Weekly Recap (Feb. 7, 2020)

What I read: This week, I read Dreaming Spies by Laurie King. My library’s eBook lending system only had the later books available, so I started at book 13 (which so happens to be one of her best apparently) The series is about a young woman named Mary Russell who is married to the great Sherlock Holmes (who is more than 30 years older than she is…my daughter was appalled) In this series, Sherlock Holmes is a real person, but has convinced the world (with the help of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dr. Watson) that he is just a character in the book. When Holmes and Mary first meet, she quickly realizes who Holmes really is, because she herself is great at deduction. They strike up an unlikely friendship (purely platonic at the time) and begin to solve mysteries together.

*I enjoyed Dreaming Spies, so much that I checked out The Beekeeper’s Apprentice (the first in the series) at the library the next day. So far I think its a little slower than the later books appear to be. But to be fair, almost all writers get better as they continue to publish, so that is to be expected. If you enjoy cozy mysteries and Sherlock Holmes, then you will definitely love this series.

Emma (15 years old) is reading The Da Vinci Code. *She says all of the twists hurt her brain:)

Ben (8 years old) is reading The Sea of Monsters, Judy Moody Predicts the Future, and Farmer Boy. 

What I watched:  I am currently watching Season 9 of Murdoch Mysteries, Season 5 of Dexter with my husband, and The Middle.

Something I was happy to check off my to do list:

-Scheduled our annual bloodwork appointments, which is a really good thing, because if we don’t get it done by March 31st, we pay 30% more on insurance premiums….

This week, I am looking forward to:  

-Helping out with our church’s youth group for the first time. **We have had to cancel for the past two weeks, so that’s why this is on here again.

-Going out to eat with my church’s ESL class. We have been practicing on how to order at restaurants for the past few weeks, so to celebrate their success, we are taking them out to Cracker Barrel. *The choice of Cracker Barrel was almost unanimous amongst our students.

Things I learned: 

1. If I set a timer, my kids can magically get their homework done in record time. (Actually I already knew this, but conveniently remembered it this week on a particularly rough day)

2. That this year’s election drama will be just as bad as the one in 2016…maybe even worse! **I am still having residual PTSD effects from the one in 2016 (not kidding at all)

3. That I have an INJF-T personality type. In relation to #2, my personality type explains why the conflict and arguments of the election bother me so badly.

It also explains:

-why I use guilt as a parenting strategy. Proof: At least once a day, Ben moans and groans, “Not another guilt trip….”

-why I come across as extroverted but am really an introvert

-why I try to fix other people’s problems, instead of just being a sympathetic listener (that was extremely eye opening and accurate) If someone tells me a problem or explains why they are upset, I immediately will begin thinking of solutions to the problem while they are still talking. A lot of times, this makes the person upset or even comes across like I am cold and unfeeling, when in all actuality, it is really just me trying to be caring and help. In my mind, love=action. #INJFtroubles

-why I will just drop a person from my life, once I realize they are toxic or have no redeeming qualities (this is one of my greatest flaws…besides being stubborn)

-why I need to be alone to feel recharged

**If you would like to take the free test here it is. I highly recommend it because it is freakishly accurate. It also suggests jobs that you would enjoy based on your type. For instance, it says I would enjoy volunteering to help solve problems (aka my ESL involvement…so rewarding), enjoy teaching (yep), blogging (yep), writing a book (yep), designing teaching materials (yep) and the list goes on and on!

 

Funny things that happened this week: 

1. A girl that I was tutoring, leaned over and whispered that some students at her school had that “corona virus”. Then she straightened up and slowly nodded her head real seriously:)

2.  We were learning about the symbiotic relationships between certain crabs and sea anemones this week in science. One of the questions on Ben’s study guide was, “Explain what symbiosis means.” Ben’s response: “When two animals love each other.” **I laughed when I read that, but when you come to think of it, it is kind of accurate. In Ben’s brain, the two animals love each other, so they try to help each other out….that works:)