Books

I was once, in my former life, a book club member.  I loved book club.  Once a month, I got together with a group of highly intelligent, and somewhat intimidating women for fun, fellowship and fabulous food.  It may come as a surprise, but our book club actually had wonderful discussions about the books we read - we weren't posers using "book club" as a cover for a night away, like so many book clubs out there.  The discussions, quite honestly, were my favorite part of the evening. 

Well, 3 babies later and a traveling husband seemed to be the demise of my book clubbing.  My life became increasingly crazy and I. Simply. Stopped.  Reading.  I was just keeping my head above water, reading seemed a superfluous luxury to me.  I barely had time to shower, let alone read a lengthy book, without illustrations, I might add.  Books became a distant memory, 

and I sadly said, "Goodbye," to my beloved book club.

One of the things I loved, loved, loved about book club was that it exposed me to many books I would've probably never picked up otherwise.  It's always fun to walk through a book store and be able to point at a few books that I have read - such a feeling of accomplishment. 

As my life has settled down a bit, and my coping skills increased, so has my ability to read again.  I have been able to sneak a book in occasionally, and it makes me so happy.  My love for reading began at a young age and I hope to instill this same passion in my 3 little ones.

I was posed with a question a few weeks ago.  What are your top 10 books of all time???  Wow.  What a complex and thought provoking inquiry.  One that has made me stop and really think.  I have done my best at compiling a list of 10 of my favorites.  I thought I'd share them with you.  They are in no significant order (that was too difficult of a task).  Just 10 books that I have loved and have recommended to many.

Hope you enjoy...

 

 

Well, there you have it.  I had such a tough time choosing just 10.  I have many more that I have loved and promise to share with you another time.  Thanks book club.  I owe you more than you'll ever know.

Spring Break - Day 1

Nothing like a week off from work to inspire a spring cleaning at my house.  

Look at what I did today.

Our Utility Room, or A.K.A. 

The Pit That We Have To Walk Through Every Time 

We Come Home From A Long Day...

(Utility Room has a better ring to it)

overflowing hooks and recycling 

scarves, scarves and more scarves hanging on the right

how many scarves does a family of 5 really need anyway???

catch all rack - everything from pine sol to our trusty margarita machine

just plain sad

oh, cool,  i spy an empty sack of dog treats - why doesn't anyone throw empties away at my house? 

do you have this problem too? 

it's the same person who doesn't replace the empty toilet paper roll

curses...

a picture is worth a thousand words

this one makes me want to cry-

you too?

i have no idea what the white tubs hold-

and do you think i have enough target and tom thumb bags?  

way to clean up the planet, katey

so embarrassing to let you see this mess

my pride just packed a suitcase and left

my poor boy, sick on the couch today

missed out on the cleaning session

ok, enough of the befores, let's get to the good stuff...

i don't think the after pics do the room justice

trust me, the room is simply breath taking - ok - that might be overselling it a bit

it does look mucho better though

HAPPY SPRING CLEANING!  

next stop, my closet

wish me luck