Random for Thursday <3

Happy Thursday!

Sending out some randoms and then headed into a full day of activities. 

Random #1

I love seeing all the photos of sour dough bread. It’s a big deal now, you know. People are creating absolute works of art and the photos make me smile. 

But I don’t have bread envy. 

I make sour dough, every week. We love it and eat it toasted or warmed in the microwave almost daily. 

However; there are no carvings done in the bread we consume. I don’t even knead it (though we would both agree, we do “need” it). The birth mother of our batch and my sour dough mentor, Rachel, has made my life so much easier. 

She told me to just let that puppy rise, stir it around the sides with flour until it kind of forms enough of a ball. From there I dump it in the floured parchment paper, bake it 45 minutes at 450, take off the lid and bake another 7 and voila. 

It won’t win a prize at the Sate Fair, but it is deeee-licious. 

Random #2

I am going through wardrobe shock. Again. 

It happens every year when the temps begin to climb. 

I am not a shorts person and dread trying to figure out how to dress comfortably for the warmer days without having to expose these whiter than white legs that now sport quite an assortment of veins, splotches, bruises from minor encounters with furniture and other interesting designs that are added each year. 

People say they don’t care what their legs look. 

While I don’t care what YOUR legs look like, I am still somewhat shocked when I look down at mine. Dresses and skorts are amazing, but they can only take you so far when you are headed to Pilates, bike riding or a walk around the circle. 

Thus I have to say that shorts weather will never be as fun as sweater weather when it comes to dressing. And if the Saturday Night live skit is now playing on repeat in your head for “Sweater Weather”, you are welcome. 

Random #3

Speaking of fashion….I saw a post on Instagram this week and I am embarrassed for the amount of time I have dwelt on the topic. 

The account that posted is one I follow for fashion. She proposed that neutrals are the only way to go with dressing in a classic and ageless way. Then she created a forum for “Team Neutral” and “Team Floral.” 

From there the comments have been flying left and right. 

I have so many thoughts. 

First off, again…embarrassed to admit the band width I have given this…I have a zillion thoughts about telling people what to wear and what is classic and what dates a person. I also have a passion for florals, good ones…and I can’t help myself.

But from there, I am deeply aware that “influencers” use these kinds of tactics to get a lot of people to comment because this drives up their views for the weird internet game that helps get your material out in front of the public. 

I feel manipulated when this happens. 

As a writer who uses the internet to get my words to those who might want to read them, I understand. But it is a game I refuse to play. 

I use the prayer method. I pray that whoever needs to see what I have written on a given day will see it. 

It’s a lot less stressful. 

Random #4

Another internet thing that has me concerned is the AI growth. 

The other day our son told us to name several very unrelated things and then he used AI to create what looked like a photograph of this. It was eerie and uncanny. 

I also know that you can slice out the faces and bodies of people and set them into another scene and it looks very real. 

Every time I post on my site, I am offered the opportunity to just plug in the details and have AI write my material. 

Be very careful what you read and view. 

Information can be created and manipulated. 

Please, please stay original in an AI world 

Random #5

The other night I took Joel and Caroline to get something to eat after their baseball practice. 

As you can see, we hit up two establishments to meet their culinary preferences. According to Caroline, Culvers makes the best grilled cheese ever. She waxed poetic as she told me all the aspects of it that make it so appealing. 

If you are familiar with the Culvers’ kids meal, you know that they have jokes printed on the bag. These jokes are the same every. single. time. Like her brothers before her, Caroline still Ikes to read them to us and we are not expected to guess the correct answer. 

However, I have been party to some fierce emotions when the two oldest brothers persist in answering with the punchline before she can even finish the delivery. 

So as we were driving and they were sharing their regular vs. waffle fries and such, I heard Joel ask Caroline if there were any jokes on her bag to tell him. 

I held my breath. Could that little Achilles heel of mine be baiting his sister?

But no, she innocently read the first joke and after a well-timed pause, Joel gave up. 

She happily gave the answer and moved on. 

For the next joke, he made a good but inaccurate guess. 

For the third joke, he left room to mull it over and then guessed correctly. Brilliant stroke on his part, as it legitimized the whole routine. 

Finally he made an educated, but wrong, guess for the last joke and she finished her stand up session in triumph. 

I want to be like Joel when I grow up. He reminds me of the man I married. Kind and gracious and patient beyond measure. 

It’s lovely when genetics play nice. 

Have a great day <3