Like many Californians, my heart is heavy today. I grew up in Los Angeles county and seeing the photos of the devastation there has been so difficult. My family had to evacuate on a couple occasions when I was growing up and I remember the panic and fear of that. I’m thinking of everyone who has lost so much. To the first responders and their families, thank you.
Quote of the week:
“In all our searching, the only thing we’ve found that makes the emptiness bearable is each other.” –Carl Sagan
What I’m reading:
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray. I’ve heard from enough people that this book is amazing, so I’m finally checking it out. It will be a time commitment (it’s 650 pages!). So far, it’s great.
What I’m listening to:
I started Anne Lamott’s Almost Everything: Notes on Hope on my run this morning. It’s just what I needed. Her writing and her voice are so soothing.
What I’m watching:
I watched Nightbitch, based on the book by Rachel Yoder, and really liked it. Definitely some themes in common with my book that comes out in June. I also got sucked into Worst Ex Ever on Netflix—yikes. Oh, and my boyfriend and I watched Idiocracy because he’d never seen it. It came out back in 2006 and has proven to be quite predictive of today’s world—ha.
Writing news:
My publisher shared with me the cover for Woman on the Verge and I’m loving it. I’ll have the final file soon and will share then. Exciting! I’m making some small edits to my 2026 novel (title TBD) and sending to my agent soon. Things are moving along!
Interesting things I learned this week:
- A group of foxes is called a skulk
- Your skin sheds 30,000 skin cells a minute
- Flying fish fly at about 40 miles per hour
- In 1900, the average life expectancy was 32 years. This is WILD to me
- The average age of first marriage today is 31.4 in the US and 35 in the UK
- Insects make up about 40% of living species
Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“shampoo word origin.” My daughter asked me, “Why is it called shampoo? It cleans hair but it has the word poo in it.” Fair question. Turns out the word shampoo in English is derived from Hindi chāmpo (चाँपो [tʃãːpoː]), and dates to 1762. The Hindi word referred to head massage, usually with some form of hair oil.
What I’m grateful for:
- Safety from the fires. The winds have calmed and the skies are blue here. I feel very lucky
- Getting back to routine after the holiday break. On Monday, I felt like I’d been hit by a bus, but I’m back to normal now
- A phone date with one of my best friends. The best therapy
- My sweet daughter who is very into telling me how much she loves me lately
- My boyfriend, who is putting the finishing touches on a chameleon cage for my daughter. This house is about to have its first reptile
Snapshots:
I didn’t take many photos this week. Most of them are of my daughter (which I don’t share much publicly) and my cats (which I share too much publicly).
