GTKY: Keeping Busy!

BornReady · June 2016

I posted this a few months back, but thought we could do it again since we have so many new people and could always use a distraction from the joys of TTCAL!

So...

What are you reading/recommend (books, blogs, etc)?

What are you watching (TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime)?

What are you doing (crafts, hobbies, gardening, summer-ing)?

BornReady · June 2016

What are you reading/recommend (books, blogs, etc)? Currently reading the book "The Weekenders" and listening to the book "Tempting Fate" in the car. I like to have 2 books going sometimes.

What are you watching (TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime)? I have not been watching anything besides YouTube videos that teach me how to take certain medications. I need to start Orange is the New Black's new season ASAP.

What are you doing (crafts, hobbies, gardening, summer-ing)? I have been a slacker in this area. I have been so pre-occupied with this whole IVF process that everything else is falling by the wayside. I did frame some prints though and hang them on my walls that have been bare for far too long. It's inspired me to continue decorating the house so it feels more homey.

brooklyngirl18 · June 2016

What are you reading/recommend (books, blogs, etc)? you mean aside from obsessively monitoring this board? shamefully, nothing. after working all day and doing weeknight routine with DS alone monday-friday (DH works 4-12) all I want to do with my 'free time' is stare mindlessly at the tv.

What are you watching (TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime)? ah yes, tv. i just finished Vinyl which I loved. I also recently finished house of cards, this last season was SO good. otherwise, I usually watch bad reality tv and Game of Thrones.

What are you doing (crafts, hobbies, gardening, summer-ing)? i also suck in this category too. I really wanted to start a veggie garden this year but it never happened, so hopefully I'll get that going next year. I've been going to my in laws beach house on the weekends when we can and enjoying time outdoors.

BornReady · June 2016

@brooklyngirl18 I used to LOVE House of Cards, but gave up on it two seasons ago. Everyone keeps telling me I need to go back.

lilylover27 · June 2016

What are you reading/recommend (books, blogs, etc)?

I am doing a Goodreads book challenge to read 20 books in 2016, so far I am half way through. Just recently finished reading Brooklyn and now I am onto reading Room and Grey (since I read 50 shades figured why not!). Oh I read Me Before You, so good but expect a good cry, and now I am waiting for a copy of the After You from my library. If you couldn't tell I am a total bookworm and that is all I basically do in my spare time!

What are you watching (TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime)?

DH and I are watching House of Cards, he has already seen all the seasons so he is re-watching them, so far we are only in season one. It is pretty good so far I am not a huge political person so not really what I would go for but I like the side stories. We are also watching Game of Thrones, which we are obsessed with but this Sunday is the last episode of the season already!

What are you doing (crafts, hobbies, gardening, summer-ing)?

Well reading is what I do the most but besides that, we have been growing two lavender plants the past year and this year they were big enough to harvest some and still leave it looking nice. I currently have 4 bunches drying and plan to make a linen spray and just some sachets for drawers and such around the house with them. I have looked up other DIY things but not feeling that brave yet. We also went ahead and planted two more lavender bushes in our front garden and one in a pot on our porch. I think we are slowly becoming obsessed with it! Other than that just going to the beach when it is nice out or our favorite parks.

mylittleversailles · June 2016

What are you reading/recommend (books, blogs, etc)? I am reading Slavoj Žižek's Trouble in Paradise: From the End of History to the End of Capitalism. I always recommend his books if you're looking for some philosophy grounded in mainstream pop culture! If not, it's a bit much. Not the academic stuff, though. After that I have The History of Food in 100 Recipes, which is supposed to be just hilarious and very enlightening. And a biography of Tolkien. I'm currently going through a break up with fiction, as it's been ages since I felt like finishing any novel I've started.

What are you watching (TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime)? I just finished Degrassi: The Next Class and loved it. DH and I are watching Frankie and Grace, Parenthood and The Mindy Project. I think we've decided to watch (rewatch in my case) Friday Night Lights after we're done Parenthood.

What are you doing (crafts, hobbies, gardening, summer-ing)? Gardening! We have an elaborate deck garden this year. It's our first and it is a delightful jungle. Going to be preserving tomatoes and fruits. It's my heart's truest hobby love, so we're going strawberry picking at a place that is also an apple winery. I'll make at least 3 dozens jars of strawberry jam this year because we (the people we know I mean) ate through the two dozen I made last year by January. Maybe 4 dozen. I'll be preserving tomatoes as whole, sauce and very hot salsa. BBQing at every opportunity. Walking to the beach. Drinking a lot of fresh made iced tea and just generally trying to enjoy the summer and not get too caught up in anticipation for autumn, which I do every year and miss what's in front of me.

...but also planning for a magical autumn.

BrightenMySky · June 2016

What are you reading/recommend (books, blogs, etc)? I am reading Atul Gawande's Being Mortal, which is about end of life & aging. Not uplifting, but I generally really like his writing and learn things from it. My next book will be lighter, not sure what yet.

What are you watching (TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime)? I've started the newest season of OITNB. DH and I are making our way through the Americans. For lighter shows I have recently gotten into Guy's Grocery Games (on Netflix, cooking show where the judges aren't super mean), and silly MTV shows like Awkward.

What are you doing (crafts, hobbies, gardening, summer-ing)? I like to try new recipes and make creative foods, and I am getting a little more into that lately. After my loss I made a lot of rice-filled hot/cold packs to give as gifts, and getting out the sewing machine felt therapeutic, so might get back into that. And then a lot of taking care of my dog, who is in treatments for osteosarcoma--walking her, cooking her food, etc.

lilylover27 · June 2016

@bornready I have never watched Orange is the New Black but was thinking about trying it out after House of Cards.

@brooklyngirl18 we started a small vegetable/fruit garden last year. So far this year we have had some strawberries ready to pick and two green peppers. I am still waiting on our cucumber plant and I think the blueberries will be ready soon too!

mylittleversailles · June 2016

@BornReady We have some prints to get framed, good reminder. I just bought a WJ Phillips print in Winnipeg and it makes the house looks so much nicer when you get around to those things. We're going to get some of my photography done up, too. One day.

@BrightenMySky New and complicated recipes take me to my mental happy place. I learned to grind fresh Indian masalas this spring and life is such a delight when we're eating things made with it. We're dipping our toes into traditional Thai food right now, but need to get something to make our electric stove more hospitable to a wok.

@lilylover27 I love lavender! I use it as a culinary ingredient.

Spartanrd4 · June 2016

What are you reading/recommend (books, blogs, etc)?

Right now I just read: When breath becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. I have my book club meeting today so will have my next book title tonight.

What are you watching (TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime)?

This Sunday is the last episode of this season's Game of Thrones. I am obsessed with this show and I will be honest it really has helped me since my loss in March (season started end of April) because it gave me something to be distracted with and truly made me happy for the first time in awhile which is sad to say because the show is pretty depressing a lot of times. I think I am going to re-watch the previous 5 seasons this summer. I also have guilty pleasures like The Bachelorette/Bachelor in Paradise and Bravo shows like Million Dollar Listing. @BrightenMySky I also love Awkward!

What are you doing (crafts, hobbies, gardening, summer-ing)?

Gardening is my major hobby in the summer/spring but I also enjoy crafting and painting. DH and I like to ride our bikes and we are trying to play more tennis together.

brooklyngirl18 · June 2016

@BornReady me and DH felt the same way about house of cards. we loved season 1, not crazy about 2 and 3, but trust me season 4 will knock your socks off. you reminded me we need to start OITNB asap.
@lilylover27 I'm not at all into political type shows but i love HOC. your garden sounds lovely, i'm jealous!

BrightenMySky · June 2016

@Spartanrd4 Awkward is such a guilty pleasure (also Faking It)...they're just so ridiculous!

@reneeannemm also an electric cooktop, makes it a little harder. How are you getting the Thai food recipes--cookbooks? Youtube?

TScalei · June 2016

1. Read - I love to read and I have been reading a lot lately. Recently finished After You by JoJo Moyes the sequel to Me Before You. I really liked it and would recommend it bec I feel it really resonates with anyone going through a hard time. I also recently finished Modern Lovers by Emma Straub and The Nest. Currently reading No One Knows which is a thriller like Girl on the Train/Gone Girl - started it last night but it seems engrossing so may finish it tonight if I get sucked in.

2.) I've been watching Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Mistresses, Real Housewives. Have to start the new seasons of OITNB and Pretty Little Liars. DH and I watch Mindy Project and Game of Thrones and I am rewatching Nashville since we are going there over the summer and I am just happy it got picked up again!

3.) Just finished up a lot of gardening projects; we ripped up a couple of gardens that were getting unruly and planted grass there - now our backyard seems much more manageable! And I just finished weeding and mulching everything. We have lavender, roses, black eyed susans and a bunch of flowers I don't even know since Im still learning, lol. We have a lot of deer in our backyard that eat a lot of our flowers and bushes and prevent me from planting vegetables which is a bummer. Dh and I are just got our bikes ready for summer and will hopefully be bike riding together. Other summer hobbies include hiking, reading outside and barre/yoga outside.

mylittleversailles · June 2016

@BrightenMySky We've been learning the Thai names and googling, then using Google translate. We have a few cookbooks on hold from the library, we test them out as an ebook, as we're very, very picky about which cookbooks get purchased. I have cooked all my life - never with recipes, so I really love trying out techniques so far removed from the French tradition that I have no choice.

lilylover27 · June 2016

@reneeannemm I want to use it in cooking I am just so afraid to I have no idea why! I already make lavender tea but I bought that from a store. I am afraid the lavender I grew is not culinary grade and then I will get sick from it. Also I have read a lot of mixed things on eating/drinking lavender while TTC.

@brooklyngirl18 are you actually in Brooklyn? I live out on Long Island so I am sure if you do the plants should do well there too. Last year our blueberry bush did not have any fruit but this year it has a little and we bought another one just this past weekend. We are still extremely new to it but we really enjoy it and it is always so amazing when you can eat something you grew!

lilylover27 · June 2016

@Spartanrd4 I hear you on GOT, it really does make a good distraction, I too have my MC at the end of March. The show is seriously addicting and I am upset it is already up to the final episode!

brooklyngirl18 · June 2016

@lilylover27 I was born and raised in Brooklyn but moved to westchester almost 3 years ago after we got married. Same climate though so I'm hopeful we can get something started if I finally got my act together and did it.

TScalei · June 2016

@Spartanrd4_ I have been on the wait list for when breathe becomes air at my library for a while. It seems a little sad but like it will be a worthwhile read so I am looking forward to reading it.

mylittleversailles · June 2016

@lilylover27 Yes, right the phytoestrogens?

Anyhow, I think the thing that makes lavender not food grade is the processing, not the kind you're growing. Do you know the variety?

I make a lavender earl grey martini, use lavender in my herbs de Provence mix and a lavender blueberry cupcake, all fairly regularly. I'm growing a couple lavender plants, too.

Amdogger82 · June 2016

Reading: Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks. I have never read anything by her before but I founding while scrounging our house for unread books. I really like it so far. We moved recently and I need to get a new library card!

Watching: So this is a silly one but DH and I recently discovered Bob's Burgers and we both find it funny and sweet in a weird way. The Mindy Project--I like the writing better this season than last! And this is another embarrassing one, DH and I watch the bachelorette. I had it on for fluff one night and DH got totally into it. It's hilarious. It sounds like we watch a lot of trashy tv, and I guess we do, but we barely watch tv so when we do its to veg out for an hour. Oh, except Game of Thrones! That is stressful and I love it.

Doing: we just bought our house in March, so painting. And gardening. I have two raised beds and I love to just take care of them and not talk to anyone. It's the best stress relief. We also just hooked up a rain barrel and I am more pumped about that than any normal person should be. We're also running and training for a 1/2 marathon in October. And just spending time with the pups.

SoonToBeMommaHowe · June 2016

1) reading - Now that I'm "retired" I'm trying to get back into reading. I used to always have a book of two going and then I started working 65+ hours a week and bye bye reading habit. I just finished up Killing Jesus and am now onto Killing Lincoln. Maybe I'll have to take some recommendations off here for future reads.

2) Watching - when I quit my job one of the first things we did to reduce expenses was cancel cable and Internet. So I don't watch anything except for Jeopardy and occasionally Criminal Minds reruns.

3) Hobby - Right now I'm experimenting with some Annie Sloan chalk paint and redoing our dining room chairs. I also signed my MIL and I up for a craft fair in August so I gotta get crankin on the projects!
*We just bought our house at the end of March so we had too many projects to think about a garden this year but DH said I could have one next year

I have no idea what I'm doing though so I'll have to spend some of the winter months researching!

brooklyngirl18 · June 2016

@Amdogger82 DH got me into Bob's burgers also, it's hilarious.

mylittleversailles · June 2016

@SoonToBeMommaHowe I live for Jeopardy!!

dubcompanion · June 2016

What are you reading/recommend (books, blogs, etc)? Just finished reading "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. I'm simultaneously reading the first GoT book and Peter Pan. (I really like the classics. Plus they're free to read on iBooks.)

What are you watching (TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime)? I'm on the last season of Mad Me, season 3 of It's Always Sunny, and season 4 of GoT. When I need something on that's enjoyable but I don't need to pay attention, I rotate between Parks and Rec, 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, Friends, Community, and Arrested Development.

What are you doing (crafts, hobbies, gardening, summer-ing)? Coursework for my SPED endorsement, guitar, cooking with Blue Apron, and catching up on music/TV

lilylover27 · June 2016

@brooklyngirl18 awesome! I was born and continue to live on Long Island as well. The climate should be the same, I was way too lazy to start the project so DH actually did but now that everything is built and planted it has become mine, funny how that works out right?

@reneeannemm I know it is English lavender, not sure if there are different sub-varieties. And I am not sure what in the lavender but I read it can cause pre-mature labor and other complications. I haven't had lavender tea in months which stinks because it really does help you relax!

lilylover27 · June 2016

@dubcompanion how is Blue Apron? I wanted to try it but wasn't sure if it was worth the money! DH is a picky eater but has been better over the years. Unfortunately there are still some things that are a no go.

dubcompanion · June 2016

@lilylover27 We've enjoyed it! This is our 4th week of cooking with Blue Apron. My DH is a picky eater too but has recently been more open to trying new foods. (It was a big day when, 2 years ago, he tried sushi and loved it.) BA has allowed us to try new foods and hone our cooking skills. Tonight we're going to make a seared steak and spiced potatoes.

Each week they offer 6 meals and you can choose the ones you want to make. The service is able to cater to picky eaters in this essence, but I think it's best done with an open mind and empty stomach.

brooklyngirl18 · June 2016

@lilylover27 I know long island really well, I have a bunch of friends scattered throughout the island and my in laws have a beach house so I'm there fairly often. I'll waive from the LIE this weekend

lilylover27 · June 2016

@dubcompanion oh that dinner you are making tonight sounds delicious! That is cool about being able to pick from the meals a little. I will have to look into it!

@brooklyngirl18 how awesome they have a beach house! I'll wave to the LIE this weekend just in case!

haha

allysondunn2 · June 2016

So many book recommendations! I love to read and I'm currently going through some James Patterson books my mom gave me.

Watching: Just got finished watching I Zombie on netflix. I am obsessed with Pretty Little Liars and the new season just premiered so I'll be watching that all summer!

Doing: Gardening! We have a good sized garden and I am so proud of it! It's exciting to see so many of you ladies are into gardening. Our favorite hobby is fishing and we try to do that once or twice a week.

roper2617 · June 2016

Reading: my goal for the summer is to re-read through all 7 Harry Potter books before the release of The Cursed Child on July 31. At the moment I am just about finished book 2.

Watching: Big brother yay! It's my guilty pleasure reality show. Also I'm somehow just getting into Dexter on Netflix. So good! I'd like to watch OINTB but that's a lot of tv for me, so we may put that on hold for now.

Doing: Gardening, mainly veggies. I struggle with flowers, but I think that's because I can't eat them so my interest isn't there. Lol

We also love fishing @allysondunn2

Horray for another PLL fan! @TScalei

allysondunn2 · June 2016

@roper2617 I'm counting down the days until The Cursed Child!!

SoonToBeMommaHowe · June 2016

@roper2617....LOVE Harry Potter

Spartanrd4 · June 2016

I love Harry potter too!!!

silentP · June 2016

I love all the recommendations!

1.) still reading "I Know This Much is True." This sucker is huge! I am enjoying it, though.

2.) Watching the current season of Game of Thrones while also rewatching all the previous seasons. It's a little confusing but also insightful to watch current and past episodes at the same time.
Also trying to get through season 2 of Bloodline, and rewatching Mad Men.

3.) Summer-y things. Day trips, hanging out at the pool. Working out. I need a more concrete hobby. There are also a lot of things I want to do around the house.

TScalei · June 2016

I love Harry Potter too- can't wait for the Cursed Child to come out. I would love to go to the Wizarding World someday.

@silentP - does Bloodline season 2 pick up? DH and I flew through the first season but the second one seems to be lagging and we are having a hard time getting into it.

silentP · June 2016

@TScalei We just finished episode 7, and it really hasn't. I feel they will reveal very small things of interest each episode, but we kind of want to just bail on it! We just put it on when there is nothing else. Too bad because season one was so good!

edited because the text looked all crazy! Wait, still looks weird. I give up.

dubcompanion · June 2016

@silentP Wally Lamb is one of my favorite authors! Glad you're enjoying the book.

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