Happy Friday! Who's ready for the weekend? Or does every day feel like the weekend since it's Summer Break? 🤔
I'm still trying to figure this one out. Anyways, I feel like this week was long, but not in a bad way. With the first month of Summer Break coming to a close, I'm not complaining about time passing by slowly. There is NO rush to start back up with school just yet.
Here's a little peek at what we've been up to since my last Recently post. I'm thinking about making these weekly. We'll see what happens tho. And because I'm all about full disclosure, there are some affiliate links below and I may receive a commission for purchases made through some of those links.
Recently . . .
Read | I've been a reading machine these last few weeks. This week I finished reading A Court of Starlight and Frost by Sarah J Maas. It had all the holiday vibes and a just a hint of family drama. If you haven't heard of Sarah J Maas' YA fantasy series ACOTAR (A Court of Thorns and Roses), I suggest reading it. Chances are if you have pre-teens or teens, they've already read it or are currently reading it.
Also, I recently finished up The Color Project by Sierra Abrams. This is YA contemporary/romance that will give you ALL. THE. FEELS! The romance and how the young lovebirds in this book are what I think most of us as parents want for our children. I think there is a messaging in here that's not common in YA when it comes to teen/young relationships. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've only ever seen it in the Twilight series.
And that messaging is waiting to have sex. I feel like there are tons of YA books with teens being overly sexually active, but what about books for teens who are waiting/value waiting? That representation needs to be there more in the YA genre so that those teens can see more aspects of themselves in the characters that they are reading. Also, how stunning is that book cover?!!
And of course, earlier this month I finished Chasing Grace by Sanya Richards-Ross. It is a Christian non-fiction book in which four-time Olympic gold medalist Sanya talks about what running track taught her about life and her relationship with God. It was a great read and honestly, this is a book that even non-Christians would enjoy as well.
I'm currently reading Dread Nation by the lovely Justina Ireland! This is a historical thriller that takes place during the Civil War. It tackles the issues of racism, slavery and more. Did I mention there are zombies in here?! See what other books I have planned to read here. Let me know if anyone is down for a buddy read.
Admired | Moo is writing a book! I don't know if I mentioned that here already or not. Either way, I'm so proud of her. She's been working on it for a few weeks now. She stayed up way past midnight Monday writing her little heart out.
Her little fingers were flying across the keyboard. I kept peeking around the corner from where I was washing dishes in the kitchen to stare at her in action. It was one of those surreal moments that I can't quite put into words. I really admire how dedicated she is to this.
And to think it all started with her coming to me and declaring, "I want to be a writer like you, Mommy! I want to write a book too." My heart melts over and over again every time I think about that day. Isn't it every parent's dream to inspire/motivate their child in a positive way?
JJ has also joined our writing crew and is working on his first comic book/graphic novel inspired by Atomic Puppet from Netflix and Super Mario the video game. I'm currently working on a historical fiction project I've been calling Project Black Scot in addition to finishing up a contemporary romance novel. We're putting in that work y'all!
Watched | Netflix is pretty much all I watch besides Fixer Upper and a handful of cooking shows on cable. I recently binge-watched season 2 of Dear White People and LOVED IT! I'm so glad Netflix jumped on this and picked up this series that is based on/inspired by its movie namesake. With the current state of our country, I highly recommend giving this a watch if you haven't already.
I'm currently making way through season 2 of Luke Cage. I'm so glad folks acted like they had sense because a lot of non-Blacks were tripping and letting their racist flags fly on Twitter when Marvel and Netflix announced season 1. It was a mess, but Black Twitter quickly got the haters all the way together.
We NEED to see more Black superheroes in shows and movies with predominantly Black casts. Remember folks representation matters!! I wish folks got this so we wouldn't have to deal with the outpour of racism and foolish that comes when these types of projects are introduced and announced.
Spotted | We recently took a break from our yard because we spotted our first snake--a copperhead. It was a little one, but that snake was slithering after my baby (Moo). So, of course, I had to help it on it's way to snake heaven.
This mama bear doesn't play about her kids. I kind of knew we'd have a snake run-in at some point because we're in the country. I'm talking backwoods. Plus, the Carolinas is known for its share of copperheads and other venomous snakes depending on where you live.
It's time to teach my city kids a thing or two about country living. I want them to be able to enjoy the outdoors safely because I have no plans to stay cooped up inside the rest of Summer Break.
Searched | I need a new car! So this past Wednesday, the kids and I were supposed to go to Great Wolf Lodge for a media event. We were all pumped and ready. The kids were beyond excited because they've been asking to go to GWL forever and a day.
Unfortunately, we woke up to some car trouble on Wednesday and I had to cancel. Talk about a nightmare. We all cried because we were all frustrated. So, I started searching for cars and I think that I've found one that may be perfect for us. It's an SUV, but it's not huge. It has loads of trunk space.
I wish the gas mileage was better though. I'm going to look around a bit more to be 100% sure. I can't wait to have my own wheels again!
4th of July is coming up next week! Please be safe and mindful of your neighbors if you're going to celebrate by popping fireworks! Also, don't forget to check out my latest giveaway.
Spotted | We recently took a break from our yard because we spotted our first snake--a copperhead. It was a little one, but that snake was slithering after my baby (Moo). So, of course, I had to help it on it's way to snake heaven.
This mama bear doesn't play about her kids. I kind of knew we'd have a snake run-in at some point because we're in the country. I'm talking backwoods. Plus, the Carolinas is known for its share of copperheads and other venomous snakes depending on where you live.
It's time to teach my city kids a thing or two about country living. I want them to be able to enjoy the outdoors safely because I have no plans to stay cooped up inside the rest of Summer Break.
Searched | I need a new car! So this past Wednesday, the kids and I were supposed to go to Great Wolf Lodge for a media event. We were all pumped and ready. The kids were beyond excited because they've been asking to go to GWL forever and a day.
Unfortunately, we woke up to some car trouble on Wednesday and I had to cancel. Talk about a nightmare. We all cried because we were all frustrated. So, I started searching for cars and I think that I've found one that may be perfect for us. It's an SUV, but it's not huge. It has loads of trunk space.
I wish the gas mileage was better though. I'm going to look around a bit more to be 100% sure. I can't wait to have my own wheels again!
4th of July is coming up next week! Please be safe and mindful of your neighbors if you're going to celebrate by popping fireworks! Also, don't forget to check out my latest giveaway.
What's been the highlight of your summer so far?
Love this post, although I'll pass on a book with Zombies in it even if it's a creative reworking during the Civil War. But I am excited to see Season 2 of Luke Cage.
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