The Sunday Post: Birthday Month, The Bridge to Fall, and Back to School All Rolled Into One!

 

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. you can write about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

How do you feel about August?  It's my birthday month, so I'm a fan.  August has also always been bittersweet for me. As a kid, I loved summer and once my birthday rolled around, I couldn't ignore the fact that school was right around the corner. When I had kids, same feelings!  And now that I work at a school, I'm happy to go back and also I like sleeping in! 

Fall was a very busy month, the hubs and I went to Colorado. He had altitude sickness and that put quite the damper on the trip. On the way home, I googled the elevation of my dream vacations, Coastal Maine, Scotland, and South Korea. Thank goodness all of those locations are close to sea level!

Below is a picture from our trip. If you find yourself in Colorado make sure you drink loads of water that helps with the elevation and the fact that Colorado is more desert than you think! 

This is from the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. A free city park!

I also went to a concert at The Salt Shed with my middle kiddo and another concert with a friend. I'm having a real music-filled summer!

I love how our Chicago concert venues have views of the City!  This one is right on the Chicago River so people sit in their boats and see the show as well! I went to this concert with middle kiddo, we saw AWOLNATION and 311.

How was your July?  I also read some books worth talking about and released my own book! 

I'm currently reading this book. It's my first time reading a Regency male/male romance. I'm very curious how they will have a HEA!

On the Cusp of My Birthday Month! #TheSundayPost

 

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme 

It's just about August, And that means it's my birthday month! I've informed the family that we'll be going to the local farm to table and fun beverage place that is a block from our house for my dinner. I think I'm going to get a giant pretzel with cheese and an ice cold beer, then have a fancy salad and strawberry shortcake for dessert! What do you like to have as a birthday meal?

I've been doing a bunch of reading and listening lately so I need to  prepare more blog posts to talk about these books. For now: 

Books I'll be talking about this week:

Who Wants Some Free Kindle Mysteries? Read On!

Tomorrow is a milestone birthday for me. No party due to this doggone COVID-19  No birthday vacation trip due to this doggone COVID-19.  However, unlike last year--I have all my hair! Sure it's white, and now people assume I am 65, not 40-something--but I'll take the win where I can get them.  Maybe for my big birthday, I'll dye my hair purple. We will see!

In honor of my isolated milestone birthday, I figured I would post freebies. Today I'm posting free Kindle books on Amazon.  I haven't read these books, so I don't vouch for anything outside the fact that they are free and I liked the cover.  You can read them on a Kindle or on a laptop/iPad or smartphone, just download the free Kindle App.

Happy Sunday!
xoxo

What in Tarnation?

I spy with my little eyes a snowflake on my weather app, not once but twice in the next 10 days!  Not cool.

I'm not too worried.  A- plenty of other things to worry about and B- Chicagoland forecasts changed every hour on the hour so who knows!

Today was blustery and I was kind of slow, but I was able to run 4.5 miles and for that I am happy.

I took a picture at a local nursery here-

And then yesterday I took a photo from our front yard.

Weeds you say?  Ah pshaw, I say they are flowers I don't have to maintain.  Plus according to The Guardian: 

"Gardeners should avoid mowing over dandelions on their lawn if they want to help bees, according to the new president of the British Ecological Society.

Dandelions – which will start flowering in the UK this month – provide a valuable food source for early pollinators coming out of hibernation, including solitary bees, honey bees and hoverflies."

-The rest of the article is here!

I would like to add more flowers to our backyard this spring/summer, it, however, remains to be seen if that will be a practical pursuit, given the need to #stayhome unless you are doing essential shopping. Browsing around the garden center while the Hubs is wandering around Menards for hours isn't likely to happen this year.  I'll survive!

Speaking of surviving, I may or may not have a birthday this year. I had big plans to pester my children and the Hubs into throwing me a milestone epic bday party. A well-deserved half-century party.  Now that COVID-19 is here, I may well postpone my birthday until 2021. If the Olympics can postpone until next year so can my big party.