September 18, 2025 • 28 mins
Here's what we're reading, recommending, and revisiting this week.
Catherine's library find has a title that got her fuming: The Joy of Half a Cookie by Jean Keristeller with Alisa Bowman. It's meant to be a diet book that uses mindfulness and meditation techniques to promote weight loss. We think it would be much more joyful to just eat an entire cookie.
Terri's random recommendation is a return to a previous pick, the one sec app. It's now added a website-blocker feature to its previous offering, a website-delayer, which turned out to be not enough to deter Terri from her Facebook video clips.
In the archives, we checked in on an episode from 2017 on raising our canine kids. Mentioned: Bluey, the cartoon dog, who is a blue heeler.
Bonus content!: Check out our 15-minute recap of Dancing with the Stars, recorded immediately after the season premiere on Tuesday.
Next week's lineup:
Catherine's library find has a title that got her fuming: The Joy of Half a Cookie by Jean Keristeller with Alisa Bowman. It's meant to be a diet book that uses mindfulness and meditation techniques to promote weight loss. We think it would be much more joyful to just eat an entire cookie.
Terri's random recommendation is a return to a previous pick, the one sec app. It's now added a website-blocker feature to its previous offering, a website-delayer, which turned out to be not enough to deter Terri from her Facebook video clips.
In the archives, we checked in on an episode from 2017 on raising our canine kids. Mentioned: Bluey, the cartoon dog, who is a blue heeler.
Bonus content!: Check out our 15-minute recap of Dancing with the Stars, recorded immediately after the season premiere on Tuesday.
Next week's lineup:
- Lost S3 E17, "Catch-22," on Tuesday, September 23
- Only Murders in the Building S5 E4, "Dirty Birds," on Wednesday, September 24
- Weekly roundup on Thursday, September 25
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Parenting Roundabout podcast. I'm Terry Morrow.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
And I'm Catherine Hileco.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Every Thursday, we're bringing you a library find, a pick
from our archives, and a parenting or pop culture tidbit
or two. Let's start with Catherine's library find of the Week.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Okay, so this is another one that stopped me in
my tracks with the title so that I had to
show it to my coworkers and complain. It is called
The Joy of Half a Cookie. Using mindfulness to lose
weight and end the struggle with food.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Oh, go to bleep, Yes, that's exactly what I said.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
A come on, Gene Christellar PhD.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Like what.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yea?
Speaker 3 (00:58):
The whole thing just made me so mad, Like, don't
do this to people. No, it's written for anyone who
wants to lose weight, not just the they mean to
say meditation, but it says mediation. Written for anyone who
wants to lose weight, not just the meditation and yoga crowd.
(01:20):
This accessible book delivers a proven way to find peace
of mind and a healthier relationship with food for life.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Ah, you can't a little like drive by like dissing
of the meditation and yoga crowd. There they'll go, well,
not those freaks. No, you're just gonna be mindful not
to eat that cookie, or at least not the whole cookie.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Not the whole thing, just have half.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
What Oh what if.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
I eat a small cookie? What if it's like a
vanilla wafer?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Exactly?
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Instead of fresh deprivation, backsliding, guilt, and a lack of results,
this book provides simple, proven ways to lose weight and
keep it off. Deprivation sounds like it says that it
doesn't involve deprivation, but like half a cookie, that's the
definition of deprivation.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Is yeah, And not only will you content yourself with
half a cookie, you will be joyful.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
You will love it, you will be happy about it.
I will not stop that.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Oh man. That's just why. Whether or not they have
a legit. Uh, you know, I'm generally for any eating
plans that do not involve medications. Yeah, and you know
different things. Mindset. Mindset is an important thing. Yeah, putting
(03:01):
yourself in a mindset of I'm going to eat this
and this will be enough, but don't bring joy into
it one thing. And I don't think yeah, I don't
think that. I think that they're over promising here Yeah, seriously,
(03:24):
a science based program to help you forget willpower, guilt,
and deprivation. Love every bite. You will love every small,
tiny bite.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Have have a cookie and like it.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
We'll love it, but you will not want another one. Yeah,
tappen to your body's fullness signals. I don't know, it
makes it wrong, reminds me of I edit recipes and
this one client I have ends every recipe with enjoy
exclamation mark, and I feel like, I mean, I know
the spirit that they're wishing to impart there, but it
(04:02):
feels like an order. Yeah, you know you will enjoy
and that's what this sort of feels like. Yeah, you
will have a half a cookie and you will be
joy like it. I will not. I will then eat
the other half of the cookie and the rest of
the box.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Then I'll feel joy.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
You can't tell me how to feel.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Yeah, yeah, that made me.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
That made me angry.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Yeah, if just the title of the of the diet
plan makes you angry, it's probably not gonna work me. No,
you know, unless they say, you know, when you feel angry,
go walk around the block, and then walk again, and
then look at the title of our book, and then
go walk around the block.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Again, that's not my work.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
That's down the stairs ten times to release your anger. Yep,
need a bite of cookie, take another walk, m joy
of half a cookie. They should be ashamed whoever came
up with that title. Not not necessarily the title is
not necessarily the author's fault.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Some some slov and a cubical like me came up
with that, put it on the list as a joke,
and then they used.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
To yeah, and the author's like a word.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Now it's like, you know, eleven o'clock at night, you
have to turn this assignment in. Yeah, you have to
have ten ideas. Oh, well, been there, done that? Yeah,
I hate that cookie. Yeah, but.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
It's another library find, not library recommend.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Library fist shake yes. Well, speaking of willpower, yes, and
the lack thereof perhaps I need I need? Do they have,
like the joy of not going to that website? Maybe
that's the book that I need, mind control, mind control,
But in the lack of that. I think I've mentioned
(06:06):
here as a random wreck a while ago of the
one sec app which I had installed on my computer browser,
and what it did is anytime you go to certain websites,
you have to sit there while the screen fills up
with blue and then empty's out, and you can set
how long it is. You can set the text that
(06:27):
you have there to look at while it's doing that.
But the idea is that if you go on social media,
for example, too often, and this slows you down and
makes you think, do I really want to do this?
Maybe I don't really want.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
To do this.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
And it worked okay for a while, and then it
turned out that I did really want to do this.
I was willing to sit there and wait, and all
this thing was doing was adding more time to the
time that I was not doing things I should do,
And I'm like, what is wrong with me? Am I
a thirteen year old girl who can't stay off her phone?
What is the thing with this? And so it developed
(07:05):
that about the same time I was doing that, a
bunch of other people must have been doing that too,
because one sect added a blocker feature to its phone
and browser apps. So I can now set a time
period during which I cannot get on those websites at all,
and I can put it on my phone and do
(07:25):
the same for apps, I cannot open them at certain times,
and I cannot even go onto a browser on my
phone and try to type it in because it will
say this is restricted, pathetic, completely pathetic, that I need this,
and I will still, I will still on my computer,
(07:46):
I can go to a different browser and put websites
in and look at them, and I do. And what
is wrong with me? But it does at least lessen
to some degree the amount of time I spend watching
endless videos on Facebook. So help me, somebody, what is
wrong with me? How can I? I mean, I don't
(08:09):
want to completely eliminate my looking I would like to
have small times during the day where I could look
at stuff, but I need to not be looking at
it constantly. It's bad for my work, it's bad for
my brain. But it is frustrating when, for example, I
want to message my co podcaster on Facebook Messenger and
I have blocked Facebook Messenger for all but like one
(08:29):
hour a day, So then I go on on the
message up and waste a bunch of time. There's always
something to waste time on, no matter how many things
you block. It's like a whack a mole. But it
does maybe lesson.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Yeah, because I'm if you're texting me, I'm not responding
with clips from the Big Bang theory I could if
you want me.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
To do it does reduce the amount of time been
going on the gifts and trying to find something that's
appropriate for this moment. I just, I mean, I'm a
bit in despair that I have no willpower for this.
So again I say, the joy of half a website
maybe the next sequel to the Joy of half a cookie,
(09:16):
because it's pathetic and it's ridiculous, and why do I
need these tools? Why can't I just not do it?
But I can't.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Because it's engineered.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
So that that's true, it's the whole dopamine thing.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
I understand.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
It is engineered for me too, whether it's it's the
enjoyment of seeing certain things or the rage of seeing
other things. It gets you going. But it's bad for me,
and it's bad most especially bad for my workflow. So
(09:51):
I'm like a like a young child walking the internet. Yeah,
but I'm doing it for myself.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
If you wish to put parential controls on yourself, I
again recommend the one sec app. You can get it
on your computer, and you can get it on your phone,
and you can set it up in various ways, and
you better put it on both huh. Yeah, you better
better put it on not just one of your one
of your computers. I have two computers. I have it
(10:21):
on both of them. I have it on my phone
and I still find ways around it. But it has
lessened the amount of time I spent doing stuff. Has
not eliminated it or cut it down to a reasonable
amount for a old woman, but it is. It is
less Yeah, I'm making it harder on myself. Yeah. I
(10:42):
put a Hail Mary on the screen so that when
I have to wait for the screen to clear, I
can say prayers. Yeah. And at the same time, where
does one go to buy some willpower? It's not a
thing that you can get, an aftermarket thing you can
purchase for yourself. I would like to order me up
(11:06):
a supply because it's ridiculous. I don't want to be
that person who has to go check social media every
five minutes an additional post may have dropped. Yeah, I
want to be angry or happy or whatever. Yeah, some
(11:30):
emotions please On Instagram. I have there's a couple of
people that I like rage follow, you know, like I
get very annoyed by what they post and I don't
actually so do we like that?
Speaker 2 (11:44):
So? I don't actually.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Follow them because I don't want to give them another
number in their follower count, but I cannot stop myself
from searching them out and looking at their posts, like
multiple times a day, so stupid, like, And there's been
some that i've like, you know, I've been able to
(12:08):
because once you search once, then it's always on your
search history. It's so it's easy for you to go
back again and again.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
So I need to not do that.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
And it's even though you know it and you want
to stop it, just it's just so irresistible. And it's
just right there. I mean, if you, especially those of
us who work on a computer all day, just clicking
over into another tab, right, it's right there. Yeah, yeah,
(12:42):
it'sandic ye, you know, bring on the tools to make
us right right, We'll find a way around the no work.
Maybe this keeps our brains going, you know.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Right, figuring this stuff out.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Okay, this is blocked during this time, but I can
go to this other brand, or I can download this
other thing. I can go borrow my child's computer.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
It's just like when.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
This this has been going on for a while, but
like when in my kids were in school and they
weren't supposed to be, you know, using their phones or whatever. Yeah,
they would communicate with each other and with people outside
of school with Google Docs. You know, you both open
(13:28):
up the same Google Doc. Yeah, you can talk to
each other.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Oh my goodness, that is very clever. I mean you
have to like feel a little proud as a parent
when they figured it out before you shut it down.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Right.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
But yeah, I mean I'm on Google Docs for homework.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Mom.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Yeah, we're working on our project together.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
I'm just an anonymous right now.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Believe what she did? Yeah, Oh my goodness. Human beings,
we'll find many ways to destroy themselves. We'll work around.
We'll find a work around. Oh golly, Moving on, moving
away from that blocking that topic. What do we have
(14:09):
from the archives as well?
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Well, way back in twenty seventeen, we did a post
about our canine children, because this was when Nicole was
still with us and she had her dog, Missy, who
has gone now and same with my girl and one
(14:32):
of my dogs. So the dogs have changed, but the
behaviors probably haven't. Oh yeah, so what's going on with
Leayla Love?
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Well, Layla had a sleepover last weekend, very exciting her
cousin dog Ali, came to visit from Pennsylvania, and they
spent about ten minutes biting each other's heads. Ye glee
there to be together, and then they just mostly went
to their individual beds and slept. Every now and then
(15:10):
they'd get up and they'd go bite each other's heads
for another minute or two, and then they go lay
back down. Ali spent most of the morning after their
sleepover sitting at the top of the steps, wondering when
the bleep her people were right?
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Where are my people?
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Exactly? They she just was, you know, she would sit
there and then she would lay down there. But she
was the top of the steps, which is usually where
my dog hangs out because she wants to be right
there if somebody comes in. But no, she seated it
to her friend. This was nice, sending out guilt waves
(15:49):
to her humans where are you? Because they had they
had left their dog with us as they were going.
They stayed over and then they went someplace the next day. Yeah,
and so the dog was I wish we were dogs fun,
but it really was just more legacy.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Off to see.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
Yep. She was quiet for the past fifty four minutes
and talking.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
About dogs, talking about dogs now, so there so because
Dad came home.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
It's just fun to see dogs being friends since we've
always only had one dog at a time. Yeah, we
gotta start going back to the dog park now that
it's not so hot.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Oh yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Watching the dog's hand.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Yes, we have definitely become dog park regulars now so
fun because our our new dog requires a great deal
of activity and exercise. So so yeah, my my husband
(16:54):
takes them more often and he has now like a
group of buddies that are at the dog park, human
and can I it's just like when your kids are
little and you're at the playground and you chat with
the other moms.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yes, same thing at the dog park. You know, how
old is he? What? You know, what breed? What do
they what do they do? What are they like? That
kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
So yeah, really that's one of the things. I mean,
I like the socialization that my dog gets at the
dog park, but I also enjoy the human socialization too.
And it's just everybody's just talking about their dogs.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
You know, at a time where our public conversation has
never been more fractious, you go to the dog park
and you just talk about dogs. You know, talk about
your dog, a problem you're having with your dog, or
we used to do this with our dog. Now. It
just just like people coming together to talk about dogs.
(18:00):
Don't know anything else about each other.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
Right, don't want to know, don't want to know.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
Just want to talk about dogs. And I find it
delightful just to have that human interaction as well in
a safe space.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Yes, yes, for sure.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
So's it's nice and the dogs. Every now and then
there's a little tension at the dog park. Somebody thinks
somebody else's dog is being too aggressive, and that person
thinks the other person is being overprotective, and there's you know,
I've seen a few flare ups amongst the humans, but
(18:38):
it's always been about dog related Yeah things, your dog
is too aggressive, and I'm like, oftentimes the headbiting is
the issue, Like that's how dogs play, right, So I
understand it may be upsetting if your dog hasn't U
been with other dogs to see your dog's head being bitten.
(18:59):
But first time I saw it, I was like, what
is happening? They are so joyful about it, right and
careful not to you.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Know, actually hurt each other.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Yeah, I don't understand what exactly. They get out of that.
It seems kind of unhygienic, but you know, and you
have to wipe down your dog afterwards.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
Yes, well, our Winnie, you know, we got her in
February and it was very snowy at that time. And
but you know, obviously we've been through summer, and but
now that it is early fall, late summer, early fall,
the hickory tree in our backyard is raining down nuts
(19:49):
upon our yard and has attracted the squirrel population, as
it does every year. There are I mean, the other
day I saw a squirrel running up the trunk of
the tree with two huge nuts in its mouth, like
these big green orbs, like one on each side of
(20:14):
its mouth.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
You go a little exactly.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
It's like a job, buddy, You're gonna be ready for winter.
You're proud of you.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
So so the.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
Dog suddenly, like the squirrels have been around all summer,
but of course the activity has increased, and so the
dog now is like, there are living things in the
tree and that is not okay.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
And she has worn a path.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
In the you know, wood chips at the base of
the tree because she's constantly circling the trees. You know,
trying to climb the tree, chasing any squirrel that happens
to be on the ground.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
My husband claims that it is because a nut hit
her on the head and she connected this to the squirrels.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
School.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Yeah, she blames the squirrels. I doubt that very much.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
But also she keeps hassling though it could happen often.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
She's truly just like you know. She'll sit by the
back door and look out the window. She'll see squirrels
and get very annoyed.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
So it's yeah, funny.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
I guess they don't have squirrels in wherever she was,
Kentucky or something.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
I'm sure they do.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Our current dog is mercifully uninterested in critters, including the
groundhog family that lives in our backyard. Yeah, and so
she pays them no mind, my girl. As we've discussed
here before, our previous dog killed a groundhog one time
and was very crowded, so she was so psyched as
I was screaming. And the dog we had a couple
(22:03):
of dogs before that, was just the sweetest German Shepherd ever.
People were afraid of her, and it was so stupid
because she was just the sweetest and gentlest thing. Unless
you were a bunny, in which case she wanted to
tear you into pieces. So I would be taking her
for a walk, we'd be walking around nice, she would
see a bunny and I would pretty much go flying. Yeah,
(22:25):
so that was a problem, Like I couldn't take her
for walks because if she saw a bunny, I was
going for drag. Yeah. So you know, it's funny how
they different different animals have different degrees of caring about critters. Yeah.
I don't think she ever looked at a squirrel or
(22:46):
a ground dog or whatever. The bunnies. Man, bunnies must
have crossed her at some point, right, because for bunnies
she had bloodlust.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
Yeah, she was the sweetest. Also has a thing for
bicycles only if they're moving, like if they're if if
they're just sitting there, because we had one in our
backyard for quite a while and she would just walk
(23:17):
by it and not pay any attention at all.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
But if it's moving, man.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
Oh, she's like it's the only thing that she will
actually bark at when walking. Like, if we're walking, she'll
she'll definitely like lunge after a bunny or a squirrel,
But if it's a bike.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
She's gonna she's gonna tell you about it. She's gonna
she's gonna be mad.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
This abomination. How is it allowed on the streets.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Yeah, she's she's real. It's really good. A thing.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
The other day I was walking her and there were
these two little girls and they were they were they
had one had a bike and one had a scooter,
but they weren't actually riding him. They were sitting sitting,
you know, they were stationary.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
And they saw.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Winnie and oh, can we pet your dog?
Speaker 2 (24:13):
And I said, yeah, sure you can.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
You know, she she does have a thing about bikes,
but if you're not riding it, it's okay.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
And the one little girl goes, is she a blue Healer?
Speaker 3 (24:28):
Like that's the breed, which do you know, the character Bluey,
the little cartoon dog Bluey. She is a blue Healer.
So I think that's why that they I don't think
Winnie looks like Bluey, but I think that's why they
were like familiar with Yeah, she's not blue familiar with
(24:48):
the breed. So it was it was very cute.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Yeah. The only only one of our dogs who had
interest in wheeled confances was my girl, and she wanted
very very badly to catch herself a truck. Yeah, the
truck went by, she was like, I got it.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
And so the same problem I had with the German
shepherd and the bunnies, I had with my girl and
the trucks, because if she saw a truck, she was
gonna take up after it. If I wanted to hold
onto the leash, that was up to me. So I
didn't dragulady. You could let go at anytime. So yeah,
she just would go crazy anytime she saw a truck. Yeah,
(25:32):
And I'm like, could just pick something smaller and slower,
maybe more your size, roller skates, possibly skateboard.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:42):
Well, the dog park that we go to is next
to a foundry, h and so there are semi trucks
that pass, and Winnie will certainly chase a truck if
she sees it. If she's you know, she's off leash
(26:03):
in the dog park, she's and she's not the only one.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
There is definitely other dogs that are like I'm in, like, let's.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
Go a bunch of us together. We could take that thing.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:16):
This this dog park, so it's bordered. One side is
the dog park, or one side is the foundry. Another
side is the community garden, and the third.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Side it's just sort of nothing.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
But and then the fourth side there are homes, and
I'm always like, oh, these poor people, like between the
foundry and then the dogs, Like yes, they must not
ever know a moment's peace in these in these homes,
like oh, gosh.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
We go to we haven't been to the dog park
in a while, but we've been going. My kids have
had an activity on Fridays at a park that's like
a real It's like in the middle of a neighborhood,
really nice, but people walk their dogs through it all
the time, and I feel like sitting there, going I
do I do this. It's embarrassing. People walk by and
I'll go, nice dog, love you dog. That's a great
(27:13):
looking dog, and they'll kind of look at me. Sometimes
they smile. Sometimes they go keep walking, keep walking.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
I hear it.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
If I happen to be up and about, I will
ask if I could pet their dogs. I'm, you know,
just like I'm the crazy dog lady at this park,
so many excellent looking dogs. Honestly, there was a huge
Dalmatian there the other day. One time, these two I
think they were Golden Retrievers came over to me and
were just they're just the biggest galumphing, beautiful animals. And
(27:46):
this one time I stopped and I said hello to
this little tiny dog. I got down kind of on
its eye level and said hi to it, and it
looked me in the eye and its owner was going,
this lady is nuts. But I just love it. I
just love community with the dogs. Yeah, that park is
so I can't walk my dog there because she would
I would probably fall. But I just love looking at
(28:09):
the people with their dogs.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
Yeah, it's a good time.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
Okay, nine kids. Thank you for listening. You can find
all our episodes on Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or
wherever you get your podcasts. You can find recaps, links
and an opportunity to comment on our website at parentingroundabout
dot com.
Speaker 3 (28:28):
You can also talk to us on our Facebook page,
on Instagram or on Twitter, where you'll find us at
roundabout Chat. And please visit our Amazon shop at Amazon
dot com slash shop slash mamitude. But you can find
links to a lot of the things we've talked about
over the years.
Welcome to the Parenting Roundabout podcast. I'm Terry Morrow.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
And I'm Catherine Hileco.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Every Thursday, we're bringing you a library find, a pick
from our archives, and a parenting or pop culture tidbit
or two. Let's start with Catherine's library find of the Week.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Okay, so this is another one that stopped me in
my tracks with the title so that I had to
show it to my coworkers and complain. It is called
The Joy of Half a Cookie. Using mindfulness to lose
weight and end the struggle with food.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Oh, go to bleep, Yes, that's exactly what I said.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
A come on, Gene Christellar PhD.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Like what.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yea?
Speaker 3 (00:58):
The whole thing just made me so mad, Like, don't
do this to people. No, it's written for anyone who
wants to lose weight, not just the they mean to
say meditation, but it says mediation. Written for anyone who
wants to lose weight, not just the meditation and yoga crowd.
(01:20):
This accessible book delivers a proven way to find peace
of mind and a healthier relationship with food for life.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Ah, you can't a little like drive by like dissing
of the meditation and yoga crowd. There they'll go, well,
not those freaks. No, you're just gonna be mindful not
to eat that cookie, or at least not the whole cookie.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Not the whole thing, just have half.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
What Oh what if.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
I eat a small cookie? What if it's like a
vanilla wafer?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Exactly?
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Instead of fresh deprivation, backsliding, guilt, and a lack of results,
this book provides simple, proven ways to lose weight and
keep it off. Deprivation sounds like it says that it
doesn't involve deprivation, but like half a cookie, that's the
definition of deprivation.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Is yeah, And not only will you content yourself with
half a cookie, you will be joyful.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
You will love it, you will be happy about it.
I will not stop that.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Oh man. That's just why. Whether or not they have
a legit. Uh, you know, I'm generally for any eating
plans that do not involve medications. Yeah, and you know
different things. Mindset. Mindset is an important thing. Yeah, putting
(03:01):
yourself in a mindset of I'm going to eat this
and this will be enough, but don't bring joy into
it one thing. And I don't think yeah, I don't
think that. I think that they're over promising here Yeah, seriously,
(03:24):
a science based program to help you forget willpower, guilt,
and deprivation. Love every bite. You will love every small,
tiny bite.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Have have a cookie and like it.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
We'll love it, but you will not want another one. Yeah,
tappen to your body's fullness signals. I don't know, it
makes it wrong, reminds me of I edit recipes and
this one client I have ends every recipe with enjoy
exclamation mark, and I feel like, I mean, I know
the spirit that they're wishing to impart there, but it
(04:02):
feels like an order. Yeah, you know you will enjoy
and that's what this sort of feels like. Yeah, you
will have a half a cookie and you will be
joy like it. I will not. I will then eat
the other half of the cookie and the rest of
the box.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Then I'll feel joy.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
You can't tell me how to feel.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Yeah, yeah, that made me.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
That made me angry.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Yeah, if just the title of the of the diet
plan makes you angry, it's probably not gonna work me. No,
you know, unless they say, you know, when you feel angry,
go walk around the block, and then walk again, and
then look at the title of our book, and then
go walk around the block.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Again, that's not my work.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
That's down the stairs ten times to release your anger. Yep,
need a bite of cookie, take another walk, m joy
of half a cookie. They should be ashamed whoever came
up with that title. Not not necessarily the title is
not necessarily the author's fault.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Some some slov and a cubical like me came up
with that, put it on the list as a joke,
and then they used.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
To yeah, and the author's like a word.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Now it's like, you know, eleven o'clock at night, you
have to turn this assignment in. Yeah, you have to
have ten ideas. Oh, well, been there, done that? Yeah,
I hate that cookie. Yeah, but.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
It's another library find, not library recommend.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Library fist shake yes. Well, speaking of willpower, yes, and
the lack thereof perhaps I need I need? Do they have,
like the joy of not going to that website? Maybe
that's the book that I need, mind control, mind control,
But in the lack of that. I think I've mentioned
(06:06):
here as a random wreck a while ago of the
one sec app which I had installed on my computer browser,
and what it did is anytime you go to certain websites,
you have to sit there while the screen fills up
with blue and then empty's out, and you can set
how long it is. You can set the text that
(06:27):
you have there to look at while it's doing that.
But the idea is that if you go on social media,
for example, too often, and this slows you down and
makes you think, do I really want to do this?
Maybe I don't really want.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
To do this.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
And it worked okay for a while, and then it
turned out that I did really want to do this.
I was willing to sit there and wait, and all
this thing was doing was adding more time to the
time that I was not doing things I should do,
And I'm like, what is wrong with me? Am I
a thirteen year old girl who can't stay off her phone?
What is the thing with this? And so it developed
(07:05):
that about the same time I was doing that, a
bunch of other people must have been doing that too,
because one sect added a blocker feature to its phone
and browser apps. So I can now set a time
period during which I cannot get on those websites at all,
and I can put it on my phone and do
(07:25):
the same for apps, I cannot open them at certain times,
and I cannot even go onto a browser on my
phone and try to type it in because it will
say this is restricted, pathetic, completely pathetic, that I need this,
and I will still, I will still on my computer,
(07:46):
I can go to a different browser and put websites
in and look at them, and I do. And what
is wrong with me? But it does at least lessen
to some degree the amount of time I spend watching
endless videos on Facebook. So help me, somebody, what is
wrong with me? How can I? I mean, I don't
(08:09):
want to completely eliminate my looking I would like to
have small times during the day where I could look
at stuff, but I need to not be looking at
it constantly. It's bad for my work, it's bad for
my brain. But it is frustrating when, for example, I
want to message my co podcaster on Facebook Messenger and
I have blocked Facebook Messenger for all but like one
(08:29):
hour a day, So then I go on on the
message up and waste a bunch of time. There's always
something to waste time on, no matter how many things
you block. It's like a whack a mole. But it
does maybe lesson.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Yeah, because I'm if you're texting me, I'm not responding
with clips from the Big Bang theory I could if
you want me.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
To do it does reduce the amount of time been
going on the gifts and trying to find something that's
appropriate for this moment. I just, I mean, I'm a
bit in despair that I have no willpower for this.
So again I say, the joy of half a website
maybe the next sequel to the Joy of half a cookie,
(09:16):
because it's pathetic and it's ridiculous, and why do I
need these tools? Why can't I just not do it?
But I can't.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Because it's engineered.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
So that that's true, it's the whole dopamine thing.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
I understand.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
It is engineered for me too, whether it's it's the
enjoyment of seeing certain things or the rage of seeing
other things. It gets you going. But it's bad for me,
and it's bad most especially bad for my workflow. So
(09:51):
I'm like a like a young child walking the internet. Yeah,
but I'm doing it for myself.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
If you wish to put parential controls on yourself, I
again recommend the one sec app. You can get it
on your computer, and you can get it on your phone,
and you can set it up in various ways, and
you better put it on both huh. Yeah, you better
better put it on not just one of your one
of your computers. I have two computers. I have it
(10:21):
on both of them. I have it on my phone
and I still find ways around it. But it has
lessened the amount of time I spent doing stuff. Has
not eliminated it or cut it down to a reasonable
amount for a old woman, but it is. It is
less Yeah, I'm making it harder on myself. Yeah. I
(10:42):
put a Hail Mary on the screen so that when
I have to wait for the screen to clear, I
can say prayers. Yeah. And at the same time, where
does one go to buy some willpower? It's not a
thing that you can get, an aftermarket thing you can
purchase for yourself. I would like to order me up
(11:06):
a supply because it's ridiculous. I don't want to be
that person who has to go check social media every
five minutes an additional post may have dropped. Yeah, I
want to be angry or happy or whatever. Yeah, some
(11:30):
emotions please On Instagram. I have there's a couple of
people that I like rage follow, you know, like I
get very annoyed by what they post and I don't
actually so do we like that?
Speaker 2 (11:44):
So? I don't actually.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Follow them because I don't want to give them another
number in their follower count, but I cannot stop myself
from searching them out and looking at their posts, like
multiple times a day, so stupid, like, And there's been
some that i've like, you know, I've been able to
(12:08):
because once you search once, then it's always on your
search history. It's so it's easy for you to go
back again and again.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
So I need to not do that.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
And it's even though you know it and you want
to stop it, just it's just so irresistible. And it's
just right there. I mean, if you, especially those of
us who work on a computer all day, just clicking
over into another tab, right, it's right there. Yeah, yeah,
(12:42):
it'sandic ye, you know, bring on the tools to make
us right right, We'll find a way around the no work.
Maybe this keeps our brains going, you know.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Right, figuring this stuff out.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Okay, this is blocked during this time, but I can
go to this other brand, or I can download this
other thing. I can go borrow my child's computer.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
It's just like when.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
This this has been going on for a while, but
like when in my kids were in school and they
weren't supposed to be, you know, using their phones or whatever. Yeah,
they would communicate with each other and with people outside
of school with Google Docs. You know, you both open
(13:28):
up the same Google Doc. Yeah, you can talk to
each other.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Oh my goodness, that is very clever. I mean you
have to like feel a little proud as a parent
when they figured it out before you shut it down.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Right.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
But yeah, I mean I'm on Google Docs for homework.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Mom.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Yeah, we're working on our project together.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
I'm just an anonymous right now.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Believe what she did? Yeah, Oh my goodness. Human beings,
we'll find many ways to destroy themselves. We'll work around.
We'll find a work around. Oh golly, Moving on, moving
away from that blocking that topic. What do we have
(14:09):
from the archives as well?
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Well, way back in twenty seventeen, we did a post
about our canine children, because this was when Nicole was
still with us and she had her dog, Missy, who
has gone now and same with my girl and one
(14:32):
of my dogs. So the dogs have changed, but the
behaviors probably haven't. Oh yeah, so what's going on with
Leayla Love?
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Well, Layla had a sleepover last weekend, very exciting her
cousin dog Ali, came to visit from Pennsylvania, and they
spent about ten minutes biting each other's heads. Ye glee
there to be together, and then they just mostly went
to their individual beds and slept. Every now and then
(15:10):
they'd get up and they'd go bite each other's heads
for another minute or two, and then they go lay
back down. Ali spent most of the morning after their
sleepover sitting at the top of the steps, wondering when
the bleep her people were right?
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Where are my people?
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Exactly? They she just was, you know, she would sit
there and then she would lay down there. But she
was the top of the steps, which is usually where
my dog hangs out because she wants to be right
there if somebody comes in. But no, she seated it
to her friend. This was nice, sending out guilt waves
(15:49):
to her humans where are you? Because they had they
had left their dog with us as they were going.
They stayed over and then they went someplace the next day. Yeah,
and so the dog was I wish we were dogs fun,
but it really was just more legacy.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Off to see.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
Yep. She was quiet for the past fifty four minutes
and talking.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
About dogs, talking about dogs now, so there so because
Dad came home.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
It's just fun to see dogs being friends since we've
always only had one dog at a time. Yeah, we
gotta start going back to the dog park now that
it's not so hot.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Oh yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Watching the dog's hand.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Yes, we have definitely become dog park regulars now so
fun because our our new dog requires a great deal
of activity and exercise. So so yeah, my my husband
(16:54):
takes them more often and he has now like a
group of buddies that are at the dog park, human
and can I it's just like when your kids are
little and you're at the playground and you chat with
the other moms.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yes, same thing at the dog park. You know, how
old is he? What? You know, what breed? What do
they what do they do? What are they like? That
kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
So yeah, really that's one of the things. I mean,
I like the socialization that my dog gets at the
dog park, but I also enjoy the human socialization too.
And it's just everybody's just talking about their dogs.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
You know, at a time where our public conversation has
never been more fractious, you go to the dog park
and you just talk about dogs. You know, talk about
your dog, a problem you're having with your dog, or
we used to do this with our dog. Now. It
just just like people coming together to talk about dogs.
(18:00):
Don't know anything else about each other.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
Right, don't want to know, don't want to know.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
Just want to talk about dogs. And I find it
delightful just to have that human interaction as well in
a safe space.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Yes, yes, for sure.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
So's it's nice and the dogs. Every now and then
there's a little tension at the dog park. Somebody thinks
somebody else's dog is being too aggressive, and that person
thinks the other person is being overprotective, and there's you know,
I've seen a few flare ups amongst the humans, but
(18:38):
it's always been about dog related Yeah things, your dog
is too aggressive, and I'm like, oftentimes the headbiting is
the issue, Like that's how dogs play, right, So I
understand it may be upsetting if your dog hasn't U
been with other dogs to see your dog's head being bitten.
(18:59):
But first time I saw it, I was like, what
is happening? They are so joyful about it, right and
careful not to you.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Know, actually hurt each other.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Yeah, I don't understand what exactly. They get out of that.
It seems kind of unhygienic, but you know, and you
have to wipe down your dog afterwards.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
Yes, well, our Winnie, you know, we got her in
February and it was very snowy at that time. And
but you know, obviously we've been through summer, and but
now that it is early fall, late summer, early fall,
the hickory tree in our backyard is raining down nuts
(19:49):
upon our yard and has attracted the squirrel population, as
it does every year. There are I mean, the other
day I saw a squirrel running up the trunk of
the tree with two huge nuts in its mouth, like
these big green orbs, like one on each side of
(20:14):
its mouth.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
You go a little exactly.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
It's like a job, buddy, You're gonna be ready for winter.
You're proud of you.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
So so the.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
Dog suddenly, like the squirrels have been around all summer,
but of course the activity has increased, and so the
dog now is like, there are living things in the
tree and that is not okay.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
And she has worn a path.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
In the you know, wood chips at the base of
the tree because she's constantly circling the trees. You know,
trying to climb the tree, chasing any squirrel that happens
to be on the ground.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
My husband claims that it is because a nut hit
her on the head and she connected this to the squirrels.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
School.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Yeah, she blames the squirrels. I doubt that very much.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
But also she keeps hassling though it could happen often.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
She's truly just like you know. She'll sit by the
back door and look out the window. She'll see squirrels
and get very annoyed.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
So it's yeah, funny.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
I guess they don't have squirrels in wherever she was,
Kentucky or something.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
I'm sure they do.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Our current dog is mercifully uninterested in critters, including the
groundhog family that lives in our backyard. Yeah, and so
she pays them no mind, my girl. As we've discussed
here before, our previous dog killed a groundhog one time
and was very crowded, so she was so psyched as
I was screaming. And the dog we had a couple
(22:03):
of dogs before that, was just the sweetest German Shepherd ever.
People were afraid of her, and it was so stupid
because she was just the sweetest and gentlest thing. Unless
you were a bunny, in which case she wanted to
tear you into pieces. So I would be taking her
for a walk, we'd be walking around nice, she would
see a bunny and I would pretty much go flying. Yeah,
(22:25):
so that was a problem, Like I couldn't take her
for walks because if she saw a bunny, I was
going for drag. Yeah. So you know, it's funny how
they different different animals have different degrees of caring about critters. Yeah.
I don't think she ever looked at a squirrel or
(22:46):
a ground dog or whatever. The bunnies. Man, bunnies must
have crossed her at some point, right, because for bunnies
she had bloodlust.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
Yeah, she was the sweetest. Also has a thing for
bicycles only if they're moving, like if they're if if
they're just sitting there, because we had one in our
backyard for quite a while and she would just walk
(23:17):
by it and not pay any attention at all.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
But if it's moving, man.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
Oh, she's like it's the only thing that she will
actually bark at when walking. Like, if we're walking, she'll
she'll definitely like lunge after a bunny or a squirrel,
But if it's a bike.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
She's gonna she's gonna tell you about it. She's gonna
she's gonna be mad.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
This abomination. How is it allowed on the streets.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Yeah, she's she's real. It's really good. A thing.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
The other day I was walking her and there were
these two little girls and they were they were they
had one had a bike and one had a scooter,
but they weren't actually riding him. They were sitting sitting,
you know, they were stationary.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
And they saw.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Winnie and oh, can we pet your dog?
Speaker 2 (24:13):
And I said, yeah, sure you can.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
You know, she she does have a thing about bikes,
but if you're not riding it, it's okay.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
And the one little girl goes, is she a blue Healer?
Speaker 3 (24:28):
Like that's the breed, which do you know, the character Bluey,
the little cartoon dog Bluey. She is a blue Healer.
So I think that's why that they I don't think
Winnie looks like Bluey, but I think that's why they
were like familiar with Yeah, she's not blue familiar with
(24:48):
the breed. So it was it was very cute.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Yeah. The only only one of our dogs who had
interest in wheeled confances was my girl, and she wanted
very very badly to catch herself a truck. Yeah, the
truck went by, she was like, I got it.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
And so the same problem I had with the German
shepherd and the bunnies, I had with my girl and
the trucks, because if she saw a truck, she was
gonna take up after it. If I wanted to hold
onto the leash, that was up to me. So I
didn't dragulady. You could let go at anytime. So yeah,
she just would go crazy anytime she saw a truck. Yeah,
(25:32):
And I'm like, could just pick something smaller and slower,
maybe more your size, roller skates, possibly skateboard.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:42):
Well, the dog park that we go to is next
to a foundry, h and so there are semi trucks
that pass, and Winnie will certainly chase a truck if
she sees it. If she's you know, she's off leash
(26:03):
in the dog park, she's and she's not the only one.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
There is definitely other dogs that are like I'm in, like, let's.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
Go a bunch of us together. We could take that thing.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:16):
This this dog park, so it's bordered. One side is
the dog park, or one side is the foundry. Another
side is the community garden, and the third.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Side it's just sort of nothing.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
But and then the fourth side there are homes, and
I'm always like, oh, these poor people, like between the
foundry and then the dogs, Like yes, they must not
ever know a moment's peace in these in these homes,
like oh, gosh.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
We go to we haven't been to the dog park
in a while, but we've been going. My kids have
had an activity on Fridays at a park that's like
a real It's like in the middle of a neighborhood,
really nice, but people walk their dogs through it all
the time, and I feel like sitting there, going I
do I do this. It's embarrassing. People walk by and
I'll go, nice dog, love you dog. That's a great
(27:13):
looking dog, and they'll kind of look at me. Sometimes
they smile. Sometimes they go keep walking, keep walking.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
I hear it.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
If I happen to be up and about, I will
ask if I could pet their dogs. I'm, you know,
just like I'm the crazy dog lady at this park,
so many excellent looking dogs. Honestly, there was a huge
Dalmatian there the other day. One time, these two I
think they were Golden Retrievers came over to me and
were just they're just the biggest galumphing, beautiful animals. And
(27:46):
this one time I stopped and I said hello to
this little tiny dog. I got down kind of on
its eye level and said hi to it, and it
looked me in the eye and its owner was going,
this lady is nuts. But I just love it. I
just love community with the dogs. Yeah, that park is
so I can't walk my dog there because she would
I would probably fall. But I just love looking at
(28:09):
the people with their dogs.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
Yeah, it's a good time.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
Okay, nine kids. Thank you for listening. You can find
all our episodes on Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or
wherever you get your podcasts. You can find recaps, links
and an opportunity to comment on our website at parentingroundabout
dot com.
Speaker 3 (28:28):
You can also talk to us on our Facebook page,
on Instagram or on Twitter, where you'll find us at
roundabout Chat. And please visit our Amazon shop at Amazon
dot com slash shop slash mamitude. But you can find
links to a lot of the things we've talked about
over the years.
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Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.