Today I finished a book

When I was in college, knee-deep in reading assignments, projects, work, the three-mile hike to the grocery store (at least it seemed that long....), I looked forward to the day when I could read for leisure.  I still have to pinch myself when I remember that the time for leisure reading has come.  As it goes in "Meet the Robinsons," "The Future Has Arrived"!  The problem is, now that I have time for leisure reading, I am running out of things to read.

The library has a pretty good selection, but I usually have to wait until the stuff I want becomes available, so I still need books in the meantime.  I do like to reread the books I have (Beauty is one I've read tons of times, and most of Jane Austen's works), but sometimes I want something new, so I look through the books that make up our library at home (i.e. the shelf in hallway).  Some of the books I've grabbed have been duds that I couldn't even finish ("Colorado Weddings" was one of those, but then again, what did I expect from the title, Shakespeare??).  So I was a little unsure if I should bother taking one from the shelf at home, or occupy myself with a wordsearch. 


I decided to take along the copy we have of The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd.  I remembered my mom had read it and thought it was good, so I thought I'd try it out.  Well, as I started it yesterday, I was hooked.  I have time to read during my breaks at work, and I found this one hard to put down when my breaks ended.  I became so engrossed in the story (a 14-year-old white girl breaks her black housekeeper out of jail during 1964 and they escape to a small town where they live with three black beekeeping sisters, and she discovers the truth about her mother who was killed when she was four - that's a cruddy synopsis, but you'll just have to read it for yourself!), and nearly cried during certain passages, which wasn't the most convenient thing to do since I was surrounded by co-workers while I read.  There were so many beautiful quotes, I wish I had a highlighter pencil for those lines.  Needless to say, I was engrossed by the story.  It helped to pass the time during my work breaks, but I couldn't save it only for work - I read the rest of it today after I got home.  A beautiful, touching story that was not only enjoyable to read, but thought-provoking as well.  I know I'll definitely read it again.

Now I need to find another book to read....

Sisters

I miss this......

and this.....

Why, oh why, do we need to live so far away from each other???

Is it Christmas yet?

Everyone should have a big brother.....

Me and Joe

.....Especially if he's like mine.
Today is my brother's birthday, and since he's pretty much the greatest brother that ever was (and since the selection of e-cards is absolutely pitiful for such an awesome brother), I wanted to dedicate this post to the amazing, wonderful, incredible, talented, funny, loving man that is my big brother.

Me and Joe on the day I was born

Ever since I can remember, my brother has been my best friend (even when I was doing my best impression of "annoying little sister").  He would play with me, imagine with me, watch TV with me....

......dance with me, watch out for me, and he introduced me to some of the coolest stuff on the planet.  Star Wars, He-Man, Voltron, Back to the Future, Indiana Jones, Garfield, Calvin & Hobbes, Legos - what can I say, he just has a knack for finding things that are incredibly cool and fun.  Forget Snoopy - my brother was, and still is, truly Joe Cool.

Seriously, this boy was born cool!

Dorothy and the Karate Kid (eat your heart out, Ralph Macchio!)

He-Man and a Bride (yes, I am wearing a pillowcase)

He has one of the greatest imaginations, and is so amazingly creative.  Not only is he an incredible filmmaker, photographer, and hot glue gunner (remember all of those projects you used to make when we were younger??) but he totally rocks whatever does (including dancing).

The best dancing partner - he's always been a great dipper.

I couldn't ask for a brother more loving or compassionate.  No matter my heartbreak, disappointment or trial, my brother has always been there for me.  Whether it was the pain of losing out at an audition, the difficulties of high school, or the sorrow from a broken relationship, his unconditional love and support always made me feel that I was OK no matter what.  He has shown me such love and acceptance all through the years
and it means more than I can adequately express.

Not only is he an amazing brother, but an amazing husband to his gorgeous wife, too.  And now he's a daddy! There is no question that his little girl has one of the most fun, loving fathers in the world.  I am so proud of him, and so grateful that he's my brother.
He's the best brother ever!

I love you, hermano!

I'm an Auntie!

It seems like only yesterday I got a call from my brother and sister-in-law with some exciting news: I was going to be an aunt!  I was so happy from the news I danced around the house for the rest of the night.  (No joke.  This was pretty much what I looked like:)

This past weekend, little Ruby Joy made a surprise early appearance, officially making me an auntie!  Of course, I'm totally biased, but I think she is the most beautiful little girl in the world.

Seriously, how can you not love this cutie??

Sleeping Ruby

Being a first-time aunt, it got me thinking about the kind of aunt I want to be to my niece.  I started thinking of some "famous aunts," such as -

Auntie Mame












Aunt Polly (from "Pollyanna")









Patty and Selma









 Aunt Em

 In considering the qualities of these aunts, I realized that I have no desire to be a wealthy-socialite-chain-smoking-Kansas-farmer.  And sadly, I can't (yet lol) offer sweet little Ruby the connections of such famous aunts like Rosemary Clooney and Julia Roberts.....

But, I have been blessed with the greatest of examples myself, with my Aunt Linda and Aunt Iz.  They are both such loving, amazing women.  I hope that I can be as loving and fun an aunt to Ruby as they have been to me!

 To my beautiful niece, Ruby, I promise to always take you to Disney World, and I will even wait in line for an hour and a half for you to meet your favorite characters.  I promise to give you lots of hugs and kisses whenever I see you, and to always spoil you.  I promise I will always love you and be proud of you. 
And one thing's for sure, I will always have plenty of this:

Guilty Pleasures

Holy cow, I'm BLOGGING!  No, it is not Armageddon.  H-E-double-hockey-sticks is not freezing over.  I've just been a little busy with work.  (Not that working at the Happiest Place on Earth isn't a blast, it totally is!  It just sucks up quite a bit of time and makes me rather boring as I sometimes resemble a zombie from exhaustion.)  But now I'm finally making time to send my neurotic musings out into the blogging void.  WOOHOO!!

I've already shared some personal things on this blog, so here comes some more things that may cause others to pretend not to know me anymore.  :)  So, here are just a few of my guilty pleasures, things that bring some fun and happiness into my days.

#1 - Hallmark Movie Channel
I heart this channel for all of its cheesy, predictable, yet-still-tear-inducing movies.  They're full of the oldest cliches, ridiculously good-looking people, and repeatedly use montages to tell the story, yet I still DVR them.  (And maybe buy them on DVD....oh, wait, that's ABC Family movies....so that's Guilty Pleasure #1B, I guess....)

Where else can you also catch syndicated shows that "thank you for being a friend," and let you go "where everybody knows your name"?  Hallmark Channel not only shows "The Golden Girls," and "Cheers," but also "I Love Lucy."  What can I say, I'm a sucker for nostalgia.  Watching these shows brings me back to being younger and watching them at my grandparents' house.  (Corn Flakes also brings me back to my grandparents' house, so that is the perfect segue to the next guilty pleasure.)

#2 - Cereal

I agree with Jerry Seinfeld: "I love the idea of eating and drinking at the same time with one hand without looking."  I think I could eat cereal all the time and never get sick of it.  Just going down the cereal isle at the supermarket makes me a little giddy.  If only they still had cool little prizes at the bottom like they did when I was little (I still have my Tale Spin action figure).

Saturday mornings during my childhood meant cartoons all morning, followed by bowl after bowl of cereal.  Saturday mornings were such a fun escape from the weekday routine, and even though the cartoons on TV aren't what they used to be, every bowl of cereal I eat contains a little bit of the fun from my childhood.

What's my favorite cereal?  That's a tough one.  It's like asking, which breath of air is your favorite? ;)

#3 - Tori Spelling

Judge me all you want, Tori Spelling is one of my guilty pleasures.  I've watched her reality shows, read her memoirs, and follow her on Twitter.  There's something quirky-girl-next-door about her, and seeing her with her little family doing ordinary things like make cupcakes and use play-doh makes her relatable to me.
Sure, she was the daughter of one of the biggest television moguls in history.  Sure, she got real snow made for her in her backyard when she was young.  Sure, she has had lots of plastic surgery.  Sure, she travels all over the world....but we're not that different.  Being a wife and mother is important to her, and someday I also hope to have a cute little family of my own.  Since I can't just run to Walgreens to pick up a hubby and some kids and start nesting, watching Tori and Dean gives me my nesting fix.

(Note to Tori Spelling: I promise I am not a crazed fan that thinks we are soul sisters or something like that.  I just think your family is adorable.  And I love your party planning skills.)

#4 - Your Daily Jackson
I stumbled upon the blog Your Daily Jackson by accident, but it has since become my antidepression medication.  I sometimes spend a little while just going through the daily entries.  What is it, you ask?  It's just the world's cutest little white fluffy dog doing something new each day.  I dare you not to love this.


#5 - Randomly Finding Cute Pictures on the Internet

Like this one......








And this one 

And this one.... 

And if you need a pick-me-up, just Google image search "Cute baby animals."  Works like a charm, every time! 

Butt Dialed

I love my name.  Of course, it was sometimes annoying when I was younger (you try finding a little license plate with "Adele" on it to put on your bike), yet I never really had the desire to change it.  It was my great-aunt's first name, and she's actually who I am named after - a sweet, loving woman, I am honored that she is my namesake (and I can't wait to meet her someday, too!).  It's also my mother's middle name, which makes it even more special.  Oh, yes - and it begins with an "A," pretty much the coolest letter in the alphabet.

And I was stoked to find out that it's also the name of the heroines in both "The Majestic," and "The Legend of Bagger Vance" (hearing Matt Damon say your name is a thrilling experience, let me tell you!). 

As if life couldn't get any better, now there is a ridiculously talented and beautiful musician named Adele.  So now maybe the people at Jamba Juice will stop calling me "Add- ell-lay." 
While I love my name, there are some times when I would like to change it.  Like this afternoon.  You see, having a name that's at the beginning of the alphabet means that I'm usually at the top of most people's contact list on their phones.  Thus, I am very often butt dialed. 

I guess it's not so bad.  The 7-and-a-half minute voicemail message I got today that consisted of yelling children and other family sounds was easy to erase.  The 2-3am butt dialing that occurs during nights of craziness....well, that's a little bit more annoying.  But, I'll deal.

After all, it's a small price to pay for sharing a name with someone like this:

"Mom....Mom....Mom....Happy Birthday!!!"

One evening, my little sister's calling for my mom cracked me up.  All I can say is it resembled this:


(Except minus the laughing and running away once she answered!)

This past weekend we had plenty of opportunities to recreate the scene, as we spent the weekend together celebrating Mom's birthday!  I'm the kind of person who LOVES to celebrate birthdays.  To me, birthdays aren't just about getting older, they're about celebrating the joy that the birthday person brings to the world.  I love to do things that helps the birthday person feel as wonderful and special as they are.  So, what better way to do that then at Disney World! 

Mom wanted to have a special lunch and visit the parks, and we were blessed with a BEAUTIFUL day.  We parked at the Magic Kingdom, then traveled to the Grand Floridian for lunch at the Grand Floridian Cafe.

So fancy, they don't have bottles of condiments on the table

Mom's salad with strawberries and cashews

Gina's Grand Sandwich (ham, turkey, bacon and a boursin cheese sauce on foccacia).

Mom and I both had the Grand Floridian Burger (topped with asparagus, lobster and hollandaise sauce) - for some reason I couldn't get the picture rotated....

 After lunch, we went to play at the Magic Kingdom - first stopping off to get a birthday button for Mom!

Mom with her birthday button!


We had so much fun!  And the birthday gods must have been smiling on us that day, 'cause we hardly had to wait in any lines.  We practically walked on Cinderella's Golden Carousel - which Mom had never been on. (how is that possible?)

Birthday Princess on the carousel!

Me and Gina

We went to Mickey's
Philharmagic next.  It was a good crowd - they clapped and everything.  (Have I mentioned yet in this post how much I love Disney?)

"Roads?  Where we're going we don't need roads!"

We were feeling pretty brave, so we headed over to the Teacups.....

Luckily, we didn't lose our lunches....but we got some great pictures!

(Gina took this shot of me just as the ride was coming to a stop.  I thought it was hilarious.  And hilariously unflattering.  But I think it captures the essence of what a spin on the teacups is like!)

We were ready for a little break, so we went to a little cafe Gina knew about at the Polynesian for some Dole Whip.  And while there, a little family of ducks waddled by.






Then, it was on to Disney's Hollywood Studios to ride the Tower of Terror, just in time before the park closed.

If only I'd bought the picture - Gina's face was uber-cool.

It had been a long day....

And yet, Mom still had the energy to go dancing!  She's amazing!

I pretty much have the greatest mother in the world. :)

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!