Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

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1. Mom and I had a great time in Vegas over the weekend. Cher was fabulous at 70, the Milk Bar cookies amazing, and my ability to still drink still sorta there. It was such a quick trip and the Cosmopolitan was amazing- probably too cool for us (at least after 12 am) and Rao at Caesar's Palace was delicious (I highly recommend it if you want to splurge on some Italian food). The only problem was that it was tough to get home Sunday afternoon, rush around to do what had to be done, and then go to work Monday morning. That's what getting old does to you. 

2. I have very little planned right now for March- I'm not sure to take this as a month "full of possibilities" or "a month that ends up being boring AF and leaves me too often contemplating the meaning of life." TBD. 

3. Am I the only person that gets ridiculously freezing when tired? By like 9:45 or 10 I am practically shivering, no matter what. 

3. The other day three new books arrived in the mail- a cross stitching one, A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, and our book club book, After the Parade by Lori Ostlund. It never gets old, getting new books. Even when I would drop hundreds of dollars at the student store on textbooks in college I still loved it. But, then again, I was the six-year-old who took every spare dollar she had to school to spend on the Scholastic book orders (I am so excited that Sawyer's preschool has them next fall).  

4. My husband and I had an interesting conversation about closure recently, when he remarked that I was dwelling on some things that happened over the past few years that I may never have any sense of finality about. He said that it was like the independent films he makes me watch, and how they have no real endings. My snotty response was, "my dad killed himself when I was fourteen and I am over that, I know that some things don't provide closure, okay? And I don't really like those movies, so yeah." I mean I definitely said it with lighthearted undertones, but it's fascinating the things in life that just goad at you. Like hypothetically (knock on wood and all that jazz) my car could need a major repair and I'd be like "damn it, that sucks, but that's part of owning a car and thank goodness I have good job to pay for it" but then I lose twenty bucks and am super pissed. 

5. I want a Little Free Library for my classroom- like a real one, not just a shelf. I looked up them on the site and also on Etsy and HOT DAMN are they expensive. My options: commission the wood shop teacher, commission my grandpa, buy like a secondhand cabinet and stare at it with the hope that some sort of DIY genie will make it over for me, or not do anything at all. I have a lot of readers this year and I have noticed the kids share books, so I think they might be into it. 

6. I entered the Half Dome Lottery this morning to hike up the cables this summer. I have done it twice before and have learned a lot of lessons- I think the third time really would be a charm. If I do win I have to decide who to take with me. My brother is my first option, but he might be busy with training, my two friends who I went with before are now married and expecting a new baby soon, my husband hates heights, and many of my other friends either have little kids or aren't into nature. Or strenuous activity. Realistically, though, first things first- waiting until April to see if I "win."

7. I finished listening to My Year of Running Dangerously by Tom Foreman and really, really enjoyed it. I am running a lot more lately (see #8) and it was just what I needed to be inspired. I downloaded The Woman in Cabin 10 on the way back from Vegas because I figured it was something my mom might be interested in, and also a book I heard good things about but wasn't so sure about reading. So far it's a great listen! Mysteries tend to lend themselves well towards audiobooks, I think, and the narrator's accents are great. Or maybe so bad they're good? I can't figure it out, but nonetheless I probably two hours in and am happy I went with it.

8. I am supposed to run a 10k on Sunday and am having mixed feelings about it. First of all, my hip sucks. It doesn't hurt while running, though, so that is helpful. Secondly, I am effing tired and I don't know if I want to wake up at like 5:15 on a Sunday morning to drive out to Redlands, pick up my packet, and wait for the race to start. And lastly I am probably a tiny bit undertrained right now for 6.2 miles (#embarrassing). I did four tonight and I really struggled, although that is in part due to having been on the go for basically ten days straight. My cousin always has said the 10k is a strange distance and I should have remembered that. I just wanted more of a challenge than a 5k and am not considering halves right now...  But it is paid for, they're giving out medals, the weather should be good, it's a few hours to myself between driving and running, and the give you a long time to finish.

This wasn't helpful. I am still torn.