They say it's your BIRTHDAY!

As I get older, birthdays sure seem like less of a big deal. I take the stance that age is just a number - and how you feel and ho you act should be more of an age defining factor and should be taken into account when deciding someone's age.

This year, however, I have had one of the best birthday celebrations!

Sunday was Father's Day - which my birthday usually falls on that day or the same weekend. My parents were up working at their cabin, and I had to work on a freelance pro-bono gig this weekend. Well, on Sunday afternoon, our friends had us over to their house. We brought Tucker along to run rampant in enjoy their large, fenced in backyard while we grilled, chatted, and played with their two children. It was really nice outside - we spent time in the back yard until the surprise rain came. Then, our visit transitioned into playtime with the kids in the house while the men and Tucker grilled outside with garage cover. It was very nice and relaxing and stress/drama free. We ate some great food and they got me an ice cream cake!!! yay!! That has to be one of the best things about having a summer birthday - ice. cream. cake.

They also sent me home with one of their butternut squash plants from their abundant crop of them from last year! One plant produced and produced and produced for them last year - it will be interesting to see if my little plant is able to produce the same. I am sure things will be a little different - me planting things in pots and they have a raised garden bed in their back yard with more room.

My plants this year have not done as well as I had hoped. Next year I think I will have to be more patient and wait to plant and then bring them outside. I got a couple more seed packets the other day to see if I can plant them now and have some more flowers this summer outside on the patio. I might need to scrap a couple of the planters that just did not do anything for me. It will be fun some day to have more of a garden and able to plant and have things come back year after year, and the space to do it in. I am always in awe of Derick's Grandma's garden. It is beautiful, and really, the layout and how it is landscaped is what I envision mine looking like in the future.

Other than that, Monday was the big birthday. I am the one in our department who has organized all the birthday happenings in the office - decorating the person's cube, bringing in treats and sometimes setting up the lunch for the birthday boy/girl. Well, it was interesting going through the day at work - no one knew it was my birthday! Even when I got flowers delivered from my dad and someone came over from another department and wished me happy birthday, no one said anything to me the whole day! haha. It wasn't until just after 5pm that I got a text from my coworker saying, omg! it was your birthday! I just checked Facebook on my phone and saw it there! sorry! then, he must have told my boss, because when I came in the next morning, there was an email from him asking if it was my birthday - and that the "birthday party planning committee chair" had not notified him. (haha). I have a joint birthday lunch planned for next Friday for my boss and myself (his bday was June 5th). I did get a card from a friend in another department - so that was waiting for me when I got in that morning.Derick surprised me with a really pretty lily plant when we finally got home - and he said that the rest of my gift was on its way to the house that week sometime.

Later that night, Derick and I met up with my Grandma and my aunt for dinner at Red Lobster. YUM - one of my favorites! It was really nice to chat and catch up with them - we were tucked back in the corner, really making it feel like we were in our own little world over there! It was a good time! Then later this week, my parents are coming over to eat at our house and see our progress on our fish room/celebrate my birthday.

My gift from Derick arrived yesterday - the ICE CREAM MAKER ATTACHMENT for my KitchenAid mixer!!! SO excited!

This weekend I need to put more work into the Play program for my freelance pro-bono job, and then Saturday night we are hosting the MAS fish meeting at our house to show off our fish room. So, the rest of the week is pretty much spoken for getting the house clean and in order for my parents and then the fish meeting. Busy week, but it has been a fun one so far too - with more fun to be had!

Young and Wild

Our Rodeo-Medford weekend, in photos

 

  

 
 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a great weekend! And these were just the highlights from the weekend! We drove home to Derick's hometown for their rodeo weekend. It is such a blast seeing the rodeo and spending time where time itself seems to slow down. Even among the chores and work that needs to get done, there is time to sit back, relax and reflect.
-LD

Book Review: The Help

I just finished reading The Help By Kathryn Stockett.

Brief overview of the book:
The Book takes place in 1962, Jackson, Mississippi. It unravels the relationships and the roles of being a black maid, looking after the families of the town's white women. The love between the maids and the children and the struggle between classes and defining lines between them.


I admire one of the main characters of the book - Skeeter (Eugena) Phalen. In the book, she is a 22-year old graduate from Ole Miss who longs to be a writer. After graduation, she returns home to her mother, who will not be satisfied until she is married.


Another one of the main characters in the book is Aibileen - a black maid who is wise and regal, raising her 17th white child. She is such a strong character and the author does a really great job of bringing them to life off the page.


In the book, throughout the course of events, Skeeter requests the help of Aibileen and other maids to tell their stories of the white women they work for. They change the names, but the stories stay true to the things they have lived through. Once the book is published on a short run, it slowly gains momentum and spreads across town. The maids guarded by their secrets, as well as being set free. The book tells a universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t, and the decisions we make to daily choose between them.


My Take:
I really enjoyed this book. At first, I was a little daunted by how large it seemed - close to 600 pages, but I dug in, mainly because I enjoyed the movie so much, and I had not had the chance to read the book beforehand. I am so glad I did. I love the characters in the book - there are such strong personalities that really come to life and I could easily imagine them myself, albeit the movie helped plunk people into their roles for the most part, although a couple of the characters from the movie cast differed from the book descriptions of them. I thought the book Skeeter and Hilly would have looked different than what the movie characters looked like. It does make me want to see the movie again and compare and pick up things I may have missed the first time.