DRINKING | Stumptown Coffee again!! Jon got a shipment for his birthday – pssst, it was from me! Totally unselfish gift, of course! Haha, I am glad that he’s always happy to share with me! – and we’ve been enjoying our morning cups of “Hair Bender” over the weekend. It’s so, so good. Oh, and also…

LOVING | the new mug that came with it. Seems like just the right replacement for my beloved “Thinking Cup”-mug that I accidentally broke last week. 

EATING | sourdough Greek yogurt blueberry crumble muffins for Jon’s birthday. I am telling you, it’s worth starting a sourdough starter just to have sourdough discard to use up in baked goods. The texture of these muffins was somewhere between a scone and a muffin, a little chewier, not quite as soft. They were so delicious. 

READING | Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. It’s the first fiction book I’ve read in a while, and it’s a nice change of pace.

APPRECIATING | the week of (use or lose) staycation that I was able to take last week. I hadn’t really planned to take any more time off this year (before Christmas), but I am for sure not wasting any earned vacation time if I can help it. I didn’t really “do” much, it’s not like we could really plan anything or go anywhere, but I was able to sleep in a little, get some outdoor runs in, I took my (road) bike for a ride, and also took a few naps here and there. Glorious.  

WATCHING | Hocus Pocus! It’s Halloween time – what else do you expect me to watch?

LOOKING FORWARD TO | the holiday season. Although I know it’ll be sneaking up on me again (as it somehow always does) and I am not sure yet how we’re going to spend the holidays (probably by ourselves, I am guessing), I feel like it’s always a special time of the year. 

ENJOYING | these extra-warm fall days while they last. It’s not normal for Northern California to have temperatures up into the 90’s and no rain at all by the end of October, but since we can’t do much about it, I am embracing the late-summer feeling for a little longer.

(still) WEARING | shorts and t-shirts. 

FEELING | a little anxious regarding the upcoming election. Just me? I want to be hopeful, I am hopeful that things will turn out alright, but man, I was thinking the same thing 4 years ago and you all know what happened.  But I am…

EXCITED | to hear that so many people have already voted early, including us!

BUYING | a new microwave. Ours finally bit the dust. I contemplated for a minute if it was worth trying to repair it, but I honestly think it was about 10 years old and I was not sure I should be meddling with electric appliances (and getting it repaired would probably have cost as much as a new one). I did the right thing, right? 

STOKED | to participate – or should I say keep carrying the torch? – for NaBloPMo again, starting next week. It’ll be my 15th year. Call me committed. Who’s joining me?

What is currently going on with you?

LOVING | my new spin bike. I’ve had it for almost three weeks and have been on it almost every day (I only skipped a couple of days when I opted for outdoor runs). This will be great to have during the fall and winter months, I already know it!

LISTENING TO | the Peloton instructors’ playlists. Haha. Have any of you guys tried the German rides yet?

ASKING | for some good vibes for a dear friend.  

DEALING | with some heartburn issues again. Do you think this could be psychological with everything going on this year? Ha. I am pretty convinced it’s caused by low stomach acid in my case and it’s very annoying. I was good for a while and haven’t really changed my diet, so I have no idea where this is coming from again. So over it.

READING | Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man by Mary Trump. Have you read – or are you planning to read – it?

EATING | pizza with tomatoes and arugula. So good, you should try that.

DRINKING | hot tea for the first time in a while. We had a couple of days of more moderate temperatures and if you know me,  I’ll take any excuse to make hot tea. However, it’s supposed to heat up again over the weekend. It’s not quite fall here yet.

WATCHING | the sunrise.  I was able to get out for a couple of early morning runs to the river again recently because air quality has finally improved. I hope we won’t get any more bad fires, in fact, we could use some rain soon.

FEELING | depressed about the death of RBG and what this means for the court and the country, and

MIND-BOGGLED | by the fact that so many Republicans, first and foremost Mitch McConnell, have no spine or moral compass. Shameful.

WORRIED ABOUT | what will happen in November. We cannot have a repeat of 2016, and I am just so worried that Trump won’t leave the White House if he loses.

AMAZED | that it’s almost been a year since Jon and I flew to Germany to surprise my parents for the big birthday party. I have no idea where this year went and I miss my family. That’s all. 

LOOKING FORWARD TO | fall. Are you?

WEARING | Jon’s Fitbit in addition to my Garmin, because I want to compare step and heart rate output. Because I am weird like that. 

What is currently going on with you?

STICKING TO | my bi-weekly grocery run schedule, but damn do I wish I could go wander the aisles of Home Goods or Michaels again. Target is my only exception (as I go there for grocery and household items) and it’s as close as I get to just “window shop” the aisles at a store right now.

EATING | peaches. I always forget how good they are when they’re in season. 

DRINKING | smoothies. (Or should these count as “eating “?)

WATCHING | the Democratic National Convention and really liked some of the speeches. I know, Biden/Harris might not be your first pick (or even your second), but we need to elect them. Period. (And yes, I’ll also check out the Republican National Convention this week, but just to see what’s going on. I am not sure how long I’ll be able to stomach it. Did you read that a “half Of RNC’s Planned ‘Key Speakers’ Are Trumps“?)

WONDERING | how people have time to keep up with IG posts, stories, AND now reels. Please tell me your secrets. I feel like I am always ‘behind’ (please don’t put any important information in your stories, because I am afraid I’ll miss it. Haha.)

BUYING | another 25 lbs bag of rye flour because the baking shenanigans are continuing. 

WORRYING | about the fires in California. I don’t know if you can see it on our backyard table in this first picture, but it was ‘raining’ ash in many parts of (Northern) California last week and the air quality from all the different fires that broke out after all the lightning showers was awful. It seems to get worse every year.

TRYING TO | exercise outside when I can. It’s been a little tough lately and being chained to the house by bad air quality on top of the Corona quarantine feels like a double-whammy.

HOPING | that I can take my bike for another bike ride very soon. I got my tires filled up a couple of weeks ago, but the hot temperatures and recent smoke from the fires have prevented me to take it on a ride again. 

ADORING | the beautiful butterflies (and occasional hummingbirds) that I’ve seen around our bougainvillea in the last few weeks. 

WEARING | shorts, tank tops, and Birkenstocks – all day, most days. What’s your quarantine uniform?

READING | A long way home by Saroo Brierley. 

SENDING | snail mail. I’ve had some odd experiences with the Postal Service again recently, but with everything going around USPS politically, I am still trying to support the Postal Service.  Also, real letters and cards > bills and advertisements.

What’s going on with you currently?