The Weekly Wrap: February 18, 2024

This week's Wrap is short because, despite some life shenanigans putting speed bumps in the way, the husband and I are (finally!) on our annual friends' ski trip. We're enjoying lots of quality time, a hot tub, putting together a puzzle, and eating  great food with people we don't get to see often enough. (I am the strictly après ski type.)

What's one of your favorite friend traditions?

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• I have a folder in my work inbox for "happy emails." [Career Contessa]
• Coffee is a cup of happiness. [The Atlantic - gift link, reader submission]
• College level reading comprehension is crashing. [Slate]
• Reading tools meets stationery. Love. [BookRiot]

• An oral history of the 1900 Galveston hurricane. [The Kitchen Sisters Present]
• For love of White Castle. [99% Invisible]
• How to handle your childhood stuff. [Life Kit]
• Mental household labor? Women do most of it. [ParentData]

• Role Play is a sort of assassin, action, comedy, romance. Basically all the genres rolled into one. It's headlined by Kaley Cuoco and David Oyelowo in a non-drama role. It's fine - completely over the top in some areas but not to the point of absurdity. I think Oyelowo has some comedy chops I would like to see expanded in other movies. [Amazon Prime]
• Back in the day, I used to read the books in the Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp series as soon as they came out. These action/political drama books were filled with shades of gray and it was great. After 9/11, everything became very black and white, good and evil. I enjoyed them less so I stopped reading the series. Unfortunately, Flynn passed away. His estate, however, continues to publish the series with another author. I was not surprised when they turned a prequel book, American Assassin, into a movie. The movie was clearly set up to be a new Bond or Jack Ryan-type series but it doesn't work. It wanted to be better than it was, but it takes itself way to seriously and the CGI is awful. Also, Michael Keaton plays a mentor character and he is far from my idea of an action star. [Netflix]

• One quick meal I don't make nearly enough is skillet shrimp fajitas. It's a few minutes of chopping, cook time, and then assembly. Since the husband peeled the shrimp for me, I got this on our table in about 15 minutes. It helped that I skipped the individual spices and just used a mix we had in our pantry. Love a quick weeknight meal. [Taste & Tell]