Ramblings of a Thirty-Something

When is it "too soon" to be nostalgic? A friend and I were debating this issue over mugs of hot beverages {coffee for her, tea for me} at Panera last week. Two notes:  first, were you aware that you can do that? Order mugs at Panera and then sit in the restaurant/cafe and just keep refilling yours with the hot beverage of your choice? And second, "debating" might not be the right verb. Probably "discussing" would be more appropriate, because we were not of differing view points. A very long train of conversation got us to this point...I believe we were discussing Fuller House  {which neither of us have watched yet, sorry}. The one statement I recall reading from all the reviews of this Netflix original was this:  if you are seeking a nostalgic view back into your younger days of watching Full House , then the first episode was written especially for you., which ultimately led us to the main topic of the conversation:  we're in our late twe

Hi, I'm Kaitlin, and I'm an addict. Not like with drugs or alcohol. No, I'm talking about the black hole in my life that sucks away my money and leaves behind a gaping void.  That's right. Hobby Lobby. I love  Hobby Lobby {honestly, these days, who doesn't?}. With Pinterest and DIYing all the rage right now, Hobby Lobby is your best bet for so many of those projects that fill our Pinterest boards and Facebook feeds. Sure, Michael's is great, too, as is JoAnn Fabrics, but there is just something about Hobby Lobby. It has all the crafting supplies you could possibly need, plus decorative items for any color scheme or room theme. So, without further ado, meet the source of all my crafting woes. Or, as I like to call it, the TOP 5 REASONS I SPEND TOO MUCH AT HOBBY LOBBY. 1. The Yarn Section Have you ever visited this glorious haven? All the yarn in all the colors and sizes you could possibly need to knit anything you could possibly wa

Yesterday, there was an election. Did you vote? I'm not asking for whom; as I told my students, I can't discuss that. The privacy of the voting booth could be likened to that of a priest or doctor/patient confidentiality {at least when you teach school...not everyone falls under that level of secrecy}. When my students asked me who I voted for, I told them I couldn't tell them because I wasn't allowed to influence their opinions or views on things. "But," I told them, "what's most important is that I voted." {Yes, I just quoted myself there.} Are you aware that our country has been in existence since 1776? That, on a global scale, our country is a mere fledgling at only 240 years old? And that women have only had the right to vote for less than one hundred of those years? 96 years. Women have been able to vote for only 96 years. That's 24   presidential elections. And that's pathetic. Yesterday, my Facebook status r

It's a miracle! I really, really,  REALLY hope you're singing the rest of the theme song in your head right now. If you aren't, you seriously need to drop everything and get on Netflix. No, like legit. Stop what you're doing. Seriously...stop! This is just a friendly public service announcement to let you know that you have almost exactly one month to get caught up on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.  And by "get caught up," I mean binge watch. And by "binge watch," I mean "watch all 13 episodes in one glorious five-to-six hour evening." Or night. Or morning, I'm not judging you. In case you don't know, Kimmy Schmidt  is one of Netflix's original shows about a young woman, Kimmy Schmidt {she's unbreakable, by the way}. Kimmy escaped from a doomsday cult and now lives in New York City. Think 13 Going on 30  mixed with New Girl  and a splash of pinot noir {are you picking up what I'm putting down there? If not, watch epi

Are you up for a challenge? I was on Saturday when I went shopping with a good friend. I had heard about the $10 Target Challenge  online (my sister had shown me a video made by a hilarious vlogger who filmed herself during and after the challenge...I decided not to record myself, but this is basically the same principle).  The challenge is simple:  purchase 10 items for $1 or less. There are only a few rules (some self-imposed, some just common sense). You cannot buy everything from the same place, i.e. the dollar bins, the clearance rack, the travel items, or ten of the same item. That's cheating. But other than that, there are no rules.  Here's the thing, though. The challenge sounds simple. Target is huge--it should be easy to find ten items that are $1 or less. Well, that's wrong. If you ever really look at prices in Target (or any retail store), things that seem like they should be cheap are not cheap. Scotch Tape, for instance, can cost $3-4! It's just c

Happy Grammar Day, everyone! As a teacher--specifically a 4th grade English teacher--I pride myself on having decent grammar. I think it is an essential skill to have, especially as a teacher. Every year, I teach my students about nouns and verbs and subjects and predicates. And every year, as I strive to instill in these 4th graders the ability to speak and write coherently, I watch on Facebook as the adults in the world use poor grammar. I watch as people on Tumblr and Twitter and Instagram use incorrect grammar, and it genuinely confuses me. I mean, I realize that social media is not a cover letter or a resume, but come on, people! How hard is it to just use good grammar? So, in honor of Grammar Day, I present to you my grammar pet peeves! Pet Peeve #1:  I vs. Me Oh, this one. This one bothers me so, soooo much! I can't tell you the number of times I've seen someone post a photo and caption it, "My boyfriend and I." Grrrrr. I always teach my students t

Confession:  I am wholly and completely disappointed in myself. Why? Well, if you happen to recall back in January, I posted about my New Year's Resolution. The only resolution I was making:  to live my life intentionally. It sounds easy. It isn't. I have been doing a rather awful job of it all. Oh, like all resolutions, I started out strong. I made time to read every day. I thought hard about my blog posts and really tried to dig deeper than the fluff I sometimes post {although I love the fluff, don't get me wrong}. I tried to stay in good contact with my friends.  But then, only about a week ago {exactly a week--it was on our snow day last Wednesday}, I was forced into a realization:  I haven't been intentional at all as of late. I haven't written anything of consequence {again, fluff with no substance}. I haven't been very dedicated to posting here. I haven't been good about maintaining my friendships and other relationships. The entire point o