Summer...in a nut shell

I say this every year, and I will say it again...how is summer already over?  I realize that the blog has taken the back seat over the past few months so this is my attempt to catch you up on what we have been up to lately.  Graham is definitely on the go now and really enjoys new adventures so we packed as much as we could into our summer days.  In May we took a short trip to Calera to the Dixie Railroad Museum for their train safety day.  It was hot, but we were with our friends Ivey, Thomas and Elaine May and a good time was had by all. 

Our friends the Davis' invited us to join them at their lake house for Memorial Day weekend and of course we couldn't pass up the opportunity.  It was the perfect weekend until G took a spill on the concrete and busted his lip.  Thankfully he recovered quickly, and we got to enjoy the rest of the weekend.

The zoo was almost a weekly destination for us.  So many of our friends have zoo passes and were kind enough to let us tag along.  We are so fortunate to have such a nice zoo so close.

 In July we took our first trip to the dentist.  Our good friend Dr. Flynt Purvis is a pediatric dentist, and he is amazing.  If you have children and live in Birmingham go check them out...Vestavia Pediatric Dentistry. Graham got a horse and a toothbrush...not necessarily for good behavior.

I've blogged about Mr. Mac before, but we have been back several times this summer and it is always a great time.  Graham is always at the front!

One morning while I was getting ready Graham was watching TV in the bedroom, and I thought to myself...wow he is being very quiet and content.  So I peek in on him and he is in the process of painting the carpet and himself with purple nail polish.

I quickly googled stain removing techniques and proceeded to try just about every one I could find....hairspray, peroxide, rubbing alcohol, Spot Shot, ammonia and hot water.....  Thankfully it hadn't had time to dry so I was able to get most of it out.  Fun times!

The kid loves water so we started off in the back yard with a mop bucket and a measuring cup...which he loved....

But his daddy felt like he needed an upgrade and came home with this one afternoon.  We play in the pool at least 2-3 times a week.

 Splash pad at the Zoo with Thomas....as I mentioned...he loves water.

A few days were just too hot to play outside so we built a fort in the living room.

More pool time...

4th of July isn't complete without a trip to Camden.  Unfortunately is rained most of the weekend, but we did manage to squeeze in some time outside in between storms.

Summer trim...not thrilled with that days activity.

Coloring

Water baby....

First Krisy Kreme (chocolate covered creme filled)

Our cousin, Lee Chapman, is off to Auburn this year, and we celebrated with a dinner at Vestavia Country Club.

This past weekend my sister came home (she lives in DC) so we took a trip to Auburn to spend time with her and the rest of my family.

Again I can't believe summer is coming to an end, but I am beyond thankful for all of the fun memories.

Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like Breaking Bad. It’s been a while since I touted a TV show but I want my appreciation for this show to go on the record. Breaking Bad is about an underemployed high school chemistry teacher (with cancer) who teams up with a former student to make drugs in order to make as much money as possible to leave for his wife and children. The storylines and suspense of each episode are addicting (no pun intended). I've managed to watch this entire AMC original series instantly on Netflix. The new (and final) season of Bad begins this weekend and I hope that AMC will make these episodes available for viewing on its website.

This week, I love Nestle Toll House Ultimates Dark Chocolate Delight cookies. There’s no such thing as too much chocolate. Julie surprised me with these unbelievable cookies recently and I will no longer crave any other cookie. Chocolate on chocolate on chocolate on chocolate! Best of all, Julie pulled these bad boys from the oven just before they firmed up. She was concerned about the dangers of uncooked cookie dough but I took my chances - and I’m so glad I did!

This week, I don’t like Hwy 280. Everyone knows about the work that’s being done to improve traffic flow on Hwy 280. Some of the changes I've seen make sense (the eastbound left-turn traffic lane in front of Whole Foods) while others leave me concerned (the new, sure-to-fail turn lanes in front of Wendy’s / Hampton Inn). What I really don’t like is the afternoon bottlenecks that occur at the CR 119 / Hwy 280 intersection. The new CVS did a very smart thing by installing a curb that will prevent drivers from turning left onto CR 119 from their parking lot. If the BP gas station across Hwy 280 would install a similar curb that would prevent drivers from turning left onto CR 119 from their parking lot, we’d be in business.



Sadly, the more Hwy 280 road construction I maneuver through, the more I realize the main problem is simply the number of cars on this road. I’m guilty of being one of the numerous single-passenger vehicles that travel this highway on a daily basis. I've only lived here for 5 years but I speak like I’m a veteran traffic sufferer. In all seriousness, you only have to spend one day to realize that Hwy 280 is doing way more than it was intended to do. We drivers usually get some relief when the area schools break for summer. This road construction has taken away that brief period of improved conditions. And guess what? School traffic will be upon us in just a matter of days.

Etsy...oh how I love you

I've been shopping Etsy for several years now, and I feel as if it just keeps getting better and better.  This past Christmas I would say 40% of the presents I purchased were from Etsy, and I could not have been more pleased with them.  It's fun to find unique/special items for much less than you would pay at a larger store.  Art, jewelry and stationary are probably my favorites so far.  Here are a few of my more recent purchases:

I had this print framed for my best friend for her birthday.

 kiki and polly

This was a gift for my SIL.  She even blogged about it here. 

sweet auburn studio

Some friends recently bought a new house and we ordered one of these address stamps as a house warming gift.

 simple and pretty

Graham's Easter basket

from me to you

This was an original watercolor I had framed for my Dad's 60th birthday.  Before he retired he was in the telephone and long distance business.

audrey hicks fine art

And just today I ordered a set of these cute enclosure cards for Graham.  He is starting to get invited to a lot of birthday parties so these will come in very handy!

oh my paper

Do you have any favorite Etsy items or shops?  If so please share...

Thank you, Ken Burns.

I've been on a "Ken Burns" kick lately. Credit the maturity that accompanies my old age or just call me weird but these days I can't get enough of the topics that were covered in my unappealing boyhood history classes. I thank Ken Burns for masterfully piecing history lessons together and projecting them directly into my eyeballs. I thoroughly enjoy this method of learning.

But now I have a problem. I've nearly consumed the entire works of Ken Burns. Well, every dilemma comes with opportunity and this particular case has given me the notion to list my favorite Ken Burns projects as well as provide ideas to Mr. Burns (free of charge) for upcoming films.

First, I will detail my Top-5 favorite Ken Burns projects.

Baseball (1994) – this was my first Ken Burns film. Growing up, I was a massive baseball fan and had an odd appreciation for baseball statistics and records. But now I can’t name one player that was in the MLB home run derby earlier this week. This film speaks to that nerdy boy. And yes, I am including the 2010 follow-up 10th Inning in this entry. It does a great job of recalling my favorite period in baseball: The Steroid Era.


The Dust Bowl (2012) – even though it's one of his more recent films, this is the template for all Ken Burns documentaries. It examines an otherwise boring, forgotten topic and makes viewers say, "I cannot believe that happened." The people that lived in that portion of the country during the 1930’s and 1940’s lived in pure misery.


The West (1996) – check the name of this list. These are my favorite Kens Burns projects. The West is not a Ken Burns film. Burns was the executive producer and Stephen Ives was the director for this film. Ives used the same cinematic styling and same narrator (Peter Coyote) that Burns has uses in his own films. I watched The West in the days leading up to the July 4th holiday. Let me tell you…it made me feel very unpatriotic on Independence Day. Why? Because this films tells the story of how, other than the Louisiana Territory (which was purchased), Americans pretty much stole all the land west of the Mississippi River from Native Americans , Great Britain and Mexico. Especially in the case of the Native Americans, there wasn't anything honorable or patriotic about the way this land became part of the United States.


The National Parks: America's Best Idea (2009) – this film helps viewers realize that there were a handful of Americans that foresaw the wasting of a lot of treasures that could not be replaced. Thank God for those people! This film gave me a sense of satisfaction in knowing that our government is doing the right thing by preserving these wonderful lands. I watched this film before I watched The West. Had that order been reversed, I'm not so sure that I would have received the same sense of satisfaction. Thinking about National Parks now, it seems to me that we’re preserving lands that were stolen. I guess that’s still a good thing.


Prohibition (2011) – we Americans had a really bad problem with alcohol at one time. This film shows why Prohibition came to be, the players behind the Temperance movement and the fallout from one of the most polarizing decisions ever made by the United States government. Prior to watching this film, I had little knowledge about the Prohibition era and even less desire to learn about it. But Ken Burns (and Lynn Novick) changed that for me.


Ken Burns definitely has his own style and he's made a name for himself by covering very historically-dated topics. Given this fact, my following suggestions may not work in his niche but I sure would like to see him give these a try:

The United States Space Program – The Right Stuff is one of my all-time favorite movies because of the chronological approach it takes towards explaining the history of rockets. Given enough time and access to never-before-seen photos and film footage, Ken Burns would have a field day with this topic.


The Internet – this might be too new of a topic but I’m sure I would enjoy Burns’ take on how the Internet grew from a militarized communications system into its current, unavoidable state.

The United States Capitol – have you ever noticed how amazingly big the United States Capitol is? Do you know much about story of the Capitol’s design or construction? Me neither but I bet Ken Burns could put together a very entertaining film that would help us learn more about this landmark. The main information I need from this film pertains to how in the world those workers built something so big so long ago. We're talkin' 1793 here. It's not like they had an army of cranes at their service.

Thank you again, Mr. Burns. I look forward to viewing the remainder of your catalog and cannot wait to see what you have in store for us next.