Life Lately

Phew! Life lately!!! With projects strewn through my home, homeschooling, and then playing catch up on the adulting, it hasn't even been interesting! Ok, so it's always interesting, but not slap me in the face, "OMG that's going on the blog!" interesting. 

Well, we have had hard conversations with the kids like why gathering acorns to turn into a food source is probably not the best plan even though you're 10 years old and studied how to do it sans sickness. 

Also how puberty requires you to wash your face OUTSIDE of showering and deodorant is now a mandatory thing if you want to keep friends and hug your family. 

I've also had to do some soul searching about how I went wrong in my parenting because one of my kids is adamant to grow a man-bun. Seriously?! Yep. Thank you, Ragnar from Vikings. *gives Ragnar the finger* 

I'm also ashamed to admit that I've been living in lust. Lots of lust. Lust, lust, glorious LUST! 

Sheer, naked, drooling planner LUST!! 

*omg, she's talking about planners AGAIN!* 

I'M SORRY!! Planners are my bag, baby! 

And now I'm realizing I need a cute planner bag to haul around my planner stuff.  

Ok... back to the lust...

So Michael's has become my favorite store this year for various reasons.

**Disclaimer: I am not sponsored by Michael's, I just love them and willingly give them my monies. So these are my personal thoughts and opinions for free. But if Michael's decided to sponsor me, I wouldn't be upset, knowwhatimsayin. All the wink faces!!**

#1) Coupons.

If you haven't yet, join Michael's Rewards and get some fantastic coupons emailed to you and they have an app to make it easy. 

#2) They've grabbed the planner bull by the horns and have created so many affordable planner options this year.

Ring-bound personal binders and inserts, now there's an A5 line being released, AND an A5 coil-bound planner that's supposed to be released TODAY, 10/28!! 

Y'ALL. 

I'm so dying to go pet the paper in there. SO DYING. And the new washi tape that's coming out... I won't even talk about that because that makes me an enabler. I'm such an enabler, I enable myself! Washi is crack. I won't even tell you how many rolls I've bought this month. Why? Because I honestly can't remember and I'm pretty sure it's shameful. It could be worse though. Could. Be. Worse. 

#3) Supplies for all my craft fever. 

So it's Fall. 

(Or supposed to be. It's still in the upper 80s here. *sob*)

Fall makes me want to make all the things. ALL. THE. THINGS. 

Crochet. Learn to knit. Make soap. Make salves, lip balms, lotion bars. Bake. Sew. Embroider. Make cards. MAKEMAKEMAKEMAKEMAKE!!! 

While I can't find everything for all my craft fever (lip balm tubes anyone??), it does allow me to run in and buy some things as I need them instead of ordering online. 

Now if I can just make some more hours in the day to devote to making all the things... 

These are just a few things I adore about Michael's. I could go on and on and on, but I won't. I'm just going to go look at more pictures of this new planner line and think dirty, planning thoughts. 

I'm also so ready for Fall temps to kick in here. I want to cook cold weather food! I want to wear flannel and my cute boots! I want to drink hot beverages and not sweat! I want to turn my AC off and open windows! I want these weeds to die so I can stop having asthma and allergies til spring! 

C'MON, cooler weather!!! 

I also want to make my house homier and super cozy during the cold weather. I've been recently introduced to Hygge and am ready to incorporate this in my life. Imma have to go back to Michael's for some battery operated lights and candles for some ambiance. I'll have to write this in my planner! 

Ok, sorry, another planner interruption. 

This post is a perfect example of how my brain works. It's a mosaic, a hodge-podge, a mishmash, mental hopscotch. Yeah, I probably need therapy, but until that happens, I'll keep using planners and post it notes. 

Crap. Planners again. 

I'm stopping here before planners pop up again. 

*sigh* 

Fail. 

My Personal Paranormal Podcast Picks

I'm not sure what has happened in the last year, but I have fallen in the deep, dark hole of podcasts. I don't know how I haven't gotten on the bandwagon before, but now I'm in it up to my eyeballs. I even daydream about making my own podcast. I'm not sure the world would be ready for that though.

I listen to all kinds of podcasts. Business, entrepreneurship, homeschooling, interviews, simple living, homesteading, humor, history, and horror/paranormal. It's just a grab bag. A mosaic, if you will. (See what I did there. ;))

October is here and that means bust out all the creepy movies ALL MONTH LONG!! Now that podcasts have come into my life, it's scary stories ALL THE TIME! I'm going to share with you my absolute must-listens of the creepy podcast realm. So turn the lights off, grab your favorite warm drink and fuzzy blanket, and let's listen to some macabre media! Here are my picks in no particular order. Also, I receive no compensation of any sort for these recommendations. I'm just spreading the news of something I love. ***Disclaimer: Most of these, if not all, are probably not for the highly-sensitive. ***


Lore - If you like urban legends, folklore, and eerie happenings in history and a few from modern times, this is for you. I think of it as The Outer Limits for your ears. (Man, I miss that show!) I would give this one a PG-13 rating. Some of it is rather intense, but no language warning. I love Lore. It makes me think. Aaron Mahnke does an amazing job putting this together. I highly recommend starting at the beginning.

The No Sleep Podcast  - Oh. My. Gosh. If you like really disturbing stories - and I'm emphasizing 'disturbing' with 10 ft. tall letters here - No Sleep is for you. Definitely a hard R rating for language, violence, substance. No Sleep is like Wes Craven for your ears. The latest one I've really loved is Borrasca. WOW.

Astonishing Legends - This is one I've recently found and I'm so glad! If you're like me and love knowing the science behind if it's possible, Astonishing Legends is awesome. It's by 2 skeptical guys who delve into all the rabbit holes. I love a deep dive of things and they know how to dive deep! The episode about Greyfriars Kirkyard has been my favorite so far. I'm torn with wanting to go there and see for myself and staying WAAAAAY away. Listen and decide what you'd do.


The Black Tapes - Y'ALL! This was mentioned to me by a friend in the Sorta Awesome Hangout on Facebook. (Sorta Awesome is another podcast I love, though not of the scary persuasion. So this is kinda like podcast Inception.) I've never listened to a serialized podcast before, so that was a first. I naturally prefer starting at the beginning of things whether it's a series or not. THIS is sheer fantasticness. Currently they're on break before the next season, so you have plenty of time to catch up and get ready for season 3. The absolute depth of this podcast is amazing. The voices, the story, the everything. I'm actually re-listening to it all the way through again before the next season starts. I'm not sure what I would rate this one a hard PG-13. Language is minimal, if not completely censored, it's the content that might be too intense for some.

TANIS - This one is also by the creators of The Black Tapes and has a couple of the same people in it. I loved TBT so much, I, of course, had to check it out. It definitely is of the same caliber. Serialized, excellent story, great creep factor... I don't know what Pacific Northwest Stories is doing, but they just need to keep it up because they are making magic for your ears. I will seriously cry if they stop. Ugly cry. I'll actually rate this one an R due to language. Content is also intense.


Rigor Mortis Paranormal - A friend recommended this one to me recently. They're rather small since they've just started, but definitely entertaining. This is the equivalent of a group of buddies sharing scary stories around a campfire. Beer, buddies, and scary stories make up this one. Most of the stories are from Texas, so that adds to the interest for me! Some are the hosts' own stories, some are shared via voice recording or email. This one gets an R for language.



So hopefully this has helped you load your ears with all the eerieness of the season. Do you have any favorite freaky podcasts? Do you have any opinions about the ones mentioned? I'd love to hear! My podcast list is always open for more.