Category — Friday Blog Roundup

We woke up to the first snow of the year on Monday. It was just a dusting that melted by 10 am, but it existed and caused a two-hour school delay. Despite the twins being out of the school system, I still get the school alerts, so I woke up to an email telling me the start time of all-day Kindergarten and when the buses would run.

This will happen again and again this winter, so I’m hoping it’s just the first alert that will sting this deeply. I scrolled through old photos from past snowstorms, the kids’ faces peeking out from underneath layers of Polartec, clutching their kid-sized shovels. I thought about texting one of the pictures to our group chat, but I decided to save the sad for myself. There’s no reason to make everyone else nostalgic, too.

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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 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. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

Scientist on the Roof left Russia so her children wouldn’t grow up with antisemitism, and despite America selling itself as the solution to every other country’s discrimination, her children are encountering it here, too. If you think it’s not happening around you, it is. If you think your Jewish friends or neighbours aren’t impacted by it, they are. And if you need to understand how upsetting this fall/winter has been for Jewish kids (and Jewish adults), read this post.

Lastly, The Next 15,000 Days posts her yearly Christmas wish to hear from her readers. It makes sense in the season of connection that we would slow down and share an email. Go over, read, and reach out.

The roundup to the Roundup: First snow. 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 December 8 – 15) 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.

Chanukkah started last night. We have a cabinet with a random assortment of unused candles from Chanukkahs past. I would enter the holiday with good intentions: I’ll light the chanukkiah all eight nights.

To prove my commitment, I would light it the first night. And maybe I would light it the second night. But I would forget by the third. And I’d remember but decide I didn’t feel like cleaning the chanukkiah of the fourth. So on and so forth until the seventh night when I would remember once again and say something like, “I stick the landing with Pesach.”

The boxes generally contain the exact number of candles — 44 — you need for the holiday. So, each box in the cabinet has a jumble of leftover candles.

But I told Josh to buy me a new box this year, AND I had the brilliant idea to write the task into my daily to-do list. Anything written on the to-do list gets done. So tonight, we will light for the second night, and I will remember to do it the third night and beyond.

Thanks, to-do list. You’re the gift that keeps giving.

*******

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 to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

*******

And now the blogs…

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

• “We Are Trying” (The Antidote)

Okay, now my choices this week.

No Kidding in NZ has a post about when holiday expectations go awry. She was set to have one kind of holiday (food, wine, adult time), and now she’s having another (three-year-old child), and while she would have ended up in the same hosting space, the situation happened without the ability to process it with a deep breath. She explains: “But as a childless person who has been through the painful process of learning to embrace the joys of an adult Christmas, and for years has successfully done this, I’m now going to be reminded, closely and intently, of what I will have missed.” Figuratively, I’ll be in your pocket while you’re hosting, so know that there are people out here who have your back.

Lastly, Infertile Phoenix unpacks the two future choices highlighted for young girls — mom or career woman — but I love this nugget of truth: “Some things in life are going really well and some things are not. And, well, that’s because that’s how life goes.” That is life. Things are rarely all good or all bad. It’s a mix.

The roundup to the Roundup: To-do lists work. 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 December 1 – 8) 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.

If you haven’t signed in to an old Gmail account in the last two years and want to keep it, you should sign in today because Gmail will purge old accounts soon. They had a few conditions for times when they wouldn’t delete the account, and they sent a message in August:

If your account is considered inactive, we will send several reminder emails to both you and your recovery emails (if any have been provided) before we take any action or delete any account content. These reminder emails will go out at least 8 months before any action is taken on your account.

But just to be on the safe side, go log in.

*******

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 to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

*******

And now the blogs…

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

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

Not a Wasted Word has thoughts on participating in NaBloPoMo, how blogging has changed, and finding community. She writes, “Maybe I don’t need it as much anymore, because I have some really solid friends in the real world that I text with daily and see regularly. And maybe I do, because maybe blogging is about something different for me now, than the connection is used to provide.” I love seeing NaBloPoMo live on because it was part of my job to run it when it moved to BlogHer. This post encapsulates the best of blogging, placing down the random thoughts and finding community in the me too.

Lastly, Finding a Different Path writes about Thanksgiving JOMO. I love the spontaneous drinks at the bar, as well as this thought: “Do I still have the grief of not having the children and family that we wanted? Of course. But it’s not front and center. It’s surrounded by a whole lot of appreciation for the life we do have.” Because the life you have looks pretty awesome.

The roundup to the Roundup: Use it or lose it with old Gmail accounts. 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 November 24 – December 1) 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.

One of the problems with holiday weeks (now shortened to holiweeks) is that I’m so off my schedule that I spent a chunk of Tuesday wondering why Friday newsletters didn’t send. (Um… because it’s not Friday yet.) But today is Friday, and the newsletters are sent. My babies are home. I can hug them. We had yummy food. I am dreading them returning to school.

So that’s where things are over here. Hope all is well over there.

*******

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 to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

*******

And now the blogs…

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

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

The Road Less Travelled reminds us that COVID is not over. As she says, “It’s a good reminder that yes, covid is still out there, people are still getting sick from it — very sick, in some cases — and it’s easy to let our guard down (especially when governments and businesses seem to be doing everything in their power NOT to remind us it still exists…!).” As someone who still masks, thank you for saying this.

Lastly, Dear John updates her late husband on the holidays with a letter. This line made me pause: “I’m not feeling super thankful this year again. I will make the effort to appreciate the things I have instead of focusing on what I’ve lost. Missing you.” Holding you in my heart.

The roundup to the Roundup: Hope you had a good Thanksgiving if you celebrate. 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 November 17 – November 24) 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.

I get to speak at a career day on Monday. It has been a long time since I last went in front of the young’uns and told them how they could grow up to be just. like. me.

While I don’t remember my last career day (last year? I think I presented last year), I do remember my first career day. Two days after the Trump/Clinton election, the twins’ school brought me in to talk about my job. And I’m like… I think this will be more of a therapy session for all of us.

So.

That’s how I’m spending Monday morning, filling the next generation’s heads with ideas for their bright future.

*******

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 to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

*******

And now the blogs…

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

• “Aimee” (The Twenty Percenters)
• “(Re)Connections/Seeing Old Friends” (Infertile Phoenix)

Okay, now my choices this week.

Finding A Different Path is opting for skills over pills. This barometer made so much sense to me: “I feel it is messing with me without any positives so far. And I’m not sure I want to wait to see if positives erupt, because it makes me feel so yucky.” If you’ve ever asked, “how do you know?” Well, that’s how you know. P.S. Become my bullet journal buddy.

Lastly, Infertile Phoenix has reached the space. She writes, “I can rest now. I’m not trying to get anywhere or become anything. I am no longer building, no longer creating a life I want to live. I’m just living it.” I love that thought that you come to this peaceful glen where you can just be vs. trying to run to get somewhere.

The roundup to the Roundup: The next generation. 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 November 10 – November 17) 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.