I like to travel. Actually, what I like is being someplace new, exploring things, eating great good, seeing the sights - all that good stuff. I actually hate the travel leading up to being in a new place.
I've never been a big fan of flying but even driving has it's downsides... it's just so long. So, whenever we are travelling, I always get stressed out and anxious. I'm worried that I'm going to forget something, that I'm packing too much, that something will go wrong en route... like that one time we ended up in Iceland for a night... unplanned.
Now that we have a kiddo, all those worries are compounded. As long as I'm doing something, I'm usually able to push my anxiety to a back burner. But I can really be a hot mess if I'm just sitting or even get a whiff that something may be remotely amiss. (My husband is a very patient human and I love him.)
Planning to get out of town this weekend - even though it was only 3ish hours away - had me on the verge of a panic attack for a week. Now that we're here, it's fine. Too bad we leave to go home early tomorrow morning...
Please tell me I'm not the only one.
Our kiddo is in full toddlerhood now. That means I need more patience and to understand how her brain works. I grabbed The Montessori Toddler: A Parent's Guide to Raising a Curious and Responsible Human Being by Simone Davies off our bookcase. I bought this about a year ago and finally decided it was the right time to start reading it.
This book, so far, has done a great job of sharing why toddlers act the way they do and how to capture their innate curiosity and desire to help. It's also just a really pretty book. Lots of white space, beautiful illustrations, and lovely layout. It's designed more like a handbook that you can pick and choose to read as you wish.
Goodbye, Internet Explorer. [NPR]
There are so many ways to cook a hot dog. Which one do you think is the best? [Food52]
The cactus black market. [NYT]
Can we just not with dress codes anymore. [All In Her Head]
The best weekday to use for a mental health day. [HuffPost]
Cicadas for the Smithsonian. [WaPo]
The world's rarest pasta. [Atlas Obscura]
What's going on with the NRA? [The Daily]
First amendment cases are getting really complicated. [The Daily]
Space -of the outer kind - on the sea floor. [Short Wave]
Looking at police and policing. [Ear Hustle]
The history and science of food in flight. [Gastropod]
As the pandemic eases, dog walkers and pet sitters are excited to get back to work. [The Indicator]
I fill out a lot of captchas a day. This video explains why they're getting harder. [Vox]
We watched the last two episodes of Away. I am bummed that this show is not getting a second season. Yes, it ends in a place that makes it feel complete, but there are so many open storylines they could explore. Can you reboot a show that's only been off the air for less than a year? [Netflix]
We had a loaf of frozen garlic bread I wanted to use up, so I decided to try Budget Bytes' pesto chicken and vegetables. It was fine. Not sure if our meh attitude is for the meal (could have used more - or better - pesto) or the fact that our kiddo was doing the toddler thing all the way up to dinner time.
I tossed together another Budget Bytes recipe, ground turkey stir fry, with some cauliflower rice. This one is quick and tasty.
I used to be a preservation librarian. While it was not my favorite library role, I learned a lot. One thing I discovered was about this awesome dew point calculator. We are constantly monitoring our condo’s humidity level since our older building has had issues with mold in the past. This tool lets you put in known values to see how many days your space is to mold risk.
I need to start working on my summer projects and I have no idea which one to start with.