Let’s Play Oprah! (October Edition)

If you’ve been reading here for any length of time then you probably already know about Let’s Play Oprah.

If you’re new here, (hey! hi!👋🏼) let me explain: It’s a game we play each month in which I share my top 3 “Favorite Things” at the moment, and then at the end of the month I give one of those things away to a lucky reader.

You’re always invited to share YOUR Favorite Things too, so I hope you leave a comment and tell us all what you’re digging right now. It can be anything- food, products, podcasts, t.v. shows, movies, drinks, music, clothes, you name it. There are no rules, except you must dish because that’s what friends do.

If you’re subscribed to this blog that means you’ve invited me into your email inbox which is a privilege I don’t take lightly, and also why I’ve decided that ALL subscribers are automatically entered to win the monthly giveaway. Forever. The only time your name comes out of the drawing is if you unsubscribe or if you just won (in which case your name goes back in 6 months later).

Sometimes I’ll spice it up by adding extra ways to enter, like commenting on a FB live video or over on IG/Twitter, but by far the easiest way is to subscribe by email, so if you’re picking up what I’m putting down, just scroll to the bottom of this post or to the right margin of the page and enter your email address!

Okay, now that we have all the business out of the way, let’s get to the fun stuff!

This month my 3 Favorite Things are:

1. Baggu Bags: These bags are so cool! They fold up into a square pouch the size of a coaster- small enough to fit in your back pocket, and they weigh almost nothing.But once you unfold them they’re big enough to hold twice as much as a standard grocery bag. And they’re super durable. I’ve been using the same one for almost 4 years and it’s still as good as new. They’re useful for a trip to the mall, the library, the farmers market, the grocery store, or to pack snacks for a trip to the park.

They’d even be perfect to take to Disneyland or anywhere that  you always wind up carrying around 27 random items at once because your kids “need” them.  I always keep a couple in my purse, and they’re so small I hardly even notice they’re there, but they come in so handy when you need one!

2. Fantasy Football:I’m not even going to pretend like I know a lot about football. I don’t. I barely even watch it. My husband is endlessly frustrated with me over this, and always points out that as a former cheerleader I “really should know more” about the game. And then I point out that 15-year-old-me was far too busy trying to look cute while flying through the air to memorize the rules of the game happening behind me. I know. Gross. I don’t like 15 Year Old Me either. The point is I’ve evolved. Into a Fantasy Football Lover.

I’ve been in a league with my girlfriends for the past 4 years and I always sort of limped along in the middle of the pack until last year when I was actually the Biggest Loser. It was a truly abominable showing on my part. One that earned me a license plate of shame that I must now drive around with for an entire year.

But the good news was that I used it to “fuel my hate fire” (name that movie). There’s a LOT of trash-talking and GIF-taunting in our league’s group texts, enough to make me get serious this year so I could rub their faces in my rise to glory. Luckily I did my homework before the draft, scored second round pick, and landed Aaron Rodgers and LeVeon Bell right out of the gate. Soooo, I don’t mean to brag or anything (yes I do) but I’m UNDEFEATED so far this year.

3. This Marriage Journal:  Before you roll your eyes, just know that I, too, almost cringed too for using the words “marriage journal”. It sounds so… cheesy. I get it.

BUT, I will say this: Nate and I have been using it for the past 5 months and I cannot rave enough about this journal. (Ignore the weird name. I have no idea why they called it a “Navigator’s Council”… it sounds like some shady cult material. But I promise it’s not.)

We pull it out once a week on our Sunday Night Home Date and go through it together before we fire up Netflix (or get busy- because nothing gets my engine revving like some deep, emotional Q& A time, eh? Eh? Amirite? Who’s with me, ladies?)

But Anyway.

I digress.

So each week’s layout has a calendar, so first we go over what we have going on as a family for the cupcoming week, then there’s one page we read aloud on a different topic each week. Topics like sex, expectations, pursuit, boundaries, trust, etc.– we dive into nitty gritty stuff here but it’s awesome because it’s a prompted and thought-provoking discussion that otherwise we may neglect to have.

Then we wrap it up with 6 questions that we ask each other- the same questions every week- and we’re careful to listen to each other before we write down the answers. Some weeks our answers are light and breezy and other weeks we might spend a half an hour talking through something we didn’t even realize needed discussing, but it’s been unbelievably helpful in deepening our communication.

Once you’ve been married for 15 years it can be so easy to fall into business-like conversations during busy seasons of life where we check in with each other about logistics of soccer practice and bank statements, but forget to check in with each other at a heart level.

Intimacy is something we are constantly having to pursue with each other and communication is one of the best ways to do that.

I like doing this on Sunday nights because we head into the busy week feeling known, heard, and connected.

I’m including links so you can order this mont’s Favorite Things on your own, but if you want to get some Baggu Bags for FREE, then just make sure you’re entered to win! I’ll be giving away not one, not two, but three bags to different people at the end of the month!

Get you some!

🙌🏽