Hi, how are you?

Oopsie daisy, I missed a week of this newsletter. At first it was just a day, then it was a few days, and then it was just too far gone. So I’ll try to make it up to you guys in this one!

39th birthday shenanigans

I’ve entered my final year of my 30s, and I am pumped. I think it’s going to be amazing. I think 40 is a biggie. Like, when you’re a kid, there are lots of biggies!

• 1 - the first birthday is iconic

• 5 - you’re a whole hand!

• 10 - double digits!

• 13 - an official teenager

• 16 - sweet sixteen (and also, depending on where you live, you are legal to drive)

• 18 - at least in the USA, you’re legal to vote

• 21 - another kind of legal

• 25 - now you can rent a car 😅

And then it’s just like, you’re a grownup… until you hit 40. And now you’re a REAL grown-up.

So anyway that’s what I’m thinking about. I really wanted to throw myself a big party (okay, I wanted to host a party that wasn’t really about me at all… I was just using my b-day as an excuse). But that never happened. I am an Enneagram 6, and my fear that no one would show up kept me from even starting. Maybe for 40 I’ll have a big bash!

Here’s what DID happen though….

On the actual birthday, I went to the gym in the morning. When I got there, I scanned my member card, and right away, the computers made celebratory noises, which alerted the staff that it was my birthday. So I got an early morning “happy birthday” from those folks.

After that, I went around town to get some birthday balloons. It took me 5 stops to find a place that would blow up “3” and “9” balloons with helium. I got them at Party City (they were huge) - here’s a picture we got. It’s REALLY HARD to take pictures outside with giant balloons. They never want to face the right direction at the same time!

I had made myself a cake the day before, so we had a little bit of that before heading to homeschool co-op for 4 hours. It was week one, so it was a bit chaotic, but it worked out okay! The following day, Cam sent me on a little adventure. I had to be “somewhere” at 10:30am - turns out, it was a nail salon where I got a pedicure. Then I had to be “somewhere else” at 12:00n - that was a massage place that I’ve been a couple times. It was GREAT. Those hot stones are soooo nice. I grabbed a bite to eat and headed on home. All in all, it was a really nice birthday!

Am I a maximalist?!

Years and years ago I got The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, aka the KonMari method. Cam and I took several weeks and cleared out a lot of our stuff. I still prefer to have less stuff. I still like bins and shelves and folding my clothes rather than hanging much. I still like keeping things tidy.

But….

I joined a group on Facebook a few months ago called Maximalist Design and Decor. And I realized, I love so much of it. I still don’t want a bunch of STUFF, knick knacks, 10 pillows on my couch, anything like that. But I love the colorful rugs, the painted murals, the funky light fixtures, the quirkiness. I mean… just look at these pictures!!

Favorite IG and TikTok creators

I follow a nice variety of pages on social media, and since there are SO many great pages out there, I figured I’d share some of the ones I enjoy. For each one, I’ve got my reason for liking them!

Instagram

1. Scott Fairchild - He posts mostly SHARK videos and info. He also posts about other sea creatures he comes across in his adventures. I’ve learned so much from his page!

2. I Am Thirty AF - Most of the posts here are a carousel of tweets they’ve found on a particular theme. Most of them are for the 30-something crowd, and they’re almost always hilarious.

3. Merriam Webster - Yes, the dictionary. They share random language tidbits, like the origins of words, strange words we maybe haven’t heard of, why certain words came about, and more. Very interesting (and often silly)!

4. Dandelion Seeds Parenting - I have learned or been reminded of a lot of things from Sarah! She’s the author of a book called Peaceful Discipline.

5. Going Zero Waste - Kathryn Kellogg! I’ve followed her for many years. She is lovely! She shares little ways we can reduce, reuse, and recycle, how to make things from scratch, that sort of thing!

6. Wigs by Tiffani - She makes wigs for people who have either lost their hair or have thinning hair. Her videos are so beautiful!

7. Black Forager - I’ve learned so much from Alexis about (mostly wild) plants, what can be eaten and how!

Okay so MOST of these TikTok creators are also IG creators, but I’m sharing them as I found them! And I found the ones below via TikTok 🙂 

1. ToeKnee - I’ve followed Anthony Corrado for a while now, and just recently he found out he has lymphoma. Throughout the whole process (he’s just finished his 4th round of chemo), he’s sharing his journey with honesty and silliness.

2. Cinema Joe - I love TV and movies but don’t have time to watch all the new stuff that comes out. Who does?! Well… Joe does, it seems. He watches most of the new movie releases each month (in theaters and on streaming platforms) and gives them reviews and rankings. He also shares a lot of lists (horror, Wes Anderson, 100 best Disney songs, etc).

3. Lisa Pedace - When I first see a new video of hers pop up, I forget she’s a comedian. The delivery is so dry and feels real for a minute. Then it starts going off the rails, and I remember that I just love her sense of humor.

4. Josh from England - This guy named Josh, from England, has fallen in love with the USA. For a while, he just tried American foods and ranked them. Then he got a chance to visit, and he loved it. So he came back a little while later, and he’s been traveling around the whole country for a couple months so far. His enthusiasm is contagious!

5. Jason Pargin - This guy’s videos are so random. Sometimes it’s a serious deep dive on …anything. Sometimes it’s just a joke. You never know what you’re going to get with him, but the videos are unskippable for me.

6. Brooklyn - Her style is not my style. But her sewing ability is amaaaaazing. She buys stuff at the thrift store then flips it to fit her style. She has a vision and then - BAM - does it. It’s so impressive to me!

7. Abir el saghir - This account won both the TikTok creator AND food creator of the year awards last year. Her food looks amazing. Her videos are stunning. She does it all on her iPhone! I really don’t know how she sets up all the shots so perfectly. It’s artful (is that a word?).

Crossfit!

Back in the day (2012), Cam and I joined Crossfit DC (CFDC). At the time, they met in the gymnasium of a church, and we didn’t have squat racks or much equipment at all. We had some barbells that we kept on the ground, and we did a ton of body weight moves (air squats, burpees, pushups).

It was about 2 months into starting the class that I found out I was pregnant with Alexander. I started to modify my workouts but kept up with Crossfit until 39 weeks. During that time, CFDC found their own space, which was really nice! I had a CF trainer who worked with me 1-2 times a week, and I went to classes 1-2 times a week. After Alexander was born, I waited for the all clear from my OBGYN before returning to classes. It was a slow start, and I never did get very strong, but I LOVED the classes.

I loved the community. Our gym was great at having social events so everyone could hang out in “real clothes” and just chat. During the classes, most people usually had to leave right away because of work. These social events were a lot of fun. Crossfit was one of my fav groups of people; our church in DC was the other main community!

Anyway, we left DC, and since then, I’ve not done Crossfit again, not officially. When I started training for my triathlon, I joined the local YMCA for the swimming pool, and - what do ya know - they have a Crossfit class. Normally Crossfit is $100+ per month. This class through the YMCA is just $10 extra per month (on top of the $40 gym membership).

This week I started up Crossfit classes. I’m SO SORE. But I think I’ll really enjoy it. The community is what I miss the most - if I happen to get strong along the way, great!

Now, I am a little perplexed. I want to keep up my swimming, but the drive to/from the gym is 45 minutes. If I did 2 CF workouts and 2 swims per week, that’s 6 hours of driving per week, just to workout. Oof. I’m thinking of swimming AFTER my CF workouts, but I don’t know if that’s foolish. Perhaps just 1 CF and 1 swim each week, but what about the community?! I just don’t know yet. I’ll figure something out!

10 things to do with cooked chicken!

1. Chicken, bacon, cheese wraps - In college, this was my go-to meal from Randle’s, the little diner on campus. They used a spinach tortilla and chopped up the filling super fine. And I’d dip it in ranch. 🙌🏻

2. Corn tortillas packed with the chicken and cheese, folded then fried! Sides of sour cream, salsa, and guac at least!

3. Chicken enchiladas

4. Chicken pot pie in a pie crust OR

5. Chicken pot pie filling with homemade biscuits

6. Chicken tortilla soup

7. Chicken salad - Chop some chicken, celery (or zucchini!), maybe some apple… add mayo, a little mustard, salt, and pepper. And just eat it with a spoon, with crackers, or maybe put it in a sandwich!

8. Chicken and broccoli in alfredo sauce - You can add pasta too, but it’s good just like that! I steam the broccoli, but roasted works great.

9. Chicken spaghetti - I mix together cooked spaghetti, chopped chicken, 1 can of cream of mushroom or chicken, about ½ cup each of salsa, sour cream, broth/water, 1 cup shredded cheese, salt, pepper, garlic, cumin. Top with more cheese. Then bake at 350F for 30 minutes or so! NOTE: You can make this with spaghetti squash noodles instead of regular spaghetti!

10. Southwest chicken quesadillas - In a flour tortilla, add chopped chicken, black beans, corn, salsa, cheese, and some spice! Fold and fry, serve with sour cream!

Shoutouts and byeeeeee

First, I want to say a big thanks to my IG subscribers. I’ve got a small group of subscribers there, and I appreciate that support so much!

Second, thank you so much to Kailee who bought me a coffee last week!

Next, thank you to Ciara and Anna who sent me gifts from my Amazon wish list! I got a flour sifter (so fun!) and some new face wash 🥹

And finally, thanks to YOU GUYS who are here, who read and reply (or not reply!), and who have been with me for any amount of time. I love the friendships I’ve made, everything I’ve learned over the years from you, and the encouragement you always provide. Much love!!

That's it for this week. Have a good one!❤️ Bethany

If you like my content and want to support me, click the coffee cup below to go to my virtual tip jar or you can check out my Amazon wish list! Thank you SO much for your continued support, in every way.