Category — Friday Blog Roundup

It’s Friday the 13th, and as always, I have the compulsion to point that out in the Roundup when the date aligns. It’s not as if you don’t have a calendar or that the date even means anything. But I got it out of my system. Carry on.

*******

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…

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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 muses about what it’s like to be an extrovert amongst introverts. I related to this: “Having conversations can be a lot of work (I have to talk! and ask questions! and then ask more questions! it’s exhausting!)” People often talk about it the other way around — being an introvert surrounded by extroverts — but I hadn’t thought about the opposite situation.

Lastly, Bereaved and Blessed answers a set of reflective questions, something she has done every five years. She explains, “When I turned 40 and 45 I wrote and shared reflection posts here on my blog, which turned 18 this year. I decided to do it again, as I appreciate being able to revisit what I was thinking, as well as feeling, back then and how far I have come since.” It’s a long posts, and I love this question at the end: “What is your heart telling you that you need right now?”

The roundup to the Roundup: Friday the 13th. 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 June 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.

Thank you for the birthday wishes. It was a strange birthday because of something that happened last Friday night. We were driving on the main road through a residential neighborhood. There is a 25 mph speed limit on the cross streets and a 35 mph speed limit on the main road we were driving.

Every once in a while, you’ll have a person going over the speed limit who tries to pass you on this main road by driving either on the shoulder or in the median. Annoying and illegal, but you can see those people behind you before it happens.

That isn’t what happened this time.

This time, as we were approaching a cross street — one of these 25 mph residential streets off of the main road — a car drove across the road we were traveling on at 80-ish mph. A half second later, we were through the intersection, and they were already almost out of sight, two or three blocks away. There are always stop signs for each of the residential streets. Therefore, you can usually see someone waiting to turn onto the main road. But in this case, they skipped the stop sign and traveled across the road, going quadruple the speed limit. If we had been a split second faster, we would have likely been dead.

I jerked back in my seat when it happened, even though the car wasn’t hit. On Friday night, I was sore. By Monday morning, my back was on fire, and I couldn’t straighten my arm. I needed round-the-clock Advil to get through Saturday and Sunday and then moved to just Advil at night to sleep. I didn’t really return to feeling mostly normal until Thursday.

Please drive carefully. There are other people on the road, and we all just want to make it to where we’re going.

*******

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.

Magpie Musing’s sister died, and she has a beautiful post about her. This part made me cry: “Go forth with love. See a movie, plant a perennial, bake some breadsticks, mail a postcard. Advocate for the voiceless, volunteer with a local organzation. All of these are the little acts that a good person does, day in and day out. And these little acts into the future honor the past.” Send a lot of love to her.

Lastly, Infertile Phoenix looks back on the ten years since her last treatment, namely, how working with kids has changed. She writes: “I LOVE kids. I love working with kids. I love parents. I love supporting parents. But the truth is, I don’t like a lot of people’s parenting.” It’s hard to spend time around something that makes you upset, but good to have learned something about yourself and the boundaries you need to put into place.

The roundup to the Roundup: Please drive carefully. 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 May 30 – June 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.

I just spent the last 10 minutes writing a long story and then decided not to post it. Backspaced the whole thing away. On one hand, what an enormous waste of time. On the other hand, I saved you from a boring addition to the story about the shark. So you’re welcome because I assume you would thank me for not having to read 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:

• “I Forgot How Childlessness Felt When I was Young” (Childless by Marriage)

Okay, now my choices this week.

The Road Less Travelled takes a quick peek at a book cover and ends up seeing something very different from its title. I do this all the time. Infertility and loss on the brain.

Lastly, I may be overly emotional since losing Beorn, but Finding a Different Path’s post about Lucky dying moved me to tears. Animals, like Lucky, have personalities. They bring joy. They leave behind stories we retell for years and years. She writes: “I had to take a break from writing this post because it made me so sad. But also, it makes me happy to remember him. Lucky was a hugely special part of our life.” Sending a lot of love.

The roundup to the Roundup: Saving you from boring stories. 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 May 23 – May 30) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week. Read the or

Until now, our guinea pigs have mostly treated Josh as a potential food deliverer — happy to see him but not giving him a lot of thought. Beorn accepted cuddles but also growled at him if Josh hugged or kissed me. And I don’t remember Linus or Truman giving him much attention.

But Quentin flips out when he hears Josh come home. First, his whole body tenses with anticipation when he hears the car alarm. Once Josh’s keys hit the lock, he starts wheeking happily, looking at all of us to confirm that what he is hearing is his friend coming home. Once Josh crosses the threshold, Quentin treats him to ten solid minutes of popcorning, wiggle jumps, and running around in a circle of delirious happiness until he can calm himself down.

Josh admitted that it makes him feel a little bit like a rockstar.

*******

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.

No Kidding in NZ points out the difference between the emotional support offered for various diagnoses, seeing first-hand how people react to infertility vs. other diseases. She writes: “But having a particular illness that is known and understood in the community, even if it is rare and aggressive, brings connections and support that pregnancy loss and infertility did not. There isn’t the shame or judgment or just silence that I experienced around infertility and pregnancy loss.” All life-changing diagnoses (which includes infertility) should come with support.

Lastly, Scientist on the Roof has a list of things that make her happy vs. annoyed, and I laughed at “Fake-coughing just to annoy my husband.” I would totally do that, too.

The roundup to the Roundup: Quentin LOVES Josh. 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 May 16 – May 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.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids [near home dwelling]
And everyone telling you be of good cheer
It’s the most wonderful time of the year

Apologies to whoever wrote that song, but the most wonderful time of the year is summer because the kids are almost home for three months. I can bother them and smoosh them and make them go on ice cream road trips with me.

I really love having the kids close by. And while I know August will be hard as the summer winds down, right now, we’re on the cusp of it starting. So only blue skies.

*******

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.

Scientist on the Roof writes about not connecting with a story. I’ve been going through this a lot lately — though it rarely happened before — where I start a book, and I’m even enjoying a book, but I cannot connect with the book. When that happens, I move it back to the TBR. I wonder if there is something about the news cycle and the state of the world that is causing this to happen more than usual. I agree with her: “I do firmly believe that, for maximum impact, you have to read a book at the right time.”

Lastly, The Road Less Travelled marks 50 years since she lost her grandmother. If we count birthdays, it makes sense to count deathdays. She explains, “This was my first real experience with the death of a person close to me.” Sending a hug for a hard anniversary.

The roundup to the Roundup: Kids are almost home. 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 May 9 – May 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.