I LOVE These Things: Why This Week Has SUCKED It, Trader Joe's, ThreadUp & Energy Bites {Week of 1/19}

This week has sucked.

Period.

In fact, I’ve sat at my computer for the last 20 minutes trying to decide what to write because honestly, there was nothing about this week that I loved.

Nothing.

Why?

Here is my “why this week has SUCKED it” list:

Hubby came down with a killer cold,
We registered my son for middle school with all the multiple meetings, drama and screaming melt-downs over electives and classes,
Nine year old daughter has severe anxiety every night and cries for no reason (she can’t articulate why she is crying besides saying she is mad, sad, tired, and angry) for about an hour, usually right at bed time,
I fell down the stairs and scraped the hell out of my arm and jacked up my shoulder, and
Our shelter dog, Ruby, has ran away two times this week (both in the AM when we are trying to get kids to school and start our day).

So there. Thank GOD it’s Saturday and the end to this crap-tastic week.

But, I’m going to write about three things that have brought me some joy, accomplishment or happiness this week.

1. Trader Joe’s Coastal Zinfandel.

As you can probably tell from the list above, mommy needed a little helper to get through this week.

#nuffsaid

Enter Trader Joe’s Coastal Zinfandel. For under $5, it’s amazing-sauce. It’s bottled out Castoro Cellars in Paso Robles, CA. I’ve been fortunate enough to tour the winery many times and am amazed at how they put out great wine and affordable prices. So grab a bottle (or twelve) the next time you are at Trader Joe’s.

You’ll thank me later.

2. ThredUp.

Last week I talked about why organizing a closet is so damn hard.

Can I just tell you that I speak from personal experience about why it is so damn hard!! And because of that experience, I had a large pile of department store brand clothes that needed to find a new home.

Enter ThredUp. (You can see my previous experience with ThredUp.) They will take your gently worn department store brand clothes and give you either CASH or CREDIT.

So I ordered a bag from ThredUp, filled it to the brim, dropped it off at FedEx (for FREE) and am waiting for the results.

I realize that I could have dropped the clothes off at Plato’s Closet or some other consignment store, but honestly I’ve heard so many great things about ThredUp’s consignment program, I gave it a shot.

And can I tell you how FREEING it was to make one stop at the FedEx store and get rid of clutter that has been in my closet. It was awesome.

3. No Bake Energy Bites

I watched my son pack his lunch this week.

Sandwich. Chips. Radishes. Four Granola Bars. (WTH?)

When asked, he said it was because he needed one for lunch, one for snack and one for his girlfriend. (Again, WTH?)

I did the math quickly in my head and realized my son was eating about $1 in granola bars a day. In order to not go in debt over my son’s granola bar addiction, I decided it was time to make my own.

First, this is not my first time trying to make homemade granola bars/energy bites. I’ve tried two times before…both were EPIC failures. (Like I wondered why in the hell people made their own granola bars because it was a ton of work and they tasted bad.)

Second, I knew if I didn’t “bring it” this time around, my family would veto any homemade granola bar ever again.

So I did some research and found this recipe and this recipe and created a hybrid.

And you know what?? My family LOVED them. Like my kids were begging for them to put in their lunch, to eat as a snack, as a replacement for dinner.

So WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER. And my hybrid recipe will be on the blog soon.

And here are the posts that everyone else found interesting this week:

See past editions of I LOVE These Things.