Sunday, October 27, 2019

Vol 2 Issue 31

Pic of the week 


Went to a Jack-o-lantern festival this week.  It was very impressive!  Love some seasonal spookiness.  :)

What's going on?

Things are pretty bare bones this week, y'all.  Not a lot going on.  Just workin' and livin', ya know?  Had some hot temps.  Ready for that to be over - which it looks like it is, so yahoo!!!  For real, though, outside of work and constantly scanning photos into the cloud, my life has been pretty uneventful.

I feel like I'm in a bit of a rut in some ways, so I'm looking for ways to build up my self-discipline and work on some projects - brushing up on my Spanish, learning guitar, becoming better acquainted with history and politics, establishing better eating habits, all that good stuff.  If you've got any tips or tricks that have worked for you, lay 'em on me!


Sunday, October 20, 2019

Vol 2 Issue 30

Pic of the week 


First day of kindergarten! 😍😍😍 Going through all of these old photos is so fun!  Sometimes I catch glimpses of the nephews and nieces in my and my sibling's faces and it's delightful.

Quote of the week

"Oh, that's just tacky."
- Maggie Smith in Murder By Death.  It's honestly one of my favorite moments in all of cinema.  Because Maggie Smith is a genius. 

What's going on?

Indigenous People's Day.  That's what!

Also National Pasta Day.  You know I celebrated with some mac and cheese.

I have a Spanish tutoring student at the moment and it's inspiring me to brush up on my Spanish.  You'd think I'd use it our here more than I do.  I am not as fluent as I once was, though.  So I'm planning to put in some time on that.  Staring with Duolingo!  It's so easy!  And it keeps me off Instagram.

Anyway, not much exciting happening around these parts at the moment.  Watching too many zombie-themed shows, and scanning loads and loads of pictures and enjoying the pumpkin-spiced season of the year.

What I'm reading


Last week I went to see John Leguizamo in a show called "Latin History for Morons."  It was fine.  BUT the show is based on a BUNCH of books that he read about American history (meaning the history of the Americas, not just the US).  This was one of them and it's fascinating.  Scholars believe that before Columbus there were more people living in the Americas than in Europe.  And that the societies here were every bit as complex and advanced as anywhere in the rest of the world - which sounds like a no-brainer, but for a long time people believed differently.  Anyway, great read so far.

What I'm watching


Over the Garden Wall. It's on Hulu and it's weird and spooky and delightful.  There are 10 episodes, each is about 11 minutes long.  It's a perfectly festive thing to watch. 

What I'm listening to


Season 3 of the Podcast just started.  Y'all, I know that this is my job and all, but this podcast is genuinely so good.  Share it with everyone you know who has kids.  Or even people who don't have kids.  Many a parent has told us that it's saved their car trips. Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard being two of them.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Vol 2 Issue 29

Pic of the week 





I scanned in a bunch of pictures of Mom this week.  Sometimes she was kind of a goofball.  I really loved that about her.

Quote of the week

"Excuse me.  You look so handsome to me."
-A 4-yr-old girl to me after a Story Pirates show.  Heart - melted.

What's going on?

FIRES!  We sort of do that every year.  This year's fires are a bit further north than they were last year, but we still got all the smoke.  Luckily it was really only gross for about a day, and it's mostly cleared up now.  But where the fires were happening - about 15 miles north of me - they had to close down 4 different freeways.  And that's really quite something because traffic in LA is already a nightmare.

Other than a little bit of smoke, it's been another pretty chill week.  I did some tutoring, some Kidville, some Story Pirates (in the sun and it was VERY hot and sweaty), found some late-season peaches at the Farmer's Market, scanned a BUNCH of photos, finished up the Dark Crystal series, saw John Leguizamo in a play, ate tons of Mexican food, had a bonfire on the beach for a friend's birthday, and used soap nuts for my laundry for the first time (they're great!).

What I'm reading

A People's History of the United States. John Leguizamo's play, "Latin History for Morons," was a one-man show about the history of Latin people in the Americas.  He references a TON of books in the show and this was one that I was especially intrigued about reading, so I checked it out.  It's supposed to be really good.  I'll keep you posted.

What I'm listening to

This episode of the podcast Note to Self.  It talks about navigating your relationship with your phone and social media and all of that. Definitely something I need to revisit from time to time.

Monday, October 7, 2019

Vol 2 Issue 28

Pic of the week 


I went to the RiSE lantern festival outside of Las Vegas this weekend.  Honestly, one of the top three most beautiful things I have ever been a part of. Absolutely breathtaking. If you ever get a chance to do one, I cannot recommend it enough.  I believe they do it out on the salt flats every year, so if you're in or near Salt Lake, check it out! Or join me in Vegas next year!  I plan to make it a yearly tradition. More pics:





Quote of the week

"They're not very good for you, but they're really good." 
- Our waitress at the Greek restaurant we ate at for lunch talking about the spanakopita.  We ordered them.  She was right.

What's going on?

Not much to report outside of the Vegas road trip.  We managed to do entire weekend in Vegas without really having to deal with Vegas.  One of the friends I went with works for a hotel company and got us some killer accommodations at the south end of town, and we just kind of stuck it out there.  It was great!  We also discovered some TASTY food there, so if you need recommendations at the south end of town, we've got some great spots with some truly amazing servers.

I got myself a photo scanner off Ebay and have started scanning all of my photos etc.  It's been a fun little journey into the past.  It's really made me grateful that Mom was so diligent about getting our pictures every year for our birthdays.  It's fun to see how I changed and grew over the years.  I'm also scanning some old papers and art projects from elementary school.  It's hilarious.  On one I spelled my name "Gregoy" so feel free to call me that from now on.


What I'm watching

Judy.  It's a movie about the last 6 months or so of Judy Garland's life and a little bit about how her beginnings in Hollywood led to her unfortunate and somewhat tumultuous end.

What I'm listening to

Did you know Dax Shepard has a podcast?!  I did, but I hadn't listened to it until my friend Kasi played it on our way to Vegas.  Honestly, it's pretty fantastic.  It's called Armchair Expert. In this episode he interviews well-known relationship researcher John Gottman who can predict with 91% accuracy whether a couple will get divorced just by listening to them talk for an hour.  He gives great advice on how to have a stronger relationship, how to communicate better, and even how to have a better sex life doing things you wouldn't necessarily think would help that specific area!  Have a listen.  Heads up, the episode is pretty long - he talks to the good doctor for almost two hours, and then has a fact-check section for about a half hour.  Also, there's a small amount of language.