Getting Back to "Normal"

Hey there! It's been a while. I was last here on my wedding anniversary...almost two months ago, practically the whole summer. I know that summer is almost over because I know that school is about to start and I know that school is about to start because I will be working for a high school come August 18.

Cupcake and pom poms that I made.

Yes, these past two months have been hectic and stressful and full of many changes (like me going to interviews, getting a new job and telling my boys that I will be leaving). There has been so much I have wanted to share here and just haven't had the time or mental capacity or, at times, both. But most of it is good stuff and it is finally starting to settle down. I have books to review and stories to share and recipes to show you (of food that I was too busy eat in its entirety). I also have a few craft projects to show you.

Swimming spot in Monte Rio

Just to get the ball rolling, I'll tell you about my last few days. To celebrate my best friend's upcoming 30th birthday, we went to a cabin on the river. I got a little bit toasty on the beach and spent some time with people I love.  I also joined Instagram. @msjessicamae

My favorite kid in the world

After a nice mini vacation, I was driving home with my windows down and felt a sharp pain on my lower cheek/jaw. A bee had come shooting into my face with such force then when it stung me it didn't fly away, it was still attached to my face. I had to pull the bee off before pulling the stinger out. It was insane! My face is still sore but I am now wishing I had taken a moment when I stopped freaking out and took a picture of it...oh well.

Guerneville Bridge

Weekly Refresh

~currently involved with~ sitting in the car so this is a photo edition of Weekly Refresh. The husband and I are taking a quick trip to celebrate our anniversary today.

~taking with me~ 

~moving on from~

Uggh...I-5

~ quote of the week~

Source

Weekly Refresh

~currently involved with~ life. This post is coming a day late because yesterday I was all wrapped up in hanging out at a beautiful pool at a friend's house. The temp got close to 100 so it was the perfect day to have a little water fun.

~tanking with me~ a nice tan (maybe even a bit of a burn) and I'm a bit worn out today but we have a mellow Memorial Day planned so I'm happy. Also I'm taking some muscle aches into the coming week after finding the giant trampoline. Man those things are fun...and a workout.

My sis and a friend's kid

~moving on from~ not much really. I'm having trouble finishing any books. Part of it is that I haven't had as much reading time as usual but I also can't stick to just one book. I keep book bouncing and it is killing me. 

Awesome view from the pool

~quote of the week~

"If we love our country, we should also love our countrymen." -- Ronald Reagan

Have a good Memorial Day. 

Weekly Refresh

Killing time with one of my boys.

~currently involved with~ pretty much the same thing as last time. Reading and killing a bunch of weeds. The weed killing thing is going fairly well...however, with the drought I also have a knack for grass killing as well. :(

~taking with me~ a lot of new clothing items because that is what happens when you wake up early on a Sunday to go to brunch for your friends 30th birthday and have a mimosa with lunch and then think it's a good idea to stop at Target for "just a couple necessities." My pocketbook took quite a hit due to my lack of inhibition. Apparently my virtue isn't the only things that gets loose with champagne...

~moving on from~opening my closet and saying "I have nothing to wear." Thank you mimosa!**

~quote of the week~ I had a lot of fun with one of my work boys yesterday making a random mini story (see above photo). I was the green pen and we traded back an forth. He was having a rough day so it made me laugh even harder when I read his last line. For ease of reading:

There once was a monkey named Fred
and her liked hot cheetos
but he only ate them on Monday mornings
but there's an exception on Tuesdays when he's in a good mood
and when he was in a good mood on Tuesdays he liked to eat them with chocolate and rainbow sprinkles
...yea that was a one time thing for Fred.

**please note that while I did in fact have one mimosa, a desire for new clothes for the coming heat was more to blame for my poor inhibition than booze. However, when I tell my husband about the credit card bill, the mimosa with take the fall. Please drink and shop safely.

Happy Mother's Day

To all the moms out there....

This is the first card/gift I have received for Mother's Day. It was from one of my work boys. 

Weekly Refresh

 

Went out for a walk and found a bench to hang out on

~currently involved with~I'm currently reading Time and Again by Jack Finney and finding it enjoyable but I wish I had more time to really sit down and get into the story. I'm hoping to make that happen over the next couple days.

~moving on from~ Weeds...I am so over weeds. They have taken over my backyard and my husband really wants to spray them but they are all around raised beds where I'm growing delicious veggies so I am holding him back from that. We have a bocce ball court in our backyard (there when we moved in, it makes me feel old but I've actually had a ton of fun with it) and the rock chip crap that makes up the court is around the beds too, making this really weird weed growing situation that looks awful and is really high maintenance. Hoping to find a solution soon.

~taking with me~ I went for a hike on Wednesday with my work boys. Since a hike through the forest in 90 degree weather didn't sound too appealing, we decided to take them out to the ocean. We had a nice 20 minute hike down to the beach and then played some football. Now, those of you not from CA may imagine beautiful, always hot and always packed So Cal beaches. You know, the ones from The O.C. and Baywatch (I'm a bit ashamed those are the only two shows I can come up with right now) but up here in Northern California the ocean tends to be foggy and the water is freezing and can be a bit dangerous. Well we got so lucky and it was about 85 while we were there. We had a blast (even if it was almost too hot for some of my boys) and we even saw a whale as we were hiking down! It was my first whale spotting and man was it cool.

~quote of the week~  

Sandwich gone, back to bed.....THE END

The last line of the longest text my husband ever sent me after he found a sandwich in the fridge and couldn't remember if I had made it for him or my lunch the next day. I told him it was for him while he was half asleep and he apparently wasn't certain he wasn't dreaming.  The entire text was hilarious and included things like "the symphony of sounds echoing from my empty stomach" and "There is no note claiming ownership...I'm pretty sure it's safe and I'm not making this up."
 

The post in which I eat my words

You may remember a post I wrote back in December about my feelings towards Marvel but more importantly about Captain America. I may have even called him a *ahem* bore. Well, I went to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier today (I took one of my boys from work in case you are wondering why I would watch a sequel to a movie I couldn't even finish) and I was all like.....

HOT!!

HOT! and HOT!

HA! That's funny.

Badass chick!

Remind me again why I thought the Captain was boring. Umm...I think what I meant was he is HOT!

I had actual thoughts while I was watching the movie that I wanted to put down here but now I can't remember what any of them were. I know that I am going to be watching the first movie in its entirety and I know that I probably would have been crying during certain parts if I had been more invested in the characters but it might be good that I wasn't, at least for the sake of the teen boy sitting next to me who would have been super embarrassed if I started crying in the theater. Although I do tell the boys that it is my goal in life to embarrass them.

If you are looking for an actual post about the movie and not just ramblings from a recent convert who has a new love for The Captain. I would recommend checking out this post from The Literary Omnivore.

I'll leave you with a cute quote.
I had planned the movie when I thought more of my boys would have been going and when it turned out to be only one I was bummed he was the one who isn't really into superhero movies. I asked him why and his response was "I like villains." Well okay then. Then, as the credits rolled, he turned to me wide-eyed and said "There's gonna be another one, huh."