May14

Bout of Books 4.0 – Goals!

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Bout of Books 4.0 – Goals!

I originally had a goal of reading the first 2 Harry Potter books, but after finishing the first Harry Potter book in one day on Sunday I’ve changed that goal.  I will now read the second and third Harry Potter books for Bout of Books (and who knows maybe the 4th :) .

When the books originally came out I had no interest, in reality I didn’t have a lot of time to read so when I did find some time to read I wanted to read books by my old favorites.  Now I’ve not only expanded the types of books I read but I also love reading new authors. I was shocked when I started the the first book how much I immediately loved the story and the characters.  I am already looking forward to re-reading the books when Colin is old enough to enjoy them. Maybe even reading them together.

Also I am now using the blogs Twitter account (which can be found on the right sidebar) to keep up with #boutofbooks so please head over and follow me there so that we can connect more!

Thanks again to everyone helping out with Bout of Books 4.0 but specifically to Amanda @ On A Book Bender for creating the ONLY read-a-thon I participate in!

May7

Monday Countdown

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Monday Countdown

This is a weekly post that Bookish Penguin started and I love to do and it’s been forever so I thought I’d do it today!

Five Things I’m Grateful For

1. Charles being home!  The month of April, one of us was gone all but 2 weeks.  And in May Charles is a gone all but 16 days of the month.  Seriously happy to have him home this week. He will be gone again on Monday then home next weekend and gone again the next week.

2. My mom, it’s so nice to have her here with me all the time but especially when Charles is gone she is such a HUGE help with Colin.

3. Finally being in a good place about the baby thing.  We have decided to stop trying, I am so looking forward to not stressing about if I’m pregnant or not, and if I am pregnant staying pregnant. I love our family, we are whole and complete just the way we are.

4. DVR, seriously.  Between playoff hockey, baseball season, and so much time out of town it’s kept my shows safe and sound till we can watch them :) .

5.Colin, he’s such a hilarious pain.  That really is the best way to describe him in all of his 3 year old glory. He’s testing his limits right now, seeing what we will give on and what we won’t.  He’s still wonderfully behaved, we only have very small fits and only at home. I’m very thankful for the lack of screaming tantrums when we’re shopping or in a restaurant.  We joke when he’s crabby that we should take him somewhere because he’s always better behaved out

Four Things I Can’t Stop Thinking About

1. Sedona! We’re heading up to Sedona for Mother’s Day on Sunday and I am so so so excited!  It’s been way to long I could use the energy refocus.

2. Business, the last time I did one one of these I’d been in business 2  months and I was worried I’d be in the same place 10 months later.  I am not in the same place but I’m not as far from that place as I’d like to be.  I have some work I need to put in that I simply haven’t.

3. My hair – yes it’s shallow but I’m ready for a new look.  I’m growing my hair out after having it shortish since Colin was born and I need some highlights or something to funk it up.

4. Our stay cation!  We’re planning to head to Disneyland in October so obviously a summer vacation isn’t in the cards. We are however planning a stay cation for July.  The resorts in Phoenix offer some great deals in the summer and it gives us a chance to get out of the house (especially the home office) and spend some time together without the expense of getting out of town.

Three Things I Want To Accomplish This Week

1. Exercise, I need to do something to get moving again. I feel better when I do it and my back is screaming at me that I haven’t been doing it enough.

2. Reading, I have a couple of books I want to start but haven’t had a chance to read so I want to work on that this week.

3. Get a manicure, I know this is a silly one but I really need to do it since we’ll be out of town Sunday.

Two Things I Am Working To Be Positive About

1. Charles being out of town…I hate it.

2. Business, it’s good but not nearly as good as I want it to be.  And even with the motivation I got at the conference I attended I’m still feeling a bit lost with how I want to move forward.

One Random Thing

1. Looks like the Phoenix Coyotes may have new ownership!  That’s going to be the 2nd best piece of Coyotes news today after they win tonight and move onto round 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs!!!!

May6

Bout of Books 4.0

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Bout of Books 4.0

I’m SUPER excited to share that it’s time for Bout of Books 5-14 to 5-20!  I’ll be updating here and also GoodReads, if you’re not following me head over and send a request.  Like all of the other Bout of Books I’ve got a goal of 2 books.  I recently started the first Harry Potter book but was distracted before finishing it so I’m shooting to finish the first 2 Harry Potter books.  Yes I know I’m very behind on the Harry Potter thing.  The truth is I saw the first movie when I worked at a movie theater in high school and didn’t really have much of an interest.  In recent years though my book tastes have certainly changed so I thought I’d give the books a try.  After I’ve read the books maybe I’ll check out the movies.

Will you be joining me at Bout of Books 4.0?

Feb23

Dear George Carlin…You’re Always Right!

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Dear George Carlin…You’re Always Right!

I tend not to get political here or anywhere really outside of the voting booth. Two major exceptions lately have been SOPA and the recent attack on responsible health care being dressed up as religious freedom. I lasted about 30 seconds during the bickering that was the GOP Debate last night and the tweets were pretty crazy as well. Then today I saw a tweet that linked to a Louis CK clip honoring George Carlin and since I have loved George Carlin for a VERY VERY VERY long time, possibly since I was way too young to listen to him, I searched out some George Carlin clips on YouTube. I found this one Pro Life, Abortion, and the Sanctity of Life, I’ve seen this clip and heard this special probably 50 times and it’s a long standing favorite of mine.

**Warning NSFW – Strong language and if you’re Pro Life it’s probably best to leave this blog now without watching the clip**

On that note enjoy the video I now will return to my normal non-controversial self. :)

 

 

Jan18

Date Night 1/12

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Date Night 1/12

Last week Charles and I went on a fantastic date night.  Now it was really nothing special, we went to dinner at a restaurant I really enjoy, Firebirds, and had a couple of cocktails (well I did, Charles had to drive so he just supervised) and then walked around a local shopping district and chatted. And it was fantastic!  It was so lovely just to spend time the two of us with no rush, no errands, and no schedule.

I am looking forward to having dinner together again tomorrow night just the two of us, even if we do have an appointment with an accountant first :)

Jan18

Cook or Bake Something New 1/15

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Cook or Bake Something New 1/15

Over the weekend we made a fantastic new recipe! It is a Weight Watchers recipe (which I’m now doing by the way, more on that on Thursday) that is low points and high yummy!

It is Baked Pasta with Butternut Squash and Ricotta, I had never had butternut squash and it is delicious!  I think it’s sort of a pumpkiny sweet potato… and really there is nothing wrong with that!  I really couldn’t believe how amazing it was, it was light and fresh and really easy to make.  I highly recommend it, we’re actually having it again next week.

Jan15

Week 2/52 365 Project

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Week 2/52 365 Project

It’s week 2 of my 365 project, now at my new self hosted home!

I started Weight Watchers on the 5th and so this was the most yummy 5 point muffin I’ve ever eaten!

Colin after we removed A LOT of hair!  It’s buzzed down like Charles’ now.

Adorable Snoopy shirt on adorable boy #insixwords :)

I got this fantastic gel manicure the day after Christmas, that is serious staying power.

On Thursday, my amazing husband and I enjoyed date night!

My mom and I decided to check out Birchbox and recieved our first on Friday.  I’ll be posting the stuff we got and a review of it this week.

This bracelet is actually a really pretty gold chain my mom bought 30ish years ago.  I wrapped it around twice and turned into a soft bracelet and love it!

*Next week I’ll start editing these better (read actually doing it)*

Jan11

Bout of Books 3.0 Day 3

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Bout of Books 3.0 Day 3
Bout of Books

I am happy to report I finished my first book last night, I read LA Times by Start Woods.  I enjoyed it, it was a bit different then the usual stuff from him.  That may be part of why I enjoyed it, I don’t think it would be a book I’d have picked up if not written by him. All in all, if your a fan of Stuart Woods check it out.  As usual I keep the book reviewing to those actually good at it so check out the reviews at Goodreads :) .

Today I’ll be starting Between the Bridge and the River by Craig Ferguson.  This book has been on my list for a long time, I read his memoir An American on Purpose and really enjoyed it.  I also listed to the audio book of it, I don’t usually enjoy audio books but it was fun to hear him tell his story.

How’s your Bout of Books going?

Jan9

Bout of Books 3.0 Day 1

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Bout of Books 3.0 Day 1
Bout of Books
Once again I want to thank Amanda @ On A Book Bender for creating this awesome event.  I also wanted to take some time to thank the co-hosts for the week, it’s awesome that they do that for all of us!
Today is day 1 of Bout of Books 3.0 so there is still time to sign up if you haven’t also time to submit a link at the website with your goals for this week.  As I said yesterday in my goal post I’m starting with LA Times by Stuart Woods.
I also wanted to remind you to head to the Day 1 post at the Bout of Books blog.  I was happy to be able to donate the prize today which is INTERNATIONAL! It’s $15 for any book of your choice at Book Depository.