Barbecue always seems to be top of mind birthday week. It seems this one is no different, so this years saucy eat is this, my favorite, barbecue chicken salad.

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Hello, Monday.

Did you really want an email from me three days in a row?  I figure I’d give you something to keep that weekend going this Monday morning.

I snuck in a quick trip to Chicago this weekend for my godson’s first communion. Time sure does fly- seems like his baptism was just yesterday. It was a quick trip, but a good one. Snuck in a few favorites bites of sugar, carbs and fat to keep me satisfied until I can come back for a proper visit to see the friends, faces and places that I missed this time around.  Someday, we’ll be together.

As for now though, how about some uplifts to get us through yet another week of the same old, same very old.

Nike marketing wins again.

Bambi IRL brings a smile. 

How the world made such progress on a Covid vaccine so fast.

A culture of selfishness got us here, but can we revert it with some selflessness?

On my to-watch list. 

Covid is bringing to light inequalities in college sports, just like everywhere else.

Since we’re all wearing masks (RIGHT?) I’m going to plug my friend’s little shop because, they’re cute, comfy and a portion of the proceeds to go some great causes!

My birthday is coming up and I’m already eating peach upside down cake. Join me!

That’s it! Have a great week!

Hello, Sunday.

I take two kinds of vacations. One kind, the rarer of the two, involves sleeping in, long, lazy, stretched out meals, a few cocktails, a night on the town and make-up, and a curling iron. The other kind, the kind I end up on more often than not, means we’re up at sunrise and out the door, ponytails are the fashion of the days and we arrive back in our rooms sun-kissed and tired but ready to do it again the next. Our trip Up North was the latter, which means that I came back mentally rested, but perhaps not physically.

And because the Universe has its ways, after diving back into heavy lifting and workout ASAP, I gave myself a helluva back injury on Wednesday morning, meaning that I will be sidelined from the fun stuff for at least a few weeks if we’re going best case scenario. It means that the Peloton bike that I’ve been counting down to receive for two months has spent the last two days sitting idly in my living room while I glance longingly at it every few hours. It means that early summer tennis mornings will have to make way to early fall ones and any birthday activities I had ideas about might have to be revisited. Are we at 39 already? Because getting old ain’t fun.

So I spent my weekend sitting around doing absoltely nothing since that’s pretty much all I could do. I hate it and it puts me in a bad mood. Luckily, Colin Firth, Kate Winslet, Indiana Jones and Julia Roberts were great company and hopefully some hydrotherapy in the lake will do these tangled muscles some good today.

As for the news, I came back into the land of the living pretty checked out on Tuesday, and managed somehow to stay there. Still, I’ve got a few nuggets to share.

Don’t you just love cute old people?

Making new friends in a pandemic. Have you made any?

What if you went on sabbatical and never came back?

On being childfree.

Why a remote workforce forever might not be the best thing for us after all.

FYI: Covid Brain is real.

Sort of related: Also, where are all the premies?  

Another reason to eat all the kimchi.

Alex Trebek, in his own words.

Dinner, A love story started this series when Covid started and I am really enjoying it. Have a look!

More vacation stories coming at you this week! Thanks for being here, and for being awesome.