Weekly Roundup: September 30, 2022

The end of September! This is my favorite time of year. My daughter’s birthday and my birthday are in October. I have always loved Halloween. I enjoy cooler mornings and evenings, and I’m one of those weird people who does not mind the earlier sunsets. Bring on Fall!

Quote of the week:
“No matter where life takes you, you’re never alone with a book, which becomes a tutor, a wit, a mind-sharpener, a soulmate, a performer, a sage, a verbal bouquet for a loved one. Books are borrowed minds, and because they capture the soul of a people, they explore and celebrate all it means to be human. Long live their indelible magic.” –Diane Ackerman

What I’m reading:
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson. I’m about halfway through. It’s a great story.

What I’m listening to:
I just finished This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub. It’s a sweet father-daughter story. Great narration.

What I’m watching:
I don’t think I’ve watched a single minute of a show this week. But I keep adding shows to my “to watch” list. The struggle is real.

Writing news:
Finished my latest edits on my manuscript. I have a title I like (for now). More to come soon!

What I’m talking about:

Conservative craziness. In Arizona, a near total abortion ban from 1864 (!) has taken effect. In Idaho, colleges are banning birth control. In Michigan, a GOP congressional candidate praised an organization seeking to repeal the 19th amendment (which gives women the right to vote). In Pennsylvania, a school district has banned the “Girls Who Code” book series (which promotes girls and women in STEM careers). What in the actual f*ck is happening? I mean, I see what’s happening. But…wow. We all need to vote in the midterms!Hurricane Ian. So much damage, with 40+ people dead. I fear we’re in for more storms like this… The ongoing protests in Iran. Dozens of people have been killed. It’s truly heartbreaking. Patriarchy is a global thing. We all should care about this

Interesting things I learned this week:

There are 31 women holding CEO positions at Fortune 500 companies, representing just 6%Recent studies have shown that women are 40% more likely than men to report a great deal of stress. The stats are worse for married women–54% said they had felt compelled to cry due to stress in the past month vs 33% for single womenDogs can smell when humans are stressedThere’s currently a butter shortageResearchers have seen that babies in the womb smile at the taste of carrot and make a cry-face at the taste of kale (who can blame them?)

Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“How many islands are there in the world?” In Black Cake, it’s mentioned that there are about 2000 islands in the world’s oceans so I wanted to see if that was true. IT IS!

What I’m grateful for:

A night out to see Brian Regan–yes, that’s two weekends of live comedy in a row!A double-digit run this morning (10 miles). Felt good! I’m training for a half marathon in November, hoping to PR, with the outside goal of qualifying for the NYC MarathonLots of fun time with my daughter lately–and we’re having her 5th birthday party tomorrow!

A few snapshots:

My daughter lives a charmed life. No weekend is complete without a cat nap (and editing some book pages). My sweet boy

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