Eye to Wonder

I can’t believe this is the last day of NaBloPoMo. I’ve gained so much from reading lots of new blogs, writing every day, and getting inspired by all of your thoughts and ideas. It’s been fun to reflect more on our day-to-day life and keep a record of what’s happening. Thanks so much to San for hosting! Looking back at the month, I met many of my intentions and some things worked out differently then I planned. *My biggest hope-to for the month was having a nice family trip to Philly, which we did! We really focused a lot on hanging out with family rather than doing a bunch of big outings, and it ended up being really nice. *I’m hoping to reschedule the camping trip to Agua Caliente--it still seems like a really cool destination and a lot of fun. That said, having a little extra room in the calendar ended up being a good thing, and I am glad the kids were sick at home instead of Thanksgiving week with Joel’s family. *I stuck with my goal of strength training 3x weekly (except whil...

It was a big travel day today, so I'm switching photo of the week for today to make life easier and keep up the NaBloPoMo streak going. Here is M looking at the airplanes as the sun rose.

Happy Friday! Hope that everyone is enjoying a low-key Friday or some Black Friday shopping if that’s your thing. 1.) I woke up with a bad sinus headache, which was a bummer, but I listened to this Ezra Klein episode while I waited for the medicine to kick in. It was a replay from 2023, but I highly recommend giving it a listen if you haven’t. It’s called “‘The Quiet Catastrophe’ Brewing in our Social Lives,” and is all about how modern society structures undermine social connection. I’m thinking a lot about themes in the episode including control, frequency of interactions, third spaces, imperfect social interactions, and privacy vs. communal space. 2.) Speaking of third spaces, we visited a great library today! I love a good library + coffee shop visit, which was the perfect thing for a blustery day. We thought about heading out for a nature walk, but our kids are definitely not used to the low temps and elected to stay indoors instead. I loved all the things you could check out ...

We had a nice Thanksgiving! We usually do a Thanksgiving lunch, and since a family member keeps kosher, we don’t do turkey and instead have dairy. We’ve tried doing meat and no dairy, but this way is better. This year we did branzino, which was tasty, as well as some traditional favorites like stuffing and cranberry-raspberry sauce. There was also mac’n’cheese and a delicious chickpea carrot dish with an herby greek yogurt sauce. After lunch, we had a chill day with board games, a brief bit of time outside where M learned how to climb a small tree, and there were lots of silly sister shenanigans and games. I had a few spare minutes after putting M to bed and filled a page in my planner with a gratitude list. It was a nice way to reflect, and forced me to think outside of the more big picture things to specific things I was grateful for as I got further down the list. I hope that if you celebrate, you had a happy Thanksgiving and got a chance to be with some people you love. Thanks so...

I have about five minutes to write, and it's been a full day filled with family and Thanksgiving prep. But, here are some things that I want to remember from today: *The kids playing hide-n-seek and eating challah french toast at their great-grandmother's house. *A long cousin hang. Our kids got to play with cousins right around their age, who they don't normally see, and we got a nice chance to catch up. I'm very grateful they made the time to drive down and spend the time together. *Cooking my grandma's stuffing recipe. I love making the same recipe every year--it brings me back to childhood where we spent every Thanksgiving at her house. Tasting it as I cook makes me feel connected to her even though she passed away over a decade ago. *Playing games with my brother and sister-in-law. It was a fun mystery-solving game called "Here Lies." *Going for walks everyday in the tudor-inspired neighborhood nearby.

As we are traveling for Thanksgiving I thought I might do a short daily gratitude post each day. I don’t have as much time to write, but I want to keep a record of some of the good things that happen throughout the week and in general. It’s a cliche but true that writing a gratitude list makes you more aware of the good in your life. Some things I am thankful for from Monday: *I appreciate how thoughtfully my mother-in-law prepares for us to visit. It is a lot of work to host a houseful of people, and she always goes out of her way to make sure the kids have warm winter gear to wear since they don’t need it at home. She also stocked up on a few cozy sweaters and fuzzy socks for me, which was a nice surprise. *It’s really fun seeing my kids experience a different part of the country. When I was their age, I had never left California, so it’s cool to see them getting to jump in piles of leaves, get bundled up and be familiar with a different region. I’m also grateful they have the op...

We are visiting family this week, and one thing I’m prioritizing this week is sticking more to routines. I’ve always been intentional about this with the kids, but I haven’t always prioritized time to exercise, journal, read etc. while traveling. Partially this is due to the time change--when the kids don’t go to sleep until 9:30 or 10, it’s hard to get as much downtime. I also think that I feel like I should be more flexible or prioritize family time/exploring new places etc. This week, I’m going to try to incorporate my usual rhythms when I can. I’m introverted, and I genuinely enjoy time to myself to recharge. I think by prioritizing the usual things I do to feel good, I will have more energy and enjoy the holiday more. I also think this will help me to be more patient with kids who are tired from traveling or feeling out of routine themselves Yesterday I did my usual dance video, showered, and took a few minutes to write, which felt very grounding after a long travel day yesterda...