Recently Consumed: Quarantine Edition

Yes, it now takes me three weeks to rack up enough content to write a post.  Sadly, I have not grown better at capturing the moments that have been lifting us up and keeping us occupied.  We have watched a ton of movies, I’ve actually gotten back to reading, we celebrated my sister’s birthday (six feet apart and with masks in a big outdoor area) and this weekend, the weather was so so nice and we spent lots of time outside.  Yet, my camera roll is just pictures of Andi and Cream of Wheat.  What is wrong with me??

Anyway, since my life is now just a list of things I’ve consumed, I thought I’d just break it down into some categories: things watched, things read, things eaten.  Here we go!

Things Watched:

  • I think we’ve talked about watching The Sopranos for ten years, but we finally pulled the trigger (no pun intended :P) and are already a few episodes into Season 2!
  • Can you believe we’d never seen any of the Lord of the Rings films?  In my mind, it seemed like some big time commitment and I’d made it my whole life without them, so it didn’t feel pressing but we plowed through them a couple weekends ago and I LOVED them!  The plot was interesting, the graphics really held up (Helm’s Deep is how you do a nighttime battle scene, Game of Thrones) and Orlando Bloom really made being a fairy seem cool.  Halfway through Return of the King, I told Joey “if one of these hobbitses die, I will lose it!”  Why did I wait so long??
  • My sister told me I needed to watch Broad City and she was right!  Every time Joey would catch part of an episode, he’d laugh the entire time.  It really is funny.
  • Joey flew through Misery so after he finished, I promised I’d watch the movie with him.  He wouldn’t even tell me if there were more torture scenes than that one torture scene, but I survived and actually thought it was pretty good.
  • We’ve watched like a thousand other things, but I’ll end here 🙂

Things Read:

  • In all honesty, though I’ve technically read parts of three books during this quarantine, two of them I’d started way earlier and I’m only halfway through the third one.  Don’t be like me and get into a habit of looking at your phone instead of reading at night!
  • The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip.  Unless you count Harry Potter, I don’t think I’ve read a true fantasy story maybe ever?  I got this one at our book swap in December and vowed to actually give it a go.  I didn’t love it, to be honest, but I’m glad I gave it a chance.
  • Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid.  If you know me, you know I love Taylor Jenkins Reid.  This one wasn’t as good as The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but I still really liked it.  She has such an knack for creating characters that feel so real I often find myself wanting to Google them before I remember they’re fictional.  
  • Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver.  I’m only halfway through and something like ten years removed from the last time I read a Barbara Kingsolver book, but I really like this one!

Things Eaten:

  • Asparagus Quiche with a Polenta Crust.  When your mom already makes the best classic quiche, it’s best not to even try making something similar, so polenta quiche it is!  We’ve been making this for years and it’s truly creamy and delicious.
  • Kale Caesar Salad.  We’ve definitely forgone our weekly salad-in-a-jar habit, but we’ve been trying to throw in a dinner salad here and there.  This one is old and I actually made the recipe up myself, but it’s delicious and the only update I’ve made is this technique for homemade croutons (they are crazy good!).
  • Sesame Soba Noodles.  Joey made these for us and then I think I ate the leftovers four days in a row.
  • We’ve also ordered a lot of take out.  Ramen from Uncle will never get old!

A pup who likes to sleep with his tongue out // A blossom update // A snowstorm that ruined all those blossoms // Aforementioned polenta quiche

In other news, we close on our house this Thursday (and it’s in person, ugh!!!), so that’s something to look forward too 🙂

10 Reasons To Be Glad It’s Spring

Did you know yesterday was the first day of spring?

I did and if I had been planning ahead, I would have posted this yesterday.  Planning ahead instead of say, Googling chronic tiredness and then trying to convince everyone that I have a rare condition where I dream too much and all the energy my brain is using to create such vivid dreams is making me tired instead of allowing sleep to be restorative.  Oh dear, I’ve said too much.

Anyways.  It’s now spring!  And I don’t know if it was my trip to the sunny and eternally summer-like state of Arizona or the two days of 70 degree weather we had a couple of weeks ago, but I am ready for spring and here’s 10 reasons why.

1. The return of hiking season.

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My sister and I were just lamenting about the fact that last St. Patrick’s Day we were out on a hike in Boulder.  This year, it’s a week past St. Patrick’s Day and there’s snow in the forecast.  I’m ready to feel the pain and exhaustion of a good hike, which always feels like I’ve never exercised in my life.  I want that feeling.

2. Baseball!

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Rockies Opening Day is so soon.  They put out their new commercials yesterday and they just made me want to be friends with the whole team.  Fingers crossed for a better season than last year.

3. Spring birthdays.

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  I love other peoples’ birthdays!  All the celebrating but none of the center of attention-ness.

4. Fresh spring flavors and meals.

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And by that I specifically mean tacos.  Oh so many tacos.  But also fresh asparagus, light salads and sweet fruit.  Warm hearty comfort foods make winter taste oh so delicious, but I’m so ready for something a little brighter.

5. Trips to the Farmers’ Market.

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And all the expensive produce that I am suddenly convinced I need when I am there.  In similar but not-exactly-related news, I really want to sign up for a spring/summer/early autumn CSA this year!  I spent some time yesterday doing some farm research and have a few picked out that I need to debate over and then that part where I convince Joey to shell out a big lump sum for vegetables.

6. Spring blossoms.

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Apart from turning leaves, is there anything more breathtaking than freshly blossoming trees?  Not to mention that sweet delicious smell they produce.  The white ones are beautiful but the pinkish purple ones?  My favorite!

7. Easter.

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And all the brunching, family bonding and Easter egg hunting that comes with it.

8. The arrival of the Bolder Boulder. 

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Actually I am terrified for “America’s Best 10K” because I feel I might die every time I’m done running 3 miles, which is in fact only half the distance of a 10K.  Thank goodness it’s a race where walking, keg-standing and slip-n-sliding is highly encouraged.

9. Our family trip to Vegas. 

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This is not a picture of Vegas.  This is a picture of alcohol, which we will consume in Vegas.  And my sister will finally be able to do this legally.  Because she’s turning 21 in April.  Yay!

10. It’s not winter! 

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And I will celebrate any season that isn’t winter.

Happy 2nd Day of Spring!

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What part of spring are you most excited about?

What’s your favorite spring meal?

Have you ever self-diagnosed yourself with a rare condition after doing too much Googling?  Still just me on that one?