Reading

Drums of Autumn (Book 4 in the Outlander series) and American Gods by Neil Gaiman.  Both are fairly long, so I don’t think I’ll be getting through them quickly.  I’ve actually never read anything by Neil Gaiman before (I know, I know!) but so far American Gods is making me think of Robert McCammon a bit and is making me want to revisit some of my old favorites of his.

Watching

We’re still working our way through Supernatural, but also just started watching Catastrophe too. I’m loving the new season of Outlander (those dresses!!) though admittedly, and not surprisingly it is a bit slower due to the nature of the second book. That only means the last episodes are going to be fantastic, though!  As for movies, we’ve watched a few, but most notable was Sisters, which was a blast, and I watched Room, which was really well acted. It’s been a while since I read the book, but it was just as sad as I remember. We also bought Zootopia and it is the kids’ new favorite. It’s a good one if you haven’t watched it yet and especially good with what’s happening in the news as it addresses prejudice and discrimination really well.

Loving

My latest haircut, doing girly things like making my nails pretty, fixing up the yard.  It’s not complete, but our yard is looking so much better with each little thing we accomplish. The kids are also having fun watching how much our flowers and plants are growing.

Planning

So much, but also trying to live in the moment and not plan too far ahead. Summer is brief, though, so we have to make the most of it and that does mean looking ahead and cramming what we can into each weekend. Okay, maybe not too much since Phoebe and I seem to be the only ones who really want to get out each weekend whereas the boys would rather stay home.

Enjoying

Summer!  The weather has been great and even though it’s getting hot and humid (humidity is not my favorite) we have been having a lot of fun outside. Granted, the mosquitoes are making their appearance, but not even they can ruin this weather.

Eating

Trying to cut back on sugar a bit and dairy and carbs and I’ve noticed that I’m not craving them as much, but when I do eat them I’m less likely to go overboard and overindulge because I feel crappy afterwards. I think I have a bit more energy now that I’ve been trying to get more movement into each day and pay a little more attention to what I’m eating and not just mindlessly eat.  Well… mostly. I still have days where I suddenly realize I’ve overdone it and immediately regret it. Haha.

Organizing

We finally tackled the garage and it is mostly organized, but we could some different shelving and we have a box spring we don’t know what to do with at present.  Now to really finish organizing my office and the guest room.

Dreaming

Big dreams… can’t jinx myself, though, so I’m going to do that annoying vague thing and say big things are coming!

Happy Wednesday!

Happy Friday!  The sun is finally shining and this makes me very happy.  We have a semi-busy weekend in the works, so hopefully we get a few things done while also enjoying some sunshine.

Currently :

Reading… A Darker Shade of Magic, 10 Days to a Less Defiant Child

Watching… Outlander, the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Supernatural, Catastrophe, Gilmore Girls (finishing up the last 2 seasons in preparation for the return!)

Listening to… The sound of my phone vibrating as Josh sends me updates of his impromptu day with Enzo (shots do not a happy boy make, so he begged to go home).

Drinking… La Croix Blackberry cucumber water. My new favorite flavor.

Eating… All of the leftover cake, and some salads thrown into the mix, but mostly cake.

Planning… We have lots of yardwork goals to complete this year and some house goals as well.

Celebrating… Josh getting a job. One tends to get frantic as the debt rises and rises.

Exercising… Mostly by walking and some weight lifting. Slowly getting into a groove, but let’s face it, it’s hard to work out when I just want to read.

Reminiscing… About when my newly turned 4 year old was a wee little baby.  I get sucked into all of the old photos and become rather nostalgic.

Loving… My latest haircut, especially the blunt bangs. I think I’ll keep them this way for a while, but still need to find the perfect color.

Also Loving… Doing my nails. I’m obsessed with those Jamberry wraps now.

Looking forward to… Some downtime this weekend, hopefully so I can play some Super Mario Maker.

Changing… The way we parent and really focusing on not raising our voices, making sure we praise more often (it can be so easy to take good behavior for granted), being more present and less distracted, and a few other things.

Sleeping… A lot more. I’m just a lot more tired than usual lately, and part of that could be due to the chilly, rainy, dreary weather we’ve had. I will clearly not be moving to Washington anytime soon. Although it could be too much sugar (see cake mentioned above).

Have a wonderful weekend!

Currently, the fast and quick version!

Currently :

Reading… Truthwitch and The Winter People

Watching… Grey’s Anatomy, Supernatural, Superstore, Jessica Jones

Listening to… Various Pandora stations.

Drinking… Wine, Fancy sodas, Kombucha(!)

Eating… Girl Scout Cookies. I don’t think we bought any last year, so I had to make up for it this year.

Organizing… All of the closets in the house.

Purging… Toys, books, and clothes the kids have outgrown.

Relaxing… Whenever I can!

Training… Vega to not attack feet at night so that children don’t wake up crying.

Adjusting… To constant chin breakouts from Vega because she insists on licking my chin in the middle of the night and my skin doesn’t like it.

Attempting… To get back into some nightly routines – I have an aromatherapy certification to complete most importantly.

Procrastinating… All of the things (exercising, cleaning, doing our taxes, you name it).

Looking forward to… The same thing as always – warmer weather, but I’m also hoping we can go on vacation take a little vacation this year.

Happy Friday!  We’re looking forward to getting out of the house this weekend!

Reading

I am presently reading Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon and Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. Dragonfly has a much slower pace than Outlander, so it’s taking me longer to read than the first.  I’m still enjoying it, but feel like it lags at times. Red Queen is a YA novel that I’m still on the fence about.  It’s nothing amazing yet, but I’m sticking with it. Some of it feels very familiar to other books I’ve read recently, but there are a couple developments that had me perk up and want to keep reading.

Watching

I’m still watching a lot of Grey’s Anatomy and along with Supernatural we’ve also been watching some Jessica Jones.  I’m enjoying how dark Jessica Jones is; she really isn’t a character I knew anything about going into it, and I like how she isn’t your average female superhero.  I also watched the first season of Flesh and Bone, and wow… great dancing, but talk about some severely messed up characters. Really dark and depressing and yet I couldn’t stop watching.  Oh yes, and Downton Abbey!!  Really sad it’s the last season, but it couldn’t last forever.  Sigh.

Health and Wellness

We’ve entered the coldest time of the year, which also tends to mean my least active time of year. I try to get out when I can to walk, but it’s not enjoyable when your face hurts because of the cold, you know?  It’s also really hard to find the motivation to work out when I’d rather just curl up in the evening with a hot drink and a cat or a child. I’ll deal with the extra pounds for a while longer, I guess.

Drinking/Eating

Slowly cutting back on coffee and my evening wine… mostly because it’s so chilly in the evenings that I’d rather curl up with a cup of tea anyway.  I’ve been eating so many salads, especially for lunch. I just cut up some chicken and throw it in or I’ll cube some really yummy cheese.  I can’t believe I didn’t buy Garlic Expressions sooner… I don’t even want any other dressing.  We also introduced the kids to dipping bread in seasoned olive oil. They weren’t huge fans. I may or may not have finished most of the loaf by myself because I could live off of bread, cheese and wine.

Enjoying

Evening dance sessions with the kiddos (even if their music selection is sometimes questionable), curling up with a blanket and a book in the evenings and at least one or two cats, listening to Enzo’s fantastic tales, listening to Phoebe “read” books to me, all of the little things.

Procrastinating

Just about everything. January is typically a difficult month for me, so I’m allowing myself to just be. I’m staying on top of the really necessary things, but anything that isn’t terribly pressing is just getting pushed aside so I can mentally relax. Come February I’ll care about my To-Do lists and actually push myself to do them, but for now I’m going to just allow myself to curl up, hide from the cold, and be a bit lazy.

Sleep

Definitely need more of it and I think our kiddos could use some sleep “training.” Neither goes to sleep easily without a parent in the room with them and when you doze off it just makes you groggy and less likely to want to do anything in the evenings. Phoebe has also had some really fun nights this week where she wakes up at around 1am and insists that it is time to wake up and she wants to go to the living room. A mini tantrum then ensues when I inform her we will not be getting out of bed to play and she usually wakes up her brother. Hooray!  Fun times for all!

Happy Friday!  I wish you all sleep and warmth!