This Week By The Way: Recent Episodes

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Putting this episode together was so much fun (and super easy)! Do you think this is something we can do every other week? I would love that!

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This week, by the way, I accidentally ran 1.3 miles.

For some inexplicable reason, the kids’ school made us still do our previously scheduled fun run fundraiser, but… on our own. In a non-quarantine year, the fun run would be done alongside their classmates, with the stands full of raucous students and teachers and parents chanting GO GO GO! The allure of prizes waiting for you at the end of the inflatable finish line would motivate you to keep going. A spirit week would have gotten you pumped up and come run day, ignited by your peers and the cheers, kids as young as kindergarten smash their 35 lap goal (of note: it’s a small course, not 400 meters).

I had been tasked to time my children running or jumping or dancing or hopping (or any combination of those things, I suppose) for 30 minutes and that would count as our at-home fun run. Some parents drew out pretty chalk courses for their kids, some parents rented industrial bounce houses, but me? I just thought they could do laps in the cul-de-sac.

Honest to goodness: I did my best to cheer them on as they laced up their tennis shoes. I even broke out their favorite songs on Spotify to hype them up. After two laps, they were over it. After three I could see their spirits crumbling. After four, everyone was walking. One of them was pouting. “We’re not supposed to WALK, guys! GET MOVING!” I said. I checked the clock. We had 26 minutes to go. We weren’t going to make it.

I joked, “If you can run to the ice cream shop from here, you can get whatever size ice cream, whatever flavors you want. But you have to run without stopping!”

Lucy was the first to dart out of the cul-de-sac with Jude hot on her heels. Caroline, the cautious one, studied my face to see if I was joking. “I mean it,” I assured her, and she took off down the street, too.

I looked down: I was in jean shorts and a shirt and shoes not designed for exercise. My long hair was down and I didn’t have on socks or antiperspirant. But I couldn’t let them get out of my sight. I had no choice but to follow them.

Before this, I ran once this year during quarantine and it was a disheartening experience. I didn’t make it even six minutes into my run / walk interval training within the Couch to 5K app. The hills in my neighborhood are unrelenting, the pollen is thick this season, and I am incredibly out of shape. I haven’t broken a sweat since my last dance class in August.

But still: I had to show my kids that we are in this together. I am for them and because they’re still so young, I need to be beside them.

I didn’t think they’d make it. When we hit the first big hill in the neighborhood, the hill that I cannot bike up, I expected they’d give up. The pace slowed, but they looked to me. If I stopped running, they’d stop running. If I said I can’t do this, they’d say they didn’t have to try. So I resolved that I’d keep pushing it forward for them.

A week ago I could not run a half a mile without feeling like my heart was going to bust out of my chest, but on this day, a day in which I was ill-equipped in my jorts and slip-on shoes, I ran farther than I have since my one year on the high school track team more than two decades ago.

And I figure maybe that’s all I need to spur me on sometimes: knowing that the kids are watching. Knowing that they take their cues from me. Knowing that at the end of the finish line, the sense of accomplishment is sweeter than the ice cream cone.

COMMUNITY SECTION!

TOMORROW! THURSDAY AFTERNOON GAME BREAK [ 2 pm EST] // This week let’s try to play a game or two on Zoom. You don’t need to download anything, but you do need to be on Zoom (either on your computer or phone) and have a second wifi device (either a phone, tablet, laptop) to use as your controller. This should be very silly and a nice little afternoon break. The link will still be TBTW.IN/tea

FRIDAY NIGHT FACEOFF // no Faceoff on Friday this week because my family is going to try to camp again! We’ll reschedule this for Monday night!

BOOK CLUB // Reminder! Our very first book club selection is Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. We’ll have a FB discussion on our group My Internet Besties next week and then a Zoom video chat about the book the following week! This book is so great!

LINKS SECTION!

Celebrity of the week // Brad Pitt played Dr. Anthony Fauci on SNL this week after Dr. Fauci jokingly said that he’d like Brad Pitt to play him one day. Dr. Fauci said it was “classy”.

Discovery of the week // Goodnight Zoom is such an adorable idea. Your child can read to a person (who has been vetted) who is isolated in assisted living or a nursing home.

This week’s favorite IG follow // Jenni Pulos’ text posts are on point:

Thing I got this week // I got a 30-day free trial to Audible when I couldn’t get the audiobook I needed from Hoopla and couldn’t wait on the copies to become available on Overdrive from my library. I already set an alarm to cancel the trial in 29 days, but the trial comes with two free titles, so why not?

Thing I’m thinking about getting (please advise) // I love, love, love this letter necklace from Able. The question is: do I need just one letter (A for Adams) or do I need three (J, C, & L for the kids) or do I need four letters (TBTW- ha!)? With my $20 off promo code, this could be a reasonable mothers’ day gift… for myself.

Speaking of! Both Skylight and Storyworth were podcast sponsors this week. No lie: I love these and owned them both before the sponsorship. Be sure to get promo codes for those (and other things!) here!

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This week, by the way, I’ve been unable to sleep. I find this particularly funny because I got to be on The Hometeam Podcast today, where I talk about the difference between soul rest and body rest.

Insomnia is something I’ve struggled with since my freshman year of college. It’s not that thing where I can’t turn my brain off because I’m worried about stuff or going over the next day’s to-do list. It’s really just a terrible habit that I have of laying down and then suddenly getting too focused on sounds or silence or feeling uncomfortable or too hot or too cold. I become hyper-aware of my body and my surroundings and I just can’t sleep. I start thinking about how tangled my hair is so I can’t stop thinking about brushing it so I get up and brush it. Or I’ll start thinking about how dry my lips feel, so I reach into my nightstand for my tube of lip balm. Sometimes I think my air filter is humming songs I know from the radio. Other times it’s too quiet and I start counting Chris’ breaths and then moments in between them.

I’ve tried melatonin (it makes me have wild dreams, y’all!), I’ve tried going to bed earlier (I just toss and turn longer), and I’ve taken OTC sleep aids (these make me sweat in the night and too groggy in the mornings). I’ve cut caffeine (on purpose). I’ve cut exercise (unintentionally). I’ve tried a Temperpedic mattress, a Sleep Number bed, a cold pillow, essential oils, a sleep mask, pillow sprays, and nicer sheets and pajamas— and even NO sheets or pajamas! Yet sleep still alludes me.

At this point I’m tired of trying to get myself tired at night. I’ve exhausted all my resources.

So this is why I nap.

As I curled up in my giant comforter this afternoon, I felt a giant smile tugging at the corners of my mouth, so I let it free. It’s not that I’m sleepless. It’s just that my sleep comes at a different time than it does for others. It comes at a less convenient time, and a time that I wish were earlier, but it does come. It’s kind of like what I talk about on Kylie’s podcast today. I’ve had a lot of failures in my life. I have a failed podcast. I quit homeschooling. I quit acting. I don’t blog or run a bloggers’ conference anymore. But having an unconventional path in life doesn’t mean that I haven’t been successful. Wins have come! They’ve just come at a different time than they have for others. They’ve come later than I had hoped. I think I’m starting to realize that when I can stop focusing on all the little things right in front of me that bug me, I can see the upward trajectory… not because of the plans I’ve made for my future, but rather for who I trust to hold my future. And I hope I can continue to find soul rest in that.

COMMUNITY SECTION!

THURSDAY AFTERNOON TEA [ 2 pm EST] // Are you Zoomed out? If the answer is a no, join us at 2 pm EST tomorrow for afternoon team! Join link is still TBTW.in/tea

FRIDAY NIGHT FACEOFF - IG LIVE [10 pm EST] // Last week was so much fun! You’ll be my co-host. I’ll ask YOU random questions and I’ll answer yours. This time with facemasks!

BOOK CLUB // Reminder! Our very first book club selection is Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. We’ll have a FB discussion on our group My Internet Besties the week of May 4th and then a Zoom video chat about the book the following week! Y’all. I just got the book on Overdrive from my library and it’s SO WONDERFULLY TWISTY!

LINKS SECTION!

Celebrity of the week // There was a point in time that I could not have named the Kardashians and Jenners (except for Kim). I am past that point. Without any commentary, I’d like to give this week’s celebrity of the week title to Kylie Jenner for going out looking absolutely normal during quarantine. But OKAY, FINE. ONE COMMENT. She should have worn shoes.

Discovery of the week // So… you can get a custom face mask. This one will unlock your iPhone:

(It’s mostly a joke…)

And this company will let you print WHATEVER YOU WANT on a mask. Which is a terrible idea:

This is terrifying.

This week’s favorite IG follow // Liz Climo’s illustrations make me SO HAPPY:

If I could instantly possess a talent that I do not have, I would have a hard time choosing between drawing cute cartoons or singing like a Disney princess.

Thing I got this week // I got this cast iron dutch oven at Target from the Cravings lines and it is spectacular! Maybe even the best $40 I’ve spent on a singular kitchen item!

Thing I’m thinking about getting (please advise) // I am about to bite the bullet for an on-demand fitness subscription. I am torn between Openfit (barre with Andrea looks awesome!), Beachbody (so many classes!), or Sweat (because they have a true beginner’s program now). Any insight?

Celebrate: We have just SIX Gather for Good bags left to sponsor! If you can help with a $35 donation to sponsor a Gather For Good bag for frontline support staff at a local nursing home, let’s knock that out! So proud of us! So far your donations have been able to provide 540 meals to children through No Kid Hungry, 36 masks to 18 frontline support staff medical workers and nurses, and provided income for a hurting community in Guatemala! I am so thankful for your generosity!

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This week, by the way, I tried to run for the first time since 2018. It’s actually the first time I’ve exerted myself at all since my melanoma removal surgery last August.

And I have so much regret.

I feel like someone punched me in the face. I have sneezed approximately 1,864,332 times. I have taken Sudafed, Zyrtec, and a hot shower. Yet…

I have unearthed my neti pot from the black hole under my bathroom sink so I’m just working up the nerve to waterboard myself for some relief.

Seasonal allergies during a pandemic? My paranoia is on high alert!

This is like the time in college that I went to my doctor certain that I had mono. He asked, “What time do you typically go to bed and wake up?”

“3 am and 6 am.”

“You do not have mono. You just need more sleep.”

I probably just need to get off Google and get some rest.

COMMUNITY SECTION!

BE ON FRIDAY’S EPISODE // I only have three submissions! I’d love some more. Tell us something good that’s come out of quarantine (I am better at sewing!) and also share something you miss (I miss restaurants!). Just be sure to say your first name and where you’re from at the top of the message. Record a voice memo on your phone and email it to indiana@todaybytheway.com or leave me a message on the Voxer app. I’m under IndianaAdams.

THURSDAY LUNCH BREAK [ 2 pm EST - time change!] // You guys. This can’t happen at 10 am EST this week because my kids’ school has decided to add Zoom class calls twice a week. Two of my children are using my devices 9:30 am - 10:30 am. Has anyone else been tempted to withdraw their kids from school and re-enroll in August?! Instead, let’s try 2 pm EST tomorrow! Join link is still TBTW.in/tea

FRIDAY NIGHT FACEOFF - IG LIVE [10 pm EST] // This is still happening as planned! But no special guest this week. If IG isn’t broken, I’ll be switching some of YOU in as the co-host (if you’d like!).

BOOK CLUB // Don’t forget! Our very first book club selection is Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. We’ll have a FB discussion on our group My Internet Besties the week of May 4th and then a Zoom video chat about the book the following week!

LINKS SECTION!

Celebrity of the week // John Krasinski for president! I am loving his Youtube show Some Good News. But also: did you hear? He finally met with Marvel and that’s fantastic.

Discovery of the week // I finally broke down and got ScrabbleGo. I have no idea how to find friends and add them on the app and that makes me feel old. If you do find me on there, despite Monday’s episode, do not expect me to be any good. I rate myself a 7/10 in real life but a 3/10 online. The opposite of how I’d rate myself outside of Scrabble.

This week’s favorite IG follow // tussenkunstenquarantaine is still amusing me! 1. Pic your artwork2. Use 3 items in your home3. Share @tussenkunstenquarantaine

Thing I got this week // We did end up getting that family tent! But we also got these headlamps for the kids and they are obsessed with them!

Thing I’m thinking about getting (please advise) // I have terrible posture- yoga seems to help (I lost my Lumo Lift! It fell off in the yard last summer on one sweaty afternoon and never resurfaced). In addition to exercise, would a posture bra help?

Celebrate: I have made over 100 n95 face mask covers and this month I wanted to have our community sponsor 24 Gather For Good bags for frontline support staff at a local nursing home. We are halfway to that goal already which means work for our artisans in Guatemala, masks and goodies for some overlooked workers, and a donation that will provide over 100 meals to children in need! Can you help me get the rest of the bags sponsored for $35 each? Thank you to everyone who has donated so far!

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I’ve been having issues with my sourdough starter. Based on everything I’ve read and the braggadocious posts in the sourdough starter Facebook group that I’m in (there’s a group for everything!), my starter’s growth seems slower than it should. On the verge of tossing it all, I shot my sourdough grandmother (the woman who raised and cultivated it and who now sells her excess on Etsy) an email and explained: it’s just not doing a well as I had hoped. She told me to be patient and let me know that “he” (the starter) is likely sluggish because he’s hot, feeling smothered, or is hungry… or a combination of those three things. And that’s when I knew I was more like my sourdough starter than not.

Several times a day I go downstairs to check on Reepicheep (this is the new name of my sourdough starter), but over the last 24 hours, disheartened by his slow growth despite doing everything right, I’ve been reading everything I can about sourdough to try to figure out what’s going on. I think I have three sourdough books coming my way via Amazon. What is happening in that jar? Why isn’t he as he should be? I didn’t do anything wrong, so why is it like this?

If I’m being totally honest, raising this starter is a distraction. During the day, when I’m not reading about microbes and crumb formation, I find myself at the sewing machine, pricking myself with pins and sighing heavily when the bobbin jams. When I lay down at night, I can’t sleep. This week I’ve been bathing in my phone’s glow and rolling around uncomfortably under the weighted blanket of data points and firsthand accounts of those working the frontlines and those who have lost loved ones. My body feels like I’ve had a few cups of coffee; I contemplate a run but hate the thought of taking a shower. I’m mad that the world is like this. I can’t get away from the oppressive news. I want to roam in the world and feed my soul with face-to-face community again. I’m hot, I’m smothered, I’m hungry.

I heave the comforters off and pad downstairs to check on Reepicheep again. It’s 2:30 am but I dole out exactly 4 oz. of water and 4 oz. of flour and mix it in with a prayer. “Please. God. Don’t let this be a waste.”

And this morning? No growth. No bubbles. No sign of life. I throw my hands up, resigned. I dump most of the jar and make a big batch of sourdough pancakes. If we can’t have bread with dinner or an heirloom starter that I’d give my future daughter-in-love one day, we’d at least have a decadent breakfast today.

The pancakes are delicious. And incidentally. It’s the first time I’ve made pancakes if you can believe it. I take the last one, the one closest to perfect, upstairs to Chris who is in the middle of a Zoom call.

As I go to rinse out the jar, I see last night’s bag of flour on the counter. There’s enough remant to try one more time. I dole out exactly 4 oz. of water and 4 oz. of flour and mix it in with a prayer. “You know what, God? Whatever will be, will be.”

And tonight:

Growth. Soon we’ll have bread with dinner. And if the Lord is willing, soon my friends will have bread from this very starter. I’ll hand it to them, wrapped in brown paper and with a hug. This time wasn’t a waste after all.

COMMUNITY SECTION!

THURSDAY MORNING ZOOM TEA // Join me on Zoom in the morning, Thursday, April 9th, at 10 am EST for Thursday morning tea! (Note: new day of the week). Join link is TBTW.IN/tea

FRIDAY NIGHT IG LIVE FACEOFF // Join me and my friend Jessica Quirk on Instagram Live on Friday night at 10 pm EST for Friday Night Faceoff. It was down last Friday so we had to reschedule… but in the chance that happens again, we’ll move to Zoom. (The join link for Friday’s Plan B is TBTW.IN/fnf but Instagram Live is the plan!)

Thursday morning Zoom tea and Friday Night IG Live Faceoff will be recurring through the end of the month!

BOOK CLUB // Don’t forget! Our very first book club selection is Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. Read by May 1. Details to come in next week’s email!

LINKS SECTION!

Celebrity of the week // Tyler Perry bought groceries for senior citizens at 44 Atlanta area Krogers and at 29 Louisiana Winn-Dixie stores. I’m not crying. I AM SOBBING.

Discovery of the week // I guess technically this could be my favorite IG follow this week, but since it’s new to me, it fits here, too. Check out LeapsMag on IG, which is good news + SCIENCE!

This week’s favorite IG follow // Fun fact: my summer goal is to slowly train a squirrel to come to my back door and knock on the window for almonds. Yes, friends, I am going to train a wild squirrel. How hard could it be (says the woman who trained a cat to pee in a toilet)? Tonight I discovered Jill.

Thing I got this week // We have one hammock. All three of the kids play in it together, but it’s time to get them each their own. I have three of these in my cart as well as some hammock straps by Amazon Basics which makes hanging hammocks so easy a seven-year-old can do it.

Thing I’m thinking about getting (please advise): We think we may get a family tent! Thoughts?

Reminder: I’m trying to sponsor 24 Gather For Good bags for frontline support staff at a local nursing home. I’d love for you to consider donating! More info here (and thank you!).

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