Monday feature: What I'm Reading

I am finally getting it together on this Monday. I have decided what color to paint the kitchen, taken out all the nails in the wall, spackled the holes and even did some cleaning. I am even ready to share about the most precious book I have read in a long time.

Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born by Jamie Lee Curtis is a wonderful children's book about, well, the title explains it all. It is almost a picture book- there is only one line on each page. Here is the summary from the author:

When a young girl asks her parents about the first night of her life, she wants to know every detail. Was she tiny and perfect? How did her parents feel during their first night together? Why had her mommy and daddy decided to adopt her? Funny, tender, and altogether exuberant, here is one family’s celebration of their first cherished moments together.

I have so many favorite lines: Tell me again how you held hands all the way to the hospital and when you got there you both got very quiet and felt very small. . . Tell me again about the first time you held me in your arms and called me your baby sweet. Tell me again how you cried happy tears. . . Tell me again how you carried me like a china doll all the way home and how you glared at anyone who sneezed [they were in an airport]. . .Tell me again about the first night you were my mommy and you sang the lullaby your mommy sang to you.

With our first home study visit over and our second one on the way, I have been reading lots of adoption books. Kids books, adult books, fiction, nonfiction. This is my favorite so far. And Kirst- I know you will love this book!

Just a funny picture

I love this picture because it is so funny to me. Molly is peeking out of "her" cabinet, showing off her big ears and nosy nose. It also features one of her favorite toys to throw around- Curious George. You might also notice the dust bunny in the background. It is a very common feature around our house- Imagine that!

Visiting far away friends

I helped fill up L.G.'s little purse with leaves
Me and Amanda

L, L.G. and Aaron posing for the pic

Here are a few pictures from our spring break trip to Houston, Texas. We were able to visit some friends we haven't seen in four years! It was great to catch up with them and meet their children. We laughed a lot and even had time to relax. Thanks Collin and Amanda!

What I'm Reading

Here I am back to the blogging world after a week of vacation. I had the opportunity to finish listening to a very funny book. The Well of Lost Plots (A Thursday Next Series) by Jasper Fforde is the third in a series featuring Thursday Next. She is a literary detective who solves literary crimes. For instance, she changes the ending to Jane Eyre and gets to the bottom of the Shakespeare impersonation scheme. In this book she actually goes into Wuthering Heights for their anger management session. Did I mention that her mentor is Miss Havisham from Great Expectations?

This book is actually to complicated to spell out the plot, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I must warn you that I would give this a PG rating for language and situations.

Blueberries

Here's one of them!
This is my very precise 2x2 hole

A second bush! Yea for all day working outside!

Well, I planted four blueberry bushes the other day. It was pretty hard work, or maybe I just have weak arms. Hopefully we will be enjoying the berries come June.

Growing up

Here is a picture when Molly was about 6 months old. And despite growing in length and weight, she still gives me this look many times a day. It's as if she is saying, "So, what are you doing? Should I run and hide or stay and be pet?"

What I'm Reading

I just finished a great book: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. It was the 2008 Caldecott Medal winner. It is so hard to describe or summarize. Amazing and wonderful, it goes by so fast you don't even notice that it is 533 pages.

I am not a fan . . .

This is soooo not me!

of running outside. I have been rather proud of myself for running on our treadmill every other day since Christmas. I have gradually increased my distance, pace and time spent jogging.

But pride comes before a fall. Yesterday I thought I could spend a little quality time with my husband while jogging outside in the beautiful weather. This, however, turned out to be a disaster. No one warned me that running on uneven, slopped streets was dangerous to my treadmill trained legs (and back and ankles)! I barely made it half a mile before I just couldn't do it anymore. Aaron even threatened to start insulting my bunny so I would catch up with him but I still couldn't do it. Needless to say, I will be exercising inside for a little longer before I attempt to run outside again.

Vacation buddies

Molly has a vacation buddy. His name is Cappy: he is old, almost blind, a Yorkie and belongs to my parents. Molly has spent a few of our vacations at my parent's house. A few weekends ago, Cappy spent about a week at our house.

Molly and Cappy normally just ignore each other. There are times when Cappy gets excited and chases and barks, but not often. There was a time when Molly was up on top of her cage and I thought she was going to pounce on Cappy! They both seem to want my attention at the same time.

Just like Molly, Cappy is very spoiled. He does not like to be left anywhere, so anytime the door opens, he heads right outside. I did take him on a trip to buy some stamps at the post office. He was at my feet or looking out of the window (on my side!) the whole time. I have learned my lesson. Another trait of Cappy's that could not be indulged at my house was sleeping on the bed. Aaron does not believe that dogs should sleep in the bedroom, certainly not the bed. So, Cappy was confined to the kitchen and dining room with his own little bed and blanket. The first night, he barked and whined and would not stop. The second night I put a night light in the same room with him, but the whining continued. The third night, I put the night light right next to him and stayed with him for a little bit. I didn't hear him later, but it could be I was just too tired.

He got a reprieve for two nights: he spent the night at my brother's house and did get to sleep on their bed. Yes, they are much kinder than we are. Plus, my niece loves Cappy (she even asked if he could spend the night).

Well, the time has come for my parent's annual ski trip and Cappy is returning. Hopefully things will go better this time. Of course, as soon as they return, Molly will be going to their house while we visit the great state of Texas for a quick vacation ourselves. Oh the joy of having pets!

Snow in Mississippi

Yes, it really did snow in Mississippi this weekend. It was only a very faint dusting, but we'll take it! Above are a few shots I took on Sunday morning at 8:30 (it was all gone by 10:30). However, I am very envious of all the snow that Roanoke, VA, has received . . .hope that all of you are surviving!