Happy hump day, everyone!
I tell you what, between Lincoln’s cold and him approaching a new developmental milestone (lots of extra singing and new sentences this week!) we’ve been having more late night parties than a frat house lately. My normal 7pm-7am sleeper has been needing extra attention overnight and to be honest, I’m wiped!
That said I need a few days to recollect and regroup, but was recently tagged in a fellow blogger’s “Currently” series, which I thought was super fun and lighthearted, so I thought I’d do the same here on IGE! Pick a few topics then share the answers with me in the comments section below!
Time and place: 2:06pm sitting at the kitchen counter watching the snow fall with a Grapefruit Perrier and a bunny that just hopped by the door, if we’re being thorough.
Cooking: Chicken Shawarma. I’d been craving Chicken Shawarma after eating at a Lebanese restaurant last week so I made this recipe a few nights ago and it was a hit. Lincoln even loved it! Now I just need to find an authentic tasting white and red hot sauce to drizzle on top. I made a tahini-based one but didn’t love it. Any suggestions?
Awaiting: Decorative Clothespins. I ended up buying a couple of the clothespins I featured in my last Friday Favorites, and they’re supposed to arrive this week – so excited! I’m going to put one in a gallery wall in our living room but don’t know where to put the other one. Could be cute near our message center, or maybe in Lincoln’s room to hold up his latest piece of artwork?
Experiencing: acupuncture. I went to my first acupuncture treatment this week (going for a variety of reasons,) and it was nuts! I’ve embraced a more natural style of living in the past year (or as my Dad likes to jokingly say, crossed over to the dark side,) and it was really neat talking to someone who practices traditional Chinese medicine vs a doctor who wants to slap a prescription on a symptom and call it a day. Of course a handful of needles sticking out of my body was interesting, but even more interesting was telling the doc which ones I felt sensations from then learning what part of the body it was connected to – spoiler alert: they were all related to why I was there in the first place! Have you ever had acupuncture? I’m going back for more treatments but have to say, laying there for 40 minutes with nothing to do was slightly torturous. Raging Type A here.
Working on: 7 Day Meal Plan. I’ve been working on a downloadable 7 day gluten-free meal plan with shopping lists for about 2 months now and am alllllmost done with it. It’ll be free for all newsletter subscribers so be on the lookout for it to come ASAP!
Reading: The Nightingale. I love WW2 fiction (All The Light We Cannot See is one of my favorites,) but so far The Nightingale isn’t captivating me. I’m only 1/4 of the way in so hopefully there’s a plot twist just around the corner.
Listening: Another Mother Runner Podcast. Last week I got to chat with the ladies at Another Mother Runner on their weekly podcast. It was so fun to talk all things running, gluten-free, and presidential hopefuls. (And just to add to my record, I missed a Hilary Clinton spotting at my favorite coffee shop two days ago, so there’s that.)
Craving: Sleep! Like I said, Lincoln’s been sleeping really poorly because he’s so stuffed up and has a cough that won’t quit, but he also seems to toss and turn when he’s on the cusp of a developmental milestone like learning to crawl, walk, and talk. It’s brutal going through it (hello singing toddler at 3am!) but it’s pretty cool knowing something new is around the corner. This time around he’s been talking in longer sentences and singing lots of songs. I’m exhausted but also loving having actual conversations with my little man!
Hating: the weather. Total cliche thing to say, but I am counting down the days until Spring – or at least until we can book a long weekend somewhere warm. Now if only plane tickets to Key West weren’t a billion dollars a piece…
Loving: iOS 9 emojis. I was watching Lincoln watch me through the monitor (totally staring into my soul,) a few nights ago around 1am and decided to kill time while he decided what he was going to do next (weep, sleep, or sing,) by scrolling through the new iOS emojis. Ummm, TOO much fun! Champagne bottle, pizza slice, and eye roll emoji, where have you been all my life?
Anticipating: Smoked Sausage and Chicken Gumbo. I haven’t made a batch yet this year and an impending snow storm is as good a reason as any to have a big bubbling pot of gumbo on the stove. Can’t wait to dig in later tonight.
Watching: Veep. I mentioned on Monday that Ben and I started watching Veep last week. It’s basically NBC’s Parks & Rec with a political spin and better writing. Super quick, witty, and so, so funny. It’s a must watch!
Promoting: the Super Bowl! I’ll be on KCCI News Channel 8 on Friday, February 5th demoing some of my all time favorite Super Bowl eats, so be sure to watch at 5:40 and/or 6:25 and/or 6:40am if you can. What are you making this year for the Super Bowl?
Avoiding: Target. I have officially resorted to ordering diapers on Amazon Prime. And ancho chili peppers. And vitamins, and tea, and a knife strip, and, and, and… I’m telling you – best service on the planet and totally worth the cost. I may never need to visit Target again!
Have a great rest of your week and thanks for letting me go off the rails today!
hi I though that it was cool that I was born on JAN. 20th 2009.
OMG, I love Kristin Hannah! “The Nightengale” is my all-time favorite. It will blow your mind!
I love acupuncture! I went for some pain I was having in my hips and legs. My treatments were an hour and they also used a heat lamp and some soothing music or birds singing in the background. I would fall asleep and wake up afterwards. It was the best! Yes my pain went away but took awhile since I let it get so bad before I found acupuncture. Love your blog too!
Loved hearing you on Another Mother Runner! One of my favorite podcasts!
I’m just curious. Why are you avoiding Target? Here, in Québec, all the stores they opened 2 years ago (and there were a lot), closed a year after, leaving employees without jobs and large stores that haven’t been rent yet. So, even though I sometimes travel to Vermont or New-York State, I don’t put a foot in a Target store.
It was mostly just a joke – it’s just hard to visit Targeting without spending so much money! :)
The sauce you need with your shawarma is called ‘toum’ – garlic garlic and more garlic – and lemon juice, salt and oil!
Pair with some pickles too! Delicious!
I think that might be it! It tasted like garlicky mayo, which you could probably achieve by making your own mayo-like sauce with lemon juice and oil. Thanks for the tip! :)
[…] Currently by Iowa Girl Eats (this is a really cute idea for a post!) […]
What Lebanese restaurant did you go to? We live in DSM and I am always looking for new restaurants to go to.
Open Sesame in the East Village – super good!
I would love to see posts like this on a more regular basis!
Loved you on the AMR podcast! I am so jealous – love SBS and Dimity! Lucky for us, no one in my little family has gluten issues but the podcast was very interesting. I use a lot of your recipes and treadmill workouts. Stay warm — we are on the cusp of a blizzard here.
Thanks so much, Heather, hope you are finally digging out of the snow!
Long time reader, but I’ve never commented before. If you like WW2 fiction, definitely check out ‘those who save us’. It is EXCELLENT!
Will do – thanks, Rachel!
My cousin is an acupuncturist (in Colorado unfortunately!) and I am always so fascinated by the things she is able to help people with. She made the suggestion when I wasn’t happy with my doctor to ask potential docs what they thought of alternative treatments. A good fit for me will be someone who is open to combination of western and eastern medicine in a treatment plan. I hope Lincoln starts sleeping soon. Sleep deprivation is no joke!
That’s a great tip – love when different types of doctors can work TOGETHER to find a solution!
Congrats on the super bowl gig! How can you avoid target? If you don’t go how will you get all the things you don’t need because you found them there or they were on sale????
Hahaha, story of my life! ;)