Happy Friday! This week started strong and quickly faded as I battled one of the worst stomach bugs I have had in years. I am much better than I was Tuesday, but am still feeling super weak. Drew has now caught the bug and I feel terrible for sharing the illness with him.
This week, I was forced to take a full 2 days off to rest (which I completely needed and was grateful for), but am now super behind in my work. I already decided to remove myself from one manuscript I was planning to collaborate on this semester, and am considering removing myself from a second. It is really hard to say “no” to projects, especially when swimming in the “publish or peril” world of academia, but I am taking this week as a sign that I need to slow down, focus on what I already have going on, and devote my energies to my own projects and ideas.
All that being said, I did a really great job of slowing down today (ha!) and spent over 12 hours working trying to catch up on what I missed this week. Of course, we all know that “working” is code for savoring manic bursts of intense productivity tempered with pleasant and leisurely web-surfing, kitty snuggling, music listening, song singing, and husband nursing 😉 Therefore, I give you a slightly delayed, but ever enjoyable, list of what caught my eye this week today.
- Macarons! My newest obsession 🙂 I scored an amazing deal at Michaels last week and was able to purchase this Macaron Making Kit for only $3.20! I love this video tutorial for Valentine’s themed macarons. If you browse the site, you can find many other cute recipes as well 🙂 Bon apetite!
- MAN BRAIDS. I shared this video on my facebook page today and had to share it here as well. Because when all the other people seem to be all about man buns, I am over here like, but what about the man braids?! Also, is it just me or is that the same guy from the Herbal Essences commercials of yesteryear?
- HARRY POTTER. As I was typing “Harry”, I accidentally typed “Happy” three times. A very appropriate Freudian slip because I was over-the-moon happy to learn that the J.K. Rowling, the magical mage herself, is releasing an 8th book in the HP series this summer! July 31 is our anniversary, perfect timing for a perfect gift! I also think this confirms that I will unavailable the first week of August due to a highly anticipated “trip” back to Hogwarts 🙂
- Tiny, Terrified, Sloth. Behold, my spirit animal. This is one of the cutest things I think I have seen and reminded me of this amazing video.
- Wanderlust is Coming to Charlotte…and I can’t wait!
- Trauma and the Brain. Trauma is my main line of research and I appreciated this quick and relatively easy to understand piece on the long-standing impact that traumatic exposure can have on the brain. Much of what I do with trauma clients is work to help them reconstruct their narrative and I like this article as I think it can help others to understand why trauma feels so jarring and overwhelming, and can give us an appreciation for the limits of our mind. The brain isn’t perfect and the reconstructed narrative doesn’t have to be either–as long as it is in line with your values and how you wish to live your life moving forward, that is better than perfect. That said: if you or someone you know is struggling in the aftermath of a traumatic event, the nationwide crisisline and hotline directory can be referenced for additional resources state-by-state: http://www.aaets.org/crisishotline.htm
Happy Shanti 