Remember me?

It’s been a while!! October really flew by, it seems. Tomorrow’s Halloween (as of writing this!). I realize that’s not a big thing in a lot of places but here in the US, it’s a pretty big deal. My family typically goes to our friends’ house - they make a big meal, and the kids go trick-or-treating. We live out in the country where the houses are pretty spread out, and the driveways are long, and it’s dark. Our friends live in a proper suburban neighborhood, so they always invite us over!

Some family updates

My youngest brother (and his wife and daughter) recently moved to Kansas! He got a great job opportunity, but now that means they’re about 9 hours from us rather than 45 minutes. I’m so thankful for FaceTime and that sort of thing, you know?

SIDE NOTE: Back in 1980, my parents got married, and I was born in ‘84. Then in ‘85, we moved to Germany. It was too expensive to fly home, so we’d only fly back every other year. On the other years, one of my grandmothers would come visit us instead. And international phone calls were also super expensive. All that to say, I’m grateful for modern technology so people can keep in touch so much easier. (I often wonder it we keep in touch LESS nowadays, though.)

Anyway, another family update is that my other brother (and his wife and daughter) added another baby to their crew, a little boy. He was born a few weeks ago. AND they moved as well, about 2 hours from us. Busy month!

Recipes lately

I’ve tried several new recipes lately that I want to share with you!

1. Sourdough tortillas

2. Snickerdoodle bars

3. Chicken birria tacos

4. Breakfast sausage

5. Hashbrown casserole

Sourdough tortillas - I’ve only ever made a few things with my sourdough starter, so when my friend Mary sent me this tortilla link, I had to try it. I LOVE fresh tortillas, and we had just run out, so it was perfect. They are unreal. I should have doubled the recipe. If you’ve got a sourdough starter, give these a try!!

Snickerdoodle bars - CONFESSION, I did NOT make this recipe. I modified it quite a bit, and what I created was delicious. Here’s what I did:

Chicken birria tacos - NOTE: The cloves were too strong for me, and I didn’t even use the prescribed amount. So personal opinion here, use even less. But besides that, the rest of the flavor was amazing. We’re definitely making this again.

Breakfast sausage - I’ve never been a breakfast sausage person (for the same reason I don’t like Thanksgiving stuffing). There’s some ingredient that I really do not like, but I haven’t ever pinpointed it. Anyway, this breakfast sausage is made with ground beef, and we really liked it. We had it with the hashbrown casserole below!

Hashbrown casserole - This recipe, I actually saw in this TikTok video, but I found a typed-out version that seems to be the same exact recipe. It’s delicious!!

Speaking of TikTok…

First of all, I LOVE the new feature that lets you quickly fast forward a video. You just press and hold on the side of the screen and it automatically sets the speed to 2x. But when you release your finger, it goes back to 1x. Anyway, if you didn’t know about that, now ya do!

Second, here’s a quick roundup of some favorite videos recently.

• I just love this sort of music!! Banjo + … bass?

• Whatever style of costume this is, it’s my favorite.

• Laminar. Flow. I’ve never seen it in real life, and it just blows my mind. (He says a bad word in this video 😏)

• I haven’t bought squeeze cheese, maybe ever, but I’m tempted to buy it just to try this.

• Just a baby platypus 🙂 

A note about mazes

This is random, but I saw a trick about mazes that says if you just hug one side of a maze and follow it, it’ll eventually take you to the exit.

A couple years ago, our family did a corn maze (do you have those where you are?). It took us at least 45 minutes to get out, and we were sweaty and stressed by the end of it.😅

I’m VERY tempted to go to one now and just use this trick to see if we can make our way out really easily! I’ll keep you posted if it ends up happening.

Irritable and stuff

I mentioned this in an IG story recently, that I’ve been feeling irritable and snappy a lot lately. I got a LOT of replies about this! I want to share some of the feedback because there were also many replies of solidarity.

• Perimenopause. It was suggested that I follow Dr Mary Claire on IG!

• SAD. Seasonal affective disorder. I had not considered this, but a few people mentioned taking a vitamin D supplement.

• Get hormone, vitamin, and thyroid panels done (full thyroid, not just TSH).

• Meditation. The Insight Timer app was suggested.

• Overstimulation. This is probably my issue. The problem is that I don’t have a solution yet! I’m sure I “escape” by getting on my phone too much, which has the opposite effect, you know?

• Magnesium glycinate 1 hour before bed.

One thing that’s helped me the last week is listening to praise and worship music while I make breakfast. Even amidst the chaos of the morning (although, my kids are pretty chill most mornings, thankfully), it gives me a calm place to put my focus. Another thing I’ve started doing (a few weeks now) is keeping my phone away during the first 30-40 minutes of the day. I used to check messages and all that right after I brushed my teeth basically.

Anyway do you have any ideas to add to my list? I don’t think being overstimulated or overwhelmed is unusual for a parent! It’s just good to recognize it and TRY to find ways to improve.

A few things I liked recently

That’s it for today!

Random note: the address at the bottom of these emails is NOT MINE. It’s the one for the newsletter hosts… I can’t figure out how to change it! I do still have a PO Box, though, which is Bethany King, PO Box 8152, Shreveport LA 71148.

And if you’d like to support me and my emails and IG and all that, you can do it in a couple ways! First, there’s Buy Me a Coffee, which is basically a virtual tip jar. And second, there’s my Amazon wish list! I add to it as I think of new things I’d love to have.

Thanks so much for being here. Sending you so much love!
~ Bethany