Friday Things #568

1. Isabelle is officially seven! She had so much fun celebrating her birthday on Sunday; we had family over, ate ice cream cake, and she just had a ball. I can’t believe she’s already seven!

2. Dominic had his first track meet last weekend… it was pouring rain, but he had so much fun! He ran the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay, and did the long jump. It’s been fun to watch the boys try new sports this spring (even if spring sports weather is a little (a lot?) less than ideal 🙃☔️🌧️).

3. I’ll have to be sure to keep up with my jigsaw puzzles, crochet, knitting, and crossword puzzles 😄 >> People with “Grandma Hobbies” Have Better Mental Health, Experts Say

4. I got the new Babs cookbook in the mail this week, Everyday with Babs, and ooooh there are so many recipes in there I want to try and that I think the kids may actually enjoy!

5. While Wayne Gretzy was always a rival growing up watching Mario Lemieux and Alex Ovechkin has always been a rival as an adult watching Sidney Crosby, seeing Ovechkin break Gretzky’s career goal record was amazing with the class shown all around, from Ovechkin not being willing to break it with an empty net goal, to Gretzky making sure he was in attendance, I just loved the sportsmanship.

6. On that note, I had saved this from a James Clear newsletter a couple of weeks back:

“Although losing is never fun, there is a certain satisfaction that can be found on the other side of losing - but only when you give your all. To lose with half effort offers no pleasure in the moment and no peace in the long run. But if your ambitions were full and your attempt was genuine, after the sting of losing wears off you’ll be left with something resembling contentment. The reward is not always in winning, but in striving.”

7. I was so excited to see that some of you already made the lemon blueberry bundt cake after I shared the update yesterday! It’s such a great spring and summer dessert.

8. Love, love, love this article >> The Bigger Your Dream, The Better Version of Yourself You Become

9. A good reminder of the principle to under promise and over deliver:

Writer Jacob Falkovich on how to respond to a mistake:
“If you think you're running 10 minutes late, text to say you'll be 15 minutes late. That way the other person gets one disappointment and one pleasant surprise. Most people do the opposite: they say they're 5 minutes late when it's 10 and end up annoying the other and looking like total fools.”

10. TGIF! Judith lives her absolute best life every single day…