Hi there! Hope Monday is treating you well thus far.

I’ve got to say, after two wonderful family and friend filled weekends in a row, it was amazing having a quiet couple of days to unwind, take down the Christmas decorations, and do some meal-planning/grocery shopping.

But…weekends must come to an end, and today I’m bringing something different to the blog. I’ll talk more about my actual blogging goals later this week, but one thing I want to do is bring a few more personal touches to this space.

I’m not a huge fan of wrapping up my weekends—because they’re usually quite boring now that I’m a mother—but I do want to talk about what’s going on in my life.

I’ve been seeing a lot of bloggers do monthly “Currently” posts, so I’m going to do the same. Here’s what I’ve been up to for the first couple weeks of 2016.

Reading // Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

It’s a best-selling novel about one New Orleans family’s experience after Hurricane Katrina. It’s been on our book shelf for a few years (I think my MIL loaned it to us), but I decided to pick it up over the holidays when none of our other titles appealed to me. I’m just a few pages in, but so far, it’s a good read.

Watching // Too much Shark Tank and Jeopardy!

The baby literally pauses to stare at the TV during “Final Jeopardy” and sometimes hums/grunts/coos (?) to the theme of Shark Tank.

Listening to // NPR. I need to find some new music or podcasts to listen to at work—suggestions?

Needing // A massage!

We’ve been talking about treating ourselves to massages forever, but we keep putting it off. I’m still suffering from a year + of “nursing neck” and my desk posture at work doesn’t help.

Loving // The cool weather + (mostly) sunny days we’ve had lately

Not Loving // Medical bills (this will probably be ongoing!)

I still have no idea what Bazooka’s last procedures will cost, but at my dental cleaning last month, my dentist informed me I have a cracked tooth and will need a crown. The tooth doesn’t hurt (I’m still not convinced it’s cracked!), so I’m putting it off for as long as possible.

Eating // King cake, of course

Drinking // At the moment, coffee (because I’m prepping this post Sunday morning)

Craving // Boiled crawfish!

Avoiding // De-cluttering my closets

Happy about // Getting back into the gym after a very lazy December (& one of my local YMCA branches launching my favorite, BODYPUMP, last week!)

Looking forward to // Mardi Gras—it’s so early this year (Feb 9, but local parades started Saturday)

• What are you currently watching? Listening to? Loving? Happy about?
• What should I read next? I’m open to any and all genres/suggestions (since I just got a new library card, hehe).