Adventures in thrifting:
Last night I volunteered at Asher’s weekly swim team pasta dinner again.
Each family has to do it twice, and back in November at the Parents Meeting, I astutely signed up for two post-Christmas dinners. This was a very good decision, because although I still didn’t particularly “feel” like making 6 lbs of meatballs and chopping 4 lbs of fruit and lugging my crockpot to the high school at 5:45 p.m., I suspect I “felt” like it more this week than I would have in mid-December!
It’s a really nice tradition, anyway. The boys all gather right after practice on Thursdays (meet days usually Fridays) and eat mounds of pasta, sauce, meatballs, noodles, fruit, salad, dessert, milk…. The swim team Booster Club has this potluck sign up down to a science. And of course, the main idea is team bonding, which this swim team also has down to a science! This team has THE BEST team culture I have ever seen in all my years of “sports parenting”.
Anyway! After the dinner, on the way home at ~7 p.m., Asher asked if we could stop by Goodwill. Um, sure? I very, very rarely ever go to Goodwill (unless I’m dropping stuff off!), but seems like the teens are kind of into “vintage stuff” these days and he just wanted to poke around.
So we stopped, and guess what?! I found two great purchases for myself! I was just tickled. lol!
I found this pair of OluKai sneakers, the Pehuea Li model, in my size 10!
I have eyed these sneakers online many times over the past year or so and almost bought them new a couple times. They are super lightweight and really neutral, so I thought they’d be great for summer and/or travel.
But they’re $100 new, and I just never ended up pulling the trigger.
I GOT THEM FOR $12.99!! And they are in great shape! This was very exciting. I momentarily understood how Elisabeth gets such a thrill from thrift shopping!! Haha!
I also found 2 lightweight bulletin boards for my office! ($1.99 each). I’ve been wanting to hang a corkboard on the wall behind my computer so I could stick reminder notes or post-its up there, etc.
Asher got a red vintage-looking swimsuit which is pretty cool, and also a like-new short sleeved button down shirt from Hollister. (Perfect thing to get thrifted, since the boys don’t really “dress up” too often, but obviously still need things like that sometimes! Will be perfect for summer travel.)
Choose the Suck:
Also just want to share something I heard this week that resonated with me.
On Episode 61 of the Subtle Art of Not Giving a F podcast, they were talking about the “associated suckage” that basically comes with everything. That sounds negative on the surface, but I think it’s just… reality.
Most things do have a “sucky” side to them.
As he said, “Being lazy sucks. Working hard sucks. Being healthy sucks. Being unhealthy sucks. Like, just choose the suck you want to have.”
Yes!
Being lazy –> nice in the moment, but ultimately unsatisfying/ you don’t reach your goals = that sucks
Working hard –> it’s… hard? And requires trade-offs from things that are “more fun” in the moment= that sucks
Being healthy –> have to sometimes pass up yummy treats or say no to a delicious, fizzy, bubbly soda (lol!), have to be disciplined to exercise instead of staying on the couch = that sucks
Being unhealthy –> feeling bad, being in pain, needing medications, not being able to do things we want due to physical limitations, potentially dying prematurely….= all REALLY sucks.
I really liked this thought! Like I said, at first it sounds really negative nelly to be like, “Wah, everything sucks.” But something about it is sort of liberating and motivating to me! Everything in life is probably going to have some element of “suckage”, so, CHOOSE YOUR SUCK! 😁
It has helped me a bit to stay motivated with staying off soda. It sucks to not have my “treat” to look forward to. But it also sucks to be addicted to something. And it would suck to get fatter from all the sugar, or have my teeth rot out, or end up with heart disease or cancer or diabetes or dementia from it. Either way, something sucks, so I think I’ll choose the first one. 😉
Happy Friday! Yay for an upcoming 3-day weekend.
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for finding those sneakers last night!
GRATEFUL KAE 
Wow, that was one great find at Goodwill, talk about savings.
And I love the idea of, “… just choose the suck you want to have.” How true is this, and why didn’t I know this before now? 😉
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You know my thrifting heart BURST with pride when you texted me those pictures.
It’s so true, about the “choose your suck”. I think James Clear has written things of that ilk, too. It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that EVERY decision tends to have either short or long-term consequences.
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Ooh those shoes are so cute! Nice one – yay for thrifting. My husband owns a vintage clothing store and by vintage I mean… Y2K! Haha – talk about making us feel old. But the teens love it, and I love that they love reusing rather than fast fashion.
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What great Goodwill finds!! There is a really nice thrift shop close to our house that tends to have kind of more upscale options probably because the neighborhood itself is sort of affluent. I’ve had good luck there. I need to go back sometime.
Choosing this suck is a good reframing although I have to say unhealthy paragraph basically sums up my life right now. In pain, on medication, unable to do the things I want do, etc., etc.. sob.
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Love this idea. It helps to acknowledge that maybe I DON’T want to get up at 5 am and go running in the dark… it does kind of suck sometimes. But not running sucks more. I love Mark Manson but have never listened to his podcast- I think I’ll start.
That is a huge parent commitment for Asher’s swim team! I’m going to remember that next time I complain about a band event that I don’t want to go to.
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Thanks so much for sharing “choose the suck” tip…thought of it yesterday as a vacuumed piles of hair up from all over the house from out Shiba Inu…..vacuuming dog hair sucks…but not having our cute dog would suck much more! Really made the chore better yesterday! Thanks for sharing!
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I have to comment on the thrifting! I am a long time thrifter. When I was a single mom of 4 we had a consignment store in the next city a very wealthy area) and I got great clothes for my kids for a fraction of the price. I have a local Value Village (maybe that’s Canadian?) that is huge, clean and well organized. I buy most of my clothes there. Mind you my kids are gown and I have the time. I cannot remember designer names but a few years back I got a gorgeous designer sundress for $35. I wore it to my niece’s wedding in Dominican & almost everyone commented on it. Well the women at least. I couldn’t resist saying how little I spent. My husband just shook his head. A few months ago I got a brand new tags still on pair of (again designer) jeans. They were retail $95 and I paid $18. Can you tell how excited I get about the deals??!
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Wow, that dress sounds like an incredible find! And the jeans too! I can see the appeal for sure. Not sure I have the patience to do it all the time (and I am not sure the thrift shops I have been to necessarily are overflowing with super nice quality things…), but what a thrill to hit the jackpot now and then 🙂
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I haven’t been thrifting in so long, but success stories like yours make me want to finally go again… this year might be my thrifting year 🙂 (Great find btw!).
Also, I wholeheartedly agree with the statement “choose your suck”. Most things that are satisfying in the moment are not for you long term, so we should always keep that in mind 😉
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Nice find! I used to have good luck in Santa Cruz; they had a ton of different thrift stores, all on the same street and there was so many good work outfits, like Anne Taylor slacks and stuff. I assume it is because the area is affluent like Lisas, but whatever it was, I ended up getting a job and outfitting myself for the job fully for under $100 in the end. You do have to “poke around” as you say, but sometimes the finds are totally worth it! I don’t think I have ever bought shoes though, as they seem more hit and miss, so I often just pass them by.
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Coach and I just found a glass cabinet to store the mountain of Irish dancing trophies in, and I was like YES! I’d tried on FB Marketplace for so long, but people aren’t great at removing things that were already sold and some people are, um, disillusioned about how much they might get for their stuff. The thrift store was a cool place, a little out of the way but FULL OF FURNITURE. So much of it is high end.
I have never thought about choosing the suck – but it is an interesting perspective. I would love to get the time back from skipping working out, but the suckie part would def be gaining weight and having less energy to get thru the day.
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Ernie! Note Erbie – I was trying to fix that typo and it posted mid fix. 😉
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