Things I Love Thursday

Summer is finally in full bloom. I feel like I'm right at that point where the days begin to speed up with alarming pace and suddenly I arrive at the end of August with a skinny bank balance, a suitcase full of dirty clothes, scads of photos and a faint tan (which is all my pasty white self will accrue, no matter how many days I spend in the sun).  The trip to Virginia was just the tip of the iceberg. Fortunately, I have spent a pleasant week at home catching my breath before things really get out of hand.
Here's what I'm loving this week:

(1) The perfect summer vacation day - This is the day you dream about when school's in session, you have 80 things to do at work, and it's -12 degrees outside. Tuesday and Wednesday were that day. This is the agenda:

• Wake up without an alarm and eat $12 cheese for breakfast
• Spend the entire morning in pajamas doing absolutely nothing
• Stock up on books at the library with my brothers
• Skip lunch in favor of milkshakes from Sonic
• Fall asleep in a deck chair at the neighborhood pool
• Go shopping with my mom and sister and spend money like I'm playing Monopoly
• Eat scrambled eggs on toast for supper
• Bible study

Caution: perfect summer vacation day includes weight gain, buyer's remorse, and a general avoidance of attending to responsibilities. But it also feels really good.

(2) LUSH Solid Shampoo - Shampoo in bar soap form. It's a beautiful marriage of good hygiene, environmental awareness and portability. It's a tiny 2 oz bar that fits into a small round tin. HA! TAKE THAT TSA. I'll bring as much as I want on my next plane trip! Not to mention it works really well. Swipe the bar over your hair in the shower, lather, and rinse. My favorite is Squeaky Green, a mixture of peppermint, rosemary, and nettle. Smells good and perfect for the closet treehugger in you me.  Also, LUSH makes the most amazing-smelling soap ever.  It's called Honey I Washed the Kids and it smells like honey and caramel. Delicious.

(3) My Moleskine planner - If there's anything I've inherited from my father, it's his need for schedules and organization.* (On paper. Anyone who's seen my bedroom knows it doesn't necessarily translate to real life.) I have to have everything written down in one place or else I won't know who I'm supposed to meet where or when or for what.  I recently purchased a ridiculously expensive Moleskine 18-month organizer. Every left page is a schedule of the week and the right page is blank for notes. I have been ecstatically filling in allll my upcoming appointments, travel arrangements, events, etc. It also contains references pages filled with conversion charts, time zone maps, and blank itineraries. Be still, my Type-A heart.

(4) An actual 'Like' stamp - You can buy this. For real.

Other Nubbins

• Awkward patchy sunburns. Explain to me why my right shoulder and my left kneecap are the only bits that got burned at the pool today. Please.
• Getting a new pair of Khombu ankle rainboots on the cheap (60% discount anyone?)
• Riding around town with the windows down in my old '89 Volvo 240. Windows down due to lack of air conditioning. Oh the memories....
• 75 degree day with ZERO HUMIDITY. A definite rarity here in the Midwest.
• A medical issue resolving itself without a visit to the doctor. Just because I'm insured again doesn't mean I want to take a chunk out of my deductible to pay for 5 minutes with a nurse and a needle. For those of you know know what I'm talking about, turns out it was a ganglion cyst and not hand cancer.  The hypochondriac in me just fainted onto the chaise lounge out of relief. Too much information for the internet? Hey you're reading my blog. You're pretty much asking for it.
• Song of the Week: "Meanwhile, Rick James" by Cake

*His Chinese name literally translates to "One Who Plans for the Future":

As written on his business card