Summer days are by no means lazy days!

I have been working two jobs here for about 3 months and life is a tad hectic so I've missed writing for a while now... but I'm back today to catch up a little so buckle up! It's going to be a crash course.

I should have called this one "Kimber's Life Lately" but that would kind of imply that something interesting was going on and the truth is... not much has time to happen at all. I am working 7 days a week and attempting to squeeze in a little Q.T. with as many family and friends as possible but, alas, I fall short all too often. I did however get to hang out late one Saturday evening with my favorite person. My grandfather turned 81 the end of July and I got to sit down and eat some johnny cakes and dried beef gravy with him and chit chat a little. That just makes everything stressful melt away for a little while. Erastus is a phenomenal man and he has taught me what it is to be loved more then anyone else I know.

My younger brother is here working for the summer and also very busy but we don't waste any opportunity to tease on mom. I went over her house for dinner on night and while in the kitchen noticed she got a freezer and tucked it in a corner near the table. Now her house is about as big as a shoe box so I would really need the storage if I were going to take up what little room I had with an appliance like that. So naturally I commented on it and she began to explain how cramped her freezer was on her side-by-side fridge and the trouble she had cramming things in there. My brother took that opportunity to invite me to take a look at what she couldn't fit in the normal freezer but deemed important enough to warrant the purchase of this new chest freezer. He beamed as he opened the top to show me that she had one lone ice cube try sitting in the bottom... and that's all. She had started laughing before he got across the floor to reveal this to me because it was already a joke between them. She had put the ice cube tray inside to test it out and show when it was up to temp before she relocated other things but of course that was a moot point to my brother and I who love things that seem ridiculous at first glance even if the explanation makes perfect sense. None of that matters when there is a joke to be made at mom's expense especially. Good thing she knows we are both wise asses and loves us anyway because she really takes a beating sometimes.

We have also welcomed a new roommate into the apartment this summer. The girlfriend of my original, less then tidy, sometimes very hairy original roommate has joined the ranks. She is doing her very best to whip him into shape and I must say she has done a bang-up job in a short time! He has been one to throw me into a state of shock and sometimes terrified awe when he blows through the place like a tornado leaving his wake of destruction from the kitchen to the bathroom. It has showed me how different men and women really are.

They made a pact and she is trying to get him to be more organized and he is trying to get her to eat more healthy foods... or at least he calls them healthy. I come from a family where we eat meat and taters and they are separate on the plate. I am not a huge fan of vegetables. In fact I'm not a huge fan of anything but sugar as I have mentioned before so his idea of healthy is my idea of suicide. I literally cringe when he comes at me with a spoonful of who-knows-what. He begs me try it but If I can't recognize it, I don't consume it. Sometimes more to the point, if I do recognize it, I definitely don't consume it. I am very particular about smell and texture and I have a powerful gag reflex. He is very passionate about cooking and really enjoys doing it for others so I feel bad but I just really can't stomach some of that stuff.

He loves tomatoes and I am of firm belief that they are red little devils sent here from Hell. Onions not only make me cry but dry heave as well. Peppers, celery, lima beans, peas and the list of filthy things goes on and on. I love green beans only in a can, corn, lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, potatoes and i can eat beats and broccoli but would really rather not so pretty much every time he strolls in with a prideful smile and a spoon in hand, all I can think is "Oh no! What torture is coming my way? Where can I hide?" I know he is worried about my diet because admittedly I eat worse then a frat boy and I am too sick for that but I would starve to death any other way I fear. If you took out everything I shouldn't eat but do, the only thing left would be bottled water I think and he pointed out that I even manage to buy the kind infused with chemicals so I don't even do water right.

Anyway, things are pretty good but very busy and I don't really have a whole lot of time for the things I love but I have made some time to explore a few new movies and T.V shows and hunt for cool music. I bought season 1 of United States of Tara with Toni Collette. This show is fantastic! Toni is pretty much genius in everything I have seen her in but the writing paired with the talented acting really makes this show great. I started Glee on DVD as well when a few people recommended it. It's fun and amusing but not exactly top 10 material. I love The Office, 30 Rock, Arrested Development, Will and Grace, Ally McBeal, LWord, Big Bang Theory, Samantha Who, Men in Trees, Castle, Absolutely Fabulous and now United States of Tara has joined my list of epic shows. Many of them are very different but they all have qualities that make them great.

I pick up movies here and there and every now and then one really surprises me. This happened with Brother's Bloom, Jane Austen Book Club and Lars and The Real Girl this summer. All very good movies I really enjoyed watching. I have a very eclectic collection and I love all kinds of movies from classics like Houseboat with Sophia Loren and Funny Girl with Barbara Streisand, or action like The Brave One with Jodie Foster or super hero movies like Iron Man. I also love the more whimsical, childlike films like Secondhand Lions, Matilda and Mr. Magoriums Wonder Emporium and then the ones that are too clever to ignore like The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio or Definitely Maybe. I could never forget the love I have for the cinematography displayed in Moulin Rouge, Chicago and NINE. Humor is all too important to me in this uptight world so also among my favorites would lie British Comedy like Death at a Funeral or those outrageous comedy gems like The Sweetest Thing.

So I haven't been able to explore a whole lot this summer but I love talent and look for it everywhere. Beauty can be in the grain of a piece of wood we put down on a deck or in the smile of a stranger I sold a lemonade to at the flea market. It can be in a movie or T.V show, a photograph, the lyrics in a song or in the sunset happening right outside your window. I found it in the quiet dinner conversation I had with my grandfather that may have otherwise been taken for granted if it weren't for the immense respect and love I have for him and the fact that I cherish the time we spend together so much. Art is art because someone finds it beautiful for some reason and there is art all around us, we just need to take the time to see it. It may require you to sit back and focus a little differently then you normally do. Try to squint a little or cock your head to the side or hang upside down and see what you see. You may be surprised at what was right in front of you all the time.