Feel Good Friday 65
So. How to start a post when it’s been a doozy of a week . . . I guess one just dives right in? Here I go, attempting my swan dive, surely only to land in a belly flop because I have the grace of a newborn calf. Last Thursday night, on his way home from work (and traveling the speed limit, if not less, because yes, I interrogated), Chris hit a patch of water on the side of the highway while driving his low-to-the-ground-Prius and hydroplaned. It all happened so fast, but he thinks he did two 360s and then crashed into the median. He had just called me at 8 p.m. to let me know he’d be home around 9 p.m. and then fifteen minutes later, my phone rang again. This time he was telling me he wasn’t sure if he was going to make it home and that he’d had an accident, but he was OK. He very much downplayed it and my mind was at ease. However, the next morning, he told me exactly what had happened, and I will just say that I believe my angels were there making sure no other cars were around because it would have been a lot worse. As it was, he was barely sore on Friday. His car did not fare as well so we’re going car shopping for a small hybrid SUV. That was our Thursday and Friday. Then we had a huge ice storm in Greensboro this weekend which knocked out power Saturday afternoon into Sunday evening. We’re all here, alive, healthy and making the best of things. Enough of that. Let’s belly flop into what made my week a wee bit better. Every little bit counts. (This post contains affiliate links. I am also an Amazon Associate.)
Facebook Marketplace to the Rescue
First of all, this is our dining room on a regular basis. Chris’ work bag on the floor, pillows a mess, Wilder’s dishes on the table. I’m honestly shocked there isn’t more dog fur on the floor as well. Anyhow, I’ve been looking for a cabinet for our dining room for over 6 months. It’s taken a while because I have very specific needs. It couldn’t be too wide or tall (I want to possibly place my record player on top). It couldn’t have glass doors – hello, toddler. It needed to have cabinet space that would hold our glassware and booze. And it needed to be vintage, because the one thing this room was missing was something old – aside from me. Queue Survivor’s The Search is Over. We have our cabinet, thanks to Facebook Marketplace! Chris and I headed out Sunday morning, leaving the kids in a cold house. We made sure they had blankets because we’re not totally inhumane. We giddily turned on the seat warmers in my Flex, stopped for hot coffee and headed off to pick it up. Chris has already said how wonderful it is to be able to get to our glassware so easily (which was previously shoved into the top of our pantry). He’s excited about the function and I’m looking forward to styling it. Our marriage is a balancing act. Have you found anything great on your marketplace lately? Spill.
Supporting Black-Owned Local Businesses
Note: I mentioned this business last week because we had already planned on trying it.
In our house, we do our best to support local businesses. This year, we’ve definitely had our eyes open to support more Black-owned businesses as well. Dames Chicken & Waffles has been on my “to try” list since we moved to Greensboro, so I told the family we were ordering for Valentine’s Day, which worked out well since we had no power. Sawyer’s favorite food is waffles, Emmy’s is chicken. Win-win. Chris and Emmy both had chicken and waffles. That’s Chris’ pictured above with a side of cheesy grits.
I had a gingerbread waffle with maple pecan schmear and it was INCREDIBLE. I kid you not when I say that I ate it so fast, I don’t even know what happened. One moment it was in front of me, and the next it was gone and I had nothing to show for it but a little cup of remaining schmear and a drizzle of syrup on my chin. We all devoured our meals, minus Wilder who could only manage half, but I took one for the team and helped him. Because that’s what good moms do. If you’re ever in Greensboro or Raleigh, you must eat at Dames or get it to go.
Also, a little shout out to my job which allows me to share Black-owned businesses on a more regular basis and reach the right local audience.
Random Acts of Kindness Day
Did you know that Wednesday was National Random Acts of Kindness Day? Don’t worry – if you missed it, you can do an RAK any time, any day. Kindness always matters. Greensboro is fortunate to have a beautiful greenway and, recently, three new Free Little Libraries were added. All of them were painted by local artist, Darlene McClinton. This one is my personal favorite! At O.Henry, we wanted to do something to celebrate, so I suggested we bring over books to fill them up and hide a gift card in one. That’s just what we did! When I got to this little box, it was empty, save for a couple of kids’ books. Thanks to the crew at the magazine, we filled it up completely and snuck in a little surprise for someone to find. PS- A special thank you to my daughter, who cleaned out her books for this occasion.
A Hilarious Feel-Good Show
Admittedly, I am late to the game on this one, but ever since I heard Brené Brown’s podcast episode featuring Jason Sudeikis and his co-star Brendan Hunt, I’ve been begging my family to watch Ted Lasso with me. Chris was on board, but the teens were resisting. Monday evening we sat them down and forced them to watch with us, but it quickly turned into a voluntary activity on their part. This show was everything I expected and then some. If you haven’t yet jumped on the Ted Lasso bandwagon, I strongly encourage you. If I lived with you, I would love you enough to force you to watch it with me, too.
Check out the trailer:
A Humorous and Relatable Book on Writing
Last week I mentioned that I had started writing more for myself and that my editor had recommended a helpful book. I went out and bought it immediately. I mean, I didn’t even order it because I needed to feel its papery warmth in my hands at that moment. That book is Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott. I am about halfway through (trying to take my time so I actually digest the information) and I absolutely love the approachability and humility of the author’s voice when it comes to her art. She shares so much of her own process as well as opening up about the hard and ugly truths. No one is born a natural writer. As with any art or discipline, it takes practice, rewriting and not being afraid to turn out pages of really shitty content along the way just to unearth one gem of a paragraph. It’s helpful to learn from those who have been through the trenches and come out on the other side. I’ve also heard great things about Stephen King’s book, On Writing, and plan to read it.
No Power Dinner
Last Saturday, Chris had to go to work, but texted me to figure out dinner for the night. I said, “I just want wine and snacks, so maybe a charcuterie.” He agreed, so at 6 p.m. I was standing in my kitchen, slicing veggies and placing olives in a bowl when the power gave out. I looked at Chris and said, “Well, aren’t you glad I didn’t feel like cooking tonight?” Charcuterie boards are always a favorite of mine because I love snacks and, clearly, they work well when you don’t have power. It would have been romantic by candlelight, but, ya know, three kids.
By the way, last year I shared one of my all time favorite Valentine’s Day boards you can find here.
Speaking of Valentine’s Day, here’s how we spent ours… In our family room, playing games with the kids by the fire, wearing hats and sharing a big fleece blanket. While power would have been nice, we made the best of the outage and had some quality time with the fam. How did you spend yours?
Have a great weekend!
PS- In case you’re looking for it, we did try a new recipe this week, but I was the only one here that liked it, so I am going to save it for my new recipe roundup of January and February.