January 2024 archive

Who?!

Before I fall asleep on Saturday nights, I like to watch SNL’s cold open and the host’s monologue. Afterward, I may make it to Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Michael Che, but otherwise, I’ll be asleep before midnight.

Earlier in the day, I looked to see who this week’s host was. It was Jacob Elordi.

Who?! 

I haven’t seen his movie Saltburn or any of his other films. In his monologue, he said he wasn’t good at public speaking (true!), so he took questions from the audience. One person asked him which he preferred, old Elvis or new Elvis.

That’s how I learned he was in a movie about Elvis.

A few weeks ago, I watched the Golden Globes award ceremony. I didn’t care who won the awards. I was in it for the fashion. Since COVID, I haven’t been to the movies much. Because of this, I really have no idea who these people are or what roles they played. Most of them are the same age as my children. Many have been in a Marvel movie that I haven’t seen (nor want to see).

I text photos of the dresses to my sister so we can proclaim our non-expert opinions. Our rating system goes from “GORGEOUS” to “YIKES!”

But the entire time I’m looking at the dresses, I ask myself the same question.

Who is that? 

I’m not entirely hopeless. I saw the Barbie movie. I know who Margot Robbie, America Ferrera, and Dua Lipa are.

And, of course, Ryan Gosling. I never have to ask who he is when I see him on a red carpet or elsewhere.

But unless they are over 40, I usually ask the same question.

Who?!

Still, this doesn’t affect my role as an honorary member of the fashion police. Since I have no opinion of their acting, my judgment calls are 100% unbiased. I also love to compare notes with the experts Tom & Lorenzo: Fabulous and Opinionated to get their take. They are also hilarious!

Not knowing these people also doesn’t ruin SNL for me. The writing on the show does that on its own.

Please tell me I’m not alone here.

XO,

Elisa

Snow stories

mailbox in the snowSnow plow – 1
Mailbox – 0

We had back-to-back snowstorms this week. The first one resulted in about three inches of snow, which isn’t too bad. The roads were pretty covered so we waited until the snow plow came in to clear it.

They cleared more than the road. They took out my mailbox, too. Interestingly, the trash cans went unharmed during this collision. Fortunately, my mail is still being delivered, but it is not easy to retrieve. The mail slides into the back of the box, and I have to reach pretty far in to grab it.

I’m waiting for a call back from the Public Works department to have it replaced. I’m giving them a little grace because today’s snowstorm was worse than the one on Tuesday. I understand if my mailbox is not top of mind for them right now. But I would like a new one soon.

Snow Fall

Dog curled up on the couch with a blanket.This morning, I took Chloe outside to do her business and proceeded to fall right into the snow.

Yes, I was already dressed for a networking call on Zoom at 10:30 am. Yes, I had to dry off and change all of my clothes. ‘

And no, the Ring camera did not record my not-so-graceful fall onto the sidewalk. However, my husband had a front-row seat from his office window. It’s a good thing I wasn’t hurt and found the humor in it all.

As you can see, Chloe felt no remorse whatsoever.

Have a good weekend, everybody. Stay safe and read good books.

XO,

Elisa

My iPhone addiction

“You are on your phone too much.”

“You aren’t listening. Put your phone away.”

One might think these are the words of a mom fighting an uphill battle with their kids about screen time. But in my case, you would be wrong.

Recently, the tables have turned, and my kids have called me out for being on my iPhone too much. And they aren’t wrong. Even my husband has mentioned my slow response time when he needs me. I don’t have the heart to tell him sometimes that’s due to my selective hearing. 😉

Did you know the psychological term for this is nomophobia. While I’m not disagreeing with this diagnosis, I don’t think I need to seek professional help just yet.

My therapist and family may disagree.

While it is true that I am guilty of watching too many Reels, I also have a hard time unplugging, even for just a few hours. Something always sucks me back in. Let’s face itmy entire life is on the damn thing. There are so many things in life to juggle, and the nice thing about the iPhone is that so much of it can be managed at my fingertips. However, the iPhone tends to be super-glued to my hands, and I can’t shake it off no matter how hard I try.  Just look at some of the things I’m doing on my phone when I’m not watching clips of cute dogs being well….cute.

I start my day playing Wordle and Connections while drinking my coffee, and then I have breakfast.

I log my meals and calculate the Weight Watchers points in the app after breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I check the weather before going outside to walk the dog. How cold is it? Does she need her little grey fur coat, or can she go without it?

I take several photos of her wearing her fur coat in the snow and send the best ones in the family group chat.

I answer all the messages that come through.

I read Facebook posts, scroll through Instagram to see what my kids are up to, and check LinkedIn for the latest job postings.

I post and then comment on other people’s posts.

I look to see what time it is even though I have a Fitbit on my wrist. Then, I check the Fitbit app to ensure my steps are synching properly with my device.

I text.

I e-mail.

I Google.

I Venmo.

I make grocery lists.

I track my StitchFix order that was supposed to arrive two days ago.

I read the reminders for doctor’s appointments and then log in to fill out all the forms.

I check my email for the passcode to verify it is really me.

I listen to podcasts.

I look up recipes.

I write notes to myself.

I set alarms so I don’t miss any appointments.

And the list goes on and on.

The point is that I can’t just put it down and walk away. I hate being so reliant on this device. I lost the Notes app this week and nearly had a conniption fit. And then I realized I had no idea what I saved there anyway, so one less thing to check.

On the other hand, I don’t want to miss out on conversations. I want to be present and notice the world around me. Books are waiting for me to read. Carving out time to exercise is essential. My list of 24 things to do in 2024 needs to be tackled.

These are the things I know my iPhone can never deliver.

XO,

Elisa

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