5 things worth sharing this week:

• As someone who has struggled find time to consistently work on some hobbies/passions/ideas/etc., I happily stumbled upon (remember the Stumble Upon website? That was awesome) this video from Chris Piascik about his daily drawing challenge:

I’ve been drawing little pictures for our kids’ lunches on and off for the last few years. Usually on Fridays. This video has inspired me to not only try to keep it up for the rest of the year but to really lean into just doodling for the sake of it.

• I played some Star Wars Unlimited again this week with my buddy. We haven’t had a chance to play too much but when we do, it’s a lot of fun. In fact, it was the first time I’d tried my hand at any sort of actual deck building for any TCG. I threw together a deck based on something I found online using the cards I already have and we played a few rounds on Spelltable. Lots of fun.
• This week I’ve had more “off” days than “on”. I usually get pretty down on myself when I feel that way. However, I saw this thread about people who like to add “whimsy” to their lives and the various little things they do to add joy to their days. There are a lot of good ones in that post I linked. But a few of them all tend to have a theme of being more kind to yourself. Which leads me to…
• I saw a video earlier this week about effective habit tracking. There are millions of these videos and I have watched quite a few. Anyway, this one did have something I had not seen before and was a pretty simple practice. In it, the creator mentions a method of journaling called “As Many Wins as Possible” or AMWAP. He simply writes down all of the positive things that he did that day. I have been trying it myself and it’s really actually impressive to reflect on the good things you’ve done in a day versus the one or two less good things you’re holding on to.
• This reel: https://www.instagram.com/p/DF82OcMSHvr

Five things worth sharing this week (late)

• This song by Denison Witmer and Sufjan Stevens. Love the lyrics and the very Sufjan feel of it:

• This 52-week Home Checklist from @weeklyhomecheck on Instagram. I’m always trying to get into some sort of routine as far as taking care of house stuff goes and so far, I’m keeping up with this checklist in 2025. 🤞 I can keep it up the whole year.
• Grown-Up Swimming. This is what I’ve been wanting for so long: a way to still do some loose competitive swimming that isn’t tied to a Masters program or something with a huge commitment process (nothing against Masters!).
• I know this has made the rounds since the beginning of Feburary but I have to admit, it was helpful to read this and then listen to Ezra read on his podcast. It’s impossibly hard to feel okay with everything that’s going on right now. And that’s kind of the point. This helps frame a lot of the confusion into something more digestible. Don’t Believe Him.
• Finally, one of our awesome neighbors started a band a little while ago. They just had their record release show on Valentine’s Day. Some fun stuff on this album. Check out elegy by flowersatherfeet.

Five things worth sharing this week

• This album by Tom Misch is new to me. Love this track but have been working to this album all week:

• Was looking for a Lord of the Rings print for my office and came across this beautiful limited edition screen print by Killian Eng.

• This Camp Cope performance of “Maps” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs was shared by Blake Kasemeier and I think I’ve watched it 27 times:

• I’m excited to watch the Super Bowl this weekend with some friends. Now that the kids are older and more interested in things like live sports, it’s been fun to experience these kinds of things with them. Plus, our favorite bakery in town is doing Super Bowl snacks which include KC BBQ and Philly Cheesesteak Empanadas.
• Been trying to keep up with this One Line a Day journal this year. It’s been a goal of mine to be a little more consistent and this has made it really easy. I just jot down the answer to the question “what’s the best thing that happened today?“

Five things worth sharing this week

• This video from OK Go for “A Stone Only Rolls Downhill” has been a fave in the house lately. I love that they’re still putting out creative ideas like this.

• 7 Questions I Ask Myself – Austin Kleon shares the questions he asks himself when he’s not share what to do next.
• Finished reading The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise. Easy to read, great story, highly recommend. Can’t wait to read the sequel.
• I’ve been watching episodes of “Make Some Noise” that I had missed from this season. This one was so good.
• This clip of Jeff Goldblum on Colbert reciting “A Splendid Torch” by George Bernard Shaw. I’d never heard this beautiful poem before this week. I’d like to one day be able to pull this out as effortlessly as he does here.

Life is no ‘brief candle’ to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to the future generations.

Trying to get back into some sort of routine.

That feeling when everything just seems to be happening at exactly the right time, exactly the right pace. When each little piece of the day’s plan seems to unfold with relatively little issue. When everyone is smiling, happy, making memories together. That is one of my favorite feelings in the world.

We had a bunch of that today. Great weather, everyone was in relatively good moods (despite lack of sleep), and the first patio dinner of the season. It was a great day.

I’ve never heard the story of Everlong before. This stopped me in my tracks today.

Still reeling from the long sleep regression battle.

I’m learning to appreciate these sleepless days and nights a little more each day, knowing that they won’t always be an issue. Knowing that we won’t always be in the same house. Knowing that our kids won’t always need our help to get back to sleep. This pandemic has really shoved a spotlight on the beauty of appreciating time spent together in the house. As stir crazy as I’ve been, as completely drained of any actual, non-caffeine fueled energy, I’m learning to lean in and love the chaos.

Nothing worse. Delay in posting, exercising, generally having any routine at all is brought to you IN FULL by a sleep regression from kid #2. She’s been the best sleeper, we’ve truly been super lucky. I should’ve known the regression was going to hit harder than ever.

Life is good. The world is still a hellscape. I don’t know what I’m doing with this exercise but it feels good to come here and check the box every so often.

We’re rapidly approaching the official one-year anniversary of when our pandemic life started (3/13). At that time, we thought it would be for 2-4 weeks.

Fortunately, we were also gifted a Disney+ subscription at that time, which has now since become a literal day-saver on many occasions.

Of the many movies and shows that we’ve watched and re-watched with the kids, one has stood out to me as an instant all-time favorite: Bluey.

Every single episode is a wonderful little look inside the life of an Australian blue heeler family. Each one is filled with one small lesson in gratitude amongst the chaos, letting the kids live with less rules, and overall just having an amazing time with the ones you love most.

For me, it’s really struck a chord as I’ve adapted to our lockdown life. Every time I watch the show, I unashamedly shift my focus to be more like Bluey’s dad Bandit, and how he approaches life & parenting.

We got our kids a bunch of the Bluey toys for Christmas and I’ve since “borrowed” a Bandit figure for my desk. It serves as a little reminder to slow down, be present, and appreciate this amazing time I have with my goofy littles and amazing partner.

Trying out a new format for this week, inspired (as always) by Austin Kleon’s fantastic newsletter where he writes about 10 things he thinks are worth sharing.

1. This wonderful animated short, narrated by Patton Oswalt. I had not heard of “52” the whale before but now I’m fascinated by the story. Big fan of how the whale’s isolation turns into a super power for slowing down and being present.
2. I can’t remember a time where we’ve had as much snow as we’ve gotten over the last few weeks. If it weren’t for the below zero temperatures, we would have been out on Calvin & Hobbes expeditions every day.
3. Another D&D session this week. We returned to Barovia and played around with this new-to-us tool: Owlbear Rodeo. Despite a hiccup due to their servers being overwhelmed, it was an awesome virtual table-top and really enhanced the game for all of us. Highly recommended!
4. Signed up for a chess.com free trial (with their app). We’re almost done with the Queen’s Gambit and now I’m super interested in learning more about the game. I haven’t played in years but noodling around on the app (instead of doom-scrolling) has been pretty fun.
5. I set a goal to workout every day this month. So far, that’s held true. The Peloton app + bike has been one of the best things we’ve done during the pandemic.

Looking forward to the longer weekend. The last of the three Jimmy Eat World concert events is tonight, and they’re playing Clarity front-to-back. I was lucky enough to catch them at the Metro when they did that live a few years ago. Excited to check out the stream!