Thursday Thoughts - things I want you to know this week

1. It's my Friday and I know, it's obnoxious to gloat that it's your Friday when it is not most of the world's Friday. So I say join me...take tomorrow off. The weather is supposed to be June-ish here and not April-ish like it was earlier this week. As you may have guessed, I'll be at the shore. This time it's with my girlfriends of over 25 years celebrating our collective 40ths. They're actually not my friends at this point and they haven't been in a long time. They're my framily. I will be pushing them to take 4792084 group photos because it's rare that we're all in the same place at the same time. There are a lot of years and miles between us.

2. Friends - I am hosting a KEEP Collective fundraiser for 350.org - an organization working in more than 180 countries to keep carbon in the ground, help build a low-carbon economy, and pressuring the government to limit emissions. If you'd like the link to peruse with no pressure to buy, it's in the comments below. If you'd like to be added to the FB group, please let me know. This photo is some of my favorite keep stuff - bracelets and charms shown here, interchangeable and you can essentially wear something new daily. They also have necklaces and keychains. 50% of commissions will be donated to 350.org. If you'd like to peruse, click here to shop my link.  A few of my personal totems from Keep: 

3. In other environmental news, I've weaned myself totally from plastic straws even with takeout iced coffee. I also bring a reusable cup and attempt to have it filled. Most places will fill it. It's such a habit to grab a straw, so it's taken me a while. 

4. The making and freezing of things continues. This week it was pork fried rice. I made extra rice so I could freeze some of that too. Take that, steam fresh bags of rice. 

5. For the second week in a row I'm stuck on male rompers and covfefe. I'm still laughing about these things.

6. Fake News hysteria must go. I'm resigned to completely cut people out of my life who think the New York Times and the Washington Post and anything that doesn't have a named source is fake news. Like, are you familiar with the free press and its function, and journalistic integrity and protecting sources? Do you know that Watergate was broken with an unnamed source? NYT and WaPo are solid sources of news. Learn the difference. Maybe also learn the difference between editorial pieces and reporting. Editorial pieces are like this blog here - my opinion backed up with whatever facts I want to give you. By all means, share that, but know that that's what it is at the end of the day. Maybe be a critical thinker and examine the sources you read and share - both liberal and conservative outlets participate in fake news/clickbait headlines and both liberal and conservative people share that shit out in the world because it plays into their confirmation bias. Also, maybe READ the article or piece before you share it - don't just share shit because you like the headline. It's ignorant regardless of how you vote. Get your shit together.

7. Comey testifies today. A primer on Obstruction of Justice.

8. I forgot that I had Mae scoping out the bay last Sunday. She was like the Queen of Sheba up there. She loves being elevated in any way so she can see it all. She's nosy AF and it makes me laugh. I want to film her at the shore and show it to you. She's insane.

9. Tuesday is Show Us Your Books with me & Jana!

10. This made me laugh as it is straight up truth for at least half of the people who rent from us at the shore - our apartment is on the ground floor, so we hear the cement shoes all the live long day.

11. E-card of the week. This is so me in all disputes: I always go right to setting shit on fire. Hide yo' belongings. Hide yo' matches.

What do you want me to know this week? 

Sloppy Joe. Slop sloppy Joe.

Alternate title: when you want a manwich but aren't down with a canwich. 

Ingredients

1/2 red onion, diced

1 medium yellow bell pepper, diced

1 medium orange bell pepper, diced

1 lb ground chicken

1 lb ground beef

1.5 cups ketchup

2 TBS brown sugar

1 TBS chili powder

1 TBS ground mustard

1 TBS garlic powder

1 tsp garlic salt

1 TBS Worcestershire sauce (more to taste)

1/2 Cup water

Hot sauce (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Brown beef and chicken over medium high heat, drain off fat. Drop in onion and pepper. I sometimes do this in the reverse - saute onion and pepper then cook the meat - it depends on if I want my veggies soft or deeper in flavor. If you do saute, add a little butter or olive oil first. 

Add ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire, all spices, and water. Stir to combine. 

Simmer for 20 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste and adjusting spices to your taste. If you want, add a dash of hot sauce. 

Serve on a nice roll or by itself next to a salad or over rice. I kept some out for dinner and froze two portioned out for two for future use. 

10 Books I've Torn Through This Year

My friend Heather shared Unputdownable: 17 Books I read in 24 hours or less by Modern Mrs. Darcy the other day, and I immediately wanted to do my own.

Given the types of books I gravitate to, more than a few on my list are mystery/thrillers. Given the time of year, any of these would be well devoured under the shade of a beach umbrella.

You should know that the books I tear through are not always the same as the books I love the best. Sometimes I really hate an element of a book but am driven to find something out I want to know.

In no particular order, books I couldn't put down in 2017 - they are linked to Goodreads and you can find a synopsis there to see if they might fit on your summer reading list.

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh - Twisty and glorious...the twist that made me think I missed something because I was so utterly convinced it was going another way. I like being right, I mean don't we all? But when I'm reading I actually enjoy the reading experience more if I'm wrong. I do not read any book thinking I know more than the author or am better than the author. I read as if it's the author's job to tell me their story in whatever way they choose to. Because it is.

Duplicity by Ingrid Thoft - This is the fourth in the Fina Ludlow series - a kickass private investigator with a bunch of jablonies for a family. I am a huge Fina fan and I always devour a novel in this series as soon as it comes out.

Girls in the Moon by Janet McNally - Lyrical, enchanting, complicated, coming of age.

Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain - Very well paced for a book not set up as a mystery/thriller. This tugged at my heart something terrible.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid - I loved this from start to finish. I was surprised at how deep it was, and how much I wanted Evelyn Hugo as a friend despite her deep flaws.

No Coming Back by Keith Houghton - I don't even know how I heard about this, but I read it in 24 hours. Small town, mean hearts, tiny minds...my kind of read.

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins - Paula's follow up to the runaway Girl on the Train did not disappoint. In fact, I liked it more than GOTT.

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti - It's hard to describe this book. So you should read it and let's talk about it.

Among the Wicked (Kate Burkholder #8) by Linda Castillo - You should start with the first book, if you are like me and will obsess over beginning in the middle of a series...but that's how good this book was. I couldn't put it down and go back to #1 and get around to it.

The Girl Before by JP Delaney - I read this last week in 24 hours. I'm not sure if I liked it or hated it. That's actually a plus for me...it means I'm still thinking about it days later. When you read as much as I do, that is definitely not always the case.

Show Us Your Books a week from today. Tell me - what books would make this list for you?

TWTW - the first one in June

Did you ever almost not get up for something, then get up and think well shit I'm glad I woke up for this? That was Saturday's sunrise.

It got overcast pretty quick, but that didn't stop me, Stephen, Aubrey, and Lola Jean from hitting the beach and taking a walk on the boardwalk where we saw these disgusting candies. LOL and also WTF is wrong with people? White board message left over from last week's renters. Two thumbs up.

The afternoon turned beautiful and while everyone napped, MFD and I hit the beach. I finished a book and was happy to see someone else notices errors. Back to the house for a quick fun plate and to see Stephen, Aub, and Lola off for the afternoon.

I accompanied MFD to Corsons Inlet so he could fish, and as usual he wanted to stay 1.5 hours longer than I did. It was a beautiful evening, so we stayed. I hunted for rocks and read a lot when I wasn't getting eaten alive by flies or feeling the reflection of the sun burn my retinas. We got some late night eats after affixing new lights to our bikes. Or as Stephen calls them, nerd lights.

Sunday was my brother's birthday. MFD headed home early and we went to Sunrise for breakfast before heading to the beach. Mom and Rich came down for the day and met us there. The weather was picture perfect and I'm pretty sure my niece is a mermaid. 

While Stephen, Aub, and Lola were napping, Rich went for a long bike ride and my Mom and I walked all over creation with library book pickup and candy in mind. We stopped for lunch at Bennie's too. I'm pretty sure my body is made up entirely of pizza after this weekend. We rounded out the afternoon on the porch with the dogs where I finally painted my ratchet nails. They were chipped all day Saturday, I don't even know who I am anymore. This is OPI This Color's Making Waves.

Rich took us to dinner at OPA for delicious greek food. I also finally tried Peace of Pie ice cream and it was worth the wait. We watched Lola go on some rides and that was great fun. She loved it! I had to take a walk through Wonderland to see rides I used to love too like Musik Express. They couldn't just spell it Music? I also saw those rats of the sea attack someone and take their ice cream cone. I've not seen them take ice cream cones before. Being a cone eater, it was terrifying.

Weekly food prep: breakfast is hard boiled eggs and power breakfast muffins; lunches are baked chicken thighs over steamed cauliflower; snacks are grapes and cucumbers (Lola's play fruit as stand in) dinner is homemade sloppy Joes (recipe coming Wednesday) with side salad. 

It was awesome to spend my brother's birthday with him and his family at the shore with Mom and Rich as a bonus. I'm glad MFD got down this weekend too...we're working towards him being able to come down one day a weekend! 

Happy happy birthday to my friend of over 20 years and Show Us Your Books co-host Jana. We will celebrate in August!

And happy happy birthday to my BFF also of almost 25 years Kim. 40th celebration with my junior high/high school ladies this weekend. I can't wait.

Linking up with Biana at B Loved Boston for Weekending

Thursday Thoughts - hey shorty, it's a short week

Currently...

Reading Every fucking thing. I just started The Girl Before last night and it's my sixth book in the last week. I had to walk to the library in the rain for that one, but the city still looks good in the rain. I was wearing inappropriate shoes and got two awful pinky blisters just in time for flip flop season.

Watching literally not a damn thing. I don't know the last time I sat down with intent to watch TV, probably when Bosch came back. That reminds me, I need to finish that season. And I'm pumped Broadchurch is coming back too.

Cooking anything that will freeze well. What's your favorite meal to make and freeze?

Considering covfefe a gift for all the bullshit.

Unsure how people do not understand that America First is, in reality, America Only. And America Only, isolated in this global society and economy, is not a desirable place to be. America will be left behind and you won't like that either. Pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement...so just us, Nicaragua, and Syria would not be members. Nicaragua because they don't believe the PCA is strong enough against climate change, and Syria because Syria is the last place on earth anyone wants to be and they have other issues. And the US because we are, what? Willfully ignorant? Greedy? Why would you leave this commitment to a cleaner environment behind? Borders don't mean shit to the Gulf Stream, the ocean currents and temperatures, and the air. It is one thing to attempt to carry out your agenda domestically and another thing entirely to roll back environmental protections that impact the entire WORLD in the interest of big business and money in your own pockets. Greed is immoral, as is what this administration is okay with doing to this planet. Pulling out would put the health of every single one of us in jeopardy. I hope getting trump in office was worth it.

Loving LipSense. If you need a dealer I can hook you up. It's literally the only long wearing lipwear product I have ever loved.

Feeling behind.

Welcoming one of my longtime loves KVSR to the 40 club today. Celebrating together next weekend.

Disgusted with Kathy Griffin. Her donald trump gruesome decapitation stunt was a fucking disgrace. See how that works, everyone? I physically recoil when I hear or see trump and hate him with every fiber of my being but I can stand up and say hey - that ain't right when it's not right. That was not right. And if you think that wasn't right and you are calling for trump haters to stand up and say it wasn't right, I hope you vocalized how not right it was when they burned Obama in effigy or hung his likeness from a noose or you're a hypocrite and I have no time for you.

Staring at my dogs. Always. How can you not? Geege has taken to relaxing like an old man.

Admiring people who stand up for others regardless of the danger. Ricky John Best and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, a nation weeps for you. Well, those of us in our right minds in this nation, at least. If you have to go, doing something right is not a bad circumstance to go in.

Getting pretty fucking sick of fragile white men. Guess what? The world has been your fucking oyster since humans first stood upright and spoke and collectively as a race and gender you've been kicking other people down so you remain top dog. Don't give me your whiny bullshit as traditionally marginalized groups step up to take their place at the line more and more. And don't say you're "pro-feminism" to cover up a bullshit move. Go lick your wounded masculinity in a corner somewhere with other whiny baby men and for God's sake don't be proud of your idiocy, especially when all it does is show the extra bullshit females put up with. File under: nevertheless, she persisted.

Source

Running to Sephora for dry shampoo and Old Navy to return some stuff at lunch today. Did you think this was going to be like an actual running update? 

That'll do it. What's new with you?


Linking up with Kristen & Gretch