Thoughts for your Thoughts (Volume 1)
Thoughts for your Thoughts (Volume 1)
A random newsletter where I update you on all the stuff I’ve been consuming this month in hopes that you’ll check them out 😈
Greetings from cold and snowy Minnesota! I am halfway through my little digital detox and my screen time is down 60%—it feels good to know that I’m using my attention for more important things. Rediscovering old hobbies and exploring new ones has been really peaceful.
That being said, one thing I do miss about social media is getting to rave to my internet-friends about the podcasts/books/food/etc that I’m obsessed with at the moment. And because I want to continue to have healthy boundaries and protect my attention by staying mostly off Instagram when my detox is over, I want to expand the horizons of my newsletter so I can share random snippets about things I’m enjoying in life.
Enter: Thoughts for your Thoughts, which will be volumes of my newsletter where I give you recommendations for your eyes, ears, and tastebuds. The title is derived from one of my favorite television shows, Parks & Rec, in which ‘Thoughts for your Thoughts’ is a public radio show. I have some personal essays tumbling around my head that I’ll share in the near future, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy this segment of Parallel Charts. ☻
PODCASTS THAT HAVE MADE CLEANING ENJOYABLE
I’ve been a listener of My Favorite Murder since 2016 and last week they featured an episode with Hannah Smith, the host of the podcast The Opportunist. I was intrigued by the story that Hannah told in her MFM episode so I took a deep dive into The Opportunist’s backlog and was not disappointed. The Opportunist showcases “true stories of regular people who turn sinister by embracing opportunity” and highlights some scams that are truly bonkers. I would recommend it to fans of Criminal, Swindled, and The Dream.
I’m trying to change my attitude when it comes to money and I’m trying to recognize it for what it is—a tool. The Financial Feminist podcast has been a wealth of knowledge in helping me with this endeavor. I recommend episodes 16 & 58 if you are like me and the idea of investing and retirement funds kinda freak you out. I recommend episodes 19 & 49 to learn some solid tips for negotiating salary/benefits and interviewing for new gigs.
I’ve been a big fan of the bookish podcast, The Stacks, for years! Traci asks such thoughtful questions and it doesn’t hurt that she interviews some of the best authors of our time. I recently caught up on old episodes and really enjoyed episode 249 with Aubrey Gordon and episode 239 with Mariame Kaba.
BOOKS THAT KNOCKED THE WIND OUT OF ME
The Winners by Fredrik Backman wrecked me. I am glad that the last installment of Backman’s Beartown series was long because I did not want the series to end. I’ve grown to love the fictional forest town and all of the imperfect characters that live there. I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive Backman for [redacted] and [redacted] and [redacted], but I guess that’s how you know it’s a good book if it leaves you in your feelings. Trigger warnings for gun violence, rape, and death of an animal. Shout out to sweetie Abby (@bookmarkedbya on Instagram) for sending me a copy ♡
I knew I needed to make some changes in my life when I read the line “If you’re feeling not just frustrated and challenged, but helpless, isolated, and trapped, like you want to hide in a cave, or like you’d rather put your hand in a toilet full of tadpoles than spend one more day doing the thing, you should definitely quit whatever it is,” and it resonated with me. It is from a book I recently finished, Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski, PhD and Amelia Nagoski, DMA. I’ve known deep-down that I was/am experiencing some significant burnout and reading this book was affirming everything I have been feeling the last year or so. This book not only validated how I was feeling, it gave me concrete examples of things I could do to lighten the stress-load. I’ve recognized that spending at least 30 minutes a day on exercise or creative pursuits is crucial in preventing me from feeling like I’m just another cog in the machine. I will 100% be purchasing this book so I can reference it forever.
TELEVISION SHOWS THAT RECEIVED MY FULL ATTENTION
I am (slowly, very very slowly) writing a book :) It’s a murder mystery of sorts and my goal is to finish the first draft by my 30th birthday in November. I’ve been conducting some research to help me with the process and part of that research was watching The Murder of Lacie Peterson on Hulu. Wow did that series unlock some memories for me!! I had an instant flashback to my Great-Grandma Rose’s house, Scott Peterson’s face staring at me from the covers of her National Enquirer magazines, Nancy Grace’s horrendous voice and the haze of secondhand smoke filling the rooms. The summer of 2004 was *a lot* for my ten-year-old self. My dad was in a car accident that left him paralyzed, I was babysitting my younger sisters despite being a baby myself, and I was terrified that the end of the world was coming because the Iraq War was being broadcasted 24/7 everywhere I went except at Grandma Rose’s where she kept her TV tuned into the Scott Peterson trial. It was a welcomed distraction and probably the birth of my interest in true crime. My mom was certain he was guilty, my Grandma Rose was certain he was guilty, so naturally I was certain he was guilty. And then I watched this series on Hulu, and all the judgement and opinions I formed nearly twenty years ago became null & void and now I am not certain because I realized just how little concrete evidence there was and how devious the media was during that time. After watching the series I can say that Scott Peterson is still a liar and a cheat and a slimeball, and he really deserves a new trial.
Fleishman is In Trouble is an FX series streaming on Hulu that as adapted from a novel with the same name. The show follows a midlife-aged, newly divorced doctor whose wife has suddenly seemed to disappear during his first summer as a single man, leaving him to care for their two children on his own. I put this show on randomly, not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. It was entertaining and thought provoking, and it showed you the power of perception and how two things can be true at once. If you end up watching the show, I recommend following it up with this Fresh Air episode featuring the creator of the book and series, Taffy Brodesser-Akner.
FOOD THAT I CAN’T SHUT UP ABOUT
Pickled onions are my current obsession. They add an extra punch of flavor that helps take things to the next ~level~ and they are so easy to make! All you have to do is half, peel, and thinly slice a red onion. Put them in a microwave-safe bowl, combine it with the juice of 1 whole lemon, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and a few pinches of salt. Microwave until onion is softened 1-2 minutes and store in an airtight container in the fridge. I love throwing them on top of breakfast tacos or in a Greek chicken wrap.
Breakfast tacos are so easy to make and so delicious. I usually scramble some eggs + egg whites, add in some spinach + ham + cheese, and serve it on a crispy corn tortilla. I like to top mine with hot sauce & pickled onions & cilantro. YUM! Last week I made the Creamy Bacon and Tuscan Shrimp recipe from Half Baked Harvest’s EVERY DAY and served it over pasta. Boyyyyyyyyy was it good! Sun-dried tomatoes will now be a staple in my household because the flavor they added to the dish was phenomenal. Ben told me it was one of his favorite meals ever, so don’t just take it from me folks! I couldn’t find the exact recipe online but this creamy sun-dried tomato chicken pasta found on Tieghan Gerard’s website looks pretty similar and equally amazing :)
I initially checked out Half Baked Harvest Every Day from the library and *knew* I had to purchase it because of all of the good recipes included in it. Pictured here is the Creamy Bacon Tuscan Shrimp dish next to the cookbook. This recipe was super-straight forward to follow and the end result was incredible—big big fan! If you know me, you know I loathe wasting food! I had heavy cream leftover from the aforementioned tuscan shrimp dish and leftover cilantro we used for shrimp tacos earlier in the week (+ a bag of mostly crushed tortilla chips in the pantry) so I decided to make a creamy white chicken chili. I made a batch loosely based off of this recipe: I added in spinach (again to prevent food waste 😎), used chili beans instead of Northern beans & heavy cream for half-and-half cuz it’s what I had on hand, and added in a can of tomatoes cuz YOLO. It was the perfect meal for a cold winter’s day!
Last but not least, if you are local to the North Shore of Minnesota—I had the most delicious caramel roll this week from a little spot called Louise’s Place. I plan to drop in next week to try their cinnamon roll……for science ;)
I hope this newsletter has found you in good health and good spirits! I am grateful you are here, and if you’d like to further support this newsletter consider sharing it with a friend with a recommendation to subscribe :)
