How We Live Now

I forgot I've had this blog since 2011... I read a few random posts from 2011... and 2013... and 2015... and 2021...  It's like looking through a photo albums. Sometimes, the old posts trigger memories. Sometimes, I read and I think "huh, I completely forgot about this!".

I hope I keep up with the writing through the years. So that in another 10 years, I can look look back at 2024, and be reminded of the things that were important to me then (now), of the struggles, of the every-day things that tend to get lost.

So how do we live now, in January 2024?

Monday: work, school, E's track practice, then dinner. Piano lesson for H (sometimes I go to a grocery store during this time... sometimes C comes with me). After the piano lesson, my dad always has some food for H (and for C if she comes along). Because "Nado bol'she kushat' " [You should eat more].

Tuesday: work, school, sometimes H has French club (she is the President of the French club!), track practice for E. Dinner. C has rehearsals for "Finding Nemo" musical at her school. Youth Orchestra rehearsal for E on the other side of the planet in Ardmore (a 30-40 min drive - we don't get back home until 9:50).   

Wednesday: work, school, dinner. Track practice for E. C has cello at 6, H has jazz club at 7, and E has violin lesson at 7:15. Plus E occasionally has orthodontist appointments on Wednesday afternoon. Husband and I typically split the driving - I take C to cello and he takes E to violin, dropping off and picking up H on his way there and back. C and I usually stop by the library on the way home to return and pick up books.

Thursday: work, school. Track practice for E. Dinner. H has rock climbing. I bring work with me or go food-shopping while she has the climbing lesson. Everyone is tired and ready for the weekend.

Friday: work, school... Dinner. Sometimes friends come over, or kids go to friend's house, or track meet for E, or school dance... Or all of the above. Kids are supposed to clean their rooms. If time allows, we all watch a movie or a TV show (currently enjoying White Collar and Teen Wolf). 

Saturday: laundry, grocery shopping. Family fun stuff. Chores. Screen time. I make fancier breakfasts (something that takes too long to make during the workweek). Getting together with friends.

Sunday: Hebrew school, chores, family fun stuff. Cooking. Going on walks with the family, or going to see a play, or something else that's an adventure (not always, but we try!). Relaxing in front of the fireplace. Sometimes watching shows with kids.

What's your day-to-day life like? 

First World Dilemma

Amazon` (the only streaming service we currently use) is going to start including ads in their movies and shows at the end of January.

There is an option to pay more and not have ads.

Hence, the dilemma (and may this be the biggest problem we have this year):

• Do we get rid of our prime account? 
• Do we switch do a different streaming service*?
• Do we stay away from all streaming services and just watch shows and movies that we can get at the library ? (our TV picks up a couple of local channels via antenna - but ads are annoying and waste time) (also, we are so used to watching what we want, when we want it, it's a bit of a culture shock when you can longer have it with regular TV)
• Do we keep things as is and just pay more for ad-free streaming?
• Even with additional cost of ad-free streaming on A-prime, it is still cheaper than ad-free streaming with Netflix or Hulu.

My husband and I used to watch shows on A-prime, but in the last ~2 years he hasn't watched anything except occasional movies with kids during our semi-regular family movie nights. 

(It's hard to find something that both my husband and I like. Plus, as the kid bedtime got later and later, we no longer have the 1-2 hours to watch a grown-up show after kids are in bed.)

I watch stuff on A-prime - usually with kids, sometimes (rarely) on my own. 

Will we miss the ability to stream movies and shows at our convenience? Probably. Is it worth almost $200 a year? Not sure.

Anyone out there without any streaming or cable service? (If it was just the grown-ups, we would join your ranks! But it is nice to occasionally be able to watch random things with kids...)

*Anything but Disney. 

January Weekends - Take 2

We have had a whole week of real winter! 

Lots of snow.

Lots of sledding.

We took the kids skiing.

We went on hikes through winter forests.

I love, love, love the winter: how everything is covered by the blanket of snow, how you can see animal and bird footprints, how the snow muffles sounds and makes everything so peaceful, the feel of cold air, the need to keep moving (because otherwise I loose all sensation in my fingers and toes). I love sledding, too - I went a few times with the kids and it feels so much like flying.

Other exciting things to mention:

• We saw 2 bald eagles in our neighbor's tree!
• Our cat caught a bird inside the house (a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, I think) - but we managed to rescue the poor thing and it was fine (but traumatized, for sure) (the cat was furious).
• I read (and then fell asleep) in front of the fireplace a few times.
• Husband and I went on date-hikes without the kids, stomping through the snowed-in trails (and soaking in the quiet beauty of it all).

Note to self #1: get new boots for the cross-country skis! (and maybe take lessons...)

Note to self #2: look into winter places to travel to next winter.

Favorite Books of 2023

The Dissident by Paul Goldberg

• I absolutely loved this book and the author's use of Russian and Yiddish words. Loved the tongue-in-cheek humor.
• The frequent send-back to Master and Margarita - ahh, that warms my heart.
• Inspiring

Slow Horses by Mick Herron 

• Well-written, fun characters who are flawed but (mostly) likeable
• The world feels real and authentic
• This book has a sense of humor and doesn't take itself too seriously.
• Interesting premise of "looser-spies" - no "James Bond saves the world" stuff here
• Also read and enjoyed other books in the series: Dead Lions, Real Tigers, Spook Street, London Rules, Joe Country

Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan

• Nonfiction
• Honest, passionate, not preachy, thought-provoking

With My Little Eye by Joshilyn Jackson

• Well-written, immersive thriller with strong, interesting characters
• A character with autism seems authentic
• Parenting themes are realistic
• Some of the plot twists seemed contrived.

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

• This was a very interesting and enjoyable read - loved the concept (ended up retelling part of the book to my family).
• Pretty dark but not gruesome
• Characters are often unlikeable, but you still feel for them.
• Unexpected ending (even though I figured out the villain before the end of the book)

You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz

• A solid thriller - I really grew to respect the main character, Grace, after initially finding her to be a bit eye-roll-inducing.

Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes

• Excellent! Funny and relatable, and a fun read. Not too deep but makes you feel good.

Nettle & Bone by Ursula Vernon/Kingfisher

• Enjoyable fantasy and a good escape.

Thornhedge by Ursula Vernon/Kingfisher

• Nice and short! I liked this re-telling of Sleeping Beauty (with a psychopathic killer)

The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson

• A short puzzle of a mystery. There is a clear malicious intent (so you know something bad is going to happen), but the twist caught me off-guard (I should have seen it coming!)

Not absolute favorites, but also enjoyed the following books:

The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths (a well-constructed page-turner; I liked the 3 POVs that overlapped, describing the same event from different angles)

Let Justice Descend by Lisa Black (liked scienc-y details and descriptions of the lab; plot was interesting and unexpected)

Mother May I and Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson (both are well-written page-turner thrillers with interesting characters and unexpected twists)

The Maid by Nita Prose

Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson (What is someone with a history of mental illness and paranoid delusions had a solid suspicion that their neighbor is a murderer? What if no one believes them? Fun read!) 

Enjoying Life

I get so hyper-focused and stressed out about chores, work, and kid-related things. Sometimes, I forget that it's OK to just enjoy things.

I need to have more built-in pleasant experiences. Even if it costs money. I also need to make some changes to our current life. Even if it costs more money.

Easy things that make a difference:

• Flowers
• Nice soap
• Nice (new!) bathrobe and slippers

Easy things that do not cost anything:

• Walks and hikes in local parks
• Board games with the family

Things that require some planning but are are still pretty easy:

• Theater
• Concerts (classical)
• Time with friends

Time and money-intensive things:

• Travel! (Without worrying too much about which destination would be perfect. Just pick a place and go.)
• Update kitchen! (I've been having indecision paralysis for years - but no matter what counter, cabinets, and floor I pick, it will be an improvement on what we have now.)

Dear Reader, what brings you joy? What makes you happy?

Words

There are certain words that just give me the shivers - and not the good variety of shivers. 

For example: "vaca" instead of vacation and "veggies" instead of vegetables - ARGH! Cringe! How do you even pronounce "vaca" - [veika? vaka? vakei?] 

In Russian, the word "tsypochki", referring to tip-toes (stoyat' na tsypochkah = to stand on tip-toes) has given me a bad case of goosebumps ever since I was a child.

"Ecosystem" - taken out of biology context and plunked into business development context. Yuck.

"Leaders" - either the in context of "Dear Leader/aka Dear Tyrant" or in the school, where all the students are supposed to be leaders and take on leadership roles. Come on!

Other words that are like nails on glass: hubby, mani/pedi.

Shockingly, "kiddos" do not bother me at all!

Do you have strong feelings about words?

January Weekends

I was sick, so it was pretty much a bare-minimum type of weekend.

Adventure-type things:

• A short hike at a near-by park with husband and our youngest child. (it was slightly below freezing, so no mud on the trails!)
• Driving on icy roads to pick up our oldest from an all-day orchestra retreat. (The roads were bad. This is not an adventure I care to repeat).

Good things:

• A tiny bit of snow. (I wish we had more snow... but even a little bit of snow was exciting).
• I rested and felt better by Sunday.
• I made "vinegret" salad (spelling phonetically here, not sure what it would be called in English. It's sort of like a potato salad, except it also includes beets).
• I made a chicken matzo ball soup (yes, we are not even close to Pesach, but we like our matzo balls year round).
• E made popcorn from kernels on stovetop. We enjoyed it while watching TV shows (Teen Wolf, plus just started Heros) together.
• C made chia seed pudding. Delicious!
• We  had a delicious dinner on Saturday (so easy to make that I managed even though not feeling well at all): baked salmon and baked sweet potato. (I love meals that are pretty much like - stick it into the oven and set the timer. Done!)
• I felt so much better on Sunday! I decided to try a new recipe from C's stir-fry book. Turned out pretty well (will make again because it was easy and because I think adjusting a few things will make it even better).
• C worked on her new Lego set.
• H is designing and making a new doll house using cardboard boxes and a bunch of things from her old DIY sets.

Not-good but not-bad things:

• Husband is away in San Francisco until Wednesday evening.
• We did not play any board games (but I wasn't feeling the greatest for most of the weekend, so not surprising)
• Looking back, I think we over-indulged in watching shows (but  it felt so good to cuddle with kids on the sofa, under the fuzzy blanket) (but next weekend, I'd rather cut back) (H, who is 13, told me yesterday - "Remember, when we were little, we only got to watch one movie on the weekend? It was so nice!" (These days, kids get screen time Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It can be a movie, or 2-3 episodes of a show, or computer games). (I think as long as we all get plenty of outside time, and everyone does their chores/homework/music practice, and we get to hang out and play board games, it's fine.) (Some weekends are busier than others and then there is less time for movies.) Still, that's a lot of screen time.

Games

Happy 2024!!!

We have a pile of new board games - I am so excited. 

The other day, C and I played our new grown-up version of Sequence. We've been using the kid version that someone (grandparents?) got us years and years ago - that's been very popular with all the kids. The new Sequence game was fantastic. C won. She gets pretty intense and competitive with games.

During the break (we went to Callicoon, NY for a few days with friends), the kids played Settlers of Catan that their friends brought along. They all loved it!!! (We may have to get it...) We also played Taboo for a bit - that was fun. I love that game! My husband and H were getting into a groove there, with him providing clues and H being quick as lightning. C and I were trailing behind. 

We looked at our brand-new Trivia Pursuit game. We didn't actually play it, but C pulled our a few cards and was quizzing the grown-ups. I am terrible at this game. But I was able to answer a question about Kazuo Ishiguro's "The Remains of the Day", so I was very proud of myself. Reading pays off.

There is also my husband's Hero Quest  (probably from the 90's?) that the grandparents gave us. It is complicated and takes a while to learn. We did one quest so far - it took us about a week (we had to take long breaks because people were getting upset) - but everyone wants to try another quest. Perhaps on a long rainy weekend...

What are your favorite board games?

What are your least favorite board games?