Currently #4

Reading: I finally got the second Midsolar Murders book, Chaos Terminal, by Mur Lafferty. I’m really digging these murders in space books.

Watching: We’re deep into another Nic Cage Quarterly. We’ve finally made it past 2000!

Listening: I took a break from audiobooks and jumped back into some of my podcasts.

Making: Book club is tonight and I’m making spinach artichoke dip. I love it so much, but definitely cannot eat an entire crockpot’s worth. Thankfully friends will be over to share in the wealth.

Feeling: I’m not sure why, but I’m feeling a bit at sea this week. I decided that we might need a bit of a break next week from school. We’ll think of it as our spring break.

Planning: Working on spring and summer plans and schedules. We’re changing things up for the coop during this summer and I’m rethinking our schedules and timelines. We’ll see how it goes.

Loving: Per the aforementioned plans and schedules, I’m really excited about a few changes with respect to the coop. The changes calmed and then excited me. This bodes well for the next six months.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #3

Reading: A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft. I picked up this fantasy Regency-inspired young adult novel. I’m only a few chapters in, but it is entertaining so far.

Watching: We’re back into another month of Nic Cage Quarterly. In fact, we’ve made it to the late 1990s and peak Nic Cage action movies.

Listening: I’m still making my way through the fifth book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. So close to finishing this volume… And then I will one more volume that’s been published.

Making: I’m really into baking this week. I’ve made some ham and cheddar scones and blackberry coffee cake. Tomorrow or Thursday I’m going to make some banana bread (maybe chocolate chip or coconut banana bread) and maybe an orange breakfast cake.

Feeling: I have been exhausted all week. Testing negative for COVID. Just completely exhausted I guess.

Planning: We have one big weekend trip on the calendar for late April. It’s in connection with a coop field trip, but of course I added on some activities. I really want to nail down our accommodations, but need to get some more information from other families. A few of us might go in on a larger AirBNB.

Loving: I’ve really been craving quiet time lately.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #2

Reading: I picked up The Last One by Will Dean for my Clock Reading Challenge. I’m not usually into thrillers, but I was intrigued by this one.

Watching: Weirdly, we fell into a Tom Cruise movie hole this week. We watched Top Gun: Maverick and Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1.

Listening: Finishing out the Murderbot series on audio this week. I don’t usually got for audiobooks, but have been listening to these in the background this month.

Making: Quentin requested banana bread and I made it. So good! I might just have to make another loaf later this week for the weekend.

Feeling: The temperatures finally increased. In fact, the temps increased by almost 70 degrees. Intense! I would have been okay with temps in the 30s. Instead we are not in the 40s and 50s.

Planning: I will be teaching chemistry the next two weeks (with a collaborative teacher). And so, we are planning the experiments and procedures.

Loving: I’m leaving on Friday to spend a quiet weekend reading in a rented house with a few friends. Getting away from the family for a weekend sounds absolutely amazing right now. As such, I have a stack of 10 books that I’m taking. I need a variety of genres, book sizes, and reading levels. Super excited!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #1

Reading: I dove into next month’s book club selection, The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott, and I’m very intrigued by the Cold War historical fiction.

Watching: Somehow J and I missed S3 of Party Down when it aired back in February. We rediscovered and are working our way through.

Listening: I got fed up with my giant Apple Music shuffle. Tt would move from hard rock to classical to singer/songwriter. Sometimes I just really want to listen to more metal selection. So I made a Heavy Bangers mix to hit when that’s all I want. It was a great decision! Already loving it.

Making: I’m teaching symmetry this week in coop and I have a few projects in mind. I need to make a few examples so the kids know what they are doing.

Feeling: It’s so incredibly cold here this week. Below zero temps since last Monday, I think? Plus two snowstorms that dumped a decent amount. I’m just so cold right now.

Planning: My reading weekend is three weeks away! I’ve started the grocery list and the book selections list. My last list will be clothes and such, but that’s no fun. I’d rather contemplate what I want to eat and what I want to read.

Loving: The cold weather has me in the mood for curries and chilis. I’ve made both this week and sitting loving it!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #23

Reading: I’m deep into Holiday Romances. I always love to end my year with some light-hearted holiday themed romances.

Watching: J and I have been watching Obliterated and it’s a delightful action adventure. It’s full of violence and nudity, but is such a delight.

Listening: We’ve been sprinkling in holiday music during out car time. I need to find a new-to-me album for our travel to Indiana.

Making: Molasses cookies are on the recipe list for this week. J has requested that I don’t take them all to Indiana with me, but make sure to leave a container here for him.

Feeling: It’s been very cold and windy lately which has added to my achy body feelings. Hopefully I can get warm soon.

Planning: I’m starting my travel packing list. I always feel better with a list.

Loving: To help me get warm, I’ve been enjoying raspberry hot chocolate (made with almond milk of course) during our nightly television.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #22

Reading: I’m in between two books at the moment. I picked Whalefall by Daniel Kraus as my lighter thrillers and Bad Bachelor by Stephanie London as a potential dirty book month pick.

Watching: We’re wrapping up our first Nicolas Cage Quarterly. We’ve managed to get to the early 1990s in our first month. I know it’s going to take at least four months to get through all his movies and realistically more like five or six. But we’re doing it.

Listening: What else, I’ve been listening to 99PI and Hello from the Magic Tavern. Slowly, slowly I’m working through the back episodes.

Making: I was going to make coffee cake on Sunday, but just didn’t get around to it. Today is the day!

Feeling: After taking a few days off for Thanksgiving, I’m feel more centered. I took some time and relaxed a bit.

Planning: Just a few weeks until Christmas so I’m deep into travel planning. Trying to decide exactly when I’m going to leave and when I’m going to travel back home. I might just wait until I see the weather report for the week of Christmas before making final plans.

Loving: I had to grab more caramel lava cakes from Aldi’s this week. They are way too delicious!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #21

Reading: So close to finishing The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers for Nerdy Bookish Friends book club. It’s such a weird book but I am enjoying it.

Watching: We finished Loki S2 and I definitely started tearing up at the end. I’m super sad that this is the end of Loki, but it’s a beautiful ending for the character.

Listening: Still trucking along through old episodes of 99PI. I’m put to the end of 2016. Only about 250 episodes to go.

Making: The kids in coop are working on their board games. I’m helping them create supply lists for their games.

Feeling: Loving the lower temps and cozy vibes. I’m all about sweater weather, but I’m usually way too hot.

Planning: Working on planning my Holiday reads TBR. Lots of good choices for this year.

Loving: The coop gained two new families with week. While they won’t join Thursday meetings until January, they’ve officially joined the group. We hope to see them at an extra event soon.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #20

Reading: I started Starling House by Alix E. Harrow. Loving this haunted house story.

Watching: We’re deep into spooky movie month. So many good choices this year.

Listening: After a very short horror audiobook, I started White Cat by Holly Black. I’m not sure that I really like it, but I’m going to give it a few more chapters.

Making: It’s soup season in this house. This coming week, I’m definitely making Chicken Tortilla Soup and Baked Potato Soup.

Feeling: The weather has turned to cool and rainy, but that’s okay. I’m cozy!

Planning: I’ve got a list of house chores for this fall. First up is finishing the clothes cleanout.

Loving: It’s the season for my nightly cup of hot tea. So good!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #19

Reading: I picked up Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie from a list of truly terrifying novels and it’s living up to its reputation. Very, very spooky read for this week.

Watching: J had me start watching Preacher last month and we’ve been loving it so far. Onto season 2 right now.

Listening: When I get an hour or so, I queue up an episode of 99PI or Hello from the Magic Tavern. I’m to 2016 with those shows! Only many many years to go…

Making: For this year’s birthday party, our theme is an art party! I’m busing prepping the art stations all around the house. I have five stations to get ready in time for Saturday’s big event.

Feeling: Between the party, coop, regular activities, and general gigantic to do list, I am a bit stressed right now. I’m going to feel so much better after this weekend. I love doing a big themed party every year, but it is a lot of work.

Planning: Obviously I’m finalizing the birthday party plans. I have a shortlist of supplies to still buy (mostly things I forgot last week) and all the food to prep including baking two simple cakes.

Loving: So far this year, we’ve been to Vala’s three times! I still absolutely love it there. And as we are homeschoolers, buying season passes actually makes sense and is definitely worth the cost. I have five more visits scheduled between now and Halloween. Plus J has to go with us once.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #18

Reading: I was disappointed by my current Kindle read, so I picked up Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher. Loving this weird and fractured fairy tale story.

Watching: We’re finished The Misfits S4 and about to start S5.

Listening: I downloaded Nita Strauss’s new album and it’s been on repeat for me lately. I’m loving the variety of guest singers and their particular styles.

Making: It’s officially spooky season and I’m diving into all the spooky books. Making a shortlist for my must-reads.

Feeling: I was feeling very stressed out this weekend, but things have calmed down now. I think getting teaching chemistry off my plate helped.

Planning: It’s school picture time. I realized that the only non-graphic tees that the boys had were the ones that they wore for picture day last fall. So, I guess I need to go buy some new shirts that will work for fall pictures. Maybe a green and blue color scheme.

Loving: Leaning into the fall seasons with all the pumpkin foods. I picked up some pumpkin spice yogurt covered pretzels and they are delicious! My pumpkin cream cheese on bagels isn’t so bad either.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #17

Reading: Nerdy Bookish Friends is reading Timeline by Michael Crichton this month. I’ve never actually read this one. Interested to see how it goes.

Watching: J and I finally started watching Andor. So much better than some of the other Star Wars shows. W'e’ll be finishing it this week. Maybe we will watch Ashoka next.

Listening: I have actually been listening to an audiobook this week. The only version of the book from the library was the audiobook. I’m not usually an audiobook fan, but I managed to listened to most of it this week. Wrapping up soon.

Making: I’ve been making scones lately and really loving it. I want to try a few new scone bases. I think raspberry will be next.

Feeling: After a cooler week, we are back to temps in the 90s. I am not a fan at all. Here’s hoping that the cooler temps come soon.

Planning: Along with two friends, I am teaching the first three weeks of our Chemistry class. I’m working on the plans for the atoms lesson.

Loving: Coop is back in swing and I’m really loving the weekly get together of our friends. Teaching has gone as soon as it can right now. And we even have a lead on an indoor space.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #16

Reading: I’m continuing with Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series. I hope to finish it soon-ish. Maybe by October.

Watching: I finally watch the movie adaptation of Red, White, and Royal Blue. I had heard such mixed feelings on this one. After schooling my expectations, I actually found that I enjoyed it. Not as much as the book, but still enjoyed it.

Listening: I’m still binging Hello from the Magic Tavern podcast episodes. Only a few episodes at a time, but still absolutely loving it.

Making: Quentin has requested banana bread. Guess I should make it for him, but definitely need to do it in the morning before the temps get super high.

Feeling: Speaking of, it’s so incredibly hot. I’m beyond hot and irritable this week.

Planning: I need to review our schedule for next week’s activities. Not quite sure what we are going to do.

Loving: With the ridiculous temperatures, I am so thankful and loving of air conditioning. And the fact that we have a basement to hide in when the upstairs get stuffy.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #15

Reading: I picked up another old BOTM selection from my Unread Shelf and started reading The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker. I’m only a few chapters in and am still a bit unsure about this book. We’ll see how this goes.

Watching: We finally started Get Back, The Beatles documentary. It’s surprisingly interesting for not being a linear documentary.

Listening: Slowly slowly working my way through Hello from the Magic Tavern. I’m only like 5 years behind, but eventually I’ll get caught up (if they stop recording the show soon).

Making: Coop starts on Thursday and I’m busy prepping the supply bag. Lots of random supplies to collect and put into the correct bins and bags.

Feeling: The weather has been so humid for the past few days and I’m just feeling so muggy. It’s terrible and I hate it.

Planning: I know I’ll be teaching W7-8, nocturnal animals for the preschoolers, and I might just have to teach W5-6, photography for the preschoolers. All of this before I teach W13-18, board games for the oldest kids. I’m really trying to only teach 8 weeks this semester, but it’s not looking good. So now I need to really buckle down nd start planning.

Loving: We officially started our next school year yesterday and I’m so excited that we’re back to our school routine. Having a basic schedule for the week really helps calm my anxiety.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #14

Reading: I think summer is the perfect time to read Silent Came the Monster by Amy Hill Hearth. It’s a fictionalized account of the shark attack off of New Jersey a century ago.

Watching: The Righteous Gemstones S3 dropped a few weeks ago and we finally started it. So good!

Listening: My current favorite podcast, Maintenance Phase, dropped another great episode this past week. Seriously, they are always so good!

Making: I filled my meal plan with lots of crockpot meals to lessen the cooking and heat in the kitchen.

Feeling: This week’s temperatures are looking brutal. It’s supposed to be over 100 degrees most of the days. I’m just always hot and sticky right now…

Planning: Working on solidifying our homeschool lessons and plans. Getting close to our August 7th start date.

Loving: With the temperatures, I am so grateful for air conditioning.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #13

Reading: Making my way through Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman for our July book club selection. I loved The Bookish Life of Nina Hill and this is a sorta sequel.

Watching: Being at my mom’s house, there’s just random things on television. I haven’t actually really watched anything.

Listening: Lots of kids playing noises right now

Making: I brought my Memory Planner pages for May. Started working on those last night. Hopefully I can finish by the time we make it back home.

Feeling: Tomorrow we’re leaving Indiana and starting our mini, four day road trip as we make our way back home. I’m very ready to get going on this trip.

Planning: I didn't bring a lot of actual work, but I have been just making a few notes here and there about planning for next year’s homeschool.

Loving: While in Fort Wayne, I got to meet with two old friends for kid-free chatting time. It was so lovely!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #12

Reading: The Widow of Pale Harbor by Hester Fox; I thought it was going to be a moody ghost story, but I don’t think there’s going to be anything actually supernatural in this book.

Watching: I’ll admit that I’m actually looking forward to Charity’s season of The Bachelorette.

Listening: J got me started listening to Hello from the Magic Tavern. So very funny!

Making: Yesterday, I finally felt good enough to make food. Along with dinner, I made pasta salad for today and tomorrow’s lunch.

Feeling: It has taken many days, but I’m finally feeling better.

Planning: I’m feeling so much better that I’m probably going to actually follow through with my plans to travel to Indiana and Ohio later this week.

Loving: Getting a good night’s rest has really been a game changer this week. Sleep is good.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #11

Reading: I grabbed an ebook loan of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. I’ve heard so many great things about this action packed fantasy. I’m only about 60 pages in, but so far I’m loving it.

Watching: I’ve been away all weekend at the retreat so no tv or movies. J and I did watch Fast X last night after I had gotten back. Jason Momoa was the only reason to watch that one…

Listening: While putting away things, I dove back into the Revolutions podcast. I’m almost finished with S6 which dealt with the second French Revolution and acted as a bridge to S7.

Making: I found a few hours yesterday to finish April’s Memory Planner pages. I’m hoping to get May’s pages started this week.

Feeling: The retreat went a long way to reenergizing me. I loved my four days away chatting with friends, relaxing, and reading.

Planning: I’m putting the final touches on our Indiana trip in July. I have the hotels booked but have been thinking about the order of activities.

Loving: An entire four days chatting ab out books and reading was absolutely delightful! Books really make me feel so better!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #10

Reading: I grabbed Paradise-1 by David Wellington off the new books shelf. I was hoping for a horror filled scifi adventure and I’m definitely getting that right now.

Watching: We’re keeping up with The Great S3. We hit a very important episode and it gutted me…

Listening: J had me dowloaded the mini Shadow City spin-off mini series from Hello from the Magic Tavern. It was an utterly delightful D&D romp.

Making: Along with renaming the retreat last week, I decided that we needed to carry the crow theme through with other aspects. So I’m making crow themed nametags. And they are very cute!

Feeling: The boys and I leave on Monday for our mini road trip and then I leave on Thursday for the retreat. I cannot wait!

Planning: While I have already planned out this mini road trip, I’m still working on the exact stops for our Indiana/Ohio mini road trip in July. I have our Dayton stops planned, but still deciding exactly where to stop in Illinois and/or Missouri on the way back.

Loving: Coop and our planned curriculum are done for the year. We have entered into the lazier days of summer. Less bookwork and many more activities. The boys are still reading and we’re still doing our ELA and Math packets. We just ease up on everything else until August.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #9

Reading: A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas - I finally got the next Lady Sherlock book and am absolutely loving it!

Watching: The Great S3 dropped and we are slowly making our way through it. I absolutely love how unhinged this show is.

Listening: Going all the way back into my podcast archives and I finally started listening to What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law. So far I’ve listening to the first five episodes and while I haven’t learned much, the episodes have been enjoyable.

Making: For Sunday’s brunch I made apple cinnamon muffins and they were epic. Time consuming to make, but oh so good to eat.

Feeling: I have a few plates up in the air right now and trying to make sure they don’t fall. It’s making me a bit anxious this week. I just want to set the plates down soon.

Planning: In connection with how I’m feeling, I’m dealing with some logistics this week. I’ve got coop plans and retreat plans to solidify. Hopefully I can get this done by Saturday.

Loving: Really loving the prompt responses that I get from most people when I put a call out for anything. I don’t mean immediate responses (although those are nice too), but responses that are done within a reasonable time period. I really dislike having to track people down to get them to respond. Ugh!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #8

Reading: After a disappointing historical romance, I wanted something a bit more fun. I’ve picked up When in Rome by Sarah Adams and so far, it’s hitting the spot.

Watching: J and I started watching Citadel and we’re sorta intrigued. We’re going to give it 3-4 episodes to really grab our attention.

Listening: I went on a big podcast backlist kick and listened a ton of Revolutions (S3 Haitian Revolution) and 99PI episodes.

Making: The boys and I worked on our summer bucket list (started yesterday) and I decided to make a scrapbook for them. I did something similar years ago for the twins and tried to recreate. Arthur was delighted when I showed him yesterday. I even left space for pictures they take.

Feeling: I had a terrible pain flare last week. Feeling better, but my body was so angry. I’m still recovering.

Planning: With that summer bucket list, I’m filling out the rest of our schedule for summer.

Loving: Today a friend set up a park playdate. I was just thinking that we had nothing on the schedule for today and a friend stepped in and fixed the problem. We love having free morning with friends.

Next up on the TBR pile: