I Don't Even Know Where to Begin to Create a Title for This

I have many thoughts that all seem like they could be blossomed into real, actual blog posts. I half-compose them in my head, usually in the car or while I'm running. But I am lazy. And I forget that perfect wording that is only perfect when I have no way of writing it down. But mostly I'm lazy. So instead of several distinct blog posts, you get the following instead:

Things I like, lately - not things I was paid to write about. Because lord knows nobody pays me to write on this blog:

1. Bota Box Wines. Dude, yes, boxed wine. I can't believe I'm even writing it. And I know what you're thinking. I, like many of you I imagine, had a few shameful experiences in college and grad school with Franzia (or as my mom liked to call it, "pink shit"). Perhaps even, gasp, Almaden. I try not to talk about it unless I'm in the safe company of my fellow girlfriends who, as I did, likely also drank their fair share of Boone's Fine Wine, Woodchuck, Zima, and other oh-my-god-they're-so-sweet-how-were-we-able-to-drink-enough-to-get-drunk fluffy alcholic beverages. I've matured since those days, I think. I've been to Napa and Sonoma and lots of other regional wineries, I've sniffed and swirled and developed my own personal preferences for wine.

And yet here I am, drinking boxed wine. As I type, in fact.

Listen, M. and I are trying to save money, you know? As I've documented a bit (here's where I would link to some posts a few weeks ago, but I'm too lazy), we are replacing/have recently replaced HVAC systems and windows and woodwork and carpeting and dining room furniture. And only half of those expenses were planned for. Have I mentioned how much I love being a homeowner lately? Oh, right, that's because it's been sucking my will to live. Anyway, so we're looking to cut back on expenses. Wine, shopping (the kind where you just kind of buy stuff blindly without budgeting/paying attention), and eating out are the major areas we've targeted for reduction. But we're not giving them up completely. I need my wine. Yes I do.

Enter boxed wine. But not just ANY boxed wine. Red wine only (apparently white boxed wine hasn't come as far as red boxed wine). And trust me, it's GOOD. Several of the varietals have 90+ points, which I think means something good. They've won awards. Their boxes say so. Granted, I have no idea what those awards mean, but come on, it means Something, right?

So try it. It's good. And feel free to share your favorite budget beverages in the comments.

2. St. Ives Naturally Clear Green Tea Scrub. This is the perfect facial cleanser. PERFECT. It exfoliates. And not like the apricot scrub, where it feels like you're rubbing two or three microbeads over your entire face and maybe flaking off five cells of dead skin. This is like fine grains of sand throughout the entire product that gets rid of all the yucky stuff (gently, of course). It has 1% salicylic acid, for those like me who sometimes have to battle both wrinkles and acne (and I thought life wasn't fair when I was a teenager, amiright?). And, AND, it will also remove my eye makeup. Other scrubs have me looking like a raccoon when I leave the shower. Game, set, and match.

OK, that's it for things I like lately. There may be more, but I can't remember them right now. Onto to other matters.

3. (I'm going to keep numbering here just so you can see exactly where I completely change my train of thought. This is no longer in any way a list of any sort.) Potty training snippet: I call this "You win some, you lose some."

Lucy stayed dry all day Saturday, even during naptime. Win.

She then peed on the kitchen floor Sunday at around 9 am. She was pretty happy about it. Loss.

Later that night, at around 12:30 a.m., Lucy woke up crying and calling out that she needed to go pee. Which she subsequently did once M. carried her to the bathroom. Her pull-up was dry, but it was 12:30 a.m. Win?

4. I mentioned long ago that I joined Weight Watchers (eh, look through the January archives, says lazy blogwriter), and I haven't really written much about how it's been going. Frankly, I haven't really wanted to write what might be considered to be bragging, or fishing for compliments. Because for a while, it was really, really working. But lately, it's been harder, and I've been contemplating writing a little bit about the struggles I've been having with weight loss (namely, that it hasn't been happening). Lots of boring navel-gazing about why I can no longer commit to working the Weight Watchers system the way I was a few months ago, how to get reinvigorated, what to do to kick start my exercise which has been getting a little boring... But instead I'm going to tell you that yesterday I went shopping for some new work clothes. And, bragging be damned, I bought a size 8 dress. SIZE 8. Yes, it was stretch material. Yes, it was from Target, which is not known for having sizes that run small. Yes, I know that I am NOT a size 8, not really. But I look GOOD in that dress. I am going to wear the shit out of that dress, if only because I don't think I have ever, ever worn a size 8 ANYTHING. And that, right there, is motivation enough to get back on this god-damned weightloss wagon. I will make my weight loss goal, come hell or high water.

OK, I'm going to end now. I've also been percolating a post on religion, and how I'm totally unprepared to answer Finn's questions on God and Jesus, which have been coming fast and furious around here lately (SOMEONE at school - ahem, Casey? - seems to know a LOT, and REALLY wants to share all of her 4-year-old wisdom). But that's likely too weighty a topic to handle flippantly/quickly, so I'll leave it off this "non-list" and continue contemplating an actual post on it. Or not. We'll see. For now, I leave you with a link to the best song being played on the radio right now, the one that had me singing like Jessica Simpson (have you seen the facial expressions she makes while she sings? Have you? I had M. do a quick search to find a picture for me to use to demonstrate this, but he couldn't find one that did it justice quickly. He did, however, find a Facebook group called "Jessica Simpson looks really ugly when she sings." I'm not going to say ugly, but man, it's intense) in the car this afternoon, with grandiose, emo hand motions and everything. My right hand? Was clenched in front of my chest. Purposefully. I was PERFORMING for I-270, let me tell you. Needless to say, this song rocks. I want to be Adele. It's my secret talent-I-always-wished-I-had (singing awesomely, not being Adele specifically). And officially number 5 on my non-list.

5.