Category: Weekly Newsletter

The Mom Weekly Volume 123: December 16, 2025

You can read this, or any other previous Mom Weeklies, by going to the home page here.

Notes:

I really thought I would have a lot more ideas about the topic of today’s weekly, so I hope that you will all give me some ideas to update this post in future months! There must be dozens of other ideas like the ones I share, and I look forward to hearing yours.

Also, I would be remiss if I did not mention that today is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen! I realized too late that I should have written all about her for today, but I will save that for another time, when I have time to give it my full attention. In the meantime, have some tea, scones, and maybe watch one of the movie adaptations in her honor today.

Remember how much I love you,

Mom

When I Was a Kid, Netflix Came in the Mail

This is the oft-said expression around here whenever someone remarks on some new invention or something that has become common in life, unlike when someone “was a kid.” 

Now, when I was a kid, Netflix didn’t exist, but we were just on the cusp of being able to videotape shows so that we could watch them. Things are always changing, and often for the better!

It’s important to remember that, especially at times when there is so much bad news and negativity. Of course, the many things in our world that are dreadful are bad. No one is denying that! At the same time, it is worth reflecting on little things that make our lives better or easier, and that didn’t exist before.

Just a few examples of how we all have it easier and/or better than we used to:

—Salad kits.

—salad kits have gotten really good in recent years. It’s remarkable to think about how easy it is to have a vegetable side or even a meal (when you add a protein). Some of my favorites: Sam’s Club Caesar salad kit—this is good for several meals for more than one person. The dressing is actually quite good. I think it’s less than $6, which is a steal. Also, Trader Joe’s and Aldi have interesting and tasty salad kits. When I checked at Costco recently, I was not impressed at how they looked or the prices (I think the Caesar salad kit went for $9), but otherwise, there are plenty of places to get them. What are some of your favorites?

—Playlists/Mixtape Technology.

I’m not sure what the kids call it, but it’s a selection of songs you make for someone and give to them. We used to call them mixtapes.

I vividly remember being in college and tape-recording a song from another tape, and being poised to press “pause” at the very moment the song ended, so I could cue up the next favorite song I wanted to include. Such a labor of love! These days Spotify just automatically makes playlists for you. I will say that those playlists are never as good as the ones that you can make yourself, but that’s another story.

—completing taxes (i.e. TurboTax).

Back in the day, we had to fill out our tax returns on paper and mail them to the IRS (and the state equivalent) because it was the only option. And we had to check and re-check the math to make sure that everything was correct. So much stress! Turbotax is such a great time-saver. The software gets better every year, and takes you through a questionnaire to help you include everything you need to. I know many people use CPAs or firms for completing their taxes, but I find it a useful exercise, and relatively easy these days.

—useful home and life information and tutorials.

Whether it’s how to operate a certain appliance or re-learn how to do something tech-related, to comparing recipes for a certain item, like meatloaf or ginger cookies, the Internet has a broad range of information. What actually surprises me is how it’s actually a skill to find truly helpful information, and not everyone is good at it. It takes some effort! That could be worth writing about soon.

Interesting/Notable:

Hannukah began on December 14, and runs through December 22. The latter date is when I will plan to make latkes, so get ready!

As many of you know, Hallmark produces two or three Hannukah themed movies each year, and they are usually pretty solid. They are often more family-oriented or at least involve family ties, and religious observance, than the regular Christmas movies.

“Round and Round” is a Hannukah-themed movie from 2023; we absolutely adored it. I would pay money to see it in the theater. I know I’ve mentioned it before, and will definitely watch it again this year. If you like “Groundhog Day,” you will LOVE this one.

The Mom Weekly Volume 122: December 9, 2025

You can read this, or any other previous Mom Weeklies, by going to the home page here.

The Perfect Christmas Story Does Exist

Several weeks ago, we watched one of the new Hallmark Christmas movies which was surprisingly good (as they sometimes are!). It is called Christmas Above the Clouds, and in it, a workaholic executive, Ella Neezer, is visited by the ghosts on an airplane. 

While nothing holds a candle to The Muppet Christmas Carol, this one was really well done, with lots of cute Dickens references. It is definitely worth a watch, if you like Hallmark movies. 

Watching Christmas Above The Clouds made me realize again why there are so many retellings of A Christmas Carol—it’s honestly one of the most perfect Christmas stories out there. Some of the retellings are awful, some are pretty good and watchable, like this one, and some are true classics (The Muppet Christmas Carol being one, and the 1951 Alistair Sim version is not only a favorite of Dad’s, but one of the best-regarded adaptations). 

I am not even that big of a fan of Dickens, but there is something about this story that warms the heart and helps us get into the Christmas spirit (pun intended?)

Last year, over several weeks, I shared many, many quotes from A Christmas Carol. Instead of that, I will revisit a very few quotes from this classic, and encourage you not only to read the novella (see action item below), but also schedule your re-watch of A Muppet Christmas Carol.

There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say,” returned the nephew. “Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round—apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that—as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!”

“Business!” cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”

“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!”

Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset.

He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!

Interesting/Notable: 

The Muppet Christmas Carol: A festive classic’s dark backdrop: BBC Culture

This article is from 2022, and I can’t recall how I came across it recently. It’s a fascinating behind-the-scenes story of how The Muppet Christmas Carol came to be the classic that it is, instead of a “haha” funny Muppet movie. Well worth the read!

The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy

Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t add that for our family, another perfect Christmas story exists, and it is called “The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy”

An Action Item: Consider An Annual Reading of “A Christmas Carol”

I wrote about this previously, so let me say it again: reading “A Christmas Carol” should be a yearly event, to help get into the Christmas season.

A Christmas Carol has around 30,000 words, which is novella-sized more than novel-sized. It’s really manageable, and since you know the story and many of the best quotes, it should be an enjoyable time!

You can read it online at Project Gutenberg here.

If you want a Kindle version of it, here’s a very inexpensive one. 

Alternatively, you can often find editions of A Christmas Carol at thrift stores, but here’s an inexpensive paperback version.

The Mom Weekly Volume 121: December 2, 2025

You can read this, or any other previous Mom Weeklies, by going to the home page here.

Notes:

As you know, the last week or so has been taken up with a lot of activity for all of us!  And you have all been amazing.

As a result, all of my writing “motors” went to other things. But that is okay, because my writing self from 15-20 years ago is the gift that keeps giving.

This is a very short but adorable “from the vault.” Enjoy, and remember how much I love you,

Mom

Why Has the Boxcar Children Never Been Turned into a Movie? (From the Vault, September 2009)

We really enjoy The Boxcar Children series at our house. They are not “great literature,” but they are fun good stories, and hilarious for adults in the implied dysfunction of the family members and assorted friends around the Boxcar Children themselves: Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny. 

Grandfather Alden keeps quarreling with various family members, and his kind and loving grandchildren keep reuniting him with them, and solving a mystery to boot. But it’s all about the mysteries. They are such fun books.

I am just shocked to learn there has never been a movie version of this classic. Why not? There would be a built-in audience from so many generations of kids and their parents who have read them in the decades since they were first published.

Homegirl created, with help from siblings, this Lego version of The Boxcar Children.

Interesting/Notable:

Inside Marriott’s Disastrous Bet on Short-Term Rental Company Sonder (WSJ gift link)

I thought this was an interesting read, and an awful thing to happen. Several years ago, I explored renting a Sonder apartment for European travel, but most of them were long-term rentals only. It is surprising how quickly this fell apart, and also how people were basically thrown out onto the street.

Leo From Chicago— Vatican News (on YouTube)

I started to watch this documentary “Leo From Chicago” and it’s VERY well-produced. Perhaps it could be an edifying watch during Advent? 

One wonderful part of this is that the three Prevost brothers have a phone conversation at least once a week. Siblings goals?

The Mom Weekly Volume 120: November 25, 2025

You can read this, or any other previous Mom Weeklies, by going to the home page here.

The Saint Andrew Christmas Novena 

This has become a yearly reminder, but I genuinely enjoy this Christmas novena as an Advent practice, and so I’m going to share again. 

The St. Andrew Christmas novena begins this Sunday, November 30 (someone special’s birthday!) This year, it actually falls on the first Sunday of Advent this year, which is even more appropriate. And even if you’re reading this after November 30, you can jump in any time.

The St. Andrew Novena is an interesting novena. It starts on the feast of St. Andrew, which is November 30, and ends on December 24. You are meant to pray the pray 15x a day. You can read about it here on the Hallow website.

Now, 15 times a day may seem like a lot, but it’s quite manageable. Here’s how I do it: I have an album in 15 photos of different artist versions of the prayer. Some are repeated. What I do is “favorite” a prayer once I’ve said it, and come back to the album when I have a chance. Once all of the photos are favorited, I’m finished for the day. The next day, I remove them from favorites, and so on, through the novena. It’s worked really well for me. A few years ago, I decided to create my own. I quickly created five different ones in a graphic design program, and they are now part of the album. 

Here’s a screenshot of my album of St. Andrew Novenas (still labeled 2023–need to update that!):

Here are a couple of individual ones that you can save if you would like:

Interesting/Notable:

Leaving the Wrong Beneficiary on Your IRA Plan Can Be a Costly Mistake — WSJ Gift Article

This is a good yearly reminder to double-check beneficiaries on your IRAs, 401(k)s, and other accounts. There have been quite a few stories about people having an old girlfriend or former spouse as a beneficiary, and that person gets a sizable nest egg. It’s really important to check and be sure your beneficiaries are what you want, as the beneficiaries of IRAs and other retirement accounts supersede any will or estate plan.

Even though we have done this, I still double-check! It’s helpful. I will also say that the annoying thing is that we cannot divide the amount equally between three children. Everyone has to have a percentage, and so two get 33 percent and one gets 34 percent. Just so you know, it doesn’t mean the person with 34 percent is the favorite child—you are each the favorite child, but don’t tell the others—I think I’ve tried to alternate who gets the “bigger” inheritance with different accounts.

Epstein is a failure of the 21st Century Elites—WSJ Gift link

Dad alerted me to the Peggy Noonahn column, and it is very sobering. I believe that people who prey on those who are vulnerable—in this case, young women with troubled family backgrounds— will have a lot to answer for.