Summer Reading List - #2

How much reading have you done this summer? If you're like me, it's probably not as much you'd like. I was able to read three books while on vacation and hope to continue finding some great page-turners. Earlier this summer, I posted a list of books that was recommended to me by friends and family. There were so many that I'm coming out with a 2nd edition. I hope you find one you like.

The Other Boleyn Girl
Author: Philippa Gregory
"A Period Piece. A riveting read when you have lots of time." - Sarah Biehl

Gods In Alabama
Author: Joshilyn Jackson
"An easy read. It moved fast enough. You didn't lose interest." - Shari Robider

Ten Little Indians
Author: Agatha Christie
"An old-time favorite. Great mystery and hard to solve." - Jackie Codevilla

Tuesdays With Morrie
Author: Mitch Albom
"It will make you cry, but it make you think about life." - Mary Brown

Stop Dressing Your Six-Year Old Like A Skank
Author: Celia Riverbank
"LAUGH out LOUD funny!" - Shari Robider

Shoot The Moon
Author: Billie Letts
"It has an interesting storyline, great characters and a nice twist at the end to solve the mystery. I enjoyed this one on the ride home from vacation. " - Me (Nancy Flagg)

Beach House
Author: James Patterson & Peter De Jonge
"A great book." - Gretchen Michelet

Little Bitty Lies
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
"Funny, funny, funny. Loved it."
Shari Robider

The Sweet Potato Queens Book of Love
Author: Jill Conner Browne
"Don't we all want to wear sequin dresses, big red hairdos and dance to the tune of "Tiny Bubbles?" - Mary Brown

The Count of Monte Cristo
Author: Alexandre Dumas pere
"It's the best classic book ever. Romance, action, revenge. It's got it all." - Jackie Codevilla

Back from vacation .. Back to the real world.

It's always great to get away from the real world for a while. A world where you don't have to do laundry, cook or clean up after anyone. That was my life last week. My husband and I, along with our three children, loaded up our mini-van and drove thousands of miles west to the mountains of Colorado. We stayed at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, a vacation that included my husband's father, brothers and their families. Overall, it was a wonderful trip with cousins to play with and lots of outdoor activities for the kids. The weather was pretty good. The scenery beautiful. A very relaxing vacation that left me rested and refreshed. As with every vacation, there was one hiccup along the way. On the first day of driving, as we left Des Moines, Iowa after lunch my husband stayed on 35-south instead of turning onto 80-west. "I bet a lot of people do that," he later said. I just kind of looked at him. Anyway, we ended up in Missouri instead of Nebraska and added an extra three hours to our first day of driving. I'll admit that my first reaction was to throw a hissy fit, which I'm sometimes prone to do. Instead, for one moment, I cursed to myself and then said it was no big deal. He was already mad at himself so why make the situation worse. A big argument would serve no purpose so we made the best of it. Although, I did inform him that I would be talking about it on the radio and also blogging about it and that I would never let him live it down. (Hey, I said it nicely and with a smile on my face.) By the way, while Bruce was driving in the wrong direction, I was in the back seat with the kids watching the movie "Pacifer," with Vin Diesel. It was the only movie I watched on a great vacation that allowed my family to reconnect and de-stress. It's now back to the real world of laundry, cooking and cleaning up after the kids. But it's good to be home.

It's time to go back to school!

Mom ... mom ... mom ... mom ... MOM! Do you remember the first time you heard those precious words. "Oh, how cute. He said ma, ma," I would say to my husband after each of my three children first began talking and calling out to me. Now, years later, hearing that word sometimes threatens to push me over the edge. Usually, it's when one (or all) is shreeching "MOOOOOMMMM" from the downstairs playroom while I'm upstairs. Or when I'm making them lunch and I can't give them what they want fast enough. "Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom." Aargh! Am I exaggerating? I am not. One time in fact, in one three minute span of time, collectively my three children said "mom" about 13 times. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little but you get the picture. Sometimes I even declare that nobody is allowed to say "MOM" for 15 minutes. It doesn't work but, at least, I feel a little better. I think I know what's really going on here. It's time to go back to school! Overall, we've had a wonderful summer at the pool, playing outside, riding bikes and taking family trips. But, I'm starting to get tired of being maid/cook/entertainer/etc. to the kids every day all day. Also, my three children (aged 7,5 and 3) are now getting to that age where they know how to push each other's buttons and do it often. This usually ends in a yelling match. The countdown is underway. First day of school : August 16th. One more family trip and then we get excited about getting on the bus each morning.

Am I the only one? I hardly think so.

Dancing With the Stars ... Fantabulous

The Dancing With The Stars tour cha-cha'd, sashayed and boogey'd through Peoria on Sunday and, WOW, what a show! The Peoria Civic Center arena was transformed. A dance floor was set up in the center. Behind it was a stage and three big screens. Joey McIntyre, Joey Lawrence and Joey Fatone were the "stars" but even they admitted that the real show centered around the professional dancers. The "Three Joeys" did a great job singing, dancing and entertaining, but the dancers were amazing. Another star who was supposed to be performing, Drew Lachey, was not in attendance and there was no mention as to why he was absent. We missed him. The other highlights of the show were the women's colorful and dramatic costumes, and the band which sang and played throughout the whole show. Overall, a fantabulous show. If it comes through Peoria again, I would highly reccommend it.

I hate libraries! No. Wait. I love libraries! But I hate what they do to me. Here's the deal. I'm unorganized and that's a bad trait when you check out dozens of books/audio books/videos from a library. For those of you who know me personally, there it is. I've finally admitted it. I'M HIGHLY UNORGANIZED. I like to think that I'm in charge of my life. I'm constantly writing lists. I have a calendar on my fridge that lists all of my family's activities for the week. The problem is that I lose things constantly. Papers litter my desk at home. And somewhere in my house there is another lost library book. YAARRGGGHHH! This lost-library-book habit began when I started checking out books for my children a couple of years ago. And still, no matter how hard I try, I cannot keep track of all the items. I even try limiting the number of books and videos we check out but it doesn't work. Inevitably, one item always turns up lost on the day everything is due. I search but come up empty-handed. I can't tell you how many times I've written a check for a late fee. Yes, a check. Then, with frustration in my voice, I simply state to my children that, "We are not going to the library any more. We are not checking-out any more books." Of course, I can't stick by my statement. This summer we signed up for the summer reading program at the Dunlap libary. I love to read and now my seven-year old is deveoping a love for books. So, here I am again. It's due-date-day at the library and there's a lost book. Oh well, I'll guess I'll just bring the check book.

By the way, I'll have my second summer reading list out soon. Enjoy!

I Had A Dream About ...

Have you ever had a dream like this one: Your husband leaves you for his ex-girlfriend? I had a dream like that one last night. Bottom line, he left me and went back to her. It doesn't matter that, in the dream, we didn't have children yet and they were living in his first house. It doesn't matter that Bruce and I have now known each other for nearly 15 years and just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. It doesn't matter that his ex is also now married with children.

In the world of dream analysis, I'm not sure what this one means.

There's really not much back story. She was the woman he dated before we met. But this was almost 15 years ago. There was never any drama between the two of us. Actually, I do know what sparked the dream. While eating at a Peoria restaurant a few weeks back we saw her. She came over to the table and we talked. Everything was fine. We were all very nice.

So why the dream?

Okay, I know what you're thinking. Nancy is insecure about her marriage, her relationship, yada, yada, yada.

I'm not, though. I'm very happy. And so is Bruce.

Who knows. Something is going on in the subconsious. I'm just not going to analyze it. No time for that. After all, it's America's birthday. Have a safe and happy Fourth of July.

Thrill Rides ... Not For Me

Every summer we load up everyone in the family truckster and head off to visit a theme park, where there are tons of roller coasters and other rides that make my husband and son scream in delight, while they make me sick to my stomach. Am I the only one? As I've aged I've found that I can no longer handle the thrill rides as they give me a headache and stomach-ache for the rest of the day. This year, we visited Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. It was great fun. There were enough rides for my two youngest children (You'll be happy to hear there's a new Wiggle's section with kids rides, games and a show.) and enough scary rides for my oldest child and Bruce, my husband. They went on the Screamin' Eagle and had a blast. I can usually handle the water rides, like the log flume but, believe it or not, on the June day we went it was too cool. I didn't dare get wet or else I'd be miserable. WOW. Do I sound like a whiner. It didn't come across that way on the big day, though. Everyone had fun and I offered to hold everyones stuffed animals while they went for the rides of their lives.