shesipscoffee

Strength & Dignity-Keeping Faith and Trust Day by Day

Posted on May 5, 2018May 27, 2019 by shesipscoffee

Enjoying my coffee time when all is quiet. I cannot say all because the fur babies are awake and their paws are tapping away on the wooden floors. There are some days where I wish I had more rugs along their beaten path to muffle their clickety-clack. On days like today, I have to sip my coffee a bit more eagerly so that the caffeine kicks in and I can tune out their distractions.

I set aside 10-20 minutes in my morning meditation to journal Bible verses. In January when I built my Vision board I chose words Strength and Dignity. I choose to surround myself in reading, writing, praying, playing, and meditating on those words. And funny enough, I seem to run across or search for items and articles that focus on that positivity.

Today, I served up my java in one of those pretty finds that I came across at The Daily Grace. This site is a Women’s Bible Study ministry that is one of my go to sites for study tools and topics. I have acquired quite a collection of journals, pens, studies and accessories. And my cup is one of my most recent acquisitions. It is just so lovely.

Bible Journaling

I appreciate that there are many ways to study the Bible and journaling is a relatively new discovery for me and I enjoy how my love of writing and crafting are married with this mode of spending time with God.

Throughout each month I have 3 or 4 methods that I dive into every day. Days that are short on time you will find that I invest in only one. But invest I do. Time with my coffee and in the Word sets my day along a calming and focused path. There are days where I may oversleep and am sipping coffee on the go and the day seems to run me more ragged. On those days, I find a quiet time later, pour another cup of coffee, and just find my quiet chair in my room and ensure my day doesn’t end as it began.

I encourage you to find time with your favorite beverage and a quiet place to journal, meditate, and read. Start your day off this way and see how the day goes. End your day this way and see how your sleep is restful and healing. Do both and get a double whammy of positivity for yourself.

Here are some of the quiet time techniques that I enjoy.

Daily Verse Journaling

This is one of the simplest ways to spend 10 to 15 minutes a day. Pinterest is filled with themed monthly ideas for each day. I snagged a couple of ideas I planned for May below. I may not get to these every single day and spend a weekend morning catching up. I love how one of the many creators always seems to know what encouragement I am hoping to find in Scripture from one month to the next.

Wonder how to take this into practice? I have a planner for that. Here are some snaps from my January pages in my Happy Planner.

The Reset Girl’s Faithful Life

My girl, Cori, over at www.theresetgirl.com is so inspirational and creative. I consistently enjoy her easy way of incorporating crafting, journaling, and studying all in one space. She offers a free monthly prompt for journaling verses in a theme. Visit her website to find more.

Let me show you some past pretty pages I have made with inspiration from Cori and the Facebook Group.

This month she provided this idea and I am looking forward to some crafty journaling this evening.

Prayer Journal

Some days I really enjoy just writing out my prayers. It feels so much like writing to the best pen pal out there. I share my hopes and dreams. I thank him for the little things and the major things. I lay out my worries and I ask for His advice. I have so many journals , large and small. Everywhere I go I have one with me so that I can pop in and write a love letter to God.

Coloring The Word

I have an Inspire Bible and some days i just love picking it up and coloring the “coloring pages” in the margins while I read the verses and meditate on what I have read. Coloring is so relaxing. Many groups are out there who take this even further with mixed media and maybe some day I will explore further. These crafters have perfected such an amazing art form of beautiful expression. For now, coloring in the lines is it for me. Baby steps.

Focused Studies

In groups and alone I find time throughout the year to pick up studies and inspirational fiction and non fiction and dive in. My mornings are so quiet that I allow myself to go deep into the content and learn about God and about myself.

Some people really are neat about it. Me, not always. I confess that during some of these studies I write in my Bible and in the books. And I know when I look back that I am probably the only human who understands.

I honestly feel pleased as punch when I am in a group or self-study and a reference takes me to a place I have been. I get to see what I learned before and maybe even add something new. Continuous learning is important to me.

I have many studies in my to be read pile but I find new ones and often go back to old ones to read again. One that I regularly go back to is Fervent.

Getting through this pile is ongoing because I let the Spirit lead me through them. I never worry about them in a deadline sense. I always seem to pick one up and the context and learning is timely to my heart and need. I love that plan.

I have a group of friends whom I have worked with who are also part of the same church family. We often get together for fellowship, friendship, encouragement and study. We pick a word each meeting and go away finding related verses to study. At our next meeting we share our favorites and we discuss why. This has given me more opportunities to be crafty.

Here is one week where we studied Grateful whereI learned about a woman of the Bible I had never given thought to when I read the verses before. Strong and faithful women like Priscilla who are “every day women” are always so inspiring to discover.

So there you have it!

I like variety and flexibility. It keeps me out of a rut of boredom. So many options are presented when I am sipping coffee and asking myself what sounds like fun in the time I have each morning.

I hope that these ideas bring you blessing and encouragement. If it inspires you to change up your quiet time, please let me know. And please share with me how you spend time if it is something not presented in my ideas. I love finding new ways to learn and meditate.

I am headed back to sipping coffee.

Product Review, self-care

Book Beau-A Book Lover’s Product Review

Posted on May 4, 2018May 4, 2018 by shesipscoffee

One morning a few months ago while sipping coffee I was browsing social media and saw something called a Book Beau. Have you ever heard of It? Have you seen It? Do you have one too? I felt like I was seeing it on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. I was like a fish looking at a baited hook. I needed to know more about it. I did my research. And went about my day wondering what the buzz was all about.

A few weeks later, again while sipping coffee, my social media feeds suggested Book Beau. I checked Amazon and discovered it wasn’t available there. I was hoping to read reviews. I did find some YouTube videos and as you can tell, my interest was piqued. Book Beau’s site was offering a sale on pre-order fabrics so I took the bait and decided to find out what this phenomenon is really about.

Who knew when I ordered these babies that it would take probably twice as long. I ordered them early March under the impression they would be made and delivered in time for Easter. Production issues caused a delay and they were here before May Day! Barely. The company did communicate a couple of times via email with new shipment dates and even offering a coupon on another order the second time they had to advise of the delay.

Now, were I a Beau addict, I may have jumped right on the deal. Having yet to own one, I was slightly annoyed. Perhaps in future they might consider a partial credit for first orders of at least the shipping cost. This is a young company that used kickstarter to get into the business. They honestly care about the product and customers and may not be in a profit margin that gives them much to work with. And honestly their production issues were probably so incredibly stressful for them.

But I have them now and I have been been test driving my beaus for a couple of weeks. I should really stop ranting and get to raving.

When I opened the simple packaging and pulled these too beauties out, I have to say I was nonplussed. Yes…speechless. I saw the online images and I don’t know why I was initially confused. But puzzled, I was.

Believe it or not these babies sat on the floor next to my work space for a few hours as I went to the internet checking into my sanity.

Then I decided to give them a test drive and fell in love.

We have sleeves and covers for our electronic devices and planners. Why not our books?

And they come in the right sizes for paperbacks. Do you toss paperbacks into bags and then they get contorted or damaged? Yeah. It happens.

What I love best is that my self-directed learning books also have room to have designated pens and highlighters stored together. When I am on the go everything is in a neat little package to grab from my bag to pick up right where I left off.

They also are made of water resistant fabric for rainy days and leaking bottles.

It is easy to spot your current read in progress versus your to be read books if using these sleeves too.

Needless to say, I am ready to add to my collection. They keep adding new designs and the sizes are great for mass market and Indie print size. This book lover cannot imagine life without them after only a week.

Time to rethink the budget to add more functional fun to my collection.

Watch for more fun in this space. And if you want to find out more about them or purchase one (I am not getting any perks here.) Book Beau has an easy site to browse and buy.

Have a great weekend. I am off to play with books!

Family, food, health, Planning, Recipe

Meal Planning -Delivery Kits Review

Posted on May 3, 2018May 3, 2018 by shesipscoffee

Coffee time equals quiet time around here and I was reviewing blog ideas realizing I owe you an update on some of the other meal kit delivery programs we tried: Sun Basket and Martha & Marley Spoon.

If you recall, I posted a few weeks ago about out family pleasing experiences with Home Chef. This Friday another delivery will be at my doorstep and I am excited. Next week’s meal planning is practically a fait accompli thanks to Home Chef.

The past couple of weeks we tried a couple of other offerings.

Sun Basket

I immediately unboxed and loved all of the paper packaging knowing how easy recycling would be.

I was not excited about the recipe book. A magazine style that included EVERY single recipes shipped to any customer. That meant I had to find the recipes by flipping through the pages. (Each time I made a meal.)

I was slightly annoyed that the ingredient list didn’t include measurements. Now, I get that it is all pre-measured but I am a girl that wants the ability to re-create a winner. What if I really like it and don’t want to wait to see it again in rotation?

We received a few meals and the first one we tried was the steak meal.

I really enjoyed this meal. It was easy and light. My dauggter, however did not. She thought the steak was bland. We both were not impressed in the quality of the steaks. We had much better cuts from Home Chef.

My daughter wanted nothing to do with the vegetable dish but I loved it!

The other two meals were really pretty tasty as well. As far as quality goes, if I were cooking foe just myself I might try it again, but no one in my family was adventurous enough to try. I, myself had plenty of options for lunch and dinner all week.

If you recall, Home Chef has very little waste for us. Sun Basket had far too many vegetables. Yes…even for me.

I have skipped the next few weeks because I want to browse the rotation of menu options to see if there may be another week to try again. But our initial review is only moderately pleased. Also, the cost per person was $1-2 more per meal on average. We all have to love it to make the cost worth it.

Martha & Marley Spoon

Did you know Martha Stewart had skin in the game too? I shouldn’t have been surprised.

So we ordered a box.

The unboxing made me smile. I loved the recipe card! The note making it seem more personalized was a nice touch. And the small magazine that introduces the team and concept was a nice addition. They didn’t send a binder like Home Chef did. And I guess that little organization perk tickled me. Not having one from Martha was disappointing but not a show stopper.

Did you notice the quantities and measurements? I was so happy to see them. Re-creation is a possibility. That made me happy.

When making this dish, the recipe was hard to follow. It is based on 2 servings with notes for 4 servings. I really struggled because the formatting, amounts, and discerning the difference between 2 and 4 servings just didn’t jive. Not sure it hurt the outcome but this wannabe mom chef did not find this experience enjoyable.

The dish was delicious! And I would make it again. My daughter is not a fan of rice so I may have over served myself and ate leftovers the next day as well. We went with the lower prices cut of meat and it was a good cut: much better than Sun Baskets option but still not on par with Home Chef. We could have spent a bit more for higher end cuts of meat. I didn’t and wouldn’t feel it made a difference.

Now Martha is new skin in the game and the menu options from week to week are very limited. Especially if you are trying to align to dietary needs.

I am not compelled to order in the next couple of weeks as the menu choices just do not interest me nor my family. I am going to skip a few weeks and jump in again. I feel Martha deserves another go to see if the one meal we tried was an anomaly in my struggle to discern the recipe and instructions.

Overall we were pleasantly surprised and are sad the menu isn’t more robust yet. Martha does give me hope to try again.

So many more to try: One Potato, Blue Apron, and Platrf to name a few.

Next month maybe we will give them a spin. But for now, I am sticking with Home Chef because they have delivered consistent winners.

Have you tried any meal kit deliveries yet? Which ones? I love having these as options on busy weeks.

Crafting, Family, Holidays, Recipe

Organizing Recipes – Decluttering the Piles

Posted on May 2, 2018May 3, 2018 by shesipscoffee

I have so many recipes in so many random places. Santa brought me a Happy Planner Recipe Planner a couple of years ago. And it is full of blank pages that are just waiting to get filled.

Over the past several months I have been finding recipes I have jotted down, saved as favorites, and printed. I look in a box, a book, or a drawer and suddenly a new recipe is stuffed inside. Instead of sticking them back, I have started putting them in the pocket folder of this planner and while I binge watch one evening each week, I WILL transfer them to my recipe planner. Finally!

I love the format and flexibility of this planner and hope that I can eventually have all of my recipes stored here.

As I use it I will also include love notes and memories in these pages for my kids to have for years. I can embellish with stickers and pictures and washi tape so that it can be another memory-filled and likely food-stained reminder of my crazy obsession of making things pretty.

And of course I have themed stickers to include in the fun!

How do you organize recipes? If you are looking for a binder like this I found mine along with expansion packs at Michael’s. I have also seen them on Amazon and of course, at one of my favorite sites, wwe.thehappyplanner.com

Share your way of organizing favorite recipes. Show me some pictures too. I would love to see them.

Family

Managing Mondays -Remembering Mom

Posted on April 30, 2018 by shesipscoffee

I actually enjoy sipping coffee at all times of the day. I probably should have decaf after noon but I never do. My mother and grandmother had a pot consistently ready to drink all day long. I am not quite that dedicated. It is not unusual to drink coffee past noon nor is it unusual to be sipping it in the evening.

I have been thinking about my weekly spread a lot this past week. Today is my late mother’s birthday. We like to celebrate birthdays all week long in this family. So this week is in memory of her. I picked a lot of my Happy Planner stickers in red and yellow because she loved red and she loved our Kansas City Chiefs. We did just come away from NFL Draft weekend so my mind is full of red and yellow images. We started off yesterday grilling burgers and hot dogs. She loved simple meals. Tonight we are having ice cream with all kinds of sundae toppings. Dinner is optional. I intend to share stories with my children who never met their grandmother. I love to hear them laugh. My mother was passionate and funny. Even when she was angry she was funny. Honestly, she would be so comical when she got angry at me that I ended up in more trouble for laughing. I think it was my nerves bubbling up. I also loved how she got me in trouble at church and other public places for being a Nosy Nelly. I was the one that got the elbow from Grandma. I miss that kind of getting in trouble with her.

I haven’t put all the pen on this weekly spread yet. I am staying functional in planning as I go. I try to save space like I do every week to note daily what I plan to focus on. And as usual, I have my daily pages ready for notes and priorities.

This week will be fun and full of stories. Nothing makes me happier than time with my children and hearing them laugh. Birthday weeks are some of my favorite weeks. I may journal a bit in my EC notebook and title it, Tales of Grandma Rosemary. We are so busy I may run out of storytelling time.

How do you celebrate birthdays? Do you go big or keep it small? One day? A week? A month?

Family, Goals, Planning, Reflection

Managing Mondays-Mom Priorities

Posted on April 23, 2018April 23, 2018 by shesipscoffee

It is coffee time! Quiet time is so very precious to me. And this time at the beginning of every week as I sip coffee feels paramount to how the week can go. I take time to think on all that I need to do plus what I would like to do. It is my way of getting out of the bed on the right side.

The past few weeks have been a struggle in changing priorities and I have had to shift even more to remembering what matters most. This focus adds a perspective like no other. I want to ensure I balance Mom priorities over work priorities because the family needs that right now. It isn’t just about my schedule. It is more about being “present” in mind and heart more.

I spent most of my time sipping my first cup in a retrospective state and looked back on what did and did not go well over the past couple of weeks. I asked myself what I could do differently because I felt like I was being too hard on myself and others around me. I realized that my expectations were perhaps set too high or not communicated effectively which can cause conflict on the home front.

Setting my plan for this week I designed a motivational and functional week spread in my planner. I wanted to see reminders of what is really important at work so that I can keep the negative noise and nonsense from others in perspective. And in doing that I can avoid the negativity from seeping over into other aspects of life. Most importantly self care needs to be at the front of the train and not in the caboose as a back burner.

My spread is full of motivation and focus areas. It gives me permission to delegate nonsense to the back burner. I am reminding myself to be the servant leader by focusing on my team’s needs and being a positive in the storm. Recently I have had an opportunity to observe leaders who are in the trenches with their teams and leaders who stay back in the tent barking out orders and then hiding in the shelter waiting and watching. The latter leader style sometimes seeps negativity out beyond the team and affects the bigger goal. And it is simply not my style. So while I am in the trenches I want to remember to be positive and guide my crew to the best outcomes with encouragement, gratitude, and course corrections that take us along the journey to the finish line celebrating together.

This week I want to make sure that I am focusing on the behind the scenes planning that sets the stage for every act in the play my team is cast in so they can be stars. I want to ensure the setting is right, the props are in place, and that they know their lines.

At home, I want to keep the work from seeping in. I want to protect our time so that it is of such quality that we all feel accomplished and grateful.

These may seem lofty goals for the week but I don’t think so.

In any moment of negativity I plan to step outside of it and ask myself:

Am I the engineer on this train right now?
Is this helping any of my three focus areas?
Should this be back burner?
Will this seep beyond work?

Knowing the answers to these questions should guide me to the right energy level in the moment and maintain perspective.

At the end of the week I aim to have positive energy to tackle that garage with my family: A project that we never seem to get to with our conflicting schedules and energy levels.

Share your spreads for the week and share the why. I always want to understand others why.

Family, Goals, lists, Planning

Managing Mondays-Plan with Flexibility and Lists

Posted on April 16, 2018 by shesipscoffee

Oh how I love my coffee and my morning time! I haven’t yet cracked open the work laptop even though I probably should. It is going to be a big week full of planning meetings, important dates and appointments.

I thought I would share my weekly spread and some of the other lists I have at the or have plans to make.

I love my spread this week. I picked this sticker set because my best friend is celebrating her birthday and she loves teal colors. Even my Erin Condren pen is primarily teal for the week. Most of the stickers are from one of my favorite Etsy vendors, Joyful Planner. She designs beautiful weekly and monthly sets. It is always a treat for me to visit her shop and splurge a bit.

I really expect today as well as most of the week to feel a bit crazy so I am inserting few extras to help me keep my sanity and make lists as I go along. I am going to try a weekly master as a half page and use the daily as originally intended. I am interested to see how much I can actually get done in a day with the sometimes ridiculous conference call schedule.

As you can see, I haven’t put much pen on yet. I need flexibility in my functional plans because I feel the winds may change a bit as early as today so I focused on only writing the non negotiable events and my goals. I gotta trust my gut today and let my plans and lists take shape in the moment.

I hope you all have a great week and that you are managing just fine this Monday. I am going to keep on sipping coffee, making lists and planning the week day by day.

Share below how you plan. What kind of lists do you make? Do you track your hourly appountments?

Family

Weekly Meal Planning

Posted on April 15, 2018April 15, 2018 by shesipscoffee

As I sip coffee I am thinking about my meal plan for the week and I am disappointed in myself. I just don’t know what sounds good this week. And when I ask the family they aren’t offering up many suggestions.

Usually today is a batch cook day where I spend my afternoon making a prepare and cook meals for the whole week. Not today. I am having friends and family over to barbecue. Sometimes I throw planning days to the wind and this is one of those days. I am sitting and looking at the blank half page for my planner with a blank look.

I think it is because the last couple of weeks someone else did the planning for me: Home Chef.

Yes! I tried one of the many meal kit delivery subscriptions and let me tell you, I loved it! So did the family. And as I think about a couple of the menu items I realize I have ingredients in the house to recreate the Chicken Paillard, the favorite of all the dishes we tried.

Before continuing on with my writing here, I stepped away so I could go online and plan for a delivery next week. I liked having my box delivered on Friday and having three meals planned already including all of the ingredients.

Unboxing is much easier than going to the store and putting everything away. The ingredients are packaged together by meal and slide easily into the refrigerator.

The recipe guide is online as well as printed on a cardstock page. Your first order includes a 3-ring binder to store your recipes. The planner in me loved that.

Above are images of my handiwork and the Chicken Paillard in the skillet is what I have decided to make again this week. It was incredibly easy and delicious. The picky eaters really loved it and I was surprised at how easy and quick it was to cook.

Did I think it was expensive? When I look at my grocery bill and what I usually spend and waste it was very economical. With three meals delivered over two weeks our waste was minimal. Hindsight is usually 20/20, right? I think I may cook too much on Sundays anticipating we will eat more leftovers than we do. It is more challenging to plan with adult children and teens who have busy schedules and finicky appetites. I guess I still have a lot to learn as I head toward emptynester land. Less is likely more and starting now is a good a time as any.

From a budget perspective I realize I didn’t spend any more than when I plan and do all the shopping and prep myself. I saved oodles of time though and I actually got us out of a rut of the same old same old. I also had a personal bonus from all of this: I have more clothes that are too big and a full box of them ready for donation because I consistently ate fresh ingredients and balanced my proteins and carbs splendidly. That made it all worth it.

While writing this I finalized the meal plan for the week.

I also decided to try a different meal kit delivery, Sun Basket. It will arrive in a little over a week and help make next week planning easier. I look forward to comparing the two systems. I also noticed our local grocery store is getting skin into the game with meal kits. I may have to give them a spin too. I would love to stay local. Honestly, I am not sure anything can top Home Chef. I read reviews on ALL of them for weeks and settled with trying Home Chef first for many reasons:

Affordability
Consistently positive reviews and ratings
Easy meals
Simple ingredients
Gluten free and Paleo meal options
Meals that I thought my family would try

It will probably take something seriously outstanding to win me away from this one because out of 6 meals there was only one that didn’t wow me and the family subseqiently going to waste. That meal was a risk from the start because I knew that the finicky eaters wouldn’t dive into it. I was right and it left me with a meal that just didn’t please me as a leftover. Some dishes just don’t taste as great the second time around.

But that winner, Chicken Paillard, as you can see, is on the menu for the week and that is keeping me out of the meal planning rut. Something new to look forward to for all of us. When I made these meals I felt like a world class while I took time plating and setting the table enjoying special time with the family. We talked and laughed and enjoyed each other and the accompanying glass of wine (for the adults).

Have you tried any of these subscription services? Which ones? Please share I would like to avoid pitfalls and steer toward winners for my household too.

If you want to try Home Chef, here is my personal referral link that gives me $30 off a future week of meals. And let me know what meals you tried.

Family

Managing Mondays-Post Easter Edition

Posted on April 2, 2018 by shesipscoffee

It is Monday and I am sipping my coffee meditating on this past weekend and the busy week ahead. Although my children are older, we still hold tight to traditions.

Good Friday

I took Friday off in order to bake cinnamon rolls. My grandmother Claire and I spent every Good Friday I can remember elbow deep in flour, cinnamon, and sugar making dozens of cinnamon rolls that we shared with family and friends Easter weekend. I am horrible at remembering the entire reason other than it having to do with yeast on Good Friday. I know that many people make hot cross buns and the tradition has European origins. I found a few articles and thought I would share one here. When I posted my kitchen towel covered dough mound late Thursday night on Facebook, I asked if anyone knew what I would be making Friday morning and one of the guesses was hot cross buns. There is a similarity and an irony. The recipes and ingredients are quite alike. The process is the variance. Hot cross buns sure are less labor. Kneading in the dried fruits and spices instead of rolling the dough flat and adding fruits and spices then rolling it up and slicing before putting in the pan to rise again sure sounds a lot easier. I could have been done in two hours instead of four. Regardless, Cinnamon rolls are my family tradition and tears are my secret ingredient now as I rolled the dough and remember the times with my grandmother. This year I baked 111 rolls. That number was not planned but it is symbolic. Three ones. Three days. Good Friday through Easter Sunday: Resurrection Day. The Holy Trinity. Inspiring.

All through the day, I got to see loved ones who stopped in for their annual goodies.

My father was the first to get his cinnamon rolls.

Also on Good Friday, we colored eggs. Well, my daughter and her friends did most of them. I found a place to put my feet up and watch them interact and get creative.

Easter Sunday

When are we too old for Easter baskets? I say Never! They may not be filled to the brim with candy these days, but there is something about being a kid at heart and staying young.

And mine…well it is for the heart of a planner.

See the stamps? And washi? And ink pads? Yes!!!! I have more ways to plan! What I didn’t have was time to play. It was a busy day with church and family. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Managing Monday-What is the plan?

Well, I had one take away from our Pastor yesterday. And I am taking this to task.

At the beginning and end of each day in my quiet time when I make lists and plan, I will ask myself this question:

Will this make me more alive?

If I am planning a day or a life that isn’t achieving that, then why on earth am I doing it? It will not matter how pretty the paper is or how organized I appear to be.

This past weekend I didn’t make much time to plan and I didn’t make my pages pretty but I did spend it living. I celebrated traditions and I honored those I love by continuing them and pouring love into my world. That is what I call being more alive.

What are your traditions? What makes you more alive?

Family, Reflection, Social Topics

Tuesday Thoughts – FAKE NEWS, Family Circle, and Elvis

Posted on March 28, 2018March 28, 2018 by shesipscoffee

Yesterday, while sipping coffee and picking up around the house I finally scanned the cover of my recently delivered Family Circle magazine.

Note: This post is the result. I want to stress that I am writing this as a part of self-reflection and how this article impacted me personally. I am expressing my personal views. Please do not share this as a fact based article. The links I’m sharing are part of the research and certainly not the be all and end all sources for the topics that I’m discussing.. (Sad that I feel I even have to include this in my post.)

Slightly Off Topic Musing Before I Dig In on the Headline

I have to ask. Am I the ONLY person who gets magazine’s anymore? I battle with this in my head. There is still a section in most grocery stores and they still hang out near the registers when we check out so I have to believe there are some like me who still enjoy them. How many of us actually have subscriptions and find them in our mailboxes? I know just like newspapers, they are smaller and chock full of advertisements. Why do I still get magazines and pick up the newspaper from time to time? Well…I love them. I love finding meal and recipe ideas. I enjoy the decorating and craft ideas. I enjoy some of the health and fitness articles. And I love the back parts where readers submit photos and articles. I love the feel of them in my hands. I love that method of exploration. I’m not having to think of a search term and I am giving myself a chance to disconnect from the web and social media and learn and discover the “old school way.” I am given options of items to read and not feeling them pushed at me one by one like the algorithms that drive topics to my in box or are “sponsored” and “suggested” by the bots. I still like to get some of my information the old school way. How about you?

Now I know all magazines also have digital versions, but a typical web search isn’t going to produce those results unless you subscribe to the site. And frankly that is too much clutter in an already advertisement and spam-filled world of emails. And really, is this blog not a magazine in a sense? I’m asking you as my reader to subscribe or draw you here from my posts on social media. I don’t have bots and algorithms. I’m not here calling a pot black when I am simply a kettle that is black too. I’m a blogger and I don’t know that I aspire to an audience as vast as the the circulation of Family Circle. I don’t desire to have to sell ad spots and bog down this site with my margins full of ads that I hope you as the reader click on and buy something. Not today. Not tomorrow. Maybe next year. Who knows? That is a blog post and decision for future me.

Thank you for clicking the link in the email or social media post that brought you here. You, my readers, make me so very happy when I know you have stopped by for a visit or a view.

Exit Stage Musing And On To the Point

Right now, I’m thinking more about this Fake News and that article I discovered, not while searching the web or sitting in social media. It didn’t pop up in any of my feeds based on algorithms. It came to me in my actual mail box. I appreciate the work of the hands that get the shiny, colorful pages to my home or local grocery store. I hope they never go away. And this week, I was interested in more than the recipes and healthy tips. Family Circle published an article that I tell you is very timely. The cover highlight, “FAKE NEWS & what to tell your kids” completely grabbed me. What a sad topic to appear on the cover atop those gloriously beautiful cookies. This reader didn’t even go to the recipes. Yep. I bypassed those and went straight to Fake News.

Fake news has always existed. We used to call is rumors and crap. It has always been in the media. Every week for decades if we stood in a grocery store, the check out stands were lined with the “rags” like The National Enquirer. My mother always picked them up to read them for the pure fun and humor. Well, maybe she was hopeful that Elvis was still alive and had been abducted by aliens. We have always had to discern fact from fiction. So why now has this become a problem so out of control that I was planning to read this article before the recipes? Why do I need to know what to tell my kids?

I have to admit that reading this article struck a chord with me. I am not sure if I took it personally or if it had me more worried about the state of our education system and parenting? Should I take this as a personal criticism as a parent?

Good grief! I mean, have we really come this far that articles have to be written to hopefully educate us on how to deal with this problem? Assuming positive intent, I realize that we have tons of information we have to synthesize and rationalize in a small amount of time. It isn’t like the weekly Enquirer of old.

What stood out were results from a study:

82% of middle school students had difficulty differentiating between news and advertising
75% of the time adults believe Fake news headlines

Shocking! Where did our critical thinking go? Did you ever see the Disney movie WALL-E? In my mind, the creators were predicting the trajectory of humans and our careless consumerism and decline in a key skill called critical thinking. In the movie, the setting was 100 years in the future and humans were conditioned to think and behave based on Big Data, algorithms, and bots. This movie came out in 2008, before the terms Big Data, algorithms, and bots became so common place. When I walked out of the theater ten years ago, I actually filed away a personal fear of where we were heading. I thought technology can and probably would change us and make us lazy. We would totally buy Hover chairs to get around and use screens for communication with other humans. They were hovering right next to each other but never left the chair or touched another soul. How many of us text a family member from another room in the house or heck across the room? It reminded me of how lazy we already were and that the folks behind technology could sway our purchases, voting, and opinions. The scene where the new color trend was announced and they could press a button to purchase and change shirts was shocking. Funny maybe. Let’s be real, Color of the Year is decided for us based on various factors and we buy into it. How do you think home decorating and clothing color trends happen? There is a science behind it and a whole team of smart marketing to influence us into buying to the trend. I wonder how many people who saw the movie saw the creators poking fun at us?

Do we buy into this or stop the madness? Can we stop the madness? Is it madness?

All great questions! Fake News? Where did that even start? Well I thought I would point you to Wikipedia and what it says, Wikipedia’s take on Fake News and this article from Family Circle on Fake News because they both drove home to me that a mere 10 years after WALL-E, we aren’t really 100 years away from needing to find another home away from earth nor are we immune to suggestive marketing and fake news. Are we not thinking for ourselves more each and every day? And when I think about it, it seems critical thinking as a skill is needed more than ever before. I know the people with the skill are behind the big date, algorithms, and bots. I guarantee that. So how can I ensure, that I’m honing my critical thinking and retraining myself and teaching my kids? How do I put into practice looking at news and discerning fact from opionion and fact from fiction? How do I talk to my kids more about what they have seen on social media, television, and hearing from their peer groups? And furthermore, how do I turn that conversation on to helping them be expert critical thinkers? I personally will not rely on formal education to do it all. I cannot expect that. It isn’t fair. I don’t send an employee of mine to a class and expect them to come back an expert? Why would I have the same expectation of my children and their teachers? Family Circle and Wikipedia both offer tips on how to analyze the information presented to determine fact, opinion, or fiction.

I encourage you to read this article on Fake News, and not just to know what to say to the kids. I needed it. Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised to find it in Family Circle. (Yay for the magazine in my mailbox!) Future generations can become critical thinking masters if given the chance. Fake News discernment starts with the individual. As we allow our kids access to a vast world of fact and fiction in the digital age we need to talk more about what is being digested. Some may suggest keeping kids off digital longer. I don’t know if that is the right way either. My kids have the ability to surpass me in so many ways if I educate, communicate, and foster critical thinking. They can be a powerful force. The article reminded me that my generation can really help be mentors and guides to the future. So I want to step away from the screens and talk and share an interact more. It will be these moments of connecting where I can find teachable moments. I can walk away with a stronger ability to identify fake news and so will my family. I can ensure that if what I’m seeing is really an opinion, that I won’t choose to adopt the same opinion because I agree and think it is fact. Talking with my kids about it will help me and in turn hopefully help them be stronger.

I may have thought I was doing this already, but the article made me pause and think on it. And I thought a lot. I even talked to my 13-year old about it. I recognize that I can be better. I was disappointed in myself. Because I realized, I am just so annoyed with the amount of fake news that I give less attention to a lot of it and in turn, talk less about news in general. And it got me to this rant. And honestly, I will take my in-hand magazine any day of the week.

I have to ask: What do you do with Fake News? Are you concerned about friends, family, and your kids not knowing the difference? Were you surprised by the statistics from the study that was shared in the article? Do you ignore Fake News? Do you agree with the article on why and how to talk to our kids?

Now…I am off to finish my coffee and look at the recipes and crafts in Family Circle.