April Pointless Lists

Abby was getting fancy with the camera this month...

Oh, you guys, April isn't even close to being the cruelest month. You know what's worse? August. Because you know that summer is almost over.

The humanity!

I'm fighting off a bit of depression at the moment. I figure it must be just a bit because I'm not totally gone. I'm sad, and I've given up, but I realize that things are good. My mother has decided what I need is a new hobby, but I think I just need to take more naps and to go to bed earlier.

And maybe make an effort to just be alone in my house more often. It's overwhelming having to be out and about all the time. I fantasize about sleeping in and then enjoying a cup of coffee (or eight) while catching up on the blogs I follow. I mean, that's not a lot to ask, right?

I don't know. Maybe it is. This is a problem that I am just not emotionally stable enough to tackle right now. Maybe I need to up my meds.

Books read:
I found Kate Atkinson's book "Life After Life," and that's pretty much been my month because I read it twice. It's such an interesting concept: Ursula is born and she immediately dies. And then Ursula is born and she lives but drowns at four. And then Ursula is born and she lives but she falls off the roof at seven. Well, you get the idea. On and on and on. It could come off as a gimmick, but it never does. Each time she comes back, she has a little more knowledge under her belt and chooses a different path, and it's genuinely interesting to see her in all of her lives.

But then, there's a lot of history here (it takes place during World War I and World War II, primarily), of which I am a big fan. And Atkinson is a terrific writer--it's vivid and wonderful, even when you wish it rather wasn't (seeing her die in that bombed out building time and time again gets depressing).  Great characters, wonderful dialog (I want a sister like Pammy), interesting story arch, great writing... what more is there? I highly recommend this one.

...And next I'm going to tackle my best friend Mara's new book. It's in draft form, which is terribly exciting, and since I got to read a bit during NaNoWriMo and maybe kind of know what it's about (I have no idea what it's about), I'm looking forward to seeing what she's done.

I love words! They're just the best.

Theater!:
Johanna is my theater buddy, which is great because no one else in this house is really all that interested. We've decided that plays are more interesting than movies, and as such have been on the lookout for productions we can go see together.

It's really fun is what I'm saying.

Our first this month was a musical parody extravaganza put on by our local Lions Club. I was ready for it to be over by the end, but Johanna loved it. ;)

And then on Friday, I took her and her little friend Hailey to see "Shrek the Musical, Junior" at our local middle school. This was was fairly enjoyable, even if it did take forever to change the sets out from scene to scene (well, it was ambitious, and this is middle school--we don't have to be too critical of the children, right?). Johanna and Hailey thought it was awesome. They were also impressed by the vast array of snacks available at intermission. It was an evening full of win.

Not sure what we'll see next... but we live in a town that is just lousy with art, so I have no doubts we'l find something soon.

Abby update:
Colleges continue to send Abby literature, but I forgot to keep track this time. They're not really schools she's contemplating anyway. Or they're schools she's already gotten mail from and they just want to remind her they exist.

Um, what else? Straight A's for third quarter, her driving is coming along just fine, and she's going to spend Wednesday at my office for her school's work day (kids work and donate the money they earn to various nonprofits and charities in town). No idea what she'll be doing yet, but chances are good she'll write something for us. :)

Being inducted into the National Junior Honor Society...

Johanna update:
Lacrosse. You guys, I had no idea this sport was so awesome. Johanna loves running around, although apparently she likes to play "attack" the best because those kids can only cover half of the field and thus, less running. We tend to describe what's happening on the field in basketball terms. The great thing about not understanding what you're watching is that it's very relaxing. No joke. Ignorance is bliss, you guys. Anyway, Johanna scored her first goal on Saturday, and the Walker crowd came unglued. It was fantastic.

And in Strep news, no relapses to report. Thank God. Strep isn't the most fun a person can have.

Tower of Power.

Eric update:
Work on our future basketball court continues. Oh, and by "court" I mean "extended area in the backyard where the girls can shoot hoops." He's also been doing quite a bit of volunteering and, since I've given up, he's cleaning the house and doing laundry.* And figuring out what's for dinner. I feel kind of guilty about that one, so I've got an ambitious menu planned for the coming week.

He's a keeper.

*Not all of the cleaning and all of the laundry, but dudes, help is awesome. 'Cause I'm just not feeling it.

Trisha's ambitious dinner menu:
Sunday/Monday: Braised chicken, homemade dinner rolls
Tuesday/Wednesday: Chicken enchiladas, rice and beans
Thursday: Barbecue pork burgers, homemade buns, potatoes
Friday/Saturday: Mexican lasagna

I'm tired already. Maybe this is too ambitious...

Easter egg hunt update:

We STILL have no idea who hid all of those eggs. I posted a link to that particular blog entry on Facebook in hopes that someone would be all like, oh, good, glad she enjoyed it! and then I'd know who to thank. No luck, though. The Jesuit volunteers swear it wasn't them, and not one person has even so much as hinted that they were responsible. So there's an unsolved mystery.