin, at 2nd and 2nd (it’s not there anymore). One night, one of the host comedians was doing his set, and he said, “I grew up in a little bitty town in Louisiana, called [my hometown].” 😳 I went up to him after the show and, turns out, we went to the same high school (he graduated 4 years before me). We became very good friends! In fact, he moved back to Louisiana a few years ago, and we met up again last weekend when we were down south!

4. There was a pool table near my workplace in Brooklyn, at The Alibi. It was about a 15 minute walk from my apartment at the time. Once or twice a week, I’d go play pool there. It was a quarter table, which meant it cost 4 quarters to play, and if you wanted the next game, you’d put a quarter down on the table. Then you just wait your turn. Well, little did they know, I was quite good. I remember one night, I put my quarter down, and when my turn came, I CLEARED the table. The other guy didn’t even get a turn, I’m pretty sure. Then the next guy came to play, and I beat him too. And again and again. It was 4-5 games in a row. Finally a guy named Sanjay beat me. Another guy named Kuza approached me and asked if I wanted to be on The Alibi’s official pool team. I joined the APA (American Pool Association) and played on that team for just a few months before I moved and had to quit. It was a lot of fun though!

I could go on and on - Maybe I’ll share more in another email. Thanks for indulging me 🤗

TikTok recap

1. Just some frog drama, nbd

2. A fun (?) little Math challenge for ya - it’s harder than it looks!

3. Friends, if you just have one guy laughing instead of a laugh track

4. This device allows you to sorta play your guitar like a violin

5. A handy guide to modern slang

6. Mummy Pig doll saves Peppa from being squished 😁 

First week of school recap!

It did not go to plan.

We were out of town Monday, so we didn’t start until Tuesday. One day behind already😆 Then bug man came and threw us off on Tuesday too. But honestly, it’s been good! The kids are adjusting well, remembering most of what we’d learned last year. To be fair, we didn’t take a huge break, just about 3 weeks. We take many breaks throughout the year rather than one big break in the summer.

We signed ‘em up for co-op again, after taking a year off. They’re both excited about that. They’ll be taking phys ed, spy science, archery, pet care, and something about homesteading. As for me? I’m teaching a pre-K crafts class (😳). I don’t really “do” messy, but it’s where there was a need sooo here we are.

Shoutouts and ta-ta

Thank you to Alexis for buying me a coffee this week!!

Ta-ta, lovelies. That's it for this week. Have a good one!❤️ Bethany

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