So Limon wanted to know about the fun books I’ve been reading. Here are the ones I’ve read in the last month or so. I really should keep better track of what I’m reading when.

1. The Worst Hard Times by Timothy Egan. Ok, this a non-fiction book but it was really a great read. It is the most compelling and fascinating book on the Great Dust Bowl. Egan’s description of the dust storms at times left me gasping and imagining my own lungs filling with dust. Really. Read this book!

2. A Widow for a Year by John Irving. I’m conflicted about this one. There were times while reading when I didn’t want to put the book down. Then there were parts in the book where I just wanted to skip ahead.

3. Odd Hours by Dean Koontz. Not the best Dean Koontz book I’ve ever read, but it was good. I really like the Odd Thomas character and I’m pleased to see Koontz turning him into a series.

4. A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon. Great fun read. Every thing has to be read with a British accent running in your head. I can already see this turned in to a BBC movie. There were parts that made me laugh out loud.

I have four others I just picked up from the bargain bin at the book store, but I can’t remember the titles. I’m not starting any of them until after I take my motorcycle test (hopefully Friday).

I truly believed that Chris’s mom was just playing dumb because she’s lazy, but last night she proved that she really is stupid. She made some deal with a stranger in our neighborhood about repairing the fence that borders our properties. Of course she didn’t tell us any thing about it, so we were clueless when the guy stopped by to ask us about it. He left his name and phone number so that we could call him back.

Mr. Swan’s brilliant idea last night was to roam the neighborhood looking for this guy instead of CALLING him…on a PHONE. When she couldn’t find him at the place where she thought he lived, she decided to ask a pack of hoods roaming the street if they new the guy. She had her purse sitting in the passenger’s seat and was talking to them through the window when one of the punks reached in, grabbed the purse, and ran. We had left her alone for less then twenty minutes and she gets her purse stolen.

So, police come, report is made, cop finds the punk. The purse is gone (of course) and we canceled her cards. She didn’t have her check book or any cash and today she’s going down to replace her drivers license. She was lucky. It was just a purse; it could have been worse. Things calmed down for the evening. That’s when she decides to go get her gun out of her dresser “to make sure it’s there and working”.

I did not grow up around guns. They make me uneasy and I don’t see that owning one makes me any safer then not owning one. Most likely, unless the gun is always holstered to my hip, I’m never going to be able to get to the gun in time to do any thing with it. Plus, I honestly don’t think I could actually shoot someone with the intent to kill or maim. Chris was not happy about his mom getting her gun out and he took it away from her. He told her she could have it back when she could prove to him the she could actually get to it when an emergency occurs. Ah…the argument that ensued. She’s still mad. We left her stewing in her chair this morning. It made me chuckle.

Module six of yoga teacher training focused on breathing (pranayama) and hip openers and boy was I glad when this weekend didn’t involve a quiz. I have been a bad student and did not study. I usually make note cards for all the new sanskrit words, but I didn’t do this for module five until early last week.

The problem is I keep getting fun books to read. Plus I would rather be studying and preparing for my motorcycle test. I’m more worried about the driving portion of the test. I’ve already scored a 92% on the practice written test. I just feel like I have a lot to do, but I’m just too lazy to do any of it. It doesn’t help that it’s a hundred degrees out either.

At least I don’t feel as physically wasted after this session as I did after the last. You would think that eight hours of hip opening poses would have killed me. But I’m constantly surprised by my ability to keep up. I felt physically and emotionally drained by the end of class yesterday. You tend to carry emotional stress in your hips. I tend to get sad and a little depressed when I do hip openers (even though they feel great physically) and I usually end a hip opener practice with a really good back bend. I expected the worst when I got up this morning. But I feel great today. I went to the Y this morning and walked and went to the yoga class there (even though the teacher has a teaching style that makes me cringe a little on the inside). I’m tired, but not more so then any other day. I want to go home and ride my scooter.

I think I’ve mentioned before how I just don’t like going to “family” get-togethers at my brother-in-law’s house. The events are usually excruciating. Sunday’s birthday party for my niece was no exception.

They combined my nieces birthday with her cousin’s (it was his first). My sister-in-law’s (A) side of the family are odd. They are all very pro-WalMart, Bush and Ann Coulter and they’re not really big on encouraging education. Every one knows that all you really need is a GED. A’s sister has this husband that just gives me the creeps. He’s the one that usually gives the blessing before big family dinners (which is always odd, because Chris’s family doesn’t claim a religion). Any way, this guy gives off this weird preachy, sex offender vibe and he makes my skin crawl. We hadn’t had to see them in a while, so I guess this is why he felt the need to hug me hello (I just threw up a little in my mouth remembering the hug). But even A’s family weren’t as bad this time because they were over shadowed by the people invited to the one-year old’s side of the party.

It was a living cliche. Imagine a house full of teenage mothers and one pregnant teenager. Except these girls were the worst kind of teen-mommy. These were the type of girls who got pregnant to keep a boy around. The type that pretends to be an attentive mother, but would be happier holding a beer and a cigarette. The type of girl who has a baby because she has nothing else going for her then her ability to reproduce. It’s just unfortunate that they are reproducing little replicas of themselves, following similar paths, floating along uneducated and voting with out using their brains (if they vote at all). For once, Chris and I were the oldest people there with out kids.

All I can say is Thank the Gods that this was an on-call babysitting weekend for Chris. Getting called in to watch the Beast is ten times better then sitting through the most awkward birthday party. The highlight was talking to Chris’s brother about the scooters. He was so excited for us, he let me borrow a helmet.

Boy am I pooped! What a weekend?!? The Feist concert was one of the best concerts I’ve been to. Chris and I had been to Kansas City to see Sting a long time ago, but we didn’t get a chance to really see the city. This time around we had time to drive around the city some and we liked what we saw. Kansas City is a very pretty place with lots of trees and green. We were very surprised by just how charming the city is.

The concert was at The Starlight Theater on the Missouri side of Kansas City. It’s a very quant little outside theater set in a big park (that also houses the local zoo). Juana Molina was the opening act and she was fantastic. I bought a CD, that’s how much we liked her. She’s like a modern day version of the one-man-band and I fell in love. Feist put on a fabulous show as well. She was very engaging and interactive with the audience. It was just a wonderful night.

Chris and I had a really great time and we begrudgingly admit to be being a bit smitten with KC. Now (5 1/2 hrs later) we’re home, tired, but wired over the delivery of our scooters. They’re still not here. I took some pictures (we had great seats!), but my camera was on the wrong setting so they’re a little blurry. I like to think this adds an artistic twist to the pictures and reflects the energy of the concert.

Right now I’m sitting in a hotel room in Kansas City. I’m supposed to be resting. We’re going to the Feist concert in about one hour. This weekend was totally about going to the Feist concert in Kansas City and it was until we stopped by the Vespa shop in Tulsa “just to look”.

It’s all Chris’s fault. He was the one that said “let’s go spend the night at your parents in Collinsville”. He’s the one that just had to go check out The Whole Foods Market in Tulsa, which just happens to be down the street from the Vespa shop. The Vespa shop of course had to have their scooters displayed outside like giant popsicles. When we stopped “just to look” I told Chris that we couldn’t stay long because Mom was fixing dinner. Then I sat on my Vespa. My Vespa. Yup. We bought not just one, but TWO Vespas (thanks to Dad because our credit sucks).

Now, instead of being all excited about Feist, I just want to be home. Waiting for them to deliver my scooter. Thinking about all the stuff I need to go with it (helmet, gloves, license, insurance). Worrying about learning to ride it. My Vespa, V. Chris got an orange one.

I only have two days left on my detox diet. So far it hasn’t been that bad. I don’t miss the meat. I really don’t even miss the cheese. But I do miss sugar. I want cake. My meals that I planned have left me full, but mildly unsatisfied. Today I got the idea to make spaghetti and once I started thinking about pasta sauce, I became a little giddy.

The challenge is finding spaghetti sauce that doesn’t have added sugar. I dragged Chris with me to the health food store after work where we perused the tomato sauce isle. I had to read many a label before coming across a sauce that didn’t have added sugar. Then I had to find a gluten free spaghetti noodle and while I was searching, I came across these chips. I love these chips! After eating the first chip I looked at Chris and said “I think I will live”. They are so good and lifted my spirits so much that I could probably do this diet for a whole month.

But I’m not. Friday is the last day. After that, I’m sticking to the veggies, but also adding in dairy and sometimes fish. No animal products is hard!

I’m starting a new tradition called Fourth of July resolutions. It’s a good time in the year to re-evaluate all the things you set out to do at the beginning of the year and if you’re like me, your resolutions have slid to the way side. I didn’t really make major resolutions this year. I told myself that I would eat better, quite some bad habits…the usual. Now, starting the seventh month of the new year, the bad habits still linger and the plan to eat better has gotten wonky.

Tomorrow begins the Detox-End-of-Bad-Habits diet. It’s the same detox diet that Dooce tried for a couple of weeks. I had been searching for a detox diet when she blogged about hers. It’s simple. No caffeine, no alcohol, no gluten, no sugar, and no animal products. Easy right? The diet is supposed to last 21 days. Dooce made it two weeks before she got the mother of all sinus infections and her doctor told her to stop. I have no great expectations. I’ve planned my diet for a measly week. At the end of the week, I’ll re-evaluate how I feel and see were it goes from there.

I have a feeling after this week, I’ll end up making the switch to vegetarian. I’ve been headed in this direction for some time now. My lunches tend to be vegetarian and I feel better when I’m eating more veggies. I also think my body is going to really like the no gluten part of the diet. The hardest part is going to be living without cheese or milk for the week. Most of all I’m hoping this diet will give my system the kick start I need to stick with a good plan for my body. We’ll see.