Well, this has been a heck of a year, huh? I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that I will be glad to put some of the events behind me, but looking forward to keeping the motivation that those shitty things have given me to keep up the good fight in 2018. So here is what I am up to as we tick down to the final hours of the year.
Reading
My Goodreads app tells me I am 7 books ahead of my 2017 reading challenge with 24 books read so far this year. Considering that I only get to read when I am commuting to/from/during work on the train or sitting on the beach without the kids needing me (so, 5 minutes each summer), I am pretty pleased! I have read some really good books this year, and am currently on my second biography about North Korean defectors, titled A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea. It was one of the monthly free books available from Amazon Prime that I randomly downloaded onto my Kindle (which I rarely use) while I was awaiting my library books to be ready for pick up. So far I am really enjoying it, as hard as it is to read. It used to seem so out of my reality to read about the atrocities there, but as our own country has taken such a backslide, I guess nothing seems totally off the charts anymore (but obvs, yes, North Korea is much, much worse than my worst day on American soil).
Eating
With a marathon just a month away I am trying to be mindful about not eating ALL the delicious treats that make their way in front of me, but with 20 miles on the docket for tomorrow I most certainly ate a cookie at a 10am holiday gathering in the office today. What I eat has a huge affect on how I feel when I run (duh, Stefanie) but, you know, food is delicious. Also, after 5 years behind the espresso bar and a previous year-round preference for peppermint mocha, I must admit that the salted caramel mocha with soy milk is now my favorite Starbucks drink and I even trudged across the arctic tundra that is City Hall Plaza yesterday just to get one for an afternoon pick-me-up. So yeah, cheers!
Thinking About
The new year - what I want to accomplish, how to do that, what I can learn from this year that will help me to have an even better 2018. I have some random to-do tasks that I never got to this year (new passports, new long term savings account) so hoping that maybe the quiet of the end of the year will give me some time to do that. I have realized that travel is such a big part of who we are, even as we have added two little people to the mix, and I want to make sure that we prioritize that when we plan our budget both short and long term. We need an international trip badly and have put it off for so long that I am hoping next year allows it to happen!
Listening
Officially obsessed with the podcast My Favorite Murder! As a criminal justice major and total true crime nerd, the topics are always fascinating, but the women who do it are also so awesome and hilarious and I just want to hang out with them and talk serial killers over cocktails. Also totally listening to all the Christmas music, for reals. LOVE IT.
Watching
While I cross-train at the gym or do a dreaded treadmill work-out I have been watching the newest season of Shameless and it totally helps me lose track of time. I had thought the last season was it so when the new one was released on Netflix I was over the moon! It is so awful and yet so, so good. Kevin is totally my favorite character.
Loving
The Christmas season! We are so lucky to have access to all the fun things in the city - the Nutcracker, tree lightings, Santa visits and everything in between. I love, love this time of year and both Maddie and Annie are so super into the magic of it all, which makes my heart happy. We have been having a lot of fun reading Christmas books, dancing to Rudolph and going to see everything our wonderful city has to offer.
Happy Friday, friends!
Reading
My Goodreads app tells me I am 7 books ahead of my 2017 reading challenge with 24 books read so far this year. Considering that I only get to read when I am commuting to/from/during work on the train or sitting on the beach without the kids needing me (so, 5 minutes each summer), I am pretty pleased! I have read some really good books this year, and am currently on my second biography about North Korean defectors, titled A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea. It was one of the monthly free books available from Amazon Prime that I randomly downloaded onto my Kindle (which I rarely use) while I was awaiting my library books to be ready for pick up. So far I am really enjoying it, as hard as it is to read. It used to seem so out of my reality to read about the atrocities there, but as our own country has taken such a backslide, I guess nothing seems totally off the charts anymore (but obvs, yes, North Korea is much, much worse than my worst day on American soil).
Eating
With a marathon just a month away I am trying to be mindful about not eating ALL the delicious treats that make their way in front of me, but with 20 miles on the docket for tomorrow I most certainly ate a cookie at a 10am holiday gathering in the office today. What I eat has a huge affect on how I feel when I run (duh, Stefanie) but, you know, food is delicious. Also, after 5 years behind the espresso bar and a previous year-round preference for peppermint mocha, I must admit that the salted caramel mocha with soy milk is now my favorite Starbucks drink and I even trudged across the arctic tundra that is City Hall Plaza yesterday just to get one for an afternoon pick-me-up. So yeah, cheers!
Thinking About
The new year - what I want to accomplish, how to do that, what I can learn from this year that will help me to have an even better 2018. I have some random to-do tasks that I never got to this year (new passports, new long term savings account) so hoping that maybe the quiet of the end of the year will give me some time to do that. I have realized that travel is such a big part of who we are, even as we have added two little people to the mix, and I want to make sure that we prioritize that when we plan our budget both short and long term. We need an international trip badly and have put it off for so long that I am hoping next year allows it to happen!
Listening
Officially obsessed with the podcast My Favorite Murder! As a criminal justice major and total true crime nerd, the topics are always fascinating, but the women who do it are also so awesome and hilarious and I just want to hang out with them and talk serial killers over cocktails. Also totally listening to all the Christmas music, for reals. LOVE IT.
Watching
While I cross-train at the gym or do a dreaded treadmill work-out I have been watching the newest season of Shameless and it totally helps me lose track of time. I had thought the last season was it so when the new one was released on Netflix I was over the moon! It is so awful and yet so, so good. Kevin is totally my favorite character.
Loving
The Christmas season! We are so lucky to have access to all the fun things in the city - the Nutcracker, tree lightings, Santa visits and everything in between. I love, love this time of year and both Maddie and Annie are so super into the magic of it all, which makes my heart happy. We have been having a lot of fun reading Christmas books, dancing to Rudolph and going to see everything our wonderful city has to offer.
Happy Friday, friends!
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| The end of our Annual Road Race - so fun, so lucky to have this gang! |
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| She totally lets me put this hat on her and I love it. |
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| On the Train to Christmas Town! |
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| I love you, Snapchat filters, almost as much as naps. |
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| Santa is okay, but have you met RUDOLPH?! |
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| Nutcracker date with falling snow as we left - perfection! |
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