Dear ones,
Guess who has a new keyboard on her laptop with a working space bar and question mark? And a shiny, new hard drive?? Oh, yeah, baby. I’m back at it, girls!
I started this “Currently” post on my phone. What a nightmare. Editing that mess now and throwing some pics in here and calling it a wrap. Then will be back to normal tomorrow. Have several posts on the drawing board, so hope you will keep coming by.
Linking up with Anne in Residence and Julie from Wife Mommy Me for July’s edition of “Currently”. This month we are taking a look at what we’re accomplishing, documenting, enjoying, reading and spending. And away we go…
Accomplishing
Items on my summer bucket list.
Check out my ambitious list of activities, here. Our first progress report will go live on 7/21. Checked a few things off over the weekend. Hope to accomplish even more this week.
Documenting
My life in a sentence a day for our monthly SaD posts, the first Thursday of each month.
And documenting my summer with a photo a day during July for the #summerphotochallenge2017.
If you would like to link-up for either one, just let me know. The month is young, jump in here with us!!
Enjoying
Our pool. Despite the many and varied problems we are having, our pool is beautiful. Just don’t look too close. We are enjoying a late afternoon swim before dinner. Which keeps us cool til bedtime. We are rarely running the AC because our first post-pool electricity bill was outrageous. And we were gone for two weeks! With the pool we can’t afford electricity.
Reading
Too many books. With my phone and laptop troubles recently, ‘reading‘ has been difficult. Might have to revert to reading a print book. Mid-way through The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck, after reading a review of the book by fellow librarian Daenel over at Living Outside the Stacks.
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Check out her review, here and I bet it’ll have you running to the library for a copy of the book, too.
I am participating in The Blended Blog’s virtual summer book club. We were paired with another reader and each of us suggested a book to the other. My book buddy Mary suggested A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams.
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I am just a couple of chapters in so far but liking it very much.
One of my spring bucket list activities was to select a book with PC that we could listen to together. We listened to A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman last fall and thoroughly enjoyed every poignant page. So decided to give a second Backman book a try. We are listening to My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry on evenings when we soak in the hot tub.
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Every summer since I began blogging, I have done a book review series for children’s books. Check out some of those posts, here. Since June vanished in the blink of an eye, I didn’t get my “Summer Slide” series started. Instead, I am hoping to read and review some of the books on the Texas Bluebonnet Reading Program’s Master List for 2017-2018. Stay tuned.
Spending
My early mornings doing “The Miracle Morning” challenge. It is an hour-long routine that participants do every morning (for me that equates to roughly 4 out of 7 mornings). It promises to transform their lives by showing them how to wake up each day with more energy, motivation, and focus. Computer complications and out of town travel have kept me from being able to do this challenge every single day. Hope…starting TOMORROW…I can spend the first hour of my day doing “The Miracle Morning”. Sound interesting to you? Check out my post about this program, here.
Summer Goals
I guess before we talk about summer goals, we better check to see how I did on achieving my spring goals, here. And here:
- Finally delivered those scrapbook supplies. But not to the children’s hospital. The boxes were too cumbersome for me to get from the parking lot into the hospital alone. Instead, I donated them to the YMCA where many of my students go after school, on weekends and for summer programs. The Y folks were tickled to have them.
- Spring cleaning has turned into summer cleaning. I didn’t get it done by my self-imposed deadline but I did get started today!! Ha!
- Swim, 21 Day DVDs, gym, weights…blah, blah, blah. It was hard to swim when someone was always outside working to ‘repair’ issues with our pool. But we are swimming almost everyday now, in spite of the issues. 21 Day DVDs, eh. Gym and weights, eh. But back on track now that we are home to stay.
- Cook 5x a week. Pretty much a yes.
- Devotional 5x a week. Pretty much, yes.
- Participate in “Momma Love Fellowship”. This friendship swap was the idea of Justine Young who blogs at Little Dove. The idea was to meet and get to know another blogger through emails and letters and cards, culminating in a Mother’s Day gift exchange in May. I was paired with Ashley from Simply Southern Mama. Ashley is a mama and a librarian…just like ME! Only about half my age! We did pen-pal and give gifts back and forth and it was fun.
Now let’s look at my summer goals. You might ask how they differ from items on my summer bucket list. The activities on my bucket lists are generally something fun or philanthropic that I want to do. My goals are not always fun or philanthropic but are usually things I need to try to do to make me a better me. Here’s what’s on the docket for summer…knowing full well that summer is well underway.
- There’s that “Miracle Morning” challenge at the top of the list. Really enjoy doing it. Now to stay home long enough to make it a habit.
- Update lessons for my Teachers Pay Teachers store that I have with my sister Valerie. I have so many lessons to share. Just need to have a working keyboard and to be home long enough to do it. Going to start next week. You can check out our store, Library Lovin’ Sisters, here. FB page, here. Website, here.
- Swim 4x a week. As long as the pool doesn’t collapse around me, this goal will happen. Wish me luck.
- Cook 5x a week. Recipes collected, groceries purchased…now to find someone to cook.
- Morning fasting weekdays. My daughter introduced me to this idea. I am just investigating it but it makes sense. You try to go 14 hours or more before eating each morning. So, say I have dinner at 7:00 pm. I try to go to 9:00 am before having breakfast. Apparently, that forces my body to burn the fat stored (and there’s plenty) until I begin eating and replenishing my body with food. I could fast a month and still have fat to burn. But 14 hours is much more manageable.
And there we are. Another “Currently” under my belt. Looking so forward to time home next week to really get things done. And to have some fun, too. My daughters and their daughters will be here in two weeks…ha, two weeks from today, to celebrate birthdays. Then I will blink and it will be time for school. Crazy.
Your Turn
What are you doing currently? Did you set any summer time goals? Reading any good books? Please share in a comment below. I’d love to hear all about things in your neck of the woods…or beach?
Heading off to bed. So glad to have my laptop back. If you are ever in El Paso and have computer or technology issues, call FireWire of El Paso, that Hugo is amazing. Tell ‘im Leslie sent you.
Sweet dreams, sweet friends.
Hugs and kisses,
Justine @ Little Dove
I’m so glad you had fun with the swap! I hope your summer is going well so far!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you for coming by. We did have a great time with the Momma Love Fellowship swap. Is another one on your horizon? Maybe in the fall?
Sheila @ Making the Most of Every Day
That morning fasting concept is interesting. I usually do that by default because of my morning workout. I wanna hear what’s going on with the pool!!! And OUCH on the electric bill!!!
curlycraftymom
Wow! I never thought that a pool would make your electric bill go up so much, is it to heat it? Dang! But, at least you have the pool to cool off in! I remember when we first got out irrigation system for our yard and our first water bill! Ha! Never fun! I have been seeing that Hundred Summers book a lot lately on blogs, must be the hot book to read right now. I think Shay just reviewed it on her blog, I need to go back and see what she said about it.
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I will check out Shay’s review, too. Thanks for the heads up.
We just cannot believe that our pool more than doubled our electricity bill. Something is wrong!! In the meantime, no AC all day for me. When I called the electric company to complain and question our bill, I told the lady we weren’t using our AC except to sleep. She asked me how we were keeping cool. Ha! We aren’t. We can’t afford it. But swimming once the sun starts to go down has been delightful.
My laptop has been at the computer hospital but is home now so heading out to catch up on my blog reading. Safe travels to the Magic Kingdom.
Amber
The Sentence a Day sounds like an interesting idea! I may have to join that one! And shout out to another librarian! =)
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Ok, I already LOVE you because you are a librarian. And because you came by, read my post and left a comment. The trifecta in the blogging world. Please join us, Amber, for Sentence a Day. And we do a bucket list series that is fun, too. Our bucket list post for summer went ‘live’ on 6/21. We will do a progress report on 7/21 and 8/21 and then will reveal our fall bucket list on 9/21. We are up to about 15 gals participating in that series when everyone plays. If you have a summer bucket list, link up for the progress report post. Or, if not, quick create a bucket list and then link up for the progress report posts.
Are you sorry you came by? Am I overwhelming you!! Just always thrilled to meet up with another librarian. Heading to your blog now. Email me if you are interested in any of these ideas!! mommyhon333@hotmail.com
Anne
Wow, I love all of these ideas for “documenting”! I always wish I were better at keeping up with journals and things like that. But then I remember that I have a blog, which is basically the same thing! It’s been a great way to record what’s up with my life from little things to big, as well as my kid’s stages of development.
Lauren
Enjoy your pool and good luck with your swim goals!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you! Still fighting the pool folks but swimming all the while.