      
I read The Barrowfields because I’d already returned it to the library once and didn’t want to again. It was an interesting and worthwhile story but it’s not at the top of my list for 2017.
i read almost no non-fiction last week so this week I read four! It started with Radical Candor which I loved. I don’t manage people and I had checked this out before and returned it but this time I decided I wanted to give it a try and it was very interesting, thought provoking and worthwhile. I passed it on to a few managers 🙂
I moved on to Chemistry which was wonderful. Very different in style and challenging to listen on audio. But I liked it. It was very sad at parts and very lovely in others.
On a whim, I ordered Craft a Life You Love this week. I am not a follower of Amy Tangerine, I only knew a tiny bit about her and while I like her style, it’s different enough from mine that I didn’t really feel a strong connection to her. I am so glad I got the book. It was awesome. I really really loved it. I loved the thoughtfulness around it. I loved all her ideas, stories, writing. It was a great book and related to so much more than crafting. I am so glad for this random purchase!
I then read No Time Like the Present. So many lessons here for me and I wanted more so I moved on to Bodhisattva Mind. Pema Chodron is amazing. And she was no less amazing here than usual. These two books made for a very thoughtful but peaceful Saturday.
And finally, A Million Junes which I loved. Lovely magical realism. Sweet story. I really enjoyed this one.
here’s to another great week of reading, especially on the airplane!
Books I Read this Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
You can read about the start of this project here.
Rock Notes is a Monthly Project for June 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
Mind:
- I read: nothing at all online this week. Lots of fiction but nothing else.
- I learned: I completed the Glow class. I journaled a lot. I learned new things at David’s school.
- I watched: A bunch more TV this week while I was really sick and exhausted. I’m looking forward to watching Anne Lamott’s TED talk.
Body:
- Exercise: I exercised none. not one. boo.
- Food: Considering how sick and bust I’ve been, I think I’m doing okay here.
- All the others: still doing ok on all other things.
Soul:
- I rested: I am better with being sick (though still a bit sick) but I do feel exhausted. I think I need to understand what’s stopping me from getting a good night’s sleep.
- I connected: with parents in nathaniel’s new class. with parents in david’s class. with parents at the school in general. I’m working on this.
- I journaled: a lot! I am so proud!
- I made art: a lot of fast art this week. It was interesting to see what I could do in a short amount of time!
I’ve been thinking about these posts. They are too repetitive making me realize that I am not doing too much here and not trying new things and not expanding or going deeper. I will have to figure out how to change this when I am back from my trip.
Nourish Me Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
You can read about the start of this project here.
Rock Notes is a Monthly Project for June 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
A week after the little boy finished second grade, this big boy finished sixth grade. Sixth grade! How did that even happen?! I can’t believe my kid is going to be a seventh grader!
This was a milestone year for David. He started middle school at a brand new school and really stepped up his game. He went from having no homework to practically two hours a night. He completed a collection of challenging multi-month projects throughout the year and he learned so very much. He adjusted to the new school, the new expectations, and the new work beautifully. I couldn’t be prouder if I tried.
Monday night was his culmination, where we get to see some of the work he spent his time on during the second half of the year. We started the night at the Social Studies lab where we watched his video on the artifact he researched (The Enigma Machine.) On the way out, I took a photo of his previous math homework which studied patterns:
We then went to the library to see the monument he and his friend built in honor of Oppenheimer. (seeing a pattern?)
And then all of his writing from the second half of the year. Poetry, creative writing, Washington D.C. observations, and more. As well a sculpture he did in art class.
We ended up at the cafeteria where he displayed his Solar House project. Where he researched, documented and built a solar house in the country he was studying (Puerto Rico). He was given a budget for this three-person house (a grandmother, a mother and a daughter.) He had to make the floorplan, calculate the angle at which the sun would hit the house, do all the math on how much he could spend on every bit of building the house (as well as the land.) Study Feng Shui on how to decorate the house, and design a brochure in Spanish.
I think it’s fair to say he was quite proud of his end-product.
We even strung some lights to make it stand out and we built some mini-furniture for the bedrooms and the living room.
quite a fantastic ending to quite a fantastic year. Super super proud of you, my son! Onward to seventh grade!
Stories from 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
You can read about the start of this project here.
Rock Notes is a Monthly Project for June 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
Weekly Intention: Here’s the last week before my big trip. This week we have a conference at David’s school, an orthodontist, a dentist, a doctor’s, a hair, and three eye appointments. And if I can pull it off a mani/pedi, too. Not to mention two trips to work, two book club meetings, a birthday party and a barmitzvah. Yep. I also have to pack and pack the kids and get all my stuff in order. Yep. It will be a fun week. My intention for this week is to be super productive in my moments. I want to be mindful and do only one thing at a time and be in one place at a time. And then do a really good job of being there.
Things I want to get Done: Here’s the list for his week.
- Work: still more documentation (unplanned, wrong), planning, followups, data collection.
- Work: more meetings for planning.
- Work: follow up with last week’s class.
- Work: figure out my new plan for the fall and what to collect.
- Personal: go to both book clubs.
- Personal: journal the rest of the pages.
- Personal: prepare travel journaling plan.
- Personal: pack me. pack the kids.
- Personal: make mani/pedi appointment.
- Personal: register David.
- Family: Family photos.
- Family: register David.
- Family: a bazillion doctor’s appointments.
This month’s intention is: June: Shine Through: Let yourself be seen this month. Express yourself. Be true to you. Own who you are. Thinking more and more about this each day.
Ways to Shine this week:
- One: Bold: I wonder what it means to be bold with this fall plan.
- Two: Open: open to the possibility that all will be okay.
- Three: Heal/Nourish: I plan to nourish a lot on the plane 🙂
I am looking forward to: being on the plane for 15-hours, is that bad?
This week’s challenges: just getting everything done will be challenging this week.
Top Goals:
- Work: understanding the gap.
- Personal: preparing for the trip.
- Family: being more purposeful about our days.
I will focus on my core desires (bold, mindful, nourish, love) by: remembering who i am and what matters most to me. i think i lose focus on that at times.
This week, I will say yes to: doing the work even though i really really don’t want to.
This week, I will say no to: making it personal in a negative way.
I am worried that: it will just not happen. i won’t be ready for Sydney. I’ll drop something on the floor.
This week, I want to remember: i am so incredibly lucky.
You can read about the start of this project here.
Rock Notes is a Monthly Project for June 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
How I shone this week: I’ve been having major revelations for the last few weeks and it’s been quite the shift. This week came with some wonderful moments and some tough ones. The moments where I shine were so acute and wonderful and then times when I fail to shine are also equally acute. I shone with my kids on David’s culmination Monday night and then again at school all day Tuesday. I shone at work while I am trying to drive this challenging process. I shone on Friday when I showed up for a party for Nathaniel that I really didn’t want to go to. I’m trying. I am showing up.
Things I wanted to get Done: This Saturday I was still bruised from my “not shining” moments so I decided not to work. But I think I still did okay on my todo list. With the exception of exercise, I am doing well.
- Work: Not a lot of documenting still but I’ve done the planning meetings, data collection, organizing.
- Personal: No exercise this week at all. I did a lot of journaling and a lot of art. I’ve been eating okay so far, too. Not fantastic but not terribly.
- Family: Took photos! Went to culmination, went to school.
I celebrate: hello summer!
I am grateful for: the art, the journaling, the revelations!
I nourished myself by: taking this weekend off. I rested most of this weekend. thanks to Jake who did all the driving around for the kids!
Reflecting on my worries: the feedback was confusing and i am not thrilled but it culminated in something that i am hoping is positive. culmination went amazingly. i was tired friday but it was totally okay. I am on my way back to being well and should be 100% (hopefully) before my flight.
I let go of: perfection this week.
Core Desire Check-in (bold, mindful, nourish, love):
- bold: i didn’t answer the question from last time. still focusing at work. maybe i can journal about this question this week?
- mindful: mindful of my upcoming work trip and all the preparation work I have to put into it.
- nourish: how do I nourish myself with exercise? I need to understand what this means to me.
- love: i feel so much love for the little girl I was this week. all the revelations have been putting things into perspective for me and for her.
What made me laugh this week: the boys. tv. friends at school. friends at work.
What I tolerated this week: being sick still.
My mood this week was: harried and tired and sad at times.
I forgive myself for: having a tough time with this one issue.
What I love right now: my current book.
I cannot end this week’s reflection without saying that I received an email from my friend Cheryl’s son this week telling me that she passed. I’ve been friends with Cheryl for over twenty years and she was one of the most supportive, loving, kind and amazing people I knew. She left me comments here all the time, she sent me emails, she inspired me and she made my life better by being in it. I will miss her for all the days of my life and I am so incredibly grateful for having had her in my life. You are always in my heart, Cheryl. I love you.
You can read about the start of this project here.
Rock Notes is a Monthly Project for June 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
You can read about the start of this project here.
Rock Notes is a Monthly Project for June 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
      
I had loved Graeme Simsion’s first novel so I grabbed The Best of Adam Sharp when I saw it on the library list. It was nothing like the Rosie Project and it wasn’t even funny. However, I still liked it. It was thought provoking and an enjoyable story.
I then moved on to Golden State which had been in my list for some time. It was supposed to be a prescient novel written about the times and about California wanting to secede. It was in fact, a personal story about a VA doctor and her patient and also her sister and her husband. It was okay.
I moved on to Tenth of December which is our next book club read. I had attempted this short story collection and put it down. This time I made it all the way through and I loved a few of the stories but it’s still not really my style. I think I don’t have enough of a sense of humor.
I had also wanted to read Miranda July’s The First Bad Man for quite some time. I have conflicting feelings about this story. In the end, I am glad I read it but it was not an easy read for me.
I then decided to take on something light. So I chose The Heirs which was indeed quick and light and enjoyable.
Trajectory was coming up due in my list and I decided to give it one more try. Short stories are a hit or miss for me but I enjoyed this collection. I tend to like stories that take place on a college campus.
I then moved to Ramona Blue which is a Young Adult book. I hadn’t read her previous one and I knew it came with mixed reviews. This one was okay except for one paragraph that really resonated with me and ended up making the whole book that much more meaningful for me. It’s random and amazing where you might find something that changes your whole perspective on life.
I didn’t feel like reading any non-fiction this week, even though I have 12 checked out from the library. Maybe next week I’ll be more in the mood.
Books I Read this Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
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projects for twenty twenty-four
projects for twenty twenty-three
projects for twenty twenty-two
projects for twenty twenty-one
projects for twenty nineteen
projects for twenty eighteen
projects from twenty seventeen
monthly projects from previous years
some of my previous projects
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