tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11319241429660065192024-03-18T19:19:06.421-05:00Lisa's YarnsLisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.comBlogger2156125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-72047275251123249612024-03-18T02:00:00.001-05:002024-03-18T02:00:00.134-05:00Weekend recap<p>Fake spring is moving on and we are back to more seasonal temperatures, which still aren’t bad (in the 30s). But us seasoned midwesterners knew better than to count on that weather sticking around for good.</p><p>First up: a dentist update. We made it through the cavity drilling process but it wasn’t pleasant. Paul wouldn’t take the laughing gas despite my strong recommendation that it would be helpful. But oh well. It was just on the outer surface of 2 of his molars so he didn’t need novocaine. Here’s hoping we don’t have to go through this again for a long time!</p><p>We enjoyed the mild weather on Friday as we knew colder weather was morning in and spent a good chunk of time outside after dinner. The boys scooted and played with stomp rockets and chalk. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinE3OW7AQ-1faHW3Zxj99aki_Ez44dw85tRGJplMMnz-rGsNfE618W9s3aCLh5vqSFX-Q5dmv5_Lh3Xdcbl6j35zyU0TrUsGuyUP7XXZ5Z1pd32X-FFLPrPYOVzgVwMjBUOahaVddG5JflM5Olb0-ZnGxj9fjWnnvwbG2eyVGH173qb6FSiw0vfDtG-cQZ/s4032/IMG_5866.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinE3OW7AQ-1faHW3Zxj99aki_Ez44dw85tRGJplMMnz-rGsNfE618W9s3aCLh5vqSFX-Q5dmv5_Lh3Xdcbl6j35zyU0TrUsGuyUP7XXZ5Z1pd32X-FFLPrPYOVzgVwMjBUOahaVddG5JflM5Olb0-ZnGxj9fjWnnvwbG2eyVGH173qb6FSiw0vfDtG-cQZ/s320/IMG_5866.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBlvj09xu8UvuE3fJNX7fILY02HJ_BQDTjeRQXYVrfSH6-wiO6eivHCyQArXbg73g8wbomNIyqtu4yp5BJUoNtnL-ijwhfYkI5FH4cabr-eyqtRGYSGjf97bajBkuTma44MQobxokzchw_YY6_TVj3oIy2X3B4au_45xq5b_XKGR8bxbKD5CvzUsWHU_W-/s4032/IMG_5871.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBlvj09xu8UvuE3fJNX7fILY02HJ_BQDTjeRQXYVrfSH6-wiO6eivHCyQArXbg73g8wbomNIyqtu4yp5BJUoNtnL-ijwhfYkI5FH4cabr-eyqtRGYSGjf97bajBkuTma44MQobxokzchw_YY6_TVj3oIy2X3B4au_45xq5b_XKGR8bxbKD5CvzUsWHU_W-/s320/IMG_5871.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Paul and his cat drawing which I think is so cute! It has shrug emoji vibes which is one of my most used emojis.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div>On Saturday we hit up the library in the morning and then Paul’s school friend party was in the afternoon from 3-5. He had 3 boys and 2 girls over. I was so grateful that it wasn’t all boys - the girls offset some of the boy energy. It was LOUD at times but he had fun and everyone enjoyed putting their LEGO set together. But wow kids are honest. One little boy told me the juice boxes tasted disgusting and another little girl said ‘is this all there is for snacks?’ (I had cheesy popcorn, string cheese, and club crackers plus cupcakes for dessert.)<div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig0Hb9xHSRJI8Ako1QcmpCn6lhN6RjZLzWgJ1IRKyJs5uvEhqzCddnYsQ3zq6L1bsOlI2V678SVVeeGT4EjD2YJb_sLhwVoEYA8JZxLHgMcCAI2K8louz3UibidS747HN3cs6NmE8_qQW6Qp31oiq21rZkpmZQ3uK3wOoDa0gSX-Hul5bGgUE-MlPDKIpP/s4032/IMG_5882.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig0Hb9xHSRJI8Ako1QcmpCn6lhN6RjZLzWgJ1IRKyJs5uvEhqzCddnYsQ3zq6L1bsOlI2V678SVVeeGT4EjD2YJb_sLhwVoEYA8JZxLHgMcCAI2K8louz3UibidS747HN3cs6NmE8_qQW6Qp31oiq21rZkpmZQ3uK3wOoDa0gSX-Hul5bGgUE-MlPDKIpP/s320/IMG_5882.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Store bought cupcakes for the win!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Phil took Taco to his mom’s because we knew he’d want to hang with the older kids and would get in the way. He got lots of 1:1 attention from nana so everyone wins. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtLbyIksZzIghn_r4gdUWSGloc3lvd0sXqU4ensTr9aXGUdLCyQ4kHhO7V5omS7UJ7hD99-WtHpmCGEaVJ-gKfbZHTY281UMivCfsxie0Sd3V6vrodBlLDHZcq-YncMPqAkQyDwUDdZ5JoSJAOLKIWvwa1n3ROhCvY27AbxSJvHpq9Is81ReeaXg53X7Hn/s4032/IMG_0462.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtLbyIksZzIghn_r4gdUWSGloc3lvd0sXqU4ensTr9aXGUdLCyQ4kHhO7V5omS7UJ7hD99-WtHpmCGEaVJ-gKfbZHTY281UMivCfsxie0Sd3V6vrodBlLDHZcq-YncMPqAkQyDwUDdZ5JoSJAOLKIWvwa1n3ROhCvY27AbxSJvHpq9Is81ReeaXg53X7Hn/s320/IMG_0462.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Sunday was a windy, blustery day. We did nothing to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. They talked about it at school so Paul asked about setting a leprechaun trap and I feigned ignorance because I had zero interest in doing anything. I am just not that fun mom that gets into minor holidays. My parents didn’t either and I don’t feel like I missed out? It’s one of those ‘you do you’ kind of things. In the morning, I took the boys to an indoor playground after my CG workout since it wasn’t nice outside so Phil could have some quiet time in the house to himself. He’s got more solo parenting ahead this week so I wanted to give him a solid break. The boys had a blast!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3iwQL4gvn5HuyACaMrT22YifAvAmIeUTbOC8un4PSUooMnd3n-E2yJRwrHjh45MbwhPuW4fiqlvT2Y5kiV_acOWmRR94tRzTZR6j5rNbClwBG6dy2PXuABmzYoHkHRnweS9YSpj4w_9GvYmL7P267D9oclqAI_AzDmAVjvQygxqBp1gux2ZDRPU36U377/s4032/IMG_5891.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3iwQL4gvn5HuyACaMrT22YifAvAmIeUTbOC8un4PSUooMnd3n-E2yJRwrHjh45MbwhPuW4fiqlvT2Y5kiV_acOWmRR94tRzTZR6j5rNbClwBG6dy2PXuABmzYoHkHRnweS9YSpj4w_9GvYmL7P267D9oclqAI_AzDmAVjvQygxqBp1gux2ZDRPU36U377/s320/IMG_5891.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSfK36VDlmNXYO0NRZNyUhVhiK4na1VheBlV_icvoqKBTAzgLLeRg7Pe8HOSTx-WxX7UgKKh6nmeY6L69GRep3_nwonLeI5xWV25xAJFGKOZSFz5bSpo3gBxPloRYlbCPIf8oFQgoSnOotsf7xTjIKFMSwP8R9Q9SEIcAOLG7gJ_5KtuPyY-_5UXJ4X1qJ/s4032/IMG_5893.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSfK36VDlmNXYO0NRZNyUhVhiK4na1VheBlV_icvoqKBTAzgLLeRg7Pe8HOSTx-WxX7UgKKh6nmeY6L69GRep3_nwonLeI5xWV25xAJFGKOZSFz5bSpo3gBxPloRYlbCPIf8oFQgoSnOotsf7xTjIKFMSwP8R9Q9SEIcAOLG7gJ_5KtuPyY-_5UXJ4X1qJ/s320/IMG_5893.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPE7pqboY0JWtHLmDmmpfImPANGWtZQwOtkQNYIeE3umJsY0PzpTOlmwVoowfJF272ZSx8ER22IiSn5F3tRenrWuFQHFtn-oP0P1Xi6UY5-nS3MtTZ-QOI7S6Uy5DgSM1zOVNamLJyypZzaAIvD6LJu1oHFii5NU-0uIUFY1W5ay9Cj_UH566utIYxivjd/s4032/IMG_5894.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPE7pqboY0JWtHLmDmmpfImPANGWtZQwOtkQNYIeE3umJsY0PzpTOlmwVoowfJF272ZSx8ER22IiSn5F3tRenrWuFQHFtn-oP0P1Xi6UY5-nS3MtTZ-QOI7S6Uy5DgSM1zOVNamLJyypZzaAIvD6LJu1oHFii5NU-0uIUFY1W5ay9Cj_UH566utIYxivjd/s320/IMG_5894.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>Post nap and swimming lesson, we loaded our RAV4 with a load for goodwill. It felt SO GOOD to get this pile of accumulating goods out of our house. It was mostly clothes and surplus gifts from Christmas that we just don’t need/weren’t playing with. </p><p>Then I did a bunch of meal prep while sipping a glass of white wine. Meal prep is one of my favorite chores. I love chopping veggies. I listened to a podcast while doing it. Part of what I prepped was pasta sauce with blitzed veggies hidden in the sauce which is a household favorite and a rare meal that everyone enjoys. The boys had theirs on pasta, I had mine on spaghetti squash. </p><p>This week will be a repeat of last week with me traveling Tues-Thur but then I get a break from work travel until after our spring break trip. </p><p><b>How was your weekend?</b></p></div>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-33396471711572371602024-03-15T02:00:00.009-05:002024-03-15T02:00:00.141-05:005 things Friday<p>I’m drafting this post from the airport on Thursday night as I wait at the gate for my now twice-delayed flight home. So instead of landing at 6:30 and making it home for bedtime, I landed at 8 and missed it all. Le sigh. Here’s how the week shaped up.</p><p>1. We enjoyed some really unseasonably gorgeous weather earlier in the week. One benefit of springing ahead is having more sunlight in the evening. The boys went scooting after dinner 3 nights this week. Everyone is happier when we can get outside! Yes their helmets match their scooters but no, this was not planned! Taco just moved into Paul’s helmet and Paul got a new one that coincidentally matches his scooter. And of course Taco is wearing a Mickey shirt! We have no short sleeved Mickey shirts so I probably need to get some for spring/summer.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6FvScmoY86AB_Q7MlWJeBHX7Ci-OLNT2FrYwh8LIsWx4LSq04zUyyq6V4WCQGZkP_G1wZyuroAlTNqmOm-iHnqjJY0AnABkmfWWkI7lTe9dqHz5e3qTrdrK38-Vamq5q_Kn1ZhKrSwZJh3S05v92wm9EqGt5C__UC1xRVDTHlrW_wtnAe5hJ9566Y0hos/s4032/IMG_5859.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6FvScmoY86AB_Q7MlWJeBHX7Ci-OLNT2FrYwh8LIsWx4LSq04zUyyq6V4WCQGZkP_G1wZyuroAlTNqmOm-iHnqjJY0AnABkmfWWkI7lTe9dqHz5e3qTrdrK38-Vamq5q_Kn1ZhKrSwZJh3S05v92wm9EqGt5C__UC1xRVDTHlrW_wtnAe5hJ9566Y0hos/s320/IMG_5859.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><p>2. I had a very busy but productive trip to Chicago. I did some lunch and learn sessions with our sales people, went to a celebratory HH for people who were promoted/passed their licensing exams, and had a lot of meetings with people I work with. I also met up for dinner with the daughters of Phil’s cousin. They are in their 20s but were up for hanging out with me! We talked for 2+ hours straight. These girls are part of the family that we spend Christmas Eve with every year. Their parents are Taco’s Godparents so even though they are technically extended family, I kind of think of them as close family. One of the girls teaches yoga sculpt at core power yoga so I am hoping to take a class next time I am in Chicago! That was one of my favorite classes when I had a CPY membership. </p><p>3. Today starts with 7:30 dentist appointment for Paul. We found out he had 2 cavities when we saw the dentist in February. Le sigh. I guess he has my bad dental genes (we still brush his teeth so I don’t feel like we did anything wrong, just bad luck/genes I guess). We go to a pediatric dentist so am going to trust that they will figure out how to get my sensitive boy to sit for the drilling process… I will report back.</p><p>4. Paul’s little birthday party with 5 school friends is tomorrow afternoon. Since I’ve been gone much of this week, I feel pretty ill-prepared to host anything. But I am telling myself that 5-6 year olds don’t expect much. I’ll have snacks, we’ll put a cute Lego set together and we’ll have cupcakes for the birthday treat, per Paul’s request. Hopefully it all goes off without a hitch! </p><p>5. We don’t have any other plans this weekend, thank goodness. I’m definitely feeling worn out from my busy week of travel. And I do it all over again next week with a 2 night trip to Charlotte. Here’s hoping I get some good nights of sleep and come out of the weekend feeling rested.</p><p><b>How was your week? Was the weather beautiful?</b></p>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-51021848497598170482024-03-11T02:00:00.001-05:002024-03-11T02:00:00.130-05:005 things on a Monday<p>Happy Monday! We had a nice weekend with some fun social gatherings, the highlight of which was meeting Kae! More on that below! I usually do 5 things posts on Friday but am switching things up and starting with 5 things on my mind on Monday! </p><p>1. Good stuff first! I got to meet up with <a href="https://gratefulkae.com/" target="_blank">Kae</a> on Sunday morning since she was in town for a soccer game! We met up for coffee and talked for about 90 minutes and just barely scratched the surface in terms of what we could have talked about! I love it when I can turn URL friendships into IRL ones! We also exchanged some bins of clothes - I took some kids clothes off her hands and I passed along some of my fave pre-kids clothes that I have accepted will never fit again. Womp womp. Hopefully our paths will cross again soon! If she lived local, she would totally be in my core group of friends since we are so similar/have a lot in common. But we are dreaming of planning a trip to Nova Scotia to see <a href="http://jba.lcb.mybluehost.me/" target="_blank">Elisabeth</a> some day!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjySCKsep2chS9_c4p_o4837HWS8c-KHCeE6zfinDeoPXn0ZkF-oRZ0gtdPfbRNbvgHhZLAW7RVN2Sbh4G3brs47hVUsxeGWnACZu0Ii9OrukPEzeR6bSF0bLd7S6RzuWesmTivdWuY8xZ4go7UfXqrn2TRMwOsk67FaWiwezHwqox1ZlHN-IA_RdZ1AojG/s4032/IMG_0185.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjySCKsep2chS9_c4p_o4837HWS8c-KHCeE6zfinDeoPXn0ZkF-oRZ0gtdPfbRNbvgHhZLAW7RVN2Sbh4G3brs47hVUsxeGWnACZu0Ii9OrukPEzeR6bSF0bLd7S6RzuWesmTivdWuY8xZ4go7UfXqrn2TRMwOsk67FaWiwezHwqox1ZlHN-IA_RdZ1AojG/s320/IMG_0185.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Excuse the fact that I look like a bit of a slob! Also wow, Kae has legs for days!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>2. Whelp, I gave up on using the disqus comment form. Last week they stopped sending me comment notifications and I could not figure out how to fix it so I went back to the blogger comment form and I think I have a version employed that won’t result in a bunch of anonymous comments. It seems like I needed to select ‘full page’ for the comment form type. And if you are commenting on my blog from your phone, you need to click ‘view web version’ (highlighted below). Then you will get a better comment form than the stupid one that forces you to comment as anonymous (at least on the iPhone, it seems). Why does blogger suck so much? Probably because it’s free. The thought of moving my almost 16 year old blog to Wordpress sounds like a horrible headache so I will probably keep putting up with things like this annoying comment form issue!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yiuYzzO60WLvqZpIGeFS4J34h-90Nptqi9f1t0mBGaZC9by38R2OQnSJgTz5ChRXOR5mqdJHxz4VTMC-I_FZ3UmiB7N8CIeyd1GWVNTFF5vIkh-oOc-HUdUkpIKUQi5mzi-aVeXKECI028urubFiR99gsqTdYMrfly6l4vPo6MxoOxo_5VHC30QZmzn0/s2532/IMG_5843.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2532" data-original-width="1170" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yiuYzzO60WLvqZpIGeFS4J34h-90Nptqi9f1t0mBGaZC9by38R2OQnSJgTz5ChRXOR5mqdJHxz4VTMC-I_FZ3UmiB7N8CIeyd1GWVNTFF5vIkh-oOc-HUdUkpIKUQi5mzi-aVeXKECI028urubFiR99gsqTdYMrfly6l4vPo6MxoOxo_5VHC30QZmzn0/s320/IMG_5843.jpeg" width="148" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>3. Daylight savings time started yesterday. I despise this stupid practice of manipulating time that was put into place during a time of war to conserve fuel. But here we are in 2024, moving clocks back and forth. I’m envious of my sister in AZ because she does not have to put up with this. But post-kids, I prefer losing an hour to gaining an hour. I just wish we could stay on DST! </p><p>4. Now a bit of a work rant/conundrum. Work continues to be kind of insane. I have 2 trips this month (Chicago and Charlotte - again (was there last month)), then 2 in April (NJ and Cleveland), which come on the tails of our FL trip and then I have 2 trips in May (Napa and Dallas area), but the May Napa trip is the week after the back-to-back April+spring break travel which means I am traveling 4 weeks in a row (one trip being a fun one which is different)… I try to limit my travel to twice a month (it has slipped from once a month because of the volume of requests) but I did not put 2 and 2 together and realize the May Napa trip was right after the April trips… but I don’t know what I could have said no to. I only have 1 trip in June (to Seattle) and then I am really hoping to not travel much during the summer. My heart is kind of racing typing this all out. On top of that, I am doing so many calls on days that I am not traveling so I am above capacity (and have other work to do when I am not on calls/traveling)… Gah. My new hire is fully licensed now so he can start to take on some calls which will help. But ay yi yi.</p><p>5. I’ll close with a more fun topic of what we’ve been watching lately. On Friday, we finished ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ which is a book Phil and I had both read. You guys, it took us 6 nights to watch it! Why must a movie be 3.5 hours long! Who has the time - and the attention span - to watch something that long. All in all we thought the film was ok but felt they could have cut A LOT and still done justice to the story. Now we are watching the latest season of ‘Full Swing’ which is a golf docuseries about golf. Oddly, professional golf is one of my favorite sports to watch on tv. I find it so soothing and you don’t have to watch every shot - you can kind of dip in and out. Plus the whole LIV/PGA situation makes it extra, well, gossipy/juicy. I’m fully team McIlroy. He is such a nice, humble guy and the Irish accent makes him extra likeable. </p><p><b>How was your weekend? Do you loathe the time change as much as I do? Do you watch/follow golf?</b></p>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-10151263173747483002024-03-07T02:00:00.026-06:002024-03-07T02:00:00.146-06:00What We Read In February<p>Here we are, a week into March, and I’m just getting around to recapping my February reading. Oof, February reading was a big, fat MEH. I read 6 books and only enjoyed 2 of them. </p><p><b>My reading:</b></p><p>I did have 2 successful reads. <b>The Whispers by Ashley Audrain</b> is her sophomore novel. Similar to her debut, The Push, it focuses on the dark side of parenting/motherhood. At a bbq, the neighbors overhear a mother screaming at her child - months later, he falls from his 2nd story window. Is the mother involved/to blame? I didn't like this as much as The Push as it read a bit more like a gossipy Liane Moriarty book, but I still found it enjoyable/interesting. <b>Traveling Mercies</b> was another "faith exploration" book for me. I enjoyed Lamott's musings on faith. She doesn't exactly strike me as a stereotypical Christian if that makes any sense? Not that all Christians are cut from the same cloth. But she's liberal/progressive and she seems like someone that liberally swears, for example. So it was very different from the other "faith exploration" books I've read. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbXFN91mn_i470b6qOTvG3TXzp7pecYSN3h_dFzmehWSV-QnfsKmo_YHVgJJwyo_DfX7h0dKC9yVsqMYwg996kPGK9P_WR_o4i4NYDvCgbL7ul0VwNn2WFGzBWG8DAkaax8W1treqyfYAHt4qCXaNNTZvuZuEOUKQwjy8pPPHvUvCIw_CPrWQg9O-DjH8J/s2048/B3706B3F-470A-48A7-9A22-7348E5F6C37D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbXFN91mn_i470b6qOTvG3TXzp7pecYSN3h_dFzmehWSV-QnfsKmo_YHVgJJwyo_DfX7h0dKC9yVsqMYwg996kPGK9P_WR_o4i4NYDvCgbL7ul0VwNn2WFGzBWG8DAkaax8W1treqyfYAHt4qCXaNNTZvuZuEOUKQwjy8pPPHvUvCIw_CPrWQg9O-DjH8J/s320/B3706B3F-470A-48A7-9A22-7348E5F6C37D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>And then there were the meh books. <b>My Brilliant Friend </b>was the Cool Blogger Book Club selection for February. NGS does a great job of hosting an online book club and her questions added to the reading experience - but I just plain did not like this book and won't continue in the series! But that's what makes books interesting - they can illicit such diverse responses/reactions! <b>Shiner </b>had promise but it was such an uneven reading experience. Parts of the book felt like a 2-star read, others felt like a 4-star read. I thought I might round it to a 3, but the ending didn't redeem the book. It's set in Appalachia and is about the family of a religious fanatic (he uses snakes in his services to give you an idea of what I mean by religious fanatic). <b>You, Again</b> was a modern day retelling of When Harry Met Sally. I shouldn't have read it because, like <a href="https://girlinaboyhouse.com/" target="_blank">Nicole</a> (Hi Nicole!!), I'm of the opinion that that work of art can't be approved upon. Lastly, <b>Days at the Morisaki Bookshop</b> was a weird little book set in Japan. It had promise as it's about a struggling 20-something that goes to live in a bookshop with her uncle (living in a bookshop sounds like a dream) but it was just a little too weird for my liking. <div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4SWzBn_IXliT6rfwzwFERiyvVnIh2J7Ry6t2ywg_ZwYRy1L-7W5win_DFFVIPLx0R0ZdaoePXU3xjDhHkt2cnPPU3a_UasI1maW2JBQH-vmwk_p4yGk86_kyVPVL1OYwShtNE5JSFMu54orwZNKUc1bc-EIo9QWpghob5DXR6N5MojJJzWg-swWOM6ra/s2048/30332C3B-CEEA-45A9-B2FF-D7C6E38A1B8E.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4SWzBn_IXliT6rfwzwFERiyvVnIh2J7Ry6t2ywg_ZwYRy1L-7W5win_DFFVIPLx0R0ZdaoePXU3xjDhHkt2cnPPU3a_UasI1maW2JBQH-vmwk_p4yGk86_kyVPVL1OYwShtNE5JSFMu54orwZNKUc1bc-EIo9QWpghob5DXR6N5MojJJzWg-swWOM6ra/s320/30332C3B-CEEA-45A9-B2FF-D7C6E38A1B8E.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><b>The boys' reads:</b></p><p>Paul and I finished <b>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</b> (he loved it and we enjoyed watching the 1960s Gene Wilder book adaptation) and we also read a <b>Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Big Shot</b> which is #16 in the series. It's kind of strange to start towards the end of the series but it didn't seem to impact the reading experience - we started there because he received this book for Christmas. I told Paul that this was basically a retelling of my childhood experience with sports as Greg, the protagonist, is NOT athletic but is required to try basketball. Like me, the only basket Greg makes is <i>for the other team</i><i>!!</i> We have since started the first book in the series and I can already tell the series improves with each book because Greg is kind of a jerk in book 1. </p><p><b>How was your month? Tell me it was less meh than mine!!!</b></p></div>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-50877561315464843592024-03-04T02:00:00.022-06:002024-03-04T02:00:00.135-06:00Birthday Weekend Fun!<p>This past weekend was all about celebrating Paul! Our 1:1 day on Friday was so fun! We started at Starbucks where I got a latte and he got a cake pop. Then we headed over to the aquarium place. I would have walked through it slower than Paul did but we both had a great time seeing all the fish and sea life!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjBG0Toybthgkt0Te2GcsCdqbbuLu0Fwmvf0loXi-zcB0XTr2wgJmyvWtwAephxryhRV0Sb1C459Gbn_VqlnOf2tsUSW1UL8CAgzWesTFvlLDZDjgTy83Ijx4m0IZ6LzFDXmZVP0QtIkyiJe9KXC1TjwfQ_ja9Uyp76g9q_q-LzR3_CqtIQig6Bu2omPcN/s4032/IMG_5766.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjBG0Toybthgkt0Te2GcsCdqbbuLu0Fwmvf0loXi-zcB0XTr2wgJmyvWtwAephxryhRV0Sb1C459Gbn_VqlnOf2tsUSW1UL8CAgzWesTFvlLDZDjgTy83Ijx4m0IZ6LzFDXmZVP0QtIkyiJe9KXC1TjwfQ_ja9Uyp76g9q_q-LzR3_CqtIQig6Bu2omPcN/s320/IMG_5766.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>They had these cool walkways where you were surrounded by fish.<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTleyf44C4s8rbH1E0w3JxTphOZ8MnHflIT5dzpaZbUGl8rC-GrRW2IqHQLPJyRi8VlHfnViosXYPFHL93dc0k6cy9qt3TyoLULPzlmcUp18H2YHWseG3nifTIKoYGEW-1bVyS1S4nFkKusVrOOQ3UU2OEAh96CU-ELXIHl3Jbxdi6zSss4p2495wNmWFx/s320/IMG_5769.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>There were also spots where he could be in the middle of all the action.</i><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Next up, we stopped at the LEGO store to buy the sets for his birthday party later this month and then headed to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch. Paul was totally charmed by all the animals and sound effects. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpDpZT0GlEn7LNxnf4RvmFOE-jkazn4kZ-9uC0YwMsONMN5swVsh2OPU_Qfa-50ypL-frGgf4n_GqW1HXOFGIRyuFwtooLQdIPo9D3Qa5uOY5mVcfvSc0FuwsmQZeW37VDfTU1BNGpKymH7wFgDgoeXNR4w5PKJl7E3x-tgb2VpSsXAcs3H4_HiY0kxeib/s4032/IMG_5773.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpDpZT0GlEn7LNxnf4RvmFOE-jkazn4kZ-9uC0YwMsONMN5swVsh2OPU_Qfa-50ypL-frGgf4n_GqW1HXOFGIRyuFwtooLQdIPo9D3Qa5uOY5mVcfvSc0FuwsmQZeW37VDfTU1BNGpKymH7wFgDgoeXNR4w5PKJl7E3x-tgb2VpSsXAcs3H4_HiY0kxeib/s320/IMG_5773.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div>When people asked about his day with me, he also noted how much fun he had riding the escalators at the mall! We rode some extra ones since he thought they were so fun. It’s the little things, I guess! I took advantage of the fact that we were at a mall (which rarely happens) and bought some skincare products at Sephora and a pair of jeans at Madewell. <div><br /></div><div>We were both tired after our full morning so cuddled up on the couch and watched the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie from the 1960s. I may have dozed off for a bit…</div><div><br /></div><div>Then it was off to karate for his first belt test! He got his yellow striped belt. Since we only go to karate once/week it took him 4 months to get this belt. He was pretty excited about it! </div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUEYzbGaRt9JgzjgIuBfRaY7orBiZfg0uPAlOW4w759Np_f9-s-d9BUwC_PEPg444xBx5k4jm0F10rtV2if14T-3h4GzR3m7UeRNwDfXhteruzum0RaexwZXbof27ZsbT8dhOCNntxI0bbD6tRzzTdDHgBH-iRlsmY_H1QveqGuUd_5bqFYQIOWCq6Y5Sh/s2339/IMG_5788.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2339" data-original-width="1599" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUEYzbGaRt9JgzjgIuBfRaY7orBiZfg0uPAlOW4w759Np_f9-s-d9BUwC_PEPg444xBx5k4jm0F10rtV2if14T-3h4GzR3m7UeRNwDfXhteruzum0RaexwZXbof27ZsbT8dhOCNntxI0bbD6tRzzTdDHgBH-iRlsmY_H1QveqGuUd_5bqFYQIOWCq6Y5Sh/s320/IMG_5788.HEIC" width="219" /></a></div><div><br /></div>We capped off the day with dinner and presents. He was happy with the books and game. </div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOL8hp5uQb9Ticr0KCvaOoo7aKYB1AVXLS809LKPexvL2YouBtcv6iSPAB1i02u8qKTDNICNZIqmtn36gtCFhJ8H6NP1iLN5MgUh-3KmVXK53vPr_StQDddwLfxJC-pknR_w-6ZvIFZ9i9c7Y9Qpu2ghG5MKSNxb-kY_m4tNGCRJGmhDO2dM34pc6REZyK/s4032/IMG_5792.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOL8hp5uQb9Ticr0KCvaOoo7aKYB1AVXLS809LKPexvL2YouBtcv6iSPAB1i02u8qKTDNICNZIqmtn36gtCFhJ8H6NP1iLN5MgUh-3KmVXK53vPr_StQDddwLfxJC-pknR_w-6ZvIFZ9i9c7Y9Qpu2ghG5MKSNxb-kY_m4tNGCRJGmhDO2dM34pc6REZyK/s320/IMG_5792.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div>We played Sequence for kids several times over the weekend. </div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhLvrBS2SPvIGCjc2V_GiGgIzq4vKitQBD4NgccECn7Hm7jJc2qABitjXISsiKG7bHz7uzKcRRKvOAapzpZMVFrQUpoLu-9a4AiY1-DE7wptvKqHnH4NB7Cuwj5XnsHQvZrhij8LjZtlsrnLoVVB57rfXMU8FatrFWXotBvM3JXXzEKy6CYt0nQMATmcz/s4032/IMG_5794.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhLvrBS2SPvIGCjc2V_GiGgIzq4vKitQBD4NgccECn7Hm7jJc2qABitjXISsiKG7bHz7uzKcRRKvOAapzpZMVFrQUpoLu-9a4AiY1-DE7wptvKqHnH4NB7Cuwj5XnsHQvZrhij8LjZtlsrnLoVVB57rfXMU8FatrFWXotBvM3JXXzEKy6CYt0nQMATmcz/s320/IMG_5794.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><p>Saturday was his family party. The boys helped with the cake in the morning. Our family birthday dessert for kids is a GF cookie cake!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha74L90EiVHnQ4Ew8Ldvc1ayrVfsn_817g1BsPi2teuyrbBf9AXlUKvnQQBgl05_ye1fy6f9vxbwstCaLou6cPVbmwpyTVDB3U2sqjiq_CehA32xSbtYnMKbF88vPZe6I_tsmK2_DoNlC0lllXgckgWI1SWHp5g7L5ZnzMH_xWOA0WzAlbyc0Bbfl5l8_k/s4032/IMG_5796.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha74L90EiVHnQ4Ew8Ldvc1ayrVfsn_817g1BsPi2teuyrbBf9AXlUKvnQQBgl05_ye1fy6f9vxbwstCaLou6cPVbmwpyTVDB3U2sqjiq_CehA32xSbtYnMKbF88vPZe6I_tsmK2_DoNlC0lllXgckgWI1SWHp5g7L5ZnzMH_xWOA0WzAlbyc0Bbfl5l8_k/s320/IMG_5796.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The recipe has you mix the chocolate chips with the flour. Not sure why but I am a recipe follower so I did as I was told.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div>My parents came that afternoon and my mom decorated the cake with a little bit of assistance from me. Paul requested a cat on the cake and wow did we struggle to pull this off. </div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVRIcrdOrxjMMspkVknpBDctGeGMMpJK1v7K4pgh06wtzkXHzC34A1wwA9VXF2AMGfOxjGTC6_-FXGrgaCBRZGgPIBmTgP_TbAzJeGSfiPrTOBuTbcAFCEE6xXcXkrU3hicqz1b5i7dFZjey7KsIZ9zxMrVYlIMCIA7imd6hAYCo-_oD_XxB3v9i_osSMH/s4032/IMG_5797.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVRIcrdOrxjMMspkVknpBDctGeGMMpJK1v7K4pgh06wtzkXHzC34A1wwA9VXF2AMGfOxjGTC6_-FXGrgaCBRZGgPIBmTgP_TbAzJeGSfiPrTOBuTbcAFCEE6xXcXkrU3hicqz1b5i7dFZjey7KsIZ9zxMrVYlIMCIA7imd6hAYCo-_oD_XxB3v9i_osSMH/s320/IMG_5797.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div>When we showed Taco the cake after he woke from his nap he said, ‘oh, it’s a bunny!!’ But hey, it tasted good which is all that really matters!</div><div><br /></div><div>We kept it easy and ordered pizza and I served my fave bagged salad from Aldi that has pepitas and toasted quinoa. </div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVk1npsqDWgUSikHTYKGLn6KrO3j1BmQIBvIvl5Iy5I1RqbtweRZeGSsoYZgxshf05j9G8mlQm0ge8Ftr3A6tRorY4TZ_dbw95iS7UgECdzHy1kIkH4-Lt_O4A4UK2f-qTyqTtQG0Qd5LAm83bM_GnFqWh4TtusI-C4n5crc-1oHmp8u2P7c_9Z5hzjA6/s4032/IMG_5799.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVk1npsqDWgUSikHTYKGLn6KrO3j1BmQIBvIvl5Iy5I1RqbtweRZeGSsoYZgxshf05j9G8mlQm0ge8Ftr3A6tRorY4TZ_dbw95iS7UgECdzHy1kIkH4-Lt_O4A4UK2f-qTyqTtQG0Qd5LAm83bM_GnFqWh4TtusI-C4n5crc-1oHmp8u2P7c_9Z5hzjA6/s320/IMG_5799.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The boys also got hair cuts that morning and I had Taco’s hair buzzed because it is so fine and never lays nicely. I love the way Taco is looking at Paul in this picture - and of course he’s wearing a Mickey shirt.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_lpIIC6Tq2hJwHMY0W9GYY8-F9aG04gK35uSJ0TXDQDCWvFskrdDRjH-pzwc6SvrZWdIqJSQXlhe_kvGRV6x45tbGbS1XS_w72l9I2IQhmgn-5LUVWIQTXVlD7eGpkQxELsPAbi1_Jyq0c72eP5KEowzza6qQHtN4mLT8ngDoPODOVJRfL2J0YLyVwtr-/s4032/IMG_5801.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_lpIIC6Tq2hJwHMY0W9GYY8-F9aG04gK35uSJ0TXDQDCWvFskrdDRjH-pzwc6SvrZWdIqJSQXlhe_kvGRV6x45tbGbS1XS_w72l9I2IQhmgn-5LUVWIQTXVlD7eGpkQxELsPAbi1_Jyq0c72eP5KEowzza6qQHtN4mLT8ngDoPODOVJRfL2J0YLyVwtr-/s320/IMG_5801.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Blowing out his candle!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The boys were definitely overstimulated and SO WILD!! I am sure our guests were happy to get back into their quiet homes when they left our house.</p><p>We lucked out and had gorgeous weather both days, too. The boys played outside both days. We divided and conquered on Sunday - Phil took the boys to the park in the morning so I could do meal prep and I took them after naptime. Weekends are so much more enjoyable when we can comfortably be outdoors!</p><p>This was a Paul-centric post so I’ll close with this adorable photo of Taco in the bath last night. It shows his buzz cut which I think he wears well! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM456jJBtBfd75rahTGmeaANQTH6AqhqB_bEXJUUSAIS0-lXrBXUO5-AaQctWGCA3aRIA6XKbJCYGg9IamAEYjQpEMJBwuwnTLgWrO-lKiqyXUWM-mgbaEQNvKoygdTGhNyuzujIZWLhQhRo00uls3ZjCQZMBlIVRYZJa4bbkcxfuWibOjWR99L0AssnJb/s4032/IMG_5816.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM456jJBtBfd75rahTGmeaANQTH6AqhqB_bEXJUUSAIS0-lXrBXUO5-AaQctWGCA3aRIA6XKbJCYGg9IamAEYjQpEMJBwuwnTLgWrO-lKiqyXUWM-mgbaEQNvKoygdTGhNyuzujIZWLhQhRo00uls3ZjCQZMBlIVRYZJa4bbkcxfuWibOjWR99L0AssnJb/s320/IMG_5816.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div>But it was quite the drastic cut - felt like a locks for love kind of haircut. Lol. This was him a few days before the cut.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWHf3B64n7Y8r8K3XHMvEae7BaXk3FX0028q68iR-IsdcZVla93oCUg0R8xmQ1CRugjg1N7O2Us0pYqkc52Es8C7mz8ajgNhXtCVaYZZe9wAGYdL-vYFG5qfZ8KhyphenhyphenbsQvTcDAKIrHo8NFnJcCx9q2busmpdhiJU15sr1neu61AS3RKl1znvcl7ZSef-yu-/s4032/IMG_5756.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWHf3B64n7Y8r8K3XHMvEae7BaXk3FX0028q68iR-IsdcZVla93oCUg0R8xmQ1CRugjg1N7O2Us0pYqkc52Es8C7mz8ajgNhXtCVaYZZe9wAGYdL-vYFG5qfZ8KhyphenhyphenbsQvTcDAKIrHo8NFnJcCx9q2busmpdhiJU15sr1neu61AS3RKl1znvcl7ZSef-yu-/s320/IMG_5756.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><p><b>How was your weekend? Does your family have a traditional</b><b> birthday dessert? When I was a kid, my mom would make a homemade chocolate cake with chocolate frosting usually or we’d get a DQ cake. </b></p></div>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-65548815777267709362024-03-01T02:00:00.017-06:002024-03-01T07:17:16.127-06:00Five Things Friday<p>Hey hey - happy Friday! Here are 5 things on my mind today!</p><p>1. Today is Paul’s birthday! He turns 6! I kind of think a child’s birthday is as much a celebration for the parents (especially the mom) as it is for the child! His birth is still very fresh in my mind. Will that always be the case? Older/more experienced moms, what do you think? Paul doesn’t have school today so I took the day off to spend with him. I know we are going to the aquarium at the Mall of America and the LEGO store there and I imagine we’ll get him a donut - we will see what else he picks! I’m excited for a day of 1:1 time with him!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixlN8vdeHnKxR4t0YGvEC5vsbrAkVfqbztvHSfphEnWJG4ExUf7_u23EJIQxCArOpHKGECvPQTkaeP4rPzY6sKCcG_c9T5CmSduGz4kWoRGEDjYx3A8nWig7IfDXXHCtVTWl5w1G3EoUL3QfpsNx9mj_T-R8omB0Sv_3njWCciPkRZvDcErPW5IkaSHY7z/s4032/IMG_0567_Original.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixlN8vdeHnKxR4t0YGvEC5vsbrAkVfqbztvHSfphEnWJG4ExUf7_u23EJIQxCArOpHKGECvPQTkaeP4rPzY6sKCcG_c9T5CmSduGz4kWoRGEDjYx3A8nWig7IfDXXHCtVTWl5w1G3EoUL3QfpsNx9mj_T-R8omB0Sv_3njWCciPkRZvDcErPW5IkaSHY7z/s320/IMG_0567_Original.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Paul when he was just a few days old. He was known for making funny expressions as a baby!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgGO0OBM3n-0SnkRm2Pp8mqQWhpxK5gvoWQ6UOtf54N0spjqVxTlt6yYTEKNuJR_qk7hFYrqDcDOaVGK1caZJqJTioPttVWiWdUj_dIyre2UMOFp-VfgEvUb_2mA11zNi5vqgJe4fl1i7Gjn91mc2iG9rZQKV0RkFzhZikYFH6KZ0gKjDHjAYtiwhZhaa2/s4032/IMG_0661_Original.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgGO0OBM3n-0SnkRm2Pp8mqQWhpxK5gvoWQ6UOtf54N0spjqVxTlt6yYTEKNuJR_qk7hFYrqDcDOaVGK1caZJqJTioPttVWiWdUj_dIyre2UMOFp-VfgEvUb_2mA11zNi5vqgJe4fl1i7Gjn91mc2iG9rZQKV0RkFzhZikYFH6KZ0gKjDHjAYtiwhZhaa2/s320/IMG_0661_Original.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Another funny expression photo from Paul’s early weeks of life! He often had his hand my his face in his early weeks of life - that must have been his favored position when he was in utero!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUwghjx38wOz6rIIgFL-73sbQ9h2L3apL2nVAoQiHIqP27OIQ6KPTNmn83PkWBvbSLHC0gVbGsQBVNrpmt5UEebF5TOfSlgVhMvSxJOresdlkOhVuyrjPQnOkugqK5CHKvUbzqIl_-IqJkxiOKLICxK9cGoQXVhERHkwQPHJ05PZOeVLXimlEh-aHz7z9N/s320/IMG_5759.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Wearing his birthday crown from school!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>2. I also took yesterday off to spend as a ‘shouldless day’. A shouldless day is a day where you only do things you want to do and nothing you feel you ‘should’ do. Yesterday that looked like a workout in the morning and then getting a 90 minute massage and laying in my bed reading and napping in the afternoon. It was a lazy day but it’s what my body needed so I didn’t feel any guilt about it. Work has been so busy for really the past year and the harried pace of my week days definitely accumulates so I needed a low key day like that. </div><div><br /></div><div>3. Paul had his 100th day of kindergarten this week so it’s been quite the exciting week between that celebration, leap day and anticipating his birthday! His teacher made the 100th day so fun! He brought a collection of 100 things from home, they had a special snack and had just an all around fun day. I was relieved he didn’t have to dress up as an old person. Some of my nieces and nephews have had to do that for their 100th day celebration and while it’s cute, gathering clothes for that would have been a pain! </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwa9zONvxQBoDkKKYUXDLxMgHazVD3WjqLoVKcl6TbgpcV7gVjKrQ_dlVtMosB_BquuXWB1_bSEWYoYApcDSixzE0xyyJHftavvHL0e4TOBGVCqGyGbSAOj6gfLV5-yOxz1I3fUjdcaGkEt0ROhKsSF_kfUkVOBHmV3cBF_4Z-WxTYuqgL6KGquz4nz0ig/s4032/IMG_5755.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwa9zONvxQBoDkKKYUXDLxMgHazVD3WjqLoVKcl6TbgpcV7gVjKrQ_dlVtMosB_BquuXWB1_bSEWYoYApcDSixzE0xyyJHftavvHL0e4TOBGVCqGyGbSAOj6gfLV5-yOxz1I3fUjdcaGkEt0ROhKsSF_kfUkVOBHmV3cBF_4Z-WxTYuqgL6KGquz4nz0ig/s320/IMG_5755.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><p>4. Our weather has been nuts this week! On Monday we reached a high of 60, but on Wednesday we woke to a feels like temp of -11. We have had a mild winter so I shouldn’t complain. I just hated getting ping ponged around from really warm to super cold temps! But it will be back in the 50-60s this weekend.</p><p>5. This weekend will mostly be about celebrating Paul’s birthday. We are having a small family party on Saturday night - his 3 grandparent and his Godparents and their teen son will come over to our house for pizza and cookie cake. We struggled to come up with gifts for him as he didn’t seem to want anything specific. We ended up getting him a board game, 2 Wimpy Kid books, and I made a baseball-shaped card and Phil wrote inside that they will go to a Twins game together this summer. He’s a pretty easy to please kid so I think/hope he’ll be happy with what he gets!</p><p><b>How was your week? Have you/would you take a shouldless day? If you have kids, do you vividly remember their births?</b></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-67955745012496115542024-02-26T02:00:00.027-06:002024-02-26T02:00:00.133-06:00Weekend HighsThis was a weird weekend since we stayed close to home while trying to potty train Taco. We had mixed success…we learned he is VERY good at holding his pee but he has not figured out how to release it into the potty. So the sequence was hold pee for HOURS followed by a big accident. This may be TMI but he did poop in the potty on Saturday and Sunday so at least we had some success. I knew that it would be very hard to potty train Taco since he is very strong willed. So we will keep working on it. <div><br /><div>But we did have some highlights despite the frustrating potty training experience!</div><div><br /></div><div>- We had friends over on Saturday night (we put Taco in a pull-up while they were there as we didn’t want to deal with accidents while hosting friends - I know it’s probably not optimal to do that when focusing on potty training but we rarely see these friends and didn’t want to not have them over just because we were potty training). Their son turns 3 this month so he’s close in age to Taco. We hadn’t seen them since September so it was great to catch up! We don’t have guests over often so when we do the boys get SO EXCITED and SO WILD. But so it goes. We grilled ahi tuna steaks for the adults which I served with an asian-flavored rice and roasted asparagus + ice cream for dessert. The kids ate something different. The boys went to bed happy and exhausted. </div><div><br /></div><div>- I did a great Iron CG workout on Saturday (and realized over halfway through that I hadn’t started my Apple Watch fitness tracker… sigh. If my watch didn’t track the workout, did it even happen?). On Sunday I went for a nice 3 mile run in sunshine and mild temps (30s which is nice for us in February). </div><div><br /></div><div>- Paul had a great swimming lesson on Sunday! He has made so much progress during the winter session. This time the teacher got him to put his face in the water more and at the end of the lesson he was willingly dunking his head. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikFbdGpUDM8o1iTmW4bvdesl0NQC1czi1JrlsSyA6wvGPvuQPrNai7csq5JcnAiIPRWajqE0Gy73LbgWXiOXPw3dq72G8jt1DUfwNZmwVNHOSfvIIO1L9gyzVKZ1CJhGifw9Uw52FgHstgX0V1iZcQuzX5ltn_19grmuZ5eefiZuUpoAcdA67RxupB5-mn/s4032/IMG_5749.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikFbdGpUDM8o1iTmW4bvdesl0NQC1czi1JrlsSyA6wvGPvuQPrNai7csq5JcnAiIPRWajqE0Gy73LbgWXiOXPw3dq72G8jt1DUfwNZmwVNHOSfvIIO1L9gyzVKZ1CJhGifw9Uw52FgHstgX0V1iZcQuzX5ltn_19grmuZ5eefiZuUpoAcdA67RxupB5-mn/s320/IMG_5749.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div>- My heart about burst to see Paul reading this book on his own (Dogman, which he loves). It’s amazing how his reading abilities have taken off!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLDyXnp-QhQ15HDJdmYt5ilL54nrE3Cmqu_j1izGoh4lW6LbkH4Rb-p3Gbq7yXHkFgN-uaLWh7t2EAHodCUezlp4BFrjlc93111wgYmXwN-ruDWdeZddxulJxXWPz2OEM7a5OnDhy4L6SUPNfrTFU7iOuqEAAw9WmD1vCIO9K3HxhMgVbQmqYlDP7IMJyZ/s4032/IMG_5745.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLDyXnp-QhQ15HDJdmYt5ilL54nrE3Cmqu_j1izGoh4lW6LbkH4Rb-p3Gbq7yXHkFgN-uaLWh7t2EAHodCUezlp4BFrjlc93111wgYmXwN-ruDWdeZddxulJxXWPz2OEM7a5OnDhy4L6SUPNfrTFU7iOuqEAAw9WmD1vCIO9K3HxhMgVbQmqYlDP7IMJyZ/s320/IMG_5745.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div>- I planned Paul’s bday party (he turns 6 on Friday). He’s going to have 5 friends from school over in mid-March. They will assemble a LEGO set and have birthday treats. I said no presents please - I hope people comply (he gets enough presents from family). And their favor will be the LEGO set they assemble. He’s very excited and so far 4/5 have said yes! </div><div><br /></div><div>Honestly the weekend felt like quite a bummer with the lack of potty training progress so it was a good exercise to look for the highlights! </div><div><br /></div><div><b>What were some of the highs of your weekend?</b></div></div>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-69949183015128649202024-02-23T01:00:00.022-06:002024-02-23T01:00:00.249-06:005 things Friday<p>Oh it’s Friday, you say? I am so messed up on days of the week what with having Monday off, flying out Tuesday morning and flying back late (for me) last night. What time zone is this even? So this is my scatter-brained 5 things Friday. </p><p>1. <b>SC/NC. </b>I was in Greenville, SC and Charlotte, NC this week for client meetings. Greenville was such a cute city with a great running path along the river. I got in before it got dark so was able to go for a nice walk. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtu-PsmoD8lhQYnj-hFV1JR3fw0fd5IZJkMuVvafx9eavHANCPWaDcTwIkcn0l9JME54Af-06c-t7RMpBjZhO6saT2BQZP7S4mbBVsN6xeRi12mG6P8GS-HoMr0M2G5YizROrDa-f1xRdP-nv1JzJH-Xc-z5tI2Yort9Oz6-RnfeEmE_F8ZOgsnoslS7l9/s4032/IMG_5738.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtu-PsmoD8lhQYnj-hFV1JR3fw0fd5IZJkMuVvafx9eavHANCPWaDcTwIkcn0l9JME54Af-06c-t7RMpBjZhO6saT2BQZP7S4mbBVsN6xeRi12mG6P8GS-HoMr0M2G5YizROrDa-f1xRdP-nv1JzJH-Xc-z5tI2Yort9Oz6-RnfeEmE_F8ZOgsnoslS7l9/s320/IMG_5738.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXD7TFDnWD6YNO8j__NI_EUPv4LphTu_pPhxcDYlyxM5VYkgS9dg1t8FFoXpbqpfvbqrg9JxTr5KxZ_Q2_at0g4hJPriAxBudC_phH-lcEg34PZ_hMQq26o8m-moEnJF0U9lF4rr0aYkwXKJYQXMRrilrgN2dSenDRRXr4kU6oqDkzSl_gvFpS4u6HOcZN/s4032/IMG_5740.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXD7TFDnWD6YNO8j__NI_EUPv4LphTu_pPhxcDYlyxM5VYkgS9dg1t8FFoXpbqpfvbqrg9JxTr5KxZ_Q2_at0g4hJPriAxBudC_phH-lcEg34PZ_hMQq26o8m-moEnJF0U9lF4rr0aYkwXKJYQXMRrilrgN2dSenDRRXr4kU6oqDkzSl_gvFpS4u6HOcZN/s320/IMG_5740.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPdwUjO4uVgPKuBbyoaz8fIxH1A3DcPDZyjpu_NY_gRqkS0DTxPVQJbUuRzfloQ3Iawi-P_cEfIh09H7BAYh7UXYOsUj5976yyGGnW4MFvN53td6WnWlzGoH_-5UP-kpaVMf-QKo0HSeK2euWe2TlRewLHzRuWHxnfxKjw5h9AhPOvJzjxqFl-8ZorJD9/s4032/IMG_5741.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPdwUjO4uVgPKuBbyoaz8fIxH1A3DcPDZyjpu_NY_gRqkS0DTxPVQJbUuRzfloQ3Iawi-P_cEfIh09H7BAYh7UXYOsUj5976yyGGnW4MFvN53td6WnWlzGoH_-5UP-kpaVMf-QKo0HSeK2euWe2TlRewLHzRuWHxnfxKjw5h9AhPOvJzjxqFl-8ZorJD9/s320/IMG_5741.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>2. <b>Shadow self. </b>Longtime readers will recall that I lived in Charlotte for a year 10 years ago. It’s always a little weird to come back to Charlotte. That was a really painful year for me (I had just met Phil 2 months before I found out I had to move to keep my job, he lost his dad that year, and I was diagnosed with RA, among other challenges). The city has changed so much so it feels very different as I walked around, but I can’t not think about my shadow self - the Lisa of 2013-2014 who was just so sad and kind of broken - mentally (Phil and I broke up since the relationship was too new to shift to long distance, I was lonely and did not want to live in Charlotte) and physically (I was in so much pain from RA - before my diagnosis I thought maybe I had bone cancer or something!). I wish I could give 2013-2014 Lisa a hug and tell her that it’s all going to work out - she’ll eventually end up back in Minneapolis, married to Phil with 2 beautiful children. </p><p>3. <b>Travels. </b>Well I am NOT holding the boundary well on traveling about once/month seeing as I have 9 work trips scheduled over about 5 months in the first half of the year. And I have even said no to at least 3 additional requests to travel. I don’t know what to do about this. But it’s kind of part of my job and I’m compensated well for the inconvenience of lots of travel. But wow, the mom guilt I feel… and the general level of exhaustion!</p><p>4. <b>Husband of the year. </b>Speaking of which, Phil deserves a prize for a) researching activities for Paul and b) signing him up for said activities (tee ball and golf). I did nothing. I feel some guilt but then a good friend reminded me that she has researched and registered her kids for all of their activities for the last 15 years and she is fairly certain her husband has felt no guilt over this… so there’s that. But I am excited to expose Paul to a couple of new things! He will take a break from karate while trying these new sports this spring and will also take a break from swimming over the summer. So his schedule won’t be too packed.</p><p>5. <b>Potty training. </b>I mean we don’t have much going on these days so why not try a potty training boot camp this weekend (insert maniacal laugh). Paul potty trained 1 month after turning 3 (after a horrific failed attempt at 2 at the start of the pandemic - because potty training while isolating and freaking out about a pandemic seemed like a GREAT combo… reader, it wasn’t). So in my mind Taco is ready since he is 3 years and 3 months and seems like the kind of kid that needs a full on boot camp. I will report back on how it goes (please, God, let it be successful. We are so over diapers!!). </p><p><b>How was your week? Is there a younger version of yourself that you wish you could travel back to so you can tell her everything will be ok?</b></p>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-10071432713144286882024-02-19T02:00:00.021-06:002024-02-19T02:00:00.131-06:00Change of scenery!<p>We finally managed to visit my parents! It took 3 attempts but the 3rd time was the charm. We had an awesome visit. My mom is such a great cook and always feeds us so so well! Friday night we had salmon, asparagus and baked potatoes. Saturday morning she made a delicious egg bake, then for lunch we had a yummy soup with ground turkey and lots of veggies, then chips, homemade guac, and salsa for an afternoon snack, and then roasted chicken, smashed potatoes and green beans for dinner with homemade ice cream for dessert. She is totally in her prime when hosting people as she loves spoiling her family with delicious meals. And we are happy to be on the receiving end! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTal0m_PfLSg4N-XD8IUQV7JdNT5RfTifUQ6HB-tqqlhXM6zonlOvTt-uEJOorurFQie-On2HBv2hpan73HWZ0Y4kxvbCQKgiJPv63QoyN2tIQYOuF4WeC5ropl36JTohPT29jVqZj1LgiGiUiyf9IDhsBIbI13p4aORHGyGMUNQbQhxFHSrbJzdT47rWr/s4032/IMG_5718.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTal0m_PfLSg4N-XD8IUQV7JdNT5RfTifUQ6HB-tqqlhXM6zonlOvTt-uEJOorurFQie-On2HBv2hpan73HWZ0Y4kxvbCQKgiJPv63QoyN2tIQYOuF4WeC5ropl36JTohPT29jVqZj1LgiGiUiyf9IDhsBIbI13p4aORHGyGMUNQbQhxFHSrbJzdT47rWr/s320/IMG_5718.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0c5ju31Y4dKajbhpTumndLe9HFxIoU0jjAqf5lYrXJcirmbQ9kbvy2k5IDHqRaGxTCC7M2feopf1iSec4if-ByfBUlixGve-71g2lVc5pxiHbLm0YnQ3fripoLBNUpNCgS6HyeuipELSJTtcmfzn1AGrFLbBrEaNUkch7Hc6XeGA7XCoiXU_7nhtfJfA/s4032/IMG_5719.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0c5ju31Y4dKajbhpTumndLe9HFxIoU0jjAqf5lYrXJcirmbQ9kbvy2k5IDHqRaGxTCC7M2feopf1iSec4if-ByfBUlixGve-71g2lVc5pxiHbLm0YnQ3fripoLBNUpNCgS6HyeuipELSJTtcmfzn1AGrFLbBrEaNUkch7Hc6XeGA7XCoiXU_7nhtfJfA/s320/IMG_5719.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><p>My 100yo grandma lives about an hour from my parents so I went to see her on Saturday morning with my dad. She had a terrible stomach bug that landed her in the hospital in January but she has somehow bounced back. Every time I see her I know it might be the last so I am grateful for every visit. She is so very ready to pass away, though, especially since her macular degeneration makes it impossible to do any of her hobbies like read, play scrabble or crochet. There is such a thing as living too long. </p><p>But back to the more uplifting part of the weekend! The adults played cards (cribbage during the day and rummy after the kids were in bed) and the kids enjoyed playing with toys and games during the day, and being read to. Phil and I took on my dad and Paul in Trivial Pursuit Junior and just barely won. Paul read all of the questions for his team and barely needed any help!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHELhrz5RZCMavcKTYzS0MQxFtml0r4sExiPZuHfjHREHg2aK8inZ-cj3NdXUGKm80wgcaX_wIfZ9K4q4R_L9vUXEc9zyFWYXzWExTcrM6MvcUzQ9GBNpwtzIN1DeBJYF1Akhc2Z-GCJRiYWfaBQfAUDm9cxxjjEpOqAREYfYgSoVmOIfocClkVgRN2pjr/s2592/IMG_0720.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHELhrz5RZCMavcKTYzS0MQxFtml0r4sExiPZuHfjHREHg2aK8inZ-cj3NdXUGKm80wgcaX_wIfZ9K4q4R_L9vUXEc9zyFWYXzWExTcrM6MvcUzQ9GBNpwtzIN1DeBJYF1Akhc2Z-GCJRiYWfaBQfAUDm9cxxjjEpOqAREYfYgSoVmOIfocClkVgRN2pjr/s320/IMG_0720.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxGNj3Hw6QT2aoOD68UZeT4HMUFUqLgKe1-AQziC8PXeFtFrJMyCCttFRubuChgW8xE0Iuq0PlKnQm8Ew3OoRLzh3LigXZnnZzCaTPa0KG6IfYpF-UkaE_6bW_ixRQDgIzHzaiQirFXIRC4Gp_cGXUyxxv5tbWDh7X3fCGq4elaNW6WFsSiIUDPSfDVg-n/s4032/IMG_5714.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxGNj3Hw6QT2aoOD68UZeT4HMUFUqLgKe1-AQziC8PXeFtFrJMyCCttFRubuChgW8xE0Iuq0PlKnQm8Ew3OoRLzh3LigXZnnZzCaTPa0KG6IfYpF-UkaE_6bW_ixRQDgIzHzaiQirFXIRC4Gp_cGXUyxxv5tbWDh7X3fCGq4elaNW6WFsSiIUDPSfDVg-n/s320/IMG_5714.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVnCf76tDx6UrKL6eddHaZa88LCs_dfTEcGZbzpG42La0iTqehOSeLFH8xSO7pLFp5nNPpj4Mu8EyHDPAIz_TNZzBm3VbERxJGXgtfW98XDRqEVGJcwYX7NH7ihg3q9gtig5fRxRGXAXinzZSgyUS6v6knV-WQ1EH-Nq12hzbn8LbO1M-BZPSyWft28Ie/s4032/IMG_5724.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVnCf76tDx6UrKL6eddHaZa88LCs_dfTEcGZbzpG42La0iTqehOSeLFH8xSO7pLFp5nNPpj4Mu8EyHDPAIz_TNZzBm3VbERxJGXgtfW98XDRqEVGJcwYX7NH7ihg3q9gtig5fRxRGXAXinzZSgyUS6v6knV-WQ1EH-Nq12hzbn8LbO1M-BZPSyWft28Ie/s320/IMG_5724.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>The lure of the lake home in the winter is all the pampering and family time but the boys went outside both days and walked on the frozen lake with daddy. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4h4luU9RVreFKY2dL0lD_VzuzDsZhKbZ5UdHTL0Capd1LRoJCy-EIfqv6NSAr-l3ZXNLKdP3bT0Ar3FN1l7_y_Re0bWDmJlWEcDqF2MOfWsd0dZDL0-KYysX4moRMQCR78oXu8ydlLFiKJikEG-loVqVbxcrukCh4rciQSHN3TwsLhQOq02uqm-KQhOr/s1280/IMG_0444.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4h4luU9RVreFKY2dL0lD_VzuzDsZhKbZ5UdHTL0Capd1LRoJCy-EIfqv6NSAr-l3ZXNLKdP3bT0Ar3FN1l7_y_Re0bWDmJlWEcDqF2MOfWsd0dZDL0-KYysX4moRMQCR78oXu8ydlLFiKJikEG-loVqVbxcrukCh4rciQSHN3TwsLhQOq02uqm-KQhOr/s320/IMG_0444.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcL-RZRfA-Ka8bm9FwRTOjlVMdlexpNlhH6K3XdbJrQL-sW7pHdv4TjiS1R8AHhdUmx-2Uti4JxX6CmxZe4eOL1bAtOUxEWeg478SwrwtYhJtMQHP3nCHtqmPew7l67r93H_UEigYw08aKqpCftYVmSZsZ3mIcqitRV-jBlWN6Dx86USeA8Q5syWRHbQFT/s2000/Resized_20240217_094357_1708184651007.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcL-RZRfA-Ka8bm9FwRTOjlVMdlexpNlhH6K3XdbJrQL-sW7pHdv4TjiS1R8AHhdUmx-2Uti4JxX6CmxZe4eOL1bAtOUxEWeg478SwrwtYhJtMQHP3nCHtqmPew7l67r93H_UEigYw08aKqpCftYVmSZsZ3mIcqitRV-jBlWN6Dx86USeA8Q5syWRHbQFT/s320/Resized_20240217_094357_1708184651007.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><p>We came back on Sunday afternoon so we’d have Monday to prepare for the week ahead (we almost always come back the day before we have to go back to work so we can get groceries, do laundry, etc). Phil and I have the day off today and Paul doesn’t have school, but Taco does. Then tomorrow I fly out for a trip to SC/NC. </p><p><b>Is this a long weekend for you? </b></p>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-77594257832639567072024-02-16T02:00:00.005-06:002024-02-16T02:00:00.149-06:005 Things Friday!<p>Whew, it was another jammed week! And - fingers crossed - we will be heading to my parents after work today. This is our 3rd attempt to visit them (prior 2 planned visits were foiled by dangerously cold temps and kid illness) so hopefully the 3rd time’s the charm! Here are 5 things on my mind today!</p><p>1. <b>Snow!</b> We finally got a decent amount of snow! We got about 7" the night of Valentine's Day. So Phil got to use our snow blower for the first time and we got to reap the benefits of our first 4WD vehicle. We have joked that it's our fault we've gotten so little snow because a) Phil took our snow blower in for a tune-up in the fall and b) we finally bought a 4WD vehicle (first in our lives for either of us - we've always been team sedan previously). The boys were very excited and it does make the world prettier! And it was pretty much business as usual on Thursday morning because Midwestern cities can easily handle 7" of snow without school cancellations and such. </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiOnwihICp0LRWEnNLenZh1Ufbzil9JNVImSmjLKbfLCi3G5XHqrQMnGObXAQp8HJe6jvKt_mUanYxn0Ncw4vZp9HMk0p6gwvE8nuzxjZInw-hnLdJv7BqrJ6RdZfcRE4jbr5_ELiW26uDJgmfUNGkL5uRZWofJsLcYr_s8aYEbT7cyQE-EvXPXbOA1fOq/s4032/IMG_5706.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiOnwihICp0LRWEnNLenZh1Ufbzil9JNVImSmjLKbfLCi3G5XHqrQMnGObXAQp8HJe6jvKt_mUanYxn0Ncw4vZp9HMk0p6gwvE8nuzxjZInw-hnLdJv7BqrJ6RdZfcRE4jbr5_ELiW26uDJgmfUNGkL5uRZWofJsLcYr_s8aYEbT7cyQE-EvXPXbOA1fOq/s320/IMG_5706.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Winter wonderland vibes at our house</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivCgJyjn0HoEWgwPZC6kuwC9qHHJaJkBY3u-XsfxymNQjaGKkLMkxos1eA5QhCqPAfkHDXTH6oSoj36rXnT291BR0ZMw-2CfKwUO84av1jdFBd22E-671O3EevXLClXP5Ipev7E5AZT-jBCI1SaihA3dX6FD49im00ozhsoro2p7emHcgpMM9VCUSVSOMB/s2405/IMG_5707.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2405" data-original-width="1137" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivCgJyjn0HoEWgwPZC6kuwC9qHHJaJkBY3u-XsfxymNQjaGKkLMkxos1eA5QhCqPAfkHDXTH6oSoj36rXnT291BR0ZMw-2CfKwUO84av1jdFBd22E-671O3EevXLClXP5Ipev7E5AZT-jBCI1SaihA3dX6FD49im00ozhsoro2p7emHcgpMM9VCUSVSOMB/s320/IMG_5707.jpeg" width="151" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Pic from daycare. So much snow which he’s so happy about!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>2. <b>Valentine's Day! </b>The boys both enjoyed the holiday. They both did fun activities in school and Taco in particular looked cute with the little headband he made in class. The valentines I had made at the library event were in the backpack that got left at my MIL's on Sunday, so I had to make them again w/ our extremely limited craft supplies. The boys still seemed to like them even though they were way less cool than the ones I made at the library!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmuOyF_a67Q009uo8ofy0l8YwRzfBZDnr5yt4u-BlfMG1M8bwv1J4yZJyeWe-5ewqY-2FJ-b4FHrn8UBjxXNH1xjAZrNkRZcOhYQgUy1zBdL6X-fKQLlmIykYpnbiyBhswBUcZ0y9wNftS76mrK3jr9pJbaavrmydKxx_d7IJqDM3tUreJeBxXMvQCUlqv/s4032/IMG_5702.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmuOyF_a67Q009uo8ofy0l8YwRzfBZDnr5yt4u-BlfMG1M8bwv1J4yZJyeWe-5ewqY-2FJ-b4FHrn8UBjxXNH1xjAZrNkRZcOhYQgUy1zBdL6X-fKQLlmIykYpnbiyBhswBUcZ0y9wNftS76mrK3jr9pJbaavrmydKxx_d7IJqDM3tUreJeBxXMvQCUlqv/s320/IMG_5702.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Math major mom trying to be crafty with limited success. Paul did appreciate that I wrote 'we love you to pluto and back!' inside. Yes the kitchen island in the background is a bit of a disaster.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTifS9tb83RHXZ7S54muZEF28Qw4WSux2CL4AfTqbVOuuH23G2BfgZIEtDLjWjcaQmthRgLwTH_lP7aRx3CrXQyFQgPVvonvYOPI8D1JZGc_rzyAiVJHDV2e-TViEHa1BLgQydh2rHkMXgqGIHWDGczhk8xw5bjRu8bw7SvDDZjsYx8iCfMXgykfoQwXFn/s2532/IMG_5703.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2532" data-original-width="1170" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTifS9tb83RHXZ7S54muZEF28Qw4WSux2CL4AfTqbVOuuH23G2BfgZIEtDLjWjcaQmthRgLwTH_lP7aRx3CrXQyFQgPVvonvYOPI8D1JZGc_rzyAiVJHDV2e-TViEHa1BLgQydh2rHkMXgqGIHWDGczhk8xw5bjRu8bw7SvDDZjsYx8iCfMXgykfoQwXFn/s320/IMG_5703.PNG" width="148" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cutie patootie in his V-day headband!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>3. <b>Laziness.</b> A local friend that I used to run with <a href="https://tayarunsandreads.com/random-musings-on-a-monday/" target="_blank">posted on her blog</a> about a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08T8CZYF3?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details" target="_blank">remote control</a> that turns the pages of her kindle and I could not get on the Amazon website fast enough to buy one for myself! I do a lot of kindle reading in my bed and don't love that the hand that I use to turn the pages gets so cold in the winter. Now I don't need to have my hands out of the covers. Yes this is peak laziness but oh well. I'm a naturally cold person as it is so I appreciate being able to keep my hands warm! So I prop my kindle up with the blankets/comforter on our bed and my hands stay toasty warm under the blankets. </p><p>4. <b>New show! </b>Phil and I started a new show this week - Mr. and Mrs. Smith on Prime. Most of the episodes are 45 minutes long which is the perfect length for us. I was motivated to watch it after it was raved about on The Popcast recently. It’s nice to have a show that we both enjoy that isn’t a documentary for a change!</p><p>5. <b>Good luck Jenny and SHU! </b> <a href="https://runnersfly.com/" target="_blank">Jenny</a> is running a 50 mile (!!) race this weekend!! I am sending her the very best wishes! And <a href="https://theshubox.com/" target="_blank">SHU</a> is racing a half marathon! Her training cycle has been so strong so I can’t wait to see how the race goes. Best wishes to these 2 Florida runners! </p><p><b>How was your week? Did you do anything special for Valentine’s Day? Phil picked up take out from a local place in our neighborhood. After working in a restaurant all through college, a restaurant is the last place I want to be on Valentine’s Day! </b></p>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-45843747010544813502024-02-12T06:30:00.001-06:002024-02-12T06:30:00.250-06:00A Fun February Weekend<p>I’ve been vocal about February not being my favorite month (because winter) but this was a pretty great/fun weekend. Here’s how we filled it. </p><p>- I squeezed a workout in after work on Friday - the final Epic Heat Caroline Girvan workout. It was an ‘EMOM’ which means every minute on the minute. She had you do a combo of 3-4 moves x 10 and there were 3 sets. It was an effective workout but I was so glad when it was over! </p><p>- On Friday night I made this <a href="https://iowagirleats.com/asian-noodle-bowls/" target="_blank">Asian noodle bowl</a> meal (for Phil and me). I added peppers to bulk it up a bit. Friday was otherwise very low key as usual. We tried watching a show about soccer captains from the World Cup but we don’t like soccer enough for this show to be a fit for us. </p><p>- Once Phil was up on Saturday, I headed to the basement to workout. I looked at the CG workouts you all had recommended and decided to go with the Iron series because Epic Heat End Game has HIIT workouts and I just kind of hate them? And I get cardio from other workouts so would rather lean on CG for strength. Workout 1 was a great lower body workout! </p><p>- We hit up the library and were thrilled to find out that they were hosting a valentine making event! And we ran into our friends! So the boys made valentines while I stealthily made ones for them. The library had so many cool crafty things like feathers and glitter pens and pipe cleaners and such.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBNR-78Uo8M24-zbhFIrz0_nOPWQEOMOj82cKoMie4hbzjCzSvbSi7Q1x00hx1FjsFVvt4Jhufmn-nsE5XsrZG1hwO7cGwtzVHIDsZEDAir80rYq2U36FfyuO4QP5VKaeAYLTYPCuj-Czp3kV05JacMwluaoBJpyBindpfIShcwz_W8VVSNh4LL7XU8l7t/s4032/IMG_5664.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBNR-78Uo8M24-zbhFIrz0_nOPWQEOMOj82cKoMie4hbzjCzSvbSi7Q1x00hx1FjsFVvt4Jhufmn-nsE5XsrZG1hwO7cGwtzVHIDsZEDAir80rYq2U36FfyuO4QP5VKaeAYLTYPCuj-Czp3kV05JacMwluaoBJpyBindpfIShcwz_W8VVSNh4LL7XU8l7t/s320/IMG_5664.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>- That afternoon, I took the boys to Disney on Ice which was a hit! They both loved it and did so well. There was something for everyone. I enjoyed the Aladdin set and the boys’ favorites were the Frozen and Cars sets.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUJnsE58G90y8QoIolBvhzuUJ1KMeCjEZRqdo80raqSQyBlIC31WxZC_xZdj7n2Wu2Jl_4PcwjtSJPCbo00Rr4cqjw0t-8j_8I3Tpi28ssk9vbJpOe3ZYyN4Yyx6dsfjGy44NkZxGM2sciYkda5WA1wgrr8aISVBoHRQqeBTiD5mQ3fM_TJUhMUip1Iw2/s3110/IMG_5677.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3110" data-original-width="2332" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUJnsE58G90y8QoIolBvhzuUJ1KMeCjEZRqdo80raqSQyBlIC31WxZC_xZdj7n2Wu2Jl_4PcwjtSJPCbo00Rr4cqjw0t-8j_8I3Tpi28ssk9vbJpOe3ZYyN4Yyx6dsfjGy44NkZxGM2sciYkda5WA1wgrr8aISVBoHRQqeBTiD5mQ3fM_TJUhMUip1Iw2/s320/IMG_5677.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Selfie with the boys - Taco was not into taking pictures</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWHg5zVsZ2CXbgoHrwKjJ1UcESbejDg5fD8udvzce0RqVjQFuXp6geE2s5RJfnGP-L03FVNVQ_KA_dOAkbAr_84mXU9Q9MS74290CiswaluUI7aWlabY5Hl0Yq8526PhRfTVAT5X531Zq-yRHLmxpkXL-WJQA3AU-yrqnsl4wBp_omi8zxBUrD1mw9ztK/s4032/IMG_5684.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWHg5zVsZ2CXbgoHrwKjJ1UcESbejDg5fD8udvzce0RqVjQFuXp6geE2s5RJfnGP-L03FVNVQ_KA_dOAkbAr_84mXU9Q9MS74290CiswaluUI7aWlabY5Hl0Yq8526PhRfTVAT5X531Zq-yRHLmxpkXL-WJQA3AU-yrqnsl4wBp_omi8zxBUrD1mw9ztK/s320/IMG_5684.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Aladdin and Jasmine. As a child of the 80s/90s I was here for the Aladdin set.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiesp2wUcdWyj_loGaRJM0I1mNfN1J7dZl2zDhpF9LVVBBoGEL3d6YXlUWBaO7EkmEqL8qO3AlNOI0qTsKieBP9GGJ_CgVegAkDRIF6DfC98aAs7yNTQFIA69ldEIpFWKZwX1zSTSSkH96A7ujmBOzPi2TcUZf0zlpkQh-JmPs44Zp7zuiJqPtOuVpMMNkv/s4032/IMG_5688.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiesp2wUcdWyj_loGaRJM0I1mNfN1J7dZl2zDhpF9LVVBBoGEL3d6YXlUWBaO7EkmEqL8qO3AlNOI0qTsKieBP9GGJ_CgVegAkDRIF6DfC98aAs7yNTQFIA69ldEIpFWKZwX1zSTSSkH96A7ujmBOzPi2TcUZf0zlpkQh-JmPs44Zp7zuiJqPtOuVpMMNkv/s320/IMG_5688.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The boys were tickled to see Sven on the ice!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>- On Sunday morning, I did a CG upper body workout once Phil was up and then did some meal prep. I was influenced by <a href="http://birchwoodpie.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Birchie</a> and <a href="https://optimisticmusings.com/" target="_blank">Elisabeth</a> to make this <a href="https://www.noracooks.com/curry-chickpea-salad/" target="_blank">curry chickpea salad</a>. This will be my lunches for the week. It is so good! I didn’t have chutney so left that out but otherwise followed the recipe. I’m on a long break from taking salads for lunch since I got too burned out on them. I had been making sheet pan dinners but all the cutting and roasting was so much work! I’m thinking this will be my lunch plan for the next several weeks (I’m a creature of habit and don’t mind eating the same things repeatedly.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyb3HDmIP_d1kKAla8OrUBkIMYHtSxiGgT_OUKkXHsSs_CYIk4bRSPE-ZiLEQ1YvZAZTcZKUYmAkRnwqx0zlsCgokq9p_Iv0AFGWzUDZeCqq0F90LDMTbI8T8wyJhNQNJbvqb77UAGnVinXhlqQjYaucV8Xk33QhE98lI_MGrCiJQUSx1gD4Al9zQQHUHF/s4032/IMG_5690.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyb3HDmIP_d1kKAla8OrUBkIMYHtSxiGgT_OUKkXHsSs_CYIk4bRSPE-ZiLEQ1YvZAZTcZKUYmAkRnwqx0zlsCgokq9p_Iv0AFGWzUDZeCqq0F90LDMTbI8T8wyJhNQNJbvqb77UAGnVinXhlqQjYaucV8Xk33QhE98lI_MGrCiJQUSx1gD4Al9zQQHUHF/s320/IMG_5690.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Voila! I enjoyed it as an open-faced sandwich on toasted Aldi’s GF bread.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>- Paul had a great swimming lesson on Sunday. He’s made a lot of progress this session. He especially likes the back float part of the lessons (since he doesn’t have to put his head in the water which is something he does not like… yet…). </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikaU2r3wadAwBoiAkC7XMOTa9G9Nkho_x6pmo1MNpKD1qoAuUohdbRnH9cRS9bbgZiqApJzH-tdKnj-eIiFEKxAyGZWvgoXDDLfW4CQeGj9PocvNxIe-ImOV0_UhUlRYEfGOSLqObP7e6MZxjijypeqJF87FzHVWlO8a6rN6216a4DoYzJpnyLnUALYLRG/s4032/IMG_5692.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikaU2r3wadAwBoiAkC7XMOTa9G9Nkho_x6pmo1MNpKD1qoAuUohdbRnH9cRS9bbgZiqApJzH-tdKnj-eIiFEKxAyGZWvgoXDDLfW4CQeGj9PocvNxIe-ImOV0_UhUlRYEfGOSLqObP7e6MZxjijypeqJF87FzHVWlO8a6rN6216a4DoYzJpnyLnUALYLRG/s320/IMG_5692.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div>- Phil and Taco went to Phil’s moms while Paul had a play date with a friend. They played well on their own so I was able to finish an episode of Lessons in Chemistry (slowing working my way through this show - I have 3 episodes left) and read some of my book (The Whispers by Ashley Audrain - total page turner). <br /><p>- We watched the superbowl although I was mostly there for the halftime show. It was equally entertaining to watch Paul try to mimic the dancing!! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiswXx004HcuLTJ6Kb75hCrv3iFtYavFvdJrbDCNoCyiigVeN-k_gsghDuRKrpviyvurQyJq1EhVbpL976YEDamGYpBvZpcjePI2D11_BLL3osyDqO-fBnLbLwW_11EBDfdcMdlmFrkBRAXrcyNurYbmMmGigsChlcv3brL2Y9oe5OlhUcrAffVxCA7miTb/s4032/IMG_5697.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiswXx004HcuLTJ6Kb75hCrv3iFtYavFvdJrbDCNoCyiigVeN-k_gsghDuRKrpviyvurQyJq1EhVbpL976YEDamGYpBvZpcjePI2D11_BLL3osyDqO-fBnLbLwW_11EBDfdcMdlmFrkBRAXrcyNurYbmMmGigsChlcv3brL2Y9oe5OlhUcrAffVxCA7miTb/s320/IMG_5697.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAC6MlBFlDFCIQnCskodWEa4PhBLdBdncv0WHrnDAqG1tpubd7LmE6pzy2g82jEMjPhues2t-Ksi1jaSvANNx3YqIEX844i7BSW0kipH7_YqD5lcUYOtK8YRjrzWLwhtZKeJUEIUNPAuaxxmG37XaoxVDwueG3a8nU8145IsvG95hLmw5Qzgs0jEqLihv/s4032/IMG_5701.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAC6MlBFlDFCIQnCskodWEa4PhBLdBdncv0WHrnDAqG1tpubd7LmE6pzy2g82jEMjPhues2t-Ksi1jaSvANNx3YqIEX844i7BSW0kipH7_YqD5lcUYOtK8YRjrzWLwhtZKeJUEIUNPAuaxxmG37XaoxVDwueG3a8nU8145IsvG95hLmw5Qzgs0jEqLihv/s320/IMG_5701.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><p><b>What were the highlights of your weekend? </b></p></div>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-57543419083845030082024-02-09T02:00:00.002-06:002024-02-09T02:00:00.156-06:00TGIF!<p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Hey hey it's Friday! and the month of February is almost 1/3 over. I'm not trying to wish time away but I'm not sad when the winter months come to a close since it's not my favorite season. We are getting off SUPER easy this year, but it's still pretty dreary out there and everything is grown and dead, so move along, February! </span></p><p><b style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The book I am reading this week is </b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">so many books. I do not generally read multiple books at a time but right now I'm reading <b>My Brilliant Friend</b> for the <a href="https://ngradstudent.blogspot.com/2024/02/week-1-my-brilliant-friend-cbbc.html" target="_blank">Cool Bloggers Book Club</a> that NGS hosts! I did not love the first section but I'm keeping an open mind and even if I don't end up liking the book, reading with a group always adds to the experience. I'm also reading <b>Lonesome Dove</b> with a patreon group (every year The Bookshelf in Thomasville, GA hosts a conquer a classic and this year they selected a modern classic). This is a re-read for me and I did not LOVE it the first time around but again, reading something with a group changes the experience and the monthly podcast episodes recapping the section we read each month is always so enlightening and really adds to the experience. lastly, I'm reading a romance called <b>Hello, Again</b> which is a retelling of When Harry Met Sally which is one of my all-time favorite movies. I can't say I am loving the retelling?</span></p><p><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The high of my week was </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">celebrating my birthday! I turned 43 on Tuesday. Last weekend's date night was an early celebration but I had a nice day on Tuesday, too. My coworker took me to lunch and my retired colleague/mentor took me to lunch the next day, I received lots of birthday text and emails, and Phil grilled some delicious tuna steaks for my birthday dinner since it was a balmy 52 degrees outside (which is so not normal!). </span></p><p></p><p></p><p><b style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The low of my week was </b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">rough mornings. Week day mornings are so awful in our house. I think this is something can only be fixed by time. Taco is just NOT a morning person so having to leave the house by 7 is not ideal. My other low of the week was finding out at my dentist appointment that I have another cavity! I had one at my appointment in August. It has been 10+ years since I had a cavity. Nothing has really changed in my diet or lifestyle so I don't know what is going on. I asked if it could be related to age and the dentist said no. So I am stumped. I really hope my kids got Phil's dental genetics because he has ZERO cavities. </span></p><div style="background-color: white;"><b style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">A show we finished watching is </b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">the final season of Ted Lasso. I loved it, although it wasn't nearly as good as the first season. But Phil really slogged his way through it and was so happy when it was over. It's just a little too cutesy/campy for him. But I loved it and was sad when it was over. I guess we need to stick to true crime and sports documentaries. That's our very slim Venn diagram overlap!</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>For workouts </b>I ran outside on Monday before starting my work day which felt so nice. Then on Thursday I did the 3/12/30 workout that lots of other cool bloggers have been doing. I have a client breakfast this morning so will miss my usual Friday morning workout. I'll probably run on day this weekend and will do the final Caroline Girvan Epic Heat workout on Sunday.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b style="font-family: inherit;">The best money spent</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> was on absolutely nothing. This was a low spend week since I was treated to a couple of lunches and enjoyed my free Starbucks latte on my birthday. I debated spending money on Valentine's Day cards for the boys but the cards were each going to be $6 and I am sorry, but that is ridiculous for something that will end up in the trash. Taco's daycare is collecting Valentines for the kids so poor Taco is going to get a nice homemade card from his math major mother who has zero artistic ability (I will make one for Paul, too). </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b style="font-family: inherit;">My plans this weekend include </b><span style="font-family: inherit;">laying low tonight. Tomorrow afternoon I am taking the boys to Disney on Ice and I might be more excited than they are!! I have always loved to watch talented skaters so this is the perfect event for me. The kids are excited, too, they just don't know what to expect. I'm hoping Mickey makes some appearances since that is Taco's favorite character! On Sunday, Paul has a playdate after swimming lessons so Phil is taking Taco out to his mom's so the big boys can play together without interruption from the toddler. So all in all it's a pretty light weekend!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Bonus photos:</b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Paul and I attended a reading event at his school so we stopped by his classroom hallway to check out his recent art projects. Every month the kids make a new self portrait. I imagine they will be compiled for us parents at the end of the year. He had also written a little "story." He's using his imagination because we do not play football, but we do watch it!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfV__IGmaxA3DgX-CXoznIKJa19Bsus04fSHQZbQyoabdvEk55ACZibShQyUJVKYBG-4RBhIMdDLdYmaM51V9S5h46GqI05Q38PXNIuAgii-jeCHjcgWyqW6_dOcwIW1X1HwUJbvmIOQq2R5TYWAj_-uCXvO33yyEqIgwnObSKCwrbo9K32HhKhOVc5njm/s4032/IMG_5661.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfV__IGmaxA3DgX-CXoznIKJa19Bsus04fSHQZbQyoabdvEk55ACZibShQyUJVKYBG-4RBhIMdDLdYmaM51V9S5h46GqI05Q38PXNIuAgii-jeCHjcgWyqW6_dOcwIW1X1HwUJbvmIOQq2R5TYWAj_-uCXvO33yyEqIgwnObSKCwrbo9K32HhKhOVc5njm/s320/IMG_5661.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoA6TdfEacMRmtT1SDk335iUoXD5hPMm9UEz-EgwOgo4DFVuClHKc3fuzW0mKQbkhS4XHQHjspaSY9XS3_zgAhDtL8NoH2e928cqI0iWTkO6csTsoPlcPE0RRDyX_EUeEuMF9Py08U6X2WJUMed-xZCmXJXAdy7ab3wbmQBbyISfwzWdY4sEh4cYl4m6km/s4032/IMG_5662.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoA6TdfEacMRmtT1SDk335iUoXD5hPMm9UEz-EgwOgo4DFVuClHKc3fuzW0mKQbkhS4XHQHjspaSY9XS3_zgAhDtL8NoH2e928cqI0iWTkO6csTsoPlcPE0RRDyX_EUeEuMF9Py08U6X2WJUMed-xZCmXJXAdy7ab3wbmQBbyISfwzWdY4sEh4cYl4m6km/s320/IMG_5662.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>How was your week? Are you watching anything great?</b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-82529671553773022422024-02-07T02:00:00.008-06:002024-02-07T02:00:00.133-06:00What We Read in JanuaryWhy yes, I am just getting to my reading recap when we are nearly 1/4 of the way through February. January was a pretty uneven month for me in terms of reading. I DNF'd 3 books (The Undoing, Forty Rooms, and An Immense World) which is a lot considering I only DNF'd 6 in all of 2024. I guess I'm getting more cut throat? Here is how my reading shaped up.<div><br /></div><div><b>Favorites</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_H97_15aklnZsBdzIc15ci9_UkHPe5wn3VeMWy99Be6sOrB01uXT4SKM3DY9cvN1l-peRA7J3IF6LQZDf1ckXaT91hOkVS1LKC996E0vq7hwEC95KjEf2JIOOJu7e7jTH0F7bJD_O2j193CNGGEYN6fl8QCYU3WY_PsszvV-gbLH1O4ND4xwrgnJBlgf/s2048/CBF53730-82E6-425F-9EDA-1B28D826C879.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_H97_15aklnZsBdzIc15ci9_UkHPe5wn3VeMWy99Be6sOrB01uXT4SKM3DY9cvN1l-peRA7J3IF6LQZDf1ckXaT91hOkVS1LKC996E0vq7hwEC95KjEf2JIOOJu7e7jTH0F7bJD_O2j193CNGGEYN6fl8QCYU3WY_PsszvV-gbLH1O4ND4xwrgnJBlgf/s320/CBF53730-82E6-425F-9EDA-1B28D826C879.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b>Adelaide</b> is a coming of age story about dating in your 20s. I probably wouldn't broadly recommend it but if you've ever been ghosted in a relationship, you will probably feel very seen by reading this book. This was my best book of January by a landslide. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Caretaker</b> is a historical fiction novel. It also tackles issues of class as the son of a prominent family marries someone his family views as "beneath him." Then the husband gets drafted for the Vietnam war and asks his best friend to watch after his wife. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>A Year in the Wilderness</b> is my February book club books. It's a non-fiction memoir about the year a couple spent in a wilderness area in Minnesota that is referred to as the "Boundary Waters Canoe Area." They document their year there to try to highlight the importance of the region as a mining firm is pushing to mine in this region which would have horrible ramifications for the area.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Pretty good:</b></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYBL3OwPhevSUdUSB2IlxMCjhky_oLToQISYdYzp6eUXx3wy_B5w_n3OjCyCY_hc-_e6ji6j-CxgJNd4kcwWQJcTWlfIJjOIpoS1h1uqYwHhvzrxaTvm8Sb1DDiS2Dyn2zLGto_odNi4mQf6PTg5HGELWb-ihyphenhyphenKjZJSKtCAd2sgzoPiqsdixMiSnczrC8/s2048/F421E5AE-A70A-43F8-9795-45C193460899.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYBL3OwPhevSUdUSB2IlxMCjhky_oLToQISYdYzp6eUXx3wy_B5w_n3OjCyCY_hc-_e6ji6j-CxgJNd4kcwWQJcTWlfIJjOIpoS1h1uqYwHhvzrxaTvm8Sb1DDiS2Dyn2zLGto_odNi4mQf6PTg5HGELWb-ihyphenhyphenKjZJSKtCAd2sgzoPiqsdixMiSnczrC8/s320/F421E5AE-A70A-43F8-9795-45C193460899.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Why yes, I did read a Christmas book in January. <b>The Christmas Orphans Club</b> is a sweet found family kind of story. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Our Best Intentions</b> tackles a lot of issues around race and class. At its core, its about a young Indian girl who witnesses an act of violence between 2 white teens and a young Black girl. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Exit Interview: The Life and Death of my Ambitious Career</b> is a memoir about the author's time working at Amazon. It was very reminiscent of the brief period of time that I spent working at a large Minneapolis-based retailer... </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Did not work:</b></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZin7Nn4-hWkkR3u_rw6wwor2whGv_Oqy2gcHdUgqcRiqEIB7XJk4OoJ1pdzjea7iGXsn6xp6yuGK8j6qfALiZMciIBbXQch7P7UkhkvP4_puxHPfXprlL_g3a1Tr2nZm0StByRxErEa3ZRWc3avQYXfDfx9-XllGEQKmdsCLimJIAQZ5wA0wDUBFk7W_z/s2048/473E086C-2D84-4B59-B4D6-9CF13F7B93CC.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZin7Nn4-hWkkR3u_rw6wwor2whGv_Oqy2gcHdUgqcRiqEIB7XJk4OoJ1pdzjea7iGXsn6xp6yuGK8j6qfALiZMciIBbXQch7P7UkhkvP4_puxHPfXprlL_g3a1Tr2nZm0StByRxErEa3ZRWc3avQYXfDfx9-XllGEQKmdsCLimJIAQZ5wA0wDUBFk7W_z/s320/473E086C-2D84-4B59-B4D6-9CF13F7B93CC.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><b>My Murder</b> is set in a future time when a person can be brought back to life. In this case, a recently murdered woman is brought back to life and she is trying to figure out if they actually caught her killer or if someone else did it. This was a bit too out there/sci-fi adjacent for my liking. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Screaming on the Inside</b> looks at the impossible standards that are set for women. I could appreciate some of her insights but it didn't completely resonate with me? But if you want to read some spicy takes on a book, check out the goodreads reviews where the author gets totally skewered, especially for her views on social media. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Lastly, I have no idea how <b>Hold Me Tight</b> ended up on my libby holds list. It's about 7 essential conversations that are important for strengthening a marriage. I could not relate to the dramatic arguments that were used as examples of conflict. Phil and I are 2 very rational people of German descent so I just can't fathom having this kind of conflict? I guess by 7 essential conversations I was envisioning something else that wasn't based on a high level of conflict. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>What the boys read:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Hands down, the boys' favorite book of January was something I plucked off a winter display at the library: <b>The Three Canadian Pigs</b>. Both Paul and Taco loved this book and we read it many times! I love the page spread with all of the Canadian foods, although I was not familiar with some of them! </div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRPdy-gtZHBCGAy7g0P-3qea9KSepmDLncwhUdV84CsVaf3QM6IxEEWznH3XfdmTB5QjtA2j9fgOX4R_R2UognteYNQGWu2f70RKwT6hxK1KqhaAe-Zdwz18_Z4PJUCLcohg8ZKBGdU0KaNnDXjOx6aUqRsLOb_vIZ73IFjErRuqFw61XO9OEqlInC_vSF/s4032/IMG_5554.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRPdy-gtZHBCGAy7g0P-3qea9KSepmDLncwhUdV84CsVaf3QM6IxEEWznH3XfdmTB5QjtA2j9fgOX4R_R2UognteYNQGWu2f70RKwT6hxK1KqhaAe-Zdwz18_Z4PJUCLcohg8ZKBGdU0KaNnDXjOx6aUqRsLOb_vIZ73IFjErRuqFw61XO9OEqlInC_vSF/s320/IMG_5554.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOQbWkfVFio7xbiY7dVuzkves0-eHZDEv8NGQ9R2E0vEVyXFBy8AHV-pIO71OiTQZzuNOf7DEDBU6KGQaKlgac8pcERiM4pnP4drY7jwDVuSSMFpLdtVwg3JfeDSw3h8_9w2D-GBLI-4jLsqvy_w5afJ165y91w3S798k_B6NR_P7hYQaisnnxhvzvKby6/s4032/IMG_5555.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOQbWkfVFio7xbiY7dVuzkves0-eHZDEv8NGQ9R2E0vEVyXFBy8AHV-pIO71OiTQZzuNOf7DEDBU6KGQaKlgac8pcERiM4pnP4drY7jwDVuSSMFpLdtVwg3JfeDSw3h8_9w2D-GBLI-4jLsqvy_w5afJ165y91w3S798k_B6NR_P7hYQaisnnxhvzvKby6/s320/IMG_5555.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Paul and I also finished <b>The Tale of Despereaux</b> which we both really enjoyed! I read this when it was a new release back in the early oughts when I had a part-time job at Barnes and Noble but I did not remember much about the book.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF5iVSHUJrooElmtYptGPWXBcbZOlsfEEA_Gagh_VAkeRiZe3UCfIi5RjRYGA-uVxb0ozJOy8fHZuZVDKWaHjBNIIWodwHJcO2zFoWFwHdvmlKZixfseEO73W0_4a3XcO3Nx5nBKdeCmFNJDe2iuSQqIRFEZtTI9s1lpOSF1RLB-oyHlXs0hr3_19v24Yb/s1726/IMG_5610.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1726" data-original-width="1170" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF5iVSHUJrooElmtYptGPWXBcbZOlsfEEA_Gagh_VAkeRiZe3UCfIi5RjRYGA-uVxb0ozJOy8fHZuZVDKWaHjBNIIWodwHJcO2zFoWFwHdvmlKZixfseEO73W0_4a3XcO3Nx5nBKdeCmFNJDe2iuSQqIRFEZtTI9s1lpOSF1RLB-oyHlXs0hr3_19v24Yb/s320/IMG_5610.PNG" width="217" /></a></div><br /><div><b>How was your month of reading?</b></div>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-45322811758741766942024-02-05T02:00:00.007-06:002024-02-05T02:00:00.133-06:00Weekend Highlights<p>We had a really nice weekend with lots of high moments and fewer lows! </p><p>- <b>Workouts! </b>I did the 48th and 49th Caroline Girvan Epic Heat workouts. I admittedly did not LOVE the 48th workout as it was a bunch of different kinds of push-ups. 49 was a full body workout with a HIIT component that I much preferred. But I was happy to fit the workouts in! I have one more workout in the program and plan to do another CG program - any suggestions from those of you have done her programs? I prefer 30ish minute workouts.</p><p>- <b>Library. </b>We went to the library on Saturday morning where we saw our good friends. I got to catch up with my friend while the boys played and picked out books.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenLFpz-p2a562nqTKbz7XPznvNZbW-m1xJNMvUDw6CRE3yiBx2h0OKUmOiZjDZLdOuIPmMVlxlkTl7nXxg3CP2LQmOZLUiMdoV3ccAmO-pXs1yt_MXaeQQzvRoWfLpcstcFFyr8qohyjz6-85z6TK2_mhokiWW_MmLlLJ8fZtDp4MyBlZfGBgwb41LHFj/s4032/IMG_5626.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenLFpz-p2a562nqTKbz7XPznvNZbW-m1xJNMvUDw6CRE3yiBx2h0OKUmOiZjDZLdOuIPmMVlxlkTl7nXxg3CP2LQmOZLUiMdoV3ccAmO-pXs1yt_MXaeQQzvRoWfLpcstcFFyr8qohyjz6-85z6TK2_mhokiWW_MmLlLJ8fZtDp4MyBlZfGBgwb41LHFj/s320/IMG_5626.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><p>- <b>Outdoor time! </b>It was another mild spring-like weekend so we went outside after quiet time both days! On Saturday, the boys played with stomp rockets and we kicked a ball around in a big open area about a block from our house. Yes I know this is a volleyball and not a soccer ball but I couldn’t find our soccer ball. On Sunday we went to a park and saw the same friends that we saw at the library on Saturday. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLaGZFJ9BCyMrB1km-8pCJ6VB3RAezTsckKZkRVqONzBEQOIkfRhLonMNUrS_okcJ_2b_3hXmeB9JqWqPlJRmD5BbW-DxGI980PsSfZOCNS4yPhuQ_Nf4auoNHwgJBQvixacGY-_z50Op6wmYRNqhcauuxLmVS0XeTAYSHsXmJzG_cxBZFbRZFGgi346Xf/s4032/IMG_5629.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLaGZFJ9BCyMrB1km-8pCJ6VB3RAezTsckKZkRVqONzBEQOIkfRhLonMNUrS_okcJ_2b_3hXmeB9JqWqPlJRmD5BbW-DxGI980PsSfZOCNS4yPhuQ_Nf4auoNHwgJBQvixacGY-_z50Op6wmYRNqhcauuxLmVS0XeTAYSHsXmJzG_cxBZFbRZFGgi346Xf/s320/IMG_5629.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8xLKqKZdyzHUBc6AnuZpxjuyTicoygxazCNtaQCyZpQ7yaGj93jWmioawtaLoEhqMnZoPtN7fc5k125t7vwGY-NY0bSugLx4Po5P7MlwMu0AwAH4qQRlrOSytduXPwCZIzLzUEVn6PA7hfqS80ch4uwvWmtgzzZP9Dpcs62vtLBlqhnN6G7DiKslaJN5/s4032/IMG_5659.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8xLKqKZdyzHUBc6AnuZpxjuyTicoygxazCNtaQCyZpQ7yaGj93jWmioawtaLoEhqMnZoPtN7fc5k125t7vwGY-NY0bSugLx4Po5P7MlwMu0AwAH4qQRlrOSytduXPwCZIzLzUEVn6PA7hfqS80ch4uwvWmtgzzZP9Dpcs62vtLBlqhnN6G7DiKslaJN5/s320/IMG_5659.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><p>- <b>Date night! </b>Wonder of wonders, we had our date night! I wore a red dress since it’s February and all. This is one of the dresses I got from Boden in the fall. I love that it has long sleeves AND pockets. All dresses should have pockets. I did mess up and somehow reserved a table at the bar instead of an actual table. But it didn’t really matter and we had a great time! The boys did great for the babysitter. Paul had some tears but Taco was excited to show her all his toys. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpHtGvl1SdXC2Uu-ifUyyGKh8Ci6Ex3FMlHtQpo19fkcdIeSnsen4_Gy1sVrePE3yKl0aVwW8LOhfWdC_0k6dnOhRUW-Wyc_dbgRPRTbavt_ZNPJCqD2tE-nnIUkZfITC-4_13yJ7dZWIA7lshEGRC3RMrFyzGWgFccmu6_wmlk3xB1FEPUrIy3ZYpw-n/s2199/IMG_5645.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2199" data-original-width="1833" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpHtGvl1SdXC2Uu-ifUyyGKh8Ci6Ex3FMlHtQpo19fkcdIeSnsen4_Gy1sVrePE3yKl0aVwW8LOhfWdC_0k6dnOhRUW-Wyc_dbgRPRTbavt_ZNPJCqD2tE-nnIUkZfITC-4_13yJ7dZWIA7lshEGRC3RMrFyzGWgFccmu6_wmlk3xB1FEPUrIy3ZYpw-n/s320/IMG_5645.jpeg" width="267" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Crappy bathroom selfie</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>- <b>Target. </b>The boys and I went to Target on Sunday am for cake pops (for them) and a latte (for me). Admittedly this was not a true ‘highlight’ as the boys were not well behaved. But we picked out valentines (which was the reason for the trip) and got out of the store asap. </p><p>All in all, it was mostly a good weekend (we won’t talk about dinner through bathtime on Sunday night…) Getting outside each day really helped. It looks like these spring-like temps will hang around for awhile! </p><p><b>How was your weekend? Has it been unseasonably warm lately?</b></p>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-60340192175445357892024-02-02T02:00:00.014-06:002024-02-02T02:00:00.145-06:005 Things Friday<p>Hey hey, it's Friday! This has been the longest shortest week with time zone adjustments and such so I'm feeling a bit out of sorts and very behind on life (hence my spotty comments on blogs this week). But here's 5 things on my mind. </p><p>1. I flew to LA on Monday to attend my company's global sales conference. I talked to my mentor while I was waiting to board my flight and he told me that I needed to stay out as late as possible as this was the best opportunity to network. So that looked like staying out until 12PST on Monday (so 2 am CST which is the latest I have stayed up in, um, 10+ years??) and 10PST on Tuesday (12am CST). I got a bit teased for calling it a night at 10 on Tuesday but our days start at 7:30 and I was so completely talked out at this point and felt like I'd been extra fun on Monday night. I mean I am usually in bed with the lights out at 9:30 CST and by usually I mean like every night. I'm proud of myself for socializing as much as I did. I met a ton of people for the first time that I had only communicated with over the phone or zoom so it was a really effective use of my time. I was just so very tired by the end! </p><p>2. The meetings were at this very nice resort just south of LA. It's kind of cruel to be in such a beautiful location and have virtually no time to enjoy the surroundings. But I did manage to squeeze a run in before flying out on Wednesday. I can't believe that people actually live here and wake up to this every single day! When we had breaks during the day, I tried to spend them on the patio so I could soak up some vitamin D and stare at the ocean.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuLmkHVjA_tPmuuYl97mMIcDLh35mn7n9EiheVaPjgKzTuIOGkk-zv8s019yh2PhAJ977dcQiIgVcIXdvlg3rMMs8Tf_n0LYFrnUj4o7LWCX8TTERk47KySRyDwyNAjNfczoAyBbz_YFcsNctxbLsyJTQoO91DYKuZs7kuMArnAVV_vvv71MYFyEiKUi8i/s4032/IMG_5606.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuLmkHVjA_tPmuuYl97mMIcDLh35mn7n9EiheVaPjgKzTuIOGkk-zv8s019yh2PhAJ977dcQiIgVcIXdvlg3rMMs8Tf_n0LYFrnUj4o7LWCX8TTERk47KySRyDwyNAjNfczoAyBbz_YFcsNctxbLsyJTQoO91DYKuZs7kuMArnAVV_vvv71MYFyEiKUi8i/s320/IMG_5606.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The view from my run on Wednesday am.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><div>3. I guess it's February now? Dang January flew by but I am not sad! I do not love winter in the Midwest so the faster the weeks go, the better. We have gotten off so incredibly easily, though. We had one cold spell in mid-January but it was 50 on Wednesday and will be in the upper 30s to 40s for the next couple of weeks which is just not normal. Hello, global warming. So I'm glad January is over and I'll be glad to have February behind me since it's another month I don't love (even though I have a February birthday). </div><div><br /></div><div>4. Paul and I started a new chapter book last week - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I was so excited to read it to him as I loved this book as a child. But so far his interest is kind of tepid? I'm hoping that as we get into the story he'll enjoy it more. And I told him we can watch one of the movie adaptations after we finish it. Of course he wanted to skip right to the movie! I tried to explain that is a cardinal sin in my book but 5 year olds be 5 year olds...</div><div><br /></div><div>5. I'm probably jinxing myself by typing this out, but Phil and I are going on our first date in ages tomorrow night. We haven't had a babysitter since Feb 2020 so please send us all of your good vibes that my kids do ok. I have no qualms about the babysitter as she works at a daycare so she's as qualified as they come - and she babysat for Paul several times pre-covid. But I fear Taco will refuse to go to bed for her. Hopefully it goes better than I think it might! I'm really excited for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants (112 Eatery). </div><div><br /></div><div><b>How was your week? </b></div>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-43557352289591198522024-01-29T02:00:00.054-06:002024-01-29T02:00:00.140-06:00Weekend reviewWell the weekend didn’t turn out like we had planned. We were supposed to go to my parents but Paul woke up with a fever on Friday morning. Because of course. I was really looking forward to seeing my parents but hopefully we can go over Presidents’ weekend in February. Hopefully the 3rd time is the charm (we were initially supposed to go over MLK weekend but rescheduled due to bitterly cold temps).<div><br /></div><div>I came into the weekend totally worn out after an intense week at work. I did 33 client meetings last week on top of having so much other work to do. I had a quiet week at the start of January and now work is back to a frenetic pace. I’m constantly pivoting from task to task. My heart races a bit just thinking about it honestly…I had to put an auto message on teams saying my response may be delayed because of my volume of client calls. I get so stressed when I am on call after call and I have emails pouring in and my teams app is flashing with 5+ messages, etc. I’m so grateful for my new hire but I wish I could clone him and have 2 people working for me. This pace of work isn’t exactly sustainable but I think/hope that as he gets more efficient I will be able to assign more work to him. My role has really changed and grown in the last 3 years - which is great because I like to be challenged. But I would love some quiet, less frantic days.</div><div><br /></div><div>But back to our weekend… We laid low on Friday and I made tacos for dinner. Usually Taco won’t eat tacos… but he did on Friday! </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4grMozY_qiHb0IDEHWdj72B99omv2jn8q4q2WMd5z9I3dyNf9dQfmN1e48HzCZIc2dkB0lT3VTkM6Rr-NGCa07fb4a3L7rswKS-MDIVz6Nw-CWVOQseVc9sKeMHBWXYvy-Nvjl5hcW7LpdUFjFav0PSKByXqYqk1Wj98AQd7-tI7IrDFnG8OquIVmlzEA/s4032/IMG_5581.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4grMozY_qiHb0IDEHWdj72B99omv2jn8q4q2WMd5z9I3dyNf9dQfmN1e48HzCZIc2dkB0lT3VTkM6Rr-NGCa07fb4a3L7rswKS-MDIVz6Nw-CWVOQseVc9sKeMHBWXYvy-Nvjl5hcW7LpdUFjFav0PSKByXqYqk1Wj98AQd7-tI7IrDFnG8OquIVmlzEA/s320/IMG_5581.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Paul was up in his room with his iPad since he was sick so Taco had our undivided attention and wow - he was like a different kid! No tantrums, no yelling, easy to entertain. Turns out not sharing the limelight makes a big difference. I mean bedtime was where the wheels fell off but it was nice to have an easier night of parenting after a long week of work.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9k8VeCWxBgeVVIJK5CMByY01NFl4MwNcWVa8Ys-U1DBcOpYy7rWygByUtrbpOtVo91viPcgrszHZKBIr9yv0JxvZnHcQMPeA6JiTw7_wOcGhZhiYFMR8T_P7tA2zEGZ_Z_pJg_oY0iKrBT9zFEj5tFqNS8WIklUUe_54eCF_uMrCNiXNBssDwqCsIJLts/s4032/IMG_5583.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9k8VeCWxBgeVVIJK5CMByY01NFl4MwNcWVa8Ys-U1DBcOpYy7rWygByUtrbpOtVo91viPcgrszHZKBIr9yv0JxvZnHcQMPeA6JiTw7_wOcGhZhiYFMR8T_P7tA2zEGZ_Z_pJg_oY0iKrBT9zFEj5tFqNS8WIklUUe_54eCF_uMrCNiXNBssDwqCsIJLts/s320/IMG_5583.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Enjoying a pre-bedtime graham cracker. His celiac test was negative so he can continue to eat gluten!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>My Saturday started with Paul throwing up but at least it was in a bucket? Luckily he started to feel better a couple of hours later so it was a fairly short-lived bug. I still got my Caroline Girvan workout in - 45/50 of the epic heat series! January has been a great month for workouts since I was home for 2+ weeks while my office was renovated. I’m hoping to keep up with doing 4-5 workouts each week even while traveling or being in the office. </div><div><br /></div><div>Phil and Taco went out to his mom’s after quiet time and I stayed back with Paul. So it was a very easy, low key afternoon for me. I made lentil soup for dinner (Paul had something else). Taco enjoyed all the attention at his Nana’s and put some puzzles together. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG441OEtJ3OJ2-uW7cmfReg7n3rRkZYIM-OYAL85C_Tt4LZeCVSd_fspS2GjNqjmUGDzsIVAx5dkVg9LV6c-4DpO8kCI6HOSWnynd5cdEGYkMyu24LcYdSbXl8u8MrWKiJ25u-telya3To_9pM2s00BrjLPX3D0RNkkF2LKebsU-Fcnmbeo5HWAGAM4bLU/s4032/IMG_0436.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG441OEtJ3OJ2-uW7cmfReg7n3rRkZYIM-OYAL85C_Tt4LZeCVSd_fspS2GjNqjmUGDzsIVAx5dkVg9LV6c-4DpO8kCI6HOSWnynd5cdEGYkMyu24LcYdSbXl8u8MrWKiJ25u-telya3To_9pM2s00BrjLPX3D0RNkkF2LKebsU-Fcnmbeo5HWAGAM4bLU/s320/IMG_0436.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>On Sunday I did another CG workout when Phil was up for the day (I’m the early morning parent since I am more of a morning person). Then the boys and I made monster cookies! This was my first time baking with Taco. He did pretty well. He did turn the mixer on the highest speed when I turned around and he required a lot more monitoring than when Paul helped me bake at this age. But I think Paul was the outlier in being so easy to bake with… or it’s just that first child rule following energy he tends to have.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3qib5lmSfi-zqo_fLXabav3CK2SdOneUymR90ggsisybBmi7YXAkbkMEjfj24NbTDZbyEa5t4WBF6KtESDxxDKZ9R-Yuun0xw1B08Ll2dqAuJUyIZ4QHXL_V9FZtdftC-WOjkq_0mvLD-_BPt6EvkRoM8Rxh1i29-6WvE0RcrYfve2sjgPPEsBxH81mM/s4032/IMG_5588.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3qib5lmSfi-zqo_fLXabav3CK2SdOneUymR90ggsisybBmi7YXAkbkMEjfj24NbTDZbyEa5t4WBF6KtESDxxDKZ9R-Yuun0xw1B08Ll2dqAuJUyIZ4QHXL_V9FZtdftC-WOjkq_0mvLD-_BPt6EvkRoM8Rxh1i29-6WvE0RcrYfve2sjgPPEsBxH81mM/s320/IMG_5588.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIfk9dpw8Kgo_I2-o58ZR58tq7RydMhx8bnrhk-9BzJ7oCnpf_t8K-Sd25-SMv9ZE4s7omo10lunDtqOBySOwnmYyQpKbgGz-Qp6vMZ27pvmaDl4Cz5u9vL-EnjHQ9MKAHhikjZnsJMV-RhkMaa1uR72UBnm2dpzryAATREXejLeGTt8FEH5jSXrcDy1M/s4032/IMG_5591.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIfk9dpw8Kgo_I2-o58ZR58tq7RydMhx8bnrhk-9BzJ7oCnpf_t8K-Sd25-SMv9ZE4s7omo10lunDtqOBySOwnmYyQpKbgGz-Qp6vMZ27pvmaDl4Cz5u9vL-EnjHQ9MKAHhikjZnsJMV-RhkMaa1uR72UBnm2dpzryAATREXejLeGTt8FEH5jSXrcDy1M/s320/IMG_5591.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_CAm2x7ntmo6rdBCCQqgyvp8H3XiJUuoVi2-3iwqKlDWcWrZc0ZyTx9HCXbKqL-zKE2sFQE6lSvXL1nZzOJ36k-fazi_xOrTEL-ohQ3kQWSXlZQc_a5fDmcFVJ1_qyZA82Md_weR9oUkIH7u1Nvw2I0VQrNngq7PH6CRT4EWpyQbS2wyJ9gkCFvI7sy6/s4032/IMG_5592.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_CAm2x7ntmo6rdBCCQqgyvp8H3XiJUuoVi2-3iwqKlDWcWrZc0ZyTx9HCXbKqL-zKE2sFQE6lSvXL1nZzOJ36k-fazi_xOrTEL-ohQ3kQWSXlZQc_a5fDmcFVJ1_qyZA82Md_weR9oUkIH7u1Nvw2I0VQrNngq7PH6CRT4EWpyQbS2wyJ9gkCFvI7sy6/s320/IMG_5592.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div>And yes Taco is wearing Mickey clothes in every picture in this post. His obsession with Mickey is alive and well.</div><div><br /></div><div>Paul had swimming where he once again got 1:1 attention from a floating teacher. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieOb7iMJFVBrr3SChhFtCnMfUudEV07D1ciUnOzbNpGL9Tmyg8uMwzSabD06pYzLC0eEH7YfbLT9sgu1B2NP0JDb4MSwf8mEkqwCOsDQjEgI7e8vXQ8_8Fcjje6EQVUPd3mv6-3tjjopRKrR_nfR15feF8kybK4a1AlTM20SHW9WGlbcJ4_r3WitUvevhj/s4032/IMG_5597.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieOb7iMJFVBrr3SChhFtCnMfUudEV07D1ciUnOzbNpGL9Tmyg8uMwzSabD06pYzLC0eEH7YfbLT9sgu1B2NP0JDb4MSwf8mEkqwCOsDQjEgI7e8vXQ8_8Fcjje6EQVUPd3mv6-3tjjopRKrR_nfR15feF8kybK4a1AlTM20SHW9WGlbcJ4_r3WitUvevhj/s320/IMG_5597.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Post nap it was pretty mild out (30s) so we went to the park for a short visit. We hadn’t been to the park for months! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLGBcS2XeR9EkxN0jk5ucoMFDLQeiDYJIGO6t2ajGefHnidIRRdkwLPhHgrWhmNiHq2_h9IVV7xR6hXmz-3e8fXIqOCwKObr8YJeayI5zbpROAhHxmjvLdqnIHSsCo5g58B94SOGK-1E6mvc0QG4UHrceW9EATr_rIVNBsJOebnmroqNby0LdLNrZyiIGW/s4032/IMG_5603.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLGBcS2XeR9EkxN0jk5ucoMFDLQeiDYJIGO6t2ajGefHnidIRRdkwLPhHgrWhmNiHq2_h9IVV7xR6hXmz-3e8fXIqOCwKObr8YJeayI5zbpROAhHxmjvLdqnIHSsCo5g58B94SOGK-1E6mvc0QG4UHrceW9EATr_rIVNBsJOebnmroqNby0LdLNrZyiIGW/s320/IMG_5603.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCtKglV4wO8Fz8PmqpzqGZCdYF3Q3YqjY4fFEXOq5hNhfUdWZM9OS5dZm_cFVGvrmQH09bHZFaGWo_Lh7QSSlIVXbcexENZrI9ajTTj2quT69zCNvhOwrE4-Z1vRypkxM2ZKe6EvLeJ7OxD9v4gy28CMorJuNw5PltDe5HLckntowf_KLXP1LN4wUZw9d3/s4032/IMG_5601.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCtKglV4wO8Fz8PmqpzqGZCdYF3Q3YqjY4fFEXOq5hNhfUdWZM9OS5dZm_cFVGvrmQH09bHZFaGWo_Lh7QSSlIVXbcexENZrI9ajTTj2quT69zCNvhOwrE4-Z1vRypkxM2ZKe6EvLeJ7OxD9v4gy28CMorJuNw5PltDe5HLckntowf_KLXP1LN4wUZw9d3/s320/IMG_5601.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div>Bedtime was a total gong show for both boys, though, so it wasn’t all sunshine and roses on Sunday. Paul is usually easier - I’m guessing he was acting up being I am traveling again this week after a nearly 2 month break. </div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of which, today I fly to LA for an internal sales conference. It’s my first time attending in my almost 9 years with the company. It will be a good chance to meet a lot of people in person that I have only interacted with over phone/email/zoom. I get back Wednesday night around 7pm so it’s a pretty short trip. I will be completely extroverted out by the end! I’m crossing my fingers that no one else gets the stomach bug Paul had!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>How was your weekend? </b></div>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-79093329876168990072024-01-22T02:00:00.008-06:002024-01-22T02:00:00.360-06:00Weekend RecapOur cold spell is coming to an end today - thank goodness. It’s been a long 10+ day stretch of terribly cold sub-zero weather but it will be in the 30s this week which is going to feel tropical. I mean when it was above 0F last week (like 3F) I told the boys, ‘hey it’s not so cold anymore!’ Ha. <div><br /></div><div>We had a pretty nice weekend! It did not get off to a great start, though. On Friday morning, Taco had his 3y well child appointment and his doctor agreed it made sense to test him for celiac between some of his symptoms and our strong family history. I stupidly did not realize it would involve a venous draw of blood. But they didn’t get enough from the first draw so they had to draw from his other arm. It took 2 phlebotomist and me holding his body to do the blood draws. Oof. During that awful process, I was questioning if it was all worth it but I still think it’s worth it to know whether he should be eating gluten. I’m hoping it’s negative because it will really complicate things but I would rather know versus have him be miserable. </div><div><br /></div><div>Things improved that night, though! I met up with another mom in the neighborhood that I actually met through my blog (Hi Anne!). We met up at 7:30 at the restaurant by my house that is 100% gluten free (Colita) and ties for my favorite restaurant in the city (112 Eatery is my other fave). Our kids are similar ages and we just get along so well - it’s a kindred spirit kind of connection. I hadn’t had non-work/non-family social plans since the first weekend of December so was long overdue for a social outing! </div><div><br /></div><div>On Saturday I did a Caroline Girvan workout and then the boys and I met up with friends at the zoo while Phil got a car serviced and grocery shopped. It was quite cold outside so we stuck to indoor exhibits. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ8jsTxP9y5BjOLWH1TiUI4BNJKty3MExO8OcJfaNRYPRnK05Kj08eZuGMN-TCqacYPzLOroE5uzh-nYbs515sg_LBvGQTFssd1nA-C93J3S2nfMBlepmEKaptNdnkvNamCMo7QtpPXccNmjhg_totv634zaRelfIhcA1-XRPNgGR7Kr1t72BiiT21xMgY/s4032/IMG_5559.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ8jsTxP9y5BjOLWH1TiUI4BNJKty3MExO8OcJfaNRYPRnK05Kj08eZuGMN-TCqacYPzLOroE5uzh-nYbs515sg_LBvGQTFssd1nA-C93J3S2nfMBlepmEKaptNdnkvNamCMo7QtpPXccNmjhg_totv634zaRelfIhcA1-XRPNgGR7Kr1t72BiiT21xMgY/s320/IMG_5559.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Eating snacks while posing for a photo</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div>I packed lunches for them but our friends ordered food. Taco apparently likes ketchup? He dipped a few fries in it but mostly ate it plain off his finger. He also had some cookie for dessert. The cookie was not dipped in ketchup to be clear.<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGjmmMDqqjawUtevsdVNHiQk-oENYsJJcMiXjr-1Jnm9INTFrCUDWQt1xHr0nluD83Dzql8qcRLCk6fKFeCRk6_e3lC4hM52Th8Mldik9QrDBESaUUuTG9lB8ctn4VnnLxqUT7lMKThL3NNJR5MW5coDxb2c6aQdJRsk_M98oHz8vBQ7tdLB877EUL1ZjG/s4032/IMG_5564.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGjmmMDqqjawUtevsdVNHiQk-oENYsJJcMiXjr-1Jnm9INTFrCUDWQt1xHr0nluD83Dzql8qcRLCk6fKFeCRk6_e3lC4hM52Th8Mldik9QrDBESaUUuTG9lB8ctn4VnnLxqUT7lMKThL3NNJR5MW5coDxb2c6aQdJRsk_M98oHz8vBQ7tdLB877EUL1ZjG/s320/IMG_5564.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div>Admittedly the wheels kind of fell off after nap/quiet time. Winter is hard. I can really only manage one outing per day, especially when it’s so cold. So there was a lot of whining/meltdowns/sibling discord in the afternoon/evening. I made turkey wild rice soup for dinner which hit the spot on a cold winter day. I use this <a href="https://pinchofyum.com/instant-pot-wild-rice-soup" target="_blank">recipe</a> but add chicken or turkey and I leave out the mushrooms since Phil doesn’t like them.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>The weather on Sunday morning felt worse as it was windy so felt colder than Saturday. Bleh. I did another CG workout once Phil was up (I’m the early morning parent and get a break during naptime). And then time kind of stood still while we entertained the boys indoors. </div><div><br /></div><div>I was glad to take Paul to swimming in the afternoon. It felt less cold outside. Woo hoo! Paul was struggling a bit so another floating teacher jumped in to help the other kids so he could get some 1:1 time with the teacher. This place (Foss) is expensive but worth it since they do things like this.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNhNA62DAqPCwdCOjuyBFIvfTdqVcM8Xm9EzVDfQZ5mcfcBG-b9WHmSzEUTAzNREq6f_h6afODXj-Y7HnxRFJ9sG7ZIKNctJmHZyoveUSmmdbt_R5p8l3yhJxiS4snT8ZSLw1iKICVRp2ep6DX6QaT0Q-1D6tTDECl_Re29ShyphenhyphensaZWdnQ5t0ZuP-pIIRG/s4032/IMG_5571.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNhNA62DAqPCwdCOjuyBFIvfTdqVcM8Xm9EzVDfQZ5mcfcBG-b9WHmSzEUTAzNREq6f_h6afODXj-Y7HnxRFJ9sG7ZIKNctJmHZyoveUSmmdbt_R5p8l3yhJxiS4snT8ZSLw1iKICVRp2ep6DX6QaT0Q-1D6tTDECl_Re29ShyphenhyphensaZWdnQ5t0ZuP-pIIRG/s320/IMG_5571.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzJqzXUroafctst-bl2O8n2PxkhEkdJsEeNLeJffzSxRtToIF8OF1EBLVr9kH3qLzaMNGpJbn_4DatvMM_u17RyydMlpfdTrLH3y0o1tBhm6RSN9xxNSp7ADANAW4cqAsertfJNRUG7um0LukAZkBitWxjiH6szjl5eGeLlQhoRlYkLpEoCpmhhcSKeY2R/s4032/IMG_5573.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzJqzXUroafctst-bl2O8n2PxkhEkdJsEeNLeJffzSxRtToIF8OF1EBLVr9kH3qLzaMNGpJbn_4DatvMM_u17RyydMlpfdTrLH3y0o1tBhm6RSN9xxNSp7ADANAW4cqAsertfJNRUG7um0LukAZkBitWxjiH6szjl5eGeLlQhoRlYkLpEoCpmhhcSKeY2R/s320/IMG_5573.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Post-lesson macarons<br /><br /><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div>I made <a href="https://iowagirleats.com/shortcut-vegetable-ragu/" target="_blank">pasta sauce</a> for dinner which sneakily includes blitzed carrots, onions, and celery. I had mine on spaghetti squash; the boys had theirs on pasta. After the boys were in bed, we watched the Bills/Chiefs game. We were cheering for the Bills so were bummed when they lost. </div><div><br /></div><div>Next weekend we will be at my parents which I am really looking forward to. We badly need a change of scenery!! </div><div><br /></div><div><b>How was your weekend?</b></div>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-53657127403224228642024-01-19T02:00:00.018-06:002024-01-19T02:00:00.131-06:002024 Time Study Results<p>For the third year in a row, I participated in <a href="https://lauravanderkam.com/" target="_blank">Laura Vanderkam'</a>s time tracking challenge. She's been tracking her time for something like 8+ years. I only do it once/year and don't have a desire to extend it past the week challenge but it is an interesting exercise to go through. The challenge always takes place during the same week of January each year and while there is "no typical week" in most people's lives, it can show you some trends/themes of life. Like the first year I did the time tracking challenge in 2022, I was up during the night for 5.5 hours as Taco had tubes and then, separately, got some sort of virus that resulted in high fevers during the night. I am relieved that being up at night is the exception and not the norm these days! I did have to go into his room twice last week but I was in and out - so as long as my body let me fall back asleep, that night waking didn't make the tracker. One night I could not fall back asleep so was up for 30 minutes reading (still using the lessons I learned from my "<a href="https://lisasyarns.blogspot.com/2015/10/sleep-training-for-adults.html" target="_blank">sleep training for adults</a>" post). </p><p>A quick note about process. My time log is not super detailed. Laura provides excel spreadsheets with 15 and 30 minute increments - I use the 30 min one and I do not get super detailed with my time tracking. I just want a general sense of how my time was spent and I want to use "sumif" formulas in excel to calculate how my time was spent. So you won't see "eating" or "meals" below because I don't ever spent 30 minutes solely dedicated to eating a meal. Maybe this is bad but it is the reality of life with young children/the life of a working mom. I'm with the kids when I eat breakfast, dinner, and weekend lunches; I'm often eating while working on weekdays. I know that probably isn't recommended but so be it. Similarly, you won't see "blogging" below - I do most of my commenting from my phone or during snippets of downtime at work. I’m often commenting on my phone when the kids are focused on something that doesn't require my involvement. So no, I am not giving them my absolutely undivided attention for every minute of the 41 hours below, but I'm next to them and engaged when need be.</p><p>All that said, here is how my week shaped up!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMR8AA2RRusrzYSWqp1F2-rjB9zocwo12K0S63D3c3-T5HPzfjLV6t7fTrMYpnZIukI9FX1RrsNN-Th4vs_XrGdhkYa-E__FsKQBpvg8OWq8PIhBuUvV2lP1zKjlfaRmrYXjcGKbrceTrEpgjzlRAofiZoxaSmYYTRWYEvSWnPVVm6wwUVUUzBvIahW20z/s621/2024%20Time%20Tracking.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="621" height="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMR8AA2RRusrzYSWqp1F2-rjB9zocwo12K0S63D3c3-T5HPzfjLV6t7fTrMYpnZIukI9FX1RrsNN-Th4vs_XrGdhkYa-E__FsKQBpvg8OWq8PIhBuUvV2lP1zKjlfaRmrYXjcGKbrceTrEpgjzlRAofiZoxaSmYYTRWYEvSWnPVVm6wwUVUUzBvIahW20z/w640-h526/2024%20Time%20Tracking.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><b>Sleep</b> - This kind of overstates how much I sleep but represents my time in bed. I am sure it is eye-popping to many. I know there are many who struggle to get 7 hours of sleep/night. I typically turn my kindle off at 9:30 and stay in bed until 6. Sometimes I get to "sleep in" until 6:30 on the weekend if Taco sleeps that late. When I wore a FitBit, which I felt more accurately tracked sleep, I would average around 7.5 hours of actual sleep. But yes, I spend quite a bit of time in bed each week but I need more sleep than the average person since I have a chronic illness that requires me to prioritize sleep. Admittedly, I feel a little lazy that I spend over 8 hours in my bed each night? It feels very countercultural... but it's what I need to stay healthy and flare-free. <div><br /></div><div><b>Kids</b> - We spend a lot of time with our kids! More hours than I spend working (at least during this particular week). I know there's this thought that working moms barely see their kids. It is just not true and time tracking proves it. Granted, this really changes as your kids get older and stay up later. Paul goes to bed around 8 these days, so we get at least 3 hours with him on a week night plus loads of time on the weekend. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Work</b> - This was a quieter week at work for me as our salesforce underwent a reorg at the start of the year so I have barely had any meetings so far this year as sales people are introducing themselves to their new relationships. Plus I was WFH so I used downtime to work on a few projects - like writing all the school holiday info in my planner for the fall 2024 school year and I worked on a few pages of our 2023 photobook. There are weeks where I barely have time to eat lunch and am overloaded with meetings, or I travel and have long days. So I don't feel much guilt about lighter work weeks. It all evens out over time. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Admin</b> - This is kind of a catch all category for tasks related to the home/family. A good chunk of my "admin" time was spent doing some January cure projects, like deep cleaning our kitchen and deep cleaning our fridge. It also includes meal prep, organizational tasks, folding clothes, etc. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Exercise </b>- This is kind of a slim category but I actually worked out 6 times that week. But they were all 35-40ish minute strength training workouts which I rounded down to 30 minutes. I'm really happy that I worked out as much as I did - and it's entirely because I was WFH. It's much trickier to fit workouts in when we have to all leave the house together at 7 to do school/daycare drop-offs and drive downtown to work.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Read</b> - It should surprise no one that reads this blogs that I spent 10 hours reading. I would say it was an average week of reading for me. I generally read from 8:30-9:30 each night and then sneak reading time in at other times, like when Taco naps on the weekend.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Couple time</b> - I know this is a low amount of time, but a lot of those "kids" hours are spent together as we are generally all home together at 5pm on week days and we spend a lot of hours together on weekends, too (although I am more likely to take the kids somewhere while Phil grocery shops or cleans the house). During this week, our couple time was the 30 minutes we spent watching a show after the kids go to bed. Paul is in bed by 8, we watch a show until 8:30ish, and then I go up and read for an hour. That gives Phil time to watch shows he knows I won't enjoy. Phil and I didn't get married until we were 37 so we are used to having our "alone" time. I think/hope this category will change years from now when the boys are older and don't require constant surveillance!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Personal time</b> - This is a new catch all category that I started to use each year. During personal time, I could be watching tv or reading/commenting on blogs or playing spelling bee on my phone. Most of these hours happened over the weekend during Taco's nap or a time when Phil had the kids downstairs to give me a break. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Year-over-year changes</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4AJkgydFKQEVqcq18LmJ5_1L7yE5p-maRf9XkDwASMA6_FD4mlJhc0jcphWGBQEKRA9WrvjDFgY73JTLSo3zfK3LKgRS5PG0-8xTEmzlEWThN_ShdeD6PqmZ8sPn9Rosux2jYX1nuLT6U4Ljn84zQdq6Ev1LLt0l4ycUO7y6G4fC-Ms6PAFHW6QWsDnY/s648/2024%20v%202023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="648" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4AJkgydFKQEVqcq18LmJ5_1L7yE5p-maRf9XkDwASMA6_FD4mlJhc0jcphWGBQEKRA9WrvjDFgY73JTLSo3zfK3LKgRS5PG0-8xTEmzlEWThN_ShdeD6PqmZ8sPn9Rosux2jYX1nuLT6U4Ljn84zQdq6Ev1LLt0l4ycUO7y6G4fC-Ms6PAFHW6QWsDnY/w640-h386/2024%20v%202023.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><p>It's always interesting to look at year-over-year changes. </p><p>- I <b>exercised</b> for fewer hours in 2024 than I did in 2023. But in January 2023, I was going strong on the 23 minutes outside in '23 challenge. I would go for 30 minutes walks outside which I categorized as exercise. The quality of my 2023 workouts was certainly better as I did 5 Caroline Girvan strength training workouts and 1 of her HIIT workouts (which I hated many minutes of but found very effective). </p><p>- I had no <b>doctor</b> appointments this year! Hurrah! </p><p>- No <b>commute </b>either since I worked from home during the week!</p><p>- I also had very little <b>social</b> time. The prior year I had an abnormal amount of social time as I brought a new mom lunch, celebrated a friend's birthday, and had a family gathering and a zoom catch up with a friend. Last week I spent 30 minutes on a zoom with a blog reader (hi, L!) talking about my job/field of work. </p><p>- <b>Couple time</b> decreased slightly but Paul goes to bed later than he did last year, so we had a bit less time to watch shows together before I head up to bed. I know this time can easily get compressed but I do hope there is less "active management" around bedtime in the years to come so more of that time can be spent with Phil! This is all the more reason to really work on getting back to regular date nights, though, so I am glad we have one just around the corner in early February. I love and value my time spent with Phil so want to work on increasing our quality time together.</p><p><b>Have you ever tracked your time? Do you feel like you have a good sense of how you spend your time?</b></p></div>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-12578606024023527962024-01-16T02:00:00.059-06:002024-01-16T02:00:00.139-06:00Baby it’s cold outside<p>First things first - I was a guest on <a href="https://optimisticmusings.com/guest-post-welcome-back-lisa/" target="_blank">Elisabeth’s blog</a> yesterday! Hop over there to find out a good story about the origin of my name - and my feelings about my name as a child!</p><p>Now back to the task at hand. And look! A post that isn’t about 2023! At the halfway point of January!</p><p>We’ve gotten off pretty easy so far this winter in Minnesota but Mother Nature has woken from her slumber and real winter has arrived in these parts. Cold temps hit on Friday with a feels like temp of -12F. We were supposed to go to my parents’ lake home for the weekend but the forecast showed -30 to -40F windchill temps by Sunday and possibly more snow. So we postponed our visit and hunkered down for the long weekend. </p><p>How does one get through a weekend with bitterly, dangerously cold temps? On Saturday, the answer was screens. Lots of screens. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbYdRiQJLYlQstUiFtMB3RStCDcpaaMyST0l4yvwkN9AGhbw3d_nnFNIWj_oiNqK9HR8-YcMwDj1DEmtFDcMY9SPGlTXnyXMbhurLAsQw511AhiQ0JKDxN3Tsg0CTQ8dFvM_uN6y1EHzpGH4uZTcbXq6XGqWBOoIELJqLeB0WSyq3r-7HZpLM1EAkb3lJ/s3088/IMG_5535.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbYdRiQJLYlQstUiFtMB3RStCDcpaaMyST0l4yvwkN9AGhbw3d_nnFNIWj_oiNqK9HR8-YcMwDj1DEmtFDcMY9SPGlTXnyXMbhurLAsQw511AhiQ0JKDxN3Tsg0CTQ8dFvM_uN6y1EHzpGH4uZTcbXq6XGqWBOoIELJqLeB0WSyq3r-7HZpLM1EAkb3lJ/s320/IMG_5535.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cuddled up on the couch watching a movie</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I don’t have much guilt about this to be honest. There is only so much I can do to entertain 2 small children when going outside isn’t advised. So they watched Kung Fu Panda 3 and Mario Brothers on Saturday. But that allowed me to thoroughly clean our kitchen in the morning (a January cure task! My completion rate for the January cure isn’t great but I have done all of the organization tasks so I’m calling it a success) and make a kind of putzy <a href="https://www.seasonsandsuppers.ca/indian-spiced-chicken-stew/" target="_blank">Indian Curry</a> in the afternoon that I only make maybe once a year since it takes a couple of hours (worth the effort as it tastes amazing).</p><p>We did other things besides watch movies and tv, though. Taco has gotten quite good at puzzles. He happily put 4 together on his own. He couldn’t do these without assistance a couple of months ago. It’s so cool to see their brains develop!! </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb40OMrqxElCpstOfGz42zPFCNj4IJLlLwdhd9-yPTJk9-SJbBEpFn2JaGbaHlZLu7UfxqszJEFtP17t6zKuLZvGow8sUve-kcAlq1SWVVLCNi0HURdN8RkaH3M_CASelB-s9b0Ys4N-yWxycOLWAHIsJv7T_QeIlZYyNDAlZ5hM9AMrqUOKc8aA0PEP4e/s4032/IMG_5539.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb40OMrqxElCpstOfGz42zPFCNj4IJLlLwdhd9-yPTJk9-SJbBEpFn2JaGbaHlZLu7UfxqszJEFtP17t6zKuLZvGow8sUve-kcAlq1SWVVLCNi0HURdN8RkaH3M_CASelB-s9b0Ys4N-yWxycOLWAHIsJv7T_QeIlZYyNDAlZ5hM9AMrqUOKc8aA0PEP4e/s320/IMG_5539.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Awkwardly smiling by his favorite of the 4 puzzles</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Sunday was colder but we had to get out of the house because the boys had gotten terribly squirrelly after not leaving the house on Sat! So after my Caroline Girvan workout (36th workout of the epic heat program) I braved the -30F windchills and took the boys to an indoor playground. Paul loves the place we went but it was a little advanced for Taco. He still had fun but could have left after 30 minutes and Paul could have stayed for hours. We stayed for about 1:15 as a compromise. Taco liked the gym areas with little trikes and such but some kids were zipping around like madmen so we weren’t in there a ton. This place has a big climbing/slide area but it was too intimidating for Taco.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSRlkgy425fW88UHzBON16RzC_I8RXH5Ykgw4EK769BHGcGXnmsiVWyHGgrsmR73sAk1ViqVEjn_wINQxk-osfh6gMbbC9eTjAp3VfrAjQ7K5lSUg8KlHHYmWRQgRoknPW-VCbvsDpEnHB2hESiTfPsbSuCCfzPaqcsm9uYtTHtV868tQ6xchxJotFSOxc/s4032/IMG_5545.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSRlkgy425fW88UHzBON16RzC_I8RXH5Ykgw4EK769BHGcGXnmsiVWyHGgrsmR73sAk1ViqVEjn_wINQxk-osfh6gMbbC9eTjAp3VfrAjQ7K5lSUg8KlHHYmWRQgRoknPW-VCbvsDpEnHB2hESiTfPsbSuCCfzPaqcsm9uYtTHtV868tQ6xchxJotFSOxc/s320/IMG_5545.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXklo6hpY4A6E1L_GBP322TCXXARcVfymh4IL9G0MFQunPMLcrOdB6CwbV7wK6eZZ0kRLJJuBAmwoc8n0Vv3a4_vtloNun6EZm07SVIw-p6MDT8O3TD480SJu8hBRQwZUH22GUIePBFxYIRulvbTQJ6xuePd3gtXY4A1VwuEWiRVJ062KT7cc1svV_Usu/s4032/IMG_5547.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXklo6hpY4A6E1L_GBP322TCXXARcVfymh4IL9G0MFQunPMLcrOdB6CwbV7wK6eZZ0kRLJJuBAmwoc8n0Vv3a4_vtloNun6EZm07SVIw-p6MDT8O3TD480SJu8hBRQwZUH22GUIePBFxYIRulvbTQJ6xuePd3gtXY4A1VwuEWiRVJ062KT7cc1svV_Usu/s320/IMG_5547.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><p>Our afternoon activity was Paul’s swimming lesson while Taco napped. He moved up a level this session and is being VERY challenged. Our plan is to keep him in lessons through the spring and then take the summer term off.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqwrlPQU6OWTQauOTpgvrgXeDfV1g6-SoOCauOaSPzyT0N-bGamyRLmm8RibAU78Qia9g4hdcDRviDo8ZYW67KRpxQJAqt7UOGHvV0LZRF4lQKMj1iWIfIWPe05Xmxm1ecqh0i5U04p-EOMDaSMvBef16xAefSq_ax4mj9HycqkbW6MNGI7oXkfX5NaGr/s4032/IMG_5550.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqwrlPQU6OWTQauOTpgvrgXeDfV1g6-SoOCauOaSPzyT0N-bGamyRLmm8RibAU78Qia9g4hdcDRviDo8ZYW67KRpxQJAqt7UOGHvV0LZRF4lQKMj1iWIfIWPe05Xmxm1ecqh0i5U04p-EOMDaSMvBef16xAefSq_ax4mj9HycqkbW6MNGI7oXkfX5NaGr/s320/IMG_5550.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><p>Phil, Paul, and I had the day off on Monday for MLK day but Taco’s school was open. So he went to school and Phil and Paul went to Phil’s mom which meant I was alone in the house for much of the day! I worked out, finished deep cleaning the fridge (such a satisfying task!), watched some of Lessons in Chemistry, read, and basked in the silence. </p><p><b>How was your weekend? Was it a long one for you? We had a nice weekend but I’m ready to get back to our routines. </b></p>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-19838671520976375092024-01-12T02:00:00.062-06:002024-01-12T13:58:27.137-06:00Finance Friday: 2023 Spending<p>This is my final 2023 in review post and I'm discussing my favorite topic - finances! This shouldn't be a surprise since I work in finance (the fixed income area of asset management, to be specific). My finance posts seem to be especially popular so it seems like it is interesting to many of you! In general, people tend to be very private about finances but I feel like I've threaded the needle of being transparent without oversharing. At least that is my intent. After all, I am married to one of the most private people I know! </p><p>First off, some disclaimers:</p><p>1. The chart doesn't include contributions to investment accounts like our 401ks, the boys' 529s, our brokerage account, etc. I also exclude any equity we purchased in Phil's firm. That is part of his compensation package - he buys equity and then receives dividends. It feels similar to investing so I leave it out each year.</p><p>2. It doesn't include most medical expenses because I generally use my HSA for mine and the boys' medical expenses. Phil is on his own insurance because it's more economical that way. He typically has next to no medical expenses, although 2023 was the outlier as you'll see below. I also don't include the premiums for our medical insurance because those are pre-tax and out of our control. </p><p>3. Our housing category is extremely small because we paid our mortgage off in 2020. There are a variety of reasons for this, but we didn't sacrifice investing in order to pay off our mortgage. We loved the feeling of having no debt when we paid off our last house so decided to do it again. We especially like having no debt since Phil and I work in the same industry (asset management) which is very volatile. It's a personal decision and I completely recognize our privilege in being able to do this, although we have definitely lived frugally/below our means so that we can do things like pay off a mortgage. I also know that most financial advisors would not recommend that we pay off our mortgage because it was a low cost source of financing when we obtained our mortgage in 2019. But Phil and I are both CFA charterholders and are smart and logical and this was the decision that worked best for us and our circumstances/preferences.</p><p>So here goes! This is going to be a lengthy post, so buckle up!!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQlzT6E42n0mNiIrrXUvVcURTzN24m6UEpQBw1fhjH1-UPnBc6qbRadz1VOhd4N93uwJlW630pg7rPkJOFM9TrmAFVuEYIirXI5r4CDoE7Vs3EBqPn32v0U_1fjnO47R-rF55rloQJ_sHk-JfDLhL3JLC6PY_e384BawfesegTfJjxB97Yk0Q8qr8HK317/s1114/2023%20Spending.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="1114" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQlzT6E42n0mNiIrrXUvVcURTzN24m6UEpQBw1fhjH1-UPnBc6qbRadz1VOhd4N93uwJlW630pg7rPkJOFM9TrmAFVuEYIirXI5r4CDoE7Vs3EBqPn32v0U_1fjnO47R-rF55rloQJ_sHk-JfDLhL3JLC6PY_e384BawfesegTfJjxB97Yk0Q8qr8HK317/w640-h400/2023%20Spending.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>Overall</b> - our spending increased again last year and that was entirely related to buying a new car in October. We also sold our Camry and did very well on that sale (bought it new for $18k 8 years ago, sold it for $15k), so the net increase in spending wasn't as bad as it could have been.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Call-outs on categories that warrant mentioning:</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Auto & Transport (28%)</b> - This went from 6% in 2022 to 28% in 2023 since we bought a Rav4 Hybrid. We got a loan at the time of purchase and then paid it off within a couple of weeks. As I've mentioned before, we do not like to have debt. Interest rates are so high so I am glad this is possible for us. We don't drive very much so we should not need to buy another car for a very long time, barring anything happening to one of our cars! My 8 year old Camry had about 40k miles on it when we sold it and the car Phil has had since 2013 has even fewer miles on it!</div><p><b>Daycare (25%) - </b>After being our biggest expense for several years, this dropped to our second highest expense. This year I broke out kid activities from daycare because I know that expense bucket will grow going forward. Even if I included activities, this category is still less than the car category. But back to daycare - the expense decreased by 15% since Paul started kindergarten, but it is still pretty high since we pay for before and after care for Paul, care on non-school days, and Taco transitioned to a slightly more expensive daycare in August. It's worth every penny paid and we are extremely happy with both of the boys' programs. </p><p><b>Donations (7%)</b> - Donations as a % of spending decreased, but since our spending increased, our donations still increased. I feel good about this number although it could be higher.</p><p><b>Travel (6%)</b> - Travel increased which I am thrilled about. It's still pretty low since we are not big fans of traveling with little kids (you do you but it's not worth the money spent generally). The 2023 travel expenses were for my trip to Tucson, AZ with Paul, my girls trip to Banff, and flights and VRBO for our April Destin, FL trip later this spring.</p><p><b>Doctor (5%) </b>- New and hopefully one-time category for us! I use my HSA for medical expenses but Phil pays out of pocket since he usually has very few expenses. He found out he had skin cancer on his nose in early 2023 so this expense is entirely related to having it removed which was an extremely painful and kind of expensive procedure. </p><p><b>Dining (4%)</b> - Our dining expenses stayed the same, percentage-wise. I definitely generate more dining-related expenses than Phil. He buys lunch when he goes into the office but generally spends $10 or less. I have monthly book club meals where we order with abandon plus other occasional gathering. This also includes my weeklyish latte from Starbucks.</p><p><b>Groceries (4%)</b> - Oddly this category decreased in 2023 as both a percentage of spending and on an absolute basis. I don't know how. I think we spend less than the average family on groceries. Phil buys as much at Aldi as he can which really keeps your grocery bill down. And we don't eat a ton of meat? Also Phil is not a big guy. We eat about the same amount so meals stretch further than if he was like a 200 pound man. I'm not sure how else to explain how low our grocery spending is. I feel like we eat high quality meals so it’s not like we are forsaking quality to keep our spending down, nor are we trying to target a certain budget. We spend what we spend and it ends up being fairly low. </p><p><b>Target (4%) </b>- I work a block from Target and have young kids so this is always going to be a healthy line item in our spending! I do not go to the trouble of splitting out my Target shopping into specific categories because that seems like a lot of trouble just to know that X% went to groceries or diapers or what have you. I feel good about the fact that my Target spending exceeds my Amazon spending because I'd rather support a local company (Target headquarters are in Minneapolis). Some of this spending is on groceries, but I don't buy a lot of groceries - just odds and ends that we run out of mid-week, like bananas (we eat so many bananas in this house!).</p><p><b>Kid Activities (3%) - </b>Another new category! I'll track this going forward as I know kid activities will only increase. This line item includes the cost of gymnastics (which we stopped doing in December as I got burnt out on the parent/tot class and Paul was complaining about going in the fall), Karate (which Paul started in November), and swimming lessons for Paul. </p><p><b>Home (2%)</b> - Well this category sure got small in 2023! It was bigger the prior to 2 years as we installed a gas fireplace in Jan 2023 so had a down payment in 2022 and then final payment in 2023. Now this is a very measly line item since we don't have a mortgage. I think our property taxes probably went to the taxes category (which I also exclude from this spending analysis) so I should probably fix that going forward so this category is more representative of our true housing costs. [Edit: home would have increased to 9% of our spending if I included our property taxes. I will fix this next year!]</p><p><b>The rest</b> - The remaining categories are too small to warrant much of a deep dive. <b>Amazon</b> is a smaller piece of our pie since I try to choose Target over Amazon whenever possible. <b>Clothing</b> expenses increased in 2023 because I bought some new work clothes - most of which were work dresses from Boden. <b>Personal care </b>is haircut/color - which only happened twice last year since I had to cancel my final appointment of the year due to work travel. <b>Other </b>is any category that represented less than 1% of our spending.</p><p>***</p><p>Overall, I feel good about our 2023 spending since it's a fairly low percentage of our incomes. We are frugal by nature and value growing our nest egg so we can hopefully retire early or at least opt off the hamster wheel of asset management. I look forward to a time when travel is a bigger piece of the pie but as long as I have a child that naps daily, I'm not looking to increase our family travel budget. Plus we are fortunate that my parents have a beautiful lake home and are always thrilled to host us. We go there quite often in the summer so that is a cheap family "vacation". </p><p><b>Do you review your spending on a regular basis? Are there any finance posts you'd want me to write this year? </b></p>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-76103120132834331702024-01-10T02:00:00.009-06:002024-01-10T02:00:00.143-06:002023 in Review: Blog Stats<p>Are you tired of talking about 2023 yet and ready to move onto 2024? I'm coming to the end of this series of post so I will soon move on and focus on the time at hand. For my penultimate post, I'm talking about my blog stats. I've never reviewed blog stats in the past. I don't aim for a certain level of readership. I don't have any ads. I just write to get my thoughts down and to connect with others. But it is interesting to see what resonates the most! </p><p>One caveat before I start! I switched my comment form to disqus this fall since the blogger comment form has not been working great for much of 2023 for iPhone users. But that means all of the comments that were left before the switch are missing. Womp womp. So you won't see comments on anything posted before late fall which is a huge bummer because the comment sections can be so interesting!</p><p><b>Top 5 posts of 2023:</b></p><p>1. <a href="https://lisasyarns.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Finance Friday: 2022 Spending</a> - My annual spending post is always a popular one! I'll be back later this week with my 2023 spending so stay tuned! </p><p>2. <a href="https://lisasyarns.blogspot.com/2023/04/guest-post-elisabeth-frost.html" target="_blank">Guest Post: Elisabeth</a> - Elisabeth and I did a blog swap back in April. </p><p>2. <a href="https://lisasyarns.blogspot.com/2023/08/kid-activities-complicated-feelings.html" target="_blank">Kid Activities + Complicated Feelings About Sport</a> - I talked about how I was not athletic as a child and how my involvement in sports was certainly net negative for my self-esteem. </p><p>3. <a href="https://lisasyarns.blogspot.com/2023/09/virtual-coffee-date.html">Virtual Coffee Date</a> - I talked about Paul starting Kindergarten in this "coffee date" and how I almost felt bad about not feeling sad that he was starting school. I felt nothing but joy because he was so ready for school. </p><p>4. <a href="https://lisasyarns.blogspot.com/2023/10/five-things-friday.html" target="_blank">Five Things Friday</a> - In this run-of-the-mill weekly post, I talked about my boss telling me that we needed to talk later in the day without telling me what we needed to talk about and how stressed out that made me! It resonated with many of you. </p><p><b>Top 5 posts of All-Time:</b></p><p>1. <a href="https://lisasyarns.blogspot.com/2016/01/living-with-ra-my-first-flare.html" target="_blank">Living with RA: My First Flare</a> - I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) in August 2013. It took a good 6 months to get my cocktail of meds figured out, but once I did I didn't have another flare until January 2016. In this post, I talk about that flare.</p><p>2. <a href="https://lisasyarns.blogspot.com/2018/10/a-fall-weekend-at-lake.html" target="_blank">A Fall Weekend at the Lake</a> - I do not know why this is such a popular post! It's a recap of a weekend at my parents' lake home when Paul was about 7 months old. But check out the pics of baby Paul in this post! This was his bobble head phase when his head was sooo big for his tiny body. </p><p>3. <a href="https://lisasyarns.blogspot.com/2016/12/wedding-wednesday.html" target="_blank">Wedding Wednesday</a> - This was the first in a <a href="https://lisasyarns.blogspot.com/search/label/Our%20wedding" target="_blank">series of posts</a> about planning our wedding. I shared some of the big and somewhat controversial decisions (like not having a wedding dance and no bridesmaid dresses for example) we made. We had a very short engagement - we were engaged on December 9th, 2016 and got married on May 19th, 2017. That was perfect for us. We were 36 when we got married so had no desire to have a long engagement. </p><p>4. <a href="https://lisasyarns.blogspot.com/2016/11/10-days-of-thanksgiving-day-4-stable-job.html" target="_blank">10 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 4 - Stable Job</a> - I used to do a 10 days of Thanksgiving post series in the days leading up to Thanksgiving and this post in particular stood out. It was about how grateful I was to be working with my mentor again and in a stable, healthy work environment. I had been on a career rollercoaster for years before moving over to my current role in July 2015. I miss working with my colleague who has since retired but pretty much everything I said in this post is still true. </p><p>5. <a href="https://lisasyarns.blogspot.com/2015/10/sleep-training-for-adults.html" target="_blank">Sleep Training for Adults</a> - I had truly horrible insomnia in the summer of 2015 and sought out a sleep specialist for help. I used cognitive behavioral therapy to cure my insomnia. It worked but it was not a fun process to go through. But I shared what I learned. And I still use it. Twice in the last week I've been up in the middle of the night reading on my kindle after tossing and turning for over 10 minutes after being woken by various things (using the bathroom one night and a child the other night).</p><p><br /></p><p><b>I have some new readers so you probably learned a thing or two about me! Have you looked at your most popular posts? Are there any that are surprising to you? </b></p>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-82843033985891108432024-01-08T02:00:00.014-06:002024-01-08T02:00:00.140-06:002023 In Review: Reading Stats<p><span style="color: #222222;">I'm back with another "2023 in review" type of post. This time I'm reviewing my 2023 reading. I have two ways of tracking my reading - goodreads and a spreadsheet that I get as a benefit of being in the Sarah's Bookshelves Live patreon community. That spreadsheet has a dizzying number of things you can track - I probably only track about half of the categories available. But I just hide the things I don't care about/don't want to track. </span></p><p><b style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The stats</span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are some breakouts I find interesting!</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Number of books: </b>I read 97 books in 2023 versus 114 in 2022. It was the first year since 2018 that I didn't read over 100 books but I don't really care at all. I don't push myself to read a certain number of books. I read when I can. I can see that my evening reading time will be compressed as the kids get older, stay up later, and are involved in more activities. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>High-level genre:</b> Fiction = 69%; Non-fiction = 31% - this split was identical to 2022 which is kind of crazy!</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Backlist (books not published in 2023) </b>= 47%</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Book format:</b> 93% e-books; 4% hardcover; 2% paperback; 1% audiobook - again this breakout was identical to 2022. Similar to 2022, I only listened to one audiobook. I am not an audiobook person as I choose podcasts over audiobooks.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Book source:</b> 95 out of 97 came from the library! Because I lean so heavily on the library, we make a donation each year as part of our charitable giving. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Top 4 genres: </b>Memoir/Essays (21%), Literary Fiction (21%), Contemporary Fiction (19%), Historical Fiction (13%). I read more historical fiction than previous years. That's usually a genre I'm not drawn to but a couple of my best books were historical fiction so it can work for me - so long as it's not about WWII. I got way too burned out on that time period!</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>% of female authors:</b> 79%!! Not at all surprised by this stat. I am far more drawn to female authors.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b>% of diverse books:</b> 40%. I feel pretty good about that stat. It could be higher of course, but a good amount of what I read features diverse characters or is written by a diverse author. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">The ratings:</span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5 stars = 20 books</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4 stars = 38 books</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3 stars = 33 books</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2 stars = 5 books. I'll list them since there are so few. Vita Nostra, Girlhood, and Bleak House were books I read for book clubs. I also rated The Guest Lecturer and The Puzzle Master as 2 star reads. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Average rating = 3.8. This is down from my average rating of 4 stars in 2022. I read a lot more 4 star books in 2022 versus 2023. 3.8 is still pretty good, though. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>DNFs:</b> I DNF's 6 books in 2023 v. 8 in 2023. If I DNF a book, I do not rate it so those are not included in the ratings above. I can DNF a book as early as 5% so I don't feel it's fair to rate a book I didn't finish. I have an shelf set up for DNFs in goodreads so they don’t get included in my # of books read.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Do you track your reading in a detailed manner? I'm such a data geek so I love having access to all of these details!</b></span></p>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-48212826632813926512024-01-04T02:00:00.014-06:002024-01-04T02:00:00.153-06:002023 in Review: Goals + New Goal Approach for 2024When I think back on 2023, I would give myself an A in terms of how I did keeping all the plates spinning. But if I graded myself based on the goals I set at the start of the year, I'd give myself a D because I only accomplished half of my goals. This is why I have a tricky relationship with goals. I want to push myself but I hate not accomplishing what I set out to achieve. So it's time to change my goal process. <div><br /></div><div>But first up, here's how I did. </div><div><br /></div><div>1. <b>Work</b>: My goal was to travel about once/month and I mentioned in my goals post that I was unlikely to travel 12 times so felt that 9 times was an appropriate goal. Ha. January 2023 Lisa had no idea how her work life would blow up... I traveled 14 times and, more importantly, did about 4.5 times as many client meetings as I did in 2022. <b>Complete.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>2. <b>Reading:</b> I read "Bleak House" by Charles Dickens with The Bookshelf Patreon group and I pretty much hated it. I gave it 2 stars. I think huge classics where the author is a white male that is basically paid by word are not for me. <b>Complete.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>3. <b>Relationships</b>: I wanted to go on a quarterly date with my husband. We went on 0 dates. But we did try! We had scheduled a couple of dates in late winter/early spring but the babysitter (the daughter of a friend) had to cancel. We decided she's too busy to use as a babysitter (she's in high school after all) but did not get around to finding another babysitter. Phil and I do get quality time nearly every night before the boys go to bed and we also carpool together 3 days/week and have surprisingly good conversations on the drive home before picking up the kids. But I need to work on this in 2024. <b>Incomplete.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>4. <b>Travel</b>: I wanted to go to Tucson with Paul in April and Banff with my friend Amber in August. Both trips happened and both trips were amazing!! <b>Complete. </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>5. <b>Fitness:</b> I wanted to run a couple of 10ks. I ran 0. I was supposed to run one on Thanksgiving but had to drop down to the 5k since I was too sick to run for much of the month leading up to Thanksgiving. <b>Incomplete.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>6. <b>Outdoors</b>: I set a goal to go outside for 23 minutes every day, inspired by the Happier Podcast. I did well at the start of the year - I would usually go for my walks mid-day during work days and would run or go for walks on the weekend. The wheels totally fell off in March when the spring banking crisis happened. I barely had time to eat lunch in between client calls so going outside for 23 minutes was out of the question. So I kind of gave up and never got back on track. I was outside a lot in 2023, but not 23 minutes every day. <b>Incomplete.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Ok. So that was not an uplifting recap of goals. 50% is pretty awful. I don't want to have to write another "whelp, that didn't happen" kind of post when recapping 2024, so this year I am shifting to quarterly goals. This will allow me to flex to what is happening in life and take a more seasonal approach. Here are my Q1 goals. </div><div><br /></div><div>1. <b>Do most of the January Cure.</b> Apartment Therapy hosts <a href="https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/email/at-january-cure-2024" target="_blank">this</a> every year - it started yesterday so it’s not too late to join. I ignored the emails last year because I was not in the right place of mind to focus on household organization. This year, I feel differently. Plus I will be working from home for a good chunk of January while my office condenses down from 3 floors to 2. Some of the things Apartment Therapy asks you to do are not happening. Like day one's task was to create a vision board. NOT HAPPENING. Home decor is so not my thing and I don't have any grand dreams for our house besides not stepping on tiny toys and legos and generally having less plastic toys around. Additionally, if they ask me to do a deep cleaning of my floors or scrub my dust boards, I won't. But anything related to organization or decluttering is something I will do. </div><div><br /></div><div>2. <b>Go on one date with Phil.</b> My birthday is in February so that seemed like a good time to plan a date. I have already booked the babysitter (who works at a daycare so is a total pro) we used pre-pandemic for the weekend before my birthday in February. There's also a young girl on our block that wants to babysit. Another family with similar-aged kids has used her and raves about her. But I fear that Taco will not let her do bedtime. So we are going to go with the pro for the first 1-2 times to ease him into having a babysitter. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Did you set goals for 2023? Were you successful? Have you set goals for 2024? </b></div>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-22273769055614637292024-01-03T02:00:00.006-06:002024-01-03T02:00:00.137-06:002023 in Review: Best BooksHappy New Year! Today I'm kicking off a short series of 2023 in review posts. I feel very late to the game in terms of posting my best books list, but I wanted to wait until the year was over in case I read something really great in the final month of the year! <div><br /></div><div>2023 was a great reading year for me. I finished 97 books. I read fewer books than I did the last 2 years, but that's ok. I don't <i>need</i> to read a certain number of books each year. If I had set a goal, like 100 books, I would have probably gamed things and picked short books to hit that goal!</div><div><br /></div><div>I hemmed and hawed quite a bit when narrowing down my list but came up with 12 favorite books for the year, broken out by best book, best non-fiction, best commercial fiction and best literary fiction. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Best Book of 2023</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKq58t_hz5FAP0YFuj_7XVieMKvZTmUDoXa3XCjtFVsslzVrrHvlcGEG9HXF9CkhQ9FHoiNwHgeujkCNCkLp3eRP5S6-va9GQmk94MBlBKji5zKh3kd37jrKSp9f2YqbkGWWj929u_8bTZSoRfEg7EtCGEzWUZ-ofwH2nneJRQBySIybaXMjlrESrS1jPZ/s1752/IMG_5461.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1752" data-original-width="1170" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKq58t_hz5FAP0YFuj_7XVieMKvZTmUDoXa3XCjtFVsslzVrrHvlcGEG9HXF9CkhQ9FHoiNwHgeujkCNCkLp3eRP5S6-va9GQmk94MBlBKji5zKh3kd37jrKSp9f2YqbkGWWj929u_8bTZSoRfEg7EtCGEzWUZ-ofwH2nneJRQBySIybaXMjlrESrS1jPZ/s320/IMG_5461.PNG" width="214" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>It was not hard to pick my best book of 2023. <b>Hello Beautiful</b> <b>by Ann Napolitano </b>was easily the best book I read. Napolitano had me from the first sentences: "<span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>For the first six days of William Waters’s life, he was not an only child. He had a three-year-old sister, a redhead named Caroline.</i>" There is so much heartbreak and anguish in this novel, but I love a book that makes me feel things. It's about the lives of 4 sisters and a young man, William. It's positioned as a retelling of Little Women but I don't think it needs to be read as a retelling. As someone from a big family, the inter-sibling alliances and drama felt so true to life. </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Best Non-Fiction</b></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDN019xiOGOh-TU13hd8KUt-a8ogXF00ihzEAU1g8QJ4m2sP8KnvHvuTRXv7b3UeVZtnVN3-i7e-d1ZmPZO25GnmiOY-yMyo11hEQWN-j97w5RbdbSMSY9qoFQCSRoU_HDTVGY3eJru6jhtadUK3xktflm3F7UjOymHD1B9PA1EazGvGvGzayYeHDbv0Aj/s2048/5907FF4A-E42A-45BA-B01F-EF24B376DBC3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDN019xiOGOh-TU13hd8KUt-a8ogXF00ihzEAU1g8QJ4m2sP8KnvHvuTRXv7b3UeVZtnVN3-i7e-d1ZmPZO25GnmiOY-yMyo11hEQWN-j97w5RbdbSMSY9qoFQCSRoU_HDTVGY3eJru6jhtadUK3xktflm3F7UjOymHD1B9PA1EazGvGvGzayYeHDbv0Aj/s320/5907FF4A-E42A-45BA-B01F-EF24B376DBC3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b>Finding Me by Viola Davis</b> was a buzzy memoir that I listened to when I had long drives to/from the lake. Her life story is not for the faint of heart. She experiences so much trauma and abuse. It's amazing that she built the life she did. I rarely listen to audiobooks but made sure to listen to this one since she narrates it. It's excellent but should not be listened to around small ears. </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>In Love by Amy Bloom</b> was my favorite book club book I read this year. It's a memoir about Bloom's husband's decision to go to Dignitas in Switzerland to end his life with dignity and peace after he is diagnosed with dementia. We had a great discussion about this book - certainly our best discussion of the year. Sadly, everyone had a personal experience with dementia. Phil's dad died from it, another member's mother died from it, another member's MIL is struggling with it, and so on and so forth. This book sparked a good discussion between Phil and I about what he would do if he was diagnosed with dementia. I hope and pray that is never the case because it is a truly awful disease. </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><b style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.4px;">Under the Skin by Linda Villarosa</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> was another great book club book about the impact of race on health care and health outcomes. We have a lot of medical professionals in our club - genetics </span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;">counselor</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;">, pediatric urologist, nurse anesthetist, child psychologist, and someone that works in marketing for a large medical company. Everyone loved this book and felt that it should be required reading for those in the medical community. But everyone would benefit from reading this. </span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><b>You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith</b> was a heartbreaking read about the demise of a marriage. The final straw was infidelity but there were troubles ahead of when the husband cheated. Smith is a poet so this is especially beautifully written and so very moving. I was reading this on the couch, wearing a mask since I was reading it while I had covid, and Phil saw me across the room and asked what I was reading because he said I had the most emotional look on my face. So the fact that he could see my distress, even with a mask on, says a lot. I bought this book for a friend going through a separation, but I think even if your marriage is rock solid, there are lessons to take away from this book. </span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><b>Best Commercial Fiction</b></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcPDURWi6mDtm2HgFEiHIrrbKVzziQqE4pBZjBbHg_xddBOLtwtBjw5AO_f25dT586x6UOxr1RBNVS96QM39Zizcj2EzJRkEh6xodYBR5YkNNm2e4uHCG15YmGELkPGBNVeLqAysjCLaKR80PNeM5H5serOdCnn3P9eA8qhUlJXuJZJ9ktTSK0RIbR_sFU/s2048/0730AE55-92C4-44C6-8492-D86B8025E9BF.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcPDURWi6mDtm2HgFEiHIrrbKVzziQqE4pBZjBbHg_xddBOLtwtBjw5AO_f25dT586x6UOxr1RBNVS96QM39Zizcj2EzJRkEh6xodYBR5YkNNm2e4uHCG15YmGELkPGBNVeLqAysjCLaKR80PNeM5H5serOdCnn3P9eA8qhUlJXuJZJ9ktTSK0RIbR_sFU/s320/0730AE55-92C4-44C6-8492-D86B8025E9BF.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b>Drowning by T.J.Newman</b> was the best thriller I read this year. Newman is a former flight attendant that writes plane-based thrillers. They are excellent page turners but probably not something you want to read ON a plane or if you have a fear of flying. </span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><b>All That is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay</b> was an excellent book with a horrible title!! But don't let the title prevent you from reading this. I also found this to be a complete page turner. There are mixed feelings about this book, especially the ending, but I loved it. </span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><b>Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld</b> is a great romance book set during the pandemic. It's set on a fictional version of Saturday Night Live. Sections of the book are written in epistolary form which I really loved. This was another page turner. </span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><b>Best Literary Fiction</b></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlKbruveARCMNZhRfAvdv4iusWTSWbByxKo9eka-9fpD-_6rRy2kAC4CuTt6neAIpA86LiMYR9v9qU8VW3ucqWHp_keKgzPcYcChVXR4KgcpKtFjhvdh19bRI1RwOY1WRL1MMhN-MTMYTRqeKtVcIUwv8L4OtPu8ict0-bsYe08_w1cwXClRJUuVi-UrR/s2048/89D53FFB-4EC6-4265-8D7F-5B0051FB40C0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlKbruveARCMNZhRfAvdv4iusWTSWbByxKo9eka-9fpD-_6rRy2kAC4CuTt6neAIpA86LiMYR9v9qU8VW3ucqWHp_keKgzPcYcChVXR4KgcpKtFjhvdh19bRI1RwOY1WRL1MMhN-MTMYTRqeKtVcIUwv8L4OtPu8ict0-bsYe08_w1cwXClRJUuVi-UrR/s320/89D53FFB-4EC6-4265-8D7F-5B0051FB40C0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><b>Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro</b> is about a relationship that develops between a little boy and the older man that lives across the street. The final scenes of this book stayed with me. This is heavily character driven so it's probably not for you if you need a plot to move the story along. </span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><b>Stealing by Margaret Verble</b> is a heartbreaking book about a little girl that is sent to a residential school for Native American children where she experiences unimaginable abuse. I didn't love the ending of this book but still count it as one of my favorites of the year. The most interesting tidbit about this book is that the author struggled to get it published for years because no one thought the story of abuse at a residential school was believable... then the truth and horror of these schools was revealed by the news and she was able to get it published. </span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><b>Go As a River by Shelley Read</b> is a coming of age story about a young woman in Colorado. It's beautifully written and also features a lot of heartbreak. I guess I go for books that really punch you in the gut! This is a debut novel but the author is older - in her 50s I believe.</span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><b>In Memoriam by Alice Winn </b>is a novel set during WWI. It's about 2 men who have feelings for each other but have to hide those feelings since love between 2 men was not accepted at that time. It really shows the evils of war and how despite declaring a "winner" at the end of war, no one truly wins and the price paid by soldiers is unimaginable. This is another debut novel. </span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><b>What were your best books of 2023?</b></span></span></span></span></div>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-89704796096866925282024-01-02T02:00:00.031-06:002024-01-02T02:00:00.134-06:00What We Read in December<p>I had a very strong reading month to end the year. I read 10 books, which is higher than normal for me but I was isolating for a chunk of December when I had covid. I would wear a mask around Phil and the boys but it was so uncomfortable that I would go to bed in the guest room when the boys were both down and forego watching a show with Phil. Here is how my reading shook out for the month. </p><p><b>Faith-related books</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1617vQceEyfy9C_4xMmysUvOXLCRodR6xE_AxGlEDw-dmswiW2LWdC5c4Bg9oOZvPH9YOxCN3NpgqCiNYzgC2UFzKgikmNvfTxOFB7nQ7oxVqm3rt_QD-LBAZq-IUCSimAFUiwgwHG2AZPvxPsejaUyWQ3n4WDRY0x59Pvjo5A0gnT6D4TWJnIMfh7vUi/s724/195A2DF3-5089-41BD-A7B0-97E178634A23.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="724" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1617vQceEyfy9C_4xMmysUvOXLCRodR6xE_AxGlEDw-dmswiW2LWdC5c4Bg9oOZvPH9YOxCN3NpgqCiNYzgC2UFzKgikmNvfTxOFB7nQ7oxVqm3rt_QD-LBAZq-IUCSimAFUiwgwHG2AZPvxPsejaUyWQ3n4WDRY0x59Pvjo5A0gnT6D4TWJnIMfh7vUi/s320/195A2DF3-5089-41BD-A7B0-97E178634A23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b><br /></b><p></p><p>I'm going on what you could describe as a faith journey so I am going to break them out in a separate category since they don't really fit in the others. In December, I read <b>All My Knotted Up Life by Beth Moore </b>and <b>Leaving Church by Rachel Held Evans.</b> Moore's is a memoir. She experienced childhood trauma at the hands of a trusted adult so that was hard to read about. Then she was essentially kicked out of the Southern Baptist Church because she spoke out against Donald Trump. I am not Baptist so had no idea they ousted her. Oof. Evans died in 2019 from complications of an infection that put her in a coma. It was weird and sad to read this book. She was also raised Baptist but ends up becoming Episcopalian. </p><p><b>Best books </b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowQ3PCke77P6QcH1SDrBULl_rvrW8oJS0Z8gS6k8LDl75Rn2pRoAkiaCY3vivjZAqv34C3t4VqkVfHy_EAdalsni4iJJ_vTjnt3X82A91brGIQO3RYrv95DaM02wUcc6QrlFni3Tih8C5CYRCKBhBH8sCec9ZNR-OIDrzCngIhJqahv90B2gStv1gJ_o4/s724/0FF1F64B-E139-423A-A7A6-D64201C05C6E.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="724" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowQ3PCke77P6QcH1SDrBULl_rvrW8oJS0Z8gS6k8LDl75Rn2pRoAkiaCY3vivjZAqv34C3t4VqkVfHy_EAdalsni4iJJ_vTjnt3X82A91brGIQO3RYrv95DaM02wUcc6QrlFni3Tih8C5CYRCKBhBH8sCec9ZNR-OIDrzCngIhJqahv90B2gStv1gJ_o4/s320/0FF1F64B-E139-423A-A7A6-D64201C05C6E.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><b>No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister</b> is based on the quote "no two persons reads the same books or sees the same picture." I would describe this book as linked short stories from the view of the various people who were impacted by this book in ways both small and large. <b>Pete and Alice in Maine by Caitlin Shetterly</b> is about a marriage that is falling apart - but then the pandemic hits and they flee to their second home in Maine where the couple tries to pretend all is fine in front of their children. This pairs well with my final and favorite book of December: <b>You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith.</b> Smith's book is a memoir about the ending of her marriage. It is a very heart breaking read. I swear I haven't intended to read books about marriages in crisis. It's just the way my holds worked out (I exclusively read books from the library so what I read is based on what is available). </p><p><b>Pretty good to OK books:</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv6LYyNKpsKuYYjucVCBw65zV4NVvf-7y506-o9FV4z9SQ0_3XdZphGbkLXo5E-Qg1o5mlHjgU-RHHayP49aytyc_GU-jKjfWa3kqLlShSs7Rqf3jmqRTO5FDuCKrHeFLEi0RkjJNSt4FkGOjq733XwCYK6IBxKDJPy5q5-teaYPpIAISRS3ocWUPdDbHj/s724/D4D7DB04-B230-400C-A153-CFE143776891.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="724" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv6LYyNKpsKuYYjucVCBw65zV4NVvf-7y506-o9FV4z9SQ0_3XdZphGbkLXo5E-Qg1o5mlHjgU-RHHayP49aytyc_GU-jKjfWa3kqLlShSs7Rqf3jmqRTO5FDuCKrHeFLEi0RkjJNSt4FkGOjq733XwCYK6IBxKDJPy5q5-teaYPpIAISRS3ocWUPdDbHj/s320/D4D7DB04-B230-400C-A153-CFE143776891.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b><br /></b><p></p><p><b>Search by Michelle Huneven</b> is a book that multiple podcasters raved out. It's about a Unitarian Universalist church that is looking for a new pastor. If you've been on a committee of some sort that needs to make a decision, this would probably be a good book for you to check out. <b>Once More With Feeling by Elissa Sussman </b>is a rom-com about two people who were child pop stars but come back into each other's lives. I had to go back and read the synopsis to remember what it was about, though, so it was not a memorable read. <b>I Will Find You by Harlan Coben</b> was a pager turney thriller about a man that was imprisoned for killing his toddler son. But his son is spotted by the father's SIL. Is he really dead? It required the suspension of disbelief to some extent but was still a great read. <b>Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak</b> is something I read because it was set over the Christmas holiday. It was written in 2017 but is about a family that is quarantining as one daughter is working in a country hit by a terrible virus. It was solidly "just ok." I read <b>The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride</b> after hearing a lot of buzz about it. It's won the National Book Award which seems to be a kiss of death for me. I liked it more than I thought I might have when I started it, but I didn’t love it. There were so many characters to keep track of!</p><p><b>The Boys' December Reads</b></p><p>We read a lot of Christmas books in November/December. The book I read the most was How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We quote from this book a lot, like "oh the noise, noise, noise" or "and they've feast and they'll feast, and they'll feast, feast, feast, feast." The repetitive phrases really stick with a person. Paul can recite an impressive amount of this book!</p><p>Taco got some Mickey lift-the-flap books that he is really enjoying! </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9kbkvy0rcGJTQE2XwuAAHYVown8JecPKRctYaETXdtCI8RoRBFhywiNhX2VEcrLI4O7AiRx4ZzNhH_2jmnsMVGMwuw6QkQ_PbhvakaL1mfGY57_vvNHRSyCr9kjL4QTmJvwbfqXOfAdzFjLNmzlmsDHaf6FEkpiRCmL2qx-JVai6dHxWmqCWdXc-dF75q/s4032/IMG_5439.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9kbkvy0rcGJTQE2XwuAAHYVown8JecPKRctYaETXdtCI8RoRBFhywiNhX2VEcrLI4O7AiRx4ZzNhH_2jmnsMVGMwuw6QkQ_PbhvakaL1mfGY57_vvNHRSyCr9kjL4QTmJvwbfqXOfAdzFjLNmzlmsDHaf6FEkpiRCmL2qx-JVai6dHxWmqCWdXc-dF75q/s320/IMG_5439.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div>And I found this list of most borrowed books from my library super interesting. All 10 of the most checked out juvenile print books are Dav Pilkey books. Mr. Pilkey is doing ok. Sheesh. Paul is very into Dog Man books. I don't love them personally, but it's not about me. If they bring Paul joy that is all that really matters. My parents never restricted what I read and I won’t for my boys either. He got 4 Dog Man books for Christmas and was thrilled about that! <div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI-Q3rZOBetE1sGbySjBU7Vkmto19HCNjCPg7RIvIsW9y20CU3lS3pW0ycySCp7BmK2tBFQ8NjLDY87q_bvsqht3p1RR47ir1_39y3ESZveotewXKUzafR2U4sqXc8Cb8kE7ydEPUHhTfuP9OfhQykoJXEIIP4KJSnLejcfFq3xbiS_Dcg6T9GB5PPrje3/s1572/IMG_5350.PNG"><img border="0" data-original-height="1572" data-original-width="1161" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI-Q3rZOBetE1sGbySjBU7Vkmto19HCNjCPg7RIvIsW9y20CU3lS3pW0ycySCp7BmK2tBFQ8NjLDY87q_bvsqht3p1RR47ir1_39y3ESZveotewXKUzafR2U4sqXc8Cb8kE7ydEPUHhTfuP9OfhQykoJXEIIP4KJSnLejcfFq3xbiS_Dcg6T9GB5PPrje3/w295-h400/IMG_5350.PNG" width="295" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">On our last trip to the library for the year, Paul found this book about chess. He is totally obsessed with chess right now and is determined to beat daddy. </div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe6fPLxgG-iYYZB_kr9SeTPxsSIAEIpCqX8Y74GrA6pbARRBkiXsjnpQjWj6Cqi0oLHxMYNH9AvV_eTnsEMMCdjL42UAOQyp3O_2-RO1KfGhWtUNk3kh04UR3RIvF7C6Twr71GKNRLOkl1ZzA0sS-XuP-x6Tnd5Z8wNw_XQHARfzl3AMoljS4wTMOrdC25/s4032/IMG_5489.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe6fPLxgG-iYYZB_kr9SeTPxsSIAEIpCqX8Y74GrA6pbARRBkiXsjnpQjWj6Cqi0oLHxMYNH9AvV_eTnsEMMCdjL42UAOQyp3O_2-RO1KfGhWtUNk3kh04UR3RIvF7C6Twr71GKNRLOkl1ZzA0sS-XuP-x6Tnd5Z8wNw_XQHARfzl3AMoljS4wTMOrdC25/s320/IMG_5489.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><b><br /></b><p></p><p><b>I'll be back tomorrow with my best books of 2023. Did you read anything great in December?</b></p></div>Lisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.com0