Lots of Proofreading and Memory-Making

It's a busy time for me at work. Our product catalog is in production, as well as another mini-catalog, so that means I'm doing a lot of proofreading. Most of our publications originate in Europe, so that means I change a LOT of "fibres" to "fibers" and "colours" to "colors." And all the "-ise" words to "-ize:" Realise, minimise, accessorise. It's tiresome, but easy work. I can put on an album and get into the flow of it. Our office has moved, but we're still waiting on final inspections before we can actually GO to the new building. I've seen my cute new office (I got a real room, not a cube, woo!), but I can't set my stuff up yet. I LOVE the idea of putting things away in an orderly new way. A place for everything (except all the old stuff I happily threw out) and everything in its place. I bought myself a little violet plant for my new desk (no windows, so it has to be something that does okay in fluorescents), and I have new school pictures to put in my 5x7" frames, so come on, building inspectors! For once, I want to be there! 

For a day or two. Then I want to work from home again. ;)

Updates: Band

Alex's senior marching band season has come to a close! Or, it will, tonight at the Fall Awards Reception. We made it! All the Friday afternoon/evening meals, all the competitions, all the football Fridays have finished, as well as our memorable trip to Orlando. The poor kids did not get to march in a parade at Universal  after all: Weather prevented it. I had seen the forecast for "90%" chance of rain, and thought, "Eh, it's Florida. It will rain for 10 minutes and then clear up again. This happens every afternoon." 

I was so wrong. It POURED rain from 6:00 am until 10:00 pm, non-stop and hard. And cold, for Florida. The high that day was about 65. But we put on our ponchos by golly and endured it, because we had paid money to be there! I guess the band kids were happier, even, because it meant more time on the rides than they would have had. 

Anyway, the Thrash family enjoyed our time at Hogwarts/Diagon Alley, drank our butter beer (yum), practiced magic with our $60 (!) wand, and rode every ride we could fit in. Most of them were simulators with 3D video, which I enjoyed at first. But I'm here to warn you: at age 47 after several of those in a row, the inner ear is not a happy inner ear. I closed my eyes in each of the last 5 or 6 rides we did, and breathed very deep, slow breaths. I still feel a little sick remembering it. 

On day 2, we hopped over to the Magic Kingdom, leaving Alex behind but happy to be in the Happiest Place on Earth. (We really did like Universal, though, and want to go back. Lots of rides were unavailable because of the rain.) I'm so glad we took Kate to Disney again. Last time she went, she was four years old. So this time was completely different -- we rode all the "roller coasters" they had. In quotes because Disney roller coasters are not very scary or big. She was scared of them! But brave! And we loved them all. Seven Dwarves Mine Train (a first for all of us), Big Thunder Mountain (my very favorite), and Space Mountain! We even stayed until the fireworks show (also a first! when the kids were little we never stayed late) at the castle. It was a Magical day, for sure. And we were so tired, after 2 days of it. But it was so worth it.

Volleyball

Club volleyball started last night with Kate's first practice. Here's what I was hoping for: All the moms who've done this before welcoming newbies like myself... someone asking where we live... perhaps finding a neighbor who asked did I want to carpool (the practice locations are a 25 minute drive for us)... coaches giving us parents a friendly welcome speech and "here's how it's going to work," and Kate receiving the $500 worth of uniforms I bought a month ago.

Exactly none of that happened. 

Maybe it will, on Wednesday when the practice is JUST our team (last night was a "master coaching" practice with a mix of several teams). But so far my eyebrow is raised. I can see 2 tournaments on the calendar so far, one local and one in Montgomery, which isn't too far away. So that's a positive...

Meals

When we got back from Orlando last Sunday, what sounded good and was easy was a good old spaghetti dinner. Yummy. The rest of the week we ate:

• Chicken enchiladas
• Chicken and Rice skillet
• BBQ shredded pork (bought for a fundraiser), which we've had two ways so far - once as sandwiches on buns, and once as a "pork plate" with green beans, baked beans, and King's Hawaiian rolls. There's still a lot leftover.

I'm planning one other interesting meal this week, which is:

• Pineapple Pork with Coconut Rice

I'd also like to make a tortellini/sausage soup recipe my sister sent me, but not sure anyone but me would eat it. Bummer. Maybe I should make some for my lunches.

Next week is Thanksgiving! Can you believe it?? We're going to Pensacola to be with my parents and I can't wait to make sausage dressing with my Mom, and Apple "Waldorf" Salad for my Dad. :)

Podcasts I Love

It took me a long time to get interested in podcasts. And I still only listen to them sporadically -- usually in the car. Sometimes on a walk. I don't like to "subscribe" to them, really, because then I'll feel like I'm "behind" if I don't listen on the day an episode drops. But when I'm in the right mood, there are a few that I really enjoy. I've found, lately, that listening to a podcast keeps me more calm than listening to SiriusXM radio, because the radio plays all the same songs and therefore, my mind wanders. Or, more accurately, frets. With a podcast, I can just fully immerse in whatever topic is being discussed, and the faucet of frets gets shut off. So, here are a few of my favorites right now, and what I like about them:

Terrible, Thanks for Asking - One of my first favorites. I haven't listened to it in a while, actually, but there have been some amazing episodes. They're generally about people's sad or difficult stories, which you think would be depressing. But it's not -- it's more like, "we're all in this together, and sometimes it sucks." I am a big admirer of the host, Nora McInerny. 

A Little Bit Culty, with Sarah Edmonson and Nippy Ames. These two have quite a story, as documented in HBO's The Vow, which we watched a year or two ago and LOVED. They were in a cult, but then they woke up, as they say. In fact, they were some of the whistleblowers who brought the cult down. And I'm so happy for them that they did. Their guests talk about things and groups that are either a little bit culty or a VERY LOT culty (they've had Mike Rinder, ex-Scientology guy, and Stephen Hassan, ex-Moonie). For this podcast, I really DO wait with bated breath for the next episode to drop.

The Dream - I'm not sure if I heard about this one from the previous one, but possibly. It's produced by a journalist -- one of my requirements for podcasts is that they're well-produced, not just some dude in his basement recording himself -- and season one was in the same vein as Culty: it was all about "The American Dream" as it relates to Multi Level Marketing/MLMs (culty!!). Super eye-opening. Lots of history about how MLMs came into being and how far they are embedded into the American culture and politics (it's pretty bad, y'all). Season 2 was about the Wellness industry -- potions and "treatments" and even multi-vitamins -- and equally eyebrow-raising. I hope there will be a Season 3.

Office Ladies - On a lighter note! Who doesn't adore Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey? When Kate started us watching (re-watching) The Office last summer, this was a fun one to start listening to. It's interesting to learn how TV shows are written, and sometimes they have guests who were in the show, which is fun.

Smartless - Big thanks to my sister for suggesting this one! It is, as she said, "complete brain candy," but still: who doesn't love Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett?! No one, that's who. Each of them has a voice I could listen to all day, and they surprise each other with other big-name actor or musician guests, and they're just FUNNY. I mean, I think all of them consider themselves comedians, so that's bound to be good. 

Sharon Says So - Sharon used to be a high school government teacher, and a good one if her pod and Instagram account are any indication. I actually prefer her Insta to the podcast, but once in a while I like to tune in and hear what she has to say on a topic -- which include a lot of history, and random history, at that. Example: She did an episode about Jean Lafitte and the battle of New Orleans. She stays very non-partisan, but talks about current issues: I definitely appreciate that. And her episodes are usually short, which is good when I have a half-hour commute. ;) 

Unorthodox - Ohhh, these are my Jewish friends. I haven't listened to it in quite a while, but I do love it. I don't have any claim whatsoever to Judaism, except that my ancestry.com DNA test showed I have 3% Jewish DNA (!) and I had lots of Jewish friends in college and was always interested in reading about their faith tradition in books like (well, honestly, Are You There, God, It's Me, Margaret was the very first) The Chosen when I was in school, and Bee Season in adulthood (both SO GOOD). The three delightful hosts comment on current events from a Jewish perspective, which I think is so nice as it very much widens my own. And bonus, they're very funny.

Jesuitical - After I started loving Unorthodox so much, I felt a little guilty for not exploring my own faith tradition in a similar way, ha! (Guilt = appropriate for Jewish AND Catholic sensibilities!) This is another one I haven't clicked in some time. But my favorite part is when they do "Desolations and Consolations" -- each host talks about something that either bummed them out (Desolation) or made them aware that God is good (Consolation) at the end. Such excellent Catholic words. 

I've listened to other podcasts, as well. I suggested Harry Potter and the Sacred Text to my mom, and she liked it more than I did (I only listened to 2 episodes, I think). Also Leah Remini's Scientology: Fair Game, Mike Rowe's The Way I Heard It, NPR's Hidden Brain, Serial, when it was popular, and of course This American Life -- but they don't all compel me like the ones above. 

What about you? Got any great pods to suggest?