Status updates

LG
I don’t know if I ever mentioned it, but the contract at my job ended last month, so it’s just me and LG here Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. We are keeping her in school Mondays and Fridays, which is nice for two reasons: 1.) Chris has Mondays off, so Monday is officially Monday Funday for the two of us, and 2.) ALONE TIME FOR ME.

The other days of the week, LG and I have been doing library storytime, the park, or getting together with EBJ and K-Dubs. While I am trying to keep us busy, I am a little…lacking for activities. I hate to say I’m bored, because I’m a big believer that only boring people are bored, but damn, I am sort of running out of things to do. I am still on the job hunt, so I have to do that every day, but if nothing new is posted, then applying for jobs (or, not applying for jobs, as it were) doesn’t take a lot of time. Plus, applying for jobs isn’t really a kid-friendly activity. So, I dunno. Outside of the library and park, we’ve been spending a lot of time cooking, riding trikes outside, etc., and then Chris gets home and saves us, so I suppose we’ve been finding stuff to do, it’s just the same stuff every day.

If anyone has any insight on letter/number worksheets for the almost-four-year-old set, do let me know, though. I guess it couldn’t hurt to continue to hone her spelling/reading/whatever skills since she’s now only in school twice a week.

TV
Is everyone watching The Americans? Please tell me everyone is watching The Americans. They are KILLING it this season. I don’t think I’ve been this invested in a show since Homeland season 1, which has been fun. I tend to get confused with the plot-lines of a lot of shows (the final few seasons of Sons Of Anarchy come to mind), so while I am into a lot of shows, I am not as invested as I could be. But The Americans, while a spy drama (so you’d think it’d be super confusing), is easy to keep up with. Occasionally I am like, Wait, what’s going on?, but mostly, I can understand everything, which makes focusing on the actual point on the show (the marriage of Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys’s characters) that much more enjoyable. WATCH THIS PLS & THX.

I am also enjoying all my Bravo shows immensely. Vanderpump Rules was great. I am looking forward to the Bev Hills reunion starting tonight. Shahs is completely ridiculous. And NYC comes back next week and both Bethenny and Lu are back this season. THE COUNTESS, YES. I am also finally getting into Southern Charm and am watching the newest season of Newlyweds: The First Year. Oh, and Blood, Sweat, and Heels. Lots of Bravo.

Other shows I am excited to see: Mad Men (talk about a show I am very invested in; what will I do when it’s over?) and Outlander.

Sigh, I just love TV.

Food
I got a random mini-issue of Eating Well in with my Better Homes & Gardens this month and I am trying three new recipes from it this week. Last night I made pinto bean stew with jalapeno dumplings and it was tasty. I will note that I did mine on the stovetop, not slow-cooker (I used canned beans, not dried), I added pork to mine, and I doubled the salt.

On the docket is also fish with garlic/almond/caper sauce (I JUST REALIZED I AM OUT OF CAPERS NOOOOOO) and three-cup chicken (I will be using boneless thighs.)

Fitness
I had a pitiful showing in February (LG was sick, I was sick, we went out of town), with only 16 miles, but March was much better (54 miles.) I haven’t been keeping up with my daily yoga, which I am certainly going to try to bring back in April. It’s just such a nice way to start the day.

LG again
She turns four in 20 days. I didn’t authorize this; where should I send my letter of complaint?

Podcasts
Here’s my first update on podcasts and here’s my second update. Now, here’s a mini-update for you:

Last time we talked, I was thinking of ditching The Momo Show, which I did in fact do. Too political for my liking.

I gave Comedy Bang Bang, Improv4humans, and Indoor Kids a chance, but none of them stuck.

I tried The Moth and Risk–they’re both keepers and have made it into the rotation.

I am totally into Totally Beverages And Sometimes Hot Sauce (how is a beverage podcast entertaining? I don’t know, but it is.)

Chris and I listened to all the available episodes of Invisibilia when we drove home from Oregon earlier this month. RECOMMEND.

I am newly into a podcast called The Blaze, all about Beverly Hills, 90210. (Beverly Hills, 90210 is incidentally, a show that was left off my Top TV shows list, which was a completely egregious error on my part. I should add it in posthumously.)

Garden
Garden season is nearly upon us. I started peppers (bells, serranos, jalapenos, anaheims, and habaneros) from seed, so I hope they do well. I will hopefully sweet-talk EBJ into giving me some of her tomato plants, which always do well. And that’s it! I am saying fuqit to trying anything new. I try something new each year and each year I am disappointed. My cucumbers are always lumpy and sometimes bitter and my zucchinis haven’t been doing well in years past. So, I will grow the two items that are important to us and then spend a whopping $1 on pounds and pounds of zuccs and cukes at the farmstand and be done with it.

Sort of garden related, we re-did our front area, so now it’s not the ugliest house on the block.

Before/during.

During/after.

I wish I had a true before, i.e.: all the shit that the previous owners just threw into the ground seemingly without planning, but oh well. We’ve been slowly ripping it out over the years, anyway. Imagine a lot of overgrown crap that makes no sense and looks terrible.

And those are all my updates. C’est fini.