Monthly Review: September 2026

I was told you’d feel like butterflies

or bubbles,

not like what you are:

a tiny person with my pointy elbows scrunched up in my pelvis,

stretching,

somersaulting

when it suits you,

pressing little limbs into my side as though

to fix their shape

forever in my skin

as though I might forget you once lived here.

As if I could forget the life I grew

from tadpole into this:

a brain, a spine, a set of lungs as yet unneeded,

hair (I hope),

ten toes, ten fingers, and a pumping heart

that beats in time with mine—

my little love,

whose face I have not seen

yet I will know already

when at last

we meet.

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Here's what I read, cooked, and created in the month of September.

What I Read

• The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 5, Beth Brower (★★★★★)

• The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 6, Beth Brower (★★★★★)

• The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 7, Beth Brower (★★★★★)

• The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 8, Beth Brower (★★★★)

• The Gales of December: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald, John U. Bacon (★★★★)

  
  

If you want to hear the rationale behind my rating, head to my Goodreads for full reviews.

What I Cooked

• Ham and Broccoli Frittata

  • Difficulty: ★★

  • Flavor: ★★★

  • Keeper: No

This was not a well-written recipe, and I ended up cooking it for significantly longer and at a substantially higher temperature than called for. It turned out fine, but I wasn't exactly jazzed about eating the leftovers.

• Double Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

  • Difficulty: ★★

  • Flavor: ★★★★★

  • Keeper: Yes

The fall baking urge has hit as though catapulted out of a pumpkin launcher, and as I am managing gestational diabetes, my one real pregnancy complication so far, I am also negotiating with this baby’s persistent sweet tooth. A lower sugar option, this recipe really did hit the spot without getting me into trouble with my nutritionist, and I am already scheming to make them again.

• Healthy Apple Muffins

  • Difficulty: ★★

  • Flavor: ★★★★★

  • Keeper: Yes

See above description. I don't know whether I've ever had such a good whole-wheat muffin. A little natural peanut butter on top is perfection.

• Buffalo Chicken Bowl

  • Difficulty: ★★

  • Flavor: ★★★★

  • Keeper: Yes

I made this with farro because that’s what I had, but I think quinoa would be better. I roasted the chicken because I have not become an air fryer girl yet, and it was quite tasty.

• Cranberry Jalapeno Chicken Salad

  • Difficulty: ★

  • Flavor: ★★★★★

  • Keeper: Yes

I’m pretty sure Chicken Salad Chick (which I have only been to once but loved) has a version of this. So very easy. So very tasty.

• Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte

  • Difficulty: ★

  • Flavor: ★★★★★

  • Keeper: Yes

I am trying my hardest to embrace #ChristianGirlAutumn, a prospect made easier by the fact that it actually is starting to feel like fall outside and not like a sweaty second wind of summer. This drink definitely helped put me into the spirit of things.

What I Created

• Well . . . not much (beyond, you know, the human life in my uterus)

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May your days be filled with beauty, and may your heart be filled with the willingness to see and give thanks for it.