Hello, Sunday.

Hello, April!

A bit of a whirlwind month has kept away. With a virus, sandwiched by two trips and a jam-packed few weekend, I’m looking at April for a bit of a reprieve. I’m home for the whole of it, and embracing this nesting period as I look at the second half of the year, and every single month tentatively has me packing up and heading off.  Time for a bit of a break.

As the month turned, I’m also feeling a slight bit of hope that things will get better eventually (despite the tragic state of my retirement accounts). Not sure when that eventually will be, but I dare say that my daily #JoyintheTimeofFascism has focus my attention towards optimism. Plus, those sights of all the #HandsOff folks yesterday made me teary. While I wasn’t able to join any, I honked with enthusiasm and solidarity as I drove by my fellow resisters.

And with that, let’s go, April.

wishing: real spring would come- michigan is still in fake spring #2

hoping: for the best

thinking: of what may flowers to plant

committing: to 30 days of yoga

praying: for a brighter tomorrow

planning: oh gosh, thailand 2026?

dreaming: vividly, oddly.

wearing: my raincoat because april showers…

watching: with love, meghan.  i’m a fan.

buying: this giraffe. you know, before the tariffs kick in. also, crawley cat is almost 10 and I got it for his birthday and I will say that he LOVES it (see photo)

eating: green chef because sometimes we all need a break (if you want to give it a try, here’s my referral link!)

Let’s do our best this month, shall we?

Hello, Sunday.

Well, I spent the last week in a viral fog after I caught whatever is going around these days. Per my usual, I spent the week wallowing in self-pity, as I tend to do when I’m feeling ill.  Woe is me, I am alone and have no one to care for me.

In reality, not true. My little Ann Arbor village offered to run errands, bring me soup, etc all week long, and for that I love them. But still, being sick is for the birds.  I guess these days, literally with the bird flu.

The timing isnt’ terrible to be honest- it’s been a bit since I’ve been proper ill, and this one hit me right in the middle of Disney and San Diego (for which I leave on Tuesday) so here’s to that. Being sick on vacation, or when traveling at all is really the worst.

Despite being sick, I’m pretty proud of what I did accomplish yesterday- I washed all the sheets, even the duvet (long overdue). Prepped a recipe for ya’ll this week (it’s a St. Patrick’s Day miracle!).  Made myself feel like a person by actually drying and curling my hair. It’s the little things.And here are a few little things that caught my eye this week:

In the best news of the week, Ted Lasso is coming back!

A $20 strawberry, and the fall of the Roman Empire (and the impending fall of America’s?).

Powered by poop. How Japan is using cow manure for good!

Can a trio friendship actually work?  H, L and I prove that it can, 21 years and counting!

Architectural feats like this never cease to amaze me.

Pet sitting? How about bread sitting?  People are SERIOUS about their sourdough starters!

Irish seafood? YES.  Despite very popular misconceptions, I found the food in Ireland to be delicious.  Here’s a glimpse as to why.

Speaking of Ireland, and since St. Patrick’s Day is tomorrow- I wanted to remind you that if you haven’t made my mom’s corned beef hash yet, you must!

And maybe this whiskey banana bread….

That’s it – have a good week!

Hello, Monday.

I’ve been cozily tucked in my house this weekend, not too mad about the winter storm that rolled through town. With nowhere to go, it was a good opportunity to be still, indulge in comfort like Bridget Jones, magic cookie bars, light reading, Crawley snuggles and long naps.  The days in between the weekends have been stressful and rolling by like molasses, so I’m using this long weekend to mentally recover.  Light movement and catch-ups with friends round out what have been a pretty good weekend.

I hope that you’re also making self-care a priority. If you’re like me, that means cutting back on the doomscrolling that has taken over too much of my time every evening and finding the joy while still staying informed.  Calm news launched this week on Apple podcasts, and it was just the thing I didn’t know that I needed. No ulterior motives here, just something that I enjoy that you may enjoy as well.

As for the internet, was it all bad? I found some gems.

Still working on that New Years’ resolution without much success? Try the 1% rule– it makes total sense, and sometimes the smallest steps end up being the most impactful!

I’m sure you’ve seen the video of the guy that was almost swallowed by a whale? Mother Nature is wild- I don’t mess with her. Also, you don’t know the ocean!

America’s first car free neighborhood is doing pretty well- more of this please!  If I had a lightrail within walking distance of my house, you wouldn’t be able to keep me off of it.

I feel like my friends and I are pros at the unstructured hang! I’m also realizing how much just some contact with my bests improve my mental health dramatically – especially these days.

I’ve really been enjoying the SNL tributes this week. I’ve never been a huge watcher of the show, but I can appreciate the role it’s played in popular culture. We have Lorne to thank for all of it.

As a big fan of regular German wine, I’m excited to see that they are leading the charge on the 0% varietals!

A look at the near dealth experience…interesting.

For those of you that know me, you know that Sunday is #PancakeSunday in my house. Every single Sunday that I”m home. A few weeks ago my grocery store was (not surprisingly) out of eggs, so I made a chia egg as a substitute and don’t you know my pancakes were so much fluffier! I think I’ll stick with this trick post-bird flu.

I love this story of female friendship– and am happy to say I have more than a few of these gal pals in my life.

XO