Hotel, Motel, Holiday Inn

If you didn’t immediately follow up the title with a resounding “say what?!” ala Rappers Delight then I am not sure we can be friends. But I will say go listen to it now and then come back and read this post because that song was on repeat in my head all weekend in Ukiah while we stayed at the Holiday Inn. 

And if you didn’t immediately ask why we spent a weekend in Ukiah at a Holiday Inn, then I am not sure you have been following my life for the past 15 plus years. For background, Martin found a bike race in Ukiah that he wanted to check out and he thought it would be fun to make a weekend out of it and see my sister and family at the same time. We made the weekend happen but Dana somehow missed the memo.  They already had plans to be out of town so just the four of us spent the weekend wandering around Ukiah and hanging out. 

We drove up late Friday evening and after breakfast Saturday morning at the hotel, the kids and I dropped Martin off at the starting line and then headed into town for a day of exploring. The plan: grab snacks at Schat’s bakery to take to the nearby park/playground to kill the time before meeting Martin at the finish line later that afternoon.  Apparently “killing time” in my book is buying a lot of food (snacks for the day and bread to last the week at Schat’s, crepes at the farmers market and sandwiches at the Bottle Shop), doing some window shopping (the bookstore convinced us to go inside) and hanging out at Todd Grove park. Around 2pm, time thoroughly killed, we made our way to the finish line to celebrate with Martin. 

While he didn’t win the race, the kids were still excited that he had finished and didn’t hurt himself (they might have picked that up from me) and Martin was stoked to have completed a proper race in the top third. 

That afternoon we (meaning Martin and the kids) swam in the outdoor pool (I should point out that while the pool was heated it was only 60 degrees outside), we (meaning the kids and I painted our fingernails all of the colors of the rainbow thanks to a nearby Walgreens) and then we (meaning the whole family) went out to dinner at the local Applebees. 

Overall the weekend was great: very low pressure and good times with just the family. Who would have thought a Holiday Inn in Ukiah could bring this feeling of joy?!

2022 Year in Books

Another year, and somehow an even longer list of books this year. I am starting to think I might be neglecting my kids, husband, family and friends.  But at least I am reading an eclectic variety of things!

A Calling for Charlie Barnes, Joshua Ferris

When We Cease to Understand the World, Benjamin Labatut

Our Country Friends, Gary Shteyngart

Beautiful World Where Are You, Sally Rooney

Tacky, Rax King

The Sentence, Louise Erdich 

Cloud Cuckoo Land, Anthony Doerr

Tell Me Lies (technically an audible) 

Born a Crime, Trevor Noah

But What If We Are Wrong, Chuck Klosterman

The Collective, Alison Gaylin

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Jenny Lawson

Gilead, Marilynne Robinson

Harlem Shuffle, Colson Whitehead

The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah

Tell No One, Harlan Coben

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, George Saunders

Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century

Play it Where it Lays, Joan Didion 

The Seven Sisters, Lucinda Riley 

Husband Material, Emily Belden

How Civil Wars Start, Barbara F Walter

Glory, NoViolet Bulawayo

When Women Kill, Alia Trabucco Zeran

Blood Sugar, Sascha Rothchold

The Storm Sister, Lucinda Riley

Treachery of Spies, Manda 

Trailed, Kathryn Miles

The Last Thing He Told Me, Laura Dave

Peach Blossom Spring, Melissa Fu

The Island, Adrian McKinty

God’s Shadow, Alan Mikhail

I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette McCurdy

The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcolm

Beowulf: A New Translation, Maria Dahvana Headley

Grendel, John Gardner

The Latecomer, Jean Hanff Korelitz

Four Lost Cities, Annalee Newitz

The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan

Anxious People, Fredrik Backman

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Daniel H Pink

Stranger Faces, Namwali Serpell 

Malibu Rising, Taylor Jenkins Reid

Diary of a Void, Emi Yagi

Status and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change, W. David Marx

My Monticello, Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

The Family Chao, Lan Samantha Chang

The Love Prescription, Seven Days to More Intimacy, Connection, and Joy, John M. Gottman and Julie Schwartz Gottman, PhD

The Deep Deep Snow, Brian Freeman

The Seven Husbands and Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid

Verity, Colleen Hoover 

Less is Lost, Andrew Sean Greer

To My Dearest Children

Dear Alva. 

You are right. This Christmas wasn’t fair for you. I hear you loud and clear. 

When I picked out the puzzle for your advent calendar I was hopeful that the rainbow colors would outweigh the Lego brick motif. It did not. Oskar was ecstatic, you were not. 

When Grandma got you and Oskar the Lego Gears Set she truly thought it would be fun for both of you. And yet you knew Oskar would grab the best pieces before you even got a chance to look at what could be built. 

And those on their own wouldn’t have been an issue or caused any tears.  But how were we to know what would come Christmas morning…  I still have no idea why Oma thought giving Oskar 3x the number of gifts to Oskar compared to you would be a good idea. I can only hope it was an honest mistake and one we won’t let happen again. 

So yes, my love, I hear you loud and clear. I know that feeling when nothing seems fair and as a result you feel a little less loved. Know this: you are so incredibly loved. And we will make sure to not repeat this again next year. 

PS: I loved playing hairdressers with you. You were a pro at the small talk and positioning of my head to get the perfect cut each and every time. Your imagination is endless and I can’t wait to see what excites you next. 

And To Oskar. 

My apologies for getting the heebie jeevies when I wiggled your loose tooth. While I know this is totally normal. It definitely creeped me out Christmas night. 

PS I will cherish your constant, tears in the corner of your eyes, rolling around infectious laughter while watching the various holiday movies.  Home Alone and Dinner for One will forever make me smile with these memories. 

Down for the Count

Our trip to Germany started off well enough. Getting to the airport, the flight, picking up the luggage and finding Meike for a ride to the house, it was all flawless. The kids went to sleep without a huge fight that first night and while jet lag hit us at 2am we were able to work through it and get back to sleep. 

Wednesday morning is when things started to fall apart. Alva puked, then puked again and would continue to puke through the day, night and into the following morning. Sleep was nonexistent as I was on high alert for any sign that she might puke again during the night… she did, three times. 

Things started to turn around Thursday afternoon and on Friday we were able to check out the local Christmas market before heading to Martin's friend’s house for the annual mackerel smoking.  As a side note, the weather was miserable (pouring rain) however Martin and friends would never think to cancel the outdoor party. We were to dress accordingly. The rain came in fits, starting and stopping throughout the evening with us running to the small shelter for cover every time it got a little too heavy for even the Germans to bear. Despite the rain I found myself enjoying the evening and cherished the few minutes Oskar and I shared on chairs just beside the party. 

Unfortunately it was all short lived. Oskar started to complain of a stomach ache and once at home he vomited in our bedroom before I could get him to the bathroom. 

And so began our first week in Germany with the norovirus. I will spare you all the details but let’s just say we did a lot of laundry, we will not be eating smoked fish any time soon and we were thankfully back to almost good by Christmas morning.