Catherine Bulka
@drcatherineb.bsky.social
Mom 👧🏻👧🏻👶🏻🐾🐾 , partner 👨🏻🔬, env epidemiologist 📈, assistant professor
Whoever at Hillsborough County Public Schools decided that January 5 would be a teachers day and that students wouldn’t return until 1/6…I have some choice words 😠
January 4, 2026 at 11:13 PM
Whoever at Hillsborough County Public Schools decided that January 5 would be a teachers day and that students wouldn’t return until 1/6…I have some choice words 😠
Tie dye stuffed shells (vodka sauce and pesto) 😊
Not pictured: the garlic bread I burnt so badly that all of our smoke detectors went off. Sorry fam!
Not pictured: the garlic bread I burnt so badly that all of our smoke detectors went off. Sorry fam!
January 1, 2026 at 11:51 PM
Tie dye stuffed shells (vodka sauce and pesto) 😊
Not pictured: the garlic bread I burnt so badly that all of our smoke detectors went off. Sorry fam!
Not pictured: the garlic bread I burnt so badly that all of our smoke detectors went off. Sorry fam!
How my middle child feels about snow after 3 years of living in FL
December 27, 2025 at 4:17 PM
How my middle child feels about snow after 3 years of living in FL
Dressed my 3 kids in matching Christmas jammies for our flight so people would think they’re extra cute and be kind.
Instead, a guy in the security line says “you have to be reasonably selfish to have kids nowadays.” Cool cool.
Instead, a guy in the security line says “you have to be reasonably selfish to have kids nowadays.” Cool cool.
December 26, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Dressed my 3 kids in matching Christmas jammies for our flight so people would think they’re extra cute and be kind.
Instead, a guy in the security line says “you have to be reasonably selfish to have kids nowadays.” Cool cool.
Instead, a guy in the security line says “you have to be reasonably selfish to have kids nowadays.” Cool cool.
I cooked our annual Swedish Christmas meal:
🥔Mashed potatoes
🟤Swedish meatballs and gravy
🥒Cucumber dill salad
🔴Lingonberries
🥧Apple pie
Simple, cozy, delicious
Now time to pack for the frozen tundra (New Hampshire). These Florida kids won’t know what hit ‘em
🥔Mashed potatoes
🟤Swedish meatballs and gravy
🥒Cucumber dill salad
🔴Lingonberries
🥧Apple pie
Simple, cozy, delicious
Now time to pack for the frozen tundra (New Hampshire). These Florida kids won’t know what hit ‘em
December 25, 2025 at 11:57 PM
I cooked our annual Swedish Christmas meal:
🥔Mashed potatoes
🟤Swedish meatballs and gravy
🥒Cucumber dill salad
🔴Lingonberries
🥧Apple pie
Simple, cozy, delicious
Now time to pack for the frozen tundra (New Hampshire). These Florida kids won’t know what hit ‘em
🥔Mashed potatoes
🟤Swedish meatballs and gravy
🥒Cucumber dill salad
🔴Lingonberries
🥧Apple pie
Simple, cozy, delicious
Now time to pack for the frozen tundra (New Hampshire). These Florida kids won’t know what hit ‘em
My mom, who has been fighting a nasty form of bulky B-cell lymphoma (“double hit”) since July, recently had a biopsy following a concerning end-of-treatment PET scan. The pathology report came back yesterday: no evidence of disease. The scan was a false positive. A Christmas miracle!
December 24, 2025 at 4:18 PM
My mom, who has been fighting a nasty form of bulky B-cell lymphoma (“double hit”) since July, recently had a biopsy following a concerning end-of-treatment PET scan. The pathology report came back yesterday: no evidence of disease. The scan was a false positive. A Christmas miracle!
Every year for Christmas Eve, I make my husband ‘Cook Out’ chili. Every year, I think, no this recipe cannot be right! First of all, it’s from Men’s Journal (why?). Second, it contains ketchup, yellow mustard, and ACV (why?). But every year, he insists it tastes just like the real thing 🤷🏻♀️
December 23, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Every year for Christmas Eve, I make my husband ‘Cook Out’ chili. Every year, I think, no this recipe cannot be right! First of all, it’s from Men’s Journal (why?). Second, it contains ketchup, yellow mustard, and ACV (why?). But every year, he insists it tastes just like the real thing 🤷🏻♀️
and now they're going off about how RFK Jr. is "our only hope" and "using REAL gold-standard science as a basis for all decisions"
so that's cool. I'm out ✌️
so that's cool. I'm out ✌️
not the folks on my environmental health listserv emailing around a "pre-print" on ResearchGate by Dr. Andrew Wakefield himself and calling him a 'very reputable researcher'
i gotta get off this thing
i gotta get off this thing
December 22, 2025 at 5:01 PM
and now they're going off about how RFK Jr. is "our only hope" and "using REAL gold-standard science as a basis for all decisions"
so that's cool. I'm out ✌️
so that's cool. I'm out ✌️
Happy letter of recommendation season to all who celebrate!
December 19, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Happy letter of recommendation season to all who celebrate!
Cackling over this note in my 4 year old’s chart
Sorry for those short genes, baby girl!
Sorry for those short genes, baby girl!
December 16, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Cackling over this note in my 4 year old’s chart
Sorry for those short genes, baby girl!
Sorry for those short genes, baby girl!
Do I like reading AI slop? No
Do I find it disturbing to watch young people outsource their brains to computers? Yes
Does AI sometimes write better than my students? Also yes 😭
Do I find it disturbing to watch young people outsource their brains to computers? Yes
Does AI sometimes write better than my students? Also yes 😭
December 16, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Do I like reading AI slop? No
Do I find it disturbing to watch young people outsource their brains to computers? Yes
Does AI sometimes write better than my students? Also yes 😭
Do I find it disturbing to watch young people outsource their brains to computers? Yes
Does AI sometimes write better than my students? Also yes 😭
I never thought I’d say this but: I just bought Crocs 😂
December 14, 2025 at 11:10 PM
I never thought I’d say this but: I just bought Crocs 😂
There’s something very f*cked about kids around the world believing some old guy is responsible for the magic of Christmas when it was actually just their moms the whole damn time
a woman with red hair is wearing glasses and a white coat and says patriarchy .
ALT: a woman with red hair is wearing glasses and a white coat and says patriarchy .
media.tenor.com
December 12, 2025 at 12:39 AM
There’s something very f*cked about kids around the world believing some old guy is responsible for the magic of Christmas when it was actually just their moms the whole damn time
This is actually so mind-blowingly cool
December 10, 2025 at 4:03 PM
This is actually so mind-blowingly cool
My iPhone forced me to update the iOS and I’m losing my mind. It’s grotesque
December 10, 2025 at 1:18 PM
My iPhone forced me to update the iOS and I’m losing my mind. It’s grotesque
my life is such a hot mess right now
box of holiday cards just sitting on the dining room table for weeks
hardly any christmas gifts purchased
bag of salad in the fridge rotting away
WOOF
box of holiday cards just sitting on the dining room table for weeks
hardly any christmas gifts purchased
bag of salad in the fridge rotting away
WOOF
December 9, 2025 at 6:52 PM
my life is such a hot mess right now
box of holiday cards just sitting on the dining room table for weeks
hardly any christmas gifts purchased
bag of salad in the fridge rotting away
WOOF
box of holiday cards just sitting on the dining room table for weeks
hardly any christmas gifts purchased
bag of salad in the fridge rotting away
WOOF
Truly just going through the motions today and hoping that is enough.
December 8, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Truly just going through the motions today and hoping that is enough.
My 4 year old insisted I read this at bedtime tonight. Years ago, I hid it in a closet to protect my peace but I guess she found it. I’m a blubbering mess 😭
December 8, 2025 at 2:09 AM
My 4 year old insisted I read this at bedtime tonight. Years ago, I hid it in a closet to protect my peace but I guess she found it. I’m a blubbering mess 😭
One of my kids put a statement necklace from their dress up bin around our yellow lab’s neck, right over her collar. She’s been wearing it for days and seems completely unphased. Should I just leave it on her? I think maybe she likes looking pretty.
December 7, 2025 at 2:42 PM
One of my kids put a statement necklace from their dress up bin around our yellow lab’s neck, right over her collar. She’s been wearing it for days and seems completely unphased. Should I just leave it on her? I think maybe she likes looking pretty.
If you need a distraction, The Family Stone is a great ‘wtf?’ Christmas movie to watch
December 6, 2025 at 2:01 AM
If you need a distraction, The Family Stone is a great ‘wtf?’ Christmas movie to watch
Not my usual genre (I’m a murder mystery gal) but this book was so good! I learned a ton about the interconnectedness of phosphate mining, fertilizer run off, algal blooms, and agriculture. Super interesting (and also worrisome)
December 5, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Not my usual genre (I’m a murder mystery gal) but this book was so good! I learned a ton about the interconnectedness of phosphate mining, fertilizer run off, algal blooms, and agriculture. Super interesting (and also worrisome)
one thing that kind of sucks is that my job requires me to think innovatively and right now between my kids / my mom being sick, my brain feels incapable of doing so
December 4, 2025 at 4:50 PM
one thing that kind of sucks is that my job requires me to think innovatively and right now between my kids / my mom being sick, my brain feels incapable of doing so
I’m supposed to make a casserole for a holiday potluck but I just found out my mom’s cancer treatment only partially worked. I can just show up empty handed right? Or maybe pick up a pizza? Blah.
December 3, 2025 at 11:19 PM
I’m supposed to make a casserole for a holiday potluck but I just found out my mom’s cancer treatment only partially worked. I can just show up empty handed right? Or maybe pick up a pizza? Blah.
I keep finding myself in the 'you need a referral' / 'my doctor sent the referral' / 'but we don't have the referral' / 'but my doctor sent the referral' loop and I want to scream
December 3, 2025 at 5:09 PM
I keep finding myself in the 'you need a referral' / 'my doctor sent the referral' / 'but we don't have the referral' / 'but my doctor sent the referral' loop and I want to scream
Best gift I gave myself: not starting the Elf on the Shelf tradition when I had kids.
December 2, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Best gift I gave myself: not starting the Elf on the Shelf tradition when I had kids.