Wednesday, July 6, 2016

currently: long hot summer ed.

Currently, I'm...

Listening...to a lot of podcasts. I am convinced that this is the only reason I've been successful at getting up and working out consistently for the last two (ALMOST THREE!!! yay, go me!) months...a very robust and diverse podcast list. Here are my recommendations, in case you're hunting for new listens: Hidden Brain, Ask a Clean Person, Invisibilia, Stuff Mom Never Told You, Embedded, Freakonomics Radio, 99% Invisible, Planet Money, The Longest Shortest Time, and Gilmore Guys (although I'm finally starting to tire of them...but we're/they're so close to finishing the series, I'm trying to stick with 'em). Am I missing anything fabulous? Because I also have a few very long car trips in the upcoming weeks, so I'm trying to really beef up my list.

Eating...too much of everything, ha. Where I've been successful at exercising more lately, I've been a complete and total failure at eating less/better. Wah. Oh well. At least a lot of it is fruit?? Or something.

Drinking...well, THIS I have an answer for. And the answer is margaritas. Ha. This is apparently the summer of the margarita. Matt and I have embarked on a quest to learn to make the best margs ever at home, and it's been pretty great. And even the failures are...pretty great. Hahahaha. (P.S. We aren't doing anything special in our "quest to learn to make the best margs ever"...basically just vary the amount of lime/lemon juice and the 'parts' of triple sec and tequila is all. Nothing fancy. We're not very advanced bartenders.)

However, I CAN definitively say now that I prefer mine on the rocks with NO salt. So now you know. And so do I.

Wearing...nothing special right now, but I keep obsessively looking at pictures of our patriotic outfits from the weekend!



Nothing speaks to my heart quite like coordinating family outfits. Clearly.

Feeling...excited! We are going to the beach soon, and that is making me happppyyyy! Millie is the happiest, funniest little thing these days, and I can't wait to spend so much uninterrupted time with her (and Matt. And my parents. They are also all cool.). However, tonight when we were talking about what we were going to do on vacation, she let me and Matt know that she was going to sleep in Nannie & Pop-pop's bed and go on a walk with Pop-pop. So I guess she might have her own agenda, and it apparently doesn't involve me. Wah.


with her beloved Nannie & Pop-pop on Father's Day
Wanting...it to be Friday at 5:00 already? I am normally not a wish-away-the-week person, but apparently the week before a vacation...I am. Ooh, but I also want someone to come and pack for me. That's the only bummer part about vacation. Well, and the unpacking later. One day when I'm filthy rich I'm just going to have a completely stocked second (and third, and fourth) house (in a fabulous destination, obviously) that already has all the clothes, toiletries, baby items, and everything I could possibly need already there. Then all I have to do is hop on my private jet and go! Things are going to be so much easier then. All I need are those winning lotto numbers!

Thinking...about how extremely hilarious Millie is right now. I cannot overstate it enough. She keeps us laughing from the minute she wakes up (yesterday the very first word out of her mouth was "BOW!!", accompanied by urgent pointing towards her hair accessories. We couldn't even leave the room until it was in her hair) until she finally falls asleep. And then I just spend the rest of the night laughing some more as I re-watch her videos and look at her pictures. It's a problem. But not really.

Evidence:

Dancing is one of her strongest skills right now:



She is really into "counting." And saying "GOOO!!!"



She likes to help Mommy and Daddy go night-night. And then "surprise" us with tickles!!



When she just really wanted to give the kitty a hug...but he wouldn't come out of the bushes.
Enjoying...summer. Even though Matt and I are both still working and nothing really changes (other than the TEMPERATURE, oh my gosh), I still feel like we're making it feel special and fun. I mean, just the option to spend all weekend in the pool makes the whole season worth it. Because how else could Millie and I perfect our cheerleading skills?


P.S. This baby has determination and focus many adults lack: she happily practiced doing this on two separate days for dozens of tries until she finally got it (including amazing arm placement)!! I am so proud of her!

P.P.S. The reason I know that it was HER who was determined and focused was because she so kindly kept swimming her feet back into my hands and counting me off so that I knew it was time for me to pick her up again: "Threeeeee...oonnnneee...TWOOOOO!!!! GOOOO!!!" I had no choice but to oblige!

Watching...well, besides home phone movies of Millie...not much. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt for the last few nights. 

Reading...I just downloaded a bunch of new books for vacation, but I'm trying not to start them until we are on the road! We read The Kitchen House for book club last month and I really liked it. Excellent discussion, too. I picked up The Last Boy and Girl in the World on a whim at the library recently and read it last week. I felt like it had a really strong premise/set-up, but towards the end, I felt a little let down in how it all played out. To be honest, I just think it could have been a lot...I don't know...creepier? Darker? That seems weird, but I think that's how I thought it was going to be in the beginning, and then it just really wasn't? Ha. Who knows. Anyway, I picked it because the cover art was fantastic and I was in the mood for YA, and I really wasn't disappointed...it just wasn't as deep, maybe, as I thought it could be. Which is truly shocking, considering it is YA. Haha.

In case your taste in literature is a bit more toddler-esque, Millie would like to recommend anything penned by Leslie Patricelli. She is particularly enjoying Tubby and Potty right now, and she did enjoy No No Yes Yes, until her mean parents took it away because they were pretty sure it was giving her new ideas about "no no" things she could be doing...so maybe don't go for that one. Unless your kid has already dreamed up all the "no no" things that can possibly be done (writing on walls, pulling the dog's tail, unrolling all of the toilet paper...to name a few of her excellent suggestions).

And that about wraps it up for life lately! I'll gladly accept any podcast or book recommendations, along with any tips for surviving long car trips with an energetic toddler (and we don't have an iPad...or let her eat in her car seat...so take those extenuating circumstances into account!!)! Hope you are having a happy week!