The Weekly Ramble – January 16, 2026
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It’s the end of the week. Let’s chat yummy drinks, yearly planning, and how clutter makes everything take longer.
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It’s citrus season here in San Diego which also means it’s that season where if you aren’t sick, you know someone who is. I’ve had Medicine Ball Tea on repeat this month. More to commiserate with others and, hopefully, add a touch of prevention.
To make this Starbucks Copycat, you need green, mint, and fruity teas. I ran out of my favorite fruity variety (Raspberry Zinger) awhile ago so I’ve been using Vitamin C Shine as a substitute. It’s quite tasty with the Trader Joe’s Candy Cane Green Tea!
Pro tip: stock up on green tea mixed with mint so that you don’t have to use three tea bags.
So far our household has steered clear of the plague, but Bryan and two boys have all been feeling under par. I’m hoping it will be short-lived and contained. Pray for us?
Here’s what else I’ve been doing, eating, listening/watching, reading, and/or writing this past week:
What I’ve Been Doing
I’ve made a concentrated effort to stick to a plan this week, refining my Weekly Time Budget. In anticipation of a new college semester and the early morning departure, FishChick17 and I are trying to acclimate to a new schedule.
This means getting up with the alarm and (trying) to be ready by the time we would normally leave. We are still working on this.
Surprisingly, I’ve gotten lots of blog work done every day, the house hasn’t been a disaster, and I have time to read or work on my stitching. It’s been such a fun surprise. Imagine what happens when plans work!
One thing that is helping me stay on track is the ATracker app where I can clock my time on different tasks. I’ve used it for almost a decade and it’s come in very handy to do a time audit. I have the Pro version but my daughter uses the free version to track her driver’s ed time.
What I’ve Been Eating
My eating habits have been all over the map since I haven’t been able to get as “gazelle intense” about macros as I was in November. Instead, one day I’m protein-loading and the next I’m enjoying tea and Portuguese tarts. (The latter are in the freezer section at Costco and they are so good!)
I will find a groove eventually.
That said, I am enjoying the sale blueberries Ralphs has had this month, making them into Yogurt Berry Parfaits with a scattering of homemade granola. So good!
I particularly like adding quinoa flakes to my granola. Not only does it add protein but it seems to help the texture be a little crispier, more sparkly if that makes sense. I’m loving it!
What I’ve Been Listening/Watching
My daughter was confused why I was listening to a podcast that I was on. Well, we recorded it in early December and I had to confirm that I didn’t sound like an idiot.
I am happy to report that the Lord works in mysterious ways, including my words on the latest episode of the Art of Home podcast. Allison and I chat about yearly planning. I hope you’ll give it a listen!
Other things I’ve been listening/watching include:
- The Family Man starring Nicholas Cage – so good I bought the film
- Shakespeare and Hathaway (Britbox)
- My Life is Murder (Acorn)
- New Tricks (Britbox).
- There’s also a new season of All Creatures (PBS Masterpiece), but Bryan wants to save it for movie night.
I guess that means we may renew PBS at the end of the month. Thankfully, it’s the cheapest of the subs.
What I’ve Been Reading
I was on such a roll with reading last week, but I also didn’t get as much work done. This week was a happier medium.
I finished the audio of the latest Bruno book, An Enemy in the Village. They are supposed to be mysteries but they aren’t the kind you can solve yourself. I like them because they do such a great job describing French culture and the subcultures of France.
I’ve got three books in progress at the moment:
- Kitchen Organization – an old school book by Deniece Schofield
- The Hobbit – started it last year and never finished
- On Writing Well – another book I started last year and never finished
One of the things that Schofield says is that “Clutter makes everything take longer.” I am chewing on this. I know this to be true, and it’s not just physical clutter that has this effect.
And while cookbooks are books, I don’t count them in my monthly totals unless I read every recipe which isn’t going to happen with this lot. One-Dish Dinners can be delicious, but they can also be slop.
I’m working on building out my repertoire of one pan meals, so I thought I’d see what was out there to be inspired. I like to read about techniques and then apply the technique to my own ingredient ideas.
This week I played with a One-Pot Ground Beef Stroganoff. I suppose it was like a homemade hamburger helper, but I don’t know. My mom never bought those so I don’t know what they taste like.
This concoction was delicious, though. Just need to figure out what veg to add to it to make it a complete meal.
What I’ve Been Writing
I’ve spent some time writing on both blogs. I hope you’ll check out what’s new:
I’m also testing out adding audio files of me reading the posts to see if that is helpful to readers. Let me know what you think!
Okay, that’s it for me. Comments are thin on the ground these days. Will you delurk?
How was your week?
What’s up in your world? Leave a comment or a prayer request. We’re all in this together!
Hi. I’m really l late reading and commenting. I’m also having a really hard time coming off the holidays and getting back to what I should be doing and eating. I’m maintaining and know what I should do, I just have a lack of motivation. I’m really glad you mentioned the medicine ball tea concoction. I love that. And I’m glad another person mentioned the tea you were talking about last month that I meant to look into. I’ve written it down now, so I’ll look for it.
I am reading nothing right now, and it’s still just because I read all day for work and edit, and I just would rather play a game or watch TV at night.
Meals have gone back to being simple because it’s just the two of us. I make soup weekly through the winter, so this week was chicken and gnocchi soup, and that gets us a dinner and a few lunches, and then usually a serving or two to put in the freezer to pull out later. I did take a few weeks off this month to eat the stockpile of soups we had going in the freezer, though. 🙂 I do not enjoy eating seafood, but I’ve decided to try to eat fish (salmon) once a week anyway for the healthy eating benefits. Hubby is thrilled, and he’s making it.
I hope your fam has stayed well and not caught any sickies!
Bryan has always been a fan of fish, but I was a late adopter. I realized it was a question of finding out how I liked it and which kinds. He loves meaty fish like tuna and ahi while I prefer salmon. He likes it spicy and blackened and I want herbs and lemon and lots of homemade tartar sauce. If you’re game, try it with potatoes and this sauce.
Thanks, Jessica! We’ll try this sauce next week. I definitely feel the same as you and want herbs and lemon, for sure! We have had it with quinoa and herb butter potatoes and also your garlic green beans as sides.
I bought a tin of Harney & Sons Decaf Vanilla Conomoro tea after seeing it on your blog; and I’m loving it!
I just finished another book in the Homefront Sleuths series; very cozy WW2 small town mysteries.
I’m currently listening to Welcome to the Hyanam-Dong Bookshop; it is a very interesting story set in Korea and deals a lot with work and rest and relationships.
Two nonfiction: Tranquility by Tuesday and The Rest of God (about Sabbath rest).
So glad you like the tea! I love so many of their varieties. You can buy a sampler pack on Amazon which is fun to try. Thanks for sharing what you’re reading, Lisa!
Well, delurking, lol. I’ve followed you since my days as a mom blogger. We have similar family sizes (6 kids–4 grown sons who often eat dinner st home and twin 16 year old daughters (busy with dance so many meals on the go). You have a kindred spirit in North Dakota and you make me miss blogging!
Yay for delurking, Pam! You know, there’s a return to “grandma hobbies” – maybe blogging will have a comeback. 🙂
Our family did a 2 week trip to Switzerland over the holidays, I was home for a week, and now I’m in the middle of a 2 week work trip, and visiting a friend from college for the weekend instead of going home. While I did cook 5 meals last weekend in preparation for being gone, and I do enjoy reading your Good Cheap Eats posts in January – this has not been the month to focus on home. I work part time from home for a major food company, and once or twice a year it is good to be in person and really focus on work and building relationships with colleagues.
I love traveling — and how nice that you get dedicated time to focus on work. That sounds wonderful!
I read The Hobbit in high school and loved it so much that I raced through the other three books. I reread The Hobbit last year and really slogged through it. I couldn’t wait to finish it. I think my tastes have changed a little.
The first time I read it in middle school, all the nerdy boys were thrilled and I was so bored. lol. Then I read it as a nerdy mom of nerdy boys and loved it. This last time was a bit of a slog, but the Andy Serkis version of the audio helped in the end!
Oh, yes. Clutter definitely makes things take longer. I’ve had seasons in which I had to clean off the counter before I could even begin dinner, clean off the table before we could eat (or just give in and eat in front of the TV–boo!), etc. And let’s not even talk about mental clutter. Recently I had to spend over two hours journaling just to empty my brain of non-stop rumination due to some extended family drama before I could concentrate well enough to do anything! Yikes!
My dream is to be so organized that I can just sail through whatever task is before me and actually have time for some relaxation each day. Alas, that is not my current reality, but I have improved some. Ha! Ha! Yay!
Dreaming with you! Thanks for sharing, Roberta.
Hi Jessica! I’m excited to listen to your podcast (making time this weekend). Also, I enjoyed reading what you are up to this week! The Weekly Ramble used to be my weekly “go-to” read but I have been MIA for a bit! I thought this season of life was supposed to be less hectic! Well, good to see you are still blogging and sharing! I learn something each time – now, I’m off to get blueberries on sale!
Hey Christine! Yep, I’m still here. 🙂 So nice to hear from you. Time will slow down but probably not until J goes to college. lol
I will delurk just for you Jessica! I always enjoy your weekly rambles. I’ve been recovering from a surgery so not much is happening. I’m enjoying using the instant pot for meals and I makes great baked potatoes! We have been watching slow horses on Apple TV and it’s been something we liked . Thanks for the tip about great creatures starting up again. I’m finding that I don’t shop much and I’ve been ending up with much less clutter. Amazing how that works. Have a good week.
Yay for delurking! My husband enjoyed Slow Horses tremendously. He watched it on the treadmill, but I’ll keep it in mind if we get access again.
I hope your recovery goes well, Susan!
These weekly posts are so enjoyable! I LOVE All Creatures. My husband and I rewatch old episodes nearly every night. It’s so cozy and a great wind down before bed. We enjoy the books too!
Yes, the books were very good. I’m curious about this new season skipping 5 years. Wow!