Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

[just making the dog with cancer banana muffins from scratch]

Hey there! If you play along link up in the comments!

1. It's been awhile! Sheesh! The last two weeks have been insane: two days at Disneyland, Sawyer's birthday, the LA Times Books Festivals, a RAGING cold that haunted me for a solid eight or nine days, grading like a fiend, IB Celebration Night, Sawyer's spring performance at school, prepping my seniors for their IB test review, and trying to stay afloat at home. To be honest, I have been really overwhelmed and frustrated (when not loving all the fun things, that is), and I mostly blame being sick for that (and the fact that every single cold medicine I tried, even the daytime ones, made me extra tired). I've been less productive than normal and I haven't been able to work out, two important pieces of the "stay sane" puzzle. Thankfully, though, things are better. I mostly laid low this weekend, got in a quick hill walk yesterday, have graded a ton (not caught up, but progress!), feel like I've given my students a good review for their test, and have started taking a tiny bit of melatonin at night to get better rest. Fingers crossed the rest of the school year is great!

2. So, all of that being said, I have approximately four posts written in my head to get out on the screen in the next few days.

3. In true Christine fashion, when I get overwhelmed and anxious, I make plans. On one had this is counterproductive, since it adds to my plate, but it really does help because it gives me something to look forward to. This next weekend I have plans with a friend on Saturday and then Sunday Sawyer and I are going to the Science in Museum in LA to see the King Tut Exhibit and see the Imax Panda movie. The rest of the month is also filling up fast.

4. I am SO EXCITED that I am going to get to go to the Grease Sing-a-Long at the Hollywood Bowl in June with some friends. I had wanted to go, but then they stopped doing it for a few years and I was worried it was never coming back. But it is! And I get to go! I am also going to the Beauty and the Beast Orchestra/Concert/Movie event in a few weeks too, which I am very excited about too.

5. Sawyer and I are growing butterflies! I ordered one of the caterpillar kits on Amazon and we are a little in love with our ten little guys crawling around a few well-sealed cups on our kitchen table right now.

6. I just finished Make Trouble by Cecile Richards, the president of one of my favorite organizations, Planned Parenthood, and am starting I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara, about the Golden State Killer. I actually the late author's husband, Patton Oswalt, speak at the LA Times Festival of Books last week and then they caught the guy two days later! The timing of everything was very crazy and I can't wait to read the book to find out even more.

7. It's breaking my heart big time that I don't have time to watch the new season of Handmaid's Tale. Sigh.