The Weekly Wrap: September 19, 2021

It looks like our office is going to stay open for the long haul. (I had serious doubts with the delta variant floating about.) So, I decided, it was time to replenish my desk snacks. 

During a lunch break, I walked to the grocery store across the street, grabbed a basket, and started wandering the aisles.

I grabbed my favorite first - Cheez-Its. (Yum!) Then I added a pack of mixed flavor sandwich crackers that was on the shelf nearby. Next, a can of original Pringles went in to the basket. I also added some soft baked belVita bars (banana bread and oats & chocolate) to serve as backup breakfasts and emergency cookies. Then, two small boxes of Rip Van Wafels (snickerdoodle and chocolate brownie). 

I wanted to add a bag of candy for the dish on my desk, but we all need to eat those mints that are still in there. (Seriously, come visit me and get some of those butter mints. Just ignore that they're in pink baby shower packages...)

This haul of (mostly) carbs and sugar joined the granola bars and trail mix packs that I already brought from home.

As I was filling my desk drawer, I realized that my preferred desk snacks all have a few things in common. They are shelf stable, one-handed food, that can be eaten without any dishes, and leave minimal mess. Maybe just a few crumbs or salty fingers. 

Hopefully, I won't have to haul all of these snacks home again. For now, I'll be happy that I don't have to dart away from my computer to satisfy that singular crunchy/sweet craving that tends to befall me around 3pm each day.

What's your favorite desk snack?

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• Things to consider when buying a sleeper sofa. [Apartment Therapy]
• Proprietary software is not good for the historical preservation of information. [CNN]
• Urban forests benefit people and the planet. [Intelligent Living]
• I have a lot of mixed feelings about the increasing college gender gap and the idea that (white) men are just giving up. [Wall Street Journal]
• I would like to bake all of these. [Taste of Home]
• Hustle culture is giving people productivity dysmorphia. [Refinery29]
• The singular "they" exists. Let's make it the default. [WaPo]
• Changing the perspective on when COVID will be over. [ParentData]

• Saving to pay for college is important, but we have to remember that name brand universities are not the ultimate end game. [Money Confidential] 
• Who knew there was such drama in the orchestra pit? [Every Little Thing]
• The library catalog is not neutral. [On the Media]
• Designing the Euro note. [99% Invisible]
• Just let libraries lend digital material already! [Techdirt]
• The original rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. [Throughline]
• Can we finally just say that being fat is not necessarily unhealthy? [Science Vs]
• Broadway is back... and the last part of this story made me tear up. [The Daily]

• Back in high school, I read Tom Clancy's Without Remorse. We just watched the new adaptation of the book. They are nothing alike. The only things that are the same are the name of the main character and the title of the film. The script is lacking but Michael B. Jordan sells the lead character. [Amazon Prime]
• We watched The Report which is about the investigation into the "enhanced interrogations" conducted after the attacks of September 11th.  It's a film about a Senate investigation involving research and interviews. Credit to the filmmakers for making that seem incredibly tense and dramatic on screen. [Amazon Prime]
• Wholesome cow content. [lanahandthemoos]
• I did not realize watching the story of a soap would be so interesting. [Insider]
• We finally wrapped up our watch of the most recent season of Doctor Who. The writing got better (because they stopped stealing from the headlines) and I can't wait to see where the take the latest story revelations. [HBO Max]

• For meatless Monday, I made tuscan white bean skillet served with slices of sourdough bread. This is a super fast meal to put together, but it does involve opening a lot of cans. We also subbed in dry-packed sundried tomatoes because that's what was in our pantry. Didn't seem to impact the overall flavor. The leftovers made for a decent lunch and reheated well. [The Wanderlust Kitchen]
• If I could find a way to eat dumplings for every meal, I would. This week, I tossed the recipe for pot sticker salad with snap peas onto our list. I cheat and toss everything in one pan.  Tastes great - but I probably need to start making just half the sauce. [Real Simple]