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Weekly Roundup: May 17, 2024

Happy Friday, folks! This week flew by for me. Hope it did for you too. Here’s the roundup!

Quote of the week:
Writer Alice Munro passed away this week, so I have a few quotes from her today:
“The constant happiness is curiosity.”
“Life would be grand if it weren’t for the people.”
“That’s something I think is growing on me as I get older: happy endings.”

What I’m reading:
I just started The End of Drum-Time by Hanna Pylväinen. It was a finalist for the National Book Award and I can see why.

What I’m listening to:
I’m in the middle of Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear by Kim Brooks and it’s so good. Every parent should read this.

What I’m watching:
I’m still keeping up with The Jinx: Part 2 on HBO. They release one episode per week so I feel like I’m back in the 1990s. I also watched a light, cheesy movie this week—The Idea of You. It was cute, but I found it laughable that they portrayed Anne Hathaway as “old.” Our society is crazy.

Writing news:
My editor said to expect edits on my novel by the end of this month. I should have an official release date soon—planning for Spring 2025! In the meantime, I’ve been working away on the book that will come out in 2026.

Interesting things I learned this week:

In humans, the energetic cost of pregnancy is about 50,000 dietary calories — far higher than previously believed, a new study foundAnother Sriracha shortage may be on the horizon if Huy Fong Foods, a producer of the most popular variety of Sriracha sauce, continues to have trouble obtaining the red jalapeño chiles it needs to make the sauce Sudan has more pyramids than any country in the worldWith every running stride, the body takes the impact of 2.5-3x your body weight. For a 150-lb runner, this is about 375 lb of load!Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Paris has drawn 5x more Americans to the city than the OlympicsThe circulatory system is more than 60,000 miles long

Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“bee’s body not made to fly.” I saw something on Facebook that said that a bee shouldn’t be able to fly because of the size of the wings compared to the size of the body. It was presented like this was another miracle of nature. When I investigated, the real science was made clear: “There is a popular misconception that bees shouldn’t be able to fly. In reality, this is not true, because they can and do fly all the time. The science behind how they can fly involves the way they move their wings, and the generation of tiny hurricanes that lift them upwards.” (source)

What I’m grateful for:

Such a nice Mother’s Day, complete with a breakfast burrito (my fave), 90-minute massage, nail salon with my daughter and sister, and dinner with familySeeing my daughter do the pledge of allegiance for her school. My brave girlFeeling like I’m genuinely happier than I’ve ever been. Life is hard and complicated at times, but I feel quite content

Snapshots:
From top to bottom: Fresh haircut = mandatory selfie; chillin’ with the pup; Mother’s Day with my girl; Mother’s Day with my mama and sister; kitty office mate; loving my runs lately… trying to decide if I should sign up for a Fall half-marathon or not.

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Weekly Roundup: May 10, 2024

Happy Friday! I’m in the midst of a packed day so jumping right into the roundup…

Quote of the week:
“If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it.” –Mary Oliver

What I’m reading:
I finished The Garden by Clare Beams this week. It’s kind of an eerie book about miscarriage-prone women who go to a special care facility run by doctors who inject them with a hormone they think keeps their pregnancies safe. It was interesting. I’m just starting an advance copy of Like Mother, Like Daughter by Kimberly McCreight.

What I’m listening to:
I’m still listening to Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne. It is truly fascinating.

What I’m watching:
I’ve been keeping up with The Jinx: Part 2 on HBO, following the fate of murderer Robert Durst (who seems to be the definition of a sociopath based on the book I’m reading).

Writing news:
I’m working away on my new novel, sticking to my 1,000 words/day each weekday (I take weekends off). My fingers are crossed for a couple film/TV developments. I’ll provide updates as I have them.

Interesting things I learned this week:

Madonna made history in Rio on Saturday with the largest standalone concert in history, attended by 1.6 million people33% of Americans believe in reincarnation, according to the Pew Research CenterThere’s a trend in South Korea of people combatting loneliness by buying pet rocks online and treating them like domesticated pets by dressing them up, painting faces on them, and giving them names and beds (read here)46% of Americans are waiting for an apology from someone in their life, according to the May 2024 Harper’s IndexKaitlin Donner, a 34-year-old mother of two, just set the world record for running the mile while pushing a stroller (with her 20-month-old son, Mikey, inside). She did it in 5 minutes, 11 seconds! In a new study, researchers observed a 35-year-old male orangutan, Rakus, chew up the leaves of the yellow root plant (which has antibiotic and anti-inflammatory properties) and apply it to a wound under his eye. The wound closed within days and was barely visible after a couple months. Rakus’s self-medicating “provides new insights into the origins of human wound care”

Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“Can animals be allergic to humans?” The answer: YES. From google: “Human dander can actually cause allergic rashes or respiratory reactions in animals, the same way theirs can trigger a reaction in people with allergies.” Who knew?!

What I’m grateful for:

Goat yoga with my daughter last weekend—always a hit Mom friends and impromptu playdates. Moms are happy, kids are happy, win-winSeeing my daughter ride her bike. She’s got it!My mom’s 73rd birthday. We had a great celebration dinner last weekendMy film/TV manager, Carey. We’ve been through a lot together and I think this is our yearBook club! I hosted at my house last night and we discussed Jonathan Evison’s Again and Again. Such a fun night with a great group of women

Snapshots:
From top to bottom: Goat yoga; little buddy; we’ve got ourselves a bike rider; celebrating my mom’s birthday

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Weekly Roundup: May 3, 2024

Happy May! We are having “May gray” in southern California so it’s been pretty dreary, with a few hours of sunshine on a good day. I cannot believe we’re heading into summer soon. I’m ready!

Quote of the week:
“The sun is perfect and you woke up this morning. You have enough language in your mouth to be understood. You have a name, and someone wants to call it. Five fingers on your hand and someone wants to hold it. If we just start there, every beautiful thing that has and will ever exist is possible. If we start there, everything, for a moment, is right in the world.” –Warsan Shire

What I’m reading:
I just started The Garden by Clare Beams. I’m liking it so far.

What I’m listening to:
I also just started a new audiobook, Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne. A book about sociopathy written by someone who is a sociopath? Wow, so interesting.

What I’m watching:
I saw Abigail in the theater, which was a fun horror movie. I watched Fair Play on Netflix—another entertaining one.

Writing news:
Still working away on my new novel. I had a great call this week with the writer of the screenplay for my second book, Cherry Blossoms. Fingers crossed things get moving again on that front.

Interesting things I learned this week:

Research tells us that people can focus on a single screen for an average of only 47 seconds (more here)Nearly one-third of teens and young adults strongly identify as readers (yay!) according to a new report commissioned by HarperCollins in collaboration with NielsenBook There are an estimated 15 million sociopaths in the USRubatosis is the unsettling awareness of your own heartbeat45% of women between the ages of 25 and 44 are expected to be single and childfree by 2030Human beings are the only living species with a chinCalifornia’s population is back on the upswing for the first time since 2020: The population increased by 67K last year98% of middle- and high-school students said they want to be Internet famous, according to a 2022 Bloomberg survey. This is frightening!Americans are sleeping more than ever–we gained 10 minutes per day, on average, between 2019 and 2022Female patients treated by female doctors are less likely to die, according to a study published in the Annals of Internal MedicineA contronym is a word with two opposing meanings, like how “bad” can refer to something terrible or awesome

Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“National anthems with no lyrics.” I heard there a few countries that have these so I had to investigate. The countries are Spain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, San Marino, and Kosovo.

What I’m grateful for:

Our Hawaii friends, Rob and Gloria, coming to visit on Saturday. They make us feel so lovedA beautiful mid-week beach outing with my daughter (a couple photos below)A good mixture of mom activities and me-time activities. It’s so hard to strike the right balance; I’m usually heavily in the “mom activities” column. Related: I’m so grateful for our babysitter. My daughter adores her

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Weekly Roundup: April 26, 2024

Last roundup of April! Where did this month go? I have a very packed day and no time for deep thoughts, so let’s get right to it…

Quote of the week:
“Life is under no obligation to give us what we expect.” –Margaret Mitchell

What I’m reading:
I just started Again and Again by Jonathan Evison. It’s my book club’s pick for the month and I’m excited to get into it. I was on a panel with the author some years ago and he was great.

What I’m listening to:
The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality by Amanda Montell. Just started it and will report back. I’ve heard good things.

What I’m watching:
I started the new season of The Jinx, following Robert Durst’s arrest after his accidental confession at the end of the first season of The Jinx. Quite a fascinating story.

Writing news:
I’ve crossed the 50,000-word mark in writing my new novel. It’s sort of like mile 17 of a marathon, when you start to feel confident that you’ll actually finish the thing.

Interesting things I learned this week:

On average, we make about 35,000 conscious choices per day, 200 of which involve foodThe circulatory system is more than 60,000 miles longThe US ranks 12th for teacher salaries on a list of 38 countries The first person processed at Ellis Island was a 15-year-old girl from IrelandThe tiny pocket in jeans was designed to store pocket watchesJapan has one vending machine for every 40 people

Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“Longest living guinea pig.” We have two guinea pigs and we were curious. Most guinea pigs live 5-7 years. The Guinness record is just under 15 years!

What I’m grateful for:

Getting to see one of my best friends while she was in town. We went to a nice dinner at a fancy-ish restaurant and it was a wonderful change of pace for meVisiting the Carlsbad Flower Fields with my daughter last weekend. It was one of those perfect outings. We made friends with another single mom and her daughter and plan to see them again soon A post-yoga coffee date with a friend—filled my cup literally and figurativelyVoice texts! One of my best friends and I are all about these lately. We call them mini podcast episodes for each otherFun weekend ahead, starting with today. My daughter has her school concert performance soon, a makeup soccer game later, and we are seeing a musical at the local high school. Hopefully this weekend also includes a nap for my introvert self

Snapshots:
From top to bottom: My daughter refers to this cat as my boyfriend and I’m not mad about it; sitting in the sun with my pup is one of my favorite things; took my daughter to see the full bloom at the Carlsbad Flower Fields and it was gorgeous; my runs have felt good lately and I’m always appreciative of blue sky (it’s been very gloomy lately).

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Weekly roundup: April 19, 2024

Did this week seem extremely long or is it just me? I’m happy we made it to Friday. Here’s the roundup!

Quote of the week:
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” –Henry Miller

What I’m reading:
I read Bear by Julia Phillips this week. I LOVED her first book, Disappearing Earth, and this one was just as good. It comes out in June and I highly recommend it. Such a beautiful and unique story of family, sisterhood, grief, and love. My current book is Annie Bot by Sierra Greer. Very entertaining so far.

What I’m listening to:
I’ve been listening to Making Motherhood Work: How Women Manage Careers and Caregiving by Caitlyn Collins. I heard about this book in this Ezra Klein podcast episode. It’s very good, and explains why so many American mothers are so burnt out.

What I’m watching:
I started to watch Baby Reindeer on Netflix, but it got a little too odd for me. I watched What Jennifer Did to get my true crime fix.
For anyone who lives in southern California, you might be interested in the documentary SOS–The San Onofre Syndrome: Nuclear Power’s Legacy. In honor of Earth Day, you can watch for free through April 22. It’s quite interesting.

Writing news:
I’m at about the halfway point of the first draft of my new novel. I’ve been sticking to my usual routine of writing 1,000 words a day, 5 days a week. Somehow, this leads to a finished novel after a handful of months.

Interesting things I learned this week:

A once-in-a-lifetime nova explosion is predicted for this year. The Corona Borealis binary system, about 3,000 light years from Earth, is home to a white dwarf star named T Coronae Borealis, which is likely to explode soon. This rare event should be visible to the naked eye. So cool!A wasp’s nest can contain up to 6,000 waspsOn March 21, 58-year-old DonnaJean Wilde from Canada set the record for the longest time in an abdominal plank position for a woman—4 hours, 30 minutes, 11 seconds. She began planking 12 years ago and now does it for up to three hours a day. WowwwScholars think California got its name from a 16th-century Spanish romance novel, which tells of an earthly paradise called California. The novel was published in 1510 and is believed to be the first time the word “California” appears in print (read here)More than 80% of today’s centenarians are female. Of the three people alive today who have verifiably managed to live to age 115, all are womenIn less than 12 hours, Taylor Swift’s new The Tortured Poets Department double album has become Spotify’s most streamed album in a single day in 2024 so far

Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“Australia wider than moon.” I heard this and could not believe it, so google to the rescue. From snopes.com: “If the moon’s diameter (3,476 km) is the yardstick for comparison, then Australia (about 4,000 km) is indeed wider. But the moon’s land area is far larger than the continent.”

What I’m grateful for:
It’s been a busy week. Lots of time with my daughter doing our usual things, and we also had her school Open House this week. I can’t believe the school year is almost over! I had my wonderful babysitter come on Wednesday evening so I could get out for some solo time. I enjoyed a beer and dinner and started reading Annie Bot. It’s amazing how rejuvenating a couple hours can be.

The next night, my writer-friend, Wendy, and I headed to Warwick’s bookstore (the oldest family-owned bookstore in the country!) for Michelle Gable’s launch event (check out her new book, The Beautiful People). Michelle and I were on a panel together years ago and have stayed in touch (yay Instagram) ever since.

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Weekly Roundup: April 11, 2024

Happy April! I missed last week’s post because I was in Austin, Texas. No, I was NOT there for the eclipse. My friend and I booked the trip ages ago, before I knew the eclipse was happening, and our departure date was two days before the big event. Oh well! We each brought our daughters and had a wonderful little Spring Break extravaganza. This will be a packed roundup with two weeks’ worth of random things to share. Here we go!

Quote of the week:
“Learning to have an inner life is like getting used to being outside in nature at night. At first, you can’t see anything and fear takes over. But if you stay with it, you start seeing everything clearly and a peace grows in you that sets you free. Do not fear yourself. Spend the time.” –Jaiya John (in this beautiful book that I’m slowly making my way through)

What I’m reading:
On my plane rides to/from Texas, I read All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow (loved it!) and a fantastic nonfiction book, While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence by Meg Kissinger.
Last night, I finished None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell, which totally held my attention and kept me wanting more.

What I’m listening to:
Last week, I listened to Night Vision: Seeing Ourselves Through Dark Moods by Mariana Alessandri and really liked it. This week, I’ve been listening to The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante. Complicated mother character? Yes, please!

What I’m watching:
I watched the entire miniseries of Apples Never Fall in one week, which says something. It usually takes me a month to get through a season of something. It’s based on the book by Liane Moriarty. I have book amnesia and cannot even remember the book, but I love Liane Moriarty in general.

Writing news:
I’m working away on my new novel. I’m currently at the stage of wondering if it makes any sense.

Interesting things I learned this week:

On Eclipse Monday, Internet traffic dropped by 40% or more in the path of totalityThere will not be another solar eclipse in the U.S. until 2044The 4.8 earthquake in NY was the third-largest earthquake in the northeast in the last 50 yearsPet ownership has jumped from 56% of U.S. households in 1988 to 66% in 2024A group of 2000 Swiss women won a major victory by a European court ruling that Switzerland’s failures on climate policy are a violation of their human rightsCostco is selling up to $200M of gold bars each month (whoa)The NCAA women’s basketball final drew more viewers than the men’s final for the first time ever–18.9 million viewers vs 14.8 millionThe U.S. has fallen out of the top 20 on the world’s happiest countries list (read here)Parts of Asia (eg, Taiwan, China, South Korea) offer luxury postpartum hotels for women to recover for a month after giving birth (read here)Chipotle is planning to introduce avocado-peeling robots for more consistent guacamoleA large scientific review has confirmed the many benefits of human touchCalifornia is now mandating a $20/hour minimum wage for fast-food workers—the highest in the nationJeff Bezos made $7.9 million AN HOUR, every hour, in 2023

Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“hermit crabs trade shells.” What I learned: “When a hermit crab spots a new shell, it’ll size up the shell for a good fit. If the shell is too big, the prospecting hermit crab will sit back and wait to steal the castoff shell of a larger crab that decides to upgrade. In the meantime, while the first crab waits, other crabs gather around the shell and do the same… The hermit crabs form a sort of conga line ordered from largest to smallest crab. As the largest crab enters its new home, the next crab in line takes the vacated shell, leaving an open shell for the crab behind him. The shell swapping continues down the line until everyone has upgraded. This chain reaction is called a vacancy chain, and it’s an ingenious way for the creatures to survive while sharing limited resources.” SO COOL. (source)

What I’m grateful for:

A great trip to Austin with my friend and her daughter. My daughter and I had so much fun with them. Loved the summer-time temps, swimming, Book People bookstore, playgrounds galore, daily Taylor Swift dance partiesReturning home to all the pets. One of my cats got out while we were gone but, thankfully, returned safe and sound. PhewBeach day with friends back home…before the weather turned dreary again

Snapshots:
From top to bottom: Relaxing in the Austin sun with my friend of 20+ years; reunited with my pup, watching my daughter’s soccer game; the bare-naked sun on Eclipse Monday in So Cal; my cat holding the secrets to the universe; pets always find the sun spots; the flowers are blooming; weeknight beach visits have begun.

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Weekly Roundup: March 29, 2024

Happy Friday! And Happy Easter to those who celebrate. We do the egg hunt and the basket of goodies. I may get wild and make a quiche. Whatever you’re doing this weekend, I hope it’s fun and/or relaxing (or both—that’s the magical combination).

Quote of the week:
“We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” — Joseph Campbell

What I’m reading:
I’m just about to finish Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Durraj. It’s a novel in interlinked stories about Palestinian Americans in Baltimore. I’ve really enjoyed it.

What I’m listening to:
I just finished Things I Learned From Falling, a memoir by Claire Nelson. She had a devastating fall in Joshua Tree and was rescued (which was something of a miracle). She writes about how the experience taught her about the importance of leaning on people after a past of being hyper-independent. This resonated with me.

What I’m watching:
I just finished and loved Season 2 of Life & Beth. I hope I don’t have to wait too long for Season 3. I love it.

Writing news:
Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate my book deal! I think I did a good job of hiding my social anxiety (ha) and I feel very grateful to have so much support. Special thanks to my sister for helping me with everything for the event.

I’m working away on the second novel in my two-book deal with Lake Union. The first novel is done, but will go through some edits. That one releases next year. The one I’m writing now will release in 2026.

Last, there was some exciting podcast news this week. My first novel, People Who Knew Me, was made into a podcast series for BBC sounds, starring Rosamund Pike and Hugh Laurie. Writer/director Daniella Isaacs is amazing, by the way. Rosamund Pike just won Best Actress at the Audio Drama Awards for her performance. I really couldn’t have asked for a better voice for this character. You can listen to the podcast wherever you get your podcasts—Spotify, Apple, etc.

Interesting things I learned this week:

Jasmin Paris, 40, became the first woman to complete the Barkley Marathons, a footrace that requires participants to navigate 100 miles of rugged Tennessee terrain in no more than 60 hours. She finished with 99 seconds to spare, making her one of only 20 people to complete the Barkley since it was extended to 100 miles in 198922% of the world’s species are egg-laying beetlesMen make up only 20% of the people who buy and read novelsAccording to a new report from the World Bank, NO COUNTRY IN THE WORLD affords women the same opportunities as men in the workforce. Well, this is depressingFor every additional year you educate a girl, her average lifetime wages increase by 18%The German word drachenfutter, literally “dragon food,” is “a gift a man buys for his wife after he has made her angry”In French, you don’t say “I miss you.” You say “tu me manques,” which means “you are missing from me.” This is so sweetLungs are incredibly foldy, containing a surface area equivalent to half a basketball court (!)In the US, the average woman will outlive the average man by about 5 to 7 yearsOnly 4% of applicants for the NYC Marathon got into the race. Sadly, I was not one of them despite being a time qualifier. So bummed. For reference, a high schooler has a better chance of getting into Yale (5%) or playing college football (7%) than an applicant had of getting into the NYC MarathonFor the first time in history, the US Labor Department may start measuring the value of unpaid household work – which is usually done by women. If so, this could drive new policies to reduce gender and economic inequity. Related: The Labor Department commissioned a think tank at Bard College to do a study, and they found that women perform 78% of the US’s total unpaid household work, including childcare and care for elderly and disabled adultsAs of 2000, 1 in 5 NIH clinical drug trials still wasn’t using any female subjects, and of the studies that did, nearly two-thirds didn’t bother analyzing their data for sex differences. WtfRoughly 10% of men are red-green color-blind

Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“squirrels in a litter.” I saw something on Instagram that said that squirrels can have up to 15 babies in a litter (“and now I understand why they run in front of cars”). This seemed like a lot so I googled. I learned that they typically have 2 litters a year, with 2 to 4 babies per litter… though they CAN have up to 8 in a single litter. So, I guess if they had 2 litters of 8 each, they could have 16 babies in a year.

What I’m grateful for:

My book club, which met last Friday. I LOVE this group of women. They fill my cupA successful book party. I’ll do another when the book releases next year!A fun Spring Break trip coming upA bunch of other things: Concert performances by my daughter, texts that make me feel loved, therapy, pet snuggles, beautiful sunrises, new-to-me IPAs, playdates

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Weekly Roundup: March 22, 2024

Welcome to Spring It’s cloudy and cool in southern California today, not very Spring-like, but I’m looking forward to the sunny days ahead. It’s been a rough week for me for a few reasons and I’m ready for the weekend. For local friends, I’m doing a little brewery gathering to celebrate my book deal on Saturday, so message me if you’re interested in coming by.

Quote of the week:
“I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow; but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.” –Agatha Christie

What I’m reading:
Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon. This is a big book and my Kindle says I have only read 25% of it so far, but it’s fascinating. I’m in awe of the research the author did to put this together.

What I’m listening to:
I Am Yours: A Shared Memoir by Reema Zaman. This was probably not the best book for me to pick during a difficult week because parts of it are so heavy, but it’s beautifully written and narrated.

What I’m watching:
After realizing I’d already watched Season 1 of Life & Beth, I moved to Season 2 and it’s awesome. I’ve laughed, I’ve cried. Amy Schumer is fantastic. I also watched a mindfuck of a movie (my favorite genre) called Circle that was very entertaining.

Interesting things I learned this week:

The jaw muscle (masseter) is the strongest muscle in the body“Crown shyness” describes the phenomenon of a tree’s leaves withdrawing from the leaves of other trees, resulting in a beautiful web of almost-touching canopies (see photo below)In Sweden, they have a week-long “reading holiday” called LäslovThe longest word in any of the major English language dictionaries is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (45 letters), a word that refers to a lung disease contracted from the inhalation of very fine silica particles, specifically from a volcanoAt the seven locations of the Worcester Public Library in Massachusetts, patrons can now submit cat photos instead of paying fines resulting from damage to or loss of books. Dubbed March Meowness, the special initiative lasts the entire month of MarchResearch proves that naming feelings helps to settles down the nervous system. In one brain imaging study, researchers at UCLA found that putting feelings into words reduces activity in the amygdala and other limbic brain regions associated with emotional reactionsStudyFinds consulted 10 canine experts to create a list of the seven most low-energy dog breeds. Greyhounds got the top spot, which I find surprising Sitting down with a good book could improve your memory, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. They conducted a study that showed that reading for pleasure improved working and episodic memory among older adults compared to a control group that did word puzzlesA New York man was keeping an 11-foot-long alligator illegally in his pool for THIRTY-FOUR YEARS and sometimes let people swim with it. The alligator has been seized by authorities

Crown shyness (source)

Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“cute as a button origin.” I told my daughter she is “cute as a button” and she was like, “but buttons aren’t cute.” Which is a fair point. So I googled the origin of this phrase. Apparently, the “button” in the phrase is not a button on a shirt, but a button quail, which is a very small gray, fluffy, squishy-looking bird (here’s a photo–cute, right?). The phrase was originally “cute as a button quail.” On a related note: the phrase “happy as a clam” is actually a shortened version of the original, “happy as a clam at high tide” (which makes way more sense). The more you know!

What I’m grateful for:
The highlight of my week was going on my daughter’s class field trip and seeing a bunch of farm animals. I love being around the kids! I’m grateful I got to take time off from work to go. Besides that, in no particular order: Texts that brighten the day, pet cuddles (pup pictured below), phone dates with one of my best friends and my sister, surviving a rough work week, my paint-by-numbers project that is like a form of meditation (I’m doing this one).

My sweet Rosie. I try to move her bed around the house throughout the day so she’s always in the sun.

The post Weekly Roundup: March 22, 2024 appeared first on Kim Hooper's Blog.

Weekly Roundup: March 15, 2024

Happy Friday! I’m very much looking forward to the weekend and hope you are too. Here’s the roundup!

Quote of the week:
“I wish you endless dreams and the furious desire to realize some of them. I wish you to love what must be loved, and to forget what must be forgotten. I wish you passions. I wish you silences. I wish you birdsongs as you wake up and children’s laughter…I wish you at last to never give up the search, for adventure, life, love. For life is a wonderful adventure and no reasonable person should give it up without a tough fight. I wish you above all to be yourself, proud of being and happy, for happiness is our true destiny.” –Jacques Brel

What I’m reading:
How to Be the Love You Seek: Break Cycles, Find Peace, and Heal Your Relationships by Nicole Lepera. I think the majority of human beings could benefit from this book.

What I’m listening to:
Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra. It’s sort of a slow-burn thriller and I’m curious where it goes.

What I’m watching:
I started Season 1 of Life & Beth last night and realized halfway through the fourth episode that I’ve watched this before. Ha. It’s okay because I’m getting caught up so I can watch Season 2 (which I definitely did not watch yet because it came out last month).

Interesting things I learned this week:

Baby owls sleep face down because their heads are so heavy. I highly recommend googling photos of this because it’s adorable and hilariousA retired American diplomat named Peter Kaestner is the first person to document 10,000 bird sightingsAt Lululemon’s women’s-only 6-day ultramarathon which concluded on Tuesday, Camille Herron, age 42, ran 560.33 miles to break the 6-day women’s world recordScientists have discovered 100 new marine species in New ZealandThe American Library Association reported a record number of attempts to remove books from libraries last year. In total. 4,240 individual titles were targeted in 2023, up almost 65% from 2022. Nearly half of the challenged titles address LGBTQ+ identities and/or issues of race and racismSan Jose and San Francisco had the highest electric vehicle adoption rate among major U.S. metropolitan areas last year. EVs accounted for nearly 40% of new auto registrations in the San Jose area last year and about 34% in San FranciscoThe FDA granted breakthrough status to a medication derived from LSD for generalized anxiety disorder. A single (micro)dose showed significant results even after 12 weeks. And it shows promise even for anxiety that has resisted other treatmentsA gray whale, extinct in the Atlantic Ocean for 200 years, was spotted off the coast of Massachusetts. And scientists from the University of Texas at El Paso photographed a Yellow-crested Helmetshrike, a “lost bird” that hadn’t been seen for two decades, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“earth sandwich.” I saw something on Instagram about how these two guys on exact opposite sides of the globe put a piece of bread to the ground at the exact same time to create an Earth sandwich. This sounded so ridiculous that I had to look it up and, yes, it actually happened: A guy in New Zealand put a piece of bread on the ground, and at the exact same time, a guy in Spain—on the exact opposite point of Earth—also put a piece of bread on the ground. You can read more about this endeavor here.

What I’m grateful for:
Life is really good right now. I feel super grateful every day. Here are a few things that stood out this week:

Lots of love and connection lately. I can get into my introvert bubble for long periods of time and it’s been nice to come out My health. So many viruses going around right now and I have somehow dodged them. Hopefully I didn’t just jinx itLighter evenings. My daughter and I are still struggling with the time change in the morning, but it IS nice to have it stay lighter out longerHangouts with friends and their kiddos, happy hour with my neighbor (which we had been trying to schedule for months)Working on my new novel. I am truly happiest when I am writing a novel. It’s such a process of discovery

Snapshots:
From top to bottom: A beautiful park day last weekend; yoga with cats (all the kittens in this litter are named after chefs; this one is Anthony Bourdain haha); gorgeous run views this morning.

The post Weekly Roundup: March 15, 2024 appeared first on Kim Hooper's Blog.

Weekly Roundup: March 8, 2024

First of all, Happy International Women’s Day! Here’s to equal rights and equal pay and equal everything.

This was a big week for me because I was finally able to announce my two-book deal with Lake Union. I am super excited about this and can’t wait for you guys to read the books. The first book will come out around this time next year, with the second book coming out the year after that. I’ve started writing the second one and am having fun with it so far. Yay!

Quote of the week:
This week’s “quote” is actually a mini poem from Emily Dickinson that she wrote on the back of an envelope (and, yes, it looks like a pair of underwear below):
“In this short Life
That only lasts an hour
How much – how little – is
Within our power”

What I’m reading:
Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose. I wanted something relatively light and easy and this fits the bill.

What I’m listening to:
This American Ex-Wife: How I Ended My Marriage and Started My Life by Lyz Lenz. I read some essays and articles written by her and felt drawn to the book. It’s good so far.

What I’m watching:
I started Saltburn on Amazon Prime last night. Hoping to finish it tonight. It’s good!

Interesting things I learned this week:

Lemons float, but limes sink. Yep. Lemons and limes both have densities that are very close to water, but limes are just slightly denser than lemons so they sink when unpeeled while lemons floatBiotech company Colossal Biosciences announced this week that it has produced a line of Asian elephant stem cells that can be coaxed to transform into other types of cells needed to resurrect the wooly mammoth. Maybe we can cure cancer first?29-year-old Cole Brauer became the first American woman to sail solo around the world. She completed the trip in 130 daysKetchup was sold as medicine in the 1830s to treat things like diarrhea, indigestion, and jaundiceA San Diego man has become the first person in the nation to be arrested and charged with smuggling banned greenhouse gases (specifically, canisters of banned refrigerant) into the USLast June, the number of employed women ages 25–54 hit 75.3% — the highest recorded since the US Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey started reporting the numbers in 1948A 62-year-old man in Germany deliberately got 217 Covid-19 vaccine shots in the span of 29 months, according to a new study. That’s an average of one jab every four days. Apparently, he had no ill effects

Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“wearing high heels good for you.” I usually watch the previous night’s Late Show with Stephen Colbert at some point during the day and he mentioned a study that said high heels are good for you. So, I had to investigate. There really was a study that found women and men who wore heeled shoes the most became better, more efficient walkers. You can read more here. It’s amazing the things research dollars go toward. Ha. Fun fact: I don’t think I’ve ever worn high heels. Like, ever. I am already very tall and I feel like I would definitely fall and break something if I wore heels.

What I’m grateful for:

Life’s surprises. The unexpected things are so often the best thingsGetting back into a running routine after a little break. I really love being outside and listening to my audiobooks. It’s the best “me time”My best girlfriends (you know who you are). They live far away, but texting does wondersA visit from our friends, Rob and Gloria (hi, guys!). My daughter and I met them in Maui on our annual trip and we adore themOur monthly park play date. We meet up with a bunch of my daughter’s friends (and their parents) at a park once a month and it’s always so fun. So grateful for my community

Snapshots:
From top to bottom: My two kitties, who turn 11 this month; sassy cat; work day selfie.

The post Weekly Roundup: March 8, 2024 appeared first on Kim Hooper's Blog.