Mr. Mischief

I went to get the vacuum. It is his favorite thing and even though it has been less than 24 hours since the last clean up of Ol' Blue I was going to do it again. Special treat really. Living large over here. 

And I walked in to this.

Yup. And honestly I would just be annoyed but today I was a little peeved because I literally had just finished sweeping and mopping the kitchen.

People use literally incorrectly but believe me. I had within the last 5 minutes finished sweeping and mopping the kitchen. And not just any day quick sweep and a wet paper towel to a spot kind of clean. Oh no. This was a move everything to the porch and sweep like crazy then mop and scrub and clean the baseboards kind of cleaning. 

I know the exact date of the last time I cleaned like that and it was a while ago. Because seriously who has the time to clean like that all the time? Nobody. 

Yup. What a funny guy. The picture of him grinning from ear to ear was blurry because I was half crying half laughing. Off to go resweep and mop then. 

Adventures In Zucchini

So one of Husband's coworkers posted this picture on Facebook and offered up her glorious zucchini goodness. Not one to pass up free veggies I offered to take one off her hands. 

This evening I made a variation of Crispy Healthy Baked Zucchini Fries and they were so good. I just used Italian Bread Crumbs for extra flavor and regular white flour. I was happy to use part of our free deliciousness on something even more delicious. I am debating between a zucchini cake or just blanching and freezing the rest to save for later. 

Also we got a bag of green beans from one of his coworkers and those were delicious too. I love green beans. A lot. And they were a delicious addition to our dinner last night. 

I am so thankful for free fresh veggies! 

And They Called It Puppy Love

Next door, I don’t exactly know what the deal is, but they have two dogs. One is a chocolate lab named Charlie Brown. (I love that, it’s so punny.) Charlie Brown has a green bandage on his paw and a cone this week. And they’ve been keeping him in a spare room and he doesn’t like it. It’s so gorgeous out that we all have our windows open and I can hear Charlie Brown whining. It’s breaking my heart. I am sure it’s in his best interest to be in a smaller area with less dangers while his paw heals. But I just want to go rescue him.

I say I don’t like dogs. I only sort of mean it. I had a dog when I was growing up. Technically he was my brother’s dog, but by the end of his life we were very best friends. When he died it was devastating. I loved him so much. I am not a great dog owner, I don’t love going for walks and the whole going outside to use the restroom is not really that much fun in winter, rain or crazy hot days. So most of the time. And I really am more of a cat person. I like cats to come be fed, sit in my lap and sleep in sunbeams. My dog was much like a cat. Except for the using the outdoor restroom and instead of sitting in my lap he sat on my foot.

But to say I don’t like dogs is not really a true blanket statement. There are definitely dogs I do not like. My FIL’s is right up there as the dumbest dog in the universe. But for the most part dogs are okay. Still not my favorite but okay. I’d rather have a cat. But Husband is allergic sadly. He is also allergic to dogs but there are many dogs that shed less and better for allergies.

I however don’t think I could ever get another dog. Because I am scared. I care too much, too strongly and I get too attached. Grief is not easy for me. I still cry about my dog. He has been gone three years now. You may be thinking three years, that’s not so bad. But I also still cry over my cats who have been gone over ten years. I wonder if they knew how much I loved them?

I am sure one of them did. She was finicky, but she would sit on my bed and let me pet her while we listened patiently for the song I wanted to hear to come on the radio. They always did eventually. Just to put this in context, the two songs I distinctly remember waiting for in this situation were Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” and LFO’s “Summer Girls.” Yeah. I was cool. The evening I’m referring to was sunny and I can still picture how my furniture was placed and the sun streaming through onto my bed… and the messiness that was my room. I remember during a song that wasn’t the song I wanted to hear thinking “I just love this moment so much. I love this cat.”

It’s much the same as when I look at C. Just completely overcome with love. Human’s are different. How can you really prevent yourself from loving another human? But pets, you don’t have to have a pet. I don’t know that I will ever have a pet because I love too strongly and care too much. But then I got to thinking that I was denying C a chance to feel that love and have his own childhood perfect moment. So maybe I can open my heart enough for the sake of my guy. I’m not going to rush right out and buy a pet but I’ll actually consider it going forward. Just as long as we don’t wind up with a lemon like my FIL’s.

And in case you were wondering Charlie Brown has been rescued from the little room. 

Dear ABC Family

Dear ABC Family,

I don't even know what to say about your decision to cancel Bunheads. I am sad that you got rid of a show written by my all time favorite Amy Sherman-Palladino. I admit, when the show first started I was hesitant. I was. You see, Gilmore Girls is my all time favorite show and I didn't know if I had room in my heart. But the heart is a muscle and therefore able to expand and I made room for my new favorite show.

Why you thought Secret Life of the American Teenager was worthy of 5 seasons and Bunheads only got 18 episodes is beyond my comprehension. But then again, I am not your target demographic. What it really comes down to is that Bunheads is too good for your channel. It is smart. And real. And actually fairly well acted. Plus it doesn't employ the use of stupid comedy to be funny. Compared to some of the gems of programming you produce. Or it didn't. Because you canceled it. It's done. To forever remain 18 episodes which seriously, you had better at least put out on DVD.

I am sorry that AS-P didn't give you Glee but that's a stupid show too, maybe FOX will buy Bunheads and you can trade?! I wish another network would pick it up but I think Bunheads will forever be lost to a land with Freaks and Geeks and other one season wonders. I take the fact that the show was in limbo for so long to actually be a good sign, it means it didn't go down without a fight. That's good. It shouldn't have. You killed a winning combination. And all the good things it had going for it.

Amy Sherman-Palladino is one of the only writers I know who writes smart, fast and honest. Bunheads was witty, funny and full of references that made you think. Big words, real moments--it was incredibly true to life. I mean, yes the teenage girl getting her own perfectly designed apartment on her own is a little far fetched but as I have already alluded to some of your other programming has ridiculous elements in spades. For goodness sakes, one show is called Switched At Birth.

Sutton Foster, that quirky wonderful actress. Breaking out from Broadway was good for her. She's pretty without being Hollywood pretty and she was the perfect Michelle. Michelle was the kind of character teenaged shows need more of. Teenagers need coaches and role models that they can honestly speak to and learn from. Did Michelle have flaws? Yeah, absolutely, but that's what kept her honest and interesting.

It is a shame that television has no more Kelly Bishop. To chuck an American Gem of her magnitude out the window, man I hope you live to regret that. She was perfect. Now I loved her Emily Gilmore, she was amazing. But the way she matched the cadence of Foster was breath taking--there was never a boring moment when she was on the screen. She acts with every bone and breath, and better yet, she reacts with her soul.

Teenaged girls in real friendships and relationships. They weren't fighting over clothes, liars and gossip. If you can find a show about a group of girls that more accurately portrays teenagers let me know, I'd watch it. They didn't have perfect makeup. They worried about normal issues, not just break ups and intimacy but spiders, new kids and being forced to wear ugly dresses at their father's second weddings. They forgot promises and made them up, they had sleepovers and discussed books. I'm not saying these girls were Saints, but that only made them more real.

I don't know why you made the choice you did. I can't say I wasn't expecting it as I will say it again, this show was too good for your channel. Nevertheless, I am sad. Good luck in the future stumbling upon anything with even a smidgen of substance.


With deepest regrets because I wish I was writing a thank you for renewing letter,

Madeline

Saturday fun.

It is the coldest last weekend of July in history. Well at least 47 years. But that is seriously okay with me!

We have big big plans for the day and hopefully we can get one toddler to cooperate. That would be truly great.

So I am totally phoning it in for today's 7 in 7.  And I am okay with that.

Here's a picture of my favorites just to mix it up a bit.

Quick Takes!

So on this blog-every-day for a week bit I think Friday is like the free space in Bingo with 7 Quick Takes. So here are 7 Things You Might Not Know About Me because it is possible you may be clicking over here for the first time. And even if you're not I bet you don't know that:

1. My go-to meal is Hawaiian BBQ Chicken. The very very first thing I pinned and tried. We have it a lot. At least once a month and sometimes more. Husband always puts on his not impressed face when I tell him we are going to have it but it is SO easy and tasty. A giant Sam's Club frozen chicken breast, BBQ Sauce and a can of pineapple chunks in the crock pot on low until we eat it. Always over rice with broccoli or green beans, which I cook in the rice cooker/steamer. 

2. I love laundry. I love the smell of laundry. I always go down the laundry aisle in any store that has one. I would love to be all cheap and Duggar like and make my own laundry soap but nope, can't do it. I am very very attached to my brand. I do laundry sometimes just because the smell is calming. I really stink at the putting away laundry part but getting the stuff clean, I'm on it. 

3. I used to say my favorite color was yellow, because it's so cheerful. I don't know if I have a favorite color but I guess Aqua/Tiffany Blue/Martha Stewart Blue would be the actual color I love the most.

4. I love watching C run around. He is just speedy and he runs with his whole self. It's just so cute. His dancing is almost as cute but running is my favorite.

5. Nathan Lane's voice drives me nuts. I hate it. I don't like watching anything with him in it. Including Lion King when Timon and Pumba show up. It sounds like nails on a chalk board to me.

6. Do you have a blog that just gets your blood boiling? I do. And I tell myself I will never read it again then a few days/weeks past and I just want to go back and see. Then I get all offended and mad and stop reading again. One day I will just set parental controls on myself and block it.

7. It is the end of July. Which means only one thing: time to reread Harry Potter. I do it every year at the end of July. Since July 30 is Harry's birthday. I'm lame like that. I am curious to see if my favorite book changes this time around. It hasn't yet and I could even begin to tell you how many times I have read the books. Lots. 

Theme Thursday: Askew

Linking up with Cari because that's just what I do. 

So for today's theme of askew I present to you... drum roll please: 

A skewer. And cue the rimshot. 

I know. I know. I am hysterical. Link up your askew and tune in next week for knots. 

WWRW

Another segment for What We're Reading Wednesday.

I admit, after the past few weeks of extreme bookishness which was great I have retreated back to one book at a time. And this week I found myself on the same book the entire time because I have a new television show and I can't get enough of it.

So I have been reading The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe.

The premise is simple. His mother is dying and they start discussing books between them.

My feelings on the book are not simple. I wanted to like this book. I didn't.

I was in grad school during the nitty gritty part when my MIL (who wasn't technically my MIL yet as we were only engaged.) passed away. But it was a lot like any terminal illness, they waste away and it is hard to watch and harder still for them to essentially suffer. So I anticipated the nitty gritty in the book and found a very white washed version. Even with the diagnosis his mother didn't let it change anyone's life and I don't know if that's a good thing.

Schwalbe is not a bad writer, I just didn't care for his family. And his family and their anecdotes are the backbone and meat of this book. His reflections on lessons he learned were good and the part of the book I thoroughly enjoyed. That's about all I got however. I just didn't love this book. It wasn't moving they way I was expecting.

Tuesdays with Morrie and The Last Lecture those were far more inspiring books with kernels of goodness and wisdom. And if you thought they were books that were sappy, they were. But this book is not within the same breath, it's not sappy. This was not full of that. There's not even one line of the books that stood out more than others. Honestly it's too bad Schwalbe's mother didn't write most of the book, her perspective may have been more enlightening and possibly entertaining. The one other thing I did appreciate, were the book club discussions, I want to read some of the books now based on their conversations. So that's like a bonus.

This book has excellent reviews on Amazon and honestly, the title was captivating. This is not a book I regret reading by any means, and boy who hasn't been there? But this is a book I was very glad came from the library.

Just Exactly the Same

When I was in elementary school I went to a before and after school program—let’s call it Mission Children for the sake of the blog. Back in time all day Kindergarten was not a thing, I had morning. So my parents would drop me off before school, I would go to class and then at noon when most kids were getting on the bus, I would go to Mission Children.

Kindergarten was obviously the exception, because the 1^st-6^th graders were still in school. So what would happen is we would eat lunch and then walk to the chalet until school was out. There is a park directly connected to my elementary school and really close to the school is the warming house, for ice skating. The basement of the warming house, was called the chalet.

In the chalet we took our rests on mats. They were essentially a piece of foam covered in rubber and we each had our own with our name on it. After rest time we had the run of the building and there were stations with fun activities. I ruled the store/kitchen area. It had the Fisher Price cupcake set, that I wanted for my very own. I never did get them… sad. And the kitchen area was nearest the tape player so I could control which Raffi tap we'd listen to. Oh the power I thought I had. 

One of the aforementioned cupcakes.

Often there would be a craft or fun project to do, but my favorite was when we’d do cooking projects. We’d bake cookies, or pop popcorn. It was great. But one of my most favorite memories was when we’d get to make donuts.So imagine my delight when I saw this on Pinterest. It was like my childhood memory resurfaced. I set out to recreate my childhood. Oh man it was fun. I didn’t even use the link, but feel free to, I just went off the cuff and my memory to tasty delicious doughnuts. 

You Will Need

Can of biscuits. 

Oil About 2 cups or at least 1/2 inch in your pot

Cinnamon/Sugar Mix to your taste

Paper Towels

Tongs

What To Do

1. First put your oil into a pot and heat it up. 

I used an enameled cast iron. 

Just ignore the spot where the enamel came off a bit. 

2. Get your cinnamon and sugar into a bowl. 
I truly just eye balled this and put the lid on and shook it up to mix. 

 3. Then get your biscuits ready. 
I cut a hole then used my fingers to spread the dough out a bit. 
That's how we did it when I was 5. 
You could use a cookie cutter, but it was more fun to use my fingers. 

4. Put the dough in the oil. It will sizzle and expand very quickly. 

5. Use the tongs to flip them over when they're golden brown. 

 6. When both sides are golden take them out and blot on paper towel. 

7. Then put them in the cinnamon sugar mix. 
Making sure to coat the entire donut. 

8. Feel free to eat. 

They aren't quite Tom Thumb but they're still pretty darn good. 

And exactly the same as when I was 5. 

It was a great afternoon and I even listened to Raffi to boot because that's how I roll. It was a tasty stroll down memory lane and I am glad for an excuse. I am linking up with the Pinterest Party over at Revolution of Love. What a great idea for a link up! 

Bells Will Ring Theeeeee Sun Will Shine

Kicking off this blog-every-day week with just your random catching up/life as we know it post.

Husband's friend from high school got married over the weekend. We headed out on our adventure on the most perfect weather day for a wedding. My guess is when she planned her wedding in July she was not anticipating 80 degrees partly cloudy and little to no humidity. The heat wave absolutely broke and that was great.

She had a very family friendly wedding and there were lots of youngins around. C looked adorable, the shirt was a little big (silly me not trying it on him first oops.) He got many a compliment on his dapper self. And I would go so far to say he was the best dressed boy under 7. Not that little boys don't look adorable in polos, because they absolutely do, but we bumped up the classy meter with the tie.

I spent a whole five minutes picking out Husband's outfit and mine so as a family unit we would look coordinated but not matchy, unfortunately we never got a family picture. 

There were a lot of kids at the wedding and man, it was a largely attended wedding, but C was not a fan of the wedding itself. If he were graded he would have gotten a C. He wasn't so bad that I would have pulled him out of a normal Mass. But I did not want him to ruin the wedding homily, or even worse the vows, and forever be remembered on the wedding video. So we spent a rather large portion in the cry area, the entrance way and even for a while playing with the decorative rocks outside the church. We did make it back in at the end. 

The biggest mistake we made was after the wedding. The whole dismissal by rows thing is something I will never ever understand and it was torture. Everyone with kids was in the back. And while I know Aunt Susie has every bit of right to be the 4th person to offer the newlyweds her best wishes, the 5 rows of parents of small children just need to leave. And sadly at this small town church the bride and groom were blocking what I perceived to be the only door. After 55 minutes of waiting our turn to leave I found another door that was actually right by our car but by that point we had only 3 pews left to go. We were literally the last guests to leave the church. It was bad. 

Like any Catholic wedding I've ever been to, there's some time to kill between the wedding and reception so we checked into our hotel and C was able to nap and have a little more to eat in hopes of the behavior improving. Not that I blamed him by this point. I was less than impressed. 

Our great plan didn't work. It was a really big wedding. 750 people. So the dinner portion was truly like a buffet, after you got your food someone would seat you and your party. And there were going to be 3 full shifts of eating. We ate immediately but then were stuck with nothing to do and a very vocal one year old. We went outside on the golf course for a while and C found another pile of decorative rocks to pick up and carry around. On the behavior scale he wasn't even bad, he just had energy to expend. He spent the day riding in the car, then being told he had to sit still and be quiet. So by that point he just wanted to yell and run everywhere. If we were at a park, he would have been fine, but we were at a wedding. 

We left. Early. Embarrassingly early. Hours before the dance was even going to start. Because while their DJ was obnoxious and was narrating every aspect of the wedding, (Who all the vendors were, the food, the activities, his entire life story.) the information proved helpful as we knew the grand march/dance started at 8. And after C was all calmed down at the hotel, Husband went back. And I watched my new obsession show on the Kindle, played myself in Spot It, and relaxed. And it was incredibly enjoyable. 

All in all it was a good wedding, Husband enjoyed himself and at the end of the day J and J got married which is the most important part. 

Tune in tomorrow for part 2 of the 7-Day-Blog-A-Thon.

Theme Thursday: Bright

Another week gone. Crazy. It was fast this time. Another Theme Thursday. 

Bright. 

I really got down to the nitty gritty of the Theme Thursday concept and really played around with the camera instead of just doing whatever. It was good to learn more of the camera tricks. I took 153 pictures. It was fun. And I found this one and it spoke to me. 

f/5.6, 1/25, ISO-1000

I had this idea in my head all week, well a picture of a candle or a group of them as it turns out. But this picture seems even more poignant with the news from Dwija. Just heart crushing. 

In a "brighter" note, this picture also makes me think of this:

And they're going to be on Jimmy Fallon on Friday. (Tomorrow.) No Joke. So there's that. 

Link up your own bright pictures with Cari. I can't believe next week is the last of July. Where has summer gone? See you next week for Askew. (And if you're looking for ideas be sure to Google askew!)

WWRW

Oh my gosh the reading this week. It's hard though, now I want to pick books that make me look educated, smart, worthy of my Master's and I pretty much fell into an epic fail this week. Oh well.

So let's dive right into this weeks WWRW.

1. Catching up from last week when I was in the middle of The Red House, I finished. I didn't completely hate it. I didn't get anything out of it. And it didn't end. It stopped. So all in all a solid "Meh."

2. Based on Mary Kate's recommendation from last week I read the Erik Larson The Garden of the Beast. It was intense. It's hard to read a book and know full well what is going to happen to a certain extent. But it was captivating and terrifying. The book kept me on my toes and that's saying something because, again, you know what happens in the end. For the most part it was written from the perspectives of Dodd and his daughter. The truly remarkable thing is that while they are the "good" guys for all intents and purposes they were not particularly redeeming or worthy of their "good status." It is fascinating really, how engrossed one could get while just letting it all hang out. And Lord have Mercy on some of the parallels between current American society and Hitler's Berlin. This book is going to make you think. And if it doesn't you probably missed it.

If you add my two cents with Mary Kate's two cents, well you'd have four cents telling you this is worth a read. And four cents is still more than I paid for the library book so that's pretty good.

3. Then I broke down and finished reading Those Grey Books. Do I really need to expound? Okay I will. I read the first one, wasn't impressed and skipped the last two. With the hype about the movie, and of course not wanting to miss out on anything I went back, reread Grey, then on to Darker and Freed.

I get it. I do. I mean they're not great writing. That is well documented. And the entire story is just so implausible. But by the time you're sick of it you are also engrossed in the world and you just want to know what happens. Honestly by the middle of Darker I just didn't care about the smut. As in I skimmed through because I just wanted to get on with the plot. (As loose and obscure as it is.) But I get it. I understand why these are the top selling paperbacks. Even the most cynical women dream about finding the love of their life and hope for the added bonus of him being ridiculously rich. I mean that's about all these books have. I can't for the life of me see how they can make this just a rated R movie and I think as a an actor this would be career suicide. Forever and ever this would be the role people would think of. And those are my thoughts on Grey x 3.

4. Okay then to redeem myself slightly from grown up Twilight I started reading Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith. It is really only slightly redeeming because I only picked it up because of all the baby watch hype. I figured I may as well read about Great Grandma. I feel obligated to tell you I love the Monarchy, I woke up at early o'clock and watched the entire royal wedding and possiblyownthedvdbutyoucan'tproveit. I watched the Diamond Jubilee and loved it but thought the Olympic opening with the skydiving was a little bit tacky.

So that being said, I generally like this book. I'm not too terribly far into it, but it seems like mostly it is concentrating on her outward self and how that relates to pretty much everything. It, however, is easy for me to like this book, see above. So far, it has been reading like a novel, even though it is clearly not which is nice. Considering I highly doubt an autobiography will ever be penned, I'll take what I can get and so far Bedell Smith has not disappointed.

5. In the C book world, we have returned to The Magic Tree House books before bed. They used to be a part of the routine but then for a time he wouldn't fall asleep because we were there. I am enjoying them, they are fun read aloud books with smallish history lessons that I am certain the one year old in the crib is absorbing. It's practically like home school curriculum up in here. But in all seriousness, these books are solid and not completely unappealing for an adult. Mary Pope Osborne did a nice job. The eleventh book Lions at Lunchtime literally had me laughing out loud. I bought the boxed set of the first 28 last year for Christmas as a Today Show Steals and Deals special and I am not disappointed I did. We are in the midst of Hour of the Olympics.

Have you read anything of interest? Reading anything great? Link up with Jessica so I can get new recommendations for my library queue!

Theme Thursday: Rooms

Well here's the deal... the theme for this Thursday is rooms. And I was all like "cool." Then I Google image searched "rooms" and panicked a little bit. My house doesn't look anything like that. But I thought my house looked pretty good. It's like when you get dressed and you're feeling great and you catch sight of yourself hours later and you're just like no.

But I am up for a challenge. I cleaned on Tuesday night and did some reorganization. And then I waited for good light. (I may have read tips about taking pictures of rooms and they all say good light is key. Um hello I want to know how to make my house like a magazine not the same tip given for every photography style ever.) 

So rooms. Just off my kitchen, through my dutch door (LOVE IT) is my favorite favorite part of my house. The three season porch. 

Here's my porch in all it's glory. In true keeping it real mode, the pineapple and other plant life is supposed to be in my red kitchen, not my blue and yellow sun porch but someone aged 1 keeps trying to uproot them. 

Those chairs are so comfy and lived in our living room at the old house, even though they are indoor outdoor chairs. 

And my favorite part of the room is when you walk in the door this is directly across from you. And I loved it in the winter, but it is even cuter with hats and light jackets on it. 

 And because rooms gave me a good opportunity to take a picture of our newly redone closet to show my mom. (Hi Whome!)

Once upon a time when we looked at this house for the first time, the people who lived here before had this dresser in the closet that worked well in the space. Since, it's slanted and not your typical closet. We  tried to negotiate for the dresser in our initial offer but that fell through. Then they went and tried to sell us the dresser later. We said a big ol' no. 

In the 8 months we have lived here we have tried a few different things to make it work. It didn't. Last weekend Husband got mad, went to Home Depot and spent the next few hours in the garage with saws. Then he put this all together and suddenly the closet works. Score! 

Link up your rooms with Cari so I can peek at your house or wherever. I am super curious if someone is super good at room photography or has an awesome Pinteresty room or is really creative and able to think outside the box on this one. Then gear up because next week is bright and I am excited! 

WIRW

Possibly linking with Jessica for What I'm Reading Wednesday. Which I hope can be stretched to what I just finished reading. And that she posts a link up this week otherwise all my thoughts are a little less relevant. But still posted... 

1. If I am being honest the book I literally just read was The Very Hungry Caterpillar but that's not very exciting so...

2. First up in the recently finished category: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. 

This was our latest book club book. It is an entire book based off of Genesis 34. Like from The Bible. I was hesitant when it was described to me. This book had an interesting writing style to it. It wasn't pure story telling but it didn't just read like a novel either. I still can't decide if I liked that but I'm still thinking about it so that's something I think. There were a brief few pages that were super interesting and intense. Funny enough, the part that was taken directly from The Bible. Diamant sums up the entire book in one succinct paragraph at the end. Which is both frustrating and beautiful. It is a good message but it was also something to be inferred from previous four hours of reading. Book club was rescheduled so lucky you, I haven't had the chance to discuss it with anyone yet so you get all my thoughts. 

3. Next up in the recently finished category is Eleanor Brown's The Weird Sisters. 

I really enjoyed this one. It helps to know your Shakespeare a little bit, or at the very very very least your As You Like It, King Lear and Taming of the Shrew. It is interesting that Brown so nicely weaves the flaws of Shakespearean characters into modern counterparts who are similar to their namesakes in flaws but fully formed as individuals. Brown does a nice job weaving her own plot and story using Shakespearean elements and experiences. The story is simultaneously relatable and complex. It was just mindless enough to be a quick read novel but with enough meat to it to be more than just a poolside book. Not that I have a pool. 

4. After a thought provoker and a good read I needed a quick read so I went back to From Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond. This was the very first book I purchased for my newly bought Kindle in February of 2011. There was a blizzard and everything was closed and I stayed in bed and read. It must have been something about that experience that was unreachable in July because this book read faster and less heartfelt a second time around. I don't know. Maybe it's that there's no surprise but, I hope I'm not spoiling anything here, she has 4 kids is, is still married and happy. (And filthy rich with the cattle, book deals galore and a cooking show...) I won't say I don't like this book, I read it all the way through again when I could have easily just stopped. But I will say I dunno I'll go back to it anytime again. In that regards, glad it's a digital copy. The number of metaphors and descriptions of kissing is astounding--it could be a case study.

5. And then since I am being honest and everything I am currently reading The Red House by Mark Haddon. 

I started this before The Weird Sisters and Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. First thing that threw me is all dialogue is not in quotation marks, it is in italics. Then I have to keep all the characters straight because the book is from all of their point of view and switches every few pages. Next up I'll have to power through and finish. Not sure where it's heading. Not sure I like it or would even recommend it but this in all truthfulness is what I am reading, today on Wednesday. 

Toy of the Week Tuesday

It's a gloomy, not raining yet kind of day. Which is okay actually. I don't mind a little rain and truthfully I was in need of an inside day. (I hope it rains enough for the weed roots in my sidewalk that I killed about a week ago to loosen up enough to remove them from the sidewalk.) But even though it's not raining currently it is dark enough outside that I had to turn on lights.

And you wouldn't know this about me, but I have an aversion to turning on lights even in the dark. So that's telling you something. Inside play it is today.

The toy of the week is the MegaBloks. Oh my goodness. Every last detail about them is fun. The fact you can build a car--that is fun. Putting them back in the bag? Pretty good stuff. Dumping the whole bag out all over the floor? That's even better. Conning Mom and Dad into building a giant tower to be knocked over? Um... you might as well call the fun police that's how awesome the MegaBloks are.

We have this set. I think I am glad he got this one for his birthday and not one of the themed sets. It encourages more creative play. Don't get me wrong, the construction site set looks darling, and I am certain it would be an instant hit. But I like the just building towers and running around with a piece in each hand right now. 

So we are listening to our favorite Pandora station (currently Annette Funicello) and playing this morning. Love it. 

Swimmin'

Woo! Almost through Monday already!

We had friends over this weekend, which was fun. They're moving back here and we are excited for them to be close! So we spent Friday night and during the day Saturday cleaning and prepping for visitors. We finished with a lot of time to spare, which was good. But then what are we left doing? You don't want to keep cleaning, because at a certain point you just gotta let go. You don't want to make a mess. Pacing nervously seems silly... maybe we are the only people who stress out this much about people coming over but our house is on HIGH anxiety until the doorbell rings.

We bought a swimming pool and we've used that yesterday and today... it's a hit. It's slightly bigger than a puddle so that one of us can go in with him. He loves splashing people so it's kind of the highlight. I bought a splash pad for C's birthday but since you have to have the water running the whole time it seems more impractical. He loves the water and being outside. He throws such a fit when we go inside, it doesn't matter how long he's spent out there. So if we alternate between the two water activities outside mixed in with some non-swim days I think we'll strike a good balance.

Showing off his amazing swimmin' skills.
Never mind the jungle next door.
They mow just enough to not be in violation of city ordinances.

The previous owners of the house left a bike rack in the garage, which is really handy for hanging up the pool/splash pad so they can dry and not be eaten. It's great. Especially since I don't bike and wouldn't have a use for it anyway. If you love biking, great, but I haven't enjoyed it since I was 14. Just really not my thing. But it is working well as a hang up the pool rack!

That's what we've been up to. And bonus, I found my swimsuit so I was able to go in with him today. It was fun especially since the heat and humidity are back with a vengeance.

Quick Takes on This Friday

I am feeling contemplative over my oatmeal this morning so... I think it's a Quick Takes Day.

1. I've said it before, I'll say it again. Memorial Day and Labor Day have it right. There's no arbitrary date attached it's just a Monday that people get off. I am sure I would be much more apt to enjoy Thanksgiving and 4th of July if they came with 3 day weekends. This whole random day off then back to work stuff is tricky.

2. Let's say Puerto Rico becomes a state. It is a distinct possibility. Does this mean that West Side Story will forever more be a period piece? I know it already is technically, but people like to update it and such. But America which is my favorite song BTW would suddenly become a whole lot less pertinent.

3. Blessed Pope John-Paul II is going to be a saint. Love it. Love him.

4. Amidst all fireworks going off like crazy last night, I pulled weeds from my sidewalk and watched The Parent Trap, which is one of my all time favorite movies. I am not a big go see fireworks girl, but if I had been, last night was the perfect night for them. Not buggy, not muggy.

5. I have been reading Kindle Library Books. There is something very nice about sitting on my buns, in my house and checking out and returning library books. And I have my card from my hometown, and my new town so that measly 5 book limit is actually a ten book limit and waitlist, shmait list I am flying through the books. Love it.

6. That being said, some of the books I have started and promptly stopped. Not really. In fourth grade there was a 4 chapter test rule, where you couldn't decide you didn't like a book until after the fourth chapter. The idea being that by that point you're probably engaged enough to just keep going. I still follow that rule, but even after 4 chapter at least 2 books had to go. But no problem and no special trip to return them was necessary. So I find myself taking risks with the books I get and wouldn't you know, some are pretty good.

7. In the time I started this I have read 2 board books, sang 3 songs, helped a toddler with his stuffy nose and finished my oatmeal. Awesome. 8 hours until the real weekend. :)

Theme Thursday: Freedom

I am so late with this post. But it is still in fact Thursday and I didn't notice the theme until late yesterday and I didn't know what to do with the theme all day...

I could be Patriotic, but I am not big on federal holidays and we didn't do much. Though we did wear red white and blue today. :)

So I am taking freedom lightly and going with this:

I love the freedom of bare feet. It is not always practical. But I love being barefoot. Years ago this was not the case and I wore socks all.the.time but now... free feet!! And I love little baby toesies sticking out of the all American blue jeans. And thank you past Americans who popularized blue jeans and "allowed" girls to wear them.

If you read this and you want to link up with Cari... do it! Freedom is the theme this week!

Perfect Days

Seriously the weather could not get anymore perfect.

Sunshiney. Bright. Upper 70s. We hit 80 yesterday. And zero humidity. None. I went ahead and placed my order for every single day to be like this until the end of time. I don't need changing leaves, rain or snow if every day could be perfect. Oh my gosh. Just gorgeous.

We went to a baseball game last night. The last time I went to a baseball game I went into Labor the next day. It was a little bit different with a toddler who just wants to run and run and run. Luckily our friends had a suite so there was plenty of space for running without interrupting the game for anyone. But the weather was so perfect by the end of the night I was almost wishing I had brought sweatshirts! Sweatshirts! In July! And C was wearing jeans!

Tonight I am going out with my friend for dinner and a movie. I don't know where we'll eat or what movie but I am pretty excited to get out and enjoy myself. And let my boys have some boy time. I suspect that though Husband would never say anything he'd appreciate some time just to himself at the house. Something he so rarely gets. Until tonight however I am going to bask in the wonderfulness that is this weather.

It's supposed to last all week! Praise be to Him! Even  the 4th of July. I am not a big national holiday girl. I love religious holidays but national holidays are a little overrated if you ask me. It's probably because I am not one for parades. I love that Husband has the day off however. We will be non-celebrating the holiday. I have never cared for fireworks. Back in the day, before we had a C, we had a tradition of going to a movie on the 4th of July. It is the perfect time to go. Everyone is at fireworks and movie theaters are dead! 2 years because we didn't see new releases we had the theaters completely to ourselves! But we have a C so will not be going out to a movie this year. That's okay at some point he'll be old enough and we can resume the tradition.

And it's really okay too, because I live in a town where holidays can't ever be on the holiday and the fireworks are Wednesday night. (Trick or treat is always the day before, St. Patrick's Day is the closest Saturday etc.) So it's possible that my movie theaters are dead statement would not be true anyhow. Whatevs. I am looking forward to staying home and enjoying life.