What I'm Into in August

So - how about a look at what I'm into in August; or better yet a little recap of what I was into in July and what I'll be into throughout the month of August. Think of it as a little slice of my life.

Books I Read:
A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet by Sophie Hudson – This book was hilarious. I stumbled on Sophie’s blog by chance one afternoon at the office (after my work was done, thank you) and happened to notice that she had a book coming out. I needed something to read on my plane rides to and from Virginia and when I found this on the Google Play store for $8; I knew it was just the thing. The short stories describing life as a Southern girl are so on point that they are guaranteed to make any Southern girl crack up because we will all recognize the same traits. Sophie also talks candidly and openly about her walk with the Lord and I really loved that. It was encouraging, funny and sweet all at once. I let my Momma borrow it for the afternoon while in Virginia and she was cracking up.

Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo – I guess I am really late to the party on this book. I know several people who have read it and I have been interested in reading it for some time, but just never got around to it. I found this on the Google Play store ( I am really getting into this whole having books on a tablet thing) for $2! Just two little ol dollars! Well I couldn’t resist that deal, so I bought it. And I read it in two days. Two lunch hours to be exact. The book was fascinating and certainly gave me chill bumps on more than one occasion. While I don’t think I want to have a near death experience like Colton Burpo did, it must be amazing to have seen the things he saw while he was in Heaven. It’s a short book, so check it out!

Under the Dome by Stephen King – Okay, I am technically still in the process of reading this one. I am about 450 pages into what is a 1000+ page book. Thank goodness for tablets because the last 1000+ page book I carried around was HEAVY. This book is the premise for a new TV show this summer called...you guessed it, Under the Dome! The name of the series/book and the names of the characters are where the similarities end though. The premise is pretty simple – a dome suddenly sets down on the small town of Chester’s Mill, Maine and the story is what unfolds from there. Talk about some dirty small town politics; the town of Chester’s Mill is nuts! The book certainly seems to have a bit more of a creepy vibe to it but I’m extremely intrigued with it so far. A friend informed me that...SPOILER ALERT...The Dome comes down and after that things really get crazy. So, I can’t wait to see how things continue to unfold. Who knows, maybe I've become a Stephen King fan?

How would you act if you were...Under the Dome?

Books in the Queue:
Oh my goodness – I can’t believe I am writing this...but I don’t think I actually have any books in the queue. I read like I think books might be taken from me if I don’t gobble them up but for the first time in a long time, I’m not really sure what I’m going to read once I finish reading my Stephen King book. I’ve had some people suggest other Stephen King books and if you read this and have any suggestions, please feel free to let loose in the comments section (or on my Facebook page) and let me know!

Can't Miss Television:
Under the Dome – As mentioned above, this is the TV show that the book I’m reading is based on. It is nothing; let me repeat, nothing like the book. It is really a pretty good TV show though; it has the same level of intrigue and small town crazy that the book has, just handled a little differently. And since the show was just renewed for a second season, I’m going to go ahead and guess that the events under the dome on the TV show will stretch out a bit longer than the supposed one week that it takes in the book. All I know is that I’m very invested in the blossoming relationship between Julia and Barbie – and lest you be concerned, Barbie is a guy; Dale Barbara to be exact. Always the romantic, I need my love story...even if trapped under an impenetrable dome. Ha-ha!

Romance in the making? Possibly...

Naked and Afraid – I know, how crazy does that title sound? It is just about what it sounds like; depending on what you think it sounds like. This is the extreme of survival shows, no doubt about it. It comes on the Discovery Channel and they drop one man and one woman into the middle of the jungle, desert, swamp...you name it, completely naked and with one survival tool apiece. They have to survive twenty-one days and there is no reward at the end; no rewards except knowing you were able to survive. The show gets extremely intense sometimes...but then the tension is pretty quickly broken because...hello, naked butt! It’s a hoot, seriously.

True Blood – only three more episodes until the season ends; this season is shortened from twelve episodes to ten since Anna Paquin; who plays the main character, had twins just ten months ago. I need to meet her trainer because she doesn’t look like she had twins ten years ago, much less just ten months ago. She looks fierce. Anyway, this season has been excellent! I cannot believe I am writing that after last season was such a crazy, twisted mess but they have really rebounded in a spectacular fashion. The storyline is good, they are trimming out the unnecessary characters (which means death, so much death) and they added a gorgeous man to the cast – can we say hello to Robert Kazinsky! Thank goodness for a show that can resurrect itself from the misery that was season five; and yes, I get the irony of using the word resurrect in reference to a show about vampires. Hehehe.

Look-it! A new boy to watch on TV. *sigh*

Movies I've Watched:
Cowboys and Aliens – this is quite literally one of the only movies I have watched all month. I’m not sure what I’ve been doing for the whole month of July but apparently watching movies isn’t one of the things on the list. I recorded this because it was coming on HBO and I wanted something to watch on Saturday afternoon. This was actually not as completely crazy as I thought it would be; I know when I saw the preview last summer I thought it looked colossally idiotic but I really kind of enjoyed watching it. It stars Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig and Olivia Wilde and the premise is exactly what the title would have you believe; cowboys face off against aliens that have come to Earth looking for gold. The premise sounds insane but really, if you want a movie to watch I suggest you check it out because it was pretty good.

Not as crazy as it looks. Seriously.

Music I've Listened to:
I think that for this category it is a lot of the same old, same old. I still really like my Game of Thrones cds because the music is just quite beautiful. I did buy the soundtrack to the movie Dark Shadows a couple weeks ago and I know my Mom was probably pretty surprised because that has lots of music from the seventies; my favorites being: Nights in White Satin, No More Mr. Nice Guy, Season of the Witch and Top of the World. I sing the last one to my dog and he wags his tail in time to the music. Okay, maybe not perfectly in time but he does wag his tail. I bought a song today called Tightrope by Ron Pope (it rhymes...how funny!) that I am really loving but that is about all on the music front.

Yummy in My Tummy:
What have I found that has been delicious recently – well I just don’t know. I’m really pretty stumped in this whole post, huh?

The first week of July, my Mom and I visited a farmers market near my parents house and while we were there, we got a strawberry fruit slush made with fresh picked strawberries straight off the vine (bush, tree...what do they grow on? A bush!) that was delicious. The blackberries that were as long as my pinky finger were also pretty divine.

I made a new dish just last week that I also really enjoyed; it was called Chicken Florentine Casserole and I will most definitely be making it again. I have a whole post dedicated to that, so you can go check that out if you’re looking for something easy and absolutely yummy to make.

Happiness is:
Fleeting – it comes and goes. I know I was very happy the first weekend of July because I was able to spend four days with my family in Virginia. The more time passes with me in Mississippi and my family in Virginia, the more I know that is where my heart is. Im not saying happiness would be easier to come by if I was in Virginia but I do know that having family so close always makes me happier...and family for me is in Virginia.

Happiness is always, always my sweet little puppy. Most days he is; just like a little child, far too busy exploring and getting into things to have much time for me. But every once in a while, he will crawl up beside me in the chair, settle his head on my lap and just watch TV with me and that makes me very happy. It also makes me happy when he gets so excited when I come home each day. Nothing like the love of a sweet little pup!

Seriously - talk about a charmer!

What I'm Looking Forward to in August:
First and foremost, I am looking forward to getting my best friend back. He has been studying to take the Bar all summer and while I've seen him here and there, I haven’t seen him nearly as much as we usually see each other in the summer. Happily, he took the Bar the last two days of July and called me yesterday to ecstatically proclaim that he was done! I’ll be honest, I’m glad he is past all that law school nonsense, but I’m more glad to have the company of my best friend again!

Secondly, but also extremely important – I will be Colorado bound at the end of August. Yes, I still have 28 days to go until I leave but countdowns are what makes things fun. Also, the promise of glorious surroundings, time with my family, Falcon football and time away from work all make for a short vacation I am very much looking forward to!

28 days and counting...