Small Fry, Big Thoughts

Two nights ago, I finished reading Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs.  I've had it on my TBR list (as the cool kids say...I'd just as well call it my "reading list" because we all know that nothing on the reading list is still waiting to be read if it's on there since it would then be moved to the "read" list. nonetheless, TBR list is kind of cheesy to me, but I've been trying to be cool since about 1996, so there's no since in stopping now.)** for a while ever since my sister-in-law mentioned it months, maybe a year or so, ago.

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As is the case sometimes with books, at least for me, it got pushed further and further down the list over time.  Then a few weeks ago, I finished a book one night and was an eager beaver ready to start a new one.  I requested a few from Libby (my lady-love library app), and I downloaded Small Fry and something else at the same time.  I ended up reading the other one.  Sorry, Lis.  However, one day when I was knee deep in the other book, I accidentally clicked on Lis' work and read the first few lines, which went something like "Three months before my father passed away, I began stealing things from his house."

and I was like "OoooOOOoooh, girl! No you didn't!"

So then I was re-excited about reading it, and so I did.

For starters, bless dear Nathan for lending an ear to my rants almost every evening after reading a portion before going to bed.  I'd heard things over the years indicating that Steve Jobs (who shall henceforth be called "Steve" since that's what Lisa called him, and it's kind of ingrained in me now.) was maybe not really the nicest to people he'd either worked with, who worked for him, he'd encountered through the years, etc.  But I'd never really heard anything concrete to tie this notion down.  I'd just heard it generally and figured it must be true and also that you probably don't become a billionaire by being a really nice person. That is, unless you're Willy Wonka.

But oh my goodness, I had no idea what I was in for.  Between the manipulation and the physical and financial AND emotional withholding, and moodiness, and at times just being off-the-wall CRAY in his actions and words (e.g. asking your teenage daughter if she masturbates. Hello! Not really appropriate, Steve!), I don't think I'll ever think about Steve the same.

I should say, I know there are always at least two sides to every story, and this memoir was written by Lisa, and it was published after Steve's death so there isn't a whole lot of arguing he can do regarding the way he was painted in this book, but I also don't feel like this was an expose to get rich on her part.  I think, sure, she probably knew she could sell a few copies because people would be intrigued to read about Steve from an insider's perspective, a daughter he blatantly lied about fathering for many years, but there is just so much of a common thread in his actions and words throughout the book that it would be just too hard to make it all up.

I also know that there are times throughout my life where my dad disappointed me (and I'm sure I did the same to him. Maybe.  I was his angel child, so it doesn't compare to what my heathen brothers did. hah!), but as a whole, I love him and I'm so grateful for all that he did for me, and I'm also grateful that I didn't have Steve growing up.

Enough about crazy Steve.

The book was good, a four out of five stars on the Courtney Richter*** scale...whatever the hell that is.  I feel like I had more to say, but my time is running out, and I've got to keep some stuff for my memoir. 😉

Only 1 more day of 2020, folks!

**you're so welcome for that.

***If there's a Courtney Richter out there and you ever come across this blog after googling yourself, please DM or IM or something-M me. :)

Gretchen and Delia

Well......I didn't plan on taking a month off to update you on all the exciting changes happening around these parts, but life uh....finds a way.

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That doesn't make any sense.  You know what else doesn't make any sense? Nothing really changed about the coronavirus except that cases decreased a lot in some areas because everyone was social distancing/teleworking/wearing masks during the very limited number of outings they were taking and then SOMEBODY was like "Well, I guess we're through the worst of it.  Back to normal, folks!" ...and here we are again with the number of cases increasing skyrocketing...and when will my better half and I finally be able to venture out into the great unknown of glorious Dallas??? #firstworldproblems

Okay, I'll stop being a little storm cloud now.  Onward to sunshine and rainbows.

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Recent Reads

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After rereading one of my favorite books for the fourth fifth sixth time (I don't really know...more than a few, but less than the number of times Nath'n has watched The Empire Strikes Back), I decided to give a book I started years ago another chance.  Back in what I would guess was probably 2014, I decided to read The Happiness Project because it seemed like an interesting topic, it was a New York Times Bestseller, and who couldn't stand a little more happiness in their life? Win-win-win, right?

I remember getting through the first few chapters back in '14, but I wasn't as avid of a reader as I am these days.  So naturally after not picking it up very often and feeling like it was taking for-ev-er to get through (my fault, I thought), I decided it just wasn't for me.  Since then I've wondered if maybe it was just me, so why not give the ole gal Gretchen another chance!?

I was wrong.

While I won't say that I hated the book, it was rather hard at times to get through.  I've told myself in the past that if I'm just not feeling a book after a few chapters in, it's okay to put it down.  Coincidentally, Gretchen says the same thing in this very book.  There are plenty more fish in the sea books on the shelf.  But then I'd think "Well, that's what I did last time!" So I'd make myself keep trudging, and boy was it a trudge! I found parts of the book interesting and enjoyable (at times), but all-in-all, it just wasn't my favorite.  I feel like it could have been three-quarters, if not half as long as it was, and it was just really hard to relate to the author at times because she has such a different personality than me and values things differently than I do. I'd give it 2 stars.

Needless to say, it won't be my go-to stocking stuffer for family members this year.  Except maybe the ones who wronged me.  hahaha jk #nohateforgretchen

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My subsequent and latest read was Where the Crawdads Sing.  To be honest, I wasn't particularly stoked about starting this because I'd been burned in the past by a New York Times Bestseller (cough, cough-see above), and I sometimes get a little weird about a book that I feel like everyone raves about when it's probably not typically something I'd read.  I knew this was set in the south in the mid-20th century, and I'm more of a modern fiction person.  But I thought, you know let's just see.  I can always put it down if I'm not digging it.

I was wrong.

It was sooooooo good! Count me in on the bandwagon of people who really liked (maybe even loved or lurved) this book!  While it was more nature-descriptive than I may like at times, I will say the author, who is a zoologist, has a way with words.  It also had a good amount of suspense throughout, which is not the norm for my reading choices.  A few nights when I was going to bed, I was like "Lawd Jesus, please let me not have any nightmares about the Marsh Girl!" And then one night when I was brushing my teeth after a particularly suspenseful chapter, Nathan showed up behind me in the mirror after I had closed my eyes for a minute, and I was so startled! #scaredycat

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Anyway, it kept me guessing throughout about who may have murdered the town superstar, but I won't give it away in case you read this and don't want the ending ruined.  And by "you," I mean you, Nathan.  Hah!  (p.s. thanks for being amazing and reading my sorry excuse of a blog) Back to the book - all in all, it was a great read, and I'd definitely recommend it!! 5 stars, Delia!

So yeah.  That's about it on the reading front for now.  I've just started this, and I'm already digging the small intro portion I read last night.  Excited to report back here hopefully soon with my overall thoughts.

Until then (which may be a month, but let's hope not), keep it funky and fresh and for goodness sakes SOCIAL DISTANCE AND WEAR YOUR DAMN MASK!!!!

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**Who am I doing blog posts with back-to-back Jurassic Park gifs in my posts? Oh...Nathan's wife.

Something old, new, borrowed, and blue

Hello from the other siiiiiiiiide.

Still in lockdown, still working from home, so not really the other side, but I felt like saying it anyway.  Today marks the start of my 9th week of teleworking. So while I'm really enjoying no commute time in my day and more comfortable clothes and easier lunches and more time working out in the morning and working alongside Jim and this and that and the other, I do feel really bad for all of the people out of work or suffering from the sickness or loss of income, etc. etc., and it'll be nice when we reach "normal" again.

But enough virus talk for now! On to more exciting things like what is up with the title of this post? I'm actually kind of proud of myself for such a clever title and post idea.  (at least proud by my standards, which we all know are extremely low.)

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Something old

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I decided to brush the dust off my copy of The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail whilst I was waiting on the library to get off their sorry ass* lend me my next read, and boy howdy am I ever glad for making such an important decision.  For those of you sorry asses that don't know, this book, is phenomenal. Period. It has wit and intelligence and perfect segues and inspiration and why am I not already living in the woods in my own Walden, living off my bean patch, eating imaginary huckleberries, but am instead tied to THE MAN???  It is just so, SO good, y'all. And if you haven't read it, then you should, and you will love it and reread it from time to time and also send me a thank you note at my cabin in the woods.  Of course, it'll be from your cabin in the woods and will probably be written on a stone, written by using a sharp stone (apparently, it's really stony around your cabin), but I'll appreciate the gesture nonetheless. 😉 
p.s. I swear I'm not stoned.

Something new

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My last read, before I manhandled (with my brain and eyes) the aforementioned, was a book called The Girl He Used to Know (not to be confused with this.)  I had high hopes for it being another book I would love (like this one) or even really like (like this one), buuuuuuuuuut it wasn't. It wasn't horrible by any means, and I was nice enough to give it a 3/5 stars on GoodReads, but it just didn't do anything for me. It was an easy read and *SPOILER ALERT* was interesting reading a love story about a girl who is on the Autism spectrum and seeing how she perceives things, as well as how others perceive her (the chapters alternate between her point of view, as well as the point of view of her love interest), but again, nothing really spectacular.  There wasn't witty banter or a great plot, and the ending (which was spanned over the last 6 chapters or so) were centered on September 11th, and it just wasn't that great. In conclusion, if you're desperate, read it, but don't say I recommended it.

Something borrowed

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When I thought up this catchy title for the blog post, this was the hardest (#firstworldproblems) blurb for me to come up with, but then the perfect-est thing dawned on me that I had to vent about.  So for work, we have to/it looks really good to participate/learn in these continuing education type webinars.  In one last week regarding helpful ideas for paralegals, the former attorney leading the course was describing how to use a particular website to research case law and/or briefs that might be helpful to your (my) attorneys.  At one point, she said "And when you find these previously published briefs that could really be helpful, you should use the information.  It's not stealing - think of it more as borrowing. You're borrowing points and ideas someone else has already made or used."

While I understand what she's saying and have no issues utilizing this approach #butdon'tplagairize, it really bothered me that she thought to use the term borrowed to make it all sound... alright?  I got the impression she uses this verbiage often, considering the webinar I participated in was spread out over three sessions, and she used this "explanation" twice.  Just call a spade a spade, lady.  When I borrow a book from the library, I intend to give it back.  I don't think when you "borrow" language or ideas that you give it back. Except I guess you kind of do because you're not literally taking the text away from them and leaving them without it, but.... Okay, this post is already too long, and I've still got the blue part, but hopefully you catch my drift and agree that she should just use another word. *end rant.*

Something blue

Isn't that the most pitiful thing you've ever seen??

Oh my goodness - did we have an eventful weekend! On Saturday, Sagan seemed fine and dandy in the morning and afternoon, but then around dinnertime, he ralphed upchucked vomited tossed his cookies. Big deal, right? He's a cat and occasionally has hairballs and sometimes this happens.  Not this time - nosireee.  So then he tossed them again about an hour or so later, and not to be gross, but the substance contained... fewer cookies.  I swear this is important for the story - I'm not just being gross.  Fast forward to later and later in the evening, and more tossing and less and less cookies until it was like, poor thing - he's got nothing left in him except for bile.  (He also didn't eat or drink anything else after the initial tossing started.) So then I'm all in a panic like WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH OUR CAT?! and Nate is like I don't know, but we should plan on taking him to the vet on Monday (reminder, it's Saturday night), and then I am ferociously googling things like "feline acute vomiting" and "take cat to vet after excessive vomiting" and Nate the Great is probably like "if she's like this with our cat, what in the hell is she going to be like with kids?!?"

So the tossing continued to the point where it then started to contain blood (so sad, I know...and also gross - sorry), and it was 10:30 p.m., but we were like "okay - we need to go to an ER vet." So we did, and Sagan was a terror like he always is at the vet, but we didn't have to experience it because with COVID, no one was allowed in the vet, so they came to the car and got him.  Long story way too long - we went home with him that night after no sign of what the hell happened and then we had to take him back to the vet 12 hours later on Sunday morning and they sedated him and took x-rays and still NOTHING, and then he had a massive diarrhea explosion at the vet (thank god we were confined to our car just waiting on the verdict at this point) and they offered to keep him overnight but wanted thousand(s) (yes plural, and no I'm not kidding) of dollars to keep an eye on him, but we were like, please don't send us to the poor house, we'll take him home with us and administer meds and keep our own eyes on him.  And here we are today:

Already hard at work plotting his maniacal revenge for 2 vet visits.

So they shaved his arm for the IV because he got dehydrated after all of the aforementioned tossing and not eating or drinking, and now we think (and we're super hopeful) he's on the up-and-up, and so we can now make fun of his ridiculous appearance. :) And also really love on the little booger.

In a nutshell, we think these may have been the culprit because of reviews online that sounds similar to our problem, but maybe Sagan was just constipated and wanted to make a big show out of it!

*just wanted to clarify that anyone who knows me knows that i freakin' love the library and basically everything I say on here is nonsense and that librarians are heaven sent and should be paid millions of dollars.

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Updates and Mercy

It's been 487 days, and she's back with a bang, folks!

Not really...I just think that writing is therapeutic...cathartic...good exercise for my fingers something, so here goes.

I'll spare you (you=no one) the nitty gritty details of the past 487 days, but a lot has happened.  Tom Hanks died. Queen Elizabeth had a baby.  You know, the normal stuff that takes place over the course of a year and some change. In all seriousness,

• Nate the Great graduated! (A to the men! No doubts whatsoever in my mind, but SO glad he's done dealing with the college stuff from this place, and also SO SO glad that the funds in our savings account is no longer being slowly slurped away by that place!)
• We moved to Dallas!
• Coronavirus struck the earth, and we've all been on lockdown for the past ~6ish weeks give or take.

So yeah, I think that's all the blog post I have in me for now.  See you in another 487 days. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAxtVMuDYD8

(If you don't click that, you're dead to me.)

No, but really.  We're super excited to finally be living in Dallas.  We seriously considered the idea not long after we decided to sell our half of the granola company, but then things didn't align properly (aka the stars), and so it was pushed aside.  And then we'd keep talking about making it a reality but this, that, and the other would get in the way or convince us to hold off on it for now and then we almost bought a house in Shreveport, but then thank god we didn't because we decided to move to New Orleans for a job offer for me and then we were living in the big NOLA and then Nate had school to finish, and then...I've been rambling enough already, and this post was supposed to be about my most recent read.

Hah! Did you miss me? (again, you=no one)

But we're here*, and even though we were really only able to explore the city for a good week or two (after all the unboxing and "ughhhh where the hell are we going to put all. this. stuff?"), we're really REALLY excited about getting here and the next chapter of our lives.

Speaking of chapters... 

via GIPHY

I thought it might be fun for me to at least pretend that I should jump on the ole blogger every few weeks or so when I finish a book to A) document it and give my review of it, as well as B) make some kind of excuse to really just get my butt back to blogging/documenting life.  I mean, I've already rambled on for how long and look where were at.

Source...and get you a copy while you're there

I finished Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy last night, and I'll go ahead and let the cat** out of the bag (so he can breathe again), and let you know that I'd give it 5/5 stars!

It was a really interesting read about capital punishment and equal rights with an emphasis on death row, as well as how messed up our criminal justice system is, all while interweaving real life stories of men and women and kids (who became men and women) who were helped by Mr. Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative, or EJI.

The Civil Rights Movement and civil rights in general are something that I feel I've always been drawn to.  I always have felt that Rosa Parks in particular was someone I have looked up to, not to mention MLKjr, and after Nate and I visited the Civil Rights Museum and Lorraine Motel in Memphis this past August, I don't think I'll ever view that time period the same.  (Sidenote:  I highly recommend everyone go.  It's so well done, and overall, one of the best museums I've ever been to.)

Back to it - this book is so good, but also is heavy at times.  Some nights after I'd put it down, I'd just stare at Nate and say something like "I just don't understand how they can treat people like this." So if you're looking for a lighthearted beach read come July when your toes are submerged in the surf....who am I kidding, we will STILL be on Covid-19 lockdown come July.  All that to say, everyone should definitely read it, and we should all give our whole paycheck every month to the EJI because man..those people, Bryan Stevenson in particular, are saints.

Enough for now seeing that it's Sunday at 5 til' 5, and dinner ain't gonna make itself. 

*If you know this movie and love it (like you should), email me so that we can be BFFs.
**The cat already has enough trouble trying to breathe through his crusty, runny nose.

Updates from just around the riverbend

Waaaaasssssssup, my betches!*

I guess you could say it's been a hot minute or two or three since I last checked in, but we're alive and well over here and things couldn't be peachier!

Yesterday was Thanksgiving (holla), which is definitely moving up my list of Holidays Thou Art Loves.  I mean, who can complain about a holiday centered around eating and getting together with family and friends.  I'm going to begin writing my petition tomorrow to President Trump (*shiver*) that Christmas Eve going forth (after the 2018 holiday season - - -don't want to give the retail industry a heart attack this year) shall be deemed the fourth Thursday in December.  That way, we can all just have a nice, four-day weekend every year to celebrate and buy each other tons of crap we don't end up needing after about a month.

It irks me to no end since I've ventured into the bizz-world (and left behind the school-year-calendar days of yore) that we have to tango with families year after year to see who's doing Christmas when and how flippin' weird when it falls on a Wednesday so you end up working Monday and Tuesday (lookin' at you gub-ment) and then get Wednesday off, but have to go back Thursday and Friday, and no one is really there who has a say in the matter and the ones who HAVE to be there because they don't have a say in the matter aren't getting work done anyway! *whew*

In summary, please sign my petition.

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Nate the Great and I both had Thursday aka Needless Turkey Murder Day off this year, and we both took off Black Friday.  Here's looking at you 4-day weekend!  However, because of a little thing we like to call UNOh-no-when-will-Nathan-be-done-with-school, Nate's been hard at work starting/middling/completing projects and assignments before the end of the semester in about 2.53495 weeks.  So we said "See you in a few weeks Shreveport familia" and kicked it back real cool in The Big Easy with Sir Mix-a-Lot Sagan.

There we are, hard at work.

It's been quite nice.  We're on day 2 of 4 today, and while he's been hard at work doing schoolness, I've been making it a point to work out each morning and take care of things on my to-do list that I'm too lazy can't get to during the week.

We also had our first Completely Vegan Thanksgiving, and it was grand.  We both still over ate (and over drank....we haven't had booze in 11 days before last night...trying to get in ultimate shape in early 2019!), but it was quite tasty to put it lightly.  We had Corn Souffle (which I vegan-zed, and we couldn't tell a difference), these Heavenly Green Beans (which were top notch --we'll fo sho be having them again before next year) and homemade Drop Biscuits that I found in this gem.  Photo overload commencing in 3....2....1...

Corn Souffle bay-bay...made with vegan butter and vegan plain almond milk yogurt instead of sour cream.  SO GOOD!

Aptly named Heavenly Green Beans

A hottie testing a hot biscuit...yum-mie! ;)

Naturally, I had to test it, too!  And Jim subtly included his thumbs-up approval.

My first plate...but not my last.

(sorry for the crap-quality lighting, futureCourtney.  You prepared and ate this for dinner, so natural light was a no-go.)
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I've been trying to read some of my new book that I took a chance on, and so far it's not half bad.  I just blazed through Liane Moriarty's new release, Nine Perfect Strangers, because 1) I'm a fan-girl and 2) the good ole NOLA Public Library only loaned to me for 2 weeks (compared to the usual 3 weeks, not counting the 2 renewals allowed) because it's a new release and in high demand.

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I really wanted to love it since I loved a few of her previous ones, particularly this one and this one, buuuuuut it just didn't hit the spot exactly.  I will say that it was still an enjoyable read and the lady knows how to write, but this didn't top the list for me.  I did tell Nathan that I bet this one will be made into either a movie or a show...and this is coming from a non-bettin' woman. ;)

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I want to do a better job of blogging more (burnt record, volume 7), as well as somehow documenting recent reads because I figure that will be fun to read back through one day when I'm consistently up at ungodly hours trying to get a little one to eat, and then I can sob even louder as I remember the days when I actually had time to pick up a book...but we'll see what I can do.  P.S.  I'm not pregnant.

So...in no particular order:

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Troublemaker:  Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini
This was a really enlightening read about the world of Scientology.  Holy graham cracker is it a messed up world!  I learned a lot, and I'm curious to pick up another Scientology read in a few weeks by the lady who was married to the head honcho.

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The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Oh, John Green.  Boy, you know how to write!  I was a little skeptical about picking this one up since it because so popular and was made into a movie, buuuut there's a reason for that.  It's YA fiction (which is right up my alley..ain't no shame in the game), and it was an enjoyable read.  I watched the movie afterwards even though the book is ALWAYS better, and my theory held true.  There's just so much they leave out and details and nuance and look at me pretending I know how to critique movies with big, fancy, French words. ;)

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
I LOVED this!  I've previous read her book Attachments, and I really liked it, but this one soared high and above.  I can only hope that my teenage daughter comes to me one day asking for a book suggestion because she's hit a lull, and I will literally go buy this and throw it in her FACE and reread it with her.! P.S.  Again, not pregnant.

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Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
This was cute, and I really liked that I fully grasped all the southern references (like things in Texas and homecoming corsages), but after reading the last sentence and realizing it was the end, I audibly said (and I kid you not) "That's it!?!" Nathan was on the couch and replied "Did you not like it?"  I just didn't expect it to end how it did and because of the way the chapters were set up in my copy NOLA Public Library's copy, I had no idea another chapter wasn't ahead.  It was cute and fun, but I only just liked it.

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Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be by Rachel Hollis
I jumped on board this gravy train because it was a new release and already turning into a bestseller, and I'm glad I did. The format was a chapter for each of the 20 lies we (as women) tell ourselves, and I liked a lot of the points she made. Two quotes I really, really liked were:

"This is true of race, religion, political affiliation, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, and any other category we can dream up. Doing life with people who don't look or think or vote like us is the whole point--it's our call to arms! Love thy neighbor wasn't a suggestion; it was a command, you guys. How in the world are you going to love your neighbor if you don't know your neighbor? I don't mean waving hello at the grocery store; I mean actually pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zone and doing life with different kinds of people . . . even if we wonder if they're getting it all wrong. Heck, especially if we think they're getting it all wrong. We need to be in a wider community not because we're attempting to sharper their clarity on a subject but because we're hoping to soften the edges of our own hearts."

"Every year you close a new chapter in your story. Please, please, please don't write the same one seventy-five times and call it a life."


...til next time!


*the one person on the interwebs who mistakenly stumbled across my blog at 3am and was like "WTF is this crap - - I need help studying for my law degree."

A Productive Morning

Goooooood Saturday morning, everyone!

Just a few tidbits, musings if you will to kick off your weekend...

• It's 7:52am on a Saturday, and I feel like I slept in. Say what?! I've already done yoga and had breakfast and killed some time stalking or reading up on not-really-social-media.  With my new get-up-at-the-butt-crack-of-dawn-to-work-out-before-work schedule, my body doesn't not (double negative for the win!) get sleepy at 9:30pm on Friday night.  So off to bed I went no later than 10 and was pretty much wide awake at 6 this morning.  Now that you know the only things I've done for the past 2 hours, my morning doesn't seem so productive anymore. 

• Upon walking into the kitchen this morning, I noticed my driver's license on the counter.  Hrmm....nothing else around it so I wondered if one of two things happened.  1) Nathan found it on the sidewalk or something last night and put it on the counter.  2) Nathan got it out of my wallet last night to make online purchases or steal my identity in some way or another.  Now I know what you're thinking:  how could he make online purchases with a license?  I don't understand it either, folks, but he's a wizard and I don't think clearly just a few minutes after waking and lying in bed for 30 minutes looking at Facebook friends' beach pictures.  Apparently, in my mind, my husband ventures outside and to the ends of the earth on the worldwideweb after I go to sleep at night.  Who knew!?

• Impossible Foods is a really cool company that set out to create a plant-based burger that is also better for the environment and uses no meat.  They succeeded and created the Impossible Burger.  Word on the street aka their Instagram this week is that it's finally going to be available in certain Texas locations.  So guess where we're eating the next time we venture to Dallas!? So excited to try it and encourage more companies to think more outside the box! Yum-my!

• I made these bars on Wednesday night as a breakfast option for us, and I was a little nervous they were going to be too earthy/natural/bleh, but they are really good!  I've made a few of Angela's recipes (we're besties on a first name basis), and they never disappoint.  A few others off the top of my head are Adriana's Favorite Pasta, Chickpea Salad, and a staple for years now - Blueberry Banana Pie Overnight Oats.

• I started a new book last weekend.  It's my first fiction pick in a very long time, so I searched and hunted for something that others recommended so as not to be disappointed and retreat into a non-fiction cave forever.  I found that Grace highly praised it here, and she's a cool cat so I figured I'd give it a try.  So far, so good!

That's about all I've got on this gorgeous, glum Saturday morning for ya (thank you, Tropical Storm Cindy).  If you're just now waking, I give you permission to dive head first into a bowl of Frosted Flakes and think about the next two days NOT slaving away for the corporation/man/etc.  You slave away for you, darling! 😘 (or your kiddos/laundry basket/chore list)

**EDIT:  Nathan woke up, and the answers to the license on the counter came alive.  He said he found it on the scanner last night.  Suuuuuure.  Last week I needed him to scan it for a job application, and we left it there.  So I've been illegally driving for over a week and had no idea that my license wasn't tuckered away in my wallet. Mystery solved.

Updates 'Round Here

Two weeks without a post - what in the world is wrong with me?  That's a loaded question that we don't have time to analyze right now, but I'll highlight some things for ya to fill you in on the exciting life and times of Courtney.  Strap on that three-point harness...(also, I decided to put the subject before each so if you're not interested in that topic, then you won't waste more of your precious Sunday reading crap.  I can't promise any of them are better than crap, though.)

• BODY ENHANCEMENT- So I feel like I've been toying for years or months about waking up early and working out before work.  The other day after discussing it yet again on our trip to Dallas with NatetheGreat, I decided to pull that trigger.  For about 2 weeks now, I've been getting up at 5:30 (YOWZA is right!), and alternating between Jillian's Kettlebells, Insanity, and yoga before work.  I then shower, since even yoga gets me drenched because I'm not about to stank up the law office, and off to work I go - endorphins a'blazing.  And to be honest:  it hasn't been that bad! It's hard when the alarm clock goes off, but not really any harder than before when it would go off and I just had to get up and start getting ready.  I also LOVE not having to work out after work.  I'm still trying to get used to my routine after work and getting dinner ready and such since I'm going to bed an hour earlier, but I'm sure we'll find a new groove that works.
  

• MIND ENHANCEMENT - Along that same note of trying to better myself, I also feel like I've been blabbing for months or years about how I wish I read more books.  I enjoy reading books and I feel like I read a lot here and there (tons of motions and objections and responses and drafts at work + blog posts + news articles online when I should be reading motions and objections and responses and drafts at work), but I haven't been the best lately at making books a priority.  So on our trip to Dallas, I was looking for this one and this one to kick off that new habit/priority, but Half Price Books didn't have either.  Don't worry, it's still one of the greatest stores in the world.  I did randomly pick up Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling and started reading it in the store to see if it was any good.  Lo and behold, Mindy has a way with words and I left with it and wanted to continue reading ASAP.  I finished it about two weeks ago and would definitely recommend it.  I think I eventually might read her follow up to it, but I wanted to spread them out a bit.  I followed up with Presto and really enjoyed it.  Whereas I would recommend Mindys' work of art to any gal-pal or person on the street who wants to laugh and seems to have some personality, I will say I wouldn't recommend Penn's book to just anyone.  I really enjoyed it and loved the minute details about his weight loss journey, but he is not afraid of using colorful language and expounding on his atheism.  Neither of these issues bothered me, so I would give it 5 stars, but I'm not going to run off telling the people of Shreveport who attend the Southern Baptist Convention regularly that they should read about this magician.  Side note - I've always enjoyed watching bits and pieces of Penn and Teller on the telly, but this definitely made me want to see their show live. 

• FAMILY ENHANCEMENT - I know you probably think I'm grasping at straws with that title, but bear with me.  You will soon see how it works on this one.  Today is Father's Day, and we've had quite a weekend celebrating both dads.  On Friday night, we had dinner at Nathan's sister's house with lil Luna-Bear, MontyQ, Pops-G, Moms-G, and Auntie Dubya.  These are not what we call any of these people, but you don't care cause you don't know them.  It was a good meal and good company!  Then on Saturday night, just Nate and myself took Pops-G and Moms-G out to dinner for Father's Day.  We had Chinese food, and I tried not to engorge myself, but you know...it's a struggle sometimes.  Then we had a Mexican lunch with my Papa Roach, Bess the Mess, and Matt....and his new lady lover.  Boom! Family enhancement right there because she's a keeper.  Honestly, sans his first two girlfriends in high school, he hasn't been with a girl who isn't bats#$% crazy.  So everybody cross your fingers and toes he doesn't ruin this. 😉

So a fun-filled weekend of eating and socializing with people we share last names with.  Toodles for now and sorry if this post didn't enhance your life.