currently reading...

So I was going through my nook account and archiving some books to get them out of the way. I decided to count up how many books I had read. I started reading ebooks about 18 months ago. Since then, I have read 50 books. I have read some other regular books too. Who knew I really read so many books!

So here is what I have been up to in the last couple weeks.

I just read North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley. It is a young adult book but I still loved it.

I just finished listening to (and I didn't count this in my total) Fall of Giants by Ken Follet. Who knew I would become a Ken Follet fan? I sure didn't. I have really enjoyed his Pillars of the Earth series. I love big, fat books that you can really get into. This has been extremely enjoyable to listen to. The narrator switches to different accents and it makes it really easy to follow all the dialogue. It takes place before, during, and immediately following World War I. It follows the story of a number of people from different countries and their role in teh war. I look forward to the next book in the trilogy though it won't be out for another year.

I am about to begin reading Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. It is my book club selection of the month so I better get on it. I will get distracted by other books and then not finish in time other wise.

Snow

Today it snowed again. I thought it was a lovely, nice fluffy snow. I actually shoveled with no gloves on because it was just barely cold enough to snow and not windy at all. Remember when you were a kid and shoveling was fun? It used to be for me. I love things that I can see a clear change in my efforts. Mowing a really long lawn, shoveling clear paths in the snow. Things like that make me happy. Since we live in a townhouse and have an association, we have snow clearing service to the door...so I don't have to shovel. Because it isn't my responsibility or job, it is still fun. I am sure the day we move and lose that service it will no longer be enjoyable at all.

Ava finally got to make her snow angel. I just really don't think about letting her play in the snow all that much. It is a lot of bundling up for her to be outside for 10 minutes. She made it about 40 since it wasn't that cold and I was ready for a mitten change when they got too damp and cold. I don't know what it is about the girl and snow angels, but apparently in her mind, that is the greatest thing you can do in the snow...or in the grass. I think she misses the whole "snow" aspect of it.

Currently reading: Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbien.
Next up: Father of the Rain by Lily King

For your reading pleasure

Here are some books that I have read lately, that I would definitely recommend.  Check them out.  Give them a read.  Give them as gifts. 

the challenge

I have taken on the 1000 books to read before I die challenge.  It seriously might take me that long, hoping that I live a very long life to finish.  There are many books on the list that I have zero interest in reading and some that I have tried and just not made it through.  I started the blog over here www.peepers1000bookchallenge.blogspot.com.  Eventually I will get around to figuring out how to link the two together nicely but I am just doing good making the actual list and posting at all.  Ideally some of my friends will take on this challenge and I can link everybody together so we can see where we are all at. 

So close...

I am almost done with Rhys' sweater.  Like always, I am antsy to move on to something else.  I usually find my next project well before I am finished with the current.  It helps keep me motivated.  I won't let myself start the new one until the old is finished, so it gives me that final push to keep going.  I have to finish one sleeve and put everything together and sew on the buttons.  Today Rhys asked if he could wear it, so that is another motivating factor.

Last Friday, my new knitting group met for the first time.  I think we had a pretty good turn out.  Some people were working on the squares for charity, some on their own projects and a couple were just learning.  I finished my first square.  They go pretty fast and are very portable, so they are good little busy work projects or mindless knitting when I want to work on something but don't have the focus to follow a pattern.  A couple other plan to come in the next few meetings to contribute.  I wonder how many squares we will really will get done. 

I ordered yarn for my next project, a large felted handbag.  A friend has asked me to make one for her.  She says she will pay me but I don't think I want to take any money for it.  Who knows if I will mess it up or not.  I have made a smaller version of this pattern before so I am pretty confident that it will turn out well. I am finally getting to Noro yarn.  It is a handpainted wool from Japan.  It just looks really cool and I have been wanting to use it for a while.

I haven't been keeping up with posting what I have been reading.  I have been on a reading spree lately. 

I have recently finished:
Her Daughter's Dream by Francine Rivers.  This was a second book of a two part series.  I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larrson.  Loved it.  It is actually the first of three books that were unpublished at the time of the author's death.  It was pretty dark, but I am definitely going to be moving on to book #2 shortly.

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks.  It was ok.  I have really loved some of Nicholas Sparks books, but this wasn't one of them.  It was just so so. 

Currently reading: The Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella.  Nothing like a funny British-pop fiction to make me happy. 

me and my nook

As long as I can remember, (really since 2nd grade) I have loved reading. I can remember the exact moment it happened. I was reading Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great by Judy Blume. I remember staying up late to finish the book and after many nights of reading and getting involved in the story, the book was finished. I wanted the story to go on and on so I could keep observing my friends. From that moment on I was completely hooked. I regularly finish good books in a day or two, so I go through a lot of books. This was part of the reason why I wanted a nook. Our house was being taken over by books.

In college, Justin and I always said we wanted to have a huge library. The problem with this scenario is, we don't have the space or the shelves to have a library at this time. So ever shelf like surface was covered with books. I started trading them on book mooch. This worked sort of but I was having a hard time finding books I wanted so I was just paying to ship my books to people. I sold a couple on amazon, but I had to then ship within 24 hours of selling the book and that just didn't work out for me. I got books from the library but regularly returned them so late that I might as well have bought the book. So now I have a nook. It is the ereader from Barnes and Noble. I can finish a book and in 5 minutes have a new one to read. I love it. I am on a mission to find more people who have a nook or use the ereader on their blackberry or iphone. I want to trade books with people! I need to establish a network! I am burning through my gift cards like nobody's business.

I have been looking for a widget for this thing that will let me list what I am currently reading and haven't been able to find one. I should just end my posts with that info. It will probably be more current that way anyway.

Currently reading: Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich.

all day long

All day long I have had ideas and things going through my head that I wanted to say and now I can't think of anything.

*Earlier in the week we went grocery shopping at Target. Ava was so excited, she could hardly contain herself. She acted like everything was a great find. Who needs Disney when we could just go grocery shopping.

*The painting is finished in the house. It looks awesome. It is now a small mystery to figure out when things will be hung back up on the walls. It took years the first time, I highly doubt it will take that long again.

*Ava started gymnastics last week. It isn't really gymnastics. They are mostly learning how to jump and balance. Very basic intro skills. Ava definitely needs the intro skills. She still doesn't really know how to jump. Good news though, we found a leotard so at least she will look cute while not really jumping.

*I have the whole body of the cardigan I am knitting finished. I am working on the first sleeve. I have been pretty distracted with other things going on so I haven't worked on it much lately.

*Justin ran in the warrior dash this weekend. I am sure it was a ton of fun for him and something he enjoys doing. We tried to go and watch. I am glad we got to see the set up and stuff, but it turned out to be a huge waste of a Saturday for me and the kids. Tons of waiting and being hot. Shockingly enough, we weren't the ones sunburned. Justin just dabbed it on in a few places and got burned everywhere else. The rest of us were totally fine.

*I have a new favorite Keurig coffee. It is Daybreak Blend from Caribu. I just love it and think you should know.

*We went to the pool on Friday afternoon as a family. Justin got to experience Rhys' fear/fascination with the drain at the pool. We also figured out that Rhys loves the splash station thing. He will stand under the water as it pours in his face and he really doesn't care, yet he still isn't too thrilled about the idea of standing in 6 inches of water. The lazy river was broken which was a bummer since Ava really wanted Justin to come just so she could go on it. It looks like he will have to come with us another time this summer.

*8 days until we watch Eclipse! I should re-read the book, but I must pace myself. Now that school is finished (hallelujah!!!!!!!!!) I have some more time to read so I have at least 5 days to read something else.

*I just finished reading Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers. LOVED IT! I can't wait until the 2nd part comes out. I read another book by the same author a while ago and got completely sucked in. I know she has quite a few other books, but for some reason I am hesitant to read them. I read the first two off of recommendations, so I am not sure what the thoughts are about her other books.

*I also finished reading Water for Elephants. I know it has been out for a while, but I really enjoyed it. I love having things on my nook! I just wish I knew more people who either had the nook or used Barnes and Noble ereader. I am a generous sharer of books, so let me know if you would like to be on my share list! Plus, somebody share with me!

Taking care of business

I made my header! With Justin's assistance and hacking we were able to get it in place with the template I chose. I have also updated my blogroll. If you would like on or off, let me know! Also, I apparently can set it up so I email a few people when I post, automatically. If you know anyone who would benefit from this feature (cough, cough, my dad, cough cough) drop me a name.

Our lovely, disgusting looking blue waffles. Our plans for the day stopped after a random lunch at Target. Nap time came and I had some school stuff to take care of. Justin went to the store and brought home dinner, so that was an extra bonus. So far the first Magnificent Mommy Monday has been a success! Corrective action for next week: have the whole house picked up by Sunday night. It will add an extra sense of relaxation to the day. Any body out there plan to do something for their own Magnificent Mommy Monday? If you do, write a post about it and link me in a comment so I can steal some ideas from you.

I have finished the Sookie Stackhouse books, at least the ones that have been published so far. I kind of think I need to read something with some sort of literary value next. What that will be...no idea.

week 1

I think I have successfully completed week 1 of my first graduate level class. Sunday I started Organizational Leadership and Management. I have read all of my chapters, participated fully in online discussions and even did one of the assesment thingies for one of my two papers due next week. I am definitely trying to stay ahead of things since I can now easily see how hard it will be to catch up if I fall behind. Hopefully we don't all come down with the plague at our house anytime soon.

Ava is fighting off something. She has a fever but other than that seems fine. I am pretty much just letting the fever do its job and giving her lots of water and juice, and encouraging naps and watching movies on the couch. I hate how much tv she watched today, but it is the only way to get her to sit still. The fact that it hasn't progressed to anything else, tells me it isn't the flu. It is just a bug of sorts. Practically everyone I know is sick with something so this is not at all surprising.

I have been having the feeling lately like I forgot to put things on the calendar. I keep thinking there is a ton of stuff in November that I should have down and I just don't. Any of you expect me to be somewhere sometime? Last week I had put a note in my calendar but didn't fill in what. It was like "appointment 9am" I had no idea where I was supposed to be and could just vaguely remember saying, "yes, that should work." No idea who I said that to. A week later it now comes to me. At least the plans were tentative, so they were in fact real, just not set in stone. Oops!

Since I like to avoid things that I don't enjoy doing, like cleaning my house, I have been keeping myself pretty busy. I am almost done crocheting a hat for Justin. Sizing hats is hard. Maybe just for me, but it is. This could have something to do with the fact that I have never done a gage swatch or blocked anything. I am going to knit myself a cardigan next. I just have to go get some yarn. I have the pattern all picked out. I should work on making a gage swatch for that, shouldn't I? Then I would have to learn how to count my gage and that just is all sorts of complicated. Interesting factoid. Aside from the first project ever, a blanket, I have never made anything for myself and even that blanket was just more of a household blanket than something just for me. I don't even know where that blanket is. Ok, that really wasn't that interesting of a factoid.

I have also been reading the Sookie Stackhouse books. They are horrible but I just can't stop. I did stop for a while. I got through one, got the second one, and got through half of it before I decided it was just not getting any better and stopped. I read about three other books, and then got bored. I went back to #2 and finished it. I was then embarressed that I had read two crappy books. So a few books later, I got the third because I was bored and couldn't think of anything else to get. I wanted easy reading. I sure got it because fine literature, these books are not. I am now on book 6. I guess this is only embarressing IF you actually read the book to realize what crap it is, but then you are reading the crap too so there!

Blog people out there: What is blogfrog and why do I get emails from them? I skim them and it talks about increasing readership and topics and what you should talk about and how to build an audience. That is just too much pressure for my own rambling drivil. Look at this post. Do I actually have anything to say????? Blogfrog, I don't know what you are trying to sell, but you are barking up the wrong tree. I don't even have a cool layout for crying out loud.

Coming soon:
Rhys' greedy laugh.
Halloween
Digital scrapbooking, me???

relief

I took my test for work yesterday. I am glad it is over, though I am sure it is just for now. I have to pass it this year no matter what and if I didn't pass it this time, then I will be taking it again in February. The bonus of taking it again? I will actually have more of a direction of what to study for. I would have no real worries about passing it if I took it the second time. I feel such relief that it is over for now. I can read a book that I want to read without feeling guilty. I can knit or do whatever. There isn't this thought of me needing to do something else hanging over my head all the time.

Speaking of reading a book without feeling guilty, I read a book, Day After Night by Anita Diamant. I definitely enjoyed it. It was about post-world war 2 Jewish refugees trying to get into Palestine. It was a 1 sitting read for me, which means it held my attention. Sorry, nobody can borrow it, it downloaded it to my phone. emedia of all forms results in less clutter in my house.

I am excited to start this week. A new week to get back on track with things. Hopefully I will make it to the gym a few times, finish up a project or two and get some fall clothes out. Insanely busy weekend up ahead so hopefully I will be able to into it after a nice calm week.

amazon

I ordered diapers from Amazon.com last week. I have been on a mission to find size 3 overnight diapers for Rhys. Most stores start carrying them in size 4, so I was ordering some books I wanted from Amazon and decided to look for the diapers. I got them at a pretty normal price and got free shipping. I am apparently a prime member so get free shipping on a lot of things. I am now kind of obsessed with looking to see what other random things I can buy from amazon and get free shipping. I have always gotten books from them, and the last couple of years got a lot of Christmas gifts. Amazon must be confused. I keep pretend shopping. I put it in my "cart" and then delete it all.

In that order of books, I got Kid Favorites Made Healthy. This was recommended to me by Justin's cousin. I am pretty happy with the recipes and am feeling pretty inspired to make some good healthy snacks for Ava. I bagged up a bunch of her normal snacks this morning. Ava rarely will sit and eat regular meals, which is fine with me, but I don't want her always having junk stuff. I am trying to eliminate fruit snacks all together because there really is nothing good about them. If she had her choice, she would eat bagged cereal (captain crunch with crunch berries or lucky charms, both aren't really healthy), goldfish crackers, swiss cheese sticks and prunes all day long. She would then have meals of fish sticks, chicken nuggets, and sometimes corn or peas. Anyway, I am on a mission to make her snacking more nutrient dense. I also want them packed and ready to go for all of my impromptu trips to the zoo this summer...

Sarah: Women of Genesis

Ok so here is going to be my rating scale for books...
5- excellent, reserved for books that touched me emotionally, intellectually, kept me sucked in, thinking about it for days to come, etc.
4-Very good book, would recommend it, but it isn't going to be a book I will cherish forever.
3- Enjoyable, entertaining, not necessarily great literature.
2- Decent story, not great writing, not a waste of time, maybe couldn't get into it right away
1- Don't recommend it, couldn't make myself finish it.

Sarah- I would give it a 3.  I liked reading the story.  It is by Orson Scott Card.  He is a well known science fiction writer and a Mormon.  He has written a couple other books about the Women of Genesis.  I do plan to read them as well.  The book is fiction, but he did try to surround the story in accurate historical details. 

The Loop by Nicholas Evans

3.5 - The Loop by Nicholas Evans

I just finished The Loop.  Nicholas Evans also wrote The Horse Whisperer.  I read that one while in college.  The Loop  is about a pack of wolves in Montana, the ranchers they bother, and the wildlife biologists who study them.   I would place it in the Nicholas Sparks genre, though a little less romance.  Some of the descriptions were so clear I actually attempted to turn away so I didn't have to watch (which didn't help since I was reading the book).  I was very into the story and pretty much attempted to read it every chance I got.  When I found myself with downtime and wasn't with the book, I was annoyed because I wanted to know what was going to happen.  I actually stayed up late two nights in a row to read this sucker.  It is now back to my inventory on www.bookmooch.com, so it wasn't so great that I will never let it out of my hands. 

I am currently reading Sushi for Beginners by Marian Keyes.  I have read most of her books already so I am curious to see if I will like this one.  Stay tuned for that review.

I had this big long post written in my head last night.  I have now forgotten it.  That is why I need a laptop with wireless internet...so I can post in bed.  I often think of the best things to say while trying to fall asleep. 

Easter

Easter is over.  I actually didn't get ANY pictures of Ava in her dress.  It is the cutest dress she has owned thus far, in my opinion.  Maybe she will just wear it this summer for some type of photo session...Anyway, we all were up early at for church.  Justin was running slides and I was singing in the choir.  Ava came in her pajamas and was dressed there.  This definitely meant her hair wasn't in the best condition, but oh well.  My parental units, minus one, all came to church too.  It was nice.  We didn't get a lot of time to talk but I am glad they came.  We went to Justin's Aunt's house to get together with his mom's side of the family.  It was a good time.  His cousins are all getting so old.  Ava had lots of fun coloring, playing with different people and screaming up and down the hallway. We only get together with our extended families on Thanksgiving and Easter.  We used to switch back and forth, and that just didn't seem to work out well.  We decided to just see my family on Thanksgiving and his on Easter.  I think it will  be nice to have consistency with traditions and it is helpful for planning.

I think I am going to make a list of books I have read with reviews/ratings.  I don't know how yet, but I want to.  I want it accessible from my blog, but I don't it to be random posts.   I am currently reading a book called Sarah.  It is based on Sarah and Abraham.  I like it so far. 

Ok, so we didn't get any pictures of Ava in her Easter dress, but we did get some of her decorating eggs.

Here is a conversation Ava just had with Dori, after feeding her part of her egg.

"Do you want a blanket?  That blanket is mine.  Here, a blanket for Dori.  Here you go.  You're welcome.  Momma, Dori ate all my egg!"

 

PS, I just looked at the pictures.  What the heck!!! I edited them in picasa and apparently they didn't save to the ones in my c drive.  Do I have duplicates of all my pictures??????????

before I forget

Random thoughts that I have been meaning to post about.  I have been considering going with a non-password protected blog.  Just double posting essentially for a bit, taking care to avoid real names, too much personal info and whatnot and have a really tight site meter so I could see if there were any pervy searches for Ava's pictures. (my only reason for not going public)  I would keep this blog going until the trial period was over, so I could just delete the public one if it doesn't work out.  Thoughts?  Opinions?

I have posted a lot of books on www.bookmooch.com, so far people have asked for 8 of our books.  I am expected quite a few more responses for some I just added tonight.  I am currently attempting to only have to go to the post office once a week.  I really don't enjoy going.  The site is a book swapping site.  You get points for books you list and points when people want your books.  You get to "mooch" a book off of someone else for one point.  You don't pay when you mooch, you just pay when you send people books.  Essentially it all comes out in the wash, and it costs you about $2.50 to get a book you want, which if you wanted, you could re-list when you are done reading it.  This is actually cheaper for me than the library because I am very bad at returning books on time. 

We watched the movie "Breaking and Entering" with Jude Law.  It was pretty good.  Just a traditional drama, but it has some good writing and cinematography.

Have you ever just felt like you have over booked yourself?  That is a dumb question, I am sure everybody has.  It isn't like I am over booked, I just have things that are somewhat inconvenient to do, and I want to avoid doing them, even though I should do them.  It just makes my day a little crazy and timed out.  I have come to enjoy not having a particular time to do anything.  No real time to have to get up, no real time to be dressed by, etc.  I start to get annoyed when things are too set in stone.   

Friday it was nice out and Ava and I went for a bike ride and a walk.  We are definitely in need of outdoor toys.  I am looking forward to garage sale season.  I am also totally looking forward to being outside this summer.  I am thinking of actually planting some flowers.  Not going crazy, but just a few.  Just for something to do outside with Ava.  I asked a neighbor who has planted for 4 years now and they have yet to ever get any type of letter from the association.  I guess we are supposed to get approval first, but if it makes your house look nicer, I don't know why they would complain.  Here are some pictures from Friday.  They were taken with my phone, so please excuse the quality.  I am ready for it to get warmer again, by the way.

We rented a few movies recently.  Saw Martian Child tonight and I thought it was good, but I love John Cusack.  I saw the unrated version of Good Luck Chuck.  It was horrible!  Not even just horrible, but offensive.  I am not anti-artistic nudity, but I am anti-nudity for the sake of nudity, a la exploitation of women, and men for that matter.

I finished the book, The Other Side of the Story by somebody I can't remember.  It was good but not nearly as good as her other books.  I am currently reading Stardust.  I liked the movie.  Justin actually read this book already so this will be like book #5 that we have both read.  He is listening to Hearts in Atlantis right now, and I read that about 6 years ago and liked it.  Maybe someday he will trust me on book recommendations.  I have never and will never recommend chick lit to him.