Right now, it’s summer and the living is easy! Ok, not really any easier than any other time but summer just feels a little less intense. I still have to work (I’m not a teacher so no summers off) and nothing really changes except for the weather!
Here are a few things that I am really enjoying:
(App) Hoopla
I recently became aware of this free app and it is so much fun. It works in conjunction with your local library and all you need to access the content is a current and valid library card. Hoopla allows you to borrow e-books, audio books, movies, and music and download them to your phone! My library system allows 20 borrows each month-music for one week and audio books for 21 days. I haven’t yet borrowed movies or an e-book. When the borrow time is up, it will automatically return itself or if you finish prior to the due date you can press a button automatically send it back.
Everything isn’t available but I have already listened to 3 books that I never would have and also spent a week listening and loving the latest (Kendrick Lamar album)! Especially with music, this is a way to get a taste of something to see if you enjoy it before you buy it!
(Book) Dietland
Speaking of Hoopla, this is the first book I listened to on the app and it did not disappoint! This book is dark and smart and funny and has many opportunities for thought and discussions with friends. The Amazon review states:
Warning: this debut novel from a onetime writer for Seventeen and Mademoiselle is not what it might at first seem to be: a funny send-up of the beauty industry and the media that support it. Well, ok, it is that, at least for the first 50 pages or so, but it soon becomes one of the more intelligent, and not a little subversive, depictions of women in our society. Oh, drat: that makes it sound brainy and Feminism 101-y, which is not right, either. So… trying again. Read Dietland, the tale of a young, overweight woman who hides behind a skinny-girl persona to write an advice column for a women’s magazine – and is soon drawn into an underground community of women who forthrightly and fabulously reject that culture. Read it not only because it’s smart and timely (and shocking: it explicitly takes on the adult film culture as well), but because it’s heartbreaking and tragic and very very comic (as long as you like your laughs dark) and because it will guarantee that you never look at a lipstick or a pair of stilettos or a bathroom scale the same way again. Sarai Walker is some kind of twisted sister. And of course I mean that as the highest possible compliment. – Sara Nelson
(TV show) Dietland
So after I started listening to this book, I heard that a TV show based on this book was starting soon. I am 4 episodes in and I really like it. I don’t think you have to read the book to enjoy the series but the book delves deeply into a very interesting sub-plot that is a bit hard to understand in the series. Watch the show anyway. It is well written and interesting and brings to the forefront many issues that women and girls deal with on the daily.
(Movie) Book Club
It’s not often that there is a movie with 4 mature female leads but BOOKCLUB is in fact that movie. I had the pleasure of seeing this film with my mom and it was tons of fun. I actually laughed out loud several times. It was so nice to see a film that dealt with issues from an older woman’s perspective and was still fun, interesting, heart warming and funny. I am also in a long running book club and we have dealt with some of the issues explored in this film. I’m not going to give anything anyway but please go and see this movie. It is really funny and not just for the mature crowd.
(Place) Sawyer Camp Trail
I thoroughly enjoy walking outdoors and one of my favorite places to do this is Sawyer Camp Trail. The trail is paved, marked, has bathrooms and is about 6 miles long. It is beautiful and there is often wildlife to be seen. Most of the time I am happy to see wildlife like deer but I have also seen snakes which I’m not thrilled about!!
(Product) Bissell Steam Mop
Ok, I’ll be the first to admit that a steam mop is not terribly exciting, however, I will also admit that I shrieked with joy at how clean my kitchen tile got after using it. There was some industrial strength tape that had been on the tile for years that I could not get up no matter what I did. With this steam mop though, I held it over the spot for about 10 seconds and the tape was GONE!! I’ve had issues in the past using other floor cleaners leaving my floors feeling”sticky” which I hated. The floor wasn’t actually sticky but shoes would squeak after they’d been clean. It made me feel that my floors weren’t really clean. In any event, I am thrilled to pieces with this steam cleaner.
(Food) Omega 3 Nut Pack
Here’s a nice little protein snack that hits the spot and! I discovered this treat through my friend, Michyle, when were on our San Francisco walking tour last month. It’s so hard to find a mix like this that doesn’t have raisins (I’m allergic) and I like that they’re packaged in individual packets. Each individual packet is 170 calories and contains a mix of almonds, walnuts, pistachios, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), pecans and dried cranberries. You can very easily throw them in your purse or bag to have when you need just a little something to get you to your next meal.
BONUS-1 thing I’m looking forward to:
In August, there is a movie opening that I am very excited to see-
CRAZY RICH ASIANS
This movie is the first book in a trilogy. My book club read the 3rd book, Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan and absolutely loved it. I fell in love with the characters and can’t wait to see them brought to life. Before the movie comes out, I plan to listen to the first two books, Crazy Rich Asians and China Rich Girlfriend.
That’s all for now.
What are digging right now? Share in the comments.
