It's Me Again

It's me again - back after yet another week (or more) of no posting! I suppose I earn the "bad blogger" award; if such a thing exists. Life has been both exciting and not very exciting the last few weeks and so I haven't really had a lot to share! 

I will wind it back to LAST Friday because I am proud to share that my work to convert Ryan to a person who loves Mexican food may actually be nearing completion! He actually chose to go to a Mexican restaurant after our first choice didn't quite pan out - and my Mexican-food loving heart was beyond thrilled! It's the giant burritos that reeled him in! He can't resist a steak and chicken burrito! 

 

On a completely different tangent - my sweet in-laws surprised my parents by making the trip from Florida to Mississippi to see my Dad's labor of love project: The East Mississippi Veteran's Foundation Memorial Park! I knew they were planning this little trip and I was so excited that it came off without a hitch and they were able to surprise them! The project is really coming along so amazingly and I can't wait to get a chance to see how far it's come!

Ryan and I (inspired by the study my ladies group is doing) are really trying to make it a priority to really make Sunday a "restful" day - truly a Sabbath day, like it's supposed to be. We traditionally spend our Sunday afternoons doing laundry, getting the house put together and just rushing around to prepare for the work week ahead - and honestly, it leaves me (us) feeling more tired as the week starts! And that's not how a Sunday is meant to be! 

 

So we really have made a concerted effort the last two weeks to make our Sundays much more "restful". Last weekend we went to the pool after lunch and spent about three hours just doing a bunch of nothing by the pool: reading, listening to music, swimming around and chatting. It was much more restful than running around doing things! We had an amazing dinner and just relaxed on Sunday evening - and I truly felt more rested on Monday! 

This last weekend wasn't too full - but it kicked off early on Friday because we got off work at 3:00! Granted, that has been happening pretty frequently lately, but it's still always nice when it happens! I joined my co-workers to see the Barbie movie (A-) and enjoyed a Malibu Barbie with my popcorn! I thought the movie was really funny and while portions were a little silly, overall the movie was such a fun watch and made some excellent points - and don't even get me started on America Ferreira's monologue - it was powerful!

The rest of Friday ended up being really chill - the weather got a little wild on Friday evening and so Ryan and I decided our best bet was to grab a pizza, stay home and just chill! And we did just that! Saturday morning we headed to Woodstock to do some work to get the house ready to be sold - and man, the storm damage was pretty incredible! 

 

 

We were so surprised by the storm damage but thankful our townhouse still looked great - and we also had power! Several places in the area were without power and so we considered ourselves pretty lucky to have electricity to sand and spackle and move the final things out of the house! We will have to spend this upcoming weekend painting the interior - but thankfully, once that's done and the yard is all cleaned up, we will be ready to have it cleaned and get it on the market! *Whoosh* We relaxed Saturday evening - Ryan grilled some amazing burgers and we watched a movie together!

The sunset on Saturday night was pretty spectacular (I stole all these pictures from my husband - his phone's camera is superior to mine) and I couldn't resist sharing some of the pictures! Sunday was a pretty chill day - trying to do that whole Sabbath thing right, you know? After church service online, Ryan ran some errands and we headed to the Alamo to see Oppenheimer. 

That was a LONG movie y'all - I don't think I realized it was three hours long! It was a good movie but man, the last forty-five minutes did seem to drag a bit! We rounded out our weekend with some Panda Express and just chilling, watching a little TV and getting to bed early! 

Can anyone else believe that July ends today? June was a LONG month for us - but July has seemed to fly by and I cannot believe August starts tomorrow! Which also means there are only five months left in this year! 

Recent Reads

The reading of all the books continues - and so I wanted to pop back in and share some of the books I've read in the last couple months! I've read twenty-seven of the thirty-two book goal I set for myself for 2023 and according to my Good Reads app - I'm ten books ahead of schedule! 

I did have a bit of a reading lull in June but I got right back at it this month and I may actually end up catching up on my Book of the Month list before July ends! That will be quite the feat since I haven't managed to accomplish that since I registered for Book of the Month almost 2.5 years ago! Anyhow - onward to some of the books I've read recently! 

The Attic Child by Lola Jaye - This book was a 400+ page read lent to my by my friend Danielle with the caveat that it started slow but to stay with it! She was absolutely right, because while the book took a little while to get into - the payoff was well worth it and it was an excellent read! 

"In a heartbreaking tale of privilege, racism and identity, two abused children, banished to an attic of the same house nearly a hundred years apart, find the strength to regain their stolen identities and repair their battered souls."

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes by Suzanne Collins - This is the prequel to The Hunger Games series and I cannot believe that it was released in 2020 and has just been around that long! I confess I saw the first trailer for the theatrical version and was intrigued, so I ordered the book and read it in about a week! It's classic Panem and I really enjoyed the book; it wasn't quite The Hunger Games, but close and I look forward to seeing the film. 

"The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes focuses on Coriolanus Snow, who fans first meet as President Snow, during Panem's Tenth Hunger Games, about sixty-four years prior to The Hunger Games. It follows Coriolanus as he prepares to mentor District 12's female tribute, Lucy Gray Baird."

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer - This was my Book of the Month for June and was kind of a random choice, but I am so glad I chose it! This book was unique and different, with a heart-warming tale, the perfect amount of adventure and was just all around an excellent (and quick) read! I absolutely recommend it - you won't be disappointed by the quirky and uplifting story!

"Years ago, a reclusive mega-bestselling children's author quit writing under mysterious circumstances. Suddenly he resurfaces with a brand-new book and a one-of-a-kind competition, offering a prize that will change the winner's life in this absorbing and whimsical novel."

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer - This was my May Book of the Month choice and was another somewhat out there option that I'm glad I chose! This book was yet another story that I thought had a very unique tale to spin and I really enjoyed reading it! It wasn't quite what I expected and took a little bit to get into, but then quickly became engrossing! 

"A big-hearted and life-affirming debut about a death doula who, in caring for others at the end of their life, has forgotten how to live her own. This weird, lovely and sweetly satisfying novel is engaging and accessible; Clover's emergence from a shuttered life is moving enough to elicit tears and Brammer's take on death and grieving is profound enough to feel genuinely instructional."

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Last Word by Taylor Adams - Last but definitely not least, this was also my friend Danielle's book and she said she read in in just days! I started it and could immediately see why, the twists and turns just kept coming from the start of the book until the very end! This thriller was great, suspenseful and chilling!

"After posting a negative review of a horror novel, a woman staying at an isolated beach house begins to wonder if the author is a little touchy - or very, very dangerous - in this pulse-pounding novel of psychological suspense and terror."

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I still have so many books still to be read! The list keeps going on and on, ha-ha! Just a few of the books still to be read are listed below!

• Revenge: Meghan, Harry & the War Between the Windsors by Tom Bower
• The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans & their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Olympics by Daniel James Brown
• Go Tell the Bees that I am Gone by Diana Gabaldon 
• Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer 
• The Good Left Undone by Adriana Trigiani

I have plenty on my plate to read, the ones I listed above are just a few of the eight or nine that I have sitting and waiting to be read - so I'm sure I'll be posting these updates for a while to come! Anyone have any good recommendations?

All the Lemurs!

I have met lemurs and my life will never be the same! Many moons ago, one of my best friends lived in Madagascar and I asked that she please bring me a lemur back - but she told me that they could be very aggressive - so I'd have to ask for something else. So my dreams of meeting a lemur were not realized.

So imagine my joy when my mother-in-law mentioned on the way to Florida that she knew of an animal sanctuary near her home in Central Florida and as she understood it - you could interact with lemurs! She asked if that would be something I was interested in and I immediately told her YES!

Chase Sanctuary is located in Webster, Florida and is home to a multitude of animals that have been rescued from the exotic pet trade and are re-homed and introduced to a troop (family) that they can make their own! The Sanctuary has lemurs, monkeys, tamarind, birds, cavies, tortoise, anteaters, deer, rabbits and even a stray cat or two wandering around, ha-ha! 

We joined an approximately 2.5 hour tour and we were able to learn so much and interact with so many different animals along the way! It was truly an amazing experience! And I promise the cat pictured below wasn't as angry as he looks... ha-ha!

 

We started our tour in the Lemur Barn - where the moms and babies were being kept! It was so exciting to get to see babies and while we watched the introduction video, Pendleton the Lemur (above on the first picture and below, sucking his thumb) hopped around right in front of me and I was able to pet his soft, fluffy fur! We had a large tour group, so once the video was done - we headed out with Ellie - with the promise that we would return to the Lemur Barn to spend more time with the Ringtails and their babies!

We were introduced to teeny tamarinds that would fit in the palm of your hand and a tortoise so large, the tour guide noted she couldn't flip him right side up on her own! The tortoise chased after my MIL - and when we asked why - it was because her hot pink sneakers made him think of hibiscus, one of his favorite snacks! We gave him a carrot instead and watched how he used his claws to remove stuck bites from his beak (who knew tortoise had beaks...)... and then the cavies escaped, ha-ha!

The cavies were in our next enclosure visit - and these little rat/dog/rabbit hybrids had dug our of the enclosure, left their baby behind and were trying to make a run for it! They were restored (safely and gently) to their enclosure and while they were returned, we got to meet a lovely deer and rabbit friend! The deer and rabbit were both rescues and enjoyed some carrot and watermelon treats - the rabbit even "fought" the deer for a bite of watermelon and won! Who knew rabbits could be so fierce?

I don't have pictures - but we learned about Vervet monkeys - and unfortunately a whole group of them were brought over from South Africa and I confess, I don't remember what happened but what I do remember is they now live at the Park and Ride in the Jacksonville Florida area, in and around an abandoned car, where they are frequently hit by cars and fed things like Taco Bell and Burger King by tourists. *sigh* They cannot be returned to South Africa (red tape) and unfortunately must be left there to fend for themselves - because they can't be taken in, because they would have to be euthanized. It was absolutely a cautionary tale about the horrors of the illegal exotic pet trade that occurs daily. 

After meeting some brown lemurs and taking a quick stroll through the butterfly garden - it was time to return to the Lemur Barn and have more time with the ringtail lemurs (and their babies). We were given bananas to share with the little guys and I cannot even tell you how amazing it was to hold out a banana and have a little lemur scamper up to you, reach out their teeny (soft) hands and take the banana! Theses little creatures have so much personality and it was so fascinating to watch them hop around, make gigantic leaps and just generally be adorable!

The adorable babies seemed to get a sugar high off the bananas because after a few minutes of banana treats, they went a little bit wild! They were leaping and flying and scampering around the barn and it was pretty hilarious! While I didn't ever coax one to hop onto my shoulder or have one use me as a leap pad for their bounding about the barn, it was one of the most incredible experiences to feed them bananas, be tapped by their little hands and just be able to pet their soft fur! It was the most amazing thing and I still can't believe that I can say I've hung out with lemurs!

After a quick stop to visit to the anteater and the sloth (which I have no picture of because they were too far back in the enclosure - being sloth-like) we went into our final enclosure, where the ruffled lemurs were! We got into the enclosure in the nick of time, as a big ol' Florida thunderstorm rolled in and so we hung out under the shelter with the ruffled lemurs for the next twenty minutes or so... and these little guys were incredible too! None of these guys climbed on me either (one did use my MIL as a spring pad) but one incredible little one did sit next to me at the picnic bench over and over again - and that was a complete joy!

Once the rain passed, we said our final farewells to the ruffled lemurs and made our way into the gift shop to peruse and wash our hands (lemur germs... I guess...). I cannot tell you how much this lemur experience meant - it was so incredible to experience these little guys and I am trying to convince my husband that he needs to experience this when we go back to Florida for Christmas - he loves all animals and he would absolutely be overjoyed! It was - I know I've said this a million times - the most amazing experience and is now a cherished memory!

There is nothing quite like having a baby lemur hold your hand - and I can't believe I was lucky enough to get to experience that!