E-I-O-T-O, Not To Be Confused With E-I-E-I-O

Today at work I finished reading Saving CeeCee Honeycutt.  It was such a fun and entertaining read.  Here are some of my favorite quotes/passages:

• Miz Goodpepper said, dunking a cookie into her glass of wine. "She was so alive and full of original ideas, especially for that era. While other women were busy being proper, she was busy cultivating her spirit. "

• "Oysters are a lot like women. It's how we survive the hurts in life that brings us strength and gives us our beauty. They say there's no such thing as a perfect pearl--that nothing from nature can ever be truly perfect. "
  Abruptly she turned to me, and the look in her eyes was fierce. "But they're wrong, " she said, pulling me close. "You, Cecelia Rose Autumn Michele, are a perfect pearl. My perfect little pearl. "

• While Mrs. Odell, Oletta, and Aunt Tootie talked about peach pies, what to add to the grocery list, and how quickly the summer was coming to end, I sat quietly and listened as their chatter lifted into the air, gilding all four corners of the kitchen. And as the sweet aroma of the fresh peaches mingled with the sound of their voices, I folded the memory into myself, feeling a peace I'd never before known.

• Like birds coming to roost in a favorite tree, we filed down the hallway and into the kitchen, settling comfortably in our places. It was a moment so perfect I wished I could stop time. I thought about how we all had Life Books--Mrs. Odell, Aunt Tootie, Oletta, and me--and how someone, somewhere, had seen fit to write our names on one another's pages.

• "People is wise 'cause they get out in the world and live. Wisdom comes from experience--from knowin' each day is a gift and accepting it with gladness. You read a whole lot of books, and readin' sure has made you smart, but ain't no book in the world gonna make you wise. "

• Carefully I pulled the picture from the scrapbook. After blowing off a few specks of dust, I took it across the room and leaned it against the mirror. And there they were, all the women in my life. It struck me that, other than Momma and Mrs. Odell, I hadn't known any of them at the beginning of the summer, yet every single woman had pressed her fingers against the pages of my Life Book, making her own unique, indelible impression.

Anyways, Mom called while I was on my way home from work and said she’d come up w/a new acronym.  E-I-O-T-O…everyone is on their own.  Meaning, that she & Dad had plans and Autumn and I were on our own for tonight.  I decided to stop at Little Caesar's and get a pizza and crazy bread (since Autumn will eat a whole thing of crazy bread instead of pizza).  We went over to Mom & Dad’s to eat and swim, even though they were going to be gone.  I was surprised when Mom was still there and she said Dad & Britt had gone to see Captain America and weren’t back yet, but as soon as they got back all of them (including Lori) were going out to dinner.  But, Mom was super hungry and had a piece of pizza w/ Autumn and I.  She looked so pretty all dressed up (I have on idea what type of face Autumn is making).

Mom & Dad went to dinner by themselves, b/c something came up and Lori & Britt weren’t able to go.  I was blogging and Autumn was asking about her sister, Bianca.  So, I showed her this picture on Jason & Nicole’s blog of all her 1/2 siblings.  I’m so glad they got a picture of the 5 out of 6 kids, even if Autumn couldn’t be there.  That way she can see all of them together and we can point at them and talk about who is who.

After that, we went outside and swam to our little heart’s contents.  We had fun kicking our legs as fast as we could to make waves in the pool.  Then we would climb on a lounge thing and float on the waves.  We also swam back and forth across the deep end and did canon balls off the diving board.  We finally came in and changed clothes once it started to get dark.  We hung out and watched a little TV.  I had missed the last SYTYCD, and I was blown away by this breakfast dance.  I love the mix of the old music w/ the modern dancing and the whole story.  I rewound it and watched it about 5 times (not even joking).

I also LOVED the Bollywood routine and watched that multiple times.  When Mom & Dad got home from their date, I made them sit down and showed them both of those dances.  Then Autumn & I headed home and went to bed.