Quote of the week:
“Every single one of you, of us, has the same indomitable spirit. We just have to learn to free it, to follow it, to trust in it, to follow where it takes us. To lose fear and go out there and do what our indomitable spirit would like us to do. That’s what we can all do. That’s how we can make the world a better place.” –Jane Goodall
What I’m reading:
When I Ran Away by Ilona Bannister (I’m enjoying it so far!)
What I’m listening to:
I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness by Claire Vaye Watkins
What I’m watching:
The baseball playoffs–Go Dodgers!
Scenes from a Marriage on HBO–finished the series; it’s intense
Maid on Netflix–just started this one and I like it so far
Writing news:
I’m about 30,000 words into writing a new novel. I have officially reached the stage of wondering if this story is terrible.
What I’m talking about:
- Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month (it’s this month). For those who don’t know, I lost four pregnancies before having my daughter. I wrote an essay this week with 10 things I want people to be aware of when it comes to pregnancy loss
- The LA Marathon! Just a few weeks away! I’m starting to count down
- Halloween costumes. My daughter wants to be “Shimmer and Shine.” I had no idea what that was so I had to look it up. I guess I’m going to be Shimmer and she’ll be Shine
Interesting things I learned this week:
- An unvaccinated child is at less risk of serious Covid illness than a vaccinated 70-year-old (read here)
- Last year, more than 4 million acres in California burned (that’s bigger than the state of Connecticut) (read here)
- A new study reveals a 21% increase in couples initiating divorce in 2021 vs in 2020 (read here)
- Humans have about 6,000 thoughts per day (read here)
Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“Largest building in the world.” The book I’m listening to mentioned that it is the Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada but I looked it up and it’s actually the Boeing Factory in Everett, Washington. It sounds like the Gigafactory is still in development and is expected to be the biggest when it’s done.
What I’m grateful for:
- A couple kind messages I received from readers this week. They came just when I needed them. I generally don’t read reviews (people can be cruel and I’m incredibly sensitive), so I really appreciate when readers reach out to me directly
- Finishing my last long-long run of marathon training (20 miles!). I felt GREAT–woohoo!
- Emails from friends. I have a few friends who I keep in touch with mainly through email and every time I see their names in my inbox, I get so happy
- Pumpkin patch season. My husband took my daughter to two pumpkin patches in the past week…and we still don’t have a pumpkin. We made the mistake of getting one too early last year and it caved in on itself before Halloween
