Category — Friday Blog Roundup

I probably won’t read Spare but ChickieNob promised to give me the highlights in an oral executive summary. It’s likely that all the main points have already been said in articles or interviews, but I told her to direct me to a few sections. Are you reading it?

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It’s Friday the 13th. I have no clue why I need to say that every time the Roundup coincides with Friday the 13th. As you were.

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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:

• “A Baby Is Not a New Year’s Resolution” (Life, Almost)

Okay, now my choices this week.

Movable Type has a post looking back at last year while trying to make this one better. She writes, “This morning over breakfast my father in law said contemplatively, ‘vacations always end, but then so will the school year.’ ‘That’s the thing –’ I suddenly realized: ‘I never felt like last year ever ended.‘ That perfectly sums up 2022.

Lastly, By the Brooke sums up the year, and you’re going to want to steal her outline and do it for yourself — 38 great questions. I love this about lessons learned in 2022: “It has reminded me not to take my own health for granted. It has reminded me that a dog who loves you best is a total mood-booster. It has reminded me that girls’ nights out are great, but girls’ nights in with stretchy pants are even better.”

The roundup to the Roundup: Reading Spare through the ChickieNob. 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 January 6 – 13) 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.

Today is Befana Day, which makes last night Befana Eve. Befana rode her broomstick through the night sky to deposit her gifts and candy. Last night we had our big meal instead of tonight. It’s not really tradition; I didn’t remember that we usually have the meal on Befana Day and scheduled it for Befana Eve. And then it was too late to change it. It’s that kind of week. But Befana brought me something, too — a memento from the Queen’s Jubilee. She knows us so well.

The kids will likely be home for Befana Days in the future — this would still be their winter break — but there was something especially bittersweet about this last holiday before they leave.

*******

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.

I loved hearing how everyone celebrated Christmas last week. Much Ado About Nothing detailed pre-Christmas to post-Christmas in a post. I especially loved this: “My husband has learned how to make everything so he took over while I sat with the kids watching them play with their new stuff having my coffee. It was glorious.” It sounds like a great celebration.

Finding a Different Path writes about encountering the “desperate childless woman” trope in a book — her last one of the year. And how it ruined the moment for her. “It was almost a throw-it-across-the-room moment, but then I just…decided. Would I rather end 2022 with a disturbing but well written book about an increasingly unhinged woman with mother issues? Or with a book that is diametrically opposed to EVERYTHING I STAND FOR? Even if it only shows (so far) in one line?” Abandoning the book is exactly what I would have done, especially if that was the book I was going to end the year on.

Lastly, The Next 15000 Days has found the perfect strategy for avoiding hurtful small talk conversations — dancing! I also liked this: “I had nice December. I decided I am done skipping life so I attended almost all the parties I was invited to. It felt nice, being part of life.” But mostly, click over for the pretty pictures and to learn ChatGPT’s advice.

The roundup to the Roundup: Befana arrived. 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 30 – January 6) 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.

ChickieNob and I impulsively cut our hair this week. You could not tell the difference with my hair except that it looks 30% less rat’s nest-like. I told our hair cutter that I was okay with three, four, or whatever inches, and she opted to go with the “four” option, unsure of what I meant by “whatever” inches.

I like that it dries faster, and I can use less gel. I do not like that it’s still grey, but I’m also not doing anything about that.

The ChickieNob’s hair, on the other hand, looks like Princess Kate’s, falling in soft waves past her shoulders. I want her hair. Or, at least, my brown hair back. I didn’t appreciate the brown when I had it.

*******

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:

• “The Great Parent-No Kidding Divide” (No Kidding in NZ)

Okay, now my choices this week.

A Blank New Page writes about a friend’s child who opened her eyes to how she is woven into many people’s lives. She writes: “This Christmas realized that I actually have a good place in this family world. Of course, I am not like a mom. But I can give my full attention to the little people, as an older friend, without being distracted by my own children, and I realized this Christmas that I have a very special place in the lives of these little gorgeous people.” What a great gift.

Infertile Phoenix is once again navigating people asking her if she has kids. Unlike before, it isn’t bothering her, especially because she realizes why people are possibly asking it. She explains, “I think I probably give off a pretty maternal vibe, which is why people ask. I’ve always said I was born to be a mom. But I’m not a mom. Obviously. And I’m learning to be okay with that.” Moreover, she loves the life she has built, no small thing.

Lastly, Dear John has a moving post about how her daughter processes her first Christmas without her father vs. how A is processing her first Christmas without her husband. We all grieve the same person differently, and sometimes our grief doesn’t make sense (or does make sense) to the other people in the equation. She writes, “I still miss you, even if S finds holidays easier without you. I don’t blame her. But it’s painful to say that. It feels disloyal, even though it’s true.” Sending a hug.

The roundup to the Roundup: You cannot tell that I got a haircut. 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 23 – 30) 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’m going to take a lighter writing day this week. Less yoga, more sleeping. Less screen time, more bothering my guinea pig time. You get the point.

I’m feeling burned out at the end of the year. I need time to sit on the sofa in my pyjamas. Doing nothing.

*******

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 has a post about changing Christmas traditions. When her sister mentions that their parents need to give up hosting Christmas, she reflects on Christmases past and how she imagined Christmases future. She writes, “I don’t know what the future holds, or where we’ll all be next Christmas — but I’m going to enjoy this one, here & now, while & how I can.” I love that.

Lastly, Finding a Different Path has a post about fake trees, and she answers everything I’ve been wondering about. Moreover, this sentiment fits nicely with the post above: “ It’s nice to break with tradition and make new ones when you remake your life. This tree fits us and our life now. And it’s beautiful.” Here’s to old traditions and new traditions, wherever they take us.

The roundup to the Roundup: Lighter blogging time coming. 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 16 – 23) 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.

We are bummed that Season 2 of White Lotus is over. If I step back and think about it, it’s 7 hours of entertainment. That is a lot of entertainment. But these short seasons mean you get to know the characters, and the story is done. Unlike seasons long ago, which were usually 22 episodes long, and we moaned when the show went on hiatus over the summer.

I love when you find the moments when many people watch the same thing simultaneously. It doesn’t happen very often, but when I posted my outlandish White Lotus finale predictions on Facebook — which were fantastically wrong and which I repeated up until the last few minutes of the episode — people jumped in with their own predictions. It was fun to talk about a cultural moment and know other people were thinking about it, too.

I wish that happened more often. Kind of impossible with this many streaming services.

*******

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.

Dear John writes about daily life, including setting up for Christmas. This post stuck with me for the ending, noting how her grief has changed from something that made her cry daily to a quiet acknowledgment of what needs to happen next. This paragraph expands the title’s meaning, reminding anyone currently experiencing grief that stages happen, tiny doors open, and you’ll arrive somewhere else in time.

Finding a Different Path recounts several positive medical interactions when asked if she has kids. It’s good reading on how to respond when someone answers your question. I particularly loved this part of a response: “She is very happy, so I am very happy.”

Lastly, Family Building with a Twist has a story about the last full moon of the year. She writes: “Full moons are culminations, completions and endings and letting go, which all sounds quite appropriate for this time of year. And sometimes like holidays themselves, there is a feeling of bittersweetness about so much sturm and drang, preparation, giddiness, excitement, and then… it’s over.”  I love this whole post about how things change yet keep going round and round.

The roundup to the Roundup: None of my White Lotus predictions came true. 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 9 – 16) 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.