Category — Friday Blog Roundup

Every few months, I go through a reading lull. I have books I want to read at the ready — both purchased or queued up at the library — but nothing will feel quite right. I can’t point to something I want to read more than what I have on hand. I just don’t feel satisfied with my options.

I sometimes get this way with meals — nothing appealing to eat — or plans — nothing feels like a good enough plan for a special day, but a reading lull feels ridiculous because I own so many books. And I keep a very detailed TBR and put dozens of books on hold at the library at the same time. How can nothing sound appealing?

I went through a little lull like that at the end of the year until I decided to dive into the S.J. Bennett books and read the first three back-to-back. And I recently went on a book-buying spree to ensure I have stuff to dangle in front of myself when I go through the next lull. No profound solution: I’m just commenting on it in case you go through the same thing.

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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 has a fun time-capsule-of-a-post jotting down how they spend their time, day-to-day. It’s true; I often look back at old blog posts and think, “Huh, I totally forgot about this.” And then you’re reminded of a snippet of daily life. So I love this idea of planting it for your future self to read. She explains: “I hope I keep up with the writing through the years. So that in another 10 years, I can look look back at 2024, and be reminded of the things that were important to me then (now), of the struggles, of the every-day things that tend to get lost.”

Lastly, No Kidding in NZ has a post about perspective. I love this point: “Perspective grounds me. It gives me balance. It helps me understand and appreciate my life. It also gives me more confidence in my own views, knowing that I have tried to consider the positions of all involved.” It isn’t easy to see the world exactly through another person’s eyes, even when they tell you everything they’re seeing. But it’s a good reminder that our perspective is just that: our perspective. And being mindful that other perspectives exist can only make communication better.

The roundup to the Roundup: Reading lulls. 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 26 – February 2) 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.

Back in December, I joined a brilliant community — the brain-child of two BlogHer co-founders — called Optionality. I’ve been calling Optionality “WeWork for Introverts” because it has all of the benefits of being around people without needing to be around people. I keep the Slack community on all day, and people post interesting things or job openings or questions, and other people chime in — a network of smart, accomplished co-workers.

There’s a Substack and podcast and dozens of other nooks and crannies. Some people spend a lot of time participating. Other people drop in and out of conversations.

Like the concept of optionality itself, the community is up to you to choose how you want to engage in it.

Elisa and Jory officially opened it to new members after the soft launch, and they told me that I’m allowed to write about it. So the cat is out of the bag. I feel lucky to be a part of 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:

• “A Childless Holiday Can Be Anything You Want It To Be” (Childless by Marriage)
• “My Wish for 2024” (No Kidding in NZ)

Okay, now my choices this week.

Andmom is asked about silver linings of the pandemic, and she writes: “We spend a lot more time together than we ever would have otherwise, and it turns out we actually like each other as people. Go figure.” Sometimes you need to embrace and acknowledge the small good things.

The Barreness has a stream-of-conscious post about life in the new year. I especially love this update: “I submitted work a day before the deadline and walked away knowing that I had tried everything in my power and wheelhouse to create something new, unique and that I loved.” That’s a good feeling. And to answer the question: “Even if I am beaten down over and over again, I still greet the next day with hope for something better. Does this qualify as insanity?” Not insanity, but a beautiful life filled with hope.

Lastly, A Half Baked Life writes about her massage experience, and it has me wanting to find a local person trained in CST, too. Especially to experience something like this: “In that moment, it took my breath away and touched a place somewhere deep within me to be present to this connection: one woman acknowledging everything that another woman was holding, holding these things for her just for a little while, offering healing to hands that feel full of burden.” I love the imagery of what we convey through our hands and touch.

The roundup to the Roundup: Optionality is awesome. 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 5 – 26) 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.

What? You need a book? The e-book version of Life from Scratch is on sale from now until January 15, 2024. For 99 cents, you get a whole story that will keep you entertained for… hours? Days, weeks, maybe months if you’re a slower reader?

*******

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:

• “Sadness Comes and Goes” (Infertile Phoenix)

Okay, now my choices this week.

Infertile Phoenix unpacks Christmas. It was a hard holiday this year, and she explains: “Anyway, I digress. Which is how my childless-related sadness seems to go these days too. When I feel it, I feel it… And then I eventually get distracted by other thoughts or feelings. The sadness no longer stays all day (or week or month or year).” As she points out, the holiday may be over for this year, but next year is another chance to feel it differently.

Lastly, A Separate Life has yearly hopes instead of yearly resolutions; a much more do-able alternative to big promises. She writes, “I prefer resolutions that fit into my life, that come when they are needed. I’m hoping this year will be more productive than recent years, but I’m not setting any ridiculous aims.” The hopes run from the concrete and measurable to the abstract. I like the idea of setting intentions vs. making resolutions.

The roundup to the Roundup: Plant-less to plant-full. 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 29 – January 5) 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.

It feels like I should write something profound at the top of the last Friday Blog Roundup for 2023, but I’ve got nothing except an update on the plant situation.

We replaced the basil plants in September when we returned from college drop-off, and I took three clippings from the ChickieNob’s inch plant when we visited in October. Clippings? Who is this woman who never had a plant in her house before the pandemic?

The ChickieNob’s school gives each student a plant on the first day of school. Many kill their plants in the first few weeks, but the ChickieNob was determined to keep hers alive until graduation. This is probably impossible with an inch plant, but you can keep taking clippings and replanting them to keep the plant “alive” indefinitely, and having clippings at home was also a plant insurance plan.

ChickieNob brought the original inch plant home for winter break, asking me to nurse my sick grandplant back to health. It looked scrawny, especially next to the robust October clippings. But I gently shaped, watered, and cared for it, thinking about how much people can change. They can go from plant-free to plant-full in barely a blink.

May you also notice happy changes in your year.

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.

Finding a Different Path writes about establishing new holiday traditions. Read it now so you have months to think up your own. She explains how she took back Christmas: “One thing that has made that possible is a handful of holiday traditions that I am somewhat maniacal about keeping up, because we have to make our own milestones and basically be our own children in a way.” I love so many of them, especially the book flood, but my favourite is the woodland critters countdown.

Lastly, Dear John writes a letter to her late husband, updating him on Christmas and various end-of-year news. I always find these letters touching, but this made me laugh a little: “Speaking of the cookies, S has been making them for her friends lately. She was apparently telling them they were a family recipe. I laughed and told her that the recipe came from an old girlfriend of yours who you ended up hating. Which is why her name is blacked out on the recipe card.” Sending a hug.

The roundup to the Roundup: Plant-less to plant-full. 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 22 – 29) 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.

A few days ago, I missed the 1000th time closing all three rings on my watch in a row. I looked down when the notification came in that I had done this 1001 times and realized I hadn’t seen the notification from the day before. It was such a stupid thing to care about, but I felt like I missed a reason to party and undo all the hard work I’ve done exercising 1000 days in a row.

Like eating a whole cake. That was my grand idea.

In any case, the ChickieNob is a little more than a week behind me, so I’m glomming onto her celebration. We can split a cake.

*******

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 reflects on a Christmas past during a Christmas present. When carol singers come to the door, they sing the song she thought about the Christmas after her daughter died. She writes, “I will admit that as I looked at that adorable little girl in her mother’s arms, staring in wide-eyed wonder at the people singing to her, I had tears stinging my eyes. But only briefly.” Sending a hug.

Lastly, Hopelessly Infertile and Surrounded by Fertiles has entered a time in life where she finds herself going to a lot of funerals. I feel exactly the same way: “I’m not ready to say goodbye to anyone. I don’t exactly care to get ready. I prefer planning in the very abstract.I’m not ready for the season of death.” She said it perfectly.

The roundup to the Roundup: 1000 times closing my rings. 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 15 – 22) 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.