The Weekly Wrap: October 15, 2023

I think joy snacking is a lovely concept. It's essentially putting small nuggets of happiness in your day to bring more joy to your life. You don't have to do anything huge. It can be an actual snack, listening to a song, watching a short video, looking at flowers - whatever brings you a brief moment of joy.

I was reminded of this while reading one of my many Washington Post newsletters. This newsletter now ends each issue with the contributors listing one of their recent joy snacks. It was a lovely little bit of happiness in a week of heavy news.

Joy snacking is something I do without thinking about it. I nibble on two pieces of chocolate after lunch in the office. I rock out to the theme song of Dungeons & Daddies every time it comes on. I take a deep inhale when we first light one of our scented candles. I hold my coffee mug with two hands to let the heat warm up my fingers. I go through the photos on my phone at the end of the day. None of these things takes more than five minutes, but those are five minutes of pure joy.

I think I'm going to find a few more intentional ways to add joy snacks to my life. It would be a fun way to end work projects or chores. A list of joy snacks would make for the perfect collection to add to my bullet journal. Making those pages would be a joy snack themselves!

What are your joy snacks?

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• Have you asked about your family history? [The Atlantic - gift link]
• A lovely way to climb out of a rut. [enJOY]
• Do we really need to make our lives even faster? [Altered States of Monetary Consciousness]
• The beauty inside American factories. [CNN]
• Have you tried career mapping? [Career Contessa]
• Some tips on applying to grad school. [itsafronomics]

• We could learn a lot about renewable power from Uruguay. [Short Wave]
• I need a cake doughnut now. [Gastropod]
• Putting Elvis on a stamp was quite controversial. [99% Invisible]
• Recovery is about energy management. [Life Kit]
• *echoey voice* Microbes.... in... Space! [Short Wave]

• Does Tom Cruise age? We put on American Made and I feel like the man has stopped time. This movie was based on a true story and shows you just how corrupt the US government can be. I also think the movie was made so Cruise could fly some small planes. It was a fine enough Friday night flick, but we're not sure Cruise was meant for this role. To quote the Husband, "We want you, Tom Cruise. But we want you to be Matthew McConaughey." This is exactly right. Cruise gives strong "alright alright alright" vibes. [Netflix]
• It's hockey season! The Washington Capitals are back and we were a bit worried about how many games we could see since we cut the curd. The Husband made the correct decision to subscribe to the Monumental Sports Network. Now we can catch all the games. Here's hoping this season is better than last. (Alas, they are not off to a good start.) I, for one, will be eager to see how close Ovechkin gets to breaking Gretzky's all-time goals record. [Monumental Sports Network]

• Premade frozen entrees make for great dinner short cuts. This week, I baked some frozen chicken cordon bleu for our main dish. As a side, I chopped up the yellow squash and green peppers from this week's farm share. Those got tossed on a sheet pan with some salt and pepper to bake on the other oven rack. Easy-peasy! [Barber Foods]
• It's chili season! We welcomed the warm bowl of yummy season with chorizo sweet potato chili. This is one of our go-to dishes in cold weather. There's a bit of chopping involved but once everything is in the pot, you can set it and forget it. I love how this one makes our home smell. We like to top ours with cheddar cheese and sour cream. This is pretty good with tortilla chips too. [Budget Bytes]