Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

[I saw this the other day and loved it! So true! source]

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1. Yesterday was a bad day, and I don't say that often. Sure, I'll jokingly roll my eyes or groan about the weekend not coming fast enough, but rarely will I proclaim that a day is full blown crap. I'm a problem solver and I try not to wallow- if something sucks I'm all about fixing it, not fantasizing about laying under my desk and crying. I guess we all have our moments. I'll spare everyone the boring, domestic, professional details (I actually just wrote them out extensively and deleted them... you're welcome), but the gist is that my kid was on day five of a never-ending fever (meaning my nights are never-ending), I haven't been able to exercise (my mental health needs this), I have a ton to do for work, people are not fulfilling their obligations, putting my deadline at risk, our effing garage door broke, etc... I texted my husband from work at seven-thirty and told him that I wasn't sure how I was going to make it through the day, let alone the week. I never, ever do that. But I sucked it up. And today was better. 

2. Being both a Top Chef and Salman Rushdie fan, I downloaded Padma Lakshmi's new audiobook Love, Loss and What We Ate. So far it's far more candid then I thought it would be. Maybe too much so, actually, as I don't really need details about her menstrual cycle. Her descriptions of pretty much everything are a bit overdone, as well. But her story is interesting, and it's a pretty mindless listen than I can handle on the way home, so I'll finish it.

3. You now what's well-written, fascinating, and not mindless? Lauren Groff's The Monster's of Templeton. I'm over a hundred pages into it now and am loving it.

4. Over the weekend we watched Wild, which is the movie based on Cheryl Strayed's book. Finally, someone (my husband) agreed with me that she's not very likable! Between reading her book and seeing her speak at an event I was totally rubbed the wrong way, but I know that I'm in the minority. It was still a good movie, though, and I thought that it did well by the memoir itself.

5. Recently I came across someone on Facebook that I went to high school with and was relatively friendly with at the time, despite her being younger than I. Fourteen years later, she's spent time working along Sheryl Sandberg, is drop-dead gorgeous, just started her MBA at Harvard Business School, and is engaged to a guy going to medical school at Duke. And guess what surprised me? I wasn't even a tiny bit jealous. I think she's impressive and I love that someone from our home town has come that far. Plus, while I do have bad days, I enjoy my life and though hers seems awesome, I don't think I have that kind of energy. I can't wait to stalk her again in a few years to see what other cool things she does. 

6. I ordered some prints from Parabro (first set is free), and I have to say that Artifact Uprising is so much better in terms of quality.

7. I've recently discovered Better Life Bags and am seriously considering getting their Alicia bag that you can design yourself, since it's the first cross-body bag that I've seen and liked. The drawback is that they're pretty expensive, buuuuuuut they're handmade by women in Detroit that wouldn't have jobs otherwise. The premise is pretty cool, so I might be able to justify it.

8. While I've got the gimees, I also just ordered two weekly to-do list tablets from Rifle Paper Co. They're so pretty and the size is perfect, plus we all know how much I love my to-do lists. I start every morning at work with a list of tasks and each weekend gets a ginormous one at home. Sometimes I even make one on weekdays. It's a disease, I tell ya. But at least now I can do it in style.

9. My mom is coming in on Friday afternoon and I usually clean the house from top to bottom before she arrives. There are a few people that I don't do this for, like my brother, a few super close friends that I know won't judge me from dishes in the sink, and a few people that I don't care if judge me. My mom falls in some gray area. On one hand, I want to make a good impression and show her how efficient and tidy I can be. On the other, she is my mother and she has to love me no matter what. This is why I need a housekeeper.

10. While I hate losing the hour this weekend, I am so excited for it to stay light longer in the evenings so we can hang out outside. 

Have a great week, all!