the last of August...

For Today {Wednesday August 31} 

Can you believe it's the last of August?  Tomorrow will be September. I have to admit I am looking forward to that crisp fall hoodie weather.  Baking and soups.

Looking out my window the sun is shining, after torrential downpours last night.

I am thinking about goals.  August was a big fat fail for me as far as goals go.  I signed up for a new fitness challenge starting tomorrow.  Because I'm feeling very blah and also I wanted the shirt! And I had a 40% off code in my inbox this morning :P  I need to get moving again.  I ran exactly twice in August and I think did yoga maybe once. It's getting increasingly hard with shorter mornings and school starting next week too! So if you have any tips for running in dark when you're afraid of the dark, let me know 😨

I am thankful for my job, for coffee, for a reliable vehicle, for bright sunshine... just to name a few.

One of my favorite things I finally caved and got a pumpkin coffee. I had a very frustrating night and morning technologically speaking and needed a little pick me up.  Even though waiting in line at the drive thru doubled my commute time this morning.

I am reading I am trying to finish up Sense and Sensibility and then also will be watching the movie.

The 1995 Emma Thompson one. I have it from the library and planed to watch it Friday but the Xbox controller was dead and I couldn't find any fresh batteries.

In my kitchen

Inspired by Hungry Runner Girl I decided I needed a cookbook club in my life!  We are going to choose one cookbook or food blogger etc.  We will then get together in person, everyone will make a recipe or two from the selected book or website. We will hang out and enjoy our food and each other's company.  We are voting on the first one and it looks like it will be Friends- unless there is a landslide of votes today for another book :P 

Board room

Post Script

Today is my Pampered Chef Virtual Fall Reveal Party! Taking place in my VIP group on FB.  I'll also be doing a live video tonight with one of the new fall recipes.  My Shared Rewards Shopping link opens tomorrow with the launch of the new catalog and will run until the 8th.

https://www.pamperedchef.com/party/amylaforte0901

Shared Quote

I heard this quote yesterday on the WSIRN podcast, it resonated with me and that is what I strive to be with the children in my life...

the influence of caring adults who are paying attention in young people's lives.

A moment from my day

Bruno has been helping with the tree clean up

Closing Notes:

Today I am choosing to be thankful to look forward to September and the coming fall with hope, gladness and expectation.

July Reading

Here is it nearly the end of August and I have yet to post my July Book Reviews!

54-    The Damascus Way by Davis Bunn, Janette Oke     7/2    (ebook/hoopla) ★★★★

The third installment of the Acts of Faith series.  It may have been my favorite of the three.  But that also just might be because I read it most recently! ;) I enjoyed that it brought back several characters from previous books into this story as well.  

Here they were, a group as diverse as one could possibly bring together. Jew, Samaritan, Roman, Greek – all united because of one who had come from God and returned to God only a few short years ago. Surely here was living proof that the eternal truths brought to life during Jesus’ time on earth meant transformation was not only possible, it was real.

55-    Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez    7/3    (print/own) ★★★★

One of my book of the month selections.  I thoroughly enjoyed this story. 

Alexis is a big city ER doctor and Daniel is a small town mayor/carpenter/B&B owner.  Their worlds collide when Alexis car is stuck in a ditch in Daniel's small town. Their relationship begins with a bet, a baby goat in pajamas and grilled cheese. It only gets better from there.

Well, you don't steal a hoodie and not wear it. Otherwise it's just another senseless crime.

We are together. This isn’t over. And even if you leave, it won’t be over because you’ll take the love with you and it’ll bring you back.

Grace costs you nothing.

56-    Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center    7/4    (print/library) ★★★★

A year after her divorce, Helen heads out on a wilderness hike expedition in the mountains of Wyoming.  As she prepares to leave for her trip she finds her brother's annoying, 10 year younger, best friend is joining her.  The thing I loved most about this book is how she learned to shift her perspective and look for the good. A lesson we all probably need to take to heart.

But the things we remember are what we hold on to, and what we hold on to becomes the story of our lives. We only get one story. And I am determined to make mine a good one.

It’s my battle cry: Appreciate Everything.

Love is always a disaster, darling. That’s what makes it fun.

57-    Smitten (#1 Smitten) by  Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Denise Hunter, Diann Hunt    7/14     (eBook/hoopla)

Too sweet, too short.  Maybe I was feeling a bit jaded as I read it I don't know.  This was actually four shorter stories and it felt a bit rushed. Enjoyable enough if that's what you're looking for. The story is of a small town in Vermont in trouble after a lumber mill closes. They decided to capitalize on the name of the town, making it into a romantic destination for honeymoons and the like.  A set of four friends is at the center of this plot.  Each smaller story features one of the friends as they of course find their love match.

58-    Under the Magnolias by T.I. Lowe    7/15    (print/own)

I saw this online somewhere and it peaked my interest.  Then on trip to Barnes and Noble I saw it on the shelf and purchased it. I liked it but it was a slow read for me.  I enjoyed it while I was actively reading it but never felt a burning desire to pick it back up.  That said the last couple chapters I really loved. It is set on a rural tobacco farm in one of the Carolinas in the 1980s.  It is the story of Austin who basically raises her 6 siblings after losing her mother in childbirth when she is 13.  Parts of this story are absolutely heart wrenching.  Her father is present and yet not as he is battling his own darkness.  She seeks to protect him and her siblings by hiding the troubles on the farm.

59-    Twenty Years Later by Charlie Donlea    7/16    (kindle/library)

A twisty page turning thriller. A murder goes unsolved after the mostly likely suspect, Victoria Ford, dies in 9/11.  When her remains are positively identified the case resurfaces.  Avery Mason begins investing hoping to prove Victoria's innocence.   It really kept me guessing all the way to the end and was not what I expected at all.

60-    Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen     7/20    (kindle/library)

I don't know why I thought I would not like this book.  The cover didn't appeal to me. But because it was on MMD SRG I put it on hold. Let me just say it quickly sucked me in. The story of sisters in a somewhat quirky southern town,  a touch a magic and an apple tree that tries to be part of the family.

When you're happy for yourself, it fills you. When you're happy for someone else, it pours over. It was almost too bright to watch.

61-    One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle    7/22    (audio/library)

I have mixed feelings about this book. I loved the setting of the Italian seaside. I loved listening to Lauren Graham read this book to me. I did not like the main character Katy but then maybe I am being too harsh- who am I to judge how someone grieves their mother.  I loved the final two or three chapters. I could've done without the bit about Adam- it made me frustrated and angry almost to the point of wanting to stop but I had to see how it would turn out in the end.

My mother, you see, is the great love of my life. She is the great love of my life, and I have lost her.

Every day the world is born again. Every day the sun rises. It is a miracle, I think. A simple, everyday miracle. Life.

62-    The Story Keeper by Lisa Wingate    7/23    (kindle/library) ★★★★★

I had been thinking about The Prayer Box by this author and the first in this series.  So I decided to pick this one up. But it definitely is a stand alone book.  

Jen Gibbs has just started her dream job at a NY Publishing House when a partial 20 year old manuscript mysteriously crosses her desk.  Intrigued by the story she finds it leading back to her roots in the Blue Ridge Mountains and the life she thought she had escaped.

Sarra’d said the Lord’s Prayer each day before leavin’ out from camp with Rand in tow. It was a mattersome thing to start the day with openin’ the little prayer box and offering up these mornin’ words, just as Aginisi had taught her. The words were a comfort, remindin’ her that even though she’s so far from home, she wasn’t but a whisper from Father God. He lived down all the deepest hollers and up all the highest mountains, just as the Good Book promised. Always, he was within hearin’ distance.

Where there is injustice, one must stand against it. Where there is suffering, one must be the hands and feet of our Lord. Where there is opportunity for good, one must seize it. As go our words, so must our acts.

Also random Castle reference in this one!

 “Now you’re scaring me,” I confessed as he moved the screwdriver from one end of the drawer to the other, wiggling it loose like the cork on a champagne bottle. “It looks like you’ve done this before.” “Reruns of Castle.” “I love that show.” One more thing we had in common.

63-    The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers    7/26    (kindle/library) ★★★★★

How did I make it to 2022 without reading a single Francine Rivers book? I do not know! She is fast becoming one of my favorites.  I have delighted in every one I have read so far. This one was no exception. 

Both main characters are wrestling with their tumultuous pasts.  Grace, a single mom, goes to work for Roman an eccentric artist as a personal assistant. Both wounded and broken. The story of finding family and also God's unending love and grace. 

She had learned a long time ago not to argue theology. She hadn’t come to faith because someone gave her all the answers. She came to faith because she met and talked with someone who made her feel enveloped by God’s love.

 “We’re born. We survive as best we can. We die. End of story.” She glanced at his profile. He looked grim, as though hope didn’t exist. “No wonder you’re so miserable.”

 He’d been saved when she left, but he hadn’t been a Christ follower. And that made a fundamental difference in who he had been and who he was now.

64-    Flash by Rachel Anne Ridge    7/28    (print/own)

Cute story about a family who finds a donkey in their driveway one evening.  Turning out to be a stray they adopt him and give him a home.   A mix of Flash's antics and spiritual lessons gleaned from observing Flash.  This was my book club pick for August.

most important, Flash reminded us of God’s infinite, unfathomable love. He reminded us that He takes worthless, unworthy, unwilling people and sets His heart on them. On us. On you and me. His love makes us valuable, worthy, and beautiful. He heals our scars, He provides for our needs, and He gives us more than we could ask for. We are His. We belong to Him. He calls us by name, and He brings us safely home.

65-    Flying Solo by Linda Holmes    7/29    (kindle/library) ★★★

I did not love this book. I mean it was all right.  I was fairly entertained.  I don't know, a couple things just didn't really sit well with me. Laurie returns to Maine to clean out her great aunt's home after her death. Laurie is about to turn 40, about a year out from calling off her wedding and seems to be having a bit of an identity crisis. Feeling she is not meant for marriage, that she prefers to live alone all the while romanticizing her great-aunt's lifelong singleness and adventures... she finds a random, pristeen duck decoy packed away in a blanket trunk and spends much of the story trying to determine where it came from and why it was there... that being said I think the duck part of the story was one of the best parts! I didn't particularly care for the ending but it didn't really surprise me either.

“But if you’re surprised that I’m excited to see Lisa after four days, then I’m glad you didn’t marry Chris. Because you deserve to miss the hell out of somebody after four days, and you deserve to have them miss you too.”

Total: 11     2022: 65

Kindle/Ebook:  7  Print: 3    Audio: 1

Library: 8   Owned: 3 Borrowed: 0

Unread Shelf: 3  Purchased: 7 (I think)

Favorite: The Masterpiece

trash mishap, baby snuggles, books + tree down...

So this morning I got up walked the dogs and decided to put out the trash when we got back so I could spend the remainder of the time before getting ready for work with my coffee and Bible.

Well, the kitchen trash was also full so I went to empty it.  Pulled up on the bag to realize the bottom split and all the trash remained in the (now bagless) trash bin some spilling over onto the floor.

I stared at it dumbfounded for a moment. Trying to comprehend what had just happened and what to do next! Thankfully Bruno listened and stayed out of the mess.  I proceeded to get a new trash bag- transfer the trash, sweep up the floor. (Now thankful I did not get around to mopping last night!)  I ducked outside multiple times for fresh air, gagging from the icky, putrid trash smell.  Took the kitchen can outside to hose down and carried all the trash and recycling to the road for pickup.

I'm just having a day. I feel like I'm stuck in a funk. 😔

So here's some good.

Saturday the Mister and I went to a new-to-us breakfast place in town and I got these epic blueberry pancakes! SO GOOD!

Went to visit my sister in the afternoon and got to snuggle the new nephew.

Last week I had two coffee dates with three friends. 💖💗💖

Hannah made these amazing brownie cookie sandwich things.

Rhett saw this meme as we were sitting at the table Saturday morning before breakfast.  He laughed saying "I saw this post that reminded me of my wife and then saw that Jess had posted it in reference to YOU!" :P

My actual nightstand...

Monday night I made these Ham and Cheese Pinwheels.  They were super yummy.  The recipe is also in her Lunch Meal Plan.  I recently purchased a bundle of all her Meal Plan PDFs when they were on sale and have no regrets!

The kids also lingered for a bit at the table with me, which was nice.

Last night I was introduced to Mario Kart and had some quality time with Ryan and Hannah.  I'm not very good but we had fun!

 Then letting Bruno out noticed a big tree fallen across our backyard. But thankful that it appears no real damage done- other than to the tree itself obviously and even my hammock was spared.

Currently Reading:

Paperback for Book Club

I'm excited a couple newbies are joining this month! =D

We meet via Zoom the first Thursday at 7 pm eastern so feel free to message me for details,

 if you are interested in a Christian Book Club.

In eBook: because I am reading about Jacob in my devo time

An interesting biblical fiction from the perspectives of Rachel, Leah and Jacob. 

I have already read the previous two in the series Sarai and Rebekah

On audio:

I watched Inventing Anna on Netflix and it was fascinating. This book is written by one of her friends, who she scammed for thousands of dollars.

And just because. Chance.

Lake Pleasant Vacay Recap

Last week was our vacation on Pleasant Lake.  I am so thankful all five of us could spend the week together plus Hannah's friend, Kaydynce and Ryan's girlfriend, Nicole.  And the dogs got to come this year too!

Ready to go!

The house was down this narrow unpaved road- we all drove by it the first time.

And then a very long driveway.  This was nice because it was quiet and the dogs could be outside to play without worry.

View from back of house...

 The boys playing in the yard.

This is the bottom of the staircase to the lake. We were a little disappointed that the water access was farther away than we realized when booking the house.  It was a short hike and then down these crazy steep stairs built into the hillside.  It felt very sketchy- but we all survived them!

The kids swam at least once everyday.  The water dropped off almost immediately to like 20 feet so the dogs were too intimidated to swim-- not that I blame them in the least! Bruno did get brave a few times.

Chance would not go in at all.

Bruno went on his first boat ride and loved it!

 

Tuesday we went Alexandria Bay and played mini golf and at the arcade and purchased our annual vacation hoodies for everyone.

The hole-in-one club-

The kids with their arcade prizes

Lots of games were played.

Avacado Smash was a favorite! 

Fire and Smores

Wednesday we went to the Sunflour Bakery and Cafe

Thursday we had ice cream for lunch!  Mikayla's boyfriend was also able to drive up and spend the day with us.

We all went out to a nice dinner in A Bay that evening as well.  Rhett jokingly said the only thanks he wanted for the dinner was taking the kids picture with the Knight and they held him to it before we left :P

Friday our last full day we stayed at the house, Rhett's Dad and his wife came up to spend the day.  We spent the afternoon floating in the lake.

Chance and Poppi kept close watch over the crew in the water.

Saturday we packed up and headed for home!

Chance loved the dog bed at the house so much we ordered him one for home and it is huge!

Thankful for a wonderful week and already dreaming about where we will go next summer!

OH! I finished this book Jane of Austin - very cute, clean, sweet modern day retelling on Sense and Sensibility. 

I then spent the rest of the vacation (currently about half done) with Sense and Sensibility.

Also read a bit of the graphic novel on Hoopla. 

(It helped me get a better picture of what was going on).

 Ryan also read a bit.  I like that he keeps me updated on how the story is going ;)  and if his hunches are right as he reads.