September Coffee Date

9.29.2016

*The format of this post is borrowed from Brittany's blog.

Hello! It's the end of September (how???), and I figured now would be a good time to take you all out for coffee. Or a pumpkin thing or a chai or just whatever suits your fancy. Me? I'll probably be drinking some hot water with lemon. I always thought my grandma was crazy for ordering that at restaurant, but never say never. 

I'd love to hear what you're learning, wondering, loving, reading, clicking, and writing in the comments!

WHAT I'M LEARNING

No matter how tired I am or busy I may feel, it's worth it to make time for girlfriends. Over the weekend, R and I flew to Saint Louis to get together with 3 college friends. We didn't do much, just hung out and drank wine and talked, and I loved it so much. I've really been trying to be intentional about keeping up with my friends lately. It's easy to use R or being busy as an excuse to not make time for my friends, but investing in relationships is important to me.

My kitchen counter will never be as clean as I want it to be. It just won't.

Losing your keys is expensive. I lost my entire ring of keys two weeks ago, and I've been holding out hope that I will find them, but yesterday I accepted my fate and took R with me to get them replaced, including my car key. It goes on my list of least favorite ways to spend $100. Ouch. (I mean we really looked everywhere they could possibly be and even in weird places they wouldn't be. They are gone. RIP, keys.)

WHAT I'M WONDERING

Why some people have no trouble getting pregnant and other people struggle. I have such empathy for those going through the infertility struggle. I know life isn't fair, but it just breaks my heart sometimes that there are people who get pregnant without even trying and others who would be wonderful parents who want it so badly and it just hasn't happened. You all are in my prayers, friends.

How out of millions of people in the United States, our choices for president has come down to the current two options. On the bright side, you should all get on Twitter during the debates for some fun entertainment and hilarious memes.

If I'll really be able to not post as many pictures of R on social media. The struggle is real, but I feel strongly about this.

WHAT I'M LOVING

My new coat/purse rack in my laundry room!

This Is Us. Unfortunately it comes on at 9:00, and that's past my bedtime (grandma alert), but I've been watching it online the next day and it's pretty good!

These banana nut muffins. I made them recently for a friend who had a baby, and I might have saved one for myself. YUM. I'm not saying I considered just eating them all, but I kind of did.

Carrie Underwood's latest single "Dirty Laundry."

WHAT I'M READING

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. I saw a few friends recommend this on Goodreads, so I checked it out from the library. It's very interesting so far!

WHAT I'M CLICKING

Information about Noah's Bandage Project. I saw this on a blog a few weeks ago, and it's been popping up over the past few weeks on other blogs. I just love the hope and joy that has come out of a sad story.

This app, which apparently allows you to correct your friends' text messages. *insert evil laugh here* Buuuut.... people are already scared to text me. I couldn't do that to anyone. #editorproblems

WHAT I'M WRITING
Okay your turn! What did you learn this month? Have you ever had to replace all your keys?
Breenah A said...

"Why some people have no trouble getting pregnant and other people struggle."
I always think that one of the most unfair things in life is people who desperately want to be mothers who suffer infertility while people who don't want to be mothers have to take so many precautions to not get pregnant and/or get pregnant easily. I have my tubes tied, but I'd be more than willing to lend out my uterus to anyone who needed it.

shelleystirs said...

What have I learned this month? I am learning a lot of industry stuff related to my job. Still so much to learn.
I learned that having all of my children in the same school building makes life a lot less complicated. Too bad it's only for this year.

Never lost my keys, but I have lost a kid before. :)

a m b e r said...

i was just talking to my husband not even an hour ago about that exact thing - infertility and such. we are going to start trying for a baby soon [!!] and i mentioned how my co-worker struggled for years to get pregnant. it broke my heart to hear her story, but she's planning her son's second birthday soon - God is good! // side note: you should definitely publish your current events post!

Beka @ Sunshine to the Square Inch said...

Girl, I'm so sorry about those keys! That's awful and I had no idea those were so expensive. I bet one of these days keys will have a gps so you can always find them.

Infertility and why is a hard question to ask. I don't know that we will ever have that answer.

Speaking of spending time with friends - we need to plan a new day to get together. =)

Amy @ A Desert Girl said...

Ouch on the keys. That is not a fun way to spend $100.

The kitchen counter. I totally hear ya. I can't seem to keep it clear of...stuff.

The Lady Okie said...

haha! Oh no. That is worse. Glad you found them :)

The Lady Okie said...

I want to so bad, but every time I clear it off I put something else there! Ugh.

The Lady Okie said...

My car key cost $75 by itself, but the others weren't that bad. $3 or so per key. STILL! So annoying.

The Lady Okie said...

God is still good. You're so right. It's just hard to see the path while you're walking it. I sincerely hope you and your husband don't have any issues. That's exciting, Amber!

The Lady Okie said...

I didn't know you got your tubes tied. That is nice of you to offer your uterus... although definitely a strange thing to think about! :)

Tara said...

Ahhh R's little overalls! Too cute! I also loved "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" once I got into it! Hope you have a great weekend, Amanda!

Sarah @ Sometimes Photojenik said...

Can I just say you are one smart lady in the sense that I clicked on Just about all the links you placed? Well done. I've never lost my keys but I was thinking if I did I'd probably be paranoid enough to want to change my locks too. Also, I just love your coat hanger! And I hope you don't chicken out posting your current event thoughts post :)

Unknown said...

I am in constant fear of losing my keys, I think partly because I would have to not only tell Fredrik but also our landlord and he is really intimidating! As a person who does not plan on becoming pregnant I do find myself sometimes wondering if I were to want too would I have a problem because like you said I take medicine to not become pregnant but for all I know it could not matter either way!

Laura Morgan said...

I'm reading a sex ed book that is pretty awesome. There will be a group email with my review in the coming weeks. Get excited.

I've been watching "This Is Us" too. At the end of the last show, I thought he said, "Hi, *female name*," instead of Miguel. So I thought his dad was transitioning or something. Ha. The actual plot twist was, therefore, less surprising.

We're also watching a lot of "The Pirate Fairy." It's a dumb Tinker Bell movie, and Ava has become obsessed. A tertiary plot line sets up Captain Hook's backstory, so that's cool. I guess.

I let Thomas slober my keys to death, so the fob parts stopped working. Mike got me a new one but said it was the last time. 😳

I'm SO enjoying this weather! I'm not sweating my guts out, and I don't have to wrestle the kids into 17 layers.

Alicia said...

I know I don't comment much anymore but I just wanted to say that I love your coffee date posts and seeing what you're up to and your funny, thoughtful takes on life and current events! Your piece on photos of R was really interesting. Sending you a hug from Chicago!

Leslie Lukens Martin said...

Oh my gosh! That grammar app! That is too good to be true. Hahahahaha. I once had to have my car key replaced...and bc it was a push-button start on the car, the replacement key was $400! P.S. the key was lost while I was traveling (on a weekend), so I had to have my car towed from the airport to the car dealership. Not a good day for me!

The Lady Okie said...

Oh my gosh! That is terrible. I was actually expecting my car key to be $200 so when the guys at Lowe's said it was $75 I did a happy dance. That's why you expect the worst and then get pleasantly surprised :) $400 ?!?!?! I would die.

The Lady Okie said...

YES a review! I'm excited already. Too bad we can't do a dramatic reading ;)

Danielle said...

That was a fun coffee date! (: It's great that you are still making time for friends, that's so important! I keep hearing people talk about This Is Us and I need to check it out! However, I don't know if I could do it... having to wait a week to see a new episode! Happy weekend

Audrey Louise said...

YES to most if not all of these! I love Dirty Laundry and This Is Us.
Also, bravo on the above shot of R! Your pictures are going to look super creative & modern with these half-face shots :) Haha!
K lost his ring of keys at our Halloween party one year and he STILL looks for them, even though we replaced them all. Ha.
I kinda' love that text-correcting app. My friends would hate me...

erinhzauner said...

never have lost all my keys, but have put them some weird places...like in my husband's shoe. I don't know. also, my guilty pleasures in this last stretch of pregnancy are definitely going to be watching "this is us" for gratuitous crying, and NOT watching the debates (because I can't drink) but keeping up on twitter haha.

Courtney said...

Loved this post! Sorry about the keys. Mega bummer.

I'm definitely not brave enough to write a post on my thoughts about current events ;)

Nadine said...

Making time for girlfriends is so important no matter what you have going on!!! I have to agree with you on the election, so sad that these two are the only options we really have. Woof. I hate to hear about people struggling to get pregnant. That is one of the reasons I hate why people think it is ok to ask couples why they don't have kids yet or if they ever will. You never know what someone is going through.

I love This is Us! I want to try The Good Place and American Housewife when it starts too. Hope you have a great weekend!

Kayla MKOY said...

I'm sorry you lost your keys, that is awful. The dealership only gave me ONE copy of mine (and its not a fancy one) but to get a copy made it would be about $75 as well. Ridiculous! Ugh, I've been listening to Carrie Underwood's album since LAST October and still can't get enough. Girl's got talent!

Katie @ Live Half Full said...

I'm loving this is us! And I love these types of posts. I need to get back to my "every day" type blog posting. It's just so hard to think about during the every day. Ha!

Michelle said...

EVERYONE is talking about This Is Us. I have zero idea what it's about, but so far I've ignored it.

Infertility breaks my heart. It seems like sometimes the people who would be the best parents struggle the most.

pdot95 said...

I've never had to replace all my keys but I do lose them frequently. What I'm learning...how you can instantly fall in love with a tiny human being! We were picked for adoption last week and we brought our baby girl home today after 9 days in the NICU. So in love!!!!

AnneMarie said...

That's so sad that you lost your keys! The whole pregnancy and infertility issue is something that I never thought about too much before I got engaged and then married, but now I think about it quite a bit, and I guess it's one of the ways that we really have to grow in trust of God, and realize that His plans are amazing, even if we can't see the reason behind one couple being infertile while another couple is having tons of unplanned kids. I haven't experienced infertility, but it was only after a few months of hoping and trying for a baby (using fertility awareness methods) that we conceived our sweet baby, and those couple months before we conceived were hard at times. So I can't imagine what it's like for couples who deal with extended infertility problems, and my heart and prayers go out to them!

I hope that you are courageous and share your current events post! I usually shy away from any talk that dips into political or controversial realms, but this election season & our current society are going such an outrageous path, I may just start talking politics sometime. What is this world coming to?? ;)

The Girl who Loved to Write said...

I'm loving this is us! And my counters...no matter what, they are always dirty. Always.

Rach said...

Bummer about losing your keys! I haven't thought about it before, but that really would be such a hassle (and expensive) to fix! No fun.

I'm with you on wondering how on Earth we ended up with these two as our options for president... watching the debate this past week was just depressing.

Good to catch up with you a bit in this post! I'm excited to catch up on the rest of what I've missed! :)

Rachel said...

Oh man, replacing the keys sure doesn't sound like fun! We've never had to replace keys but we have had to pay for a locksmith because of my absent-minded husband.
I've found myself ceasing to believe that it's possible for people to get pregnant from one night. There's no way. I don't believe it.
And I've been working on cleaning off my dining table for the past three days. I WILL finish!!! Strangely, my kitchen counters are usually bare unless I'm actually chopping up stuff, but that's probably just because in our house, the kitchen is a really inconvenient place to leave anything.

Kristen @ See You In A Porridge said...

oh bummer about the keys! i lose things all the time, but thankfully haven't lost my keys... yet.
i want to watch this is us, but it comes on at 10pm here if you can believe that crazy talk! you want me to stay up until 11pm to watch a show?! LOL NO. so i am going to binge watch it after a few episodes, because i am not good at watching one show a week. my attention span is not so great.
also yes to the getting pregnant. not sure if we will have issues or not yet but it's something i worry about, and i know far too many people who have struggled, and i know a few that got pregnant so easily and i mean i'm not saying they don't deserve it, but there are some nasty people out there who make babies too easily when there are good people who just want one, you know? so hard.

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