The Story Of Us

Things have been busy around here.. About two weeks ago we celebrated the Islamic New Year. Afterwards we observed 10 days of mourning for the atrocities committed against Imam Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet in Karbala, Iraq during the month of Moharram.  It's practically September now.. meaning school will be starting soon. For now our school district has proposed a hybrid system. You have the choice of opting for 100% virtual learning, the rest of the students have been divided into two groups. Half of them will attend school on Mondays and Tuesdays while the other half will attend school on Thursdays and Fridays.. Wednesday everyone will stay home. September will also be a month of half days just to see how things go.. We have opted to send the kids to school for two days a week. We're not sure what to expect exactly, wouldn't be surprised in the school decides to go virtual even before it starts.. or if everything shuts down again within a few weeks. And we do all...

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah Synopsis - In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the “coolest girl in the world” moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all---beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer’s end they’ve become TullyandKate. Inseparable. From the beginning, Tully is desperate to prove her worth to the world. Abandoned by her mother at an early age, she longs to be loved unconditionally. In the glittering, big-hair era of the eighties, she looks to men to fill the void in her soul. But in the buttoned-down nineties, it is television news that captivates her. She wi...

Watermelon Window - Vibrant and colorful window of the Palads cinema in Copenhagen, Denmark.. Read more about our trip to Copenhagen  here . You can buy this print  here . Get Free Shipping with code BLOGGER Prints also available in larger sizes.  Contact  for more information and special requests. I am open to wholesale and licensing opportunities. Get in touch for more information.                            Etsy             Instagram             Twitter             Bloglovin   

Look what we made! It was a full family effort. We had some wood and paint lying around from previous projects. M and the boys made the structure. The boys and I designed and painted it. And my mother in law made the bean bags.  We voted on the design                         Etsy             Instagram             Twitter             Bloglovin   

Nothing makes me happier than knowing that I am raising readers. Our initial IKEA spice racks /bookshelves in the boys room were starting to over flow with books to the point that we bought them bookshelves last month.  While I always talk about what I'm reading I thought I'd share with you what the kids are reading right now as well as some of their favorite books.  We as a family are still reading The American Story by David Rubenstein and just finished the chapter on Hamilton.. now we are ready to watch the show! And we have also started as a family to read Harry Potter..  H is currently reading (with my help) his way through some of the Bad Kitty books by Nick Bruel . When asked - here are H's Top 3 Books 1. The Nahrwal Books by Ben Clanton  - His exact words "They are funny. It was so funny when the sea monkey said 789. I liked Narwhal, they are very funny. They have 9 foot long tooth coming out of their forehead." I second his sentiments.. these are the fu...

Where do we start.. the world, common sense, basic kindness, humanity.. everything is just falling apart, we are seeing a lot of peoples true colors and they are not pretty. The news, social media everything is veering to push one over the edge and into a downward spiral. I wonder which dystopian fictional world will be our reality? Too much negativity.. I know.. gotta try to keep things a little positive..  Our quarantine world has opened up a little. We hit the tennis courts a couple of times a week.. sometimes M and I.. sometimes M and D. We have been biking around the neighborhood.. we started to venture out onto a semi main road. The kids and I have taken up jogging in the mornings before breakfast.. we don't get much far.. turns out none of us have much stamina.. something we are working on. Hopefully we'll all come of this quarantine a little bit healthier.  We have also taken up golf.. well at least attempting to. M occasionally plays golf, the rest of us have only eve...

After reading Beartown  I decided I was ready for some lighter reads..  The Love Story of Missy Carmichael by Beth Morrey Synopsis - The world has changed around Missy Carmichael. At seventy-nine, she's estranged from her daughter, her son and only grandson live across the world in Australia, and her great love is gone. Missy spends her days with a sip of sherry, scrubbing the kitchen in her big empty house and reliving her past--though it's her mistakes, and secrets, that she allows to shine brightest. The last thing Missy expects is for two perfect strangers and one spirited dog to break through her prickly exterior and show Missy just how much love she still has to give. Thoughts - I have read a few books with a similar premise.. a person, alone, closed off to life makes an unlikely friendship and then they learn how much better their life can be by letting people in. It was a sweet book but that was about it. I didn't love the character of Missy herself, I didn't ...