A Week of Weather Whiplash: TOLT

~ Chocolaterunsjudy

I’m Thinking Out Loud about Mother Nature and our weird weather this week — not to mention more Lola, a kitchen hack, and how Deena Kastor and I are alike.

 

Yes, I got them before my birthday but didn’t open them until my birthday

Delayed gratification
I’m usually the one that gets the mail, since I’m the one that’s home. If cards come for my husband for his birthday, I’ll hide them until it’s his birthday.

If cards come for me for my birthday, I’ll save them until it’s actually my birthday!

It kind of drives my husband nuts.

 

Finally some good free stuff from Sephora!

Score at Sephora!
I don’t shop at Sephora all that often, every once in a blue moon. Because I swear it’s like Target — every time I go there I drop way more than I’d planned to.

And the frequent buyer points? I’ve just been letting them build up and up and up, because I never like what you can get with them. Until last week! Score!

It was a sample box from one of my favorite makeup lines, Tarte (you can see some of the other brands I use here), and a product I’d been wanting to try forever from Living Proof, and a sample from Josie Maran.

And I actually had enough points for all of that!

Except she forgot the Josie Maran sample.

Except I have to go back anyway, I bought lip gloss when I meant to buy lint tint.

Coconut oil spray hack
For years, as winter arrived, I wasn’t able to use a full bottle of cooking spray. I use coconut oil spray, and coconut oil is solid at colder temps. It was so frustrating throwing out half used cans because they wouldn’t spray any longer, not to mention those suckers aren’t cheap!

One day I had the bright idea to put the can under the sink during the winter.

Problem solved and I’m getting my money’s worth.

Chocolate makes everything better

Charley horses & chocolate
One day last week I was woken up by a horrific charley horse. My calf was still all knotted up the next morning, too. While I get cramps in my toes on a fairly regular basis, this was new!

One cause of Charley horses is low magnesium.

Chocolate is high in magnesium.

Clearly I am not eating enough chocolate!

A nation of mug eaters
After I wrote my post on 5 Reasons I Love Mug Cakes, a silly picture popped into my head: people going to work, and instead of sipping coffee from their mugs, they were all eating from their mugs!

My mind can be a strange place.

Lola has the blues

Lola blends
Because no TOLT would be complete without an animal photo.

That sweater used to be Chester’s: blue for boy, pink for girl, get it? Except they’re now all Lola’s (except the momma’s boy sweater). And Lola has hazel eyes (like mommy!). Only her eyes are blue and brown (mine are green and brown).

Can you guess the movie reference in that subhead?

 

A birthday is the only thing Deena Kastor & I have in common!

What Deena Kastor & I have in common
We share a birthday! 11 years apart, and that’s the only thing about me that is the least like Deena, but hey, I think it’s cool.

 

-13 was the actual temperature when I woke up Sunday!

Mother Nature is an ironic . . . 
. . . rhymes with witch.

Yes, yes she is.

After our polar vortex visit that lasted Friday-Monday (which isn’t really that long), we were teased with a forecast high of 54 on Tuesday.

Tuesday dawned with some new snow and ice. It did get warm. It also rained all day.

 

Yes Tuesday’s rain washed our snow away

Why is it that the warm winter days have crappy weather and the bright, sunny days are bitterly cold? Actually, my husband tried to explain that one to me this weekend when I happened to think out loud about it.

 

Any kitchen hacks to share?

Favorite stuff at Sephora?

I’m linking up with Amanda at Running with Spoons for her:

Thursdays are for thinking out loud

26 thoughts on “A Week of Weather Whiplash: TOLT”

  1. I actually haven’t been to Sephora for years. I used to like to look around at the one in Las Vegas. I am not sure why, I guess it’s just huge and I always have time to browse when in LV. Great job on cashing in your points. I hope you had a wonderful birthday. Good to know, the fact about chocolate and magnesium. Maybe I can stop taking magnesium supps if I just eat more chocolate. Sounds like a great plan. I hope your weather warms up for you!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I LOVE the Sephora in Vegas!

      I actually do take a magnesium supplement, and have been for a while. I still get toe cramps, but I think that might have been my first charley horse ever and man! It was a beast.

      Like

      Reply

  2. I love your connection to Deena Kastor! And I also love that your cure for cramping is more chocolate. That right there is some real science! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. I have a ton of the Sephora points….which reminds me, I need to pick up my birthday reward. I’ll have to remember the chocolate for Charley horses. Lola is looking fabulous. Cool birthday.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. It was a nice birthday. I’ve had a few really bad ones over the years (like the one where my uncle died), so it’s always nice to have a good one.

      Not so sure chocolate would really cure a charley horse but wouldn’t it be cool if it did?

      Like

      Reply

  4. So much to love in this post. Lola’s inherited sweater. You rocking the yellow dress, and heck, standing next to Deano Kastor, too. Dream. Chocolate for charley horses? And all this time I’ve been swilling down room temperature tonic water. Who knew?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. I have a habit of saving up all my points at Sephora too, usually because there’s nothing that I want to use them on. But Tarte?! I love that brand. And I still have to go in and pick up my birthday gift, so I’m thinking that some point spending will definitely be happening soon 😀 Also, you look so gorgeous in that yellow dress! And I love the accessories 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Aww, thanks, Amanda.

      I’m actually not real fond of the way I look in that photo, even though I like the dress, but . . . .Deena!

      I’m hoping to get back to sephora tomorrow to exchange that lip gloss . . .

      Like

      Reply

  6. Happy belated birthday! And oh, no, Charley Horses are no good! I get them a lot when I’m pregnant (I’m actually nursing a sore calf this morning from a glorious mid-night one..) and chugging a big glass of water before bed and upping my potassium through the day usually helps a LOT. Hopefully they stop, because they are no fun!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Chugging water before bed just means I’ll have to get up early (and the last couple of days I had to for that very reason anyway).

      It’s actually the first time I ever got one — but you’re right, that was definitely not fun!

      Like

      Reply

  10. Oooo, I like that magnesium theory! I make sure to eat chocolate daily, and I don’t usually get cramps, soooo…. I think you may be onto something!! We do that here with our birthday cards too… nothing before birthday, lol! James and I went to Vancouver to run the RNR half there. The hotel we were staying at was right on top of a Sephora. Every time we left the hotel, we would go in there and spray perfume on ourselves, lol! Otherwise, I don’t really visit the store. There’s not one close to me. Lola looks adorable in blue!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. Well believe it or not, I’ve never been to Sephora. I’m not big on cosmetics – just some eye liner & lipstick at CVS.

    Chocolate has magnesium – who knew? Don’t get leg cramps but though it was from being dehydrated.

    Like

    Reply

    1. We’re such opposites! I don’t wear a lot of makeup usually because I just sweat it off but I do love playing with it.

      There are a lot of causes for cramps; dehydration is one. But I’m pretty well hydrated most of the time.

      And of course I was joking, but chocolate is high in magnesium & yes, low magnesium is another cause of cramps.

      Like

      Reply

Leave a comment