March RWLB

The first two months of the year have flown by (even though at the time it felt like January was a full two years long) and now spring is upon us! 

This is the time of year I reflect and realize I need to get my act together. Spring cleaning! Persian New Year! Tee-Shirts! 

My oldest child is graduating this year so I'm also feeling the year slip-sliding into May with a speed I can't control. I want time to slow down a bit so I can savor dinners with family and family game nights. A big change is coming for our family soon and when that happens I tend to try to hold onto the status quo with a death grip.

But some things never change...like my love for reading, watching a show before bed, putting on some tunes or podcasts while I clean, and of course, shopping. Here's what I'm reading, watching, listening to, and buying this month:

Reading

I'm currently reading A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. One of my closest friends gave it to me for my birthday last month and we decided we'd read it together. I've had to start and stop a few times because it deals with heavy subject matter (bullying, suicide, climate change, war) and over the last couple of weeks my life has been full of heavy subject matter. 

But the writing is outstanding and the story is engaging. I'm more than halfway through and feel fairly confident that this will be a five-star read for me. 

After a string of dark, heavy books I needed something light. Normally I reach for Wodehouse when that's what I'm looking for, but the other night I grabbed a book off my shelf that I've been meaning to read for months. 

The Mystery of Henri Pick was recommended in Anne Bogel's summer reading guide either last year or the year before...I can't remember. I bought it because I love translated literature and thought it would be fun to read some contemporary French fiction. 

It is a light, fun read so far. I read about thirty pages before bed every night. The tone is detached and literary. The focus is on the book world, publishing, and modern psychology. I'll let you know what I think when I'm finished but so far, it's just exactly the right book at the right time.

Watching

My husband and I started watching Severance because we both love Adam Scott and heard it was good. It is weird and the first couple of episodes were kind of off-putting but we're sticking with it. At first, I was falling asleep, but now I find myself on the edge of my seat by the time the credits roll.

We also started The Righteous Gemstones. I'm a Christian and find this show both unsettling and hilarious. They are not shy about dude-ity (nudity of dudes) and I think the characters use more curse words than any other words, but I'm here for this show. At its core, the show is about a family and if you can cut through the hyperbole you might find yourself caring about what happens to this group of absurdly flawed characters. 

Listening to

The Encanto soundtrack.

I cannot get this music out of my head and my body starts dancing every time it comes on. I cannot help myself.

Jamie Foxx's audiobook, Act Like You Got Some Sense.

Do not sleep on this audio experience. Jamie Foxx reads this himself and wow. It was powerful, honest, hilarious, and wild. He is humble as he offers some life lessons and parenting wisdom he has gained over the years. His stories about his grandmother will make you wish you could meet this woman of mythic proportions. And through every story, his love for life and his family shines through. It was so good.

Buying

Groceries. Yo, groceries are expensive these days. And maybe I'm getting old because I experience the thrill of joy when I find my favorite tortilla chips and my favorite salsa stocked on the shelves on the same day. 

it me

I just got a magic bullet blender so I can make single-serving smoothies this spring. The weather has to be warm if I'm going to make a smoothie because there's nothing worse than feeling cold all the way through in the winter after you've just chugged a green monster. 

I get sick of the mess and the waste that goes along with my big blender. I feel like I have to fill it up with fruit and yogurt and then spend half the morning trying to get other people in my family to drink a smoothie so I don't have to pour $15 worth of ingredients down the drain. Hopefully, the magic bullet will solve all of my problems. 😉😂

What are you reading, watching, listening to, and buying in March? Tell me in the comments and let's talk.