Heyyyyyy.  I’m not ready for it to be Monday.  I feel like life has been insanely hectic since January and I keep waiting for it to slow down and it just – doesn’t.  This weekend we got a thank you note from Peanut’s lead teacher, expressing appreciation for the class gift.  While I think it’s so sweet that she takes the time to write to every child – it made me feel terrible, because I never managed to get teacher gifts at the end of the school year.  I didn’t flake – that was on my list to do.  I just… didn’t get to it.  Basically, I’ve been in survival mode for six months now and I’m just tired.  Anyway.  Enough complaining.  The weekend was mostly pretty low-key.  I don’t even remember what we did on Saturday morning, other than walk to the bookstore to pick up birthday gifts for a party we had that afternoon – a double birthday party for a little girl in Peanut’s class, and her brother, who will be in Nugget’s class.  The kids had a good time running around and playing with other people’s toys while Steve and I hung out in the yard, drank “Yoda-ritas” and caught up with the other parents.  On Sunday, we wanted to get some trail time in so we headed out for a short hike at Theodore Roosevelt Island – which was fun, but insanely muddy.  We had to hose off – literally, using the garden hose – before anyone could go into the house.  We spent the rest of Sunday chilling at home.  Nugget and I napped in the afternoon, then we had dinner and a family movie (Moana – never get tired of that one) on the couch.  Finished off the weekend in the usual way, with a book and early to bed.  And now – another week dawns.

Reading.  Bit of a slow reading week.  It was another long one, with a couple of late nights that left me so mentally wiped out that all I was good for was scrolling mindlessly through my phone – not that that’s such a comforting activity; Twitter is a scary place these days.  Anyway, I finished up Scenes of Clerical Life, so I can now say I’ve read more George Eliot than just Middlemarch.  Then spent several days over Anatomy of a Miracle, which was fine but just not what I was craving at the moment – library deadlines dictated that reading choice, which is usually not a recipe for the best time ever.  I’m almost done with it now and not sure what I’ll pick up next.  I’m in the mood for another classic, but I also have a book club book to get to.

Watching.  Nothing, unless you count the kids’ movie night.  I do love Moana.  But it would be nice to have a grownup show to watch, too.  We’re still between shows, which is fine since I have no time these days anyway.

Listening.  Kind of bouncing all over the place.  Some podcasts – I’ve been working through back episodes of The Mom Hour and Sorta Awesome.  And some music – Decemberists, Offa Rex and Forlorn Strangers, so the usual company.  I might do an audiobook soon – my book club book, maybe, since I can’t seem to get it any other way without spending money.

Making.  I have homemade soup in the fridge, for the first time in a long while!  Sort of a fridge smorgasbord – black and white beans, rice, kale, mushrooms, leftover sauce from an Indian food night (don’t judge) and veggie broth.  Yum.

Blogging.  I told you all about our weekend at Cornell, but there was more to the trip than just Ithaca, because we also folded in a trip to see family (including my brother and sister-in-law) on the way back.  So I’m sharing some pictures of that on Wednesday, and the June hike – also from that part of the NY swing – on Friday.  Lots of happy memories – I relived them all as I typed up my recaps and it was such a lovely few days.  I’m missing Dan and Danielle already.

Loving.  Bear with me, because I have two ear-related things to share with you.  Weird, I know.  First, I got Bluetooth earbuds!  I’d been wanting a pair, but was having a hard time finding something that didn’t seem outrageously expensive – until I found these from Reveal Shop.  They’re made of sustainable rosewood, Reveal plants a tree for each item sold, and the design is super cool (I’m a big of a dork about good design).  I was going to tell you that I liked the sound quality, the magnetic on-off, the design and the price point – $29 on Amazon – but didn’t love the fit, until it occurred to me to swap out the medium rings for the itty-bitty ones.  Much better!  I’d say I’m still getting used to the fit – but I am liking these earbuds so much.  The other ear thing I wanted to share is that I finally got in the habit of wearing those little clear plastic earring backers on my dangly earrings.  I could never quite figure them out before, but I made myself play with them until it was second nature and now – I haven’t lost an earring since.  What took me so long?  I have a thing for funky earrings – I’ve got a pretty decent collection – and it used to make me so sad when I’d reach up and a favorite earring would be gone.  No more!

Asking.  What are you reading this week?