What I've Been Reading

If I had more hours in a day I would definitely read more. I love to read, but about the only time I can fit it in is when I go to bed at night and then I usually fall asleep while reading. I have tried to fit more reading into my schedule this year and so far so good.

Here is my list of what I have read so far this year. As you can see by my list, I have an eclectic taste in books and enjoy a range of genres.


My favorite so far this year. Wonderful book that I highly recommend. I gave a review of it here .


I really enjoy this series. If you enjoy a light read now and then I suggest these Stephanie Plum books. I am working my way through the series - there are about 17 or so now. I have number 7 and will be reading it soon.


Couldn't wait to read this one after all the buzz about it. It was long, but I did enjoy it. Great story with twists and turns. They are making it into a movie and I can't wait to see what they do with the story lines. My husband is reading this one now.


I am currently about half way through this one. A friend recommended it and then I read some reviews and thought it sounded interesting. It is set in the English Channel Islands just after WWII. I really like historical fiction and this one is no disappointment so far. It is written as a series of letters and is a very quick and easy read, but really makes you think about how much ordinary citizens used to sacrifice for their countries during times of war. I can't wait to see how this one ends.

I'm not sure what I'll read when I finish my current book. I have a large pile of to-be-read books by my bed to pilfer through and pick from when the time comes. I have so many I can't wait to delve into that I may have to rely on eenie meenie miney moe to make the decision for me.

What are you currently reading? Any suggestions for me to add to my list?

A New Family Favorite

I saw this recipe recently on Southern Plate . I enjoy Christy's posts about her Southern kitchen and life and have tried several of her recipes. I've been wanting to make this recipe since I first saw it and finally did tonight. It was a big hit and is one that will become a slow cooker staple in our home.

As I always do, I made a few changes to the original recipe.
* I omitted the corn; DS is allergic
* I wasn't thinking and cooked 2 cups of rice not thinking that it would be more than 2 cups cooked rice. This ended up being a good thing because mine had a little too much liquid in it. I ended up using all the cooked rice and it was perfect.
* I used brown rice; we don't use white rice if we can help it.
* Next time I will add a little fresh cilantro and sour cream when plating. It was fine like it was, but it think it would "kick it up a notch" to borrow from Emeril. :)

Good Intentions

Only one week left in February and it seems like it sure has flown by. I've had the last two days off from work and being kid-less those days had good intentions of knocking out lots of pages. I have done a bit of spring cleaning around here and slept more than I have in years. I'm feeling good, but have only had time for one layout. I still have 4 more to get in this month to meet my goal of 10 a month. Hope I can make it!


I used a sketch from the Sketchy Thursdays blog for this page. I really liked the design of this sketch and thought it would be great for these miscellaneous pictures I had of the kids with our dog last fall. Most of these pics are just cell phone pics but I really like them and wanted to scrap them. I used a kit from Hobby Lobby for the papers and embellishments - can't remember the brand. I cut the shaped paper using a template from The Crafter's Workshop and added Thickers and Studio Calico letter stickers for my title. Thanks for looking!

Computer Troubles

I've had some problems with my laptop over the past week or so so I haven't had as much time to post. Good thing DH is such a techie and got me back up and running smoothly. Nothing was lost either which is always a good thing.


Today was an absolutely beautiful day - mostly sunny with a high of about 75 (don't hate me!). The kids are at their grandparents for a few days so William and I decided to do something we hadn't done since we had the kids, play tennis. We bought new rackets and balls and played for about an hour. We were horrible, but had such a great time just enjoying the day together. We used to play a lot while we were in college and after we were married before the kids came along. It's one sport we both really enjoy playing together. Now that the kids are getting a little older, we're hoping to bring them along some so we can continue to play as a family.

Glasses

Rylie has been complaining of headaches off and on for several months. They were always around her eyes and I just attributed them to sinus issues everyone else in the family has. Then a couple of weeks ago she mentioned she was having trouble seeing the board at school. I thought she just wanted glasses since her best friend was also having the same troubles. I took her to the eye doctor anyway and I'm glad I did. Poor child was having focusing issues that I was just ignoring. Talk about your Bad Mommy Moment! When her eyes get tired the focusing goes and she sees things half the size they should be. The good news is that hopefully by wearing them all the time her eyes will strengthen and by the end of the school year will be seeing perfectly again. Her glasses came in over the weekend so I picked her up at lunch on Monday to get them. After getting them fitted we went straight to Sonic (her pick) for a quick lunch. She loves her glasses and especially the cute carrying case that came with them. She said they are helping tremendously. Here she is in the car waiting for our food to come on Monday. She is looking so grown up with her new glasses!

My First Blog Award!

Woo Hoo! :) I received this blog award from my friend Sue. Check out her blog, Life & Memories.



Now I am passing this along to some of my favorite bloggers:

Cindy - Gramma's Happy Place
Christy - Full of Laughter and Happily Ever After
Monica - Life as *Me*
Mary Pat - Siehled With A Kiss

There are a couple of conditions for the award:

If you have been tagged and want to participate, create a post where you add the above 'LOVE BLOG' image, then link back to me and let me know that you accept the award. Choose 3 - 5 favorite blogs which you also link in your post, then each blogger will inform you that they have been tagged. (Try to chose bloggers with less than 100 followers to help spread the word about the great blogs you love.)

Thanks so much for the award Sue!