Up against the deadline once again but doing my best to follow through on my goal of publishing at least once a week this year.
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Well, that didn’t work out as intended. I thought, “I can come back and publish later! The post is almost done!” Yet here I am one week later now combining weeks 4 and 5. But, I’m trying to keep the main thing the main thing and instead of giving in to the negative self-talk (“already missed your goal? It was only a matter of time.”) I’m going to count publishing late as better than never at all.
Rareform - Zippered Blake Tote
Our neighbors gifted us with a Zippered Blake Tote for Christmas and we immediately used it for G’s first trip to the pool. Somehow, it was the perfect bag for parents of an infant.
I had never heard of Rareform before but all of their bags are made from recycled billboards so it’s a little nicer for the planet. It also means that each bag is 1/1, which is kind of cool.
The tote is quite large but because it is so structured, it doesn’t get slouchy which is something that annoys me about large bags. Everything about it feels sturdy and well-made, including the thick shoulder straps that grant my shoulders a small reprieve when it is packed to the gills.
The bag is pretty reasonable in terms of pricing, so if you’re looking for a gift or new workhorse tote, check out Rareform.
Lomoinstant Wide Format Camera
I requested this as a Christmas gift in 2022 but featuring it here because it was used quite often this week and it always gets so many questions and comments when I pull it out.
We are the generation with the greatest ability to take photos but most of them just live on our devices adding to our ever-expanding “camera rolls”. When my grandmother passed away in 2022 I realized how precious her photos were to me and decided I wanted the same for my family.
Granted, it is not cheap. The camera was around $130 and the film itself is about $1/shot. Finding albums to house the photos is also a challenge because I am trying to “de-Amazon” my life (more on that later). But, it truly is something special. While the photos don’t turn out crisp or “perfect” they are wonderful souvenirs of the moments you capture and make “ordinary” moments feel special. G isn’t even one but we’ve managed to fill up two albums and counting.
Swimming - Bringing it Back
I have more or less always been trying to “get back into shape” since my 20s (what the heck was I thinking then?!) and being 9 months postpartum is no exception. I’ve tried spin, I’ve tried group workouts, I’ve tried Apple Fitness, I’ve tried the 4 a.m. run (ha!). I was feeling pretty discouraged about ever even starting again when I half-heartedly thought about returning to swimming. And by “returning” I mean the last time I swam for exercise was when I was in middle school.
It seemed like it was fate though, as we live less than 10 minutes away from a county pool, and when G was not interested in taking a nap last Saturday, we packed her up and took her for her first visit to the pool. It got me thinking that I could at least try to get 15 minutes in during the workday (one of the perks of WFH).
So, this week I’ve gone three times and I’m reasonably happy with it. Granted, my body was/is in shock and I’m really feeling being in my mid-30s (ha!) but it was easy enough to do and the payoff was substantial enough to keep me going.