Taking Stock for February

I’m using part of Pip’s Taking Stock list again this month. Here’s what’s been going on with me.

Making : Ozzy’s winter coat had this insipid Boy Clothing Logo on the breast, a sports number or generic firehouse logo or some such, so I ironed an angry bear patch over it. Now I feel better about the world.

Cooking : I’m trying to use up all the pantry and freezer bits before I go shopping again, so I heated up some homemade coconut muffins I found in the back of the freezer. They were so toasty and cozy, you should make some.

Drinking : Enough La Croix grapefruit to make me question whether the can, or the bubbles, or some other element could adversely affect my health. I’m drinking 2-3 cans a day while Instacart is still around to carry cases up the stairs.

Reading: I renewed my subscription to The New Yorker, and then remembered that when I read magazines I stop reading books. On the plus side, I’m all over cocktail party conversation.

Trawling: Junk shops in Minneapolis. We made our last visit out for a while and I bought a bunch of cheap doll furniture for Ozzy’s doll house. Why does Minnesota have so much doll house furniture?

Looking: At sweatshirt dresses and mandals.

Deciding: Where to go on our big family trip this summer. Where would you take a 10-year-old and and a two-year-old if you had two weeks?

Enjoying: My little boys. Ozzy is currently all about unicorns, and Hank has begun to make genuinely funny jokes. Those guys.

Liking: Using stuff up. I’ve been employing it as a decluttering method, and have gone through so much back-stock body butter and face cream.

Cringing: Related, I left an impressive greasy face print on the sanitary tissue over my chiropractor’s face pillow. I felt the urge to explain about my current overindulgence in face cream, but then didn’t. My face spontaneously produces Crisco, Mr. Chiropractor. Accept this about me.

Wondering: If I could make it all the way through Elle’s 100 day project now that I no longer have a newborn. It starts again April 4.

Loving: Diana’s Banana Babies. They feel the same as ice cream bars emotionally, but are better for my health objectives.

Listening: Sia’s “Reaper” is the best song I found last month. I had that parent thing where I realized I hadn’t heard a new song since my kid was born, so I’ve turned back to Spotify.

Buying: I’m waiting for this bonkers pair of pants to arrive. Will they be unflattering, or dramatically unflattering? Stay tuned!

Watching: The Bachelor. I don’t even have shame about it, you guys. Brad’s high school friend Catherine “won” the Bachelor a few years ago, and we’re addicted. Did any of you watch this season? Amazing. Nick was in such a weird position. After like the third show, I didn’t really think his future wife was in the room, did you? My conspiracy theory is that he knew America would be ticked if he broke up with Raven, but less so if he ended things with Vanessa. So he picked the not-wife who would be less likely to end this TV career he has going by making him unlikable. The behind-the-scenes motivations fascinate me.

Wearing: Flea market cashmere. All my sweaters were $20 at the Alameda Flea.

Celebrating: I’ve been carrying 35 pounds of extra weight since I had Ozzy, and this morning I hit my first major weight loss goal. Pow! Sock!

Embracing: Super short fingernails. I’ve been clipping them until there’s just enough white to show that I don’t gnaw at them, and it’s incredible — like taking off high-heeled shoes after a night on the town.