HOT FUN IN THE SUMMER TIME By Catherine Lanigan and Rula Sinara

Photo courtesy of Morguefile.com
How many of your remember that Sly and the Family Stone song from 1969? I hear it on the radio from time to time as summer break begins for most of us across the country once June turns up on the calendar. 

Summer is a time for a lot of things, fun being number one. Winter feels like a fading memory and the kids are balls of energy with more “wants” and “things to do” on their lists than a “Dear Santa” letter. Play camps. Swim camp. Softball and baseball games. Carnivals, fairs, 4-H exhibitions (here in the Midwest that is still REALLY big). Day trips to the museums, picnics and beach outings.
We thought it would be fun for our blog to simply HAVE fun. What is MOM doing this summer? So, we prepared a quiz. Take it at your peril, ladies! 

1. You're headed on a beach vacation. Your greatest fear is:

a) A tsunami

b) A hurricane

c) Jellyfish

d) Jaws

e) Cellulite

2) Your e-reader recently drowned in your bathtub and you only have room for one book in your suitcase. Your browse the romance books on your shelf and grab a romantic...

a) Thriller/suspense

b) Historical

c) Sweet comedy

d) Something with sexy ghosts and vampires

e) How to book called: 100 Love Potion Recipes

3) If you could only pick one of the following to take with you on vacation, would it be:

a) Sunscreen

b) Bug repellant

c) Instant coffee packets just in case there isn't a barista in sight

d) Your kids

e) Clean underwear

4) While soaking up sun and letting the sand run between your toes, you can't stop thinking about home and the...

a) Laundry you haven't done

b) The bills waiting to be paid

c) Your pets living it up in the luxury accommodations you arranged for them (and expecting the same when you get back;)

d) Your kids living it up at the never boring/always fun camp you sent them to (and expecting the same when they get back)

e) You're on vacation. Thinking isn't part of the deal.

5) Its 4th of July and your elderly in-laws (in their dementia fog) believe you invited them for the weekend at your house; they are standing on your doorstep with excited smiles while you…

a) Book tickets for Bermuda

b) Don’t answer the door

c) Let them in and order Chinese

d) Tell your husband to deal with them, they’re HIS parents

e) Get out the margarita machine, chips and salsa

6) The kids have won their swim camp trophy and are entered in the finals next week against a rival camp. The final swim meet is on the same day as you have paid for reservations in New York City for an educational tour for the kids and a great deal of shopping for you…

a) Spend the night hours going over the kids’ clocked swim times. Did they really win?

b) Hustle to get refunds from the hotel

c) Resign yourself to end of summer sales at the local Kohl’s

d) Cheer wildly and take the kids out for ice cream when they lose the finals

7) Your dream summer break is:

a) Snorkeling in Grand Cayman

b) Playing the tables in Vegas

c) Shopping in Paris

d) Dinner on an Alaskan Glacier

e) Pulling the covers over your head every day for a solid week and doing nothing

8) Summer means folks are out and about more than winter, including your long-lost crush from eons ago. He looks terrific and is very pleased to see you. You…

a) Pretend you don’t see him

b) Swipe yesterday’s mascara away from under your eyes since you dashed hurriedly out of the house for a jug of orange juice.

c) Ask him where he’s been this last decade? Prison? (Best to get these things out in the open immediately)

d) Rush up to him and give him a big hug, paying no attention to the gorgeous blonde in short shorts walking next to him

e) Shake his hand, exchange pleasantries, go home, get out the margarita machine. Forget the chips and salsa.

Hope you had fun! What’s your number one fun summer plan this year?

www.catherinelanigan.com
www.rulasinara.com

Comments

  1. What a great, fun idea, Catherine and Rula! My answers to the quiz:
    1. My biggest vacation fear? Why, (e), cellulite, of course!
    2. Only ONE book!? You don't make it easy, do ya! (a) Suspense/thriller.
    3. One thing to pack? (c) Coffee packs, because, well, COFFEE!
    4. What am I thinking about? (a) Because laundry multiplies.
    5. Unexpected inlaws, eh? Well, why not go with (e) and make the best of it!
    6. Two things on one date? Now really. What wife/mom has ever faced this dilemma! (LOL!) I'd choose (b). No sense multiplying "oh no!" feelings, y'know?
    7. Dream summer vacation? Hands down: (d) I've walked on an Alaskan glacier, but how cool (sorry, couldn't help myself) would DINNER on a glacier be!
    8. Run into an old crush? Well, what better way to distract him than with (d)! He'll have to look over my shoulder, at cellulite thighs and smudgy mascara! As for the blonde? I'll hug her, too, and ask, "So...how are you REALLY?" (Let her think about THAT for the rest of the day!)

    Thanks for starting the day with something FUN, you two! Have a glorious rest of the week!

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    1. Loree, you're hilarious! OMG, your answer to the last one had me spewing my morning coffee lol!

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    2. I'm with Rula on this. There's coffee all over my desk! WOW. I gotta remember that one. You are toooooooo funny. This was Rula's idea and I think its a winner!

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    3. One of THE best and funnest quizzes I've taken in my life! Kudos, kiddos, kudos!

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    4. . . . to be clear, her comment above, not necessarily her answers to the questions!

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  2. I'm with Loree on the #1 fear! And I'm trying to pack my suitcase, so I'm darting in quickly, but what a fun quiz.

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    1. Me too! As much as seeing Jaws on the big screen at too young of an age had me running from the water, that cellulite...

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    2. Not that I would want Jaws removing my saddle bags or anything. Careful what you wish for lol...

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    3. Mel, I agree. But I go a step further. Cellulite and sagging skin. Very horrible. When will the Muu Muu come back????

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  3. What's my top summer plan? Stuffing myself full of books, of course! Reading!

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    1. Dana, I'm with you. If I could do anything its to putter in the garden and sit under a tree and read. Sadly, this DREAM gets further away from me every summer! YIPES. What am I doing with my LIFE???

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    2. I'm desperate for more reading time! My TBR pile is piling up!

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  4. Decisions are hard and you've presented too many good possibilities.

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    1. Roz,
      I have to make a confession here. The thing about the dementia inlaws. This actually happened to my sister, Nancy, about ten years ago. Only it was the whole family including cousins! It was just awful. They had no idea that family was coming, no food in the house and nothing cleaned or ready. It was embarrassing all the way around. I will NEVER forget it.

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    2. The OCD-must plan and clean for guests-person in me would have had a panic attack equivalent to coming face-to-face with Jaws lol. Faced with that situation, I'd be tempted to hide in a closet. How long would I be able to stay in there and would all the 'guests' eventually leave...or would they figure 'it's a relative's home so let's just break in and wait for her'...and THEN how would I explain being in the closet? LOL! Why does this make me think of Brigit Jones' Diary?

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  5. Great post. You’ve provided quite a fun variety to choose from. I’ve experienced them all back when I had kids home for the summer.

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    1. LOL, Marion. Kids are definitely a source of infinite experiences!

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  6. 1. Biggest vacation fear is B. A hurricane. I wouldn't want the weather to ruin my vacation plans. (A carefully placed sarong will take care of the cellulite factor.)
    2. I'd probably grab a romantic B. Historical. You can't go wrong with a good romantic historical. Although a sweet comedy is a close second.
    3. If I could take one thing on vacation it would be B. Bug repellant. As per Melinda's post yesterday the Mosquitos LOVE me. I can always wash my underwear in the sink.
    4. I can't stop thinking about home and C. My pet, my cat Kit-Kat. With a husband like mine he's already done the laundry before we set off on vacation.
    5. My elderly in-laws are at the door, D. I tell my husband to deal with them. My husband's sister just informed us she's sending her daughter to stay with us for a week. She's 13. I told my husband to make sure he takes off from work that week. 😂
    6. I've paid for reservations in N.Y. already, I'd B. Hustle to get refunds from the hotel. With my OCD it is likely an expensive hotel.
    7. My dream summer break is, E. Pulling the covers over my head and reading leisurely for an entire week, but on a lovely beach somewhere or up in the mountains where it's cooler.
    8. I see my long lost crush I A. Pretend I don't see him, unless I'm looking particularly awesome that day then I'd, D. Run up to him and give him a big hug in front of the blonde (or brunette). Let him think about the mystery of me.

    My number one summer plan this year is to go somewhere where I can relax and spend time with my husband. It will have to be somewhere cool though as I do not get along with the extreme heat. I had fun with this post. Thanks for thinking it up. ( :

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    1. Laurie, I love your practical thinking! I was wondering why no one was caring about clean underwear LOL! But yes, wash 'em ;).

      I love going to the Outer Banks, but I always freak out at the thought of being on that tiny strip of island with only one road out and a hurricane hitting. If anyone has been there, they'll know how scary that would be...and it has been hit before!

      Now, a husband who'll do the laundry and take care of the 13yo...you have a keeper ;)! I hope you have an awesome summer full of books!

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    2. Laurie, I loved your post! What fun. And your husband can come along with us on vacation any time...though usually my vacations are working vacations. Oh, well.

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  7. Jaws did it for me. I could no longer sleep with my toes hanging off of the bed! And, Catherine Lanigan, you need to tell us more about the family showing up on the doorstep in real life.
    My number one fear - for a beach vacation - is sitting down in my lounger and realizing I don't have a book, or the one I grabbed is the one I finished that I really didn't like.
    I can live without coffee, but I remember the Chicago RWA and how Diet Dr. Pepper wasn't popular there. Took me forever to find some.
    Great post, kept me chuckling.

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    1. Pam, I was living on a beach along the Mediterranean when we saw Jaws in the States on our summer vacation. I refused to go in the water after that and would panic when anyone else wanted to swim out. And after returning to the U.S. to live, I continued to have this fear that Jaws would somehow come out of our swimming pool drain lol. I'm more reasonable now. Sort of.

      As for Dr. Pepper...is there any other soda worth drinking? :)

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    2. We have loads of Diet Dr. Pepper now, Pam! Come back to Chicago and I'll make sure you are all set :)

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  8. Just waiting to be able to have tea on the porch. Been wet and cool, but sun is supposed to arrive this weekend. In my sheltered little world, I didn't know there was such a thing as a margarita machine. Have to look into that. Strawberry margaritas are my favorite. I'd love to shop in Paris and stop for lunch at a sidewalk cafe. Great post, Rula and Catherine. Fun things to think about in the middle of a revision.

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    1. Good luck with revisions, Muriel! Relaxing tea on your porch when it's all done will be nice ;). You deserve Paris too!

      We've had an unusual heat wave, but after severe thunderstorms yesterday (I had an excruciating headache from barometric pressure changes), today it feels like a cool October day! It's still cloudy and drizzly, but a nice change from the humid heat. :)

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    2. Ditto the good luck with your revisions! I want to have tea on the porch. Doesn't that sound lovely? We just had torrential rains and went from 79 to 49 at night. Hmm. Not summer yet. I do like summer on the cool side myself, but this is crazy. We had a campfire out on the patio when my son was here last week from Houston and had s'mores! It was the first time I'd made them since my granddaughter was here when she was 5. Now she's 17. WHERE did THAT time go????/

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    3. Catherine, I'll loan you some of our 103/104 degree weather. Maybe we could both even out in the nice mid-80s.

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    4. Roz, I would happily take your hot weather as we've had unseasonably cool temps. I've had to wear a winter coat to walk our pups in the mornings and at night. :-(

      Rula, Catherine, thank you for the fun post!!

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    5. Thanks, Kate! We were unseasonably hot last week, and now unseasonably cool. But I can handle cool better than 104!

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  9. THERE IS SUCH A THING AS A MARGARITA MACHINE???????!!!!

    Why haven't I known about this??

    8. Pretend I don't see him. Which is what I did years ago outside of the grocery store in torrential rain as my six year old vomited on my feet. And I was wearing sandals.

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    1. Oh, man, Kristine! That moment belongs in a book! That's a day that deserves a margarita machine lol.

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  10. Fun post, ladies!! I am looking forward to my beach vacation in July. The family is headed to sunny Puerto Rico. We are going to sweat our bottoms off but it will be awesome to get away and think about NOTHING!!

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    1. I agree on the thinking about nothing! Have an awesome time in Puerto Rico (so much fun to say it while dragging out the rolled 'r's ;)!

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  11. What a fun post! I live on the west coast of Florida so summer fun here is going to the beach.Or hanging out in my shady backyard. As long as I'm with people I love, I don't care where we go.

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    1. It's all about kicking back and relaxing! Hope your summer is a great one!

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