First of the month: A week late...

 School started back this week in my neck of the woods and last week was filled with all things FUN. 

We had a cousin in from North Carolina who is the epitome of FUN and COOL.

So we did all the things we really want to do but never do because we are busy doing the things we have to do.

She came on Tuesday afternoon and between then and Sunday afternoon when she left we did the following:

Blondeness is all it's glory!

• Ate ice cream at our favorite local ice cream spot, Clumpies
• Went to an Imax movie
• drove go carts
• played putt putt
• went white water rafting
• showed her our favorite sit com du jour (The Big Bang Theory)...an entire season of it!
• Went to hear live music
• ate out to eat about 15 times including Taco Mamacita, Taco bell, Subway...all the hotspots
• showed her where we go to school
• went to the local farmer's market 
• Shopped for fun clothes at the mall
• went to church
• played soccer with the local professional soccer team

Somehow in there we also fit in soccer practice and hanging out watching movies. It was a great week and I got to see what it would be like to have three daughters. Sort of. There was little fighting (my kids argued a few times) and I didn't have to tell my niece to behave even once.

Since she left, I have been busy, doing all the last minute back to school things AND working on my to do list.
Here is an updated August To Do and Too Done.

BIG LIST  2011

#1 Eat less sugar -whatever! Since I got back from vacay it is sugar all the time!

#2 Cook a new ethnicity once a week-we so rock this now. #3 Paint the doors and trim in my house -trim is getting painted AND kitchen cabinets are done!

#4 Read 100 books -books are getting read. I read two since Friday!

#5 Find inner peace -I am such a sucker...

#6 Learn 60 Bible verses Uhm...nope.

#7 Get a new hairstyle  need a new one now...

#8 Reduce my carbon foot print -back to school puts a cramp on this, but we did reuse several things from last year.

#9 Reduce my spending -Two words BACK TO SCHOOL...actually 3

#10 love more-I currently hate my dog.

#11 Train for a half marathon -finished it and am now onto a new goal

#12 learn to swim-most exciting! SNORKELED...in the ocean!

# 13 Embrace my inner craftiness -not enough time. But, I did watch my daughter create and amazing dragon project for school. And, I have been painting trim. Doesn't that count?

All in all, it was a very productive month. Now I am working on my business(es), trying to get kids where they need to be (soccer practice, swim practice,school, orthodontist, sleepovers, pool parties...) and make sure homework gets done and teeth get brushed. 

Life is great and I am exactly 21 days away from 4-0! 

Whatever: Harry Potter is gone.

Yep, it's over.

  The run we had with Mr. Potter is over. 

My kids will get a little bit more mileage out of it with the purchase of the DVD,

but for me it is officially over.

We went last night to the midnight showing of the newest and last movie. 

I have never been to a "midnight" release and I must say, it was fun, but exhausting.

Took two middle school girls. We made our masks, planned our outfits and watched the first half of the movie for good measure.

We snuck in candy and wore our special glasses and sat there

for an hour and a half waiting for the previews.

Midnight...I was so sleepy!

Then, it started...

The movie was exactly what you would expect.
Excellent, thrilling and the perfect ending to a long run.

But as sad as I am that the movie has been watched and there are no more. I am sadder for the fact that there are no more books.  We waited in line at midnight for the release of the last book as well.

I stayed up until 6 am reading it,devouring it.

The books were so wonderful, full of imagination and intelligence and obviously the product of hard work and a labor of love by the author. 

There are few books out there that have so many devotees. Most appeal to a certain demographic and while there may be a large group of  that demographic that love that one book or series, there is  nothing like Harry Potter. Every age, every nationality loves these books.

Not even our beloved C.S. Lewis could muster that devotion.

I myself had a hard time starting the series. I owned the first one for almost six months before I could muster the energy to read "a kids book". My sister had read the first two and raved about them so much, I finally read it. Then I read the second one that same week. I fell in love with the characters.I was hooked. 

So, as I mourn the ending of what I consider to be an excellent adventure story, I hope for one thing. That somewhere out there is a little girl who loved it as much as I .Loved it even more,so much more that she is inspired to write her own well thought out,well imagined labor of  love whom my grandchildren, my children and I will all fall in love with and mourn it's passing.

Dirt: literally

I used to like to clean my house. 

Back when the inhabitants of my house were me and my cat. 

I actually liked doing it. I would put on some Neil Young or Nirvana  and go to town.

Then...I got married, got two dogs, another cat, two kids

and a very liberal sense of what a clean house is.

I actually now hate to clean. I mean, that stuff that you do when people are coming over, clean.

Like dust. 

(I found "Merry Christmas" written in dust on my buffet...in April.)

So, I am teaching my children to clean. 

It is like teaching a monkey to drive. 

via

In theory, they have the skills.

In reality, it ain't ever going to happen like it actually should.

So, as I found my lazy self telling my 10 year old..."Go put the pink clothes in the washer and start it". I realized, school starts in a week or so and I cannot blame my "clean" house on my kids anymore.

It was a good run while it lasted.