I’ve seen other bloggers do a variation of what they are currently up to, so I thought I’d do the same thing since often it doesn’t fit anywhere else.

Reading

Well, I didn’t really get into ‘Middlesex’ and instead have been focusing on ‘The Dresden Files.’  I think as I mentioned last month, I’ll finish the current book I’m on and then move on to something else for a switch. I haven’t decided what, though, as I’ve been watching more TV than reading lately. Tsk Tsk.

Watching

As far as television series go, need I even say that we’re still working our way through ‘Fringe’?  I can’t believe that ‘Parenthood’ is going to be over in just a few short weeks.  What will I watch then??? I sometimes put ‘Once Upon A Time’ on in the background because it’s cheesiness is semi-amusing and I can’t seem to stop watching it. I’ve also been watching ‘Gilmore Girls’ and started watching ‘Reign’ because the teen girl in me was interested.

As far as movies go, there have been a few duds quite honestly.  The one movie that was pretty fun (despite some plot issues that kind of bugged us) was ‘Edge of Tomorrow.’  It’s a fun action sci-fi movie and while Tom Cruise was alright, I really liked Emily Blunt. Like I said, there were a few story issues, but if you want a fun sci-fi movie this is it.  Ever since I had kids I can’t handle a lot of gore, so the PG-13 rating was perfect for me.

Eating/Drinking

So much of everything, and I don’t care if I gain 10 pounds because I love it all.  I love this time of year because the fudge covered Ritz crackers are back along with so many other tasty and delicious things. With the colder weather it’s also the perfect time to drink more tea and a big mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream.

Loving

This time of year. I’m not a big fan of winter in general, and there is a lot of yucky pushy, rude, consumerism going on, but there are also just enough people out there who are in a really great mood because they also like this time of year and they make up for the all of the other lame people.  I’m also ready for lights to go up.  It’s nice that during this dark, cold, dreary time of year all of the lights somehow make it bearable with all of their happy twinkliness (<it should be a word).

Hating

I’m just going to say it… winter, or below freezing temperatures, rather.  There is no bigger pain than dealing with layers and bundling up small children.

Thinking About

Once again… so much and yet not so much. I spent most of my daydreaming time thinking about what we’ll do when we win the lottery. Yes, not if, but when.  I don’t think I’d change much about our lives except doing work that I really care about and not needing to worry about whether or not it would pay the bills.  Most of all, though, I think about everything we could do for other people… how exciting it would be to randomly surprise family and strangers with what they need most. Yeah, we’d do some selfish things, for sure, but really is there anything better than doing something really awesome for someone else?  I don’t think so.

I’ve seen other bloggers do a variation of what they are currently up to, so I thought I’d do the same thing since often it doesn’t fit anywhere else.

Reading

Slowly reading ‘Middlesex’ because it’s one of those books that I’ve been meaning to read for a while, but for some reason is not really grabbing my attention, so I may switch to something else.  I’ve actually been thinking of reading some old favorites like ‘The Hobbit’ and then maybe revisiting ‘The Dresden Files,’ which I had done before, but got sidetracked so never made it through all of them again.  Yeesh, my brain can’t focus on anything can it?

Watching

As far as television series go, we’re still watching ‘Fringe’ as well as a handful of other shows now that it’s fall.  We watched the first two episodes of ‘Gotham’ and are going to watch one more before we decide whether to continue or not.  We haven’t been super impressed with it so far… a lot of overacting (especially by Jada Pinkett Smith) and way too many characters were introduced in the first episode, and just… meh.  I’m watching ‘Parenthood’ and also have started watching my way through ‘Gilmore Girls’ since it’s finally on Netflix!  I used to watch it with my mom and now it feels super weird that I am currently the age that Lorelai (Lauren Graham) was in the beginning, which is really bizarre.  So now I’m watching it from an entirely different perspective…

We haven’t watched a lot of movies lately, but there have been a few. We watched ‘Pacific Rim’ and while the story wasn’t amazing and there was some definite cheesiness, the special effects were fantastic and worth watching. Then we watched a movie called ‘Clear History,’ which had some fairly funny moments and a surprising cast, but I probably wouldn’t buy it or anything.  It was an okay Friday night movie, though.

Eating/Drinking

While I don’t like the fancy pumpkin drinks from coffee shops, we have enjoyed some Pumpkin beer, Pumpkin cider and pumpkin butter, which was really good on French toast when I made it.  I love me some pumpkin butter.

Loving

Fall.  It isn’t too cold yet, but I kind of like that crisp feeling in the air.  I like the colors, the falling leaves, the pumpkins and cider.  Maybe I should be spending more time in sweaters and slippers sipping apple cider and reading books while watching seasonally appropriate movies.  I also want to take the kids to at least one orchard before time runs out to do so!  Apple cider donuts are calling my name and you can’t beat a good hay ride, ride?

Thinking About

A lot.  At the moment I’m thinking about traveling with kids, but I’ve got a lot of other things on my mind as well… some of which I don’t really feel like sharing.  My brain has been a very busy place lately, though, and there is a lot I’m trying to figure out.

I’ve seen other bloggers do a variation of what they are currently up to, so I thought I’d do the same thing since often it doesn’t fit anywhere else.

Reading

I’m actually reading ‘Allegiant’ despite not being super impressed by ‘Divergent’ and ‘Insurgent,’ I just like to finish things, you know?  Okay… unless it’s the Twilight series or 50 Shades of Crap… er Grey.  I’m really picky when it comes to dialogue in any book that I read – it has to feel real otherwise I can’t get past it and it just bugs me.  I’m also reading ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’ (written by J.K. Rowling). Good dialogue so far and while it hasn’t completely captured my full interest, I’m intrigued by the characters and it’s a decent bedtime read.

Watching

As far as television series go – not much new here.  We finished watching ‘The Quest’ a week or so ago. It was a nice change from other reality competition shows, even though there were still a lot of similarities as far as how people are eliminated and stuff like that.

We’ve had a few duds recently… nothing really standout. ‘Muppets Most Wanted’ was only so-so, ‘Robocop’ was kind of boring, and ‘Despicable Me 2’ was okay.  Probably the best of the bunch was ‘The Amazing Spiderman 2,’ which wasn’t amazing, but was pretty good overall. I liked it better than Josh did, so… at least I didn’t fall asleep during it?  Right?

Eating

Homemade chocolate chip cookies, which makes me want to make other homemade goodies.  Particularly bread… aside from banana bread, I haven’t made homemade bread in forever.  I also bought a bag of ‘Bakery On Main’ granola that is amazing and happens to taste like banana bread. Kind of awesome.

Loving

I’m loving a lot of things right now.  I’m loving that I started my aromatherapy certification classes. It’s becoming such a big thing right now, and it’s important to me that I be informed and I’m really hoping that ultimately I can use the knowledge in some kind of work related capacity whether it be through self-employment or… who knows?  Either way, there’s a lot of misinformation out there and it’s important to me that I treat my family safely and offer safe suggestions to other people, but that’s an entirely different post.  Anyhoo, I’m also loving some of this Fall weather.  I’m not a fan of 80-90 degree heat, so the cooler temperatures are kind of nice. I’m a snuggler, so blanket and hot tea weather is kind of nice.

Thinking About

How big my to-do list is and wondering if I’ll ever get it all done.  I won’t, but I’m going to try and get as much accomplished as possible. As boring as it is, I think I need to give myself some kind of schedule and smaller goals so that I don’t feel so overwhelmed by everything I want/need to get done.  It’s not easy finding spare time when you work full time and have two small kiddos.  I knew it would be a lot of work, but I did underestimate just how little “free” time I’d have and just need to prioritize and figure out what is actually most important to me right now when I’m not spending time with my munchkins.

Reading

I’m in between at the moment and trying to figure out what to read next.  I can’t seem to make up my mind, so I think a library trip is in order.  I obviously have a ton of books in the house that I could reread (and a few I haven’t even read yet), but I’m definitely in one of those ruts where I’m not sure what really sounds good. Contemplating starting ‘Insurgent,’ but since I only thought ‘Divergent’ was so-so, I’m on the fence. I had started rereading the Dresden Files series a while ago, so maybe I’ll pick that up again. I’ve read them a few times before, so the time in between shouldn’t be an issue.

Watching

As far as television series go – not much new here, although we did just start watching ‘The Quest’ on Hulu.  It’s a new reality show on ABC, and so far we like the new idea.  It starts out with 12 people and one person gets eliminated each week, but it all takes place in a medieval fantasy type world.  Kind of fun so far.

The last movie we watched was ‘Winter’s Tale’ and this time I really should have looked at what kind of reviews it was getting.  The trailer made it look good, and then we started watching it, and the only thing that could have made me turn it off faster was if Russell Crowe had started singing.  We got through maybe half of it and decided to finally turn it off and just go to sleep.  I think I’ll check out the book, though, because apparently the book is great.

Eating

Habanero BBQ almonds. They are ridiculously addictive, but I’m justifying it because almonds are healthy and I am trying to eat healthier.  Just ignore the chocolate bar sitting next to the can.  Dark chocolate doesn’t count, right?  Because it’s… healthier than not dark chocolate??  I’m doomed.  Josh will have to love me if I become a butterball.

Loving

That my recovery from surgery is going really well.  My belly is still a little swollen and sore, and while it won’t be perfect, I have a belly button again, so that’s awesome. :p  I already accepted that having kids would change my body a lot and that I probably would never get into a two-piece again, but the belly button thing was driving me crazy.  Yeah, it was mostly cosmetic, but now I feel more motivated to get in shape since I know I won’t have to wear double layers of shirts just to hide the hernia lump where my belly button should have been.

Thinking About

October!  My dad and step-mom are coming out for a visit, so we are looking forward to houseguests.  Now to get the guest room/office/game room ready. :p  It’s actually been the perfect motivation to get things organized and hopefully de-cluttered more before they arrive.  However, thinking about October also means thinking about Fall, and I don’t know that I’m ready for it yet.