Tuesday, July 25, 2017

A Tuesday list

1. I blew through Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner last week. Five stars, no hesitation. I'm really glad I re-read the first four books in the series before I read it, and I know that this one will hold up well to a re-read later. Turner is a masterful storyteller in my opinion, and I like how each of her books can be slightly different (this one's told in first person, but with a different narrator than we've seen before). The Thief series is a great introduction to fantasy -- the books aren't too long, but they're full of depth and layers, and the characters are full of life.

2. Jeremy and I finally started watching the BBC's Sherlock, and I'm really enjoying it! Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are just fantastic. I know I'm late to the party on this one, but better late than never, right?

3. Newest book on the Kindle -- The Martian. One nice thing about holding off on reading popular books is that you don't have to wait for them at the library! I also have a couple of non-fiction books I want to start, although there's something about summer that just makes me want to binge watch shows on Netflix.

4. Somebody let me know if Starbucks starts delivering (or that new coffee shop that just opened up down the street that I need to try but keep forgetting. Note to self)

5. Well, looks like nap time is over. Peace out.


Wednesday, July 19, 2017

A Wednesday list

1. And....we're back! Mostly caught up on sleep and settled back into routine. The kids had a great week at Nana and Grandpapa's and J and I had a great week at camp. For me it was a bit of a mixed bag emotionally -- missing people who weren't there this year and heartache for hurting campers -- but there were a lot of great times and answered prayers too. I was also really challenged by the message each night during worship. We pray for the kids to learn and grow and be convicted, but it's pretty cool when the message reaches everyone at camp.

2. I finished my re-read of the first four Queen's Thief books by Megan Whalen Turner and I'm ready to dive into the newest installment that came out last month (Thick as Thieves). I also just got notified that a book I had on hold at the library is available (Exit West, by Mohsin Hamid), so I've got a lot of reading to do!

3.It might be time to get new running shoes when your toe is starting to poke a hole in one of your current ones. Fortunately, I love getting new shoes! Sticking to my tried and true Saucony Rides, but it reminded me that I really need to plan a little field trip to our local running store -- I'd like to try on some new styles for fun, and maybe see if they have any information on local 5ks and other races. Bonus: the running store is less than a mile down the road from a used book store I've been meaning to check out.

4. I don't know if it was getting a full eight hours of sleep Sunday night or what, but I woke up Monday full of motivation: I did all the post-camp laundry (8 loads), went to the grocery store, mowed the lawn, and even cooked dinner. Obviously, yesterday and today have been...less intense. But that's okay. At minimum, I have at least managed to get up early enough to get dressed before the kids get up (and yesterday got to read my Bible too!), which really sets a good tone for the day when I have stuff I want to get done. My kids get up early enough normally that I don't think I'll ever be one of those people who loves to always gets up before the kids do -- and I've started to own that -- but because I'm slow to wake up it's kind of nice to have at least 10 minutes first thing in the morning before the chaos starts.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

A Tuesday list...see you in a couple of weeks!

1. So, Facebook's Timehop is a funny thing. It shows me how I was a full participant in boring and mundane status posts back in the earlyish days of Facebook, and it shows me that this time last year I had almost the exact same thought as I did this morning: getting ready for camp is a combination of planning then waiting until it makes sense to pack. Kind of like staying at home with littles -- super crazy moments and busy running around interspersed with sitting and building with blocks or pushing cars around the floor.

2. The second book in the Charlotte Holmes' series became available from the library yesterday! I really enjoyed the first book (A Study in Charlotte).

3. Somehow I've forgotten how much summer running is all about survival because the runs are just so much harder in the heat and humidity. Of course, this would be a prime time to focus on cross training, but I am so inconsistent in cross training. It's hard to exercise when the kids are up and around -- naturally as soon as I start to do something they abandon what they were playing nicely with and want to be all up in my business -- and there are just too many other things I want/need to do when they're napping or after bed time. Running's nice because they go with me in the jogging stroller. Of course, the best solution would be to get up and do it before they wake up...I say that about a lot of things though. Maybe the second best solution would be to just start doing it so they get used to it, and I can put up with interrupted workouts for a while until interrupting me gets boring.

4. We got newly upholstered couch cushions last week! Our 40 year old couches have had a face lift and I am in love! They're navy -- neutral enough to decorate around, without being brown. (I love brown, but we're surrounded by a lot in various shades of brown and tan and beige already right now).

5. Whiny toddlers who haven't napped are THE WORST. So frustrating, but you know they can't really help it. Sigh. This is why you don't get more interesting blog posts.

6. With camp coming up, it'll be a couple of weeks until you hear my random thoughts and/or book reviews. In the meantime, stay cool, read a lot, and let me know what your favorite non-running exercise is!