New date night habit + calorie deficit update

 New thing: The moment Ben gets home from Peoria, we go out for a drink. ONE drink-- that's it. It's quick and easy and a perfect way to take a beat and catch up for less than an hour before we jump back in the the fray.

Conversations about who is taking Minnie to swim team or what homework Dorothy might have to be cajoled into doing after dance are much more entertaining AT A BAR with a beer or an old fashioned.

Even in a prolonged calorie deficit, I can have a drink or two, and not figuring out where to go based on what food they might have and how I can possibly wait until 8 pm to eat dinner when I am hungry by like 5:45 (lol) is lovely. It's like it just occurred to us tat we could go to a bar just for the dranks.

Speaking of calorie deficit! I actually have no idea if I have lost weight because I haven't weighed myself-- which is weird, I get it. But I can say that my clothes fit much better. 

Something that is really hard for me is treating the weekend like any other part of the week. I am TOTALLY the person who under eats all week, OVER eats on the weekend, and ends up at maintenance without enjoying being at maintenance. Sooooo, I have been trying REALLY HARD to not be that person and also to LIVE MY LIFE-- especially since we have been visiting the boys on the weekend, etc. I want to break out of the "starting Monday" mindset.

Things I love to eat right now:

Plain Chobani yogurt with 15g Purely Elizabeth chocolate chip cookie granola and a chopped up nectarine

Chobani Flip yogurt when I need something sweet

Tru Fru choc covered frozen strawberries 

Whole Foods deli turkey in Carb Balance wraps

Honey crisp apples

Roasted broccoli

Sweet potatoes

Cottage cheese with pears and cinnamon

Oatmeal with peanut butter mixed in

Egg whites and spinach with chicken sausage links on a whole wheat bagel

Built Puff bars

I am eating around 80 grams of protein a day (sometimes as many as 115-ish), 35-40 grams of fiber and less than 15 grams of saturated fat. Most of my fiber comes from fruits and veggies and beans and seeds, but the occaisional multigrain English muffin or wrap boosts me over the edge (I try to make sure I get 25 grams from fruits and veggies before I eat a Carb Balance wrap).

I am  still bakig, but it has really been working for me to make a quadruple batch of cookie dough and freeze the balls. I can pop cookies in the oven ANY TIME someone wants cookies, and I only have the huge (for me) temptation of a giant open bag of chocolate chips and a vat of cookie dough (I freaking love raw cookie dough like no other, health risks be damned) every couple of months. I am also WAY MORE LIKLEY to eat just one cookie fresh out of the oven (one of life's true pleasures) when I am only making a dozen or 18 of them-- when I make a huge batch it feels like I can eat and eat and eat and eat for some reason.

Speaking of moderation! I was craving candy corn and peanuts (IYKYK) so I bought some and ate exactly 8 pieces of each and haven't touched either one since. LOOK AT ME MODERATING!

The TL;DR is that I feel great and am eating delicious food and don;t have to buy new jeans. ALL WINS.

My Athleisure Life

 For years I tried to avoid athleisure in public, and then I started buying Lululemon pants. And now? I aspire to never getting dressed in hard pants again. Kidding. But not really. I think I will just waft from maxi dresses to leggings and sweaters forever. From Birkenstock season to Ugg season, with a brief stopover in cute sneakers season on the way. 

I have my eye on THESE pants, and then maybe I won't even have to get dressed for lecture?

But still. I have some questions for you.

1. Who makes the very BEST leggings?

2. What sports bras do you love? My current favorite is THIS ONE, but I am open to experimentation.

3. What's your go-to sneaker when you're wearing workout gear and not actually working out?

4. What do you wear on top? Who makes the BEST t-shirts?

5. Have you tried a Quince yoga set?

Can't wait to wear these sweats again

Forget dance! Studio pants are the best eating pants ever

Actua/ exercise clothes= not actual public clothes

I bought these 4-inch Align shorts on eBay and actually like the way they feel but could never wear them in public. They ride up like crazy and the google tells me that's a design flaw, not a me problem

Life lately + Ask Me Anything

 I have traded my messy bun for a neat ponytail. WHO EVEN AM I YOU GUYS?

I think we need a new puppy?

I gotta get these boots re-soled. AGAIN. They are older than Cooper and I just love them so much.

So far, first grade is as cute as kindergarten, Minnie's "firnd" made her a similar pic. that said "FIRNSHIP"

Minnie is Very Into helping me with things and is always asking for jobs.

I cannot stop buying vintage editions of books I want to read to Minnie. THIS WAS THE SAME COPY I HAD! She adores Little House (the Garth Williams illustrated paper back from my very own bookshelf at my mom's house) but was not a huge fan of Wonder (we gave up reading it at night, but we are listening in the car). I hope Sara Carew hits.

In anticipation of NaBloPoMo, I made an ASK ME ANYTHING because I am running out of ideas you guys omg. Please ask questions/suggest topics-- I would appreciate it so much.

October! I love October!

 Oh, my dears, we are right in the middle of the 'ber months, and like all basic bitches, I am thrilled.

October goals:

Read my Book the Month back ups (all of these, plus the new John Green that's on it's way)

Start a Girl Scout Troop. Minnie really wants to be a Girl Scout. We went to an intro meeting at the library where I thought I would be matched with an existing troop, but there aren't any open spots! The event was aimed at connecting people from the same grades and schools together to start troops, but we were the only people fromMinnie's school. Soooooo, I guess I'm starting a troop. YOU GUYS. HOW DOES THIS STUFF ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME?

Carry on our tradition of going out for a drink when Ben gets home for the week. I love this so far.

Visit UWEC for parents' weekend

Pick apples

Visit the pumpkin patch 

Make my holiday gift wish list

Buy at least 2 gifts each for Harry, Jack, and Cooper

Clean out the big storage room in the basement

Set up Jack's room for Harry and Jack (Move beds from Coop's room. Move a bed from our room to Coop's room. Sell existing beds in the room on Marketplace. Buy a new mattress so the beds from Cop's room will match in height. Clean out bookshelves so each kid has one. Get a matching IKEA dresser? Empty closet)

Decorate for fall, I do not really want to do this because I am feeling overwhelmed by clutter, but Minnie is ALL IN.

September: What I Read

 SO MANY BOOKS this month you guys! Mostly audio. And! This is the first month of the whole year that I have only read 3 books on my Kindle, instead of the book-a-week rhythm I was going for. I actually had a disturbing feats and famine book cycle this month instead of reading a little bit every day, so I am going to try to get better at habitual reading next month.

Here are my reads, from worst to best:

Baddies in a bad way (7)

📚🎉Birding with Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb: Snooze. I read this light romance for the Pop Sugar challenge, and I did not like it very much.

📚🎉Time to Burn by Ellery Lloyd. Meh. This should have been better, based on the plot about commercial time travel. This author is actually a husband/wife team, and I have liked their other books.

📚🎉Love You More by Emily Giifn: It's not just her politics that suck.

📚🎉Awake, Awake by Fiona Mozely: This was really buzzy, but it just... didn't do it for me.

🎧Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead: Anne told me the main character is really unlikable, but I went for it anyway.

📱🎉Start at the End by Emma Grey: NOPE. I usually really do like this author, but this (time travel! or at least multiple timeline!) romance did not totally work for me.

📱🎉Forget me Not by Stacy Willingham: SNOOZEFEST.

Super solid back list titles you can probably get without a wait (3)

🎧The Float Test by Lynn Steger Strong: I saw this author blurb something else and remembered how much I liker her. This is a book about a fractured family and adult sibling drama, and it's excellent.

🎧Bug Hollow by Michelle Huneven: I loved her previous book about a Unitarian church searching for a new minister, and this one was also great. Set in suburban inland CA, a family drama that had great characters and an excellent plot.

🎧Astonish Me by Maggie Shipstead: another CA book-- this one is about ballet dancers, and I looooooved it.

Not bad new books by old faves (2)

📚🎉The Witches of Cambridge by Alice Hoffman: Spooky fall and dark academia. Liked it!

📱🎉Big Little Truths by Lianne Moriarty: Fun to revisit these characters and see how the show's popularity impacted her writing.

Best books of the MONTH (3)

🎧🎉Someone Else's Husband by Kimberly McCreight: COULD NOT PUT THIS DOWN.

🎧🎉Hollow Bones by Jodi Picoult: TRASH but GOOOOOD TRASH!

🎧🎉Pretty Dead Things by Kelsey Cox: YES-- a beauty pageant murder book? SIGN ME UP.

BEST BOOKS OF THE YEEEEEAR (2)

🎧🎉The Thoroughbreds by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham: This is the sequel to last year's The Academy, and it is fab. I think it's maybe going to be a TV show! I wish it were going to be another book, but, alas. SO FUN THOUGH YOU GUYS and one of my favorite things I've read this year. Meeting these characters again was like reconnecting with old friends, and it is so fantastically escapist. 

🎧🎉The Understory by Chloe Benjamin: OH WOW. This is a total masterpiece. I read some reviews that said you really have to suspend your disbelief, and I think this is absolutely true-- some things just do not make sense or hold up to rigorous scrutiny, but WOW OH WOW. I think you should read this right away.

The stats:

Snippets

Some moments from a busy season: 

My oatmeal exploded in the microwave at work when I ran upstairs between classes I was observing to eat breakfast, and I almost cried. Instead, I pivoted and ate my nectarine and plum with 2 of the granola bars I stock for my TAs. Calorically similar but not as filling.

Now Dorothy and Cooper are selling things on Depop as well as buying, and I am constantly going to the post office. I wish they could drive. I also wish they'd think about donating their cast-offs instead. But! I do like the idea of a fast fashion exchange. Is anything from Brandy Melville ever worth more than like $6 anyway?

Minnie is a joy to watch in the water at swim team practice. Is she the fastest swimmer? Absolutely not? Is she the most technically proficient swimmer? No not at all. Is she working her little tail off learning strokes and applying corrections from her coaches? YES SHE IS, and it is a delight to observe. She is such a good listener, and she is so determined to improve. I was like Minnie, I am so proud of you for working so hard and being so cheerful when your coaches tell you to fix something, and she looked at me like I was crazy and said MOM THAT'S WHEN THE LEARNING HAPPENS, AND I LOVE TO LEARN.

On a Friday afternoon, I cleaned up my office, recycled papers from literal YEARS ago, and prepped what I needed for my first meeting of the day on Monday. I loved spending just a few minutes taking care of future me, and when I got to campus a few minutes late the following Monday and had a student come immediately to my office before I even had a chance to walk down the hall and fill up my teeny tiny Hydroflask, I felt pulled together and ready to welcome them.

Snack box Sunday is still working for me. I really like asking Dorothy and Cooper to tell me what they're hungry for on the weekend when I am grocery shopping and then packing a whole week's worth of on-the-go snacks. This week, Cooper's box has 47 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber, and Dorothy's has 27 grams of protein (she does not drink a protein drink like Cooper does) and 4 grams of fiber. Not bad

Cooper! Is a permitted driver. WHAT.

I am writing this at swim team practice while I grade 250 case studies (I grade these every week, and my TAs grade the 4 large papers in the course-- I really do have the sweeter deal, but it's tedious), and I have to tell you that 8-and-under swim team swimmers are ADORABLE in their swim caps and Speedos with their fins and their kick boards-- oh my goodness. I miss watching Minnie outside the window of the dance studio, but sitting in the warm natatorium twice a week is a trade off I can live with.

Quick trip to Eau Claire

 We had so much fun driving up to see Harry on Sunday. The drive was lovely because the leaves are starting to change, and the weather was crisp but still friendly-- fun all around.