1.  I saw this tweet the other day and I’m kicking myself for not bookmarking it because seriously, I cannot remember the author. Stupid covid brain.

2.  It was something like Am I the only person who signs into zoom meetings while humming all I wanna do is zoom-zoom-zoom and a poom-poom. I felt that.

3.  I also sang it the rest of the day.

4.  Which brings up my personal zoom experience.

5.  Folks have been navigating ‘rona times through zoom. Work life, family dinners, dating, all online – it’s a tech eat tech world, baby.

6.  Somehow I’ve managed to sidestep this insanity which is how I found myself asking the newbiest newbie question on my second zoom meeting (yes, ever) last week.

7.  What, like knowing where to find its chat is instinctive? I don’t think so.

8.  But as they say there are no dumb questions, and my very kind friend didn’t even snicker when she told me how to open it.

9.  This week’s cooking brought a win (with a caveat) and a big time loss. Let’s start with the bad news, shall we?

10.  I’ve been looking for some lighter recipes so last night I tried making Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing. In my defense it sounds fantastic. It had all the food porn buzzwords – fresh, healthy, fun, and filling. Who won’t love that?

11.  Um, in my house? That would be everybody. One couldn’t tolerate the peanut butter taste, another apparently cannot stomach cabbage. The third took one look and wouldn’t even try it.

12.  I thought it was pretty good but there’s no way I’m putting that kind of time into a meal nobody else will eat. One and done, I guess.

13.  My recipe win was Divas’ Cowboy Butter Salmon minus one teensy note.

14.  First of all, if you like spicy then you’re gonna luuuuvvveee this dish. It’s tangy and garlicky and plain old delicious. I have no complaints with the taste. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

15.  At the risk of sounding like a beauty pageant judge, my problem was with presentation.

16.  You see, this seasoned butter – yummy though it may be – turns out a rather unpleasant color. I believe BrightSide’s dad once referred to this shade as cat sh*t brown. He’s not wrong.

17.  What does it matter, Laura? The food’s tasty, who cares what it looks like? Well, it seems I’ve bought into the idea that meals start with the eyes and that butter’s a hard stumbling block for me.

18.  I’m not giving up, though. I’ll search out some other cowboy butter recipes and tweak this winner.

19.  Down the Pioneer Woman recipe rabbit hole I go.

20.  I’m taking the news in small doses this week. It’s been a bit much.

21.  Oh, so there’s evidence of a militant group threatening another attack on the Capitol? Serious enough that the House cancelled session yesterday? Superb.

22.  And there’s zero GOP support for a bill that addresses “voter access, election integrity, election security, political spending, and ethics for the three branches of government”? That figures.

23.  Now Republican stall tactics have ground the Senate to a halt. Instead of holding productive discussion on the Covid-19 relief package millions of Americans need they’re just…stuck. UGH.

24.  Add in Texas’ governor being all COVID? DONE! TEXAS GONNA OPEN UP 100%. THROW OUT YOUR MASKS AND BELLY UP TO THE BAR, Y’ALL!

25.  And there’s some hint of a story about Meghan and Harry that I don’t have the heart to chase down because dammit, England, leave that wonderful couple alone!

26.  Plus Florida and their classist vaccine distribution. Bless it all, Florida, why are you sucking so bad?

27.  So yeah, I’m giving current events a wide berth. Blood pressure and all that jazz, you know.

28.  I’m coming up on a year since I’ve stopped coloring my hair and there’ve been some interesting developments.

29.  I’d actually entirely forgotten my true color. I knew it was brown but were we talking light brown? Auburn? Chestnut? No clue.

30.  I think I might like it. Maybe? Hard to say when the top half is natural/gray and the bottom is whatever festive shade I last dyed it.

31.  So the color may be like a strange ice cream cone swirl but the hair itself? Way healthier.

32.  It seems going 365 days without blowing out and trying to straighten my unruly, tending-toward-frizzy strands was a magic elixir.

33.  Add in the fact that I’ve learned how to do the whole air dry with the right products thing and it’s like having a new head of hair. With a heavy sprinkling of gray strands.

34.  Which makes me think of this.

35.  I’m DYING here. Her dad is every man out there trying to understand what the hell’s happening in their bathroom.

37.  Fair warning, though. TikTok is massive black hole that’ll suck you right in. Two hours later you’ll wonder what happened.

38.  Don’t ask how I know.

39.  So we’re in March which in North Carolina is the beginning of Head Fake Spring. It’s typically followed by Cold Snap Season, Weird Thunderstorms Weekend, Unseasonably Warm Block, One Last Winter Gasp, and Your Blooming Plants Probably Won’t Freeze Overnight Anymore.

40.  Guess I should take advantage of whatever chilly days I have left to enjoy our soup recipes. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Stay warm (or cool) out there.