May I recommend
This swimsuit
Listen, I KNOW we’re in the depths of winter and the thought of taking a shower, let alone plunging oneself into an icy lake/pool/ocean is deeply unappealing, but such is my love and passion for The Grecian that I could no longer keep quiet. I am COMPELLED to write about it at this seasonally inappropriate time.
This is a wonderful one-piecer. It is comfortable. It is durable. It fits well.
I am blessed with both a jolly tummy and a butt so flat it looks like I’ve shoved a small pizza box down my pants —In my family, this rear end is affectionately (?) known as the Tector Flass — The combined effect of the roundy fronty and flaty backy is that swimsuits often ride up my butt crack.
Not this friend, though! It provides coverage without seeming like grandma’s bathing costume. It’s got pretty straps and that nice thing happening at the chest which is fun and interesting and restrains any boobalanches. I have about four different versions of this and literally every time I wear one, someone compliments me.
Pro tip — all of Lands End swim stuff is amazing, including their various flowing muumuus and cover ups. Very important if you must shield your sweet body from the sun’s cancerous rays. They also always seem to have berserk sales so get in there and get your Mrs Roper caftan lined up for the summer!
Placidia got it done
The misunderstood Roman empress who willed herself to the top
A very interesting read about someone I had never heard of, but whose life was filled with adventure and bravery. This definitely deserves a lavish HBO series.
For Romans, it was the beginning of the end. But for Placidia, it was just one more twist in an astonishing life saga that could have inspired a subplot of “Game of Thrones.” After the sack, the pampered and beautiful princess would be taken from her gilded palace as a prisoner of the Visigoths. Four years later, Placidia shocked Romans by marrying one of her captors. Then, by age 26, she was back in Italy, re-inventing herself to rule as the last empress of the Western Roman Empire.
Off-gridding in the city
I disconnected from the electric grid for eight months - in Manhattan
This guy’s project is intense - using only solar power to live his life in a 15 storey apartment building in Manhattan. Do I think he might be a little weird, obsessive and off-putting if you met him at a dinner party? Yes. Is this weird thing he succeeded at doing impressive and a nudge to all of us to reconsider our reliance on technology? Also yes.
Today, more than half the world lives in cities. I've always thought that living "off the grid" meant living "off in the woods," where you can live simply and set up an alternate power source. But I’m a professional in Manhattan and need to earn a living. I have to meet the expectations of professional service from my clients and from New York University, where I teach leadership and entrepreneurship. Before this experiment, I didn’t believe my lifestyle would let me disconnect from the grid for a day, let alone longer.
The Key to Happiness
What the longest study of human happiness found is the key to happiness
It’s friendship. The key is friendship.
That’s a pretty good finding. Pay attention to your friends instead of your phone — I need this reminder a lot!
We don’t always put our relationships first. Consider the fact that the average American in 2018 spent 11 hours every day on solitary activities such as watching television and listening to the radio. Spending 58 days over 29 years with a friend is infinitesimal compared with the 4,851 days that Americans will spend interacting with media during that same time period. Distractions are hard to avoid.
Book Stuff
My publisher is running a Goodreads Giveaway. Fifteen copies of SPEAK FOR THE DEAD are up fro grabs. Go and sign up. YOU could be the winner. Also, while you’re in Goodreads, it would be great to give my books a rating (if you’ve read ‘em of course) or mark them as “To Read.” All that sort of stuff helps with sales apparently… Also, you should do that about ANY book you read and loved. Ratings and reviews are very very helpful!
I wrote about the blur and bewilderment of new motherhood for Tinybeans and it got some very heartfelt reactions, which was super gratifying. I actually wrote this essay YEARS ago, so now I really am facing teenagehood in the face. Eep.
Buy my books!
TikTok
A little too close to the truth
YUP — what a goddamn waste of mental energy
I love Titus
While I am VERY concerned about maulings, I also cried
Grammar fun
Ha ha, this is very true
I’m an idiot and this made me laugh
Okay, I am NOT a fan of Everybody Loves Raymond, but the premise for this bit was really very funny.
Oh boy, I forgot about car door ashtrays!
I love this lady and her chuckle is amazing
What is it about me that caught your eye?
Ooof, but also, isn’t this just another nudge to go out and live our one beautiful life with as much pleasure and kindness as we can?
Amy’s eye acting toward the end is A+
Oh God
Mini-lasagnas in a loaf pan
I don’t know her
Weddings and Babies and Wine
I literally bragged about my early wake up time at a recent dinner party
That’s a purse you want back
This man is adorable
Li’l Dog
Opera for dummies
Well, this also made me tear up
I now know too much about his dong
Choke a goose
It was really off putting
More Three’s Company content (also, is this man a goblin?)
Okay, now I love Billie Eilish
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The Grecian (swimsuit)+ a Roman Empress + Off-gridding in the city
Amy - will I also get a vacant, vaguely Blade-Runner-esque look when I wear this swimsuit? I am transfixed by the Land's End model and 100% convinced they are a product of GANs image creation: https://www.technologyreview.com/2018/02/21/145289/the-ganfather-the-man-whos-given-machines-the-gift-of-imagination/
I wish I'd read your post earlier - I just tried on suits and was reminded that Winners should fire every person involved in the lighting design of their fitting rooms.