Love It List

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #7:  

Love It

The "send later" feature on my phone

I always think of things I need/want to text people during hours when it isn't the most polite to send messages. I love that I can now schedule my texts to send at a specific time because I'm able to write them when I think of them, and they get delivered at a respectable hour. At least to people with iPhones. Other phones are just out of luck and have to deal with my texts at whatever hour I think to send them. 

The Ark Nova App

One of our favorite board games, Ark Nova, was released digitally in the summer, and now al I want to do all day is play Ark Nova on my phone.

Kitchen shears

I already proclaimed my love for kitchen shears this week, but they are important enough to me that I'll post about them twice. Today I used them to trim some flower stems, cut breakfast sandwiches in half, and cut sliced cheese into 9ths to put on crackers. 

Fall decorations

I always look forward to decorating for fall. This year is extra fun because I have a TV console in my living room that has shelves I can put decorations on (I bought it from the thrift store, of course). I've never had a lot of "surface area" for decorations, so I haven't been able to have a lot of shelf-type decor, but now I have a bunch of little cubbies to fill! I just hope it doesn't look too cluttered. That's always my concern. Now what my life is lacking is a mantle. I wish I had a mantle!

Super coarse body scrub and face scrub

I like feeling like I've sandpapered off a layer of skin. People make fun of the St. Ives apricot scrub of yesteryear, and I'm like, "No, that's what I want in life." I've never stopped using it (I didn't know society had turned its back on the scrub). 

My leopard print shoes

I have difficult feet. It's really hard for me to find shoes that fit, and it's even harder for me to find shoes that aren't incredibly painful on my feet. So I'm just really happy that I have a fun pair of leopard print shoes that I can wear. 

Tootsie Roll Mini Bites

These are my latest addiction. They are tiny, unwrapped Tootsie Rolls with a thin candy coating (the candy coating reminds me a bit of the chocolate flavored Tootsie Roll suckers). The only place I've found them (for a reasonable price) is at Smith & Edward's. 

Smith & Edward's

I've become a bit of a Smith & Edward's junkie lately. I think I've been there about ten times in the past six weeks. My most recent visit was to find a birthday present for my dad, get some stuff to send to Nicky in his first package from home, and replenish my stash of Tootsie Rolls. Soon I'll be going back to get a gift for Daisy for her "secret sibling" for a theatre trip and stocking stuffers (that time of year is coming).

Sweatshirts

I'm nowhere near being able to wear a sweatshirt right now, but I look at my closet everyday and long for the right temperatures. I run hot, so it has to be really cold before I can wear a sweatshirt, so it's still going to be a while.

Mobile ordering

Having my food ready when I get there? Yes, please! 

Walmart +

I never thought I would want my groceries delivered to my house, but I ended up signing up for Walmart + when they had their Black Friday deal (50% off) last year. It came with a free subscription to Paramount + and discounts on gas as well as a few other perks. We’ve been able to use it to pre-order our groceries when we travel, so we don’t have to go to the store. In Florida earlier this year, we had Walmart deliver to our VRBO about four times! We needed an additional suitcase for our kids Disney World purchases, and I was able to order one and have it delivered. Shortly after I became a Walmart + believer, I learned that my Sam’s Club membership offers free delivery as well, so now I have Sam’s Club visiting my porch regularly as well. 

I do enjoy going to the store from time to time just because I like to look around and pick my own stuff once in a while, but being able to make a grocery order and have it delivered to my house has been such a time saver! 

For informational purposes (and because people always ask about these things), Walmart has a $35 minimum and Sam’s Club has a $50 minimum for free delivery. Tips are optional, but I always give a tip. I figure it’s totally worth $5-10 to have something brought to my house. One thing people always say is, “But I want to pick my own produce.” That was a concern of mine, too, but if you are given produce you don’t like (or if anything in your order is damaged), you just submit for a return through the app, and they give you your money back. I’ve had a couple of produce items that I’ve “returned,” and it’s super easy and quick. You don’t have to actually return the item, they just give you a  refund.

My job

I really love my job! It’s been such a blessing to me. I am able to earn a little money (emphasis on the “little” - I do not make good money) but also have all the freedom I need to support and take care of my family. The “little” money is the trade off for being able to basically manage my own schedule and come and go as I need to. 

What do I do? 

I never know how explain it. We make frames and decorative prints. So I print images on canvas and frame them. I fill orders and ship them out to retailers -pharmacies and boutiques that sell gift items and such. I use power tools and occasionally shoot myself with a pin or take a chunk out of my finger with a staple remover. And once a week… I clean the toilets.