I can't "Help" it

So many people have been talking about this book, especially since the movie has recently been released. I have wanted to post about this book ever since I read it back at the first of this year. I won't give the synopsis of the story since I'm sure most of you are now familiar with it. But, I wanted to share what the book meant to me and what I thought. For me, this book was hands down a game changer. I went through so many emotions while reading it. It made me re-evaluate the way I thought about many topics, not just race. The story's message is surrounded by race, but for me, I saw it as so much more. I think it hit on the founding principle of Christianity: Love. Wouldn't our world be such a grander place if we all looked past age, race, ethnicity,sex, social class, job status, education level, etc. and just loved each other knowing we all are different in so many ways. That's what I took away from this book. I still think about it often and will say it has affected me, I think for the better. That's why I call it a game changer. I don't know what I would have done or said had I lived in the 60's. What would I have believed? So many things are spoon fed to us as children by our parents and society, so I know people used that as a reason for their actions. But, I believe, there comes a time in our lives where we give up that crutch and realize we are adults and should think for ourselves.

The whole time I was reading this book (and I should say it didn't take long, such a page turner), I was stopping to tell Clint bits and pieces. I had to share it with someone. I wanted so badly to be in a book club so I could talk about it with other readers. So much so that I sent it to my grandmother to read. It was great getting to discuss it with someone who actually was old enough during this era to remember.

I went to see the movie a few weeks ago and feel in love with the story all over again. I would recommend reading the book but if you aren't a reader, the movie is one of the closest-to-the-book movies I have ever seen. Read it or see it!

Okay, I Give

After having our blog private for only a few weeks, I have realized it's not working. I want everyone we know who wants to check in with us have access to read our blog. And there are a few other technical issues that I wasn't aware of before I went private. So, for now, we are back on the open market. Live and learn.

Sunday Afternoons

When we got home from church it looked like rain. So, we decided to do some laundry and lounging. Chloe loved it!

While I was waiting on our sheets to dry (I love clean sheets) I went ahead and used up some bananas that were going bad. I tried a new banana bread recipe that turned out pretty tasty.

The one thing I love more than clean sheets...baking! Lazy afternoons can be the best thing to re-engergize you for the week ahead.

Saturday Morning in Ellicott City, MD

This morning Clint and I got up and thought it looked like a perfect morning to go find some yard sales. We resisted the urge because for 1) our townhouse is already filled to the brim with "junk" and 2) people don't really have yard sales around here ( must be the reason for so many consignment shops). So instead, we decided to visit nearby Ellicott City. We had both heard from numerous people about how neat the downtown area was there. They were not kidding. It has to be the cutest downtown I've ever seen. It has an old English feel to it with cobblestone paths and trickling streams. It was a bit over overcast but that made for a perfect cool breeze. We browsed through the many antique stores, but of course did not buy anything, see reason #1 above. But, we did visit the local florist and Clint bought be a bouquet of white lilies...my favorite flower. Perfect ending to a great Saturday morning!

Giving it a Go

Not until I went to set our blog to private did I realize that it would require everyone to sign in with a gmail account or if you don't have one to create one, just to view our blog. I don't really like that idea. Although, there is the option of viewing it for a trial period, I think maybe 20 days and then that expires and I would need to send out another invitation for those who don't have gmail to view for another 20 days. So complicated and I know it's all to gain more gmail users. However, this is a free blog so I guess maybe I should have expected it. We'll try it for a few weeks, but if it seems like too much of a pain, I'll just go back to public viewing. I just really like the idea of private, but like I said before...what's really private anymore?!

Private after today

Just a reminder, I am setting our blog to private after today. You can still view it if you send me your email address to missybond at gmail dot com.
Happy Monday!