Happy new year! Jumping back into normal life this week has been a bit brutal, but it’s Friday and, if you’re reading this, you survived. It feels like my daughter has been on winter break for 300 years and we are both excited for her to go back to school on Monday. Of course, then I’ll miss her because motherhood is totally confusing. On to the roundup!
Quote of the week:
“To make living itself an art, that is the goal.” –Henry Miller
#2024goals
What I’m reading:
The Limits by Nell Freudenberger. I really liked her book The Newlyweds and this one is also good, though very different from The Newlyweds. I’m always so impressed by authors who have such wide range.
What I’m listening to:
Everyone But Myself, a memoir by Julie Chavez about the mental health crisis she experiences while juggling the demands of modern motherhood.
What I’m watching:
Women Talking, based on the book by Miriam Toews (who I love). The movie is dark and a bit slow, but it’s a really important story based on real-life events.
Interesting things I learned this week:
- Sales of print books fell 2.3% in 2023. However, it’s important to note that book sales were way up during Covid, so now they’re just returning to “normal” levels
- A 13-year-old boy from Oklahoma is the first person to beat Tetris
- The Japanese term koi no yokan describes the feeling upon meeting someone that falling in love with them is inevitable
- Walking for at least 11 minutes every day could lower your risk of premature death by almost 25%, according to a major study. It also cuts people’s risks for heart disease by 17% and for cancer of any kind by 7%
- Yuri Knorozov, the linguist who deciphered the Maya script, listed his cat Asya as a co-author on his work but the editors always removed her. So he chose this as his author photo
- The 405 freeway is the most congested highway in the United States (I can attest to how dreadful it is). Related: The interchange where the 405 meets the 10 freeway was the first interchange in California designed by a female engineer. Her name was Marilyn Jorgenson Reece and she was the first woman in California to be registered as a civil engineer
Weirdest thing I googled this week:
I didn’t think I googled anything too weird this week, but then I looked at my search history and I sure did: “Porcupine word origin.” I have lots of word origin inquiries, ha. What I learned: “The English word for porcupines can be traced back about 600 years, when the animal was known as ‘porke despyne.’ That came from the Old French porc espin, which literally translates to ‘spine hog,’ from the Latin roots porcus (pig) and spina (thorn or spine).” From now on, I will call porcupines “thorn pigs.”
What I’m grateful for:
- My birdfeeder that’s bringing a steady stream of entertainment throughout the day
- A fun New Year’s Eve with my daughter at our friends’ house. I love our little community
- Camps and playdates that are entertaining my daughter while I work this week. It would be nice if Corporate America synced with school schedules. Moms have to juggle so much
- Watching my daughter grow. She is such a mini teenager lately (she’s 6)—very into Taylor Swift and makeup and dancing in front of the mirror. She got her ears pierced on New Year’s Day with two of her buddies!
- Feeling healthy. I know cases of flu and Covid are up everywhere, so I’m grateful for every day my family is feeling good
Snapshots:
