538th Friday Blog Roundup

The deed is done, the plans are set, the kitchen remodeling is happening.  Like… soon.  Like scary soon.  I thought it would take longer to get underway, but we ended up signing on at the first meeting and making all of our design decisions.  And yes, I will take before and after pictures.  Though… you know… maybe more after than before because really, the kitchen is awful.

I am getting my bookshelf in the kitchen. (Eating next to Harry Potter and Bilbo Baggins?  Yes, please!)  But re-doing the kitchen means taking down the twins’ artwork for the time being and only putting back up a fraction of what is in place at the moment because I’m losing display space.

Every surface in the kitchen is covered with drawings.  Some of it is that I think everything the twins do is wonderful. (Because my kids are perfect, right?)  But the rest of it is that those drawings make me feel as if they’re here with me during the day.  I’m framing some of my favourites and formally hanging them on the new “art exhibit” wall.  I’m designating some frames as the permanent collection (their totally cute babyhood stuff) and other frames as belonging to current exhibits (like from current art classes).  But it will be weird to have the cabinet doors sans artwork.

To make myself feel better, I’m hanging three drawings next to my desk, too.

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This is it!  Last few days!  Life from Scratch was chosen by Amazon to be one of the monthly deals for March. I would love your help in getting word out via social media. Pretty please?

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IComLeavWe list for April opened a few hours ago.  Join along.  Celebrate spring with… comments.

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Stop procrastinating.  Go make your backups.  Don’t have regrets.

Seriously.  Stop what you’re doing for a moment.  It will take you fifteen minutes, tops.  But you will have peace of mind for days and days.  It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments in order to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

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And now the blogs…

But first, second helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week.  In order to read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• “Platitudes” (Popcorn Ceiling Life)
• “Dinner is Served” (Stirrup Queens) — thank you, Lori!
• “My NonAdopting Story” (The Next 15,000 Days)
• “Hope & Healing” (Chronicles of an Adoption)
• “The Lessons She Teaches: On Time #WDSD15” (Invincible Spring)
• “My March” (Infertilityhonesty)
• “I’ve Lost my Muchness. Now to Find it Once More” (The Empty Cookie)
• “Stop Stereotyping My Children” (Twin Talk)

Okay, now my choices this week.

Life Begins again gutted me with a post written a week after closing the door on family building.  It’s a raw post about the nevers.  My heart stopped at this line: “I think about names I will never get to use.”  I still think about the names I have tucked away.  It’s a powerful piece.

A Little Bit More has a post about finally finding the courage to let family know that she is infertile, and having the news met with crickets.  Not actual crickets… of course (yikes!), but awkward silence.  It’s about seeking support and finding that it’s not there.  A moving read.

Accio Baby is trying to construct a pyramid of understanding when it comes to infertility.  At the top point are people currently experiencing infertility, and below that are several groups.  It’s an interesting exercise, and the comment section is just as thought-provoking as the post itself.

Lastly, Lavender Luz asks a question that gave me pause.  It’s an interesting question to a common situation (and yes, you’ll have to click over to see the question because describing it would sort of ruin the gut reaction), and the answer probably says more about us than I’d like to admit.

The roundup to the Roundup: Kitchen renovation, full speed ahead.  Last chance to help me get word out about Life from Scratch.  April’s IComLeavWe.  Your weekly backup nudge.  And lots of great posts to read.  So what did you find this week?  Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between March 20th and 27th) and not the blog’s main url. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week?  Read the original open thread post here.