Random Tid Bits

1. Next week I have the whole week off. I mainly took it off to take the boys to and from camp. It's about a 25 to 30 minute drive to their next camp. The camp that they will be going to is at Lake Zorinsky. They will be canoeing, fishing, going on hikes, swimming, doing archery, and more. I think it will be fun! Some firsts for the boys with fishing and canoeing. Travis hates fishing, so it's not anything we've done.


2. The camp the boys wrapped up is Fine Lines. It's an We're not taking a vacation this year. We're just doing fun things on the weekends. It was a writing camp for all ages. I have to be honest that I was a little nervous because there was construction all over the area where it was at - including inside the building. I had the boys meet me outside. I was also a little anxiety driven over the fact that it was for all ages. I knew little Isaak would be one of the youngest campers. They did pretty good. We got on Mica about writing better, and he wrote a pretty good story. 


 Our Meeting Spot








3. Our hot water heater has an issue. We won't have hot water until Monday. :( 


4. A person passed away here this week due to an asthma attack. I've been having issues with nocturnal asthma for about 4 weeks now. 5 or 6 o'clock rolls around, and I'm wheezy and coughing up a storm. I hate spraying in my inhaler. I get every side effect listed. I'm thankful that it's there to save my life if needed. 


5. I'm so down about all the shootings lately. Words can't express the sorrow that victim's families must feel right now! I thought by having a president that is part black that racism would get better.
   
   There seems to be 2 sides: People that love guns and people that want them banned.
   
   Then there's the other 2 sides: People that hate blacks, and people that hate cops.
   
   There's bad and good in blacks, whites, cops...
   
   I like the idea of freedom to bear arms because one of those gun owners could save lives in a mass shooting situation. People should be able to protect themselves. The flip side is that guns do get into mentally unstable people's hands. A mentally unstable person could do damage in other ways besides using a gun.
   
   I don't know what the answers are. It would be nice if I could wave a magic wand and say, Ok we all have to play nice now.
   
   I'd love it if families would go back to 1 person staying at home. I think it's sad that kids raise themselves to an extent. We're too busy to fix meals, grow our own food, keep a clean house, and play with our kids. It wouldn't have to be the mom that stays home. Playing video games, watching tv and eating crap can't be good for our kids. We're limiting recess, and many creative outlets from our education programs. When I say "Our Kids" I'm talking about the world's children. I limit a lot of screen time for Mica and Isaak, but I'm not perfect. 

By one of my favorite artists -  James Victore. I don't like his work because it's "pretty". I like it because his work speaks the truth. His podcasts on YouTube are just as truthful.

Something Pretty - Artist Unknown

This one is just ingenious. It's a poster by Milton Glaser. He's famous for the I Heart NY logo, the Bob Dylan poster, and he designed all of Brooklyn Brewery's stuff.

Fashion Rainbow Women Ethnic Style Blouse Review

I love to wear things that have patterns on them. Recently I got Fashion Rainbow Women Ethnic Style Blouse to review. It has all kinds of colors, and patterns on it.

Material:

It's made with 100% rayon. It's a very soft fabric, loose, comfortable, and cool.

Clothing length including Tassel: 35", Shoulder: 19'', Cuff Width: 9", Bust: 34'', Tassel length: 10''-11''.

Front and Back:

The Things I Love:

I love that it is lightweight. I really feel like I'm not wearing anything extra. It could be worn in any season. I could see it with a long sleeve shirt, short sleeve shirt, dress, or swimming wrap. The patterns and colors are really pretty. It has a lot of different colors in it, so it can go with different things. It can be worn to dress up, or to dress casual.

 

Dislikes:

I really don't like the bottom of this vest! The fringes get caught on everything including the table, sitting down on a chair, a cart I walked by, and Isaak likes to pull on them. What happens is that one is pulled making it long, which makes the others around it short. I just wish the fringes were gone. I'm going to see if I can remove them. I like everything else about the vest. 

Care:

It says on Amazon that this can be washed in the washer using cold water. It's suggested to hand wash. I think the fringes would be a disaster after 1 washing. I plan on only spot cleaning this. The shirt under it would the item of clothing I'd need to wash anyhow.

Size: 

It's One Size Fits Most. I'm a size Large. They have the suggested sizes: XS-L.

I normally don't wear vests, but I love how this adds color and patterns to what I'm wearing. Do you ever wear vests, cardigans, kimono, or a sweater as a pop of color?

Disclaimer: I received this sleeveless vest for a discount in exchange for an honest review.

WW: Lollipop {Linky}

I think they were whispering about how crazy their mom is. ;)

Edited:

Edited:

Mica:

Isaak:

 

Fourth of July

I had Travis waist our money on Sunday. I consider buying fireworks a waist of money. Really you're just blowing up what you've spent.

The boys enjoy them. Maybe the fact that they enjoy them makes buying them worth it.

Our neighbor's light off a wonderful display. Part of me just thinks, Why not just watch their fireworks? 

Mica's in a phase where he's trying to compare what we have to what others have. I know this is only going to get worse. I can't wait. NOT! Mica, "Oh it looks like we have to buy more fireworks next year. Our neighbors have more than we do." Me, "Nope!"

I spent time writing up things for the boys to do this week. The boys were all grumpy that I was doing that. Mica, "My cousins don't have things they have to do." Isaak, "I hate reading, and you know that." I had a talk with them about being happy that their mom cares enough to keep their brains going during the summer, how they need to be thankful, and that giving them things to do prevents them from being bored.

Isaak's in a stage where he wants everyone to watch him. Isaak to the neighbors, "Hey guys look over here! My Dad's going to light off another firecracker." Travis and I, "Isaak leave them alone!" Isaak to the neighbors, "Hey guys look over here! Mica caught a parachute, and he's going to give it to me!" Travis and I, "Isaak leave them alone!" Isaak to the neighbors, "Hey guys look over here! We're going to make s'mores. I'm using the stick that I found. See it..."

Mica caught a parachute, and was nice enough to hand it off to Isaak.

This is Isaak back in 2011. It's crazy how much they change. Apparently he's always been the one that loved getting the parachutes.

We did the American thing and had hotdogs. It cracked me up because Travis got them at Natural Grocers, and got gluten free buns on accident. If it were me that got those buns he would have harped on me. I'm glad it was him. ;)

The boy's watched Independence Day. Travis had to bring up an old TV that had a VHS player. It was the first movie we went to see as a couple. We wanted to take the boys to see the new one, but it has horrible ratings.

What did you do on the 4th? If you're not an American reader, what did you do this weekend?

Question of the Month

This is the question of the month: What was the first book (or book series) you fell in love with?

That's a hard one. I always fell in love with books for their illustrations, and not the writing. Illustration was my major throughout college.

My first book that I can remember having my mom read to me repeatedly is Bembelman's Bakery.

Source

I remember I loved the illustrations, and the stories was similar to Cloudy With the Chance of Meatballs; in the fact that food took over the town. In this story it was bread dough that took over.

As I aged I didn't want to read thicker books. Mainly because they didn't have pictures. In third or fourth grade my mom got me into The American Girls series of books. Kirsten was my first doll, and series read. This was before they became super commercialized. Back when they only had history stories and dolls. I liked Kirsten because my Great Grandma on my Mom's side had a similar story to her. She came to America from Sweden to. Her name was Britta. I was sad when The American Girls Collection started making dolls that looked like modern girls. It was more about the dolls and commercialization than it was about history, good craftsmanship, and the love for reading.

Source

A librarian said some pretty mean things to me that made me rebel to read bigger books. Maybe it was the way she said, "You're too old to read books like this!" holding up a picture book. I was in 5th grade when I was still checking out books with pictures. My teacher in 5th grade changed all that by saying, "Alissa you can make pictures in your imagination." She was super nice. After that I was reading 500 page novels. I read all the time!

To this day I still go to the children's book section at the library to look at the illustrations. Yes I read bigger books now, but I love to see the pictures in children's books.

What book got you into reading?