Heart in the Right Place

I enjoyed this read. The story evolves into finding happiness in simple places. It also struck a chord with me in that you don't necessarily know where life will take you. When I was in high school if someone would have told me that I'd be a SAHM of two boys, I would never have believed them. Amazingly, I am grateful to have the opportunity. The book gave me a greater appreciation for all those small town doctors that give it their all - for the personal reward and not for the money. Who knew? X-ray machines double for animals too!

Two More Reads

I finished the book, The Winter of Our Disconnect, by Susan Maushart. What an interesting six months this family had. It was great to read that the family started playing more cards and board games. I enjoy 'em but my family prefers to do something that involves electronics.

I learned the difference between a digital native and a digital immigrant. It had me laughing. The Big Guy is a digital immigrant. When he got his iPad, he downloaded the "manual" to read about how to do everything. The digital native (our children) just forges ahead!
Without planning it, we are experiencing a bit of our own disconnect. The Big Guy took Pumpkin's phone and iPod. How nice it's been to have a son back:)

Yesterday, I should have been doing a 100 other things, but I got my head stuck in another book, The Dilemma, by Albert Cutie.

This book affected me more than I ever expected it to. It made me ask myself lots of questions and think about what the Church teaches and what I feel. This book is about finding love. However, there were major obstacles in the way. I appreciated the story. It left me with some action items of my own and things that I want to follow up on. One of the obvious themes is that priests are people too. They aren't beings of some higher power. I need to remember that when I interact with them. There are lots of controversies in this book. It would be so interesting to listen to an open discussion about all of them. Unfortunately, I don't think that will happen in my lifetime.

On to the next book, something a bit lighter...

4000 Friends

Ten days ago, I met 4,000 of my closest friends at the Convention Center. Driving there - I thought I was in NYC. The traffic was horrendous!

I finally got dinged for jury duty. We are one of the few areas in the country that let you pick the week you can serve. So, we all congregated in one big room. The jury commissioner briefed us. He seemed to go on and on. He finally announced what weeks were options. When you get a notice in the mail, you only get a slip of paper that says to show up.

They started calling weeks and most of the room stood up. The lines were on both sides of the room and snaked around each other. I did not get my first choice of weeks. But, I got the holiday week in April. I'm crossing my fingers that I get dismissed!

This morning we took the bikes to Shelby Farms and rode the Greenline. We stopped at Republic Coffee for breakfast. The boys and I did this last fall and wanted the Big Guy to come. The place was pretty crowded. The service wasn't as good as last time. The food was good, though. Pumpkin and Peanut got iced coffees!

We hopped back on our bikes and pedaled into the wind!! Why is the wind always in your face when you are on a bike? I have so much riding to do. I am so out of shape!

Deck Repairs

Some folks go to the beach for spring break...

We chose deck repairs. The boys got to use the crow bar, the hammer, the circular saw, the measuring tape, the power screwdriver, and had lots of fun.





I still need to take an AFTER shot of the finished project.

The yard will look so much better once it greens up. These deck repairs just led to more. We'll have to call in the pros the help us with those. We've got some work to do on the beds too. I hope all the plants weren't destroyed in our endeavors.

The boys also rebuilt the back gate. What a pleasure it is to open and close the gate:)

Spring is in the air and the list lengthens...

Cloth Napkin Snobs

A few weeks ago, Pumpkin had a choir festival. He attended wearing the required tux. After singing, they went to Cici's for lunch.

Fast forward a few days later and we are riding in the car. He tells me that I need to dry clean his tux and tux shirt. He got pizza sauce on his shirt and pants. I started laughing and said that that did not surprise me (I should cut him more slack!) He said, "No! I used the napkins. They are just those flimsy paper napkins! They don't do anything."

It's official. I've converted my family to Cloth Napkin Snobs! We did away with paper napkins more than a year ago. Cloth napkins are the way to go.

Earlier in the winter I bought some very nice dish rags at William Sonoma. They make perfect napkins.

I am thinking these napkins will be perfect for Easter presents. They are simple with a twist. I love the manners on each napkin. It would generate some interesting table discussion!

The picture is from this site. I've got a message in hoping they are available in just a neutral linen color.

I may even try to make some napkins to give as Easter gifts:)

The Grace Card

This afternoon I went to see the movie, The Grace Card.

It was a wonderful movie. The message is powerful. And, the movie was shot right in Memphis, TN. There were so many good "lines" in this movie.

I grabbed the following from the movie website:

We need more movies like this especially in a city where the race card is one of the first excuses folks pull. I am so proud of this company and wish them the best. Everyone needs to see this movie. If we remembered to apply the grace card, what a difference we could make!!

I am so thankful a friend emailed last night trying to round up some moms to go to this film. It was a treat and a Blessing. It is always good to have popcorn for lunch every once in awhile:)

That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo

Finished That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo last week.

When I picked it up, I did not know too much about it. From the cover, I expected a family/love/beach story. This book has all of those and much more. It made me think about happiness. What makes me happy? Who makes me happy? How rewarded I will be when I see that my boys are happy with their lives. There are a variety of subplots throughout the book. That kept me reading. And, this book appealed to the idealist in me.

I am going to read some of this other works. Russo interjects comedy in some good places lightening the book. I've heard his other books may have more comedy in them. It's worth a shot to check them out.

Southeastern SCY Swim Championship 2011

A few weekends ago, Pumpkin and I were in Nashville for the SEC Short Course 2011 Swim Championships. Pumpkin had a fabulous meet. I was a bit leary as he'd swam a few weeks before at the high school state meet. He cut time in every event. I was very impressed. He swims lots of yardage at these championships and the meet is a long one - from Thursday to Saturday. He trimmed 34 seconds in the 1000 and 27 seconds in the 1650, his last event swum on Sunday afternoon.

Over and above all of the swimming, this photo makes me proud. I don't know if he initiated and I don't know if the swimmer next to him beat him. But, we are seeing signs of maturity and good sportsmanship.

Look at his face!

Swimming the 200 breast~

Breathing to his left~

This was a posed shot after the 1000. Is this blackmail material or what? I don't have the nerve to post it on facebook. And, the funny thing is he can't recreate the face. I think there is some "dog tired" symbolism trying to pose with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

Short couse season is behind us. We are slowly but surely entering long course. He gets a full week off of practice next week. He/we won't know what to do with all the free time;)

Boba Tea

The Big Guy and Peanut were in Birmingham this weekend for a soccer tournament. So, Pumpkin and I headed out on the town. On Friday night, we went to Noodles for dinner. It opened a few months ago and the word is out. The place was crowded. It is an Asian fusion-type place. The food was good. I wasn't too adventurous with my order, but will head back and try some other things.

We did splurge on a treat, the Boba Tea. You can get it with tapioca pearls or without. We went for it. Pumpkin ordered strawberry and I ordered spice chai. The spices were phenom. The pearls - I could live w/o those. They are just an odd chewy sort of thing. The strawberry tasted quite artifical reminding me of strawberry milk flavoring.

Pumpkin did not like the pearls either and attempted to suck around them. The straws were really wide to accommodate the pearls. You had to be careful sipping it as a pearl would come flying up.

It was fun to try something new. The portions were large and we took home the leftovers. The weather was a soggy mess on Saturday. The leftovers were perfect for lunch as we hunkered down inside out of the rain!!

Baby Hats

About a month ago, I knitted a baby sweater for a shower gift. The gift was for Pumpkin's swim coach and wife. I had a bit of yarn left over. When the swim team held a shower for them, I tried to wip a gift together, but did not pull it off in time. These hats were only a few days late.


They did get there before the baby. She was born on Thursday!!

The hats are kind of small and the weather is kind of warm. I'm not too sure they'll be a good match. It's the thought that counts, right? If nothing else, they will be perfect for using to play with her dolls.

Mom and baby were coming home from the hospital today. I hope to stop over one day soon. It's been quite some time since I've held an ity bitty baby!!!

Skyline Contest Winner

For the Superbowl, we made Skyline Frito pie. It took a bit of a hunt to find a can of Skyline in our area. A Kroger about 20 minutes away had this one can left. I forgot to take a before shot. The dish was yummy! I submitted this photo for a Skyline Superbowl contest.

Guess what? I won!

The prize was a four pack of Skyline. It came promptly in the mail.

Unfortunately, I looked at the nutritional information on the side of the can. Ugh! Ignorance was bliss. How can there be that much salt in one can?