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Yesterday Gulley and I took the kids on our last official day o’ fun for Summer 2014. Specifically, we went to Barton Springs in Austin.

You know how some bloggers post all those gorgeous photos?

Yeah. I’m not one of them.

Photography is not in my particular set of skills.

Anyway, we left San Antonio a little after noon and made the drive to Barton Springs where we spent a few hours enjoying the frigid 68 degree water. It helped that it was a boiling hot day but, I’m not going to lie, the water takes your breath away.

Which is why Gulley and I spent most of the time sitting on the edge of the water as opposed to being fully immersed. And the kids would swim for a bit and then walk up to us with their teeth chattering to warm up in the sun until they were ready to jump back in.

We finally packed up to leave around 5 p.m. and Will announced, “Man, I’m ready to get to the restaurant! I’m starving!” while Jackson and Caroline nodded in agreement.

The problem was we hadn’t planned on eating at a restaurant. So either the kids missed that part of the plan or they Jedi mind tricked us into taking them to an early dinner, not that it was that hard to convince us. Especially since we were right by Shady Grove and, well, jalapeño ranch.

Then we made our way home and here I sit. But you know how I can tell summer is almost over? I mean other than the fact that my hair feels like straw and I can’t remember the last time I ate a vegetable?

I am on the verge of a complete obsessive clean out. I could barely sleep last night for thinking about all the things I want to purge from our home. And I’m not sure how things keep piling up when I’m pretty good about getting rid of stuff, but I’m taking no prisoners tomorrow. Everything must go.

(Well. Not everything. But a lot of things. Things like Gulley’s comforter from college that I’ve had in my possession for over twenty years. First of all, why? Secondly, how have I held onto it for this long? I have no answers to either of those questions.)

And so that’s my plan for tomorrow. To clean out and make piles of things to donate to Goodwill and to figure out a better organizational system for Caroline’s closet. I’m sure she’ll be so enthused about the whole thing.

I think part of my need to clean is because we are still in the process of updating Caroline’s bathroom and by “still in the process” I mean that there is essentially a hole where her bathroom used to be. But rumor has it that our plumber is coming with parts we’ve been waiting on tomorrow and then our contractor can start his portion of the job.

Please, Lord. Let it be.

I guess technically I should be enjoying this season of only having one bathroom to clean, but I have learned that what I enjoy more is having a sink that I do not share with my child. I carried her for nine months but that doesn’t mean I want to see her toothpaste remnants.

But maybe if the rest of my house is super organized and cleaned out, I’ll feel better about the giant hole that resides where a bathroom used to be.

And, finally, I can tell summer is almost at a close because I feel compelled to pin all manner of healthy recipes on Pinterest. I have no idea what this school year holds for us but, according to my current Pinterest tendencies, it’s going to involve a lot of quinoa.

I expect this current state of mind to carry me through Labor Day weekend, at which point we’ll be one week into the new school year, exhausted from adjusting to the schedule, and back to eating pasta that isn’t made of whole grains.

This time next week it will be a school day.

That’s right. Summer is gasping its last breath. But really this week is when we kind of get back to real life with school orientations and soccer practice and hair appointments and going to the grocery store to buy real food.

And it’s time. I’ve been playing cruise director for almost three months and, frankly, Julie McCoy is tired. I’m out of money and energy at this point.

But we had a great last hurrah in Port Aransas last week. Even though the last day we were walking down the beach and saw a hammerhead shark washed up on the shore. I’m not even capable of dealing with the implications of this discovery. First of all, I thought hammerheads were just something that lived a long way away from the Texas coast. Secondly, my friend Leslie informed me that hammerhead sharks are listed with three “chomp chomp chomp” shark bites in her son’s book of sharks which is a nice way of saying, “They will eat a person.”

No thank you.

Between that and the stingray occurrence, I have never felt more validated in my decision to perfect the art of sandcastle building on the shore.

We drove home on Friday and made it home that afternoon. P and I commenced to washing and unpacking and doing our best to rid all of our earthly possessions of sand. This is the grownup version of vacation that you don’t know when you’re a kid. That you get home and have to immediately get to work getting all the things done.

And then Saturday was our 17 year wedding anniversary. P spent the day at the ranch with Caroline and the puppies and I spent it in blissful solitude, catching up on various things and projects. Which may just be code for “I watched everything I had recorded on the DVR” but whatever. It was my love language.

While they were at the ranch they came across a rattlesnake. My mind really can’t even process it. Nor the fact that they did an autopsy and discovered it had recently eaten a rabbit. Just ew.

They came home late Saturday afternoon and P brought me a bouquet of flowers. And I’d posted this picture of us on Instagram with the line “17 years today. One child, six dogs, 5,423 hunting trips, a few tears and too many laughs to count later…”

I showed it to him and he asked, “Did you really do the math on how many hunting trips I’ve taken?”

Hi. Do you know me at all? Do I ever do math unless it involves a sale at Anthropologie where 25% off equals dirt cheap?

“No. I didn’t do the math. It was an estimate.”

He got out a calculator and entered in a few numbers before he declared, “It’s actually more like 1,245 hunting trips. Which comes out to 3 1/2 years. I’ve spent 3 1/2 years of our marriage on hunting trips.”

And that, my friends, might be the key to a successful marriage.

First of all, thanks for all the birthday wishes yesterday. Y’all are the best. It makes me glad that I’m not the kind of person who doesn’t mention it’s my birthday.

Second, I struggled to find some things for Fashion Friday. I mean, there are plenty of cute things to be found but we’re veering into fall territory which is delightful except that it’s still blazing hot here.

But college football season is less than two weeks away, the SEC Network launched yesterday and I’m saying it’s okay to proceed with fall. Now we just need the weather to follow suit.

Here are some things I’ve found:

1. antala peplum top

I’ve admired this for a while now. I love the gray color with the embroidery and think it would transition well into fall.

2. liberty love cross front tank

I have no idea how this actually looks in person, but I like the longer length in the picture and it has potential.

3. timberland earthkeepers bethel buckle boot

I’m officially on a quest to add black boots to my wardrobe this fall and these are serious contenders right now. I have a pair of brown Timberlands that I’ve owned for five years and they are the most comfortable shoes in my closet.

4. composed pin tuck button-down

This doesn’t look like much in this picture, but if you click on the link and look at it on the model you’ll have a deeper appreciation for the fit. Plus, it comes in several colors in patterns, including a delightful green with black and white french bulldogs.

5. j.crew factory skirted dress coat

What? A winter coat? MADNESS. But it’s on sale and such a pretty, feminine cut. And you’ll need it eventually and then you’ll feel so smart that you bought a coat way back in August.

6. j.crew camo quilted puffer vest

I am a fan of camo and this puffer vest is no exception. It would be so cute layered over all black or with a long white tee and jeans with boots. But it also comes in a black and white pattern or just solid colors if you’re not feeling the camo.

7. madewell ex-boyfriend shirt

One of my personal goals for the fall is to get a great plaid shirt to wear with jeans and boots. I believe I’ve found it. Yes, it’s a little pricey but Madewell stuff lasts forever because, well, it’s made well. See what I did there?

8. vigoss skinny jeans in gray

I bought a pair of gray jeans at Gap this summer that were way on sale and have loved them so much that I decided I needed another pair for fall so I was excited to see that Vigoss has a pair in gray. I love my Vigoss jeans in blue and am always amazed at how well they hold their shape and don’t bag out at the knees even after I’ve had them on all day.

9. j.crew bib popover

J.Crew Factory is offering 25% off certain items with the code NOWANDLATER at checkout. This is a great basic white shirt that can be dressed up or down depending on your mood.

10. triple pendant necklace

I saw this triple pendant necklace the other day and thought it was such a great easy way to accessorize and get a layered look with virtually no effort.

That’s it for today.

Have a great Friday.

Yes. It’s true. Today is my birthday.

My 43rd birthday. Surprisingly I am not going to dinner on the moon nor am I wearing dentures. Both of which I thought were possible realities of turning 43 back when I was a kid. Because 43? ANCIENT. Not to mention that life would surely be like a Jetson’s cartoon by 2014.

Except now I realize it’s totally not. I don’t feel a day over 25. Even though my metabolism, my right shoulder, and the two deep wrinkles I wake up with every morning on my forehead sometimes want to remind me that time is marching on. And I still don’t have a spaceship.

But that’s okay because I’m celebrating with my people at the beach. We’ve been here all week and there isn’t much better to me than a birthday filled with sun and sand. Which means it’s a good thing I was born in August because the beach isn’t nearly as fun in January. Although the weather forecast for today included the words “sultry” and “sauna” so maybe it leaves something to be desired in August as well.

We’ve spent the days showing off our glitter tattoos.

And walking in the water looking for assorted sea creatures.

Can we discuss that Caroline’s legs are now as long as her daddy’s? How did this happen? When I was pregnant with her the ultrasound technician told me her legs were measuring two weeks ahead of everything else and apparently that’s a trend that has continued over the last eleven years.

Just a few minutes after that picture was taken I am sad to report that P found a sea creature. Specifically, a stingray. And it got him on the back of his heel. I was sitting in my beach chair reading a book, since that’s generally not where sharks attack people, when he came walking up and announced he’d been stung by something and was bleeding. Fortunately we knew from last summer when Gulley’s husband got stung that the best thing to do is soak it in water that’s as hot as you can stand. So that’s what we did.

He told me later it was some of the worst pain he’s ever felt in his life. Which makes me wish you could have seen how little he reacted as it was happening. If I had been experiencing the worst pain I’d ever felt in my life, I can assure you the entire beach would be aware of it. Perhaps even the city of Port Aransas.

Yesterday he and Caroline went fishing while I slept in and found a local coffee shop where I could get a few writing things done.

I realize that picture is blurry. I can offer you no explanation.

Then we all spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach avoiding stingrays.

And Caroline requested that I build some type of sandcastle complete with a full moat. This is the best I could do.

But I feel that there might have been people in ancient Egypt who worked under less demanding conditions than I experienced on the beach. “Keep digging, Mama!” “It needs to be deeper!” “I’m going to go play in the surf, but you keep working!”

Meanwhile, I’ve never regretted more that I didn’t buy an actual sand shovel at Target but rather a jelly bean scooper that was posing as a shovel in the summer aisle.

All in all, it’s been a good way to spend the week of my forty-third birthday.

With the exception of no spaceship.

I believe I mentioned at the beginning of the summer that my goal was to finish several books. Or maybe I didn’t actually write it and just thought it to myself. I can’t remember.

But I’m proud to say that this has been a stellar summer of reading for me and I still have two weeks left. In fact, I’m headed to Target in just a little bit to find myself another book because I finished the most recent books I bought in a record amount of time.

(Let’s forget for a minute that I’m supposed to actually be writing my own book right now yet am spending way more time reading words other people have written.)

(I’m going to claim that I need the inspiration.)

(Even though all I’m reading are fiction books that have nothing to do with what I’m writing about. However, maybe I’m expanding my vocabulary. Let’s go with that.)

(Also, I just read that Kim Kardashian is writing a book about taking selfies because she has mastered the art of selfies. To that I say, “Dear America, You’re better than this.”)

Anyway, I thought you might be interested in what I’ve read thus far and my overall thoughts. Or maybe not. In which case you can stop reading now.

I think I mentioned earlier in the summer that I read What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty, Looking for Alaska by John Green and Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen. Of those three, What Alice Forgot was far and away my favorite.

So then I moved on to The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty. I know almost everyone has loved this book but I’m torn. I really liked most of it and I love her writing style, but I thought the plot was kind of depressing and it wrapped up way too neatly at the end. I felt like it was more than a little bit beyond believability. However, it was still a good read.

After I finished it I felt like I needed something totally different. I moved on to Somerset by Leila Meacham and followed it with Roses by Leila Meacham. They were the perfect summer read and I finished them in a record amount of time. Roses was actually written first and then Somerset was written later as a prequel, but I think you could read them in either order. They tell the story of the Toliver family who moved from South Carolina to Texas in 1835 and started a cotton plantation in East Texas. If you’re a fan of the epic story, then you will love them. I finished Roses yesterday and felt sad all day that it was over.

But now it’s time to move on to something else. Which is why I’m heading to Target with my list of suggested books in hand. I’ll let you know what I choose.

Because I know you’ll lose sleep over it.