Hello! Happy Friday! How’s your summer going? I can’t believe we’re already past the 4th of July, which always feels like the beginning of the end of summer for me. We still have swim lessons and a camp and a family trip, but school will be here before we know it.

I haven’t been blogging much lately. I haven’t been doing any projects since my sewing machine broke, and I haven’t been writing much either. I miss it. There’s something wonderful about writing for me. Just getting words out of my head onto paper or typed on the screen is so cathartic. (I think it has a lot to do with my theory on consuming vs. producing and how good producing is for me.)

Last weekend, as an exercise in a bible study I’m doing this summer, I had a technology-free day. It was hard -but also easy. I had so much extra time, and I found it easy to fill that time with chores around the house that kept me pretty distracted. But when I was quiet for a few minutes – a time I would have grabbed my phone to check Facebook or Instagram – I grabbed my journal to write. And even after my no-tech day was finished, I’ve continued to journal a little each day. It’s a habit I have loved for years, and I’m happy to have picked up again.

So here I am, giving you a quick rundown of things that have been on my mind lately – thoughts I’ve had, stuff I’ve read, things that have hit home.

1. “Girl Camp”. Husband and BB left for Cub Scout camp this week. While they are living it up in the woods canoeing and building campfires and shooting bows and arrows and sleeping in tents, BG and I are having “Girl Camp”.  What does one do at Girl Camp? Well, so far, we go to IKEA and plan bedroom decorating projects. We organize toys. (SO MUCH PINK. See above.) We have play dates with friends. We go swimming. We buy desserts just because. We do our nails. We go to the movies. This is less a camp of planned activities and more of an attitude. BG summed it up by saying, “You say ‘Yes!’ a lot more during Girl Camp.” TRUE! It’s been a really special time for the two of us – I am so thankful for these days. (And I’m dying to know what’s happening at “Boy Camp” – can’t wait to hear stories and see pictures of their adventures!)

2. Yoga Radio on Pandora. It’s a lovely way to start the day, even if you aren’t actually doing yoga and are just sitting on your couch, sipping coffee.

3. This essay. Beautiful, sad, moving.

4. This movie. Speaking of things that made me cry, I was at the movie theater with BG yesterday to see Despicable Me 3 (her choice because apparently Cars 3 “just sort of feels like a baby movie.” Well, okay then.) They showed the trailer for Wonder, and I cried from the very first second. Wonder, by RJ Palacio, is probably the best book I’ve read this year – and I’ve had a string of good ones lately. I know Husband will not look forward to seeing this film with me as he has an aversion to movies in which there is a high likelihood of me leaving the theater in a red-faced, runny-nosed, sobbing mess. He likes to save those for watching at home. (A selection of movies we’ve seen together in which I walk out of the theater in full-on ugly cry: Titanic, Apollo 13, Romeo + Juliet, Armageddon (I KNOW!), What Dreams May Come, Stepmom, The Green Mile, Big Fish. There are countless others.) Anyway, I’ll be there for Wonder with my box of Kleenex. Can’t wait.

5. This quote.

What are you up to this week? The boys will get back from camp, and we have little else planned. I’m hoping to FINALLY get started on a house project that’s been percolating in my mind for weeks (years?). I’m also reading this book for a book club I just joined, so I’m hoping to finish it up as well. Hope your weekend is full of connecting with family and friends, peaceful and touching moments, and joy. Thanks for reading!