Humor, Music, Universe

Screw It, I’m Eating Tater Tots, Episode 20- Simplify

Writer McWriterson

Preparing for Election Day tomorrow, the looming social media warfare, the inevitable lockdown, and of course the ever-present COVID.

November’s tater tot post is chock full of things to keep your mind occupied and to simplify your life during this hectic time.

If you’re new here and are wondering, what the hell is a tater tot post? here is the explanation.

simply stripping

White Front-load Clothes Washer and Dryers
Courtesy/Pexels

Not that kind of stripping, LAUNDRY stripping.

Apparently, there is some shit on your clothes, and I don’t mean literal shit; I’m referring to residue from your detergents and dryer sheets, among other things.

Oh, and for those who think, I only make my laundry detergent at home like a good Laura Ingalls Wilder. Your homemade laundry detergent is one of the worst offenders, so you should be stripping more than any of us.

You can get all the details here.

simply jump

I want to make sweet blogger-love to the tech genius who came up with this concept:

See that up there?

“Jump to recipe?”

SWEET BABY BUTTER RUM LIFESAVERS.

Now you can avoid the mind-numbing, I want to stick a dull steak knife into my eye socket because of long-ass backstory on why you need to write about where you came up with the recipe or step by step by step-by-step guides on how to stir a bowl of batter and every single pop-up ad known to man. 

simply forward

Brown Train Railway Between Green Trees at Daytime
Courtesy/Pexels

During the pandemic, I’ve been playing a game that it has proven to be beneficial to my mental health.

To be honest, I didn’t even realize that I was playing a “game” until a few months ago, when I realized I could share it with all of you because we need more happiness and less crappiness.

Ooh, that rhymes! That may be my new slogan.

We need more happy and less crappy!

That’s not grammatically accurate, which is all the more reason for me to make it my slogan!

I call it the “forward game”. Things to look forward to each day.

Here are a few examples:

-I mentioned farting in last month’s tater tot post. Farting is DEFINITELY something to look forward to!

Girl Farted Images, Stock Photos & Vectors | Shutterstock
Also, looking up farting images on Google is another thing to look forward to! (Do it. This instant. Now. Go.)

-Fried Green Tomatoes (the movie) is going to be adapted into a television series. If you haven’t yet seen the movie, now is the time.

-It makes me glad when I see my favorite spoons are in the drawer because they offer me the perfect amount of sugar in my coffee.

-Speaking of coffee, I look forward to my afternoon coffee because that is generally when I sit on the couch and call my mom.

Woman Writing on a Notebook Beside Teacup and Tablet Computer
Courtesy/Pexels

– I look forward to writing since it is when I am most creative. I recently read that being creative is healthy for you and that it helps raise your vibration in the Universe (which is a good thing-think positive vibe), so make sure you’re doing something creative weekly, whatever that might be.

-When I listen to music and I hear a pleasant song, I turn the volume up, and occasionally I even dance, EVEN when I am in a bad mood. Negative attracts negative, whereas positive attracts positive.

-Crossing tasks off of my to-do list. That makes me feel SO GOOD.

-Looking forward to Anna’s return from college (actually counting the days)

We all need something to look forward to, and I hope this has given you something to look forward to as well.

simply movies that give me a john Hughes’ vibe

I watched this movie a few weeks ago on Netflix. It was sad, but it was good too. It had a John Hughes vibe to it. Then that started me thinking about other movies that are John Hughes-esque.

Here are my picks.

What are your picks?

simply faces

Makeup Palette

I’ve maybe worn makeup three or four times since March; I’m not really feeling it. I went out with my friend Kristen a few weeks ago for a much-needed socially distanced girls’ day, and I didn’t apply makeup or dry my hair. That isn’t like me at all and yet, it felt really liberating.

So the question is, am I in a pandemic depression? Or is this who I am now?

Are you wearing makeup in quarantine? Did you ever?

Here is an article I found: Why I quit wearing makeup 2 months ago

Please read the quote carefully because I had shared this on my Instagram stories and someone had asked me a question about it. They didn’t see the word “JUST” in front of the word pulling because it modifies the quote.

simply ubuntu

In last month’s tater tot post, I told you about “Doc” Rivers life-changing journey and promised to tell you more about it this month. I lied to you. I touched on it in last week’s post about univers-isms, but I wanted to bring it up again because I love this school of thought.

This video is interesting. The bulk of it is on how the Ubuntu philosophy can influence workplace culture, but the first five to eight minutes are what I believe best illustrate what I want you to gain out of Ubuntu, and his story of how it changed his life is simply incredible.

simply watch

We discovered this documentary on Netflix in September. This is from 2010, so it’s a little dated, but it’s worth seeing.

Tenure needs to go away. 

That is all I have to say about that.

I came upon this inspiring tale when exploring YouTube for homeschool materials:

Here is the title of Erika’s book: I Held the Sun in My Hands: A Memoir by Erika Jacoby

Here is the title of Ursula’s book Stations Along the Way: The Spiritual Transformation of Former Hitler Youth Leader by Ursula Martens

I enjoy listening to TED Talks whenever I can and occasionally incorporate them into our homeschooling. Take a listen to Sir Ken Robinson and let me know what you think. He was a lovely man who, regrettably, died this summer.

Oh, and by the way, the story in this video about the little girl drawing God reminds me so much of something Ella would’ve said when she was little. 🙂

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this show previously, but since we’re “hunkering down” again, I thought I’d tell you about it. This is one of my favorite series, and I believe it was introduced to me by my friend Rita. It’s on FX, but you can watch all seasons on Hulu.

The above is just so lovely.

Mike and I are finally so in love with this.

simply listen

This song seemed fitting for this month.

I found this song on Spotify back in September. Very soothing, something we need right now.

Remember Ani? Give her a listen, like her channel, and share the hell out of it because my goal is to make her famous by 2021.

simply links

22 ways to simplify your life (I dare you to only choose one)

The underappreciated joy of keeping your tastes simple

The Reason They Can Fly

I just found out canned pumpkin isn’t pumpkin at all and my whole life is basically a lie

3,125 ways to make a pretty spectacular grilled cheese

If 50% of people take these 3 simple steps, we might be able to stop the spread of COVID-19

Words to eliminate from your vocabulary to sound smarter 

Buy something from this happy store, please

Stay bright. Stay happy. Shine on.

30 thoughts on “Screw It, I’m Eating Tater Tots, Episode 20- Simplify”

  2. I sometimes write up lists of things to do that I just did so I can cross them off and feel more accomplished! Not often, but sometimes. I only wear make up a few times a year and I have put make up on twice in the past two weeks! Of course we were heading out of the house and my mask covered 1/2 of it but whatever.

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    1. YES. That is such a good idea. Crossing things off lists is self- care!

      I think I don’t wear makeup because of masks and I didn’t even think of that until you mentioned it. So I have a pimple on my chin for the first time in ages (menopause is the gift that keeps on giving) and I was grateful for my mask this morning because it covered it! So see? Grateful. 🙂

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  3. Your ending line reminds me of the REM song, Shiny Happy People.

    I’ve heard about that laundry stripping. So I read about it and it actually isn’t effective. It’s just one of those fads some people are touting. We can find better things to do with our time. 🙂

    Jump to recipe link – THE best!

    You can drink coffee in the afternoon? So lucky. I’d never get to sleep that night. As it is, I’ve cut back on coffee even in the mornings. Makes me more anxious and gives me some bowel troubles. I drink mostly green tea now.

    I watched the Other People trailer and nope, can’t do it. Waaay too sad.

    We’re in the middle of season 4 of Schitt’s Creek. We love it!

    I rarely wear makeup anymore. Half your face is covered with a mask when you go out, so why bother. I wore mascara sometimes if I was meeting up with someone but I’ve even had to stop doing that now as I’ve developed blepharitis on my eyelid (stress!). It’s gone now, but I don’t want to take any chances of aggravating it again. I’ll give it a little more time.

    XOXO

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    1. Girl, I can drink coffee in the evening! My grandma was the same way and lived to be 102. 😂

      I bought mascara for the first time yesterday since March. I figure it will give me a lift.

      I’m also making a hair appointment because I need to have my hair professionally colored at this point. It’s bad. Not sure I’ll be able to get in as the state closes up but if not, I’ll wait. I used to do it myself but I let it go too long this time and it will look horrible if I tried to do it at home.

      We are at the end of season three of Schitt’s Creek and love it. Just what we need.

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      1. I have a hair appointment on Thursday for a haircut and color and I can’t wait. That’s the one thing I’ve been keeping up with since the salons re-opened. Hurry and make that appointment in case they close our salons down again! They’re all really busy now too, with the upcoming holidays. Let me know if you want the name and number of the woman who does my hair in case you can’t get an appointment elsewhere. She’s in Johnsburg and has great prices. And she’s super sweet, to boot!

        xoxo

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Oh! Oh! Also, the thing about canned pumpkin not actually being pumpkin reminds me of when for some reason my husband and I read the label on a jar of plum sauce and discovered that it was actually mostly… pumpkin. So like, wtf? Pumpkin can be plum but not pumpkin? WHAT IS HAPPENING?

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  7. I am still laughing at Ali’s vibrator comment. Gold.

    There is so much here . . . I have not worn makeup in months. Even when I go places now, I don’t bother. Even when I am going to see people, don’t bother. I might wear mascara again when we attend a wedding or something. I will do lipstick when I am seeing people unmasked.

    I LOVE the movie that is being turned into a movie – too tired to scroll back up and find it. Um, with Kathy Bates. That’s all I got. I had no idea it was becoming a show. How do you know this stuff?

    I liked the Wallflower book, not sure I can watch the movie. They are usually suckie compared to books.

    I am stuck on the pumpkin thing too. What?

    that is a great quote from Teagan whoever she is. I am fortunate to be elderly before my time, so social media has not plucked away my joy. Besides, I have some neighbors who try that on the reg. (this is on my mind because I just drafted some posts with this here theme).

    Coach cancelled Netflix (I KNOW) so your Netflix suggestions only make me bitter (at him, not you). I am pouting. The minute we got you tube tv the price increased. Same for Netflix. It was a free trial and he was like, SEE WE STILL CAN’T FIND ANYTHING TO WATCH AND THEY JUST RAISED THE PRICES. Grr. This is not over.

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    1. RIGHT? I LOVE THAT.

      I loved the Wallflower movie BUT I didn’t read the book. I am with you on the whole book is always better than the movie scenario.

      It’s squash! But my mom said that pumpkin and squash are so similar that it’s really the same thing. But still…

      WHAT?? WHY DID HE CANCEL IT?? Yeah, Mike said that they just went up a dollar per month. Thanks, Netflix. We are all at the mercy of our televisions and they crank up the prices. Insert eye roll.

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  8. I also meant to say in terms of making lists- I will write something on my list that I just completed if it was not already there, just so I can cross it off the list. I never claimed to be normal.

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  9. Negative attracts negative, positive attracts positive.

    Yep. But here’s the thing people who like negativity find this idea as empowering as people who like positivity. I know this to be true, but cannot wrap my head around it because I keep thinking why would you want to be negative?

    I watched that TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson and thought he was definitely onto something. How we are taught things has a lasting impact on how we do things. Obviously, but he said it better.

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    1. RIGHT? Why would you WANT to be negative? I don’t understand that.

      I loved his TED talk. I could watch TED talks all day long. In fact, if I could teach homeschool solely off TED talks, I would. Maybe I should. Somedays I feel like that is the only way she will listen. Maybe Sir Ken was onto something. 🙂

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      2. OKAY! So you’re going to be sick of me talking about this BUT I just learned about this last week in my universal studies.
        I kind of used to be this way. Worried that if I put out good into the universe, the opposite would happen; that kind of scenario? That was me for YEARS. I am rewiring my brain to think differently. I think more of my motivation was fear? But yes. Wow. It’s like you and I are on the same wavelength.

        Liked by 1 person

  10. I’ve read about this stripping trend and I’m not falling for it. NOPE. *hides behind soapy drenched sheets* Actually, I use a really nice soap and it’s in this special container so I can’t use too much; it’s amazing how little you actually need.

    The Molly Shannon movie trailer had me crying….how have I not heard of this?

    The FORWARD on the yappy recipe ladies is a life safer and I no longer cuss them out for being so damn yappy.

    No one can make a cake look like a pumpkin, like UP there unless they are a true witch.

    Better things is one of my favorite shows! I’ve struggled with Schitts Creek; gonna just skip to season two and be done with one as I’ve tried several times to like it.
    Love On The Spectrum: YES PLEASE!

    So much good in this post!!

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    1. It’s probably another conspiracy theory to keep us busy. Umm, do tell?

      RIGHT? I said the same thing. She was SO GOOD in it. I had never seen her in a drama before. You must watch it.

      I have used the JUMP TO RECIPE so many times this year, it is my favorite thing about 2020.

      That is witchcraft indeed.

      I love Better Things and included Sam’s speech about menopause in my book. I love her and her girls.

      Go to Season Two, midway through (Schitt’s Creek). Trust me. It DOES get better. We felt the exact same way. Saying over and over, “I just don’t get it”. We now get it. 🙂

      Aww, I am glad to give you so much good. These posts help me so much and have saved my soul this year. I hope they do that a bit for all of you.

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