Sweet Summertime!

It's summertime! I completely love summer. Since I am an instructional assistant in a school library, I get to be off work all these long, glorious, wonderful weeks. I take full advantage of them by spending tons of time with my girl. 

We've been having a great time this summer so far. Our town has opened up a new splash pad at a local park, so we've spent several afternoons there. It's a super-fun, free thing to do with my girlie and it's only a couple of minutes from our house. 

We've also taken full advantage of the free programs at our local public library as part of the Summer Library Program. I may do a post soon about the importance of public libraries, but for now, let me just share some pics from a program presented by the local agriplex center on farming at our public library. 

Grinding corn off the cob

We've gone to movies. Our local Carmike Cinema has a deal going on in the summer where every Thursday at 10 am, they show a children's movie that has already been released but it still fairly new: Despicable Me 1 and 2, The Croods, Turbo, Rio 1 and 2 etc. It's $4 a person and you get a small drink and small popcorn. For any of you who haven't been to the movie theater lately, that's a crazy good price. 

So far, it's been a great summer, and we're only halfway in. On Thursday, we head out for the beach-our first trip all three of us as a family- and I can't wait! 

Finish This...Week XV

I've been missing for a few weeks. We're out of school for the summer- which means I'm off work (yay!), but also that I didn't have internet at my house (boo!). That is, until last week, when we finally got the local cable company to come out and install our wifi! So glad to be back as a part of this link up, and will hopefully be updating on some of our summer activities soon!

For now though, thanks Nicole {Three 31}; Jen {The Arizona Russums}; Becky {The Java Mama}; and Lisa {COASTLINED} for the awesome linkup.

 

I have a quarter to use a pay phone, I call ….Bruce, my husband. If I'm somewhere without my cell or anything else on me but a quarter, I must have some serious problems, and he's the one person I would want to get there as soon as possible. But really, I don't know that I've actually SEEN a pay phone anywhere in a very long time, so I imagine I'd actually have a lot more problems....

I found $25 in my pocket, I buy …something for myself, like a new dress or a new pair of shoes. I might buy a new gym outfit since I literally wear the same black capri gym pants every time I go. I desperately need to work on expanding my wardrobe.

I have 25 minutes to watch anything on TV, I turn on …How I Met Your Mother. I hardly ever watch TV unless it's after Allie's asleep or when she's with her dad and the husband and I have a few minutes, so we don't even have cable or satellite-just Internet- and we watch everything online. I'm working my way through several TV series- HIMYM, Downton Abbey, and Game of Thrones. HIMYM is the one I could finish an episode in the allotted time. Aren't Marshall and Lily just the best thing ever though?!

A meal I can prepare, from start to finish. in 25 minutes or less is …These boxes of red beans and rice we buy at Aldi, just like Zatarain's but a different brand. I brown a pound of ground chicken, then throw the rice and seasonings and water in the pan and let it simmer. Does a boxed dinner even count? I don't know, but it's ridiculously cheap, and fast, and sooo good. 

At the age of 25, I wish I had known …Letting go and getting out of a horrible marriage would not be the end of the world. I would come out on the other side of this better and happier and more sure of who I was and what I wanted than ever before. I would not feel the pain and misery that I felt at the time forever. I would not be destroying my child's life and sentencing her to an awful future simply because she had divorced parents. I would eventually meet an amazing, wonderful man and my daughter would turn out to be a kind-hearted, well-adjusted, happy kid with a mom, stepfather, and dad who loves her. 

If I drove 25 miles south from my house, I’d be in ..Warrior, AL; home of The Warrior Public Library, where I used to the Director. Despite the daily commute and long hours, I really loved that job. However, after my divorce, I needed to be a little closer to home and there for my daughter more, so now I work and Allie goes to preschool less than 5 minutes from our home. Also, home of The White House Restaurant-the best place I've found in the northern half of this state to get a good, home-cooked, Southern, meat-and-veggies meal.