March, again
I can tell that nature is healing and Spring has sprung because there are people walking to the open house down the block from me, commenting “these must be the rentals” as I sit on my porch. Congrats on having eyeballs, hope you enjoy your three bedroom, 1.5 garage house, I guess.
In no way do I want to re-live Spring 2020, but in hindsight, I’m a little sad that I won’t be getting as much outside time this year. I just can’t go on three walks a day like I used to, I have to go into the office now.
The 2021 Five Things plan was that the second week of the month was going to be guest-writers, but I fully forgot to ask someone for March. So you’ll hear from me three times this month, or four times if you’re a “Friend of Five Things” and subscribe below. Lately I’ve been the queen of telling everyone “you should guest write sometime” but never actually putting a time in place, which in life is a pet peeve of mine. We’re rolling with the punches, and all know there are always more things.
This sentence now has links to the my instagram, my Outdoor Voices referral link (I always recommend the exercise dress), and old issues of the newsletter. If you want that end-of-the-month issue, click below.
Number One: Love and Lemons Vinaigrette
In general, Love and Lemons is a great cookbook if you’re trying to bring more plant-based recipes into your life.
I made the vinaigrette a couple weeks ago, and have only kept making it since. The ingredients are easy to keep on hand. It’s perfect as a marinade for chicken, or I think I’ve finally found the weekday salad I can make again and again.
Perfectly crunchy romaine
Last night’s left over Brussels sprouts
Pumpkin seeds
Craisins
A handful of this week’s chickpeas
Vinaigrette
Also life hack a la Chelly: if you’re tired of just trying to find the recipe on a page, go to justtherecipe.app and paste in the URL.
Number Two: Fix Your Period
A couple months back in her guest-write, Jackie recommended reading “Fix Your Period,” and said, “common does not equal normal.” And that really stuck with me, and ended up being the fuel behind my own reading of FYP. Which I started reading over two months ago, and have not shut up about since.
(Normally I’m all about men learning about “women’s issues,” but boys, feel free to skip this one. Or don’t, and it can be like the time one of my guy friends clicked the link to my recommended menstrual cup, and that’s when I decided to stop checking who clicked what link. It was weird for both of us.)
This book has rocked my world, and given me so much to ponder. A couple quick caveats:
There are parts of the book that seem a little ~woo woo~ and the author is not an MD, so I think there’s a place for a healthy level of skepticism for things like seed cycling (eating pumpkin, flax, sesame, and sunflower seeds in a rotation to support your cycle).
If you have a history of disordered eating, proceed with wisdom. There’s a middle section on diet changes to make, and it reads sort of like “if you eat a piece of cheese you absolutely messing with your progesterone, and you will never be able to get pregnant,” which is just anecdotally, and scientifically not true. What the author is getting at is that dairy may not be agreeing with your body, so try cutting it back, so again, grains of salt.
The book is pretty anti-hormonal birth control. Which is fine by me because I’ve never been on hormonal birth control, (and after reading this book will probably avoid it) so not my circus, not my clowns. But if that is your journey, just consider this a heads-up.
Ok so things I have raved about:
This book gave words to monthly experiences that I knew I was having, but also didn’t know, ya know? Like every four weeks my period showed up about when I expected it to, and then I know I ovulated sometime before the next one, and then I would have a week of being moody, but I didn’t know why or how. And now I do.
I pretty much took all of the diet suggestions and said, “will think about later,” but implemented the suggestions for exercise based on where hormone levels are naturally at. In general I made it my goal to keep cortisol (stress hormone) levels down in the week before my most recent period. And it was almost symptom-free. No cramping, just a minor headache and not the usual migraine, no major mood swings, normal hunger levels. It wasn’t like a trip to the spa, but it was so much better.
In general I just feel more in tune with my body and what it needs and why it needs it. I don’t feel like I’ve unlocked an inner-goddess or anything, just more connected.
This book has validated my passion for going to bed early.
I would say you could borrow my copy, but that list is getting long, so just order it yourself. Just read it, and then talk to me about your thoughts.
Number Three: Sports Corner
(this section is dedicated to Sam Huston who told me that he wishes there was a Five Things for men, so now he is going to guest write in the Fall, looking forward to it, Sam)
Right, now that we’ve got that out of the way.
This week I learned that Jimmy Butler had his own coffee shop in the NBA bubble and can make a macchiatto, tender. Brian Dozier learned Spanish so he could bond with his teammates (I am obsessed with the song Calma). And The Ringer served this fun piece about reading a room service menu like a pro.
I shared this piece about NBA players that don’t dunk in last week’s subscribers-only issue, but as someone who still can’t dunk, but has never tried, I thought it was worth sharing again.
Number Four: Mara Wilson on Britney Spears
I don’t have much to say about the #FreeBritney movement that hasn’t already been said, other than there’s just a lot we don’t know.
This piece from Mara Wilson (girl from Matilda, a movie I cannot watch because I’m afraid of the principal) was so thoughtful and insightful, and it really made me think about how we talk about women and especially young women in the public eye.
The saddest thing about Ms. Spears’s “breakdown” is that it never needed to happen. When she split with her husband, shaved her head and furiously attacked a paparazzi car with an umbrella, the Narrative was forced upon her, but the reality was she was a new mother dealing with major life changes. People need space, time and care to deal with those things. She had none of that.
Number Five: West Plaza Nails has $30 Pedicures
I know that not everyone who gets this newsletter lives in Kansas City, so I try to avoid the hyper-local. But I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you that you can get a perfectly fine pedicure for $30 at West Plaza Nails, which is different than Plaza Nails, it’s west of there, by that dentist office.
Bonus: Taking pictures to remind yourself how much you like your life
I used to regularly look through my camera roll on my phone and be like, “wow, I love my life,” because there were just pictures of all these little things. And then last Spring I stopped because everything stopped, and I stopped having pictures of all these little things. But I’ve started again. And here are some camera roll highlights from me, for me.
Currently reading : Milkman (a la the Bookshelf on Karnes) // Hot Springs // 2 Chronicles and 1 Corinthians