April GBOMB

Good

Easter. We made pretty eggs. AJ loved his basket. We ended up at my grandma's for dinner. It was a good day. And my boy is so big and handsome. 

AJ's Birthday Party. We had so many friends come for AJ's party. Not very much family, sadly. But everyone loved the park we chose (Grandpa's Pond). The downside was AJ's behavior after the party. He was SO overstimulated and wiped out; he was being a monster. Matthew got him to take a nap, but he woke up from that still super grumpy. He eventually worked through it, but it definitely was a reminder about the reality of turning 4.

A sense of calm/arrival. I have this feeling of deep gratitude and arrival and steadiness. Like this thing I've been wanting and uncertain whether it would happen has finally happened. We love our home and are still adjusting to the area; I don't know if I'll ever love Taylorsville like I loved Sandy. But I'm grateful to have what I feel like we've worked hard and waited for. I think our last home was meant to be so temporary that I just always felt a sense of unease and frustration. That feeling is gone, and it is lovely. 

Manufacturing event at work. We hosted a manufacturing event where we highlighted our ESL program at work. It is always so inspiring to watch our employees speak English in front of people. I'm sure it is so scary, but they're so amazing. I'm grateful I get to be a small part of their journey. It was really fun to have other manufacturing company reps chat with me for my perspective about things we do at Ultradent. 

Hosting at our home. We had our first opportunity to host some friends for dinner, and it was such a nice time. I loved having them. I'm excited to have more people over. 

AJ. He's started getting very independent. He wants to get himself dressed, put his shoes on, pour his own milk, and now make himself breakfast. It's crazy how fast this all happened. He literally woke up one morning a week or two ago and said he wanted to get his own breakfast. 

Smith's list. I've shopped at my same Smith's grocery store from 2012 to 2026. After moving, switching grocery stores is not a fun adult task. But using the shopping list feature has been a game changer. I put things on the list directly from the digital ad or from the coupon section. I can quickly re-add items from previous shopping trips. My husband can also log in and add items to the list. AND the list tells me where in the store I can find the item. When you're still not used to a store, this feature is incredibly helpful and has saved me so much time. 

Online selling. Selling some items on KSL but mostly Facebook marketplace has been such a nice money bump. I sold my iPhone, my weight bench, and our Schlage deadbolt left by the previous owners, among other things. 

Bad

Sunburn. I got a bad sunburn on my upper back from doing yard work. I always forget that a couple hours in the sun when you haven't seen the sun in 6+ months is a recipe for disaster. Lesson learned, as I used sunblock the next time I did yard work. 

Robocalls. I've been getting at least 5 calls a day about my "Google business." It is SO, SO annoying. 

On My Brain

Angry women. I feel like the more I learn about just about everything (history of obstetrics, 62 million visits to a drug and rape tutorial site, the Epstein files, the pay gap, etc.), the more I believe women should be in charge. I don't want to spend my time and energy being an angry woman, but man. I understand the sentiment of "it's all men until it's none." Where's the accountability? 

Sensitivity and taking offense. I feel like I've written about this at length in the past. As a sensitive person from childhood, I've worked hard over the years to implement the Four Agreements, especially "Don't take anything personally." While it is honestly super hard to offend me these days, I do think it's important to be sensitive to and kind to the people in our lives. Are these competing ideas? Where do these concepts meet? Where does personal responsibility to not take things personally end and other people's responsibility to be kind and respectful begin? 

Grudge holding. Another thing I learned many years ago is that holding a grudge hurts the holder more than the offender. It's a weight we carry; it gets heavier over time if we don't let it go. I have felt better as I've learned to be more forgiving of others. I think what frustrates me about those who hold grudges is their lack of self-awareness. There's almost an assumption of innocence involved, like you've never made a mistake and have never required forgiveness or grace from others. Like you think others have no reason to be bothered at YOU as well, and haven't realized that others have given you grace without even mentioning it. Kind of wild, honestly. We all make mistakes. We all require grace. We all are benefited by forgiving and being forgiven. 

Aesthetics versus function. The previous homeowners had a really great eye for aesthetics. They did a lot of things that were visually pleasing. Some things though just feel a little silly to my very pragmatic brain. Like the three tiny shelves they had in the bathroom. Or the lack of a mirror/medicine cabinet in the bathrooms. The oval mirrors look really nice. But like at what point do we sacrifice form for function? We're OK for now with the space we have, but extra storage would have been nice, I won't lie. I go back and forth on changes I want to make because it looks really nice.