I have a list of writing that needs to be done this week or early next week. We all have that pile of stuff that needs our attention. And I just realized that I need to make a trip to the grocery store tomorrow and arrange which family member will be cooking with the least amount of pushback. These are normal things for everyone on the planet, but for some of us the anxiety can paralyze us, not always with the fear of not being able to get the items done, but with the fear of beginning. If we don’t begin, we can’t flop. If we don’t begin, we can pretend to do something more enjoyable. However, if we don’t begin, we can never get it finished.
I stepped out of my house today in exchange for the coffee shop, and got half a submission done.
I checked my planner and began to write this.
I checked my deadline calendar and decided that the next item on the list can wait until tomorrow…but should it? Well, there is one item that should take precedence, so I’m going to accept that choice and take a break for lunch and then proceed with my projects.
I said last Monday that lists are key, and I genuinely believe that.
Don’t forget to drink water, rest in between assignments, take a walk in the spring air and smell the lilacs which have just begun to bloom.
As these come up in my life, I notice them more and more. I know that they are idiosyncratic, and some are downright weird, but they are what they are, and I thought I’d share them with you. Please share some of yours in the comments.
I call everything “jelly,” but I never buy jelly. I only buy jam or preserves.
When I add ice to my cup at McDonald’s, I always pour out a couple of cubes.
I only and always eat latkes with applesauce AND sour cream. I also eat them year-round, and more at Passover than at Chanukah.
This isn’t food related, but I put NO Chanukah ornaments on our Christmas tree.
Now that I have a collection of Big Mac Sauce packets, I bring them with me when we go to a local restaurant that has patty melts (which I love) but no Thousand Island dressing.
Food adjacent – I don’t use Saran Wrap. It never works.
I wing cooking but never baking. Baking is too precise.
I won’t eat matzo or gefilte fish after Passover. I may make an exception for matzo brei.
I only eat kosher all beef hot dogs. When people talk about not knowing what’s in their hot dogs, I have no idea what they’re talking about. My hot dogs only have beef, no fillers, no anything else. Also, Mustard only. And sauerkraut when available.
Real NY bagels – never toasted.
I love bagels and lox, but I only eat it on Fridays in Lent.
The only soda I drink is Diet Coke. Not Pepsi, not Coke Zero, not RC.
I have had a recent obsession with peanut butter and bananas – any bread including matzo. (Not pictured English muffin.)
Peanut butter and banana on a Waffle. (c)2024Peanut butter and banana on egg bagel. (c)2024Peanut butter and banana on matzo. (c)2024
Brand names. I am a good tryer of generic and store brand foods. Except:
Cream Cheese – Philadelphia Kraft
Macaroni & Cheese – Kraft in the blue box, 7.25 oz.
Butter – Land O Lakes or Cabot. Exception for Kerrygold when I have the money for it.
Orange Juice – Tropicana or Florida’s Natural
Bachman Jax Cheese Curls only.
Skippy Peanut Butter.
Pretzels – Rold Gold
Hot dog rolls – Martin’s Potato Long Rolls
Craisins – Ocean Spray only
This is also food adjacent: Ziploc bags and Reynold’s Aluminum Foil. Hands down, generic just doesn’t have the same strength.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and today’s first Mental Health Monday is a good time to reassess our mental health. How are we feeling? Are things bothering us more than usual? Do we need to adjust our coping toolbox? Where do we begin, and should we schedule this reassessment periodically throughout the year?
Coming off Easter and spring break, it feels as though life should settle down; at least for a little while. I’ve completed my yearly physical. For families with kids in school, like mine, things are just getting started. The school year is coming to an end. They’ve released the testing schedule, the end of year activities, and for our family, the graduation schedule. For my last child in school, she is also graduating from the vo-tec program in cosmetology so there will be two graduation ceremonies. Plus, prom, senior banquet, visiting the elementary schools, preparing for the state boards, and the actual graduations.
I also have a deadline for an article I’m writing for the local Catholic newspaper about St. Kateri Tekakwitha as well as a presentation that needs completing in the next few weeks (that I haven’t even started yet) for the Cursillo community.
I know we’re not the only ones throwing their calendars across the room in frustration at this time of year.
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I have three suggestions:
Be realistic.
Keep ONE calendar.
Lists, lists, and more lists.
Be Realistic
We think we can do more than we actually have time for. My husband is guilty of this. He forgets that things take longer. The movie starts at 7, it takes 20 minutes to drive there plus finding parking, buying a ticket, finding a seat, and he leaves at 6:45. It can be very frustrating, and when it’s my own lack of planning or time-blindness, it is also frustrating and rage-inducing.
Look at the day, and perhaps segment it. What are the time constraints? What appointments/times are rigid and can’t be flexible or fudged with. Plan for thinking time or just five-minute-sitting time and eating. Get up early for some quiet, me time. Try not to stay up too late. Put off what can be put off.
Keep ONE Calendar
For a long time, I had several calendars: school calendar, personal calendar, dry erase for the fridge, Google on my phone, blog planner, editorial, work calendar.
Something inevitably gets left off one calendar and the whole system collapses.
Currently, I have my base calendar which is a weekly/monthly paper planner. I use the monthly for daily life and the weekly for the website plans and writing deadlines. I use stickers to draw attention to due dates that can be referred to in the weekly section. I also have one electronic calendar (Business Calendar 2 Pro app) that is synched between my kindle and my phone. And that’s it. My family works from my calendar when we must coordinate schedules. For vacation or special long-term projects, I may print out a two-week calendar to follow and plan itineraries on.
Lists, Lists, and More Lists
As you know, I love lists. I created a tri-fold list, sectioned with a vertical calendar to keep a list of obligations, what’s for dinner, and the kids’ work schedules. Other lists in other sections include bills to pay, shopping lists, email/calls to send/make, sectioned items that I can list what needs to be done. This will be different based on individual needs. My sections include the two books I’m writing, the interfaith community and Cursillo community obligations, writing workshop I’m taking, writing class I plan to teach, etc.
Lists you might keep could include staff party at work, this week’s Scriptures or readings, library books to borrow, appointments to make, phone calls, follow-ups, a mantra to inspire and influence your week, and/or whatever you may find helpful and necessary.
I encourage you to share any of your tips in the comments. I also welcome any suggestions for benefiting mental health.
Come back each Monday in May for mental health awareness and talk as well as tools to get through the struggles that arise.
In one week from today, North America will experience a total solar eclipse. The path will begin on the Pacific coast of Mexico at 11:07 a.m. PDT (2:07 EDT) and end at the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada at 5:16 p.m. NDT (3:46 EDT), crossing through several states and provinces of the United States and Canada. My husband has been very excited about this eclipse. I didn’t know how excited until a couple of weeks ago when he said he was going to drive two and a half hours to view it and would I like to come. We made plans and tried to get a hotel room in Syracuse. He always has a list of comic stores and places to visit all around the area, and so we made a plan for the weekend. Unfortunately, the hotels were way too expensive, so new plan. And a change of direction. Now, we’ll go to Plattsburgh. He checked out the comic stores (this is a thing for every trip we take, even visiting family) and I checked out the hotels. They were not too expensive. They were also not available. Not one hotel. They were all booked. What was the difference between Syracuse and Plattsburgh? Totality was my only guess. The amount of totality for Syracuse was 1 minute and 24 seconds while Plattsburgh’s amount of totality was 3 minutes and 33 seconds. Now what would we do?
Plot twist.
Montreal Canada is in the path of totality with a total viewing time of 1 minute and 51.8 seconds and it is only about an hour further north than Plattsburgh. And yes, there are hotels available, and they are significantly cheaper than Syracuse before factoring in the exchange rate.
For anyone considering this, just a reminder that you will need a passport to travel from the United States across the border into Canada, and according to the US Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol, the border will remain open although agents are expecting higher than normal traffic and delays should be expected.
The article also mentions that despite being legal in both Canada and New York state, marijuana may NOT be transported across the border. The municipality of Niagara on the Canadian side has already declared a state of emergency in preparation for the influx of what they believe will be one million visitors on top of their regular attendance in and around the Falls. Scrolling down to read the article, they offer a list of eight (useful) travel tips with their own links, so check that out.
Once you arrive at your eclipse viewing destination, remember the importance of eclipse glasses. They are special glasses that protect your eyes from the sun’s rays. Regular sunglasses are NOT safe during an eclipse. Do NOT look directly at the sun without special eclipse glasses. Many places are offering them for free, including libraries and (in New York) some Thruway rest areas. I bought mine for $2.49 at Staples.
Be aware of your surroundings. Act as though you would at any vacation destination. Keep your wallet in your front pocket, wear purses across your body, messenger bag style, don’t flash your cash, wear comfortable shoes, dress in layers, follow all laws and ordinances, and pay attention.
Here are some links to help plan your day for the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse:
I made two weeknight meals recently that were a complete hit with my family, even the picky eater. They were both easy, and the goulash was with leftovers, so it was doubly exciting for the kitchen and the checkbook. There was a minimum of prep for each, and it was so great that the goulash is already planned for dinner for Monday night.
Two races I’d recommend getting involved with are Harry Dunn and Eugene Vindman in Maryland and Virginia, respectively. These two names may seem familiar.
Eugene Vindman is a retired Army officer targeted for retaliation by the Trump Administration when he and his brother, Alexander, also an Army officer at the time came forward as whistleblowers when the then President Trump extorted the Ukraine government. Eugene is now running for Congress in the 7th District in Virginia.
Harry Dunn for Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District. 2024
Eugene Vindman for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District. 2024
This seems like a long time but judging by last week’s Meet the Press where Hide-in-Plain-Sight Insurrectionist Barbie from NY’s 21st spouted lies and didn’t answer direct questions, we have a lot of work cut out for us. For one thing, anyone calling the January 6th defendants “hostages” is not a serious person and should be viewed as an accessory after the fact. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson having prayer sessions on the House floor is inappropriate and unacceptable. And these two examples are minor things compared to threats against our representatives and democracy as well as recent swatting terror acts.
Start by speaking out. When your representative does something right, call their office and let them know. If they question how a vote should go, call and email. Offer your opinion on what the right thing to do is.
Know your sources.
I have left Twitter for Threads, but there are bad actors there also. Before reposting misinformation, do some due diligence. There has been so much misinformation about the Israel-Hamas War that by the time the truth comes out, no one remembers. Hamas is a terrorist organization that uses the Palestinian people as shields and cannon fodder while their leaders live like billionaires in other Arab countries. Defeat Hamas; then rebuild. This is a war that Hamas started (during a ceasefire by the way).
We also cannot ignore the onslaught against women’s rights and bodily autonomy. Women are not second-class citizens. We are half the population, and we should be treated with the respect that is due to us. We should not be relegated to incubators who are left to die because men in power don’t understand biology and doctors care more about legal ramification than their oaths to heal.
Women are dying, partly due to misogynistic laws being passed by ignorant men in power, and a religious fascism that thinks their way is the only way. We are a multi-cultural, multi-faith society where everyone’s beliefs should be accepted. Laws should not be made on one religion, especially when it violates others’ freedom of religious expression.
Pay attention to the small things because the small things are not so small.
Check your voter registration and make sure the information is correct.
Sign up for Democracy Docket. Attorney Marc Elias is on the forefront of litigating election cases and has been for years.
This upcoming election is one that no one can afford to sit out.
Election Connection will appear as needed and when things arise that need to be addressed. Next month, I will provide other recs of people who are fighting for all of us and are reliable with the information they offer.
Do you ever ask yourself why after Republicans spend and offer huge giveaways to the rich it is up to the Democrats to fix things? Then they do, and Republicans come back and destroy it again. Why do we let that continue to cycle? Teachers can’t deduct a pack of crayons, but the wealthy can deduct the gas from a private jet. Where is the justice? Where is the fairness?
One more reminder:Voting third party or not voting is a vote AGAINST democracy. President Biden is the only candidate that can guarantee the continuation of free and fair elections.
Many of us have been in Christmas mode since mid-December. And that’s not to leave out any non-Christians and their holidays. Our work week revolves around the Christmas holiday, and while we celebrate Chanukah and a couple of birthdays, we all share the same days off during the holidays. Some have even had one to two weeks off from work, and those two weeks have probably not been relaxing. Family and holiday responsibilities can take it out of us. Even though I work from home, with the kids returning to school and work, and one more Christmas dinner with our family, it is important to be aware of how we’re feeling, now we’re coping, and how we’re getting through the days in reorienting to the sometimes less exciting days that follow the holidays.
Five quick tips to re-enter the world after the holidays.
Give yourself a little extra time in the mornings before work. Whether that means meditation, prayer, reading a book chapter, or having a hot cup of tea, take the time to acclimate to the morning with something refreshing and soothing before you hit the traffic and the workday.
Listen to music on the way to work in your car or through headphones on your commute.
Journal. It doesn’t need to be long or poetic; just jot some thoughts down in a notebook and keep it going for this first week back.
Plan your meals for the week. It can be incredibly de-stressing just knowing what’s for dinner even if you still need to go shopping for the groceries. For the first time in a long time, we planned five days in a row, which is a minor miracle in this house.
Give yourself breaks during the day. This first week back can seem like a month. Take the time you need. Stretch. Drink lots of water. Have a cup of tea or a snack (chocolate chip cookies make a great snack!)
Griffins and Ginger Snaps 