      
I started my week with Celine which I’d been really looking forward to as I’ve liked both of the two other Peter Heller books I’ve read mostly because his writing isn’t what I usually pick up and this was no exception. I loved the story. I loved Celine. I enjoyed this book.
I then decided to finish the three middle grade books we needed to read for the Lit Club I teach. I finished The Menagerie well after Nathaniel read all three books in the series. This is a cute, lovely book. I was disappointed in Number the Stars because it stayed so much on the surface of what I thought was a tough tough story. And Fuzzy Mud was okay. Not amazing but not terrible either. Interesing premise.
After those, I read Stretch which I was worried wouldn’t be great, but it was. I enjoyed every moment of it. Instead od moving to fiction I felt like reading Harriet Lerner’s Fear and Other Uninvited Guests which was absolutely fantastic. I can’t wait to read more of her.
And I finished my week with Innocents and Others. This book was on my to-read list last year but I never got around to it. It has mixed reviews and I kept wanting to stop when I started but I pushed myself to make it through and in the end I really liked how the stories came together. I enjoyed this one more than I thought.
I’m hoping for some more fiction this week. An especially good one if I get lucky.
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.
This one says: if you can’t beat fear, just do it scared.
Everyday Magic is a Monthly Project for March 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
Here’s to drinking more water.
Mind:
- I read: A lot of books this week but not much of anything else.
- I learned: I am still woefully behind here, too. I had intentions but I used up the time with booking our trip. I will see if I can dedicate some during-the-week time here.
- I watched: a little tv this week. i don’t really seem to miss tv all that much. no ted talks either, though.
Body:
- Exercise: No exercise last week, I wanted to see if my knees were sicker than I thought. But they are not. So I am back to doing it this week.
- Food: Still mixed bag this week. Ate some really heathy stuff and some really unhealthy stuff.
- Skin: still moisturizing and taking care of my skin. my heels are so soft and lovely thanks to the awesome cream i use.
- Floss: still flossing. love love love my floss.
- And More: got my hair done.
Soul:
- I rested: I am resting. I spent much of the past weekend resting. I am working on it.
- I connected: with a lot of parents from David’s class. And Nathaniel’s new class.
- I journaled: a little this week! i miss journaling but I also don’t. not sure what that means.
- I made art: i finished all my april art and really enjoyed making it.
I think I need to rest more. I am going to see if the intention around slowing down does the trick to help me rest more this week. Here’s to hoping.
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.
This one says: this moment is all there is.
Everyday Magic is a Monthly Project for March 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
Last weekend was the STEM fair in David’s school. It’s a K-12 event and like most things this school does, it was absolutely mind-blowing. The sixth graders had 3 displays. One on ooblecks, one on making little drawing robots, and one on general relativity as in the photo above (oh and something cool with play dough and electricity you can see in the last photo.) Jake tells me the demo above demonstrates Einstein’s theory of how gravity is actually a stretching of space and time, not a “force” and the lycra shows how this works. I had to copy his exact words because I still don’t get it. Science was never my strong suit and I so so wish it were because the sixth grade was a tiny tiny fraction of this incredible day. They had robots, a whole math section, research papers, amazing chemistry demos and on and on. Professors from Stanford. I can’t even tell you because I don’t appreciate the awesomeness due to my lack of science education. But the kids did appreciate it. They walked around, they learned, they loved it. So did Jake who knows a lot more science than I do.
I decided I needed to take a lot more science classes so I can actually understand next year.
So grateful that my sons get to experience all this!
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.
This one says: if you get tired, learn to rest. not quit.
Everyday Magic is a Monthly Project for March 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
Weekly Intention: This week is mostly quiet with a challenging Thursday. It’s a combination of mundane tasks like taking David to the dentist and social events like Book Club and meeting a parent and a bunch of work. The intention I want for this week is to be slow. I always run run run and talk fast, move fast, do a lot, etc. There will definitely be some of that running around on Thursday just so I can make it to all my commitments but I still want to slow down as much as I can. I want to listen more than I talk.
Things I want to get Done: I liked listing some of my big todos last week, so I decided to continue for a while.
- One is to make sure I sleep even more than I did last week. I still feel really tired.
- Two is to book the hotel for our summer and make a decision around whether we add another subtrip.
- Three is to pay the kids’ schools for next year.
- Four is to finish all the Q2 sheets for work.
- Five is to order all of what David needs for his upcoming trip.
- Six is to keep smiling, keep looking for the good, and keep enjoying myself just the way I am.
This month’s intention is: Rain or Shine: March is a tough month. You often feel like giving up in March. It feels too long. But it’s not. Keep going, You’re doing great. Remember that the trick is to just show up. Keep showing up. A lot of showing up this week, too. Book Club. Parents from both kids’ schools. To work for meetings. Dentists. Also showing up for my little boy who is sick and needs to stay home from school today.
Ways to Shine this week:
- One: Bold: This week’s bold move will be to show up to hiking on Saturday.
- Two: Open: Open to meeting new people, taking on new challenges.
- Three: Heal/Nourish: I am going to go with exercise this week. I’ve totally stopped it and I would like to restart.
I am looking forward to: book club and book pick night.
This week’s challenges: thursday starts at D’s school, then i go to N’s school, then I go to work, then I go back to N’s school, and finally I end up at the book store by my house. it will be a looong day.
Top Goals:
- Work: q2 sheets.
- Personal: booking the rest of our vacation. getting D’s stuff.
- Family: actually starting a project with the boys.
I will focus on my core desires (bold, mindful, nourish, love) by: trying to be quieter this week. listen more closely.
This week, I will say yes to: taking new chances.
This week, I will say no to: listening to the negative voice inside me which gets triggered more than I’d like.
I am worried that: taxes will not be done on time. thursday will be a disaster. i will miss book club. my knees won’t stop hurting. i will drop the ball on something important. something bad will happen at work. nathaniel won’t get better.
This week, I want to remember: that i need to focus on what matters most and not let people who don’t matter make it harder for me to be kinder to the people who do matter.
You can read about the start of this project here.
This one says: it’s not easy to find happiness in ourselves and it’s not possible to find it elsewhere.
Everyday Magic is a Monthly Project for March 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
Three ways I shone this week: Ok I had a bunch of intentions this week, let’s see how well I did.
- One is to make sure I sleep as much as possible.
- I did relatively well at this I think. I’ve continued to sleep without waking up in the middle of the night.
- Two is to get organized enough to feel like I know all that needs to get done and don’t feel like things are chaotic.
- Hmm, medium on this I’d say. I do feel more organized now, mostly because I got a bunch of things done but I don’t think I did the lists I implied in the post above.
- Three is to follow through with whatever the doctor says to do and to make the few other appointments I will need to make for regular checkups that I know I am behind on.
- Well I got an Xray and my mammogram. All of which came out clean. Nothing to follow up on except going back if the pain continues.
- Four is to either book or do all the steps to get ready to book our summer trip.
- I can’t believe I am saying this but I totally did this one. I got our visas and booked the flights. I still have to follow up with a hotel but I did the very hard (for me) part!
- Five is to be done with the taxes, at least on our side.
- This, too, is done. We handed everything over so now we wait to get results.
- Six is to keep smiling, keep looking for the good, and keep enjoying myself just the way I am.
- I also made a lot of effort to do this. It was a long and hectic week but I showed up to everything. To work, to social events, to my family, to myself. I did it.
I celebrate: my incredibly lucky life this week.
I am grateful for: my wonderful husband who is always generous in the ways in which he supports me and encourages me and celebrates me. I am beyond lucky.
I nourished myself by: eating more salad and protein this week. and resting a lot of the weekend.
Reflecting on my worries: i so totally booked the summer trip. i finished our taxes. i loved the benefit. i was tired but i didn’t flop. my knees are in fact a bit better and so far i haven’t dropped the ball just yet. i did spend a bunch of time worrying about finishing off stuff today which I wish i’d handled with more grace but I made it through.
I let go of: the story that things aren’t going to work out. i am embracing gratitude instead.
Core Desire Check-in (bold, mindful, nourish, love):
- bold: i showed up to a dinner where i knew no one. it was scary scary scary for me.
- mindful: i was so mindful today as I observed myself losing my calm and composure. it was really uncomfortable feeling it and doing it anyway.
- nourish: mixed bag still. eating a lot of salad and some protein but also still eating plenty of not so great things.
- love: feeling deeply grateful and moving towards contentment. this, for me, is the very best kind of love.
What made me laugh this week: I laughed a lot with my friend Tamara at the Benefit on Saturday. It was really wonderful.
What I tolerated this week: several trips to work. long long long days.
My mood this week was: on and off a bit early in the week but a strong finish 🙂
I forgive myself for: losing my calm today.
What I love right now: my full life. the bold steps i am taking in my life in so many areas.
Here’s to a wonderful week thirteen. It’s almost April!
You can read about the start of this project here.
This one says: it’s never a question of can you but will you?
Everyday Magic is a Monthly Project for March 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
You can read about the start of this project here.
This one says: it doesn’t get easier. you get stronger.
Everyday Magic is a Monthly Project for March 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
   
I started my week with Edgar and Lucy which I had been looking forward to. This book was really hard to get into for me. I didn’t connect with the characters and didn’t understand where the story was going. It goes back and forth in time and perspective which is especially hard on audio. But I decided to persist and moved back and forth between audio and reading. I’d say three quarters of the book ended up being reading because once I got into it, I didn’t want to stop and the audio just wasn’t fast enough at that point (even at 2x). By the end of the book, I really loved it. Even though it was haunting and sad and darker than I thought it would be, I am glad I read it..
I then decided to pickup Stranger in the Woods which I wasn’t sure I’d like. It was a short read and I will say that while the story is fascinating, the book was okay. Not amazing and not much better than a long magazine article would have been imho.
After that, I read The Rules Do Not Apply which I finished pretty much in one sitting. It was so sad and so beautifully written but I still felt like there was something missing for me. Something that stopped me from connecting with the author more. I am glad I read it anyway.
And then I moved to Ill Will. I’ve read Dan Chaon before and thought I would like it. This book is really unusual in style. Several chapters end in the middle of a sentence. There are random spaces in between words, etc. For this one, too, I went back and forth between reading and listening. I couldn’t decide if I hated the book and should put it down of if I wanted to finish. I finally finished after a long slog. In the end, I am glad I read this one, too. I disliked pretty much every single character but the book did make me think about memories and how we remember things. I usually dislike when things aren’t resolved but in this case it didn’t bother me as much.
None of the books I read this week were magnificent in my opinion. I am reading a book now that I am enjoying a lot and I have 20+ books checked out from the library so I am hoping next week’s bunch will be a better fit for me.
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-five
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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