The Friday Five, 1/2/25: 5 things I've been up to this week

Well, December flew by—I wasn't able to do a Friday Five last week because I was in Indiana for the holiday and didn't schedule a post—and now it's January, aka my birthday month! I feel like August through December 2025 went by fast (I wonder why, haha ...) and it's hard to believe our baby will be five months this month, too (on my birthday, actually; she and I share the same day of the month for our birthdays, which is fun). 

baby
Baby K on her new Lovevery play gym

What I've been up to these (past two) weeks:

  1. Visiting Indiana for Christmas. This was our second time to Indiana in the past month—the first time was because we left Baby K with my in-laws to travel with friends to Louisville. Baby K thankfully does pretty well in the car, but the first time we drove there, we stopped at Culver's midway to eat; this time, we did it pretty much nonstop except for 1-2 breaks for me to use the bathroom and also pump in the car. Indiana was a lot of fun and I also got to see my SIL and her pups, plus we all exchanged gifts, which is always nice. 
  2. Getting takeout/delivery. In Indiana, we had Raising Cane's takeout again, which is one of my favorites, plus Pizza Hut, with a BOGO coupon, which was just okay. On Tuesday, I kind of randomly met some friends at McDonald's in Novi, since I was in the area and needed to drop off some stuff with her, and I also got a free shake from Shake Shack—I am on their consumer panel, of sorts, and they sent me a free shake code months back that was expiring Dec. 31st. Yesterday, I got us Culver's for lunch, since I was in that area (Commerce Twp.), and we got Domino's delivered for dinner. 
  3. Watching TV shows. I binged Heated Rivalry this week since Baby K was at daycare and I had a little bit of time to myself, which is unusual nowadays. It was as good as people said it would be, and I just bought the book (well, the first three books in the series, anyways) from Kindle, too, so I can read it. I also need to finish the rest of the Taylor Swift documentary, and I finished Emily in Paris when I was in Indiana and also had more time to myself (usually while pumping). I'm behind on Elsbeth and a few others now, too, so maybe I will have some time this weekend for that. 
  4. Getting an eye exam. I used to see an ophthalmologist in Birmingham, for a long time, as it was close to my condo in Clawson, but they don't take my eye insurance now—they used to bill my medical insurance—and Bham is now a bit of a drive from my current area, anyways, so I went to Visionworks in Novi. They did a decent job but because I have kinda weird eyes (they are cone-shaped; there's a name for this but I forget what, I think keratoconus?), they are referring me to a specialist. A little frustrating, because my old doctor's office had the equipment to check that out each year, but oh well. I also ordered new glasses at Visionworks, which is exciting because my current glasses are 5+ years old, and they will be ready in a week or two. 
  5. Canceling plans. My husband was sick this week, so unfortunately we had to cancel a lot of our plans, including a movie for me (I was going to see Marty Supreme) on Monday and NYE plans with friends. We still have the rest of the week off work, though, so hopefully we can maybe see friends or get some household things done. 

Popular Posts

Review: Polar Pizza at Baskin-Robbins

Image
*Disclosure: I received a gift card to try the new Polar Pizza at Baskin-Robbins. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. Baskin-Robbins launched its Polar Pizza last month (July), as I talked about in my recent post about them, and because this past month was crazy busy for me, I didn't get to try the Polar Pizza until this past Sunday. My parents and I went to the combined Dunkin' Donuts / Baskin-Robbins near them, in Novi, MI, to split one of the ice cream pizzas.
Read more

Movie Review and GIVEAWAY: Disney's Moana 2 {ends 2/9}

Image
Moana 2 is now available on digital and will be available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on March 18. In the interim, two of my lucky readers will win a digital code to download the movie! About the film: Gather your family to experience Moana and Maui’s latest adventure at home since Disney’s  Moana 2  arrives to digital retailers (Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home) and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on March 18. The highly anticipated sequel to the Walt Disney Animation Studios fan favorite is the #3 highest-grossing film of 2024 and recently crossed a billion dollars at the global box office. It is the fourth WDAS film ever to do so ( Frozen, Zootopia, Frozen 2 ). Critics and fans alike have hailed Disney’s  Moana 2  as “a fantastic voyage” (Brian Truitt, USA Today), and “a joyous adventure the whole family will love” (BJ Colangelo, Slash Film). The digital and Blu-ray release goes far beyond with hours of exclusive bonus content for the whole family...
Keep reading

Trip Review: Bavarian Inn Lodge, Frankenmuth, MI

Image
*Disclosure: I received a free one-night stay at Bavarian Inn Lodge in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. This past Friday, I had the pleasure of staying at the Bavarian Inn Lodge , in Frankenmuth, Michigan, for one night. I've been to Frankenmuth many times, and even stayed overnight in the neighboring Birch Run, but I had never stayed directly in the city before, so I was excited to stay at the Lodge. Friday was a rainy day, but we didn't let that stop us from having fun. We stopped at Halo Burger, in Birch Run, for lunch—there used to be locations in Novi and Troy, but both closed, and their food is very good—and then hit up Bronner's Christmas Wonderland, which is the largest Christmas store in the world.  For those who are unfamiliar with Frankenmuth , it is a German/Bavaria-themed town, about an hour north of the Metro Detroit area, nicknamed "Michigan's Little Bavaria." There is always a lot of things to do in Fr...
Keep reading