Oh hi there.

It’s been a little slow on the old blog lately, with only one post in the last 10 days or so rather than my normal onslaught of lists you don’t really need and too many pictures of brunch. What – you didn’t even notice??? Thanks a lot.

Lately I have been trying to work on making good decisions, wise decisions, and finally doing some of that saying no that I woefully failed at last semester. It’s meant slugging through books on my PhD reading list instead of blogging, giving time to morning devotions instead of numbly scanning social media, dragging myself out of bed for early morning runs on the weekend instead of sleeping in, getting through another day of Whole30 even though I would sell my soul for some Totinos frozen pizza, and listening to podcasts in the kitchen while I help James with dishes instead of using that time to binge on my  poor taste in TV. It’s been quieter, less photo-worthy, and deeply, profoundly, good.

This is not to say that life has been especially calm the last couple weeks. Yesterday I made tea and never got to drinking it ( I know, I know, my mom friends are like “STORY OF MY LIFE”), which meant that when I found it this morning, I just shrugged and reheated that day-old tea because it will be one of those days. Hashtag Live Authentic. Between James’ long work days and my own academic responsibilities, the only way we can get any of that much-needed calm is to pass on a lot of “fun” things. So that’s what we’ve been doing, and I don’t really regret it. I actually managed to turn down three fun things last weekend, one of which included uninviting the Bach Bunch to come over and catch up on Prince Farming’s search to find love and avoid psychopaths. Instead, I did 4 loads of laundry, studied a lot, and made a bazillion tiny fruit tarts for my soon-to-be sister-in-law’s bridal shower. But don’t worry – I learned my lesson and let Trader Joe’s provide a lot of the rest of the food.

Usually I take tons of photos at showers like these, but in continuing my spirit of creating some space to just enjoy things, I took all of 7, and then sat back and reveled in hosting a party for my brother’s impossibly wonderful fiancé instead of overdocumenting it. To top off a post about good decisions, I refer you to the above photos of Ruth blowing glitter in my face at our sparkly themed shower. Glitter is ALWAYS a good idea. That person who was all over the internet because he would let you send glitter to your enemies? That man is a HUMANITARIAN, spreading a little sparkly round the world. I also think his site proved to be fake, making him a doer of untold evil, promising glitter and failing to provide.

Anyway, I will tie these barely congruent rambles up with two pictures I did take. And by saying that I hope you all make good decisions this week, which is to say, find a way to blow glitter in someone’s face.