The news has been really heavy lately, have you been taking care of yourself? I would give myself a C+ for self-care this week, except that self-compassion and not being too hard on yourself is part of self-care so…I did my best to keep my chin up, and snuggled with my dog anytime I wasn’t at work.

But tonight! Oh, tonight…I’m making slime. You know slime? I have a box full of supplies from Walmart waiting for me at home, plus about 4 recipes for different slime variations. Here’s one. I will report the results of this experiment next week, but I expect that the feeling of mixing goopy, slimy materials together will be the most satisfying thing I do this week.

1. Your Notifications Are Lying To You, Lifehacker. Quieting most or all of your push notifications has been at the top of most peoples’ Reduce Screentime strategy, but it does seem like people are talking about notifications a lot this week. Lifehacker had a good take: “Social media companies make their money through advertising, stuffing ads and promoted posts into your feed. Their business model is, quite straightforwardly, that you’ll view their ads because they bundle them with things you care about.

   Don’t trust the app. You know it doesn’t have your best interests at heart.

   With notifications off, you may feel lonely. You may start opening apps to see if there are any new replies or likes. When you notice yourself doing this, stop! Ask yourself, what do I really want right now? Is it human contact? Hug your kids, or text an actual real life friend. Is it entertainment? Decide on a book or a movie before you pick up your phone. With practice and intention, you can fight the apps’ designs and use your phone for your own purposes.”

2. Martha Stewart Living Helped Kick off a Domestic Explosion in the 90s, AV Club. “Her soothing voice filled almost every minute of Martha Stewart Living, unfolding at a meditation-inducing monotone as she walked you through making clarified butter or planting a rose bush.” Planning to watch the clips linked in this article this weekend, how soothing!

3. The 54 Best Romantic Comedies of All Time, Vogue. Ok, the other day I read a different list of best rom-coms that had like 3 Adam Sandler movies on it and Knocked Up, and it made me realize how fast and loose we’re all playing with the word “best.” This list does start with a caveat, “Comedy is subjective. So is romance.” I’m not sure how I feel about some of the movies/TV shows on this list (Lost in Translation, hard pass, and WHY can’t we just escape Woody Allen already), and the article needed some sterner copy-editing, but it gets me thinking. How about you? What’s your favorite rom-com?

4. Everything You Know About Obesity is Wrong, HuffPost. This is a good, important read. “Obesity, we are told, is a personal failing that strains our health care
   system, shrinks our GDP and saps our military strength. It is also an
   excuse to bully fat people in one sentence and then inform them in the
   next that you are doing it for their own good. That’s why the fear of
   becoming fat, or staying that way, drives Americans to spend more on
   dieting every year than we spend on video games or movies. Forty-five
   percent of adults say they’re preoccupied with their weight some or all of the time—an 11-point rise since 1990. Nearly half of 3- to 6- year old girls say they worry about being fat.” Some of the reported studies about doctor care in this are so horrifying. Read it when you have the emotional energy, and do something kind for yourself after, but know that this isn’t right and no one deserves this treatment.

5. The Governess Game, Tessa Dare. Tessa Dare’s historical romances are spicy and actually funny. I highly recommend her books, even if you’re not into the romance-novel genre. Have some fun! Read about a devilishly handsome duke with a razor-sharp jaw and sparkling emerald eyes. They are plentiful, and only a plain, sometimes-clumsy and always-feisty woman can make them settle down. 🙂