The Weekly Wrap: October 8, 2023

Our family tries to eat dinner together most evenings. This has led to some rather random conversations with our preschooler. Sometimes she gabs nonstop and we have to remind her to eat. Other times, we get side-eye and she says, "I don't want to talk." 

This week, in order to jumpstart the conversation, I asked her what her favorite thing of the day was. She said, "I don't know. What was your favorite thing?" Now, she often throws questions right back at us like this, but I paused this time. What was my favorite thing?

That day, my favorite thing happened to be working on some graphic design. I love my job so I really had to think about it. While I could answer, in this instance, what my favorite thing was, my brain went even further. Why don't we focus on doing our favorite things more?

This reminds me of Marie Kondo's "sparking joy" idea. I want to be able to say that most of my day was a favorite thing. I want that kind of satisfaction in my life. I think, from now on, I'm going to try to set my priorities by what is my favorite. That way, I can be productive while increasing my happiness.

Sure, there's always work we need to complete by necessity, but shouldn't we try to fill our days with favorite things?

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• While I have not visited one, my family swears by Buc-ees. [CNN]
• What makes each number special. [Erich Friedman]
• We think our next trip abroad will be to Spain and Portugal. I now have a "to eat" list. [CNN]
• Three productive ways to say no. [Sketchplanations]
• How to organize your desk for who you are. [Career Contessa]
• A quick look at how to write an academic journal article. [Library Journal]
• A great "class" on personal archiving. [Syllabus Project]

• There are better ways to get kids to understand math. [ParentData]
• When I heard this episode a few years ago, I thought, "She better win the Nobel." Very happy to see the news this week that she did. Well worth another listen. [The Daily]
• Squids all the way down. [Atlas Obscura]
• I'm working my way through the back episodes of Radio Atlantic. This discussion on how our political system is broken was interesting. [Radio Atlantic]
• Perfectionism holds us back. [Hidden Brain]
• Mosquitos continue to be awful. [The Daily]
• I am here for this kind of union chaos. [Planet Money]

• This walkthrough of how a sign is painted on glass is mesmerizing. [Bryan Yonki]
• For a bank heist movie, The King of Thieves moves rather slow. That said, the gang pulling off the heist is a bunch of octogenarians. That pace works given the cast.  The film is stacked with familiar British faces and the age of the actors plays a critical role in enhancing the comedic bits.  [Amazon Prime]

• It was the husband's night to cook and he opted to make one of his favorite go to dishes: scallop pasta. This recipe is simple and delicious. Plus, using scallops is a nice change of pace from our regular protein selections. The husband adds asparagus for a touch of green and to finish out dish as a true one bowl meal. [Caroline's Cooking]
• We ate two pasta meals this week! The other dish was tomato ravioli. You're supposed to make this one in the oven but we were a bit short on time. I opted to throw the shallots and tomatoes in a skillet to speed up the cooking process. I recommend using brand name cheese ravioli. It's just better.  [Cooking Light]