light

"There are darknesses in life and there are lights,

and you are one of the lights,

the light of all lights."

-Bram Stroker, Dracula

Book Talk

 Crazy Rich Asians is a funny, satirical account of the lives of a handful of extremely wealthy, incredibly intertwined Chinese families.  Nick, the sole heir to his family's fortune, lives and teaches in NYC. He decides to bring is girlfriend home to Singapore for his best friend's wedding, and knowing nothing of the fortune, she she expects a humble countryside rather than lavish mansions and private jets.  To these families, only crazy rich matters.  This was a quick and hilarious read.

 

I have wanted to read Wild since it came out, but somehow just hadn't gotten to it.  My interest was sparked again recently when I saw a preview for the movie version.  Cheryl's writing style and the story of her walk across the Pacific Crest Trail sucked me in quickly; I loved it from the start.  So incredible and inspiring, I highly recommend reading if you haven't already.

Lila was our recent book club pick.  It's about Lila, a young woman who has spent her life as a drifter with nothing to really call her own.  She winds up in a small Iowa town, becomes the wife of the preacher, and finds herself out of her element - but comfortable and about as happy as she feels she can ever expect to be.  Both the book and the author have received much critical acclaim, and while I found the story enjoyable enough, it read like one big stream of consciousness.  Overall okay, but not my favorite.

I have one more book sitting on my nightstand, and after I finish it, I think I'm going to starting digging into books on this list that peak my interest.

"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free."

Frederick Douglass

a good day off

Schools were out today for MLK Jr. Day, and even though we just came back from winter break, our three-day weekend sure felt good.  I did some cleaning and laundry this morning, and then the girls and I walked down to the park with a picnic lunch.  We spent a few hours enjoying the beautiful day with some friends from Sara's class.  Afterwards we ran over to Nothing Bundt Cakes to pick up a cake for one of my colleagues.  The girls got bundtlets that I miraculously refrained from taste-testing (which took every fiber of my being).

After all of the park fun, Sara had to do a second breathing treatment today.  She was asleep in the chair within about three minutes of starting.

G&G sent a box of seashells from our trip.  It arrived Saturday, and this evening Emma launched into yet another methodical shell-cleaning session.Who knew that could be so fun?! 

Tonight we grilled turkey burgers, and as we all sat on the back patio under the party lights while they cooked, I couldn't help but wish for summer ... long days, warm pool water (reminders of the blistering heat escaping me in my wishful thinking).  Still, grilling on January 19th isn't anything to complain about!  The temps will drop again later this week, so we've been soaking up the warm weather and sunshine.

As I was cleaning up from dinner, I overheard Steve giving self-defense lessons in the playroom.  Sara told him about a couple of run-ins she and her friends had on the playground today, so he went to work showing her how and when to defend herself.  I had to laugh as I kept hearing "hi-ya" coming from the other room, but I also cringed a little picturing Sara whipping out these moves on any boy who looks at her crooked.  So we followed up the whole lesson with a long talk about what possible scenarios would require her to use any form of self-defense, emphasizing that she will likely have zero-to-only-a-couple opportunities ever.  Really hoping I don't get any calls from her school this week ...

Now we actually have to think about preparing for our week.  I already know that, tired as we all might be, nobody will really feel like going to bed tonight.  No big plans this week, but we have a company coming on Wednesday to give us an estimate for some necessary foundation repairs; we'd love for your to join us in rooting for low numbers!

back on track

Here we are, mid-January, and I feel like we are finally getting back on track after the whirlwind and excitement of the holidays.  Sara experienced some post-Christmas blues last week, but seems to have rebounded.  We saw the sun today for the first time since returning from Florida, and I think it has given everyone a boost.

I didn't really make New Year's Resolutions per se, but I had wanted to put effort into getting back on track in a few different ways.  For one thing, I've finally picked up a good book again after going dry on the reading front for a couple of months.  I also decided to take advantage of our fantastic community center and have been working out during Sara's evening swimming lessons.  It feels great!  I haven't had a consistent workout routine since before Sara was born, so it's high time; I hope to be able to stick with it.  And after the free-for-all that was the holiday season, I'm finally paying attention again to what I put into my mouth at (and in between) meals.  I'm hoping that getting back on track with these little things will help me be a better me ... for me and for the family that has to deal with me.

I love the holidays and the break in routine ... but it also feels good to get back to our routine, back on track.  That goes for blogging, too ... I'll be back soon!

Wordless Wednesday

a before and after

The wine rack before the Brittains and Wickerts arrived at G & G's place in Florida ...

... and after the fun came to an end ...

There was a lot of beaching, swimming, laughing, cannon-balling, cousin visiting, sand castle building, shelling, sunset watching and eating in between (but my sister has most of the pictures to prove it!).

 Beautiful memories.

Happy New Year!

During our holiday visit to Florida, we surprised the girls with a trip to the Magic Kingdom, where we rung in the New Year.  The park was packed, but we had a wonderful time despite the crowds and a brief mid-day rain shower.  We saw a show featuring Mickey & friends and the princesses, rode our favorite rides, had some one on one time with Mickey himself, and watched the castle light up and the Electrical Parade before crashing at our hotel.  

(Yes, I ordered us all matching t-shirts.  They were part of how we revealed our surprise the night before, and we looked awesome!)

As we walked into the park, Sara could just say, "Wow..." and the entire day seemed to echo that sentiment.  When it was all said and done, Sara said she couldn't pick the best part because it was all so great.  The magic really is contagious.

Emma loved all the rides, and cried at the end of every single one because she didn't want them to end.  She also enjoyed waiving to all of the characters in the parade.  After being scared of Santa, I wasn't sure how she'd react to Mickey, but she was so happy to see him and was quick to offer up a high-five.     

 We took a selfie while waiting in line for "Small World" ... always worth the wait!  During the ride, Emma loved looking at all the colorful characters, and Sara wanted to know which country they were all from.

 Our planning was a little on the last-minute side by Disney standards, but it worked well for us to get up early, drive to Orlando, and spend the day and night there.  It was a whirlwind to be sure, but a special and very memorable one.  Sara is already planning our next trip.

When we got back to the hotel, we ordered some food, watched the festivities in NYC, and reminisced about our great day.  Someone wondered how far we had walked, and we were all surprised when Steve's phone confirmed that it had been 9.1 miles ... and Sara walked all of it!    

Tired girls after a very exciting day ... Emma got a second wind, but Sara passed out after about two bites of pizza, and didn't stir as we all celebrated the new year around her!

Hope yours was a magical one, too.  Happy New Year!