The Weekly Ramble – July 31, 2026

Whew. So much was crammed into this week. I think I left the house almost every day which is saying something for this hermit here.

• Sunday – church, we’re trying out the church our kids attend
• Monday – mammogram/foot xray
• Tuesday – ran a child somewhere and picked up last of Ralphs sales
• Wednesday – fasting blood tests
• Thursday – hair appointment, lunch with Bryan, and Costco Business
• Friday – Vons sales and Walmart pickup
• Saturday – can I stay home tomorrow?

I did all kinds of running around last school year and so this summer has been oddly hermit like. I found that this week of activity had some high points. Phone calls with friends or listening to podcasts while I drive, lunch out with my guy, free AC as I roam grocery stores.

Errands aren’t all bad.

On Wednesday after my blood test, I took myself to Chick-fil-A and had breakfast and sat with my computer. Alone. It was a flashback to when the blogs were young and Bryan sent me off to CFA once a week to work without interruptions. Wild.

My mission was to muse over this article. Bryan had seen it on X the day before and sent it to me. It’s long. And it probably won’t make sense to everyone. It was, for me, very much an encouragement. What Koe describes is what I’ve been trying to do on the internet these last 20 years.

The success has been hit or miss, but I’m still creating and learning and sharing what I figure out. I’m just glad to know I’m not crazy for having done so. I don’t know what the future holds, but I’m eager to create more. Whatever that is.

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

What I’m Learning

I’m really enjoying my time in the Word. I know that for some people reading the Bible sounds boring or they’re unmotivated to do it. But, it really can be so enlightening!

These words are proving true for me: I don’t have to understand everything I’m reading, but I do need to keep eating and trust God to nourish me with His Word.

Case in point: As you know I’m doing the Chronological Bible (on day 319 already!) and recently came across the part in John 6 where Jesus says, “It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.'”

This is a reference to Isaiah 54:13 which says, “All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
    and great shall be the peace of your children.”

Now, I did some brief googling so far but the first two sermons I found turned it into a treatise on evangelism. I will dig deeper, but I think these passages are a call to be in His Word, to study, to know Him.

Today I read in John 14: 26 which says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Jesus goes on into the “abide in me” passages, which all pretty much proves my point.

We can count on God to teach us, to show us through His word and His spirit how to obey and be faithful. It doesn’t happen through osmosis and we can’t really borrow someone else’s homework. We have to do the work.

Now we make a sharp turn from the deep and spiritual to the light and fluffy: I’m also learning what clothes work on this body and which don’t.

I worked so hard to build a wardrobe of clothes I love and yet, whether through fading trends or body changes, I’m having to pivot.

I shared my Spring Wardrobe back in April. Here’s my summer one, with just a few tweaks.

I’ve invested some cash into more comfortable and flattering shorts as well as some tank tops and a baseball cap big enough for this giant head of mine.

I know some of you are getting ready for sweater weather, but I don’t anticipate that happening here until early November. I’ve got three months of summer wardrobe, so this should be good.

I watched another reel this week on enclothed cognition that was super interesting. You know “clothes make the man” is real. So, as I transition into an older mom, I wanted to dress how I want to feel. Ha!

That goes for my hair, too.

I’d been puzzled this last couple weeks why my hair was freaking out. I am so glad that I booked only a 6-week gap between appointments. My stylist said that my hair grew about 1 1/2 inches in the last 6 weeks!

Suffice it to say, I’m so glad to have had a trim. I have no idea why the quick growth; Melissa attributed it to “hair grows more in summer” which I’m not sure is true, but I’ll take the body wins where I can get them!

The rest of my body sure doesn’t know when to behave!

What I’ve Been Doing

Currently, Bryan and I are both navigating lab results — we both have high total cholesterol and ldl — so we’re making some changes.

Despite my best efforts to exercise more and do it sorta-kinda the Dr. Stacy Sims way, I find myself realizing that that isn’t working for me. “That” is nebulous of course. I’m sure what she defines are her must-do protocol might not be what my take-aways were.

That said, I’m not going to worry about eating within 30 minutes of waking and I am dialing my protein down to 100 (I was getting 150). I’m also going to take the information I have and process it into what I actually want to do for the rest of my life.

Interesting to note: That drop in total cholesterol? That was from this. Anyway, more in the food section below. Keep reading.

The other important thing we “did” of the last week was a total deep clean of the house. It’s so nice to have a good reset.

The kids hosted Game Night on Saturday. I stepped back this time because I wanted to be less of a micro-manager. Now that everyone is college and above, they don’t need a chaperone.

I packed Bryan and I a cooler of charcuterie, cheese, veggies, and fruit and we had dinner in our room. It was nice!

What I’ve Been Eating

The charcuterie was lovely, but I’ll be taking a step back from salami and lots of cheese now. Sigh.

It’s all good.

And I know, it’s probably a little silly. If you’ve been reading for any length of time, you know that I’ve been struggling in this area of nutrition for a while. But, I hadn’t had labs done since February of 2024. Labs are always very motivating for me.

Like a report card. Ha!

I’m pleased to report that I did a good job with the vitamin D3/K2. For the first time ever, I wasn’t deficient in Vitamin D! Yay! Something worked as it should.

Anyway, I’m doing research and since Bryan and I are in the same boat, the whole family will feel the effects. Ha!

I worked through my recipes and tagged some that felt August-worthy, checked them with Bryan to make sure he liked them and then did the meal planning for the whole month.

The kids have a variety of trips planned in August and so B and I will have a bit of a staycation while the house is completely empty. Yay! So I didn’t plan all those meals.

The recipes that are circled are ones that I will double and freeze so that we’ll have food for the staycation and beyond.

I still plan to get lots of veggies, but I’m not going to worry about hitting 150 g protein or 800 g fruits and veggies. That felt like a lot of pressure. And since I’ve gained 20 pounds since Christmas, it’s clear something isn’t working.

Now to find out what will!

What I’ve Been Listening/Watching

Despite all the running around this week, I’ve listened to some fantastic podcasts, like these:

• Home Fires – about friendship, really good, especially since I just was reading about how Jesus commands us Christians to love one another in a unique way.
• Home Fires – about aging, also really good.
• What Have You – about our attitudes and how we can shape the experience of our challenges
• The Art of Home – a crossover episode with Sugar and Spice Mom – Allison is such a great storyteller; it’s great to hear more of her story.

I also really enjoyed the first four episodes of Gone. Austen fans will recognize Colonel Brandon from the better of the Sense and Sensibilities. I am eager to watch the final two episodes when they release.

We are currently in season 3 of Death in Paradise. Both girls are watching now. We won’t finish it by the time our subscription ends, especially since they’ll both be working on campus during the week starting next week.

So, it will be a good time for a media fast coming up! I want to read more.

What I’ve Been Reading

I finally finished The Four Loves by CS Lewis. You can tell that I was itching to underline, but preserved the status of the book with sticky tabs. I still need to spend time copying the bits into my common place book.

It was good. The first two chapters resonated with me more than the last two, but I blame my brain more than I do Lewis. I’m sure it will be something to reread in a few years. As with all his work, I think there’s more to process and understand.

The rest of my reading for the month was light and fluffy. Nothing to report home about. I enjoyed the new Courtney Walsh book, but as mid-life love stories always involve divorce/death and pain, it’s a little bittersweet.

As with most books in this genre, I recommend getting it from the library.

The Four Loves is the only one of this month’s reading that’s worth owning. Which probably says something about my reading choices.

On my TBR for August:

I’m really enjoying reading paper books at bed, so I ordered some from Thrift Books and got $10 back through Capital One Shopping:

• 100 Cupboards by ND Wilson (kids)
• My Man Jeeves by PG Wodehouse
• No Ordinary Home by Carol Brazo

I’ve got these kindle versions from the library or on hold:

• Between a Wok and a Dead Place by Leslie Budewitz (modern mystery)
• Theo of Golden (maybe) – My hold is almost ready and I’ve heard mixed reviews, but I put -0 store in its recommendations by Katie Couric and Jen Hatmaker, so we’ll see what the fuss is about. 🙄
• Plot & Structure
• The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler

And since my bookshelf doesn’t get enough attention, gonna try to dig into these:

• The Remains of the Day by Kazoo Ishiguro
• Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne & King
• The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield

It’s been many months since I’ve read ten books in a month — and certainly not on the more serious side as these. But, we shall see!