What I’m Into | February 2017

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I’m a little late this month, seeing as it’s already March 6th!

What I Read

Just two books this month. Both from the library, of course. Because, frugal.

Left Neglected

This is the third Lisa Genova book I’ve read in pretty short order.   I liked this one better than Love Anthony, but not quite as much as Still Alice.

(Both of those are in my January reading list.)

Left Neglected wasn’t boring, the writing was good, and it was really interesting to learn about this Left Neglect condition.

But I just felt like the last third of the book was a little lackluster, and the main character is a little bit hard to love.

So, if you pick one of these three Lisa Genova books, go with Still Alice.

Emma, a Modern Retelling

I have mixed feelings about this book. Of course, the story was fun because, well, it’s Emma! And I liked Austen’s Emma.   But it was a little weird to read about the characters in a modern setting…my brain was having trouble adjusting.

I mean, I was reading about characters driving Mini Coopers, but I was still imagining them in Regency dress!   I couldn’t get fully into the modern times with the story.

I did really like this quote from the end of the book:

“She had been able to make that sudden imaginative leap that lies at the heart of our moral lives; the ability to see, even for a brief moment, the world as it is seen by the other person.   It is this understanding that lies behind all kindness to others, all attempts to ameliorate the situation of those who suffer, all those acts of charity by which we make our lives something more than the pursuit of the goals of the unruly ego.”

Yes, yes, yes.

In my parenting, I’m frequently trying to get my kids to think about how they’d feel in someone else’s shoes, or how they’d feel if they were on the receiving end of their own behavior.

When you manage to see the world that way, you feel motivated to be kind instead of feeling like you have to force yourself to be kind.

Once you’ve understood someone’s pain/perspective, compassion often follows, and compassion drives kindness.

Anyway! The book was a fun and fluffy read, but the quote at the end was probably the best part.

Just FYI, I wouldn’t consider this version of Emma to be very kid-friendly. It’s not a bodice-ripper or anything(!), but I wouldn’t give it to Sonia or Zoe to read.

What I Watched

Umm, nothin’.

Which is pretty frugal, I suppose.

Mr. FG did take Zoe to see Rogue One at the cheap theater for a special birthday outing. But it was just a Dad/Zoe trip, not a Mom/Dad/Zoe trip.

(Which was fine with me because I really super duper do not dig sci-fi.)

What I Listened To

I got a little bit caught up on my podcasts, though I am still behind.   Right now I’m mostly keeping up with What Should I Read Next, but I also sometimes listen to The Simple Show.

Other Stuff I’m Loving

Biking

I went to Florida with Mr. FG for a short trip at the beginning of the month, and while we were there, we took a bike ride together. Which reminded us that we used to love to bike together before we had kids.

(Biking as a couple is an activity got curtailed for a while due to having kids!)

So, when we had a nice warm day after we returned, we dusted our bikes off and took a ride together, and it was great!

Hopefully there’ll be some more of that when winter weather is gone.   We already own the bikes, so this is a pretty delightfully inexpensive thing to do together.

Longer Days

I am SUPER EXCITED that the days are getting longer and that DST starts on Saturday night. Woohoo!   Even though warm weather is rarely here at the start of DST, the long days make me feel like summer is nearly here.

52 New Recipes

(I set a goal to try one new recipe per week in 2017, in case you missed that!)

I’ve only missed one week of new-recipe-trying so far, which is a lot better than I expected.   While not every recipe has been a favorite, we’ve found lots of keepers, and we’re eating some new and different dishes, which is fun.

Blogging about this project has been key to me sticking with it. There have been a lot of weeks where I was tempted to put off trying my new recipe and make something familiar instead, but I forged ahead because I knew I was supposed to blog about it.

So, thanks for keeping me on track, guys. 😉

(You can see all the 52 New Recipes posts here.)

My Cook’s Country subscription

I let mine lapse, but I renewed it with some Christmas money.   I got my first new issue in February, so, yay!

I almost always find a good recipe or two in each issue, which makes it totally worth the subscription price.

It’s $25 a year, which, when you consider the cost of takeout, is a great bargain. Good recipes are so valuable.

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Aaaand that wraps up this month’s What I’m Into.

I’d love to hear what you were into in February!

Linking up with HopefulLeigh.

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