Jessica's Friday Five: What I bought, Alexa uses, and COVID tests
Published 29 days ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader,
How in the world are there only 96 days left of 2024?! Goodness. And just 5 more issues of Friday Five before we will reach the US presidential election. Time feels like it's flying over here! This week, I had the incredible opportunity to participate in the official Facilitator Training for the Fair Play Method, which is all about creating a more intentional and equitable division of labor in our homes. I can't wait to begin creating opportunities to share these approaches with all of you. Have you read the book or tried the method in your home? What did you think?
If you're being impacted by Hurricane Helene right now, I'm sending love. Let me know if there are things your community needs that us Friday Fivers can help with right now.
What I Bought This Month: I love how much y'all love this feature at the end of every month. So my team and I (shout out to Kaila and my husband!) improved this page of my website to make it easier to share these with you each month (and you can even sort by category). This month was a lot of excellent household item purchases, a long-awaited book that I am already devouring, and a few seasonal fun items as Halloween and the winter holidays near. Go see what I bought this month!
Nice Note on a Mirror: Did you know you can write on a mirror with a whiteboard marker and it's fully eraseable? Grab a whiteboard marker and leave a little kind note for someone in your home to find. Be a bit specific if you can - it means a little more to see, "I love watching you play soccer!" than just, "I love you", but don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good here. ❤️
Alexa Routines: I recently shared a handful of our Alexa routines in a Facebook conversation and wanted to share here as well - we use ours in many ways (7 of them laid out here), and the routine possibilities are endless. Our kids wake up to Alexa saying good morning, sharing a joke, and telling them the date and weather. It reminds all of us when we need to head out to take them to school in 5 minutes. We have a routine so that if our garage door is ever open at 9 pm, it closes it. If the space heater in my office that I often turn on in the morning is still on at 11 am, it turns that off (I can always turn it back on again quickly by voice if I'm still chilly, but usually, by that time, things have warmed up enough where I live). In the winter, we use it for Christmas lights to turn on and off on a schedule automatically, and our wax melter turns on and off using an Alexa routine as well. If you have an Alexa, what things are you doing with it that I might not know about? Tell me! :)
What to Worry About (and Not) as a Parent: I loved this piece by Jen Hatmaker (and mother of 5) on what to worry about with our kids and what to not worry about. This week, rereading this article reminded me to quiz my kids about whether I'm most proud of their athletic abilities, academic skills, kindness, or sense of humor. I was relieved that they both told me that I care most about them being kind.
COVID Tests: If you're in the US, it's time to order more free COVID tests to have on hand - these tests can detect the newer variants of COVID. Get yours at https://covidtests.gov/ and text it around to your friends, too. Hundreds (thousands in some recent weeks) are still dying in America weekly from COVID, so having tests on hand is one way we can all help reduce the impact.
Bonus Democracy Deeds:If you're wondering what these "democracy deeds" are all about, they're around for the next 5 issues of Friday Five and here's why I am including them.
Sharon McMahon's Vote Website: This is an excellent nonpartisan website to help anyone register to vote, find out what's on their ballot, request a mail ballot, and more. My recommendation is to share this far and wide - with colleagues, on social media, and in your group texts. Remind folks that if they've moved, changed their name, or skipped voting in a recent election, they might have been removed from voter rolls and need to re-register soon before the deadline. https://sharonmcmahon.com/vote
Volunteer as a Zoom Manager, House Party Presenter, or House Party Coordinator: If you can't travel to a swing state to get involved, consider volunteering digitally or in your local community with Movement Voter Project.
Know an Alabama or Auburn Fan? I'm a proud Auburn alumna and football fan, but I'm putting aside my usual rivalry with the Roll Tide crowd to join them in helping to save democracy. Do you know someone who loves Auburn or Alabama? Send them this link so they can join us for our virtual event coming up next week! bit.ly/RivalsforHarris
Vote Forward Needs Final-Round Letter Writers: It's time to sign up to send letters or postcards if you have been meaning to but haven't yet - the window is closing as ballots are already being cast this week in states around the country. Pick a state to write to here and let them know how many letters you can commit to writing. If you want to invite friends over for an afternoon or evening of postcard-writing and fun, feel free to steal my invite language (our party is tomorrow!).
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