three things

1. Now that we are back to "normal" July temperature here in Missouri I've started my morning walk routine again. This was a great morning. I walked 5.19 miles on the Greenway.
2. After three (Yes, three) books about the Titanic, I was anxious to read something new. Yesterday at the library I picked up Restless Souls the Sharon Tate Family's Account of Stardom, the Manson Murders, and a Crusade for Justice by Alisa Statman and Brie Tate. It's a very interesting and easy read for those of you who are into "true crime."
3. Like Anderson Cooper, When I eat something I like, I find myself eating it all the time. When we didn't have a kitchen due to remodeling, I started eating Healthy Choice Top Chef Cafe Steamers. My all time favorite is Ravioli & Chicken Marinara. I'm hooked. I have to have it at least once a day, either for lunch or dinner. I usually doctor it up with parm cheese on top. Yum!

new appliances

All of the appliances are Maytag and they were all installed yesterday except the dish washer which is just in place waiting for the sink and counter top to be installed, possibly later this week. I love it all and feel so fortunate that it all worked out the way it did. This week will be hectic as I am scheduled to sub in the autism classroom for four days but one big positive: it's Teacher Appreciation Week so there should be plenty of goodies to go around! That's if I have time for any of it!!

cause & effect

I have been teaching this skill to second graders this week and it reminded me of what's going on at home. The cause: Our eighteen year old refrigerator stopped working last Sunday. We have been living out of two coolers sitting on our back porch. Thank you Jesus for temperatures in the 20s this past week. The effect: We took this as a sign to completely gut our entire kitchen, new floors, new cabinets, new appliances, and open up this space by cutting a large portion of one wall out. It's going to be a huge remodeling job and I promise to post "before" pictures soon.