1- It’s so satisfying to finish up books at the end of a month! Somehow it worked out that I was at the tail end of BOTH my non-fiction and my fiction read this morning, and I finished both. I am at 20 books for the year which is very much my usual reading pace (over the past several years, I have ended up with ~48 – 50 books read without really aiming for a specific number!).
I am looking forward to starting The Bright Years after hearing so many of you say you loved it, plus I have another Pema Chodron on deck for non-fiction. With some flights and summer reading in full swing, I feel like June will be a big reading month!
2- WEATHER WATCH: NEW HAMPSHIRE has commenced. As of now, it’s looking pretty nice! I might not actually need the fleece I bought . . .
3- Amusing (to me) article on navigating travel sans phone (shared originally via MMD). Josh and I are planning to be thoughtful about screen time on our trip, and we’ve already informed the kids that beyond the plane flight, they won’t have access to iPads.
AND, I will absolutely embrace using my phone for maps, tickets, our itinerary, and weather. Admittedly, I wouldn’t really want to travel without it. (That said, I will print some maps and things because apparently the GPS in the White Mountains doesn’t reliably function! I’m also going to print our itinerary for the kids to look at and refer to).
I AM considering disposable cameras for the kids (inspired by Brittany’s post on packing for Scotland!), just because I think they would find that fun.
4- ONE WEEK TO GO until school is out (goodbye Q2 / hello Q3)! It’s going to be less hectic than previously expected since C is benched from lacrosse (thus reducing PM activity load). They have a 4-day week next week, and that’s really going to become a 3-day week because I’m taking ALL 3 for recommended cardiology screening appointments on one of the days. Things are definitely winding down! I continue to be pretty thrilled about the timing of our vacation right after school ends (to the point where I think we will do the same thing next year!).
5- I graduated myself from therapy. This is a little personal, but . . . I don’t really see a downside to sharing! I saw a therapist (a psychologist I really meshed with well) for about 2 months post cardiac event. It was very helpful and I’m glad I did it. I don’t necessarily feel “done” with therapy for life or anything, but I feel like I am in a good place and ready to take a break for now and I will reach out if I need it again (the therapist was on board with this plan!).
PS: THANK YOU to those of you who shared about my book yesterday! (To anyone who noticed this – I did not ask for it, I promise — it just happened!).
HAPPY ALMOST NEW MONTH . . .
8 Comments
The weather looks great for your trip! I think a fleece is still a good idea for mornings when it can be chilly, especially for a Floridian. That and a light rain jacket would be great to pack. The timing of your trip is great – kind of a nice way to kick off a new quartile! And I would prefer it to end of summer as not near-term transitions are hanging over your heads!
I hope the cardiologist appts go well for the kids and they get a clean bill of health!!
if nothing else I will probably appreciate my fleece on the plane 🙂 🙂 and yes hopefully totally boring uneventful visits, if they go well they can just be checked every ~3-5 years.
With driving in the White Mountains, I find that if you load your directions on your phone when you have wi-fi (I assume where you are staying will have internet, does any place not these days?) they continue to work fine. But then if you are trying to go from one place to another that is where the problem is. There is no cell reception at either of my kids camps up there. When we drive from one camp to the other coverage is a challenge, but towns like Wolfeboro have reasonable cell service and the White Mountain Highway has coverage. Once you get much outside of those places it is pretty spotty.
good point about downloading maps/GPS data! Wish I could just download like an entire 100 mi radius. I also ended also most lost in upstate NY when i was doing camp visiting day in 2022 bc I lost signal and couldn’t get it back for miles.
I’m chuckling about the weather in NH bc that seems borderline too hot for me (we’re 60 and sunny today in A2 and it’s perrrrrffffeeeect).
I wanted to tell you that I read Annie Bot per your recommendation and really enjoyed it! Top 2/3 of the year for me so far, so thank you!! Now I’m reading Heaven My Home which is an Ann Patchett recommendation. I really liked Bluebird Bluebird by the same author so I am hopeful.
Also wanted to mention you looked hot af in your anniversary beach pics, so whatever you’re doing exercise-wise it seems to be working for you. 🙂
When you get to the point where your hand/upper body strength starts limiting your lower body lifts, would you mind sharing what you end up doing? I’m stuck at two 25s for my front loaded squat and my hands and my shoulders ache so much but I feel nothing in my legs. Any tips would be so helpful!
I thought you would like Annie Bot! Also possibly top read of year for me and I still think about it all the time. Weight training is def better for body composition for me than running (which . . I already knew, but I guess nice to see still holds true). I have the same prob though (except at this point when I do squats with 2 x 25lb it’s still a challenge for lower, but grip/shoulder is a problem – grip worse than putting on shoulders). The answer is probably like scary barbells and smith machines and such but then I’d have to leave the house. Eventually will work up to that!
I am happy you will hopefully have nice weather for your trip! I will say that you will most definitely want your fleece. I live in southern NH and I would never go to the White Mountains at any time of year without a fleece. And this sounds silly but I think those temperatures will feel cooler to you. Plus the weather in the Whites is notoriously unpredictable and can change very quickly.
Safe travels and I hope you have a great time!
I can attest that you did NOT ask us to all post about your book on the same day! It was so weird that it worked out that way.
The weather in New Hampshire is looking GREAT. I think disposable cameras for the kids are a great idea. And, this reminded me of a vacation years ago where we were in Door County WI, and it was such a remote area that we lost cell service. And everything we needed- like directions to our campground, the restaurants we wanted to eat at- were on our phones. At one point we saw a McDonalds and were all huddled around the doorway because we got a wifi signal there. In retrospect it was pretty funny.
I also finished my book last night! It is a satisfying feeling.