Tuesday 26 July 2011

In the gutter

If you look at my Goodreads "What is Ashley Reading" box, it will tell you that I am reading 7 books. This is, in fact, a lie. I am in a book rut. An ugly, ugly, ugly book rut. Let me break it down quickly:

1. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes- Was it really 2 years ago? Could it have been? Maybe not...but it's been well over a year since I began reading through all the Holmes stories and I haven't been able to progress in this one at all. We're at stalemate, and I don't know when this will change.

2.The Baby Book by Dr. Sears- I don't know why I decided to list this one as something I am currently reading. I use it when I need it, but I by no means am reading the whole damn thing cover to cover. I haven't actually "needed" to pick it up in months.

3.Road Trip USA- I bought this because we're going on a road trip, so obviously I wanted a book about going on a road trip. I have to say, I've been pretty disappointed in this book. It's full of parks to see and places to eat. And the suggestions for places to stay are usually of the more pricey variety. Again, WHY did I enter as something I am currently reading? I do not know. Personally, I have gotten a lot more use and enjoyment out of used and outdated copy of Lonely Planet's Guide to the USA. But whatevs....

4. A History of Wife- I first took this out at my local library when we lived in England. I returned it before we moved and then when we landed in the US, I went to my parents local library and took it out again. It's a fascinating and a very well researched book, but it reads like a text book which is making it a slow one to get through.

5. Azazel- Every so often Griff and I will beg the other to read one of our favorite books. Griff and I have very different tastes in reading (he being of the sci-fi/fantasy variety) and occasionally we try and overlap and expand the others' mind a bit :) So he gave me Azazel which is a collection of short stories about a tiny demon. It's pretty good, but I can't read short story after short story, I have to break it up a bit. Unfortunately, the copy of this book suffered an accident. My water bottle leaked in my purse and now the book is SOAKED and I'm waiting for it to dry out. Luckily it's hot as balls outside, so hopefully it will dry out soon.

6. The Life of Joan Crawford- WOW. What can I say. This book sucked so hard I threw it across the bed and refused to read another page. The author is such an unapologetic fan that his whole history of Crawford is skewed. And he had the annoying habit of summarizing each movie. I can't stand that when reading a biography. I understand that sometimes the film an actor/actress was working on plays into the biography, but not every single film. It was horrible. But I started it with the intention of finishing it. But I'll be honest, once upon a time I would have. A time before Oz and I could finish shitty books for the sake of saying I finished them. But that time has passed. If I'm going to read something I'm going to damn well enjoy it.

7. Nerd Do Well- This is Simon Pegg's autobiography, and so far it's pretty good. I don't love it tho. I feel like I'm going through the motions. Which means I'm sort of dragging my heels about reading it.

When I'm reading a good book, I can't get enough. I actually look forward to Oz's nap time because it means we get to snuggle in bed and I get to read for a good hour or so. Right now, I get him to sleep and then do chores. The last series I read, The Hunger Games, was so brilliant and intense I just haven't been able to fill the void. Yet. I'm on it tho. I will find something good to read. Till then, you will have to just bear with the ridiculous list of 7 in my corner and know, that NO, I am not really reading all of those. It's just that if I mark it "As Read" then it will go towards my goal of 50 and that would be lying. And I don't lie...not even on the internet.

Tuesday 19 July 2011

Oscar Loves the Ocean

This past weekend we took a short family trip to Charleston to visit my best friend, Wendy, and her family. Saturday we spent the day at the beach in Isle of Palms. It was absolutely lovely. It was warm and sunny and there were nice breezes and clouds to give us occasional breaks from the sunshine. All in all a perfect day.

This wasn't Oz's first time in the ocean. A few weeks ago we had been to Surfside (Myrtle Beach) and he loved the ocean. Being at the beach again, I was happy to see it wasn't a fluke.

My kid really loves the ocean. He crawls around in the water like it's his job. Last week he learned to walk, so there was walking in the ocean as well as crawling. I would say his favorite was walking in the water, and then plopping down in the waves to a huge splash.

Back before we had Oz, when I imagined parenting...it was moments like these. Watching your baby experiencing something new and taking so much joy from it makes your heart want to explode from happiness and pride. This, my friends, is the good life.



Friday 15 July 2011

What I'm missing right now...

I'm not completely "homesick" for England (yet), but I am definitely starting to miss some things. Right now, the number 1 thing I am missing more than anything:

A good cup of tea.

My mom's kettle apparently doesn't boil water hot enough and the milk is different. I'm still using my Twinings English Breakfast Tea, but it's just different. And it makes me sad and I miss my tea, damnit!

Monday 11 July 2011

Ketchup

I've bitched about this a few times on facebook, but I'm really feeling the withdrawal. I miss my computer like nobody's business. I hate having to borrow someone else's (right now I am writing this on my mom's laptop, other times I am using Griff's). I can't upload photos to their laptops and I don't want to take the time to "get to know" their spaces when eventually mine will be making it's way home. But even once I have it back....

It'll be time to hit the road for our family road trip! I am so excited to get going. We are currently in the process of collecting camping gear, mapping out the route we want to go, and listing all the things we want to see.

The one thing I am concerned about it cloth diapering while on the road. It's not the finding places to wash them, it's the idea of leaving a diaper pail in the car while we're out and it just sitting in there smelling funky. I currently use tea tree oil to mask the scent and it does GREAT, but in a hot car for hours on end? I'm not so sure. Unfortunately, I haven't read much about cloth diapering on the road besides people recommending to use the trip as a chance to practice EC (no thank you. Oz uses a potty sometimes, but not nearly enough for.).

O, and completely random....apparently my hair is curly now? WHAT. THE. HELL. It's very cool and I love letting it air dry and it not looking like complete shite.

Anything else? I need to find more time to knit. So if you have some spare time going, I would gladly take some of that!