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Sunday Matters: In a Good Place

Sunday Matters

Some of you know from my comments on Facebook, that I’ve not been feeling all that great. Lupus is a real challenge because for the most part, you look okay. I think I look like crud but people tell me I look okay. On the inside though, you feel like you are dying. Not all the time, but sometimes. That was me this week.

I can’t ignore how I feel because it affects everything that I do but I am going to try to focus on the good. I have good days. I can still walk. Pain is not really my issue. I have supportive family and friends to cheer me up when I am really not feeling well and I have my books. I think that puts me in a pretty good place!

Yesterday we went to the A Cappella Festival to hear The Teen compete against other schools. They walked away with $2500 and a plaque. I thought they did really well. It was held at my alma mater. It was like going back in time. The place hasn’t changed all that much. Kind of neat to see The Teen perform on the same stage I did years ago.

The Teen (middle) and a couple of his friends while on break. If you look closely, The Girl can be seen on the lower left. She appears to be thinking something. Hmmm.

A Cappella Festival 2015

Right Now:

A quick breakfast and a good cup of coffee and we are off to church. Nothing else planned for the day except volunteering at church later today.

This Week:

The Teen is preparing for his audition/performance for The Jerry Herman awards. He gets to perform in the ensemble for sure, but since he was nominated for the Best Actor category, he has to audition at the end of this month. Headshots need to be taken. Resume has been drafted. Songs have been chosen. It’s a very exciting time!

The 21st is our 21st wedding anniversary! No big plans. An evening spent at home, with take-out, sounds perfectly fine to me.

On the 22nd I see my Lupus doc. Cue intimidating music. I’ve seen some of my test results online and as I suspected, they are not good.

Reading:

I tore through We All Looked Up by  Tommy Wallach.  Mixed feelings over this one. I said I was starting A Little Life last week and I did, but not until very late in the week so I am just now getting into it. It’s the type of book that sucks you in quickly.

Watching:

I am watching season four of Mad Men. It’s not as riveting as the previous seasons but I am still loving it.

Bates Motel ended the season with a little craziness. If you watch that show you know that Norma Bates and Norman are all kinds of crazy but I really don’t know where next season will go.

Finally saw the new Avengers movie. It was entertaining. I didn’t like it as much as the first one. Also sat down to see Into the Woods. Yawn. That one really didn’t do it for me but The Girl loved it.

Making:

Haven’t a clue what to make. Since I am at church until 1 p.m. and then go back around 4 p.m., I really need to know what I’m making before Sunday so I can have the stuff prepped and ready to go. What are you guys making? Give me some ideas.

Grateful for:

Memorial Day weekend! Hey, it’s an extra day and I want to say it falls early this year. The 25th? Yep.

Review: Strays

Strays

Strays
By Jennifer Caloyeras
(Ashland Creek Press,  ISBN: 978-1-61822-037-0, May 15, 2015,  232pp.)

The Short of It:

A sweet story with a lot of heart.

The Rest of It:

Iris Moody is sixteen-years-old and angry. Angry over her mother’s death, the fact that her dad doesn’t have time for her and to top it off she’s failing English. It doesn’t seem like things could get much worse, But when an entry in her journal is mistaken for a threat against a teacher, she lands herself a summer of community service. Community service which involves dogs. Of which, she’s been afraid of for as long as she can remember.

Iris is a complicated character. She’s got a lot going on between her pent-up anger over her mother’s death and the fears she’s forced to confront in the dog training program she’s been assigned to. She can’t be around dogs without getting nervous so it baffles her when she’s assigned to an abused, three-legged pit bull named Roman. Of all the dogs to get, why this one?

This is a sweet story about a girl and a dog and how hard it is to let go of the past in order to get on with the future. It’s a story about trust, redemption and acceptance. I really enjoyed it. Readers young and old will appreciate this one.

To read more about Jennifer Caloyeras, check out her website.

Jennifer Caloyeras
The author with her pups.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher.