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!
susan 01.20.2016
I’ve done acupuncture and I always bring my ereader so I have something to read during that time. It helps pass the time, that’s for sure. My daughter talked me into going. I went to get treatment for a chronic cough that I’ve had for about 40 years. Yep, 40 years. Every doctor I went to see about it over the decades either didn’t help or actually made it worse. After about 5-8 treatments with the acupuncturist it was gone. Sometimes during the really cold months I’ll go back for a “touch up” treatment and he gets rid of the cough when it starts flaring up again. Nuts, huh?
Kristin 01.20.2016
That is seriously unbelievable and I get goosebumps hearing stories like yours. So glad you finally (finally!) found relief after all those years!
Megan @ Skinny Fitalicious 01.20.2016
I’ve been doing acupuncture for two years. I’m a type A and it took some time to adjust to relaxing and enjoying the experience. Now I fully embrace it and it is my place of zen. It also makes me feel amazing for days and helps with the aches & pains!
Nikki 01.20.2016
Don’t quit on The Nightingale! It does start slow, but then I couldn’t put it down and it was one of my favorite books from last year. I also loved All the Light and found it hard to get into in the beginning as well. Trust me, The Nightingale is worth it, too! Have you read The Book Thief and Sarah’s Key? Also WWII fiction. Both were very good. The Book Thief was another in my top 5 from last year.
Kristin 01.20.2016
Sarah’s Key is one of my favorite books but I haven’t read The Book Thief. On my list now!
Kelsey 01.20.2016
I am loving this idea for a blog post!! Might have to do it myself! The thought of avoiding Target.. don’t think that’ll ever happen to me! I get sucked in to that place.
http://www.kelseymarie.co
Kayla 01.20.2016
As if I needed any further proof that we would be IRL BFFs… This.
I too love WWII fiction. Have you read Sarah’s Key? That’s the last one I remember really sticking with me.
My girls just went through what might have been a developmental milestone, coupled with potty training. They too started talking in more complete thoughts, reading the same books over and over again (and memorizing them), and singing the same songs over and over again (so much ABCs and Twinkle Twinkle!). We also potty training New Year’s Eve weekend, so our good sleep-till-almost-7 a.m. peanuts were waking at 5:30 or earlier! Then this week, they’re both sick with the stomach flu (along with Daddy) and going to be easily around 8 p.m. and sleeping til about 6:30 a.m. *sigh* I’m running on fumes, man.
Anyway, hope Lincoln gets his groove back, and hope your book gets better!
Hugs!
Kristin 01.20.2016
Sarah’s Key was one of my faves!! And too funny about the early morning wakeup call – today was 5:45am with Twinkle Twinkle – argh! Hope you get some sleep girl!!
Courtney 01.20.2016
I love this ! This post reminds me of your old-school beginning blog days . Keep more of these coming. The food can wait!
Christie Terry 01.20.2016
I really enjoyed your podcast with the Mother Runners. I have followed your blog for a while, but hadn’t read it lately, and after listening decided I needed to check it out, so funny, I just finished reading The Nightingale this weekend! The second half is much better.
Tracy 01.20.2016
I just finished The Nightingale and LOVED it! Stick with it.
Julie 01.20.2016
It’s unfortunate because I really want to love The Nightingale too! So far, I’m not into it even after all the rave reviews.
Beth 01.20.2016
how do you make your omelets? Do you cook the veggies first, separately, in their own pan?
Beth 01.20.2016
How do I stat receiving your newsletter?
Kristin 01.20.2016
Hi Beth! There is a sign up widget in the right hand column of the site. Let me know if you have any troubled finding it!
Kerri 01.20.2016
I love this post today – it really reminds me of your earlier posts here on IGE!
Stephanie 01.20.2016
Love the post. It’s fun to get a peek at the life behind IGE! And I need to make a batch of that gumbo soon too. So good!
jessica 01.20.2016
Have u tried the nose Frieda for your son it was a life changer for us b4 bed steam up the bathroom for 15-20 mins then do the “snot sucker”
Thanks for all great recipes and sharing life/motherhood
Kristin 01.20.2016
We have – he, of course, hates it, but it does work miracles!!
Jennifer 01.20.2016
Loved the Nightengale! The last 30% of the book I could not put down!! It will pick up!
Sandy 01.20.2016
I loved The Nightengale. I had read All The Light You Cannot See and really liked it too, but after reading The Nightengale, it became my favorite. The other WWII book that was really good, is Secret of a Charmed Life. It’s very good.
Karen 01.20.2016
I tried the link to the shawarma, and got to a description, but no recipe. Cam you help with that– it’s on my must-make list!
Kristin 01.20.2016
If you scroll down about three long scrolls it’s down a ways!
Jennie 01.20.2016
I also just started acupuncture! Treating for depression as I’m (personally) not comfortable with medical approaches at this time in my life (plus I have a corn allergy so finding a pill that can be compounded? Yikes).
I don’t really understand how it works, but I am seeing a difference already in my first two sessions. I feel more centered, less agitated, and there are signs my energy is coming back. I’m doing a bunch of other things right now to help with symptoms – cardio class for those endorphins, journaling more, less chocolate / sugar, and more vegetables – but the treatments have lifted the fog just enough that I can put those good habits into practice again. And that’s really what I was hoping to get out of it. Will be interested to see if I experience any other benefits in the upcoming weeks!
Thank you sincerely for sharing! It’s hard to find people in Iowa who’ve used this treatment so it’s comforting to know someone else is giving it a try :)
Kristin 01.20.2016
That’s so great to hear, Jennie! I’m glad you’re finding relief, and I’m eager to continue hoping I might experience the same. Good for you for sticking with it!
Jan 01.20.2016
LOVED “currently”. It has taken several years to get to know you just through your recipes and comments, pictures and travelogues. It’s only natural that you feel free to flesh out your life through your blog. It’s like visits from my daughter….awesome! Good luck with acupuncture. It balanced my hormones….can you say grateful??
Kristin 01.20.2016
VERY grateful, I’m sure!
Kelsey M. 01.20.2016
OMG! I LOVE acupuncture! I just started in December for my Crohn’s. Holy. Cow. I love it so much!!! I feel so much better. That first appointment….wow. I have never in my life been that high and drunk at the same time. ALL DAY. Plus, my anxiety went away completely, I just feel awesome. I can’t even tell you how ecstatic I am. I had to hold off a bit on appointments. They are expensive! So worth it! (I just had a treatment yesterday, can you tell?) Also, if you are having trouble laying there, ask them to turn the lights off. I fall in between sleep and awake. I sleep better, I feel better, everything is just awesome. My Crohn’s has actually chilled out a lot, too. Did I mention I think it’s awesome? ;)
Kristin 01.20.2016
Hahaha, I love it!! Thanks for sharing your experience – I am excited to continue!