Hello to all of my friends – who is enjoying a three-day weekend?  I have the day off today (although I have some work I need to do, so hopefully I am able to make that happen at some point) but Steve has to work.  So we are going about our business, mostly, except with two littles underfoot.  This was a rough weekend – more for poor Nugget than for the rest of us, unfortunately.  On Saturday, we had a fun play date planned with Peanut’s BFF and her mom at a local indoor play spot.  Unfortunately, Saturday morning is the busiest time of the week for the play spot, and Peanut ended up crying because she was overwhelmed, which led to her BFF crying because Peanut wouldn’t play.  Sigh.  BFF’s mom and I agreed that the next play date should be something a little more low-key.  Nugget had a fantastic time climbing in the two-story play mat area, kicking a soccer ball with Steve, and playing “pit crew” with a race car made out of play mats.  Unfortunately, it seems he also brought a souvenir home with him – in the form of a tummy bug.  On Sunday he greeted Steve by declaring he was going to climb out of his crib, actually climbing out of his crib, and then confessing that his tummy hurt.  And it was downhill from there.  Steve and I were both vomited on (him once, me twice) – keeping it real, folks – and poor Nugget was trying so hard to be perky all day but couldn’t keep anything down.  He seems to be feeling a little better today, but we’ll be having a cozy day to make sure of that.

Reading.  Pretty good reading week.  On Monday I finished Letters to a Young Muslim, which was thoughtful and lovely.  Over the next couple of days I finally finished up the second issue of Slightly Foxed Quarterly (I’m working my way through the back issues) and for the rest of the week, I’ve been slowly reading through The Republic of Imagination, Azar Nafisi’s exploration of “America in three books.”  Her writing, as with Reading Lolita in Tehran, is gorgeous – but I’m not loving this book quite as much.  Reading about her immigrant experience is fascinating, but I don’t know that I agree with her choices for three books that are representative of America (which is fine – she’s the author; she gets to choose) and I also felt like some of the connections were a bit tenuous.  Still a lovely reading experience, though.  I’ll probably finish today (I’ve been promising myself for three days now that I’d finish “today”) and next up, I think, will be Exit West, which I am reading because President Obama said it was good, and that is reason enough.

Watching.  Lots of watching this week, which I suppose accords with a slower reading week – but it all took place over the weekend.  On Friday night, Steve and I reinstituted “movie night” and watched the first episode of Victoria – and then proceeded to watch three more episodes over the course of the weekend.  I also spent most of Sunday watching movies with a sick little boy.  Since the patient gets to choose the movie/subject matter, we watched Cars, Cars Toons: Mater’s Tall Tales (four times), and The Empire Strikes Back.  I’m pretty screened out, but I see more TV in my future, at least today.  Anything to make the puppy feel better.

Listening.  Well, the New Year’s episode of The Home Hour was hilarious – Kirsten and Graham talking about fashion is really something.  (In 2018, “utility jumpsuits” will be a trend, which is “a jumpsuit that, like, you’d wear if you work for the telephone company, and it has pockets for your tape measure.”)  Also, am I the last person on earth to find out about the Forlorn Strangers?  I downloaded their album and can’t stop listening.

Moving.  Not.  Enough said.  Maybe if it warms up I’ll get out for a run?  I was hoping for a hike over the weekend, but with a sick toddler, that went by the wayside.  Poor little guy.

Blogging.  Sharing my 2018 goals on Wednesday (and as of press time, I still haven’t fixed on a word for the year) and the first part of my three-part 2017 reading retrospective on Friday.  Check back!

Loving.  I am really loving my music player on my iPhone lately.  I’m not a huge music person and usually choose to listen to a podcast or audiobook, but I have lately rediscovered the music player and I’m alternating between show tunes (The Book of Mormon), new folk/alternative (Forlorn Strangers – my genre of choice) and classical (Charlotte Church, Holst’s The Planets, etc.).  Of course it’s wreaking havoc on my podcast-and-audiobook progress, but I’m really enjoying having music in my ears again – something that I haven’t regularly had since law school.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?