Captivations is a monthly feature with links, stories, and news that captivated me. It’s also a monthly update/recap of what’s going on in my world.
February
This month was fast and furious! My month included hosting friends for a Lunar New Year Dinner Potluck, watching a lot of Olympics coverage, running my 10th half marathon, and going on a ski trip. It was a blink, so I’m holding on and doing more to remember it, like making notes and journaling. Spring is coming and I’m ready!
Skiing
About that ski trip, I shared our trip to Alta and Salt Lake City, Utah in this post. I had never been to Utah (crossed it off the life list!), but I know I’ll be back one day because there are several national parks I want to visit. Read about the five here.
Micro Habits
This list of micro habits is great! I do some of these things but mastering all of them would make my life better.
Yes to Slow
What if you slowed down? I’ve been savoring slowness for a few years now. I think the pandemic had something to do with it, which was perfect because I had been feeling behind (and burnt out) for a while. Many of us hustle constantly because we have kids, goals, responsibilities, and/or dreams. But this post reminded me that slow is ok and maybe we just need to change our thinking around what “slow” means.
Novels to Read
I’ve read one out of this list of five books – The Death of Vivek Oji – and have heard Mexican Gothic is a good one.
Listening Skills
How well do you listen? I could use some improvement. These six practices from Esther Perel are good for relationships.
Death Rate
Here’s an article about the COVID death rate that is terribly depressing. We, the U.S., have hit the 1 million death count from COVID. There is no shortage of news articles about this. I’m not sure what the “correct” way to move forward is and I recognize that I am privileged to be able to say that. For some, those who have lost loved ones and/or those who suffer from chronic diseases, the way forward is monumental.
One line from the article stuck out to me: “Older, sicker, poorer, Blacker or browner, the people killed by COVID were treated as marginally in death as they were in life.”
The way forward is monumental because shifting to a better healthcare system and a society that also supports those who are not white and wealthy are not quick fixes.
Why Declutter
I’m sure you’ll find one reason in this list to encourage you to declutter. For me, the big ones are being able to find what I’m looking for and seeing clutter is stressful.
Wedding Regrets
I’m not losing sleep over these things, but if I could go back and change some things, these are a few I would have done.
- I wish we had done the tradition of visiting every table during the reception. The time went by so fast, and while I saw a lot of people from a distance, I missed talking to everyone who came to our wedding.
- I wish I had saved and preserved my bouquet. I LOVED my bouquet and our flowers. I think I had told my planner people could take home the centerpieces so I think my bouquet went home with someone.
Random Awesomeness
This website called Sharkle leads you to different digital design websites. It’s hard to explain so check it out!
Music History
One of the cool websites I found through Sharkle was this one about how music tastes evolved. It plays the top songs of the Billboard 100 from 1958 to 2015 and the song changes as the top song changes.
Spiral
This is a good visual and practice about spiraling out. For me, there are definitely things that build on each other to put me in a bad mood or get me stressed.
5 Things I Love Lately
- Austin Food Blogger Alliance’s 2022 City Guide is live!
- Worldle – Like Wordle but geography. We’ve also been studying geography and it’s been a fun hobby.
- Mushrooms – Not the magic kind. I just love eating mushrooms! We had this incredible mushrooms in sauce dish at a restaurant in Salt Lake City and I wish I had more.
- The Octonation Instagram account – so many cool octopus videos
- Trip planning
What have you been captivated by recently?
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