what i’m into :: october & november 2015.

Football is on the television. We just ate P-Dub’s creamy tomato soup for dinner, which has been a fan favorite of ours since I first learned to cook. Which would also be the first year of marriage. Which would also equate to a scant over five years ago. We’re settling in for a long winter’s night, and once again, it’s time to link up for What I’m Into. Also, an announcement: this will be my last official What I’m Into for awhile. I’m letting myself off the hook. It might happen, but I’m not putting the pressure on to link up monthly, or even every other month (as much as I love my friend Leigh and the community of monthly writers). We’ll head into some new directions in 2016, which I can’t wait to tell you about eventually. But for now, here’s a small glimpse of the past two months. Join in and enjoy! 

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We continue to enjoy our walks down to the local lake, especially because fall has fallen and it’s crisp outside!

Little dude is a piece of WORK when it comes to dinner. I’m pretty sure he’s going to be eating me out of house and home by the time he’s two.

The boys and I flew up to Salem, Oregon for a visit with my family and friends. I also got to speak at a couple of churches while we were there, and meet up with a friend-from-the-internets, Chara!

And Cancan and I landed ourselves in jail. Ugh. I hate it when that happens.

Otherwise, I read a few books, including these 4 and 5-star reviews: 

Simply Tuesday (Freeman, 4/5): While I liked A Million Little Ways better, she definitely has a lot of nuggets I haven’t been able to stop thinking about.

The Boys in the Boat (Brown, 5/5): Seriously. Who knew I’d love boys and boats and yet another historical non-fiction World War II novel so much?

For the Love (Hatmaker, 4/5): For the love of a pretty funny lady, read this book.

Rules of Civility (Towles, 5/5): It’s just good. And fun. And a slice of American history we’re just now coming into, if you ask me.

Accidental Saints (Bolz-Weber, 5/5): She makes me want to be a Lutheran, or at least accept God’s love like a Lutheran. Man. Loved it.

The Buddha in the Attic  (Otsuka, 5/5): Haunting. Chilling. A crazy-different way of storytelling.

Take This Bread (Miles, 5/5): Dude. First I’m Lutheran, now I’m Episcopal. The theology beckons me in.

A Widening Light (Shaw, 4/5): Luci Shaw is actually the editor (and writer of) several of the poems on the incarnation. They’re lovely to sit with and muse over.

The Silver Star (Walls, 4/5): Jeannette Walls has such a distinct, flavorful way of telling stories. This too was not a let-down.

The Middle Place (Corrigan, 5/5): Can I be a memoirist like Kelly Corrigan when I grow up? Nah. I’ll just be me, but I’ll carry her storytelling ways with me in my pocket.

The Waste Land and Other Poems (Eliot, 4/5): There’s a reason he won the Pulitzer.

Cutting for Stone (Verghese, 5/5): Okay, this book is so long you’ll feel like you’re betrothed, but have no fear: it’s excellent.

Also read: The Magician’s Assistant; Women are Scary

Currently reading: Breaking Busy; The Nightingale; The White Tiger; Big Magic; The Beginning of Desire; Maleficent

If you’d like to unite as book nerd friends, forever and ever, amen, then let’s be friends on Goodreads!

Otherwise, here’s a bit more of what we’ve been up to: 

We went to a super lame pumpkin patch in Alameda, California, and this picture was the closest we came to proving lameness otherwise.

Here’s what I’m up to in this picture: I am holding my super snuggly bear of a little boy right after his bath. Is there anything better in the world?

I’ve had a hoard of speaking engagements this fall, which has been a ton of fun. Here I am down in San Jose, California, wearing what is apparently my speaking shirt, and being cheered on by two dear friends, Jenn and Dorcas.

And here… drumroll, please… I am, making MFT (My First Turkey)! Stop the presses, cuz girl you know it’s true. Ooh, ooh, ooh, I roasted a fifteen-pound bird.

We went to a wedding, and a week later, the HBH (Hot Black Husband) and I got away for 36 hours thanks to the generosity of our extended family. We’ve had some epic guests and visitors, and I’ve got to tell you: we’re usually so caught up in the moment we neglect to take a picture. I think that’s a rather good sign.

Otherwise, I’ve been doing my own nanowrimo this month, attempting to finish my manuscript. And, 65,694 words into it, I have a little less than two chapters left to write. Now that is something worth celebrating, friends.

We’re trying our hardest to love and lean into life, and embrace each day for all it brings.

Happy Advent!

xo, c.

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So, what have you been into the past couple of months? What have you been reading and watching and doing? And how much do you want me to cook a turkey for you? 

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