Day in the Life- Wednesday
Wednesdays are my day off from work, and this one was extra-easy for my because my daughter did not go to school! She had a rehearsal all day for the all-county jazz band, which didn’t start until 9 am. The best part was, SOMEONE ELSE DROVE HER. One of the other girls in the band picked her up and brought her home. I’m loving this new phase where my daughter has friends who drive! We were able to sleep in until 6:30, which felt luxurious (I usually get up at 5 or 5:30.) I made my daughter’s breakfast and puttered around the house until she left at 7:45. Then I went for a run! It was late for me to be out running, and I felt the heat and humidity. Oh well- it was worth it to sleep in. After I showered, I had breakfast of oatmeal with a scoop of protein powder. I ate and then lingered for a long time over my tea while I read blogs. At 11:00 I got myself out the door. I had a bunch of errands, but they were mostly fun. First up, the mall! I had to return something for my daughter, and also purchase a birthday present for one of her friends (body lotion from Bath and Body Works.) Then it was on to Barnes and Noble! I’m working on my “Christmas Book Flood” list. I think these two will be on it: And, I worked on the little project for yesterday’s blog post (random lists of likes and dislikes.) At 1:00 I headed to Trader Joe’s, where I encountered a great tragedy: THEY WERE OUT OF CAT ADVENT CALENDARS! I asked, and they said they won’t be getting any more. Boohoo! After Trader Joe’s, I stopped at TJ Maxx for a gift card to round out the birthday gift for my daughter’s friend; I stopped at the library to return a book; and I stopped at Sprouts to get my daughter some sushi for dinner (Wednesday is $5 sushi at Sprouts.) Finally- home! I had a bowl of cereal for lunch… And then took a lovely nap on the couch. At 4:15 I woke up. What a lovely day so far! I had about an hour until my daughter was due to return, so I decided to watch an episode of a holiday baking show. Hmm, that’s funny. Why isn’t the TV working? I guess I’ll read some blog posts instead. WAIT A MINUTE. That doesn’t work either. That’s how I discovered the wifi was out. Goshdarnit!!! (Ha… if you read my recent post on how I’ve decided to start swearing more, you’ll know that wasn’t the actual word I used.) I tried all the usual things- unplugging, resetting, and finally called AT&T. That was fun! The account is linked to my husband’s phone number, and apparently he set a four digit passcode, which they needed to access the account. After several unsuccessful guesses, the woman said “Do you want to try the security question?” Er… sure. The question was, Who’s your favorite singer? Um… I DON’T KNOW HOW MY HUSBAND ANSWERED THAT. “Barbra Streisand?” No, that’s not it. OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. The woman said “Can you contact your husband?” My husband was in a meeting. I imagined sending him a text “Hey, who’s your favorite singer? It’s an emergency, I need to know right now!” Finally they sent him a verification code, which he sent to me. But it was all in vain. They couldn’t figure out what the problem is, so they have to send out a technician. After a day where I literally had nothing important to do, now we have two days where no one will be home, for the entire day and evening. Technician appointment for Saturday morning. Fudge. By then my daughter was home- I expected histrionics when she discovered there was no wifi, but she was cool. She said she had to spend the evening reading Lord of the Flies anyway (if she’s spending the evening reading, it means she got WAY behind on that class and now has to dig herself out of a hole.). Perfect! I made my dinner and sat down with my book as well. Dinner was a roasted “honey nut squash” which I got at Trader Joe’s- it was so cute! It looked like a mini butternut squash- with cauliflower, tempeh, and a tahini sauce. The rest of the evening was spent cleaning the kitchen and doing a load of laundry. I got in bed around 9:45, read for a while, and turned out the light just after 10:30. Would you know how to answer the question- who is your significant other’s favorite singer? – Turns out the correct answer was Ella Fitzgerald. Darn! I should have guessed that.
Random Likes and Dislikes
Oof. Our wi fi is out! It’s a NaBloPoMo tragedy!!! I was in a panic until my husband told me I could use my phone as a hotspot. I can? I can! How did I not know this before? Anyway, it’s a good thing, because you wouldn’t want to miss today’s post (eye roll.) Inspired by Tammy, I did a little project. Check out her post if you want to see what it looks like when an artist does it. As you will see, I’m very challenged when it comes to visual arts. But here we go! Random things I like, and random things I don’t like. I’ll be back tomorrow with a Day In The Life post!!!
Reading and Eating!
Hooray! A good old fashioned reading and eating post, like I always used to do on Wednesdays. My reading slowed waaaay down in November because of NaBloPoMo- but I did finally finish this book: From the book jacket: “The international literary sensation about a boy’s magical journey through the secrets and shadows of postwar Barcelona in search of a mysterious author whose book has proved as dangerous to own as it is impossible to forget.” Unfortunately I didn’t love this book as much as everyone else seems to. It was interesting; there was some beautiful writing; I did want to keep reading to the end to see what happened; but there were too many plot points that I would describe as “fairy tale-ish.” Like, lots of people falling in love at first sight and “knowing” they would never love again. Or, someone dedicating their entire life to getting revenge on the person who “ruined” them. I just want to shake these characters and say “You only have one life! Stop wasting it with these foolish notions! Move on and make your life worthwhile!” You could say this is a pet peeve of mine, so I guess this type of book isn’t for me. Next up: I know. You might be thinking, “Jenny. You’re criticizing a book like The Shadow of the Wind and then reading Tied Up in Tinsel? Well… yes, I am. I love old-school murder mysteries, and Ngaio Marsh is one of the masters of the genre. This one takes place in an English manor house! At Christmas! I’m excited for some light, fun reading. On to eating. I made enchiladas! I used this recipe. If you go to that website, you’ll find a picture much prettier than mine, as usual. I used enchilada sauce from a jar (obviously- I’m not MAKING THAT) and drizzled on some of the Miyoko’s liquid mozzarella (left over from our pizzas.) As I was getting ready to serve them, I noticed the recipe said “serve with desired toppings.” Oops. Er- toppings would have been nice. But they were delicious as they were. Have you read The Shadow of the Wind? Did you like it? I’m looking for other books that take place around Christmas. They don’t have to be mysteries. Any suggestions? Top photo by Mahendra Kumar on Unsplash
How Are You Coping?
I just wanted to check in and mention that, in spite of the fact that I’m writing cheery posts about holiday cups and cats, I AM still upset about the election. It’s hard to strike a balance. On the one hand, I don’t want to rant and rave every single day about how much this sucks. No one wants to read that! On the other hand- it feels kind of weird to keep things lighthearted all the time. Stephany and San have recent posts about their feelings on the subject. For what it’s worth, here’s where I’m at: I literally haven’t watched or read ANY NEWS AT ALL since I woke up on November 6th and looked at the results. After the initial blow, I stopped caring. I mean, I care what happens to our country. But in the short term, I don’t care about any more news. Voldemort appointed WHO to WHAT? Eh. That’s exactly what I expected. In the short term, I’ve lost all hope. It’s all bad and only going to get worse. Even in the best case scenario where we vote again in four years, a lot of really bad things are going to happen in the meantime. I’ve accepted that. In the long term, I do have hope. That’s just something that’s hardwired into my psyche- I always veer toward optimism. I think things might have to hit rock bottom before they get better, but they WILL get better. My son sent me this video, “It’s not over until 2030.” We could be in the middle of a cycle, or the final “turning” before hitting the next high. I could be wrong, of course. We could have a nuclear holocaust. OR, maybe the Republicans are right! Maybe the economy will be SO GREAT that we’ll stop caring about immigrants, women’s rights, or the environment. Money makes the world go around… apparently. I’m not saying I’m going to bury my head in the sand until 2030, happily going to football games and buying peppermint soap. There will be a time again for action. I’m just not ready yet. In the meantime, here are some of my coping strategies: I’ve started swearing more. The other day, we were watching football and the opposing team scored a touchdown on a close play. I exclaimed, “GODDAMMIT!” My husband looked at me in astonishment. “I thought you didn’t swear!” Yes, well, I’ve decided to start. Did you know that research shows swearing can actually boost your mood in stressful situations? I have to admit… it feels pretty good. I’ve started drinking more. I don’t mean drinking to excess, but I was having less than one drink a week. I’m going to up that to at least one drink a week. I’m only listening to lighthearted podcasts. Like this one: I’m also listening to The Girl Next Door. The last couple episodes have dealt with heavier issues, but I still listened. I’m also listening to old episodes, like this one about holiday gift giving strategies. When Kelsey explains that she gives her garbage collectors a gift card and small edible gift from Trader Joe’s, Erica says “But how do you give it to them? Can I just leave it on top of my trash can?” Kelsey replies “The fact that you’re asking that question is concerning.” Ah, I love them. How are you coping these days? Please share! Top photo by Tracey Hocking on Unsplash