Category — Friday Blog Roundup

We love watching @Midnight, but we tape it, so the news is often old by the time we get around to watching the episode.  A case in point: on Tuesday night, we watched an episode from October 3rd.  The first segment was called “Donald Trump’s Worst Week Ever.”

The irony, of course, is that this was days before the tape was released.  So we were watching it, not only cognizant of what would go down a few days later, but cringing as the comics tried to imagine a worse week.  We commented that night that things couldn’t get any worse, but now, after the debate, we know that Trump sums up our future president as a nasty woman AND has already let us know in no uncertain terms that he isn’t going concede and let the nation come together and heal from this election.  So there’s that.

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I was asked to speak at a Career Day, and I told the twins at breakfast.  “What’s your career?” the ChickieNob asked.

“Well, I like to think my full-time job is annoying you, but I suppose your school would like me to talk about being a writer.”

One point for mum.  Or, as the kids say these days, GET REKT.  That’s how cool I am — I know that it makes you ultra hip to point out that these are the sorts of things the kids say.

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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 in order to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

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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:

• “Blue Blanket” (Anne Heffron)
• “To Live in This World” (By the Brooke)
• “Lest We Forget?  Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness” (Spiritbabycomehome)
• “Four Words” (Middle Girl)

Okay, now my choices this week.

Slaying, Blogging, Whatever’s daughter asks an excellent question: “Can you go through your whole life without being bitten by leeches or having poison ivy or getting hurt, etc.”  Her daughter gets her answer a little while later when she gets locked out of the house; a small moment for an adult but a huge deal for a child.  She captured the moment very well.

A Half-Baked Life has finally settled into her new home, and she writes about finding herself again and that moment that comes when you’re finally settled after a big upheaval.  She writes: “There is something about the light, the space, the countertop filled with apples and flour and cinnamon and sugar, that makes me feel like yes, this is home.  And I am me again.  Not that I’d lost myself, exactly, but that a part of me had been missing.”  I’m glad you’re back.

Lastly, Lavender Luz has a post about listening and adoption up on Adoptimist.  She explains: “Anyone who tells you adoption is wonderful! is just as misguided as someone who tells you adoption is horrible! In both cases, they have filtered out all but a fraction of a sliver of the whole to reach their conclusion.”  I love her third option of listening instead of fighting back or walking away.

The roundup to the Roundup: Poor @Midnight: You couldn’t have known how the rest of the month would unfold.  I delivered a sick burn (which is more teen-speak).  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 October 14th and 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.

Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature.  When I saw the news, I said, “Oh, look, Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature.  I didn’t know they gave it to musicians, but… okay.  That’s cool.  He’s a great writer.”  Then I went on the Internet.

Instantly I was swept up in a river of rage as people needed it known that (1) Bob Dylan didn’t deserve it, (2) Bob Dylan totally deserved it, and (3) certain writers deserve to win Grammys, and… well…  a lot of other stuff because this is the Internet and the Internet is a passionate rage machine.

I like Bob Dylan.  I only listened to one tape for all four years of grad school, and it was the first tape of Biograph.  If you got in my car, you were going to listen to “Lay Lady Lay,” and you were going to like it because it was the only tape in the car.

Moreover, we named my guitar Bob Jackson partially after Mr. Dylan and partially over the fact that he didn’t die taking bad medicine.  So I am pro-Bob Dylan.  And anti-bad medicine.

(P.S. I still think Peebles St. Ives would have been a great name for the guitar)

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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 in order to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

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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 Happy/Sad of Adoption” (Lavender Luz)
• “Squawk Box: Empowered and Determined Through Grief” (Unpregnant Chicken)
• “Wedding Wrap-up” (The Road Less Travelled)
• “My response to ‘Women Who Wish They’d Never Had Kids’ and ‘Why Parents Hate Parenting’” (The Unexpected Trip)
• “Judging Hillary Clinton by Bill Clinton” (Stirrup Queens) — thanks, Jess!

Okay, now my choices this week.

On one hand, the only introduction No Kidding in NZ’s post needs is “amen,” but I will promise you that if you click over, at least one (and probably all) the paragraphs will resonate with you.  You may even cheer.  This is the one that got my hands clapping in agreement: “I am furious that so many men only feel personally feel offended by poor treatment or attitudes towards women if they think that their ‘wives and daughters’ might be treated badly, but didn’t feel any concerns or were not motivated to do anything about it previously when their wives and daughters or all the other women around the world were and are still denied the right to make decisions about education, or family building, or their own bodies.”  So well said.

Travelcraft Journal has a post about a mug that was purchased on a trip with her grandmother.  She writes: “I wish there was a word for the opposite of regret, to describe things that, even in hindsight, you are 100% glad you did.”  Isn’t that so perfect?  I wish there was that word, too.  Someone invent it, please.

Lastly, An Engineer Becomes a Mom has a post about an adoption-themed dance that occurred on the show So You Think You Can Dance.  I ended up watching it.  You know what would have nipped that whole dance story in the bud?  Having an open conversation about adoption from day one so the child grows with an understanding of her story.  Go jump into the conversation on AEBaM’s blog.

The roundup to the Roundup: Bob Dylan wins the Nobel Prize. 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 October 7th and 14th) 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.

Back in high school, a teacher gave us this question:

It is time to elect a new world leader. Here are the facts about the three leading candidates:

• Candidate A: Associates with crooked politicians and makes decisions based on information from astrologers. He’s had two mistresses. He chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis each day.
• Candidate B: He was kicked out of office (twice), sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of whisky every evening.
• Candidate C: He is a decorated war hero. He’s a vegetarian, doesn’t smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn’t had any extramarital affairs.

Which of these candidates would get your vote?

The first candidate is Franklin D. Roosevelt, the second candidate is Winston Churchill, and the third is Adolph Hitler.

The point of the exercise is which facts a person chooses to highlight and which ones they sweep under the rug makes a difference.

In all of these cases, the criteria for choosing whether the person could lead a country is dubious at best.  Even as a non-smoking, non-drinking vegetarian, I can’t say that I give a crap about the dietary restrictions of my candidates.  But it’s a good reminder to look at the whole candidate.  To not just vote with your favoured party, but to look at the candidate as an individual and see where you align on major issues and whether there are any red flags.

I think you can guess which candidate I believe has major red flags.  He’s got a lot in common in Candidate C.

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For those who care about my challah situation, baking the challah early did not affect the quality of the bread.  I baked the challah, let it cool, and then wrapped it in plastic wrap and threw it in the freezer.  On Rosh HaShanah, I took it out in the morning and left it on my challah plate to thaw.  And then we ate as normal that night.  I couldn’t taste the difference.

*******

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:

• “Down the Worm Hole We Go” (Not Breeding in the Burbs)
• “Invisible Women” (Brain, Child)

Okay, now my choices this week.

Searching for Our Silver Lining has a sobering post about a life changed in an instant.  As she runs through her day, annoyed by traffic, she discovers the cause for her delay and it throws life into perspective.  She writes, “Just like that, getting into work didn’t matter … What mattered more was checking in with Grey and checking on the Beats. Because in a moment it can all be gone. Today, some family has to face that.”  A must-read and an important reminder.

Like many, I was agitated when Mike Pence brought together abortion and adoption during the debate, and I think The Stir has decent coverage of the moment.  She writes: “When Pence started to talk about the sad families who couldn’t have babies of their own, but desperately wanted them, he was talking about me. He wants to ‘make adoption easier,’ Pence said. He thinks that forcing women to have babies and then give them away is somehow a more moral way to honor ‘life’.”  Would I love to see adoption reform and more programs in place to help families remain intact?  Yes.  Do I want choices taken away and my condition used in order to justify dictating the situation of another human being?  Absolutely not.

Kmina’s Blog has a post on her blogoversary, reflecting upon changes in the blog and updating readers on life.  Maybe I liked this post because this is how I aspire to live: “The .5 is not a sore wound in my heart anymore, it is just a scar, always there, but not making my soul throb with longing and regret.”  It’s the sort of post that I need to read from time to time to remember that life moves on and it will not always feel as it does right now.

ANDmom has a moving post about her son’s size and trying to protect him from a world that will note his physical stature.  She explains: “My ‘small’ kid has a huge personality, an enormous sense of humor, and a gigantic imagination. I want him to live in a world where that matters so much more than the fact that he’s going to be wearing the same winter boots for the 3rd season in a row.  And I cry, because I can’t give him that world.”  It’s an emotional post about parenting.

Lastly, Lavender Luz has a post about the book You Don’t Look Adopted, and the passage she included about becoming a ghost is gorgeous.  Click over to read it if you haven’t read the book.

The roundup to the Roundup: Be careful how you vote.  I have a new challah option. 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 September 30th and October 7th) 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 tried something new this week, something that promises to change my life.  I baked my challah early.

I knew I wouldn’t have time to make the challah for Rosh HaShanah and cook everything else, so I went online to see if other people had solutions.  I found a board of rebbetzins and learned that people who bake their challah every week are chumps.  These women churn out dozens of challot at a time, baking once a month and having bread for weeks on end.

They were arguing over whether it’s better to freeze the dough or freeze the baked challah, and they seemed to be split 50/50.  I went with the bake-entirely-and-freeze-immediately idea.  You take it out in the morning, and it comes to room temperature during the day.  You can throw it into the oven after your meal is done for a few minutes if you want to serve it warm.

We’ll see how it goes.  Perhaps this will change my life.  Or perhaps our challah will suck on Rosh HaShanah.

*******

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.

Non Sequitur Chica has a very honest post about parenting a second child.  I love it when women state their truth and open the door for others to say, “me, too” vs. to sit silently with the thought that they are the only one struggling.  She writes: “But man that guilt is tough. Guilt for not wanting to be on maternity leave anymore. Guilt from wanting to get away from your son (even for a few minutes) to get a break. Seeing other new moms on FB isn’t helping because they seem to have their shit together way more than me.”   Thank you for putting this out there.

The Empress and the Fool has a post about a Real Housewives message board and the divisive way the women on the board process one reality star’s IVF experience, an observation she came to after watching the actual episode.  She asks, “Why are we – as women, as human beings – so inclined to divide, categorize, measure and rank, organize experiences and their validity into a hierarchy?”  She admits that the situation left her with more questions than answers, but they’re really important questions that warrant a deep discussion.

A+ Effort is also tackling the idea of another child from a different angle, looking at the facts and adding them up to find what is best for her family.  It is a system that has clearly worked well over the years, and her family is thriving thanks to decisions they have made along the way.  But it’s also a post about the heart and the brain fighting each other since they rarely get along and agree to a single plan.

Notes from the Ninth Circle has a post about taking Clomid for the first time despite being in the infertility world for a long time.  She writes, “Papa Bear asked me how I felt after taking the first pill yesterday.  I didn’t really know what to say.  I didn’t feel bad, but I was afraid to feel good.  The best description we could come up with between us for how I felt was ‘guarded’.”  It’s a post about trying to figure out a path forward.

Lastly, Baby With a Twist has a post on reading about transgender parenting from her vantage point as a mother after surrogacy.  She admits to her own feelings about how the world processes motherhood and states, “If I – a cisgender woman – feel like this, I can imagine how my trans sisters feel.”  It’s a great post about how various groups can work together to create a new vocabulary.

The roundup to the Roundup: Changing how I bake bread. 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 September 23rd and 30th) 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.

Pottermore has finally posted its patronus test, but I haven’t taken it yet.  Part of it is because I want my patronus to be a black cat, so if it’s not a black cat, I’m going to have to do some major mental shifting.  Part of it is because I’m not really in the mood.

I think the Cursed Child got under my skin because, for the first time, I felt like a piece of the supplemental puzzle didn’t fit with the original Harry Potter world.  Everything else — the films, Pottermore, the spinoff books — supported the original world.  And then the Cursed Child wiggled in and… made the world feel different.  And not in a good way.  It feels like a puzzle piece that doesn’t snuggly fit, that you suspect really comes from a different set.

So I guess I’m worried because — I’ll admit it — I care what my patronus is.  I care which house I’m in and what my wand is made of and which animal is offering me protection.  Yes, I am aware this is silly and that it is fiction, but it’s my heart and I get to make decisions for it.  So I’m going to take the quiz, but I’m going to take it when I’m in a different frame of mind.

Until then, consider me protected by a little black cat.

*******

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:

• “Sometimes Walking in Cemeteries Has Consequences” (My Path to Mommyhood)
• “Escape from the Monkey House” (The Empress and the Fool)
• “When Silence is the Policy” (No Kidding in NZ)
• “The Green Room #MicroblogMonday” (Dubliner in Deutschland)

Okay, now my choices this week.

Slaying, Blogging, Whatever has a post about how you can appreciate what you have while still mourning the otherwise.  She wistfully thinks about the experiences other kids have but also celebrates her son and all of his accomplishments.  It’s a wonderful post about perspective, and I love this line: “Sometimes grief is not just about the loss of a person. It is a loss of something less tangible.”

Dear Noah has a post about how the lens through which she sees the world made her mind jump to the worst conclusion when a mother showed up at a class without her new baby.  It made me think about how deeply our experiences affect us, making us see everything else from a new vantage point from that moment on.  Like how a twist of the hand forever changes a kaleidoscope.

Lastly, Ask Polly in New York Magazine has a great answer to a woman who asks about those desperate infertile women who blog all day about the fact that they can’t make baaaaaabeeeeeeees.  I love her because she writes: “Do you know how it felt to try and fail to get pregnant month after month? It fucking sucked. I’m telling you this not because this was some horribly dark passage in my life that I have a right to bitch about.”  And this: “They are not being obsessive and dorky. They are surviving hell.”  Read the whole thing even though it’s long.  Her answer will (I hope) make you get over any frustration you feels over reading the original question.

The roundup to the Roundup: I don’t know my patronus yet. 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 September 16th and 23rd) 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.