Category — Friday Blog Roundup

A long time ago, back when we walked uphill to school both ways in the snow, there were a handful of television stations.  We got NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, Fox, and channel 20, which was… who knows what.  (No one actually watched channel 20.)  That was it.  If you wanted to watch television, you watched one of those five main stations.

So you always knew when a big event was coming because they would have weeks of commercials ahead of time.  Like Circus of the Stars.  Remember that?  Where all of your favourite television stars would inexplicably do televised circus acts for one night?  You could watch Punky Brewster fly through the air on the trapeze or Mr. T ride a unicycle.  Or Battle of the Network Stars.  Remember that?  Where all of your favourite television stars would inexplicably do televised tug-of-war games for one night?

Anyway, the problem with streaming services and too many cable stations is that it’s very easy to miss big televised events.  We haven’t turned on Fox in… oh… maybe 30 years, so I would have completely missed the fact that they are doing a live version of Rent this Sunday if Josh hadn’t stumbled across the information.  Whether or not we need another recorded version of Rent is beside the point.

That’s what I’ll be doing if I manage to remember this fact for two more days.  Which isn’t a given unless I write it down because I will see zero commercials for it between now and then.  I miss the old days when there was nothing to watch.

*******

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 in order 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.  In order to read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• “The End of Reading as We Knew It” (Lavender Luz)

Okay, now my choices this week.

Risakerslake writes about reassuring herself that she’ll be okay.  She explains, “I know I have two embryos who look great. I know I’m having a newish test that can help up my chances of having another baby, but I still feel like I’m here all over again wondering if it’s going to happen for me. I got really lucky once—will I get another shot?”  It is, like she says, one day at a time.  And that is all you can do when you don’t know the future.

Much Ado About Nothing removed the crib from their room and is thinking about the empty space.  The crib hadn’t been used since last summer; it was time to reclaim that area of their room.  But she admits, “I came home to that empty space and it took my breath away, I think my heart stopped beating for a moment before it resumed aching in my chest.”  It is so hard to look into a space that you wish was filled.

Lastly, Life Without Baby has started a discussion on when people knew it was time to stop pursuing parenthood.  Sometimes there is a clear stopping point.  Other times, you need to create the stopping point.  The post is interesting, but the comments are great, too.

The roundup to the Roundup: Rent is on television on Sunday.  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 18th and 25th) 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 have been pleasantly surprised by Deborah Harkness’s A Discovery of Witches.  More than one person warned me that I wouldn’t like it, so I avoided it because the first few pages didn’t grab me.  I thought I’d wait and see the television version because the story intrigued me.  But the television version is only offered on streaming sites, and I’m not getting a subscription.  So I grabbed the book from the library, and I’ve been enjoying it in the same way that I enjoyed Twilight.  Is it great writing?  No.  But I love vampires and witches, so… let’s just say that this book is exceeding expectations.

I love Tig Notaro’s I’m Just a Person.  The ChickieNob discovered Tig this week, so I got out the audio book.  But I expected to love this book because (1) I love Tig’s joke writing and (2) I love her delivery.  And you get both with the audio book, even though she’s detailing dark moments in her life.  So this book is meeting high expectations.

I like Becoming by Michelle Obama.  It is a solid book.  A sturdy story.  I remember post-election, pre-White House, I was standing in line at the grocery store with an older woman, and we were both commenting on how happy we were.  “She’s going to be our Jackie O,” I said, “completely redefining the role again.”  And she did.  She invited us into their story, made the White House truly The People’s House.  So my expectations were high for this book because Michelle Obama is an incredible person with an incredible story.  And I’m totally liking it, but I’m not blown away.  It could be the hype that preceded the book and there are zero surprises because it was all discussed in articles before I ever got my hands on a copy.  So in this case… the lead up is making this not meet expectations.

But if I have to rank them in terms of great to decent, it goes I’m Just a Person, Becoming, A Discovery of Witches.  In one case, expectations made me like something more, and in another case, expectations made me like something less.  I’m not sure what this means except that it’s interesting to see how expectations about a book affect the reading 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 in order 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.  In order to read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• “FB Posts from the Other Side” (Battlefish) — see below, I read it late
• “Yes, ‘Relentless’ is the Right Word” (Not a Wasted Word)
• “Ready to Grow” (Stirrup Queens) — thank you, Cristy!
• “Budgeting Life” (Inconceivable!)
• “Why I Have Zero Regrets About My Childless Life” (Different Shores)

Okay, now my choices this week.

Movable Type has a post about the new year.  She writes, “When I turned 45, anticipating a mid-life crisis of some sort, I started working on a memoir as well as some fiction writing, giving myself freedom and permission to explore writing as a craft. I asked myself what is it I want so much I can taste it? I want to see my name in print.”  I love this.  I love the idea of setting a goal as a way of making the inevitable mid-life feelings navigable.

Old Lady No Baby’s mind is blown because her babies turned five.  Really, how many people think beyond babyhood when they’re going through IF?  But kids grow up and become five year olds and ten year olds and twenty year olds.  She writes, “It took us 14+ years of trying and put us in a ridiculous amount of debt, but our dream of having children finally came true.”  Happy birthday but also congratulations on reaching the happy milestone.

Battlefish writes about Facebook memories and how she feels getting those updates of what was happening a year ago or beyond.  Are they sometimes bittersweet?  Of course.  But they also help her remember how much things have changed, especially when she encounters one that took place during a pregnancy, even if the baby isn’t mentioned.

Lastly, Mine to Command has a totally fascinating post about whether or not to introduce Santa in your child’s world.  Santa fascinates me, especially how people explain why Santa delivers X to one child but Y to another.  So… I just thought this was a really interesting post that left me with food for thought.

The roundup to the Roundup: Three books and expectations.  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 11th and 18th) 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.

Hey, remember my super-awesome new glasses?  They’re actually not that awesome.  They are the ones that broke while we were at Disney, which was actually the second time they broke since getting them in November.  So they went back to the store this week.

I have a great deal of broken glasses anxiety after this experience.  I have an up-to-date copy of my prescription on me at all times.  I always travel with a backup pair of glasses.  But the fact that I needed to use those backup glasses less than six weeks into using the new glasses made me feel like if I was going to keep these frames, I needed a backup pair of glasses for my backup pair of glasses.  Which seemed a bit much.

We returned to the store this week, and they exchanged them for the other pair that I had been considering.  They told me that it would take a few days to get the new pair made, so for the time being, I don’t truly have backup glasses.  I have an old prescription I could use in a pinch, but… yikes.  That one beach trip has left me with never-ending speculaphobia.  Unless that means “fear of glasses,” in which I don’t fear my glasses.  I just fear being away from home and holding a lens in my hand.

My fellow glasses-wearers know exactly what I mean.

*******

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 in order 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.  In order to read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• “Last of 2018” (Weathering Storms)
• “House of Broken Dreams, Home of New Dreams” (My Path to Mommyhood)
• “Take All Your Chances” (Stirrup Queens) — thank you, Cristy!
• “Top 5” (Lavender Luz)
• “In Defense of Pink” (Leah Campbell)

Okay, now my choices this week.

By the Brooke is expecting again, and she writes about that bittersweet state between enjoying the current moment and living on the edge of fear.  She writes, “As my friend Sarah kindly reminded me, planning for and talking about a baby is not a cause of pregnancy loss.  But when your baby dies before she is born, causation and correlation get really murky.”  So circle the wagons; she could use support and celebration.

No Kidding in NZ has a post about needing an advocate in old age and not having children.  She makes good points about the lack of guarantees with kids, but outlines what everyone needs to do to be protected: “If we won’t have people to advocate for us, then we need to advocate for ourselves. We can do this, as much as possible, simply by planning and then – most importantly – making our wishes known in advance. Time-travel advocacy!”  Not the cheeriest topic, but an important post to read and think about.

Lastly, Searching for Our Silver Lining has a post about guardianship.  Again, an important post to read and think about.  She brings up the question of how to choose guardians — do you go with someone who already has children in their home, or do you go with someone who isn’t parenting and can dedicate their time and energy to your children?  She writes, “Because the reality is Maddy’s and Teddy’s role isn’t to fill some void; no more than people who are not parenting should be waiting in the wings to take on child-raising responsibilities.”  It’s a fine line to walk and an interesting situation to consider, too.

The roundup to the Roundup: I have broken glasses anxiety.  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 4th and 11th) 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 am gently easing myself back into my schedule, by which I mean that I am kicking and screaming about returning to normal life.  I don’t do well with breaks.  I love them, but re-entry is hard.  My skull feels like it has been stuffed with cotton balls.  I am distracted.  I want to crawl back into bed and read my vampire book.  (Discovery of Witches… it feels a little bit like Twilight.)

The one thing I do love is my new 15 minute ritual.  I’ve been using it to read Solve for Happy by Mo Gawdat.  I bought this book a year ago, and I’ve read the first 20 pages or so several times.  But this time I’m going to plow my way through to the end.  I’m going to emerge out the other side a calmer, focused person.  I think.  If not, it’s on to the next book.

How are you doing with re-entry?

*******

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 in order 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.  In order to read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• “Becoming a Chester” (video)

Okay, now my choices this week.

The Road Less Travelled has a year-end review post.  A few people created one this week, and I love these look-backs on the year.  She pulled out her favourite/noteworthy posts and put them together in a roundup.  Everyone who writes a blog has a few best posts from the year.  What are yours?  P.S. I wish we still did the Creme.

Searching for Our Silver Lining has a post about tafoni.  First and foremost, I love this line: “I found myself becoming more of an observant of life instead of a participant.”  It’s a post about looking for signs from the universe and thinking ahead on the upcoming year.

Lastly, Too Many Fish to Fry has a post about the dangers of authenticity.  She explains, “But, getting validation simply for expressing hardships can be a bad thing. This post sums up an interesting technique the author has noticed certain writers use — it’s called the ‘failure formula’.”  She’s making a distinction where authenticity is tied to complaining or expressing something negative (though you can be completely authentic and expressing the positive if you happen to be an optimistic person).  It’s an interesting take on venting.

The roundup to the Roundup: Back to the daily grind.  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 21st and January 4th) 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.

We forgot to watch our usual winter movies this year: About a Boy, Love Actually, and Lord of the Rings.  There’s still time for Lord of the Rings — we knew December would be busy, so we’ve already decided to start the first movie in the trilogy in January.  But About a Boy and Love Actually contain Christmas.  You can’t watch Christmas movies after Christmas.  That’s like watching beach movies in October.  I mean… yeah… I get that people do it, but it feels discordant.

I’ll probably let Love Actually go, but I may try to work in About a Boy tonight.

Do you have winter movies?  What are they?

*******

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 in order 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.  In order to read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

Little Bird has a post about thoughts that come after she crosses back and forth over a bridge during a busy day.  When she stops moving, her brain turns on: “My first thought: I miss Charlotte. That’s usually the first thought when things get quiet. Then: This has been a really hard year.”  There is good in the hard, a new baby in the hard, but it is still hard.  And I love her goal: “My 2019 goal is to get a little bit better. I’m not planning on moving soul mountains, but if I could shift my perspective even slightly towards more positivity we’d all benefit.”

POF and Now What looks at a heart-pausing moment from two angles.  A comment her daughter makes takes on new meaning through the lens of donor eggs.  I’m not going to say more than that because it’s a short post, and I think it packs the biggest punch if you go in and hear the words as she did in the moment.  It’s a great reminder that what seems one way to us can seem quite different to someone else.  I also love, “Back in the box, you thousand thoughts.”

Lastly, Not a Wasted Word has a post about being pregnancy avoidant.  Even though her family building days are behind her, she still feels strange around people who are pregnant.  I love this self reflection: “I tell myself it’s because pregnancy terrifies me … I kind of hope that is what is happening, otherwise it feels like I’m just begrudging people their happiness during one of the most exciting times of their life.”  It made me think of my own pregnancy avoidance, trying to get to the heart of the reason.

The roundup to the Roundup: I missed my winter movies.  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 14th and December 21st) 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.