Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

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1. I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! I took my son to a local baseball game on the 3rd so that he could see fireworks, which we did last year as well.  I was so impressed with his ability to behave during the nine innings beforehand, though, so much so that at one point I thought "this is why I cannot have another child. This behavior is an anomaly and I am not equipped to handle anything otherwise" (full disclosure: he cried in Target today because I wouldn't let him pay with the money he did not have but insisted he could run and go get). Yesterday we swam all day and I spent some time in the kitchen making....

2. .... the pie pictured above. I have never eaten fresh cherry pie before, just because the ordinary cherry pie you typically get isn't so great, so I've never been compelled (plus, lemon meringue is where it's at). But, Sally's Baking Addiction blog had a homemade cherry pie for this month's challenge and I went for it. Her crust is now my favorite crust- she uses half butter and half shortening, which makes for the perfect flakiness. Pitting 4.5 cups of cherries, and then halving them, was a bit of a pain, but it was definitely worth it. Also, important to note, she uses almond extract in her filling, which I found to be a great addition. It's cherry season, guys! Go make it! 

3. I asked students who may need a letter of rec this fall to sign up for one before the school year ended (I carry my junior students over into senior year), and I received nearly 50 requests. I just did two. Almost there. But honestly, I'm so glad I am able to do it this way, because inevitably there will be a scholarship they all hear about the weekend before it's due and then I'd have to kill myself doing a whole bunch at once. So, a few each day during the month of July makes it so much easier when we return. 

4. I have decided to start saving Sawyer's cuter t-shirts to make a quilt out of in a few years. I fully admit this is me being sentimental, but I have such a hard time getting rid of, say the Batman shirt he loved so much, or the Zootopia he was SO excited to pick out in Target back when he was barely two. I figure in a few years I'll have enough and then he CAN TREASURE IT FOREVER (yeah, I know, this is probably more for me than him). 

5. I have started watching GLOW on Netflix and am really enjoying it. It's only a half hour show, so it's actually manageable to get an episode in during nap time occasionally.  The corresponding Spotify playlist is so great too, if eighties music is your guilty pleasure (raises hand). I've been running to it lately and it helps pass the time.

6. I've actually been putting in some serious quality time on the treadmill this week; Monday and yesterday I ran nearly 4.5 miles each day, and then today I walked three to give my feet a break. I have to do it in the morning, and it's so nice to have my workout done for the day. That's not an option when school starts back up, so I probably shouldn't get too attached, but for now I'll just enjoy it.

7. After taking Sawyer to The Getty last weekend, I've wanted to see some more modern art, BY MYSELF (it's great taking him places, but let's be honest- three-year-olds do not linger). It might work out for me to do just that this Saturday, at the MOCA (Metropolitan Museum of Contemporary Art) in LA. There's a great little independent bookstore (Skylight) less than a half hour away,  plus a little restaurant at the museum I've been wanting to try. Clearly I have my hopes up about this day all alone working out.

8. I actually really, really wanted to travel alone this summer for a long weekend. I didn't actually include my husband in this sort of plan I was working on making a reality, but I had some pretty realistic fantasies about taking off for three days to go to maybe Washington DC or Boston or Yellowstone or even Nashville to just take some time to myself. For various reasons it's not happening, but I really have been getting a little antsy for some alone time lately. Nothing crazy, and I don't hate my family or anything, I just need time to myself to be a nice person, that's all. I need to collect my thoughts, get some sleep, and try to remember how to relax. It'll happen. It'll happen. 

9. Whelp, I'm off to the orthopedic surgeon in a little while about my hip (this does not count as alone time, thankyouverymuch). I am pretty sure he's going to order x-rays, not give me an idea about what the cause of the pain in, and maybe start me on some preemptive PT. Just my completely professional prediction, of course. I would like to walk out with a clear idea about why I feel like I am 85 when I get up from sitting, but I know that this is probably asking for too much.