the giraffe life

I don't have time to blog like I used to. But I do have time to ask you to  please vote  (imagine that in sparkly letters) if you live in the US. 😎  This year, I was planning to start the tradition of taking my daughter with me to vote (she'll be 5 by then!) but COVID derailed that plan. Instead, she gets to watch me fill out my ballot at the kitchen table, haha. Regardless of where I vote, we're reading a lot about voting. Here are some of our favorites if you're interested. Amazon links are affiliate, the rest are not.   Vote for Our Future - Elementary school students helping their community get out and vote!  Amazon | Goodreads | Youtube Lillian's Right to Vote - I checked this out at the library just based on the title. Sometimes that works out well, and this was one of those times.  Amazon | Goodreads | Youtube Delivering Justice - The story of W.W. Law, and how he fought for Civil Rights in Savannah, Georgia and helped Black Americans re...

Time for a goals update! Financial   •  Save $300 per pay  - Yes! Easiest goal ever because this was automatically deducted from my paychecks! Personal   •  Attend more than 67 yoga classes  - Nope! I stopped attending yoga classes in June because I was modifying so many of the poses to accommodate my growing belly that it seemed silly to pay to take a class that I wasn't fully participating in. I couldn't find any local prenatal classes so I switched to DVDs from the library until the very end when just cooking dinner felt like a work out. How do pregnant women who already have children do it?? •  Read 52 books  - Yep, a total of 70 . It was a banner year for reading actually, considering almost all those books were read before September. Now baby girl and I listen to audiobooks (electronically downloaded from the library to my cell phone) during some daytime nursing sessions when I want to read something. Plus I read a kids book to...

When I used to buy books, I felt obligated to read them even if they were dreadful to get my money's worth. But checking out books from the library has removed that feeling, as has getting older and receiving encouragement from others to just let go of books that I'm not enjoying. That's not to say I stop reading books willy-nilly but it's nice to have that guilt-free option in the back of my mind if I'm struggling to finish something.  This month in particular has been rough for actually finishing books (or maybe I've just been too picky) so I thought I'd share the books I didn't complete rather than the ones I did. (Though if you're interested in what I did read, you can always check out my goodreads page.) Links take you to the book's page on goodreads A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness - Pretty hard to read a romance novel when you hate the supposed love interest (in this case, a super bossy vampire named Matthew). The final...

This is a long one. Thanks, winter! Tons of good books on this list, though - I have end-of-year best book lists to thank for that.  A Moment Comes - This book takes places during the partition of India in 1947, which I knew nothing about prior to reading. I really appreciated the book's messages about acceptance, tolerance, and patience. Definitely not your typical YA romance (I assumed it would be based on the description).  Though just to be clear, I don't have any problems with typical YA romance. You'll find several further down this list ;) Spousonomics - Looking at common marriage issues (like sharing chores) as an economist. Some parts were fascinating, others not so much. About Alice - A husband's tribute to his late wife. I listened to this on audio based on Jessica's recommendation and ended up teary eyed in a grocery store parking lot finishing it. Super sweet.   Open Road Summer - A throughly enjoyable YA romance. Of course it takes ...

2015! It feels like a good, round number for some reason. I'm excited to share my goals for this year - a couple familiar carry overs and some new ones. Financial   • Save $300 per pay - Continued from last year . And to make it easier, I'm having it automatically deducted from my paychecks.  Personal   • Attend more than 67 yoga classes - Super random number, right? Last year I attended about 67 yoga classes (can't be 100% sure because I didn't start keeping track until late July) so I just want to beat my previous record. I'm going to use this daily goal calendar  - black Xs on days I do any kind of exercise (probably a walk), purple Xs for yoga, and left blank for no exercise. This method is quick and very visual so I think it'll work for me.  from the make29 shop • Read 52 books - A book a week (or so). Aiming for 50 books pushes me to make reading a priority without pressuring me to choose short books to inflate my numbers. So I just ...

Time for one of my favorite posts - best books of the year! And just to be clear, these are my favorite books that I read in 2014,   not   books published in 2014. Links take you to the book's page on goodreads. My top 5 in no particular order: The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld -  A heartbreaking story of the Lady, a death row inmate, and a priest. E asily one of the best books I've ever read, and it will d efinitely make you think! Be warned - it contains dark subject matter. I could only read in small portions. Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt - It's the story of June, who loses her Uncle Finn to AIDS, and the strange man she first notices at his funeral. But it's also the story of June and her sister Greta, the pains of growing up, and what it means to love someone. Beautiful writing and a story that will stay with you for a while. Something Real by Heather Demetrios - This one's about Bonnie™/Chloe Baker, a 17 year old who doesn...

I think the only thing better than dreaming up goals is checking them off :) Finances Put at least $2000 toward mortgage prepayment  - Yes! We actually paid $2600 by September.  Save for daycare  - Change of plans! My employer doesn't provide paid maternity leave so I figured we'd kill two birds with one stone - practice paying for daycare and use the money to pay bills while I was home with a baby. Since we now know we'll need medical intervention to have a baby, this savings account will instead be the start of our fund for that. I'm super glad we have this moolah set aside!  Personal   Finish my degree  - Probably my proudest moment of the year! I turned in my final project in April and graduated in May :) Read 50 books  - Success! 73 books in all. I'll have a post about my favorites soon. Marriage Travel at least twice  - Yes! We traveled to California to celebrate our anniversary in June and to NYC for a day in November. Learn something ...

The short answer:  not much. The long answer:  I started four books this month, only finished two. The ones I managed to complete . . El Deafo by Cece Bell - Delightful. A graphic novel about a girl (rabbit) who is going through the journey of growing up coupled with the challenges of being deaf. I also enjoyed Cece's book Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover though it's written for a much younger audience. Firebug by Lish McBride - A new series about Ava, a firebug (set in the same supernatural world as Lish's other books, so the two can eventually intersect), trying to escape her magical boss, Venus. I think I like these books so much because all the characters seem so effortlessly cool, even when they're floudering. This will be my last Lish McBride book for a while - I have to wait a few years for her next one to be published. I left The BIG Disconnect unfinished (I know the author's trying to make her point about limiting technology, but every anec...

I was thinking just the other day about how much more I seem to be reading in 2014 as compared to years past. I track all my reading on goodreads , which has a handy stats feature that shows I've read 19,790 pages this year, the most of any year recorded there. And then I remembered - this is the first time in my adult life that I've only been working one job, and I finished school in April. Combine the two, and that means more free time and zero required reading! I'll enjoy it while I have it :)  Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse - Rifka is a young Russian girl in 1919 whose family is on their way to America to escape anti-Semitism. Of course they face a whole string of troubles along the way.  Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson - I'll admit I picked this up because it was sitting next to Letters from Rifka and the cover caught my eye. Lonnie's parents passed away four years ago in a fire, and this is the story of him finding his voice through poetr...

Ahh October. Mr. G and I are keeping our calendars free for a lot of relaxation this month because November is full of birthday parties and holidays (and hopefully a day trip to NYC!).  Nothing new to report as far as goals go, so just a reading update.  It was a slow month. I needed one of those :) The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell - A tough one to describe in a short synopsis. Basically, there are 6 mini books (all intertwined) in this one novel. It begins as the story of Holly, a fifteen year old who leaves home after a fight with her mother and has some strange experiences in the countryside. The 4 stories that follow are told by important people in Holly's life, and then the last one returns to Holly. A well done mix of realistic fiction and fantasy. The Magicians by Lev Grossman - Quentin is super smart, depressed, and unsatisfied with his life. He accidentally stumbles upon a school for magicians in upstate New York, and the book chronicles his years there a...

Elise mentioned this article on Slow Reading last Friday. It's about groups of people who meet weekly to read silently together in the same room for an hour, with cell phones off, and no interruptions. (It also reported some surprising stats - only 76% of Americans read at least one book in 2013.) I like the premise of this group's meeting - carving time out of everyday living for reading. Plus there would be a ton of people there to get book recommendations from. But I'm used to reading at home. Where basically only my cats and a full refrigerator distract me from my book. But reading in a public cafe? Or even in a large room with other people reading? I think I'd spend a lot of time thinking about how much I like that woman's sweater, and if I know that guy from somewhere or if he just has a familiar-looking face.  I'm also not the best reading companion. I read the whole of Me Before You yesterday and the only reason I didn't stop once to babble...

Hello September! Time for a goal check-in. Not much to report on this month, just the mortgage and what I've been reading. I was able to work a few extra hours this month and decided to put that toward the mortgage payment for September 1st. It's not money I normally have (or count on) so it won't be missed! My 2014 total is now $2600 - far more than I thought I'd have paid by this time in the year. August was a superb month for reading. I read 9 books, so I've officially passed my goal of 50 for the year! My secret? Get poison ivy on your face, take off from work, and hole up in your house, reading all day ;)   Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins - Anna is forced to spend her senior year of high school attending a boarding school in Paris, and she's not happy about it at first. But then she meets  Étienne St. Clair and things start looking up. All in all, a well done romance.  What We Found in the Sofa and How it Saved the World b...

I finished 84, Charing Cross Road last night (and adored it) and look what I noticed when I reached the end. This is how I know a library book is old - it has a pocket! (Old being a relative term, of course.) Does anyone else remember these?  I remember them from my early years of having a library card. Sometimes the librarians would even let me use the date stamp on the check out card! And bonus, the pocket meant I could be nosy and see when the book was last checked out, how long it sat on the shelves before being picked again, and count to see whether blue, purple, or black ink had the most dates to its name. (I may have had too much free time.)  I'm sure the librarians were eager to see them go in favor of our current digital system, but I indulged in a little nostalgia for the pocket and card system last night. :) linking up for wordless Wednesday

Usually I post a goals recap at the end of each month (see my goals for the year here ), but this month I really made no progress on anything except reading. Oh, reading.  It was an AMAZING month for reading. :) Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson - Not sure how I made it to my late 20s without reading this book! I started reading it because I had no library books and this was a freebie, pre-loaded on my phone. The story was fun and I learned a bunch of new sailing terms.  Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh - A quick read (it's mostly comic strip style), but I really appreciated her two chapters on depression. They helped me understand the experience better than anything I've read before. The Composition by Antonio Skarmeta - A children's book Deb recommended. Pedro’s school forces everyone to participate in a writing competition about what their family does at night. Pedro lies and says his parents play chess every night to protect them (they a...

The last leg of our California trip! Getting from LA to Big Sur was the longest driving portion of our trip, about 4.5 hours. Unfortunately, what google maps doesn't tell you is that you're driving by some of the most beautiful scenery and will want to stop every 5 minutes to get out and enjoy it. Our drive took 8 hours (though some of that time was spent eating lunch and filling the gas tank).  Worth every minute. :) Our favorite of the impromptu stops was Estero Bluffs State Park off Highway 1. At first we just saw trails leading to shrubbery: It got better. It's hard to tell, but those white blobs on top of the rocks were seals! This little walking/exploring break was unplanned, but so lovely. We'd been in the car for a while at that point and stretching felt so nice.  We eventually continued on to Big Sur. Along the way, we also saw gorgeous views at Nepenthe, a restaurant on the side of a mountain. It's very busy between 11am (when the fog ...

Do you read on vacation? I read every day (if not books, then certainly magazines and/or newspapers), and vacation is no different. Of course, it's something I enjoy so that makes it an easier decision.  Since I stopped buying books, I've brought library books and magazines on trips without a problem. I just made sure I put them back in my suitcase whenever I wasn't reading them so they wouldn't be left behind. But last summer, knowing we'd be at the beach for 5 days, I was hesitant to bring a library book with me. Sand and salt water are not paper's best friend, and I definitely didn't want to ruin something I'd borrowed.  Unfortunately, I didn't think about it until 2 days before our flight, which wasn't enough time to scrounge up a replacement. I ended up taking a library book and leaving it in the hotel room. In the end, it wasn't a big deal - I filled my time chatting with Mr. G and people watching. This time around I wanted to ...