I'm Vanilla.

Yes.

This is a book review by someone who hasn't even finished it.

And I'm trying to find the bravery to make myself see it to the last page.

I'm about 200 pages in and I have a few thoughts and opinions.

We'll start off with the weak ones and move onto the stronger ones:

1.  If you're not from the country your characters are from, it would do you well to research the slang and vernacular.  I don't know a single American who uses "Deliciously" that much.  And I've never met another American that says "I'll make us some tea, shall I?"  Because of that, the characters keep having an English accent in my head.  And this is set in Washington state.

2.  From what I remember in Health and Anatomy classes, Mr. Christian Grey is a direct contradiction to the male reproductive system and male stamina.  If he were a real person, he would be studied and written about in medical journals.  He would also be in the Guinness Book of World Records under "Recovery."

3.  Apparently if the rest of the country is loving this book without a hitch, then I must be really more "Vanilla" than I thought.  I've already dry heaved once and I'm pretty sure I'll need a safe word if the book keeps going where I think it's going.  And I'm just reading it.  Dude is a little deviant for my taste.  And I find myself agreeing with Anastasia when she says, "Why does this turn me on?"  I have no idea.  Some of it, I'll give to her, but the rest?  Well sister, you're on your own.

4.  I want to throat punch Christian Grey.  I can't stand the Dominant thing.  I can't get on board with the bossy crap, even if it's just for the bedroom, even if it's just for an entertaining story.  I seriously want to go off on a tirade about women's rights and deserved respect.  Even if it's just role playing!  Hey!  You let her talk!!




Would someone who has read this please tell me whether its worth powering through the male chauvinist power trip stuff and hard-core porny themes?  Does this book have a twist?  A good compelling story it's somehow setting up with a d-bag male interest and an overly repressed lead female character?  Because if all I'm going to keep reading about is him bossing her around and pushing her limits (and mine!) then I'm out.  Am I just a real prude for this being a wee-bit too hard core?  I just don't know if I can do it.

Happy Pioneer Day!

For those of you reading who are not Utah residents...Happy Tuesday!

But for those of you who know what's up:

Happy Pioneer Day!

The day the Pioneers made their way into Utah!

Enjoy the second day this month you can light fireworks!

But, you know, keep a fire extinguisher handy.  It's so dry here, a wildfire sparks just by thinking about it.

Monterey

This the view from the hotel room. Its about 70 degrees and the water is much, much colder.
But its beautiful.

Perhaps I'll post more blatant bragging photos later.

The Randoms

Well...in less than a week I leave for vacation.


Did I meet my goal?  No.  But that won't stop me from working out during and after.  That's right, I said during.  I married into a fitness oriented family so I know there will be a couple early morning gym trips that I can tag along with.  But for the most part - I'll be found with a cover up on.


I didn't even buy a new swimsuit.  Why?  I'm not swimsuit ready.  It's disappointing but there's not a lot I can do about it now.  Except just keep trying, right?  I'm still planning on making healthy choices though.

So of course I played around on Polyvore to show you some fun combinations:

Beach Ready by jessajill featuring summer hats

I don't have the top for this top.  I don't.  There are some women who have to top for this top, but my top won't do this top.  It's sad because this top is cute, but one small, swift move could show the world my top, and I won't work with tops that reveal my top.


Here's another fun combination with what I should wear:

Bring the Beach by jessajill featuring canvas tote bags

I like this tankini top.  Although my top will probably spill out the top there.  They have a mind of their own and if there's a chance of embarrassing cleavage around family members - well they'll know what to do.  I'm still looking forward to laying on the beach and enjoying the sunshine - with SPF 30 of course, because I fry faster and easier than anyone I've known.  It's like a weird talent of mine.  Also - I'll probably get a weird sunburn somewhere even with the steady use of sunblock.  Last time it was a line next to my arm pit and a weird spot on my hand.  I'm pretty good at it.

Truthfully where we're going, the air will be a little more crisp and the water VERY cold.  In fact, we'll probably tote sweaters along with us most places because the weather's unpredictable.  It will probably be a TON of fun thought.

Hopefully I can share some pictures when we get back.  It should be very scenic too, so that should be fun for me and my camera.  Even if I still don't know what I'm doing.  (I still don't bother with the ISO and aperture - I need to learn!)

In other news, I'm LOVING the new P!nk Single "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)."  It's one you wanna yell in your car.  It doesn't necessarily have to be sung in the general direction of a man, you can sing it to anything you're fed up and done with.  Very therapeutic.  There isn't a music video out yet, so I'll just link to the song on YouTube.  And yes, there are some explicit lyrics but it's P!nk, she's known for here screw you lyrics that a girl just has to sing really loud sometimes.  And this song is no exception.

Welp...I think this week I'll just be preparing to take off and do a lot of last minute things.  I'll be back in a couple weeks!

Pinterest - It worked!

Instead of showing you all of the pins I hope to one day read and try, I'll tell you about the ones I've tried already and felt they were really worth sharing.  Because these work!




Yogurt Bites:

These are Yogurt Bites.  It's just as simple as it looks.  And it's yummy.  However, these melt A LOT faster than you think so just keep that in mind.

If you put a wooden spoon over boiling water - it will not boil over.

This actually works.  I've done this ever since I saw this pin and I'm shocked every time.

The fastest way to take off nail polish.

Seriously - I've done this twice now and it's AWESOME.  It comes right off - no grinding that cotton ball on your nails for 15 minutes.  I'll never take off nail polish the old way again.

The softest chocolate chip cookies.

This pin takes you to a site, which takes you to a site.  So the actual recipe is here.

No joke, these are so soft that the almost have a cake-like quality to them.  They're tasty.  Who knew - cornstarch!

Shred Chicken Fast.

This is GENIUS!  It was also the first time I used this attachment for my mixer.  So simple!  And it takes a lot less time then just going at it with forks.  I love this!

Mexican Cilantro Grilled Shrimp

This was DELICIOUS.  Our grill broke a while back so I couldn't grill them like the recipe suggests, but they were still AMAZING.

I know I've tried a lot more than that but that's all for today.

These pins brought to you by:

Not wanting to do the laundry.

Happy 4th

Happy Independence Day!

I hope its filled with grilling, a lot of ice cream, fireworks, summer heat and fun!

Because that's how the forefathers would have wanted it.

Fun with Printables

If you grew up (mostly) in one state, then you find that you have a love for your home state that is not unlike your Mother.

You can talk smack, but if anyone else starts...um,are you talking about my Mama?!!

Meaning that I can complain about Utah drivers and Utah construction and Utah weather patterns but if some clown from England makes headline evening news about how Utah drivers are the worst well, why don't you head on home there, pal?

My husband is the same way about his home state.  Except California can do no wrong and well, everyone else must feel bad because they're not from California.  (It gets a bit old...)

And who knows, we may not live in my home state after a while, we probably won't live in his home state but it's always important to have home state pride which is why these free printables are AWESOME:

These come blank so you can add any sort of flair to them that you like, a star, a heart, wording of your choice.

Found HERE

So you can print out your home state with home town pride as well.

You can also play around with it like this:

All the towns I've lived in in this state of mine.  (I've lived in two other states too, I haven't been here this ENTIRE time.)

And if life finds us in another state, we can just add that one to the mix too!

Meanwhile I'm totally going to find cute frames and put these on my wall!  I LOVE THEM!

Pinned it all...

Guys...



The Red Dress Boutique


I'm not even sure how I found it but I believe I just pinned ALL OF IT.


If you're a fan of the color blocking movement - you better head over there.

Like now.