Blog Hoppers: July and the Summer Blahs

July Blog Hoppers post..see the end of this post for the link to Jennifer's post this month. Hop around until you get back here. Be inspired, be tickled, and become a chef....all within this circle!

(Debbie Downer took over for the first part of this post...you might want to skip down until you see the numbers......)

(Thought you would like to see that my people feel the same)

It's July. What the heck? A whole month has passed and all I have to show for it is a good tan.

Summer. Remember when we would sit around all day and eat cucumbers and ranch and chicken pot pies. And watch Anne of Green Gables.... No responsibilities, no baseball practice, no work.

I have friends that look forward to summer beginning in September every year. They can't wait for their babies to be home from school so they can enjoy being together and adventuring without school to cramp their schedule. And bless their hearts....they really mean it!

I'd love to be that excited about summer and all the possibilities that go with it.

BUT that's not what summer is to me.

Don't get me wrong. I mostly like my kids some days. (that's a joke....it's not that often......) But for us, summer is unscheduled and erratic. I still have to work. But instead of having a 2 hour commute by myself to listen to whatever I want on the radio, I have my two people with me. They are BIGS now so they have an opinion about what we listen to and where they sit. (Exhausting).

Of course we moved and my total commute is only 2 minutes...but I still don't get those two minutes alone.  They are always with me. Always talking/fighting/eating. (exhausting).

I still can't get us out the door before 9. It's like summer hits and I can't seem to get it together. Yesterday I sat in my book reading (because its summer and that's what you do) and then looked up and realized it was 8:58 and the children were not awake and ready to head out the door.

My body thinks that its summer and we can relax and chill and take or leave the responsibilities that sneak up on us.  My mind stresses out because I still have to work and take these people with me and feed them 3 times a day. (all the food...and snacking...)

Top it off with a move and you have the SUMMER BLAHS.

We've been here for almost a month. I haven't been back into Tyler. I feel good about how much I have saved this month on gas. But the alone-ness and too much together-ness is wearing me down. I miss my Friday with my Holla Mommas (and no children). I miss looking forward to picking them up from school to see what someone else fed them and how much they missed me.

It's July...just July. We have two more months of this "bliss" to get through.

So, I thought I'd share some non-Debbie Downer thoughts. I hope you aren't Summer Blah-ing...but if you are, chin up....you are in good company.

1. Beth Moore has released a 6-week bible study that I'm going to tackle in a couple of week.
It's called LIVING FREE: Learning to Pray God's word. You can get a copy here. I feel like it may be just what I need to fight the summer Blahs.

2. Tyler Museum of Art is having a lego exhibit on Friday, July 10. If you have a lego-lover, I would suggest you take them to the air conditioned museum and feel very fancy and cultured. Learn more here.

3. Michael is playing in the state baseball tournament in New Caney in a couple of weeks. I don't know how that helps you with your summer blahs, but I thought it needed to be mentioned....

(He's the one on the right. The other one is cute too....just not Michael).

4. I read a fantastic book series last month....waiting for the last book to be released in September. Of course it's young adult fiction. (no s-e-x) And the subject matter is fantasy (magic, witches, fairies), which may turn some people off. But once again, I found myself up until after midnight reading and then again from 3-5 reading a couple of times while reading this series. The author is Sarah J. Maas. The series is Throne of Glass.

(My brother wasn't interested based on the cover...)

I read Kiera Cass' series The Elite last summer and stayed up hours being stuck in the kingdom with the main character. The Elite Series doesn't have magic stuff in it. Just a girl that gets to go to a castle to fall in love with a prince. 

5. I'm also reading Trim Healthy Mama. It's not a diet but an eating plan. I have enjoyed the writing and agreed with a lot of what they say (which is biblically based). It is a long book, so i'm not officially on the diet (but it's not a diet...) because I need to finish the book to get it all down. It seems to be more reasonable for getting my family on board. Nothing is completely cut out... except maybe alcohol.... I feel like after reading the "Biblical basis" chapter that there won't be a "But beer is okay" chapter. (I'll let you know if I find it when I finish the book..)

I hope you find time to read and love your people this month.

What books are on your "To Read" list for the summer??

Hop on over to Jennifer's blog here for some real peace and inspiration.

Joyfully full of it.
Tiff