Life Lately | April and May 2024

Hello and happy June! Sure has been a while, hasn't it? Frankly there's a whole lot less to say when I stop using my kid as content. The other thing is I've been writing another blog that somehow makes money, so my focus has been over there. 

What's new with you? Business as usual over here. My job, as it does, gets wild in Q2 and even though last summer, I huffed and puffed that no way would I do that again, I hear the crazy train chugging along and CHOO CHOO I am hopping aboard. 

The last couple of months have been really good though. Weather's turned up and it's feeling like summertime. Duke's wrapping up the last couple weeks of the 1st grade. He's figured out the secret to solving a Rubik's cube and is now obsessed. We have four varietals of Rubik's cube now - I didn't even know they came in as many makeups - and you can be sure if you see Duke, he's twisting a cube in his hands. He's in a talent show next week, where he'll knock everyone's socks off by solving a 3x3 on stage in under 2 minutes (because each kiddo only gets 2 minutes for their act). I'll be there, naturally - collecting accolades and congratulations for producing a genius. 

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But first, I present the most ideal Friday evening: 

Patio weather. Choice bevs and a whole can of pringles. And best, a big kid who provides real competition at games. 

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In reading adventures, first I had a pretty good haul at my favorite local bookstore, Blue Vase Books in Interlochen. I think this will just about make up my summer reading list. 

One Italian Summer - I just finished this one and it qualifies as a beach read for sure. Light and fluffy with some weird woo woo stuff. Katy is devastated when her mother passes away, just before a trip to Italy that they'd planned together. She decides to still go on the trip, but not before basically blowing up her entire life. Then, imagine her surprise when she arrives at her Italian hotel and runs into Carol, her mother, in the hotel lobby. 

Tom Lake - takes place in Northern Michigan, so obviously I had to grab it. And it comes highly reviewed and recommended by...everyone? High hopes, folks. I have high hopes. 

Call Your Daughter Home - not pictured but recently completed and it was incredible. Follows three mothers in various stages of parenthood, living in North Carolina in 1924, where the depression hit first. Couldn't put it down. 

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My big sister turned 40, so we gathered together to run around downtown Grand Rapids pretending we were 24. I think we did okay, but there is a picture of the larger group, all together at an Applebees bar that none of us remembers taking. 

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You guys, I started running! I always get a weird bee in my bonnet as my birthday approaches and this year I'm hung up on the idea that I want to run a 5k. There's one scheduled nearby for the 4th of July that I want to sign up for, so I found a "couch to 5k" program on Pinterest and I've been following it. And I think I like it? I don't know - it's like I'm jogging and it's hard, but like, I can do it. I haven't ran since that time in high school when they make everyone run a mile, so it's slow going, but GD it I'm doing it. 

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Can you believe we've already had some really good beach days? The water is still cold - duh - but Duke did his first full body dunk a couple weeks ago, and IMO that means summer is here. 

Oh and PS - if you want to make Subway sandwiches feel special, grab a couple of footlongs and head to the beach at sunset for dinner. Doritos are always a slamdunk, but even Subway feels magical when the vibe is right. 

Lots of fishing too. We got a boat earlier this spring and the true delight of my life is packing some sammies and bevs and perching up on the boat for a cruise. Ryan and Duke busy themselves catching things and we all have a nice time. 

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Other nice things - 

Tacos at Dos Arboles in Frankfort. My hot take is that the shrimp is the best and the only one worth getting. 

A beach day in April! Fully clothed because it wasn't that warm, but the sun was out and that's enough for me. 

Live music and pizzas as my favorite spot, St. Ambrose. 

Duke is deeply obsessed with my niece's little girl. He probably would have been a great big brother, but being a big cousin is pretty nice too. 

Continuing my food tour around Benzie County, my go-to order is a hot fudge sundae with whip cream and sprinkles from Jomos in Honor. The place is currently for sale and if I had any kind of entrepreneurial spirit, I'd want to run the place, if only to eat as many hot fudge sundaes as I can fit down the ol' gullet. 

Skate or die, dude. In full Spiderman apparel. 

Last stop on the food tour - Mother's Day donuts from Crescent Bakery in Frankfort. I get a jelly donut, while Duke goes for a vanilla raised. Then we bop over to Elberta and eat our donuts while overlooking Lake Michigan. The nicest $5 luxury of all. 

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Happy June, friends! IMO we're heading into the best stretch of the year. I'm a complainer, but you won't hear me whining about the weather!

Cheers!