Hot Hot Hot!

Oof, summer is really bringing the heat this year. Earlier this month I heard we had 4 90+ degree days compared to 6 in all of 2019! And this week it's going to be in the 90s nearly every day. I do like summer, but this is a little bit intense! I'm not complaining, it's just... um... HOT. Like too hot to go to the playground after about 9am because the equipment is too hot to play on - try explaining that to a playground-obsessed 2 year old! People are often surprised to hear it gets hot and humid here in Minnesota, but trust me - it does! We are a unique area of the country as we get get down to like -20F in the winter and close to or sometimes over 100F in the summer!

We did manage to keep cool/entertained this past weekend. Even though it's pretty steamy outside, being outside with a toddler is better than being cooped up indoors!

On Friday night, I got his water table set up as soon as we got home from school. He loves this table so much and it take all of 3 minutes to fill it up. He gets drenched but I don't care since it's the end of the day. This is definitely one of the best purchases we've made for Paul!

On Saturday morning, after Facetiming with my mom, we headed out to water my garden and stopped by the park. He was a bit limited on what he could play on since all the slides are metal so any in the sun were too hot to go down. But he still entertained himself for 25 minutes. Swinging was his favorite activity that morning.

One positive aspect of the heat is that it's making things grow like crazy in my garden! Check out the radishes I harvested on Saturday morning. I should have taken a picture of them before trimming them. They were so huge that Phil thought they must be turnips. I was worried they wouldn't taste good since they were so huge (I thought they might get a 'woody' taste) but they taste excellent. Phil doesn't like radishes and Paul tried a bite and immediately spit it out. So I get them all to myself! They are the perfect vessel for guacamole!!

On Saturday afternoon, we went to Phil's HS friend's home on a lake. I failed to take any pictures! We hadn't seen this group since January so we had a lot of catching up to do and I was busy keep track of Paul. They have a beautiful home on a lake with a massive lot (over an acre) so there was plenty of room for us to all socially distance. They were excellent hosts - they even bought some bottles of bubbles to entertain the kids. So Paul was in heaven when Phil's friend blew bubbles for Paul for a good 20 minutes. We also went in the lake which was crazy warm - 88F!

On Sunday morning, we headed to the local lake where Phil swims. Last weekend didn't go so great as we went to the beach with some playground equipment that is too big for Paul and it was just too distracting for him. This time I coaxed him into the water and talked him into letting me take him out further so we could practice what we've learned in swimming lessons (which are on a very grand pause until COVID is under control). He had the best time and kept asking to go on his tummy so he could swim. We were in the water the whole time Phil was swimming the course which is probably 30-40 minutes. Now that I know he enjoys lake swimming we will go to the beach even more often on hot days. I had talked to Phil about how we needed to turn him into a lake kid so I am glad he took to the water well this weekend. I grew up going to the lake and if this was a normal summer, we'd be at my parents at least once a month. So I am glad he likes the water now, especially since we have decided to visit my parents lake home for a week in August. We will all get tested for COVID before going up to make sure we don't infect my parents!

On Sunday afternoon we spent more time outside after Paul's nap. Paul played with his water table and some other outdoor toys and sort of helped while Phil and I weeded/put down mulch (we are super behind on putting down mulch since the deck project took up much of May/June).

I'll close by sharing some pictures of Paul wearing MY hat. As you can see, it basically fits him! So yes, that means we pretty much have the same sized head. My head is smaller than normal - like I had to wear youth goggles when I did my triathlons and it's hard to find glasses that fit right because I have such a narrow face. Paul is super petite - like 4th percentile for weight at his last Dr appt - but his head is and has always been huge. Like 99th percentile. He is starting to grow into it but when he was a baby, he was a total bobble head. We do not know where he got his huge head from because Phil's head is also on the smaller size. Hopefully big head = big brain!

How is the weather in your neck of the woods? Is it crazy hot/humid? It's currently raining here and I am SO happy because I need a break from the heat for at least a day!

2018 Review - Part 4

And just like that, it's the last day of 2018! This year really flew by. It was a really good year, but also a really hard year. There was a lot of change and adjustment and not as much sleep as I would like/need. But we made it through and the joyful moments definitely outweighed the difficult ones!

Here's my final install of the 20 questions!

16. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Slept and exercised more. But these were both out of my control.

17. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Gone to fewer doctor appointments! Oh man, we saw so many specialists between Paul and me: OB, rheumatologist, endocrinologist, perinatalogist, hematologist, ENT, pediatric urologist, lactation consultants, speech pathologist, and pediatric OT. It's almost laughable to look at this list of specialists. 

18. Compared to this time last year, how are you different?

I'm not carrying a baby! Now I care for a baby, which is such an all-consuming but amazing thing to do. 

I do feel like I've lost part of my identity in becoming a mom, but I know that's natural. I haven't exercised, aside from going for walks. I don't have the energy or desire to go on dates or plan trips. I kind of miss the Lisa that wanted to do alllll the things. Right now I'm just way too tired to do much outside of work and caring for Paul. I'm hoping that starts to slowly change in 2019 as I'd like to be better about making time for things like exercise and quality time with Phil. Being done pumping is really going to help in regard to exercising more, though!

19. Compared to this time last year, how are you the same?

At my core, I'm still the same person. I still have the same wants and needs, they just aren't as high of a priority these days as they used to be. But that will shift as Paul sleeps better and I adjust to being a working mom. One thing that stayed the same is that I still made time for reading! 

20. What's a life lesson you learned this year?

That there is always going to be something to worry about when you are a parent. When I was pregnant I told a friend (who is a psychologist) that I couldn't wait to have the baby so I could stop worrying so much (my active RA and blood clot really amped up my anxiety about the health of the baby). She said that she hated to break it to me, but the worrying doesn't ever end - you just have to find a way to manage it. She was so right. What I worry about related to Paul changes from month to month. Phil, on the other hand, does not really worry like I do and he's been a good influence on me. He's the one telling me, "Paul is fine, don't worry so much." And so far, he's been right. 

Happy New Year, everyone!

Podcasts, Books and Workouts of May

Another month is in the books. May flew by pretty quickly. I'm grateful that I have about 1.5 more months of leave left as I don't feel quite ready to return to work just yet! Although I did see a bunch of coworkers at a HH retirement party last week and it made me realize that it will be good to go back to work as I really miss them!  

Podcasts:

In the Dark - as I mentioned in my currently post for May, I'm loving the latest season of "In the Dark." It's about a man who has been tried 6 times for the same series of murders. The shady/unethical police work is kind of unbelievable. It makes you wonder how much this happens with other convictions. 

Books:

May was another strong month for reading. I finished 5 books. My favorite was The Garden of Small Beginnings. 

Darktown by Thomas Mullen - 3 stars - This is a plot-driven novel about a crime that occurs in Atlanta in the late 1930s. The city of Atlanta had recently decided to hire African American cops, but they weren't fully embraced by other cops. So the book is partially about the crime that occurred and partially about the racial discord in Atlanta. 

Love and Ruin by Paula McLain - 3 stars - This novel is about Ernest Hemingway's third marriage. I really loved "The Paris Wife" and was hoping that this one would be just as good but I didn't like it quite as much. I had a hard time feeling sympathy for his 3rd wife. You'd think she would have realized that Hemingway is a cheating scumbag?? I know that is harsh to say but he clearly had a pattern of cheating on his wives! 

The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman - 4 stars - This was my favorite book of the month as it was really easy to get into and was a fast read. It's about a woman who lost her husband in a tragic car accident. She joins a gardening club as a requirement of a work project. The cast of characters in the gardening club were so likable which made the book really enjoyable. Plus there is gardening advice in between each chapter. As an avid gardener, I really enjoyed that! 

The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy - 3 stars - This is a memoir written by a woman who went through an awful series of events, including losing a baby. There were aspects of the book that I enjoyed but overall I would say this was "just ok." If I could give half stars in goodreads, this would have been a 2.5 star book for me.

Flight of Dreams by Ariel Lawhon - 4 stars - In this novel, the author imagines what happened aboard the last flight of the Hindenburg. The story is told from multiple points of view which is a writing style that I love! 

Workouts:

I finished week 5 of the 12 week post-baby program I purchased in April. I had to take a week off as I did something to my glute/hamstring that had me hobbling around for a couple of days. It was so strange. I think I must have tweaked something when I was doing some single leg lunges. Besides that minor set back, I've been feeling great. I also did my first run/walk combo last week. It's a lot of work to push a stroller, especially if there is the slightest change in elevation! I'm hoping to gradually increase the amount of time spent running and I'm going to try to get out for a run without the stroller each weekend when Phil is around to watch the baby. It feels really good to be back to exercising! 

Podcasts, Books, and Workouts of April

April was quite the month. The first half was incredibly cold and snowy which made those first couple of weeks feel reeeeaaaaaallllly long. Luckily the weather improved in the second half of the month. We were able to get out for daily stroller walks which make a world of difference! Here's how my month shaped up!

Podcasts:

Best of Both Worlds - I'm really enjoying this new-to-me podcast. So much so that I am going back and listening to all of the podcasts (I rarely do this so you know I really like it when I'm willing to go back and listen to all previous episodes). Both women come from pretty affluent households due to their professions and their husbands' professions so there's a good dose of privilege as they are able to employ nannies/household managers, house cleaners, etc, but there's still plenty to good things to take away from the episodes. I recommend this to other working moms/moms-to-be.

Books:

I managed to fit a lot of reading in this month. I continue to choose reading over TV so that is how I fit in so much reading. I tend to read when rocking him to sleep when we are up during the middle of the night and I also read during naps. Honestly, our house would be cleaner if I read less but right now I'm choosing reading over cleaning (most of the time - I do still clean our house, just not as often as I did pre-baby) because it's a form of self-care that I can fit into my life.

My favorite book of the month was Alternate Side by Anna Quindlen!

From Sand and Ash by Amy Harmon - 3 stars - This was a WWII book set in Italy. It was pretty good but not as good as other WWII books I've read.

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica - 4 stars - This was a great page turner about a girl that was kid-napped and kept in a cabin in Northern Minnesota.

Flat Broke with Two Goats by Jennifer McGaha - 4 stars - I really enjoyed this memoir about a couple who loses their home during the financial crisis. After losing their home, they move into a run down cabin in rural Western NC. The foreclosure happened as a result of some really terrible financial decisions (ahem, the husband - who is an accountant - didn't file/pay taxes for several years!!!) and they continue to make some pretty bad financial decisions, but it was interesting to read about how they simplified their life and attempted to live more off of the land. It's set outside of Asheville, NC, which is a place that is near and dear to my heart. The author references places/hikes I am familiar with so that made it an extra enjoyable read.

The Light of the World by Elizabeth Alexander - 3 stars - This memoir about the passing of the author's husband definitely falls into the 'literary' category. The writing was beautiful and the subject-matter is heavy/sad as she reflects on her courtship and marriage after losing her husband very suddenly.

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker - 4 stars - I've had this book on my kindle for years but put off reading it as I thought it was a fantasy book (fantasy is not my favorite genre). But it turns out that only 2 characters are fantastical. It was fun read with great character development.

Alternate Side by Anna Quindlen - 4 stars - I burned through this book. It's about a couple living in the upper west side of NYC. They live in a close-knit community located on a dead end street. A conflict happens in their community that sort of drives a wedge between the couple and their neighbors and also makes the couple examine differences they've struggled with during their relationship.

Workouts:

Woo hoo! After months of having to leave this section out, I am finally back to working out. Working out definitely looks different these days, but I'm happy to be back at it and am being patient with my recovering body. I started a Post-baby workout program in April which I'm really enjoying. I'm in the middle of the first 4-week section which focuses on gently returning to strength training. There are 3 strength training workouts/week, some of which are done during stroller walks. In addition to the strength training, I've been getting out for 45-60 minute stroller walks each day. It feels so good to finally be more active!

Podcasts, Books and Looks of March

March was the longest, shortest month for us. I think other parents will understand what I mean when I say that. It's hard to believe that Paul is already a month old but at the same time, labor and delivery feels like a lifetime ago! Here's my usual monthly recap!

Podcasts:

Chatty Sisters Podcast: This continues to be my favorite podcast. It's the only one that I listen to as soon as a new episode is available. I know Caroline and Kelly, but even if you don't know them, you'd enjoy it. Their episode about pet peeves made me realize how many I have. Ha!

Books:

I wasn't sure how much I would read after having a baby but I managed to read 3 books in March, which I'm really happy with. The kindle ap for my phone is a Godsend. I get so much more reading thanks to that ap. I tend to read when pumping or rocking Paul. I personally choose reading over watching tv because reading is how I unwind. But there is no wrong choice about how to unwind!

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett - 4 stars - This was by far the best book I read in March and one of the best I've read so far this year. I've read several Patchett books and this one is my favorite. It's about a blended family that is merged when 2 people leave their spouses and marry. It's a character-driven novel so if you need a novel that is heavy on plot, this one isn't for you. It's one of those books where I was sad when it was over because it was so good.

From Sand and Ash by Amy Harmon - 3 stars - This is a WWII novel set in Italy. I hadn't ever read a book from this genre that is set in Italy so it was interesting to read about the wartime developments in Italy. I knew that they were ruled by a Fascist and aligned with Germany but I wasn't aware that Jews were rounded up in Italy. It was a sad book given the genre but overall pretty good. I only gave it 3 stars, though, as it wasn't as good as other WWII books I've read recently.

The Last Days of Cafe Leila - 3 stars - This book is mostly set in Tehran. A middle-aged woman and her daughter who live in San Fransciso go back to her home city of Tehran so the woman can show her daughter where she grew up. They end up extending their stay as the woman's father is ill. I learned a lot about the conditions in Tehran, especially during the 70s and 80s, the woman's mother was killed at that time. The book moves back and forth in time and I was somewhat confused at times - possibly due to sleep deprivation!! - so I only get it 3 stars.

Looks:

I live in leggings, tank tops and cardigans these days since I'm pumping around the clock, so I have no looks to share! So instead, I'll share some of my favorite faces/looks Paul makes. He is such an expressive little guy!

Paul started to smile this week which is the best!

The look on Paul's face matches how I felt about seeing snow in the forecast in April. We got 10" earlier this week and might get 3-7" more this weekend. Booooo!

He is so much more alert and really locks eyes with us now!

Phil said it looks like Paul is driving an imaginary motorcycle in this picture. He LOVES to move his arms around!

Podcasts and Books of January

Woo hoo, January is over! I was not at all sad to see this month come to a close and I won't be sad when February is over either. Bring on March and the arrival of our baby/end of this pregnancy! I have no looks to share this month. I wore a lot of the same things over and over again!

Podcasts:

Slow Burn: As I mentioned in my currently post, this is a podcast that I started listening to in January that I really enjoyed. It's about the Watergate scandal during the Nixon presidency. Man Nixon was a horrible person.

Books:

I was sick at the beginning of the month and then the pain of my blood clot set in around mid-month so I got a lot of reading done since I was couch-bound for much of this month. I read so many books (10 books) that I had to split them into 2 different photos!

The Big Book of Birth by Erica Lyon - 5 stars - This was an excellent book to read in preparation for labor. It was written in an easy-to-understand non-judgmental manner as the author covers all sorts of births from natural to epidural to c-sections.

The Science of Mom by Alice Callahan - 4 stars - This was a great book about many of the decisions you will make in the first year of your child's life. It covers things like the vitamin K injection at birth to vaccinations to when to introduce food and what to introduce. She presents the science behind each decision but does so in a really entertaining and engaging way.

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney - 3 stars - This was a book of the month club selection from earlier this year. It started off slow but I am glad I stuck with it as I ended up enjoying it. It's about a woman in her 90s who takes a walk on New Years Eve and reminisces about her life.

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks - 4 stars - This was a good page turner/suspense novel. I don't want to say much about the book as I think it's best to go in without knowing much about the plot line!

The Windfall by Diksha Basu - 2 stars - This is another book of the month club selection. This one fell flat for me, though. It's about a poor couple in India that comes into a large sum of money when the husband sells a website he developed. They go from rags to riches and the husband really lets the wealth go to his head and change who he is. I think this was supposed to be cute/funny but it didn't work for me.

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann - 4 stars - This was Amazon's pick for non-fiction book of the year in 2017 and I can see why. It's a narrative non-fiction book about a series of murders that happened to the Osage tribe in Oklahoma. It's crazy that this is a true story because it reads like a fiction. I can't believe how many murders happened (in pursuit of the money left behind by those being killed - this tribe Indians lived on an oil field.)

A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams - 3 stars - I bought this on my kindle over a year ago and finally got around to reading it. It was an entertaining read, but infidelity is a prominent part of the story line and I always struggle to really love novels that feature that.

The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott - 3 stars - This was a really well-written literary fiction novel about a family living in Brooklyn. I can't remember the era - maybe it was the 1950s? At the start of the story, the husband commits suicide while his pregnant wife is out getting groceries and the story unfolds from there.

Bonfire by Kristen Ritter - 2 stars - This novel is about an environmental attorney that returns to her hometown to determine whether a plastics company has been dumping chemicals in the local reservoir that the local residents use as their water source. I liked it initially but then the story line became way too far-fetched and dramatic I kept reading because I wanted to know how it ended but it elicited a lot of eye rolls from me, hence the 2-star rating.

The Things We Wish Were True by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen - 3 stars - I read this book as a palette cleanser after a series of heavier books. It's a light read that follows various people in a community in North Carolina over the course of a summer. The point of view changes so you get to see what is happening in their different, interconnected lives.

How was your January? Were you glad to see it go like I was??

Podcasts, Books and Looks of December

So I know I said I was going to retire the "looks" portion of my monthly recaps but I had some cute'ish looks thanks to holiday parties that I thought I'd share. Here's how the last month of the year shaped up for me.

Podcasts:

Birthful on Gestational Diabetes - This was a timely podcast to drop in December since I just got diagnosed with GD. It was interesting to listen to and I learned some new things. I wasn't too surprised to hear that the registered dietician that was interviewed often tells her client to ignore the GD diet protocol as it's too many carbs for many and results in high blood sugars, but it made me wonder why it's the protocol in the first place if it sets people up for failure? Hmmm.

Books:

December was another strong reading month for me as I read 7 books. My favorite was definitely "We Were the Lucky Ones." I'm a sucker for a great WWII novel and this one did not disappoint. Check it out if you like that genre.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys - 4 stars - This is a WWII novel about a family of war refugees in East Prussia that is trying to get on a boat in search for freedom. I liked this book but sometimes got confused by the multiple narrators.

We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter - 5 stars - Another WWII novel, this time about a Jewish family in Poland. It's based on the true story of the author's family.

The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard - 4 stars - I read this to fulfill my goal of reading 6 books I already owned. It's about 2 girls born on the same day in the same hospital. The story follows how the 2 girls as their lives unfold.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - 4 stars - This book almost made my top 10 list for 2017. It's a great story about a young girl who is the car when her friend is shot by a police officer during a traffic stop. Both are African American. This is a timely read given the high incidence of police violence on people of color.

My Life with Bob by Pamela Paul - 3 stars - I was drawn to check this book out from the library as I listen to the author host the NYT Book Review podcast every week. This book is about "Bob" - the author's book of books where she has kept track of all the books she has read since she was a teenager. It was a fun approach to a memoir.

Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor  - 3 stars - I bought this book when I visited my friend Nora in St. Louis as I couldn't resist a book about Paris AND Christmas. It's written in epistolary form as it features letters between a British soldier and a girl back home in Britain during WWI.

Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan - 2 stars - I won this in a gift exchange with my college girlfriends. It's a light read set in a coast village in England. I knew it would be a light, breezy read but it was just a little bit too cheesy for me.

Looks:

I went to 2 holiday parties this month and wore dresses to both. I got both dresses from Pinkblush.

This is the dress that I wore to my work party in early December. I don't love the excess fabric around the belly but I know it's needed for when my belly expands and the girls at work said that I looked great, so I will take their word for it!

Later that week, I went to Phil's work holiday party and wore a pink dress. It has short sleeves so a wrap was necessary. I know some women say they are hot all the time when they are pregnant but that has NOT been the case for me.

Podcasts and Books of November

Happy December, everyone! I'm struggling to believe that it's the final month of the year! I know that is such a cliche statement to make, but I'm just stunned by how fast each successive year goes!

I've decided to skinny up these monthly recaps even further and am leaving out the 'looks' portion of the recap because, to be honest, I'm not too excited about how I look these days and I tend to wear the same things over and over and over again, so there aren't a lot of 'new' looks to share. ;) Someday I'll be back to sharing workouts and looks as part of my monthly recap, though!

Podcasts:

Chatty Sisters Podcast - This is one of those podcasts where I will stop in the middle of a podcast and click over to this when a new episode drops! I know Kelly and Caroline, but even if you don't know them, you will enjoy this show. It's 2 sisters talking about a wide variety of topics from family traditions to goals to Myers-Briggs personality types.

From the Front Porch - This is a podcast hosted by the owner of a bookstore in Thomasville, GA and one of her employees. I started listening to this podcast when the owner was on What Should I Read Next, another 'must listen' bookish podcast. They talk about all things bookish. The most recent episode was about children's books, which is of particular interest to me now that I'm starting to build a library for Baby S.

Books:

November was a huge month of reading for me as I read 10 books! I had a lot of flares in November, which forced me to take it easy. And my favorite thing to do when I am taking it easy is read. My favorite book of the month was Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. I can see why Amazon chose this as the best fiction book of 2017 as it was excellent! Ng's first book, "Everything I Never Told You" was also selected as the best fiction book by Amazon in the year it was published. So Ng is on quite a roll with her first 2 books!

Essentialism by Greg McKeown - 2 stars - This book, which is about simplifying your life, just didn't work for me.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng - 5 stars - This is excellent! Ng has this amazing ability to tell you what is going to happen at the end of the book on the very first page. The ending matters, but what's most interesting is what drives her characters to make the decisions they make.

The Course of Love by Alain de Botton - 3 stars - This is a thought provoking fiction read about the trials and tribulations marriage.

Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave - 2 stars - This is one of those books that I considered abandoning early on as I wasn't connecting with it, but it's gotten great reviews from others so I soldiered on. In hindsight, I should have abandoned it.

The Banks of Certain Rivers - 3 stars - This is an interesting book about a high school teacher that gets accused of physically assaulting a male student. The assault was captured on video but is the video showing what actually happened?

Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin - 3 stars - I loved Zevin's last book, "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry" so I was excited to check this book out. It was pretty good but didn't live up to my standards. It's about a young woman who has an affair with a U.S. Senator and then moves away to start over due to the scandal.

It's Okay to Laugh by Nora McInerny Purmort - 4 stars - This was a re-read for me and I think I enjoyed it even more the second time through because after listening to the author's podcast for the last year+, I could "hear" her voice. It's her memoir about dealing with the loss of her father and husband and a miscarriage, all in the span of about 6-8 weeks.

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid - 2 stars - I really wanted to like this book as it's an immigrant story, which is a genre I tend to love. But the detached writing style of the book did not work for me. This has been critically acclaimed and has made several 'best of 2017' book lists, but it just didn't resonate with me.

Mr. Rochester by Sarah Shoemaker - 3 stars - This is a re-telling of Jane Eyre from Mr. Rochester's perspective. It was interesting to read an imagined back story on how he came to marry 'the woman upstairs'.

Podcasts, Books and Looks of October

October was another busy month! Time is a-flying and before we know it, we'll be turning the calendar to 2018. November and December are 2 of my favorite months as I love all the holiday excitement and anticipation - although I don't feel as much of a sense of anticipation anymore as Christmas comes so fast and I don't really care about gifts like I did when I was a child!  #adulting

Here's how October shaped up for me:

Podcasts:

Birthful - I am really enjoying this podcast which delves into all kind of topics from labor and delivery to breast feeding to cloth diapering. Shout-out to Amber for recommending this to me!

Books:

It was another strong month of reading for me!  I read 7 books! My favorites were Al Franken's memoir and This Is How It Always Is.

The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson - 3 stars - This is a novel about 2 step-sisters. The older sister goes to Alabama to help out her aging grandmother and learns some secrets about the family. I had heard good things about this author and while I enjoyed the book, I didn't LOVE it.

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel - 5 stars - This will end up on my 'best reads of 2017' list. It's about a family with a transgendered child. The author is the mother of a transgendered child so she can speak with authority on the subject, although she makes it clear in the afterword that this is not her child's story. My book club will be discussing this tonight and it's going to make for a great discussion, especially since the person leading the discussion is a child psychologist who has counseled transgendered youth.

Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham - 4 stars - This is a young adult novel that is addresses the race riots that occurred in Tulsa in 1921. I had never heard of these race riots. As a result of the riots, an entire section of town where African Americans lived was burned to the ground. I'm glad this book is bringing attention to this horrible act in history.

The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain - 3 stars - This is similar to Almost Sisters as the main character returns home to deal with her father's estate and learns a shocking family secret.

Still Life by Louise Penny - 4 stars - This is the first book in Penny's Inspector Gamache series. Some have said the book moved slowly but I really enjoyed all the character development. It is a 'cozy mystery' so it's the perfect series to dig into as the weather gets colder! It also made me want to visit Quebec, Canada as the series is set in that area. I'll definitely read more from this series (after I get through my big stack of unread books that I own!!).

Al Franken, Giant of the Senate - 5 stars - This memoir by the Minnesota Senator, Al Franken, was really entertaining. He used to write for SNL so clearly has a great sense of humor and a way with words. In the book he talks about his career and how ended becoming a senator. He won in a very close race - with all the law suits it took 7 months for him to be declared a winner. I was living in Minnesota at that time but do not remember the legal battle over the senate race! I guess I did not pay as close attention to politics back then?

The Bronte Plot by Katherine Reay - 3 stars - I bought this off a kindle deal email months ago and finally got around to reading it on our Asheville vacation. It's a light, easy read so was perfect for vacation.

Looks:

I already shared this photo in my pregnancy update, but this was one of my favorite looks from October. Most of my looks are not photo-worthy these days. I have been wearing a lot of longer maternity long-sleeve t-shirts. I bought some cute dresses from Gap and Pinkblush but my belly isn't big enough to wear them yet as there is too much excess fabric!

Podcasts, Books & Looks of September

September was kind of a blur for me as my schedule was pretty busy. It was a pretty good month, aside from the painful flare I got mid-month! Fingers crossed that is my last one of this pregnancy!

Podcasts:

Dating (in Marriage) on The Simple Show - As I've mentioned before, I am really loving this season of The Simple Show as they are taking a 'yes and no' approach to a range of topics. The episode on dating in marriage was really interesting. Phil and I aren't super intentional about going on 'dates' but it's something we'll need to be more intentional about after the baby comes as making time to connect one-on-one is really important.

Books:

September was a really strong month of reading for me, which is good as August was kind of a dud. It's tough to pick a favorite as I really like so many of these books, but my top 2 were Beartown and Refugee.

Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips - 3 stars - This is a thriller about a mom and her son that are at the zoo when a shooters take over the zoo. It was a page turner but I didn't LOVE it.

Marlena by Julie Buntin - 4 stars - This was a really great debut novel that I got from my Book of the Month Club subscription. It's about the friendship of Cat and Marlena - two girls that might seem similiar on the surface, but are actually quite different as Marlena is sadly the victim of a broken home, poverty, and drug abuse. It's the kind of book where the characters stay with you finish reading it.

Beartown by Fredrick Backman - 5 stars - I liked this book even more than his previous novel, A Man Called Ove. He does a great job of telling the story of a hockey-obsessed town that is divided when a crime occurs that involves a player on the hockey team. 

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy - 2 stars - I struggled to finish this book. It was a Man Booker prize winner so I should have known that it might be a miss for me as award-winning books are often my least favorite. 

Expecting Better by Emily Oster - 5 stars - This is an excellent book about pregnancy that I will recommend to anyone I know who gets pregnant in the future. It's written by an economist. She takes all of recommendations about what you should or shouldn't do and looks at the research behind those decisions. It was really interesting and a very engaging read. 

Refugee by Alan Gratz - 5 stars - This is a middle-grade book about 3 different refugee families who are seeking assylum. The stories cover 3 different periods as we meet a Jewish family during WWII, a Cuban family in the mid-90s, and a Syrian family in 2016. Even though this is a middle-grade novel, the author does not shy away from exposing the terrible realities that refugees face. People die and terrible things happen to each family as they pursue safety for their families.

Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny - 4 stars - This book was quirky and delightful. It's a character-driven story about a man who is on his 2nd marriage and has a son on the Asperger spectrum. His 2nd wife couldn't be more different than his first wife, but she decides that they should befriend his first wife and develop a friendship with her. The story unfolds from there and is told from the husband's perspective.

Looks:

After several look-less months I have a few looks to share!



Look #1:  Unbeknownst to me, this was my last day in my regular clothes (I was 16 weeks, 2 days). The pants are from Nordstrom, the top is from Ann Taylor, and the seer-sucker blazer is from Loft. When I got home from work that day, some maternity clothes had arrived and when I tried on the maternity pants I realized just how uncomfortable my pre-pregnancy pants had gotten! Maternity pants are kind of amazing!
 

Look #2:  This was my first day of wearing a maternity shirt + a belly band with my pre-pregnancy pants. I was excited to finally have a little baby bump to show off!

16 weeks + 3 days

Looks #3: This is a 100% maternity outfit. The top is from Target, the pants are from The Gap. This top makes me look like my bump is bigger than it actually is, but I'm beyond trying to look 'slim' or hiding the bump. If you compare this picture to the 2 above you can see how much hair I chopped off! I'm loving my new haircut!

17 weeks + 3 days

Podcast and Books of August

I'm going to do an abbreviated recap this month because I worked out very little (mostly just went for walks) thanks to my stupid RA flares. And I feel very 'meh' about my outfits these days since it's the end of summer and I'm kind of over my summer clothes!

Podcasts:

Friendships on The Simple Show - I really enjoyed Tsh Oxenreider's podcast about friendships. They discussed how to make time for friendships in the midst of being in a busy season of life. Some of their scheduling techniques would not work for me (the guest host doesn't plan anything in advance - I would not see any friends if I did not make plans in advance), but it was interesting to hear how 2 women make time for friendships.


Back to School and Neighborhood Spying on The Girl Next Door - Kelly introduced me to this podcast awhile ago and I have been loving it! Even though I don't have kids, I really enjoyed their "back to school" episode. I always love the back to school season as I loved going back to school at the end of the summer. It brings back all kinds of nostalgia! They each have things they do to make back to school time special for their kids. I'll have to keep this podcast in mind when we have kids of our own.

Books:

In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch - 2 stars - I bought this off an kindle deal email and decided to read it as I needed something lighter. It was a disappointment. It's about a group of college friends that rendezvous when they turn 30. I was disappointed by how immature the characters were and how little self-awareness they had.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee - 4 stars - This was my favorite book that I read in September. I got it this spring from my Book of the Month Club subscription. It's is a sweeping saga of 4 generations of Koreans that emigrated to Japan. I learned so much about the relationship between Japan and Korea and was saddened to read about how awful Koreans living in Japan were treated. For example, even though 2 of the generations of this family were born in Japan, they were still required to get a Korean passport and were not treated as full members of society. Apparently this is an accurate depiction of how Koreans are treated in Japan. 

No One Can Pronounce My Name by Rakesh Satyal - 3 stars - This is September selection for my local book club. It's about a group of Indian immigrants living in Ohio. The narration shifted from character to character, which I liked. I liked this book, but there was something missing and I didn't exactly love it. I think it will make for a good book club discussion, though.

Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen - 3 stars - I usually ADORE Quindlen's books. This one was good, but I didn't love it as much as I usually love her books. It's about a family living in an area that consistently floods. The government wants to use eminent domain and purchase the land from the families so they can flood the area. 

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty - 3 stars - I debated between 2 and 3 stars for this book, but settled on 3 as the final quarter of the book was really good. I usually like Moriarty books more than I liked this one. But in this case I felt that she over used suspense. There was an excessive build up to something that happened at a BBQ and I just wanted to know what it was. It took until about 1/2 way through the book to get a glimpse of what happened and even then it slowly unfolded with flashbacks between the BBQ and the current time. I think suspense is a good tool that can engage a reader but in this case it just annoyed me.

Podcasts, Books, Miles and Looks of June

Podcasts:

Chatty Sisters Podcast Personality Episode - I love episode 15 of the Chatty Sisters Podcast. They talk about personality types which is a topic I find fascinating. I am an ISTJ which means I am introverted, observant, thinking, judging. ISTJ = "The Logistician," which is 1 of 4 "analyst" personality types.  According to the website, logistician's defining characteristics are integrity, practical logic and tireless dedication to duty. ISTJs have little patience for indecisiveness (yep!). ISTJs have sharp, fact-based minds, and prefer autonomy and self-sufficiency to reliance on someone or something (hence the fact that my favorite hobbies of running and reading are solo pursuits). If you don't know your personality type, you can take the test here!

Anyways, it was fun to listen to Caroline and Kelly talk about their personality types!


Books:

June was a so-so book month for me. I read 5 books, abandoned one book (not included in this recap as I only count books I finish) and disliked/didn't connect with 2 of the books. But I absolutely LOVED Behold the Dreamers and highly recommend it!

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue - 4 stars
Evicted by Matthew Desmond - 4 stars
Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett - 2 stars
Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon - 4 stars
This Common Secret by Susan Wicklund - no rating (I'm not the audience for this book as it's a memoir written by an abortion doctor. I can't separate my feelings on the issue of abortion from the quality/writing style of the book so I chose to not rate it)

Workouts:

My workouts were pretty good in June. I worked out 20 times and did a variety of things. I had a couple of personal training session (still have 1 more left from the package I bought before the wedding), I ran 46 miles (kind of low but this number should build now that I'm training for a half marathon) and I did lots of different strength training workouts. I love the variety of my workouts. Next month I need to add in some biking and swimming as I'm doing a tri in mid-August. I'm struggling to find the motivation to train for the tri as I honestly do NOT enjoy swimming for exercise at all.  I much prefer swimming for leisure (i.e. swimming to the raft and playing king of the mountain with my nieces and nephews).

Looks:

Well it took until nearly the end of the month to take a photo of an outfit - and the quality of the one photo I took was pretty awful. I got this dress last August when I was shopping with my college girlfriends during a girls weekend. It's a navy wrap dress. I love that it has sleeves because I am always cold! I thought it was too short to wear to work (#tallishgirlproblems) but Phil assured me the length was fine...

Podcasts, Books, Workouts and Looks of May

Oh May, what a month you were! It was the most amazing month of my life between the wedding and honeymoon, but it was also one of the most exhausting months of my life between being busy at work and planning a wedding!

Also, if you'd like to see more photos of our day, our photographer published a post about our wedding day yesterday (which I've read so many times!!!!).  She did an amazing job capturing our day. I can't wait to see the fully galley in a couple of weeks!

Here's how the month of May shaped up!


Podcasts:

Pod Save America - I'm enjoying this political podcast by 3 former Obama speech writers/staffers. There's so much going on in the political world, which makes my stomach hurt/makes me anxious, and sometimes I feel like I can't keep up with everything that is happening. Listening to this podcast helps me stay on top of the news, but they deliver it in such a witty way and given their career backgrounds, they can bring more context to what is happening.  Warning - there can be strong language at times.


Books:

I was surprised to realize that I read 7 books in May as I felt like I did not read all that much since like was so dang busy! But I read 4 of the 7 books on our honeymoon! It was sort of a 'so so' month of reading for me as I gave 3 of the books 2 stars (with an explanation of why I didn't care for them). But I did read some fun books on my honeymoon! My favorites were The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper and The Bookshop on the Corner, both of which was wonderful vacation/summer reads! The starred book is a book I own, which counts towards my goal of reading 6 books I own.

The Twelve Lives of Samual Hawley by Hannah Tinti - 2 stars (this book has received a lot of praise but I did not care for it and my good friend who read it at the same time also did not care for it)
Mercies in Disguise by Gina Kolata - 4 stars
The Shack by William Paul Young - 2 stars (the writing quality was poor, IMO, and the story didn't work for me)
The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan - 3 stars
Grand Opening by Jon Hassler* - 2 stars (I read many Hassler books when I was in my 20s and loved them, but this one fell flat for me. It's evident it was written many years ago (in the 80s) because the author speaks about subjects such an mental disabilities in an insensitive and inappropriate manner)
Cinder by Marissa Meyer - 3 stars
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick - 4 stars

Workouts:
May wasn't my best month for workouts as I had a few things going on...  but I did have some great runs early in the month, especially a 8:40 pace (!!!) 5.5 mile run during my wedding week. I also went to several barre classes in the first half of the month. We were quite active during our honeymoon between swimming/snorkeling and hiking. Most days I seemed to hit 10,000 steps. I'm looking forward to having more structure in my workouts going forward, though!

Looks:

First, a non-wedding-weekend-related look! I wore this outfit to the pre-wedding work party my coworker hosted. I wore our wedding colors! The pants and top are from Banana (as usual!), the top is from a Cabi party I attended last spring.

This isn't the best picture of my rehearsal dinner dress, but it's the best I have as I did not take a single picture at the rehearsal/rehearsal dinner. I stayed in the same hotel as all my blogger friends that night. They were having dinner at the hotel restaurant so I got to chat w/ them a bit before heading upstairs for my last night as a single lady!

And of course, I had to include a photo of me in my wedding dress. I just absolutely LOVED my dress!   

How did the month of May shape up for you?

Podcast, Books, Workouts & Looks of March

Ufda, March was a hectic month!  I'm hoping April feels a bit less chaotic!  Here's my usual monthly recap!

Podcasts:

Chatty Sisters Podcast - As I mentioned in my currently post, my good friend Kelly and her sister Caroline started a podcast!  I have read both of their blogs for years so know them well but even if you don't know them, you'll still enjoy the podcast as they talk about interesting topics such as wedding dos and don'ts, careers, and setting/achieving goals.  I got a shout-out in episode 3 for a book recommendation I made (woo hoo) so that was pretty cool to hear as I wasn't expecting it!

Books:
 

 March was a huge reading month for me as I read 9 books!! It's tough to pick a favorite as I gave many of them 4 stars.  It's easy to pick my least favorite, which was Beauty and Sadness.  I read this book for my postal book club and I did not enjoy it.  Others in the club really enjoyed it so when I finished I wondered what I had missed.  I strongly disliked one of the protagonists, though, and I'm the kind of reader that struggles to like a book when I don't like one of the main characters.

Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler - 3 stars
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom - 4 stars
Beauty and Sadness by Yasunari Kawabata - 2 stars
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon - 4 stars
The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen - 4 stars
The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning - 3 stars
The Turner House by Angela Flournoy - 4 stars
The Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar - 4 stars

Workouts:

I had a strong month of workouts! I did a combination of barre classes, sessions with my personal trainer, 3-4 mile runs, and 21 day fix workouts. My favorite workout of the month was a barre class I took in the western metro that used trampolines (see picture below). It was an amazing workout as we did barre moves at the beginning, cardio on the trampoline in the middle (a combination of jumps, high knees and other moves), and core work at the end.  I was dripping with sweat at the end!  I wish there was a studio that offered these classes closer to where I live. The studio I went to is in Wayzata which is just too far away for me to get there regularly! 

Looks:

I've got nothing for you.  March is a transitional month as it's too cold to wear spring clothes and I'm so sick of my winter clothes by this point that I have no motivation to take any photos of what I wore. I hope that April is a nicer month so I can start to wear some lighter spring clothing!

Wedding-Planning-Free Weekend!

Happy Monday and Happy First Day of Spring!  I hope everyone had a fun weekend.  Did you celebrate St. Patty's Day?  I can't say that we did, but neither of us has any Irish blood in us so we don't feel compelled to celebrate.  After 2 weekends full of wedding-related to dos, we were due for a wedding-planning-free weekend!  Here is how we filled it.

On Friday night we had Phil's mom over for dinner. I made these fish tacos along with guacamole. The archdiocese gave a dispensation on Friday that allowed Catholics in my diocese to eat meat in celebration of St. Patrick's Day, but it felt like 'cheating' to eat meat since I wasn't celebrating the holiday. Plus fish tacos are so good! I used tilapia and they were so tasty (sorry, no photo!).  I think the best part was the mango slaw, though.  I'll definitely be making that again! After dinner we played a couple of games of Yahtzee.

On Saturday morning I drove out to the west metro area to go to a barre class with a good college friend. It was nice to start off the day with a good workout! After the class, we grabbed breakfast at a cute diner in the area and then we stopped by a new French restaurant that opened up called Bellecour. The restaurant has a cute bakery so we stopped by for a macaron (which was delicious!). It was great to catch up and spend some time with my friend's daughter.

Heidi, her daughter Elle, and me enjoying a macaron!

Saturday afternoon we cleaned the house which is one of my least favorite chores.  It helps that we divide and conquer, though!  In the late afternoon we went to Phil's college friend's couples baby shower. It was fun to see some of Phil's college friends!

After the shower, we headed over to hang out with one of Phil's best men and his wife. We hadn't hung out with them for awhile so it was fun to spend Saturday evening with them! They have an adorable little guy, Leo, who is 16 months. My friend snapped this photo of Phil and I reading a book to Leo.

On Sunday morning I was up early so I could go to mass at 8:45 before heading to my personal training session at 10. The training session was soooo hard!  We did a bunch of different strength training circuits and he had me run some intervals for 10 minutes in the 2nd half of the workout.

Phil went to his mom's for the day and he took Oscar out there for the week (his mom loves having Oscar's company so we bring her there every other month or so). I missed having Oscar around but still enjoyed having day to myself at home. I haven't had a plan-free day in so long so I relished being able to stay home all day. I spent a good chunk of Sunday afternoon working on meal prep for the week.

Sauteing veggies for the egg bake

Sauteing peppers for my salads

Chopped fruit and veggies for snacks

It feels good to have breakfast (veggie and chicken sausage egg bake), lunches (salad with jerk pork and veggies) and snacks taken care of for the week.

The evening was spent relaxing and reading. And I course watched 60 minutes. I love that show and Face the Nation! I also watched a little bit of March Madness basketball but both mine and Phil's brackets were busted yesterday as the teams we picked to win the tournament lost (Louisville and Duke).  Womp womp.

This is another jam-packed week as we have a tasting tonight for our dessert table (!!!) followed by barre class (if we get out of the tasting in time), then tomorrow I fly to NYC for a day full of meetings in New Jersey on Wednesday. I'm squeezing in a dinner with my friend Alli and her husband on Tuesday night which I'm excited about!  Thursday night I have a kick-off meeting for the 2017 community garden season and Friday I have a personal training session right after work.  I reeeeeally need a plan-free week night badly but don't see that happening soon since I travel again next week (this time to Chicago).

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

What were you up to this weekend? Did you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?

Podcasts, Books, Workouts and Looks of January

Ufda, January was a doosey of a month.  I packed a lot into these 31 days.  I sincerely hope that life slows down in February because I'm kind of crying 'uncle' right now over how busy I feel.

Podcasts:

Offshore:  I'm so glad my friend Kelly recommended this as I've become totally hooked on this podcast. It explores 2 murders that happened in Hawaii 80 years apart. What connects these 2 murders is both deal with the topics of race and power.  She sprinkles in a lot of history of the state of Hawaii which has been so interesting - especially since we'll be there for our honeymoon in May.

Books:

I read A LOT in January. 7 books!  It was a crazy busy month, but I still read a lot as I had 8 flights and lots of nights alone in hotel rooms.  This was one of the more pleasurable months of reading that I've had in as long as I can remember. I attribute this to the fact that I read whatever I wanted to read, instead of reading books I had to read to complete a reading challenge.  The best books were When Breath Becomes Air and I'll Give You the Sun. My least favorite was The Wangs vs. the World.

The Trespasser by Tana French - 4 stars
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance - 4 stars
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi - 5 stars
The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty - 3 stars
Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton - 4 stars
The Wangs vs. the World by Jade Chang - 2 stars
I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson - 5 stars

Workouts:

This is the first month of solid workouts that I've had since my surgery last May.  I still have work to do to get back to running, but it was great to feel like I was back at it this month. I did the Core de Force Beach Body program, which I loved as it was easy to do while traveling since it requires no equipment.  I worked out 6 days a week despite my crazy travel schedule, which I'm proud of!

Looks:

** crickets **  I've got nothing working sharing, sadly.  I feel like I wore business suits so much of this month, which is my absolutely LEAST favorite outfit to wear. Besides that my outfits were all about warmth as January is the coldest month for us typically.  Hopefully I'll have something worth sharing next month!

Podcasts, Books, Workouts and Looks of October + Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone!  Admittedly, this is not my favorite holiday as I don't enjoy coming up with costumes or dressing up. But these days I enjoy the holiday more than I did in the past as I love seeing pictures of everyone's kids in costumes and I really love the pumpkin carving event we host each year (pictures at the end of this post). Have a safe and fun holiday, everyone!

Podcasts:

As I mentioned in my currently post last week, I started listening to a new book podcast called "From the Front Porch." So far I've only listened to two episodes (episode 88 which is a discussion with a Penguin Random House sales rep about fall titles episode 90 which is an interview of Anne Bogel), but I'm looking forward to listening to more!  The main host, Annie, is so charming.  She's like a real life Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan's character in You've Got Mail, which is probably my all-time favorite movie).

Books:

I managed to read 5 books this month, which is a decent amount, but it wasn't a great reading month as some of the books I read were kind of 'just ok'. My favorite book was The Ramblers. I was expecting to love The Underground Railroad as I had heard so much buzz about it but the author sort of used a detached and slightly impersonal writing style and it just didn't work for me. As usual, the starred books are Read Harder Challenge books.

The Expatriates by Janice Y.K. Lee* - 3 stars
The Underground Railround by Colson Whitehead - 3 stars
Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist - 3 starts
50 Simple Questions for Every Christian* - 2 stars
The Ramblers by Aidan Donnelley Rowley - 4 stars

Workouts:

October was the first month that contained a significant number of workouts since April!  It feels sooo good to be back to more rigorous workouts. Besides introducing walk/run intervals, I went to spin classes, lots of body pump classes, and I tried a bootcamp class. I'm still not working out as often as I need/would like to but hopefully my schedule will quiet down a bit so I will have more time for working out.

Looks:

So you can't see much of this top since my apron is covering it up, but I bought this new striped tunic from Target this month for Julia Child night.  I heart stripes and I heart tunics (tunic + leggings + boots is my fall/winter weekend uniform) so this top is perfect for me. I love cozy cowl next.  It's not super flattering but I just don't care because it's so comfy and warm!

Bonus:  Pumpkin Carving Photos

We had a blast hosting our friends for our annual pumpkin carving party. I made 2 kinds of chili (one with meat and one vegetarian) and the cornbread recipe that we made for Julia Child night last year. My friend made these pumpkin bars which were so delicious (and easy to modify to be gluten free!). 

Everyone's pumpkins turned out great! 

Of course we had to get a photo of Oscar with our pumpkin. It was National Cat Day that day! (but really, every day is national cat day in this household)

Meow!!