Day off - workout, errands, dollhouse

 

Today we got some rain in the morning, which was heartening - we are now pretty confident that we won't have wildfires. Phew, one season with no significant smoke here! 

The kids were still with my mom today (praise the Lord!) and so I got to sleep in, get up slowly, drink my coffee slowly. Then I did a 20-minute Peloton spin class with Hannah Corbin, one of my faves. I pedal mostly with my right foot and keep my broken foot in the CAM boot, and I put very little pressure on it, so I feel like it's OK. Seems less impactful than walking.

Then I did a bit of work, catching up on some email and meeting recordings. After that, I organized a few things and made some Amazon returns to the UPS store. 

I really wanted to make something with my hands, so I finally assembled an IKEA dollhouse that I purchased almost two years ago. I spent so long deciding whether or not to keep it or sell it. Seriously, paralyzed with indecision over an item that costs 39.99. So I finally forced myself to assemble it - it was very easy, it looks cute, and it can serve as a little bookshelf/curio cabinet/etc. for the kids. And we can mount it on the wall at some point. 

Speaking of the garage, there are a few more items in there that need to be either sold, donated or thrown away. Not a ridiculous amount, but OMG, we just have so much stuff. And there's always more coming in. It's just SO much easier to acquire crap than it is to get rid of it in our society. And when you try to sell things on NextDoor, nobody wants it, even if they would pay $$ for it if it's displayed on a Target shelf. Isn't it funny how that works? Marketing is everything.

                            Foot is still broken, but slowly healing                            

Anyway, I also did a 20-minute meditation with Tara Brach (listening to her podcast), during which I was lost in thought for maybe 18 of those minutes. I guess it's all about the practice. 

My husband went to pick up the kiddos from the grandparents', and they'll be home soon. The plan is to have the kiddos decompress, eat dinner - either tacos or Mac-n-cheese bites from Trader Joe's - and do the evening routine. 

My goal for tonight is to floss and brush my teeth with the kids so I don't stay up eating yogurt and scrolling on my phone after their bedtime. And to go to bed by 9pm. Tomorrow I'm supposed to work and have a couple of meetings, but Wednesday through Friday I have off - yay!

Recent goings-on: broken foot, shopping, election...

It's been quite the week. I already had my broken foot, boot and crutches from a bike accident that happened two weeks ago. In addition, I got sick with a really bad cold - who knows, maybe even COVID, I didn't test - and then the election happened. I just felt worse and worse as the week went on, didn't exercise at all towards the end, and spent half of yesterday laying in bed and on the couch. At least I made good progress with The Wire! Thankfully, my mom took the kids for a couple of days and so I could lounge around almost guilt-free. The fact that I would feel any guilt about it is another story, but that's how it is.

This morning I still felt like crap, but then seemed to start feeling better after a weird 11-am nap. I did a little bit of work, some cleaning and food prep, shopped for some lighting for our home (that I hope my father-in-law can install when he visits next weekend!) and then took a very slow walk in the neighborhood on crutches. 

The good news is that I'm almost completely off the crutches - in fact, at home I'm not really using them. Hopefully I'll be done with those in the next few days, and the boot may be off by Thanksgiving! I was actually fairly positive about the whole thing for the first week, until my cold and then the election - all those things at once really did me in.

Working on a robot construction set on a Saturday morning    

In other random updates:

• Both kids are doing dance on Saturdays - Y is dancing ballet and tap, and M is progressing in ballet. It's very cute to watch. 
• Work hasn't been too busy, which is good because I haven't had a ton to give over the last few weeks. I did give a big (for me) presentation to new salespeople last Monday, and that went as well as I wanted it to!
• My caffeine-reduction journey has been OK. Some days are better than others, though today I had a midday Nespresso and that may have been too much. But overall I'm still doing better than a few months ago.
• I've been shopping a lot. I mean, I shop a lot anyway, but lately it's gone into Overdrive as a bit of a coping mechanism after my injury. It's mostly home decor and home organization stuff, plus some sneakers, mostly to wear as I recover from this injury. Maybe I'll take and post some photos.
• I got these black Nike sneakers (which I'm wearing outside now, with some heel inserts to even out with the boot a bit more) and these On ones for inside. They were both pricey, especially the ON ones,  but I didn't have the energy to do a ton of research. I learned from the foot surgeon I've been seeing that Nikes are terrible for running. I'll have to ask about On - whether or not he recommends. In any case, both of these should be good for travel where I can use them for walking and for working out. So I think they will get a lot of use and therefore I can justify the $$$ I spent. 
• I'm not going to say much more about the election, but it was like a gut punch even though I was sort of prepared. Now I'm just trying to look forward and see what I can do. On the bright side, our local school funding measure passed (it failed last time by a very small margin), and that makes me smile. I hope to become more involved in the community and in local politics over the next few years.

OK, time to potentially do 20 minutes of pilates, maybe some work, and maybe some organizing around the house. This is a very random post, but it's the best I can do after not having posted for many months and with my scattered brain.

 

Chill weekend

 The kiddos were at my parent's since yesterday afternoon, and now it's Sunday afternoon, and I've had such a relaxed couple of days. I've been on a home decor kick yet again, and have been trying, but not succeeding, at obsession about lots of different things. Here are a few of the items I have either complete, have in the works or am thinking about right now.

1. Get bookshelves for either side of the sideboard that the TV is on right now. Honestly, in the photo, the space doesn't even look too bad. It just looks...functional and lived in. And yet, I ordered two shelves from West Elm that are supposed to arrive tomorrow. We'll see how much better that looks. Maybe it really won't make a difference...who knows. Maybe I will hate it. In that case, I can probably return them! It looks like they require assembly, which makes them easier to return, I guess. I also just learned that I could buy the Target knock-offs for less than half the price. Should I? The Target ones aren't from real wood, but it's never totally clear to me if that matters or not. At least for bookshelves.

This is the "Ladder Leaning Bookshelf" from West Elm.

2. Repot a couple of plants - done today. I repotted the "ZZ" plant that was in our living room, and now it looks kind of droopy and sad. I also repotted a very healthy-looking succulent outside, hopefully that will do better.

3. I'm also searching for a new rug for our living room because the existing one looks nice, but is totally synthetic and very difficult to clean. And it's starting to look very worn and kind of pilled and gross. I've looked at Article, Quince and West Elm. Looks like almost all the Article ones are partially synthetic. Ugh. Quince doesn't have my favorite patterns, so I may go with West Elm. Of course, do I want to spend $1,000 on a rug (after all the taxes and shipping)? No, I don't.

Other than thinking about home decor today, I've also done a bit of work and organizing, went for a run, and talked with O for some time. So...not too bad of a way to spend the day.

Early Friday

Picture has little to do with the post, but it's a photo of one of the pools at our gym. And I hope to use it this weekend.

I woke up around 5am today and tried to go back to sleep (because I didn't fall asleep till after 10:30 last night). But had all these thoughts kicking around in my head. I read, relaxed, then got up to work at 6.

I have a bit of a sore throat and am paranoid that I picked up something at Urgent Care on Wednesday. And why did I go to urgent care? Because my just-turned-4-year-old needed to get a cut stapled on the back on his head. He cut it on a doorframe on Wednesday morning by aggressively playing on a doorway swing that we have loved, but now have to decommission. It looked like a somewhat deep cut, and seeing the flesh stapled made me feel both guilty and slightly nauseous, but he was actually a champ throughout the whole experience.

Yesterday (Thursday), his preschool called in the afternoon because he was screaming for mommy and refusing to nap. I doubt it had anything to do with his injury, but I picked him up at 2:30 anyway because I felt bad. Thankfully, my husband and I were both working from home, and we took turns trying to get him to nap because he seemed to need it. And that was quite the feat and made for an unproductive work afternoon. Thankfully, my mom took both kids home with her last night (as had been planned) so I was able to finish my workday in the evening. 

Today, I'm going to continue working, eventually work out, and hopefully have a productive day before the kids return in the early evening. Tomorrow morning, we have the kiddos' first swim lessons of the summer, followed by a little friend's birthday party. On Sunday, hopefully will go to the pool at our gym. And maybe see some friends.

Toodles!

Last day of school!

 

Today was my daughter's last day of first grade! I actually got a bit emotional while dropping her off at school and think some other parents did, too! I do love her elementary school and teachers. It's a nice community.

I ran the kids to school and preschool in our Burley trailer/jogging stroller today and stopped at the grocery store for some milk and fruit on the way back. It was maybe a 2.5-mile roundtrip? The distance on my Apple Watch isn't very accurate when the phone is in the Burley because it sometimes "thinks" that I'm driving. Very slowly, I guess. Anyway, I'm not sure how long I'll be able to do this Burley/stroller jog with both kids. My almost-7-year-old is essentially sitting in a stroller next to her brother when I do this, even if it doesn't look exactly like a stroller. That said, why is sitting in car any better than sitting in a stroller?

The rest of the day, I worked, threw in some laundry, went for a walk outdoors. It was a nice warm day, though the afternoon is still windy, as per usual here. Work was fine, except I don't like the feeling of never being on top of all my tasks and requests. There's ALWAYS more I could do, and there are always requests coming out of the woodwork - like a project that just landed on my plate from some other group within marketing, even though my plate is already more than full. I know I have it so much easier than people toiling in coal mines or factories or even knowledge workers who are in jobs they hate. My work is fun, I work with nice people and have a lot of flexibility...and yet, it could be better.

Anyway, tonight we're going to have an easy dinner (couscous, raw vegetables, fruit), do the whole bedtime routine, and then my husband is taking a red-eye to Philly for his cousin's wedding. The wedding doesn't allow kids, so I'm staying home with the kiddos. Which is fine.

Tomorrow, I will take the kids to our gym in the morning - I hope to take advantage of the on-site childcare for an hour or so while I do some work and life admin. Then we'll go to a birthday party in the neighborhood, after which my daughter has her annual ballet performance. Last night and this morning, she suddenly became terrified of the performance. We were able to mollify her by promising a "Squishmallow art set" after the performance (decided that this is an appropriate situation for bribery). She seemed to feel much better after that, but we'll see how it goes tonight tomorrow. Thankfully, my dad is going to come and help out with the 3-year-old so that I can focus on getting M to and through the performance.

O just went to pick up the kids from school - I'm going to wrap up the workday, make this couscous, and get ready for the weekend.

Office day + outfit

On Tuesday, I went to the office because some of my management was in town and we had a team lunch. I work in a VERY casual environment, so this was my outfit: Mother jeans, Jenni Kayne cropped cashmere cocoon cardigan, Quince scoop neck tee, and Nordstrom Carolina sandals. 

Was it the most creative and fashionable outfit ever? No. Was it comfortable, reasonably put-together and very "me"? Yes, it was, and so I figured it's worth sharing. 

Going to the office was nice. I'm still extremely thankful that I'm mostly a remote employee because the commute is at least 50 minutes each way door-to-door, more with the (very likely) traffic. The office is nice, and it's always fun and valuable to see my colleagues. I keep saying I'll make it a point to go in more frequently, but, in reality, I need a compelling event - like managers visiting from out of town. Maybe this quarter I'll make it in more!

 

Memorial Day weekend

We had an active weekend, even though it was relatively cold and pretty windy. Low 50s on Saturday and low 60s Sunday and Monday. 

On Saturday, we drove to Berkeley to visit my husband's and my alma mater. We also both got our Master's degrees from there, I'm not sure what the term for that is. I think alma mater just applies to undergrad.

Anyway, we started at the Downtown Berkeley farmers' market, which was a weird as I remember it. This surprised me because Berkeley has become more and more "upscale" in the last 10-20 years. Perhaps this is because the school year is over, summer school hasn't started yet, and many of the wealthier residents were out of town for the long weekend. In any case, we bought a couple of pastries (which the kids rejected), and Y became obsessed with getting cherries (which we didn't buy because we didn't want to carry them around, and we need to pit cherries before giving them to the kids).

We walked through the campus to the Campanile, the big tower in the middle, and even got to go to the top. The kids rode their scooters, even uphill, and I was impressed with Y's stamina. Then we went back down and had lunch at Triple Rock Brewery, which I visited many times in college and after without realizing it was apparently only the 5th brewpub in all of the U.S.! I'm not sure what defines a "brewpub", perhaps I will research that another day.

On Sunday, I took the kids to Sports Basement to find wetsuits. Not for surfing, but for swimming in the cold pools around where we live. We live in a very windy area, and the afternoons often aren't warm until August or even September/October. And the pools are heated, but a couple fewer degrees than I would like. 

To take advantage of the pool at our gym and the pool where the kids take lessons, I decided to buy them short wetsuits. Unfortunately, SB only had the full-length versions, but I at least tried them on for size and then ordered online. But the kiddos looked adorable, and we bought some crocs and water/outdoor toys. So the trip wasn't for nothing. Then we went to the pool at our gym, which was actually not too cold that day, and in the afternoon an adorable friend of Y's came over for a playdate. 

On Monday, Memorial Day, we went to our gym pool again and met u with friends. M swam very well, she's 95% to being water safe at this point, I would say, but she got really cold. The pic is of her in my old high school swim parka, warming up. The kids ran around with friends and had a lot of fun. 

Here's a random photo of O and Y doing stretching or push-ups or something like that. I think that's from Monday morning. I ran on Saturday and did stationary cycling with Bakari on Sunday and Monday. And like 10 minutes of upper body strength, but that's a lot better than nothing!

 

Friday off: spinning, errands and lunch date

                                                   

 My company had the day off for the long weekend. I was woken up at 6:20am by my 6-year-old daughter, who needed urgent help with assembling a parting gift for her favorite teacher in her aftercare program (who I had never heard mentioned before, by the way). Apparently, today was this teacher's last day. Because I didn't want M to make a ton of noise and wake up her brother, I immediately proceeded to wrap up the following: a kids' sleep mask (which appears to fit me), a small cute Rifle Paper notebook, and a couple of tsotchkes, one random, the other handmade by M. There was also talk of giving her a used folder (which I may have owned since college!) and some random sticker, but I said no more. 

After that, I did a 30-minute stationary bike workout on our patio with my favorite Apple Fitness trainer, Bakari Williams. I also like his HIIT workouts. 

After that, I helped get the kids off to school, got ready, puttered around the house organizing things, had coffee/breakfast and wrote in my journal. Then I did a bit of work-related reading - something that I don't have time to do during regular workweeks, and that can make me a lot more effective, since I still have a LOT to learn about the domain (IT service and operations software) that I'm marketing. 

Then, I got ready to run some errands and meet a friend for lunch. 

         

I wore my Mother jeans, my Adidas samba sneakers, and a random fuzzy zip-up that I bought from a thrift store back in January. 

I returned almost $1,000 of clothes to Nordstrom, dropped off some things at Goodwill (felt so good!) and ate a delicious Poke bowl.

Then I came home and did some random research of running vacations (maybe for next year, we'll see). And some more puttering and tidying. Also sent out some birthday invitations for the kids' upcoming parties. 

Now it's almost 5, and it's time to take M to her last ballet class of the season!

Likes and dislikes: 19-year-old journal, kiddos, and new shoes

 

My mom brought over my journal from 2005, I have no idea where it was tucked away. I have accumulated many old journals over the years, decades, and am storing most of them in a box. I have contemplated burning them or shredding them because there's just so much angsty garbage on those pages, and I really don't want anybody to read that stuff. Even I don't want to read most of it. And yet - some entries are fun to read, like this one from a spontaneous trip to Puerto Vallarta with one of my best friends!

One of the fun things about reading these entries is reliving the memories, of course. But the other is that, while I have certainly changed and grown as a human, my lifestyle and many habits are pretty different - my essence is still the same. In particular, I still like and dislike the same things. This reminds me of one of Gretchen Rubin's Secrets of Adulthood: "You can choose what you do; you can't choose what you LIKE to do."

Speaking of things I like and dislike, I went through a coaching exercise to write down what lights me up and makes my heart sing. Most of the things on the list had nothing to do with parenting, other than the totality of being a mother, but even that is a lot more complicated than "lighting me up". What I mean is that a lot of aspects of parenting activities are so complicated - they are very nurturing and very tough at the same time. That said, one particular thing about my kids that gives me pure joy is seeing them interact and play together. I had no idea how much joy that would bring me when we decided to have two kids. They do fight, of course, but watching them be best buddies warms my heart with love and gratitude.

This is them waving "bye" to their grandma as she drove away after a visit.

Moving on to things I dislike: shopping for shoes. I wear size 10.5, which poses a lot of problems. Many brands do not make sizes above 10, and the ones that do often skip 10.5 and go straight from 10 to 11. In addition, my feet are wide AND I have bunions. Finally, I am 5'9" and don't love towering over people, though I'm still working on embracing that and wearing more heels, anyway. Because I just love how they look. BONUS: I stubbed my pinky toe several weeks ago, and it still hasn't healed. Maybe because I keep walking and running on it. This one is temporary, hopefully. 

Anyway, this lovely pair arrived earlier this week, and I really like them. They are quite comfortable (even wearable with my pained toe right now), a good height. and the insole is LEATHER! Which makes your feet a lot less sweaty and more comfortable in warm/hot weather. I'm no foot model, but these are quite flattering!

I am contemplating buying one of the other colors either instead of or in addition to the black. They seem to be pretty good quality. They do make a bit of a sound when I walk and when my heel lifts of the sole, but I'm hoping that will go away. In any case, I can only spend so much of my limited time searching for shoes. Beggars with 10.5-size wide feet can't be choosers.

 

Microblading

 

I got my eyebrows done last week. The process was technically called "Microshading", and I actually originally received the procedure in February, but the result was pretty bad - one of the eyebrows was great, but the other was very angled, weirdly shaped, and didn't match at all. I finally went to a different salon and a more experienced provider. Who also charges twice the price of my original one, but I should've just done it right the first time! Note to self and others who are ever considering.

It's been almost a week, they are still healing, but I'm happy with the result. The right eyebrow still looks more arched, but I have a follow-up appointment with the microblading provider (basically, a specialized tattoo artist) in a few weeks and hope to even them out even more then.

I don't have any photos of the "before", but it was a sad situation. Both eyebrows were barely hanging on, the left eyebrow had no tail - I over-plucked it in my teens or 20s - and I was to tired of drawing them on every day and having to touch up later. Once this process is complete, I hope it will take one annoying task off my to-do list. 

Week off

 I have the week off from work, and I really, really need this. I was so exhausted and still sick from last week's cold and massive conference. Today is Wednesday, and I'm finally feeling closer to my normal self, whatever that is. 

I went swimming at the gym on Monday and today, went for a run yesterday. I'm also thinking of trying hot yoga nearby again this week. It's a bit of a commitment, but I've never gone enough to feel any difference in my physical and mental well-being. And maybe I want to try?

I also "ran into" Target this morning, ostensibly to pick up an online order. And ended up with probably more than $100 of stuff - mostly food I can't get at Trader Joe's, as well as a couple of small gifts and supplies for the kids' birthdays. I didn't even look at the clothes or the shoes, thankfully!

Outfits from yesterday:

My colorful running outfit. Is this "dopamine dressing"?

Amour Vert faux wrap dress from Stitch Fix. I'm still not sure if I love it, it's a little large on top, but it feels very nice on and is just so easy to wear. I missed the return window while debating, so I kept it. The material feels nice, we'll see how well it will wash!

                                                        

Recent work and casual outfits

I went to a conference last week and had to wear professional clothes. Gasp! And by professional, I mean business casual that leans more casual than business. While I probably still prefer this to all-suits-and-heels-all-the-time, it's not always easy. Are sneakers OK? (yes, in tech they are) But do they need to be super clean and white? (probably!) Another rule of thumb - blazers are highly recommended, and they do seem to dress up a lot of other things, so I found them useful. 

A couple of other constraints that I faced:

1) I was required to wear black pants or a black skirt every day for at least half the day because I was staffing the trade shoe/Expo floor, and our uniform was black bottoms + a polo branded with our company's logo. 

2) I had a broken pinky toe (from several weeks ago, healing, but very slowly), which severely constrained my shoe choices. Thankfully, soft sneakers worked well, as did some open-toed sandals (which were not ergonomic, though). 

3) Not necessarily a constraint, but I was sick (with a cold), overstimulated and felt like garbage half the time. I don't do uncomfortable clothes anymore, and especially not in this state.

That said, here are some of the things I packed, wore, AND bought at the nearby mall (because even when I'm sick, I'll take advantage of a walking-distance Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus).

This is the "Going Out Blazer" from Crew, size 6 Tall. I'm 5'9", and the Regular was OK, but tall was better. This blazer is well-constructed and comfortable because it's stretchy. It's 100% polyester, which I do not like, but I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a wool blazer that I would only wear occasionally. Note that the sleeves are not full-length, but I think that's by design.

The pink blazer is a Club Monaco blazer that I rented from Rent the Runway and decided to keep because it was only $30. And it's got a significant wool composition, mixed with a synthetic, though the lining is polyester. It's stretchy and very comfortable. other than the polyester bit. 

This is one of my MVP tops. I got it from Stitch Fix several years ago - it's the 41 Hawthorn "Juanis" top, and I love how it looks and fits. Stitch Fix doesn't carry it anymore, but it's available used on Postmark and other sites. I wish it was silk and not 100% polyester, so if I ever find something similar in a natural fabric one day, it will be the perfect top. 

This simple gray shirt from Quince - it's their modal scoop neck top. I have the medium. Just a good basic shirt for casual wear. It does get pretty wrinkled, so I would have had to iron it or steam it to wear it under the blazer, which I never did on this trip. Under it is an amazing layering tee from Loft, which they don't seem to carry anymore - I would buy more if they did!

These are the Horton pants from M.M.LaFleur. They are wool AND they are lined. They are great because I'm tall, but they are too tight in the waist for me! I have size 8, maybe I should have gone up to a 10. Or I'll need to get the waist widened somehow at the tailor. I have worn them once before and haven't wanted to wear them again, including at the conference. 

This is an old dress I got from a rental service called LeTote. It went out of business. I used to love this dress, but I'm over it now. It's polyester, and the floral print looks kind of tired to me now. I still brought it with me and wore it because it fits well and looks decent. I could use a couple more casual dresses. 

Another polyester top that I got a while ago from Nordstrom. It's cute, I have to wear it over a cotton tank since I don't like how polyester feels against my skin, but I wore it under the JCrew "Going Out" blazer and it worked well. I like the scalloped neckline. The color in this photo is off, it's more of a Barbie pink.

And here are a few photos of me actually wearing the items!

This is the JCrew "Going Out" blazer and the pink scallop-edged top, worn with Good American flare jeans (which I ended up returning because I wasn't sure that I'd get enough wear out of them to justify the purchase) and my Adidas Sambas. The Sambas were a little too dirty to be professional, but I still wore them because they were comfortable.

Above is my "Expo uniform" one of the days - the pants are amazingly comfortable, look great, and I got them from Nordstrom while on the trip. They are the Good American Scuba Crop, and they are a little shiny in bright light, but not under normal indoor lighting, or at least I didn't think so. The material is similar to wetsuit material - hence the Scuba - but they feel SO comfortable. I wore them one of the days for work and also traveled back in them, and I just love them. They do present some VPL issues, so make sure your underwear is appropriate. 

Oh- and the cute white sneakers here are the Tory Burch Howell sneakers in 10.5. I loved the look and they were reasonably comfortable, but I also read lots of reviews about hthe leather creasing super quickly, and I don't like that for almost $200. They are also not as comfortable as my Adidas Sambas. I dunno, I may ended up getting the Tory Burch ones again, but may first try these Ecco sneakers. Why the mens'? I have tried the Women's, the they felt too narrow for me. 

  

I also bought new jeans - yay! See below. All the jeans I have are either too big or too small or too dark or not in great shape. Ugh. These are the Mother Hustler ankle fray jeans in the "Healing Jar" wash. I got them in Size 30 - had to swallow my pride because I have thought of myself as a 28-29 for many years, but I think I also had a lot of digestive issues because my jeans' waistlines were digging in too much. No more, especially not with these high rises! The photo below is in the Neiman Marcus fitting room, and the other one is in the hotel bathroom (which has ridiculously flattering mirrors and lighting, BTW). The white sandals are the Nordstrom Carolina slides, which I love, as do many people, apparently, because they are sold out in my size (11). Otherwise I would get them in at least one more color. I wouldn't recommend walking miles in them if you are over 35 and/or have ever had knee/back/foot problems. Though I did exactly that one of the conference days, and it was doable and not painful, but not ergonomic at all.

Note that the other washes of the Mother Hustler jeans don't looks the same or as good, at least not on me. Above is the Heirloom wash, the fabric composition is different, and they are just not as flattering. Maybe It would be better on somebody with skinnier legs. 

Hope this is helpful in some way if you come across this post!

Early mornings

My 3.5-year-old, Y, has been up or sort of up since 5:55, coughing. He has asthma, has been out of school for two days with a cold, and we're hoping he can go back to school today, but now I'm not so sure. On the plus side, I finished "The Heart's Invisible Furies" last night. Lovely book, it was hard to put down at times, and I'm still thinking about it. OK, it's 6:30, time to finish my small coffee and go for a run.

Weekend highlights

Here are some favorite moments of this past week or so: - Y climbing on the window - M and Y entertaining each other and making each other laugh - Stroller walks and jogs in our new-ish Burley

Vaccinated

Finally got my second COVID shot yesterday. I got it at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and, apparently, that site set the world record for the most vaccines administered in one day. It definitely felt momentous and special both times. I also felt weird yesterday because I got somewhere between 5 and 6 hours of sleep the night before (thanks, Baby Y!) I guess I'll be feeling much more relieved in two weeks, though it's been a gradual process, much like for everyone, I assume. First, my mother - a physician - got vaccinated. Then the kids' teachers - that was a big one. Then just lots of people around us, which made me feel more relaxed while out. And seeing the case and death instances drop has brought the most reassurance. I will continue to wear a mask indoors, but can finally stop wearing the N95, which I do find annoying. I hope that people are required to wear masks on public transit and on airplanes permanently - it would be such a boon during cold and flu season! I woke up with body aches in the middle of the night, popped some Advil, and eventually fell back asleep. Then was woken up by the baby around 5:30am, but he appears to be trying to go back to sleep, as well. I feel a little heavy and a bit weak, but, honestly, I don't know if that's the vaccine reaction or just a side effect of having little kids. I'm planning to work today, but may also just take it easy and read. Maybe run some errands.

Weekend: croup, girl adventures and sleep

Baby Y had croup this past weekend. He's had it once before, and I knew the signs, so I took him to urgent care on Friday evening, and they gave us the steroid medication to administer in case things worsened. And they did - on Saturday. We spent many hours walking him in the stroller outside, which definitely helped. And he was much better once the meds kicked in. I did two outings with M, who will be four in a month!! On Saturday, we went to Junipero Serra Park and decided to hold her birthday there because there is a picnic area and a great playground with an amazing view of the Bay. On Sunday, we went to San Francisco and met up with friends at the 19th Street playground in the Mission. I showed her two buildings where her dad and I lived before she was born...she wasn't super impressed. She did like our lunch from a greek/mediterranean place, though!

Happy 2021!

 

This is actually from a few days ago, but I wanted something inspiring!

The New Year is here! I'm not wishing 2020 away, but I do intend to make 2021 my best year yet. With things I can control. Even if bad stuff happens. 

I'm planning to take my birthday off (1/11) and will do some goal-setting on that day. But my goals so far include:

• Listening to a news roundup podcast regularly and reading a weekly paper (like the WSJ)
• Scheduling my internet browsing to the evening, and no non-essential internet browsing for at least a month. Hopefully this will free up enough time for the news podcast and the reading!
• Quitting sugar completely - it just doesn't make me feel good, so why not just quit?
• Continuing to explore Zen Buddhism
• Taking a short "sabbatical" in April, if possible - though that may get pushed off if I have to take a bunch of time off due to a COVID quarantine in January or February. If not in April, then hopefully in the summer

Last night we did a Zoom NYE with some friends, and it was fun. Went to bed by 11pm. People set off a bunch of (illegal, I think) fireworks all around us, which was annoying, but I they didn't seem to wake up the kids. 

Before the skies turned orange

I wrote this before California became enveloped in smoke last week, and just was too anxious and depressed to finish the posting. But posting it now since I might like to read it someday. Last week was tough. We made it through, but many signs point to more wildfires this Fall, not to mention a worsening from the ones that are still burning. 

This is what I saw around 11am on Wednesday, August 9

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We had quite the historic weekend here. Record highs in the Bay Area. Terrible air quality for much of the time. And a sleepless newborn. 

And yet, we also managed to have fun. My in-laws visited, and the timing couldn’t have been better, for us, anyway. 

On Saturday morning, M and I went for a jog (I ran and she sat in the Bob) and then visited the daycare/preschool that she and Y will be attending this Fall. Her current preschool, which we love, doesn’t offer an infant program, and we luckily secured spots for both in a different well-regarded center. M will start in October, and Y will start in November. M seemed to enjoy the visit. She thought that I was going to leave her there right then, and didn’t seem to mind too much. So hopefully she’ll be OK with the transfer in a month. 

My in-laws arrives in the afternoon and played with M after her nap while my husband and I worked on getting Y to sleep. Which was not fun. He proceeded to have one of his worst nights, if not the worst, since we brought him home. Barely slept between midnight and 3:30 am. Seemed like something was bothering him, so we eventually gave him some Tylenol, and that seemed to help. 

Saturday was hot, but no terribly, and the air quality was decent. But we mentally prepared ourselves for Sunday. 

Sunday morning, O and I ran together! For the first time in a year, maybe? It wasn’t long, but it was nice. That was our “date night”. After the run, everyone got ready to drive to the beach - everyone except me! I got to stay home and rest, and it was fantastic, even though my attempt to nap were unsuccessful. I just lied down and rested without worrying that somebody could wake me up any second. And performed some minor chores. 

That afternoon featured 100-degree heat and terrible air quality around the Bay Area. It felt claustrophobic and kind of apocalyptic. We blasted our portable A/C unit, which helped a lot, and rotated the air purifier around the house. I got some additional time to read and do some organizing, but the whole evening featured an undercurrent of sadness and low-grade despair. 

Baby Y thankfully slept much better that night, and so did we. The A/C unit was so crucial. On Sunday morning, we got ready for another day at the beach. Since many Bay Area beaches were closed, purportedly to help avoid the spread of COVID, it appeared that the entire Bay Area convened on Ocean Beach in San Francisco, since that was open. Yep, so instead of allowing people to spread around multiple beaches, the local governments forced them all to one (albeit a very big one). 

Ocean Beach looked like Venice Beach - I had never seen it so hot or so crowded. Thankfully there was still plenty of room for distancing, we busted our our new tent, and enjoyed the warm day - which was really quite amazing if I didn’t think too hard about the reasons for why it was so lovely. 

O and I were each able to jog near the beach while the other parent had Baby Y in the ergo and the grandparents entertained his older sister. Baby Y slept pretty much the whole day, with short breaks to eat and wiggle around in the tent for a bit. 

Around noon we decided to forego heading home for M’s naptime. My in-laws headed back to Los Angeles, and we texted some local friends and decided to stick around until the early evening. M enjoyed the friends when they arrived, and I finally cajoled her to get into the water, of which she had been scared earlier. She ended up having so much fun jumping in the waves! The water was cold, but not as freezing as I remembered it - and it was a very refreshing contrast to the air. Oh, and I walked with Y to get a cold brew from a fancy coffee shop’s takeout window - my first in about six months. I certainly appreciate them more now that they are a major exception to my routine. That place, Andytown coffee roasters, must’ve made a killing yesterday. That part of the beach has become more popular over the years, but days like that only come around once in a while. 

We ended up having a great day, even though M was exhausted and cranky upon arriving home, as predicted. Baby Y was also cranky and exhausted despite having slept most of the day - maybe that was because the Ergo sleep was of lower quality than stationery sleep? I’m thinking of bringing his portable bassinet next time and seeing how he does with that. 

It was certainly a memorable weekend - I am feeling quite worried and sad about the state of things in California (and everywhere, really, due to climate change) - but also proud of doing the best with what we were handed. And thankful for my in-laws’ visit, our car, and our A/C unit. And I realize this is super cheesy, but whatever.