The Boys + Olympics + Modesty + Austenland +Day 11

"At the Olympics in China, every color was represented... and that was just the drinking water." -Evan Sayet

Hello there.

David's language skills are picking up exponentially, it seems. He can say No, More, Wow/Whoa, Sock, and when he says Hi and Bye, it actually sounds like the real word, like Hah-ee, and Bah-ee. He says more, but I just can't think of them right now. It's so cute. Most of the time the sounds coming out of his mouth are garbled and don't sound like anything, so it's fun to hear the words he does know how to say.

Andrew is still potty training. Some day, he'll wake up one morning and just get it, I think. I'm pretty happy though - earlier today, it had been a few hours since he had gone, and I was busy doing something when he suddenly said, "Potty!" He ran to the bathroom, and by the time I was able to go in there to help him, he was already in there doing his business! Oh, I know it's silly, but I can't tell you how happy that made me.

The Olympics are nearly here, and I'm dying from excitement! We'll be at a family reunion during the opening ceremony and then going to another reunion at the end of week 1, but hopefully we'll be able to catch at least SOME of the games this year! My favorite events are probably the swimming (Michael Phelps, anyone?) and gymnastics. So great.

These are the two times in previous Olympics that have stuck in my memory best:

Kerri Strug, helping the Team USA women's gymnastics team win the gold medal for the first time ever.

And of course, I would be stupid to forget the 4x100 relay the USA men's swimming team miraculously won against France at the last summer Olympics. This was seriously classic.

Ahhh! I can't wait!

Oh, and just because I thought it was interesting, I found a YouTube video that promotes modesty. I know, I know, it's kinda a weird topic to talk about, but this one has statistics from a study, so it scientifically shows that it's probably a good idea to cover up! Just watch it, ladies.

As another side note, I'm rereading Shannon Hale's book Austenland for probably the 6th or 7th time. I love this book, obviously. It's just so funny and witty, and whenever I'm feeling the need for a Jane Austen-ish fix, this is my go-to book. I just had to post one of my favorite passages from the book.

Yes, I am aware that this is turning into a rather long post. Sorry about that. Also, I have no rights to this passage whatsoever, so sorry Shannon Hale if I'm not allowed to post it! If that's the case, I'll delete it immediately! Here it is:

"No more whist, I beg you," Aunt Saffronia said after dinner. "Let us have some music."


"Indeed," said Captain East. "I believe, Miss Erstwhile, that you promised me a song."


Jane was quite certain that she had never promised any such thing, but it seemed a fitting remark to make, and so Jane rose and made her graceful way to the piano.


"If you insist, Captain East, but I must beg you forgive me at the same time. And you too, Mr. Nobley, as I know you are particular to music played well and no doubt a harsh critic when a piece is ill executed."


"I believe," said Mr. Nobley, "that I have never been witness to a young lady about to play without her excusing her skill beforehand, only to perform perfectly thereafter. The excuse is no doubt intended as a prelude that sets up the song for deeper enjoyment."


"Then I pray I do not disappoint."


She smiled expressly at Captain East, who sat forward, forearms resting on knees, eager. With professional suavity, Jane arranged her skirt, spread out the music, poised her fingers, and then with one hand played the black keys, singing along with the notes, "Peter, Peter, pumpkin-eater, had a wife and couldn't keep her, put her in a pumpkin shell, and there he kept her very well."


She rose and curtsied to the room.


Captain East smiled broadly. Mr. Nobley coughed. (Laughed?) Jane sat back on the lounge and picked up her discarded volume of sixteenth-century poetry.


"That was..." said Aunt Saffronia to the silence.


Hilarious! I love it. And that's just a taste of what the rest of it is like, my friends. You should really check it out from the library. Or borrow it from me. Just know that I have an ARC copy, so there are some slight errors in it every once in a while...

Ok, on to the Challenge.

Day 11 - What is your favorite quote?

I have a lot of quotes I like... Shoot. Here's one by Henry Van Dyke: "Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best."

Here's one by Oscar Wilde: "Who, being loved, is poor?"

And here's one by Mother Teresa: "If you judge someone, you have no time to love them."

I like a lot of other quotes, but I mostly post them at the beginning of these posts, not at the end...

Secret: I have a slight phobia of bees. I was stung once when I was a little girl, and ever since then, if a bug flies close to me, even if it's a fly or a ladybug and not a bee or something with a stinger, I still sorta freak out. I'm not very proud of it, but there it is.