The cafe at The Grounds for Sculpture. Thinking about making a touring series of New Jersey, anyone interested?

Reading: I finished up The Magicians at the beginning of Febraury. I have mixed feeling about it. There was some sexist overtones, which I didn’t like. But ignoring that part, *note spoilers* I found once they got into Fillory things really picked up and was a hard book to put down. It became clear why this book has been so popular. I think I will continue to read the series, because I AM still curious about what is used in the books, and what went into the TV series. But I see why so many people didn’t like the book. I thought the summary of “Harry Potter goes to college” was very wrong. I think it would be better to say that it pokes fun at the Chronicles of Narnia series. I thought the first half of going through ALL the details of college was too much. It was so much to read to just get to the good part. I don’t think it paid off. I MUCH prefer the TV show dividing up the college experience with the initial trip to Fillory.

So after reading that I went crazy! Okay, so I had some easy reads. I am going to try and plow through the “saved” titles that I have on the app for my library. About two years ago I put Step Aside, Pops on my list, not realizing it was book 3 of a collection of webcomics. The web series is Hark! A Vagrant! In general the comics tend to be about historical figures or literature, but can really be about whatever. I loved it, and read it in 2-3 nights. My favorite one would probably be the Cinderella story. Best part are the protein snacks in her pocket XD

I also finished up Vacationland. This was a slight cheat because I started it before but I had to return to the library before I could finish it. It is a newer release so there was a waiting list. I really enjoyed it, though I think it could of been a little more polished in the story telling. There was a pretty big jump from Massachusetts-swamp to the much better Maine. I also wonder how this reads if you aren’t a John Hodgeman fan. I get his whole mocking-pretentious tone, but when reading some Goodread reviews, I don’t think it comes off as making fun of himself.

FINALLY My sister shared this New York Times Article by Michael Ian Black about talking about masculinity with boys. This has already been an issue I’ve been thinking about as a feminist mother of a boy. It seemed so obvious what to do with a girl, but I was a little nervous about a boy. But I think many of the same dialogues we have with girls, really should be talked about with boy. They can do anything, if they want to sew, sew. If the want to dance, dance. If they want to play sports, that’s fine too. I think it would of been nice for Michael Ian Black talk about gender on a sliding scale like with modern gender theory, but I understand he didn’t want to loose more conservative audiences.

Crafting: I’ve been getting REALLY close to finishing the one cross-stitch for my friend’s baby. He is now turning a year old, so I am rushing to get it done by middle of the month. So hopefully you will see completed photos soon. I will also be making a small cross-stitch for my new niece. It’ll be a simple letter cross-stitch for her nursery. I also made her this beautiful upcycled bonnet. I added it to the shop, which I can custom make in any size.

And on a quick note of OTHER PEOPLE’S crafting- I love the art by Danial Ryan. Also this guy spent forever making this sphere made entirely out of matches. It is interesting to read his experiment, and it is really beautiful looking, especially the burning of it.

Watching: O.J-a-thon! Ugh. Man, I knew O.J sucked, but now I really know he is super terrible. It is also interesting watching because I wonder how different things would be if the trial happened today. Like there was SO much support from the black community. He was the symbol of police brutality against blacks. But since of the Times Up movement, I wonder how many people would of backed him because of his abuse record. ANYWAYS, if you didn’t guess, I finally watched O.J. VS The People. It was pretty crazy to watch. I remember the trial going on when I was little, but not much. Just that it took forever, and I distinctly remember all the jurors being excused.

Naturally my enthusiasm prompted Jon to suggest the 30 for 30: O.J Made in America documentary mini series. It was pretty nice. They did ignore some of the hype that OJ vs The People covered- the hair, the jury, the nude photos, but 30 for 30 does an in-depth look at the race issues in LA and how OJ became famous. Oh and you learn how OJ was a dick BEFORE the trials. Then they covered how he got caught afterwards. It is a little sad to see that some people still have a sour taste in their mouths about “white justice” with O.J. As someone who is mostly removed from the politics of the time, all I see is a man who abused a woman, and got away with it at the time because of his wealth and fame. Such a shame.

Wolfie: Hmm… so much has been going on with our little nugget. Our museum membership ended at the end of February so I headed it one last time with Wolfie. I don’t think he really cared much about the actual art, but he liked exploring the city and playing with his food at The Tasty. My sister also came down from Brooklyn to hang with him. We took a brief trip to the Grounds for Sculpture and as always he loved doing some light walking and looking all around.

He is also getting some molar teeth. Poor kiddo. Some days he seems totally find and cool, and other days he will wake up from nap time in absolute tears. It is very odd since it skipped a bunch of other teeth, so now he has 6 teeth on top, three on the bottom. So weird. 9 teeth in total.

New hobbies? He now holds onto his head for Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes (btw why did they animate a kid who ISN’T doing the dance?!) and he also waves his hands to the song Down By the Bay. He is also starting the bad habit of watching TV. Towards the end of the day, yeah I’m guilty. I just want to sit for a little bit. So I usually put something on for me, and figure Woflie will do his own thing. Well, he has been sitting and watching maybe at the max 10 minutes of the screen, usually Planet Earth. So, I gotta keep an eye on that.

Exercise: I was doing pretty well with the Winter Shape Up program, but kind-of fizzled out during the last week. But I my goal next month is to try and run more with Gavin before his afternoon nap, so I can shower while he is asleep.

But I have a few interesting articles. My sister sent this article about the sexual history behind barre fitness. She mainly sent it as we were talking about it, I liked it but only do barre inspired youtube videos because of the vibe that classes get. I think maybe we should be talking about the link with sex and fitness more, especially for women it can be helpful (outside of sexual liberation.) Basically sex is better because of a strong pelvic floor muscle, and if you know anything about childbirth- YOU WANT A STRONG PELVIC FLOOR MUSCLE! If I’ve learned anything from The Complete Guide to Postnatal Fitness is that kegals are a little more complicated than what most descriptions explain. It is an embarrassing thing, and a lot of Mother’s don’t talk about it. For many people, it goes away. For some people it is a consistent problem ranging from just a little pee to complete incontinence.

I also enjoyed this youtube exercise video roundup from Cup of Jo. I love her summaries- and makes me want to try some of these workouts. I wanna push those leaves out of my way for the “mountain climbing” workout, or just oggle at Jane Fonda’s lace body suit. Man I need that. But she tries out on of my favorite YouTubers Yoga With Adriene.

Listening: I was a big fan of Stuff Mom Never Told You when Cristen and Caroline were the hosts. The current hosts I am not in love with, but I still give a listen (most podcast hosts need to grow on you, right?) Well Cristen and Caroline have a new podcast! Unladylike! I am already in love, especially since there is a lot more solid editing going on with the episodes. So far I’ve listened to How to Ride a Bike and How to Get a Yoga Body.

What’s your favorite thing about this month?


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