November 13, 2020
1. I insisted on making this keto lemon cheesecake on Sunday. I had juuuuust enough energy to make it happen, though I couldn’t walk for a while after, and it was bliss in a pie pan. I doubled the zest in everything, and used the juice of a full lemon, not just a single tablespoon, because I wanted full on lemon flavor. PiC was happy with the lemon level but I was tempted to make it with more lemon next time. I’ll leave well enough alone though. I can’t eat a whole pie alone if I make it too lemony.
2. PiC mounted a wall clock that’s been waiting for attention for six months, and a new coat rack. Whoo!
3. He’s also going to mount old wall hooks that we’ve had for years for my use. Triple whoo!
Challenges this week: I periodically get this feeling that I have to get everything done NOW NOW NOW because of the pregnancy and that does nothing good for my stress and anxiety levels. I am pacing myself as best I can. But whew. That’s the brain problem. Physically, my hands have been swollen every night for weeks and that’s been rough. They normally get better by mid-morning but lately even that hasn’t been the case.
4. Super kind blog-Twitter friends sent us practical baby-related gifts and their thoughtfulness was so very much appreciated.
5. We are sticking to the hand me downs only rule for clothes and toys/books/no more plushies are allowed, and we’re conserving cash to buy the necessities. I figure we’re going to need a fair bit of formula since I really struggled to produce enough milk last time.
6. November brought a handful of donations for our Lakota families and I’m enthused about being able to help out one more family, though it probably isn’t good that I keep adding one more thing to my plate. I should really stop doing that. I will. I swear.
(more…)
November 6, 2020
1. I decided to do a trial of the twice a week schedule and a combo Good things and Link Love post (voila!) just to see if I like it and if it’s also a good compromise.
2. JB was surprised with a fun Halloween end of their tutoring lesson and they were so happy!
3. It’s startling to realize that sometimes we can afford to choose time over money within a reasonable limit. I used to sacrifice all kinds of time for pennies because I needed every penny and because it helped counter my anxiety that I’d end up broke if I didn’t. Now I can choose to just buy the thing when it’s 10¢ or $1 more at the store we’re already buying from rather than making a whole other trip to another store to save a total of $2.35.
4. Once in a while, I’m bitten by a much more expensive bug. There was a sale this weekend at Elhoffer Design and I absolutely love the maxi wrap dress I splurged on for myself last Christmas. It’s been so handy for the pregnancy too. Now it’s the summery maxi dresses I’m ogling because I like maxi dresses for summer but I hate that my two don’t have pockets. After JB came along, I didn’t buy new clothes for three years waiting for my weight to stabilize. I normally wouldn’t buy anything intended for months away anyway, especially with this pregnancy, but the material is very stretchy and should accommodate whatever weird size I am in the coming months easily. I have bought a few things for the maternity and nursing period as I’ve outgrown all my clothes but mostly the clothing spending has stayed low as normal. We can afford a small outlay now and again.
Challenges this week: Everyone is on tenterhooks this week as November 4th draws nearer. This week has been nothing but tumultuous between the Election and the rushed through SCOTUS confirmation that I think was absolutely despicable. Such hypocrites. If this confirmation is valid, than the blocking of Merrick Garland was not and the seating of that piece of work, Kavanaugh, should not have happened. I’m sick of McConnell and I’m sick of him making up rules to suit himself. I’m so sick of this administration.
5. I picked up a really cute teeny tiny sparkly Christmas tree for our mantel. I’ve been wanting one and it was the smallest one I’ve seen that was the right price point ($3). We also picked up several kid gifts for upcoming birthdays and before you know it, the Target Dollar Spot suckered us for almost $40. But they are fun little gifts and covers 7 kids.
6. I had been fretting about holiday gifts for local friends. Happily Penzey’s had a sale on their gift cards which was perfect because one local friend is an amazing cook and was interested in checking out their stock. One more check box marked off the list!
(more…)
October 29, 2020
Lulu Wang and Adele Lim on Lessons From ‘Mulan’: Why Hollywood Must Reimagine Asian-Inspired Stories
Thread on murder hornets.
Imagine being so bad at money and business that you nickel and dime Shonda Rhimes over a Disneyland pass. Shonda Rhimes who was making ABC literally Billions Of Dollars. Honestly, nickel and diming anyone who is making you that kind of money makes absolutely no sense but SHONDA RHIMES. Come on! I hope that exec got ALL the blowback, professionally. Regardless of any of their (likely specious) reasons, that was a really stupid decision. Anyway, she deserved far better than to be working with such knobs so I’m glad for her that she left. Good. For. Her!!
Chrissy Teigen and John Legend lost their third child. As a pregnant mom right now, I can only imagine their pain and grief.
Emily Guy Birken had to fight a really nasty inheritance battle after her dad passed.
As I fight with my open enrollment debates, this 2021 tax year update for the 2022 filing season from Kay Bell is really helpful.
Cheating sled dogs
October 22, 2020
If you’d like to join me in helping Lakota families and/or rural libraries this year, please read this post. Over 6 weeks in 2019, we raised $2669.94 for the Lakota families, touching 27 lives. What can we do in 2020?
Current total: Lakota, $1,816.35; Rural libraries, $346.69.
This headline exemplifies my whole life motto: You can be grateful for what you have … AND strive for more
Prickly business: the hedgehog highway that knits a village together
Ode to Joy
I miss playing music so much more than I expected. Once I finish the seemingly neverending task of clearing out the office, I’m making space for a digital piano.
October 15, 2020
If you’d like to join me in helping Lakota families and/or rural libraries this year, please read this post. Over 6 weeks in 2019, we raised $2669.94 for the Lakota families, touching 27 lives. What can we do in 2020?
Current total: Lakota, $1,816.35; Rural libraries, $346.69
PiC often tells me to buy the thing I’m thinking about because I deserve it, and that framing always makes me choose not to spend the money. It brings on one of two kneejerk responses: well obviously I deserve everything OR no, I’ve not proven myself in X lately I don’t deserve anything. Emily Guy Birken’s pandemic spending post reminded me of how and why I probably don’t respond well to that: “… when you make a decision based on what you feel you deserve; you are making a value judgment on yourself. If you deserve something, that means you could be undeserving of it. That’s no way to feel good about yourself. You are not put on this Earth to earn the right to be happy. You are neither deserving nor undeserving of happiness, luxury, or comfort.”
The Doctor in Charge of the NBA Bubble: this was a fascinating read. Also a little sad because it shows that something can be done if you plow a lot of attention, time, expertise and money into the matter. But here we are with people still denying COVID is even a problem.
I Called Everyone in Jeffrey Epstein’s Little Black Book: “Built into the premise of Epstein the mastermind scammer is the notion that some kind of legitimate path to a legitimate global aristocracy exists. There is no scam here. It’s grifters grifting grifters all the way down.”
I was trying to figure out the Child Tax Credit in advance of next year’s filing (or the year after). I can’t remember whether we were going to ditch the kid(s) dependent care FSA and that’s why I was looking at this but Jeremy at Go Curry Cracker covered a few scenarios, none of which apply to us, but it’s worth bookmarking to help wrap my head around it.
Virtual zoo visit
October 8, 2020
If you’d like to join me in helping Lakota families and/or rural libraries this year, please read this post. Over 6 weeks in 2019, we raised $2669.94 for the Lakota families, touching 27 lives. What can we do in 2020?
Current total: Lakota, $1,816.35; Rural libraries, $346.69.
Ways to plan ahead to cope emotionally this winter.
Unique elk in California may be killed under controversial plan
A good thread on testing and viral load and infectiousness.
I really struggle to understand people like the commenters on Noemi’s post: “I don’t want to pay for college for all, fund maternity leave for all, pay for health care for the masses when my own family does not have it.” Wouldn’t your family have these things, by definition, if we all had them? So … What exactly are you opposed to? Other people also getting those things? Is this a failure of logic or a declaration that you’d cut off your own nose to spite your face?
Moving along to deliberately choosing to not be an asshole, Solitary Diner does some thinking about conscious spending that I ponder from time to time when I’m running a financial fire drill or worrying about the future of our finances. Which may be much of the time. We’re, so far, doing well compared to so many others even if I don’t know if and when our jobs might be at risk. I’m doing my best to balance those concerns with today’s reality and planning for a rough ride in the future. I feel like I’m balancing plates in both hands and one on my nose! But it can be done, and we can still care deeply about giving back to the world in meaningful ways.
Purple’s last day of work, and her move to Atlanta. We are completely different people in so many ways but I truly admire her chutzpah. I don’t think a reality exists where I am still me and could stomach retiring on $500,000 even if the math bears out the projections every which way you run it. I’m just too risk averse! So living vicariously has to be it for me, for now!
Inclusivity
For better or for worse ….
October 1, 2020
If you’d like to join me in helping Lakota families and/or rural libraries this year, please read this post. Over 6 weeks in 2019, we raised $2669.94 for the Lakota families, touching 27 lives. What can we do in 2020?
Current total: Lakota, $1,886.35; Rural libraries, $346.69.
That California uses prisoners to fight fires and then deports them is sickening.
That the IRS finds it more efficient to audit the poor than the super wealthy is no surprise but it’s also incredibly frustrating to read.
A sobering look at America from another perspective: “In the last three months America has lost more people than Sri Lanka lost in 30 years of civil war. If this isn’t collapse, then the word has no meaning.”
I went through this explainer for the propositions on the CA ballot and found it a very helpful summary. Thanks, Cloud!
I thought our real estate adventures were moving fast, but Ali and Alison powered through their home purchase in a blink of an eye.
Penny and her family bought a new to them car. I’ve spent a long while thinking we needed to replace one of our cars this year as they age. They are both past 200,000 miles so it’s only a matter of time. With the two big dogs and the long distance driving we do a few times a year, it seemed best to be financially prepared for the inevitable. But with the pandemic, we’re not traveling. Where are we going in 2020 that requires luggage? Nowhere! It’s probably not happening through some significant part of 2021, either. So I have another year to save up.
Grasshoppers