The Sunday Salon - August 12th Edition

Good morning, my lovelies! Is everyone enjoying the absolutely gorgeous weather this weekend? We finally broke the 90s and have actually fallen into the mid-70s and sunny. It could not be more glorious. Every window in the house is open, and I've been either outside or sitting by an open window as much as possible. After that blistering heat, this is heavenly.

I unveiled pictures of the house yesterday. Did you get a chance to view them?

After seeing the pictures, I hope you can understand why I continue to gush about my house. That being said, I did find something that makes me slightly less excited about living here. All those woods creates a haven for spiders, and they keep making their way into my house. See, I have this thing about spiders. Connor tells me my fear is irrational, to which I tell him to go look up the word "phobia". I know most people consider them yucky, but I freeze up at the sight of them. Seriously, my heart starts racing, and I cannot be in the same room with one. I am proud to say that I have improved in my tolerance level and have even been known to kill one on my own, but over a certain size and it is game over for me. Thankfully, I have a son who adores spiders. I mean, he called one "a beauty" the other day, before I made him flush it down the toilet. (Who considers spiders beautiful? Those eyes and nasty legs...blech!) I recognize that they are an important part of the food chain and are beneficial for getting rid of other yucky bugs, which is why I have a rule that if they crawl within my domain, i.e. my garage, my house, my car, they earned a death sentence; if they are outside, I will remove myself from the situation and let them live. (That's what I call a compromise.) This was also to appease my weird bug-loving son. Thankfully, we have worked out a great partnership where I feed him and buy him things, and he kills all spiders for me. There have been a lot of killings lately, which makes me concerned about the fall and lessens my overall enthusiasm for my pretty abode. If I have this many in my house now, what is going to happen when the seasons change? I shudder to think of what I will do when Connor is away at college.

So, I've been posting my Fabulous Friday whatever-it-is for more than half a year now. I like it because it forces me to find a reason to be thankful for something other than the fact it is a Friday. I have been contemplating adding a Mr. Linky sign-up and making it an unofficial meme. Would anyone be interested in that? Or should I just shut up and continue to find my own reasons for why Fridays are fabulous?

Reviewed:

• The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D. by Nichole Bernier
• A Partial History of Lost Causes by Jennifer Dubois
• The King's Speech by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi

Well, it is official. Summer is at an end. Holly is attending her first cheerleading clinic today. We are also checking out three different dance schools this week, and school registration is next week. I can't say that we ever really had a summer, and at this point in time, the sooner the kids can start school and make new friends, the better it will be for all of us. Still, it is always sad when the fall activities start back up. However, this also means that the college football season is almost upon us, and with our season tickets for the Wisconsin Badgers, that is something about which we can all get excited!

With that, I better go. We have to pick Jim up from the airport, take Holly to cheerleading, and get ready for the next work week. I hope everyone has a more relaxing Sunday than we will. Happy reading!