What I’ve Been Meaning To Tell You Is…

As April disappears into May and May is about to disappear into June, what I’ve been meaning to tell you is….well, so many things. Sundry items, favorite brands, listening and reading, contemplating and musing. Part what’s-saving-my-life-right-now, part things I-think-more-of-us-should-pay-attention-to, part delightful life.

My rosebushes have bloomed gloriously this month and they are such a source of beauty and delight. The peonies, too, and they never last long enough. There are a few blooms left, but we’ve pretty much reached the end of their cycle.

Currently listening:

No Small Endeavor ~ a new-to-me podcast with a great roster of guests

The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea ~ a fascinating deep dive into the Satanic Panic. It’s a great opportunity to pause and examine what we choose to believe and why, as well as to consider if our belief systems operate from a place of fear and sensationalism.

The Holy Post with Mike Cosper ~ Mike Cosper is the host of the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, and this was an intersting conversation as he talks about this podcast series

Be Still in His Presence

This series ~ Genius:Einstein ~ I found it interesting and enjoyed watching it on Prime

Made Me Laugh This little guy is serious! 🙂

What I’ve been meaning to tell you is…
Last month, I joined my friend Allison in The Inky Collective, her community she cares for and leads in journaling. The theme she chose for April was hope. I wrote a short story set in the hope springtime offers and shared journaling prompts from it. I also had the privilege of joining Allison in conversation for the audio she posts inside The Inky Collective each week.

Allison’s theme for May journaling is curiosity. I love this word and prompt, and the imagery and imagination it conjures up. If you’d like to check out her journaling community, click over here. You can experience it for free for two weeks, and if you’d like to continue, you’ll be able to for $15 per month. Allison will soon be sharing the theme for June.

What I’ve been meaning to tell you as it pertains to food:

I baked this carrot cake last week….
Printed this recipe for a Rough Puff
Saw this fun idea for Pancake tacos….I mean!!! Yes, please!
Love the idea of a peanut butter version of no-bake cookies
I’m thinking broccoli-cauliflower salad sounds yummy…it’s been too long

What I’ve been meaning to tell you is…..
I realized I have some tried-and-true brands I’ve loved for a while now, some years, some a few months to a year,
I’ve long loved reading recommendations and I like sharing mine as well. I think I like doing it in this format because if it interests or helps someone, great! If it’s not their thing, no worries! They can move on without feeling rude and I don’t have to yammer on and waste their time.

I’ve had a pair of Rothy’s for several years now. They are super comfy and they have so many cute styles. They’re flexible and all-around easy. They aren’t my first go-to when I know I will be walking a lot, but I have worn them on a flight and subsequent trekking through the airports. They’re easy to pack as an extra pair of shoes on trips because of their flexibility and minimum space requirement.

My niece introduced me to socks from Bombas. I ordered some this winter and I must say they definitely level up the sock-wearing experience. I’m smitten.
Underwear brand? Tommy John is the one I’ve been glad to find. And my go-to for bras is Third Love. These are both brands I found and tried {and ultimately loved,} through ads on podcasts.
I ordered these jeans on Amazon this month and they’re a fun and comfy style. {amazon links are affiliate links}
I’ve been loving this bangle bracelet that was part of my last Grace Case.
This leather bag from Mercy House Global has been one of my favorites for a few years.

Two sets of earbuds I’m currently loving….this set of Beats for when I’m on an airplane….I like that they go around my neck and I don’t have to worry about dropping an earbud. They also have four different colors to choose from.
This open ear set from Bose. I love the look and the ability to listen to an audiobook and also have an awareness of my environment. {Keep an eye out for sales on these because they do run promotions.}
Lilla Rose flexis are my years-long-favorite hairclips and accessories. You can shop my affiliate link here.

I have wire clips like this I use for chips and they’re my favorite. I find myself always reaching for them first. The ones I have are metallic colors, a detail that brings me a spark of joy every time.

Good Reads:

The Messages That Broke Me
Slightly Rude Notes on Writing
How owning multiple e-readers changed my reading life

A short booklist:

The Tears of Things by Richard Rohr
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
Permission by Elissa Altman
Thinking About Thinking by Grant Snider

Our 28th Wedding Anniversary

One of my husband’s friends, in good humor, told him he should buy me another drink for putting up with him this long.
And maybe, that’s a bit true for all of us some days. Maybe, in every marriage, we all have our days when we bear the load. Seems like that might be one of the threads in Ecclesiastes when the son of David, the Quester, writes “two are better than one.”

It wouldn’t take me long to scrawl a list, a long one, of all the ways and days, when I’m not all that fun to sit next to.
To be fair, I could also list strengths of mine.
The both/and. Surprise. Surprise.

Could I do the same for this good farmer man of mine? I could.

See, that’s the beauty of this next-to-you-next-to-me thing for 28 years.
The good, the bad, and the ugly.
The precious and the promises and the put-thee-far-from-me.
The delightful and the dreadful.
The worst, the better, the I-like-you best.
The I-still-choose-you and the you-still-make-me-laugh.
The kids and the queso and chips and the coffee shop stops.

28 years. I still do.

And I warrant, no one says it better than C.S. Lewis. I’ve shared it before. I’ll share it again.

“Being in love is a good thing, but it is not the best thing. There are many things below it, but there are also things above it. You cannot make it the basis of a whole life. It is a noble feeling, but it is still a feeling. Now no feeling can be relied on to last in its full intensity, or even to last at all. Knowledge can last, principles can last, habits can last but feelings come and go. And in fact, whatever people say, the state called ‘being in love’ usually does not last.If the old fairy-tale ending ‘They lived happily ever after’ is taken to mean ‘They felt for the next fifty years exactly as they felt the day before they were married,’ then it says what probably never was nor ever would be true, and would be highly undesirable if it were. Who could bear to live in that excitement for even five years? What would become of your work, your appetite, your sleep, your friendships? But, of course, ceasing to be ‘in love’ need not mean ceasing to love. Love in this second sense — love as distinct from ‘being in love’ — is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from God. They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other; as you love yourself even when you do not like yourself. They can retain this love even when each would easily, if they allowed themselves, be ‘in love’ with someone else. ‘Being in love’ first moved them to promise fidelity: this quieter love enables them to keep the promise. it is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it.” ~ C. S. Lewis

In Conclusion

If we could sit across from one another and share coffee + conversation, what would your side of What I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You hold? Use this as a journaling prompt, leave your list in the comments below, or email me your answer if you’d like.