A weekly round up: eats, workouts, watches, and reads. In this week's edition I stocked up at Trader Joe's and read a lot of books.
Content warning: this post contains a picture and a positive review of an oatmeal raisin cookie
Trader Joe's Haul
Technically speaking, I didn't *need* to go to Trader Joe's, but I saw a few IG posts for some new products that looked tasty. On Saturday it rained heavily all day, and since hiking was off the table I figured I'd indulge in some retail therapy to make up for it.
I felt like I bought the store, but the total came to $70 and I can't remember the last time I got out of TJ's for less than $100, so I guess I did something right.
Mission #1: I'd saw a picture of a Greek salad on Insta, which got my attention and reminded me that I had some kebabs in the freezer that I'd gotten on a past visit. I picked up some odds and ends to make it a reality.
Not shown: I cooked up some orzo that had been in the pantry for a while for a carb. I also made some Greek dressing.
Pro: it's yummy.
Con: requires one million ingredients.
On the snack side, I got the Tom Yum snack mix which is going fast.
I know several people who do not like oatmeal raisin cookies, specifically many of my internet friends and the person I am married to, but they float my boat. Normally I prefer to make cookies instead of buying them, but there was just something about these that caught my eye.
Workouts
Boring stuff on weekdays, and this on the weekends.
Watching
We have a lot of stuff going on with the end of the school year, but we're still watching Seinfeld when we can. We're closing in on the end of season 8, and yada, yada, yada.
For my solo watching, the reason why I didn't write a post last week is 100% due to the fact that I became obsessed with The Pitt and just couldn't think about anything else until I finished it. There's a 100% chance of a season 2. I started season 2 of The Last of Us, but got bored right away and bailed on it. ISO the next show.
Reading
Why read the book when you can listen to the podcast? I was delighted that If Books Could Kill did an episode on The Let Them Theory. I liked the concept as a sound bite, but was quickly perplexed when I tried to read the book and ended up skimming it.
First up: I finished Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo, which was a pick for an IRL book club. It's short, succinct AND the author is a poet so she knows how to use words. Her life was such a twist of "I had this bad situation, and I got out of it and then got into this bad situation. And then I did this amazing thing out of nowhere" that I was gripping the pages and constantly guessing. My only beef is that the book only goes through her young adulthood, and she was in her 70s when she wrote it - I want the rest of the story!
Next up: The Coast Road by Alan Murrin. The further I got into the book, the more it started to drag. It's the 90's, it's Ireland, everyone is moody, but I needed the story to go somewhere and it wasn't. I only stuck with the book because it was short.
At about 70% of the way through, a thing happened that made me want to throw my Kindle across the room. Are you kidding me, I stuck with page after page of moodiness for this? I gritted my teeth switched over to hate reading mode.
And then I got to the ending, which made everything OK. This is an "I'm going to be thinking about this for a while" book.
After that I read what all the cool kids are reading: Three Days in June by Anne Tyler. I liked the main character a lot, but got bored with everything else and found myself sticking with it because it was short. I think the lesson learned after reading this and Funny Story is that romance isn't my genre. I liked these books but I don't love them.
Last but not least: Lisa was the hookup for A Little Less Broken: How an Autism Diagnosis Finally Made Me Whole by Marian Schembari. The author always knew she was a little "off", and cycled through depression and anxiety episodes until she was in her 30s and started hearing more about autism and all of a sudden her life starting making a whole lot more sense.
Does anyone else out there like oatmeal raisin cookies or am I the only one on the planet? Any good TJ haul stories to share? Who's seen The Pitt? Whatcha reading lately?
I'm a hard pass on oatmeal raisin. I like raisins, but NOT in cookies.
ReplyDeletePro: it's yummy.
Con: requires one million ingredients.
Ha. I feel the same way sometimes. I'm a sucker for short, simple recipes but they don't always taste quite as good as more elaborate ones.
I posted my April reads today, but my two favourite books from the month were Go As A River (5/5), and Northern Spy (4.5/5).
I haven't seen The Pitt but I LOVED ER, so I should check it out.
Alas, we don't have TJ where I live. I wish!
I paused in the middle of reading your post to check out Go As a River.
DeleteI'm watching the first episode of ER right now! 15 seasons will keep me busy for a while.
I appreciate the content warning.
ReplyDeleteI have been in a terrible book slump and started reading Sigrid Nunez's "What Are You Going Through," which seemed like the ticket... but it is now plunging me into despair and I'm not sure if there's an upside. We'll see, I guess? Starting From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler in the car with my kid today; I read it to her years ago but she doesn't remember it. That should be soothing.
Frickin' book slumps. This is why you and Nicole need to get published ASAP.
DeleteLike I said, I remember loving Mrs Basil but I remember nothing about it...should I check it out?
I LOVE oatmeal raisin cookies!
ReplyDeleteWe must have spent a fortune in Trader Joes. It's a interesting shop, however, I am surprised about all the food packaged or prepared as "convenience food". We wanted to make our own salad - we looked for the appropriate vegetables only to find that most of it was packaged as pre-prepared salad kits. 🤔 Maybe it was just that particular TJ's in Cape Cod?
Thanks for the tip about The Pitt!
Catrina, you are my soul sister. If/when we meet we'll bake a batch. Or go to TJs and buy some.
DeleteMy TJs has a lot of salad kits but also regular salad.
Oh oh oh, did the Books Could Kill people talk about how Mel Robbins stole the idea from a poet? I need to find the substack that wrote about this. Mel Robbins actually took the concept of "Let them" from a writer named Cassie Phillips, whose poem Let Them went viral on IG in 2022! And Mel Robbins never gave credit for this. I can't believe more people aren't talking about this. https://sagejustice.substack.com/p/mel-robbins-and-plagiarism I don't love that podcast so I'll wait for you to tell me if they mention it or not!
ReplyDeleteRob and I just started watching The Four Seasons and so far, so good.
I like oatmeal raisin cookies just fine, but I rarely make them. I have not seen the Pitt and TJ doesn't exist in Canada, so no to that. I am reading Animal Instinct, which is WILD. It's a pandemic sex book but now the protagonist has created an AI bot which is maybe coming to life? It's a wild read and I am really loving it.
Wait no longer and download the episode ASAP. They get into the plagiarism issue...and they don't let her off the hook. Sure it's possible that she came up with "let them" on her own and didn't know about the poem, but someone would have caught it between the time she turned in her book proposal and publication.
DeleteI like the concept of If Books Could Kill and I like them when they're "on" BUT they need to get rid of Peter and replace him with Aubrey. There's no Michael for me without Aubrey.
Wild pandemic sex book? SIGN ME UP!!!
I think they do a GREAT job taking her to task about the plagiarism issue! And her response when people ask about it make me LIVID.
DeleteMy son just recommended If Books Could Kill to me over the weekend. For sure now I need to give it a listen.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the rundown on The Coast Road. I was mildly interested and put it in my cart, but I think perhaps maybe not. Besides, I did say that I'd devote this spring/summer to rereading from my bigass personal library.
I had to break up with the only Trader Joe's in the area. I used to go there all the time. Now, their only parking is in a huge multi-level garage that is shared with a "lifestyle centre"--lots of upscale shopping, apartments/condos, eateries, a gym and an Apple store. The traffic is horrid as well. I miss it, but we parted friends.
And raisins? I'd like to quote my friend who said, "Everything with raisins would be improved by substituting them with chocolate chips, including a box of raisins."
Nance, a little bird told me that we might live in the same geographical area. If so, there are two TJ's here. The west side one has a horrible parking situation, and the east side one is crowded but there is a surface lot and the parking is easy to deal with. Lucky for me I live closer to the east side!
DeleteI agree with your Mildly Interested verdict on The Coast Road. Your son knows what he is talking about with If Books Could Kill. Download the title of any book that you recognize ASAP and you'll have some good listening.
Oh, do we!? How fun.
DeleteI listened to the IBCK podcast on The Secret on my walk yesterday. LOL! I am hooked!
I do like some oatmeal raisin cookies! I don't like the big soft ones, but Tate's are thin and crispy and have little bits of raisin, not big ones that overpower the mouthful, and okay, now I sound like I have thought about this way too much, don't I? Oh well.
ReplyDeleteYou have not thought about this too much! You are with friends here.
DeleteWell, I was all in on the title of this post- I like reading and Trader Joes! You've reminded me that I need a trip there, badly. So- I read Three Days in June and loved it! I was interested that you classified it as a "romance." Is it? If so, I've achieved my goal of reading one romance novel this year.
ReplyDeleteI heard Mel Robbins discussing the Let Them theory on Rich Roll's podcast. I really enjoyed it, but feel like I got everything I needed from it and don't need to read the book.
Those cookies... yum. Oatmeal raisin isn't my favorite cookie, but I wouldn't turn them down- and I like how these have coconut!
Um now that I think about it, I don't know what the definition of a romance is. I asked Google and AI says that 3DIJ is "not primarily a romance" so maybe I've got it wrong.
DeleteThe main criticism of Let Them, besides the plagiarism stuff is that the concept is two sentences (Let Them. And Let Me) that was stretched into a book.
The coconut was what sold me on the cookies. Once I saw it I could not unsee it.
I like oatmeal raisin cookies. I don't make them, and since I have been diagnosed with celiac I don't think I've eaten one. I'm not gonna say I miss them the most out of all the gluten food that I do miss - but I think they're yummy. I laughed at your content warning. That cookie looks really good. I grew up hating coconut, but that is an ingredient included in lots of things that I CAN eat and I've learned to deal with or sorta like it. I guess.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading a thriller called 56 Days. I may have learned about it on Gigi's blog. I'm not 'thrilled' that the young woman in it, who I fear might be in danger of being killed, is only a tad older than Mini and I'm finding it a little unsettling. But it's well written and I sort of want to find out what happens. The detective chapters have awesome dialogue/chemistry and that is making me chuckle.
There isn't a TJ close enough with my regular routes to make it a place I stop. I even have a $50 gift card there, given to me by one of Coach's long time patients who passed away a few years ago. Yep, I've had it that long. I guess I'm also a little clueless about what to get there as I'm not a regular, so I think I'd wander around and I don't really have excess time for that sort of shopping experience.
The TJ's cookies are GF! But they were only a few dollars, so you'd still be stuck with most of your $50 gift card.
DeleteI read 56 Days a few years ago. Let me know when you finish it and we will talk!
Did you see that box it said OATMEAL COOKIES with raisins in teeny tiny font because they know that raisins DO NOT BELONG IN BAKED GOODS. I'm pretty sure you know this is true, Birchie, and you're just trolling me.
ReplyDeleteDoggo's sploot in the first photo! What a good girl.
We must agree to disagree about OR cookies. We can still be friends, because if anyone tries to give you some you can call me and I will take care of the situation for you.
DeleteStepdog's mission was to let everyone know that they needed a dog. Doggo's mission is to tell everyone to Always Be Splooting. So basically it's the same message, it's just that Doggo is more specific.
I don't live close enough to a Trader Joe's to get there more than once a year. I'm jealous of your haul. I know it's a good place to shop. I've read a few other bloggers mention The Pitt so will look for it. We're watching All Creatures Great and Small right now. Comfort TV for trying times.
ReplyDeleteWhich ACGAS? The OG one or the one that came out a few years ago? I haven't seen the new one but I approve.
DeleteTJ's is about half an hour away. Back in the Work in Office Days I used to work close to it, but since then it's a "once every few months" thing.
I am not a big fan of oatmeal raisin cookies... I don't love raisins in general to be honest. They don't disgust me but I wouldn't be tempted to have one!
ReplyDeleteI want to watch The Pitt but we are "borrowing" my employee's Max family account.... we originally borrowed it to watch the Timberwolves in the playoffs last year. Then I borrowed it so we could watch the final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. And then I borrowed this past weekend to watch the first HP movie. And Phil borrowed it to watch Barry (which I tried to watch with him and was like NOPE.) I think at this point we need to just get a membership so we aren't freeloading off my employee. Ha. But I would have to watch The Pitt alone. Phil does NOT like intense shows. We just finished watching Paradise on Hulu which he hate watched because it was too dramatic and had too many monologues.
All the more cookies for me!
DeleteIn Cheap News - um I mean "respect for a dollar" news, I cancelled my Max membership and they counter offered 3 months for $8 a month! I'm cheap but I'm willing to pay $8 a month with the caveat that I don't have to keep it for 3 months. So we'll see if I get $8 worth in the next month to justify keeping it.
Ha! Ha! Your content warning cracked me up! I don't hate oatmeal raisin cookies - but the coconut is a total dealbreaker for me. I've never been to Trader Joe's. It looks like the nearest one is 250 miles away, so I doubt I'll be going anytime soon. I'm listening to Remarkably Bright Creatures and I love it so far.
ReplyDeleteYay! I won't start reading RBC until July since the book club isn't until then, but I'm excited for it.
DeleteI am not a fan of oatmeal raisin cookies, but you enjoy all of them to your heart's delight! I still laugh at the time I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for a family game night and when we asked my nephew why he wasn't having any, he said it was because of the raisins. I WAS AGHAST. I wouldn't do that to someone! Muahaha.
ReplyDeleteI was OUT on Let Them when I learned she plagiarized the book and has doubled-down on her response that it wasn't plagiarized. GTFO.
I'm trying to use TJ's as my primary grocery store - their prices do make me very happy!
TJ's prices are good EXCEPT that I always pick up treats to offset my savings. Oh well.
DeleteIt does take the courage of your convictions to turn two sound bites (5 second rule and let them) into two full length books, plus the double down denial on the plagarism. I wonder if that's why she said that she got the idea from her daughter and made her daughter a coauthor?
I love a good oatmeal raisin cookie, and I refuse to apologize for it. I mean, I love a good chocolate chip cookie too, but I’m almost happier with oatmeal raisin.
ReplyDeleteI am going to have to check out the If Books Could Kill podcast.
I’m not a fan of TJs though. I know everyone loves them, and their prices are great, but I find the quality of their produce and meats to be inconsistent. Sometimes I wonder if I should give it another chance, then I say, nah.
Bummer that you bailed on The Last of Us. The 3rd episode was really intense.
I love Doggo’s picture at the top. Perfection.
For me the magic of TJs is that they have cheap staples and unique treats (which offset any savings I might get from the cheap staples). It's also just a little bit out of my way so I don't go very often.
DeleteSorry, just getting back form another ((repeated)) sabbatical…
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I LOVE oatmeal raisin cookies! I don’t get to TJ’s ever. There aren’t any in close proximity (even at my new house), so they’re not on my radar even if I’m in the city. I’m glad to see Seinfeld is still happening ;-) That show was pure genius!