Enumerated Update

Our first week of summer break is in the books, and we have spent this time relaxing and making plans. Camps are scheduled, lessons planned and all that jazz.

Here are a few things on our minds:

1) Vocabulary: Fifteen words you should eliminate from your vocabulary to sound smarter. Admittedly, I have been guilty of all but one (#15) of these.

2) Income Inequality: This has been posted everywhere, but I had marked it to share a few weeks ago. In the country/suburbia, imagining trees as a luxury feels foreign, but I promise not to take our trees for granted any longer. Truthfully, they are appreciated already. One of my favorite sounds is of winds rustling in the breeze, and sitting on the deck listening to that sound is one of my sure-fire ways to relax.

3) Rainy Day Hair: After enduring a week with rain showers on the daily, I applaud the embrace of rainy day hair. However, I think a messy bun, an updo, a sleek pony or just a go-to hat would be a better option. Yeah, no, I cannot pull that off.

4) Rochambeau:  Skip and I use the time honored classic of rock, paper, scissors to decide many things around the house. Our game has evolved over the years, and we have been employing these methods for years. This scientific analysis is an interesting read nonetheless.

Fun fact about Gracie: She takes an extra fist pump thereby delivering her weapon (rock, paper, scissors) a second after everyone else's, adjusting her choice after she sees what everyone else has chosen.

By the way, what is your position on Rochambeau versus roshambo? Which way do you spell it? My fact-checking revealed that the correct spelling is "roshambo," but Skip was reading over my shoulder and reflexively backed away from the computer saying, "You have GOT to change that. That CANNOT be right." He stopped just short of shielding his eyes, but he did have a pained expression.

5) The Small Life: The best ways to be happy and fulfilled. A favorite and the most thought-provoking sentence in the piece:

This [decision trap] is an amazingly consistent phenomena whereby "big" decisions turn out to have much less impact on a life as a whole than the myriad of small seemingly insignificant ones.

I'm not sure I completely agree with that statement, but maybe a little, if that makes sense.

Have a wonderful weekend!