Five Things Friday: just five things I’m thinking about or things that made my week, or things that I otherwise feel like sharing.
It’s always a sad day when you have been buying something for years and you show up at the store one morning and find out the item has been discontinued. Sigh. This happened this morning at Trader Joe’s with their “Muesli”. This is the second item in a short period of time that I bought regularly and that Trader Joe’s discontinued (remember the European whole grain bread that was discontinued a few months ago?).
I was previously told by a store employee that they often discontinue stuff not because it doesn’t sell, but because the distributor raises prices or discontinues a product. If they don’t find a competitor with the same or better price, they just let the item go. It’s a huge bummer. I know, I know, I can mix Müsli myself, it’s not very complicated (and luckily I still have one more bag and can write down the exact ingredients to replicate it) but this one was just really good and convenient to have in the pantry.
Has one of your favorite items been discontinued recently? What was it?
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Yes, I watched the Presidential Debate yesterday and yes, it was beyond cringe-worthy. Jon Stewart summed it up nicely in this video clip. (Hat tip to Tanja, who sent this to me.)
Look, I don’t want either of these two as the next president but I think it’s still a good time to remind yourself that one is old and stutters sometimes (and I disagree with him on many things) but the other one is a pathological lier who speaks only in hyperbole and is hell-bent on destroying this country. The choices are not great, but the choice must be obvious.
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This afternoon, I had an appointment at our local Fleet Feet running store for a “fit appointment” to get my feet professionally scanned and measured. I’ve been fitted at the store for running shoes a few times before but this is the first time where they used 3D technology (well, if you recall that I work with multi-dimensional data in my day job, you probably know why this was super-exciting for me.) Fit Id provides a full scan of your feet measuring everything that matters and helps you understand where your body places pressure on your feet while you walk and run, if you have a neutral gait, or if you pronate or supinate.
What I learned was fascinating (if nothing new): I have a pretty neutral running gait, very high arches, and arch flexibility, and apparently, a long foot relative to the average female (I wear a shoe size 9). The image below is the actual scan of my two feet. Something I didn’t know; my right foot is slightly shorter than my left. Not a big deal in my case, but apparently, some people have a whole shoe size difference in their feet. Who knew?
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I know some of you guys are really into personality tests. In the mentorship program that I am currently enrolled in, we have a bunch of online seminars for the mentées that revolve around self-assessment and I attended a “Strength Finder” seminar this week. Have you heard of the Clifton Strength Assessment test? Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be freely accessible, but it was an interesting test. It emphasizes what you’re good at and how you can use your strengths to your advantage. This reminds me that I want to retake the Enneagram test again, because I think we’ll have a seminar about a little further down the road.
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This weekend, I am going to spend time with my friend Susi in the Bay Area. I haven’t seen her since January (WHAT?). We’re going to watch the next EURO 2024 match between Germany and Denmark together (tomorrow at noon!) and then hang out for the rest of the weekend. I am really looking forward to some “girl time”.
How was your week? Did you learn anything new about yourself?
Ally Bean
June 29, 2024 at 2:49 pmSo agree with John Stewart. “…beyond cringe-worthy” is exactly what it was. I didn’t know that Fleet Feet had fittings and am thinking I’d like that. Of course my feet are narrow so maybe they’ll be of no help. 🤷♀️
Melissa
June 29, 2024 at 7:20 pmMy friend does Clifton Strengths Coaching, and she assessed me as one of her training assessments. There were no real surprises, but there was one strength that named and described something that I hadn’t explicitly identified. I found it very interesting and quite helpful when deciding what opportunities to accept and what to decline.
Nicole MacPherson
June 30, 2024 at 8:10 amYes, you can mix muesli yourself, but what a bummer that it’s no longer offered. I hate when that happens!!!
ernie
June 30, 2024 at 11:18 amWait, I forgot to mention in your last post that I think I have the same running shoes as you. Same color and everything. I think. I’ve had mine for about a year or longer, so maybe they aren’t the exact same. I love ASICS – that’s the only running shoe I will wear.
The presidential situation is grim. I don’t want to vote for either of them. What on earth? How did it get to this point?
I hate it when a food or hair product I’m crazy about disappears. Ugh.
NGS
July 1, 2024 at 8:35 amI think we all best accept that it will Kamala Harris as president if Biden is elected. Poor guy is old and tired and being president has not been good for him. I think Harris’s unpopularity is really a big part of the problem. The political parties better step in and do something drastic at the conventions.
I don’t think anything I love has been discontinued recently, but my husband’s anti-oat stance (because Gluten Free Watchdog has said that they don’t recommend any GF oats because of cross-contamination issues) has hit hard! So many things have oats.
Elisabeth
July 4, 2024 at 2:25 pmI have to admit I watch the Coles Notes versions of American politics and that’s it. But, since you’re our closest neighbour I really SHOULD pay more attention. Whatever will be, will be I guess and I don’t have any voting rights. But…yikes. The clips I saw were cringe-worthy indeed.
Lisa's Yarns
July 8, 2024 at 11:32 amI could not bring myself to watch the debate. I was disappointed to hear how awful it went for Biden. I do wish he had not sought re-election so we could have some young, fresh blood in the race. I still think the choice is obvious, though. He’s the same age as my MIL and I honestly wouldn’t let her watch my kids ages 3.5 and 6 on her own because that is a lot of work and she doesn’t have that kind of stamina. And yet, running a country is far harder than caring for 2 kids! I am nervous for the fall…
coco
July 9, 2024 at 2:19 amI”ve never done the fit test for shoes, I wish I had done it earlier to get the right shoe for me. I’m not settled in few shoes that I like and work for me and stick to those.
sounds like an interesting personality test, i did one earlier in my career, briggs meyers I think? good to know but i also think I evolved since that time.
Stephany
July 12, 2024 at 7:59 amI am terrified about what’s going to happen with this election. Biden is not fit for office again and I want to hope we can rally for Kamala if it comes to that, but it’s really scary.
We did an episode on Clifton Strengths on my podcast! There is a free test you can do, but it’s obviously not as robust as the paid version. And I want to know what your Enneagram number is!