MIA

We were out of town and then we had company for a week and NOW we have some wonderful lovely summer colds (hate) with BONUS teething!! (DOES IT EVER END)

I'm going to go hack for a bit. And then maybe roll around in a little self pity. And then I'll probably read a book or something.

Blogging will resume when I feel human again.

Because the Universe Hates When You Pat Yourself on the Back

Ever since I declared to the world that I have good hair I have not had one. single. good hair day.

Shampoo Stuff. And Then More Stuff.

Ok, so apparently I am not totally crazy since a lot people do agree with me but I am not in the majority. The funny thing is, a couple people mentioned that the color of the shampoo bottle doesn't matter, but the conditioner bottle needs to be white.

You guys, I NEED the shampoo bottle to be white! I can't get myself to pick up the correct bottle the first time. I ALWAYS pick up the conditioner first because it's in the white bottle and the shampoo is in the black bottle and it ALL FEELS SO BACKWARD. And I am ridiculously annoyed over this to the point where I'm considering switching the contents of the bottles. Except then I think I might confuse myself even MORE and this is becoming a serious dilemma.


Also, I just got back from (a really fun family reunion in) Colorado and Wyoming. They were far more gorgeous and comfortably temperatured (fact: I made that word up) than Arizona. If I can convince my friends and family to come with me then I am OUT OF HERE. Our house was 90 degrees when we got home and 3 hours later it is still nowhere near comfortable. Hate.

What I do not hate: My house is CLEAN. I spent a lot a lot of time scrubbing it before I left just so I could have that glorious feeling of walking in the door and being like, "My house is clean! Woooo!" It was so worth it.

Another fact: I want this shirt.

Furthermore: in the airpot today someone abandoned their copy of Lucky Magazine. I was fresh out of reading material (note to self: 5 day trips require more than 4 books) so I pinched it and read it on the plane. Am now inspired to try a whole bunch of new (and cheap!) products. Will probably blog about my experiences. I know you are thrilled beyond measure at the prospect.

Etc. (last thing I promise): I swear at some point I blogged about how much I loved Anne Hathaways white asymmetrical zip leather jacket in Get Smart but cannot find the supposed post. In any event, I stumbled across one that is ridiculously similar and I. want. it. but, alas, I do not have TWELVE. HUNDRED. DOLLARS. to spend on a jacket (this is where I pass out because I am so overwhelmed by the fact that people think it is acceptable to charge (and PAY) that much for a single article of clothing).

Hope your 4th was lovely and the milk in your fridge has not gone bad (hate).

Second Quarter Books

So the first 20-ish books this quarter were ALL young adult and I was like, "I'm having flashbacks to being 15 and crazy in love with the boy in science class and worrying about teenage drama. Must. read. adult. books." and then I picked up a bunch and my reading came to a screeching halt. Apparently I just don't fly through grown up books like I do teenager ones. Who knew. Must find a happy balance.

1. Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
Short and so sweet. I read this aloud to Wes.

2. Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech
The short and sweet follow up to Love That dog. I seriously loved both of them.

3. Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Fun read but a tad long and slow in parts. My brother insists that the other books in the trilogy aren't nearly as good and I'm debating whether or not it's worth finishing the series.

4. People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau
Yawn. City of Ember was decent but I had to force myself to finish People of Sparks. It took me far longer than most books because I just couldn't get myself to pick it up.

5. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Spent the first 3/4 annoyed at how confused I was and then the last 1/4 bawling because it was so beautiful and wonderful and bittersweet. There's a lot to this book and no room for me to write it. If you want, read Janssen's review here.

6. Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher
I was prepared to love this but was actually kind of bored.

7. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
Enjoyable, but a little slow in some parts.

8. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
Pretty standard SD.

9. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
Third in the trilogy and still so wonderful, which is rather rare. I never thought of myself as one who could even tolerate fantasy, but I have really loved this series.

10. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
The back cover of this book describes it as "heartachingly beautiful" and I'd have to agree. Bawled my way through the second half. Really well done.

11. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
Excellent summer reading.

12. A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth Bunce
I really wanted to like this book but I was hating life while trying to finish. Too slow for my taste. The middle just about killed my will to live and when someone said the word "mill" in conversation after I finished I actually flinched.

13. Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
I just kind of plow through his fiction in order to get to his autobiographical stuff. The stories about his French class trying to use their limited vocabulary to describe Easter and his experience learning about the Dutch concept of Santa Claus were hysterical. His fictional short stories, not so much.

14. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Really enjoyed it except for the fact that the main male character was named Po (gag). But I can see why it won awards and got a bunch of 4 and 5-stars on Goodreads. Strong female lead, solid story, just enough fantasy to keep things interesting.

15. Wake by Lisa McMann
I think I enjoyed this book so much simply because the writing and the concept were so novel and different. Having read as much as I have lately it's nice to experience such a change of pace. It's a lovely story and I'm looking forward to reading Fade.

16. North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
Another book that I was prepared to love based on tons of rave reviews but was disappointed. Really meh.

17. Waiting for you by Susane Colasanti
I really enjoyed how there would be 3 paragraphs of The Crazy percolating around in Marisa's brain and then she'd open her mouth and out would come something perfectly normal and maybe even witty. And I was like, why does this sound familiar? Oh yes. That's my brain.

18. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
I know NOTHING about programming but was still able to hang on through the (massively simplified, I think) technobabble and really enjoy the story. A great cautionary tale, solid writing, a smidgen of romance and the ability to totally change my perception of hackers. Not too shabby.

19. Sophomore Switch by Abby McDonald
A hearty "meh."

20. Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez
So awesome. I found myself hoping that at some point Debbie would meet Greg Mortenson and together they would save the women and children of the middle east. It hasn't happened yet, but I have faith.

21. The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death: Reflections on Revenge, Germophobia, and Laser Hair Removal by Laurie Notaro
Like reading a wonderfully well written blog full of funny and touching short snippets

22. Beauty by Robin McKinley
Some parts were really well written while some parts had me cringing. The dialogue was too clunky.

23. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Somehow I had never read this. I loved every single moment of it, obviously.

24. The Giant Rat of Sumatra by Sid Fleischman
Quick, easy and lovely.

25. Paper Towns by John Green
Really enjoyable..has depth and substance while still occasionally making me snort with laughter

26. Eldest by Christopher Paolini
Longest. audiobook. ever.

27. Phantoms of a Blood-Stained Period: The Complete Civil War Writings by Ambrose Bierce
I half loved/half slogged through this book. The battle accounts were boring to me and didn't hold my attention very well since I had a hard time imagining so-and-so's battalion on the left flank and the cannonade on the center line and blah blah blah, but I really really enjoyed the devil's dictionary and his stories. Especially the ghost-y type ones.

28. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: And Other Clinical Tales by Oliver W. Sacks.
Totally fascinating but also a bit difficult. I felt like Sacks didn't know his audience..sometimes he'd massively simplify things and sometimes he'd go on and on in psychobabble and leave me in the dust. I am now terrified my brain will do something weird and erase everything after 1997 or leave me thinking my feet belong to someone else.

29. Tallulah Falls by Christine Fletcher
Fine.

30. Fade by Lisa McMann
Liked it every bit as much as the first. Looking forward to the 3rd.

31. Alphabet of Dreams by Susan Fletcher
A lovely little bit of fiction based on the few biblical references to the Magi.

32. The Entertainer and the Dybbuk by Sid Fleischman
Slowly but surely falling in love with Sid Fleischman. I've read two of his now and thoroughly loved them both. Will definitely be reading the rest of his books.

33. Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
A bit Twilight-esque. But shorter! Which was kind of nice.

34. In the Company of Whispers by Sallie Lowenstein
A good and unique read, but I can't get over my annoyance that the biggest mysteries never got explained. I know it's supposed to be all up to my imagination and all but dang it, I want answers people!

35. Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
Really enjoyed it. Well done.

36. Wings by Aprilynne Pike
Fine. I expected to like it more than I did though. It didn't grip me.

37. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
Lovely and short. My favorite bit was in the introduction when Beedle was described as having "an exceptionally luxuriant beard" but the stories themselves and Dumbledore's notes were all sweet little additions to the world of Harry Potter.

38. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
I had never read this, which I think means I no longer qualify as a girl. I loved it though and am very much looking forward to the other books in the series.

39. The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer
Good, but a smidge depressing, as futuristic distopian type novels are oft wont to be.

40. Bloom by Elizabeth Scott
Good summer chick-lit

41. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
A wonderful story about just being yourself. Looking forward to reading the sequel.

42. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The fact that Bod was the same age as Wes when his family was murdered and he wandered off to be adopted by ghosts made me want to bawl (as do all things involving babies, now that I have my own) but I very much enjoyed it

43. The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann D. Wyss
Aside from the fact that they were shipwrecked, this was the luckiest. family. ever. If you have to be shipwrecked then be sure to end up on their island because it has everything you could ever possibly need. Great book.

44. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Fascinating and ridiculously and painfully long. A bit like your favorite science class taught by a really excellent teacher. I frequently found myself laughing out loud even though science is decidedly not my subject.


That's 11 more books than I read during the first quarter! Not too shabby. I beat Janssen by one book this quarter, but I'm still behind overall. She's at 95 for the year and I only have 77. I'll catch up though, mark my words!

Pages: 13,964! I was worried that I was able to read so many more books because the average book I read was shorter (much more YA this quarter) but I did the math and the average first quarter book was 307 pages and the average second quarter was 317. So I'm keeping pretty steady, actually.


Totals:

Janssen: 95 books
Me: 77 books

Janssen: 20,889 pages
Me: 24,124 pages

A Very Important Poll

This has a point, I swear. I just won't get to make it for a couple days since I'm out of town at a family reunion and this is auto-posting.

Imagine you are in the shower. In the shower with you are a white bottle and a black bottle. One contains shampoo, the other contains conditioner. Which bottle is which?

poll by twiigs.com

Help a Brother Out

You remember my brother Jared?


Well, he just got his very first job as a Cutco salesman so he can earn money for college and his mission (eee!).

Basically, he gets paid to go to people's houses and give a presentation on knives. He gets paid more if people actually buy something, but either way he gets paid.

So, I am putting out a little request:

Dear Local AZ People,

Would you let my brother come to your house and talk to you about knives for 45 minutes so he can go on a mission? You don't have to buy anything (but you can if you want)! Just listen and smile and think about how you're doing a good deed for this nice young man.

If you'd be willing, shoot me an email at KaylaMoncur (at) gmail (dot) com.

love and kisses and gratitude,

Kayla

A How-To: Illusion Framing

Apologies for the horrible pictures. Poor lighting plus reflective glass equals icky pictures but they help you get the idea

Aaron and I always like to order 8x10s of pictures we love. Unfortunately, getting them custom matted and framed is beyond our budget and lowly 8x10 prints in 8x10 frames don't have a whole lot of visual impact when hung by themselves.

When I redid our living room I has 7 B&W prints I wanted to hang but the 8x10s were too little for the space. I decided that I loved the wall color enough to let it shine through and hung the pictures in larger mismatching black frames with no mat. It's a super cheap and easy way to fill up wall space and they looks awesome in our living room and entry way!




Materials:

• Frame. I got most of mine at Goodwill 50% off day. You want one that will have a couple inches all around between your print and your frame. Check to see if it has hanging hardware on the back. It's fine if it doesn't, but just beware that adding your own hardware is a huge pain in the butt and not as sturdy. Also, no worries if you fall in love with a frame that has no glass. You just need to get two pieces of replacement glass instead of one. You can discard any frame backing. You only need the frame and the glass. Also, your frame should be wood.
  
• Replacement glass to fit your frame. Make sure you measure the existing glass in your frame before you go shopping! At Home Depot they usually keep the replacement glass in the very back by the big saw thing near the lumber.
  
• Glazier points (they look like ninja stars and are with the picture hanging stuff)
  
• Picture hanging hardware for the wall (and back of the frame if your frame has none)
• Paint scraper
  
• Paint for your frame (optional)
  

3. Paint your frame (optional). I spray painted all mine black. Add hanging hardware to the back if it has none. Be prepared to swear and hate life for a few minutes.

4. Clean the original glass and secondary glass thoroughly. You may need to use Goo-Gone on your new glass. The packaging is obnoxious and tends to leave a residue.

5. Place original glass back in frame.

6. Center your print face up on the secondary piece of glass. Secure with a little piece of tape on the back so it doesn't slide around.

7. Put the second piece of glass in the frame, sandwiching your print between the two pieces.

8. Place glazier points flat side down on the glass. Use your paint scraper to push them into the wood at glass level (this makes more sense if it's sitting in front of you. You'll know what I'm talking about). These hold the glass in and I usually do a minimum of 4. I'd take a picture of me doing this but Wes wandered off with my paint scraper and I have no idea where it is. You can see a point in action below:


9. Hammer in some wall hardware, hang, and you're done!

A How-To: DIY Sea Spray

Noelle requested a how-to and then I could not make up my mind which project to do so I did a few. They'll all be going up over the next couple weeks.

First up: how to make your own sea salt hair spray.

When I posted about the one thing I can't live without and the 4 things I really really like I had a lot of questions about and interest in my Sedu Beach Beauty spray. Coincidentally, while I was working on that post this post from notMartha popped up in my reader explaining how to make your own. I meant to link to it but then forgot. And then I ran out of spray and it became a how-to.

The recipe is really simple:
4 oz water
generous squirt of water based hair gel
1 tsp epsom salt

I just mixed it all together in the same bottle (but any of those little $2 drug store spray bottles would work) and voila:

New spray!

I have mixed feelings about the result. It doesn't have quite the same "stick" as the original (which could probably be remedied through the use of different hair gel but this CVS one was dirt cheap and I am dirt cheap and thus we were meant to be) and my hair got kind of tangly while I was trying to dry it but Aaron mentioned multiple times how awesome my hair looked tonight. So it works just fine, but if you decide to try it you might go with a different gel. The original post at notMartha mentions a couple gels in particular, so maybe try those. I might up the salt too, just to see what happens.

Also, the original has this amazing coconut smell and my version has this vague, watered down floral scent from the gel. I'm wondering if I can find some coconut scented oil or something to give my DIY version that same wonderful whiff of the tropics.

The big bonus of making my own is that I didn't feel like I had to be quite so stingy with it. I have tons of gel and salt left, so running out doesn't mean spending more money. Also, you can mess with the formula after it's mixed. Too sticky? Add water. Not enough stick? Add gel. Easy!

How I Am Royally Screwing Up Fathers' Day

Wes has been doing some SERIOUS teething this week. Like with lots of screaming and a crazy nap schedule and an occasional temperature and extreme neediness. Despite the fact that I've had the car several days this week I have gotten NOTHING done because we just couldn't get out the door.

Plus, less sleep than usual because he's been waking up in the middle of the night in pain and requiring mommy. On Friday night he woke up before I went to bed and I ended up staying up with him until 3. And then I had to wake up at 6:45 to go pick up our Bountiful Basket. And then I was busy nonstop all day so I finally made it to the grocery store for bare essentials at 10pm.

So when Wes woke up at 7 this morning I turned to Aaron and told him to go get Wes. And he said, "You're making me get up? On Fathers' Day?" And I said yes. Because I was too tired to care and I was trying to recover from my 3.5 hours of sleep the night before.

After a couple more hours of sleep I did care and felt really bad. And Aaron was obviously annoyed that the day had such an inauspicious start.

And I just realized that in my mad dash to the grocery store last night I didn't get all the ingredients for Aaron's requested dinner for tonight.

Plus, due to substitute teaching and calling related jobs on my part, Aaron will likely be stuck with our exceptionally grumpy Wes all during church today.

Sorry, Aaron. I wish I could have a re-do. Happy Father's Day! We love you!

In Which I Let Myself Go

I tend to put a lot of thought and effort into gift wrapping. Hand sewn appliqued shapes or initials, draw-string bags made specifically to fit your gift, handmade tags, etc.

In an hour we're going to a 1st birthday party and, although I've had the gift for over a week, I only just got around to wrapping it. We didn't have any wrapping paper suitable for a 1 year old boy and I didn't have any fabric in a good size. I was at a loss. Just when I was about to give up and declare we weren't going to the party and we'd have to deliver the gift in a few days when I finally figured out how to wrap it I remembered that I have a huge stack of saved gift bags and tissue paper in a cupboard. And such things make gift wrapping -gasp!- quick! And easy!

This is what it looks like:


And even though I loved that it only took me 2 minutes I feel horribly guilty about it.

It's possible that I might need an intervention.