Earlier this week, this amazing article was shared in the Sorta Awesome Hangout group on Facebook (more on this later), and one commenter responded with an affirmation that included this quote: “Clutter is the thief of brainspace.” It hasn’t stopped rolling around in my head since then.

To this comment I say, a thousand times yes. I simply cannot function in a cluttered environment. (Dirty? Maybe. Messy? NO.) Some people are the opposite, and that’s okay. Some people prefer to do housework in marathon bursts, and that’s okay. Seeing blankets and dishes and unopened mail and articles of clothing strewn about where they don’t belong actually makes me feel like a crazy person. I’ll look up from the book I’m trying to read or the post I’m trying to write and I’ll mentally put it all away. What’s the point of letting the housework “slide” if I’m spending the time doing it in my head now and spending the time to physically do it later? This is why I love to keep my house tidy (though not perfect) by cleaning as I go.

As I’ve said so many times before, I know having a child will test every fiber of my need for order. But already testing me is the newest addition to the Bergman house: Riley!

Granted, we have not gone overboard in what we’ve bought for her. A doggy bed, a couple of toys, some treats, a food dish, a water dish, and a food storage container. Because, you know, she’s a dog. She doesn’t need her own toy chest.

But we certainly love her like she’s another member of our human family, and we’re having so much fun getting to know her. She’s a quirky little girl for sure, but she is also the sweetest, most gentle dog, and I think she will absolutely adore and valiantly protect baby girl when she arrives.

So as you may have guessed, this loving little rescue pup is topping my gratitude list this week. (And that was possibly the longest intro to ever to one of these gratitude posts. Sorry.)

Cultivating Gratitude

Riley. We adopted her last week, and after a rough first day of separation anxiety from her foster mom (she laid by the door and cried all day, and it broke my heart into little pieces), she warmed up quickly to Dan and me. For the first time in her life, she has a backyard to play in and a bed to sleep in, and it’s clear that she relishes every minute of her new luxurious life.

Online baby registries. Visiting the store to create the registry was totally overwhelming, so instead, I’ve been slowly chipping away at it from the comfort of my bed while watching Gilmore Girls. Also, I’m slow clapping for tons of thoughtful online reviews from moms.

Summer grilling and slow cooker meals. Because summer is a season I don’t want to spend slaving away in the kitchen.

The Sorta Awesome podcast with Megan Tietz. Go listen to it right now. You will instantly feel like you’re best friends with Megan and her cohosts, which is kind of creepy and they actually address it in one show, but really, they’re just that awesome.

Sharing Love

I grew up taking at least one or two road trips a year with my family, and I absolutely love them. Planning for one is certainly an art, though, and these 25 tips will help you perfect it.

And speaking of road trips and dogs, I love these tips for planning a road trip with your dog!

I promise, I actually didn’t mean to have three road trip links in here. I bookmark my favorites throughout the week, and when I realized that three of the five were about road trips, I was secretly delighted. These are Jess’s genius tips for taking a road trip with a toddler.

I become a total grouch when I get hungry, which is often, considering I like to eat everything all the time. Joy’s thoughts while being hangry completely cracked me up because I have totally thought all these things.

So the next time you feel hangry or particularly in need of something sweet, give this mug brownie recipe a try. But maybe make two or three of them, just to be safe.