Hi There, LAST DAY OF JULY! Happy Friday!
We’ve had a productive week! It’s been extremely HOT but a good one. I’m gonna jump right into my FAVORITES with Andrea. I have my July Book Review mixed in here and it was a good one!
First FRIDAY FAVORITE…yesterday, this guy and I celebrated TWENTY-ONE YEARS of marriage! We always laugh and say, “Twelve years of wedded bliss!”. hahaha! Marriage isn’t easy, friends! But he’s my absolute FAVORITE! Thankful for him by my side for the last twenty-one years! How did we spend it? Why at a football parent meeting, of course!
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SENIOR SEASON is upon us! This week we’ve had ALL THE CHEER things! When I say a full day of pictures, I truly mean it. Monday morning the girls reported to the first picture location at 6:30 a.m. They did media videos mid-day when it was crazy hot outside and ended around 8:30 p.m. with even more photos.
Soaking it all in!
FAVORITE kind of evening.
Senior Mother/Daughter Dinner-This will be a dinner we’ll all remember. Sometimes it happens that way and these end up being the funniest stories…terrible service, food took forever, just beginning to eat dinner around 9:40, and we all kept repeating we should be in BED by now…see what I mean?
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Football is gearing up and I’m here for it! This past week was football camp for younger kids and getting this picture from a friend to wrap up the week was definitely a FAVORITE!
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Into the Blue-Ummmm…I don’t know how to say this nicely so I’ll just say it. This is one of the worst books I’ve read in a really long time. I’m shocked there’s so much hype surrounding this novel. It’s a love story that goes back and forth from past tense {their high school days} to present tense. A lot of the first half of the book is them working on improv {which was really boring}. Then the second half they’re acting in this futuristic/fantasy type movie and lots of words they use felt completely made up. Like for instance, words they use in Star Trek were probably once just made up words for the premise of that movie. Now people know what certain words mean but imagine reading about those random words when you aren’t watching the movie and seeing whatever it is they’re talking about. I don’t even know if I’m making sense right now. What I’m trying to say is, I don’t recommend this one. If you liked it, please share what you loved about it! Because I don’t understand!
The Last Thing He Told Me-This book was published back in 2021 and well, I’m late to the party. I bought it because this Instagram account I follow was sharing all the MUST READ books of this year and the next book in the series, The First Time I Saw Him, was on the list. I preordered thinking I’d read! But didn’t realize until it arrived there was another book in the series so I got caught up.
Hannah marries Owen who disappears just a year later after leaving her a note, “Protect her”, which she assumes is referencing Owen’s daughter. She has no idea where he’s gone, who’s safe to trust, and if he’ll return. It kept me entertained enough to finish and then read…
The First Time I Saw Him-It picks up five-ish years later from the last book. Hannah sees someone who she just knows is Owen and that leads to them hiding again to once again, “Protect her”. It felt really far-fetched to me….all of a sudden they’d show up to a gorgeous lake house where the owners were a friend of a friend who would ask no questions. They’d left the house stocked with food and keys in the car should they need it. This kind of thing happened multiple times. Like if that were me, ummm…no one would be leaving their lake house stocked for us to hide away in. Know what I’m saying?! ha! And this lady had that happen on MULTIPLE occasions! Just seemed far fetched BUT it was entertaining.
The Compound-Think Love Island + The Bachelor + Big Brother and that’s kind of what you get in this novel. The Compound is a reality show where guys/girls must couple up to continue on in the show but it’s a bit more dystopian mixed with some thriller tendencies. Contestants must compete to continue on the game as well as do special challenges to receive gifts from those watching. The last one standing wins. I’m a sucker for reality shows so I thought this was interesting to read.
Remarkably Bright Creatures-AWWWWW!!! I’ve heard about this book for years but every time someone would speak about this octopus book I was not interested in reading. It’s so much more than an octopus book! There’s friendship, a little mystery, and it makes one oh, so charming novel. SUCH a feel good book!
Our Perfect Storm-If I’m going to pick up a chick-lit/beachy read, I prefer it to be a Carly Fortune novel. In this one friends, Frankie + George, have been the best of friends for years. George shows up for Frankie’s wedding weekend. Her groom deserts her before the ceremony and George helps mend her broken heart. I mmmmeeeaaaannnn….predictable?! Maybe a bit? But it was a great beachy read!
The Shampoo Effect-This is me being REALLY honest with you. This cover drew me right in. The Shampoo Effect is a friend/family type saga where we follow the lives of six friends throughout the hardships of marriage, parenthood, and past secrets that have worked their way into the middle of everything. It kept me entertained, for sure. I also ordered Jenny’s first novel to check that out after I finished.
Upward Bound-I couldn’t stop talking about this book as I read. Upward Bound is written by Woody Brown who is a nonspeaking, twenty-eight year old man with autism. He wrote this entire novel by pointing to letters on an alphabet board held up by his mother. AMAZING! This book is written from the standpoint of men and women with a variety of disabilities who mostly spend their days at an adult disability daycare. This group is often overlooked when they have so much to give. It’s a sad but heartwarming story that will make you think long after you’ve turned the last page. HIGHLY recommend this!
Lady Tremaine-Lady Tremaine was very Cinderella meets Bridgerton to me. It was SUCH a unique read that kept me turning pages. I already texted a friend and passed it over to her because it was that good!
Apparently, I do my best reading in January and July. ha! That was a lot of books! Up next is…
The Book Club for Troublesome Women-STAY TUNED!
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That’s a little peek into the FAVORITES from my week! This weekend I turn the big 4-3! As I get older, I’m reminded what a blessing these years are. Happy Weekend, Friends!
XO
