I wanted to pop in quickly today and share 5 random thoughts on this first Friday in November 🙂 I’m going to do it in a bit of an update style with “currently” prompts. Happy weekend, everyone!

ONE – I’m looking forward to…so many things this month: trying new recipes, time with friends and family, and the GILMORE GIRLS reunion. I cannot wait and I really think I might have to take a day off to watch all the episodes in one sitting. Is this unreasonable?! I’m also really looking forward to Christmas this year.

TWO – I’m eating…a lot more vegetables. I have been feeling really good following a “low carb” diet which includes a lot of carbs in the form of vegetables but a great reduction in sugar (even from fruit). I haven’t really been eating any grains and very little processed food and it feels great and not even as restrictive as you’d think. Brian and I are both REALLY loving cabbage lately. I was originally inspired by Heather’s blog and this website has a bunch of great healthy recipes.

THREE – I’m working on...improving my parenting skills. I don’t want to be a mom that yells all the time, but I have turned into one during some frazzled mornings/evenings with an overtired school-aged kid who is strong-willed. I can see instantly after a yelling fight the damage that I am doing to our parent/child relationship and I hate it. I know I’m being hard on myself here and my daughter absolutely still loves me and is firmly attached but it can be so disheartening sometimes. I’m finding this book and this website to be very helpful in really trying to improve this. Gina’s post also really hit home for me.

FOUR – I’m reading…a lot of Louise Penny. Books 8 and 9 in the Inspector Gamache series absolutely blew my mind, so I’ve powered through m ost of the rest of the series and I just have one book left to read before I have to wait for her to write another one. I really found that the series hits its stride around Book 4 or 5, but they really have to be read in order to be pulled together in 8/9/10. Her storytelling and character development is absolutely incredible. I know this isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned her (and it certainly will not be the last, I’m sure), but so impressed with these books.

FIVE – I’ve enjoyed… turning on my phone’s flashlight by saying “OK Google, LUMOS” and embracing my Harry Potter love , voting for the reader’s choice awards on Goodreads, reading this list of ways to relieve boredom, finding new bookstragrammers to follow, and sharing some non-toy gift ideas for children with our family members.

This weekend we’re planning to mostly take it easy, visit with our parents & my grandmother, and organize/re-stock the fridge and pantry with some healthy staples 🙂 It’s been a busy week and we are both borderline sick (it’s going around) so a low-key weekend is necessary!!!