Enumerated Update

Sadly, this is the second to last Friday of our summer break. I suppose that sounds a little dramatic, but it pains us to end our extra time with the trio. Plus, I think we are all in shock about George starting full days.

Other than that, here's where we are:

1) Oversharing: Instagram has always been my preferred form of social media, and that is even more true since I subscribed to ChatBooks about a year ago. Now a photobook arrives in our mailbox, monthly, containing the photos from my Instagram feed. Admittedly, I have a huge backlog and have only gotten up to 2013 since the books print 60 photos at a time. (I should note that a subscriber has the option to print the backlog in full, but I elected not to do that.) Since discovering ChatBooks, I have become a chronic oversharer, especially with special events and vacation photos, because I know they will be automatically bound and delivered (read: images won't languish on my hard drive without ever being printed).

2) Fall: I usually declare "fall" sometime in August, but since the experts are predicting an unusually hot fall, I am going to ease into more slowly. Instead of breaking out the dark polish, I am starting with Opi's Dulce de Leche.

My patience is going to snap by August 15th.  

3) The Cheapest Generation: About a decade ago, Skip casually mentioned that home ownership would be a thing of the past. This thought has gained momentum, and trend watchers are now seeing significant declines in car and home ownership from Millenials.

As a member of Gen-X (the generation criticized in the 90's for being shiftless and lazy), I don't join in any Millenial criticisms, especially when observing purchasing habits. If anything, the title of the article is "click bait," and it may very well be that refraining from major purchases (when crippled by student debt or when purchases are just out of reach and/or unnecessary) may make them the "wisest generation". 

To be clear, refusing to spend $50k on a vehicle that will depreciate the minute its tires leave the dealership's parking lot makes them careful and smart. 

4) Best news of the month: SO EXCITED about the impending return of Curb Your Enthusiasm! Since Skip hasn't seen any of the episodes, we are going to be binge watching this soon.  

I'm prett-ay, prett-ay, pretty-ay excited.  

5) Decluttering: The trio and I are going to be spending the last week of summer working on the biggest toy purge and re-org ever. There are so many items that were given a reprieve until August, and now their time is up. (Interestingly, exactly NONE of those items were played with all... summer... long.) After we re-org the upstairs, I am going to kick off a purge for the remaining areas, and this article is going to be my mantra.  

Spoiler alert: 

I will be asking myself, "If I were shopping right now, would I buy this?" 

6) Back-to-School: Here's an excellent five-point plan for transition from summer schedules to school schedules. As parents, are you planning to ease back into a schedule, or are you planning to live it up to the last possible second? Honestly, I could go either way.  

Have a fantastic weekend!