Running! Chris and I are training for the Holy Half on April 4. Chris schedules everything he does and we switch off with the girls and it has been so fun for me to be serious about running again! My goal is 3 runs/week and I’m up to 6 miles and it feels good to be out in the cold and getting stronger. I’m super hungry all the time, and more tired, but endorphins!
Decluttering and cleaning. Over Christmas I made a list of places in the house I wanted to reorganize, and I hit the ground running when we got back home. Basement, pantry, girls’ clothes bins, both hall closets – woot! Linen closet is next on the list. It feels like something I can control as we await news about Chris’s PhD applications and is weirdly energizing. I asked my friend Annie for help with organizing/house stuff and she gave me a tip that keeping cleaning supplies in each bathroom makes it easier to just do a little bit of cleaning whenever you have a moment. And she also pointed out that our downstairs bathroom is used by all visitors, but has no storage space and therefore is hard to keep clean. So I got this, and Chris mounted it and here’s to keeping this bathroom a bit cleaner for the sake of hospitality!
wow, this is the most boring picture.
Feedback. That interaction reminded me how hard it is to get feedback, lol. Chris read a book for a class last semester called Thanks for the Feedback and he told me about a part that has been helpful. The idea is that when you receive critical feedback, you can be emotionally triggered in one of three areas – truth, relationship, and identity. This observation from Annie touched on my identity as someone who tries to be hospitable and to create a beautiful space to welcome people into. Because I never once thought about the fact that it’s my guests who use that bathroom the most! Eek. It also made me reflect on how often I used to receive critical feedback in my previous job and how the work of sorting through the emotions and responding well was probably the source of a lot of my stress. Phew! (Love you, Annie.)
our first chore chart … because E got a piggy bank for Christmas and is trying to figure out how to get more coins.
just the cutest.
her writing is exploding and it’s so cool!
Books. I finished The Overstory and Commonwealth over Christmas and read This Must Be The Placeat the recommendation of my MIL. All very good. The Overstory made me sad about deforestation and the dire situation of the planet, but in a very compelling, well-written way. I recommend. Then I read Circeand loved it. Felt like my third grade Greek mythology-loving self again. Just finished The Dutch Houseand now reading A Gentleman in Moscow while I await other holds to come in. (Waking up to nurse 2-3 times a night is infinitely more bearable when I have a good book to read.)
Big girl Zelie. On impulse, I decided it was time to graduate Zelie from the pack n play and set her up with a “big girl bed,” aka the crib mattress on the ground in her closet. But it turned out to be a great move (go me) because 1) she’s sleeping with a comforter now and 2) she (mostly) stays in bed until the alarm clock turns green! She does wake up at 5:45 still, but she lies in bed singing and talking until 6:15 and it doesn’t alwaaaays wake up Evange. Progress! In my search for a toddler size duvet for her I discovered Kidizen and found a great deal on an IKEA bedding set – score. I also started having her do a 30 minute morning quiet time when we get back from dropping E off at preschool. So far, it’s going pretty well!
Prayer. I gave a reflection at our parish’s mom’s group this month and really enjoyed the process of praying and thinking about what to share. It was sort of about Mary as Theotokos – because I was asked to do it right after that solemnity – but more so about finding freedom from things that hold us back from seeing ourselves as God sees us, and being a God-bearer, like Mary. As I was thinking about this, my friend Adrianna shared an article with me and I really loved this quote from it. “The longer I walk under [Jesus’s] gaze, the more even all the wounds I have, my littleness, my sorrows, the things I do not understand about myself, the fears, the pettiness, and the sins, become dear to me. I know that they are my only opportunity to intercept the Lord passing by, because they leave me disarmed, needy and small. I am amazed how I no longer want to censor anything about myself; on the contrary, I stubbornly want to look at everything, down to the bottom. My humanity is only dear to me because it is embraced by the Lord who comes.”
Lions. We’ve watched The Lion King a few times now, and Zelie will tell anyone that it’s the best and her favorite. It’s also meant a lot of roaring at each other and endless questions, mostly about Scar. Evange and I also just finished The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe and immediately started rereading it. I’ve been getting a lot of questions like, “Why does Scar want to be king?” and “Why isn’t the Witch the true Queen of Narnia?” that have made me reflect on the parallels between these stories. Good times.
Outside time. We had a great two hours at a county park last week and it reminded me that we never go outside anymore, and we should. I feel like we live in the backyard all summer, and then I hibernate all winter. But the girls played together so well and were loving it! And I love watching them explore. So, going to try to start a weekly park play date with a friend and maybe even track our outside hours to stay motivated! Here’s to a mild February!
I keep track of the books I’m reading each month. Some take me a few months to finish! The asterisk means started but didn’t finish. I’m a big believer in books having a right time. So, maybe I’ll finish those books someday, or maybe life’s too short to keep reading a book I don’t want to read. YOLO.
Before we get too far into 2019, I wanted to record my books from last year. This is really only for me to look back at. I’m not even writing out thoughts about each book. Just some observations from this year – I found a couple new authors (Sigrid Undset, Alice McDermott, Elizabeth Strout) and read several books by them. Kristin Lavransdatter was my whole July and it was glorious. I also spent six months listening to Harry Potter in the car (a great life choice). I trailed off in December and haven’t been reading at all lately, which is weird, but oh well. I cracked open Middlemarch and have read half of the intro – does that count?
January
The Tech-Wise Family – Andy Crouch (audio)
*Animal, Vegetable, Miracle – Barbara Kingsolver
*A Severe Mercy – Sheldon Vanauken
February
*Animal, Vegetable, Miracle – Barbara Kingsolver
*A Severe Mercy – Sheldon Vanauken
The Ninth Hour – Alice McDermott
March
Anything is Possible – Elizabeth Strout
A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L’Engle
Zeitoun – Dave Eggers
*Jesus of Nazareth – Pope Benedict
April
The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas
Housekeeping – Marilynne Robinson
*Jesus of Nazareth – Pope Benedict
*An Immovable Feast – Tyler Blanksi
May
Someone – Alice McDermott
One Beautiful Dream – Jennifer Fulwiler
An Immovable Feast – Tyler Blanksi
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – J.K. Rowling (audio)
*Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling (audio)
June
Hannah Coulter – Wendell Berry
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling (audio)
Anne of the Island – L.M. Montgomery
Anne’s House of Dreams – L.M. Montgomery
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling (audio)
July
Kristin Lavransdatter – Sigrid Undset
Harry Potter and the Triwizard Tournament – J.K. Rowling (audio)
August
Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Strout
The Price to Pay – Joseph Fadelle
Gunnar’s Daughter – Sigrid Undset
*Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling (audio)
September
Crazy Rich Asians – Kevin Kwan
*No Drama Discipline – Daniel Siegel and Tina Bryson
*Mystery and Manners – Flannery O’Connor
*Catherine of Siena – Sigrid Undset
*Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling (audio)
October
*Catherine of Siena – Sigrid Undset
The Grace of Enough: Pursuing Less and Living More in a Throwaway Culture – Haley Stewart
Pachinko – Min Jin Lee
*The Lowland – Jhumpa Lahiri
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling (audio)
November
The Lowland – Jhumpa Lahiri
The Burgess Boys – Elizabeth Strout
*Catherine of Siena – Sigrid Undset
*Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – J.K. Rowling (audio)
December
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – J.K. Rowling (audio)
*Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling (audio)
I started keeping track of the books I read a couple years ago and I thought it’d be fun to share what I ended up reading in 2017, with a top 5 fave list. And then, if you make it through, what’s on my list for 2018!
2017 Reading List
(I keep track of the books I’m reading each month. Some take me a few months to finish! The asterisk means started but didn’t finish. I’m a big believer in books having a right time. So, maybe I’ll finish those books someday, or maybe life’s too short to keep reading a book I don’t want to read. YOLO.)
January
Americanah – Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche
The Girls – Emma Cline
The Enneagram: A Journey of Self-Discovery – Maria Beesing, Robert J. Nogosek, Patrick H. O’Leary
The Story of A Soul* – St. Therese of Lisieux
February
Lila – Marilynne Robinson
We Should All Be Feminists – Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche
The Road Back To You: An Enneagram Journey to Self Discovery* – Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile
Transitions* – William Bridges (reread)
March
Transitions* – William Bridges
The Nightingale – Kristin Hannah
Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life – Tish Harrison Warren
April
The Outlander Series – Diana Gabaldon (my post-partum nursing reads)
Lilac Girls* – Martha Hall Kelly (could not handle concentration camps anymore)
May
The Blue Castle – L.M. Montgomery
Everyday Sacrament: The Messy Grace of Parenting – Laura Kelly Fanucci
The Underground Railroad – Colson Whitehead
Father Brown: The Essential Tales* – G.K. Chesterton
June/July – either I didn’t read anything, or I just didn’t write it down. that’s when we packed and moved and drove cross country with 2 babies under 2 so it’s possible I didn’t read anything.
August
Homegoing – Yaa Gyasi
Father Brown: The Essential Tales* – G.K. Chesterton
Oh Crap! Potty Training – Jamie Glowacki
Spiritual Lessons from St. Francis* – John Michael Talbot
Born a Crime – Trevor Noah
September
The Sympathizer* – Viet Thanh Nguyen
The Righteous Mind* – Jonathan Haidt
October
The Sympathizer – Viet Thanh Nguyen
The Righteous Mind* – Jonathan Haidt
Station Eleven – Emily Mandel
Ginny Moon – Benjamin Ludwig
Little Fires Everywhere – Celeste Ng
November
I Let You Go – Clare Mackintosh
Reading People – Anne Boyle
Devout Life* – St. Francis de Sales
December
“Wonders Never Cease” – essay by Marilynne Robinson
Til We Have Faces* – C.S. Lewis (reread)
The Hate You Give* – Angie Thomas
My Life With The Saints* – James Martin, S.J.
Top 5 Faves from 2017
Homegoing – Yaa Gyasi
Station Eleven – Emily Mandel
Everyday Sacrament: The Messy Grace of Parenting – Laura Kelly Fanucci
The Underground Railroad – Colson Whitehead
Born a Crime – Trevor Noah
2018 Reading List (so far)
The Tech-Wise Family – Andy Crouch (Chris and I listened to the audio book on our drive home from New Jersey)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle – Barbara Kingsolver (started on Hoopla, already feel like I can’t shop at our cheap-o grocery store anymore…)
A Severe Mercy – a love story by C.S. Lewis’s friend whose wife died young. my neighbor lent me this and I’m convicted/challenged by how much they loved their love.
The Ninth Hour – Alice McDermott (haven’t read any of her novels yet, but read an interview in Commonweal that had me intrigued. nuns!)
My Absolute Darling – Gabriel Tallent (don’t know anything about this, Maya just recommended it)
The World Will Be Saved by Beauty – Kate Hennessey (Dorothy Day’s granddaughter. recommended by my friend, who also recommended Station Eleven, which was amazing. Kathleen, if you read this, you really should share all the books you read with the world.)
wow, this is the most boring picture.
our first chore chart … because E got a piggy bank for Christmas and is trying to figure out how to get more coins.
just the cutest.
her writing is exploding and it’s so cool!
Glimpses of Joy 