Butterfly in the Sky

I don't like to read. Elliott doesn't like to read. Well, I think that we do like to read, actually. We've both bought and read books and enjoyed them. We've also purchased several books with the intentions of reading them. The intention is still there, it's just lower, much lower, on the priorities list than the average person's intentions to read. Those people actually do follow through with their intentions. I know, sad sad. I do, however, LOVE children's books. I could have bookshelves and bookshelves filled top to bottom with hardbound, soft cover, plush, board, pop-up, lift-the-flap, pull-the-tab, and the family favorite, touch-and-feel, children's books. I could read them all day. I think I read so many books in elementary school (chapter and picture) that I got enough of a boost throughout my upper education to save me in times when cliff notes, skimming, and BS'ing were all I had in a paper or group discussion. I think all of life's most fundamental lessons can be found in one children's book or another. Today I received my copy of "Everybody Poops" in the mail. I bought a copy off of Amazon for my potty-training nephew and thought, "Well I know I'll need a copy for myself." Regardless of any interest Beckett may have, I love this book too much to not place it in my house where childhood memories of giggles can surface each time I open the cover.


I constantly see Beckett with a book in his hand, "Goodnight Moon," "Baby Touch and Feel Farm" (and Christmas gift from Nana and Papa), and of course his usual collection of Sesame Street board books. Today it was "Waiting for Cookie," a book where Cookie Monster learns patience (though not very well, in this reader's opinion).  Beckett is flipping through them while a show is on, hardly paying attention to the images on TV. He is pulling them off the top shelf of his bookshelf to create a suitable pile on the ground for him to pull from when his current book will not do anymore. I'll pull him onto my lap and start reading the pages, allowing him to turn them of course. This is simply not enough for the boy who wants nothing more than to get every ounce of doing and being in during a single day. Hopefully this will mean a more revved up enthusiasm for reading. Which, for the record, I may not be in a position to say this as I am severely lacking in the habitual aspect of reading,  but I really don't care much for the Kindle's. I'm a fan of the etextbook for iPad, but not much else. Maybe it's just because I like having and getting stuff now and then... and often. And when I want a book for one reason or another, I like the thrill of going to the store, wandering through the aisles of Barne's and Noble, smelling the fresh pages, and finding my book. I like closing the cover and hearing the audible "thud" when I place it on the coffee table. It's a "thud" sound because if I actually get through a book, I feel as if I've just run a marathon and am proudly collapsing on the ground... Or in this case, a table.  

Gritty Baby. 

It's Diet Time

Last week Elliott chose today, as the first day of the rest of his healthy eating life. He finished part 2 of his dental boards yesterday (yay!) and now won't have to devote nights and weekends to studying and fast food (though the food part wasn't really that "burdensome"). Yesterday I went to the ever-trusty Trader Joe's to pick up some healthy eats, and he went to GNC for protein powder. Of course, though we both continue to make strides towards eating healthy, that certainly doesn't mean we can't still watch one of our favorite shows, "Man vs Food." Please think back to THIS post. I was an even less consistent blogger than I am now, and didn't post a follow up, so you can look to the picture above for that. Elliott didn't finish the 6lb burrito (and neither did Adam Richman) but we still had tons of fun in Vegas, and he really did look great in his  pink, "Certified Weenie" t-shirt. 

So, I suppose it was NO surprise that when we sat down last night to watch the Las Vegas episode of "Man vs Food" that Elliott's picture pops up. Yep, the camera briefly scrolls down the "Weenies Wall of Shame" and there he was. He couldn't have been prouder of himself--and neither could I. 

Scroll down to this picture:

Blurry quality aside, it is the Brennan Brother's in the middle of their successful attempt at dominating "The Big One" at Venezia's Pizzeria last week. The two of them consumed a 24" cheese in 52 minutes. I know, I thought it was cute that they unintentionally wore matching Google IO t-shirts too. Regardless of this new and promising diet, I think seeing himself on the paramount  of food shows has spurred Elliott on to aspire towards bigger and better food challenges. I think we'll need a MUCH bigger bottle of Tums at our house. 

Back 2 Scoo

 I was SO enthusiastic to change my makeshift whiteboard calendar from June to July. It meant the end of a horrid month and the beginning of a bright, new, opportunistic one. I say opportunistic because I finally had the opportunity to have a life. It wasn't until a solid 2 days after  drawing up this calendar (with the help of Elliott who drew the patriotic doodles on the "4") that I realized my 31-day July calendar was really a 26-day calendar and that I had left out Saturday... But not really because "2" was in the right place, wasn't it?  I thought, "Apparently, I already need to get back to school." Well har har har, my thought was heard by none other than Popo O'Brien--I'm sorry, is "popo" rude? I did  capitalize it. It's all I can muster out right now. He pulled me over for speeding--I know, shameful-- on Thursday afternoon. After giving me the ticket accompanied by an unnecessary and trite lecture, he said, "If you haven't done traffic school in the past 2 years you can do that to make it all go away." That guy gets a big MEH from me. "Meh" in blog terms means he got a lot of other things out of me after I got home but they probably aren't blog, much less public, appropriate. I should have listened to my very hip African American studies professor who, at the end of class would ALWAYS say, "If you see the PO-lice, go da other way." That guy always got a big "MMMHMMM" out of me in my most soulful voice. Elliott was rather impressed with my turnaround as I got the ticket 1:30 pm Thursday and completed my online traffic school at 5:00 pm Friday. That crap just can't hang over my head for a single minute, much less ruin my Friday nite date nite by being on the "To Do" list. 

My thoughts exactly. 

 In happier thoughts, did you know they make baby Pillow Pets? That was an UN-regrettable impulse buy. That little pillow inside of a baby's crib is a sight to squeal at. 

We Commemorate Every Holiday With Food

Happy Fourth of July 

(Independence Day breakfast at The Egg and I)

From Our Cheeser to Yours