It's Friday, Friday.

Dear brain, please function for one more day this week.  You can do it!  Dear Airborne, You have staved off my getting sick.  Thank you!  Please continue to do your job, so I can do mine.  Dear tight jeans, please be that way because I just washed you not because I got bigger.  Dear me, Thank you for going to bed at a decent hour the last few nights.  I feel way better.  Dear trainer at the gym, I had a dream about training last night, and I was whining the whole time.  Not much different from in real life.  Dear library, I am coming to visit you soon.  I am about to finish my last book at the house.  This makes me so happy!  Dear Thanksgiving break and trip to Maryland, I hope you are everything that I am expecting you to be.  Dear Halloween costume that I so creatively thought of, please be easy to find all the pieces.  Or I am going to have to go as what I went as last year, myself.  Dear new followers, I have loved connecting with you.  Hope you have a great weekend!

Book Review-The Help

So, in the glorious days of summer when I can read whatever I want, for however long I want, whenever I want, I was given the recommendation by several people to read The Help because it was just soooo good. Here are my thoughts on the book and the movie:

For as much as people loved this book, it did not initially, for the first couple hundred pages, meet my high expectations that I had developed from other people's opinions. Maybe the actual syntax threw me for a loop, but I did not actually start liking the book until the end. However, I would definitely recommend it to others as it is an interesting and engaging read.

What really made me love the book was the movie. They go so well together!

I am thankful that I did not grow up in a family that disregarded others or referred to others by their color or ethnicity alone. Because, unfortunately, I think this type of attitude and behavior is passed down from generation to generation. The book and movie are very eye-opening to the prejudice that existed decades ago, but I daresay persists today.

What I am loving right now

In the midst of all the stress surrounding TAKs testing and teacher cuts, let me share with you ten things that I am loving right now:

1. Tapioca pudding--my grandpa used to call it "fish eyes." I try to smash those little things with my tongue while I eat it. What are those things anyway??? For that matter, what flavor is tapioca??

2. Spring air as written by L.M Montgomery, " chatting together near the open door that led to the veranda, through which a cool, delicious breeze was blowing, bringing whiffs of phantom perfume from the garden, and charming gay echoes from the vine hung corner"

3. Reading the Anne of Green Gables series as mentioned above. I am already on book 8! I need good recommendations for reading material after I am finished.

4. Being at financial peace and on the same page as my husband in regard to OUR money. We were both raised to handle money very, very, very differently. Let me clarify, that neither one of us think that either one of our parents did it the "right" or "wrong" way. Blending two different ideas about any subject is going to take work. We have always known that finances would be our testing point. Thankfully, our financial advisor is a wonderful man of God and understands the importance of being at peace with our financial decisions. Peace, for us, meant that we paid off our debt. He helped us set up a payment plan to be out of debt (from college loans) in April 2012. We are so excited about working toward this goal!!

5. My best friend is going to have a baby!!! She will be a great mom because she has always been a loving, caring, sacrificial friend. I love you, Brittany!

6. My brother and sister-in-law are expecting another bundle of joy, too! I love being an aunt so so so much!

7. Playing volleyball at school.

8. Getting Anthony's car fixed completely for no more than our tax return! Thank you, Lord!

9. Playing practical jokes on Anthony. Last week when he was in the shower, I poured a glass of ice cold water on him. I thought it was really funny, but he initially got so mad that I will for sure think twice before I do that again.

10. The pictures on the right: McDonald's egg bacon cheese biscuits, magazines, and snorkeling. Currently I am not doing any of those, but I love them!