Yawwwwwwwn.  Monday already?  This weekend FLEW.  Last week was insanely hectic – I ended up working 65 hours, and while it was a great (and helpful) boost for me, it was also exhausting.  Work was life – waking up early, churning it out all day, rushing home to make it just in time to tuck the babies in, and then right back onto the computer.  In law firm life, weeks like that are a double-edged sword.  On the one hand, a few weeks of hours like that can make a big dent in billables for the year, and that’s definitely a plus.  On the other hand – I am wiped out.  At the end of the week, all I wanted to do was hang out and pal around with the little ones, so that’s what I did.  Saturday was the nicer weather day, and the kids had been begging for the zoo, so that’s what we did.  We weren’t able to see the elephants, because they were off wandering somewhere, but the cheetah habitat was finally open again, so that was a highlight.  In the afternoon, I squeezed in more work while the kids slept, but once Nugget rolled out of bed we headed over to his second-favorite playground (he felt like mixing it up) and both worked off our excess energy climbing on stuff, racing up and down the basketball court, and kicking a playground ball around.  Sunday was dreary and rainy.  I didn’t work, which felt weird after putting in at least a few hours for the past three weekends.  But I did get about five loads of laundry folded, and cleaned up my room and the family room.  Having those spaces neat and orderly feels like such a relief.  And now it’s back at it for another week.  Hoping for balance this week – I’d like to keep the hours going, but maybe with a little more sleep too.

Reading.  A slower week, which is very much as expected, given how much I was working.  I spent most of the week reading Jane Austen: The Secret Radical – pretty much just on my commutes and a tiny bit before bed each night, and I eventually got through it.  The best part was discussing it with my friend Susan, who was reading at the same time (and was a few chapters ahead of me).  We ended up chatting up a storm about it in the office cafeteria on Friday morning while the rest of our coworkers looked on, confused.  After saying goodbye to Jane, I picked up Salt Houses, which is due back to the library next Saturday and has holds, so it can’t be renewed.  I’m enjoying it, but finding it hard to get into given the way it jumps around in time.  It’s beautifully written, though.

Watching.  Very little watching this week – the theme is going to be “I was so busy working that I hadn’t time for anything else.”  But on Saturday night, Steve and I reinstituted our movie night tradition and finally watched Hidden Figures, which was as wonderful and powerful as expected.  I usually only watch TV about one night per week, but my brain has been so fried that I ended up watching TV on Sunday, too – Steve suggested an episode of Victoria, and it was just what the doctor ordered.  Albert’s note-taking on how to please a lady!  Victoria’s Bo-Peep bonnet!  Royal wedding hijinks!

Listening.  I’ve switched back over to Harry Potter and the Sacred Text.  I took a break for a few weeks after finishing Season 1, but the time seemed right to pop back in for Season 2.  I listened to the first episode during a commute and the second while folding laundry on Sunday.  Still totally obsessed with the Forlorn Strangers, too, and I’m also rotating through my favorite Decemberists albums because THEY’RE COMING TO D.C. IN APRIL and I HAVE TICKETS.  And the Andalusian tribes setting the lay of Nebraska alight, ’til all that remains is the arms of the angels…

Moving.  The only moving I did this week was running laps around the basketball court with Nugget.  Literally I think we probably ran about a mile that way.  But other than that – nothing.  See above: 65-hour work week.  I am hoping for better next week.  I need yoga back in my life.

Blogging.  January hike coming to you on Wednesday!  I can’t tell you how excited I am to start another year-long hiking commitment.  Spoiler alert: we walked under a bridge and I have had the Red Hot Chili Peppers in my head for a week as a result.  And then on Friday, my January reading round-up.  I am currently eight books ahead of the pace I need for my goal to read 52, so things are clearly going well.

Loving.  So, I got the iPhone x last week.  Steve has been bugging me to get a new phone since October (when Nugget knocked my old one out of my hands on Halloween and shattered the screen on the OTX cobblestones) but I wanted to wait until I was actually due for an upgrade.  The day finally came and I took myself down to the Verizon store and picked out a new phone.  But what I’m more excited about than the phone, is the case.  I got one of those Lifeproof cases!  Since I am notorious for shattering iPhones (Halloween was the third shattered screen I’ve had, and it already had a couple of cracks in it even before the trick-or-treating incident) I figured this was a good investment.  It’s shockproof, shatterproof, dustproof and waterproof.  The question is – is it toddler-proof?  We’ll find out.  But this week I am loving having a whole, non-cracked phone with actual battery life and an intact case.  It’s the little things, right friends?

Asking.  What are you reading this week?