Category — Microblog Mondays

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

*******

Modern Mrs. Darcy posted this article last week about aging a cake. Did you know that you’re supposed to age a cake?

“Much like the sauces and stews that taste better on day two, an overnight rest can allow a cake to relax, giving ingredients time to mingle and tightly baked crumbs a chance to unwind.”

What? I cannot believe how often I’ve been stressed as all get-out, thinking I needed to make a cake the same day we’re going to eat it. This changes everything if it’s better to make a cake a day or two before we want to eat it.

Did you know about aging cakes?

*******

Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts that are connected to businesses or are sponsored post.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

*******

One thing I love is that we all have a different way of seeing resolutions. I’ve seen just as many posts explaining why someone is not making resolutions (while simultaneously telling me what they are doing, which sounds very much like setting resolutions) or why they are making resolutions (which don’t sound like how I define resolutions).

My favourite description of resolutions came from Caroline Crampton (who has the BEST podcast—Shedunnit): “For me, resolutions have always functioned as a kind of intentional prediction about the direction I want my life to take, and the last five years have completely cured me of trying to make any kind of guess about what will happen next. The best I can do is try.”

An “intentional prediction about the direction I want my life to take.” That is such an interesting way of putting it and so huge. Was family building one of my resolutions? My career change? That is what I think of when I think of new directions whereas my actual resolutions (for the third year running, taking 15 minutes to myself each day) are tiny steps in place, not really moving me anywhere.

How do you define resolutions?

*******

Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts that are connected to businesses or are sponsored post.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

*******

I have a lot of unread books. I give priority to library books because they may not be accessible forever whereas books I own will always be here. But it means that the books pile up—books I really want to read—because I push them off for books on my library holds list. It gives me anxiety.

But calling those unread books an antilibrary makes me feel good about my book hoarding. Especially with this quote:

Instead of a celebration of everything you know, an antilibrary is an ode to everything you want to explore. The vastness of the unknown can feel terrifying, which is why many people feel uncomfortable with the idea of accumulating books they haven’t read. But embracing the unknown is what drives discovery.

Three cheers for the antilibrary.

*******

Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts that are connected to businesses or are sponsored post.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

*******

You know I like book-y things. If you are holding a Jólabókaflóðið this year, NPR has a book concierge app to help you set up your personal book flood. It is pretty awesome. I ended up adding two books to my TBR list and starting one immediately.

Next, a bunch of people are doing a countdown calendar by reading the new translation of Beowulf aloud. It’s not too late to join along. You can find all of the past days at that link and start at the beginning.

What good book-y things can you tell us about?

*******

Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts that are connected to businesses or are sponsored post.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

*******

I read about a different way to do gratitude. Instead of noting what you’re grateful for, which can sometimes feel like a statement of the obvious, think of one positive aspect of your life (such as a loved one, job, home, friend) and then mentally subtract it. What would your life be like without that loved one, job, home, friend? How would its absence change your health or day-to-day life? What are the ripple effects of not having this aspect of your life?

That is appreciation.

Realizing that there is always an otherwise, but you’re not living that otherwise. You’re living this life.

I thought that was an interesting way of looking at things.

*******

Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts that are connected to businesses or are sponsored post.