Of Book Clubs and Brownies

Today was a busy day, what with a book club meeting this morning and a Brownie meeting this afternoon. This was the second book club meeting I've been to; our book was The Help by Kathyrn Stockett. I'm excited to be part of a book club; it's something I've wanted to do for quite some time. I tried to start a Mother/Daughter book club when The Eldest was The Only but it fizzled after 2 meetings, which is one of the things that made me realize I'm not great at organizing groups. (Girl Scout troops being the exception.) I based my Mother/Daughter book club on the book titled, oddly enough, The Mother/Daughter Book Club. We read Because of Winn Dixie and had a party at my house complete with food from the book, including a very large jar of pickles, and Harriet the Spy, and that was the end of it. I was sad it died out since I thought the two meetings were really great, but die it did.

So fast forward to now, and when a friend of mine invited me to her book club I was thrilled! These ladies have been getting together for years now and I'm so honored to be a part of their group. I've enjoyed the first two meetings immensely and I'm looking forward to more of them in the future, and next month's meeting covers a book I haven't read yet. I read both books for the meetings I've been to months ago so they weren't as fresh in my mind as I would like for a discussion; for our November meeting I'll be up to date. We're reading Shanghai Girls: a Novel by Lisa See. It's on the New York Times best seller list, so I'm hopeful that it will be a good read.

Then there was the Brownie meeting. I think it went over well, although not all of the girls were able to make it. (This isn't our regular meeting day.) We worked on several messy science activities and welcomed a new girl into our troop so there was a lot going on. DH and the kids helped with the prep work yesterday- cleaning the house, (the troop meets in my home), stopping by the craft store with me to buy supplies, drilling holes in baby jar lids, and so forth. I knew I wouldn't have a chance for any last minute prep today due to the book club so it had to be done yesterday, and it was, so it's all good.

Gardening with The Youngest, aka The Wild Child

I purchased a Topsy Turvy tomato planter a while ago along with some tomato seedlings and The Youngest, aka The Wild Child, has been bugging me to go ahead and plant them already! Well, it was complicated. I had to get DH motivated to put the hooky thing up on our patio overhang, and that took some time. He finally got around to it yesterday and The Youngest and I planted two of the seedlings today; he was tickled pink. Now we have an upside down tomato plant at our house, but I'm still not very optimistic that we'll get actual tomatoes. I've tried to grow veggies in the past but it never works out. We're all motivated to start out with, then we become forgetful and neglect the watering, and we never remember to fertilize, (and what are you supposed to fertilize with anyway; everything from the garden center sounds so... chemically), and they get bugs, but we don't want to spray pesticides in our yard, so we never get any output. Sigh. It's fun while it lasts, though!

Full credit to the photographer, The Wild Child himself!

Sunny Days

The weather yesterday was gorgeous! Sunny and warm with nary a rainstorm to be seen, which is a big switch this summer. (I know, it's autumn, but it's still hot and summery here.) The kids and I met with our homeschooling group at a local park for crafts and hanging out, including some time at the park play area. It's one of their favorite playgrounds since they have several giant play structures set up around the perimeter of the park. (Most playgrounds have one structure and call it a day.)

Now that I look at the picture, I'm reminded of a line from Real Genius, namely, "always clean your optics". I think some sunblock got on the lens, but I like this picture of The Youngest, aka The Wild Child, and The Middle Child anyway.

NaBloWriMo

NaBloWriMo stands for National Blog Writing Month, and I've missed the deadline to have my blog listed on the sponsoring blog, but I can still participate on my own! I wrote a post yesterday, after all, and here's today's, so I can totally do this. If you enjoy blogs but get tired of waiting for updates (and some of my favs have been abandoned lately... ah hem, Dog's Breakfast...) then check out the links at the NaBloWriMo site. You can start with Use Real Butter, one of the blogs I follow on a regular basis and where I heard about NaBloWriMo. (Love her photography and stories about living in Colorado, and all of her adventures! And then there's the food. She spends more time on cooking than I do so I don't have any plans to actually use any of her recipes, but I still love the food photography and her writing.)

What I'm Reading: You on a Diet

I'm smack dab in the middle of the book You on a Diet by Drs. Roizen and Oz. I've been having trouble getting off the 9 pounds I gained in Europe and felt I needed a recharge so I took You on our trip to NC. (We drove; there was lots of time to read.) It's been languishing in my "to read" pile for months now; DH gave me both You on a Diet and You, Staying Young (by the same authors) for Christmas last year. I have to say I am impressed with the topics covered in this book. The docs are going over the physiology of eating, why some people gain weight while others don't when they eat the same things, viral and hormonal causes of weight gain, how we digest our food, what makes us get hungry in the first place, and so much more. It is fascinating; I would enjoy it even if I didn't need to lose an ounce.

One particular fact stood out for me in the very beginning of the book. 95% of dieters who have lost 50 pounds or more are unable to maintain the loss after two years. I lost close to 50 pounds (I didn't weigh myself when I started out; didn't own a scale at that point but I know I was around 180) and it's been two years; yipes! I'm reading this book just in time, and I'm hereby recommitting to losing the rest of the 9 pounds from Europe (I've already lost 6) and keeping myself in that 5% of dieters who are successful at maintaining. It is a daily fight; if I let up at all I gain weight so easily. This book is a good recharge, though; there is so much vital information that will help me continue to be successful. I recommend it highly for anyone who is struggling with weight issues as well as for anyone who wants to be healthy for life.

I Love a Good Wedding

I LOVE weddings, love, love, love them, from the second the engagement is announced to the last hokey song the DJ plays at the tail end of the reception. (You know it's close to over when "The Chicken Dance" comes on!) We were blessed with a wedding in our family this weekend. My cousin married his sweetheart and we were honored to be there and even more honored that The Middle Child was able to share in the day as the flower girl. (Pics to follow; DH had them loaded on our laptop, thus no access yet from this computer until he transfers them over. Warning- the cuteness factor is over the top.) The bride was absolutely radiant; I don't think I've ever seen a woman as happy and glowing as she was. It made me all teary with happy tears when I saw her look at my cousin during the rehearsal and the wedding itself, which is when her face would really light up. I was proud of him for making her so happy.

I got to tease my cousin a little bit at the reception. He is one of those camera shy types, although that's putting it mildly. Camera phobic is a more accurate description; he DETESTS having his picture taken. He was a good sport about it at the wedding, though. I took a bunch of pictures of him and told him I was taking advantage of the occasion since I may not ever have the opportunity again in the future! ;) He looked very dashing, I have to say. He's Scottish on his dad's side and proud of his heritage so he wore a kilt with his family's plaid. That's not something you see at just any old wedding! I thought it was super cool. His son, the ring bearer, also wore a kilt and was too cute for words; there was a collective "awwww" from the audience when he walked down the aisle with The Middle Child. They made quite a pair!

The bride and groom are on their honeymoon now and I get warm and fuzzy feelings just thinking about them. They are one of those couples you just know are in it for the long haul; they're so RIGHT for each other. Many happy wishes, you two!!!

Comments...sigh...

It's come to my attention that people have tried to comment but it didn't "take". I've played around with the settings again so hopefully I've fixed it. ???

Why can't things just WORK??