Personal Glimpses

2020 Wish List

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Completely incomplete wishlist for my family. It feels weird to be so selfish. The items listed are in no particular order in terms of wants or needs.

Speaking only for myself, what I’m into right now is cleaning up my house, which involves a lot of repairs and replacements. Plus things like blinds, curtains, bookcases, light fixtures, shelving, etc. I’m also trying to give gardening and landscaping a go. All of this on a budget of $50/month. Despite the number of Dungeons & Dragons items on here, I consider them frivolous and not a high priority (except Curse of Strahd!), unlike home improvement stuff. Items that have been crossed out have already been purchased by me or someone else.

Feel free to go totally off-book here. Beggars can’t be choosers! I have a strong preference for you to shop small and/or shop local. Big businesses will survive COVID-19; small businesses might not.

GIFT CARDS:
Alamo Drafthouse
ACE Hardware
Bed, Bath, & Beyond
D&D Beyond (only available if you have an account, too)
Doordash
ETSY
Gardeners Supply
Home Depot
IKEA
Merrifield Garden Center
Vudu
Wyrmwood Gaming

FOR ME:
I am embarrassed by the number of large ticket items on my list.
Window Shades to keep people from seeing into the living room but still allow light
Curtain Rods the cheap ones I bought are bowing under the pressure
Laptop
Dungeon in a Box for physical subscription for 5e
D & D Stat Trackers
Wild Shapes Deck
Life Straw 3-pack (for emergency preparedness kit)
Garda Dibble (black woman owned business!)

Bidet
I have a bidet similar to this upstairs and I freaking love it! I wish I had one downstairs which is where I work from home during the pandemic. I’m also intrigued by some of Tushy’s other products. $109 from this place, but we have a $60 from Amazon that works great.

Curse of Strahd Revamped
This is widely recognized as one of the best role-playing games created. This is a special edition that I really really want! $99.99

Ollas
This company spells the name wrong! These are natural clay pots that sit under the ground and the water you fill them with seeps into the soil by the roots of your plants. I’m a lazy waterer so this will help!

Initiative Cards
Dry Erase Initiative Cards
For D&D when we’re allowed to meet in person again. $6.99

Jackbox Party Packs
I have a wishlist of several games and this is just one of them. I can stream Jackbox to my tv and we all play using our phones as controllers. They’re so much fun! Trivia Murder House is my favorite subgame.

I want to focus on growing vegetables for several reasons. More flavor, home-grown, organic, stop relying on supply chain…. I want these tall raised beds for durability and to make it easier on my back.
MSRP: $229

I’d like a Cricut so I can start making journaling stickers to sell on Etsy. They are always on sale somewhere! MSRP: $390.41

Galaxy Quest Frome
A Frome is a “…whole movie condensed into stripes of colors that represent a certain part of the movie in chronological order.” Galaxy Quest is my 4th favorite movie. My dream wish is 60″ x 24″ (largest size) Buff’s bundle. $379.99 on sale (reg. $949.95!)

THE OLDER SON


CLOTHES. And then maybe some CLOTHES.
My Brother, My Brother, and Me merchandise
These very specific Pilot pens

Shirts
He says he wants polos but I think polos are dorky looking so I linked to button-downs. He wants “the casual side of business-casual.” But if you have to choose between shirts and pants, choose pants. Size Large, any brand, any price point.

PANTS!!!
He has no long pants to speak of. His last decent pair got ripped so he is in desperate need. He wants khakis but he also could do with some jeans. Waist 34. Any brand, any price point.

These very specific Pilot pens
MeUndies
These are literally the most comfortable underwear ever made. Jacob absolutely loves them. I ordered him a 10-pack of boxer briefs, but he could use more – a subscription would be fun for him!
Lucky Gunner Gift Card
He told me he wants 9mm ammo Full Metal Jacket with some other specification but I cannot remember what it is so I’m posting a gift card and calling it a day. FWIW I’ve never seen him as happy as he is when he’s working with weapons.
“Large Capacity” Water Bottle
Another direct request from him. Doesn’t have to be this one. High capacity for home use was all he said.

MASTERCLASS
Honestly, this looks really really cool and there is a non-zero chance that I will use it too. He is a true Ravenclaw and LOVES learning. $180

THE YOUNGER SON aka THE IMPOSSIBLE CHILD TO BUY FOR BECAUSE HE ONLY PLAYS GAMES WHILE WATCHING YOUTUBERS:


Nintendo Switch Online 12-Month Membership – either Individual or Family, but if he gets family he and his brother can play while at two different houses!

Super Mario 3D All-Stars
I think this is Ben’s top wish. Check with his brother to see if he is getting it for Ben. Physical copy or digital code is fine. $59.88

Physical copy or digital code is fine.

When he’s not grounded, he spends ALL of his time on electronic devices. This is just an example; anything similar to this is fine.
Turing Tumble
This is a logic puzzle that is also computer coding. I’m very intrigued by this for Ben. 100% chance that Jacob and I will play with it when he’s not here. $69.99

GAMES

We’re a gaming family. We like all types of games, but party games are my favorites. You can see a list of games I own on BoardGameGeek. Here are ones I’d like to add to our collection, even though narrowing it down to my top favorites is like choosing a favorite cat.

Stone Age
Back in the before times, when I’d go to board game meetups, this one is my absolute favorite. $49.99

Takenoko
A cute little game about helping a gardener grow enough bamboo to feed pandas! $44.99

January 2015 Goals

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I’ve seen a couple of other blogs posting monthly goals. This sounds like a good idea and something I should probably do.

I could write more to fill up space, but I don’t want to. Done is better than perfect, right?

* Get rid of all Warrior Genotype non-compliant food in my apartment

Amber

* Read the book my son gave me (on Mother’s Day!) three times a week. Since I got a smart  phone I find that I’m checking Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Candy Crush, Facebook, etc.  instead of unwinding with a good book. I need to stop it!

 

* Play at least one board game with my kids. We got Small World from Santa and we haven’t had a chance to play it yet!Small World

 

* Sew while watching Netflix at least three times a week. Yes, I want to multi-task!

* Make 2 printables. I’ve made one so far and already I don’t like the way it looks and want to re-vamp it.

* Update blog two more times this month.

* Write three snail mail notes/letters.

I’ll let you guys know how I did!

Healthy and Fit … (Coincidentally) A New Year’s Resolution

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Today is the 1st day of 2015. Many people are making resolutions, but I’m not one of them.

Coincidentally, however, I just realized that in 371 days I am taking the Bear to Disney World to celebrate his Magic Birthday! That means I’ll be doing some walking. A LOT of walking.

I am not ready.

And so I have decided to start getting ready now. I am working to incorporate more exercise into my daily life (including using this amazing app to get me out of my desk chair at work.) I injured both of my knees last year and they still hurt a lot, so I need to get them used to carrying me around again.

I also need to make some dietary changes. I’ve been toying around with The Genotype Diet (a more specific form of The Blood Type Diet) but I’ve never gotten serious about it. Now I need to. A lot of the testimonials I’ve read included the lessening of joint pain. I could also stand to lose some weight, but that is not my primary focus. The focus is  getting more healthy and fit.

Now I need to completely change my cooking habits. Which means changing my grocery shopping habits. Which means getting rid of everything in my home that doesn’t help me stay on my eating plan of choice.

I created a Freezer/Refrigerator/Pantry printable to find out what I have and what I need to get rid of. I’m too cheap to throw away everything, so by writing it all down, I can figure out what to use up first.

Diet Reset-Inventory Printable

Diet Reset Food Inventory Printable

You can download the pdf for printing HERE.

There are two pages to the printable. The first page has categories of Freezer, Refrigerator, and Pantry. The second page is just blank lines for you to fill in. The “Compliant” column is for you to quickly see what items help or hurt your current diet.

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