Five Things About... Dessert Can Save the World by Christina Tosi

First of all, I’m a huge fan of Milk Bar and Tosi. I love the food (ahem, looking at you, cornflake chocolate chip marshmallow) and I love her energy. So yeah, parts of the book may seem cheesy if you haven’t drunk her Kool Aid , but I’m fully indoctrinated. The world needs more of her optimism, problem-solving, and kindness. 

She talks about her grandma’s advice to “go sew” when things get rough. You don’t have to actually pick up a needle and thread, but instead find something productive and distracting to do so that you can refocus and return the challenge restored. This is why my house is much cleaner when I’m stressed. 

There’s a whole section dedicated to making care packages for people- who doesn’t love getting unexpected packages of thoughtful little gifts? I want to be the type of person who does this sort of thing more often. It doesn’t even have to be expensive- $15 worth of fun little gizmos can definitely brighten someone’s day. It really is the thought that counts.

The section on bottlenecks can be applicable to anyone’s life. For her it had to do with issues with cookie  production, but for me, grading papers, someone else efficiency in generating data reports (I just made that up… data reports… ew). What is causing the delay in productivity? How can it be fixed? What is a new way of doing things that can lead to greater efficiency?

My absolute favorite line comes from the beginning when Tosi astutely remarks, “Meatloaf and mashed potatoes can comfort our souls, but cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting mainline healing and love straight into our hearts” (xi).

Five Things About... My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

I have resisted this book for years, for several reasons. First, the Europa cover is trash (although I love this publisher’s paperback jacket style), second, the synopsis didn’t really hook me, and third, it’s a series, which can often be a red flag. I was intrigued by the Ferrante memoir coming out soon, though, so I figured I should at least give this a try, and I’m so glad I did. 

The last week was busy, so I was thankful that this book’s chapter are generally just a few pages. It makes it so easy to just read a few pages here and there!

I loved the story of the narrator and her hot-and-cold best friend Lila. Isn’t that so true of many childhood friendships? One year your inseparable, then the next distant. 

The Bildungsroman genre is often saturated with the male experience, so it’s nice to see one focus on a female. Elena grows from a tiny kindergartner to a teen through these pages and we see her battle with puberty, academics, boys, and family.

I love Italy and have been to Rome, Florence, and Venice, but now I need to go back so I can go to Naples! Ferrante’s setting construction is flawless and I loved feeling so enveloped in the culture every time I sat down to read.

Q1 Goal Check-In

 

We're already a fourth of the way done with this year! I don't think I did a post on New Year's Goals/Resolutions/Intentions (whatever we call them now), but I still made several. I know they're not for everyone, but I like having things to work towards. I printed out a chart for each month of the year and have them posted on a clipboard on the wall in my multi-purpose room upstairs so that I can keep track of my progress. The visual accountability really helps! Here's what's been going well and no so well:

Read 75 books in 2022: on track to exceed it!

Average one non-stretching yoga workout/week: I think I need to do two before the end of the month to stay on track here, but I will say it's probably the hardest goal. It's so much easier for me to get on the treadmill than the mat most nights. I spend about 45-60 a day running and walking the dog, so sometimes I don't even do anything extra. 

One home improvement project a month (at least initiated)- this has been going super well. I've done some little things around the house, hired a handy man to do some paint touch-ups outside, and booked a painting job for out living room/kitchen next month. We also upgraded our security system and I've started the arduous process of adding soil to our flower beds. 

Pay off car by the spring- Yup! I just did last week. I really pinched pennies so that I could get it paid off in a year, since I hate monthly payments and having loans. Last year I paid off my student loans, this year the car, and maybe next year the HELOC (we'll see... that one isn't as stressful). 

Hike once a month- I think I've done two a month, so definitely good there

Donate money to a cause- I finally signed up for automatic donations to Doctor's Without Borders, so that goal is an easy win now!

Stay on top of reviews (Instagram and blog)- This one is also tough, but it's happening (just at a slightly slower rate than a lot of people in the book community). 

Organize one thing a month- Yup! In the process I feel like I've given away all of Sawyer's clothes since he's grown SO much the last year.

Send more cards/notes- Yup! I have enlisted Sawyer's help, so between the two of us we've send lots of little notes, cards, and postcards. 

120 Forest Hours a month- I decided that instead of a strict screen time goal, I would work more on chunks of time not picking up my phone. This of course transfers, for the most part, in reduced phone time, so it works. Most days I've exceeded the four hour average needed, so I'm making progress! 

Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

It's spring break! We are lying low for a few days so that I can try to get a bunch done at home and for work and then Sawyer and I leave for Yosemite Wednesday for three nights. I can barely contain my happiness- we went annually before 2020, when I had to cancel our trip. Last year we went for one day, since my husband wasn't comfortable with hotels at the time. It was super fun, but at 7+ hours each way, it was exhausting. This year we are going to drive up Wednesday, do a pretty solid day of hiking on Thursday just the two of us, and then I have some family driving up the next day to hang out in the park. Then Saturday we can sleep in and drive all the way home. Sawyer is at such a great age for travel- he has lots of things to keep him busy in the car and then when we get there he's super helpful carrying stuff and is super flexible bouncing from place to place (or just chilling at the hotel). This summer we have quite the little adventure planned and I know he will be great! This is just a warm up. 

I just finished The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven by Nathaniel Ian Miller and I absolutely loved it. The humor was maybe akin to Catch-22 but the plot (it is actually a novel) is an episodic tale of Sven's life in the Arctic. I just started Black Data by Charmaine Wilkerson and it's got me hooked. 

On the listening front, I just finished Seven Days in June by Tia Williams and it was perfect for walking and commuting (sorry-not-sorry, I am habitually compelled to note that I don't count audiobooks as listening for my yearly totals). The narrator, Mela Lee, was probably the best I've ever heard read a book. Total perfection. 

Scott and I started Yellowstone a few weeks ago and are moving through it faster than we have any show since Sawyer was born. I mean, this equates to like 1.5 episodes a week, but for me that's pretty intense. I have a feeling this show will end up being one of my favorites, ever. The scenery, the characters, the writing... just so good (I know most people have been watching it for years, but give me a break). 

I also started the second season of Cheer the other day while I am on the treadmill and I forgot how much I love that show. The coach was on a podcast I was listening to the other day, and I'm actually considering listening to her book, since she clearly has some serious leadership skills when it comes to young adults. 

I didn't watch the Oscars last night, but at the end of the day, while you should never make jokes about medical conditions you can't assault people, either (unless self defense). Who do I really feel bad for? Jada. She was made the butt of a joke and now has to deal with the aftermath of her husband's choice. I hope it blows over for everyone and that nothing of the sort happens again. 

My dog is obsessed with hiking, and I think we've only gone four times? I've taken her every other week-ish and all I have to say now is "want to go for a hike in the car" and she gets SO excited. She's sort of a pain out on the trail, since it's multi-use and she feels the need to sit and watch all mountain bikers pass, but it's great exercise for us both. 

Last week's to-dos:

- get into a good place on grading before spring break (sort of)

- finish book club book (yup! We are pushing back meeting, but I'm done!)

- pay off my car (this is just a matter of waiting for some money to transfer from one account to another, but it feels pretty monumental, since I just bought it a year ago and have worked really hard to get that monthly payment gone!) (yup!)

- bake some sort of treat to give to trends as a spring break send-off (I actually baked everyone cookies last weekend, but then I was worried my stomach issue was a result of those so I didn't hand them out) (yup! giant cookies for everyone!)

This week's to-dos:

- donate old clothes 

- get a chunk of grading done before leaving for Yosemite

- Finish Black Cake 

- Get mostly done with an Etsy order

Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

If I could just have like ten uninterrupted hours at work and ten at home I'd feel a lot better about both. At least we have just one last week until spring break! 

A dear friend suggested we go to David Sedaris reading back when we read his last book for book club, so we're making it happen in May! This will be my first reading since the pandemic. 

Today Sawyer and I went to a sheer-sheering festival. Yup. We paid to watch sheep sheered and it was an absolute delight (there were other things going on too, plus some decent food).

My students are about halfway into Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake and I'm so overjoyed by how much they like it! 

Some of the bigger colleges, like UCLA (go Bruins!) have been sending out acceptance letters this past week and it's been so rewarding seeing the kids get in places. I offer extra credit for copies of their acceptance letters to post (college, universities, community college, military, trade, etc...), so I have a huge space of total happiness in my class right now. I keep it up for my incoming juniors next year for motivation. 

I'm so behind at posting here right now- I have so many little reviews to copy over. So, yes, I am reading a lot, but this is pretty much one of the last things on the priority-list. 

I'm going to be straight-up honest right now: I am extremely annoyed with my child and am hiding from him. He is a bundle of happy energy, but right now I need him to sort laundry and be quiet. 

Last week's to dos:

- make it through some less than fun adult things like dealing with an alarm system upgrade and virtual parent-teacher conferences (DOONE... I had no choice) 

- go through my pictures from 2022 so far and delete ones I don't want (not committing to starting my yearly photo book yet, but this does make it easier when the times comes) [nope]]

- abs every day, which is unnecessary and excessive, but sometimes that helps get me into the habit  [ha! No! I discovered this week that microgreens give me horrible stomach pains, so I spent way too many days feeling like I was dying, but at least now I know]

- do something creative that isn't for my Etsy shop [this was not the week, haha]

This week tossed me a lot of wrenches, but I got done the important things and next week will be better!

This week's do dos:

- get into a good place on grading before spring break

- finish book club book

- pay off my car (this is just a matter of waiting for some money to transfer from one account to another, but it feels pretty monumental, since I just bought it a year ago and have worked really hard to get that monthly payment gone!)

- bake some sort of treat to give to trends as a spring break send-off (I actually baked everyone cookies last weekend, but then I was worried my stomach issue was a result of those so I didn't hand them out)