Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

I’ve recently started two new books, Watchmen and The Overstory, and I’m finally starting to get into both. It’s been tough!  They’re both dense in their own rights and each deserve chunks of my time so that I can establish some sort of grip on the texts, which I haven’t been able to give the last few days. I know both are worth it, I just need get there.

I am listening to The Other Woman by Sandie Jones and it’s the fluffiest, most entertaining story ever that is perfect for driving (when alone, of course).

I am trying to cut back on my Diet Coke consumption and it makes me extremely sad. I know that it’s for the best, and I’m not quitting, because you shouldn’t give up on things you really love, but I am trying to noticeably reduce what I drink. Please note that I am not divulging how much I really drink…

We started a new semester this week and I love that each kid gets to start over. I’m really focusing this semester on how to help them with their time-management skills, since many of them have a full load of advanced classes, plus extracurricular activities. It’s also been nice for me this week, since they haven’t had any assignments due, meaning I have had nothing to grade. We all win.

Sawyer is having a definite moment with Disney movies from when I was a kid- Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Little Mermaid. He is constantly requesting songs from these movies be added to his Spotify playlist for the car (yes, he has a playlist, so I don’t have to hunt around for songs), which means I’ve had “Be Our Guest” stick in my head for like a week.

I made calzones the other night using Broke Ass Gourmet’s basic pizza dough recipe and they turned out so great. I usually use another recipe, which requires more time for the dough to rise and ends up baking up a little tougher. I actually have her pizza dough book, which I’ve never spent a proper amount of time with- this recipe has made me excited to see how versatile the recipe really is.

I’m incredibly irritated by the government shutdown, but even more so now, since it’s looking like it might impact my spring break plans. We have gone to Yosemite for the past three years for a few nights, but since the National Parks Service isn’t working, the park is reportedly pretty trashed. There’s no way I’m driving seven hours and spending a solid chunk of change on a hotel to hike around human waste. I will probably reserve the room just in case things are resolved, but then I’m also torn between staying home and saving money, or finding somewhere else to go. Granted the impact it is having on me is FAR LESS than it is having on people who are going without paychecks, so I do recognize my problem is minor. These people. I swear.

This weekend is shaping up to be looking good- time with a friend Saturday morning, and then the San Diego Zoo Safari Park with my brother, his wife, and my mother-in-law Sunday.