Summer Reading

I suppose since tomorrow is September that summer is ending.  It makes me sad that our slow, relaxing summer is fading away.  We've had fun playing with family, traveling, swimming, watching Prison Break, and reading.  One of mine and Jilly's favorite things to do this summer was to go to the library.  She would crawl around playing with the excellent toys and books while I sat nearby and read.  And, to top it all off- the library has great air conditioning- bliss.

I read some pretty good books this summer, here's the roundup:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Fascinating book; it tells the story of the first human cells to be reproduced in a lab.  But, they were cells from a black woman and they were taken without her or her family's knowledge or any compensation.  It was the perfect mix of science and a great story.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Wow, this book was intense.  Jeannette tells about her childhood with an alcoholic and paranoid father who was constantly moving his family from one terrible living condition to another.  

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

I started out really liking this book but then I just got sick of it.  I think part of the problem was that I was listening to it and couldn't keep up with all the story lines.  It tells about a haggadah and how it miraculously survived through centuries of turmoil in Europe.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

This was not the most uplifting book, but was an excellent story about life on a circus train in the early 1900s.  I'm so glad I can finally see the movie now!

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

I read this book in high school, but I didn't remember it at all.  I loved it; it's such a sweet story mixed in with Civil Rights history.  It reminds me of To Kill a Mockingbird which is possibly the best book ever written.  

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magaic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

I'm not finished with this yet, but I love it.  It's part history part creepy murder mystery.  Can you tell I'm big into history?  Bryan is reading it as well, so it's fun to talk about together.

Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Roberts

Yes, another history.  I'm not finished with this one either, but I love it.  We hear so much about Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, etc.  It's fun to finally hear about their mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, and- in Franklin's case- girlfriends.

What did you read this summer?

Pinecrest

Last weekend Bryan's family was camping at Pinecrest but we had to be back for church and I had just barely gotten home so we just went for the day (my kind of camping!)

The boys had fun cliff jumping in the lake 

 (Bryan blends into the rock, but if you look closely you can see him!)

Jilly ate her first ice cream cone and LOVED it!

Chad caught us some yummy fish

I think we'll make a habit of this "day camping"

One Year

Auburn, CA - September 2010 

Auburn, CA - August 2011

I guess it's a little less than a year, but still- it's amazing what a year can do!  I'm so glad we have our Jilly girl to go on adventures with us now.  

Gotta get down on Friday

Last Friday we were with my sisters and they kindly sang this song at the top of their lungs for us.

And now it's been in my head all day today.  Thanks girls.

Have you missed her around here?  I sure have.  I'm sick of taking pictures of my clothes!  Even though there's no picture today, trust me, I am jazzing up my jeans.  

I'm sure you've been wondering what Jilly has been up to lately.

- She started saying "mama" and even though she hasn't connected that mama is me, it melts my heart every time

- She decided she can stand all on her own which enables her to get into even more mischief

- At her 9 month checkup the doctor said to start feeding her more table food and nursing less (hooray!)  This week we've discovered that she loves graham crackers (just like her dad) and cheese (just like her mom)

- She's way into animals lately so we have to stop and look at any cats or dogs (or any other creatures we encounter which thankfully isn't very many.)  I can foresee many fights in our future when she begs for a pet and I refuse.

- She is so fun to play with.  She giggles so much when we chase her or play peek-a-boo.  And we found an old wrapping paper roll that has been endless fun.  Maybe she could stay 9 months forever?!?!

Hope you get down this Friday.  Bryan and I are going on a hot date here and I can think of no better way to get down on Friday.  :)

closet orphan

Yesterday the challenge was to find a closet orphan to bring out into the light.  I got this shirt as a gift a few years ago and I love it but it's too big.  I decided to give it one more try.  Belting it helped a lot but the neck was still humongous.  By 11 in the morning I was totally sick of adjusting straps and pulling the sleeve back up on my shoulder.  So, I took a yucky mirror picture and changed.  Goodwill will be receiving this shirt soon.

Shirt- H&M, Belt- Old Navy, Pearl earrings- Walmart, Shorts- Old navy, Plaid Flats- Target

blue

I realized yesterday why I like this whole 21 Day Challenge thing.  In high school, I lived for Spirit Week. This is like a big spirit week, except this time the intent isn't to look as ridiculous as possible.  All one color day (monochromatic day if you want to be sophisticated) was one of my absolute favorites in high school.  I dressed in head to toe pink and it was just as fabulous as you are imagining.  Yesterday I opted for blue.

Earrings- gift from my mom, Shirt- DownEast Basics, Skirt- made by me, Bracelet- necklace from Penelope's, Shoes- Famous Footwear (sadly I have no blue shoes)

layering

I missed the first week of the 21 Day Challenge but decided this morning I needed to jump on the bandwagon.  Today's challenge was to mix dressy and casual.  90% of my clothes were in piles on the floor to be washed, and my day consisted of laundry, baking bread, paying bills, finally unpacking and organizing, creating our menu for the week, grocery shopping, going to the library and begging for a new library card since mine broke in half for the third time, etc.  I decided dressy + casual just wasn't going to happen for me today.  So, I traveled back in time to yesterday's challenge- layering accessories.

shirt- H&M, pearl necklace- Penelope's (my fav. jewelry store in Richmond), other necklace necklace-H&M, green skirt- H&M (are you noticing a pattern?)  polka dot flats- old, Target maybe?

This is something I haven't ever done before but I think I kind of like it.  My double necklaces made my boring t-shirt and skirt outfit a little exciting.

The only problem was that my necklaces looked like this most of the day:

Oh, the joys of mothering.

Join in!  Find tomorrow's challenge here