What's Been Going On: Thursday, 20 January - Sunday, 23 January, 2022

 Welcome to a brand-new week! I can’t say I necessarily hate Mondays. The promise of a new week is actually a little exciting. So many possibilities, so many things to enjoy and do, even if we’re doing and enjoying them mainly from the comfort of our own homes. It does help to be a bit of a homebody when there’s a pandemic!

I’m feeling pretty good about my productivity levels this week. There’ve been a lot of naps in there as well- not sure if that’s a hormonal thing, a winter doldrums thing, or just a regular worn-out-from-waking-up-early-every-morning thing. Either way, I enjoyed them. A nap and a good blanket is always a lovely thing. : )

Here’s what I’ve been up to the last few days!

 

Thursday, 20 January, 2022

 

After breakfast and coffee, I edited and posted Thursday’s post. I got dressed and ready, took out the compost (six degrees Fahrenheit outside! BRRR!), and threw some black beans in the Instant Pot. I loaded and ran the dishwasher, and then it was time for a no-standing-outside-walk-directly-in school drop off!

At home, I edited and posted my review for Rookie Move by Sarina Bowen, then settled down for just over an hour’s worth of volunteer work on the computer. When I finished that, I swept and spray-mopped the living room floor, then did 30 minutes of my personal Read Harder project, reading from American Literary Almanac, edited by Karen L. Rood. I tidied the living room and spent a few minutes on the computer before heading over to the school to grab my daughter for lunch.

And then it was time for a relaxing afternoon! I had my lunch, then fell asleep in my chair for a very cozy nap. After I woke up, I played on the computer, then made dinner, One Pot Southwest Pasta- this is a quick and easy favorite around here. After we ate, I did my Duolingo, then headed upstairs for 30 minutes of biking! I showered, put my daughter to bed, then finished reading Notes from an Apocalypse: A Personal Journey to the End of the World and Back by Mark O’Connell. My husband and I watched one episode of Deadly Women before bed.

 

Friday, 21 January, 2022

Breakfast and coffee first, then I began my Friday post. I got dressed, loaded the dishwasher, and scooped the litterbox, before heading out for a very cold school drop off. Thawing out at home, I finished and posted my Friday post, then hit the floor for a 12-minute Pilates abs video. I had a lot of things to do while sitting today, and I wanted to sneak a little exercise in there! This one is a particular favorite, but if you haven’t done any core workouts in a while, it’ll wreck you!

I knit 15 rows of the first square for the blanket for my friend’s children, then did 30 minutes of my personal Read Harder challenge. And then, fool that I am, I repeated that 12-minute ab workout. PHEW.

 

I took my daughter her lunch, ate lunch at home, then began reading Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth by Noa Tishby, and dozed for a bit. I picked my daughter up from school, continued reading, and fell asleep again! I’m blaming the ab workout.

After a dinner of leftovers, I did my Duolingo, loaded and ran the dishwasher, and biked for 30 minutes. I showered, worked on my grandmother’s cross-stitch (I’m making excellent progress!), and virtually attended the streaming services at my synagogue. This week was an interfaith Shabbat service of solidarity and peace, with not just our rabbis, but local pastors and imams from various Christian and Muslim congregations, in response to the hostage crisis last week in Colleyville, Texas. While I wish these kinds of services weren’t necessary, it was lovely to see the support from the community. (I attended one of these in person after the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh; it was standing-room only. It’s nice to live in a place that understands the necessity of coming together in times of tragedy and pain.)

My husband and daughter were having an indoor campout on this night, so I read my book and then went to bed. : )

Saturday, 22 January, 2022

Lazy, quiet Shabbat. Much less stressful than last week’s! AND we woke up to more snow!

After breakfast and coffee, I wrote two book reviews, then ordered several books via interlibrary loan. And then I snuggled with my daughter and husband for a bit, which was lovely. : )

I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher and went over my Hebrew flashcards. After lunch, the headache I’d woke up with was still nagging me, so I thought maybe I’d lie down for a bit to try to sleep it off. Two hours of heavy sleep later, I woke up wondering what day it was. THAT was a nap!!! And my headache was gone, for which I was very grateful. I settled down with Prayerbook Hebrew the Easy Way and worked through Chapter 4, Pronouns, adding a few more vocabulary cards to my stack.

After dinner, I did my Duolingo, biked hard for 30 minutes (since I hadn’t gotten much else in the way of exercise this day!), showered, put my daughter to bed, and read. My husband and I watched an episode of Deadly Women before bed.

 

Sunday, 23 January, 2022

Work day!

After breakfast and coffee, I loaded and ran the dishwasher, got dressed, stripped the bed, and started my first load of laundry. I folded several loads and put a little of it away. I helped my daughter with her math homework (FOUR PAGES OF MATH PROBLEMS! She’s SEVEN!!!), switched the laundry, unloaded the dishwasher, and tidied a bit of my kitchen shelves that serve as my open-air pantry (since my regular pantry is the size of a broom closet, sigh).

As I was waiting for my daughter to finish up her lunch, I visited some blogs, and then we got to work on her room. I don’t normally share before pictures here, because they’re just so, so terrible- remember when I said my daughter can trash a room like no one’s business in minutes?- but here’s what we did (mostly what I did, but she did help).

 Before:

And after:

EXHAUSTING. My right hip was utterly screaming at me afterwards, but that didn’t mean my work was done! I switched the laundry, put all the folded laundry away (because now I could get to my daughter’s closet!), took out the compost and recycling, and made a pot of lentil soup and a batch of corn muffins. Then I was finally able to sit down and tackle two chapters in Le Petit Prince. I hadn’t gotten to any of this book yet this week and was feeling guilty about it! I spent a little time knitting one of the blanket squares for my friend’s children. I’m up to row 27. I had hoped to get a little further, but the cat interrupted me and said it was time to free up my lap. ; )

 

After dinner, I did my Duolingo (and skipped biking; my body was DONE!) and showered. I remade the bed with the washed bedding, then went over my Hebrew flashcards. I showered my daughter, and then it was off to read with me! I read until my husband came upstairs, and then we watched an episode of Deadly Women before going to bed.

 

And so ends the week! I see the potential for a nap in my future today, as I was up early after having a nasty dream in the wee hours of the morning. We’ll see, though; my husband will be working later today, so I’ll have to pick my kiddo up from school (so I’ll have to set an alarm!). It snowed a whole bunch more overnight, so driving to school will be an adventure, since our road isn’t plowed yet. Eep! Have a great week, friends!