year of the avid reader::book two {i'm on a roll!}

i have been wanting to read this book
ever since i watched a trailer for it
a couple of years ago

i kept writing the title down
and thinking about it
and considering and waiting
(i hate to pay for hardcovers
when i really know nothing about the author)
but then i got a gift card for christmas
and i knew right away
what i was getting.

and i loved it.
i loved it.
i loved it.
i could not put it down, i blew through it in days.

so beautifully written.
like poetry but in a story that carries you along
and makes you wonder
what is going to happen next.

the characters stick in your head...
even after the story stops.

that's the kind of book i love.

and i had thought that this was grace mccleen's first book,
her only book...but i was wrong...there ARE MORE!
and loooooooook at that website.
oh...i am totally crushing on this author.
seriously...go check her out...
you will not be disappointed!

next up:
Adult Onset by Anne Marie MacDonald
(and as Fall on your Knees is one of my top five absolute
favorite books, i have really really really high hopes for
this one!)

the year of the avid reader: book one

this photo really has nothing to do with this post but right now i am surrounded by snow with more coming tomorrow.  i need this, do you hear?  i need to look at this right now and be reminded that there are other colors besides white.  :)

i love to read.

i don't always have the time
but i always, always
have the intention.

i want to make time to read more...
and i also want to get back to blogging more
so what could be better
than blogging
about reading?!?
what a novel idea!
(see what i did there?  you know...reading...novel...
never mind...it's late & i am getting giddy.)

So.
the first book that i completed in 2015
was The Signature of All Things
by Elizabeth Gilbert.

granted...i started this book in 2014.

but i have to say....i loved it.
surprisingly, i loved it.
it was long and at times i found myself thinking
"but...what is this about?  what's the story?  what's the plot line?"
but you have to keep in mind,
i had just come off a binge of young adult action packed
little mini series like the hunger games.

but this?
this was quiet and reserved, sweeping and serene
eloquent and visual and made you stop and think.
and there were twists that i did not expect.
mainly because...i wasn't expecting twists....
it didn't seem like that kind of a book.

i really did enjoy this.
i might look for the stuff she did before Eat Pray Love...
give it a try.

and that was book one :)
feel free to leave me suggestions of what else to read this year!

Snippets of a Saturday

So far, the word balance has been working for me.
I have been making a point of planning out my day
and ensuring that i incorporate a little of what i HAVE to do
in with
some of what i WANT to do.

i feel calmer and quieter. 
my mind still races...but the anxiety is less...
because i know i have a start on the things that have been
on my plate for far too long.

i am getting at the stuff that i have put off
until the point that it was nothing short of overwhelming
to even think about it
so i wouldn't even think about it
except in moments of major panic and anxiety.

but i am also making time to stop what i'm doing when the kids come in,
to really listen to them...to their stories...their opinions.

to go grocery shopping with S, planning out meals as we wander up and down aisles,
not in a hurry, making jokes and stopping every now and then for a quick kiss on the forehead.

to take Pugsley out for a run down the middle of our street in the dark of early night,
laughing out loud and hard at how excited he is to be back outside after a cold snap, how he skids on an unexpected patch of ice.

to cuddle on the couch in the evening after work & editing & catch up tasks & housework is done...
to watch a movie with S... under blankets, hands touching, Pugsley wedged on a lap, the cat sometimes gracing us with his presence, too.

to take photos with my phone and to read on my lunch hour...

i am making the time count.  and, so far, it has been working.
the only thing is, this is also my period of down time...
the weddings have all been shot and for the most part, edited...
it is too cold out for family photos...
it will be interesting to see how balance comes into play
once the crazy spiral of wedding season starts again...
but this gives me a chance to have the practice down pat.

time will tell.

checking in with myself...

it is saturday again...
10 at night and i am still in pajamas
with hair crammed into a messy bun
with wooly socks on and my husband's hoodie...
the house is clean
and smells of pine-sol and apple cinnamon spray
mingling with laundry detergent...

a synopsis of my week:

READING:  still with game of thrones...i'm reading feast for crows right now and as i
get closer to end, i feel a small sense of panic because i'm coming to the end...i don't
want to buy the hardcover...but i also don't want to wait...i may need to give in and
get the hardcover...it is suuuuuuuch a good series.

EATING:  i am trying to eat better...to track what i am eating...to be healthier...
but this week and i can feel the slide...i want diet pop in the morning again...i want a muffin...
i want chips...but for a bit i was on this lemon/garlic/olive oil in a salad kick and it was
fantastic...i need lunch food that i am excited about.  things i WANT to eat...

WRITING:  i met with my writing group thursday night and it was awesome...it was only our 
second time meeting and the first time, i had a blistering headache...but not this time.  and it was so 
great....i love hearing what the others have come up with and i love feeling that there really are 
connections there...and it has given me a lot to think about in terms of my own writing...oh...and 
i realized that joining a writing group was on my Mondo Beyondo list....and that i could cross it off!!!

COVETING:  still on the writing theme, i really, really want a laptop...just for writing...
but wondering if i can get away with getting a keyboard for my ipad instead.

BRAVE: 

• wearing my new purple docs to work...and my winter hat with a skull & cross bones on it 
• {dressing more and more like me every day}
• asking a question by email that i was really nervous to ask
• sharing what i wrote with the writing group
• chairing a meeting  

PHOTOGRAPHY:  taking a photo a day even though i am not posting them regularly and sometimes
they are just random quick shots of whatever is closest because i forgot and now i've just got to get it done.
but planning on working on more of Liz Lamoreux's Inner Excavation and thinking about a theme and a 
timeframe (something other than the 365 days)...

LISTENING:  missy higgins, big wreck, 8 tracks... 

5 minutes before i go out the door

i am reading elizabeth gilberts eat pray love.

and i have to say that i love it.
that i am devouring it.
that i am saying italian words out loud
without a fathom of how to pronounce them...

i am rereading paragraphs...
i am thinking i should be taking notes...
but then i think no,
this is a book you will read a second time...
there will be time for note taking then.

i am really really enjoying this book
and i hadn't expected to.
i am always wary of the hype
but in this case,
much deserved.

although
i do wonder if part of it
isn't that it has come to me
at just the right time in my life...
how maybe some of the things she is
searching for
inspire me
because maybe
i am searching for the same.