It’s Friday, and I’m off, thank goodness (our office is always closed on Friday’s). Greg works rotating shifts, which can be tough and is why I am happy to work 4 days a week. He’s working this weekend, so I plan to entertain a very energetic toddler. We might head to the library; we haven’t been to the local one since we moved.

House stuff: We finally got the downstairs of our house mostly decorated. I think Ellie has at least as much furniture as we do – a table and chair, a mini workshop that used to be Greg’s as a kid, a play kitchen, an armchair, and a rocking horse. So basically, half our downstairs is owned by a tiny toddler and it’s like one big playroom. I’m okay with that.

We decorated above the couch with these posters from NASA. We just had to print them and order frames.

I think next up for house decor might be our bedroom, because it is fairly empty right now and it’s a big room. I’d rather have had a bigger bathroom; not sure yet what to do with the bedroom space. There’s no rush on figuring it out, though. It might not even be till next year, since we are still getting a feel for our budget.

Going outdoors: It went straight from cool to HOT here, which I think is happening in a lot of places. It’s been humid with the tropical storms that have been coming through south of us.

Ellie would live outdoors if she could. She is always demanding we go outside. She’s actually always demanding a lot of things. It’s like living with a tiny dictator. I await her instructions. Often, while I’m sitting, she pokes me and says, “Up! Up!” which means I need to follow her.

She’s been enjoying the water table and playing in the dirt, although she does NOT like getting a mess on her and will wash it off right away. She has two baby dolls that MUST go with us everywhere, even in the backyard. Usually, I am the designated holder of the babies.

She doesn’t have a ton of words yet; she has figured out the word ‘no’ for sure. She says it gently and thoughtfully. If I ask her, “Do you want to take your blankie off?” (it’s a sleep sack), I usually hear a small “…..no.” She has been learning more and more words in the last couple months – it’s amazing.

Watching: I have been watching a few different shows. I finished up the first two seasons of Fargo and ran out of episodes on Hulu. That show is wild – extremely violent and cinematic. I’m not a fan of violent shows but it hooked me – it’s also weird and funny.

Then I watched the first season of Legion, another weird and cool show. It made me want to see some other Dan Stevens stuff, so maybe I’ll give Downton Abbey another shot.

I just started watching The Handmaid’s Tale. I watched the first episode and that was rough. After I finished, I felt like I just watched my nightmare. But it’s a good show and I’m going to continue it.

Reading: I’m finishing up Caliban’s War (Expanse #2) by James S.A. Corey. I’m not usually a sci-fi book fan and I’m digging it. I got into it because of the show and it follows the book pretty closely. I’ll probably take a break from the series after this to read something else on my shelf. I read that the series got canceled by Syfy and then picked up by Amazon, so hooray! I’ve seen the first two seasons and will catch up sometime.

Hope you’re having a good Friday and enjoy whatever you have planned this weekend!

Sometimes I step up to Blogger and wonder what in the world to write about, because all I take photos of are Ellie. I’d take more pictures of other things, but I actually enjoy not taking a photo of everything we do, and a lot of the time I don’t even think about it.

I feel like I live a million miles from the city now, so mostly we hang out or go shopping closer to our house. Once it gets cooler, I’d like to go to the zoo and maybe go into the city more. It’s a little too hot for Ellie right now. We actually probably live about 30 mins away, but it feels like much longer when you have a baby.

… Feeling
Sick – blah! Ellie came home from her first week of daycare with a stomach virus that just won’t stop. It’s been nearly a week now and she is still sad and having an upset stomach after ever meal. Today’s actually the first day that her mood has been a little better and she has eaten a little more. The doctor said the bug lasts 7-10 days, so I’m hoping she feels better soon. I picked up a little cold from her but nothing as bad as what she’s got.

She was totally cool at the doctor’s office, waving at people (who were actually not facing her haha), until the nurse came over and interacted with us, and then it was screams the rest of the visit. She is not a fan of the doctor, or strangers touching her.

These pics are from two different days but apparently, I really like this outfit this week!

… Starting something new
Greg started work this week – yay! He’s got two weeks of training and he’ll start his job after that.

I’ve been at my job for two months now and it’s been good so far. My boss was very understanding with Ellie being sick… I am not looking forward to taking her to daycare next week. Except for her being sick, I have enjoyed spending time with her this week.

… Expecting total chaos
I think we better hunker down this weekend, because I have heard the eclipse traffic near us is going to be crazy. We are apparently right in the path and there are people coming from all over and booking hotels to see it. My work is only a 5 minute drive, and I plan to do a half day on Monday.

… Watching
Moana on repeat. Ellie likes the songs and I love watching the animation – I hadn’t seen it before recently and it’s absolutely gorgeous. I love the songs, too.

Here she is enjoying a scene, and also a sneaky pic of me from forever ago, because this is my mom’s house:

… Reading
Tale as Old as Time by Liz Braswell. It’s a good read, so far – an interesting spin on Beauty and the Beast. I’ve got a couple books to pick up from the library but have felt more like spacing out on Facebook than reading since I’ve been sick. Mostly, I just want to sleep and not concentrate. I’m actually feeling better today than I have been – probably due to the downtime with Ellie and lots of Dayquil to help me breathe at night.

We have been inside a lot lately because it is baking hot here in SC. I am looking forward to fall and winter, even though it’s going to be an adjustment for me coming from somewhere where we usually get at least several inches of snow at some point in the winter. I’m hoping I can still get into the fall & winter spirit here!

Eating:
This pizza we Frankenstein’d together using a Minimalist Baker recipe. We used her vegan pesto breadsticks recipe with Publix pizza dough and actual parmesan because we were out of nutritional yeast, and we added some crumbled tofu with olive oil and seasonings on top. I think I could eat this pizza every day of the week.

Reading:
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. I don’t watch the Daily Show regularly, but he is smart and funny and the book is about his childhood growing up in South Africa during apartheid. It is disturbing reading about apartheid, but it’s also from his childhood memories and he has some great stories.

Also, if you haven’t added me on Goodreads yet, please do so I can stalk you. I am in a Goodreads stalking mood.

Wearing:
Just kidding. I don’t buy clothes anymore. I bought myself some Old Navy shorts and those are on rotation all summer. I bought Ellie some leg warmers from Amazon so that she can crawl around without getting carpet burn. I like them because they are big enough that she should be able to wear them for a long time and snug enough on her legs not to fall off.

That is also a TARDIS cloth diaper we got from The Fluffy Penguin Company since I am trying to get back on track with cloth diapering part time. The cuter they are, the more likely I am to continue using them. Same rule applies to gym clothes.

Watching:
I still don’t watch TV much, but we started Game of Thrones from the beginning last night, so I hope we can continue that. I forgot almost everything that happened in the first episode. It is extremely sad seeing the Starks so happy before all the shit went down.

Tyrion remains my favorite character.

Hope you’re all having a fabulous weekend! We are filling ours with Chick-Fil-A and hopefully a bookstore visit, because I can never get enough books even though I am backed up with my library holds.

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, so I wanted to share what I’ve been up to recently.

Feeling: Totally embarrassed because my deranged cat attacked my landlord. I tried to warn him that she was mean and he didn’t believe me. He kept scratching her head and she hissed at least three times, so I thought he would get the hint. After the third time, she latched on like a piranha. There was blood, but he seemed okay. My embarrassment about my dumb cat is neverending, though. This is not the face of an innocent cat!

Enjoying: A long weekend with no plans except cleaning and relaxing.

Wanting: A good body scrub. I heard that Frank body scrubs are amazing, but I’m going to wait to buy any coffee-based scrubs till after pregnancy due to the caffeine. Maybe Lush would be a good exchange. What’s your favorite body scrub?

Reading: You by Caroline Keppnes. I just started it, but I’m enjoying it so far. The narrator is odd and creepy.

Watching: I just finished the new season of Orange Is the New Black. I was mad about things that happened, but it was so good. Season 3 and 4 were both better than I remember season 2 being. Now, I’m on to catching up with Game of Thrones.

Eating: I was too lazy to cook tonight and didn’t have anything ready I was in the mood for, so I got a tofu salad from Honeygrow. Finished off with one of my vegan homemade brownies that I made over the weekend and are nearly gone, now.

Wishing: All the things in the house could stop breaking while Greg is gone, please. The lights in our bedroom ceiling fan blew out the other day and won’t work even after I changed out the light bulbs. I talked to the landlord today and he said he would call someone. The kitchen sink got clogged and had a very slow drain. I went out and got some Draino today, which seems to have taken care of that. That one was kind of my fault for putting too much wet cat food down the drain when I rinsed out the bowls. Also, my toilet doesn’t flush right anymore and the handle sticks. It desperately needs the assistance of the fantastic guy who usually knows how these things work aka husband.

Happy About: Renewing my library card. I went a little hold-crazy, but I am almost caught up, now. I only have two books checked out that I am reading/haven’t read yet.

Hope you are going to enjoy some great holiday plans or relaxing time this weekend!

Location:

I’m still beach-bound in Mississippi and away from home for training, counting down the days till I get back!

The beach is nice to look at, but I actually miss the cold weather in Delaware. Flip flops in December is not normal. I miss boot weather and snuggling in blankets.

Workout:

I’ve ran three times this week, and probably will take at least tomorrow off. I have a battle sometimes when I run, because my ovaries seem to take issue with it, and sometimes I will feel a little sick the rest of the day, like they are agitated. Probably something I will ask about whenever I have a doctor visit next time. The obvious answer is don’t run, duh.

I like to try to beat the clock, even if I regret it, later. I tell myself to run/walk, but I always want to make my run hit a certain time.

Maybe this winter, once I get back home, I will get back into the gym, since it is usually snowy/cold out in January and February. I could possibly get back into the elliptical, since that’s lower impact. Or do my miles on the treadmill.

Also, what you can’t see in this picture is that on the exact opposite side of the beach is a busy road. One side was a nice beach view during my run, and the other side had cars driving by.

It was a decent run, but the people liked to honk a lot, and only in Mississippi would I be the only one running on a sidewalk that runs along a beach!!

Reading:

I’m on the fourth book in the Throne of Glass series. The last book was really good, even though it dragged in a couple parts; it picked back up, later. I’m into the characters, now, and there are a few new ones in this book that I like.

I know a lot of people have read this series. Are there going to be more? I don’t see how in the world she would wrap this up in one book.

Watching:

I watched The Imitation Game, last night. What an incredible movie! I’m a little behind in watching it. If you haven’t seen it, yet, I definitely recommend it! It was fascinating, and also a little heartbreaking.

I didn’t know the story going into it, but it is basically about Alan Turing and breaking the German Enigma code in World War II. I enjoyed both Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley, and the ending was quite shocking to me. How our judicial system could be so heartless is terrifying.

Loving:

If you want to see Benedict Cumberbatch being silly, you should hear him saying ‘penguins.’ It cracks me up every time!!

Are you guys experiencing this snow beast? This was our view on the way to the gym this morning. It came down hard last night. I hate driving in it! My little Scion IQ is a ninja, though; she be but tiny but fierce. On the bright side, we had a great workout this morning!

Wearing: These slippers from Target. Very cozy for the nice 12 degree weather we are having.

Reading: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien; we went to see movie #2 and it gave me the craving to read it. I haven’t read it since high school. So far, the movies have been a lot more accurate than I expected (besides Legolas prancing around).

Eating: Not much. We ate all the things in the house. We are going grocery shopping tomorrow, because we are all out of delicious foods. Tonight for a snack, I made my own frosted flakes; we had some corn flakes leftover from a recipe, and I sprinkled sugar on top. Reminds me of when I used to go to my grama’s house when I was a kid, and she never had Lucky Charms or anything; it was always plain Rice Krispies you had to sprinkle your own sugar on top of. I’m not complaining; they’re still yummy.

Watching: We watched Blackfish on Netflix; it’s an awesome documentary. If you haven’t seen it yet, I recommend it. We went to Seaworld for the first time last year, and this gives me a totally different perspective on it. Although Greg didn’t seem to agree with a lot of it, but he’s just the argumentative type.

Working On: Running – I ran a couple (few? can’t remember) days this week, and my calves are killing me! They only hurt when I do sprints, but I know a varied run is better for you than a same-pace run, so I try to involve some change towards the end.

Loving: This crazy, so-ugly-it’s-cute running shoe. My Nike Free’s lasted me for a while, but I had to give them up after I started getting pain in the balls of my feet. I switched to a shoe with more cushion, and now I don’t have that problem. I also heard that alternating between two running shoes could be good for your feet.