Off To a Rough Start
“I’m off to a rough start,” said Handy Husband. It was Christmas Eve, and we were in the gym doing our arm workout. (Dedicated, I know.) After more than a year of lifting weights together, we have a routine. Handy Husband starts loading up the weights while I record what exercises we are going to do in our weightlifting journal. I typically call out, as a reminder, the weights that each of us is using for the first exercise. I’ll say something like “You’re doing 72.5, and I’m at 37.5 on each side.” We don’t go up in weights super frequently, so it’s not necessarily new information. Except, on this…
Why Reading Cursive Is a Helpful Skill For Owners of Old Houses
Here’s a truth bomb. It’s a shame cursive isn’t always taught in school these days because reading cursive is a helpful skill for owners of old houses to possess. Not only do we have to be able to fix all the quirky things and live in houses where nothing is square or level, but now we have to be able to read cursive too. No one told you you’d need to be a jack of all trades when they gave you that mortgage, did they? Why is reading cursive a helpful skill for owners of old houses? I’m so glad you asked. If you want to research the history of…
How To Fix Misshapen Ear Pads on Headphones
If the ear pads on your headphones are falling apart and misshapen, don’t throw those expensive headphones away. You can fix them! I first tried to reshape the old ear pads. Got them wet. Tried to reshape them. Coaxed them to cooperate. It worked better in theory than in practice. But I had to try. That’s when I discovered that for most major brands of headphones, you can find replacement ear pads online. The replacement ear pads should come with directions and replacing them isn’t hard. I’ll show you how it looks to replace the ear pads on these Bose headphones. It should be similar to yours. Step 1: Remove…
Podcasts Worth Your Time: Part 2
I’ve decided to start an infrequent series titled “Podcasts Worth Your Time.” It’s been exactly a year since I wrote the first blog post in this “new” series. Maybe this will be an annual thing. Instead of focusing on podcasts in general, I want to focus on the specific episodes that I can’t get out of my head. I listen to at least one podcast a day, sometimes more depending on what I’ve got going on. The episodes I’m sharing with you are the episodes that have been living rent-free in my noggin taking up all my ruminating space. These are the episodes that I discuss in excruciating detail with…
10 Podcasts Worth Your Time
I don’t watch much tv anymore. I can’t tell you the last movie I watched. However, I do listen to podcasts. Podcasts keep me company on walks or while I’m doing DIY projects. These are not the totality of the podcasts I listen to, but these are 10 podcasts worth your time as deemed by me, the captain of this blog. P.S. These podcasts are not listed in any particular order. I don’t want to play favorites! No Stupid Questions No Stupid Questions with Angela Duckworth and Stephen Dubner is a thoughtful, funny, research-based take on questions we all have. Some episodes I’ve listened to recently tackle these questions: Does…
5 Ways to Help Transition Kids to a New School
Need ideas on how to help transition kids to a new school? You’ve come to the right place. The start of a new school year is always full of promise. There’s always a chance that we’ll never be late for school. That no lunches will be forgotten. That no parent will lose their ever loving mind no one will get frustrated during homework time because that’s not how we did math. That all permission slips and forms will be turned in on time. That a pandemic won’t disrupt the school year over and over again. See? So. much. promise. I give us a week before one of those balls gets dropped. *sigh*…
What is the Best Sound in the World?
What is the best sound in the world to you? I have been thinking about this question lately. I’m curious to know what you think is the best sound in the world. If you had to pick only one sound, what would it be? Is it the sound of the waves crashing against the shore? Is it the sound of a cat purring? Is it the sound of your baby’s first cry after being brought into this world? Is it the sound of “I love you” coming from your partner’s lips? Is it the sound of rain coming down on your roof? Is it the sound of your name being…
Halcyon
Halcyon, when used as an adjective, denotes a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful. Isn’t that lovely? The word is pronounced hal-sē-en (hal-see-en). I ran across the word halcyon in two different books last week and did not know what the word meant when used as an adjective. When it is used as a noun it refers to a bird. One of the books was a children’s book, so that prompted me to pause and question the depth of my vocabulary. How many words DO I use in a day? Also, this is the second time I’ve read this particular children’s book out loud to…
Does Owning an Ant Farm Make Me a Farmer?
This is a legitimate question. Does owning an ant farm make me a farmer? Or just crazy because I have live ants in my house? Ants that I PAID MONEY to bring into my home and that I’m feeding and watering. You’re right. I drew the same conclusion. It definitely makes me a farmer. Glad we cleared that up. We recently took the kids to a place in New Jersey called Insectropolis. It is a self-described bugseum, which is a pretty great name. It was also a pretty great place to spend a couple of hours. We saw thousands of bugs and even touched a few live ones including a…
