not necessarily in this order

Reviews from Quarantine  This is a bit of a week as my little family has been taken down with COVID. Lil’ Momma was first over the weekend and I can feel it starting. Luckily, LM has a mild case and we can work from home, so cabin fever may be what sinks us (a privilege for sure).  So, live from quarantine, here’s a look at what I read in January, stolen from my Goodreads since my brain is a little tired. It’s a shorter list than normal with the lack of sleep during this bumpy month for my girl, but definitely some winners! Cloud Cuckoo Land  by Anthony Doerr ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I avoided reading it until 4 days before it was due (the storyline jumps, the size, the pressure), but I shouldn’t have. This is everything I love in a book; I missed characters when I wasn’t with them and loved how alive and wild it was. Life is convoluted and this is all over the place in all the best ways.  The Janus Stone  by Elly Griffiths  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I missed Ruth in this one - but, that a...

This week was one of  those weeks:  a sad kid, a cut on my foot, work projects snowballing… …but, after spending some well deserved time in a pit, I’m ready to climb out with a quick list of wins and smiles: I couldn’t walk, but I barre-d I had this whole plan for lunch workouts this week because after-school activities and homework and night routine keep bumping exercise from my list. Monday night, I tripped in our bedroom and cut my foot. It’s fine, I’m fine - but it’s enough to shut down most non-essential movement. Not being able to walk or ride or put pressure on it (I can barely get a shoe on) shut my brain down for a bit, but I made a random turn into  Barre workouts  on the Peloton app. It was no pressure on my foot, a great lower body workout, and checked something off my list - all wins! I read two books at the same time  I’m a reading monogamist. It goes against my love of tangents and rambles, but I’ve always just read one book straight through befor...

aka I love a good tangential list Ack! My bulbs are coming up too soon! We’ve had such dynamic temperature changes here lately; last Friday, it was in the 50*s, today it's snowing with big flakes… Hopefully, these are hearty and motivated flowers and survive till spring (because I’m sure a few frigid nights and half a snowstorm isn’t all the winter we're getting here in Massachusetts)! We started watching Severance this week. As someone who’s worked in a corporate office building for more years than ever expected - well, until the last 3 when I started working from home mostly! - the style of episode 1 really resonated which is an eerie feeling - I feel so seen! The whole concept of having a work self and a outside self is super interesting to me: how authentic is my work self? Do I still have a customer service voice? We only made it through one after a weirdly stressful week ( The Great British Bake-off is our comfort programming ), but plan to keep on with season 1 and se...

Rambling through a new recipe  “I’m going to make this lemon chicken soup I saw on Instagram for dinner before we watch the movie.” “I was not influenced! It looks right up our alley. It’ll be quick and easy.” I hope this is edible. What a risk to take on a long weekend… Oh the ingredients are listed separately for the chicken and then the soup - grrrr… I need so much more garlic that I thought Oh my stars, do I own a covered pan? Will a pot cover work? A pan, a pot, a bowl… I hope this will be worth the dishes. *shakes fist at sky because one piece of chicken is huge and took forever to cook* There’s something so calming about softening onions and celery and garlic THERE’S FIVE EGGS IN THIS?!?! AND THEY’RE TEMPERED?? *calls for an assist because whisking while pouring hot broth is impossible* “Yes, it’s what the recipe said! Leap of faith, Brian!!” *silent doubts flicker* *the soup thickens* I wonder if he’ll try it first? “I know, just the right amount of lemon! Who knew?” ...

some thoughts on the week that was  high . I am still overjoyed at how much I enjoyed Cloud Cuckoo Land . I love time jump-ish, connected timelines, "easter egg" media. Doctor Who  is my jam (though, lots of feelings about the last few years), I intensely read articles about comic book connections within MCU movies, I loved the Tana French Murder Squad  books because of how loosely they were connected. All to say that CCL was right up my alley. I love when sci-fi feels "real" - the characters felt like fully formed people (not devices) and the different "worlds" were vivid. It probably helps that the writing was contemporary throughout (I'm a lazy reader when asked to jump between historical language patterns and modern). It took me both outside of myself from a few of the narrators and also within thinking about decisions and regrets and plotlines. I'm a few books past it, but I still think about it all the time!! moderate low . I've read so m...

moments from this week Scene 1 Lil’ Momma (looking for nouns): “the process of invention” hmmm… is “invention” a noun here? Me : well, it’s describing the process. Adjective? And process is a noun because it’s a thing? LM : But an invention is a noun! Me (starting to question everything*): That’s true. But I think it’s a describing word here.  LM : Are you sure? Me : I’m not sure of anything anymore. *I went to school (and back to school again) for Literature and my years of schooling do absolutely nothing to support me in rapid fire remembering of parts of speech or grammar rules at 5pm. I’m useless. I may do more harm than good.  Scene 2 LM : Mum, it’s division. And partial quotients.    I don’t know if we’ll figure this out.  Me : There’s a pretty good chance you’re right about that** **I flip numbers and shapes. I am not the math parent. I YouTube answers and still get them wrong. My family accepts this. My only stake in the game is multiplication tables....

…the weekend that was Such high highs and low lows, sigh Lil’ Momma and I crafted on Sunday - and it wasn’t the hot mess I was expecting! (I lack patience, she lacks an understanding of how long it takes to finish projects haha!). She received a sewing kit for Christmas where you make little felt pillows of all these food items, stemming from her enjoyment of sewing camp over the summer. We started simple with Eggbert . It was a little beyond her current needle abilities, but we did it together (though, she asked to stuff when the stitches were too close to the edge) and, dare I say, had a wonderful time doing it.  Our poor Morkie Bella injured herself pretty badly on Friday. Now, Bella is not a young pup, but has that “forever young” attitude little dogs have, even if her hips give her some trouble at night. I had taken her out for her after lunch zoomies when I saw her go down taking a corner. We don’t know if she dislocated her back knee or  pulled something, but she’s been...

  A weekly-ish round up of what I’m… watching . We started  Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery on Monday, but finishing it wasn’t meant to be with Lil’ Momma’s choice to have bedtime feelings 12 hours before school break ended. Obviously, I can’t speak to the whole yet, but this started slow for me. As someone of the generation for whom Clue  was checked out weekly from Blockbuster (oof, aging myself) and a college-years monthly dorm room party movie  night*, Knives Out  was a whole moment for me**. The pacing, the snark, the red herrings - it’s why I love mysteries. So far, Glass Onion  isn’t doing it for me… reading . I have so much to say about Cloud Cuckoo Land  and am at a blog crossroads*** about how I want to talk about books. Individual posts? A monthly reading roundup? (I used to read every post in a now-defunct reading link-up…) Highs and moderate lows entries? I’ll decide soon. In the meantime, I’m on to The Janus Stone , the second Rut...

 possibilities for a new year twenty- three hopes for 2023  As a disclaimer (preclaimer?), I have a bumpy history with goals. I love the idea of working towards things and checking things off and accomplishing things; however, when focusing on me as a person, I’m that pattern of always dropping to the bottom of (or clear off) my own list. I have threads of hope for this year though, so here’s a list of doable things I’d like to do for myself this year… 1 find some hobbies . I’ve lost track of all my interests after a few years of constant caretaking. Here’s to books and biking and baking and other things that aren’t as alliterative! 2 hang stuff in the house. My guy loves minimalist bare walls; I love pictures and art and memories . This is the year we find a middle ground.  3 cut my phone screen time by 50%. I distract myself and waste so much time doomscrolling. I need to get a handle on it. This one feels the most aspirational, tbh, but it’s time to try.  4 ...