What Did You Do This Weekend?

I am trying to push myself out of my comfort zone this year so I went to the local sex shop and bought a vibrator! I would usually place the order online, but I went into the shop this time and it was totally fine. I felt brave and now I have a new toy!

happy birthday Joanna!!

Happy belated birthday 🎈 I was wondering where your couch is from and if you would recommend it! Thank you!

I just love these weekend catchups. It’s like we can follow along in others’ lives just as we do with yours, Joanna. Sasha got a reprieve! Sarah is doing the hardest, bravest thing and moving towards a divorce. And on and on. My weekend was hard but good, nonetheless. I’m getting over an illness, my partner is working through a personal challenge that is testing our relationship, and I’m stuck in the snow and ice. But I’ve been reading (3/4 of the way through Sonia and Sunny), making my art, loving my dog, and really feeling all the good and calm and happy moments that are there alongside the hard things.

Warmest and happiest birthday wishes to you, Joanna! My weekend was affirming one too, albeit in a slightly different way; after spending 15 months rehabbing a shoulder injury, I was finally (FINALLY!) able to join my swim squad on Saturday morning for their full two-hour session, finishing up a neat 5kms in the pool. On Sunday morning, we reconvened in the ocean and swam 6kms across some of the most beautiful reef and seabed before finishing up on a beach which just so happened to be a dog beach. Arriving happy but utterly spent and seeing the deliriously happy faces of all dogs playing the surf felt like the perfect embodiment of my immense gratitude for a shoulder (and body) that finally works.

Happy birthday Jo! This weekend I also celebrated the birthday of a friend. We had dosas as per her request and a great time at dinner with a circle of friends. I had read The Wild Robot by Peter Brown at bedtime to my kids and we finally watched the movie for movie night with pizza and cookies. The book was excellent, the movie was OK. My 6 year old loved the movie and the different turn it took, my year old remained loyal to the book. Sunday, I stayed home, worked on lesson plans, finished one book (The Love of my Life by Rosie Walsh) and started a new one (Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips). I had one more episode left to watch of Schitt’s Creek but I couldn’t bring myself to do it because I knew I would cry watching Catherine O’Hara.

Happy birthday, Joanna! This weekend we celebrated the birthdays of my two kids, who turn(ed) 3 and 1 on February 2 and 3, respectively. I had the best time watching them delight in their presents and birthday cake.

Happy Birthday!

I have four days off a month and this past weekend spent two of them at home. It is frigid and icy in Ohio, so watched a lot of Netflix while enjoying a blazing fire, baked banana bread, meal prepped for a busy week, took a bath and ended with a late Sunday afternoon massage. Blissful weekend!

Happy Birthday, it sounds like a lovely day! And interestingly similar to my birthday which was the weekend before – Korean spa the night before + a nice dinner out, then morning of was taken to brunch, lazed around a bit and then made dinner with my sister for a few good friends who came over in the evening. I also got in a great hike on the famous Dipsea trail in Marin the following morning. I, like you, am the only adult in my house as a single mom, but felt so surrounded by people I love. I’ve found in this phase of my life I plan a few things I really look forward to around my birthday – a spa trip, a meal, a hike, etc – and reach out/communicate to make sure I spend time with a few key people doing those things, and I’ve had some great birthdays recently with this approach. I have some ‘birthday baggage’ from childhood and my previous marriage and realize that I am a healthy, fully functional adult and my birthdays are the best when I take charge and don’t do this weird ‘waiting for someone to plan something/surprise me’ and then I feel resentful or disappointed. Growth! The best part of aging! :)

Happy birthday, dear fellow Aquarius. This weekend I celebrated my birthday on different dates with different friends and their wonderful children. On Saturday, a couple of friends came over and we had delicious brownies, and on Sunday, I made 40 homemade waffles with tasty toppings such as cream, cherries, applesauce, powdered sugar, and chocolate sprinkles for friends and their lovely children. The waffles were a big hit. And this weekend made me happy.

This weekend was unexpectedly so stressful. I’m in the middle of an ivf cycle and was expecting a refill of my meds (that need to be refridgerated and have a short 10 day shelf life) on Friday night. Saturday was a blur of 17 phone calls from 7am to 3pm to get my doctor’s office to send a new prescription to a local fertility pharmacy (which still required a 2 hour drive round-trip to pick up). Ended up paying another $750 out of pocket to get the meds as the tiny amount insurance provides had been exhausted on the delayed order. As emotionally exhausting at this was, I felt so lucky that I could afford to pay for the meds out of pocket, they were not life-saving meds, and I live close enough to a compounding pharmacy to pick them up locally. I ended the day by making frosting for a six inch single layer chocolate cake I pulled from my freezer. Let is be said that all freezers should be stocked with cookie dough and ready-to-be-frosted cake layers.

Homemade pizza, played tennis, church, cook and listen to music and long walk with husband, drive a kid to this and that, visit parents. Extremely low key I keep saying I will make real plans then don’t!

Happy Birthday Jo, it was so nice meeting you and thank you for coming to my head spa ☺️ It was fun to see how you enjoyed the rest of the day, thank you for sharing. I feel like as I’m getting older, getting the time to ourselves as a mom/women to relax and reflect is the best present to gift yourself 🫶🏻 I’m glad you got to do that too. Take care and hope to see you soon 🤍

Happy belated, Jo & Lucy! You two are superstars!! I spent my weekend joyfully doing many loads of laundry and prepping meals for upcoming week. You see, I had David Gate’s poem with me at all times. *** Doing the laundry and the dishes and meal preparation are not tasks of the mundane because being clothed and clean and fed declares the dignity of human lite and nurtures us into new days into new eras they are not mundane, no they are the rituals of care ***

Morning at the spa + brunch + lazy afternoon + ice cream??? New ELITE day just dropped. Happy Birthday!

My husband was away for work all of last week and it’s been cold, so Saturday we stayed in and cuddled, read by a fire, I made a fancy filet mignon dinner with gorganzola cream sauce, and we caught up on Shrinking and The Pitt. Sunday was similar, with more cleaning and with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Nice and quiet.

I spent my weekend trying to convince my mentally ill child to stay on this planet. And I made beans from scratch.

Love that you went for ice cream sundaes for birthday desert!

Just wanted to say I really love these weekend recaps! xo

We threw a dinner party! Memphis is still trying to thaw out from the snow from 9 days ago (!) and all of us are parents so we have all been suffering through this long week of snow days. So we decided to host a dinner party, had pizza for the kiddos, and my husband made Coq Au Vin – basically a stew that can simmer while we had cocktails. It was great! My friends are all talented and smart and are great conversationalists so it really filled my cup to be around them, after an icy, somewhat isolated snowy week.

This weekend I hosted a housewarming party with my boyfriend. It was positively frigid, so it was extra special to have so many friends come out and support us. We are now working our way through the leftovers, as my math for a big party is not well worked out yet, and I’m always so afraid of running out of food!

I am so glad that your birthday was fun. My birthday was on Friday and the lunchtime plans didn’t work out so I was feeling rather sad about it but the evening was lovely; my adult children and partners came over and we had an Indian takeaway and played the Traitors board game. We all have to take whatever happy moments that we can get. X

That sounds like a great birthday! I’ve wanted a head massage ever since I learned about them on here! My weekend was pretty chill, I cross stitched, finally watched The Substance (WOW – loved it), and went to yoga. I recently rejoined a yoga studio I had been a member of about a year ago and had to leave for financial reasons. Realized lately that I’ve really been missing it, so I decided that it’s important enough for my mental and physical well-being, that I’d rejoin and just make it work financially. When I walked into the studio Sunday and smelled the familiar smells, I nearly cried. So happy to be back.

Happiest of birthdays, Jo! I got TWO new tattoos this weekend! I’m a swimmer/triathlete, so taking 3-4 weeks off from swimming needs to be worth it. My two besties and I got themed matching-ish tattoos, but since it’s a tiny little thing, I also got a native waterlily flower to honor my adopted home of Massachusetts. Then I saw my (former) mother-in-law and sisters-in-law and niece. I’m divorced from my ex-husband, but his family are some of the best folks on the planet, and I keep in close touch with them. The sisters are more family than my actual brothers, to be honest. I’m lucky to have them…. and to have such a forcefield of strong, loving women in my life!

Happy happy birthday, Jo! As you enter this year, in the midst of a little sadness, please always remember that you were the kernel who started this community, and this community brings people the most joy. This fact may not buoy you in your darkest of days, but it is certainly something worth celebrating. Cheers to another unpredictable trip around the sun!

Started reading Dream State and 50 pages in switched to Buckeye after reading an article on Patrick Ryan. Loving both but drawn to the Cal character. The Michael J Fox scene from Shrinking -what a way to kickoff the new season. Lots of soup and stews going. Your birthday celebration sounds so comforting! Loving drop in. Beautiful photo.

We have a toddler, so what didn’t we do?! Ha. I’m a runner, so many treadmill miles in our cold New England. It’s not my favorite running, but I’m grateful to have an outlet, particularly in these fraught times. I attended a vigil for Alex Peretti and others who died at the hands of ICE that a nurses group hosted at the CT State Capitol. And we hosted friends whose three-month-old enchanted my three-year-old, the first time I’ve seen him witness the wonder of a baby’s smile.

As a northerner, I embraced the cold and went ice fishing with my 4yo on Saturday. It was VERY cold out on a frozen lake, but we both had a lot of fun learning and attempting! I also started watching the new season of Bridgerton.

I am visiting my hometown which, between WFH commitments, are so full of visits with friends and family. I met some friends for drinks on Friday nights and will share this little secret with you all. My bestie took a cab in a homewards direction with my friend/ex and he was drunkenly spilling about how he thinks we were a right person/wrong time kind of situation and he still thinks of me ten years later and wishes for my happiness. Just a little piece of something interesting to tuck away in my mind when I return to my normal life (we are both in long term relationships with other people although mine is a bit of a mess right now).

This weekend myself, my daughter and my friend went to see Mamma Mia. We laughed, we cried and we sang our hearts out. Just what we needed. Its hard to not feel guilty about having fun when the world is in such a bleak place but to carry on fighting, we also need to find those little pockets. Happy Birthday Jo (and to your sister Lucy) and I hope the year ahead is filled with lots of little pockets of joy.

Happy birthday to you! I had my annual reminder of my mortality/cardiologist visit. I don’t love the anticipation, but the doctors office is just next to a beautiful park, and after getting the ‘all clear’ it feels like a baptism to walk through it back into my life, parenting, work etc. the rest of the weekend was delightfully mundane.

Happy Birthday!! Your day sounds ideal. How special to be so loved. My daughter is in hospital so I hung out with her a we worked on a puzzled and brought our dog to visit! On the day I was at home my youngest daughter and I hung out and ate cake and just I dunno did not much. I bought flowers and shopped for dinners and chatted with neighbours and these days those things are magic x

Wondering if any black women with beautiful tightly coiled kinky 4c hair have been to a head spa. Sounds amazing, but I’m afraid they won’t know what to do with my hair.

I made a lopsided cake for my 2 year old. The buttercream is lumpy, the cake is slightly skewed, and I realized partway through that the last time I had seen the offset spatial (for frosting) it was being used as an instrument by said toddler. The cake was a triumph (we ate it today). I am proud of myself for taking time away from practical tasks. There were many moments I thought: was pushing a baby out easier than making a cake ? We went to a nearby pond with ducks – which my toddler loves. But he calls them Cocks (pretty sure he is trying to say Quack). It is a delight to here him shout : COCK COCK COCK while chasing ducks

Happiest of birthdays, you are so lucky

My weekend, as always, was spent showing up wherever I need to show up- Gaza, Venezuela, ICE, Iran……

So happy to hear you had a relaxing and fun Birthday! Inspired by Caitlin Abber, I died my brown hair super blonde and I feel more like myself than ever before.

Happy birthday Jo, my favourite internet aunt ❤️

Happy birthday, Jo! What a gorgeous weekend with such lovely community. Hope this year is full of light and hope. My weekend was mostly morning-sickness-induced puking (eeek), but this morning I had my first OB appointment for my first pregnancy. Seeing my lil blueberry baby’s heart flickering brought me to tears! Haha and then getting a Zofran prescription also made me teary with relief.

Happy birthday Jo! Anyone have recommendations for head spas/scalp massages in Manhattan? UWS? Less commuting = more zen. Thanks!

We had the most beautiful snowy weekend in the south! All house projects and snuggles over here. We’re also newly trying for a second kid. The road to our first baby was a long one (not to mention a politicized one, see also: living in the south), so I am pleasantly surprised to find that I am calm (so far) in that two week wait. Today, my after putting the baby to bed snack was ice cream followed by pickles, and I thought to myself, “I don’t think I’m pregnant, I think this is just called balance.”

Happy birthday! May this year be full of blessings, including wonderful, lanky teenagers, great books, beloved friends and chocolate mousse.❤️

Happy Birthday wishes to you!! I love how you document your gatherings with your loved ones by photo (I have to remember to be more intentional in taking the time to do that more!). My husband’s birthday was yesterday and we celebrated by braving the icy cold winds in Copenhagen! We’re here on a combination work/vacation trip~ drinking schnapps and glogg, sightseeing and meeting lovely people. A fun fact is that in Denmark, for your birthday they will decorate with the Danish flag in celebration. So when we went out for his celebratory dinner, they placed the Danish flag on his table!

Happy birthday, Jo! All the balloons reminded me of a birthday tradition my sister started for me a decade ago. On my first birthday after my mom died, I really didn’t want to celebrate. I felt sad, and drained. Something I do when I feel hopeless is to help others. I’m not sure where I got the idea but I decided to do 39 random acts of kindness as a birthday gift for myself. It was so fun, because many of them were anonymous and in my neighborhood. I felt like a secret happiness spreader. My seven-year-old son even helped carry out some of the “kindness missions,” which made it even more exciting for me. I didn’t tell that many people what I was doing; mainly just my husband, son, and sister. My sister asked what to give me for my birthday and I said, sort of offhand, “Maybe you can help me spread kindness and do a mission where you live [a ten hour drive from me].” She decided to do one and her idea was for her and her three-year-old twins to purchase 39 balloons and give them out to strangers in their local Target. 39 balloons! They had so much fun and were celebrities in the Target. And she’s done it almost every year since! In 2023, her family was visiting us on my birthday and our two families gave away 47 balloons to strangers in our local mall. Oh my goodness, the joy I felt! Anyway, thanks for the reminder of birthday joy in my life, Jo. What is it about balloons?

I spent the weekend on the sofa reading under a blanket. Jo, I was happy to see your Advent calendar on your mantel! We still have two wreaths, which have dried beautifully, and we keep greens and lights on our living room mantel and in both of our non-working fireplaces. I tell myself it’s “winter,” not Christmas. We’re still enjoying them and that’s what matters. We’re still eating lebküchen and panettone and drinking holiday tea, too.

Happy Birthday! Hate to put a downer on this post but I have to say that it irks me to no end when a relationship between a minor and adult is called an affair (re: Half His Age). I have not read the book but it reminds me of an incident at my high school where a teacher was charged with having a sexual relationship with a 16 year old student. She babysat for him and his wife and been groomed and abused from there. It was disgusting and especially upsetting that friends and community members tried to minimize his “mistake” for having an “affair” and cheating on his wife. Yes he was unfaithful to his wife and that’s bad but it’s much more than that when it’s an underage girl and one of his students. It’s never ok for a teacher to have a “romantic” relationship and/or sex with a student. Reminds me of the reporter who was recently called out for using the term “young women” for Epstein’s victims rather than children or underage girls. The language we use does matter and changes how people perceive a situation.

What a fun group photo!! What a gift to be surrounded by so much love!! And many, many balloons are so festive!! 🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈Happy Belated Birthday!! ✨🌞✨🕯️✨🥂🍾✨

Happy Birthday Jo! So good to see you surrounded by so much love! This weekend I went to the Ina Garten birthday dinner I mentioned in the comments last week. 6 of us dressed up as Queen Ina in homage. One gal even roped her husband into it! Here are some photos, if you’re curious: https://www.instagram.com/p/DUQl4u1Dtyb/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

I bought a car. I told my husband I wanted to handle the negotiation myself and I studied how to do it without accepting every ridiculous add-on they put in front of me. Every time the salesman looked to him for a response or agreement, my sweet husband said, “She is buying the car. Please talk to her.” It was exhausting. But, at the end of the day, I got a great car at a fair price and I did it myself.

We took our almost four year old skiing for the first time, and it was hilarious! He was so brave and adorable!

Happy Birthday Jo! There is no bigger blessings than having your loved ones around on your birthday. Cheers.

I went snowshoeing, treated myself to lunch, and did a little writing and shopping.

Wishing you a happy belated birthday, Jo! You’re an absolute treasure.

Happy birthday, Jo! I appreciate this space and all of you so much. This weekend I called it, and asked my husband for a divorce after he yell cursed me out with our 7 year old in the next room, and with our 7 month old baby upstairs. So far, I feel hopeful and certain this is the right decision, as he has been unkind and gaslight me for so many years. He definitely just wanted to force me to call it, as he bullies me for his unhappiness. Yet I’m terrified for all that comes next, and the pain it will cause my older daughter. For caring for a baby on my own, and having time without her. He is the best hands-on dad. I don’t want to share time with baby or daughter, but obviously that will happen. I’m trying to convince him to go with mediation because I want to solve our parenting time / living situation ourselves. I’m so overwhelmed but was able to tell my mom and close friends yesterday, and talking with them made me even more certain this is the right decision.

Oh, Saturday evening, I had the new experience of getting an American Blackbird out of my house! He swooped in when I opened the back door to put something outside, and I never even saw it happen. He made it all the way to the other end of the house and parked his birdie ass behind a bookcase, so it took a while before I saw him. Did some Interwebbing to figure out a plan, and then it took me over an hour to finally herd him out the front door (close all blinds, turn off lights, open front door wide and be patient. It’s hard to be patient with 20 degree F cold filling the house.). We talked, and his name is now Buddy, as in, “Buddy, you are an outside bird, not an inside bird! You need to leave!”, and he finally hopped out from hiding, and I gently escorted him out the front door. I saw him at the bird feeder yesterday because apparently he has no shame. Read all the symbolism into it you want, but I just wasn’t paying attention when I went outside. I do think it is interesting that it happened the weekend of Imbolc, though. And happy late birthday, Joanna!

Wow did this bring back a memory. Years aga I had just an awful high-stress job, one that shouldn’t have been, as director for a small non-profit, my dream job; plus working along with long-time friends – this was such an opportunity for all of us to accomplish so much. Instead they turned an me, made my life a living hell, and I will never understand why. Anyways – a local ‘natural store’ had a hair salon and I needed a hair cut, so I made an appointment. I was so tightly strung for so long I didn’t even realize how bad it was. I sat in the chair and the woman started working on me, washing my hair, and it was taking a while, and then I realized – she was giving me a massage! Wow! I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and relaxed. That could have gone on forever. It was quite the wake-up call to me to realize just how bad I was being effected by this work situation; also the moment I realized I could do something about it – so dissapointing, I had to leave, which broke my heart but saved my life. 10+ years and I still can’t say the name of the place or go through the town, but otherwise I have dealt with it pretty well. Anyway, get a head massage! Amazing! A foot massage is wonderful, too. Happy Birthday Joanna – I’m so glad you had such a great weekend. We need these now, grab precious moments when we can. Sending love.

ooo I went to Head in the Clouds a few months ago when I was visiting NYC. It was SO NICE, high recommend. My first head spa but it will not be my last lol. the space is gorgeous!

Had what I hope was the inaugural meeting of a local “ “tennis” club “ – the kids ran wild around the empty courts while 5 of us parents got our heart rates up running around with rackets and tennis balls, doing our best to play a game none of us fully knew the rules to. It was the best. Sunday my best friend surprised me with a drop by for breakfast and she stayed til 4pm. I was solo parenting while my husband is working weekends and nights this month, and her presence turned a monotonous Sunday into a commercial for adult friendship and girlhood solidarity. I sent her this text this morning: Still find myself on cloud 9 from being socially and emotionally re-charged by your presence yesterday! I am so grateful for you and just can’t believe someone as pragmatic and logical can have such gorgeous creativity and delightful curiosity. And that I found that person!! I love youuuuuu.

Aww, what a sweet birthday weekend 🤍 To cut down on screen time and give my tired brain a break, I switched my phone to grayscale. It’s only been a few days, but I’m already loving it. Without the color, it feels way less tempting to scroll, and when I put it down, my mind doesn’t feel nearly as scrambled.

Is a head massage the same thing as a scalp massage.? And does the same salon provide both services? Thanks for clarifying.

HBD, Jo! On Saturday, I threw a beach sunset 30th birthday surprise for my neighbor. Fun fact: I have 6 gals, all in our 30s, living in three townhomes all next to each other (!). We all moved in at random times the past few years but only did we discover the magic of who each other are six months ago and we are unstoppable. It’s been truly the best. Had balloons, cake pops, and wine on the beach watching the sunset as we welcomed her 30th year.

Happy birthday! What a fun, fabulous day….plus a Georgie moment!

Visited NYC. Attended the theater experiences of Hell’s Kitchen and Marjorie Prime. Ate amazing pickled veggies and the creamiest pistachio ice cream in Times Square at Alderman. Ventured over to the NYC Library and JP Morgan Museum (the Renoir was a bonus). Sipped truly amazing cocktails at Patent Pending. Just naming a few highlights.

Eek! The the soul-sucking force of reasonableness! I feel chastened! 😂

What a sweet and perfect day! I find your “village” so inspiring! Such goals.

Awww! What a fantastic birthday weekend Joanna!!! Here’s another, very happy birthday to you. May the year ahead be full of small moments of UNREASONABLE joy. I spent the weekend sick with a cold (grateful for the what to eat when ill post!!). And driving back and forth to visit my husband in the hospital. Thankfully, he had surgery this morning, and it went super well, and he’s eating choclate ice cream right now. I’ll go see him after work and dog walk. And he’s supposed to come home TOMORROW. Hooray!! This is probably going to sound strange…… but it was such a gift to see him granddad charming the very young people caring for him. And seeing them argue over who gets to walk him down to the entrance so he could see his dogs for a few minutes. And this is why I love him. We will be celebrating my bday on Thursday, in nearly 60 ° weather (a bit unusual for Montana in February!) and I’m very excited to sit in the sun in a t shirt and soak it up. Thank you all for the kind wishes sent my way, they truly helped scrape me up off the floor.

Happy birthday, Jo! Re. avoiding soul-sucking reasonableness: When my parents’ friend Art turned 40, my mom made 40 cupcakes and we stuck a candle in each one. We lit them, put them around the perimeter of the dining room table and made Art run around the table blowing out all the candles. It was hilarious. Even more so because this elaborate scheme was cooked up in the name of safety — there had been a prior incident with a birthday pie for a different friend that had too many candles crowded into a small space, nearly necessitating a fire extinguisher. My mom and dad gave me the dining room table when they downsized, and the 40 Cupcakes memory is still my favorite sentimental reason for being attached to that piece of furniture.

Happy belated birthday! Sharing your joy is a gift to us too:)