Random Friday

1. Father's Day plans! 
    I am so very excited for this Father's Day. Last year on Father's Day we were flying home from Tim's brother's wedding so we didn't really get to celebrate other than Tim opening a gift and a card when we finally arrived back in Washington. So I'm happy that this year we're not traveling so that I can really pamper Tim for being such a great daddy. I'm going to miss being with my dad on Father's Day, but I'm excited to be able to do whatever Tim wants to do. He has thus far decided that he wants to play disc golf and he wants to grill a beef brisket for the first time. Other than that, I suppose I will provide the rest of the meal and maybe a dessert. I have bought Tim four different presents this year. (I know, I went overboard.) I also want to refill the frame that I got him last year with the pictures of Owen holding the letters D, A, and D. Honestly, I've been procrastinating on that because Owen is super mobile and non-stop action all the time so I'm afraid I won't be able to get the kinds of pictures that I want. 

Photos from Wikipedia.

2. Julep Mystery Box let-down. 

       I got an e-mail the other day saying that Julep Maven was offering a Mystery Box this month containing between $60 and $200 worth of products, including the possibly winning a limited edition mystery color or the entire Julep nail collection of colors. It was a gamble and I lost. Sort-of. I added up the value based on their website of everything in my box and I received $62 worth of merchandise. And no mystery color. Not terrible, but not as exciting as it could be. Still, it was a better deal than their normal monthly box which has just two polishes and one nail care item in it. I received three nail colors, one base coat, lip balm, and a nail file. The polish colors I got were, from right, Alyson, (the basecoat), Marisa, and Maggie. I think Alyson (almond creme nude) looks pretty, but both Maggie (frosty amethyst) and Marisa (dark, rich cobalt blue shimmer), while pretty, are a little dark for summertime. They will be great for fall and winter, though. Oh well. It was a nice treat anyway and maybe I will have better luck if I decide to go for another mystery box in the future. If you're interested in trying out Julep Maven for just a penny, click here and use the promo code PENNY or COLORS4ONE.

3. Back in the saddle again. 

     And by saddle, I mean kitchen. Now that the cabinets are painted (I promise I will post a final reveal at some point. We have a few touch-ups to do first.), I have been able to make dinner this entire week. And not on the grill! I have really enjoyed being back in the kitchen. And Tim and I have both been feeling so much better since we've started eating healthier and at home. I am trying to decide whether to resume posting a menu to my blog each week. Is anyone interesting in seeing that back on the blog? Right now, I'm mainly making some of our old favorites that we haven't had since we moved, but Wednesday night I made a new, tasty dinner - Skinny Taste's Chicken and Broccoli Noodle Casserole. Try it out!

4. Vacation plans. 
     Tim and I haven't finalized anything yet, but we're hoping to go to Florida this fall to visit our friends David and Katie. Katie and I have been friends since high school and we were in each other's weddings. She and her husband David moved to Florida back in 2010 so we haven't gotten to see each other regularly for a long time, especially after Tim and I moved to Washington. Katie has gotten to see Owen twice, once last June and earlier this year in April, but David has never seen him in person. I can't wait to introduce him. Katie and David live near Orlando so I'm sure there will be tons of stuff for us to do when we go. I hope we can go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. But we'll have to see what Owen will tolerate. Regardless, I can't wait to see them!

5. What's on my Nook.
    I am currently reading a couple of books. The first is the memoir "Wild" about a woman (Cheryl Strayed - yeah, it sounds like a pun because it's not her original name) who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail solo after the loss of her mother. So far, I am having trouble getting invested in the book because I am having a hard time feeling empathy for the woman. After losing her mother, she basically sabotaged her entire life by dropping out of college, cheating on and divorcing her devoted husband, sleeping around, getting addicted to cocaine, and having an abortion. If my mother died and I did those things, you better believe she'd come haunt my sorry butt. It's very obvious in the book that she is a person who desperately needs Christ, but since it's not a Christian book and I haven't finished reading all the way through, I don't know if she ever comes to that realization. So far, it's just been really sad. She is a good writer though and I do want to finish the book, if only to see how she comes out on the other end. 

    The other book that I'm reading is the young adult science fiction retelling of the fairytale Cinderella. It takes place in an imagined dystopian future in the city New Beijing and the Cinderella character is a cyborg, complete with a robotic foot instead of a glass slipper (I'm betting her foot falls off at some crucial moment, what do you think?). So far I'm enjoying it. The main character is really strong and not super whiney like the protagonists of most young adult books (picture Bella from Twilight). The concept seems really unique even though it is a popular idea right now to adapt fairy tales like in the TV show "Once Upon a Time" and the movies "Little Red Riding Hood," "Mirror, Mirror" and "Snow White and the Huntsman." I haven't seen the latter two movies, but I was pretty disappointed with the first. I may do a book review when I'm finished reading this. 

      Lastly, I just have to get this off my chest because I have such a strong opinion about it. I recently read and hated the popular erotic (it's labeled as romance, but let's call it what it is) novel "Shades of Grey" and have no urge to finish the trilogy. In fact, I'm ashamed I read the first one. I should have done more research before buying it to see what it was all about, but I really wanted to see why it has become so popular. I figured it couldn't be that bad if the books were ranked first, second, and third on the New York Times' Bestsellers List. The main reason I disliked the book was the romanticized view the author gave to what I believe was an abusive relationship. I'm sorry, but even between consensual adults, sex should not be something one has to sign a contract for so that the man can dominate you, punish you as he sees fit, and control and abuse you. Not sexy! I know some women are attracted to the idea of "fixing" a damaged man, but I think it's completely ridiculous. Any relationship where you have to hide the way the man treats you from your friends and family is not a healthy relationship. And it disturbs me that so many women who read this book are falling in love with Christian Grey. In addition, the plot had some major holes. I'm supposed to believe that a girl who is still a virgin because she has very high standards in men would then decide to lose her virginity to a completely messed up, mentally damaged sex addict just because he's handsome? Not believable! Also, what 21-year-old college graduate doesn't have an e-mail address? The other reason I hate it is because it has very little plot and what little plot it has is so obvious that I guessed the secret behind Mr. Grey's traumatic childhood in the first half of the book. Why read two more novels? Plus, I started just skipping the sex scenes because they were so frequent and repetitive. Finally, the writing is terrible. How many times is the author going to repeat the same phrases? If I had to hear about Ana's "inner goddess" or read about her biting her lip one more time, I was going to throw the book across the room. Anyway, that's my take on the book. Read at your own risk. 

6. For the Makers. 
     I am super giddy with excitement because my friend Haley got me a For the Makers box for my birthday. For the Makers is a subscription box for crafters that includes all the necessary supplies (save for scissors and other normal household tools) to complete four to five crafts per month. I received my box for June yesterday and I can't wait to sit down and craft. I really love the concept for this because anytime I find a craft that I want to do on Pinterest, I end up spending a ton of money at Michael's buying craft supplies when I really only need one or two of each item. This service reduces a lot of wasted product and money. And the crafts are really great and not lame like popsicle stick picture frames or something. The founders of the company are jewelry designers so many of the crafts in the box are jewelry or accessories. This month, I have the supplies to make a floral, zippered pouch, a bracelet, a hair pin, and a candle holder. The box includes materials like a gorgeous floral fabric, pink neon cord, a magenta zipper, silk flower petals, cream-colored thread, and blue and green silk chiffon. I will post again once I've completed the projects to show you 

7. The Woman in Black. 
    Tim and I recently watched "The Woman in Black." I actually really like suspenseful "scary" movies. I hate gory horror movies about murderers and things like "Saw" or the "Final Destination" movies, but I love a good suspense movie. Especially now that I sleep next to a big strong man who can protect me. The movie was okay. Tim and I were both freaked out at a lot of it. I can always tell when Tim is getting freaked out during a movie like this because he starts making fun of the movie to lighten the mood. And I really like Daniel Radcliffe as an actor though I think he's doomed to be called Harry Potter for the rest of his life. Not that I don't love Harry Potter. It's just that I can't look at him without thinking "Harry Potter." Despite that, he acted really well in the movie. Though what is with people in this type of movie investigating the scary noises? If I heard a creepy loud rocking chair rocking back and forth really loudly in the nursery of a dead boy, you can better believe I'd be out of that house, not checking it out. Some other movies in our Netflix queue are: "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," "Machine Gun Preacher," "We Bought a Zoo," and "Gone." Anything we should add?

8. First big purchase. Tim and I recently made our first big purchase as homeowners. Get ready for it ... a brand new riding lawn mower! Yay! Okay, so it's not the most exciting purchase ever, but it was a huge necessity. And now we don't have to borrow our neighbor's lawnmower anymore. We went with a Craftsman style mower from Sears because we were able to get it for a really good deal and pay it off right away. (We're really close to paying off our credit card too - yay for no debt!)