Our favourite Thai restaurant closed two weeks ago. We tried another one, and it was fine, though we’ll keep looking because it was like eating B- vegetarian Pad Thai after several decades of A+ vegetarian Pad Thai. It’s hard to be happy with B- Pad Thai when you know an A+ version existed.

Of course, Poppin stopped production on the planner, and TIGI stopped making my hair gel (though they replaced it with a product that feels identical). The last straw was the guinea pig’s Vitamin C is no longer sold.

I like sameness. I know some people like change and always want the best new product, but if I find something that works, I never want to update it. I just want the same thing again and again. Sometimes, I feel like the world is designed for people who like to go broad vs. people who like to go deep.

We just finished four seasons of Breeders, a show that I probably would have avoided if I hadn’t seen a scene from it before I read what it was about because the description made it sound kid-heavy. And it’s not really about parenting (a little bit, but not completely); it is all the stuff that happens in adulthood. It’s about a couple in their late 40s/early 50s, living in London, raising two kids, and seeing their parents, and it is really, really, really funny. Laugh aloud funny. And it gets pretty dark sometimes, too.

It was a bummer to get to the last episode, but ChickieNob and I have decided to rewatch from the beginning to spend time with our fictional London friends.

That’s my recommendation of the week. First episode is a little wobbly. Gets much better from the second episode and on.

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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.

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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:

• “Parenting Ourselves” (No Kidding in NZ)

Okay, now my choices this week.

Grumpy Rumblings has a post about dyeing their hair, which I think about a lot. (My hair, not their hair.) What they did feels like something I could do. I know I wouldn’t have the patience to sit in the salon for hours, and I wouldn’t go back every few months, but if I could do it at home, I could see myself trying this. Plus, I loved reading all of the comments and seeing what other people did about dyeing.

Lastly, No Kidding in NZ has a post about the book, The Otherhood (such a great name), and an interview about it. But I love this point: “Because whether we wanted children or not, whether it was a deliberate choice or not, we are all affected by pronatalism, by judgement, and by condescension.” No one is immune, regardless of your situation.

The roundup to the Roundup: Loved the show, Breeders. 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 July 5 – 12) 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’ve passed the recommended age threshold, so I made an appointment to get my first colonoscopy, and I’m dreading it. People tell me that it’s not as bad as I fear, but what I fear is not what other people seem to fear. I’m not looking forward to the prep, but I’m not scared of the prep. I’m scared of being under anesthesia.

I am scared of all anesthesia — I didn’t want an epidural, I don’t get novocaine at dental appointments, and I once stayed awake for oral surgery. There’s nothing I can do to make that part easier. I don’t want to be in pain, but I also don’t want to be asleep. Or partly asleep. I just want to be on the other side of this and not need to repeat it for ten years.

Dreading it and will be happy when it’s over. Though accepting all advice for things to ask for or do to make this process easier.

For the last four years, I’ve been using a Poppin planner, and it has completely changed how I organize myself and set up my to-do list. I love it. It changed my life for the better, and I really can’t live without it.

Except I will have to live without it because Poppin is not making a 2024 – 2025 planner.

I’ve spent countless hours online and visited a few stores to look at planners, but I haven’t been able to find one that fits my needs. So I turn now to the brilliance of the Internet—can hundreds of minds all thinking about this problem turn up the perfect solution? Do YOU have a planner you love that fits this criteria?

1. It needs to be small but not too small. My current planner is 6 inches by 8.5 inches, and I’d like to keep it at that size.

2. It needs to have a full calendar page like this:

3. It needs to have weekly pages, preferably one big empty (no lines) space for each day. I prefer Monday through Thursday on the left side and Friday through Sunday (+ a space for notes) on the right side, but I’m flexible. The big thing is that the space is blank and not broken up with lines.

4. Finally, it needs to have a spiral binding.

Does anyone know a planner that fits this criteria?

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

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A news article I was reading linked out to this map that shows the amount of money you need to earn to live comfortably in your state. The number is based on a single working adult, so the number is different if your situation is different (working couple, couple with one working partner, children at home, children out of the house, etc.). Still, it’s an interesting starting point to see how your state lines up with other states regarding the cost of living. And they do have a second graphic for households.

Massachusetts ranks first as the most expensive, and West Virginia is the least expensive. Maryland is in the top ten most expensive states with an average salary of $102,918 to live comfortably. It’s the 15th most expensive state for household income, needing a salary of $239,450 to live comfortably.

The numbers seem high considering the average distribution of household income in the United States, but what do I know?

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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 connected to businesses or sponsored posts.