The Weekly Ramble – June 19, 2026

Years ago I spied that sign in World Market while on vacation and commented to the family about it. Somehow they smuggled it home as a gift for me. As a recovering perfectionist, I appreciate its constant reminder that it doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.

And that’s a good thing, because there’s lots of imperfection to be found in this world!

This week practically flew by, but I’m working on my time budget for the summer and seeing some success. I know that it will shift a bit when the college starts back up and our weekly rhythm changes, but for now it’s felt good to get into a routine.

Last fall I loaded the Be Present app to my phone in an effort to curb my social media usage. And while it was sorta helpful, it kinda jammed up all my apps. It required that you lock everything but a select few.

Unbeknownst to me, the native Screen Time settings in iPhone essentially do what I had wanted in the first place: lock it down for certain hours. That was a game changer this week as I made socials inaccessible before 9 am.

What this did was manifold:

• I couldn’t lie in bed and scroll.
• I could make sure I ate within 30 minutes of waking instead of getting distracted.
• The lack of distraction also helped me get my steps and do stretching/lifting/cardio as well as get breakfast within the golden window after exercise.

We’ll see how long I keep to it, but it was a productive week in some ways thanks to one small tweak.

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

What I’m Learning

Visual cues are helpful as well as clear communication!

The kids and I had our second housekeeping meeting on Sunday and that was very beneficial. We worked out some kinks and I was able to address one of my recent peeves: unloading the dishwasher first thing only to have the dishes pile up when it was super easy for folks to load.

Here’s hoping that my fancy new sign will signal to the masses that they need to load their own.

What I’ve Been Doing

While part of me rejoices that my schedule is wide open, the other part of me knows that the freedom in my schedule is only as valuable as what I do with it. The worker bee wants to write posts and be at the computer all day; the relational me says people are why I’m here.

So, I’m trying to figure out a good rhythm of work while also making time for relationships. Bryan and I went on a breakfast date on Saturday which was very nice. I packed a cooler and we drove up the coast to explore.

I’ve also brought back weekly lunches with the kids, an evolution of Planning Quality Time with Each Child.

Both things have been good. I tend to get very self-focused and engrossed in a project. Remembering that people are more important than things is key to keeping an even keel.

What I’ve Been Eating

Bryan mentioned on our outing that he ranks good burgers right up there with pizza night, so I’ve been making more homemade buns to go with burgers. This proofing tray has been amazing!

This week’s meals included:

• Salad Sunday – I made Asian Coleslaw with this dressing, Mac Salad, and a Big Fruit Salad along with Grilled Chicken with 4-ingredient marinade
• Curried Chicken Divan with rice
• Chicken Enchilada Casserole (with red sauce) with rice and zucchini
• Chicken Caesar Salad
• Turkey Burgers on Homemade Buns
• Tonight is Grilled Pizza
• Tomorrow is Snacky Dinner

Yes, that’s a lot of chicken, because I get the big packs of boneless skinless chicken breast from Costco Business for $2.99/pound and other meals have been a lot more.

What I’ve Been Listening/Watching

Worked into my ideal week is a noon lunch break with Miss 17. We make lunch together and usually watch a mystery on TV, followed with a cup of tea, especially if it’s a British mystery.

We have really enjoyed the vibe of You’re Killing Me on Acorn. The language and sexual references are definitely on the edge for some standards, so my disclaimer is there. But, the casting is really great; I have a soft spot for Brooke Shields because I grew up watching her in the news.

Oddly, it watches like a Hallmark show even though it’s on Acorn.

The last episode comes out on Monday and our subscriptions to both Acorn and Hallmark end. BUT, we’ll grab a couple channels for 99 cents in the current sale and that will get us through summer vacation.

We’re also enjoying a few Hallmark series, especially Signed Sealed Delivered whose early editions are from the pre-woke catalog of Hallmark. It has been remarkably faith filled and more like the old school Hallmarks that make you cry. We need to finish those up before the subscription ends!

What I’ve Been Reading

Did I mention my summer cooking project? I thought it would be fun to cook through some past decades via my cooking magazine collection.

This week I spent an evening reading through Fine Cooking June 2006. It was filled with recipes that I would absolutely make, but I imagine felt very avant garde 20 years ago.

I’d forgotten the arugula hype of 2006 – there are NINE recipes that feature arugula in this magazine! But, once I recognized that pattern, I remembered commenting to a friend at the time, “what is the deal with arugula?!” Ha!

Anyway, I’d been lamenting the death of the magazine and that I didn’t save them all. I looked online for back issues and was reminded that Fine Cooking made compilations of each year’s magazine and published them in annual volumes.

I remember at the end of the year they’d offer it to you, but I was never motivated. Why buy the book if I was gonna keep the magazines. hahaha! Needless to say I bought this one used as well as the next two. I’ll let you know next week what I think.

While I have kept up with my Bible reading (just finished Day 228!) and I am hoping to finish Eve in Exile this weekend, I haven’t made great progress in reading — probably because I’m not reading much light stuff.

Last summer I had a steady diet of clean romance and this year has me in a quandary. Much of what I’ve started, I’ve abandoned because the writing just isn’t that great.

It’s like having a twinkie after many years and finding out it’s no longer one of your favorite things to eat. #truestory

I need to find more of the books that I want to write. I know I read a couple last year that were deep and meaningful and still had a happily ever after. Remind me what those were?!

What I’ve Been Writing

A lot of my computer work this week has been admin-type stuff, but I did pull together a post on making the most of summer veg! Let me know what’s helpful!

Okay, that’s it for me. Leave a comment and let’s chat!