Week-end: links & life {vol. 32}

“I realized that If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes.” – Charles Lindbergh

For years, we’ve had a bird feeder just outside our kitchen window. That means a bit of bird-watching accompanies breakfast (and other meals) just about every day. A lovely way to do informal nature study all year ’round.

from around the web

• The intellectual benefits of a real old-fashioned summer :: Don’t worry about keeping the kids entertained; a little boredom is good for the brain.
• The space between: the luxury of discovering your own happiness :: Is the “space between” the part of life where you learn who you are? If so, do our kids have enough down time? Do we?
• 6 questions to discover your most meaningful pursuits :: Working towards a simpler life can be just one more box to check — or it can be a tool to find more meaning in our lives.
• He secretly posted 657 photos of classmates… :: If you haven’t seen this, it’s worth reading. A fun example of the potential power of social media for good.
• Perfect iced coffee :: I’m not much of a coffee drinker, but every now and then, on a brutally hot day when I need caffeine, and iced coffee sounds perfect. I think I’ll try making this one to keep in the fridge!

on the blog (in case you missed it):

• Family vacation at the beach :: Yay, photos!

right here at home

Every time I come home from the gym, Scout wants me to show her all the exercises I did, and is interested in which muscles are where and how to do exercises the correct way. So one day this week, I took her with me. She got the biggest kick out of it. It’s a small gym, and my head trainer didn’t mind her coming, so I just gave her a little spot to sit in where she could watch us. Before we left, I even let her try the water rower machine. Made. her. day.

A couple of days this week were hard, for a variety of reasons, so I self-medicated with one of my favorite vices: pretty notebooks. (TJ Maxx has a zillion of them at great prices if you need a fix, too.)

Other than that, just doing summer around here. The dogs run and play, the flowers bloom, and the kids build LEGOs and color when it’s too hot to play outside (97+ degrees almost all week).

Enjoy your weekend, friends.

*Linking up with Kris.