Month: May 2021

Friday Five Things 5/28

~ kofriedery ~ Leave a comment

“Try as much as possible to be wholly alive, will all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell.” – William Saroyan

May Book Report will be published mid-next week! I’m almost finished with a couple books that I want to include for May. In other news, we had a pretty productive week around here and I’m feeling really excited about this summer!

  1. Balance (or lack thereof) – I’ve talked a bit on here about different time/energy management techniques I’ve tried. Time blocking by days so different activities happen at different times. Time blocking by week so different activities happen on different days. Trying to match my daily energy highs and lows with different tasks to be more efficient. Etc… What has been working for me best recently is to let go of the idea that each day or week is going to look and feel the same. So I’ve been spending time Sunday evening or Monday morning plotting out my week with daily to-do lists and then each morning planning out my days based on what needs to get done. For example: Mondays are usually a day that I need to finish up some chores, grocery shop, and run other errands to places I avoid on weekends. I also like to get a long hike in on Monday mornings. So I don’t put writing on my to-do list and just focus on getting other stuff off the list for the week. Then I have writing on my lists for Tues-Fri. Another example is that I don’t always work out at the same time every day. For hikes, I like to go earlier in the day when it isn’t too hot. But I prefer late afternoon neighborhood walks and midday for strength exercises. Just another example of how things that are best practice in general might not be best for specific people! My days aren’t all balanced with each other, but overall I feel that I’m working towards a more even existence.
  2. New back deck furniture – Well, it’s just one piece of new furniture but I rearranged everything into a configuration that is making me want to spend more time out back! When we first moved into this house the back deck was literally falling apart, so we knew it needed to be rebuilt. Tyler put in a lot of time and effort to design and build a gorgeous back deck that really extended our living space outdoors. We got some chairs and a table and he put in some built-in benches around a little fire pit, but it just didn’t feel like a place you wanted to spend time. So I made it a priority this summer to utilize the space more and figured out a solution to maximize our space with only purchasing one new item! I moved the dining table over to the benches and it fits perfectly with them as seating. Then I moved the fire pit to where the table was with the leftover chairs and purchased this outdoor couch. We ordered it from Lowe’s on sale but I’m not seeing it on their site anymore. It’s pretty spacious and the armrests can lower to provide even more bench seating if necessary! Since I set it up we’ve come out here almost every evening and I’ve been doing my daily planning and journaling out here. Mission accomplished!
  3. Garden updates – Last week I finally purchased all my little veggies plants and got them into the dirt. Since we have chickens we don’t plant in the ground, everything is in containers or a table height raised bed Tyler build a few years ago. We’ve already had to fashion a cage of sorts to keep the squirrels off the strawberry plant and I’m assuming we’ll do the same for the peppers and tomatoes eventually, but so far so good! We have spinach, kale, zucchini, cucumbers, jalapeños, bell peppers, two kinds of tomatoes, strawberries, mint, sage, basil, and rosemary! I might still get a few more herbs but for now I think we’ve covered the things we eat most in our house. Also, when we were buying the veggies I saw two little red and white columbines on the clearance shelf and bought them for $4 each. They’re in the ground and coming back to strength nicely. Excited about my ever growing flower collection in the front yard.
  4. Hiking – I found a new trail that might be my new favorite! It’s right up next to the mountains but still had a lot of open meadows space with wildflowers. I also like it because it’s a perfect length and incline to really make it a workout for me, but I can finish it in under 2 hours. I hiked it twice this week, once with my dog (Bama) and once alone. And I’m sure I’ll be going back more in the coming months!
  5. Journaling – Since last fall I’ve been journaling pretty consistently every day. Sure I miss a few days here and there, but the point isn’t perfection. I feel like this habit has really paid off this week as I’ve had some not-so-great feelings swimming around in my head. Just articulating what is bothering me and getting it out on paper has been so helpful! I also think, as a writer, that it helps to start every day getting words on paper, no matter what those words are. “Morning pages” are a thing I’ve learned about and fully support!

Friday Five Things 5/21

~ kofriedery ~ Leave a comment

This was one of those weeks that I hypothetically planned for at the beginning of the year. I spent two days staying with my mom and driving her to some appointments. She’s been sick for a couple weeks and my dad had to go out of town for work, so I happily adjusted my to-do lists for the week and drove 45 minutes to their house on Tuesday morning. I was still able to get stuff done, but being out of my normal routine always put a hitch in my productivity. I think if I had come into 2021 with the mentality that I had to hit hard and fast goals on a strict timeline, this would have thrown me for more of a loop. Instead I was able to take it, adjust as needed, and still make some headway on my own stuff while getting to be present and support my family!

  1. Rearranging and decluttering – This seems to be a never ending task in our house as we are constantly discovering new and better ways to use our space. Earlier this week we decided that we want to build a new kitchen table that will fit our space better and start utilizing the bar countertop we have. This meant I needed to find a new place/configuration for the storage shelves that are currently under the bar area. And then move the trash can under another counter into a cabinet area. Both of those actions required decluttering some other cabinets and drawers to free up space to relocate items. Whenever I have projects like this, I go into a bit of a frenzy to get it all done at once. But when I finished, everything had a place minus a few old pans, a teapot, and some other hodgepodge items to donate. And I like the new configuration so much more! We now have room to get a new table and some chairs for the bar!
  2. Watching Disney World YouTube with my mom – We had to postpone a big family trip to Disney World until next year, but we’re already in planning mode! Since we were just resting and relaxing at the house, my mom and I watched a couple YouTubers walk through Animal Kingdom and it was a lot of fun! If you are planning a trip anywhere, rest assured that someone has done a YouTube video with all the things you can do and see!
  3. Lilacs are blooming – Lilacs are pervasive where I live and I love this time of year when they all bloom in colors of purple, white and pink. In my neighborhood there are some giant lilac plants with tons of blossoms. My own little lilac didn’t bloom last year, we think some weed killer blew onto the buds because the leaves came in all deformed. But this year it is happy and healthy and full of flowers! Makes me very happy.
  4. Broccoli Cheese Potato Soup meal prep – I’ve been really into having soup for lunch but it was getting a little spendy to keep buying it at the store. I mean, I usually wanted to get the good soups, not just ramen or Campbell’s chicken noodle. So this week I told myself I’d make a big pot of soup for the week and it was delicious! I didn’t really follow a recipe, but I sautéed half a diced onion in a tiny bit of olive oil, then added a few cups of cubed red potatoes (I think they hold up better in soups than the big russets), chopped broccoli florets and 4 cups of vegetable broth and let that cook for awhile until the potatoes were just tender. Then I added 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream and 1/2 cup of milk. I let that simmer for a few minutes and then added a lot of shredded cheddar cheese. It was not a healthy soup, but it was deeeeelicious! And a small bowl of it was nice and filling.
  5. Writing inspiration – I had a few really good writing sessions this week where the words and ideas just flowed. It feels really great when you sit down and realize you’ve written 1500 words in 30 minutes! For reference, other days it’s like pulling nails to get 500 words on the page in a full day of writing. So hopefully I’m moving in the right direction with my ideas so inspiration keeps coming!

Friday Five Things 5/14

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“You build your mind, so make it into something you want to live with.” – Marilynne Robinson

Hi friends. As seems to be the norm these days, it was a week for difficult and upsetting news. The escalating conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and the increasingly desperate COVID situation in India make it feel like things are spiraling in a hopeless direction. I watch the local and national news every night, I follow news accounts on Instagram, I check the AP and CNN apps regularly throughout the day, so I am not sticking my head in the sand nor am I advocating for anyone else to ignore what is happening around us. But again, I think it’s important to acknowledge the good alongside the bad; the joy alongside the sorrow. So here’s what brought a smile to my face amongst difficult times this week.

  • Chicken field trip – Earlier this week Tyler texted me around 5:30pm to come out to the front yard. He had let the chickens through the garage into our overgrown side yard and they were having the time of their lives! It was all fresh, damp dirt for them to scratch through and I saw at least three of them catch and slurp up big fat worms like spaghetti. We had to herd them out of the neighbors yard a couple times, but other than that they were perfectly content to stay put and dig away. And it was so fun to watch them have a little field trip!
  • Cucumbers – I’ve been on a cucumber kick recently. Usually they are pretty low on my list of things I’m craving, but I have been making a lot of cucumber salads for lunch. Or slicing them and dipping in Bitchin’ Sauce or Yum Yum Sauce! Soooo good.
  • Getting dressed – After several months of simply changing from “last night’s pajamas” into “tonight’s pajamas” I have finally started to get dressed in real clothing every day. I think it’s mostly due to the fact that I’m getting out more thanks to the vaccine and nicer weather. But I have to admit, it’s nice to pick out an outfit that isn’t the same rotation of sweat pants and t-shirts every day!
  • Babies! – I have several friends who are pregnant right now and, while having kids isn’t the journey I chose for myself, I LOVE seeing my friends become moms!
  • Hanging baskets – Ever since we moved into our current house I have wanted to have beautiful, overflowing hanging baskets of flowers on my front porch. And last year was the first year I was able to keep any potted flowers alive on our west-facing front patio. It gets blistering hot full afternoon sun in the summer and usually my potted plants just wither and die from it. I think it helped that I was home and spent a lot of time out front to keep tabs on how they were doing. I just bought two gorgeous baskets of petunias, lobelias, and some kind of green vine-y thing. I have high hopes for them this summer!

April Book Report

~ kofriedery ~ Leave a comment

Whoops! Meant to publish this one earlier this week and I forgot to schedule it! Better late than never, right?

“Many people, myself included, feel better at the mere sight of a book.” – Jane Smiley

  • City of Refuge by Tom Piazza – This book is part of my research and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested or seeking insight into the experience of New Orleanians during Hurricane Katrina and the direct aftermath. I think Piazza does a great job of conveying why people love that city so much and why they felt they had to return and rebuild. He also dives into the conflict of those who chose not to return. One line that stood out to me, and I think most people can relate to with other personal circumstances, “I think we are trying to do the right things, and there is no right thing…Every choice we have ends up with some kind of huge…loss. It ends u pith something getting lost that is really just…irreplaceable.” For me, the book resonated when it detailed the unique parts of New Orleans that are hard to describe to people who haven’t experienced it. And while it provoked both smiles and tears, I have to admit that the “love” of the city is laid out with a heavy hand. So Piazza might come across as a little overwrought and sappy at times, but if you’ve read his treatise “Why New Orleans Matters” you won’t be surprised at the over-the-top language he uses when talking about the city.
  • Delicious by Ruth Reichl – This book was such a fun read! It’s about a young woman who gets a job at an well known cooking magazine. From there she meets some really wonderful people and discovers a unique piece of history that turns into a treasure hunt of sorts. It goes off in completely different directions that you expect at first, not in a “surprise twist” kind of way, but more in a meandering, life-doesn’t-always-go-as-planned kind of way. The characters are really character-y and fun to read, if not 100% believable. It’s long but I definitely would recommend if you are looking for an easy read that isn’t your typical boy-meets-girl fair.
  • The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley – This was a super quick murder/suspense read, very similar in style to her more recent book The Guest List. I enjoyed it for the most part. The characters were a little too…archetypical for me. The troubled gamekeeper, the woman running from her mysterious past, the self-obsessed aging party girl desperately trying to recapture her youth. There were parts that felt too overdone in trying to hammer home the neuroses of these characters that, at least to me, seemed super obvious from their first introduction. So…great literature it is not. But I liked it and finished it quickly.

May Goals Update

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“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” – Albert Einstein

Hi Friends! I should be posting my April Book Report today, but I wanted to get my goals recapped and updated here at the beginning of the month. I’ll post the book report early next week and then have a regular Friday Five Things at the end of the week. Hope you are all having a great May so far!

Be Present – I have been working on remembering to meditate in the mornings more consistently and getting a little better at it. My journaling didn’t pick up in April like I had hoped, and I think it’s because I tried to mix it up with my workspaces. In doing so, my journal wasn’t always in the same place when I wanted to write. For May, I’m going to focus on little solutions to make both of the tasks easier and more seamless for me because I know that helps with my consistency. Aside from that, as I wrote in my post on Monday, I felt 100% present and in the moment during my week at the beach with family.

Focus on the Essential – I went through my entire wardrobe as planned and got rid of several items that either didn’t fit or I hadn’t worn in a very long time. I made a list of what I needed to replace and shopped around to find the right items at the right price to fit my needs. I think one of the differences I noticed in doing it this way is that there were a few things that I saw and liked while I was shopping, but I knew I already had something similar in my closet because I had just had my hands on it. I also returned a handful of things that just didn’t work for me and I knew that while I liked them, I wouldn’t wear them enough to justify the purchase. In the past I’d tell myself that of course I’d wear it and that returning things was too much of a hassle. I do have to admit that while on vacation the concept of only purchasing the essential kind of went out the window. We bought a few things to play with at the beach that we didn’t end up bringing home, but I feel like it was worth it for the fun we had. For May, I am going to go back to my more spartan purchasing and only buy things to replace empties. I’m also going a little more basic in my meal planning to try and reduce our grocery bill back down as it got a little out of control last month.

Stay Connected – I felt very much more connected in April than previous months. And I feel like May is going to be more of the same. I have a lot of friends who are also fully vaccinated now and I can’t wait to get together with them!

Activate Inner SJW – I reached out to two organizations to talk about volunteering. One of them is actually shut down right now because of the pandemic so they won’t need anyone until they open back up. And I’m waiting to hear back from the other about any immediate needs, as I know they are still in operation. So goal for May is to get some actual volunteer hours on the calendar!

As for the other goals I had for the month, I think I did pretty well. Starting this week I’ll be using a monthly goals and habits tracker to keep closer tabs on how I’m doing day-to-day.

  • Hike 20 miles/other regular movement – I did not hike 20 miles this month. We had some crazy spring weather with snow that got in the way. I did get in three hikes for a total just over 9 miles. I have higher hopes for May weather, although this first week has already been really cold and rainy! Targeting 20 miles again this month!
  • Finish the outline and get started on research for new book – The detailed outline still needs some work, but I have the general framework of the story sketched out. And I have definitely gotten started on research! Lots of reading and lots of ideas so far. Goal for May is to add details to my current outline and develop the main characters.
  • Read 5 books – I finished reading 3 books. Part of the reason I didn’t finish 5 is that I currently have 4 books in progress! Goal for May is to try and focus on one or two books at a time so I can actually get to the end! (2 books would be 1 fiction/pleasure reading plus 1 research book at a time)
  • Eat healthier and drink 60oz of water daily – Yes! I feel like I had a lot of success with this in April. I drank my 60oz or more every day. And I hate fairly healthy, with the exception of the brookies I talked about a couple weeks ago and some ice cream on vacation. Goal for May is to cut back on some of my excess sugar consumption. I already swapped my usual sweet coffee creamer for plain oat milk in the mornings and I’m liking it so far!
  • 15 minutes of cleaning every day – I didn’t do this every day of the month but I did most days. Going to keep this up and add the goal of decluttering and organizing all of the hall closets in the house for May.

Friday Five Things 4/30

~ kofriedery ~ Leave a comment

“I could never stay long enough on the shore: the tang of the untainted, fresh, and free sea air was like a cool, quieting thought.” – Helen Keller

Sorry I didn’t get this post out on Friday. I was at the beach with family! I went back and forth about whether to post about vacation here because I know it’s a privilege to spend a week at the beach in the best of times, let alone during a pandemic. But I want to be honest and authentic here as much as possible. We went to St. George Island in Florida. Aside from the kids, who were all from one household, only one adult wasn’t fully vaccinated and he’s had his first shot so he had partial immunity. We rented a house and were mostly just by ourselves at the beach or in the pool so it felt very safe in terms of contact with other people. We did go out to eat a couple times but all in open air dining with plenty of distance from others. The airports felt the most risky, but everyone had masks on and we could spread out for the most part. I know the idea of travel right now, especially for a non-essential trip, is controversial but I really feel like we did it in the safest possible fashion for both us and the people around us.

Anyway, that’s why I didn’t publish on Friday. I was actually able to be mostly unplugged last week which was a real treat! And without further adieu, here’s what is currently bringing me joy.

  1. The beach! Duh. It was so relaxing to sit near the water and listen to the waves crash on the beach. And to watch my niece and nephews play in the water and discover sea creatures. We ate grouper and shrimp and crabs and oysters. We soaked in the sun and the joy of each other’s company. It was the kind of vacation that fills your soul with sunshine.
  2. Budgeting. While this might seem really lame, being disciplined with our household budget for the past few years meant I had plenty of money set aside for our vacation last week and we could go out to eat and make other purchases without stressing too much about the cost. While tracking our budget takes time and discipline, it really makes things easier in the long run. I highly recommend getting a subscription with You Need A Budget. I like their philosophy on budgeting and the tool is super user friendly.
  3. Unplugging. I am a slave to my routine, which includes watching Good Morning America in the morning and then the local and national news every evening. This past week I didn’t turn on the TV at all! Of course I got a few news alerts on my phone, but it was nice to take a break from the self-induced onslaught of news media I usually get.
  4. Daffodils. The first flower to bloom in my yard every year are my daffodils and they are popping their little cheery heads out now. I was worried I’d miss them during our trip, but we got home just in time to enjoy them.
  5. Bees. We lost both our beehives at the beginning of the winter so we have been looking forward to replacing them this spring. We picked up our bees over the weekend and installed them in their hives. Last year we started naming the hives (King’s Landing and Gondor) and this year we have Tatooine and Jakku!