Are you ok?
Iโve ordered lunch from the same sandwich dude twice this week and both times ended with me fumbling with my wallet and not entirely understanding what the dude was saying. Both times he asked me โAre you ok?โ, andโฆ first of all โ rude, although I hear your concern and itโs a valid question. Second of all โ no, Iโm not ok. Third of all, and a follow-up question- ARE YOU OK? Because news flash: weโre all kinda NOT OK even though we have to keep doing things like answer email and eat sandwiches and I dunnoโฆ do the dishes, or whatever. So, you know.. yea, thankfully Iโm totally ok, but also โ let it be known that I am very not ok! Ok!?
There has been a lot to digest this week. A lot of really troubling realities. A lot of reason to call our representatives and demand, you know, basic human decency from our government. There arenโt any links specific to the family separation policy that rocked our nation this week because I am deeply sure youโve read all about it earlier this week. There are things that I find important combined with things that I find frivolous, and Iโm thankful that youโre here to join me in it.
Related: Iโm stress eating candy from Trader Joeโs.
Unrelated: A picture of me and my cat, Tron.
Again though: Iโm ok.
โข Are we paying attention? The End of Civil Rights (The Atlantic)
โข Iโm interested in the emergency cord: Single at 38? Have That Baby. (New York Times)
โข I Have Cerebral Palsy, and Anthony Bourdain Pushed Me to See the World. (My Domaine)
โข Consider this: Giving Thanks For The Bridges Iโve Burned This Year.
โข Hereโs a question that falls under both โnone of our businessโ and โinteresting and importantโ: Do Beyonce Fans Have to Forgive Jay-Z. (The Atlantic)
โข Iโm working on a recipe for gluten-free fried chicken this weekend and taking some of these tips to heart: Four Secrets To Improve Any Fried Chicken Recipe. (Serious Eats)
โข Important thoughts on Egg Salad. (Food52)
โข Letโs make Paper Daffodils! (Design Sponge)
โข Ok weโve got one question answered: Why Are There No Mosquitos At Disney World? Only a million more questions to go. (YouTube)
โข The thing is, Iโm just always thirsty for skincare product information: How to Look Perfect in the Summer. (The Cut)
โข Very important summer hot dog news: Spiralized hot dogs is the only way to hot dog. (Food52)
Weโve got a cocktail and a marshmallow recipe this week. More soon.
xo Joy
56 Responses
that picture is the best!
Loooove the photo of you and Tron! <3
Iโm not OK with so much that is going on and I feel so helpless to help fix it. My state (CA) represenitives donโt seem to be doing anything to help and many are doing the things that make me not OK. I read the papers and feel that our country is being run by idiots. What happened to โgovernment by the people, for the people and of the peopleโ ?? We just celebrated the birthday of our country and it is now so different than our founding fathers pictured. Where is โour countryโ
Iโm not okay and I also feel guilty about wanting to tune out for a bit, when so many people donโt have that choice. I am the daughter or refuges who escaped Apartheid, and the state of this country makes me hurt. How are people so cruel? Why cant world peace be a thing? Send plenty of hugs.
Blu
http://www.liveloveblu.com | wellness & healthy living
Debra, Ya know, I am not OK either. I mean, outrage. Transvestites inflicted on humanity by anybody, much less our government, is just such a bummer.. Agreed? We Millennials just have to rise up and show everybody, especially our elders, the way America should be run. Who knows as much as we do? Am I right? Right. Down with borders. Everybody, anybody should be welcome in the good old USA. I think we should all pay 95% taxes and that will leave us enough to pay for our Starbucks and our cell phones. Loved the cat picture. I have 27 cats of my own. We all live together in my mommyโs basement. Boy that food sure looks yum.
My mantra, and that of my extended family: Hate has no home here. Iโm not okay with the level of sarcasm, disrespect, denigration for others, and outright hate expressed so righteously in so many venues. But I found something that perfectly expresses what I want to say, over and over and over again, besides the pledge that I will work to show respect, even to those with whom I disagree. What I found is an organization that promotes that purely nonpolitical message: Hate has no home here.
Just turned 38 yesterday, single, and wanting to have a child. That Times article just took me down an emotional rabbit hole.
I so appreciate your point of view. Keep posting.
Iโm reading this at work which I was getting away with I read the last bullet point โ spiralizing hotdogs โ which made me Eep! with joy and intrigue almost giving away my โprofessional reading emailsโ face. I need to try this asap!
I love your sunday links and today that picture of your and your cat is so gorgeous I want a little buddy just like that โ what more solace could you ask for!
I am happy to see that you post about politics and our country. Times are troubling for a nation of immigrants. We started this country to have freedoms that we did not have. The people coming over the border are trying to escape unbearable situations. They look to us as a beacon of hope. They are asking for asylum. They are entitled to due process. We are a nation of laws and we need to remember that. Are we also going to do the same to those coming here from Canada or any other countries? We have a northern border too and are we also going to build a wall there?
My roommate (a Southern girl misplaced west), who is decidedly with us in the ok/not ok camp, has celiacs. Please tell me this gluten-free fried chicken is coming?
That pic of you and Tron is wonderful. He truly looks like he understands the week that just happened and knows you need him (as our cats do).
Tron cat! Nothing sweeter than a big orange kitty :) That Atlantic article is terrifying. How is anyone OK?
Oh man, I felt like you were just talking directly to me. Like straight through my computer at work where I am very much NOT doing work, and talking right to me. I too, am not ok, but ok, but also not ok, but will ultimately be fine. I also could eat my weight in egg salad, think the hive should definitely forgive Jay, and want a cat like Tron to lean his head on my shoulder. Weโll all be ok though.
Iโm not OK. Iโm a Canadian who lives about 90 minutes away from the Maine border. We vacation regularly in the US and lots of folks just take day trips as part of everyday life in a border town. I am seriously conflicted about my upcoming vacation to New Hampshire but am trying to keep myself calm by knowing that a high percentage of the population is NOT like the current administration.
Oh, and I started my weekend by having to make the decision to have my aging cat euthanized. She was at least 15 and was fading before my eyes as cats do. Still, not the Friday Iโve ever had.
Obviously I missed a word in my last sentence. I meant โnot the best Fridayโ
Glad Iโm not the only one who overate Trader Joeโs candy this week as an act of desperation (it was the candy-coated sunflower seeds and I gave myself a stomache!) Also glad Iโm not the only single mid 30s gal in NOLA considering the escape hatch.
Letโs start a commune. Ok GREAT.
Such a great picture of you and Tron! Thatโs his way of checking if youโre okay, right? Much more subtle than sandwich manโs.
Tron is a cutie-pieโฆand he knows it!
Joy,
Thank you again for affirming my belief in the common decency of others. These are truly troubling times we find ourselves in, but I will continue to step up and speak out because it is the right thing to do. The article regarding โBurning Bridgesโฆโ resonates so deeply in me, reassuring me, I am not alone in my actions or belief. Thanks for sharing and continue the good fight yourself.
Like you, my friends and I are in the 37-39 range and one has already frozen her eggs, and another is very close to just doing the whole sperm bank thing herself. Iโve never been one thatโs baby crazy, and never wanted to do the single parent thing. But, interesting question: will I be more upset in 10 years that I donโt have a baby, or donโt have a spouse? Iโm not sure I know the answer!
I am disappointed in my country, its government, and the citizens who support the outrageous action of separating children from parents seeking asylum from their broken nations. At 57, Iโve figured out that these people have always been among us, and I am ashamed that I mistook some of them for friends and for Christians. Praying for everyone and hoping that the Senate and House of Representatives step up with the checks and balances they are charged with providing. Country over party. On a happier note, I love the photo of you and Tron!
Tron has a soulโฆ
Tron is all of us right now.
That picture of you and Tron! Thanks for sharing! And no, so not okay lately, but I made a decision this week. For reals. At my unlikely midlife age. I will do more good deeds with no expectations. I will show more kindness in the face of so much unkindness. I will continue to pay it forward. My hope? That these tiny consistent acts of kindness (no randomness!) will spread more smiles, more hope, and just a few more kind moments in times that feel full of overwhelming adversity. Bought a stranger lunch this week as they were trying to find a credit card. Held the door open just a little bit longer than needed to be sure everyone got out of the rain. Drove 6 hours on my day off to bring a friend in need some things to get her life started again. This is not about me. It is about us. And I really want us to be okay.
If you were okay there would be something wrong with you, Joy. Kind of like the person who wore the jacket with โI really donโt care. Do U?โ written on the back of it.
The photo of you and Tron is the epitome of love. I donโt think Iโve ever seen any cooler pet picture.
I was an intentional single mother and, though there were financial difficulties at times, both my daughter and I agree it was wonderful. She now has two teenage children (and a husband) and raised them with the same traditions we had established when she was growing up. I canโt imagine ever regretting bringing a child into the world whatever way you do it as long as the child is wanted.
Wishing you some peace next week.
Hey. So if some one came I to your house and killed Tron, and you find out he was there breaking other laws like rape, burglary. The cops wanted to arrest them send them away for a long time, I guess you would just say, well, they are humans 2 and they just need a life understanding. And where is the decency of the human race.
No there are consequences for every action. Break the law you are punished. Wake up people. A law is a law.
Very weak analogy. I just really feel like you could do better here. Also, a proper โtooโ is always so much better than โ2โ when youโre trying to make a point.
If someone โ legal or illegal immigrant, American born, native American, literally anyone โ committed a crime like rape, he or she will be sent to jail. This is how the American law system works and this is great! If someone crosses a border in search of a better life, picks strawberries in California, on their knees for 8-10 hours per day (have you tried this? Just try kneeling on your feet for 10 minutes and then imagine what it must feel like to kneel and pick the strawberries you, as a food blog reader, most likely enjoy) or does any of the other โdirty jobsโ that no one else wants to do, well, I seriously donโt understand why they would even be named in an analogy with rapists. I suppose you are the offspring of Europeans who centuries ago left Ireland, Italy, Poland, Sweden or any other place there to find a better life in America โ the continent that some Europeans just took away from native Americans? If you canโt have sympathy with the people who try to move to the US at the moment, maybe you can learn sympathy via thinking of your own family.
I wonder why Disney doesnโt use BT which is completely safe for everything except mosquitoes as well as mosquito fish which eat the eggs instead of simply spraying. Maybe they are using a BT spray?
Lean in, sweet Tron. Great photo! Heavy and shocking times here in America. Trying to reach for and hold on to the good (thereโs a lot of it) and resist/fight the bad. Netflix has all of Bourdainโs Parts Unknown available to stream, which I plan on watching throughout the summer. Humanity, food, and travel all in one.
It really is such a wonderful show. The soul that shines through is so genuine.
Iโm a Canadian and Iโm not ok because of your President. I do t know how you are surviving. Tariff war with us is nothing compared to the stolen children. God bless and help America.
Sweet Tron. Everything is ok now that Iโve seen this picture. I started reading your blog because of Tron; shortly after losing my orange tabby best friend of 19 years, Parker. I donโt even cook or bake (but I forward your recipes to my husband). Iโm just here for the other kind of goodness you two bring to this world.
Best picture eva??
Not okay at all. Feels wrong to do everyday things when so much ugliness is happening. Trying to be okay. Taking small actions and trying to believe it will help make a difference.
Thank you always for your sincere, comforting posts.
Thank you for being here!
Oh my goshโฆthat picture of you and Tron..there are no words.
How did he learn to perfectly pose fpr a selfie? He is a totally handsome boy and clearly knows it.
I hope the candy from Trader Joeโs was of the chocolate variety. They ahve great , inexpensive chocolate choices. I use the one pound bar for baking all of the timeโฆso inxpensive and so delicious.
Also, the mini peanut butter cups are very addictive,ha.
Thanks again for youe Sunday thoughtsโฆI look forward to reading your post every Sunday.
Trader Joeโs is not recommended by the Food Empowerment Projectโs Chocolate List. Chocolate and slave/child labor are closely intertwined. https://www.foodispower.org/chocolate-list/
The picture of you and Tron is so cute! Also, Iโm terrible at doing anything for my face/skin โ all I regularly manage is almond oil as both cleanser and moisturiser. I appreciate your regular reminders to be more conscientious and links that teach me what I should be looking out for! This summer Iโm working on regularly wearing sunblock. Baby steps.
Cats make everything better! I am so glad that Tron is there to help you be OK. Thank you for your words each Sunday, I find myself unable to vocalize at times with all the disheartening news coming at us.
YeahโIโm okโand Iโm not, because the travesties inflicted on humanity by our government. Tomorrow I resume calling my reps, whose phone numbers are now in my phone.
This meditation has helped me re-center:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdYwwwwG4aM&feature=youtu.be
Is it too much to demand basic human decency of our government? It appears so and with that Iโm not ok.
Hear, hear. Not ok with A LOT! Joy, I so look forward to your Sunday posts. My life is a little on the boring side right now and they force me to explore! Which I love to do. Always curious. Tron is such a good friend. I have 4 dogs and a cat to keep me OK, thank God!
This is the sweetest photo. Cats just know when we need a shoulder nudge. Iโve been away from home for a few days and this made me miss my kitties more! Always look forward to reading your post on Sunday mornings.
Have you heard about the French teen who was visiting her mother in Canada, went jogging on the beach, found the path blocked by the rising tide and took a different path and ended up crossing into the U.S.? She was picked up by ICE and spent two weeks in detention (because of course she didnโt have ID on her when out jogging and the red tape took that long). I wondered why on earth ICE would stop a random jogger on the beach, but then I saw a photo of the girl, and she has brown skin. WTF. What is happening to the U.S.?
Iโm not Ok! I would love to read something that is not about politics or religion. I get that enough everyday on the news.
AMEN!
I havenโt even gotten to the links yet (always so good!! Your Sunday post and Traceyโs Friday post are two of my favorites every single week), but that picture of you and your cat is the best thing ever.
Hi Joy,
Just like Tron, this photo is a definite keeper!!!
Sweetest picture of you and your cat. I look forward to โLet it be Sundayโ every week.
I know what you mean about not being ok. Well said.
I hope your yoga TT is going well!
xo
Although it is unrelated I love the picture of you and your cat!
With love, Rena
http://www.dressedwithsoul.com
Hi Joy, just the best most adorable pic of you and Tron. I live faraway in the south of New Zealand where its winter :) and our much liked Prime Minister has just had a baby girl โ and we are as a nation enraptured. It feels gentler than what is happening in your country. I love your Sunday posts and admire your hard work. With a hug.