Weekend Recap

The weekend started out with a surprise snow day for the 10 year old! I had known that it was supposed to snow maybe 3 inches over night but it hadn't even started by the time I went to bed so I was like ahh they lied.  Yeah... no.  I woke up around 6:30 and checked my phone and surprise, snow day! 

We started Friday off lazy with taking turns picking shows, then I warmed up the requested canned chicken noodle soup while the 10 year old shoveled a path from our door to the driveway.  After lunch, we went outside and I finished the shoveling around the garage and sidewalks and the girls played outside for awhile because for once when it snowed, the sun was shining and it was near 20 so it wasn't horrid.

The two year old took a ridiculously short nap and the oldest watched a disney plus movie while I didn't accomplish much! Lucky for us my husband surprised us and came home early.  We ended up having a couple errands to run so we hopped in the car and dropped off our winter taxes, dropped off his employees paychecks, got a car wash and picked up milkshakes as a pre-dinner appetizer.  When we got home we made brisket nachos for dinner and had a lazy evening.

Saturday I took the 10 year old to the library and we picked up our holds and browsed for awhile.  Our library still hasn't fully reopened since the flood in May 2020.  Hopefully it will be finally finished and ready the first week of April.  During nap time I read and the 10 year old and my husband started playing Ms. Monopoly, but it was another SUPER short nap so they had to hide the game away until later.  We took a walk in our woods and hung up a new camera so we can see animals in our backyard.

My husband spent all day Saturday making homemade beef broth and beef stew for dinner. It was delicious!  Saturday night I drank wine and read and the 10 year old and her dad played over 2 hours of Ms. Monopoly!

Sunday we went to to the local nature center and the kids played at the nature playground and then we did the short trail loop in hopes of tiring out the 2 year old to take a better nap, because we were allllllll needing her to do that.  Or to poop, since I'm sure that would have helped the other issue.  That took up just over an hour and then we stopped and got a drink and fries for a pre-lunch car snack.

The rest of the day was spent watching basketball, playing with the nerf gun, and then we had another delicious dinner of steaks, asparagus, baked potatoes and rolls.  yumm.  The two year old finally pooped and we ended our weekend watching Dr. Pol.

                                                           Just started this late Sunday night!

Hopefully this was our last 'winter' weekend.  I would really like to be able to venture out some more without having to worry about all the winter gear.

This week we have the last battle of the books virtual written battle, second swim lesson for the 10 year old and the weekend includes a 71st bday dinner for my dad.  Slightly less busy than last week but we are slowly adding things back in to our schedule.

How was your weekend?

I 

TGIF!

I have no idea how weeks can fly by in the blink of an eye and I feel like I am still needing to do all the things I was supposed to at the beginning of the week.  I think that's life entertaining a 2 year old and maintaining sanity.  I have been meaning to do quite a few things for awhile but nap time and after everyone is in bed have become my time to do whatever the heck I want and that is none of the things I need to be doing.  Whoops.

 Pictures from the week:

These Tiny Polka Dot cards are so cool.  There are so many math games you can do with then.  Right now we are in the dumping them and then very delicately returning the to the box stage.  She recognizes "no dots" (zero) and will count up to 3 dots on a card.

Last Saturday night, the oldest brought me her Harry Potter cookbook and said she wanted to make sugar biscuits because they are practically cookies here! :)  So she baked for us.

We had a day where it was a high of 48 and so of course we had to get the sidewalk chalk out! Even though it was 44 and cold at this point in the day.

Trying to make a point of reading books aloud each day, even if someone is distracted away.  Her favorite thing is to read alone which is turning her own pages of a book while I turn my own pages.  But I've been trying to read even when she is wandering around the room.  She's stopped taking them from me so it's progress.  She's a do it yourself type and doesn't want my help ha.

Playin in this tub of water is seriously her favorite thing ever.

I recommend all of these books! So good!

The high of my week was coaching our battle of the books team in their first virtual battle this week.  

The low of my week was  eh.

Meal plan for the week was  

Monday -  seafood ravioli, garlic bread, corn

Tuesday -  taco pie, sunflower salad, corn, cherry tomatoes

Wednesday -  Pesto Chicken, buttered noodles, kiwi, sweet kale salad

Thursday -  my husband was in charge of this and he did a,  frozen pizza, homemade potato skins (we had frozen these awhile ago when making soup) and street corn dip and chips

Friday -  Homemade Crunchy Taco Hamburger Helper via IowaGirlEats, huge fam favorite here.  Cherry tomatoes and corn on the side.

The best money I spent was on probably the frito snack bag that I got the girls for battle snacks! They loved them haha! I also bought groceries, more kids KN95s, and a lazy susan to try in a cupboard. 

What I’m listening to  Human Hope podcast, southlake, undistracted, pod save the people...

What I’m watching Summer House.  I am almost done with season 5 and then need to catch up on the current season 6.  I started Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and then paused when I got sucked into Summer house.  As a family we are watching Abbott Elementary and Matlock.  My husband and I are watching Yellowstone.

What I’m reading:  Untamed and The Woman in Cabin 10

My plans for the weekend nada.  I really want to go through all of my clothes because my dresser is out of control.  I was going to do it last weekend and got distracted.  We have planned out very yummy dinners because we need to clear out some room in our freezer for the new cow we are getting Tuesday.

What are you watching/reading/listening to?

Currently

  Phew, we are in the cold blah part of winter.  Running out of things to entertain ourselves, bored, reality tv obsessions, reading slump, and ugh.  Come on spring.  Or maybe just temperatures where we can go outside and also if coyote mating season could end, that would be grand too.  Currently not walking outdoors or going in our woods because I am a fraidy cat and there have been a few in our neighborhood during the daylight lately.

Reading:     The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware, or I will be as soon as I open it up. :)

Loving: I don't know if this is loving or just obsessed but I am currently obsessed with catching up on Summer House.  And I completely blame the pandemic for bringing me back to reality tv for the first time since I lived with people in college ha.

Feeling: ugh, I believe sums it up.

Anticipating: hmm..ummm... summer time fun?

Struggling: with focus.  I didn't have any outward covid symptoms and never technically tested so I am unsure if I had it, but every other member of my family had it and I have not been able to focus since.  So I am blaming it on that.  I have drank a lot more water than normal, worked out... just been hard.

Grateful: that my mom was able to get her hysterectomy quickly and hopefully now she will be fine.

Working: on getting the motivation to get rid of the stuff we need to donate.

Listening: to podcasts by Black people and about Black people for Black history month.

Watching: currently on Season 5 of Summer House

Wishing: that someone could come and clean my house and organize it for me.

What are you reading/listening/watching?

A Hundred Summers

 
I recently read A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams.  She is an author that after I read one of her books, I'm like, "OMG I loved it, I need to read all her stuff," then I promptly forget for a good while and the cycle continues.

Lily Dane is a young woman in the fall of 1931 when she meets Nick Greenwald and falls quickly in love with the tall dark athletic Dartmouth quarterback.  They both come from privileged New York families, but Nick's father is Jewish and that makes a world of difference in the Dane household.

Something happens in the winter of 1931 that changes the lives of many in the insular group that Lily and Nick inhabit.  Soon there is a broken engagement, a move across the ocean, lost friendships, new lives, and a swirl of rumors.

The book moves back and forth between the summer of 1938 and the fall lead up to the winter climax.  The original group reunites altogether for the first time in years and misconceptions and misunderstandings slowly are cleared up.

It's a fast paced book that I managed to read in less than 24 hours while taking a Super Bowl break.  It  helped break a reading slump that I had at the beginning of February. I need to make sure I don't go as long in between her books next time!

What have you been reading?

2021 Reading Stats

  Time for my 2021 Reading Recap. This may be slightly inaccurate as it is based upon my faulty memory! 

 

How many books read in 2021? – 101! Which was 20 more than last year.  My goal for the year was 60 so I definitely completed my goal.

How many fiction and non-fiction? 2 were non-fiction (memoirs) and the rest were fiction.  Some were fiction based upon factual happenings however.  I kind of needed light reads for the majority of 2021 for anxiety purposes.  I had the best of intentions to read more non-fiction (I actually purchased some! And checked some out of the library and didnt finish). 

Male/Female author ratio? 63 females (some I read multiples of their books) 16 men (also some repeat)  I started and caught up to Jasmine Gulliory’s wedding date series (highly recommend), started Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series, started a cozy mystery series by VM Burns (set in michigan!!!!), started the Aaron Stander’s series set in Michigan as well.

Which author was new to you in 2019 that you now want to read the entire works of?   I’d say J.L. Hyde because she is from Michigan and I want to support her! Others I really enjoyed certain series they wrote but not sure I’d need to read everything of theirs.  I said Ruth Ware last year and I did read another but I wasn’t a huge fan.  I have another currently checked out from the library.  I also said Helen Huang and I did read two of hers!

 

 

Favorite book read in 2021?  This is always a hard one.  I recommend, Band of Sisters, The Girls in the Stilt House, Jefferson’s Sons, Firekeepers Daughter, Nobody Will Tell you This But Me, The Dearly Beloved, Homegoing and Jasmine Guillory’s series.  

 

 

Least favorite? Distant Dead or 21st Birthday

 

Any that you simply couldn’t finish and why? The Hearts Invisible Furies (I read 2 pages and just needed something different but I still want to read it!),The Three Mothers (also want to finish this, but i had to get it back to the library and then never went back), and The Keeper of Lost Things (it also needed to go back to the library and just didn’t hold my interest).  

 

How many pages did you read? 32,932

 

How many books from the library? 86 of the 101 were from the library! I checked out a lot of books.  Which led me to not reading my very full bookshelves.

How many books read did I purchase? I purchased more than that appear on this list, but I did buy 9 of these I think.

How many were gifts?  1 i think?

How many borrowed from others? 2

 

How many were given to me for reviews?  None but I won two of them from goodreads.

 

How many books read on kindle? Not a single one!

 

Any re-reads? No

 

Which countries did you go to through the page in your year of reading? United States, Ghana, England, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, France, Ireland, Canada, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

 

What states did you go through the page in your year of reading? Arkansas, Ohio, North Carolina, California, Michigan, Minnesota, Virginia, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Washington, Massachusetts, Maine, Tennessee, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Illinois, Maryland, and Washington D.C.

 

Which book wouldn’t you have read without someone’s specific recommendation?  The Thirteenth Tale, and The Duke and I.

 

Which author did you read the most of? Jasmine Guillory 6

 

What was your best reading month? I read 11 in December and November.

What was your worst reading month? September I only read 5.

 

I seemed to average about 9 per month for the most part.

 

Top Five Reading Moments of 2021

 

-      Discussing Daughters of the Lake with book club

- Visiting my favorite independent book store in Frankfort twice.

- Seeing my kid fly through over 130 books this year.

- Watching the two year old “read”

- Finding books that the 10 year old will devour

 

2021 Reading Goals - Revisited

1.   Read 60 Books - Success! I read 101.

2.   Read 12 books from my shelves. - I read 4 that I had on my shelves before last year. But I did read some that I bought last year too ha!

3.   Read 12 books that my friends have read. - I only read 2 of the ones I had earmarked.

4.   Read a biography of a president or first lady. - Totally forgot about this.

5.   Use Book Riot’s Read Harder challenge as a way to find books to read when I need one. - Started off the year doing this and read a couple.

 

So, realizing I completely forgot about my goals (not the first time) and that I could have completed them if I put in effort leads me to some changes for this years goals.  I am immediately putting a reminder in my phone for June 30th to CHECK IN ON MY READING GOALS.  That way I will still have plenty of time to pick out a darn biography that I would have loved to have read if I remembered!!!!

 

 2021 Goals

I am upping my number again….

1. Read 85 books.

When looking over my stats it looks like I easily read about 9 books a month.  I dont want to push that, because it obviously happens organically and I want to like what I read.

2. Read 12 books on my shelves.

3. Read a biography on a first lady.

 

 

How many books did you read this year? Did you complete your 2021 reading goals? What are your goals for 2022? Do you have a biography recommendation? What was your most recommended book? What book do I NEED to read in 2022?

Daughters of the Lake

Our October book club pick was Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb.  It wasn't one that I'd normally pick for myself, but it was set on the shores of Lake Superior and it is based upon stories and legends of the area.  It was a good October read.  There was some spooky/mystical stuff to it, but it wasn't overly done.  I liked the the way that the chapters went back and forth from past to present and hinted at how things happened.  I would like to say that I guessed who the killer was and am proud of myself for that because usually it slips right by me because I'm just chugging along.

Kate Granger is getting a cup of coffee when she sees her dad and the local police chief looking at a body that has washed to shore at her parents house.  She runs down to the waterfront and causes a huuuuge scense.  Needless to say this scene makes the police chief wonder, if she or her estranged husband have anything to do with this discovery.

Kate goes to another nearby waterfront town to visit her cousin Simon who owns a bed and breakfast.  This massive house used to belong to their great-grandparents and while Kate relays to Simon the weirdness of what is going on, dead body, suspect in a murder, and oh by the way, SHE KNOWS this person from her dreams, she decides to figure out who this person is and how they died.

If you are looking for something supernatural, with a Midwest setting, I'd recommend! It wasn't too bizarre and really had me turning the page to find out how everything meshed together.

Do you ever read spooky/thrillers/mysteries in October?

My least favorite October book club pick was Stephen King's, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. Blah. 

TGIF!

The weather has made for an unusual fall.  I like it, but it's still so weird to be in the 70s in October.  Of course today it's actually cooler and will be over this weekend, but it's made it hard to embrace the fact that it's fall.  It kinda feels like summer but I'm sending my kid to school and we could have been camping more.  I am anxiously awaiting the approval of vaccines for my 10 year old.  I need this so much. I also would really like the two year old to have that availability but the 10 year old is out in the public way more so than us and I know she is itching to get back to indoor activities that we've been avoiding.

Pictures from the week:

The high of my week was visiting our local public garden with my mom and youngest.  It was a perfect temperature to wander through and look at flowers, leaves, squirrels, water, and the canopy walk.

The low of my week was  dumb people.

Meal plan for the week was  

Monday -  Steak Sandwiches, roasted broccoli, chips and cottage cheese

Tuesday -  Baked Potato Soup and salad

Wednesday -  Homemade Crunchy Taco Hamburger Helper this is a family favorite.  I actually added a package of riced cauliflower with it and NO ONE NOTICED.  Ive been wanting to make a little extra because it's always eaten up an the package of riced cauliflower let us have leftovers.  I am betting you could even sub the rice entirely and just change some cooking directions and liquid amounts.  I also served corn, guacamole, and cut up tomatoes.  Then everyone adds what they want.  And some add sour cream.  I also usually have out olives.

Thursday -  Cashew Chicken Stir fry this is also a family favorite.  we switch out the veggies frequently and sometimes do fried rice with it

Friday -  Little Caesers make your own pizza kit (nephews fundraiser) with a southwest salad

The best money I spent was on groceries?

What I’m listening to  This weeks favorite podcasts have been The Piketon Murders, Counter Clock, and Sharon Says So.

What I’m watching I just recently finished the entire series of Murder She Wrote.  I am almost finished with Blackish.  And I have one episode left of Chesapeake Shores. Oh I am also liking NCIS and NCIS Hawaii. I am about to start Diagnosis Murder and he last season of The Good Witch. 

What I’m reading:  The Personal Librarian.  Really liking it so far.

My plans for the weekend we are celebrating our friends marriage tomorrow and hopefully cutting some trees that have fallen and burning some of them.

What are you watching/reading/listening to?

Tired

 I am so tired.  I am tired of people calling research shit videos they find on the internet.  I'm tired of people believing crap and then dying from the consequences of that crap.  I'm so sick and tired of the worry I have every single day I send my kid to school.  I'm sick and tired of worrying over what could happen to my children because someone else is doing something stupid.  I'm sick and tired of having to think through 34234324 steps in attempting groceries or any errand because I have a young child that I do not want to take inside any establishment.  I'm sick and tired of people calling the steps my child is taking to protect herself and her sister as child abuse.  I'm sick and tired of people thinking that they can do anything they want because of "rights."  I'm sick and tired of people refusing every single protection they could be doing to help others out.  I'm sick and tired of telling my child that no she can't do swim right now because "people."  I'm so tired. 

It didn't have to be like this.