Books books books!

I am an avid reader. You might say it's something of an obsession - I almost always have at least one book going. The only time I was ever grounded, I wasn't allowed to read (aside from required school work) for 24 hours - because I got in trouble for reading when I was supposed to be doing something else!

When I really get into a series, it is the only thing I want to read. Take Twilight for example - I read all four books the first time in less than two weeks, during the school year (quite an accomplishment, even for a fast reader like myself!).

 

My problem at the moment?  I am borrowing the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris from Josh's sister, one at a time.  And I keep having to wait in between them to get the next one, as someone else is also reading the series.  I appreciate not having to spend the money to get them... but the waiting is driving me crazy!  I finished the second book and am waiting on the third.  In the mean time, during this wait time, I have re-read all 4 Twilight books (for the third time!).  After finishing them, I have started re-reading the Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale.

 

This is another really good series.  I read the first three books after my principal's daughter recommended them last spring.  As a house warming gift, she got me those three as well as the newest book, Forest Born.  While I really enjoy them, I will definitely put them down when I get the next Sookie book!

How do you read a series?  Do you try to read all of the books at once, or do you spread them out with other books in between?  Sometimes I will read more than one at a time - leave something that I am re-reading or that is really easy in my bedroom, and read the "harder" or new book in the living room, outside, etc.

House Pictures!

Even though I know no one cares about boxes in pictures, I do. When I show my house off, I want it to look nice! So I only have three rooms for you today. Hopefully now that the musical is over I will have more time to straighten up the other rooms.

First: the full bathroom. Notice the Mickeys all over!

There are no linen closets in the house, so bathroom storage is a premium. You'll notice the hanging towel rack for the back of the door. I think it has 5 rungs on it or something - they all have two towels on them, lol. I had bought towels, and then found some really soft ones on clearance... couldn't pass them up! The storage cabinet is FULL. Thank goodness I still have some room under the vanity for things!

Next, the half bathroom, which is connected to the master bedroom. I really like how this room turned out. The light colors make it seem a little bigger. I was initially worried about it feeling a tad claustrophobic, but I really enjoy using it to get ready in the mornings.

I love the details of the room - my mom got me the soap from Basin at WDW. I've been saving it for my own house, and it fits the colors in there so perfectly! The rug makes me really happy too - the coloring is a perfect compliment, and the phrase is one I adore.

The last room for today: the master bedroom. The comforter is from the Disney Resort collection, and I love how it makes the room!

As you can see, I really like blue! In a way, this is totally my beach getaway.... sandy carpet, blue walls.... I love the fact that when you open the blinds, there is a lot of natural light. It's just totally relaxing for me. I found the light at WalMart, and I fell in love with the flower lights. You can see too where Jager sleeps - I need to get him a new bed. I want something that will match better. I would love to get him an actual BED rather than just blankets, lol.

Hopefully the living room and kitchen will be picture ready soon - the living room is close. I just have piles all over, lol.

Boxes, Boxes, Boxes Everywhere!

(source)

Whew! I know I haven't done a lot of updates lately, but I've been busy busy busy! My garage isn't totally full of boxes anymore, but there are still boxes in most of my rooms. It is so frustrating! Even my living room has boxes in it still, even though I use it. I did have my kitchen clear, until I got a giant box of Pampered Chef stuff yesterday!

Originally, I had a goal of a box a day. Then I remembered how much was in every box and realized how unrealistic that was right now! I went through three boxes yesterday, and I sorted a HUGE box out into two smaller boxes today. I am frustrated that I didn't pack as well as I had hoped, and I had all kinds of stuff to toss away. I've been working on being practical - did I use it in the past year? No? It goes away. It's very liberating.

In other news... my junior high students present their musical on Friday. It means I haven't much time for anything which is really frustrating. I did get to hang out with Josh Friday night, which makes me happy. I'm ready for all of my commitments this year to be over so I can enjoy more free time!

Exercise Log 5

As I approach the musical, I find that I'm not motivated to get up early to run. In fact, I'm not motivated to run, period. But I'm still dragging myself up at least three days a week... no matter how much I don't want to! My last log was April 20, so here's what you have missed.

Day 31 (April 21): 2 miles in 27:05
Day 32: 2 miles in 26:30
Day 34: an interrupted run. 1.33 miles in 18:02, when I was interrupted, I realized how much my back was bothering me and stopped for the day.
Monday, Day 36: 2.06 miles in 26:30. This was W4D1 of C25K. I made my time and did better than my best last week.
Day 38: 2.08 miles in 26:30.
Day 40: 2.08 miles in 26:30

Even though I am getting better, I am definitely going to be repeating week 4 this week. It was HARD. I'm afraid to move too quickly through the program, because I don't want to start feeling defeated. Took the weekend off - I have to play piano and sing for two First Communion masses today. I've been having some problems with my voice due to allergies, and running makes me cough, so it's not worth it. Plus, I'm tired!! With the musical being this Friday, I am planning to run Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. If I feel like it Wednesday, that'd be great, but I'm not going to force anything. Until next time!