Another Fall week down!

Like most weeks, this one has had some good times and frustrating times.

Highs

- My sinus infection is finally under control, as are a couple of other minor, but annoying health issues. While I'm not 100% back, I'm no longer in danger of becoming addicted to Afrin.

- I just began listening to a really engrossing book, the Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin. Which I learned about from an old Best of Both Words interview with the author. The audiobook version was available immediately through Libby, but I had to put a hold on the e-book version. I'm about three chapters in, and I'm loving it so far!

- M has been sweet and affectionate. She just keeps developing, constructing new types of sentences, understanding new concepts. She also has been enjoying listening to "Peter and the Wolf" at mealtimes. I found a version narrated by David Bowie on Spotify...makes me feel a little more hip as I cater to a little human's food preferences (something that, of course, I swore I'd never do).

- My work schedule has been super flexible, which is such a blessing when you are sick.

- Getting enough sleep!

- Beautiful summery weather (though this one is double-sided)

- Living a seven-minute walk away from a hospital. Oh my, it is so convenient sometimes! I had to go three times in the last two weeks - twice for my own issues, and once to immunize M against the flu. Turned out that they have a Flu Clinic - had I known, I would've skipped my own trip to Walgreen's.

- Getting just a bit of running in despite feeling unwell...I was told that it would help open up the sinuses. And I think it helped.

From a late morning run

Lows

- I felt like $%!# for at more than half the week (after already being sick for a month), and definitely threw some mini pity parties for myself. I literally had to talk to myself out loud one evening to force myself to focus on all the positives in my life.

- Work has been meh. I didn't accomplish nearly as much as I wanted, partially because of my health, but also because of some bureaucratic challenges.

- The beautiful summery weather has resulted in more wildfires in California. Sadly (but predictably) it's becoming an annual occurrence due to climate change effects. And yet, we are still flying more than ever, buying SUVs and thinking that climate change is a problem for our kids to deal with.


I used to write in my journal and regularly evaluate each day. As in, "today was a good day" and "today was a bad day". Not sure if it's getting older or maybe my mindfulness "practice" having a small effect, but now I realize that it's almost never this simple. And certainly even more complicated when it comes to full weeks!

Favorite shoes for Flinstone feet

I hate my feet. Well, I love them for all they do - enable me to walk, run and kick a hypothetical attacker (which reminds me, I should sign up for a self-defense class). But I absolutely detest how they look. I was actually OK with them until college, when a friend said, "Wow, look at how huge your toes are!" Some time later, I was attending an "All-staff" meeting for a weird college job I had, and for some reason a guy stated in front of everyone that big feet are a turn-off for him. And that was before I started running hundreds of miles a year, developed bunions and ruined my little toes to the point that my husband refers to them as something from an alien movie. Oh - and my size is 10.5. Wide. With narrow heels. 

Shoe shopping is not fun for me. I have a long list of shoes that just don't work.

1. Any brand/style that doesn't come in a size larger than size 10 - and there are quite a few!
2. Annoyingly, many brands produce a size 10 and a size 11, but will skip 10.5. However, the size 11 is almost always too long and causes my heels to slip out. Sometimes this foot petal product can help, but usually it's no luck.
3. Many styles are just too narrow, particularly pointed-toe styles styles that squish my toes like crazy. The middle of my foot also frequently "overflows" some of the more open flats and sandals.
4. I feel self-conscious wearing sandals that don't mask my bunions. So cute styles like this one don't work.
5. I can't wear shoes that aren't lined with leather because the "manmade materials" lining makes my feet sweaty and uncomfortable.
6. Mostly I wear flats - my commute often involves a lot of walking, and I just can't lug a pair of heels with me in addition to all my other items - laptop, notebooks, lunch, water, etc. etc.

Thankfully, there is Cole Haan! Most of my favorite shoes have been from this brand. And the Tali Bow Ballet Flat in snake print is the best of them! I first discovered them two years ago, and have been devoted ever since. I just recently received my third pair because Cole Haan was having a sale on their website and I'm worried that these will be discontinued. They are very comfortable, go with everything, good for the business casual office, and don't show dirt/scuffs easily. And I'm far from an authority on style, but to me they are cute. Are they going to win a "fashion visionary" award? Doubtful.  But do they make it easier to dress for work and then go about my day? A hundred times yes!

Weekend recap

Finally! No more plain white wall.

Written on a Wednesday...

It was a somewhat busy, but also chill weekend after a few days of solo parenting. My mother-in-law was staying with us, so we had almost constant care and entertainment for M.

On Saturday morning, I went swimming, which felt nice, but I think it worsened my sinus infection (so I'm still sick - yay!) Then I tried on some pieces from my Trunk Club, which arrived on Friday, and kept one item - nude heels. Another staple checked off my list! Though I wonder how much longer until TC fires me as a client. I'm pretty sure I'm a revenue sink for them.

I napped during M's nap, and in the afternoon I decorated M's room with golden wall dots while listening to a couple of episodes of "Best of Both Worlds" (the rest of the family went to San Francisco to meet up with O's cousin). After M's bedtime, we watched the first episode of "Schitt's Creek", which was pretty funny, and did laundry. I'm trying to find a show that O and I can both watch now that we're through the "Better Call Saul" episodes that were available on Netflix.

On Sunday, I didn't work out to see if that would help me recover better (and no, I don't think it did). I also caught up on some work from the previous week, chopped lots of veggies for the Ribollita that we cooked for the week (it's become a favorite here). Took a nap in the afternoon, cuddled and read books with M after her nap, and took some family photos for potential holiday cards with my mother-in-law as the photographer. I've never done holiday cards before, maybe because it's never been a thing in my family, but I'm thinking of trying it out this year.

Prepping Ribollita. Bananas not part of the recipe.

Reading

I also finished Celeste Ng's "Little Fires Everywhere". I was able to borrow both the Kindle and the Audiobook versions through the Libby app, which was great because I could switch between reading and listening. Overall I had fun with the book. The plot was engrossing, I was interested in the characters, and I loved the late 90's references, since that's when the narrative took place. It was also interesting to read about the lives of wealthy American teenagers living at a time when I was a very-not-wealthy recent immigrant growing up in a wealthy community (Palo Alto, California).

What I most appreciated about the book, however, were the many discussions of motherhood, mothers' relationships with their daughters, some heart-wrenching narratives of mothers who were unable to have children, as well as a mother who was separated from her child (which brings tears to my eyes even as I am typing this). After finishing the book, I read a review in the Guardian by an author who states that he doesn't have children and wonders if that's why he doesn't care about the stories about children and babies. Yes!!! As a mother, I found those stories deeply engrossing and emotionally triggering. Which also made the reading satisfying.

However, I also did feel like something was missing from the book. Some of the characters seemed a little too one-dimensional to me: Mrs. Richardson the Perfection-seeker, Mia the Rebel, Lexie the Smart-but-shallow popular girl. The male characters, other that Moody, perhaps, were even more shallow and glossed-over in the narrative. I also felt like some things were over-explained - the author would have been better off leaving the reader to interpret the metaphors on their own or to use their intuition a little more.

Overall, I'd recommend this book as an easy, engaging read - but I didn't find myself changed by it.