Summer is hitting hard. We had two large storms this week, and the forecast for the weekend has the high as 99 degrees on Saturday and Sunday. I’ve been trying to run in the morning, generally 8-8:35 a.m. when I have childcare, but before the camp runs. But when it’s 82 degrees at 7 a.m., as it looks to be tomorrow, I guess it’s a treadmill day.
(We had four kids in three camps, all with simultaneous drop-offs, so I’ve been doing a lot of camp runs, even if I’m sharing these duties. On the plus side, I’m listening to a lot of podcasts.)
This has been a challenging week on the sleep front. The 4-year-old has woken me up before 6 a.m. every morning this week (my husband was on the road for much of it). If I’m woken up at 2 a.m., I can go back to sleep, but I find this hard to do at, say, 5:15 a.m. as the sun is coming up. This would be fine if I went to bed at 9:45 p.m., but the older boys have been dragging out bedtime. It’s been hard to get to sleep before 10:45 p.m. by the time they’re settled in.
So, I’ve been pondering solutions. We set up a system where the 4-year-old can go turn on the computer himself and play games/watch videos. I may also just tell the older boys that I will say goodnight at 10 p.m. and trust them to turn out their own lights at 10:30. I know I will make up the sleep this weekend, but I generally prefer to get at least 7 hours every night, rather than go short and then long. Here’s hoping next week will be better.
I did not buy anything for Amazon Prime Day (I did opt to try the Kindle Unlimited free 3-month offer, but I also have a calendar note to cancel in September if I’m not using it). We took advantage of the Old Navy 50 percent off sale to buy a lot of summer and back-to-school clothes for the kids, since that’s one of the places we tend to shop.
My Libby app finally came through on Lori Gottlieb’s Maybe You Should Talk to Someone. I put this on hold about 2 months ago, and the app claimed there was a 6-month wait list, but maybe Libby subscribes to the Disney World philosophy of queue management: people are happy about long lines if they’re faster than expected. I also put a hold on Daisy Jones and the Six, but if that doesn’t come off the queue quickly, I’ll probably just buy it.
I went to the 12-year-old’s camp production of Guys and Dolls last night. I was in this show when I was 15 or so, and it was interesting how many of the songs I could remember. Where does the brain store all this stuff? My parents came for the performance, a benefit of their recent move. Yep, they moved into their new place in New Jersey this week, and are now about an hour away (a little more in rush hour). We’re doing a housewarming get-together with my brothers this weekend.
A few links…The Princeton Alumni Weekly did a write-up of the Best of Both Worlds podcast. My interviewer asked (as many interviewers do) about the focus on women with this conversation. I do think it’s broadening, but I think many men still grow up with the message that working for pay is contributing to their families and helping their families, whereas many women grow up hearing the message that working for pay is hurting their families. Until that backstory changes, this conversation is going to be more female focused.
The Atlantic quotes me in an article on personal finance and “coffee shaming.”
I’m on the Duct Tape Marketing podcast talking time management and Juliet’s School of Possibilities.
Speaking of which…Have you picked up a copy of Juliet’s School of Possibilities? In this novella, I share my philosophy of time management. Expectations are infinite. Time is finite. You are always choosing. Choose well.
Also, the Grown and Flown FB Live chat (about teaching time management to teens and young adults) is up to 12,000 views. Please go watch/listen if you haven’t already!
The wait times on libby are usually pretty accurate so I think your library must have ordered more copies in response to demand for the book. I’m on the wait list for that book, and Daisy Jones, and a whole bunch more! I wish the wait for ebooks was shorter. The wait is usually longer than for the physical book so I’ve been opting to get the physical book since the library is 3 blocks from our house. Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs Darcy shared some insight on how ebooks are waaaaay more expensive than physical books for a library. Which really sucks! But that explains why they have fewer ebook copies/longer waits for the ebook!
Being woken up between 10-1 (when you tend to sleep the deepest) or after 4am is the worst! Although at least if you are woken between 10-1, you will fall back asleep. I just feel the impact of missing out on that deepest sleep.
@Lisa- I guess they must have ordered more, or I just got lucky. I probably should not expect to get so lucky for the Daisy Jones book then!
As a librarian, I can say it is always worth putting it on hold–we do pay attention to the lists and do our best to purchase more copies when the ratio of the number of holds to the number of copies reaches a certain level (which differs between library systems). It also helps us determine where to spend money from our budget–we rarely buy expensive reference books these days but put more money towards ebooks. And a huge thank you to Modern Mrs. Darcy for explaining the cost of ebooks!! Unfortunately the situation is only getting worse–many major publishers are changing their purchasing models to charge libraries higher prices for a limited number of checkouts or a limited amount of time (usually two years), as opposed to owning the ebook outright.
“Guys and Dolls” is one of my favorite movies of all time! I can still sing nearly all the songs. What role did your son play? Did he have a singing part? Sorry if I’m being intrusive — when I was in school we only ever put on more obscure productions (I think way back in the ’80s most schools couldn’t/didn’t have as ready access to big Broadway plays as they do now), and I would’ve loved to have been a part of this one.
I grew up in Dallas, where running in 80+ heat is so normal that it doesn’t faze me at all. However, a year or so ago we had a cold snap during a half marathon, and that combined with steady rain meant for a super cold and miserable race. It was the worst race I’d ever participated in, made worse by the fact that the organizers had not reserved any indoor areas to hang out in before or after the race, despite the relatively high registration fee. And really, it was like 45 degrees, so not at all crazy, so I imagine Northeastern runners would scoff at that! 😀
@Marjorie- he was “Arvide” – Sarah’s grandfather – so a few lines. They did a “junior” version of the play that was about an hour.
I feel for you on the Dallas race temps. One of the most miserable races I ever did was the Austin half marathon in February of 2006. We’d gone there to do a winter race, thinking it would be warm. Then there was a cold snap and freezing rain. Mid-30s and raining. Worse weather than NYC!
Awesome! Arvide was Sarah’s uncle in the movie and had some great moments in particular during the mobster prayer meeting. 🙂 I can understand why they’d do a “junior” version…the adult version has quite adult themes!
Sorry to hear about the Austin race! Austin normally has such lovely winter weather, so hopefully it didn’t turn you off completely from the city. It’s otherwise probably the coolest city in the state. 🙂
I run (very slowly) outside in absurd heat, and find that clutching one or 2 frozen water bottles in my fists makes a HUGE difference. HUGE. (Finding a shady running spot in the woods, ideally near a creek, also helps). Water (from the absurdly humid air) condenses on the water bottles as I run and gets cold, and I wipe that on my forehead … forearms … chest as I move along. I used to drink the water as I ran, but I find it’s actually better not to, until near the end of the run, as keeping it all in the bottle means it stays cold — if I drink what melts, what’s left melts a lot faster.
Of course if you’re happy on the treadmill, you’re good. But I much prefer to run outside, even in the heat.
@Alexicographer- I’m not happy running inside on the treadmill at all. I view it more as a necessary evil, since I am far more wimpy about the heat than you are. Though I hadn’t tried the frozen water bottle thing yet! I kind of have a max out of 80 degrees for running. Maybe a bit more. My last half marathon was run in 84 degree heat (yep, at 7:30 a.m.) and it was completely and totally miserable.
If you want to run outside, it really is worth a try — makes a huge difference for me. I ran in an obscene temperature today (slowly, in the shade) and it was fine. I saw an owl! Or possibly a hawk, hard to say. It was retreating.
You can buy headbands that help cool too — quick search turned up https://bestreviews.com/best-cooling-headbands — but I just made my own by taking an inexpensive fabric loop headband, cutting a slit in one side of it (horizontal relative to the headband, i.e. across not down) and I sometimes squeeze 2 freeze pops inside it. Feels great! They melt by the end of the run. But those plastic bags they come in are sturdy as heck, so I just re-use them.
@Alexicographer- I did run outside this AM – I figured it was only 80 degrees or so 7:45-8:15. I kept it short and it really wasn’t too bad. I imagine it will get worse through the day – I suspect my husband’s long run (he’s training for a half) will wind up on the treadmill!
Sounds good, and good to have options!
I liked your comments in the latte article. I have never been attracted to the idea of making my own laundry detergent to save pennies, or to even going thrift shopping. It is not worth my time, literally. I buy coffee as often as I want. I also buy lunch while I am at my job. Don’t feel guilty at all.
@Sarah – I think I may come at this from the opposite direction. I’m incredibly attracted to the idea of saving pennies using Depression-era housewife skills. But…I have also come to see that this is a lousy use of my time. And time, at this stage of my life, is more scarce than money.
For the people who do basically everything wrong when it comes to personal finance (e.g., spending beyond their means, not saving anything, etc.), $$ coffee is the least of their problems. For people who make decent money and do almost everything right, it hardly matters. Other people should be aware of and satisfied with the necessary trade-offs.
Haha, our morning low ALL SUMMER is usually over 80, so if I had your policy I would probably never run outside. I bet you would be surprised at your ability to acclimate (for me I just make sure to take it slower if it’s super hot!)
I’ve been wondering if the experience of coffee today is about a sense of community more than fuel. Consider all the things going to get coffee either solo or with someone else has come to mean to both personal and business relationships.
Just run super slow! You’re already probably very fit, so I’m sure you’ll be ok.
When my husband is out of town, I started sending my daughter to bed on her own. I have to be in bed so early for work, I’m usually in bed by 8:30 or so. We will do goodnight kisses in my room and then she walks down the hall and puts herself into her own bed. At least I assume that’s what she does, but I haven’t had any complaints about excessive sleepiness, so there you go. She’s 7.
Thanks for articulating what having it all means to you Laura. Made me realise I actually already have it all too…..yaay!
I loved the Atlantic article–I also loved All the Money in the World and at a time when I was reading frugality books by people like Dave Ramsey, it was refreshing to hear a different opinion.
The other thing that always strikes me as odd is that they seem to think it’s a everyday occurrence for everyone, and that you must also go out for lunch every single day, etc., and the only acceptable solution is to never do those things ever again. I enjoy saving money as well, but a nice coffee sometimes is a great (and reasonable!) treat.
I borrowed Maybe You Should Talk to Someone from Libby also, it was a great read!
@Natasha – it is a great read, though I had mixed feelings about it. The stories of her patients are composites/details changed — of course, because of patient confidentiality — but that means this is a work of fiction, borrowing from the power of non-fiction.
many men still grow up with the message that working for pay is contributing to their families and helping their families, whereas many women grow up hearing the message that working for pay is hurting their families. Until that backstory changes, this conversation is going to be more female focused.
YES. Well said. Underlined. Bold. Highlighted. Italics!
For speeding up library hold wait times, I’ve found this list of libraries that allow non residents to join for a fee. If you really want to dig in, Libby lets you see how many of which type of titles each library has. The list is old (2016), but the ones I checked are still accurate.
https://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/2011/09/22/library-ebooks-for-non-residents-where-to-get-ebooks-if-your-library-is-lacking/