TGIF!

Happy Friday! This was another 4-day work week for me as I took Thursday off to get a haircut/enjoy some 'me time.' Here is how our week shaped up! 

The book I'm reading is The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan. It's about a single mom who moves from London to Scottland to care for 3 kids in a massive castle and also worked part time in a mobile bookstore. This is the 2nd book in the series. I read the first book on our honeymoon in Maui (take me back there!!) and in my goodreads review I said I would read more by this author when I was craving something light. And I've been craving just that lately! My memory of the first book is very foggy but that's ok as it just references characters from the first book and reminds you of their story. This is the 3rd 'light' book I've read in a row this month. I do want to return to some deeper reads but I needed a little reprieve. My next "heavy" book will be "The Warmth of Other Suns" which is about the great migration of over 6 million black people out of the south to the north and west in search of a better life/opportunities/equality. It's a massive 500+ page doorstop of a book. I bought a copy last winter at Half Priced Books but have put off reading it because I know it's going to be a heavy read, but I've heard nothing but great things about it. 

The high of my week was getting my hair cut yesterday! My hair person moved to a different salon post-COVID. She now has her own private room so it felt very safe to get a haircut since we both wore masks the entire time and she sanitizing everything between clients. I've been seeing my hair girl for over 12 years so it's like hanging out with a really good friend.

The low of my week was getting another flare on Thursday. I guess my RA is done behaving during this pregnancy. I had only dropped my steroid dose 2.5mg from the max dose I can take during pregnancy so I wasn't even on a low dose yet. Le sigh. It's feeling better today since I was able to ice it for many hours yesterday. It wasn't the day off I envisioned as I was hoping to take a long walk after dropping Paul at daycare. But when my body is flaring, I need to take it easy. And it was nice to not have to work while having a flare. It was in my thumb so typing would have been painful. 

At least I was able to read my book while icing my joint.

A recipe I made was pasta with sausage and peppers. Again. This was the recipe I mentioned in my last TGIF post. I will admit that I do not have much motivation when it comes to cooking right now. I tend to have more motivation in the fall and winter. Right now I'm all about making meals that I think Paul will eat and that won't heat up the house too much (so I'm using my oven as little as possible). 

A show we are watching is the 2018 season Call the Midwife on Netflix. By we I mean me. I will usually start an episode when Phil goes upstairs to do bedtime with Paul and I'll get through about 20 minutes and then shut it off when Phil comes downstairs because it is not his thing. I will say this is an odd show to watch when you are pregnant. Phil watched the end of a couple of episodes and asked if there were any happy stories and if it was a good idea to watch while pregnant... There are happy'ish stories but obviously they need some drama to make the show interesting. But I really love it and it doesn't make me anxious about my pregnancy. 

The best money spent was on this Instant Pot cookbook. When our friends had us over for dinner last month, she made a soup recipe from the book and it was SO GOOD. So I decided I should buy it because the instant pot is the perfect gadget for the summer since it doesn't heat up your house. Granted, the foods that come out of it are piping hot - not cool, summer meals. But we like eating soups, stews, curries, etc year-round. I'm planning to make a recipe from it each week. Christopher Kimball used to work for America's Test Kitchen so he is a great recipe writer. My friend said every recipe she has made has turned out great! The first recipe we will try next week is Picadillo which is a Cuban dish. I think Paul will eat this as it has ground beef (he will eat ground meats - he isn't a big fan of more firm or stringy meats like chicken, sausage, etc) and olives (he LOVES both green and black olives). It's also one of Phil's favorite dishes. 

My plans this weekend include quite a bit for a change! Tonight I am going to a park with 2 girlfriends and we will get take-out from an on-site restaurant called Sea Salt. I can't wait to have some fish tacos! Tomorrow morning I am meeting up with 3 college girlfriends to go for a walk. And then on Sunday I am getting together with 3 other girlfriends - all sig others of Phil's college friends - for an outdoor catch up session. Research shows it is safe to gather in small groups outdoors so I am glad I have these option as I felt pretty lonely/isolated this spring. I am an introvert but I was used to leaving the house for work 5 days a week and these days I rarely go anywhere! So it's nice to introduce more safe social gatherings!

Bonus Paul photos!

Paul's latest obsession is... his nipples! I do not know what prompted this, but he is very interested in his nipples and likes to point them out to us and play with them when he wears a tank top. When we had our friend over last weekend, he lifted his shirt to show her his nipples and then kept saying "Pablo's nipples" while laughing hysterically. Kids get into the strangest things! And if you look closely, you'll notice his hair is a little bit blue thanks to a paint art project he worked on that day. Luckily it washed out easily! 

How sweet is the photo of Paul looking at a picture of my parents? Most nights, Paul will watch some videos on Phil's computer (mostly songs like the alphabet and Baby Shark). After Phil decides it's time to be done watching videos, Paul asks to look at the picture of "Papa Nana" from our wedding that is saved on Phil's desk top. We really miss my parents! We can't wait to see them in August.

How was your week? What are you reading and watching these days?