July 12-19
I’m writing to you from the new permanent groove that my butt has made in our sofa. I sit here for hours each day, writing, writing, writing, like mad. I’m so near the end of my first novel I can taste it! Yummy!
The groove is further aided by a new addiction to other people’s blogs. There are so many cool people out there sharing useful, fascinating and thought-provoking ideas. It’s fun to peek into their brains and see what’s rattling around.
When I’m not writing, I’m thinking about writing.
Besides that, there’s been some fun stuff going on this week…
Monday was quiet and uneventful, which is always a nice change of pace. Grant and I took our usual morning walk down to the pier and along the beach. It was a little more challenging than normal because the city is tearing up and repouring the sidewalks on Lake Street so we spent time trying to find construction-free routes to get where we were going. I also spent time trying to capture the perfect shot of Grant's poop face so I can post it because he's too young to stop me!
Tuesday evening, the elders came over for dinner (brisket in the crockpot, drowned in that Vietnamese Sriracha sauce) and we had a good visit with them. It was nice to meet the new missionary from El Salvador, Elder Parra.
Wednesday I decided to play hooky from the gym and I hung out at home, getting James’s room clean and ready for Sarah’s visit starting this week, and of course, writing. We had chicken poppers from a new recipe I tried and really liked. I can’t quite figure out what’s up because James is gone and Grant doesn’t eat table food, and yet last week we had: burgers, chicken poppers, and buffalo chicken fingers (all the healthy versions). I do realize that I’m not seven years old, and yet I eat like I am.
Tonight is going to rock: pollo asada in the crockpot with rice (prepared with boullion). Tasty!
Wednesday night I spent a couple of hours at Jen Schumann’s house while she went over some editing stuff with me and then I discovered a new addiction: Yo Yum Yum Yogurt on Brookhurst. It is deliciously EVIL! There’s a ton of flavors (I’m loving the tart there, and also the root beer float flavor for some crazy reason) and then you just pile toppings on it to your heart’s content. They weigh the whole shebang at the counter (it’s super cheap) and then you’re good to go. The great thing about this place is that the yogurt is creamy which I think is unusual for frozen. I went back with Christiane Woerner on Thursday and Kenny on Saturday! Anyway, that night I didn’t get home until 11:30 but Kenny and I both still wanted to watch So You Think You Can Dance which kept us up until after one. Sometimes, we’re not so smart.
Thursday was the gym again and I did lower body weights. I’ve been out of a routine too long so I get all sore but I’m glad to be back to healthy living so I don’t complain about that part too much.
Friday I drove out to Riverside with Jamie to make sure we weren’t being slum lords. We checked in at the McAllister house and everything’s in good shape. Then we visited with the Morrises, who are renting from us, for about an hour. Skip Morris had a great time playing with baby Grant, feeding him everything he could think of. Grant got applesauce and ice cream, but his favorite was string cheese. He gnawed on it happily and ended up with cheese all over his face, clothes and the sofa. It was quite a trick cleaning him up. Then Jamie and I went to this great sandwich place called Backstreet where I had a pretty good French dip. Kenny’s always in search of a good French dip sandwich so if you know of any, let us know!
That night, we had date night. We only have Grant this summer, who goes to sleep around eight, and that makes it an easy night for pretty much any babysitter. We stopped by a Vietnamese sandwich shop in Garden Grove where they have amazing baguettes, and in turn, really good sandwiches. Then we ate in the park by the theater on Main Street and enjoyed a pre-show farce about Beowulf. Yeah, you read that right. After that, it was time for some Shakespeare. Henry V. The guy who plays the clueless boyfriend in The Office was the lead, and he was okay. His best scene was at the very end when it becomes comedic. We saw Hamlet there two years ago and it was a much stronger production. Still, it was an outdoor theater and the weather was good, so we enjoyed ourselves.
Saturday we took Grant for a long walk by the beach, stopping and visiting with one of Kenny’s work friends. Then I spent the early afternoon writing, hammering out a tough scene and Kenny worked on computer stuff. We headed to Jill’s around 3:00 for the twins birthday, which was a riot. The twins had requested snacks as gifts, so when it was time to open presents, Rome was as thrilled as I have ever seen a child when he discovered that he got a Costco sized box of fruit roll-ups. He flipped! That was the present he kept coming back to even after they opened their superhero costumes and CDs. The twins are such good entertainment, any time.
Birthday craziness:
Saturday night was a mellow night at home, watching 27 Dresses, which I hadn’t seen. It was okay. But it’s nice to have a week of taking it easy because the next three weeks are going to be jam packed crazy with out of town guests and vacations, so I enjoyed the break!