Weekly Roundup: January 3, 2025

Here we are in a brand-new year and I’m feeling the same ol’ sleepiness. School resumes on Monday and I’ll have my routine back. I am a creature of habit, an introverted one at that. Winter break has been a gauntlet of activity, which is the case every year, but I always seem to forget (#protectiveamnesia). Here’s to a peaceful year—a girl can dream.

Quote of the week:
“I am seized by two contradictory feelings: there is so much beauty in the world it is incredible that we are ever miserable for a moment; there is so much shit in the world that it is incredible we are ever happy for a moment.” –Zadie Smith

What I’m reading:
I’m just starting The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett. She is one of my favorite contemporary writers and I was so excited to get an advance copy.

What I’m listening to:
Black Light, a collection of short stories by Kimberly King Parsons. I loved her book so decided to try this story collection. Good so far!

What I’m watching:
I finished Shrinking and Bad Sisters—loved both. I’m in the midst of Season 2 of Silo. I watched It Ends With Us on Netflix and it was haunting. It definitely should not be billed as some kind of romantic feel-good movie. I also watched the latest Nikki Glaser standup special and then promptly bought tickets to one of her live shows.

Writing news:
I did zero writing over winter break, which was the plan. I’ve been sending out some advance copies of Woman on the Verge and reviewing cover options. I should have the cover reveal next week! My 2026 novel (title TBD) is with my early readers and the response has been good so far—yay!

Interesting things I learned this week:

Penguins can dive to depths of at least 1800 feet. Why did I think they were just shallow swimmers?The percentage of teenagers abstaining from alcohol, marijuana, nicotine, or non-heroin opioids (like OxyContin) is the highest in half a century, according to the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future Study. The group has been conducting this research for 49 years and say they’ve never seen a change like thisCentral Park in New York City is larger than the entire country of MonacoThe International Space Station orbits Earth approximately every 90 minutesThere is enough clothing on the planet for the next six generations of people, according to the Fashion Transparency Index

Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“keanu reeves age.” He’s 60?! What?!

What I’m grateful for:

Playdates! They are a necessity when you’re a single mom with an only childLots of fun holiday hangouts with friends and family and friends who are like familyAntibiotics. My daughter had strep but was back to her usual antics after 24 hours on the wonder gooA double-digit long run today. I’ve officially started training for the Boston Marathon in April. I’ll be doing a half marathon in February as part of my buildup. Everything is feeling good!

Snapshots:
From top to bottom: The Grinch play with my daughter; our winter break scene; the pets love me; run view; kitty disapproves of me returning to work.

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