A Week of Miscellany

A Renovation Update, A Recipe, And A Special Request

Happy Thursday, friends! As promised, you’re getting a newsletter this week, but also as promised, it contains no deep theological content—just miscellany. This is because I need to devote the bulk of my work time this week to taxes. Ick. Bleh. Yuck. I promise, next week I’ll be back with either a Q&A or an essay. For now, though, I do have a few newsy tidbits and random musings to share.

Miscellany …

1. A lot of you have asked for renovation updates. So far, I haven’t shared many pictures, because the bulk of the work has taken place behind the walls. Contractors have been busy fixing electrical issues, replumbing gas lines, replacing leaky pipes, and shoring up the main staircase, none of which make for great pictures. The painters have recently made great progress, but their equipment is everywhere, so we’re not settled into any of the new rooms yet or even able to get good pictures. I promise to post some as soon as I can. In the meantime, just know we’re in the stage of renovating where the mess feels increasingly oppressive, unexpected expenses keep popping up, and because of that we’re having to decide which projects will need to be put on hold for a year or two or three.

   I’ve been here before, so I’m not overly overwhelmed or concerned—mostly just tired and craving order. The kids are struggling with it, though, especially as the boys are on Spring Break this week, the weather is horrible, and the painters have taken over so much of the house that we are spending all our days in the same 300 square foot room. I have lots of complaints about home renovation shows. They are divorced from reality in oh so many ways. But perhaps the biggest way they are divorced from reality is that the family never has to live in their house during the renovation. They all magically have a place where they can stay for weeks and months while crews work on their house. Which is nuts! How does anyone but the very wealthy afford a major renovation and an AirB&B at the same time?

   Anyhow, I would like to see a renovation show where the family is moving from room to room as the crews work, dragging toys, clothes, and dust along with them. Throw in some massive toddler meltdowns, as contractors judge your parenting skills from the next room, and some chickens that wander into the kitchen while you’re talking to painters, and you could have a hit reality tv show on your hands…or at least an accurate depiction of my life.

2. We currently have access to only a handful of our children’s books, and while The Seven Silly Eaters is an unquestioned delight, we’ve read it so much these last few weeks that Toby can now recite it word for word. That made it an extra treat to get two new books in the mail: the stunningly lovely Princesses of Heaven by Fabiola Garza and the sweet The Holy Spirit and the Greatest Adventure by Grace Jagla. Both are lovely and helping me stay just a wee bit saner.

3.   If you are a Beautycounter Rewards Member, you can save big time this week. All Member orders placed today and tomorrow come with triple product credit. So, instead of receiving $.10 in product credit for every dollar you spend, you will receive $.30 . That adds up quickly, and customers who would normally earn $10 in credit on a $100 order are instead earning $30 in credit. Many are turning right around and placing a second order immediately, using their credit to help pay for it, which is a smart way to shop (especially since shipping is currently free on orders of $50+). If you are a Rewards Member, you have through tomorrow at midnight to take advantage of this offer. And if you aren’t a Rewards Member, you can just add a membership to your cart at checkout, and you’ll earn the product credit on that order (as well as receive a free $65 Glow First Priming Serum and all the other benefits of membership).

4. Not surprisingly, I haven’t been all that creative in the kitchen lately. I have, however, been making batches and batches of our favorite protein balls. My friend Whitney shared the recipe with me two years ago, and I have since tweaked it a bit to suit our tastes (and food restrictions). Here is my version:

Ingredients

• 4 cups whole grain oats (pulsed in the food processor until they are more like instant oats)

• 2 cups almond butter

• .5 cup coconut oil (melted)

• .25 cup honey

• .25 cup maple syrup

• .5 cup chocolate protein powder

• .5 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

• 1 cup roughly chopped cashews

Mix everything together in a big bowl. Roll into cookie sized balls and place on parchment sheet. Refrigerate for one hour. Place in Tupperware and keep refrigerated (or freeze).

That’s all for this week, friends. Thanks for understanding that a full newsletter wasn’t possible this week. I’ll do my best to make next week’s extra meaty

P.S. It goes without saying, but please don’t forward this newsletter on to any members of the Chinese Communist Party. I am trusting no one reading this is inclined to do that, but still….

In Case You Missed It

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Signs of Contradiction: On Trad Wives, Keyboard Warriors, and Saving the World While Losing Your Soul (Full Subscribers Only)

The Sources of Our Discontent: On Happiness, Feminism, and Grandmothers (Full Subscribers Only)