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Today was "spider day" at school... and this happened.  

Books: Print versus Digital

Image via Ugly Dog Books

In recent months, there have been murmurings about the return of print books. I mentioned it briefly when I observed a majority of readers holding print books during some recent trips. Sales figures, as noted by the NYT, are citing the hard facts... ebook sales have slipped, while print book sales have increased.

As someone who was very slow to convert, returning to print books is not an easy transition. I am now accustomed to reading on an iPad and enjoy dropping the one-pound device in my purse, as opposed to cramming a 500+ page tome into my delicate bag.  Also, I enjoy having the lit screen and eliminating the need for a hot, beacon lamp.

Recently, my mom and I shared the story of our attending the last Iron Bowl at Legion Field. While we have always been Crimson Tide fans, my ability to follow football has waned at times, and this particular game occurred during one of my less interested times. But, I had been gifted with some free tickets at work, and since it was the last Iron Bowl at the fabled stadium, my mom and I prepared to go. Anticipating some downtime because we arrived early, I took a book to the game. Since I was about 75% of the way through the book, I was anxious to read the conclusion, i.e., this was at the can't-put-it-down, sweet-spot of the book. As I quietly slid the book out of my purse, my mom looked askance and immediately asked, "Are you reading War and Peace at a football game???!!!" Obviously, when  your own mother implies that your actions are nerdy, it's time to slip the book away and enjoy some people watching before the game commences.

Obviously, had there been e-readers in the late 90's, that would have never occurred. For one, people would have assumed I was updating my status on social media or possibly playing a riveting game of Candy Crush. If text had been detected on the screen, I could have said I was reading the Tide's message boards to get a sense of the soon-to-start game. Tolstoy would have been my little secret. That's the thing about books... often what one is reading doesn't completely complement the setting, i.e., Tolstoy at a football game, or -- the opposite -- Rob Lowe's books in a more literary setting. Also, carrying around a book is a lot like having a bumper sticker on your car. While I am never secretive about what I am reading (see the "What We're Reading Section" in the right upper corner of the blog), it's never intended to be defining either.

As a family, we are shifting toward digital books, although I continue to be somewhat conflicted. The trio still enjoy physical books, and as a frequent patron of the library, I must accept the limited number of titles available in e-format. Even with such a strong predilection for the electronic format, I remain romantic about book stores. Skip is ready to write them off entirely, but I still like the idea of going through a very well organized and managed Barnes & Noble. I long for the Books-A-Million's upscale Books & Company that was here in the 2000's.  With shifting sales figures, we are probably not alone in being indecisive about format.

What is your current preference? Are you remaining steadfastly pro-book, or did you adopt early and never look back?

Weekend Update

Fall was completely vindicated this weekend.

Friday morning, I dropped the girls at school, and William George and I picked up my mom, the trio's beloved Grammie for a day of fun. After volunteering at school for a couple of hours, we had lunch and then went to a craft fair/fundraiser in our town. In order to walk through all of the booths and displays, we bribed George (naturally) with a special present if he was on his very, very best behavior. He was, and so Grammie gifted him with his Halloween costume. He has had to try the costume on at least a dozen times over the weekend.

We picked up the girls from school and spent some much needed time outside on the deck. Later, we grilled and had dinner. While they alternated between eating and playing on the swing set, I was struck with an epiphany for when we can remove some of the small-scale, brightly colored furniture from the deck. Have you been to a restaurant with really nice outdoor seating? I think I would like to emulate that for the back deck so that we feel like we are dining out, but with all the luxuries of home.

Saturday morning, Skip took the trio to the park to run off some energy, while mom and I visited. After lunch, we sat on pins and needles and watched the Alabama v. Texas A&M game. Fearful of a loss, I read and watched the children outside... really anything to divert my eyes from the screen. Finally, at the very end, when we were up and time was running out, I could watch a little of the game. We grilled again (Hooray for Fall!) and celebrated the victory. Our neighbor's dog, Kami, had been over for most of the day to play with Pixie and the trio (also the grill tends to lure her in), and she was finally called home. Grammie also waved the white flag of surrender and return to the quiet and calm of her house.

After church Sunday, we played outside with our sweet neighbor and had an impromptu gathering in the cul-de-sac.  We topped off the perfect fall weekend by having the first batch of chili, and we had to remind the trio repeatedly that Sunday is actually a school night and that we had to go inside at a reasonable hour and get ready for bed.

Enumerated Update

It is Friday, friends, and I am pleased to announce that we will be enjoying a wonderful fall weekend. In the meantime, here is what is happening:

1) Surprises: We attended a friend's 40th birthday party last night, and it was so fun to watch his wife busily plan the evening and to see him escorted in -- unawares -- by another friend.  SURPRISE!

2) Football: The Crimson Tide squares off against Texas A&M tomorrow, and we are a little concerned. We experienced the loss two years ago in person, and we watched last year's shut-out at Bryant Denny. You will probably find me watching the game from behind a book tomorrow, since that takes the sting out of defeat.

3) Grammar: A quick review.

4) Downton Abbey: Although the series has lost some of its steam, we are eagerly awaiting the final season. Are you planning to watch? Personally, my opinion is that the Crawley's give us something to look forward to, post-holiday.

5) Unplug: These photos are making the rounds... Let's all make a pact to put the phones/tablets/screens down this weekend, yes? (I'm one of the worst.)

Have a wonderful weekend, and let's meet back here on Monday.    

Pumpkin Patch 2015

William George's 4K class went to the pumpkin patch earlier this week. After arriving by bus, the class rode ponies, enjoyed a train ride, went to the petting zoo, and then went to the inflatables. Our recurrent bounce house issues have traumatized him rather effectively, and he now refuses to participate. I was explaining some of our issues to fellow parents when George heard a scream in the distance and spun around -- alarmed -- to see what was wrong.

"Did you see that? He's really concerned!"

Yes, well, we have done a fine job of creating a safe environment. After the harrowing inflatables, we took the hay ride to the pumpkin patch, and George demonstrated a very typical male shopping pattern by walking up to the very first pumpkin he saw, picking it up, and being finished with the selection process.  We need a pumpkin? Problem solved... here's a pumpkin. When I explained that we don't always pick the first one we say, he agreed and selected the second one he saw. We compromised, and he picked up the third one to bring home. Much like his sisters, his favorite activity was playing in the hay, and he was soon joined by his friends, all of whom had been delayed by prolonged pumpkin shopping.

After the hay ride back, we had lunch, and headed home. On the way to the car, George said, "I had so much fun with you, Mommy."  We had a great day.

Past pumpkin patch experiences 2012, 2011, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008.

Weekend Update

Even though the trio had a long weekend, the harsh reality of starting another week has been jarring. After we had some quick photos taken last Friday, we met Skip, who had taken the afternoon off (yay!) off, for lunch, and then the trio went to spend the night with their grandparents. Skip has had a lot going on, work-wise, so we opted for a low key evening at home. I'll just come clean... we finally watched the movie version of Entourage.  And because I love Ari Gold, it was my idea.  Our approach to movies that evolve from the small screen is to have exceptionally low expectations, i.e., the movie is not going to be better than the series. Because we had the bar set incredibly low, we found the movie entertaining. Sure, it's not going to win any awards and you'll hardly be discussing the plot with friends, but the scene with Ari in the therapist's office? Well... as Skip said, "I can see me doing that."  (Ahem: So can I, friends.)

Also, to appreciate Entourage, either the television series or the movie, it helps to focus on Jeremy Piven who portrays Ari Gold, a character based on real-life agent Ari Emanuel (brother to Rahm, who I love). We are fascinated by the Emanuel family, and therefore, we were hooked on the series from the beginning.

We had some shopping to do Saturday, and then had lunch at Macaroni Grill because we were in the area and ravenous. We also peered into the new Trader Joe's (our city's first!), and are very excited about its grand opening today. Our trip would not be complete without the requisite visit to the Apple store, but we were disappointed that the new iPad was not available for our grubby little hands to explore. Granted, we are not even interested in the iPad (I'm very put off by the stylus, as I'm a definite "no" on any stylus. I kind of want to snap them into when I see one.). I continue to not have a user case for the Apple Watch, although I am decidedly "pro," for most users.  

We later picked up the trio and fulfilled a promise to Lauren by having shaved ice one last time before our local stand closes for winter. The rest of our weekend consisted of watching the game, church and playing outside.  

How is your weekend, and how is the week shaping up so far? 

Enumerated Update

Happy Friday, friends!

William George is joined today by his sisters for a Friday full of fun. Grace and Lauren's school have a professional development day, and they have been assigned some "eDay" activities. Personally, we are very pro eDay, particularly for days when school is canceled due to weather, but you would correctly guess that we wrapped up our assignments Thursday evening so that we can have a long weekend of fun.

Work first, then play, yes?

But first we have a little business to attend to because we are very much long overdue for an updated photo of the trio. After a quick appointment at a portrait studio, I have promised some fun.

But so here is where we are otherwise...

1) Fall: We really try to be content in all things, but where is our sweater weather? I feel greedy even typing that sentence, and I have to confess that I have been wearing fall clothes for weeks and have simply kept the air conditioning cranked to freezing to be able to pull it off. At the end of August, Skip told me I couldn't just decide it was fall.

[Blink. Blink-Blink.]

Anyone who knows me well knows that I will "declare" it fall and have done so as early as August 15th. While that may be early, we are now a couple of weeks into the actual and legitimate season of fall, and I would very much like to wear sweaters without incurring an astronomical power bill and/or taxing the effectiveness of my deodorant.

Why is it still 85+ degrees?

2) Milestones: Last week I encountered one of the less-discussed childhood milestones. We were goofing around, and I jokingly (and ironically, I might add) told one of the trio to "check yo-self before you wreck yo-self."

The response?

"That's so lame, mom."

Let's mark that one down, shall we? The first time the children called me lame.

I tried explaining irony, but they were not following at all.

3) Fun Fact: I have a secret dream to one day own a Vespa. Also, the dream involves living someplace where a Vespa makes sense, and is now complicated by the message we relay to our children about motorcycles not being safe. (Apologies if the latter part of that sentence is offensive to anyone. We are old insurance/risk assessment people, and actuarially, motorcycles are the least safe mode of transportation -- along with bicycles.) BUT... I still want one, and this site for vintage Vespas is a DREAM.

4) Related and Contradictory: Skip and I recently saw a motorcycle with a child-sized sidecar, and we had one of those moments where we turned to each other simultaneously and said: YES.

But we won't.

5) Buzz words: It's been long time since we have had a buzz word, but today I'm introducing the phrase "gavel down".

Example: Let's gavel down on this in the meeting tomorrow. I'm tired of spinning on it and want to get it done."



And that's it for us. Happy weekend!

Channeling Carrie Bradshaw

What would one do if she had access to the design genius of Patricia Field? She should emulate it whenever possible, and Sarah Jessica Parker does exactly that, often borrowing looks that have been carefully orchestrated by Field and worn by SJP's well-known character, Carrie Bradshaw. 

After all, don't we all want to be Carrie... just a little bit?

50 Times Sarah Jessica Parker Dressed Like Carrie Bradshaw In Real Life

Ninth Birthdays

On October 3rd, we celebrated Grace and Lauren's 9th birthdays. Although the girls will be celebrating all month long, their celebratory festivities were this past weekend. To start off the fun, Skip, William George and I met the girls at school on Friday for a birthday lunch. Grammie also came over on Friday to spend the weekend, and they had fun after school playing on the play ground. We went to a casual dinner at Whataburger (their pick, obvs), and then we went shopping for birthday outfits. Because we had a bounce house arriving first thing Saturday morning (6:40am, to be exact), they opted for some comfy clothes, and the choices matched our weekend theme perfectly ("glitter for breakfast" and "make today awesome"). As indicated, the bounce house arrived early, and the duo jumped in, and then alternated between bouncing and taking a break whenever we had rain. Skip dried off the bounce house for them to climb back inside, once the rain stopped. William George still has some residual fear about the bounce house tipping over, as happened during his birthday. As it turns out, his concerns were valid because the bounce house eventually did tip over (with Skip inside), although no one was hurt. It wouldn't be a party without some bounce house drama, but it might be time for us to find a new location.

Skip's parents came over in the afternoon, and we grilled the girls' requested dinner: burgers and fries. We had a family party in the dining room, followed by cake. Gracie shared her cake with George so that we could even sing a round of "Happy Birthday" to him. After the birthday dinner, the girls opened their grandparents' presents and even George got a new toy or two.

The following morning, we continued celebrating by having cake for breakfast -- a decadent treat, and then we went to church. After church, we got ready for a skate party with friends. Lauren and Grace are skating pros, but this was George's first time on a skating rink. Also, it was Skip's first time to wear skates in a while, and skating is definitely something I have not done recently. But we laced up and gave it a shot. Skip took his off after about five minutes, but I wobbled around for the entire party.

After the party, we stopped by a friend's party for a minute before coming home for a final birthday dinner and family presents. Special thanks to grandparents and sweet friends for their presence, time and generosity in celebrating with us and making this weekend so fun.

Past Birthdays

Second

Third

Fourth

Fifth (also here and here)

Sixth (also here and here)

Seventh

Eighth (also here and here)