A Good Day

Kids slept in til 830 and came in for morning snuggle.

Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast

70 degrees perfect for Little Hugger's soccer game which they won (first time this season I think - they don't officially keep score in Kindergarten)

Stopped by the post office to mail our package to Sgt Michael (the soldier we picked off anysoldier.com)

Lunch on my own with a book at Jason's Deli

Solo shopping day including.....

Two new pairs of jeans. (including one pair on clearance)

New Clinique stuff including a bonus

Two new tops from Nordstroms semi-annual sale.

Cute dog sighting in Nordstroms (a very sweet looking yellow lab service dog)

Tickets to Def Leppard/Poison for July are bought

Yummy fro-yo concoction (raspberry pomegranate/blueberry acai swirl with raspberries blueberries and white chocolate chips for a mid day snack)

Saw another sweet therapy dog at the supermarket

Took some time to sit and read

Hamburgers and banana boats on the deck for dinner

Would have been a perfect day if Little Hugger hadn't tripped and scraped her knee just as we set off for an after dinner walk (canceling the walk), and Little Man hadn't had 2 accidents (still potty training)

The Tea Rose

A friend of mine pinned this book and wrote that it was on par with the Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher. Since I love epic novels and enjoyed the Shell Seekers I repinned it.

I liked it but I didn't love it. Having said that I was glad to find out that it is actually the first of a trilogy, and I definitely plan on reading the other two. While the first book is complete in it's own right, I can definitely see how it would be possible for the story to progress.

The story starts off in London in the late 1800s and tells the tale of Fiona Finnegan. She is a poor teenage girl living with her family in a rough area of the city. She works at a tea factory but she and her boyfriend (who works as a produce seller at the local street market with his family) dream of someday having their own shop together. Given the time period and locale, Jack the Ripper is part of the story, but in a way that I felt was forced at times to add more drama and tragedy to Fiona's already rough life. 

I have to admit the story was pretty predictable, but I think that kind of went with Fiona's relatively naive character.  The first part of the story is a rapid series of tragedies that befall Fiona, and it felt like the author was rushing to get Fiona to New York which is where the majority of the story takes place.  Fiona sets off for New York in the hopes of connecting with her uncle and starting a new life there.  On board the ship she meets a man named Nicholas Soames who is also trying to start a new life after experiencing his own hardships and tragedies. They become friends and he is an important of her life from then on. 

Fiona becomes stronger and more ambitious as time goes on.  Women of this time period were stereotypically meek and were not expected to have any ambition besides finding a husband who can provide for her.  Fiona meets a lot of resistance as she strives to reach her goal, but at the core she has good friends and family who believe in her and support her.  

While the book ends in a believable way, I have peeked at the descriptions for the next two and do look forward to reading them after the others I picked up at the library today, probably starting with this one.

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Forever Young by Rod Stewart

This was played in the season finale of Glee, and I thought it very appropriate

I have loved this song since it was first released and still remember the video of Rod riding in the back of some old pick up with a little kid.  I always thought it was a sweet song, but the first time I heard it once I had kids, I started singing along and really thought about the lyrics.  It made me cry.  Parents of older kids always tell you to cherish the young days as they go fast, I can already see myself writing this out to each of them somehow for their highschool graduation, maybe just in a card, or maybe in some kind of frame. It says what I think most parents feel but may not be able to express as eloquently (I know I couldn't). Either way, now I get goosebumps every time I hear it.


May the good Lord be with you
Down every road you roam
And may sunshine and happiness
surround you when you're far from home
And may you grow to be proud
Dignified and true
And do unto others
As you'd have done to you
Be courageous and be brave
And in my heart you'll always stay
Forever Young, Forever Young
Forever Young, Forever Young

May good fortune be with you
May your guiding light be strong
Build a stairway to heaven
with a prince or a vagabond

And may you never love in vain
and in my heart you will remain
Forever Young, Forever Young
Forever Young, Forever Young
Forever Young
Forever Young

And when you finally fly away
I'll be hoping that I served you well
For all the wisdom of a lifetime
No one can ever tell

But whatever road you choose
I'm right behind you, win or lose
Forever Young, Forever Young
Forever Young ,Forever Young
Forever Young, Forever Young
For, Forever Young, Forever Young