The Weekly Ramble – March 27, 2026

I think there are loads of metaphors we could bake up from this picture. The one that springs to mind, like a sourdough sponge, is that my life is overflowing with good work to do.

Even though it was a home week – no jockeying to the community college thanks to spring break – I had a rough time getting ahead of things. There were so many things I could tackle, it was hard to focus on just one.

So, prepare yourself for a bit of ramble. Let’s start with a win, shall we? Homemade Greek Yogurt!

I’ve been dabbling in health and nutrition research and trying to reconcile the extra cost involved with my efforts at saving money. Sometimes the two topics seem very much at odds.

However, as I watch older women in my life make poor choices and decline due to poor choices, I’ve decided I want to put in more effort on the health front. You know I’ve talked about it; I have struggled to gear up.

Recently, I’ve been thinking about making more homemade foods like the homemade bread of last month, and pulling us even farther from processed foods. It’s been a dance of the cha-cha for the last decade or so, starting with getting out of debt and doing our first sugar fast.

Sometimes convenience wins out.

Anywho, as you may know I keep a price book in my head. Over the past year or so I’ve watched the price of yogurt (the good kind) double. A gallon of milk is $3ish while a quart of plain Fage is over $7.

When I first learned to make yogurt, it didn’t really pencil out. Making homemade never saved money. Lately, I decided that I’d give it a go again and see if I could make it make cents.

• 2 quarts of milk + 1/4 c yogurt + 1 cup powdered milk = 2.25 quarts of yogurt, about half the cost of store yogurt.

I’m so pleased with the results of this first batch. Not only did the yogurt set thick and solid, but with the use of a yogurt strainer, I got the texture even more perfect. It was wild to taste the difference of texture between the strained and unstrained!

Fun fact: with the strainer, you could even turn cheap yogurt into Greek-style yogurt.

One caveat is that straining does reduce the yield by 1/4. The 2.25 quarts, once strained, yielded 2 cups of whey, so the savings margin is a little smaller, though still a good deal over buying store-bought yogurt.

The best part is that my daughter and I love it more than Fage! I am going to do more experiments with timing and try it without the powdered milk to see if I can get the cost down.

Either way, it felt like a win!

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

What I’ve been Doing

I’m thinking about my next season of life a little more, for health, work, and travel. Bryan and I will be freer to travel once the summer comes since we won’t personally be tied to the kids’ schedules.

There isn’t a ton of money for travel, but two people can travel much more cheaply than 7, so we’ll see.

You may remember my magnet collection, established with our trip to France in 2014. I used to get a magnet everywhere we went. Like every city foreign and domestic.

When I ran out of fridge space, I quit. And so I only have one Japan magnet and no Kauai magnet at all, though the Hawaii one counts for Kauai, I suppose.

I deep cleaned the kitchen a couple weeks ago and decided I didn’t like the magnet clutter. Imagine my joy in seeing that this old metal framed mirror I bought at Target a decade ago can hold magnets. So fun!

Our trip to Japan seems like a lifetime ago. I know, I still owe you posts!

Anywho, we’ve been talking about where to go on our next trip. We have a jaunt booked to Sacramento in late spring so that we can help the SacFishers move into a new home, but after that? Who knows?

I’ve never seen much of California (ie Yosemite, Lake Shasta, the Sequoias) so that might be something to explore. Late last year, Miss19 suggested a Redemption Road Trip to redeem the bad road trip memories of my childhood. So maybe that’s what we’ll do!

What I’ve been Eating

Another win of the week was making energy bites with chopped up Cadbury mini eggs in them. You know how addictive those are? They are my one weakness at Easter.

While I wouldn’t call these energy bites “healthy”, based on the amount of honey and maple syrup needed to keep it all contained, the protein powder, oats, flaxseed, and almonds brought some nutrition versus just eating Easter candy by the handfuls.

Before I could make another batch, I made a couple decisions:

1. I bought a new food processor (I’ve lived three years without one, so it was time) so the next batch can contain dates and less added sugar.
2. I started the Belly Fat Blast Challenge by Dr Mary Claire Haver, author of The New Menopause (more on that below).

We all know I needed something to help me get it in gear, and I think this challenge is it. I’ve already been abstaining from alcohol for a few weeks and this is what I needed to get over the hump of indecision over other things.

The challenge is simple:

• > 25g fiber/day
• < 25g added sugar/day
• exercise for 150 minutes/week – I’m working on getting my steps again!
• reduce stress – a lifelong pursuit
• no alcohol

One helpful tool has been to switch from the MyMacros+ app over to Cronometer. There’s a setting for the BFBC in the app to help you track fiber and added sugars which has been incredibly helpful.

As always, each time I start tracking again, I learn so much! Learning leads to getting on a roll.

For instance, the days I have eggs for breakfast are harder to hit the fiber goal, even with a load of veggies. But having protein overnight oats? ding ding ding. That works.

It’s easy to get that on repeat and it feels good knowing I’m doing something good for my cholesterol at the same time as my belly fat. Lol.

This article (and the ones linked within it) by Dr Stacy Sims also helped get me over my hump, especially where fiber was concerned. I had no idea, or really, just didn’t want to listen to all the people spouting about gut health.

The article helped me understand more of the process that’s going on which gives me better motivation to do the thing. Even though I’m not an athlete like Sims works with, I figure good things can’t hurt.

What I’ve been Listening/Watching

Among other things, I’ve been watching gas prices. Ouch! This was taken at a super low-priced station for our town. Most other places are in the $6-range, so I am thankful to see it in the mid-5’s.

My thoughts on high gas prices.

But, as for media that I’m watching, well…

I always forget that one of the girls has a Netflix subscription that we rarely tap into. Since we seem to have reached a lull in Amazon offerings, I explored Netflix last week and was so glad I did. (I did pay her a $2 rental fee.)

For movie night we watched Wake Up Dead Man, the third in the Knives Out series. It was way better than the second film, and quite possibly better than the first.

I had low expectations because the storyline features Christianity. I expected them to trash the faith, but I was pleasantly surprised by the handling of faith. It’s one of those movies that gets you thinking and talking afterward, which I consider a good thing.

What I’ve been Reading

I didn’t complete any books this week, but I should finish at least one and possibly two of my in-progress reads this weekend, or at least before the month ends.

MONEY

The Art of Spending Money is a sequel to The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. I liked the first one; I think this second book is even better!

I’m listening to the audiobook, actually, on library loan, but it’s definitely getting added to my library. I just need to decide which format. The kids are more likely to read it if it’s paper. I’m more likely to read it again if it’s kindle.

Boy! do I miss Kindle Matchbook.

FICTION, BUT NOT

That Hideous Strength has been on my list for over a year and I have started and stopped several times via audio, kindle, and paper. The problem is my feeble brain. Clearly I need to eat more fiber!

There are deep allegory and allusions to politics that I have to think deeply about in order to understand. Probably why Bryan and Mr25 both love this book; they are much more versed in all that while I prefer to keep my head in my cave.

Anyway, I will finish this book!

MENOPAUSE

The New Menopause is so interesting. Having battled my way through perimenopause symptoms for at least 8 years now, I’m just sorry I didn’t have this to read sooner.

Still better late than never, right?

I don’t love the author’s feminist slant, but I find the information fascinating. There’ve been many times where I’ve been close to tears because I finally feel seen and heard.

In the same vein, this video was fascinating to watch. Especially since my own GP said things like, “Eat more sweet potatoes.” And when asked about HRT, “You don’t want to get breast cancer.” Oy!

I’m thankful that it can be different for my girls and maybe I’ll be able to equip myself better for aging, too.

Other books on my shelf:

• The Menopause Brain
• Brain Food
• The XX Brain
• The Enchanted April (for book club)

I will probably be due for a slough of mindless reads if and when I get through even three of these books.