The Weekly Ramble – April 17, 2026

This double rainbow out the back view is how God ushered in our week, so I think it’s a fitting start to the post. What a treat!

We had rain over the weekend, so to end the rain with this was really special for Sunday Dinner. One of our oldest family friends came for the evening so we hauled everyone up to the balcony to see it. So pretty.

Since then it’s been mild weather with bursts of blue skies and bursts of fog and clouds, a pretty good mix overall. And our rose bushes have just taken off!

These are all from the same bush, but it’s amazing the color differentiation with the pink and yellow!

Sunday Dinner was lovely. We had Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Cheesy Potatoes, a green salad, and a kidney bean salad.

I’ve been trying to incorporate beans into every meal to help us all get more fiber. More on that below.

Miss 17 made an Apple Crisp for dessert and we opened a couple bottles of apple sparkly. These family dinners are such a nice way to start the week!

Know what else is a nice start to the week? A clean bathroom!

I had been meaning to deep clean the tile for awhile, so I tackled it finally with a small tub of OxiClean and a lot of elbow grease. This is obviously an in-process photo.

I hit stubborn spots with the Mr Clean Magic Eraser for showers and tubs but that didn’t get everything. There are 5-6 small black spots in the grout that I just can’t get out. Got a product rec for me?

Tile is the bane of my existence. Anyone else?

Here’s what else I’ve been doing, eating, listening/watching, and/or reading this past week:

What I’ve Been Doing

I’m trying to get a regular workout routine going which has been very challenging due to my foot pain. Thankfully, it’s a) easing up and b) doesn’t respond poorly to dance workouts.

I found the Improved Health channel a few weeks ago and like it that there’s no talking and the newer videos have a preview of the next movements so you know what to expect.

I’m doing those MWF, alternating with lifting weights and stretching on TTh. So far, so good.

I also have a 5-day step streak going. I was at 500+ days back in January but fell off the wagon. Here’s to getting it going again.

To be honest, I’m a little overwhelmed by the immensity of all the good things you could do for yourself. When I’ve focused on this list, that’s all I get done in a day. I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to be.

There’s a saying in homeschooling not to teach two disparate skills at the same time. For instance, traditional teachers often combine handwriting (both art form and fine-motor skill) with spelling (a cognitive skill) or even writing.

How many times does the kid who is lagging in one area get dinged in both? Not fair. Teach handwriting separately from spelling or writing so that disparate skills aren’t conflated.

I think we do the same thing with good habits. We pour them all on our plate and try to stuff them down. It doesn’t work well.

So, I created a new list for myself and am working on a few new habits, exercise being one of them. It’s important not to try to turn over too many new leaves at once! Once I get that one going well, I’ll add another.

Also on my list:

• eat salmon 3x/week
• drink 9 cups of water/day
• eat 25 g fiber/800 g produce per day
• read more books
• fine tune daily and weekly cleaning schedule for bathroom, stairs, and laundry room
• deep clean closet
• clear out desk
• unload dw each morning without hemming and hawing
• tidy downstairs nightly before bed
• clean out car weekly

Interestingly, these tasks fall in one of two categories: health or home keeping. Speaking of home keeping, two of my new books came:

These are ancient books, from the early 2000s, but I found them each for less than $5 and since I never owned my own copies, I added them to the library. Unfortunately, my TBR is still rather unwieldy.

More on that in a minute….but in my stream of consciousness, I had to mention the new books.

What I’ve Been Eating

As I’ve already mentioned, I’m trying to work more beans into our meals. We’ve had a lot of bean salads which have been favorably received, like White Bean Salad.

This week when I saw that I had pesto that needed using, the wheels started turning. Did you know pesto goes incredibly well with white beans?! So good.

I made a version of this dish, omitting the fresh basil because I didn’t have any and adding grilled chicken and diced tomatoes and serving it all on angel hair. Miss 17 was a skeptic, especially when I served thick toast and said we could have “beans on toast”.

Her face when she tried it was priceless! She conceded that it was good. It would be over the top on toasted baguette as the recipe instructs.

I’m going to be tweaking it a bit to make it my own, but I love the base idea.

Of course, I’ve also being cruising along on the Yogurt Train. This last batch I made with whey instead of yogurt for a starter. I like the idea, but I’m not sure if the texture or yield will be the same.

I was worried that my recommendation of using a heating pad would backfire on me with the internet, but then I saw that it’s what Alton Brown uses, so I’m good. I’m a little confused by his inclusion of honey in his recipe as other articles I’ve read said that adding sugar gives the culture too much competition for resources.

And because I’ve nerded out completely over this, I’ll also point out that his directions in this 2002 Good Eats episode do not jive with the actual recipe on his site.

Regardless, the process is not all that complicated, I’m just doing my research to see if I’ve got all the angles.

Beans, yogurt, and…

Protein Lattes! I appreciate that Starbucks is offering a higher-protein option, but I don’t wanna spend a lotta money, so I’ve been making my own at home.

Granted, $1.56 is still pricey for a beverage so I’m keeping that in mind. That said, whey protein is a good option for fighting high cholesterol, so I’m going to enjoy it.

To make an iced protein latte at home:

1. Prep your espresso or hot coffee. Add sweetener if desired and allow to cool.
2. Combine 1 scoop protein powder with 8 to 12 ounces of the milk of your choice. I use almond milk to reduce the calorie load, but regular milk will bring the cost down.
3. Mix that well. You can use a blender or one of those frother things.
4. Add the shot and pour the whole thing over ice.

What I’ve Been Listening/Watching

It’s been a pretty quiet week around here. I’ve listened to a lot of Spotify while cleaning or driving or writing.

Miss 17 and I haven’t had as many Columbo lunch breaks this week. Bryan and I watched the original Twister movie on pizza night but none of the kids were all that interesting. Mr 21 and I watched the final episode of Sherlock on live tv one night.

Basically, an eclectic mix.

What I’ve been Reading

I’ve got several Bible readings going right now:

• Psalms with Community Bible Study
• The Chronological Bible on my own (I’m actually wrapping up the Psalms right now)
• and copywork of the book of Matthew

All have been really interesting, but Matthew, especially chapter 5, has blown me away. I’ve read the bible from start to finish at least ten times in my life and I still find new things.

Doing the copywork is highlighting new things each and every day. Very cool!

I was looking through pictures of this time last year and realizing how much I miss reading as much as I did then. I basically treated it as a job as I investigated the idea of moving from non-fiction writing into fiction.

Last April I read 20 books!

I decided that I need to set reading hours if I want to make the progress that I want. And let’s be honest, I could dramatically cut down my instagram time. Not sure where it will fit in my time budget, but I’m going to try to add one hour of legit reading per day.

Here’s what’s on my list currently:

• Broken Bread by Tilly Dillehay – I have a few short chapters left. Really good!
• Was It Something I Said? by Alison M. Cheperdak – this is an etiquette expert I found on IG
• Deeper Heaven by Christiana Hale – Allison recommended this for a deeper understanding of the Ransom trilogy (CS Lewis) that I just finished
• Estrogen Matters by Bluming and Tavris – per our discussion last week
• The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim – part of a classical book club list
• The Setup Man by Kate Watson – you know I love cheesy romance and Watson’s books are some of my faves. This is the final in a series that I’ve really enjoyed.

Got something you’d like to add? Let me know!

What I’ve Been Writing

There are some new posts over on Good Cheap Eats. I hope you’ll check them out!

Alrighty, that’s it for me. I hope you’ll delurk and leave a comment.