Happy Presidents’ Day to my American friends!  I hope you’re getting a day off from work.  I’m not, although it’s self-inflicted.  My office is closed, so technically I don’t have to work, but I’m going in anyway to get ahead on billing for the week.  I’ll probably leave early, though.  Even though I knew I wasn’t (allowing myself to) enjoying a three-day weekend, I made the most of Saturday and Sunday – especially Saturday.  In the morning, we hit a local park for a long-overdue return to the trails.  More to come – with some crummy pictures, which all turned out blurry for some reason – next week.  Then in the afternoon, my BFF Rebecca came over and we headed out for a girls’ afternoon outing to “50 Shades of Rosé” at the French Embassy.  Ooh la la!  Fun to add another Embassy to my list – I’ve also attended parties, events or open houses at the British, Swedish, Canadian, Polish, Lithuanian and Greek Embassies over the years.  (And a big merci to Steve for pulling solo dad duty and facilitating some girl time.)  Anyway, if you haven’t guessed from the name, it was a wine-tasting event, hosted by Drink the District, focusing on rosé wines from all over the world.  French rosé is my absolute favorite wine, so I was especially excited about those, but the rosé vinho verde from Portugal was also a lovely surprise.  We swished, swirled, tasted, and got thoroughly soused, then came home and cooked pumpkin ravioli with sautéed kale in a creamy mascarpone sauce.  Hit the spot!  Sunday was more low-key and featured the usual neighborhood circuit – the library, fire station and playground – plus a trip to the bookstore for behavior rewards.  I squeezed in a few hours of work during afternoon naps, and we finished the weekend with a family stroll to the local soccer field for some running and kicking – ahhhh, perfect.

Reading.  Bit of a slow week – I can’t really explain why.  I took my time over Portrait of Elmbury, which I really enjoyed.  There were a few little moments here and there which were jarring to the modern reader, and knocked it down from five stars to four in my Goodreads ratings, but overall I found it a delight.  Then I turned to Half of a Yellow Sun, which I have out from the library.  I’m about 100 pages in – give or take; I can’t be bothered to check right now – and liking it, but I am lacking the attention span for reading much at the moment (blame the Olympics and work stress?).  Adichie is always a win for me, though, and Half of a Yellow Sun is as gorgeous as Americanah was.

Watching.  Olympics, Olympics, The Crown (Rebecca had never seen it – she accidentally watched The Royals instead, and that is NOT the same thing!), Olympics.  We’re actually starting to get a bit of Olympics fatigue, but as long as our heroic American athletes are competing and going for the gold, we will be cheering for them – we consider it no less than a patriotic duty.

Listening.  I am bouncing back and forth between series one of Home Front (WHEN are Ralph and Isabelle going to get together???) and the second season of Harry Potter and the Sacred Text.  I’m getting pretty close to finishing the Chamber of Secrets discussion, so I will probably focus on that during my commutes this week, and then go back to Home Front.

Moving.  I was starting to get really frustrated with the lack of movement in my life, and while I still haven’t found a way to get back to yoga and barre or out for a run, I have decided that at least I deserve to work some more motion into my everyday life.  So I’ve been getting off the elevator two floors below my regular floor and walking up (I’d do more, but three floors below is not occupied by my firm, and I don’t know if my keycard would work – I have no interest in being locked in the stairwell on someone else’s floor) and also using my DeskCycle at least three times per day, for ten minutes each time – so that adds up to thirty minutes of stationary cycling per day.  I’ll take it.  When the weather gets warmer, I plan to start getting off the subway one stop early and walking a few extra blocks to the office.  Anything to get the steps in!  And of course, I finally made it out for a hike this weekend.  Not the best week for movement, but not the worst.

Laughing.  This weekend, apropos of nothing, Peanut informed me: “Mommy, Parents’ Night at school is when your mom and dad go to your classroom and stick their noses in your business.”

Loving.  This is the unhealthiest thing ever, but I don’t care!  It’s GIRL SCOUT COOKIE SEASON!  We currently have two boxes of Samoas on our counter (I bought them from a work colleague) and are waiting for a delivery from a neighborhood girl as well.  It’s the mooooooooost wonderful time of the yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeear!  What are your favorite flavors of Girl Scout cookies?  I love Thin Mints and Samoas, which were always my mom’s order when I was a Girl Scout, but as an adult I’ve acquired a passion for Trefoils.  I keep them for special teatime treats and refuse to share them with my family.  They can eat their weight in Thin Mints and Samoas for all I care, but the Trefoils are MINE ALL MIIIIIIIIIIIIINE.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?