Happy Monday, y’all – yup, it’s here again.  We had an up and down sort of weekend.  It was actually a long weekend – we left at the end of last week for a short but sweet trip to Florida to see my best friend, Rebecca, marry her longtime love.  Rebecca and Eric planned a fun and casual beach wedding and every detail was so them – from the sandy setting to the signature drink (hurricanes) in mason jars and the lights twinkling in the trees.  Peanut and I were in the wedding, and she made the most of her moment in the spotlight, taking an inordinately long amount of time to get down the aisle and stopping frequently to strike poses and blow kisses.  Pretty hilarious!  And of course, the ceremony and reception were such a wonderful celebration of Rebecca and Eric’s love and their blended family.  As for the rest of the weekend – there was great stuff, like kayaking in a beautiful park near Tampa and swimming and collecting shells with Rebecca and her friends and family.  And there was stressful stuff, like oversleeping on Sunday morning and having to make a mad dash for the airport so as not to miss our flight (we made it, but it was close), flying with a kiddo with a double ear infection (poor Peanut) and an urgent work email that ate up naptime on Sunday (it happens).  But we got through it all, and the good memories from the weekend far outweigh the little stressors.  And now we’re looking ahead to another busy week.  Life is very full, and very good.

Reading.  Lots of bouncing around this past weekend.  During the workweek, I finished up Louise Erdrich’s Birchbark House series – at least, those that are out so far (there are five; I think nine total are planned?) and loved them.  So complex, yet so joyful – these are really excellent middle grade books, and I can’t wait to introduce Peanut and Nugget to them in a few years (when they have the patience for chapter books).  After I finished Makoons, the latest in the series, I picked up Salman Rushdie’s newest, The Golden House.  I’m only three chapters in; I didn’t want to take a big hardcover with me to Florida, so I left it on my nightstand and picked it back up on Sunday.  While traveling, I bounced between Coronation Summer, which I had started reading on my kindle in California, and Something True (for the Book Riot Challenge) on the kindle app.  My Goodreads currently-reading shelf is completely out of control and I will be spending my free time this week getting a handle on it.

Watching.  The best thing I watched this week was not on TV – it was my best friend, Rebecca, exchanging wedding vows with her soulmate, Eric, on the beach in Florida.  All the feels!  As for TV, I didn’t watch anything – unless you count little snippets of the kids’ shows, which I don’t.  We’re entering the busy season of the year and what little free time I have is just not going to TV.

Listening.  I am almost three hours into the audiobook version of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (read by Lin-Manuel Miranda!!!), which I am reading for the Book Riot Challenge.  (Can you tell that we’re in the home stretch of the year? I am frantically trying to cram in all of the challenge tasks I haven’t done all year.)  I can’t say I’ve fallen in love with the book yet, but so many people did that I feel there must be something to it, and in any event I’m on board with anything Lin-Manuel does.

Moving.  It has been sort of a quiet week on that front.  I made it to 5:30 a.m. power yoga on Tuesday – my two early morning power yoga classes are some of my favorite hours of the week – and it was a particularly tough class.  I was actually sore!  Didn’t make it to the Friday morning class, because we were off on our long weekend Florida adventure.  But I did squeeze in kayaking over the weekend – I will always kayak if I can – and there was the usual circus of chasing two kids around.  Not to mention the lung workout I get whenever I have to yell at them for running off.

Loving.  Loving LOVE this week!  What else?  There is nothing in the world as heartwarming as standing with toes buried in the warm sand watching your best friend marry the love of her life while your little flower girl holds your hand.  Best ever.

Blogging.  September books coming to you on Wednesday – it was a great month of diverse reading! – and Part II of my Channel Islands National Park recap on Friday.  I’m going to try to share with you one of the videos I took, but no promises – I’m a Luddite, as you know.

Asking.  What are you reading?  And how was your weekend?