Hello my friends!
Welcome to this, another fine Sunday with us blinking our eyes open and figuring out which socks to wear (I think the answer is none).
This past week, at my request, many of you offered up some of the advice and wisdom you’ve accumulated in your time making your life your life. Your comments were top-notch, super insightful, and really wonderful to read. Every one was a gem, but there are a few favorites I thought I’d share. If you’re interested, read more in the comment section at This is 35.
Faith offered this, ‘“love means to look at yourself the way one looks at distant things. For you are only one thing among many”.
Meredith shared this, “A fella shared with me how his grandmother trains bulls on her farm; As babies she fastens them to a rock. the rock is heavier than the young bull, restraining it to the diameter of the rock. The young bull is not content with its confinement and tries to break free by bucking for a few days or weeks, but eventually sees the futility and calms. As the bull calms it starts to grow, still chained to and restrained by the same rock -the bull grows but the rock remains the same. one day, the bull is a youth no more, full-grown and much bigger then the rock, like much MUCH bigger. But the big bull doesn’t try to move the rock. At all. It is resigned to being restrained by an unlovable rock. For the record, if it tried, a full-grown bull could pull the rock across the farm.
My advice, never stop bucking.”
Renee offered this, “Show up for you and continue to encourage people to do the same for themselves in between everything else.”
The gems you offered me this week have been invaluable. I’m grateful to you and I’m reminded that we’re all in this together.
Here’s some Internet happenings. May the rest of your Sunday be glorious!
• If you’re going to call yourself “The Greatest”, you dang-well better be. Rest in peace, Muhammad Ali.
• There have been more than 300 homicides in Chicago this year already. That’s a lot. That’s too many because one is too many. That’s a city become war zone and the shooters are not being caught. Chicago’s invisible shooters wreak havoc.
• It’s wedding season and here’s a fine way to celebrate. Why you will marry the wrong person. It’s a beautiful read because we’re imperfect but capable and so is everyone else.
• Masters of Love. Let’s be good at love with kindness and generosity, with the confidence and consistency to doooo thaaatt all the time.
• Truer words never spoken. Your flip flops are grossing me out.
• This is the secret to keeping secrets. We’ve all seen Seinfeld. (That’s not necessarily a true statement but just let it happen.) You put secrets in The Vault. It’s as simple as that. Also… if we’re going to go down a Seinfeld rabbit hold (unintended): Aunt Baby.
• How Mark Zuckerberg led Facebook’s war to crush Google Plus. I mean… the dude and the company are no flipping joke. We all get that by now, right?
• Champagne gummies, they’ll never give you a headache. That’s a bald-faced lie and I’m making them anyway.
• An unlikely but very likeable and insightful pair: Maya Angelou and Dave Chapelle
• Consider this some bath time reading and motivation. Anne Lamont. Time lost and Found.
• Because it’s Summer and we want to be sure our cakes melt quickly: Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream Cake with Salted Caramel
• Unrelated to ice cream cake… have you ever tried the Whole 30 Diet? I’m toying with the idea- batting it around like a cat and a catnip ball in my head. There’s a cat in my head? I’m browsing this from The Kitchn: 12 Favorite Whole 30 Recipes.
In the meantime, I wish for you waffle brunch.
xo Joy
Elizabeth O
I tried the Whole 30 last year. It wasn’t bad, but in the end I learned nothing from it besides a few good recipes. You can skip it & just make tasty Whole30 recipes as part of your regular diet.
Desi
Yes please do whole30 and be sure to blog all of the amazing recipes you cook ????
Tara
I did the whole30 a year ago. It’s pretty great. You really see how much crap can be in what we eat. It’s hard to eat sweets or have a drink for 30 days but…you will lose weight, inches, and learn just how much your body can be effected by certain foods. I am trying to gear up to do another round starting tomorrow because the truth is, I never felt better than when I did it last time. And when I finished it, I stuck to a mainly paleo diet but would allow myself a drink or two and the occasional sweet. If you do it, I look forward to following you on it!
Nicole Leslie
I’m packing away that Champagne Gummies link/idea for a rainy indoor weekend. No kids around. Maybe the husband if he’s ever so lucky. Thanks for sharing it.
Alexis
You’ve made bacon look AMAZING. Your Sunday looks absolutely fashionable and delicious.
xx
Alexis
Jen
Hey Joy –
I did Whole30 in January due to a really bad problem with eyelid dermatitis. Whole30 ended up being one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself. Not only did my eyelid dermatitis clear up completely with no steroids or medicine but I also felt great and truly understood how the food I was putting in my body made me feel.
If it’s something you’re seriously considering, I would encourage you to read (or listen) to the book, It Starts with Food. I think understanding the science behind Whole30 and the foods they ask you not to eat for 30 days is crucial for a successful Whole30 experience. You can’t just treat it like a fad diet because it’s so much more than that. The #1 program goal is to promote a healthy relationship with food. Beyond that it’s about healing and reducing systemic inflammation, promoting healthy hormonal levels and supporting a healthy gut.
I wrote a really detailed recap of my experience with it: http://www.peanutbutterrunner.com/my-first-whole30-the-results/.
I know you love to read so GO READ THE BOOK! :)
tracy
The Whole 30 sounds like the kind of diet that I would get excited about, read the book from front to back, meticulously plan the 30 days, go shopping for all the food, then proceed to have a burger or big bowl of cereal on day three thus ruining the “detox”. “Know thyself,” and I know I’m not cut out for it (see also: The Zone, The Perricone Prescription, South Beach Diet) I do better with just mindful eating.
Betsy Kipnis
Have you been to Chicago?
Somebody from Somewhere
Very good article about secret keeping.
Happy Sunday! :)
http://somebodyfromsomewhere.me/
Julia
That story on marriage was brilliant, and I am 2 out of 3 for what they call an imprudent marriage. Nine years and four kids later, I highly recommend jumping in and hanging on.
Suzanne
nooooo whole 30! PLEASE. The idea that a person should not eat 90% of the things they normally eat because they are suddenly “bad” or “unhealthy” is ludicrous. Hello, we have livers — the idea of “detoxing” ourselves is BS. That’s according to smart doctors and nutritionists, not just me, and a lot has been written on it in the last few years. Of course, if you have some sort of sensitivity to this or that and your body really can’t process it and it really is a “toxin” to you, then don’t eat it. Otherwise, skip this scammy mean-girl deprivation fest. Don’t we have have way better things to do than obsess over everything we do and don’t put in our mouths?
Kate
Preach
Yael
I agree with this too. I think we have a serious problem right now of disguising diets and disordered eating habits as trendy “wellness” cleanses–didn’t you just post the article about this the other week?? Yes, I have friends who did Whole 30 and claimed they felt amazing–but when they talk about it a few months out all they really talk about is how much weight they lost. I would so much rather celebrate all of the amazing foods we have available to us- veggies and also cakes- and I love seeing others value that and do the same.
Elizabeth
Seriously! Don’t be sucked in by the Paleo pseudo~science! Legumes and whole grains are good for you, a diet high in animal protein is not.
Micheal Pollan said it best: Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants.
Rebecca Leamon
Like the string of commenters below Suzanne, I completely agree. Make some lovely grain salads and soups, but I surely hope you avoid the “bad food” idea. Your celebratory approach to eating (and living!) has been a pleasure to enjoy.
Kara
A-freaking-men. This is a fad diet to end all fad diets. The “science” behind it does not hold up to in depth study.
There is much to be said for doing an elimination diet and seeing how you feel. Getting some of the junky foods out of your daily routine can be helpful. If you do have a sensitivity to lactose or gluten, this kind of thing can be helpful. But “detoxing”? It’s a myth and a lie. The idea that the human body wasn’t designed to eat certain food groups? Also a myth and a lie.
Liz
Try the whole 30. It’s all about planning ahead, it’s only 30 days and you will feel aces by the end of it! It sadly did not kill my sugar craving like it said I would. I still would have fought someone for a cookie by day 30.
francetaste
I love that bull story!
I made good ol’ American pancakes–maple syrup and all–this morning for a crew of French teens, and they were a hit. Your brunch looks far fancier.
ailynk
a lot of inspiring and honest post you have here on the list, definitely go at the cake
Rena
Oh, I think I will wearing socks today as it is not only raining here in Bavaria in this Sunday but I think I will go hiking. But at the moment I am still lying in the bed… without socks :)
xx from Bavaria/Germany, Rena
http://www.dressedwithsoul.com
Cheese and Chinese
O m g that icecream cake sounds heavenly!