Summer thoughts

I love the weather this time of year....the hazy sunshine, the slightly humid air, the potential thunderstorm in the atmosphere, sunsets close to 8:30pm, the smell of freshly cut grass.

And then someone in work said: "Only six months 'til Christmas!"

Not to worry, I'm still registered Republican

I've been feeling very burnt out lately, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the melancholy I feel when I leave in the mornings now, and no one else is even awake. And during the calls home I get to hear a play by play of all the fun things done or planned, and I'm stuck dealing with insurance.....

But this Saturday we did something a little different. We went to karate, sure, but then we went to the Farmers' Market held in the parking lot of a shopping plaza every Saturday....I'll be the first to admit I'm not "crunchy" in the least - I hate the smell of patchouli in the morning and greed is good (since my annual bonus is based on results)...

However, it makes me feel good when I buy something that's come from a local farm. We bought strawberries from a farm one town over, some organic lettuce, and some homemade bread and dip for having with the wine later that night.

The strawberries were incredible. Much better than you get at the grocery store - I didn't even need to put some sugar on them to make them juicy for the shortcake (I wonder what kind of google searches that last sentence will get me?)....

I realize we're pretty lucky - we have local farms that supply the produce, and the means to purchase it...and I want to keep trying to do my part, as little as it is, for as long as I can...

Look - something shiny!

Sorry for the lack of posting recently....it's been busy...so here's what I've been up to, in pictures:

(There will be a review on the Whinery of this wine, soon - it's D's turn for the review so he gets to write it).



And there was a business trip in there too....

Book meme

Elle tagged me for a meme about books:

Next 5 books to be read:

1. Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill….Stephen King’s son – enough said.

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling – the last Harry Potter! I can’t wait…this has been on order from Amazon since the release date was announced.

3. All the Kings Men by Robert Penn Warren - I had to read this for one of my high school English classes and want to go back and see if it “reads” differently now that it’s been twenty years. Plus I’m a sucker for any literature set in the South. Pat Conroy is another favorite author – he just hasn’t written anything new in too long!

4. Baby Proof by Emily Giffin

Typical fluffy fare for the train ride….

5. Whitney My Love by Judith McNaught

I believe the proper term for this book would be “bodice ripper”….bought on a recommendation from the nice clerk in the Barnes & Noble – I’ve read a couple other books by the same author (except those were set in the present day).

Last 4 books I’ve read:

1. Someone to Watch Over Me by Judith McNaught

The same nice Barnes & Noble clerk recommended this one and it was pretty good – perfect for the train and an interesting story.

2. Full of Grace by Dorthea Benton Frank

A Jersey girl goes to live in South Carolina, near where her parents retired. Funny and light fluffy reading.

3. The Same Sweet Girls by Cassandra King

Southern chick lit again….I told you I had something for the South!

4. Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen

He writes funny crime stories, usually set in FL….they’re so improbable but funny.

Last 3 books borrowed:

I must confess, I’m not in the habit of borrowing books. I don’t like our library in town and one of my favorite things is to spend an hour or two wandering the aisles of a bookstore, looking for old favorites and trying to find some new friends. Gift cards to a bookstore are my favorite presents.

Last 2 non-fiction books read:

1. Babyproofing Your Marriage…. By Stacie Cockrell, Cathy O’Neill and Julia Stone. D received this as part of some “book tour” and I skimmed through it quickly. It was ok, but not helpful because D is way more hands on than some of the dads that were described in the book.

2. ?? I’m not big into non-fiction – that’s more D’s thing, although his summer reading list has been the same for the last two/three years. Oh wait! I just caught sight of my bookcase in my office – that would be the 2007 Cancellation and Non-renewal Handbook for the 50 states and District of Columbia, as published by the fine folks at National Underwriter. Exciting, I know.

1 book everyone should read:

I don’t think it should be limited – I think everyone should read whatever interests them, as long as they read!

Consider yourself tagged if you haven't done this meme before!

Luck o' the Irish

Tonight was the last Home School meeting of the year - the kids were going to sing and there would be ice cream after, and the "big" raffle drawing would take place. I left work early to be sure we arrived on time - C ran off to join her friends and D and I met up with another mom and went to sit in the bleachers for the meeting.

The powers that be were handing out raffle tickets as everyone walked in - not for the "big" raffle, but for some leftover items that were discovered somewhere. The first ticket pulled won generic orange powder drink mix (one of the kids won that). Next up, a mom from C's kindergarten class won a bottle of Italian dressing.





D won too. Hellmann's Mayonaise in the "easy out" bottle.








The best part? He hates mayonaise.







The even better than best part? The mayonaise was past it's expiration date.

Odds n Ends

We’re in the very early planning stages of our Summer 2008 vacation. Since it will be our 10th anniversary and our 40th birthdays, we’re contemplating something different than the usual Disney or Rhode Island trips. Since C is coming with us it will still need to be family friendly, etc – hopefully all inclusive and somewhere in the Caribbean or Mexico. C is lobbying hard for Hawaii, but that’s not happening. Not next summer at least.

So we’ve got some travel brochures from a travel agent and have selected a few places for further review. Sometimes I think life would be so much easier without the internet. I checked some out (that looked good based on the pretty pictures and descriptions in the brochures) on a couple travel sites and now my head is spinning. I realize that people tend to be less “editorial” on the net (anonymous and all that) but how many times can reviews contradict each other?

I had Friday off – C had a birthday party to attend at one of her classmates’ houses (and let’s face it, any excuse for a day off!) and it was too hot to really get anything done outside. I got to take a nap! Yes, you heard me correctly – a nap. Bonus points to D for not bothering me and keeping C from waking me up. It was an hour, and it was heavenly. I felt like a slacker and loved it.

Excitement in the neighborhood yesterday – there were two bears sighted in the neighbor’s yard (apparently trying to get at their bird feeders on their deck)….I don’t usually like C to play outside by herself but now there’s a new reason to worry? Yikes.
And there’s no bear catcher to come round them up either.

And in the “you’re a horrible parent” news, the NY Times had a big article (I read online) about “redshirting” kids for kindergarten. Apparently the new trend is to keep the kids in pre-school an extra year so they’re older when they start kindergarten and have an advantage. I could have kept C home (she has a November birthday) but she’s been in daycare, I didn’t want her to be bored in school and she seemed ready. She has some issues with sitting still and paying attention, but when she puts her mind to it, she gets 100’s. Again, I need to stop reading the internets.