The Weekly Ramble – March 21, 2025

Hello and Happy Friday! The end of March is peering back at us from around the bend up ahead. Here’s what I’ve been doing, eating, listening, reading, and writing this past week.

What I’ve been doing

Last weekend was so much fun! Bryan and I went up to Burbank on Thursday to hang out with our eldest son and daughter-in-law. We took in the Kings-Capitals game and had a great time catching up.

Then, FisherMan24’s girlfriend came for the weekend and we had fun catching up with her. Also: Game Night.

This week has been about getting on a routine and honestly figuring out my life. I had a meeting with our tax preparer. Dum-da-dum-dum.

We are very DIY about many things, but not taxes. Especially with writing business expenses to figure out. Last year was bad, like really bad compared to previous years. We’ll likely take a loss on 2024.

This has me contemplating all my life’s choices and how I’m currently spending my time and our money. Your prayers for wisdom and clarity are appreciated!

What I’ve been eating

I’ve largely been relying on easy meals that don’t require a lot of prep, so I’m not experimenting or actively developing new recipes.

We’ve had several date nights at home over the last few months to economize. It was nice to be able to eat outside this week for several dinners, including date night. I made salads and Bryan grilled chicken. We opened a bottle of wine.

It all cost less than the $40-50 we might have spent plus there’s tons of leftovers.

What I’ve been listening to

FishChick16 and I have been listening to the audio version of Perelandra during our car rides. It’s a library loan, so here’s hoping we finish before it disappears off the Libby app.

This quote jumped out at us, so much so that I had to look it up and write it down:

You could send your should after the good you had expected, instead of turning it to the good you had got. You could refuse the real good; you could make the real fruit taste insipid by thinking of the other…

It is I, I myself, who turn from the good expected to the given good. Out of my own heart I do it. One can conceive a heart which did not: which clung to the good it had first thought of and turned the good which was given it into no good.

— The Queen, Perelandra, by CS Lewis

I was curious what the internet had to say about “the given good” as that’s a concept I’ve never heard of before. I thought this piece was worth sharing.

What I’ve been reading

I purchased Save the Cat! Writes a Novel about this same time last month. It’s taken me that long to read it, partly because I was expecting to apply the tips as I went along. I realized that would never happen or I’d never finish the book.

Done is better than perfect, so I’m trying to apply that.

What I’ve been writing

I haven’t done as much writing as I have done thinking, but I think that’s good. Who am I to think that it would come easily or be good right out of the gate?

I started reading Wordsmithy this morning and was pleased to find confirmation on a number of my concerns and limiting beliefs:

Be at peace with being lousy for a while. Chesterton once said that anything worth doing was worth doing badly. He was right. Only an insufferable egoist expects to be brilliant first time out. Some writers—those who live charmed lives—have been brilliant first time out, but this happens so rarely that we shouldn’t care who they are. You can’t copy them anyway. You can copy those who got good. – Douglas Wilson

If you’re curious about more play-by-play writer stuff, be sure to follow me on Instagram.

Okay, that’s it for me. Company’s coming at 5:30 and I’ve got a house to clean!

What’s NEW on the Blog