Well, I’m pleased to announce that I went to the doctor yesterday and after receiving a prescription for a hefty dose of prednisone, the road to recovery is already in my sight.

I thought I might need some antibiotics, but wasn’t 100% sure that what I have is bacterial.  Am I the only one who tries to diagnose their own problem?  The doctor confirmed my suspicions.  He thinks it’s viral.  Two reasons:  1.) Because my family has been fighting this for the past two weeks and they are on the mend.  2.) Because the four days of strong antibiotics I prescribed to myself and took Friday through yesterday did NO OUNCE of good and I still felt horrible. (These would be antibiotics I got about two months ago and did the BAD thing by not taking all of my medicine because I was feeling better…BAD MISTAKE.)  So, I’m doing a PSA (Public Service Announcement) — when given medication for an illness, take all of it or else you will only be killing off the weak germs and not the strong ones AND you can eventually become immune to that antibiotic.  OK.  Doctor Angela has left the building.

After five hours of prednisone in my system, I begin feeling so much better.  I could breathe, my chest was not as heavy, I actually had ENERGY!, sleep wasn’t knocking on my door every hour of the day…I am doing better.  Thanks to the prednisone, I have the energy of a three year old.  No lie.  I did laundry, baked cookies, made a batch of soup, took down the rest of our winter and Valentine decor, and decorated our home with spring, bunnies, eggs, and flowers.  Let’s just hope I can sleep well and it wears off at night…

NOW.  On with today’s blog post.

Target.  I LOVE Target.  The shopping, the customer service, the friendly employees, the fashion, home decor, great selection of groceries…the list could go on and on.  You may remember awhile back when I did a post about how I love Target (Target…you had me at hello).

Today, I thought I’d do a blog post titled “Some of my favorite things at Target”.  I’m going to share with you some of my favorite things from the wonderful store…Target.  Let me start at the front of the store…

1.  Target’s awesome choice of movies –

We love love love movies.  It’s a great way to spend a Fun Family Friday night…curled up with blankets, popcorn, and M&M’s watching a great family movie.  Our latest favorite is “Big Hero 6”.  Great humor for the kids and adults 🙂

 

2.  Children’s books –

I am a book lover and thankfully, our boys have inherited 50% of my genes because they love books.  When I’ve had baby showers to attend, giving books is one of my favorite things to add in their gift bag.  Having been a teacher, I have seen firsthand how important it is to start reading to your kids at a young age.  When they see that reading is important to you, it rubs off on them.  (Kind of.  Our oldest likes books, but on occasion, he will grumble about it.  Our youngest LOVES books.  Crazy about them.)  Mom tip:  I ‘encourage’ reading by saying, “No whining.  Get out a stack of books and we’re going to ‘read’ for fifteen minutes.”  Now, sometimes, they just look at the pictures, but other times, they are reading.  Whatever.  It’s all important.  Get books in your kiddos hands.  And Target has a nice selection of them.

 

3.  The pen and pencil aisle –

I love the pen and pencil aisle.  Maybe it’s the writer in me.  Maybe it’s the kid in me.  I just love pens.  Good black pens.  Blue pens.  Marker pens.  Nice, sharp pencils.  Love them all.

 

4.  The toy aisle (a kid’s dreamland) –

Sometimes, it’s painful to go down these aisles.  Especially when your child has a gift card that is burning a hole in his pocket and HE JUST CAN’T DECIDE.  But in all seriousness, I love the toy aisles.  Before Christmas and birthdays, we go and peruse the aisles to get ideas of what the boys can put on their wish lists.

These are bonding moments and I really do love watching them dream about this toy and that.  I love to really know what they love and what they are wishing for.  Ten years from now, they won’t be wanting to go in the toy aisles.  So, I’m cherishing every minute I can with our little guys and together, we are loving the toy aisles.

 

5.  Cozy, comfy blankets –

I’ve talked about the Threshold blankets before and I’ll say it again…we love these blankets.  I have one on each of our beds and we have a couple that we keep in the living room to curl up in.  They wash up well and are so soft.

 

6.  Pillows and other home decor –

Pillows are a great way to accessorize and they are reasonably priced at Target.  If you’re looking for a quick way to switch up your living room or bedroom, buying new pillows is a great way to bring in change.  I love Target’s holiday pillows, too.

 

7.  More home decor –

I actually have this turquoise and white floral print shower curtain in our master bath.  I love the soft, clean look.

I am a fan of white towels and these Fieldcrest Luxury towels have held up so well.  They give a bathroom such a clean and fresh look.

 

8.  Mossimo clothing –

I love Target’s Mossimo brand.  Tops like this with a tank underneath…perfect for working out or just an everyday look.  Mossimo has great tops, maxi dresses, sweaters, and so much more.  A great price on so many of their fashion pieces and always so trendy.

 

9.  Mossimo Layering Tanks –

Tanks go great under plaid shirts, blousey tops, cardigans, etc… They have these layering tanks in all of the basic colors…you’ll have a hard time picking out just one.

 

10.  Men’s hair products –

I get Hubby’s and the boys’ shampoo and gel at Target.  See…Target is so convenient.  Grab a few tops for you, movies for the kids, and hair products for the boys!

 

11.  YoKids Squeezers yogurt –

Target is the only store I’ve seen carry these and we always stock up on two boxes.  A healthy snack and the lemonade flavor is a BIG hit at our house.

 

12.  Market Pantry colby jack cheese bars –

I can thank my Grandpa Caleb for passing on the love of cheese.  He often ate cheese for a bedtime snack and thanks to Grandpa Caleb’s influence, we grandkids love cheese, too.  Well, these cheese bars of colby jack cheese are great snacks.  We like string cheese, but oh…these babies are my weakness.  (Along with soft chocolate chip cookies and frosted sugar cookies.)  A healthy snack and soooo yummy!

 

13.  Chips, chips, and more chips –

I love buying things on sale and Target always has chips on sale.  These Kettle Cooked 40% less fat ones are yummy.  *The Mesquite BBQ ones are SUPER ADDICTIVE.  We are a chip-loving family so, I always stock up on chips at Target.

 

14.  Awesome vegetables –

Target has some of the best vegetables…I love their selection and I’m never disappointed.  Our boys LOVE vegetables (yes, we are lucky) so, I always put three or four cucumbers in our cart.  And green peppers.  And yellow peppers.  And orange peppers.  You get the idea 🙂

 

15.  Delicious fruit –

Again, I love Target’s variety of fruit.  I’m always happy with their selection and variety.  Great fruit at a great price.  We love Honeycrisp apples, strawberries, grapes, bananas, oranges, kiwi…basically ALL of it.

 

16.  Candy and chocolate –

Remember how I talked about those white peanut butter Reese’s eggs last week?  They are so addictive and you’ll be mad at me because I told you about them.  So just don’t.  Don’t start.  Don’t try them.  Just walk away from them.  Or you’ll have a white peanut butter egg problem like I do.  WHY does Target have to stock the best candy, chocolate, and bubble gum??!

 

17.  OPI and Essie nail polish –

Right before checking out, I like to swing down the nail polish aisle.  Doing nails myself is much more cost efficient.  (I love a pedi at the nail salon, but manicures…if it’s not a vacation or something special, I feel like I can paint my own fingernails.)  I love OPI nail polish and Essie nail polish.  I’ve gotten many colors here…a girl can never have too much nail polish.

 

18.  The check out aisle –

Fruit, veggies, my Viva paper towels and of course…some Easter candy.  And a Mossimo tank.  Oh.  And “The Blacklist” dvd set season one.  Completely a MUST HAVE.  The great thing about the check out aisle is I get to use my Target shopping cart app.  (I’m usually one of those customers still scanning products to see if they are on sale.  I know, annoying.)  (Or I’m frantically scrolling down the list of sale items to see if there’s anything I can add to my shopping cart app.  Hey.  5% off apples is 5% off.)  But my favorite thing about the check out aisle is getting to save an extra 5% on the whole purchase because I use my Target debit Red Card.  I love saving some cash!

 

19.  Pizza Hut Express –

As I finish up shopping, sometimes I’ll swing through the Pizza Hut Express to grab breadsticks for myself and some pan pizzas for the boys.  Cheese pizzas for them, of course.  This is one of my favorite things about Target.  More and more (insert a mom sad face with teary eyes), I’m shopping while the boys are at school.  But this place.  The Pizza Hut Express.  This place has memories.  I love thinking about how many times Nate, Maxim, and I have enjoyed our little lunch dates right here.  Nibbling on breadsticks and pan pizza and swinging back and forth in the chairs, catching up on the little things in life. The important things in life.  So thankful for those moments.  And on an occasional Saturday or when the kids have a day off or during the summer…we’ll still have our little lunch dates right here.  It’s a must.  For this mama and for the boys. 🙂

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed going on a shopping trip to Target with me.  There are always more things I could talk about (The Dollar Spot, Starbucks, the storage container aisle for a hoarder like me, the baby aisles to look at the cute little socks and onesies, etc…), but I didn’t want this to be the blog post that never ends. 🙂

It’s your turn…share about your favorite things at Target!  What are some “must have’s”?  What can’t you live without?  What memories do you have that make Target that warm, fuzzy, PERFECT shopping place?