Yawwwwwwn.  Morning.  I’m sleepy – I was up in the middle of the night last night.  And I’m not ready for the workweek; last week was crazy and stressful and I need one more day.  Unfortunately, I don’t get the day off (although I wish much enjoyment to those friends who do, and with only a little bit of envy).  I thought about taking the day off, since I worked on MLK day when my firm was closed, but we were able to get childcare and I decided that in the end it’s better to bank the hours now when the weather is gross (it’s yucky and rainy here) and have a cushion for the summer when I really want to be off.  Guys, it’s hard to be a grown-up sometimes.  Anyway – last week really was a doozy.  I had several deadlines, one of which became a stressful scramble when the mission changed at the last minute.  Compounding the stress was the fact that Nugget had two sick days home from school, poor fella.  And I think we had one two-hour delay?  I’m not sure, though: I’ve lost count of how many of those we’ve had this winter, and it was such a crazy work week that I don’t really remember what else happened.

The weekend was lovely, if busy.  I’d have liked more downtime and reading time, but I can’t complain about our activities.  On Saturday, we drove up to the Adventure Theater in Glen Echo to see Huckleberry Finn’s Big River.  I’d bought four tickets to the show as a Christmas gift to Steve, who loves Mark Twain.  (Twain isn’t my cup of tea, but the show was great.)  Steve and Peanut were delighted with the show, but little Nugget had a hard time sitting still for an hour and I had to take him out of the theatre.  It happens.  On Sunday, Steve and Peanut went out for a daddy-daughter date while Nugget and I hosted friends for a play date.  Nugget and his buddy ran around, watched Jurassic World, played Ghostbusters, fought over toys, smooshed all of our play-doh colors together, and kneaded a loaf of bread for me, while the other mom and I sipped coffee and chatted for hours.  (We have a lot in common – they are also a two-lawyer family, Cornell alums, who did time in the NICU.)  I ended the weekend in my customary way – a late afternoon library run, a homemade dinner, and an evening with my book.  Good times.

Reading.  What with the work week being so busy and stressful – several late nights, including Friday – it took me six days to finish The World As It Is, which is unusually slow for me.  It was a good one to take my time over, though – smart and complex and fascinating.  It made me sad and nostalgic for the days when we had a White House full of smart, honorable, thoughtful and responsible people (from the top guy on down).  Anyway – after I finished The World As It Is, I moved on to what might be the exact opposite: Time’s Convert.  I never know what to think about the All Souls books (which I have always described as “Twilight for the grad student set”), but I did think this would be fun because a good deal of the action takes place during the American Revolution, which will tell you, if you are familiar with the series, that the main character of this entry is the vampire Marcus Whitmore.  Marcus was one of my favorite characters in the original trilogy, so it’s been fun to get a little more of his backstory.  And with Matthew and Diana taking a backseat (although they have a story arc) their more annoying tendencies are a bit muted.  (I realize I’m not selling this book very well…)  Anyway!  Here’s hoping for a more productive reading week this week.

Watching.  Most notably, I watched (most of) a performance of Huckleberry Finn’s Big River at the Adventure Theater.  The actors were great and the songs were catchy; I’m humming the opening number, still, two days later.  It was also a heavier TV week for me than usual, by which I mean that I watched about two hours of television (not counting the kids’ shows – Nugget did want me on the couch with him during several episodes of Dinosaur King, but I don’t count that as TV watched because I daydreamed through it).  On Monday, Steve had plans with friends and I watched the third episode of The Great American Read, which I have recorded and am slowly working my way through.  And then on Saturday, we had another TV night and watched the second episode of Doctor Thorne, which I am LOVING almost as much as the book.  Steve is mostly just humoring me, but I do think he’s starting to get interested in the story.

Listening.  The usual – lots and lots of podcasts.  I got shouts on The Book Riot Podcast for my “nonlawyersplaining” explanation of the elements of defamation – heh.  That was the highlight of the week’s listening.  I was craving some show tunes one evening, as well, and I walked home from the Metro to the opening numbers of Book of Mormon.

Making.  I’m back on a bread-baking train, apparently – two good sandwich loaves in two weeks!  I wasn’t sure how my bread would come out in the drier winter weather, having learned in summer’s humidity, but cross fingers, it doesn’t seem to be messing me up too badly.  After Sunday’s loaf came out of the oven fluffy and golden, I started looking for new recipes to try.  I think I’ve got a handle on the basics, and now I’m itching to pick up some new skills.  Focaccia looks like a lot of fun – maybe that’s next?

Blogging.  I have a book review coming up on Wednesday, but I haven’t planned out as far as Friday, so we’ll see what comes out of my fingertips.  Check in with me then!

Loving.  This isn’t a new story, but this week I have been loving read-aloud time with Peanut.  We are working our way through Ramona the Pest, which was a book I loved when I was her age.  She’s already heard it read aloud in school, which was news to me – I knew that she had met Ramona, but I thought her teachers had read Ramona the Brave.  (Turns out they have read both books to the class.)  But the fact that it’s a re-read isn’t bothering Peanut at all and she’s relishing her knowledge of what’s to come and her power to spoil the story for her dad.  (Pssst, Daddy.  There’s no present.)  And I’m relishing getting reacquainted with Ramona; I’d nearly forgotten what a fantastic character she is.  But the best part is cuddling up with my girl and connecting with her over a book we both love.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?