Welcome! My name is Kara. You can learn more about me and why I write this blog here.

These are the words that I write down to make sure that I’m paying attention to my own life.

Here is the week I hope to have:

• 24th – Tom Petty Full Moon Fever (1989)
• 26th – Christopher celebrates 24 years at his job, which is pretty impressive to me
• Our local farmers market opens this week
• This is my current Weekly Routine

First things first …

• What is essential? 
• Do I need help? 
• Where can I compromise? No one is going to perish if the cookies are store bought.

That final one is something I’m fully embracing right now. We’re currently using paper plates, utilizing a meal kit service, and I’m taking some other shortcuts where I can. This is what I need to do right now. I might not need to next week, but this week I need to.

There was a point as a wife and mother where I felt compromising on certain things was “failing” but now I realize that my household is happier and overall healthier when I place value on my own rest and mental health. Maybe one of you reading this needs to think about that, too?

To Do / Enjoy / Remember: Kara’s Big List

I have a file I call The Big List. It has been compiled from years of calendars and To Do lists and is arranged weekly, updated for each year. The list is what I want to remember, celebrate, and accomplish.

• This is a Pay Day week for us:
  • Budget x Paycheck (I use a printable from The Budget Mom to do this.)
  • ATM, cash envelope stuffing
  • Add to Christmas 2023 savings
  • Make deposit to the college kid’s account
• I decided to clean one cupboard per day. I have a few kitchen cupboards left to clean, but this has been a non-intimidating way to accomplish this task.
• Change the letterboard
• Pre-Spring & Summer wardrobe check!
  • Does everyone have clothes for the upcoming special events and for the warmer weather?
  • Current sizes, color preferences
• Clear out the coat closet
• Clean outdoor furniture
• Get out outdoor cushions
• Go for a long walk
• Wipe down all the window sills with diluted lavender oil
• Purchase mint, rosemary, and basil plants for the garden
• Check flameless candle batteries, reset timers
• Organize, and declutter the garage
• Boiling water, baking soda, vinegar to clear drains
• Sort out incense
• Replace toothbrushes
• Photograph all April finished objects
• Finalize plans for L’s birthday
• Finalize plans for Mother’s Day
• Write down May sports and clubs schedules for the family
• Write down all May bill due dates and pay days
• Finalize month of May / Indy 500 plans
• Catch up: anything from the last few weeks I need to finish up?
• Update the screensaver on the Roku I use family photos and switch them out weekly
• Listen to the news ONLY when I’m washing dishes (you likely don’t need to do this, but I need to do it right now, so I’m being intentional and putting it in writing)
• Do no harm. Take no shit. My motto for the week. It’s been a time lately, babies, it’s been a time.

I plan to put up my feet and knit along to:

• I am working my way through the Marvel Chronological watch.
• Spring Baking Championship
• The White Stripes Elephant XX, the twentieth anniversary re-release. We have the vault but I might need to find a non mono version, too.

My current influences:

• Martha Stewart’s monthly calendars from her magazine (no longer in print). 
• Alison May’s Brocante Home website and online community as well as her seasonal home books.
• Melissa Michael’s book A Lovely Life. (affiliate link) 
• I write lists of Frasier things. You can find them here: The Frasier Lists

Thank you for how kind you’ve been to this little blog.

I am approaching blogging differently this time around. No pressure on me and no pressure on you. Just a basic but I hope helpful little website.

Thanks for reading!

I hope you got what you needed this week, babies. And if not, I hope next week is better.

I hope you find beauty, a tiny joy that you can tuck away in your breast pocket. We can place our hands over our hearts and think of each other.

Be brave. Be kind. Keep going.

Love, Kara