The Weekly Ramble – July 4, 2025
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Aren’t you excited for a new month? Yay! Let’s chat about the weight of glory, the scope creep of dejunking, and what yummy things to put on your meal plan rotation.
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Hello and How are you? I recognize that rambles have been thin on the ground as of late. May was a whirlwind of activity (birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and packing to leave) and then we were gone for most of June/recovering from jet lag.
Today I’m back with what I hope will be the start of months of weekly rambles, a time where you and I can catch up. I know lots of you read last week’s, because: google analytics, but didn’t leave a comment.
Let this be your week to delurk. Drop a comment and tell me the best thing you ate this week — if you can’t think of anything else to chat about.
Now onto the ramble…
What I’ve Been Doing
When I did my 90-day planning earlier this week, I identified 12 cluttery areas in my house that need my attention:
- my closet
- the Room of Requirement (aka the linen closet where I’ve stored many a non-linen item)
- Harry’s room (the cupboard under the stairs that acts as a hospitality closet)
- the bookcases in the front room,
- the loft where the kids have their desks
- the black dresser (storage for my food blogging props)
- the red dresser (our junk drawer/emergency supplies)
- the prop cabinet (overflow for my food blogging props)
- my upstairs desk
- my downstairs desk
- the kitchen cabinets
- the laundry room
- BONUS: all bathroom cabinets
I figured if I had 12 weeks, I could knock out one area per week. This week I chose what I thought would be the simplest (hahahaha!): the bookcases.
Who knew that the Bookcases had fingers in various pies around my home, including but not limited to the loft, the Room of Requirement, and both my desks?
Needless to say, scope creep is real. What I thought would take a few hours before and after my Tuesday doctor’s appointment morphed into a two-day decluttering project, lots of dust, some blue tape to mark out space for my new home library, and an order from Home Depot for both a loveseat and a rug.
This also involved eliminating my downstairs desk area, something I’ve been contemplating since I really appreciate solitude when it comes to writing.
Currently, the house is mostly put back together now, but things were dicey for awhile there. Bryan came home every day to some new scene that he may or may not have been vibing for.
In the end, I’m really excited about the progress and fingers crossed that the lime green loveseat is even better than I hope!
What I’ve Been Eating
I hardly ate when we were in Japan. That is no exaggeration.
Between stress, humidity, and food just not appealing to me, I ate merely for sustenance. Some days it was a yogurt and a banana and a big mac. Other days, it was ice cream and a craft burger.
Fun fact: we went to a craft beer and burger joint in every city — except Tokyo. We missed that opportunity so we have to go back.
Despite the number of burgers and monaka ice cream I consumed, I lost some weight, which I appreciated.
Now that we’re home, my appetite has more than made its appearance. Which needs to be tempered.
I’m trying to balance enjoying yummy food with keeping the extra weight off. Also, trying to keep up the 12-18,000 steps/day.
Both of those things are hard.
To make at least the eating part easier, I’ve leaned heavily on salads and grilled dinners. My summer meal plan on repeat is looking like this:
- Sunday – grilled meat and cold salads
- Monday – grilled fish, Mexican rice, and salad
- Tuesday – tacos/taco salad
- Wednesday – grilled Asian chicken and bowls
- Thursday – grilled sausage and grilled veggies*
- Friday – Grilled pizza
- Saturday – Burgers
Bryan and I used to have date nights on Thursdays, but we’ve switched to Saturday morning coffee dates. It’s cheaper, less trafficky, and generally more peaceful on an early weekend morning.
What I’ve Been Listening to
The What Have You podcast continues to be my go-to for inspiration and instruction. I know that some people don’t like the chitter-chatter at the beginning, but I promise there’s always something meaty in there.
Now that they’ve improved their sound recordings, even my sound snob husband likes listening. I still send him the link with a timestamp of when the meat starts. For instance, while episode 241 is highly entertaining, the meat starts at the 25 minute mark.
Since they only have one episode every week or every two weeks, I have been working my way through the archives. Bekah and Rachel always discuss some biblical truth so it’s not dated.
What I’ve Been Reading
I have been on the struggle bus with these two books — not because they’re bad — they’re good! But, they take brain power and I’ve gotten into a sore habit of checking out via books.
Not always a bad thing, but makes deep reading more difficult.
So far in our summer reading challenge, I’ve read four books:
- Reverie by Drew Taylor
- Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
- Dear Henry, Love Edith by Becca Kinzer
- Home Safe by Tracy Baack
While Reverie and Peace are both on the deeper side, Peace is moreso, the other two were fairly light. Not a bad thing, but I realize that my brain struggles with the harder stuff and so I need to push myself more.
Give me a good chiding if I don’t finish these three this month:
- The Business of Being a Writer by Jane Friedman
- The Weight of Glory by CS Lewis
- The Annotated Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and David Shapard
What I’ve Been Writing
I had every intention of getting in 15 hours of blogging and 10 hours of fiction writing this week, but as we’ve established scope creep is a thing. I did, however, get my planning for the month and the summer squared away.
I know what needs doing, so when I sit down to do it, I won’t be wasting time wondering what to do.
That said, I did get some blogging in. Check out these recent posts and if you aren’t already signed up for emails, do that here.
How was your week?
What’s up in your world? Leave a comment or a prayer request. We’re all in this together!
Favorite thing I ate was sweet potato gnocchi in a cream sauce with shrimp at a fancier restaurant for my anniversary!
Not that you need any book suggestions but Broken Bread by Tilly Dillehay is phenomenal!
I’ve read two of her other books. Thanks for the rec! And that gnocchi dish sounds delish!
Glad you’re back with the ramble, I’ve missed it!
Thanks, Melissa!
this is me, de-lurking as ordered🤠
The most fun I had this week was giving chat GPT most of my inventory items (around 300) and asking it to create 75 meals using only those items. A total laugh riot and many good suggestions!
Thank you for delurking! And I wanna hear what chaptgpt suggested. Haha!
first 10:
1. Chicken Sausage Crescent Roll-Ups Aidells chicken sausage, crescent rolls, shredded Colby Jack cheese. Slice sausage, roll with cheese in crescent dough, bake at 375°F for 12–15 minutes.
2. Creamy Potato Soup with Cheese & Croutons Campbell’s cream of potato soup, shredded cheese, butter garlic croutons. Heat soup, stir in cheese, top with croutons.
3. Taco Meat Nachos Taco meat, Don Perico chips, cheddar cheese, crema Mexicana. Layer chips, meat, and cheese. Microwave or bake until melty. Drizzle with crema.
4. Chicken Salad Sandwiches Chicken salad with cranberries, sourdough bread. Assemble and serve cold or grilled.
5. Mini Pizzas Pillsbury pizza crust, Contadina pizza sauce, shredded Colby Jack or feta. Cut dough into small rounds, top with sauce and cheese, bake 12 minutes at 400°F.
6. Breakfast Wraps Eggs, cheese, flour tortillas, bacon or sausage. Scramble eggs, heat meat, roll into tortillas with cheese.
7. Cheeseburger Macaroni Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Mac Cup, ground beef, sour cream. Brown meat, prepare cup as directed, stir together with sour cream.
8. Boursin Grilled Cheese & Soup Boursin, sliced bread, canned soup. Spread Boursin on bread, grill; heat soup on the side.
9. Feta & Olive Salad Feta crumbles, Greek olive mix, sun-dried tomatoes, dressing. Mix and serve as a light, savory salad or side.
10. Potato & Egg Skillet Hash brown patties (chopped), eggs, onions, shredded cheese. Sauté chopped patties with onions, scramble in eggs, top with cheese.
If that post is too large, you can trim it. I was reluctant to send all 75!!
Interesting! Thanks for sharing!
As always, I love the Ramble! I’ve spent the last two weeks recovering from hanf surgery. Only four more to go before I can start doing a few things. I’m looking forward to getting back in the kitchen. A cook, hubby is not!!!
Hope your recovery goes well! Don’t rush anything. 🙂
I’m a long-time reader.
Best foods this week: corn on the cob and Publix Premium ice cream
TV show I’ve been enjoying: Murder She Wrote
Books I’ve been loving: The Mitfofd series by Jan Karon and the non-fiction title The Body Keeps the Score
Sounds like a good week.
Just an FYI, I was incredibly triggered by the Body Keeps the Score. It was disturbing in so many ways. Then I read that some of the book is held in question by others in the field, like it might not really be the authority some say it is. All that to say, read with caution.
I loved having some quinoa with the first fresh pesto of the season, yum!!!!
Yum!
Happy 4th Jessica! Our small, Midwestern town does a 4 day street fair and our 11 and 12 year old kids have gone each day. Best things I’ve eaten this week, where best equals food needed at the time: a simple dinner of grilled chicken and rice my husband and older son had waiting for us when the younger ones and I got home from the fair on Thursday. That meal fueled us for the 5 mile road race we did on Friday morning. I turned 50 this year and haven’t done a 5 mile road race since 1999. I am prioritizing my health and fitness this summer. I have a long way to go, and it was a slow run, but I’m celebrating it as a good step in the right direction. Other favorite things I’ve eaten – the salad I had prepped a few days in advance which made an easy, healthy lunch for me after the run and parade on Friday. And sweet cherries! We have certainly sampled some of the fair treats, but have been intentional about drinking lots of water on these hot days and getting fresh fruits and veggies and real foods too.
This all sounds so great. I bet it feels good to follow through on those health goals.
Hello, Jessica! Happy 4th of July! I am a long time reader and always look forward to your posts!
It’s possible that the best thing I will eat this week is your deli potato salad. I made it for dinner tonight, and test tasted some. I always feel like my potato salad is kind of meh, so I tried your recipe. It’s delicious!
Kristi
Ooh, I love it! That is a fave here. Also the loaded one and the whole grain mustard version. You could try a few new potato salads this summer. 😜
I just learned a new term that is totally me sometimes: scope creep! Thank you!
Bryan got his Project Manager Professional certificate a few years ago. I learned all the terms. lol
I’m impressed by the number of books you can read! I’m a bit off my goal of 120 for the year, but one of my seasonal book clubs closed and I’ve had a streak of DNF. I’m also 6 weeks into not having to drive a child to school so I’ve lost listening time. I enjoy the rambles, even when I don’t comment.
I can read a lot of not-deep. Those are easy to read quickly. The other stuff not so much.
Are your kids all graduated now?
Not yet, just summer break for the youngest.