Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

After a short break I am finally back! Link up, link back, say hi!

1. I took Sawyer on his first real hike today- he did almost three miles on his own, half of which was uphill. He was such a trooper and loved stopping to jump on rocks and collect little twigs. I look forward to many more in the future.

2. Kate's post on the most widely listed best-of-books is money, guys. She put it up a few weeks ago, but I'm just now catching up with life. Check it out.

3. Speaking of fellow bloggers, Brie is having her baby today! Stop by and wish her luck. Rory had a little one recently, too. You girls are all drinking the same water... 

4. It's so nice to be off for many, many reasons, but being able to cook legitimate dinners that require actual time has been downright satisfying. Last night I made this Roasted Tomatillo Chicken Enchilada Casserole last night (an old favorite of ours, but a bit labor intensive with all the roasting and food-processing) and tomorrow I am going to brave Slow Cooker Cabernet Beef Short Ribs with Mascarpone Polenta (as long as my bag of uncooked polenta arrives from Amazon on time, since my grocery store was out...). 

5. I don't usually get sentimental about celebrity deaths- I'm too emotionally detached to get super sad about people I don't know. But Carrie Fischer? Damn. Too soon.

6. After doing book talks with my students the week before finals, I was convinced by several students to read The Glass Castle, The House on Mango Street, and A Long Way Gone, all books I should have read but do not. 

7. I am currently about 70 pages into Brit Bennett's debut The Mothers and am thoroughly loving sassy Naomi and the intricacies of the Upper Room Chapel. 

8. I have to admit to being a little sad about packing away Christmas. This year was one of the best yet- having a toddler that is incredibly excited about every little aspect just makes the holidays that much better. We've had a lot of fun and it's been really special to see everything through his eyes.

9. I just finished listening to Lauren Graham's memoir Talking as Fast I Can and, in honor of Princess Leia, will start Carrie Fischer's The Princess Diarist next. Graham's was incredibly fun and super high nostalgia wise for Gilmore Girls lovers like myself.   

A Christmas Weekend

Christmas is over. Womp womp womp. This holiday season flew by this year, partially because I so busy and partially because of a bad cold/double ear infections that zapped some of my energy for a week. It was still so much fun, though, and this weekend was icing on the cake. Saturday we took Sawyer to see Sing in the theater and then I did a ton of baking. And yesterday we stayed home and my brother joined us later for dinner. Now that we don't travel for the holidays like we used to, we are pretty steadfast in our insistence on just staying home (it's awesome). Here are some of our highlights:

[I don't decorate like crazy, but I love this little shelf]

[Sawyer will miss our tree terribly]

[the definite star of the morning- a train table!]

[I've been running outside! Twice in three days]

[the best sugar cookies ever- and I had a helper!]

[it's been quite chilly for Southern California]

[my husband knows me well- books for Christmas]

[the sides are the best- so that's all I made for Christmas dinner]

[I have gotten some quality reading in this weekend- finally]

Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

Link up, link back, say hey!

1. An old student stopped by the other day, one who I only had for a little while a few years ago, and she said that recently dropped a ton of cash at the bookstore on titles I had recommended. OHMYGOD SOMEONE HAS LISTENED.

2. Recently one of my friends and colleagues kindly bought Sawyer something and I mentioned to another one of my friends that I felt bad because I feel like I am never spontaneously thoughtful enough. She looked at me like I was crazy and listed some things to prove I was wrong. Her thoughtfulness about my underestimated thoughtfulness made my day. I am so lucky to surround myself with kind people. 

3. The other night I had a dream that I was going to IB training for work in Iran (but of course!) but got stuck in Turkey and was having trouble leaving because my tickets were wrong, but they weren't and I had no reason whatsoever to be in Istanbul- it didn't say it on any of my boarding passes. I think all my dreams can just be interpreted such that I have control issues.

4. Important reminder lesson based on extensive social media observations: parents embellish their children's developmental milestones like crazy ("so and so was potty trained at xx months" when you know it was more like xx, or "so and so could read by two and a half" when you know that would be really unrealistic based on, you know, cognitive development theories). It's fine, parents are proud, but using their posts for comparison purposes is stupid. *ahem, self, ahem*

Who am I kidding? Sawyer is two and a half, can read Tolstoy, knows how to drive a stick shift, and is fairly proficient at Mandarin (!). 

5. I know this is probably lame, but I have started using the guided breathing on my Fitbit at night and it has helped me go to sleep so much faster. Maybe because it's really effing boring laying there in the dark matching your breathing to circles. Nonetheless, I'll take it. 

6. Speaking of my beloved Fitbit, I have also started using it to count calories this week. I used to use something else sporadically, but I have found that since I have my Fitbit app open all the time to obsessively check data, this is easy. Pros: it allows you to set weight goals and sets up your calorie allowances based on this, it matches your burned calories to consumed calories, and the charts are handy. Cons: there isn't data for macro and micro nutrients, which is actually a huge disadvantage (200 calories of something nutrient-dense like quinoa and veggies is way different than a candy bar). 

7. How are there only two more weekends before Christmas? Augh! This weekend we are going to take Sawyer to Downtown Disney to check out the decorations and people ice skating and then Sunday is my husband's birthday so will probably go out to lunch or something along those lines. I'd also like to bake and eat my body weight in Christmas cookies and have to find time to grade a few hundred papers.

8. I need to start rereading Carlos Ruiz Zafon's Shadow of the Wind asap for book club. I have a hard time getting motivated to reread things, but I am also a diehard "you must finish/reread the book before book club" rule follower. I read it a really, really long time ago, but I do remember loving it so very much. I'm sure I'll be happy I had a second time around.

9. Scott took Sawyer's Christmas card pictures the other night and they turned out SO CUTE. He has a beard covering his face (spoiler alert, haha), so maybe I'll bend the rules and post one. They're that great. 

December, Plus November, Revisited

[source]

It's six in the morning and I am the only person up in my house- Sawyer woke me up at 5:30 to tell me that a hangnail hurt and then went back to sleep (seriously), but I couldn't settle myself back down. Sigh. So, here we are. What better time for some quiet blogging? Or something like that... I am a few days late on this post, but that's because December is in full swing here! Before I talk about my goals for December, let's revisit November. If you're new around here, I use these posts as a way to keep myself accountable for being happy, productive, healthy, and sane. 

November-

1. Watch 10 TED Talks- Yes! Finally! I'll be doing a post on my favorite ones soon.

2. Not screw up Thanksgiving- Yes! I think, in terms of the food, this was my best one yet. I made a few subtle tweaks (between the brine and cooking my turkey upside it literally fell of the bone it was so moist... yup, still hate that word), as opposed to trying anything crazy new, and it was for the best.

3. Track core workouts- Nope! I will revisit this one soon.

4. Run a 5k I'm happy about- Yup! I ran one at UCLA a few weeks ago and I was able to run the entire time, despite the hilly campus. I will never be fast, but I was consistent and was even able to kick it into high gear for the last quarter of a mile.

5. Attempt to potty train my kid (but be okay if it doesn't work out this time around): Yes! We worked on it during Thanksgiving break and he was doing decently, but then had some tummy troubles for a few days that weren't conducive to the process and then, just like that, break was over. Christmas vacation is coming soon, so we will try again then. He's a little boy and he is barely two and a half, so I am not sweating it. 

6. Christmas shopping started: Yup! And almost done!

December

1. Stay 90% on track with my grading calendar- The semester ends on the 23rd and I have every single day mapped out in terms of what I need to grade to get it all done and not have an Everest-sized pile waiting for me during finals week. So far I have been on it!

2. Run an average of three times a week- (Or 13 times this month) Things have been a little inconsistent in the work out category for me, since I've been so busy. I need to remember that a twenty minute run in better than nothing at all.  

3. Finish my 2016 year-in-review book- This is going to be quite the feat, since the only work I have done on it has been uploading my January pictures to the site I use. They usually have really great deals for the New Years, though, so I need to catch up so I can take advantage.

4. Send out our Christmas cards- My husband will hopefully get the pictures taken and edited today, I can order the cards tonight or tomorrow, and then send them out by like the fifteenth. It's later than normal, but that's life.

5. Enjoy the season- I want to make sure we do a lot of fun Christmasy stuff, but also have time to enjoy being at home together and with the house I just finally decorated. 

Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

Link up, link back say hey!

1. I have revolutionized my way of living- I made a grading calendar. Why have I not done this before? I assign certain assignments to myself to grade and input each day so that things are now in much more manageable chunks. I'm still behind, but feeling like I am only responsible for so much on each day helps. I'm on day three and I'm actually ahead. 

2. Sawyer sleeps a million times better than he used to and since the time change he has been sleeping later in the morning to (he used to wake up before he needed to and now he's barely stirring as I go in to get him). Unfortunately, after crappy sleep for a few years now I can barely go two or three hours straight without waking up or becoming very restless. I don't want to take anything medicinal because I still need to be conscious in case he needs me and I typically end up really groggy when I have taken things in the past. After reading The Sleep Revolution and doing some additional research I found that tart cherry juice is a natural producer of melatonin and that some studies have shown it's effectiveness as a natural sleep aid. Last night I drank two ounces an hour before bed and slept for almost five hours straight. I don't know if it's a fluke, but I will definitely be trying it for a few weeks to see if it works. I have the data from by Fitbit to help me out, which I know isn't perfect but it's a least good for comparison reasons.

3. Speaking of my Fitbit, my husband got me the Charge 2 for my birthday and it's so much better than the Flex. It's not too big and the information it provides is a dream come true. 

4. I just started Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance and am so far really interested. I thoroughly acknowledge the fact that I am comfortable and happy in my liberal, progressive, Californian bubble and need to see how others live in the US. 

5. This weekend we are in full Christmas mode! Friday night we are putting up the tree and Saturday I am taking Sawyer to a Breakfast with Santa event at Pretend City in Irvine. That night we are going to head to The Mission Inn in Riverside to check out their huge light display and then on Sunday we'll do some baking and more decorating. There are only three more weekends until Christmas weekend and I work up until the twenty-third this year. Womp womp. Holidays are SO much more fun with a toddler. I used to sort of see Christmas as a means to a break (which is still great and I can't wait for), but now it's all about the fun activities we can do with him during December. 

6. Sawyer is super obsessed with BB-8 from Star Wars and has likes to say hi to the inflatable one that's on display at Target for Christmas (we go to Target very often, so this has happened numerous times). Scott and I are vehemently opposed to lawn inflatables (sorry-not-sorry), but we decided that we'd compromise and get on for the backyard so it's not visible from the front but then Sawyer can enjoy it whenever he wants from the sliding glass door. 

7. I started listening to Laurent Graham's new memoir Talking as Fast as I Can and it's been the perfect cure for the sadness following being done with all the new episodes. 

8. I know that I'm not going to Vegas for two and a half months but I am already SO excited (my mom and I are going to a concert and my brother, who is probably too young for me to keep up with in that city, might come along as well).

Obsessed

Once in awhile I post about things I'm loving- gotta share the wealth, right? Here's a hodgepodge of things I'm slightly obsessed with right now:

Oversized Coffee Cups 

Target has super cute, affordable ones, but I always like the occasional Anthropologie splurge. I picked the "C" one up with my 15% off birthday coupon this month:

[source]

ASICS Gel Kayano-22 Running Shoes

I still regret my temporary leave from ASICS. These shoes are made for my flat, over-pronating, deformed feet- I feel like I am walking on a cloud. I haven't even moved over my orthotics from my old Mizunos back to these.

Reese's Stuffed with Pieces

Move over Hi-Chews, there's a new, fattier, more delicious, favorite candy around here.

Target's Christmas Line

Sawyer and I have a problem... Target has the CUTEST Christmas decorations this year. Most of our purchases have been $10 or less (the ornaments for $3 are perfect for the bottom 1/3 of my tree where they at risk for toddler hands and large dog tails), but this little guy did find a new home:

[source]

Albero Spanish Rose from Trader Joes

Obviously this isn't one I recommend to my readers under 21... But, anyway, if you are old enough to drink, this is super cheap from Trader Joe's, but it's good after dinner on the couch while trying to keep your eyes open for an episode of Gilmore Girls. Let me add that I am no wine connoisseur. At all. 

Your Daily Mix from Spotify 

I am late on the Spotify train- my husband subscribed and he signed me up sort of against my will and now I LOVE it. I noticed these mixes based on your recent listens and they're a great way to hear favorite songs and discover new ones (like Empire of the Sun, who I am loving for running).

Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

[Ojai, CA]

Hello! Link up, link back, say hi!

1. I have quite a few posts lined up for the next few days, so I'm trying not to be too redundant with this post. Just a forewarning, since that's my style.

2. My husband and I spent about twenty-four hours away from Sawyer the other day to head up to Ojai for the night (about a half an hour east of Santa Barbara). It was really, really nice. It was nice to ride in the car as a passenger (I always drive because my car has the car seat), it was nice to walk around the town without pushing a stroller, it was nice to have uninterrupted adult conversation, it a was nice to sit around and do nothing (even just for an hour!), it was nice to get ready alone, it was nice to go to a nice restaurant that was definitely not child-friendly, and it was really nice to sleep in. Nice, nice, nice. You get the picture. I was really proud of myself for not freaking out about leaving Sawyer overnight for the first time; my mom, sister, and brother were all here with him. My mom is the person I call when I have a kid question, so it makes sense that I would be at ease with her in charge. And everything went great. (We stayed here and ate here, in case anyone heads up that way and needs recommendations!). 

2. I despise taking Christmas decorations down. And I despise having them up after Christmas.

3. I'm freaking out a little that we only have 4.5 days left of break, considering how much I have not gotten to (ain't that always the way?). I took it easy for the first part, just prepping for Christmas, and then my family was in town, meaning I put productivity on the back burner. They left this morning and I finally made a to-do list. It's scary.

4. I'm reading Margaret Atwood's newest, The Heart Goes Last, and while it's a good, interesting read, I just feel that it's too reminiscent of the MadAddam books. I know sort of near-future, post-apocalpytic-esque is her style, but it just feels really familiar.

5. I just finished listening to Jenny Lawson's Furiously Happy today and it was quite enjoyable. She's zany and all over the place, but her message if a darn good one.

6. I feel like I need to carve away a few hours to scour the "best of 2015" lists on blogs and major publications to see what I missed last year.

7. I'm wearing a Jesse and the Rippers shirt right now. I just wanted everyone to know this.

8. You know what I'm doing, besides sitting here, blogging in my Full House shirt? Waiting for our amazing groomer that was supposed to be here over a half an hour ago and has yet to call or show up. These sorts of things irritate me to no damn end. 

9. Honesty break! One of the most frustrating things that I've had to deal with in pretty much every area of my life for several months, if not longer, is the nagging feeling that whatever I'm doing just isn't enough. For my students. For family members. For myself. For friends. For other people that don't fit neatly into categories. Some people are bold enough to basically say it, while others insinuate it and are charmingly passive aggressive ("you can't bullshit a bullshitter"). I just want to gather everyone up together, stand on a table or something and scream at them, "I'm trying! There are only twenty-four hours in a day and I am usually so tired that I will screw up accidentally! I am still a good person, please cut me some slack!" But, honestly, if I'm going to get everyone together we should probably just have a party and not experience the awkwardness of me having a shit fit.

10. Christmas! I almost forgot, it seems so long ago. We had such a great day. My husband put together Sawyer's big gift, the KidsCraft kitchen, the day before (quite the task), and he loved it on Christmas. We also got him some cooking accessories to go with it, some Duplos, and a book. We feel really strongly about not going crazy with gifts because we really want him to appreciate what he has and not be overwhelmed with "stuff." He's little but it starts now! Other than exchanging gifts, we hung out, took a walk to the park, and then ate homemade pizza with my brother that night. It was probably the best Christmas I've ever had.

Happy New Year! 

Belated... Thoughts

[From Dept. of Speculation]

Oh the light at the end of the tunnel! There you are. Please, wrap me in your warm embrace and shield me from the horrors of the outside world.

No, not death. Christmas Break. Day one is in the books and it feels good.

I have been admittedly MIA the last few weeks, so I'm back for a quick hello and then business as usual. I have a whole bunch of posts lined up, so we're ready to roll.

This semester was really, really hard. The hardest in my entire 10+ year career, I think. Time was my greatest enemy; because Sawyer is so mobile and active and my husband barely gets home in time for a quick dinner before putting him to bed at night, I really don't get much done during the week after work. Weekends can be hard too, but I'll quit the excuses. I did the math and I graded over 6,000 assignments this semester, which equates to over 300 a week. Some are lengthy essays, some are quick graphic organizers to check off. If each took me an average of three minutes (ha!) that's over sixteen hours a week grading alone (or just more at the end of the grading periods). This was on top of really crappy sleep and other life issues. Bottom line: we cut down too many trees as a result of my classroom and I need to get my shit together. The other day I took a deep breath and my brain said, "Christine, you haven't done that in a long time." 

Tonight I ran into the grocery store for a bottle of wine and I got really self-conscious and didn't want to be that lady who's buying wine by herself on a Saturday night. So, I grabbed chips and coffee. So now I'm the woman drinking wine, eating chips, and anticipating a need to caffeinate through a hangover in the morning (all of this is incorrect, by the way; I will have one glass, won't eat the chips until tomorrow, and will be up walking by eight, headache free). Seriously, why do I care?

I've made a million peanut butter balls this week and have eaten about half a million. I use this recipe and it's the best one I've ever tried. My husband claims it's because of the vanilla, but I just think it's the ratio of powder sugar to peanut butter. Speaking of recipes, I want to make this Cheesy Bucatini Pie with Mini Meatballs this week. If Jessica makes it, it has to be great (I love how I use her first name, like we actually know each other). 

Listening to... Serial! I love it already. Truth be told, I'm glad she didn't just continue last season. I'm also listening to Jenny Lawson's Furiously Happy and it has seriously grown on me. The stigma of mental health is very sloooooowly fading away and I love her attitude. 

I also just finished Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill, another book by a Jenny, and another book about a woman struggling with anxiety. I really enjoyed it but the consensus at book club was pretty split. 

Tomorrow we're going to see Star Wars, finally. I only say "finally" because I feel like everyone has already seen it, despite it still being opening weekend. 

This will probably make sense to four people, but I really wanted to steal a sign advertising the yoga place my friend and I go to (it's one the size the realtors use to advertise open houses). The owner, who neither of us are in love with, is on the sign flipping the dog. Not long ago this friend and I were joking about going out late at night to draw mustaches on her, so I thought it was be hilarious to steal one and put it in her yard or wrap it up for a Christmas gift. Brilliant, I know. But then the wind blew them all away and I told her about my plan and she agreed that it was pretty great. And then today they put more out! I could have done it! Damn it! 

Eff you, company that handled Adele's LA portion of her tour! I tried to get tickets the day they went on sale and was put in the virtual waiting room for THREE AND A HALF HOURS! When I was let in I was promptly told they were sold out. 

I got on the treadmill to run a few miles this morning and it was not good. Ten minutes in I needed my inhaler and then after that I just couldn't get into a comfortable pace. I forced myself to do 2.5 miles, but after that I was done. Considering a few weeks ago I felt that I was Speedy Gonzalez and was stupidly entertaining the notion of a PR at Surf City I was pretty discouraged. A few hours later someone else posted about a less-than-stellar run and I commented that at least she did it. Practice what you preach, Christine. 

Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

Link up, link back, say hi! 

1. I think this is the third year (or second?) I've done a "ohtackynights" hashtag on Instagram featuring the awful lawn decorations my neighbors insist on putting up. My account is private, so I don't feel bad, but here was today's gem (Camo Santa standing was the other day... the horror):

2. Our solar panels are up and running! Apparently there's an app I can get to track their... absorption? I'm a real lover of charts and data (and hater of math, go figure), so I'll probably become obsessed. 

3. I've been doing outside-reading interviews with my students this whole week and while I love the opportunity to meet with them one-on-one, it can make for a long day. So today was day three, and just so happened to also be a day where my one-nap-a-day toddler didn't really get the snooze he needed at day care. All I wanted when I got home was ten minutes to myself in absolute quiet. Spoiler alert: it's after six and I probably won't have it for at least two more hours. Patience. Patience. Patience. So many deep breaths. 

4. I'm going to donate blood for the first time since high school on Friday. I decided that with everything that happened at the local shooting, in San Bernardino, it's something I could actually do, as opposed to taking to social media to run my mouth (like everyone else). It really is something I should be doing regularly, since I'm the ever-rare B+. I'm pretty nervous that I'll pass out, but pretty excited to be able to lay in one spot and not do anything for like forty-five minutes.

5. This past weekend I accomplished every single item of my to-do list for the first time in months.

6. Yesterday I took Sawyer to see Santa at the mall and it went as expected. He seemed pretty willing, and even walked toward him, but once I plopped him down in the guy's lap he got pretty sad. He tried to fight it, but just couldn't hold back. I'm taking the money for the pictures out of his college fund.

7. Every night after Sawyer's bath we sit by the Christmas tree and I read him his story, and then we sit for another fifteen or twenty minutes and just hang out together. He LOVES it. In fact, if I take a small detour to throw in a load of laundry or something shit hits the fan. Most days it's the best part, so I'm a little scared of how sad he's going to be when the tree comes down (he's obsessed).

8. I made intentionally made dinner reservations at a place that was listed as not being good for children on Yelp when we go away for a quick night later this month. I also made it for like eight, which is way past when we're able to go to eat with Sawyer. It's also a place that has been actually written about in guides and reviews and isn't a chain. I'm way too excited about this.

9. 'Tis the season for way too many cardboard boxes and the need to make some room in the house for new gifts. This is the solution to both, while doing some good. I'm going to try it out this weekend.

10. Next Wednesday I'll be so excited I won't be able to contain myself. Next Thursday is our last day of finals. 

Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

Link up, link back, say hello, accept my apologies for sucking at commenting back on your awesome blogs (but soon! Vacation is coming!)

1. Who want invite me somewhere awesome so I have a reason to buy this predictably overpriced but oh-so-lovely dress from Anthro? This is why I should have signed up to chaperone prom. 

2. Last week I walked just over 102,000 mother-effing steps in five days (that's an average of about ten damn miles a day) in order to win a Fitbit challenge with a coworker new to the game. It was so bad that at eleven at night on Friday after an exhausting week I was on my treadmill reading magazines and texting kind people that were willing to entertain me while I attempted to stay awake. And did I win? NO! He beat me by about 5,000 steps. I pretend to be outraged (fine, I am a little bit), but it was actually super motivating and sort of fun. 

3. I bought a Deep Covered Baker from Pampered Chef a few months ago and have used it just a few times. I haven't used it enough to justify the expense quite yet, but now that I tried making their infamous lava cake in it I just might in the near future. Let me preface this with saying that I completely believe that the whole Lava Cake dessert fad was incredibly gimmicky, on a culinary level, but whatever. I mean, I think peanut butter on a slice of cheese is delicious, so who am I to judge? Anyway, you make the batter from a boxed (the horror!) cake and pour it in the baker. You then plop in spoonfuls of 2/3 container of canned (the horror!) frosting, cover, and bake in the microwave (the horror!) for ten minutes. Boom, you have lava cake. It's sort of magical. 

4. I just renewed my single subject teaching credential and it cost $102.50 (I have a multiple subjects one too, for elementary, but at least that one is good for a few more years). That seems like a lot for a public service job. One one level I get it- people are required to buy uniforms and things like that for their careers, so this is just something we need to make our work possible. But, on the other hand, I am spending my days educating our state's kids and have completed years and years of schooling to do so (and have the student loans to prove it). And I have to pay? To educate? I don't know. A least it's a tax deduction.

5. Why not spend some more money? I'm about to head over to Visual Editions to pre-order their stunning version of Don Quixote. My husband wants in on this one, at least, so joint account it is... We have all their books except the last one, on maps, which I'm still pretty sad about somehow missing.

6. Can we just all agree, as a human race, to not put up Christmas decorations outside until after Thanksgiving? 

7. So, the mascot at the high school where I teach is Native American-related and there is an effort right now to change it to something that is more culturally sensitive, as has been done in countless other places. While I'm not going to get into the politics and excessively discuss my personal beliefs right now, since there are spies everywhere, I can certainly say that I am so very disappointed in how disrespectful some people are, on both sides of the debate. I desperately wish that this could be a civilized conversation that was used as a teaching tool, but for the most part it is not. I'm also concerned that people are saying things they shouldn't on social media- if this debate ends up going anywhere and the press gets involved, derogatory comments publicly made could impact people's future college acceptances, careers, and reputations. It's sadly messy. 

8. Also, not to get too political yet again, I am so disappointed by the ignorance people have towards refugees. This broke my heart. 

9. I'm still listening to Do No Harm, a memoir about a neurosurgeon in the UK by Henry Marsh and really love it. It took me a little to get used to the narrator's voice, but I think that's pretty much always how I am. 

10. One of the best things about Sawyer right now is that he's starting to become intentionally affectionate. He'll just walk over to me and hug me out of nowhere or blow me kisses while I'm putting him to sleep (that's probably him learning to be manipulative, who am I kidding?). He's finally starting to give Scott kisses, too, which is pretty adorable. 

October, Revisited, Plus November

I'm a woman of my word (or at least I try to be), so when I posted some goals for October I said I'd publicly hold myself accountable. Honestly, this post is probably more for me than anyone else, but I already wrote the whole thing. So here we are:

1. Learn to turn the water main off- Nope! The weird noise went away and I stopped obsessing about my house flooding. I attempted to look at some pictures online for about three minutes, but I got bored.

2. Take Sawyer to do something autumn-ish- Yup! We went to a huge pumpkin patch with some friends, the Homecoming Carnival at my school, and then the fall festival at the place where he used to go to PT. 

3. Make plans to see friends at least once- Yup! I also had to reschedule some things from this month for next month, so I should be out and about quite a bit in November. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm one of those people that needs to interact with others. 

4. Do yoga or Piyo at least twice a week- Sorta! I've been pretty good about going to yoga on Saturdays and I've done Piyo like twice. Better than last month, but still lots of room for improvement, especially if I'm going to run again. 

5. Make a charitable contribution- Yup! A favorite colleague at work is doing a charity run, so I donated some money towards what he needs to raise. 

6. Leave at least 100 blog comments- Probably not! I started off really strong at the beginning of the month, but definitely tapered off as things got crazy. 

7. Make a new playlist- Yup!  I love seeing what other people are listening t, so, for your amusement/judgement:

8. Walk 80,000 steps a week- Yup! I was up around 90,000 once or twice, too. 

9. Hang you with my husband more- Sorta! I decided that every Thursday I'd play videogames (just the silly Lego ones) with him after Sawyer is in bed, but the past two weeks I was tied up. It's not like we don't see each other or anything, but actually putting down our phones/tablets and designating time to hang out is something to work on.

10. Do things to de-stress at work- It's complicated. But I love my students very much and I enjoy what I do. No job is perfect and accepting the things that are hard along with the things that are great will get you far... most days. 

I'd say that October was a much better month than September, although there have been some bad days and a moment or two where I thought someone had knocked me upside the head with a two-by-four out of basically nowhere. But anyway, I do have to say putting things down like this made me prioritize better and just work harder on certain things. And because I was able to do that I felt happier in general. Naturally this must be replicated.

So, things to work on for November:

1. Read five books- I haven't been reading quite as much as I'd like lately (do we ever, though?).

2. Eat at a new restaurant- We used to do this once a month. Then the child happened; there's no reason we can't still. 

3. Less Diet Coke, more water- Nooooooooooooooooooooooo. But yes. 

4. Make a new recipe a week- I'm in a cooking rut. I try to cook five nights a week, so this has made meal time a bit of a chore.

5. Start (lightly) training- While I'm not going to go balls-to-the-wall on half marathon training it's would be a joke to assume that I'd go in without some sort of base mileage. I want to be that person, who just goes for it, but I'm not.

5. Blog 17 times- I just pulled that number out of my ass, but ever since this school year started my posting has suffered a little bit.

6. Really try to finish NaNoWriMo- Who the hell knows what will happen.

7. Find some sort of not-lame Christmas craft to make- I don't have a ton of Christmas decorations, but I tend to think simple, homemade ones are the nicest. This will unfortunately mean a trip to Michael's, which will take a year or two off my life.

8. Reevaluate my fall/winter wardrobe- Last year I was trying to finish losing pregnancy weight and the year before that I was actually pregnant, so I'm frustrated with my closet. It won't exactly be freezing here, but I do need things and to get rid of those articles of clothing I won't wear anymore. 

9. Go out without Sawyer- We're long overdue for a night out without the little munchkin. My birthday is this month, Scott's is next, and our anniversary is next week, so maybe we can lump it all into a night out in the next few weeks. 

10. Throw out or store a bag of junk a week- I'm a minimalist and with the holidays approaching it's time to downsize. 

The Merriest of Days

 

[confession: he's playing with my phone]

Hoping you have a spectacular day with loved ones (or by yourself, if that's what you prefer)!

Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

Link up below! And as always, thanks for playing along. 

1. I want so badly to love Lana Del Rey, but I don't. She has a great voice and I'm always looking for new music, but I'm just not feeling it.

2. I had to go to the doctor for the first time in years the other day (not counting pregnancy stuff). Sinus infection and double ear infection. I blame the baby for now allowing me to take care of myself like I used to. I hate taking antibiotics, but it was either that or dying.

3. I need ten hours in my classroom with no phone or internet so that I can catch up.

4. I just started The Round House Louise Erdich and am really enjoying it so far. I haven't read a lot of  Native American fiction, but what I have I always enjoy (Ceremony, The Indian Killer, etc...).

5. At what age do people get to stop blaming their parents/upbringing for how they act as adults? Someone brought that up in conversation recently and I had to chomp down on my tongue big time. I've talked about it with some of my students too, and they said as soon as you can start really telling between right and wrong, although some of them rightfully brought up the idea that your parents may have skewed your morals. Our upbringing obviously shapes us, I guess my point is that I'm just not okay with grown-ass adults using that as an excuse for bad behavior.

6. This made me laugh:

[source]

7. How much do we love love love Kate's list of year-end book lists? She's done this before and I'm so grateful for her leg work. Rumor has it she's going to compile a list of frequently-mentioned books.

8. I always appreciate students that prove me wrong, namely ones that maybe slack off a bit or show a "reluctance to grow" (either by choice or because English is a challenge for them) and then come back guns blazing and kick butt. Sure, I wish that fire would have been lit earlier in the semester, but I love a good underdog story. Or maybe their parents are just bribing them with Christmas gifts. Nonetheless, it makes me happy when kids come from behind and improve.

9. Last week I posted a picture of Sawyer and I going down the slide at the park on Facebook and someone from high school posted a link to an article condemning the practice, along with her own anecdote. Admittedly, my hackles went up immediately and my response went through several edits so that I was able to make my point (that there are many dangers in the world) with some humor and light-heartedness. But upon reflection, I really didn't have the right to get defensive. By putting my kid's picture on the freaking internet I'm opening up the world to judge him, and whatever parenting decision I have made in conjunction to the picture. It come with the media-age territory. I think this may deserve a full post....

10. We started watching Sons of Anarchy last night, finally. I love motorcycle gangs, so why we waited so long is beyond me. Anyway, I'm hooked. 

[source]

Play along!

 

A Holiday Bookish Wishlist- for Baby

I've been loving reading to Sawyer and enjoy finding books that are smartly written, well-illustrated, and all-the-while fun. Here are a few on his Christmas wishlist:

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers

Skippyjon Jones Class Action, Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble, Skippyjon Jones Cirque de Ole, and Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouse by Judy Schachner

Iggy Peck, Architect by  Andrea Beatty and David Roberts

I Dare You Not to Yawn by Helene Boudreau and Serge Bloch

Knuffle Bunny Free by Mo Willems

One Big Pair of Underwear by Laura Gehl and Tom Lichtenheid