It’s hard to believe this will be my last roundup of 2023. This year was both incredibly short and incredibly long, meaning it went by in the blink of an eye but was very emotionally draining. I always look forward to a new year. Yes, it’s an arbitrary date and we can “start fresh” at any time, but there is something liberating about leaving behind one calendar and moving onto another. I hope this year ahead is wonderful for you.
Quote of the week:
“The real voyage of discovery consists, not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” –Marcel Proust (I thought this was a good one for a new year. We may not change location or circumstances, but we can see things differently)
What I’m reading:
I’m about halfway through The Great Transition by Nick Fuller Googins and really enjoying it.
What I’m listening to:
Autonomy-Supportive Parenting: Reduce Parental Burnout and Raise Competent, Confident Children by Emily Edlynn. No, it is not a coincidence that I started reading this over my daughter’s winter break, when she summons me once every 1.5 minutes. Writing this blog post in her presence has been…challenging. Please excuse any typos.
What I’m watching:
I went to the theater for the first time in a hot minute to see Poor Things. I’m so glad I saw it in the theater vs streaming at home. The cinematography is amazing. It is a wildly bizarre movie, but I also found myself so engaged in it. Emma Stone deserves an Oscar for this one.
At home, I’ve been watching The Resort on Peacock, which is also bizarre but entertaining.
Interesting things I learned this week:
- The influencer/social media content creator economy is now valued at $250 billion. However, in a recent survey, only 12% of full-time creators said they made more than $50,000 a year
- Scientists have pinpointed the cause of severe morning sickness, saying it’s a single hormone (GDF15) that’s to blame. It’s about time they discovered this. Women’s health research is woefully underfunded
- In a survey of 800 employers, 45% said they would no longer make a bachelor’s degree mandatory for some positions
- 1 in about 700 people are born with 6 fingers, a condition called polydactyly. Most people have the extra finger removed when they are babies, which is why most of us have never met someone with 6 fingers
- Women couldn’t work outside the home without permission of a husband until 1957
- TV dads are appearing in key parenting scenes less and less often according to a 2020 study that analyzed scenes of TV dads from 1980 to 2017
- 51% of Americans believe children are better off with mothers who stay home and don’t work, while only 8% say the same of fathers
- Biden has a 39% approval rating–the worst approval rating of any modern day president seeking reelection
- Gluggaveður is an Icelandic term which means ‘window-weather’. It’s the kind of weather that is nice to look at through the window but not nice to be out in
- Gökotta is a Swedish concept that involves waking up early to experience the stillness of the morning and appreciate the beauty of nature, particularly birdsong
Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“Why is Alexa called Alexa.” I got my daughter an Echo Dot for Christmas so she can summon Alexa instead of me to answer questions. Her favorite thing is to tell Alexa “I love you,” which leads to Alexa singing a very adorable song in response. Anyway, the answer to my query: “Amazon developers chose the name Alexa because it has a hard consonant with the X, which helps it be recognized with higher precision.”
What I’m grateful for:
- A very merry and mellow Christmas. My core family is all nearby so there was no stressful travel involved. I made cinnamon rolls from scratch, which was a highlight for me, and I also gifted myself a Little Free Library for the front of my house!
- Lots of fun activities with my daughter while she’s out of school and I’m off work
- Staying healthy, despite all the bugs going around. Knock on wood…
Snapshots:
