Midnight Thanksgiving: Our Non-Traditional Family Tradition
My first job in Portland was overnight stocking for a big box retailer. It wasn’t long before I started meeting more transplants like me, who couldn’t get the time off to fly home for the holidays, or just plain had nowhere to go. I wanted to invite everyone over, but there was also the nagging fact that while we did get Thanksgiving Day off, most of us would have to be at work before sunrise the day after Thanksgiving. Since we were all night owls anyhow, I offered to have everyone over on the Wednesday night before the holiday. And so the idea of Midnight Thanksgiving was born.
Tips for new parents: augmenting your pre-baby beauty regimes
Today I would like to publicly celebrate an unpredictable effect of that very predictable phenomenon: the way in which my beauty routine did not disappear at all as much as it mutated in strange and wonderful ways. It is now wholly different to what it previously was: it would be unrecognisable, probably, to my pre-parenthood self. But, I venture to assure you, it’s quicker. It’s cheaper. Hell, it might even be better.
My son is more than “a heart transplant baby”
Families that experience major medical drama or have chronic conditions are all too often permanently associated with that drama. I had a friend growing up whose family was “The Car Accident Family” after several of them were permanently disabled in a serious collision. One of my friends was “The Dog Bite Girl,” and the mother of another friend was creatively dubbed “Deaf Mom.” I myself was a member of “The Kidney Family” after my mother donated my father a kidney when I was in middle school. We got pregnant, and I was all geared up to be identified as a mom, hopefully a pretty awesome one.
A collection of Doctor Who yarn projects that are cooler than bow ties (which are really cool)
These TARDIS socks are one of only many, many incredible Dr. Who-themed knitting projects featured on Trainknitting. You’ll need an account at Ravelry to access some of the patterns, but signing up is free. Here are a few stand-outs (and y’all, there is TOTALLY an Ood ski mask somewhere in here).
I’ve started telling my daughters I’m beautiful
There are a lot of people like me. Women who know things. Women who have seen things. Women with diseases in their livers. There are a lot of women with scars on their arms and words that carry themselves like sparrows. There are women who were too big for this town, who had their backs bent carrying things like religion and a history that originated somewhere in the crook of a branch that extended over a stream. All of you women with lines on your brow, with cracks between your fingers… it’s been a long winter. All of you, you are beautiful and so am I.
4 ways to make extra cash that’ll make you say “why didn’t I think of that!?”
Sometimes saving money doesn’t feel like enough when household emergencies happen or there’s a big ticket item on your calendar, and your regular income isn’t going to cut it. When we were first discussing our new budget, a friend who was preparing to move suggested, “Why not sell some of your old stuff?” I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t thought of it myself. Here are some things I’ve sold, considered selling and how it’s worked out for us…
Make party-ready votives out of funky gourds
I threw a party the other night and these three funky gourd votives made an appearance. They got lots of compliments from party guests, so I thought I’d share this simple autumnal party decor idea with mah Homies.
“Bonus Mom” and other name alternatives: what are your favorite terms for additional parents?
Reader Brigitte recently emailed us about this comment that contains an awesome alternative to step-mom, “Bonus parent.” Clearly bonus [insert parent here] is great since it can be applied to so many relationships, but what other terms are you guys using in your families?