What I’m Into: March 2021

Main Events

March: the month when everything comes back to life. Enjoy some pictures of spring coming to my neighborhood!

Reading

The Opposite of Maybe by Maddie Dawson (3.5 stars) In her mid-40s, Rosie finds herself accidentally pregnant by her boyfriend of 15 years. When he reacts poorly and asks her to move across the country, she instead moves in with the ailing grandmother who raised her and a colorful cast of characters, including the kind handyman, Tony. I enjoyed the layered relationships in this story. Also taking recs for more novels about pregnant women in their 40s!

Your One & Only by Adrianne Finlay (3.5 stars) A YA novel about a society of clones and one nonconformist clone who shakes everything up. It’s no Never Let Me Go, but it’s interesting.

I’m Just Happy to Be Here: A Memoir of Renegade Mothering by Janelle Hanchett (4 stars) Last year I discovered and instantly loved Janelle Hanchett’s blog, so I had to read her memoir. It’s more an unflinching look at addiction than it is about mothering, and is therefore a tough read at times, but I think it was important for her to share her story.

Writers & Lovers by Lily King (4 stars) Casey, a writer in Boston, is waiting tables in her 30s while struggling to write her novel and find her way. As several people I know noted, this is a very self-absorbed novel, but I liked it. Strong Sweetbitter vibes.

How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell (3 stars) An examination of what it really means to “do nothing,” who’s privileged enough to do so, and how breaking free from algorithm culture is an act of resistance. Odell makes many excellent points, but I didn’t expect this book to be so academic and had a hard time focusing. Maybe that proves her point.

Good Apple: Tales of a Southern Evangelical in New York by Elizabeth Passarella (3.5 stars) Read with my church book club. Passarella, a native Memphian, shares funny stories and reflections about becoming a longtime New Yorker and how her faith and beliefs have changed (or not). I felt like this book kind of didn’t know what it wanted to be – a memoir, an essay collection, a faith book? – but I liked it nonetheless.

The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon (4 stars) Inspired by a true story, this novel starts with three women becoming friends after they publicly bust out the clueless guy who was dating all of them at once. It then focuses on one of the women, Samiah, a computer engineer at a hot startup, who secretly dreams of developing her own app. As she and her new co-worker Daniel slowly fall into a relationship, she relies on her new friends to help her keep her priorities straight. Meanwhile, Daniel has secrets of his own.

Ghostbuster’s Daughter: Life with My Dad, Harold Ramis by Violet Ramis Stiel (4 stars) A touching (if at times a little alarming) story of Stiel’s unconventional childhood and incredible bond with her dad. I honestly didn’t know much about Harold Ramis before reading this, but it exceeded my expectations.

Entwined by Heather Dixon Wallwork (3 stars) A YA fairy tale about twelve sisters that’s been on my Kindle forever. It was okay. I think I just wasn’t in the mood for it.

Listening

This has been my jam lately, for no apparent reason other than it’s awesome. #coldtakes

Some good podcast episodes: Father James Martin on Everything Happens; former NXIVM member Sarah Edmondson on The Confessional; author and activist Mia Birdsong on Everything is Fine.

Watching

I might have mentioned For All Mankind last month, but this was the month I really became obsessed. Highly recommended if you love the space program or even just alternate histories. It is extremely relevant. We’re only one episode behind and then we’ll be caught up and ready for new Friday drops.

Speaking of Friday drops, the end of WandaVision was fantastic. I haven’t started on the Falcon and Bucky show yet.

I’ve seen (I think) four episodes of Firefly Lane and was pretty into it, but keep forgetting to get back in there and finish it.

Travel (!)

Spring break is currently the only time Taylor can really take PTO, so we drove our half-vaxxed selves to Gulf Shores for a few days of cautious, distanced beach time. It’s the only “babymoon” we’re going to get, and having not communed with the ocean in a year and a half, I really wanted to do so before the baby is born. (Though of course, I also want to put the baby in the ocean at the earliest opportunity.) We stayed at a hotel in Gulf Shores State Park that had no other hotels around it – it was easy to find isolated spots on the sand.

Explained to baby that he was at the ocean. He didn’t react. I’m not sure he could distinguish it from the womb sounds.

The water was rough (and cold!) – red flags were flying for most of our visit. While I would normally venture in anyway, I decided to obey warnings for once. My balance is off, I get sudden weak spells, this is not the time to risk it. I was happy just to stand at the shoreline.

We went to the pier and saw three sharks!!

At dinner on the last night (we only ate outside… and almost had to make a scene about it once), I was really craving a frozen tropical drink and asked if they had any mocktails. They brought me this tasty concoction on the house and told me congratulations. It made me so happy!

At Home

After 75 days (I counted), our home renovation is DONE!!! The contractors finished last Friday. We haven’t deep cleaned/staged the house yet, but here’s a sneak peek of the bathroom floor tile, which I love. Expect a big before and after reveal post next month! As I’ve mentioned, the baby’s room has been a holding area for construction materials and random crap, and last week I told Taylor my inability to nest was creating a real mental health situation. He said he would handle it. True to his word, he cleaned out the entire room last weekend (it would have taken me a week plus), and then we ordered a crib and changing table. I feel much better after this progress.

I also commissioned my friend/trainer Kara to build some shelving for our upstairs hall closet. We have no designated linen closet (or coat closet – old house probs) and I’ve haphazardly stored linens in the baby’s room since we moved in. She should be able to install the shelves later this week, and I have new baskets on standby. She’s also building me a blanket ladder, since it’s become clear there’s no good place to store throw blankets upstairs. These items are an important first step in a domino effect of non-baby organizing that needs to happen ASAP.

Eating

Some meals I cooked and loved this month: Air Fryer Salmon with Arugula-Berry Salad; Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potatoes (amazing, but plan to bake those potatoes for an hour); Spring Chicken Salad Toasts; air fryer coconut shrimp and squash; and best of all, Meghan Markle’s banana bread.

I also discovered a little lunch hack: those three-packs of Hearts of Romaine. Each heart is a great size for a salad of whatever you’re in the mood for, and it’s a better deal than salad mixes.

I’ve always been a trail mix junkie, but I bought an extra-large bag of Kroger Fruit & Nut mix for our trip, and ate the entire thing by myself in about ten days. If this kid comes out screaming for candied pineapple, we’ll know why.

Beauty

While I’m thrilled that curly haircare has expanded so much over the last decade, I’ve found that a lot of formulas are too thick and heavy for my 3b curls. I saw this lighter weight Maui Moisture conditioner at Target and it’s turned out to be just right! It smells great, too.

This month’s Ipsy bag looked especially fun. I haven’t actually tried any of the stuff yet, but I did try some E Galactic Lid Gloss liquid eyeshadow from a previous bag. It turned my eyelids into disco balls. On a workday. I left it on because so what, who cares.

Random Happiness

As I mentioned above and in my second trimester post, I got my first vaccine dose this month (Pfizer), and will get the second tomorrow! My county went from phase 1b, to including pregnant people in 1c, to including their partners, to opening vaccines to everyone over 16 in the space of a month. Hallelujah.

After Valentine’s Day, we decided to have fresh flowers in the house more regularly. These daisies and alstroemeria are still going strong after over a week.

We had our own little two-person bracket pool at home. We both picked Gonzaga to win it all, but other than that, I haven’t done too well. Still love the upsets though!

Your Monthly Rufus

When this clock was on the wall in my bathroom, Rufus stalked it. When it was on the floor in Taylor’s office, Rufus stalked it. Now it has a new home on the wall in Taylor’s bathroom, and Rufus is still stalking it. I often find him in there visiting his clock friend.

More cuteness:

On the Blog

I wrote a very thorough second trimester recap! I’ll be 30 weeks on Friday. Put another way, I’ll only write two more What I’m Intos at most before this baby is born. I’m starting to get nervous, but am also getting excited to meet my son and almost equally excited not to have heartburn anymore.

Good Reads

Next month: things really start to get real. Hold on to your butts.