playing tourist + (no) impulse control
on trusting your gut
there’s not much to be said about most of my week, just run of the mill working/eating/reading/errands/tv etc. but last friday was THE BEST DAY. collin and i as well as our friends ryan and karlynn all had the day off. it’s so magical when friends schedules align in such a way and NONE OF US had anything on the calendar already! (i take it back. collin was going to continue his vhs organizing project. so glad he decided to postpone lol).
we decided to take a trip as tourists of our own city! karlynn lives in richfield so after we picked her up we went for a bloody at the richfield VFW. right across the street is the wood lake nature center. i’ve driven past this place at least 100 times. from the street all you can see is parking lot and trees so i just assumed it was a small lake and maybe a playground or park area or something. COLOR ME SURPRISED WHEN WE GOT IN THERE! this is a massive trail that doesn’t allow any pets/dog walking because it’s a nature preserve and wildlife research area. there’s 150 acres of marsh/wetland/prairie/woodland and over 3 miles of different trails. i’m obsessed with the fact that this exists just 15-20 minutes from my house and it’s such a hidden gem. it was the perfect day to walk through - sun shining, breeze breezin, and we were walking through around 12:30 so we got to watch so many swimmy ducks/geese/swans etc at lunch time. i cannot wait to go back!
after that we bopped over to the starcade retro arcade on west 7th in st. paul. we intentionally got there early in the day because we wanted to make sure kids were generally still in school. this place was SICK. there were so so many games and it’s a $20 all you can play scenario. i’ll admit i was a little intimidated because i hadn’t played many of the games, but it was fun to find things i liked and it was fun to watch the boys play stuff they were really good at. surprising no one, my favorite game was a table top “bowling” game.
from there we hit up uptown and had some spicy hawaiian pizza at mort’s. i’ll be honest, the happy hour patio on friday at mort’s was quite a scene, but the pizza was top notch.
we headed across the street to the walker sculpture garden after we finished eating. i haven’t been there since i did my senior pictures nearly half my lifetime ago so it was super fun to see it again and see how it had changed. again it was such a perfect (75* and sunny) day for this and minnesotans were out minnesota-ing HARD. i love the art. i love the skyline views. i loved the friday at 5pm energy of this stunningly beautiful place heading into the weekend.
we made our way back towards richfield to drop karlynn off and on the way attempted to get a snack at frenchman’s pub. for whatever reason we sat at a table for 10 minutes unacknowledged and called it quits.
after that collin, ryan, and i decided to head up to northeast to do a little bar crawl. seeing the traffic on 35/94 we opted to cut through downtown to get to NE. this meant going over the 3rd avenue bridge right at sunset. it was… stunning, breathtaking, couldn’t have been timed better if we had planned it.
we hit up knight cap in northeast, the joint in cedar-riverside, and ended the night back at the eagles/memory lanes in southside. i feel like we saw the city from almost every angle and i LOVED IT. it was such a lovely combination of art, nature, and minneapolis institutions. it was one of those days that spawned inside jokes and memories that will last for years. and all because we said yes!
ryan invited us to hang out all day friday late on thursday night. we’re talking meet at 11am early (the crack of dawn for collin and i on a day off). we could have said no! collin had his movies to organize, i wanted to hole up and read my new book all day (more on that below). instead we passed on the mundane and we said yes to adventure. it was such a good reminder of how much fun stuff minneapolis has to offer. definitely the most fun/adventurous/silly and full of giggles day i’ve had in a long time.
things in process
~one month until speech practices start! so in the mean time i’m writing brief lesson plans for my readers. i should be getting my coaching assignments for non-reading students in the next week or so and i’m excited to start figuring out pieces for their season as well! EEEEEK!!!
Anita de Monte Laughs Last - another library book that i will be rushing through as it’s due tomorrow. i have more hope for finishing this one on time, we’ll see though.
laundry - will be on this list forever because lord knows i haven’t touched the stuff in a WHILE. i can’t wait for the day where i own a house with laundry that’s not in a scary/smelly basement because honestly the ick i get from that is a big big hindrance in me getting to it.
bread - i fully intended to pull my starter out of the fridge this week, strengthen her up, and start baking next week. the universe had other plans though… my starter from the fridge was in the early stages of developing kahm yeast which isn’t unsafe but tastes bad so into the trash she went. i have back-up dehydrated starter but i haven’t gotten around to bringing it back to life yet and idk, i really am hoping to this week.
things i finished (or didn’t) this week
Grief is for People by Sloane Crosley
summary: grief is for people is sloane crosley’s memoir navigating through grief after two back to back losses.
unfortunately i did not finish this book before it was auto-returned to the library. i made it about 40% and while it was lovely, i have way way too much on my TBR to feel compelled to get back on the library waitlist for this and try to finish it. i think if it were 5 years ago i would feel very differently, but at this point in my life my grief feels very processed for me and this didn’t feel like it was written for me now. for someone in the throes of grief i would definitely recommend. it was compelling and beautifully written.
When the World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson
summary: when the world tips over is a young adult fiction that follows the fall siblings dizzy (12), miles (17), wynton (19), and their mother, years after their father mysteriously disappeared.
this book was an impulse buy that could not be stopped. despite being halfway through another book. despite the other library books who’s due dates are rapidly approaching… i knew as soon as i read the jacket that i had to own it. i honestly haven’t been this enraptured by a book in some time. i read all 515 pages in just two sittings. i don’t know where to begin with what i loved about this book… it was so spooky and ethereal and magical and real and unreal and heartbreaking and romantic and funny and tragic and goodness i loved it so much. it made me cry *constantly* which i don’t love when i’m reading a book out in the wild but what are ya gonna do? here is one of my favorite passages
“dear hunger,
there is never enough chocolate, oysters, peaches, figs, filets cooked a perfect medium rare, picnics by rivers, sky, flowers, wine, kisses, love, time. there is never enough life in life. open the cupboards. rip open the bags. reach your hand in for another. walk into the forest at midnight, splash around in moonlight. find the people who plant the sun in your chest. seek platters of words, jugs of bright paint, whole days made of music. kiss for weeks at a time, kiss everyone you know. i see you and you and you and you —life-thieves like me—trying to stuff more in your pockets, your moths, your hearts during these measly lives that will be forgotten” (when the world tips over, p.447)
i know this book, a book who’s emphasis is alllllll about the importance of sharing our stories, found me and not the other way around. logic and reason told me to wait, get it from the library, or at the very least finish your other books before you start it! but more and more these days i’m finding the importance of noticing when the impulse that “doesn’t make sense” is stronger than logic, and TRUSTING those impulses from that deeper part of myself (god, the universe, higher power, inner being, whatever you feel moved to call it). this book changed something in me not just because of the story itself (which again i deeply loved) but also because of the journey it took to end up in my hands.
love is blind s7 e1-e6 (spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned)
i am VERY excited for season 8 because there are rumors that it was filmed in minneapolis and i am desperate to see it! but for now i’ll settle for DC. obviously i think everyone was really interested in this leo/nick/hannah/brittany shenanigans during the pods. i am SO disappointed that leo and brittany didn’t end up in cancun with the rest of the engaged couples because i definitely think that would have added a really spicy element to when everyone meets in person. i’m looking forward to witnessing that dynamic at the reunion. my thoughts on the couples that ARE still engaged:
nick and hannah - we can all already see this imploding. i’m interested to see what the straw that breaks the camel’s back is - both fully delulu
marissa and ramses - i thought this was THE couple like they were going to make it to the alter and beyond but the previews of her talking to bohdan planted seeds of doubt for me.
taylor and garrett - they’re the other strong couple in my eyes. they seem like they have their communication pretty figured out and any drama they’ve had with each other they’ve worked through pretty fast and maturely
monica and stephen - i honestly haven’t been able to take stephen seriously since he used the phrase “i still identify as white” in the pods. jail.
ashley and tyler - they are so sweet together. i hope they make it, i love how he constantly talks about how she makes him feel safe. i do feel like i need to see what there dynamic is like when they get back to DC for sure
alexandra and tim - dude she low key hates him. her look of disgust when he tried on the hat in cancun told me everything (not to mention their off screen fight and him going to sleep in another hotel room and them almost breaking up). this is another relationship that i am like 99% sure is not going to survive. i could see him leaving her at the alter since she keeps saying “you know i want to see this experiment through to the end”.
there’s only 3 episodes coming out this week so i will definitely have time to watch those and let you know my thoughts on our next section next weekend.
that’s all i’ve got for this week!
all my love to you
liv