Hi lovelies! It has been ages, hasn’t it? I am happy to report that things should settle down a bit for the next few weeks…until the recitals start the week after Memorial Day that is.
So, how are things? As you can imagine, life has not been dull. In fact, far from it. (I know. What a surprise.)
Track has kept Connor busy after school with at least two meets each week. He continues to do really well and break his personal records. The conference meet is this Tuesday, so we are reaching the end of that particular season. In addition, Connor spent the last Saturday in April at the state Solo and Ensemble Contest where his brass ensemble performed. They did really well and earned a top score in their category. A few days later, Connor had his Forensics year-end dinner, where it was announced that he would be one of next year’s captains. Advanced Placement testing came and went as well. This year, he had three AP exams – U. S. History, English Language, and Statistics. Scores come out later this summer, so we will be waiting to see how well he did. In between testing weeks, he attended prom with a friend from track and had a blast. This past weekend was all about marching band as they performed in a parade and had the first marching band camp to start the next marching season, for which he will be one of the drum majors. He continues to beg us to practice driving and learning how to drive with a manual transmission. Somehow, on top of all that, he still gets his homework done and does a few chores around the house. Busy, busy, busy.
Holly finished the regular competition season during the last week in April with one of their most successful competitions they have had all season. Seriously, the stack of plaques and awards the girls/studio received that weekend is slightly embarrassing but in a good way. She immediately dove into longer and more practices for the ballet recital, which is in one month. Costumes are arriving daily, just in time for pictures next week. She has also had her track and field day at school, a few short field trips, and a lot of homework. Right now, we are focusing on the end of the school year, the recitals, band concert, and a national dance competition at the end of June. Someone hold me.
I have had a most excellent three weeks. Work has been kicking my ass, but in a good way. Plus, my husband was awesome and arranged a surprise dinner party for my birthday with all of my friends. It made me feel so loved to know he did that but also that they took time out of their own busy schedules and attended. We all laughed so much I had a stitch in my side, and we ended up closing down the restaurant. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate my 40th.
Then, two days later, I finally attended Book Expo America held in Chicago this year. It was bookish insanity, and I loved every minute of it. Well, there was plenty of drama as I saw firsthand how people lose their shit when publishers release new books. There were more than a few times where I wanted to throw elbows and tell people to stand back. It makes me rather sad actually, since from what I saw, a large majority of those most guilty of this behavior were younger bloggers. I had heard about this from previous BEA weeks, so I was simultaneously prepared and yet still upset by the grabby hands and lack of common courtesy. Still, this in no way diminished my enthusiasm for the event or the week in general. I stayed with my long-time friend Jenn from Jenn’s Bookshelves and Melissa from Ballet Bookworm and had a blast hanging out with both of them. We spied on Nicholas Sparks, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, and Kristi Yamaguchi, and fell in love with Kendare Blake, Lauren Oliver, Alyson Noel, Melissa de la Cruz, and Veronica Roth. We had our own Ferris Bueller moment at the Art Institute of Chicago. I finally met my fellow Armchair BEA founder and accountant, Florinda from The 3R’s Blog, as well as the lovely Candace from Beth Fish Reads, Shaina from Shaina Reads, Katie from Words for Worms, and so many more. Hugs all around! I ended up shipping two boxes weighing a total of 75 pounds back to my house. They will be arriving tomorrow. I am more than a little scared to open those boxes and see the damage in the confines of my house. I will not be attending next year because it is back in New York right around Connor’s birthday and graduation. I will go back though, no matter where it is because it is just that much fun.
In spite of all of that, I managed to keep up regular postings. Here are all of the posts since the last check-in, in case you missed any of them.
- What Are You Reading? – April 25th
- Sleeping Giants
- The Girl With All the Gifts
- Finders Keepers
- Fabulous Friday – April 29th
- What’s For Dinner
- What Are You Reading? – May 2nd
- I Let You Go
- If I Was Your Girl
- The Twelve
- Fabulous Friday – May 6th
- What Are You Reading? – May 9th
- The Partly Cloudy Patriot
- We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Carmilla: A Vampyre Tale by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
- Fabulous Friday – 13 May 2016
It is now Sunday evening, and I am still working my way through paperwork and other shit just to get ready for a full week of work. I have missed you all and look forward to being able to visit everyone and leave comments. Have a wonderful evening and even better work week!
