Highlights of the week… We had a Friends of the Library board meeting in record time and, weather permitting, are going to try an outdoor meeting next month. We did a few last summer and they seemed to work well so I’m hoping this happens. Also related to the Friends I made my first bookselling video to put on FB to see if I could sell some books that way. It was a horrible five minute video, but I learned something new and will try again next week (and I did manage to sell a few books :)).

We bought some yard games and had a few warm days to try them out before the freeze kicked in again (there was snow for a bit yesterday!). My favorite, badminton, came last so we haven’t had a chance to play yet.

Jason is a tennis guy and our favorite player is Rafa Nadal, so I ordered some stuff from his Academy for Jason’s birthday. It FINALLY came a week after his birthday, but it came all the way from Spain and I like to think that Rafa personally tried on the clothes before carefully packing them with love. That’s why it was late, of course, because he’s such a busy man. Don’t even try to convince me otherwise.

Finished reading…

Currently reading…

In the Mailbox…

Movies watched…

Plans for the weekend…

The weather is yucky so Spring Cleaning has begun!

Highlights of the week… The rockets with friends got off to a slow start after getting the first rocket ready and realizing that the batteries in the starter no longer worked. Jason went to the closest drug store. When the rocket went off it went so high that we lost it, most likely across the main road. We had more engines and spent the next hour setting off the smaller ones and managed to keep track of the last rocket. I’m having trouble loading the one video I have so I’ll try again later.

It was Jason’s birthday this week and we made him waffles for breakfast and went to a new metropark in the afternoon with my mom that had a street full of blooming cherry blossom trees. So beautiful.

For the first time in about 35 years I wrote poetry. It was an enjoyable and relaxing way to finish a day and I may have to keep at it.

Our library and 7 others closed for a day this week when someone that goes to all 8 branches (delivery or maintenance most likely) tested positive for Covid. They spent a day doing a deep clean and then opened back up. I’m glad that they are choosing to take precautions in addition to mask mandates. I always feel safe when I visit.

And last but not least, with Gonzaga’s meltdown last Monday, GAGE WINS A YES DAY! He’s been coming up with ideas this week, including a family water gun fight before breakfast to start and spending the night in a tent in our yard to end the day. I’ll keep you posted when this day is officially on the calendar, lol.

Currently reading…

Finished this week… (in the order I liked them best linked with my review)

A Girl Returned by Donatello Di Pietrantonio

When Birds Could Talk and Bats Could Sing by Virginia Hamilton

The Affair by Lee Child

The Four Doors by Richard Paul Evans

Who Was Annie Oakley? by Stephanie Spinner

Perfectly Matched by Heather Webber

The Power of Being Positive by Joyce Meyer

Time For Kids: Jesse Owens: Running Into History by Elaine Israel

Tecumseh: Get To Know the Shawnee Chief Who Fought to Protect Native Lands by John Mickos

On TV…

We’re watching the third season of Schitt’s Creek. Such a fun show that guarantees laughs. Because so many people keep talking about Supernatural (all 15 seasons of it) we gave the first few episodes a try last night.

Movies…

Plans for the weekend…

Walks, family games, and soaking up the sunshine.

I’m linking up with the Sunday Salon

Highlights of the Week – Hm. We had nice weather for a minute and then it snowed. All day long. But the day before we had another picnic in the park with some swinging and that was great.

It’s neck and neck in our March Madness contest. Gage is still winning by two points and Jason and I are tied in second place. My fate comes down to Gonzaga. If they win it all I beat both of my guys 🙂 If not I must prepare myself for a Gage Yes Day.

When my dad came back from where I grew up he brought my favorite pizza. The downside is that I already ate my half and now what Jason has left in the fridge taunts me.

This has obviously been a pretty boring week.

Currently reading…

Finished this week…

Win by Harlan Coben – review coming. Loved it.

Limitless: 24 Remarkable American Women of Vision, Grit, and Guts by Leah Tinari

Deeply, Desperately by Heather Webber (Lucy Valentine series)

Absolutely, Positively by Heather Webber (Lucy Valentine series)

Always the Last To Know by Kristan Higgins

Virginia Hamilton: America’s Storyteller by Julie Rubini

The People Could Fly (The Picture Book) by Virginia Hamilton

The Girl Who Spun Gold by Virginia Hamilton

Bruh Rabbit and the Tar Baby Girl by Virginia Hamilton

Crumb-Sized: Poems by Marlena Cherrock

On TV

We continued Schitt’s Creek, Ginny and Georgia, and the March Madness basketball Games.

Posts this week

March’s Favorites and Stats

Finishing Up March Reading

January, February, and March Movies and Money For Charity – always time to add your two cents!

Plans for the weekend

Celebrating a friend’s 11th birthday by setting off rockets at a local park, lol. I’ll post pics if I can get a good one. The last one we did went 600 feet straight and this one is supposed to go 1000.

Highlights of the week – We had a friend over to play this week (and his mama too). I’m so thankful for the warm weather so that we can do more of this.

I mentioned last week that Gage filled out a March Madness bracket this year for the first time and if he wins he gets a Yes Day. Well after the first two rounds he’s winning, lol. So, we took a look and it all comes down to Gonzaga. If Gonzaga wins the whole thing, I win. If Gonzaga loses any of these last 3 games, Gage wins. Jason is completely out of it. I’m getting nervous about what a Gage Yes Day would entail.

Spent some time at the library doing displays for the Friends ongoing book sale. Always my happy place 🙂

Currently reading –

Books finished – You can read my thoughts on all of these books here. So much good reading this week.

Movies

Plans for the weekend – Enjoying time outside. Reading. Cleaning.

I’m linking up with the Sunday Salon

Highlights of the Week – Beautiful weather has arrived just in time for the weekend and the official beginning of spring. We had a picnic in the park today which was so nice.

We had our book group via Zoom and while I didn’t love the book (Hamnet) it’s always good to see the ladies. Two of the ten are recovering from Covid since last month. It’s still here and we are being as careful as we have been this last year. I don’t see our lives changing too much until fall at the earliest when we have a better idea what the virus and vaccinations are going to do. I look forward time outside with friends now that the weather is changing.

Gage filled out a March Madness bracket for the first time. If he beats both of his parents he wins a Yes Day 🙂

Could’ve been better – It’s March Madness and after an impressive showing in the Big 10 Championship my #2 Buckeyes totally choked against 15 seed Oral Roberts. And Jason’s Michigan State lost too. We’re still watching, but it’s not as fun.

Currently reading –

Finished this week – You can see my thoughts on most of them here.

Movies –

TV – Still watching Schitt’s Creek and we’re a few episodes into Ginny and Georgia and liking it so far.

Plans for the weekend – I’m not sure what tomorrow brings, some time outside in nature I’d expect. Gage has his first outside time with a friend planned this week now that the weather is changing and he is so ready for it.

Is your team still going in the tournament?

I’m linking up with Sunday Salon hosted by Readerbuzz

Fave pic

Highlights of the week- I’ve been waking up early to do some reading and journaling with a cup of coffee before Jason and Gage get up and it has changed my whole day for the better. I do sometimes want to rush through school so that I can take my after school teacher nap, but I’m so much happier when I make myself do it. And a happier teacher makes a happier student 🙂

Some nice walking weather. Jason’s even been able to play tennis outside a few times and that’s a win for everyone.

My parents go in for their second vaccine shot this week.

Getting back on track from our almost month away. Hopefully I’ll get a post up on that this week, but the change of scenery, even while being mostly isolated, was good for all of us.

Currently reading –

Finished this week-Still keeping up with my book a day challenge. I’m even ahead of the game with 80 books in 72 days. You can find more thoughts on these books here and here.

Movies Watched-

On the TV – Just watching Schitt’s Creek a few times a week for laughs.

Plans for the Weekend – Spending as much outside in the sun as possible in 40 degree weather.

And tonight is movie night so Gage gets to stay up as long as he wants watching movies with us. He is always the last one awake 🙂

Highlights of the Week The Browns won their first playoff game against the Steelers! This was a huge deal around here and we even let Gage stay up to watch. Perhaps the most glorious first quarter of football I’ve ever seen (28-0).

I attended (Zoom) my first Library Friends board meeting this week where I just got to be a participant and not the President and it was so nice.

I’m still receiving Christmas cards and gifts in the mail.

Could’ve been better My Buckeyes were crushed in the National Championship 😦

I need to get my mojo back on the #50in50. I did manage to lose a pound this week, but my eating the last few days has not been good. My dad brought us my favorite pizza from back home and I scarfed down my half, no problem. It was worth it 🙂

Received in the mail Gage received the beautiful picture book Brian Wildsmith’s Animal Gallery from Jill. Love it!!

Currently Reading

Finished Reading You can see my thoughts on these here

Movies Watched I watched one movie for my #Booked365 challenge. You can read how I compared the book and the movie here.

On the TV My husband made me watch the first three episodes of The Witcher. It’s ok enough that I’ll continue since he loves it so much 🙂

Plans for the Weekend It’s cold and snowy. I’m envisioning a family game day, but we’ll see if my guys can convince to layer up and get out.

Last week’s rocket launch was so much fun. We even had a family who joined us at a distance. Of course, the second launch ended up with the rocket on the school roof, so our day was cut short. Still two rockets left to build.

Highlights of the Week – I didn’t post about it, but the 7th was my 13th blogiversary! It’s hard to believe, but I’ve been sharing pieces of my life on this little slice of the universe for longer than I’ve been a mother. It boggles the mind. I’m SO, SO thankful for the many women (and men) I’ve met through book blogging over the years, some still blogging, some not, but we’re still in touch. I’m not always the most consistent blogger, but this always feels like home.

#booked365 is going strong. I’m 10 for 10 as you’ll see below. I’m feeling good about my chances of being successful in reading a book everyday, allowing for movies based on books when needed. I reading a book right now with the intention of watching the movie the next day and comparing them so you might hear about that next week.

#50in50 is going not as well 🙂 I’ve lost 8.2 pounds in the last month, so that’s good. I’m reading my Noom lessons and tracking my weight and meals, but my elephant sometimes overpowers my driver (noom analogy). I’ll get there. Still losing weight so that’s a good thing.

Low point of the Week – watching with my son the horror that we all saw unfold this week in our nation’s capital, a place I called home for 3 years. That’s all I’m going to say about it or I may not stop.

Books Finished

Currently reading

Posts

You can see how I felt about all of the books I read here. My #booked365 and #50by50 goals here.

On the TV

Jason and I watched the first season of Bridgerton.

Well done!

Plans for the Weekend

Jason’s dad sent Gage some fancy rockets that he and Jason are building and we’re going to take them to a field and watch them fly 600 feet or more in the air. Maybe I can get some exercise by chasing them around after they land who knows where.

Have a great week everyone!

I haven’t done one of these updates since August! Those first few months of homeschooling were so time-consuming. They still are, but now we’ve got a rhythm to our madness and a tutor (via Zoom) 4-5 hours a week, so we’re doing okay.

I’ve started the year with two personal goals and you can read about them here. Essentially, I’ll be finishing a book every day and losing 50 pounds by October. I’m thinking big 🙂 I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to blog about the books. Instagram is my daily update with my thoughts on the books so I hope you’ll follow me there. Here’s what I finished this week…

I also did a 2020 wrap up of favorite books and movies. I’m trying to get around to everyone’s blogs this week to catch up with wrap up posts.

Last year I signed up for one reading challenge, Book’d Out’s Nonfiction Reader Challenge and I promptly failed to participate in any way 😦 So, we’re going to give that another go this year! We’ll see if I can have a better showing at the Nonfiction Nibbler level. That’s 6 books from her list of 12 categories. I got this 🙂

My Ohio State Buckeyes beat Clemson in the College Football Playoff and that was a fun evening 🙂 We also let Gage stay up til midnight on the 31st and bang some pots and pans on our deck when the ball dropped. It’s been cold, but we’ve been able to take some family nature walks and we’ve done some puzzles together which as been fun. Gage won our 2 and a half hour Monopoly game yesterday.

Oh, and we watched

I’m really hoping that this week we can put the election and all of the various shenanigan’s to rest and go back to being a model of adult behavior for our kids and the world.

Fave pic – We finished our first full week of homeschool and he still loves me.  I’ll take that as a win.

Highlights of the last few weeks…What a blur they have been!  We started homeschooling on Monday and it’s been an learning and stressful week for both of us.  He gets frustrated when I expect too much from him and I get frustrated because I’m not sure how much to push.

We had one morning that was a total bust with tears, but I put us both in time out and after lunch pulled out something I had saved for a rainy day.  We read The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon. We went online and learned about some of the things the Audubon society is doing for birds and nature today, bought a few things from their store in support, used the book How Many Guinea Pigs Can Fit on a Plane to figure out how many birds it would take to fly off with Gage (about 960 hummingbirds or 6 eagles) and how many twigs are in their nests.  And then I gave him the Lego set I had up my sleeve of three different birds to build.  We both had a reset and he had a great two days after.  Sometimes you just have to go with it.

Also, homeschool related because that’s what’s going on right now, I signed him up for his first Outschool class on Zoom and he loved it!  It was about the Titanic and it was 55 minutes every night this past week.  On Friday they had to give a short presentation on the passenger they chose.  It was good for him and I’d like to do one a month.  They have hundreds of class offerings and they’re very affordable.

I had planned the first 30 days of homeschool, but after the first week have decided to drastically alter how we’re doing things, lol.  As part of  this redo Gage will be providing a review of a picture book we read every day in September.

Books we finished in homeschool the last two weeks… I’m so glad that he loved Bunnicula as much a I did. Water Protectors was great.

Currently reading…

Currently listening…

Reviews posted…Evvie Drake Starts Over,  Gone Tomorrow, This Blessed Mess (my favorite of this list), H is for Homicide.

On the TV…We watched the first season of The Umbrella Academy on Netflix and really liked it.

Movies watched… Watched this mainly because it had Chadwick Boseman in it. I’m so sad that he is gone so young. 

Plans for the weekend…since I’m switching things up for homeschool I’m swamped with planning yet again.  Gage has two doctor’s appointments this week, one virtual, one in person.  That should be fun.

Stay well, my friends.