\u00a0<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve never heard me complain about San Francisco weather, it\u2019s because when we moved back, I decided to put on big girl panties and stop moaning about this city. (If you ever read my old posts from four years ago, you will hear a lot of whining.) When we moved back, I decided I was not going to be just a visitor yacking about how cold it is. I was going to embrace the weather as one of my city\u2019s lovely quirks.<\/p>\n Except for summer.<\/p>\n Summer in San Francisco is not something I can get behind. It\u2019s often the coldest part of the year. 55 degrees and constantly cloudy. I know you don\u2019t believe me. What? In California?<\/p>\n Yep. In California.<\/p>\n So, when Chris and I moved back to this fair city, I laid down an ultimatum: Micha does not do July in San Francisco. I can handle June. It\u2019s sunny the first half of that month. And I can handle the month of August being cold and overcast. And I can do those things if I\u2019ve had a good dose of summer.<\/p>\n So that\u2019s what we did this July. We got our summer. And we\u2019re lucky enough to have the ability to see our family and spend quality time with them in the process.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why I didn\u2019t write much. I got the first draft of my book into the hands of a few friends who are giving me feedback and I took a big fat break and played with my kids, celebrated Chris\u2019 grandparents\u2019 sixtieth (yes, 60th!)\u00a0anniversary, cleaned out our stored furniture in Philly, swam in my mother in law\u2019s pool, saw my friend Catherine<\/a> in concert at an old beautiful, now empty church, caught fireflies in my father in law\u2019s yard on the Fourth of July, vacationed with dear friends in Maine, said goodbye to my husband and took the boys to my parents in Texas, hiked with my brothers in New Mexico, and shopped with my mom in Amarillo. We got back this past Saturday and, after five weeks away, I was actually (read: somewhat) okay with San Francisco\u2019s weather. I\u2019m so happy to be home.<\/p>\n What I\u2019ve been Reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n On our week of vacationing in Maine, I read Cheryl Strayed\u2019s Wild<\/em><\/a>, a memoir that one of my friends recommended as I\u2019m working on my own. You guys. This is a beautiful book. The story is both profound and entertaining, and the writing is fantastic. I highly recommend.<\/p>\n August and I finally finished the first book in the Growly<\/em> series<\/a>, which my friend Annie Barnett<\/a> illustrated. I\u2019m so excited to tell you more about the first of this series of children\u2019s chapter books. Loved it. And August and I have been having so many conversations about Growly the bear in our everyday life.<\/p>\n I read Seven Sacred Pauses<\/em><\/a>, a wonderful little meditative book, recommended by Jen Hatmaker in her book Seven<\/em><\/a>, about pausing throughout the day and praying mindfully. It\u2019s been a huge help in how I\u2019m organizing my book.<\/p>\n I also read about three People<\/em> magazines, two Real Simple<\/em>s, and one In Style<\/em>. Just keeping it real.<\/p>\n What I\u2019ve been watching<\/strong><\/p>\n Chris and I weren\u2019t able to see the Mad Men<\/em> finale<\/a> before leaving for our trip, so we actually waited for each other (five weeks!) to watch it together. We watched it this past Saturday night and I was pretty relieved that I didn\u2019t have to go through any huge drama. I\u2019m not as attached to Mad Men<\/em> as I have been in the past. (Thus, my five weeks without watching the finale.) But I am definitely ready to see Don Draper make some steps forward. Come on, Don! You can do it!<\/p>\n I watched Looper<\/em><\/a> and felt like it was\u2026entertaining enough. Nothing profound.<\/p>\n I started Side Effects <\/em><\/a>with our friends in Maine and it was too uncomfortable. I can\u2019t handle uncomfortable. I went to bed and read Wild<\/em> instead. My husband thought it was \u201creally well done.\u201d \u00a0I have nothing else to add.<\/p>\n Also, my friend Christina and I stayed up late watching 13 Going on 30<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>That was probably the eighth time I\u2019d seen it. I can\u2019t help myself.<\/p>\n Otherwise, I haven\u2019t watched much. I\u2019ve done a lot of sitting outside with friends and family at night. And that\u2019s been the very best.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n What I\u2019ve been writing<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m pushing through this book, friends. I\u2019m in these last six weeks of revising before I send the book off to my editor for the first round of edits. And I\u2019m trying to balance writing with enjoying August\u2019s last three weeks of non-school life. He starts Kindergarten on the 19th<\/sup> and I can\u2019t think about it too long without hyperventilating. When I\u2019m not hyperventilating, I\u2019ve feeling so excited for him. This kid is ready to be out of the house every day. He will be incredible happy in school. The question is, Will I survive?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n What I\u2019ve been listening to<\/strong><\/p>\n Prayer is really hard for me when I\u2019m on vacation. If I don\u2019t have a set schedule, it\u2019s nearly impossible to find a set time to sit down and pray. I recently learned about a Jesuit podcast called Pray as You Go<\/a>,\u00a0which is a ten-minute, daily, directed prayer and scripture reading. Listening to it was a life-saver for me. Whenever I found a moment on my trip, I was able to throw it on and listen and focus my heart, usually while I was doing something else, like packing or making coffee, or folding clothes. I love the way the prayer time is always in response to the scripture reading. I love the British accents. And I love the minutes of music at the beginning.<\/p>\n