Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold! Thank you for all who voted in the poll!
I will put up a discussion post for this book on October 2, 2009.
Happy reading all!!!
Now off to the library to pick up my copy.....
Monday, August 31, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Online Book Club?
For the longest time, I've been wanting to join a book club. I LOVE books. And I love the idea of sitting around one evening a month with some lovely chicas, sipping wine and chatting about the books we've read.
Well, the latter part probably won't be happening anytime soon. I need to get the balls I'm already juggling organized before I can add another one to it, ya know?
So, it got me to thinking....how about an online book club?? And how about incorporating that into this blog?
What do you think??? We could choose a book every month, then have a designated day were I post a blog for that book and we can "discuss" in the comments! I know its not perfect, but its a start, right?
Who is interested?????
Well, the latter part probably won't be happening anytime soon. I need to get the balls I'm already juggling organized before I can add another one to it, ya know?
So, it got me to thinking....how about an online book club?? And how about incorporating that into this blog?
What do you think??? We could choose a book every month, then have a designated day were I post a blog for that book and we can "discuss" in the comments! I know its not perfect, but its a start, right?
Who is interested?????
Thursday, August 20, 2009
I'm a Quitter
Folks, I tried. My best. My very best. But I simply could not finish reading Founding Mothers. I love history! Yet, this book did nothing for me but put me to sleep within the first paragraph every single night. I've been working on it for months (have you noticed?), and still only made it about 1/2 way through.
I think the problem is that the content of the book seemed poorly organized. The author kind of rambled from one thing to another. I really couldn't tell how it was organized - not by person, chronologically, etc. I just couldn't stay focused!
I hate quitting a book. I feel like a failure. Especially a book like this that has such a wealth of information that my brain would like to absorb! But at this rate (one paragraph per night), it would take me years to finish this darn book!
So, I'm cutting my losses and moving on to Outliers (-->), which has already has me as a captive audience. I betcha I'll be done with it in a few days, so look for the review (its gooooood!!!!).
I think the problem is that the content of the book seemed poorly organized. The author kind of rambled from one thing to another. I really couldn't tell how it was organized - not by person, chronologically, etc. I just couldn't stay focused!
I hate quitting a book. I feel like a failure. Especially a book like this that has such a wealth of information that my brain would like to absorb! But at this rate (one paragraph per night), it would take me years to finish this darn book!
So, I'm cutting my losses and moving on to Outliers (-->), which has already has me as a captive audience. I betcha I'll be done with it in a few days, so look for the review (its gooooood!!!!).
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Stepping Up My Game
I've now completed Phase II of P90X. Where are the photos, you ask? There are none. Why? Because I see absolutely NO difference. GRRR!!!! No change in measurements. I'm still UP 2 lbs from where I started. No new definition, nothing. I'm ready to throw a tantrum about it.
So, I'm stepping up my game. Starting Monday (because I'll be out of town all weekend), I'm doing the P90X diet. I hate diets. HATE them. I feel like I eat pretty darn healthy and reasonable already, and exercising hardcore like this should take me from maintaining my weight to losing, right? Wrong. My fat loves me and is determined to stick around unless I take drastic measures. (Yes, what a brat I am to call dieting a drastic measure, but whatever, its my blog!). I'm not working my butt off to have super toned and ripped muscles under my fat!
Phase I - Fat Shredder - is comprised of 50% protein, 30% carbohydrates, and 20% fats. It allows you roughly 1800 calories a day.
So, I'm stepping up my game. Starting Monday (because I'll be out of town all weekend), I'm doing the P90X diet. I hate diets. HATE them. I feel like I eat pretty darn healthy and reasonable already, and exercising hardcore like this should take me from maintaining my weight to losing, right? Wrong. My fat loves me and is determined to stick around unless I take drastic measures. (Yes, what a brat I am to call dieting a drastic measure, but whatever, its my blog!). I'm not working my butt off to have super toned and ripped muscles under my fat!
Phase I - Fat Shredder - is comprised of 50% protein, 30% carbohydrates, and 20% fats. It allows you roughly 1800 calories a day.
Its going to be really hard for me eating that much protein (I'm not a huge meat eater...), and that little fruit. BUT this only lasts for about4 weeks, and then you move on to Phase II, which is much more reasonable.
I'm combining this with "clean eating" principles of not eating anything processed or packaged, only fresh. If this doesn't kick me over the edge in terms of my weight loss/fitness goals, then the next step will be.....
Liposuction.
Just kidding!!!!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
New Beginnings
If you've read more than two posts on my blog, then you've probably got the hint that I love organization. Scratch that, I crave organization. Its an endless battle for me. I'll get into a great cycle where things seem to be moving like clockwork gears, and then it will all fall into chaos.
Right now, I'm in chaos mode. I'm not exactly sure how I got here. Perhaps it has something to do with the 200+ billable hours I clocked at work last month? Or, the super-di-duper fun and busy summer I've been having with my boys? Sheer laziness?
Whatever the cause, its been worth it! Since I've last chatted with you, our little family has been bike riding, gone to our first Orioles game, and ** drum roll please....** my baby started WALKING!!!!! I mean, who can possibly do laundry when they are busy cheering and encouraging those first precious steps??? Well, maybe you can, but I'm not that great at multi-tasking.
But alas dear friends, summer is beginning to draw to a close. Yes, technically we have over another month until the autumnal solstice, but whatever. When you are a mom, your seasons are guided by the school year. Carter has one more week of summer camp and then **sniff sniff** Pre-K begins!
New school year. New classroom. New teacher. New lessons.
Ahhh....how I love a fresh start! I'm determined to take this next week to get our routines back in order so that we go into the new school year with some semblance of routine and organization. That means 8:30 bedtimes, 7:15 wake times, laying out school clothes and packing book bags. Filling out chore charts (hence enforcing them...).
So, I made a list of all the things that I have fallen out of the habit of doing this summer. I won't bore you with the details, but its long. Half a page, single spaced. Eeek! As much as this laissez-faire lifestyle has ben enjoyable, its starting to drive me wee bit nutty. Back to order!!!
Right now, I'm in chaos mode. I'm not exactly sure how I got here. Perhaps it has something to do with the 200+ billable hours I clocked at work last month? Or, the super-di-duper fun and busy summer I've been having with my boys? Sheer laziness?
Whatever the cause, its been worth it! Since I've last chatted with you, our little family has been bike riding, gone to our first Orioles game, and ** drum roll please....** my baby started WALKING!!!!! I mean, who can possibly do laundry when they are busy cheering and encouraging those first precious steps??? Well, maybe you can, but I'm not that great at multi-tasking.
But alas dear friends, summer is beginning to draw to a close. Yes, technically we have over another month until the autumnal solstice, but whatever. When you are a mom, your seasons are guided by the school year. Carter has one more week of summer camp and then **sniff sniff** Pre-K begins!
New school year. New classroom. New teacher. New lessons.
Ahhh....how I love a fresh start! I'm determined to take this next week to get our routines back in order so that we go into the new school year with some semblance of routine and organization. That means 8:30 bedtimes, 7:15 wake times, laying out school clothes and packing book bags. Filling out chore charts (hence enforcing them...).
So, I made a list of all the things that I have fallen out of the habit of doing this summer. I won't bore you with the details, but its long. Half a page, single spaced. Eeek! As much as this laissez-faire lifestyle has ben enjoyable, its starting to drive me wee bit nutty. Back to order!!!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Tweet!
So, I finally caved and joined Twitter last night (while I had a few minutes free and Carter was playing computer games with his Tita...). I know y'all have no interest in a play by play of the minutia of my life. But I figured its a way to keep this blog a little more "live" since I've been a total slacker about posting of late.
If you are a Twit too (ha ha ha ha ha ha!), then you can follow me at www.twitter.com/EllesGuide2Life. Or, you can catch my 5 most recent tweets here on the right (-->). Or not. Its all good.
If you are a Twit too (ha ha ha ha ha ha!), then you can follow me at www.twitter.com/EllesGuide2Life. Or, you can catch my 5 most recent tweets here on the right (-->). Or not. Its all good.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Juggling Act
Life feels like a juggling act.
You try your hardest to keep all the balls in the air at once.
You believe that the balls are glass; if one falls, it will surely shatter.
Better yet, the balls are made of glass, and they are all connected to each other by an invisible string. If one falls, it pulls down the others with it, and only those balls which you can hold securely in your two hands remain safe.
The better you become at juggling, the more balls you add. You have this idea that the more balls you have, the happier and more fulfilling life will be.
But the more balls you add, the faster your arms must work to keep them in the air. Thus, your exhaustion grows and you will eventually run out of energy to keep up "the act." At some point, you must chose a ball to let go. But which one? They all seem so important. They all seem so interesting. While you labor to decide, one falls.
Something astonishing happens - it does not shatter! Rather, it bounces! And you discover that you can put down balls and pick them back up again! The revelation has been made that, while no woman (or man, especially not a man) is capable of maintaining perfect balance forever, we do have the choice to determine at this moment which balls to keep in the air. In that, we can experience the multitude of joys in this life, while not forsaking the joy of simply living.
You try your hardest to keep all the balls in the air at once.
You believe that the balls are glass; if one falls, it will surely shatter.
Better yet, the balls are made of glass, and they are all connected to each other by an invisible string. If one falls, it pulls down the others with it, and only those balls which you can hold securely in your two hands remain safe.
The better you become at juggling, the more balls you add. You have this idea that the more balls you have, the happier and more fulfilling life will be.
But the more balls you add, the faster your arms must work to keep them in the air. Thus, your exhaustion grows and you will eventually run out of energy to keep up "the act." At some point, you must chose a ball to let go. But which one? They all seem so important. They all seem so interesting. While you labor to decide, one falls.
Something astonishing happens - it does not shatter! Rather, it bounces! And you discover that you can put down balls and pick them back up again! The revelation has been made that, while no woman (or man, especially not a man) is capable of maintaining perfect balance forever, we do have the choice to determine at this moment which balls to keep in the air. In that, we can experience the multitude of joys in this life, while not forsaking the joy of simply living.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Product RAVE!
Many moons ago, I bought a pack of Banana Boat Baby sunscreen at Costco, and it came with the sunscreen "stick" as a bonus. I threw it in the diaper bag (b/c its super compact) but hadn't actually used it until this weekend. And well, now I'm HOOKED!
This little product is amazing. Its super small, so it fits in the diaper bag great. But the super awesome fabulous part is that it makes putting sunscreen on squirmy babies and rambunctious 4 year olds a breeze! You just rub it all over them! Its even better for faces, making it nearly impossible to get it in their little eyes! Bonus: you don't have sticky sunscreen all over your hands!
Me encanta! I'm sorry I'm discovering and sharing this with only a few weeks left of summer! Go hither and get yee one, caretakers of small people!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Moms Gone Wild!
On Monday, I took a "mental health" day off of work and got together with some girlfriends in Harper's Ferry, WV, to splash in the river and soak up some rays! It was such a relaxing day!
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BFFs
And then we got this crazy idea to do yoga in the middle of the river (three of us are doing P90X)...
Me doing the Tree pose.
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Me doing a non-pose, I dunno what I'm doing here.
nu=32;;)447)893)WSNRCG=32;+3%3B4448337nu0mrj.jpg)
Me doing Warrior 3.
And of course, after all that hard work, we had to end the day with some frozen custard
nu=32;;)447)893)WSNRCG=32;+3%3B4475337nu0mrj.jpg)
It was the perfect summer day without jobs and kids for just a few hours! I've concluded that I must take random days off like this more often! I never take time off unless one of my kids is sick! Taking a day here and there for myself will leave me much-refreshed and rearing and ready to go!
The Gang
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BFFs
And then we got this crazy idea to do yoga in the middle of the river (three of us are doing P90X)...
Mel showing her mastery with the scorpion pose (excuse the self-afflicted bruise)
Me doing the Tree pose.
nu=32;;)447)893)WSNRCG=32;+3%3B4449337nu0mrj.jpg)
Me doing a non-pose, I dunno what I'm doing here.
nu=32;;)447)893)WSNRCG=32;+3%3B4448337nu0mrj.jpg)
Me doing Warrior 3.
And of course, after all that hard work, we had to end the day with some frozen custardnu=32;;)447)893)WSNRCG=32;+3%3B4475337nu0mrj.jpg)
It was the perfect summer day without jobs and kids for just a few hours! I've concluded that I must take random days off like this more often! I never take time off unless one of my kids is sick! Taking a day here and there for myself will leave me much-refreshed and rearing and ready to go!
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