Pictures Part Three: My Brother has been Here

Kevin, Jenny, Lucy, and Lauren came down Wednesday to visit. We had a great visit, and I loved having them all here! I didn't get any pictures while they were here, so that's not what you'll be seeing. These pictures are taken the next morning, when I started noticing that things in my house weren't as they usually are. This is one of Kevin's favorite pranks.

It started when I opened the microwave to reheat my coffee, and found my electric can opener.

Then I went to get in the shower, and found my living room candles.

This hangs in my kitchen. See next picture to see what normally hangs on the hooks.

It was like a scavenger hunt. I laughed all morning long. Thanks brother!

And so ends the barrage of pictures. Thanks for your patience!

Pictures Part Two: Bailey is our Baby

What can I say? We find her entertaining, and so I take pictures. I CAN'T HELP IT.

We "fixed" Bailey when she was 6 months old, because I have no interest in raising puppies. Bob Barker would be proud. Anyhow, lately we think she is going through some depression over her barren womb, and so she carries her stuffed toy around and lays with it and licks on it and basically mothers it. It's the same color as she is, so I outlined it in red so you can see what I mean.

Jason rides his bike to and from work, and when he gets home, he lays on the floor in front of the fan and stretches. Bailey stretches too.

I told Jason he had to throw away this stinky old shirt, and for some reason he put it on Bailey. She was okay with it at first...

But then decided it wasn't so fun and so camped out in protest by the cabinet where we keep her treats .

Bailey's not quite so playful in the summer, because it's hot and she is covered in hair. We play with her for about 5 minutes, and then she heads straight for her pool.

Of course the ball goes with her.

Oh no! Where did my ball go?

Happy water girl.

Pictures Part One: Picture Opportunities from God

People get ready, pictures are coming! I guess I have been a little camera-happy lately, and have taken 70 pictures in the past week alone! Don't worry, I won't post all those. But I am going to break the picture post up into three parts. I like to call this Part One: Picture Opportunities from God. All of these are taken from our front yard, and I have not altered any of them with any photo-enhancing program.

A beautiful blue sky

Jason went out to the mow the yard last week, and spotted this amazing cloud. I grabbed the camera and stood out in the yard to watch what seemed like a story unfold. The neighbors probably think we're crazy, but it really was beautiful.

Where did June go?

Well, I know you've all been waiting on pins and needles for a new post (j/k). The past two weeks have been insanely busy, and this week is no better. My British Romantic Poetry course will be over by Friday, and that it what is eating up most of my time; my other class lasts all summer, but is slightly less time-consuming. We've had a lot of company lately too, which has been fun, but between the classes and the company, there has been very little free time. Hopefully that will change this time next week! I promise to be a better blogger in July! We will be going to California for two weeks in July, but the computer will be coming with us, so I will be able to update. So there is a quick update, and here are two book reviews! Hope all of you are having a great summer!

Book Reviews
The Fiction Class~ When I bought this book, I thought it was non-fiction (even though it says 'A Novel' on the cover). It turned out to be fiction, and mediocre fiction at that. It was somewhat entertaining at times, but I disliked the main character, and I felt that some of the more interesting sub-stories were left dangling at the end. I found it ironic that a novel about writing fiction was poorly written itself. It gets 2 stars.

How Starbucks Saved my Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else~ I thought this looked interesting because I thought it would be about working at Starbucks, which is on my list of things to do before I die. The parts that were about working at Starbucks were somewhat interesting, but they were few and far between. A good majority of the book is an older man whining about the changes he's experienced in his career, and I ended up skimming through the whining in search of more Starbucks substance. I give it 2 stars.

Tagged!

Danna tagged me! So here goes...

What were you doing 5 years ago?

1. Finishing up my second year at Harding.
2. I had just found out that I was going to be an aunt for the first time! And I was the first to know!
3. The years of living with Ashley and Lauren had ended. :(
4. I was hoping for an engagement ring.
5. I had experienced the loss of a very, very loved one for the first time and was plodding through the grieving process.

What are 5 things on your To-Do list for tomorrow?
1. Meet with the grad school advisor.
2. Begin my research paper.
3. Prayer group!
4. get to class on time
5. Zumba

What are 5 snacks you enjoy?
1. white cheddar popcorn
2. Dove dark chocolate
3. 100 calorie packs
4. Yoplait yogurt
5. string cheese

What are 5 things you'd do if you were a Billionaire?
1. pay off student loan debt
2. set up college and wedding accounts for each of my hypothetical children, as well as for Lucy, Lauren, and Caroline
3. build a deck
4. give money to churches and family
5. travel

What are 5 of your bad habits?
1. wasting time on Facebook
2. procrastination
3. not refilling the Brita filter
4. adding too much salt
5. picking scabs

What are 5 jobs that you've had?
1. Dairy Queen
2. Harding (Hardly) Security
3. Preschool teacher
4. Becky's Hallmark
5. English teacher

Name 5 places where you have lived.
1. San Jose, California
2. Apple Valley, California
3. West Married Apartments
4. little white house on Pleasure Street
5. our new house in the "country"

Who are 5 people you want to tag?
1. Jenny
2. Rachel
3. Emily Myers
4. Stacey (ha! I got you!)
5. Leslie Rains

Week in Pictures

If my house were cleaner, you would be getting a much more detailed post. Alas, the laundry is piled high and the kitchen is crusty, and so you get a cheap consolation post: Week in pictures! Enjoy!

Look Dad, I wore the shirt you sent!

Jason at his desk at work. Only my husband would have an enormous pocket knife on his desk.

There's a lot of research involved in my British Romantic Poetry class. I go to the library, search for the articles and criticism I need, and then spent 10 cents a page to copy the article so I can annotate it. Some of these article are in excess of twenty pages, so spare change has become a hot commodity around here. I took these pennies to the bank so I could get some dimes for the copy machine.

I had to roll the pennies before they would take them (jerks!), and then this is all I got for my hard work:
Here is where the dimes go to die: the bound periodicals sections of the Harding University library.

Enough of that. I'm taking a British Romantic Poetry class, and so I'm kind of on a nature kick right now (I blame it on Wordsworth). Prepare for hydrangea spam!

Sunset from our Front Door.

Hydrangeas at Harding

See, I like plants other than hydrangeas:

Look for a real post soon, complete with details about our canoeing trip tomorrow!

Favorite Things Friday~ A Favorite Blog

I have been telling Jason that I would find an easy shrimp recipe to try, because I have finally matured enough to actually like them (even though I still think they have the consistency of a human finger). A few months ago, I googled 'Easy Shrimp Recipes', and as I was sifting through the results, I happened upon the Pioneer Woman site. I actually found her shrimp pasta recipe very appealing and simple (as opposed to some of the others I skimmed), but what really grabbed my attention was how she related the recipe: I felt like I was listening to one of my aunts or girlfriends tell me what to do, instead of some stranger in Texas. I explored the site a little, and since then it has become one of my favorite websites. I love her recipes, love reading about her life and kids, and have even starting doing a little more picture-taking because I love her pictures. I laugh out loud (and hard!) at times, because her humor is so much like my own (for example, her comments on cutting the fat off of a brisket). Anyhow, I love this site, and wanted to share it with all of you. If you have a minute, explore it. If you have an hour, do like me and open a zillion different tabs because there are so many things you want to look at. Here is the site:

Pioneer Woman

Reading Recap

I am always trying to keep track of the books I read, but I never manage to do a very good job. I thought I would try to do some book reviews on here; that way, I can keep track of what I have read, and whoever reads this thing might decide to read something new because of my reviews. I don't go into much detail about plot, because I tend to get too wordy when I do that. I did include a link in the title of each book though, and you can read more about the plot there. Here are the first three reviews!

Unaccustomed Earth: This is the latest short story collection from my favorite author, Jhumpa Lahiri. I have been waiting for this for a long time, and I was not disappointed. I love Jhumpa Lahiri for several reasons, but the thing I admire most about her is the beautiful simplicity in her words. I have literally gotten chills from reading her stories. She may be writing about a culture very different from my own (another reason I love her), but she puts moments and experiences in such a way that I feel like I am there, and it is my experience. There is no clutter, just characters that I connect to and don't want to let go of. I laughed out loud, and held back tears too. I give it 5 stars.

Up the Down Staircase: I casually mentioned to my dear friend Bobbie (also English Department head at SHS) that I had been wanting to read this, and the week after, she gave it to me as a gift, complete with cry-inducing inscription. This book is about a first year teacher, and is made up of memos (which have been replaced at SHS by emails), students compositions, and letters. It only needs an update or two, and it could be the story of my life. I found myself cheering this young woman on, and I could identify with her every struggle. I think even those who do not teach would enjoy this. I give it 5 stars.

My Sister's Keeper: I never bothered to read this book three years ago when everyone else was reading it; I thought the plot sounded too technical for me. But I finally picked it up, and I am so glad I did. I have never read a book that challenged me to think as much as My Sister's Keeper. It's a hard book to read. Not hard as in complicated, but hard because it does raise so many moral questions. It's not a happy book (sorry Mom), but it is fascinating, captivating, and thought-provoking. This is the first book in a long time that has not only made me cry, but that made me cry hard. I give it 5 stars.

I promise I won't give all the books that I review 5 stars~ it just so happened that I read three truly wonderful and important books in a row. Happy reading!

Who Dat's

Jason's family was here with us this past week, and we had such a nice visit. We went to Branson, where we played miniature golf and introduced Mark and Coleen to Bass Pro. And we also did some fun stuff in Searcy. We don't get to see them but twice a year or so, so we have to make the most of what little time we have. We had a great time; it just goes so fast! I didn't take a lot of pictures, but I did take a few the night we went to Who Dat's. Who Dat's serves authentic Cajun food, and one of us (not me) got brave and ordered crawdads. 3 pounds of crawdads. Crawdads are really ugly, but according to Jason, they are delicious. There is a lot of work involved in the process of eating a crawdad, but the owner himself came out and gave tips, which was good, because prior to his tips, Jason was EATING the heads instead of SUCKING the heads, which made a big difference taste-wise. It was a fun night. I've got before, during, and after pictures. Enjoy!