Friday, September 30, 2022

TGIF - Race Weekend!

Happy Friday. This week was pretty crazy. The financial markets have been in turmoil so I've been extra busy! 2022 is shaping up to be one of the craziest years ever with bonds and stock markets down significantly. For those not familiar with financial markets, bonds and stocks usually do not move in the same direction. But everything is down this year which means lots of stressed clients and people uncertain about how they should be investing... good times. I won't bore you further with finance talk on this fine Friday, though!

The book I'm reading is The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li. This seems like an under-the-radar new release as I haven't heard it discussed much. I heard about it from one of my favorite book people - Annie Jones of The Bookshelf. It's set in post-WWII France and is about the friendship of 2 young girls. I just started it last night but the writing is so good and I think it's going to be a great read!

The high of my week was book club on Wednesday night! We had 8 people there and discussed my selection, "These Silent Woods" which most really enjoyed. I was worried our book club might be dying off as attendance was pretty spotty last year - and only over zoom - but we added a few new members that have brought some new life to book club and we've been meeting in person in restaurants since this spring so that has helped, too! 

The low of my week was still dealing with a cranky toddler. I'm sure it's a combo of teething, wanting to do things himself, and not being able to communicate. I talked about it on my run this morning and my running partner said that her kids were the same and I probably blocked out Paul going through this stage. I really don't remember him being so cranky but surely he was. 

A recipe I made was seared ahi tuna made on the grill. We eat this about monthly when Aldi has ahi tuna in stock! It is soooo good! I served it with an Asian-style rice.

A show we are watching is still The Patient but we are caught up on episodes so have to wait for a new one to drop each week. I really like this show. But I'm a huge Steve Carell fan! 

For workouts I did not fit in much since I was in the office Tues-Thur. I ran on Monday, did a shake-out pre-race run this morning, and I'll run my 10k tomorrow morning. Sunday I'll do another strength training workout. I'm aiming to do 2/week but will only fit in 1 this week. The running weather has been amazing and check out how gorgeous our run was this morning!!

My amazing running partner turned bestie and me! Little did we know we'd match the sky!

All the heart eyes for this view!!


The best money spent was on tickets to "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" at the local Children's Theater in November! Paul and I are going with my good friend and her 2 boys and I can't wait! It feels crazy to be planning holiday things, but tickets sell out fast! I also planned my annual cookie decorating party in November over Thanksgiving weekend. We didn't do it for the last 2 years because of covid so I am excited to bring that tradition back! 

My plans this weekend include laying low tonight. Tomorrow morning I have my 10k at 7:15 so it will be an early morning since it's in St. Paul, so not super close. I am not really "racing" though - I'm just out there to have fun and don't care all that much about my pace. The course is an out-and-back on the last 3 miles of the marathon course. If I get home in time, I'll take the boys to gymnastics and then will find something fun to do with them in the afternoon while Phil golfs 9 holes with some friends. On Sunday morning we are going to a friend's house that lives around miles 8-9 on the marathon course to spectate. It's marathon weekend here and the city really gets excited and supports our runners! We know one person running it so it will be fun to cheer him on. I'm sure we'll find something fun to do on Sunday afternoon - probably a park visit. 

Bonus pics:

Week night dance party! 

When my friend Lori came to visit, she brought these cute turtle back packs for the boys. Will is obsessed with his! 

A beautiful walk after dinner last night


How was your week? Are you reading or watching anything good?

13 comments:

Nicole MacPherson said...

Wow, that gorgeous sunrise! You and your friend are adorable. Good luck on your race!!! So excited for you.

Nicole MacPherson said...

Pressed send too early. Yes, I am reading something good! I don't know if you listen to the Forever 35 podcast, but I am reading Kate Spencer's (co-host) book The Dead Moms Club. It's a grim subject - grieving the death of her mother - but somehow she makes it witty and thoughtful and lovely.

Jeanie said...

It all sounds good Lisa, (especially that book!). I think our book club is fading too. Or maybe, more likely, I've been fading from our book club. I'm not big on going out into a crowd of people (there are about 10 of us) who meet inside and in the summer when we are out, I'm not there. Plus, I've really wanted to read what I want to read, finish a lot of the books I already own or that are recommended to me by people like you. I'm at the lake and didn't bring too much with me so dug out an old Agatha Christie, which I'm enjoying. I have bacterial pneumonia so have to stay pretty low for a few days. Reading is good!

I hope the weekend is terrific. That ahi tuna sounds good.

Suzanne said...

Hope your race is really fun!

Love the sunrise pictures -- beautiful! And how cute that you and your running partner match each other and the sky! Love it! Here's hoping you have a nice weekend and a less cranky toddler!

NGS said...

What a beautiful view to run to!

Our book club is down to just four or five regular members and two or three who dip in and out. I'm still uncomfortable meeting inside, so I don't know what we're going to do as it gets colder. I presume they'll meet inside and I'll stay home. Or maybe I'll go - I just had a booster a week ago, so in another week I'll be as immunized as possible, right?

Good luck on your race - I hope it goes well!

Jenny said...

ooh! Good luck tomorrow! I can't wait to hear all about it. I love the sunrise run- yes, you guys dressed to match the sky.
My son was a very easygoing toddler- so it was a little shocking to have my daughter, who turned the "terrible twos" into an epic journey of tantrums and sleep deprivation. Paul probably wasn't as cranky as Will. I know it's hard- hang in there.

Reallifeinutopia said...

I work in finance too and I’ve been so glued to what’s been happening in the markets the last couple of weeks, and OMG.

Stephany said...

I would love to hear your thoughts on the financial market and what they mean for us regular people, haha. But maybe I'm alone in that!

What a fun race weekend! I hope it went well today.

I thought our book club was fading during the pandemic, too, and we did lose one member but the 6 of us who are remaining are standing strong and it feels good!

coco said...

i don't work in finance per se but work on macro policies, I know how crazy are things for many government, difficult decisions to make which make the market jittery and nervous.
good luck with your race.

Elisabeth said...

Hope the race went well and you had a great time.

Those views are stunning. I just love the changing season. You're likely tired of hearing me say this but I LOVE FALL. It really is my favourite time of year.

Cranky toddlers are exhausting. And it can feel like any given phase with last forever. They don't of course, but it's easy to know this intellectually and still feel like it will never end. Hoping something eases up soon. I remember when my kids were little blaming every cranky mood on teething for years. Literally. If they were whining or grumpy, I'd almost always shrug and say "Must be those darn teeth" because it literally felt like they were cutting teeth for YEARS.

We had a good week. Busy and exhausting, but good.

I just finished Outer Order, Inner Calm again by Gretchen Rubin. I've reallllyyy backed off on reading lately as something had to give and reading felt like the right thing to let slide. I have some recovery time coming up, though, post surgery and I really should get a good set of books ordered in for the first few weeks where I'll be really limited in what I can do.

Watching - we're watching The Rings of Power and enjoying that. Mostly just picking away at a few short Netflix series...but nothing I'm overly engaged with. TV time has really fallen off my radar too. I could go weeks without watching something, but my husband LOVES movies/shows so it's a nice shared experience.

San said...

So wonderful that you're running with a friend and can enjoy the sunrise. How gorgeous!
I loved seared tuna! So yummy!

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

Isla's friend particpates in our local theatre and she's in "The Christmas Story: A Musical," this year! I'm excited to take isla to see it. We also have how the grinch stole christmas and i am secretly so glad her friend is in the other one because I hate the grinch ha. I just can't get into it. I really wanted to do a holiday theatre show so glad I can push us to that one! :) I'm watching Broadchurch from PBS and that's really good. I'm really far behind on my personal shows right now.

Anne said...

Oh, I hope you enjoyed your race! And, I am so excited to hear that you're taking Paul to see the Grinch. I hope you have a wonderful time. What a fun experience for him!