Seester Sunday: Groundhog Day

Melissa:

Well, so much for posting again “next week.” Ha ha. (See our last post from A MONTH ago!) Life happens, I guess. 

This Sunday is a big day for a lot of people. Not only is it Super Bowl Sunday, but in Iowa, it is Caucus Eve!

I worked at Barnes and Noble during the day today and afterward took Percy and Gemma for a nice, long walk around Gray’s Lake.

Then we stayed in and watched the Super Bowl. I can’t remember the last time we had a night in. With holding a final 50-50 in 2020 three day candidate training for women running for office, wrapping up the 50-50 in 2020 organization as a whole, lining up new clients to begin work for on February 1st and after, attending caucus events, and dating (Yes, the first date at Centro has turned into several dates now!) during the past three weeks, this lady has been on the go a lot. 

Today I wore a sweater, tank, and Pixie pants from Old Navy. This was the perfect outfit for today: practical and comfortable for work, and something I could keep on for the rest of the day at the lake and at home. Not sure if I’ve mentioned it a million times yet or not, but I like to get dressed once for the day and call it good. 

I accessorized with my main thing: earrings. These I bought from a Lia Sophia consultant eons ago:

I wore my tall brown boots to Barnes and Noble and then switched to my waterproof ankle boots for lake time. Both pairs of boots are from – you guessed it – Target! 

While life has been crazy lately, I have continued to stock up on books for the slower days ahead. Today’s Barnes and Noble purchase:

Hope you enjoyed the Super Bowl, and if you live in Iowa, please caucus tomorrow! I recommend caucusing for Amy Klobuchar. 🙂

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Sarah:

Happy Candelmas/Feast of the Presentation, Eve of Jeremiah’s birthday, Superbowl Sunday, Groundhog Day, National Tator Tot Day, and the first global palindrome day in 909 years. How’s that for a great setup for the day?!

Today’s outfit consisted of a white maternity tshirt, jean jacket and thrifted black maxi skirt with black Old Navy leggings underneath. I wore boots as well. I also, like my sister, like to get dressed ONCE for the day, and I hate changing during the day, so this is what I wore for everything! My legs were warm and I like having the option to remove my jacket as I tend to get quite *warm* these days! I wore this outfit for church, brunch, walking to the library, folding laundry, making food, soothing a fussy toddler, photographing handstands, delegating jobs, loading the dishwasher, overeating Superbowl food and visiting at my parent’s house. Gabriel was a gift bearer at church today and Lucy read half of the prayers of the faithful as it was 3rd and 4th grade Mass ministries today. It was a good day!

We will hopefully be back again soon with another installment of Seester Sunday!

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Seester Sunday: Happy New Year!

I am continuing to catch up with posting our Seester Sunday updates. This post should finally bring us up to date. 😉

Sarah:

After a bit of an absence with Seester Sunday, we’ve decided to (try) to get back into the habit. This week followed a snowy Saturday that left us cooped up in the house most of the day. The kids were a bit antsy and honestly we didn’t do much. I spent a good majority of the day on the couch and J even cooked dinner (spaghetti-his trademark 😉  ).

All that to say we were slow getting up and about on Sunday morning and were LATE to church after de-icing the van and driving on slick roads. Kateri was the only one who got her hair fixed and Ruth wore her snow boots. We were even short one kid as Lucy was at a sleepover. We walked in and Ruth took off in Ruth-fashion running up the center aisle to where we usually sit…..except we weren’t sitting there because, as I mentioned, we were LATE and had to sit elsewhere. Ahem. Anyways, here’s what I wore:

 Who’s that handsome teenager standing next to me? Oh, that’s only my man-child, Gabriel. I somehow convinced him to get in a pic with me. In case you’re interested, he now can wear man-sized jeans, I buy his shoes from the men’s section and he no longer needs a booster in the car. {tears**}

My dress/tunic/long shirt thing is thrifted and old and some brand I’ve never heard of. I love it. It’s comfy and forgiving. It’s short enough that I don’t wear it in the summer but feel comfortable putting it with leggings. I can bend over and wrangle Ruth kids without my hiney showing. My leggings are run-of-the-mill from Old Navy and are much warmer than they look! Boots are my favorite grey ones from Famous Footwear that I’ve had for 2 years.   And that’s that!

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Melissa:

So, the reason this Seester Sunday post is a day late is because yours truly did not get her act together in time for a Sunday post. While I do not ANY human children, nor do I have a husband, my life seems to keep me busy with other things.

I spent my snowy Saturday working at Barnes and Noble. What began as a part time seasonal job has become a permanent part time job that I absolutely LOVE. Hopefully I can continue to balance my bookselling job with everything else going on in my increasingly crazy life!

On Saturday night, I had an amazing first date at Centro, my favorite restaurant in downtown Des Moines. Then, I was invited to join this great guy for a second breakfast date on Sunday morning before mass. While I was home by 11:00 p.m. on Saturday night, I barely slept! Glad I still woke up early on Sunday though, because breakfast was awesome.

After breakfast on Sunday, I attended 10:30 a.m. mass at the Basilica of St. John. Then I came home for some office time. My client 50-50 in 2020, whom I currently serve as Executive Director for, has A LOT going on during these next two weeks! By mid-afternoon, I was off to Barnes and Noble for the rest of the day and evening.

I also wore a thrift store gem during this past Sunday. I found this dress at Phase 2 Consignments in Grinnell, just over a year ago. This photo is not from Sunday, because, as we have established previously, I did not have my act together this week:

This photo is from the Women Lead Change Dubuque Conference in November 2019, where I exhibited on behalf of 50-50 in 2020. Paired with my dress then and this Sunday were Silpada earrings, and brown tights and boots from Target. I do not wear a lot of jewelry, and earrings are my go-to accessory – in addition to my glasses!

Another note on my dress: I love cowl necks and things that flow openly. Nothing is worse than a form-fitting dress when you are having a day when you feel bloated or fat. Yes, we must be self confident, but we all have those days because we are human.

We look forward to posting together again next week!

Arnold, Tiger, and the Likes of You

Arnold and Maria are the latest in a slew of marriages ended in infidelity and scandal.  No doubt this has been going on for centuries.  It just seems more prevalent now with our 24 hour news cycle.

I will be the last to pass judgment on others’ actions because there is often more to the story than we will ever know.  I don’t believe affairs happen overnight, and we all sin – just in different ways.  Mistakes happen.

But what about the cases when it’s more than one mistake and fooling around appears to be in the DNA of some men?  Why haven’t these men learned not to marry in the first place?  And were signs present to warn their wives that they couldn’t stay faithful?

It seems that society tells all men and women we need to get married after a certain amount of time dating because it’s the right thing to do.  But maybe not.  I am not only picking on men.  Some women should never get married either.

I have heard more than one man describe the marriage step in terms of owing it to the partner, being the right thing to do, a logical choice.  That may be so, as long as plenty of love goes along with it.  Otherwise, these men and women need to acknowledge they are doing a disservice to their partners if they continue to hold them captive by thinking they can do what is right for both of them.

And what about the partner who is portrayed as the victim?  I am guessing the victim title is worthy about 50 percent of the time.  I have also seen partners of the unfaithful turn a blind eye because at the time it seems easier than confrontation and the inevitable whirlwind of change to come.

I have made my fair share of mistakes in relationships, but I have never been married.  While my parents are divorced, they both remarried and seem to be happy.  And my sister and brother-in-law constantly remind me through example that marriage can still work today.

But I am also OK with not being married, if it means avoiding all of this mess.

An Ode to Year 32

On Sunday I will flip from year 31 to 32.  How did I get to be this old?!  Yeah, yeah.  I know age is relative.  Anyone older than 32 reading this is thinking, “Ah, to be 32 again!”

But, really, where did the time go?  Some days I feel like I should be 22 again, just graduating from college and beginning to explore.  That’s probably because I’m still finding my calling in life and am continuing to learn more than I thought I would need to learn at this age.

Jane Fonda was on Oprah recently and described her 30s as the time when she was just starting to figure things out.  And in Sex and the City, the girls learned a lot in their 30s.

Maybe that’s why I don’t freak out about being 32 and single and not absolutely sure about where my life is headed.  I love being in my 30s.  I enjoy my independence.  I am thrilled to uncover new adventures.

Age is just a number.  Everything else is up to us.  I’m completely comfortable with not wanting to party until 3:00 a.m. every weekend.  I like having a few good life experiences under my belt, while looking forward to many more.  It’s nice to know what I do and do not want from a relationship.  The only thing I’d like to get back from my younger years is the ability to eat anything and not gain a pound.

This past year led me through a couple of career changes, a couple of dating adventures, and learning who’s truly in my wolf pack.  (Sorry, had to insert a little bit of Hangover humor.)

I can’t wait to see what this next year brings.  I’m sure I will continue to have my moments when I make bad judgment calls and feel like I should have more money in the bank or more to show for myself in general.  But when that happens, I will look at all of the things I have that you can’t put a price tag on – things like fabulous friends, an open mind, and the conviction to stand up for what I think is right.

And happy birthday to Elizabeth Taylor and Chelsea Clinton, who share my February 27 birthday!

The Serial Dater

“So, are you a serial dater?”  – Guy whom I dated on and off for a couple of months

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, a little on the hot side and I was definitely sweating, but great.  The sun was shining, I was at one with nature in a kayak on the Mississippi River, and I had a nice boy in the kayak with me.

I knew we’d probably talk about lots of random stuff during the two hour trip downstream, but nonetheless, this caught me off guard.  And that is rare.  You see, I have dated quite a few guys, and thus had been asked just about every question in the book.  Except for the serial dater question.

It felt more like an accusation than a question.  Immediately I related it to serial killer.  And that has a bad connotation.  Even if you separate it from the serial killer thing, it’s still a bit negative.  Serial to me means repeating over and over out of habit, with no real purpose.

While I have dated quite a few guys, it’s not out of habit.  I have gone a considerable amount of time in between dating guys because I found no one worth dating.  And there are times when one door opens just as another is closing.  I don’t have a huge purpose for dating, other than to have fun with someone who hopefully adds something positive to each day.

At the ripe age of 31, having been on the dating scene for roughly 13 years (I did not date in high school, which could be a topic on its own!), the odds are a single gal like me has probably dated a few guys.  And I am fine with that.  I would not change my life for anything.  Everything happens for a reason.

Sure, I’d like to meet the man of my dreams tomorrow.  Who wouldn’t?  But I’m not going to avoid dating completely for fear of getting my heart broken.  And I am not going to continue to date someone past the point when I realize we do not click.  If that makes me a serial dater, then so be it.  🙂