Hello, Sunday.

Well, we made it through another week of horrible things and horrible thoughts. We’re more resilient than we think. At least our minds are.

I’m capping off Birthday Week with a day with the family. Mom’s been falling in love with Britain the past two weeks and thanks to a surprise visit from the bro, we’re catching up and celebrating two birthdays and having a nice time.  It doesn’t happen as often as I’d like, unfortunately.

Little B and I went paddle boarding yesterday, my second weekend in a row doing so (with plans to go again next weekend) and I’ve realized that it is becoming my favorite summer activity. I always loved it, but having it so close and accessible makes me love it even more. And it’s had me googling things like “temporary roof rack” and scoping out end of the summer sales, weighing whether I’m actually crazy enough to buy my own.  We will see, but I’m thinking there is a high probability I’ll have one by the time summer rolls around in 9 months…

I digress. Internet. News. Good news? Not so much. Still, I’m entertained.

How can you change the world? Start by making your bed. The rest flows from there. A must watch!

Love me some Tina. Though, it did seem like abuse of perfectly good cake.

How to live as global citizens (and how to raise your kids as one).  So important these days.

Study shows students that hand-write notes do better overall than those with laptops. I believe it! Even after I typed out lecture notes in law school, I needed to actually write them out afterwards to remember them.

You know you went to a Catholic school if…all of these.

I live alone, and so often, it’s the best.

Should apprenticeships come back? Remember when even professional occupations were taught that way?  

Well, here’s a way to make some lemonade…

I don’t know why, but I’m sort of disinterested in the eclipse.  Still, I have my glasses. But for science, it’s a pretty big deal.

Band members are calling out men for groping women at shows, and it’s awesome.

First, Switzerland is magical. I can still remember eating my first bowl of muesli ever, in a little cottage in Lucerne, after a good nights’ sleep with the softest blanket I can remember, looking at the mountains in the background. Second, while I can’t duplicate those surrounds every day, the muesli, we can. Check it here.

That’s all I’ve got! Have a happy week.

Hello, Sunday.

After a week of back to normal life, and half a weekend so far to recover, I’m starting to feel like myself.  The Chicagogrammers’ party went off last weekend without a hitch and that, too, is back to a reasonable pace.

I had been so distracted by it all that I haven’t had much time to focus on the reality of what’s happening around us, but once I snapped back into it, I realized that’s maybe a good thing. Is ignorance bliss?  I don’t know. I feel like the mood everywhere is that everyone is hoping, wishing and praying for the best outcome, though in reality we’re all expecting the worst. And doesn’t that just sound so hopeless?

Yam’s sister was one of those injured in Charlottesville this weekend, and while it’s so hard to focus on the horrible, and what could have been, Eggplant reminded me through an Insta snap taken from her neighborhood block party that happiness, goodness and love is here, but maybe we just need to open our eyes a little wider to see it.

So my wish for you is to find a little goodness in every day this week, no matter how hard it might be.

Okay, I’ve just fallen off my soapbox for the day and am looking towards the internet, for better or worse. Here we go:

Chicago was just named the 2017 Restaurant City of the Year. Of course it is, after I moved.  Believe, of all the things I don’t miss about living in Chicago, food is one thing that I miss every day.

The families that can’t afford summer. I was SO unbelievably fortunate that I spent the whole of my summer vacation with my grandparents, my mom taking the whole summer off work to be with us.  I do worry that my someday-maybe-hypothetical children won’t have the same luxury. 

Have smartphones destroyed a generation? Yes and yes.

Birthday freebies!  Since mine is tomorrow, this could not be more timely. 

You know how I feel about extraneous kitchen gadgets, but I concur with all of these selections.

The story of the couple who bought a street and pissed everyone off.  It’s crazy how this happened.

Good for you, Taylor.

And finally, Jane Austen’s wise words are still relevant today. Very much indeed.

Oh wait! Tomorrow’s my birthday and I’ve got a treat for you coming. But if you want to indulge with me all week, I suggest:  The Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich, slow-cooker pulled pork, Dutch pancake, vanilla cake with lemon and chocolate peanut butter ice cream.  Just to name a few favorites.

Have a great week!

Hello, Sunday.

Biscuit is here, and we’ve got donuts and ice cream and live music and all the good things happening. I’ve been mentally running like crazy while physically running not at all, and it’s all starting to build up thanks to Chicagogrammers, which is turning one in a party-official way next Sunday. I’ll be in Chicago co-hosting/celebrating/breathing a sigh of relief.  It’ll be a good time, but right now, it’s an overwhelming one.

I was not really all about the news this week, but sometimes it manages to sneak in. Here’s what got through the fog.  Just a few for you.

Science, ya’ll.  Thar she glows, and it’s beautiful. 

How much can you stuff into your intestines (if you’re a smuggler)? Quite a lot it seems. It also seems like a bad idea.

Related: smuggling is bad.  What is wrong with people?

For the love of Ina.

This was totally mine, as a hypothyroid with PCOS.  What’s been your health care experience?

Always take the trip. That’s my motto, always.

Save the cyclists- go Dutch (I hadn’t seen or thought of this until The Tulip Trip this year and it makes sense!).

We can now definitively say that football causes brain injury.  One player quit, and I wonder, how many will follow?

I’ve been thinking about these eggs a lot lately.

Have a good week!