Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Week in Review 2/22/12




I was searching through this here blog the other day and was reminded of my Week In Review posts that I liked doing as a quick round up of what I'm watching, reading, doing etc. That fits well with my "plan" to post once a week so here goes.

What I'm Reading
I am currently reading In the Company of Others by Jan Karon, the second in the Father Tim series, which is an offshoot/continuation/sequel of the Mitford series. I don't love the Father Tim series as much as I loved Mitford, but right away I was drawn into this installment and it's nearing can't-put-it-down status.

What I'm Watching
Like the rest of the world/country/blogosphere, I've fallen in love with Downton Abbey. Love Love Love. And I can't get enough of their fashion, I have a board devoted to Downton Abbey Fashion on Pinterest. Sadly, the second season ended the other night (wasn't it a wonderful finale?!), I can't wait for it to return!

Hubby and I also like The Walking Dead, which just returned on AMC. However, we watched the most recent episode last night and were disappointed in the writing.

I watched the pilot episode of Smash because it looked like my cup of tea--I love musical theater and Glee and Broadway. I only sort of liked it. I think I'll watch another episode before I commit or give up.

One more thing I want to mention. Perhaps inspired by Downton Abbey, we've been watching other British dramas on Netflix. We found and loved Bleak House. It was confusing to follow at the beginning (it's Dickens so there are loads of characters), but we soon got into it. I highly recommend it.

In Other News
Not much life-shattering going on around here. We've all been sick a number of times this winter. The kids just never get over their colds. My new philosophy is "there is no normal, only troubleshooting." Lots of troubleshooting of illness lately.

Lent starts today. I suppose I could do a whole post about my "plan" but I'm here now so here goes. Last week in a bout of the blues, I emailed my BFF that I was struggling with What's my purpose? What's the point? Why do I bother? She didn't pretend to have the answer, just empathy and she reminded me that Hubby and the kids need me and she needs me as a friend etc. The next day, her words "clicked" and I turned her thoughts into a purpose statement, that my purpose is To Serve Others, to serve Hubby and L and T and my BFF and so on. So far, while not life-changing and not enough to fend off the negative thoughts, that has been a pretty helpful mantra/philosophy. And now it's Lent and I'm not motivated to give up sweets or caffeine or another bad habit (cough, computer, cough) for fear I'll lose whatever sanity I have left, but I can use this as my Lenten promise. Therefore, I have chosen this Lent to focus on how I can serve others and also Less Yelling. My kids are so crazy/rambunctious/loud that sometimes I'm not even yelling out of temper but just for volume. Just to be heard. Now I'm trying to get their attention by clapping. I can tell you that Day 1 isn't off to the best start. I will try to log my progress in future posts.