That pesky Monday again.  They just keep coming around.  I’m living for the weekends these days – we’ve been packing so much summer fun into every golden hour that I’m always counting down to the next one.  Last week was a doozy at work – several long days (including 13 hours in the office on Friday – I was at my desk and working by 6:30 a.m. and didn’t leave until after 8:00 – some way to start the weekend).  I really needed a low-key, relaxing weekend.  So, obviously, I did the opposite.  On Saturday morning we were out the door bright and early and headed up to Maryland to pick blueberries with friends.  I have a whole recap coming on Wednesday; it was a great day.  We spent a little less than an hour picking and filled about 40% of our (big) bucket.  Peanut asked if we could make a pie, and we had enough blueberries to make a pie with berries to spare, so I said of course.  The rest of Saturday was as busy.  While the kids napped I snuck out for a walking (and ice cream) date with my friend Allison.  She’s due any day now with a baby girl, so it was great to squeeze in some girl time before her little bundle arrives.  We also stopped by 116 King, a seasonal pop-up, because my sorority sister Katie, who is now a jewelry designer, was hosting a trunk show.  I bought two pairs of earrings from her, and she told me that my little little little, Elizabeth, would be stopping by the store with her husband and daughter later in the afternoon.  So after I walked Allison back to her car, I grabbed my crew and dragged them back out to the pop-up, where we had a fabulous time chatting and catching up, and kept the evening going over pizza with Elizabeth and her family at Pizzeria Paradiso.  After a busy – but wonderful – Saturday, we decided that Sunday would be all about baking.  A family trip out to Wegmans replenished the baking supplies, and then Peanut and I rolled our sleeves up (metaphorically – it’s scorching hot here, so we were not in long sleeves) and baked that blueberry pie that she had requested the day before.  We made pie crust from scratch (and it actually turned out pretty well!) and made the filling with some of our blueberry haul from Saturday.  The pie was delicious and I loved baking with my girl.  She’s getting to be so much fun and it makes me so happy that we can finally bake together – she listens and follows my directions and she clearly loves every minute of baking with Mommy.  I’ve been waiting for this for years!  Definitely going to be making Mommy-daughter baking a regular thing.

Reading.  What with the crazy work week, I didn’t have much energy for reading – and that carried over into the weekend.  Usually I have no trouble separating my fun reading from work, but this week I was so fried that I just couldn’t seem to bring myself to read for hours after putting the kids to bed – or on my commutes.  But I did manage to finish The Age of Orphans, which was beautifully written but didn’t quite touch my heart the way I expected it to.  Now I’m on to Queen Lucia – the first of E.F. Benson’s Mapp and Lucia series, which I’ve been meaning to get to for ages now.  I’m not far in yet, but really enjoying it.

Listening.  Lots of listening, because podcasts have been my entertainment of choice on my commutes – I just haven’t had the energy to get out my book.  I listened to both of the episodes of Annotated that have aired so far and was really impressed.  And I’m still loving The Mom Hour – the “We Hate Fun” episode had me laughing out loud in the lunch line.

Watching.  I thought I was going to say “nothing” this week, because I’ve really not had the wherewithal for much more than staring at Facebook.  But it turns out I do have something to report, because on Saturday night, Steve and I had a movie night after the kids went to bed!  Look at us doing grown-up stuff!  Like real adults and everything!  We watched Rogue One (which neither of us had seen) and it was great.  Sad, but great.

Moving.  Nothing to report here.  When you have a summary judgment brief and a big discovery production in the same week, morning jogs and evening yoga sessions do. not. happen.  Maybe next week…

Loving.  I already went on and on about all my friend time on Saturday, but I have to gush some more.  Missing our friends and our social life was a huge part of why we were discontented in New York and why we decided to move back to D.C., and we have loved being back in town and hanging out with the people who are such an important part of our lives.  But what I never expected was how many new friends we would make after moving home.  Our blueberry picking date was with one of Peanut’s school friends, and Peanut has a knack for befriending the kids with the best moms.  I never realized that having a kid in school would mean a new social circle for me too, and I’ve loved getting to know some of the other parents at Peanut’s school here.  My walking date was with a new friend from my neighborhood buy nothing group, Katie was in town from New York (and do check out her jewelry – it’s fabulous!), and Elizabeth returned to D.C. fairly recently.  As an introvert, it’s not easy for me to meet people or make new connections, and it’s been a pleasant surprise how busy and socially active we have been since moving back home.

Blogging.  Recapping our blueberry picking morning on Wednesday (’tis the season for photobomb recap posts!) and then it’s time for another garden update on Friday.  Check in with me then!

Asking.  What are you reading this week?