Y2K + 25? Eh?
Hullo and welcome back, welcome in, may I take your coat? Oh and make sure to take your shoes off before you enter please and thanks. Now settle in I’ll pour you some tea (since we are all out here doing dry January amiright?) Why the housekeeping you say. Sure it’s a new year gosh darn it and we swore we would be better precious now didn’t we?
But
Better don’t sit too tight with me. It’s been one and it’s about to be another one. A year that is. Ordinarily squarely I’d be all up in my rhythms not rituals dogmatic preaching. We are inundated with public declarations of change and earnest yet annoying ‘anti-resolution’ mantras that people who cling a little bit too tightly to plaster all over their social media. I get why they do it, it is in the hopes they can improve themselves into finding meaning. They are trying to hack living, to make it ‘efficient’, to control the narrative of their own story. Honestly, it me, I am people.
I am not in that place I usually am this time around. I’m tired. I have a toddler going through massive sleep problems. Last year took more from me than any previous and that’s saying something. My mental health is at a low point and I am struggling to wade through this muck. My family are being wrung out like sopping wet laundry hanging in the wind hoping to dry, but it’s lashing rain so likely not. They suffer and I can’t do a darned thing. The world is burning down around us and it feels so despairing to summon any sense of forward momentum. So ya know what…it’s ok to not always be trying to do it all. Let’s just take a pause and take life day by day.
Reads
I love Positive.News, one day I hope I can get a physical copy. Pity they are located in the U.K and shipping is whomp whomp. However, they have everything online so when I am looking for a little pick-me-up news story to balance all the world ending headlines I cart my patootie over to their website.
What went right this week: the good news that matters was their good news stories of the week. I am hiding there this evening.
This one is a longer read but worth the time if you have it to spare. Resolutions for a Life Worth Living: Attainable Aspirations Inspired by Great Humans of the Past by Maria Popova, The Marginalian. If you are anything like me, this act of living on earth only seems to grow more difficult and enduring can often seem unbearable. This list has a lot of nuggets of wisdom from some of the great minds that wrestled with the very things we do. I love Walt Whitman’s idea of ‘absolute aliveness’. How full does that feel, how necessary, how hopeful.
Bants
This generator is a pretty fun time waster that is easy on the eyes if you want to know how ridonkulously popular different names are. Be careful though it will humble you as a lot of names are verrrrry popular.
I am in the process of trying to coalesce all my sensibilities on being a human trying to live correctly(?)/well in the world. For a long while I thought I was the only false person facing an enduring perspective of my own lack of ‘okness’ in life. Many years I have frittered away under thoughts of “if I could just get this [insert external validation thing here] sorted/done/completed/ then I can finally rest/be real/be meaningful/be alive/be seen”. Much to my surprise these past months I have come to ascertain this is a somewhat universal sensation. If you read my post on best podcasts I listened to in 2024, you know I have become a fan of Kate Bowler’s deeply resonant journey to being human in a beautiful, terrible world. This one with Oliver Burkeman has me feeling all sorts of called out. I am looking forward to reading his book now, Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals.
Eats
Ah ‘tis the season of trying to nourish ourselves with the kinds of foods that make our bodies feel good and our minds feel comforted while we wend our way down the path of semi-hibernation. Many of us hunker down for the remaining winter seasons and try to focus on making choices that serve our sense of self in a positive way. This dish was an easy and quick warming meal for a chilly winter’s evening that has a lot of flexibility in it’s preparation.
Easy Vegetable Teriyaki Stir Fry
As you can see I made this with noodles and I added shredded brussel sprouts. This dish could easily be served with some tofu or chicken to ‘bulk it up’ as it were. I found it super filling just the veggies but you do you loves.
That’s all I got for now folks, happy to be back in business with ye.