IT'S ABOUT ME, MY BOYS AND A LITTLE CRAFTING THROWN INTO THE MIX!
Welcome Back!
As you may know, Sam loves shoes. He follows other Sneaker Heads on instagram. He saves his money and mowing money to buy shoes. He tells me about all the new released shoes and shows me pictures of them.
So what do you do when you have a new dog and are afraid she might chew on them?
Make your shoes a part of your mother’s decorations.
Warning: Brag Post!
Just want to congratulate Sam on his academic award! 
We received a letter that Sam was being honored with an academic award. I didn’t realize it was gong to be such a big deal until I got there! The National Anthem was sung, the choir sang the Alma Mater Ankeny song, a guest speaker spoke and then 320 kids were awarded their academic letter. So proud of this guy…he works hard and it has paid off!
On a different note. People are always saying how tall Sam is…I know he is, but I guess I didn’t realize how tall until I was able to spot him very easily when walking into the gym.
My mom is almost 6″ and her sister was 6′. My cousin is 6’7″. My dad is 6’2″ and small for the men in his family, so you can see where Sam gets his height. It comes naturally. I remember being able to find my mom in a crowd or when shopping because she was a head above everyone else! Now I can find Sam in a crowd!
And…I caught him looking for me and finding me!! (sigh)
As Jack says, “Good things happen to good people when they do good things.” I couldn’t agree more.
I don’t know why (well I guess I do) but this made me laugh out loud!!
Have a good day!
I just finished another amazing story!
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
by Gale Honeyman
Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. Eleanor lives alone and doesn’t have any friends, but that’s okay. She’s doing real well, thank you very much.
Except maybe she isn’t.
I read the following review and it hits the nail on the head with how I would review the book and about the story and Eleanor. While reading I kept thinking about the book A Man Called Ove. As you learn more about Ove, you fell more and more in love with him. You will do the same with Eleanor. Ove was funny, tragic, sad and heartwarming. You will find that with Eleanor. You will cheer for Eleanor through the story, just like you did with Ove.
This book actually turned out to be one of those perfectly-balanced sad/funny books. Maybe like some combination of The Rosie Project, Me Before You, Finding Audrey and A Man Called Ove. It takes a serious, traumatic issue and weaves it into a warm, funny and, yes, sometimes sad tale.
I read a lot of books and many characters come and go. Some are well-developed and interesting, others less so. But on a rare occasion I find one of those truly memorable characters that will stay with me a long time. Eleanor is one of them. She is socially clueless in a way that puts my teen self to shame. She is literal to a degree that everyone finds odd. It’s painful to witness and yet so, so endearing.
I think I like this book so much because it is actually really sad, but never manipulative. On a surface level, it’s a very funny novel about a socially-inept twenty-nine year-old woman. Her attempts to become “normal” and integrate into society by having manicures and waxes are sources of hilarity. But it is very sad. It’s sad when we see her coworkers talking about her, but Eleanor is oblivious to their scorn. It’s sad how alone in life she is. It’s sad when she “falls in love” with an idea of a person.
It’s not a romantic book and I’m glad. There are hints that the central relationship will eventually develop into romance, but this is really a book about Eleanor. I am thankful that the author didn’t cure Eleanor and lead her out of the darkness by having her fall in love.
I really enjoyed it. It’s great to find a book so packed full of emotion without seeming overly-sentimental.
This is one of my favorite reads and was sad to see it end.
I would give this one a 5 out of 5 stars!
Wanted to let you know that I am still around, but have taken a bit of time off due to a new member of our family!
or should I say Smilin” Charlie? ❤️
It happened VERY suddenly and unexpectedly. SHE is an 11 month old Golden Retriever. She is super sweet, but still has some puppy left in her. 🙂 It’s been an adjustment for all of us and at times I think she is training us! Stop by again to check out updates on our new adventure!!
On Saturday morning, it was rainy and cold. What else is there to do but make a house from old boxes?
It didn’t take long for Jack to have it all planned out.
It took some trial and error, but we finally figured out how to steady the sides of the house so it would hold up the roof! All credit goes to Jack and his reinforcing of bendy pieces (above photo.)
About an hour later, we had built a cardboard house complete with roof and reinforced duct tape walls, front door, back door and a window!
The back yard and door!
The inside is large enough for Jack to lay flat. He added a crate to hold a reading lamp!
And, it did not surprise me that Jack wanted to sleep in the cardboard home that night. Jason and he got some battery operated lights that Jack could Velcro to the ceiling to provide light during the evening.
Good night, Jack!
If you would like to visit, he’ll leave the light on for ya!
Sam and a group of his friends participated in the annual homecoming event Under the Lights, which is put on through the high school.
Sophomores through seniors get teams together and then participate/compete in 18 different games such as: how many cheese balls can you get on one person’s face that is covered with chocolate pudding. Tug a war over a tarp covered with chocolate pudding and 16 other hysterical “Ellen” like games.
This was taken before the games began. So nice and clean!
Then the games began…
Water Balloon Toss…
Don’t Drop the Licorice While Walking Back and Forth as One Group
Jack and I hung out to watch the competition and had some good belly laughs! In the background the “bucket” person needs to catch 10 ping pong balls that others are tossing at him. A hard task on a WINDY night!
Sam and Brenny
The kids all had a blast and Jack can’t wait until he can participate in the UTL games! I wouldn’t be surprised to find him practicing before then!
Ran to the library to pick up some books. I looked up and noticed everyone was going to the library today!
Just never know who you are going to run into at the library!
It has been one of those weeks where I haven’t gotten much done. Started the week out being flat on my back, which is much better, but since then, I have had no energy! So I decided this…
Just saving myself up! 🙂