What I'm Into (August)

August wasn't all bad. (See my past two posts to understand what I mean by that comment.) There were some good parts. August is always a good and hard month for me-- we face the end of summer (bad!) but ease into a routine that involves large blocks of time for me to write in silence because the kids go back to school (good!). We have our oldest and youngest birthdays AND our anniversary in August (good!). But we also deal with heat and humidity here in the south (Bad!). In short, August is the month of emotional whiplash-- I'm happy! I'm sad!

My baby is 9. Nine. How can that be?

So without further ado here is what I was into this month-- the good stuff and only the good stuff. Because it's about time I bring some uplift to this here blog.

I love this interview with Andrea Logan White, one of the stars of Mom's Night Out. I got to see this movie last winter and was totally remiss in sharing it with you guys. If you've not seen it, I definitely recommend it. And it's safe to watch with your whole family. It's available on dvd Sept. 2nd (this Tuesday!), so you can curl up in your jammies on your couch to watch-- my personal favorite way to watch a movie, if I'm honest.

And speaking of movies, my whole family loved When The Game Stands Tall. I typically don't like sports movies, but this one was an exception. And the best part was we all liked it-- from the 8 year old to the 20 year old. That's not usually the case. Go. See. It. And be inspired.

Not a great photo but see how close he was? Amazing.

For our anniversary we had FRONT ROW TICKETS to see David Gray. His new album Mutineers has been on constant play in our house and cars this summer, becoming a sort of soundtrack of the season. Snow In Vegas, Back in the World, Gulls, As The Crow Flies etc. are the songs I will always associate with this summer. So it was amazing to see him live and up close. And the best part is, he's coming to Charleston SC in October and we got tickets to see him there too! It was the only way I could deal with that concert coming to an end-- knowing I was going to see him again real soon. If I had my way he would move to our town and perform locally every weekend.

I also accomplished a bucket list item this summer-- 2 actually. One was to grow my own tomatoes. I shared about that earlier this summer. The other was to grow mammoth sunflowers and they bloomed this month. I planted them in different areas of the yard but they only came up in one. Needless to say I had to get a photo to preserve the occasion. Sunflowers make me happy.

This thing was mammoth. See the white bit behind it? That's the top of our house.

I shared what I've been reading over at She Reads' What We're Into post if you'd like to see the books I've enjoyed this month. Plus my She Reads partner Ariel shared about a super fun weekend I got to take part in with her that was all about reading and writers and story-- my kind of weekend.

This Labor Day weekend I intend to spend all the time I can soaking up the last of the view below, which is what I see from my lounge chair at the pool, looking through the fence at the lake beyond. It's a peaceful view to me, and I'm going to miss it. I always do. There might even be a few tears when we watch the lifeguards close up the pool for another year. Saying goodbye to summer is hard-- and August has been about enjoying every minute we have left of it.

This photo doesn't do it justice but it's quite the serene setting

I will leave you with this video montage put to the music of David Gray's song Last Summer. Because summer of 2014 is, as of this weekend, officially "last summer." Fitting. Enjoy the music-- I know I do.