The Weekly Wrap: March 13, 2022

Awhile back, I listened to an NPR Life Kit podcast that said laziness is a sign that you need to slow down. As much as I love learning about life hacks, productivity trends, and organizational things, I've never bought into the whole hustle culture. I don't feel like I need to optimize every minute of my day.

The only reason I want to me more efficient with my time is so that I have more time to "be lazy." I fiercely guard my evenings and weekends. I try to cram all my work and life management into specific hours of the day so that I can focus on what I want the rest of time. That's not so I can do a side hustle or more work, it's so I can sit on the couch and binge watch TV while browsing the internet. 

To many, that's being lazy. To me, it's allowing myself time to breath. 

I am an ambivert. I love talking to people, seeing friends, and, honestly, performing in front of a crowd. But, when it comes to recovery, I want to be at home, in my jammies, not​ doing things. Our couch has a distinct depression where I sit every night. I can easily see how others would call that being lazy. Fine by me. My laziness lets me power up for tackling whatever it is I need to do the next day. 

How are you "lazy"?

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• Ukraine's libraries are doing what libraries do - even in a war. [NPR]
• The story of flour. [Eater]
• A cultural history of houseplants. [Culture Study]
• Uplifting Link: Encouragement from elementary school students. [NPR]
• Are we over the subscription model? [The Atlantic]
• When unsold books become decor. [WaPo - gift link]
• Why so many international students are studying in Ukraine. [BBC]
• The best time to add blueberries to your pancakes. [Lifehacker]
• When we build around roads. [The Deleted Scenes]

• You know what they say about assuming... [Hidden Brain]
• Save your mental bandwidth for the important decisions you need to make. [Life Kit]
• The history behind Ukraine. [Throughline]

• This live jelly cam is like a screen saver but better - no repeating patterns. Something about jellyfish is just so mesmerizing. [Monterey Bay Aquarium]
• Why are otters so damn cute? [The Dodo]
• I feel this parenting content to my bones. [@kaylareporting]
• We polished off the last four episodes of Narcos: Mexico. It was such a good show. Towards the end, there was one storyline that did not integrate as fully as the rest. It felt sort of odd and out of place, but it did add to the overall universe of the narrative. We are a bit bummed that this show's run is over and we're not going to get a complete look at El Chapo's story. [Netflix]

• The Husband visited the Girl Scout cookie tablet set up outside our preferred grocery store. I got to enjoy my favorites: thin mints and samoas. I keep the thin mints in the freezer. They just taste better that way. [Girl Scouts]
• For our meatless Monday, I made butter parmesan gnocchi with squash, corn, and tomatoes. It's essentially an excuse to eat gnocchi but with a pile of vegetables all around. I like this dish because the tomatoes breakdown and make a wonderful sauce to coat everything. Always double the garlic. [Two Peas & Their Pod]