1.  I’m feeling a bit peckish so let’s kick things off with some stuff I don’t care about.

2.  Women who don’t like my gray growing in. B****, please, did I ask? If you don’t have anything nice to say…

3.  Hockey. It’s nothing personal, it just ranks less than zero on my ability-to-fake-interest sports list.

4.  Edging the sidewalk. Sorry, BrightSide, it’s the truth. But the yard looks really nice when you do it.

5.  Your objections to wearing a mask.

6.  Any Senate republican prattling on about unity/togetherness/divisiveness/the deficit. This is a pseudo family friendly blog so I’ll leave it at that.

7.  Since I’m not a Grinch here’s some stuff I do care about.

8.  Legislators legislating. Democrats hold a majority in the Senate. I need them to start acting like it.

9.  Improving every single thing about this vaccine rollout.

10.  The fact that we’ve finally found a low-stress system where somebody other than me cleans up after dinner.

11.  Bridgerton. Yeah, I watched it, and it’s the fluff entertainment you expect in Shondaland.

12.  That every single person involved in instigating, planning, financing, and attacking the Capitol is held accountable. Full stop.

13.  I found this great recipe a few weeks ago but had to hold off on sharing it because my first go ’round was a little meh. I knew deep in my heart of hearts it was worth a second try, though. I was right.

14.  I love love LOVE One Pot Chicken and Rice. It’s a wholesome, hearty meal that’s simple to make and won’t break the bank.

15.  Learn from my mistake, though. When she says the rice matters, the rice really matters. I made my first batch with Uncle Ben’s converted rice (AKA “real” rice since it takes longer than five minutes to cook) and it was a fail. I don’t know what “parboiled” means but it’s a hard no in this recipe.

16.  On my second try I used jasmine rice and it was fan-freaking-tastic. Directions. They’re there for a reason.

17.  I also tried out this Slow Cooker Sweet-and-Sour Chicken this week and that was pretty yummy too.

18.  Full disclosure: one of my lil bits was disappointed because Chinese takeout has breaded chicken in it. This version’s healthier but still tasty.

19.  Because covid times are delightful wouldn’t you know the supermarket was out of the only sauce I needed. Teriyaki, Oyster, Soy, Stir Fry – all there. No Sweet and Sour.

20.  God bless google. I subbed in this homemade sauce and it worked just fine.

21.  I was scrolling Instagram this week and noticed an increase in makeup and hair color ads.

22.  At first I didn’t get it. It’s not like we’re all out hitting the town, who’s still getting dolled up? Then I realized if my job involved zoom meetings every day I’d probably be wearing makeup too.

23.  My family looks at my sleep deprived mug when we catch up over video chat. They’d probably appreciate a bit of concealer and foundation now and then.

24.  Crap. I just realized by the time I start wearing full makeup again everything I have will be expired.

25.  Laugh if you want but replacing the whole kit and caboodle is no joke.

26.  I suppose I could just replace the eye and brow makeup for now. That’s the only stuff showing over a mask anyway.

27.  If I’m brutally honest people at the grocery store would probably appreciate me at least trying to look less zombie-like.

28.  No guarantees but it’s worth a shot.

29.  What else, what else…the fur babies are doing okay. Seven’s got an appointment next week for The Big Snip so he’ll take your thoughts and prayers now.

30.  Phoebe seems to have adjusted to her meds. Truth be told she’s pretty happy to get a cheese treat morning and night so as far as she’s concerned life got better.

31.  She needs extra love these days. She snuggles harder at night and asks for lap time during the day and my answer is always yes. I used to think I was too busy but now I’ll take as many snuggles as I can get.

32.  Dogs, man. They steal your heart and leave way too soon.

33.  Okay, this turned dark, let’s flip it around.

34.  I’ve started using the Sleep app on my watch. Nothing tells you how much you suck at self care like a sleep tracking app.

35.  I have good intentions. I know I need eight hours of sleep to feel decent. There’s plenty of anecdotal proof for that.

36.  But night after night I’m in the family room, trying to wrap up the blog with no hope of getting into bed in time.

37.  I’m starting to think I need a more aggressive sleep app. This one gives me a nice gentle bloop with a “your bedtime is at 11:30” reminder.

38.  Do they make one that goes BLOOP as it injects you with sleeping potion? Because that’s the one I need. Either that or a giant squirrel can run through the house and bop me over the head with a huge gavel.

39.  You can tell it’s getting late when Looney Tunes scenarios start running through my head.

40.  Happy Friday, everyone. Here’s hoping your weekend is relaxing, your health is good, and your sleep habits are solid.