No Filter Friday

On this lovely July 4th weekend, I can still find some stuff to bitch about. Enjoy everyone!

1. School is out, but for some reason my son is invited to 3 birthday parties in the month of July. I spend $5 alone on the birthday card not to mention the cost of a gift. You do the math!
2. Why is it when we invite family or friends over, all I do is stress about what food to serve? I just want to kick back and enjoy like everyone else. But no, I have to plan the menu, buy the food, prep the food, cook the food, serve the food, and clean up the food. Food, food, food . . . I wish everyone would just bring their own and feed themselves. What a terrible hostess I am!
3. I love watching The Real Housewives of NJ, but last week they went a bit too far for me. Seeing them cook that pig on the spit and then taking the head off the baby goat was too much for me. I don't think I'll ever eat meat again. Just thinking about it makes me nauseous.

The Friday 56

Freda's Voice hosts The Friday 56. Want to play along? Grab a book, turn to page 56, choose a sentence that grabs you and post it.

"Waiting had become something to enjoy, to savor; waiting was almost a tribute she owed herself."
~p. 56, "The Debut" by Anita Brookner

Friday Finds

MizB at Should Be Reading hosts Friday Finds. What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

Last Night at the Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger

Rescue by Anite Shreve

Sunset Bridge by Emilie Richards

Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens

Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan

The Art of Forgetting by Camille Noe Pagan

The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly

Aloha Friday

Kailani at An Island Life started Aloha Friday. Want to play along? I ask a question, you answer the question in the comments. You can also ask your own question on your blog and link up on Kailani's site. Here's my question:

Where are you going to watch fireworks this weekend?

Book Beginnings on Friday

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted on Friday by A Few More Pages. Want to play along? Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments. Include the title and the author so we know what you're reading. Then, if you would like, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line, and let us know if you liked or did not like the sentence.

"Dr. Weiss, at forty, knew that her life had been ruined by literature."
~"The Debut" by Anita Brookner

This was a no-brainer for me. Being a 40-something woman who loves to read, how could I not be hooked by that opening line?