Now we are six ... times eight.
Thanks to those of you who sent me happy birthday wishes. ♥
It was a fairly quiet birthday. I had PT in the morning, then Will and I went to see Toy Story 4 in the afternoon. (Short review: I liked it more than Toy Story 3 but not as much as Toy Story 2.) In the evening, we went out to dinner at a family favorite Italian place. There are two of them near us; I'd chosen the one closer to my SIL's workplace, so she could join us more easily. However, during the day we discovered that the shopping center where that restaurant is located was hosting an outdoor music concert starting exactly the same time as our reservation. *bangs head* Thankfully, although parking was a bit trickier than usual, we did find a spot, and we couldn't hear too much of the outdoor music once we were safely ensconced at our table. Food was tasty, although service felt a tad slow, especially given it was a weeknight. Anyway, once we finished eating, we went back home to enjoy my usual chocolate cake.
Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything interesting to ask for, for my birthday. I had plenty of books on my Amazon list, but that was pretty much it. I don't need clothes or, really, much of anything else. All the things I really want aren't things, and either are too expensive or downright impossible to ask for. Like: Remission from colitis/Crohn's. A trip to Europe (even a quick one). A personal trainer, personal chef and/or maid service. Broadway musical tickets. You get the idea.
So: books it was. I received thirteen Kindle books and four paper books. My friend Jen picked four historical and/or global mysteries she'd read herself that she thought I'd enjoy. MiniPlu is the only one in the household who exercised any creativity, though - she gave me books as well, but she just wandered through the biography section at the bookstore until she came across two books she thought I'd enjoy based on subject matter, rather than relying on the Amazon list. (She picked one on worldwide royal romances over the years, and a biography of Theodore Geisel/Dr. Seuss. I definitely look forward to them!) Will and my BIL/SIL took things from the list, and my FIL gave me a gift card for something I'm not likely to use, but maybe Will can. I admit to being a little disappointed at the lack of creativity, but it's not like I had any concrete alternative ideas to offer anyone, so I really only have myself to blame.
Of course, I'm still in the middle of two substantial books right now (one paper, one Kindle) so I need to finish at least ONE of those before I can dive into any of the new ones. I'd been reading Rogues, a fantasy collection of short stories that hamsterwoman gave me for Christmas, but I've temporarily misplaced it, so I fished through my to-read pile on my Kindle, and came up with the first Outlander book, which I've been reading for the past week or so. (I've only seen the first half of S1, and I'm rapidly approaching that point in the book, so the rest will definitely be a surprise!)
Oh, one non-book thing my SIL gave me (also from my Amazon list) were these wool dryer balls. No idea if they'll really work, but I'm looking forward to trying them out when I do laundry tomorrow. I use unscented dryer sheets, usually, but I like the idea of going chemical-free. (Alas, once we moved I lost my clothesline, so no more sun-dried clothing in nice weather. :-( )
Since my last post, we took Two up to summer camp in New Hampshire, then spent the next couple of days visiting my friend Jen and her husband in the Boston area. We spent one day following the Freedom Trail through Boston, walking about 8 miles/~12.9km in the process. We were disappointed that the USS Constitution is closed on Mondays, but we did get to explore a Korean/Vietnam-era battleship nearby. We also got to explore a small church crypt and bell-tower (with a Paul-Revere-made bell!) and ate delicious ice cream at Quincy market after lunch. Tuesday was rainier so we stuck to the Museum of Fine Arts. MiniPlu was feeling a little under the weather so we didn't linger too long, but we did enjoy the exhibits we saw. Wed we swung by Wheaton College on our way home; MiniPlu and I had attended an info session in Feb but hadn't had time for a proper tour, so it was nice to finally get that. It was Will's first college visit with MiniPlu (my seventh :-P) and he liked it a lot more than he thought he would.
It's been both nice and terrible while Two's at camp. Nice not to have any arguing. Terrible because we miss him. I've set it as a goal to tackle an hour's worth of mess somewhere in the house each day. MiniPlu and I spent both Sun night (two hours!) and Monday morning cleaning his room - REALLY cleaning it. He'll hate it, of course, lol, but I think it's good his disaster area gets a re-set once a year.
I've also been really melancholy about camp this year because it is likely the last time we'll see it. Two ages out of the regular camp this year, and unless he suddenly finds the balls to interact more with people, he's not likely going to pursue Counselor In Training camp next year. (I encouraged him to ask people about the CIT program while he was at camp this summer; I figured it would be sort of a litmus test. If he isn't brave or comfortable enough to do it, then I figure he won't be brave or comfortable enough to be a counselor either, not even a junior one. If he DOES talk to someone about it then ... maybe it will work out.) But, anyway, this camp is so amazing - the people so kind and accepting, and it's so wonderful to see so many other families just like ours, and it kills me to think that we probably have to say goodbye to them on Saturday, forever.
My headspace hasn't been great in general: sad about camp, getting more and more upset over my continued flareup (it takes weeks to find out whether the Stelara is going to work) because, truly, pretty soon my doctor is going to run out of potential magic tricks. I'm tired of worrying about bathroom access, and getting scared about the future. I've also been losing endurance for exercise, so I'm depressed about that. I need something positive to look forward to. We're hoping to go to Australia/NZ next summer (northern summer) but that's too far away to feel like it's something I can concretely think about yet.
Tomorrow is Independence Day (no hard feelings, Britain ;-) ) but I'm completely disgusted by what Trump plans for the DC celebration this year. No wonder I read an article claiming that Americans feel less national pride than usual these days. PSA to the rest of the world: I apologize for our selfish, bratty, small-minded, mean-spirited despot-wannabe of a president. (Or, as I like to quote the old Nine to Five movie: he's a sexist egotistical lying hypocritical bigot. :P And I'm sorry.)
On the other hand, we're going to see Spiderman: Far From Home tomorrow, so hopefully that will be fun.
Oh, and as a final note: this zucchini blueberry bread is DELICIOUS. I removed 1/4 C sugar, tossed in a little lemon zest, and used two 8x4" pans rather than four mini pans. SO GOOD. If you, like me, are inundated with zucchini, I heartily recommend this recipe.
It was a fairly quiet birthday. I had PT in the morning, then Will and I went to see Toy Story 4 in the afternoon. (Short review: I liked it more than Toy Story 3 but not as much as Toy Story 2.) In the evening, we went out to dinner at a family favorite Italian place. There are two of them near us; I'd chosen the one closer to my SIL's workplace, so she could join us more easily. However, during the day we discovered that the shopping center where that restaurant is located was hosting an outdoor music concert starting exactly the same time as our reservation. *bangs head* Thankfully, although parking was a bit trickier than usual, we did find a spot, and we couldn't hear too much of the outdoor music once we were safely ensconced at our table. Food was tasty, although service felt a tad slow, especially given it was a weeknight. Anyway, once we finished eating, we went back home to enjoy my usual chocolate cake.
Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything interesting to ask for, for my birthday. I had plenty of books on my Amazon list, but that was pretty much it. I don't need clothes or, really, much of anything else. All the things I really want aren't things, and either are too expensive or downright impossible to ask for. Like: Remission from colitis/Crohn's. A trip to Europe (even a quick one). A personal trainer, personal chef and/or maid service. Broadway musical tickets. You get the idea.
So: books it was. I received thirteen Kindle books and four paper books. My friend Jen picked four historical and/or global mysteries she'd read herself that she thought I'd enjoy. MiniPlu is the only one in the household who exercised any creativity, though - she gave me books as well, but she just wandered through the biography section at the bookstore until she came across two books she thought I'd enjoy based on subject matter, rather than relying on the Amazon list. (She picked one on worldwide royal romances over the years, and a biography of Theodore Geisel/Dr. Seuss. I definitely look forward to them!) Will and my BIL/SIL took things from the list, and my FIL gave me a gift card for something I'm not likely to use, but maybe Will can. I admit to being a little disappointed at the lack of creativity, but it's not like I had any concrete alternative ideas to offer anyone, so I really only have myself to blame.
Of course, I'm still in the middle of two substantial books right now (one paper, one Kindle) so I need to finish at least ONE of those before I can dive into any of the new ones. I'd been reading Rogues, a fantasy collection of short stories that hamsterwoman gave me for Christmas, but I've temporarily misplaced it, so I fished through my to-read pile on my Kindle, and came up with the first Outlander book, which I've been reading for the past week or so. (I've only seen the first half of S1, and I'm rapidly approaching that point in the book, so the rest will definitely be a surprise!)
Oh, one non-book thing my SIL gave me (also from my Amazon list) were these wool dryer balls. No idea if they'll really work, but I'm looking forward to trying them out when I do laundry tomorrow. I use unscented dryer sheets, usually, but I like the idea of going chemical-free. (Alas, once we moved I lost my clothesline, so no more sun-dried clothing in nice weather. :-( )
Since my last post, we took Two up to summer camp in New Hampshire, then spent the next couple of days visiting my friend Jen and her husband in the Boston area. We spent one day following the Freedom Trail through Boston, walking about 8 miles/~12.9km in the process. We were disappointed that the USS Constitution is closed on Mondays, but we did get to explore a Korean/Vietnam-era battleship nearby. We also got to explore a small church crypt and bell-tower (with a Paul-Revere-made bell!) and ate delicious ice cream at Quincy market after lunch. Tuesday was rainier so we stuck to the Museum of Fine Arts. MiniPlu was feeling a little under the weather so we didn't linger too long, but we did enjoy the exhibits we saw. Wed we swung by Wheaton College on our way home; MiniPlu and I had attended an info session in Feb but hadn't had time for a proper tour, so it was nice to finally get that. It was Will's first college visit with MiniPlu (my seventh :-P) and he liked it a lot more than he thought he would.
It's been both nice and terrible while Two's at camp. Nice not to have any arguing. Terrible because we miss him. I've set it as a goal to tackle an hour's worth of mess somewhere in the house each day. MiniPlu and I spent both Sun night (two hours!) and Monday morning cleaning his room - REALLY cleaning it. He'll hate it, of course, lol, but I think it's good his disaster area gets a re-set once a year.
I've also been really melancholy about camp this year because it is likely the last time we'll see it. Two ages out of the regular camp this year, and unless he suddenly finds the balls to interact more with people, he's not likely going to pursue Counselor In Training camp next year. (I encouraged him to ask people about the CIT program while he was at camp this summer; I figured it would be sort of a litmus test. If he isn't brave or comfortable enough to do it, then I figure he won't be brave or comfortable enough to be a counselor either, not even a junior one. If he DOES talk to someone about it then ... maybe it will work out.) But, anyway, this camp is so amazing - the people so kind and accepting, and it's so wonderful to see so many other families just like ours, and it kills me to think that we probably have to say goodbye to them on Saturday, forever.
My headspace hasn't been great in general: sad about camp, getting more and more upset over my continued flareup (it takes weeks to find out whether the Stelara is going to work) because, truly, pretty soon my doctor is going to run out of potential magic tricks. I'm tired of worrying about bathroom access, and getting scared about the future. I've also been losing endurance for exercise, so I'm depressed about that. I need something positive to look forward to. We're hoping to go to Australia/NZ next summer (northern summer) but that's too far away to feel like it's something I can concretely think about yet.
Tomorrow is Independence Day (no hard feelings, Britain ;-) ) but I'm completely disgusted by what Trump plans for the DC celebration this year. No wonder I read an article claiming that Americans feel less national pride than usual these days. PSA to the rest of the world: I apologize for our selfish, bratty, small-minded, mean-spirited despot-wannabe of a president. (Or, as I like to quote the old Nine to Five movie: he's a sexist egotistical lying hypocritical bigot. :P And I'm sorry.)
On the other hand, we're going to see Spiderman: Far From Home tomorrow, so hopefully that will be fun.
Oh, and as a final note: this zucchini blueberry bread is DELICIOUS. I removed 1/4 C sugar, tossed in a little lemon zest, and used two 8x4" pans rather than four mini pans. SO GOOD. If you, like me, are inundated with zucchini, I heartily recommend this recipe.