by Sarah | Jul 26, 2015 | All About Indiana, All of Us, Photography, Redefining Perfect, Snapshot Sunday
Continuing with the storm pictures from a couple of weeks ago. Most of these are from the local park, along with a couple of my never-ending cloud pictures.
What? I have a thing for clouds.
Anyway, onto the lot of them.
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Fluffy.
Bark.
Water at the side of the road.
Sun Breaching the Clouds.
Is it Water or Sand? Take a Guess.
Bridge Over Troubled Water.
That’s Not A Bird On That Wire.
And that’s it for this week! More to come next week…considering I get my camera back out 😀
by Sarah | Jul 25, 2015 | All About Denver, All About Family, All About Me, All of Us, Disney, Redefining Perfect, Story of Me
Growing up, I always knew I’d become my mom. It ran in the family, after all. She was turning into Grandma, and I favored her over my dad, so it stood to reason I’d turn into her.
I never expected to become my dad.
My family had a tendency toward vacations that were road trips. My dad has a bit of a nomadic side to him, so I think those road trips really helped ease that need to go, go, go.
My dad was also a control freak.
I remember half-teasing that he had a tendency to plan our vacations down to the minute.
Trips to Disney. To California. Hockey tournaments. Busch Gardens. The Henry Ford Museum.
Everything was thoroughly researched and plans made that we weren’t allowed to deviate from.
It was intense vacationing.
I swore I’d never do that.
And I haven’t…
Exactly…
When the word came down that Denver’s original wish was going to be a no-go, I knew what that meant.
A return to Disney World (his backup wish).
This time we’d have the experience of last year (and the handful of missteps we made, rides we missed, etc.) to guide us…
Which meant planning was going to happen.
Turns out the teen is as much my dad, if not more, than I am. We’ve gathered books (these are just two of the 6 we have), watched every single Disney special on TV we could find, and I got the free Disney vacation DVD. We’ve written down what we missed that we want to see, and things we saw we want to do again. Denver has even located a map w/ approximate walking times between attractions (seriously).
I’ve made meal reservations (we sort of flubbed this last time), and Denver’s plans are revolving around those times and the parks we’ve mutually agreed we want to visit each of our three days.
Since he’s been gone most of the summer we haven’t gotten down to nitty gritty, and I’m still insisting on complete flexibility (not minute-by-minute) in our planning because things happen, and my dad is ill, and my mom has a horrific back (they are going w/ did I mention that?)–so flexibility is key…but we are going in with some plans this year.
It’s oddly soothing.
Just don’t tell my dad I said that.
by Sarah | Jul 24, 2015 | All About Molly, All of Us, Autism, Blogging Life, Friday Feels, Redefining Perfect, Special Needs
Molly had a stellar year at school this year. Top notch, best on record.
Her grades were through the roof awesome, she jumped ahead in math and managed to get an angle on language arts and push forward.
Life was pretty good.
Then, came the end of that.
Fresh off the bus on the last day of school the first thing she said was, “I want to go back to school.”
See, Molly doesn’t handle change well at all.
She doesn’t handle the loss of a routine well.
So despite the leaps and bounds made during the school year, we have had a very difficult summer.
Molly is struggling.
Not sleeping on several occasions (like, at all).
Behavioral issues, despite taking her medicine nearly every day.
Anger, silence, uncontrollable laughing.
Enough to concern us.
And enough to make us look forward to the start of school in a few weeks.
I hate seeing her struggle and not knowing what to do for her.
I can only hope that the return to a routine and school, where she loves to be, will bring her back into focus.
Now if I could just get over the fact that she’s going into middle school….
by Sarah | Jul 23, 2015 | All About Family, All of Us, Disney, Make-A-Wish, Redefining Perfect
I’ve been to Disney a few times in my life.
The first time I was 5, and really don’t remember much beyond what the pictures show.
The second I was 10. Then 18.
The last time I went I was in my twenties, about 23, I believe. On that last trip I only had a one day park hopper and never went to the Magic Kingdom (I know, sacrilege). I had my reasons, of course. I had to do Hollywood Studios because our free ticket came from a cast member in the Beauty & the Beast show–and we had to go see him. And we did chose to do Epcot for the second half of our day.
So when Erik & I were able to go with our kids, we made sure our first day in the Disney portion was at the Magic Kingdom. We got off to a late start after breakfast at the amazing Ginger Bread house at Give Kids the World.
After we crossed the lake and made it through the gates we knew without a doubt we were in Disney…
Because the first thing we happened upon was this:
Soon as I saw it, I turned to Erik and said “You know you’re in Disney when the first thing you see is dancing in the streets.” I’ve been to Disney quite a few times, but this is the most memorable, best entrance to the magical world you’re heading through for sure.
It doesn’t get any better, you think…but then it does…
by Sarah | Jul 22, 2015 | All About Me, All of Us, Blogging Life, I'm A Reader, Redefining Perfect, Wordy Wednesday
I’ve been on a real reading streak in 2016, with plans for more reading coming up. Of course, that’s when I find time in between family, friends and writing. I still haven’t quite figured out how I’ve read 40+ books this year, but there you have it.
So, here’s some of what I’ve been reading, and what I’m reading coming up.
What I’ve Read
Incarnation – it’s a different take on the story of Lucy Weston, the supposedly wanton creation of Dracula. Set in a steampunk victorian era London, the atmosphere is dark and dreary, perfect for a vampire tale.
I don’t usually read vampire books (anymore), but I got this based on the gorgeous cover and the word ‘steampunk’. I’m so glad I did. I loved the somber feel of it, the character of Lucy portrayed here and the story of how she came to be what she was, and the whys. There was a hint of romance, but it wasn’t your typical lovey-dovey-goo-eyed romance in any fashion and it didn’t end as expected that way, either.
Shadow & Bone – Again, the gorgeous covers swayed me, along with a few good reviews from people I knew. I honestly didn’t have much faith when I picked up the book that I would like it, but before I knew it I was swept up and read it in no time. I’m honestly afraid to pick up the next book because I fear it won’t be as good as enjoyable as the first.
I had moments where I wanted to throttle the main character, and others where I wanted to hug her. She was thrown into a world she didn’t understand and wasn’t able to handle it. I really do want to know what happens next. I plan on getting around to the second book soon. Really, I do 😉
The Paper Magician – I have been eyeing this book for ages and ages, never pulling the trigger on a purchase. So when I suddenly remembered that Amazon had it’s “Borrow one book a month” policy for Prime users I went in and snatched this up.
Ceony is a fun, strong, heroine. I like her, even though the love story at first seemed far too easy before it got really difficult and actually made sense. Once you’ve been where Ceony goes, you can’t help but know a person. By the end I was 100% behind the whole kit and kaboodle and immediately turned around and borrowed the next book in the series.
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What I’m Reading
Wicked Lovely – I just picked it up, and I’m not far enough in to have an opinion quite yet. The world building is strong, but I can already see the dreaded triangle forming into place. It would be a shame if I don’t care for it because I have the entire series sitting on my shelf waiting for me. If I don’t like it that’ll be a whole lot heading back to the bookstore for sale. Although that’ll free up space on my shelf for other stuff. 😉
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – The little one and I are still going strong in this book. We’ve finally passed the halfway point and we’re coming into the home stretch. The Yule Ball is complete, and Harry’s about to discover the secret of the egg.
It’s no longer an every single night thing, but we’re still plugging away. Of course, being halfway through the fourth book means we’re halfway through the series. Really loving reading it with her, even though I know she’s skipping ahead and reading her favorite parts of later books 😉
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What I’m Reading Next
The Glass Magician – I’m waiting until I know I can borrow the next book after it to start this one. I’m really curious what’s going to happen, because I know Ceony has more to her than we realized. I guessed as much in the first book. I’m also curious what will happen as her and Emery continue to get closer together.
Also, there appears to be a new big bad in this one and I’m really interested to see what they’re like, if they’re who I think they are and where it’ll head. So much curiosity. I can’t wait to start (will be super soon)
The Magicians – I’m supposed to be reading this RIGHT NOW for my book club. Clearly I’m behind as I just finished Junes book a week back (not any of the above). I’m curious about it for sure, but don’t have it in my hand yet. Just put in a request for it at the library so I’m probably going to be starting it really soon.
95% of times books don’t live up to their hype for me, so I’m hoping this one is in the 5%. I’d really like to enjoy a book assigned by book club for once.
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And that’s where I’m at for now. More books coming in the near-future I’m sure. Here’s hoping I get through them all quick. 😀
Continuing with the storm pictures from a couple of weeks ago. Most of these are from the local park, along with a couple of my never-ending cloud pictures.
