My Weekend Was All Booked

This is partly a book review and partly a recap of the 24 Hour Readathon I participated in a few weeks ago. I didn't read for the full 24 hours but my goal was "to read as much as possible" and I definitely accomplished that! Also, I only found out this readathon was happening about four days before it took place so I felt a little rushed in my preparations!

My hopeful TBR. This was mostly books which were due at the library soon and had a lot of holds on them.

We told the kids they could only have snacks if they read a good portion of the day, if possible. Since Rachel had a full day of dance and religious school, she came downstairs and read for about forty-five minutes before she started her day.

I had a headache so I crawled into bed with a freshly baked croissant, my coffee-hot chocolate in a themed mug, and a book. I felt better and read this book in one sitting. Mini review: I really enjoyed it. Yes, parts of it were silly and cheesy but it had my favourite thing in a book -- where a character builds a really great community around themselves. Plus, it was just a really fun book! It was a perfect, quick, light read for a readathon which started with a headache.

I forget what I did for lunch but I ate some chips and dip in the afternoon and read Expiration Dates. This book was also pretty good. It surprised me in a few ways, which I enjoyed. And yes, it's a romcom but there's also a bit more to it than that.

We had charcuterie which Dave and Sam put together for supper. It was sooooo good!!! This is a readathon tradition which I got from an Instagram friend whom I met through readathons. I've also met her twice in real life which is really fun!

Another readathon tradition is the walking and reading picture with the kids, this time featuring pajamas! Hahaha! I didn't get dressed all day which was amazing! I really needed a whole day to just read and not worry about anything else. It was a cold day so we didn't walk long.

 

Just for fun, here's the first "reading and walking" picture I have from October 2018:

 

This book took me from late afternoon until late evening to read. It was so good but also surprising to me. I didn't realize Hannah focused so much on the PTSD that Frankie experienced and how it affected her life after Vietnam. I thought it would be more about the war, so it was a refreshing change that the majority of the book was about "after the war." As someone who worked in a war zone, and experienced PTSD (although not to the extent that Frankie did), this was really unexpected but welcomed.

That night I fell asleep starting a reread of A Court Of Thorns and Roses. I was inspired to read it again as my principal is currently reading this series so I've been talking about it recently! We had to get Sam off to his field trip early the next morning so when I got home at 7:15am, I crawled back into bed and read for an hour or so until I dozed off.

I finished this book after the readathon but my mini review is that this is a really fun series and the first book really is so good. Until you get to the later books, that is! If you like fantasy and world building, then I would highly recommend this series.

This was the final stack of books I read, and completed, during the readathon. It felt good to finish a stack of books and they were all really good books. I would recommend any of them!

It will probably be awhile until I can do a readathon again so I was happy that I was able to make this one work. Now, I'm off to another week of work but really, all I want to do is crawl into bed with a good book and read all day! Ha!

Friday Favourite Moments #17

It's time for another round up of my Friday Favourite Moments. Most of these were featured on my What's Up Wednesday post a few days ago but I still wanted to document my favourite moments from this past week.

1) Permanent Head Secretary

In case you missed it, after two years, my job position went permanent and I got hired!!! I wasn't surprised that my principal hired me as she was very clear that she wanted me to have the job but there was a teeny tiny part of me that worried HR might block her somehow. So I am very excited to be in this position permanently. And honestly, one of the best parts of getting the position was how excited my co-workers were with me! I felt so loved :) And best of all, I don't have to leave this school which I have fallen in love with -- I didn't picture myself as a middle school secretary (I honestly thought I'd end up as an elementary school librarian) but it is the best place for me.

I really do try to focus on the good in these posts but I should mention, that unfortunately, in the one day gap between my temp position ending and my permanent position starting (which happened to be on the weekend), HR got locked for the week for some reason, and I got kicked back to my old school. So this week, I haven't actually had access to many of the things I need at my work (finances, IT, student accident reports, bus delays, etc). Grrrrrr. So it's been a frustrating week of finally being permanent but not being able to do my job well, through no fault of my own. I have a huge pile of tasks waiting for Monday when HR should be unlocked and I should get my access back. Wish me luck!

2) Celebrating my aunt's 80th birthday

My cousins threw a party for my aunt in Toronto and Dave, Sam, and I went. I loved catching up with some other aunts and seeing my cousins. And it was so fun to celebrate my aunt.

3) Flowers from my cousin

My two cousins put so much work into the party, including arranging the flowers. I commented on how fun the flower arrangements were and they sent me home with three. So the party decor lived on at our house all week!  

4) Rachel's dance ice cream party

Rachel had her RAD (Royal Academy of Dance) exam this past weekend and then, for Tuesday's RAD class, they had parent viewing, followed by an ice cream party! It was so fun to see how excited the dancers were for each other and how much fun they all had celebrating with ice cream.

Honestly, this week was kind of crazy and I was hardly home, which I don't love. But I am glad that I decided to focus on favourite moments every Friday because it helps me find the good, even in weeks where I feel somewhat frustrated and stressed for a lot of it.

Thankfully, next week should be a little calmer and some of my frustrations from this week should have eased, plus we have a really fun weekend ahead, but it also includes some relaxation, so that's all good!

Monthly Musings: All Things Spring

I'm a lot late today because we've had a crazy week but I'm linking up with Holly at Pink Lady and Patty at Good, Better, Best for their "Monthly Musings." This month is all about spring and I just LOVE spring!!!

1) Favourite thing about Spring?

I love all the spring flowers and being outside all the time. I love having the windows open and getting fresh air. And I really love hanging laundry on the line!!!

2) What are your spring traditions?

 We often get ice cream on the spring time change day to celebrate there being a little more light in the day. I love planting pansies in my window boxes. And I love having the first BBQ of the season with sausage and potato salad with chives. YUM!!! 

And whenever possible, we try to watch The Jays play on Opening Day. This year we couldn't because it was on Maundy Thursday so we had other stuff going on, but baseball being back makes me sooooo happy! We also always try to get to a Jays game as early as we can.

 

3) Favourite spring outfits?

I tend to wear a lot of my Blue Jays' shirts and bunnyhugs in the spring. After all the Jays are playing, and I'm so happy baseball is back!!!

 

 

4) Favourite springtime meal?

The first BBQ of the season is absolutely one of my favourite meals. I love potato salad, I love BBQ sausage, and I love eating outside -- when we can. 

 

5) Spring rain... love or loathe?

 If it's a nice spring rain and I can stay inside, I love it. When it's a cold spring rain and I have to leave the house to work or run errands, I loathe it.

 

6) Favourite spring flower?

 Well, after raving about my tulips all winter, you'd think those would be my favourite spring flower but nope, it's pulmonaria (or lung wort). They're teeny tiny and I love them. I have a few patches of them in our yard and they make me so happy!

 

Pulmonaria blooming in our backyard a couple of years ago. I had to lie down to get this photo.

7) Do you get seasonal allergies? Best remedies please?

Yes I get allergies and I am fairly new to having them. I will be reading every single one of these posts looking for remedies. My only hint is to take the 24 hour meds every 12 hours. My co-worker gave me this tip last spring and it made them a little more bearable.

 

8) Favourite springtime beverage?

I'm really loving Coke with ice and lime juice. I have some every day after work and it's the best!

 

9) Do you change your home decor for spring?

 Not really. I change out our door wreath, and our back door outside mat, but that's about it. I like a fresh, clean, minimal look for spring.

 

10) Lemon meringue pie or strawberry shortcake?

I don't really love either but the idea of "strawberry shortcake" reminds me of the cake that Dave's mom always makes for Passover -- it's kind of like angel food cake, but it's kosher for Passover and made with potato flour and we always eat it with sliced strawberries. That is absolutely a spring dessert to me.

So that's all about spring from my point of view. When the weather is good, you'll find me outside with a drink in my hand or playing in the dirt, likely planting flowers! Happy Spring!!!

What's Up Wednesday: April 2024

Oh April -- you have been a month, and you're not over yet. It's been a full month of dance, school trips, work chaos (some good, some... a little less good), Passover, dance volunteering, and various other things. And I don't think our "spring weather" is helping -- some days are gorgeous and sunny and I want to sit in our back yard with a drink in my hand and other days are cold and rainy and I want to lie under three blankets in bed with a good book. Yay spring?!?!

I love answering the What's Up Wednesday questions every month. I like how they help me reflect on the past month. The questions come from Shay at Mix and Match Mama and Sheaffer at Sheaffer Told Me Too.

image from here

 

What we're eating this week... I find spring is one of the hardest times to cook for. We're busy, we are over the heavy and hearty winter meals, we haven't yet had consistently good BBQing weather -- it's just a bit of everything around here. So while we have had our first BBQ of the season (YAY!!!!!), we've also had charcuterie and the kids convinced me to make spaghetti and meatballs.

And then with Passover this week we've had matzoh and Manischewitz too!

What I'm reminiscing about... As often happens this time of year, I'm reminiscing about previous spring performances which Rachel has been involved in. This is her last year of only dancing in two shows but she has four different pieces she is a part of. Will you indulge me as I walk down "dance memory lane" a little?

Rachel in 2017 as a gem in Aladdin * Rachel in 2018 as a peppermint lollipop in Mary Poppins * Rachel (as a rainbow) and Sam as a flying monkey in 2019 in The Wizard Of Oz (Rachel was also a flying monkey and 2019 is the only year Sam took one class of dance.)

Dance 2022 -- ballet, modern, and jazz

Dance 2023 -- Northern Lights (modern), Clock Fairy (Coppelia ballet), and Spy Kid (jazz)

What I'm loving... When we've had beautiful spring like weather, I've been LOVING it!!! I've been loving hanging laundry on the line and I've been loving drinking Coke with ice and a bit of lime juice. And I've been loving my pansies on the outdoor table! 

 

What we've been up to... Rachel has been busy with dance -- she's had a couple of performances and also completed her RAD exam this past weekend. Last night we got to go see some her RAD skills and enjoy an ice cream sundae party!

We can never take photos during the performances so I always get Rachel to model her costumes for me. These were her costumes for her company show and dance with the Chamber orchestra as well as the children's chamber choir. (Did I mention there's been a lot of dance recently?!?!?)

We all got to see the solar eclipse. We "only" had 99% totality so it wasn't completely dark but it definitely got dimmer and cooler outside so that was really cool to experience as well. 

 Sam enjoyed his first school overnight trip for three days.

We went to Toronto and celebrated my aunt's 80th birthday! I was so happy to spend an afternoon with family and enjoyed catching up with some of my cousins and other aunts as well.

What I'm dreading... My spring allergies are just starting and I'm already irritated by them. I only developed allergies about five years ago so I'm not used to having them yet and they completely ruin spring for me. I don't stop spending time outside, I'm just a lot more sneezy and miserable than I'd like to be.

What I'm working on... I'm working on finding a family solution to cleaning our house. With all the comings and goings, our house is a bit of a disaster right now and really, we all need to take responsibility for it. It might be time to implement the "family housecleaning night" we had a few years ago again.

What I'm excited about... I finally got hired as the Permanent Head Secretary at my school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been working there for just over two years now in a Temporary position and the permanent position finally got posted a few weeks ago! I'm so excited to be at this school for as long as I want now, and I'm also so excited to finally be a Permanent Head Secretary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My co-workers have been really excited with me so it's been a fun week!

 

What I'm watching/reading... I've been watching Blue Jays games whenever I can. Other than that, I've been watching Rachel at dance!

As for reading, I've read some really great books over the past couple of weeks -- Family, Family by Laurie Frankel which I thought was phenomenal! I also read Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree which was slightly ridiculous but oh so enjoyable. And then I read Kristin Hannah's The Women and Rebecca Serle's Expiry Dates. Like I said, I've read some really great books lately.

What I'm listening to... Oh, I don't know what I'm listening to lately... Yeah, I really don't know what sounds define this month. It's okay though -- the quiet makes me happy too :)

 

What I'm wearing... I'm trying to move away from the heavy sweaters and cozy clothes of winter but our weather hasn't been consistently warm enough to wear my favourite t-shirts and capris, so I'm kind of in an in between stage. I've been wearing a lot of cardigans and t-shirts because it's often cold in the morning but nice enough to shed my jacket in the afternoons -- when it isn't raining that is. I have definitely ditched my socks though! Whoooo hoooo! My feet are so happy!!!

 

What I'm doing this weekend... We're going to our first Blue Jays game of the season and I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What I'm looking forward to next month... My birthday is at the beginning of the month, Rachel will be dancing in her spring performance, we're (belatedly) celebrating Sam's birthday, and I'm going to a fun musical with a friend! It's going to be a fun, full, month!

What I bought on Amazon... Dave and I got super excited about disc golf when we played with Willem in Virginia over Easter so we bought ourselves a set of discs! Unfortunately, between the weather and our schedules, we've only been able to play once thus far but I see a lot more disc golf in our future! We bought this set here.

So that's what's up with us this last Wednesday in April. A social media friend refers to May as "May-cemeber" and that's absolutely going to be our May this year so I'm taking a deep breath and trying to enjoy moments of calm before all our May activity hits!