Around the Interwebs
A not-intimidating guide to meal planning.
Something to think about. Who gets to be mentally ill? Today, people talk about seeing a therapist like they’re going to the dentist. But our compassion around mental health still excludes the people who need it most.
How to reframe your relationship with exercise.
What Coffee-Brewing Method Makes the Best-Tasting Cup? How do you brew your coffee? (I am a pour-over girl (most of the time)).
The rule of compounding. Why small steps lead to big gains in all areas of one’s life.
No one knows how much to tip anymore. How do you feel about tipping these days?
Time is happening in the mind’s eye. Physics Explains Why Time Passes Faster As You Age.
Around the blogosphere
I could totally relate to Kae’s post when she talked about some social anxiety on a recent Zoom call. It’s hard to “join” a group of people that you know through social media/blog but who you don’t know in person. Although I have to say that I have not had one bad experience with any of my blog pals that I have met in person – it was so easy to take the URL to IRL friendship.
I enjoyed Kate’s thoughts on starting a new year.
Ally Bean shared a fun blogging survey. I might have to post my version sometime.
Craftiness/DIY
Mandala crochet coasters. So pretty.
Light dotty cardigan. Maybe I should give this a try sometime.
For my runner friends
The case of running slowly. I need to take this advice. I know it, but I don’t know it. If you know what I mean.
Oatmeal is still the best performance breakfast.
Deliciousness
How to Make the Best Homemade Pizza—According to the Pros.
This soup is AMAZING: Best detox lentil soup. I’ve been tweaking the recipe a bit, but this is the soup I’ve been raving about recently.
Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats. I think I have to put steel cut oats in my breakfast rotation again.
Farro with roasted vegetables bowls.
Share a good link with me in the comments!
Elisabeth
January 17, 2023 at 7:36 amI LOVE oatmeal. I don’t eat it very often, but when I do it is loaded to the nines. Cinnamon, raspberries, banana, nuts, nut butter, oat milk, chocolate chips. So good and filling! And because of all the fruit (and chocolate chips) I don’t add any sugar so it feels slightly more virtuous.
I am a pour-over coffee maker (it’s all we own/use).
Tipping causes me so much anxiety and I wish it was just included in the cost of things. I feel so on the spot to make calculations and then what to do if the service isn’t great? And why do I tip my hairdresser but not the cashier at the grocery store?
The blog post I’ve thought about the most lately is this one from Rachel in Wales: http://www.rachelinwales.com/2023/01/currently-thinking-gender-society.html
San
January 23, 2023 at 12:46 pmTipping really is a strange concept (esp. in this country) and the rules seem to be forever shifting.
I agree, I also love Rachel’s blog posts about gender inequality.
Suzanne
January 17, 2023 at 7:52 amWow, I loved that article about middle age. Thanks for linking to that!
And I need to try that farro recipe. Yum.
San
January 23, 2023 at 12:46 pmFarro is so underrated, but so delicious.
NGS
January 17, 2023 at 8:22 amIt’s very frustrating for me to read articles over and over again about “finding what you love as a form of exercise.” There isn’t anything I’m going to LOVE. I do it because it’s good for me, good for the people around me, and basically an adult responsibility like laundry that needs to be done on a regular basis. No one’s writing articles about how if you just get the right washer and dryer or the right detergent, you’re going to LOVE doing laundry. Even if this article that’s claiming we need to reframe why we’re doing exercise, it still insists that everyone can find their exercise love. So frustrating!!! *gets off soapbox*
In light of recent news, I’ve been struggling to understand the differences between a lot of far-right groups and found an article in Time about some of these groups somewhat helpful in distinguishing them. This may not be the right article for everyone, but it was good for me. https://time.com/6195133/jan-6-proud-boys-oath-keepers-growing-threat/
San
January 23, 2023 at 12:50 pmI didn’t realize that you really don’t enjoy any form of exercise, Engie, but you do it because it’s good for you. Wow. That is truly impressive. Hopefully, I don’t come off as holier than thou with all my talk about fitness and the Peloton. That’s definitely not my intention… (please feel free to skip these posts!) but it’s truly hard for me to comprehend when someone doesn’t enjoy any type of exercise at all (not that I think that’s impossible, it’s just so very different from my own experience.) I appreciate you bluntness though ;)
And thank you for linking to the Time article.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
January 17, 2023 at 12:13 pmAs always an interesting assortment of links. I tried to read some of them but ended up just skimming them. I guess I am just too tired today to get anything done…
San
January 23, 2023 at 12:50 pmYou can always come back and read later at your leisure ;)
J
January 17, 2023 at 7:11 pmYou have some great links here. I couldn’t read the one about middle age, it said I had hit my limit.
Regarding tipping, I agree with the story that the practice is deeply flawed. People put up with a lot of bullshit abuse from customers, because they depend on them for tips. And the history of it is dark and depressing. We live in the world we live in, though. So I tip. At restaurants, I tip about 20%. At Starbucks or similar, I try to have a couple of dollars to put in the jar. My hair dresser, I tip 20% also. And I’m glad that here in California, employees cannot be paid sub-minimum wage, as they are in so many states.
Regarding menu planning, I was raised this way. My mom would figure out the menu for the week on Saturday or Sunday, and we would go grocery shopping, buy everything, and have it ready so when she came home, she could cook dinner. When we were older, we had to cook 2 nights a week, so we learned to plan as well. For awhile, I used to do the same thing, but eventually I got tired of it. I couldn’t stand the idea of trying to figure out the menu every weekend. I started to hate it. Things got better when I started working from home. I love working from home, but I like to get out of the house and have human interaction, so most days I go to the grocery store on my lunch hour. I tell myself I’m European by not having a bunch of food in my freezer.
Sometimes it bites me in the butt, I get super busy and don’t have time to go to the store, and I don’t have anything in the house, and then what? Those days, we get takeout. And we tip. :-)
San
January 23, 2023 at 12:55 pmI am generally a generous tipper (e.g. restaurants), although I have a hard time tipping 20% at the hair salon when I am already paying 80+ just for a trim. It seems out of proportion (and I also don’t know if hair dressers earn minimum wage). I also think that the pandemic has not only bumped prices, but also tipping behavior and while I don’t want to shortchange anybody, I also have limited resources LOL
I love your way of approaching meal planning and grocery shopping. If it was feasible I’d shop more often during the week. As it stands, once a week just works best for us right now (because I work long days).
Melissa
January 17, 2023 at 9:48 pmWe have an expresso machine at home which makes good coffee. I usually have a short black, but Hubby has an oat latte.
I do a lot of slow running. I wouldn’t be able to do the kilometres if I didn’t run slow.
I’ve got overnight oats on my menuplan for breakfasts this week but I keep forgetting to make them up, so maybe it’s time now. I also make the soup you linked to. So easy and so yum.
San
January 23, 2023 at 12:56 pmOvernight oats are such an easy and great breakfast option – even for on the go! I definitely have to get back into the habit .
Good for you for doing a lot of slow miles. I definitely have to work on slowing down “intentionally”… I usually run by feel (and that can be faster or slower on any given day).
Nicole MacPherson
January 18, 2023 at 3:47 amI am a generous tipper, which is a holdover from my waitressing days. Nowadays my son works in a restaurant, so he feels it too! I always think, when I’m getting any kind of service, that the few extra dollars doesn’t mean much to me but it means a lot to the recipient.
That Cut article on midlife was excellent!
San
January 23, 2023 at 12:57 pmDefinitely agree that people who have worked in the service industry are generally more generous tippers.
Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
January 18, 2023 at 8:44 amI’m also a generous tipper because of the years I spent waitressing. I feel like everyone should work in food service for a bit. There were so many times when I was penalized and didn’t get a tip for something completely out of my control! But overall, I loved waitressing and made so much money in tips which was wonderful as a college student.
The article on mental health is an important one. We’ve had experiences with family that do not have run-of-the-mill mental health problems. We have come a long way in destigmatizing mental health, but we still have a ways to go, sadly. But I’m glad we’ve made some progress.
And re: Kae’s experience and your comment about the good experience you’ve had with URL turned IRL friends – I WHOLE-HEARTEDLY AGREE! I’m glad I had the chance to meet you in person when I traveled for work! I still remember that delicious Thai meal we had! And I have made so many great friends through blogging in general! I’m just sad that so many of them no longer blog. But I’m glad you and I are still going strong!!
San
January 23, 2023 at 12:59 pmLisa, I also thought about our meet-up when you were in Sac and our delicious Thail meal. It was one of the great examples of URL-to-IRL friendships gone right! :) Hope we can meet up again somewhere someday again.
Ally bean
January 18, 2023 at 9:40 amThanks for the shoutout. If it weren’t for Maggie I never would have thought to ask myself those questions.
I agree about the conundrum about tipping. Before 2020 I was sure of myself, now not so much. I love that recipe for Lentil soup, will be trying it soon. Thanks.
We have an electric Cuisinart coffeemaker [the same one that Leonard and Sheldon had on the Big Bang Theory]. Is that pour over? I guess it is.
San
January 23, 2023 at 12:59 pmThe pandemic has definitely shifted things in re: to tipping.
The Cuisinart is technically a drip-coffee maker, but closer to a pour over than the other methods ;)
Jenny
January 19, 2023 at 3:20 pmWell, now I want pizza! Luckily I also want lentil soup, and this recipe sounds good. I’m always on the lookout for a good lentil soup recipe!
Since I work for tips, I also tip generously. I share Nicole’s sentiment- the extra money doesn’t mean much to me, but I know it means a lot to the recipient.
Great list as always!
San
January 23, 2023 at 1:00 pmIf you make the lentil soup, let me know how you like it :)