THURSDAY'S THOUGHTS

"ALL OUR BEST ART IS BORN FROM HUMANS WHO EXHIBIT ONE OR MORE OF THESE TRAITS. STAY IN YOUR MAGIC."

THINKING ABOUT: As soon as we found out we'll be moving to Delaware, I immediately began worrying about Big Tex and wondered how on Earth we would transport him across the country. Priorities, right?! Ever a glutton for punishment, I found myself looking at the latest selection of house plants at Home Depot yesterday and laid eyes on the cutest little Fiddle Leaf Fig for THIRTEEN DOLLARS!! I couldn't leave the store without it, so unless I kill this one, we will now have TWO trees to worry about when we PCS. 

FEELING: This week I had several moments where I felt incredibly frustrated by base housing and some of their policies. I won't get into specifics—it's been going on for a few years now—but it gets exhausting when you feel like no one has your back and you've been following the rules all along. It's especially disheartening as we've improved the rental as much as we could in the time we've been stationed here, but our efforts go unappreciated. I'm certain I come off as the crazy lady always complaining about X, Y, and Z, but I grew up living on Air Force bases and we NEVER experienced this kind of lax customer service. Needless to say, it's time to GO!

THANKFUL FOR: Moving comes with so many mixed emotions. As evident above, we're eager to get out of Dodge, but we also want to soak up the really good stuff one last time. Thankfully, Flyboy is wonderful about encouraging us to whoop it up at our favorite spots before we depart The Lonestar State, so we've got trips to Marfa, Austin, and Round Top in the works before he heads to training. As a family, we created a lot of really magical memories from ordinary moments in Swell Rio over the past 3.5 years, but it was our adventures in Austin and Marfa that brought us great joy. We'd be remiss if we didn't do it all over again! As for Round Top, this renowned antiques fair has been on our bucket list since we first heard about it in 2014. Better late than never, we're going to make it a point to attend the market at the end of September. Who wants to make a bet that I meet Emily Henderson?! Eek!

LISTENING TO: As Max's vocabulary expands and his pronunciation improves, I wish I could record the cuteness. Lately it's the way he says the word orange that's enough to make me grin from ear to ear. I guess it sounds something like "uhhhhr-nge." Max really takes his time to get it all out, but it's imperative he scrunches his nose in the process. I will go out of my way to point out anything and everything that's this particular color because I simply can't get enough of his delivery. Hey, I take Pantone seriously too! I get it.

WATCHING: How many episodes of Flipping Out are we going to have to watch before we finally get to meet Jeff and Gage's baby girl? Gah, the suspense is killing me!! A few months ago on WWHL, Jeff shared that their baby, Monroe, had really bad colic when he was chatting with Andy. As parents who lived to talk about this kind of newborn nonsense, Flyboy and I openly admit that we're very intrigued to watch it play out on TV. I hate to say that misery loves company, so how about the spirit of solidarity instead??

EATING: Every so often it's worth straying away from a Whole30 meal plan during the work week, especially if there's melted cheese involved. Who's with me?! Next week I have every intention to try these Turkey Enchilada Stuffed Poblano Rellenos via Skinnytaste. There's no denying this level of deliciousness because Gina's recipes NEVER disappoint. I can't wait!

READING: I was aimlessly scrolling through Instagram last week when this particular quote stopped me dead in my tracks... 

"Shoutout to all the shy, introverted, empathetic, anxious, socially awkward souls 

who are pushing past their comfort zones to share gifts with the world."

At one time or another, I've been described or described myself using one (or ALL, let's be honest) of the five adjectives listed above. I typically do so with genuine honesty, but it's assumed on my end that these characteristics are used in a negative or less-than-ideal manner. Seriously though, who wants to be socially awkward?! It wasn't until the author mentioned that "the best art is born from humans who exhibit one or more of these traits" did I even think to own such descriptors in a positive light. Can you relate?

LOVING: I believe I reached an all new level of #BOYMOM street cred on Tuesday afternoon. Yes, Max droned on for weeks about the fact that neither his van nor truck had a hitch. For a kid who loves hauling ALL the things, this seemed to be a big effing deal. I suppose part of my motivation to put the whole thing to rest was that I was fed up hearing about how he couldn't tow anything with either of his vehicles, so I got out some bungee cords and zip ties and rigged something up within five minutes of finding my supplies. The satisfaction on both of our faces as he successfully tested it out driving up and down the sidewalk was priceless.

Enough about me. How are you feeling today? What are you up to? Thanks for stopping by!!