This week, I solve your problems. (I know, people hate that. But it doesn’t bother me when *I* do it.)
Problem: You think cutting onions is unpleasant.
Solution: I hate cutting onions, too. They make me cry. And not in an awesome BBC period miniseries kind of way, in a Gollum-esque “It burns, it burns us” kind of way.
But I cook with them, a lot. I’m still not sure if he hasn’t been just kidding about this for the last four years, but Bobby (7) claims that they are his favorite food.
So one day, as I was weeping and grimacing through cutting up an onion, Jack (11) saw me, ran to the garage, and came back with his swim goggles. I gave them a try. I look like a total goofball, but I can now cut onions with impunity.
Which came in handy on Tuesday, which was Bobby’s name day. He got to pick what we had for dinner (for more on how we celebrate birthdays, name days, and baptism days, see here) and he picked . . . French Onion Soup. I used this recipe (and Jack’s swim goggles) and it turned out great!
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| I cut up the bread into chunks and toast them in the oven under the broiler. It’s easier for the kids to eat than a big piece of bread in there. |
Occasionally, The Onion can also make me cry with laughter.
Problem: You miss the musings of Jen from Epbot on geekery, girliness, and goofing off.
Solution: Jen is back (!) with a great post on how to avoid the types of frustrations that led her to take an extended break: 6 Things I Learned On My Internet Sabbatical.
Unfortunately, Allie from Hyperbole and a Half still (mostly) isn’t blogging. But when she already wrote the funniest blog post ever, why should she?
Problem: Season 7 of Doctor Who Isn’t on Netflix.
Solution: You can totally watch it FOR FREE, with no commercials at Tvids.net. I do not know why. But you can.
It doesn’t work on mobile devices (or at least it didn’t on my iPad), but it worked like a charm on the desktop.
So now I’ve FINALLY seen season 7. And I found it . . . kind of confusing. I mostly liked how they wrapped up the Amy and Rory plotline, and Clara is a cutiepie. But there was a lot going on. I was multi-tasking while watching, which I didn’t do while watching previous seasons (but I didn’t have the kind of to-do list then that I have now, see below), so that might explain it. But I felt like I never quite knew who everyone was or where they came from or why.
But, I’m long past being able to do anything but just blindly love Doctor Who. So it was awesome.
Thanks Reddit.
Problem: You are an introvert.
Solution: That’s not a problem.
I thought I had already sorted that one out here. But in case you need more, try Matt Walsh.
He wrote a post in response to an email that he received which read, in part:
“…The biggest problem with homeschooling is its failure to effectively socialize children. Public school teaches kids to be outgoing and extroverted. I’ve found that many homeschooled kids seem to be quiet and uncomfortable in social situations. The classroom environment could help these kids come out of their shell…”
Um, yikes. Matt does a great job responding, as is his habit. It’s great to be reminded sometimes that introverts and extroverts are good at different things. We should all be striving to be our best selves, of course. And sometimes for introverts that means being more outgoing than we are naturally inclined to be. But still, the idea that extrovert=the norm and introvert=something to be overcome is pretty bothersome.
And it’s nothing new, check out this anti-introvert propaganda film from 1951:
More prayerful acceptance of where God wants us to be . . . be it in college or not or in the workforce or in the home, and less hand-wringing. Let’s try that.
In case you missed them, here are some of the relevant links.
- Ivy League graduate Anne-Marie Maginnis defends her decision to stay home with her children: O, Alma Mater
- Baylor Professor Elizabeth Corey says career and motherhood will always tragically conflict: No Happy Harmony
- One Catholic man at Fix the Family thinks Catholic doctrine is largely unsupportive of women being educated or employed outside the home: 6 reasons to NOT Send Your Daughter to College
- Haley from Carrots for Michaelmas allows her husband to defend us from the preposterousness: Six Reasons to NOT Send Your Son to College
Update 2024: The blog post “6 Reasons to NOT Send Your Daughter to College” is no longer available, but this article in response to it has a good summary of the points included in the original post.
Problem: You’re supposed to be having this baby in 10 weeks and your To-do list is SHOCKINGLY long.
Solution: Wow, we really have a lot in common.
Frankly, I’m less confident in my ability to help with this one. I’m getting the feeling that there are things on my list that are just not going to get done before this baby comes. But I shall give it a valiant effort.
Perhaps some of these will help: 25 Productivity Secrets From History’s Greatest Thinkers. (Ummmm . . . no thank you Ben Franklin, I don’t think I will.)
- How we deal with tattling and bickering among siblings
- How we square away one-year-olds
- How we organize a homeschool day (with four different grades, plus pre-schoolers)
- How we avoid the pitfalls of the Advent/Christmas season
- My thoughts on maternity clothes
- Why I don’t make two dinners
p.s.
