It’s time for the FIGs of the week! A huge thank you to Elisabeth and her Finding Joy in Gratitude (FIG) Collective. This month would have been pretty bleak without it (can we continue it into March???)
Friday
My daughter’s band played a concert at the college in our town, Florida Atlantic University. We had to drop her off early, so my husband and I walked around the campus while we waited for the concert to start. I LOVE college campuses! There was a library, an art gallery, a theater… at a time when it seems like intellect and the arts are under appreciated (to put it mildly) it gave me a hopeful feeling.
Saturday
I didn’t sleep well on Friday night, so after work I took a 90 minute nap. Such a luxury!
Sunday
It was a day of FIGs! I slept until 9 am (whoa!) and then spent a good chunk of the day cleaning the house. It felt REALLY good to get things under control, and then- since my daughter and husband were both gone in the evening- I rewarded myself with a homemade sub sandwich and… a Coke Zero. It was SO GOOD.
Monday
Huh, that’s weird. My stomach doesn’t feel good. You mean drinking a barrel of Coke Zero isn’t good for you? Oh well- it was worth it.
My FIG for the day is college basketball! Once again- college. I love college sports, more than professional. Baylor’s women’s basketball team was playing, and they won! Really fun game to watch.
Tuesday
Oooookay. This was a hard day. I went to the gym with my daughter, but her knees were hurting her. Guess who’s fault that was? Mine, obviously. As a matter of fact it turns out there are a LOT of things that are my fault, and I got to hear about every single one of them.
At night- more basketball. The Baylor men’s team was playing, and they lost by two points in the last couple seconds. Ugh. Then I got in bed to read my book, and really disliked the ending. UGH. When I turned off the light to go to sleep I decided my FIG for the day is that my bed is VERY comfortable.
Wednesday
Funny how some days you have to dig deep, and some days are fig-full. It was a day off from work, and I did a long run on the trail…
While I ran I listened to this episode of the Rich Roll podcast with Dr Ellen Langer. It was so good! So much great information in podcasts, and it’s all FREE. How is that even possible? I love podcasts.
Thursday
Thursdays are usually my least favorite day of the week, but this one wasn’t bad. Work went quickly; my daughter and I have resolved our fight; and, I’m reading an Agatha Christie. This is a reread- I read them all in middle and high school, and I never know if I’m going to suddenly remember the entire plot halfway through. So far so good with this one- I don’t remember ANYTHING and I’m enjoying it!
Are you participating in the FIG Collective? What are your FIGs for the week?
36 Responses
The FIG of the week is that it got warm! 30s and 40s!!! The ice is almost gone!!! I’ve been able to workout outside all week!!! I hardly know what to do with myself.
I can hardly believe all of the good stuff in podcasts and the price is right! I’m about to start Story Girl, which is the one about L.M. Montgomery.
I read the plot summary for They Do It With Mirrors and I have no idea if I’ve read it either! Surely I must have at some point. So many Agathas over so many years…
I DEFINITELY read this one- I’ve read them all. But I literally am not remembering anything about it, which it making me a little worried about my memory. But- I probably read it in high school so it was a LONG time ago.
I am pretty sure I’ve never read any Agatha Christie. My mom was a big fan, though. I should give them a try.
I’m sorry things were rough with your daughter and your team lost, but glad you had your comfy bed to end a rough day.
I had some good books this week…finished The Blue Castle, which I really enjoyed. Also enjoyed The Flatshare, which is a fun rom com.
I loved The Blue Castle! I’m looking forward to discussing it in book club.
I consider Agatha Christies as my guilty pleasure. They aren’t treat literature but they’re just somehow so much fun to read.
I read a lot of Agatha Christie in high school— needless to say, I’m sure I’ve forgotten all the plot twists!
This week I found joy in several fun Peloton classes. That’s all I’ve got right now ….
Well- Peloton is a good, healthy place to find joy! And, there are some Christies that really stand out in my mind- like Death on the Nile. It was the first on I ever read, and I’ll never forget who the murderer is.
The weather was definitely a fig here this week as it was very spring-like! I even went for a short run which felt a bit awkward with my splint but I’ll take it! And Paul and I started HP!! I am hoping we stick with it this time. Last time we attempted it he wasn’t interested/ready but he’s liking it so far!!
It was good to be pushed to look for the good things in life as Feb was rather challenging.
Yes, the FIG Collective was a great idea- because there are always good things if you look for them. This was a hard month for most people- for various reasons- and it helped to have a focus on looking for the good in there.
Your Wednesday trail views are beautiful! We don’t really have water here so that’s always a novelty for me.
My FIG of the week is the weather, it’s been in the upper 70s and low 80s here this week which feels so nice, and the mornings are only slightly chilly when I start my runs! But it’s supposed to cool down back into the 60s next week, which is meh and we’re not even supposed to get rain out of it which we desperately need.
It’s funny to hear you say “we don’t really have water.” We have water EVERYWHERE, too much water in the summer. There are parts of the trail that get flooded and I have to wade through them. I’m sure if I ran where you are I’d be saying “Wow, we don’t have all these hills and rocks!”
70s and 80s must feel amazing where you live- because it’s dry. 80s here are usually accompanied by humidity, which gets uncomfortable. But we’ve had 60s in the mornings so I’m not complaining!
Oooh look at those skies! Beautiful!
I’ve read exactly one Agatha Christie – I believe it was And Then There Were None. No, wait, I also read one that was set in Egypt. So exactly TWO Agatha Christies! My mom loved them, but I’m not a big fan of mysteries. It’s so hard to keep all those details straight! However, I totally get the “not remembering the plot” for the rereads. This has happened to me a few times where some details will be familiar but the rest, I have no idea what happens.
Ah, mothers and daughters. Deep sigh. It’s such a complicated relationship, but I’m glad your bed is comfortable!
I know you don’t like mysteries! You’re not a good candidate for Agatha Christies. The characters are one-dimensional and the plots follow a predictable formula, so they’re not literary mysteries. But somehow the twists at the end are amazing- that’s what she did so well.
Yes, my bed is very comfortable!!!
My FIG was that it was not freezing this week… just cold. And I had company on my weekday runs.
Those are both good figs!
I’ve noticed the same thing—when it’s a bad, figless day, it’s completely figless. But when it’s a figgy day, it’s an avalanche of figs. WHY??
Glad you only had one rough day—the others more than made up for it!
I had to Google grain-free tortilla chips—never seen them before and had to know what they’re actually made of!
Those chips are good!!! And yes- why is it all or nothing, fig-wise???
I’ve read a bunch of Agatha Christie books, but my library is constantly out of them so I haven’t been able to read them in order and therefore have no idea which ones I’ve read and which I haven’t. I think I’ve read this one? Could be mixing it up with another though.
That view on your Wednesday run! Wow!
I really admire you for finding something to be grateful for on your awful FIGless day. A comfy bed is definitely worthy of a shout out. And I’m so glad you and your daughter resolved your quarrel. It’s so hard, Jenny. I am sending you mother-of-teen-daughter hugs.
Yes, WHY are girls so hard??? My son wasn’t like this… oh well. And, I’m envious- you have unread Agatha Christies in your future!!! I’ll bet if you read the covers you would remember if you had previously read them or not.
I’m laughing at you celebrating that you can’t remember anything about that Agatha Christie–I get it, I get it :)! I actually think it’s better that way because you can rediscover it.
The skies in the header photo are just amazing, Jenny. Is that by your house, and do you get colors like that most days?
I’m glad a Coke Zero treat was in your week (me too!); I wish you’d gone for a Subway too (isn’t that your favorite?)!
Yes, I took that top photo right outside my front door. It’s not always like that though- but we get some good sunrises (and sunsets.)
I like Subway- and I also like the subs I get from Publix. But my homemade one was good too!
FIG of the day: My husband won a teaching award at the college level and now has to put together a portfolio to move on to the competition at the university level. (I think it’s weird that there’s a competitive aspect to teaching, but let’s ignore the ethical implications of pitting teacher against teacher, shall we?) He had to ask former and current students for letters to include in his portfolio and he had six letters and could only put three in the portfolio. He asked me to read the six letters and decide which ones were the strongest to include. I got to read SIX LETTERS about HOW AWESOME MY HUSBAND IS. What a highlight. He is awesome and I’m glad he’s getting validation about it and how hard he works.
That’s amazing. Congrats to him!
teaching competitions, uff for me- a no-no. We all have different styles and pinning us against each other is not a good way to do education.
That is amazing!!! Huge congratulations to your husband. Yes, it must have been fun to read those letters.
My fav fig this week is the weather shift. I took the tots to a park twice and we played outside in my yard another day. Last week it was insanely cold. Today is a high of 58 and it’s my day off and I’m gonna run outside for the third time this week. Hooray! It’ll be fig-tastic if I can avoid the stomach bug that’s working it’s way through my house. Stay tuned.
58! That’s quite a turnaround from last week. Okay, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you… getting a stomach bug would not be figgy.
College campuses are truly the best….
Great, juicy figs this week!
Favorite fig… NYC!! Here for a conference and enjoying it very much 🙂
Oh wow! That is a giant fig. Have a great time!
Favourite FIG right now? The sunshine! It has been dark and cold and icy and right this second it is bright, moderately warm (above 0C!) and almost ALL the ice has melted off driveways and roadways.
Kids really have a way of taking out their angst on parents. But I suppose having an emotional punching bag that’s a safe space to land is better than them bottling it up inside or turning to other people who don’t have their best interests at heart. But it can be so demoralizing. I’m so glad you got to end a rough day by climbing in a comfortable bed.
Thanks for participating in this gratitude “challenge” for the month. I’ve really enjoyed reading all your figgy posts! I will definitely revive this again in 2025. I’m thinking October (Canadian Thanksgiving month)? Although I think I usually make that a Cool Bloggers Walking Club month. I WILL THINK ON THIS!
Okay Elisabeth- I know this was a lot of work for you and I appreciate it. Regardless of when you decide to do it again, I think we’ll all be calling happy things “figs” from now on!
Your bed FIG! I try to make sure I take time to really savor something every day – like a moment or a meal or a bit of art… but some days I just … don’t and on those days, as I get into bed, I try to slow my mind down and really savor climbing underneath the covers and settling into my cozy bed. Beds are so nice.
Yes! If all else fails, getting into a comfortable bed is a treat.
Yesss barrel of Coke Zero!!! HAHA! Love it. 😉 The bread on that sub looks delish, too! We had subs out for lunch yesterday for first time in a long time! I’m not a huge sandwich person but from time to time they really hit the spot.
My brother and SIL are struggling BIG TIME with their older kid, so I’m giving you the deepest sympathies and hugs. Luckily, they have the younger one (who is 10) to lighten their load. Teenagers are not for the weak!
I loved doing my Agatha Christie reading challenge last year – I should pick up a few more to keep it going!
I have never – and will likely never – read an A.C. mystery. They are just not appealing to me, for some reason.
I was hideous to my mother on and off during my tween/teen years. She was someone safe – and I knew she would always love me. I suspect your daughter is thinking the same thing, even if she is not vocalizing it. That doesn’t mean it’s not hard – it does mean, though, that there is hope. <3