Summertime Fun - Cruise-in Style!

Sharing a bit of my summer...

Last year we helped out a lot with the annual Abundant Life Cruise-In at our church. Well... this year we... uh... (I have so many adverbs I want to put in here and keep mentally rejecting them) stepped up to coordinate it. (Yes, all of it.)

The best part... is WE. My honey and I. Working together. *cough* I mean, volunteering together. Ha!

The closer we get to August 3rd, the fuller my brain fills up with things that need to be done. Sometimes it feels like it short-circuits... or how I imagine it would feel if I had wires in my brain and they were sparking against each other so that I couldn't think of another thing. Not even how to eat.

Dinner last night was the spontaneous result of loving pizza and finding old rolls that could be used for crusts. I mixed the sauce in the can (yes, opened a can of tomato sauce and threw some spices in it and called it "pizza sauce" and even "dipping sauce"). We threw some cheese on that and baked it in the oven. Wala! The meal was a huge hit. I graciously accepted everyone's enthusiastic thanks as if I'd planned it ahead of time.

Hey... right now I can use a few moments of "you did it right, mom!"

This picture (above) is my Cruise-In notebook. I took the picture while stopped at a light, picking up donations for the raffle.

And... that's the end of my lil' break. Time's up! At least I didn't share my to-do list. That would've been really... not-interesting. Lol.

What are you doing this summer?

It's not Monday - Chit Chat #3

Do you ever have a Tuesday that looks a lot like a leftover Monday?

At least the last Monday in August is not as oppressive as the first Monday in January. (First month, first big To-Do day!) The first Monday back at school rivals it, though... and lots of folks is feelin' that today. I mean, yesterday. 

Not me. School doesn't start for my fam 'til next Tuesday. So I have no excuse. For today feeling like yesterday.  Except...

I just have way too much stuff I put off. Procrastination'll do that to ya: lengthen days into weeks. When I'm trying to drag out my beautiful long summer days, procrastination backfires. The sun setting earlier every night doesn't help. Seriously... what's up with that?!

The best book news of this week (so far) is that I rescued some books from a sweet person I'd lent them to who wasn't gettin' 'round to 'em.  It felt like a small victory worth a classic inept hiney wiggle. (I'm not a dancer. But that doesn't stop me from puttin' on some moves.)

Having rescued Epic Fail, I had to read a bit. This is one of those books I won last fall from Jaded Little Girl - a sort of celebration for not achieving the NaNoWriMo word count. Ha!

Could this get more pathetic? I'm losing days, I can't dance and now I'm celebrating failure.

See what I mean about this Tuesday acting a lot like a Monday?!

My point is... Epic Fail is absolutely hilarious. I brought it to football practice last night and was cracking up on the field. Lol.

It cracks me up just thinking about it. I look like an obsessed mom watching my son practice football when most the other parents just drop their boys off. The few parents lingering stand around on the grass or lounge on the distant bleachers. Not me. I got my collapsible seat, at least two books, a sweat shirt for when the sun sets, and a drink or two (and maybe a snack.) I spread out and get comfy. And when the coach sidelines my son on a play, I'm right there seeing if he's injured. (Or whatever.)

Last night I was bursting out with random guffaws over Claire LaZebnik's writing. Looking around to see if anyone noticed. Lol. As if that was a concern.

The story is following Pride & Prejudice rather closely so far, if in a completely new context. The fun part is how well the author remembers important points to Jane Austen's incredible story. She's getting the nuances right with all the characters. Absolutely laugh-out-loud fun.

I have read P&P every summer for awhile now. Maybe this will satisfy my craving.

It's not just NOT Monday... it's also NOT the end of summer for me. I'm not done with all my plans for summer, so they're spilling over into September. I didn't read all the books I planned on, primarily.  Or write as much as I wanted. These are things I must tackle responsibly. It is my obligation. And I'm willing to sacrifice what I must to fulfill these important obligations. I am, after all, a reader of upstanding character.

I know I'm not the only one out there. Is there anyone else that will bravely make a stand and say, "I am willing to accomplish my summer reading goals even in September!"?  

It's ok if you feel somewhat intimidated. Grand goals like these are not upheld easily, otherwise everyone would do it. Bravely make a stand for your TBR pile. You're not alone.


Credits: Book covers click thru to Goodreads. Other art pulled off Pinterest. Content is original spam from my head. I don't know why I called this Chit Chat #3. It's the first one. Except maybe a previous attempt at Have a Cup of Tea...

Lovin' Summer!!

The giveaway I'm hosting with I Am A Reader, Not A Writer starts tomorrow!!  :-D  I can't wait!!  You gotta love summer and the idea of Lazy Summer Days even if they are more a figment of the imagination vs. reality. This summer has been anything but lazy for me. In fact, my muscles ache when I lay down to sleep as if I'm working out. Lol.


Keeping four kids busy is a bit of a workout, it's true. VBS (Vacation Bible School), swim lessons, football camp, soccer camp, nerf gun wars... house cleaning. (They'll be experts after this summer!!)

Organizing my house and moving everyone around is also a bit of a workout. I even hammered a bit. Those cheap bookshelves still work even after they get wobbly if you add a bunch of tiny nails to the flimsy back cardboard thing. Do you use those cheap bookshelves?  I've got 'em all over the house. Lol. I rock with a hammer. Lol.


The car show I volunteer for is comin' up fast: August 4th.  I also remember the date as day #1 of the Summer Wrap Up Readathon. I won't be reading too much that first Saturday, but that's just how this summer's goin' for me.

Our Awesome Car Show....


The Abundant Life Cruise-In goes from 10am - 4pm. So, cars are lining up to get in about 8am. We try to get there by 7am. I help out at the Registration table. My Cool, Man heads up the judging team, so he watches cars as they arrive - right after he parks whatever we're bringing.  Our kids wear the t-shirts, too, and help the maintenance guy keep up with grounds and stuff.  They look like a gang, almost, with their friends... only they're polite and respectful of cars, especially, which makes them look like a cool classic car gang. If that exists.

To register for the show, everyone pays $15. They get a Goodie Bag full of whatever fun stuff we could find to put in there. They also get a 10x13 picture of their vehicle, which is unique to our show.  We have a photographer team and a graphic artist onsite printing the pictures so everyone can take it home by the end of the show. If they pre-registered, they get their handmade wooden frame for free, otherwise it costs a few bucks.  We also have t-shirts, of course... I think we're charging $15/shirt this year except the volunteers will get one for free as a "thank you" for volunteering - along with a free lunch.

Lunch!!  We have a full food court!!  Hot dogs, hamburgers, pulled pork sandwiches... corn on the cob, french fries... hand-dipped ice cream sandwiches, caramel corn, sno-cones... it's like a mini-fair!!

We also get a bounce house or two for the kids who come as well as a face-painter.

I'm on the team that helps get raffle prizes and fun stuff for the Goodie bags. (Which is where I'm getting my main work-out right now!) So far I've gotten tickets for a fee bowl at Mt Hood Lanes for every Goodie bag, coffee mugs or gardening gloves, & fun coupons. Other volunteers have gotten free cheeseburger tickets, bogo minigolf tickets, water bottles and more coupons.  The Goodie bags will be worth the $15 registration fee all by themselves!!

The funnest thing at the show (I think) is the raffle. We get so many prizes that they start drawing tickets and giving stuff away as early as 10:30 and continue steadily 'til 3:00. Lots of people buy $100 worth of tickets and win lots of cool stuff. We make more money for the food banks on the raffle than we do for the lunch!!

I love finding creative stuff for the raffle. We always want a lot of prizes that the car-guys wanna win, obviously. Like free oil changes or car washes. This year we're getting an exhaust system - how awesome is that?!

I like to find things for the wives, too, since so many of 'em get to come and hang out in the sun all day with their spouses. Accent on Attitude gave me over $850 worth of fashion purses and Avon products. Terra Casa gave me a huge gardening pot worth over $250.

Today I'm picking up a golf basket and cat, dog & wild bird baskets and a salon basket. We've gotten gift certificates to Enchanted Forest, the Aquatic Park, Baskin Robbins and tons of restaurants. One of the ladies on our team gets over 20 different Starbucks prizes.  I'm telling you... we have the BEST raffle around!!

That's not counting the signed basketball by the Blazers I'm working on. I seriously hope we get that!!

There's something about putting on a great big event that I find exciting. I've never claimed to be very organized, you know? Even tho I lose my notes all over the place, I'm enthusiastic and creative. :-D  And... maybe a little tired and behind on my reading.

Ya gotta love summer, though.  My homemade blended coffee was delicious!!  Sounds like just what this summer day needs!

What are you up to?!

Happy Sizzlin' Summer Monday!!

Do Mondays exist if the kids are on Summer Vacation?  Hypothetically I could sleep in, right?

Just the idea sounds delicious. Almost as delicious as the coffee brewing that draws me out of bed too early.


If I must have a non-fancy coffee pot, then the least I can do is have one with a timer that automatically starts while I'm still in dreamland. I found a bag of Starbucks coffee beans in my freezer waiting for a summer Monday like today. I ground 'em fresh last night, set my timer... and rose early for a wee bit of quiet before my personal never-ending party wakes up.  *sigh*

Perfect for a visit 'round the kitchen counter! Pull up a barstool & let's discuss what we're reading!!

Sheila @ Book Journey has this great post every Monday to keep track of this sort of thing. Have you seen this new, slightly altered version for non-adult books?  I wasn't sure if I should list my current read with this linky, too (there's a lot of swear words!) but I recognized Captain Underpants right away. I have the whole set.  Believe me when I say bathroom humor gets boys reading. It works. Plus, it's funny.

I'm reading Seeds of War and I don't recommend it for my kids. One of 'em kinda freaks out over end-of-the-world science-fiction, anyway, but I don't want any of 'em swearing like Fi. She's been thru a lot in Eden's Root, so it's understandable, just not accepted around the house. Lol.

Let's share a quote from it, shall we?  I'm still near the beginning, but the first pages are loaded with information and tension that answer lots of previous questions.

Escape in a Book hosts Memorable Monday just for awesome quotes.

"Fi felt a fluttering in her chest as she imagined the miles of devastating, unending wasteland; the dust so thick that ochre clouds rained down mud, the rocks exposed where the soils had been scoured away. Nothing but death as far as the eye could see. It took amazing courage to test yourself against that, she thought, suddenly feeling conflicted. It was kind of... impressive. She bit her lip."

This devastation is crop-related. Famine by disease-infested food. Isn't there a major crop failure in the midwest this year? They announced that on the news this morning. *shudder* It's all related!!

*sip of delicious coffee*

So, what are you reading?  Do you know what you'll read next?  I'm hoping to start Among Others next with Calico Reaction's book club. It looks great and I've never read anything by Jo Walton and I want to. I'm still mid-Iron Fey series, too - I'm up to The Iron Queen. Fun!!  PLUS... I might toss plans to the wind to read Palace of Stone b/c I've read Princess Academy twice and I love Shannon Hale's writing.  Delightful choices!!


Do you ever save some coffee for an iced treat in the afternoon? Iced coffee with cream and sweetener is amazing. I might try blending mine today. Maybe a little chocolate syrup and whipped cream should be added to my shopping list?  Just for my coffee, of course. Yum!!