Category — Friday Blog Roundup

Usually, when we go away, my parents babysit Beorn, but we both will be out of town at the same time, which means… Guinea Pig Roadtrip.

First, we had to confirm with the hotel that they would be fine if we brought Beorn. They were just thrilled to be asked vs. having us show up with a guinea pig, so they said yes. Next, we went out to get Beorn a bigger carrier.

His current carrier is perfect for car trips because he can’t move around a lot and get hurt, but he can’t sleep in it. So we got him a second carrier — meant for a small dog — and tricked it out with a new water bottle, food dishes, and a hay bowl. We placed him inside, and he walked around a bit, checking out the space and testing out the new water bottle before settling down inside the carrier for a FaceTime call with the Wolvog.

I hate being apart from him for even one day, so I’m kind of thrilled that we can bring him with us. I hope he likes the new carrier and the trip goes well so we can kick off a series of grand adventures. I have already Googled whether guinea pigs can travel to Canada. International pig!

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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.

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 talks about walking the line between going bonkers for someone’s birthday vs. not doing enough. I struggle with finding this line or feeling like I’ve done enough to make the person feel special without depleting myself in the process.

Lastly, Infertile Phoenix highlights “it’s the little things that are the big things” because she can finally unpack boxes she packed up years ago. I completely agree with this: “When you’re going through infertility or grief of any kind or debilitating stress of any kind, it massively affects your ability to function. It’s amazing that we can do anything at all.” Here is to getting things done when the energy (and space) returns.

The roundup to the Roundup: Guinea pig roadtrip. 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 Jan 31 – Feb 7) 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.

The kids left a few days ago to return to school, and I still feel empty. Winter break is deceptive because it looks long on the calendar but moves so quickly that it feels over in a second. At least, it does to me.

It was lovely. It felt too quick. And now it is back to a quiet house and talking to Beorn and missing them.

*******

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:

• “Accepting a Childless Life Should Not Be a Crime” (Childless by Marriage)
• “Shifting Mindscape” (The Barreness)
• “Collective Waiting” (Infertile Phoenix)

Okay, now my choices this week.

The Barreness processes the California fires. She is the keeper of many family photos, and she writes: “To help me work through the constant onslaught of sadness, fear and grief from the fires and the election I started scanning all the images. I can share them with my cousins and niblings. That way I would not be the only one to hold them and there will be other locations to view them/save them.” The story about the book pages raining down on the yard was haunting.

Lastly, Finding a Different Path writes about an ultrasound picture that ended up in her work mailbox. She realized things would only change if she spoke up. She writes, “I explained that ultrasound pictures are triggering even though they are EVERYWHERE (facebook, emails, CHRISTMAS CARDS, profile pictures, ugh), and that we have a lot of people (the WORLD has a lot of people) that saw that and it opened up a wound.” Luckily, the conversation went okay, and the person took her words to heart. As she writes: “how will anyone ever know unless we talk about it?”

The roundup to the Roundup: Missing the kids. 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 Jan 10 – 31) 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 realized something due to No Kidding in NZ’s recent post about being sick over Christmas and New Year’s. In olden times, when you were sick, you stayed home and maybe watched daytime TV. You intellectually knew that other kids were going to school or adults were going to work, but you were cocooned in your home, thoughts of what other people were doing far from your mind.

But now, we spend time while we’re home sick on social media, so we can see exactly what people are doing out and about in the world, healthy and happy.

Isn’t that strange?

You can always choose not to go online or avoid social media, but let’s be honest, we won’t.

I guess I hadn’t really thought about how being home sick had changed. Mali — hope you’re fully better.

*******

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.

A Separate Life gives great insights learned from three months of travel. The post is a gift, and I pulled out a bunch of thoughts to take to heart. Travel sooner rather than later in terms of wear-and-tear on the body; I think I would rather do short trips than long trips hearing the reality of being away; pack as light as possible; and get packing cubes. It inspired me to start jotting down my own travel advice that I’ll post soon.

Lastly, Scientist on the Roof points out some things that I didn’t realize about the number 2025 that made me like the year a little more. But I also loved this summing up of life: “Life is a mish-mash of happiness, heartbreak, sadness, frustration, fury, curiosity, wonder, and so much more: the only thing missing is balance (I wish!).”

The roundup to the Roundup: Beyond The Price Is Right while home sick. 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 Jan 3 – 10) 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.

Facebook delivered a memory from 2014 on Wednesday about the Creme de la Creme. Remember that? I loved writing it, but this week was always super busy because a slew of new posts would be sent in after the first. Still, it was fun to see what everyone nominated from their blog and to see the community come together to celebrate the posts.

I miss the Creme de la Creme.

I hope your year is going well. All two days of it, so far.

*******

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.

AndMom writes about how COVID continues to impact her family. It is like living in an alternate universe. I feel very similarly to her, and I nodded as I read: “That’s the universe I live in; the one founded in thousands of studies all showing that this is bad and you should not get it. But the universe I watch everyone else live in says it’s a cold, no big deal, it’s fine.” But I love love love the end of this post. The alternate universe has a lot of pluses, and I love that she highlights them.

Lastly, Bereaved and Blessed writes about when her parents show up in her dreams. She explains: “As with previous dreams I’ve had of both parents since their deaths, I typed notes on my phone, while anything I could recall was fresh in my mind.” It’s a post about the ways people continue to touch our lives and bubble up in day-to-day interactions.

The roundup to the Roundup: Happy New Year. 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 27 – Jan 3) 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.

Somewhere around this time five years ago, we first started hearing about this troubling virus. Back then, the only cases were in Wuhan, and it didn’t seem likely that it would reach the US. And if it did reach the US, it would remain on the west coast. By “likely” I don’t mean virologists — they probably had a very different understanding of the disease. I’m talking about the blissfully unaware state I was in this time five years ago.

What would that Melissa think if I told her that five years later, she would still be masking indoors?

*******

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.

Finding a Different Path explains the point of unhappy thoughts, kicking toxic positivity to the curb though a pack of slogan laden pencils with the best ending ever: “And that’s how the toxic positivity pencil met its well-deserved demise, shattered into a zillion pieces while 13-14-year-olds with pencil-murdering glints in their eyes looked on and cheered.” What is the story? Well, you’ll have to click over to read it.

Lastly, No Kidding in NZ proves the opening message that after five years, COVID is still around. She came back from an amazing trip and immediately fell ill. She shrugs her shoulders: “That’s fine. It’s the end of a long year, and I hope for you it passes peacefully whether you celebrate or not. I’m looking forward to the rest of summer (having missed the start of it in Europe), and health returning.” Here’s to better health soon.

The roundup to the Roundup: Five years of COVID. 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 20 – 27) 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.