Life Lately #20

Reading: The Lovely War by Julie Berry. I'm about 1/3 done with it and so far I'm really liking it. It's from the POV of Greek gods and goddesses, which is...interesting? I don't hate it, can't say I looooove it, but it's different from anything I've read before and the actual main storyline has definitely sucked me in. I know WWI/WWII fiction is still super popular these days, but I'm a diehard fan and I'll probably never change. I will say that having a library card has kinda forced me to do more reading. It's that 3-week return deadline...it does wonders for making me actually finish books. Imagine that.

Watching: Expedition Bigfoot on the Discovery+ channel. We did a free 7-day trial, planned to binge both seasons over the course of a week, didn't quite make it, and now we've paid for the next month. I am completely obsessed with anything Sasquatch. Are you a believer?? 

Listening to: All the kid music. Occasionally we listen to "grown-up music" (as Imogen calls it) but mainly just in the car. I have a hard time letting them listen to anything with grown-up themes. It's a personal thing. So, in our house...it's "God music" (again, an Imogen term), classical, or kid music on the Echo Dot. All day, every day. The Rizers, Ellie Holcomb, the "Hymns" albums by Shane and Shane, Raffi, the Frozen 2 soundtrack (eyeroll), and so on.

Smelling: I am absolutely not a woo-woo essential oils person, but I have been diffusing my Tension Relief blend from Plant Therapy (best non-MLM brand I've ever used) a lot lately. Peppermint, eucalyptus, rosemary, spearmint, lavender, a few others...I've been having a lot of headaches lately and it's been somewhat helpful. 

Loving: That it's almost March, and March means spring, and spring means summer is on its way. I know, I'm getting ahead of myself. But I am so ready for after-dinner walks in the sun, a non-soggy backyard to play in, beach days, and for it not to take 20 minutes to get the kids ready to go anywhere because layers are a must. 

Happy: That the indoor playground I mentioned previously is finally open again!! They've been shut down for the last year, and if I had a dollar for every time Imogen asked to go back, I could probably buy the place. We were finally able to surprise her with a trip there last Saturday, and she was so happy. Actually, her first statement when she realized where we were was, "It's the place where Blippi went!!" (Funtastic Playtorium, if any of you have seen that episode.) It was extra fun this time, too, because Kilian was able to run around and play and didn't just sleep in the stroller the majority of the time. It's not exactly a cheap place to take the kids, but it's nice to have the option on rainy weekends. Now, I just need the local McDonald's Playspace to open back up so we have a free option. 

Wanting: A compost bin. Is that weird? Occasionally I look at all the produce waste we throw in the trash and I think to myself, "That could be some great dirt for my plants if I only had a way to compost it..." I found this fairly small, compact, rotating one on Amazon and I asked for it for Christmas, but apparently nobody in my family thought that made a fun gift. I can't blame them. Merry Christmas, here's somewhere new to throw your banana peels and apple cores. 

Laughing at: THIS. I cried, I was laughing so hard. You cannot even tell me that if Trump said even half of what Biden says about black people, he wouldn't be excoriated in the media.