Limited Edition!

 Jenn McKinlay: I have a confession to make. It’s embarrassing. I probably should keep it to myself but we’re all friends, right? I know you won’t judge me. So here it is.

*Jenn takes a deep breath*

If you put “Limited Edition” on a food item, I will 100% buy it. I know, I know, I should have more willpower. I should be stronger and not so easily manipulated by Madison Avenue and their marketing shenanigans but…but…what if I miss something truly spectacular? It’s LIMITED EDITION -- what if I never get to try it and my life spirals into an abyss of sad because I missed out on the one thing that would make life worth living?

I see you shaking your head. You think I’m being dramatic, well, let me prove you wrong. Snickers came out with a limited edition pecan snickers and it was so good I bought the store out. Completely out.

I texted my candy freak bestie so that she didn’t miss out, because I’m thoughtful like that. Well, yes, by the time the limited edition disappeared, I did have to pay my dentist an exorbitant amount of money for some fillings. No, I’m not saying the pecan Snickers is the reason I am now looking at an implant but I’m not not saying it either.

Now there have been some real clunkers and you’d think I’d learn my lesson but how was I supposed to know that ketchup flavored Doritos would be terrible. Okay, yes, a person with willpower and common sense would know but that clearly ain’t me.

As I’m writing this I am noshing a package of Selena Gomez inspired cinnamon Oreos. Yes, they’re limited edition. And, y’all, they are next level. See? How sad would my Saturday night have been if I hadn’t grabbed them? Wicked sad!

Confess, Reds and Readers, are you a sucker for limited edition? What items have you loved or hated?

Achievement Unlocked.

 

JENN McKINLAY: It took me 15 years to finish this %$#@!&^%$# skull scarf for Hooligan 1, but I did it just in time for his 25th birthday. Y'all, I don't think I've ever felt such a sense of accomplishment in my life. 

How did I get myself into this, you ask? Maybe you didn't. I'll tell you anyway.

I decided to teach myself to knit in 2008. I made a bunch of simple scarfs, very fun, but then wanted a challenge. While looking through patterns one day, Hooligan 1 saw this one and asked if I'd make it for him. "Sure!" I said WAY TOO CONFIDENTLY. I bought the pattern off the Ravelry website and bought the yarn and set to work. At the same time, Otto our salt and pepper schnauzer entered our lives. 

I had gotten a good start on the scarf when Otto got into my yarn basket and as the Hub said when he found him, "I didn't know where the dog started and the yarn began and vice versa." Mercifully, the puppy didn't strangle himself. The destroyed project was ripped out and put on a shelf and promptly forgotten about. A few years later, I found it and started again assured that the puppy who now had his buddy Annie as a playmate would stay out of it. They did. 

But here's the thing. THOSE STITCHES ARE TINY. 

This frigging scarf took FOREVER!!! I'd pick it up and work on it a little bit through the year and then put it down to work on more interesting projects. It became a running joke between me and H1 as to whether or not I'd ever finish it. Then I was cleaning my office, found it again, and realized I was 30 rows from finishing. Newly motivated I spent the week before his birthday working on it. Maybe four hours of work in total. WHY didn't I get this done years ago? Argh!!!

Needless to say, H1 was surprised and pleased and I was relieved. Seriously, achievement unlocked, as the gamers say, and I will never knit anything with those teeny tiny stitches ever again!

So, fess up, Reds and Readers, what's a project you put off forever and then it took no time to finish? 

Are Thank You Notes Still a Thing?

 Jenn McKinlay: During the school break after every holiday, there would come the dreaded day that my mom would pull out the list of gifts we'd received from family, a pack of stationary, and a couple of pens. My brother and I would then take up residence at the kitchen table until every thank you note had been written. 

Not gonna lie, when there were snowball fights to be had, our sledding hill was beckoning, and the ice on the lake had just frozen over enough to skate on, being forced to stay inside and write thank you notes was sheer torture. It took us forever!

Now that I'm a full time writer, I laugh at ten year old me. Writing a heartfelt thank you is a no brainer (thanks, Mom!) and I can't believe I was ever so resistant. The Hooligans were given the same task as kids and I'm pleased that while they don't use stationary and stamps anymore, they always text thank you messages to people who've given them gifts or helped them out in some way. 

Mostly, any thank yous I get these days are in text or email form. I'm okay with that, I mean, it does save trees but there is something extra special about getting a thank you card in the mail. Frankly, it feels a bit more sincere. 

How about you, Reds and Readers, what's your take on thank you notes?