I feel like I have been rather absent the past few weeks on both the writing and the reading front on tumblr.  Between all of the stuff that has been going on, including the last month of school push, I haven’t had the time or the energy to keep up!  Well I finally had the chance to catch up  on the reading side, and here are the last few weeks in pictures (and some words)…

After spending Spring Break in Long Beach with Ellen, 

 we traveled back home to attend Alice’s Bridal Shower!

The bride and me!

The lovely ladies that make up the bridal party!

I saw Water for Elephants, and I loved it!  

 (image via)

My family and I celebrated Mother’s Day weekend at the beach,

with Rummy Cube and Dominos.

with the most amazing brunch at the Harbor Cafe in Santa Cruz,

and family photos above the beach!  It was a cozy weekend filled with grandmas, laughing, cocktails, food, and sharing a room with my parents!! You know you are traveling with elderly people when you put a walker in your trunk, a cane in the front seat, and the car conversation consists of coupons, doctor’s appointments, vitamins, and sweats with pockets!  If I had a dollar for every time I was asked, “Do you need a kleenex?” I would be rich right now!  I love my nans more than I can say, and to be able to spend a whole weekend with them and my family was a tremendous blessing!

Matt and I went to our first ever Brewfest in Sacramento:

Aren’t they a dainty bunch of men with their coasters and pinkies!

The crew!

And finally we went and saw Bridesmaids

 (image via)

and it was absolutely hilarious!  It almost reminded me of a female Hangover!

Matt and I arrived home this evening after the conclusion of Beach Week 2010 (pictures and details to follow very soon!).  There is always that dreaded feeling that comes when vacation ends and work/life/reality is looming ahead, which I was definitely feeling this morning.  The thing I hate the most about returning home is the unpacking!  Especially after a week long trip such as this one!

But this time it was different.  We picked up our dog (my grandma was babysitting her great-granddog for the week), came home, and started the unloading the car and unpacking process…and it wasn’t bad!  We got the car completely unpacked, the ice chests emptied and cleaned, the dishwasher unloaded, the (7 loads of) laundry sorted and started, and the mail gone through.  

It was much, much easier than usual.  I HATE and dread any kind of unpacking.  My usual M.O. would be to leave my clean clothes in my suitcase on the floor of my bedroom and take things out as I need them.  Matt changed me if in this aspect of my life, and I am grateful!  It is a very calming feeling to know that everything is put away and we are ready to get back to real life.   

This is one of the many, many reasons I love my husband.  I am lucky to have him.  We work as a team, and our team did work tonight!!

We are OV (on vacation) and to make it even better, it’s my momma’s birthday!! The only way my mom wants to spend her birthday is at the beach, and we have been at the same beach every year since I was born. It’s one of the best family traditions that has been passed to me. Starting last year, Matt and I got our own beach house and fill it with our friends! We play, drink, socialize with the perfect combo of family and friends for a week every summer! I look forward to it all year!

So right now we are sitting in my parents beach house, with the ocean as our backdrop, playing a birthday game of power hour!

Here are the books that I am taking with me to Beach Week 2010:

  Currently reading…and it is really good!

  Next up.

  In the on deck circle.

And it the midst of reading all of those suspenseful, fun, enjoyable reads, I am trying to work my way through this book (recommended to me by my principle).  I figure with school starting in a couple weeks, I may need to spend more time on the beach reading this book than any of the others…boo!

This is our new toy kitchen appliance!  We have been eying this for moths and checking out the price each and every time we go into Kohl’s.  The price has never been low enough to justify spending the advertised amount on a margarita machine (no matter how much I LOVE margs)…until yesterday!!  It was on sale, and then there was another sale, and the end price was much lower than I had imagined!  

So this means that, according to my hubs, “This means we are going to have margaritas everyday at the beach!”

Beach Week 2010 = Margaritas Galore 

(BTW it makes FABULOUS blended maragritas!)

quote-book:

words by e.e. cummings. art by mae chevrette.

It is exactly 3 weeks until the commencement of Beach Week 2010!!!