Is summer almost over?

We always look so forward to summer and the end of the snow.  Then it gets here and it's almost over and we're panicking to get in the last minute activities we haven't done yet.  We had great weather this summer, much better than last year.  It's been very rare to have such a heat wave like we did in June.  The CNE and Barrie Fair are on this weekend which means summer is coming to a close.

It's supposed to be 30 degrees this weekend so it's time to cross some things off the list you haven't been able to do yet this summer.  Go sit at the beach and read a book, go camping, have your friends over for a BBQ that you've been talking about doing all summer, go for a bike ride, play some tennis or whatever sport you enjoy!  Before we know it we'll be pulling out the boots and complaining about how cold it is and how we can't wait for summer.

Oh how marriage changes things!

I am technically still considered a newlywed I guess, Phil and I have been married 9 months now.  One of the many changes that have happened since being married is the type of television shows I watch.  I am a TV junkie and in my single days had a nice weekly schedule with all my favorite shows.  Friends and family knew certain nights and times not to call because Grey's Anatomy was on.  Although they were hooked too so they probably weren't planning to call anyway.

Now in this new partnership I actually have to share the remote and I'm not the best at sharing.  We do have another TV that I can venture off to but when we first got married I felt guilty about going off by myself, I thought we should be spending this time together.  So I started to find some new TV interests (but thankfully with Rogers on Demand I can still catch up on some of my shows when my husband is out).  So now my evenings consist of Dog the Bounty Hunter, Operation Repo, anything on the Speed channel.  I must admit i'm starting to enjoy some of them but we have found some happy mediums in cooking shows like Master Chef and The Cake Boss, although that just makes us hungry and 9 at night. 

Just one of the man changes that come with marriage, but I make the change happily!

A summer of reading

As the summer comes to a close I was thinking about the books I have read over the past couple months.  I tend to read alot more during the summer.  The weather is nicer so you're outdoors more and, as a self proclaimed TV junkie, my shows are all on hiatus for the summer so I have some extra time on my hands.  I started the summer with "Eat Pray Love", after spending my honeymoon in Italy I wanted to read about the authors journey there as well.  It sounds like she enjoyed the eating as much as I did!

I'm becoming a fan of Jodi Picoult who wrote "My Sisters' Keeper".  I didn't read that book but saw the movie.  I did read her book "19 Minutes" which had me on the edge of my seat, and I'm reading "Keeping Faith" right now.  I just finished "The Memory Keeper's Daughter".  It was sitting on my shelf for years and I finally got to it and what a story it was! 

I love reading biographies and my favorite book of the summer was "Choosing to See" by Mary Beth Chapman.  She is the wife of Steven Curtis Chapman and the book was the journey through her life and so honest which I loved.  Steven Curtis Chapman "is" Christian music and we have a perception of his life and his family life and this book shows us that like everyone else they are just a real family.

She talks about getting married young, having kids, the struggles of having a husband who is on the road most of the time, her wresting match with God, depression and the horrible loss of their daughter a couple years ago.  She was a "control freak" and definately had plan for her life, liked everything organized and then her life turned out the opposite.  I can definately relate to that one.  I like to control everything in my life and God always has a different plan for us and some handle it better than others.  Steven and Mary Beth have become advocates for adoption and it was amazing to hear about that part of their life and how they resisted the idea of adoption in the beginning and ended up adopting 3 girls from China.   There is one incredible story of Mary Beth and Jan Moore (Geoff Moore's wife) going to China to pick up their girls before the province was shut down from the SARS virus.  Their adoptions had gone through but they had about a month before it was time to go pick up the girls.  They heard the province was shutting down and it would be a few months before they could get in.  They set out on a mission to get their girls and literally threw clothes in a suitcase headed for China and hoped for the best.  It was so incredible I had to read that chapter out loud to my husband.

I really enjoyed how she incorporated Steven's song lyrics into the book - almost every chapter starts with one of his songs and you get to read about that part of the journey in their lives and where that song came from.  The last 1/4 of the book is about the loss of their daughter Maria

It's very relatable for anyone and I just loved reading it and seeing the other side of their story.  I highly recommend it and it's in stores in Canada next week.  http://marybethchapman.com/

If you have any book recommendations let me know so I can start my reading list for the fall!

What's in a name?

Well this is my first entry in the blogosphere - is that even a word?  I stressed for days on what to name this blog - Jen Melanson's Blog just sounded a bit boring.  It's a well known fact that I have a thing for purses and this is a blog about my life so it seemed like a good fit, although i have definately type casted myself now. 

I had a gross out moment this morning - one of those "what are they thinking" times.  As I'm standing in line at Wal-Mart (my favorite place) the woman behind me was literally clipping her finger nails in line.  In the same area where you reach for gum, candy bars or any other fun things they have and now her finger nails are a part of it.  It was one of those moments where I just didn't know what to do.  Do I say something, give her a look to send the message?  I don't like conflict or confrontation so I avoid that at all costs.  Luckily the person in front of me doesn't mind so she gave the look for me.  I know the line ups can be long and boring but that's what the magazines are for.  I sure hope she bought those nail clippers and just wasn't testing them out!