Alabama + Graffiti

Hooray for being Friday – hooray for it being the end of another week.  A crazy emotionally charged week as well.

It’s the first day of summer break for the kiddo – it’s our first summer break, as well.  With daycare, he still went every day of the summer, so we’re trying to get this figured out.  We’re actively looking for any and all camps – and any and all activities.  Bennett and I are still working full-time, so I’m really worried that he’ll be spending a lot of summer trying to get our attention.  I plan on working from home a lot more so B doesn’t get completely burned out.  Plus, I’m really over a lot of what is going on at that office, and would much prefer to just stay home anyway.

Yesterday was Sheff’s last day of kindergarten!  He had a pretty relaxed week at school – field day, bubble and sidewalk chalk day, board games day and to end it, movie and popsicle day.  He had early release on both Wednesday and Thursday.  The teachers were all out there clapping and telling the kids good-bye.  It made me tear up something crazy.  His kindergarten teacher sent them home with a sweet little goodie bag, and had hand written a note on the bag telling the kids that she loved them.  It was so sweet.  I put it in his kindergarten memory box.  Sheff has done a lot of growing between the first and last day!

I had taken a half-day and B cleared his schedule, so we picked him up yesterday after school and went for a Chick-Fil-A picnic.  We then headed over to Sugar in Mountain Brook to pick up his candy surprise.  Y’all – these people are the sweetest.  They are local and have a huge assortment of candy, and they even do sno-cones.  I DM’d them over Instagram, and she made up an all-red candy jar for Sheff and topped it off with balloons.  Y’all, it was about $20 and Sheff loved it.  They can customize almost everything for what you want – and the girl in the store was so sweet with Sheff when we took him in yesterday.  We let him get a little extra bag of candy that he could pick up, and we got a TON of it for only about $8.  If you’re local, definitely check them out.

After his candy surprise, we had one more in store for him.  We headed to the bowling alley for some bowling and arcade fun.

I’m excited to start this tradition – an end of school year celebration is always a good idea.  Sheff brought home a great “report card” excelling in all the areas a kindergartner has to nowadays.  We’re super proud of him and the awesome little person he is.

I’ve had some severe issues dealing with work this week – basically my half day wasn’t a true half day, as I was expected to continue to work.  Usually, I am quiet about those things, but I was pretty upset.  I have asked for my four hours back, and I haven’t heard anything.  Does anyone have advice on how I should proceed?  Do I go to HR?  I don’t know the protocol here, but as someone who rarely takes time off and never calls in sick, and works most weekends, I feel like I deserve those four hours back.  Or tell me if I’m being crazy, too.

We’ve got another baseball game tomorrow,  and then hopefully a low-key weekend.  The weather is not supposed to be as hot as it has been, so we’ll definitely be outside the majority of it.  I hope you guys have a great long weekend (if you get it!)!

I haven’t had the best of luck when it comes to Target lately, but that’s mainly their clothes.  I can’t wear that Wild Fable brand at all, and even the New Day line that I had previously had luck with, just hasn’t been working for me lately.  But below are a few things that have been great!

 

// SGX Leave In Heat Protection Lotion and Primer – I picked this up because it claimed to cut blow-drying time.  And since I’ve been having to go in the office more (which also means, I have to wash my hair more often – less desirable side effect of the world reopening), I wanted to spend less time blow drying my hair.  I was shocked that this actually worked, and loved the extra heat protection.

// SUGARBAR by Baublebar Beaded Bracelet – I’m loving this beaded bracelet trend.  And what better saying than “Good Vibes?”  I love how this looks stacked with a few other bracelets around my watch.  It’s comfortable and gives me a good reminder throughout the day.

// Ruffled Crossband Sandals – I love shoes, because my size never changes, and I don’t have to go through as much self loathing as with normal clothes.  These are super cute with jeans and dresses, and they are really comfortable.

// E.L.F Metallic Eye Shadow – Y’all, this is almost an exact dupe of the Glossier eye shadows that I love so much, except these are only $5!  They are super pretty on, and even have a few that have glitter in them.  My favorite colors are Comet and Little Dipper – they look so pretty on!

// Ribbed Cut-Out One -Piece – Swimsuits are the devil, right?  I ordered this one, because I loved the Acai color, but the fit was even better.  It’s high-waisted enough to go over my mom-pooch, and the thicker straps on the top hold me in better than any other swimsuit I’ve tried.  The material is super comfortable, and I feel really supported.  And it shows a little bit of skin, without being completely over the top.  Definitely one of my favorite swimsuits I’ve ever bought.

Let me know if Target has been hit or miss with you lately on the clothes, too, or if you’ve had any great luck with anything!

I tweaked my back yesterday something fierce.  I’ve literally been sitting at home all day, working of course, but with a heating pad against my back.  It happens sometimes – but it’s been really bad this go around.  So I’m just going to take it easy for the next couple of days, no working out (which is literally my only stress release these days), and plenty of rest.  I usually tend to re-watch Harry Potter when I don’t feel well, so I expect to at least make it through 3 of the movies.

Anyway, last Friday night, we ordered in some Indian food.  Sheff and I watched Up, and then Secret Life of Pets 2.  I was exhausted from last week, so early bed time!

Saturday, I got up and got a ride in before Sheff’s baseball game.  It was a bit warm outside, but luckily those kids pulled out a win.  They looked the best they have all season, and it was so fun to watch them.  It was a later game with a start time of 11, so we headed to Taco Mama for margaritas and queso.  We decided to “open” the pool since it was going to be so warm.  We spent the rest of the day outside.  Sheff was exhausted, so he decided he wanted to go to bed early, and B and I watched The King of Staten Island.  We’re not huge movie people, but that one was really really good.

Sunday, we spent all day outside in the pool.  Bennett made some really good poolside drinks, and Sheff got to blow up his brand new pool float.  And we also busted out the water balloons.  It was a nice relaxing way to end the weekend.

This week marks the last week of Sheffield as a kindergartner.  I plan on taking a half day to take him to a celebratory lunch and to do something fun.  He has already asked for a pizza dinner to celebrate, so who am I to say no?  I hope to keep it a tradition as long as he’ll let me.  Also hoping that I’ll be able to walk by Thursday, but we’ll see.

Cheers to a good week!

My creativity has taken a nose dive lately.  I keep a notebook on me at all times, and when something strikes me, I normally write it down and come back to it later.  Let’s just say, that notebook has been nothing but giant blank pages, lately.  I miss doing something creative, especially since my work requires none of that part of my brain.  Sometimes, when the creativity slips, I feel like something is missing.  All that to say, I feel like something is missing lately.  Anyway…

Friday, I walked down to Chipotle for lunch, and saw the cute logo for Birmingham Legion soccer team stenciled near the Rotary Trail in Birmingham – apparently they were playing a match at Legion Field – who knew.  I read later that it was one of the largest attended events, so there ya go.  I also got in my new mug from Arroyo in Austin, TX.  Last week, I had had it with one of my coffee mugs that had metallic paint on the handle, and every time it came out of the microwave, it would burn the crap out of me.  But if you throw away a mug, you gotta replace it, right?  Bennett’s parents joined us for a pizza dinner Friday night on the patio.  The weather was so beautiful Friday night, so it was nice to sit on the patio and just hang out.

Saturday, Sheff had quite the cheering section for his game.  B’s parents came, as well as a few of our other friends.  Sheffield played first, but didn’t get too many balls to come his way.  He did really well on his hitting though, and he brought in the tying run.  No defense played that day, so the game ended in a 20-20 tie.  After the game, we went to get a Mexican lunch with B’s parents.  Then we spent the rest of the day outside in the sunshine.

Sunday, I got up and went running around shopping with my sister in the morning.  For lunch, B took me to Back Forty Brewing (which I’d seriously been craving!).  Their burger is the best in Birmingham – I could seriously eat one every day.  After that, we stopped by Big Spoon Creamery for some ice cream – because, why not, right?  And they have the best strawberry milkshake ever.  Bennett had started getting the “pool” ready for Memorial Day, so the crazy kid messed around in the water when we got home, while the parents juts chilled and listened to music.  After we went inside, it was honestly just chill out time.  Sheffield watched some of his shows, and we watched ours.  Sheff ate dinner and then came to chill with us in the living room.  B and I had popcorn for dinner and watched Line of Duty – which was horrible, and I don’t recommend.  The only reason we clicked on it was because it was filmed in Birmingham, and most of it right on the the street where I work.

It was a really good weekend – even though I had to work an awful lot. it was also the first weekend in a long time that I didn’t crack open a book at all.  I am glad for the family time and good food.  And clearly, Sheffield got his reading on this weekend – I love coming into his room and finding him asleep with a good book over his chest.

I hope y’all had a great weekend!

(linking up with Steph and Jana for SUYB)

The Sanatorium – Sarah Pearse // Oh wow.  I really liked this book – I was honestly hooked by page 10, and couldn’t stop it.  I loved all the characters and how they wove into each other – I loved the underlying family dynamic part of this book, and it even gave you a cheeky little epilogue.   It had that all alone in the wilderness vibe that makes the book extra creepy for me, which is always a plus.  Definitely recommend!!

The Lost Apothecary – Sarah Penner // Another really, really good one.  This one was so interesting!  I loved Caroline and Gaynor and Nella and Eliza – all strong, bad ass females.  I loved how the story went back and forth between England late 1700s, and present day, and I loved the mystery woven into the story.  It was just really really good, and I’m glad virtual book club made this pick.

Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller // Man, can she write a mythology book.  This was so good.  I did not know of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus, and this book put you right there.  The book is told from the viewpoint of Patroclus, and you can feel everything he feels.  It was incredibly well-written – detailing how the relationship developed as they were young boys and through the Trojan War.  I’ll be in a book hangover over this one for quite awhile.

The Last Victim – Jason Moss // One of B’s coworkers, who has become a true-crime friend, told me about this book.  We share good true-crime podcasts, documentaries, etc, and he sent me this book.  This author sent out letters to infamous serial killers – Gacy, Ramirez, Manson – to try to get into their brains.  He actually found himself sitting next to Gacy in prison weeks before his execution.  This book is incredibly graphic and at some times disturbing, so if that bothers, you skip it.  Definitely an interesting and super creepy read.

Black Buck – Mateo Askaripour // I flew through this book – it was so good.  I loved how real the whole book felt the entire time.  Darren is such a well-thought out character, and his supporting cast of characters and even the tiny twist at the end was just well-written and interesting.  Loved this one.

Galatea – Madeline Miller // A super-super short story, but Madeline Miller owns my mythology loving ass.  A statue who was blessed by the gods and became alive and gave birth – she does what she needs to save her child.  I need more from her!

Pretty Things – Janelle Brown // I really liked this one – I was worried at first since it was a bit long, but it kept my interest the whole time.  I loved Nina, and how she came into her own throughout this whole book.  I really like how the story came full circle, and Nina’s realization how the person you trust the most can sometimes be the complete opposite.