Book Club

I have finally finshed Eat, Pray, Love. It's not that it was a horrible book. Just not what I expected. Still looking forward to watching the movie.

A friend of mine loaned me Night by Elie Wiesel. I probably should've already read this considering how interested I am in Holocaust stories. It's a short one; so I should finish it very quickly. My book club is reading Sarah's Key. But I read that a year ago and I just can't read a book twice no matter how great it is. And Sarah's Key is definitely a great book. At least I feel like I am participating a little since they are both stories of the Holocaust.

My other book club delimma is that I can't seem to make it to my own book club. This will be the third month I've missed in a row. Elle starts dance class that week and there is no way I can be in both places. Not to mention, I'd have kids with me. Hopefully, once Joe gets back, it'll be easier to make these. If it weren't her very first week, she'd probably skip the dance class.

Book club also had to be moved. Our little coffee shop is closing. We are very sad. And, I'm sad to miss the first one at a new location.

Running news: I made it 7 miles on the treadmill somehow, someway on Monday. Now, on to 8. I will be able to run outside next week because we are going to visit my parents. That will hopefully make it a little easier than staring at bricks.

The girls and I are waiting impatiently for school to start on Sept 8th. These weeks are dragging by as I hear of everyone else sending their kids off to school this week. Next week is Meet the Teacher. Keira is so excited about this. This will be her first time going to "school" like sissy. She has always been so jealous of her sister when we drop her off at school. Not so much because she misses Elle; but rather because she doesn't like Elle doing things she can't do.

Okay...there is a box of cereal out of the cabinet. Must go quickly before the entire box is spilled out on the floor.

We're Back!

We're back! Actually, we've been back since Monday. Our trip went so much better than I expected, which is good because it looks like we are going to be having a lot of road trips during the 6 months that Joe is gone.

My trip to Austin was so much fun. I am not good at uploading pictures frequently, but when you see the ice cream Chick-Fil-A pictures, you will see how much fun we had. We were only there for a couple of days, but we went to the park, the Austin Children's Museum and swimming, too. And, we even got to visit Pop pop & Granny, Joe's grandparents, and his cousin Krissie, too. Elle actually swam by herself. Well, not really, but she didn't insist on holding both of my hands even though she is in a float. That is a huge accomplishment! Absolutely amazing!

I also got to run. Valerie (my lil sis) & Wesley live less than a mile from Lake Pflugerville. And, there is a 3 mile dirt track around the lake. It was wonderful. Not to mention, it's always great seeing other people out exercising, too. I normally do not like to run with other people. But, I like to run at the same time. Does that even make sense? I don't want to run with you, but behind you, or even better, in the opposite direction of you, I'm a happy camper. Although, I did run about 1.5 miles with Wesley. He surprised me out there on the 2nd morning. And, I'm thankful because I'm sure that's what made me keep up my pace that was surely slow to him.

After Austin, we headed to Houston to visit Joe's parents. Baba (Bridget) always has fun things for us to do. We went and got some dance clothes for Elle's upcoming dance classes. Then, we headed to the Chocolate Bar and Candylicious. What more could a kid want?

That evening we got to visit with Tommy, Joe's brother, Marcia (Tommy's fiance) and Jody, sister. Marcia has been telling me about Star Pizza for awhile and I have to say, it was even better than I expected. Keira put on a show for everyone that evening while Elle played computer games.



The next day, we went to Discovery Green. It's a park that is very "green" in Downtown Houston. They have a water/splash park that isn't really a splash park. It's really a bunch of water fountains. Difficult to explain. The girls had a blast. Afterwards, we got snow cones (my girls' firsts), and headed over to ride the rail. We got tickets and called it a train ride.

I also got to run in Houston in 107 degree heat index. Lovely it was! I did make it an entire 3 miles, which was pretty amazing to me...after it was done.

Our trip back lasted 6hrs and 45min. We only had to make one stop. This is amazing for traveling with two small children and one potty training! I was definitely pleased.

Reading: I am still reading Eat, Pray, Love. I will finish, but I don't like the book. I can confidently say that now that I'm 2/3 of the way through. The movie is still on my to see list though. I think it'll make a better movie.

Okay kids are screaming...off I go. Tonight is movie night. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and popcorn!

Birthdays & Books

I'm glad Elle's birthday is early in the month. If not, she would surely die of anticipation. It was an event just to turn the calendar to August today. Now, she only has to wait one more day. We have big plans for tomorrow. We are going to have a Skype party. Daddy already got his muffin, which will serve as his cupcake. And, he will get to see her cute little face when she sees her brand new big girl princess bike. I love birthdays. They are just so special to me. It's the one event all year that's only for you. I know people share birthdays, but a birthday really is the closest you're going to get to one day a year being all about you.

Running: I made it through my 7 miles on the treadmill. Maybe it was a bad day, but it was harder than I thought it would be. I logged 16 miles this week. Next week is a lower mileage week; so I'll have some time to rest. I was really surprised at how my IT band was feeling after that long run. I was just hoping that it was completely healed and I don't think it is. But, it's still not nearly as bad as it was after my half marathon or even before I ran the half.

There are a couple of half marathons that I would like to run in October. However, I'm still not sure if I'll be ready. I need to get out on the road soon and see how the treadmill training is translating, but I won't really be able to do that until Sept.

I finally finished that last book, Weddings Can Be Murder. Good riddance. Now, I am on to The Kite Runner. So far, so good, but I did just start it today. I really want to read Eat, Pray, Love next. I'm a sucker for books that they make movies out of. I realize the movies are usually not as good as the books, but I just can't resist. One that I watched recently, Lovely Bones, was great though. I recommend both the book and the movie.