Captivations v69: Baking Bread

Captivations is a monthly feature with links, stories, and news that captivated me.

Hello!
Remember in my February captivations post when I talked about how crazy my month was? I wouldn’t have been able to predict that it could get crazier but it did. I hope wherever you’re reading this post, you and your family are well and safe. Our world has changed and it’s scary. I believe there are better days ahead. For now, all I can offer is this post with some interesting stories I’ve collected throughout the month.

Climate Change and Eating Habits
Does what we eat have anything to do with climate change? Yes. Meat and dairy from cows have the biggest impact. This huge article explains the impact in detail for you. This article will explain the difference between the terms used to describe how meat is raised.

Books Recommendations
If you have some extra time on your hands, maybe it’s time for a good read.

Novels about migration and immigrants
Need a confidence boost? Here are some recs
I’m currently reading Untamed by Glennon Doyle and Dear Girls by Ali Wong

No New Clothes
I’m buying no new clothes this year (second-hand if necessary) and after month three, I’m keeping strong! One way to decrease your buying: no impulse buys. Sleep on it and think about if you really need/want it. Here’s an article about sustainability in the fashion industry and the impact of fast fashion. One stat: wearing a piece of clothing nine months longer can diminish its environmental impact by 20-30%.

Save Restaurants
Hospitality is one of the industries that is being hit hard by what’s going on. Thousands are jobless. Many restaurants have pivoted to to-go orders just to break even and provide for their employees. Here are a few articles I thought were worth reading:

Furloughed – now what?
Many people in the hospitality industry have been furloughed. If you have, I’m sorry you’re going through it. Here’s a helpful article to explain what it means and what to do next.

Feelings
No matter what your employment situation right now, I’m sure you have a lot of feelings. (I shared mine in this post.) For now and to use in the future, this feelings wheel is a handy tool to be clearer about what you’re feeling.

Take Care of Your Mental Health
Because of all of these feelings, it’s important to not ignore them. They’ll continue to be something you need to address eventually. So, what do you do? Here are some articles I liked:

She Went Back to Church
This blog post was an interesting read and has similarities to my story. I’ve avoided talking about religion on my blog because I haven’t figured it out for myself and talking about religion frequently gets negative feedback. I also don’t talk about it because it’s an area I feel shame in – shame for being half-hearted when I was in it, shame for giving it up, and shame for feeling bitter about it. It’s complicated and a long conversation. Maybe I’ll share it one day.

Isolation Could Help Your Relationship
I found this article helpful. The anxiety of sickness and constant proximity of both people working at home can cause more stress at this time. When this first started, I wanted to wait to act (and ignore the issues?) and was annoyed by my husband’s processes that I thought were over-preparation. It was an opportunity for us to improve our communication and for me to try to understand his thinking. I wish you patience

Are you making bread?
The new trend in the U.S. is baking bread. Have you started? Local Austin bakery Easy Tiger shared that 935 people bought their sourdough starter in four days! I’m sure that number has increased now. For one, I got mine! It was partly low-key peer pressure (I have a few friends trying out sourdough) and partly curiosity in this project. I’ve never made sourdough before, so I’ll keep you updated! Have you been baking?

What’s got you captivated lately?

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