I’ve been meaning to write this list for a good long while but I continually put it off. This week, one of my favorite bloggers/podcasters, Laura Tremaine, issued a challenge to her followers to share their top ten favorite books, so I decided that it was time to whittle down my list of books I love to the top ten of all time. I read A LOT. Once upon a time, I was a middle and high school English teacher, so I had to be well-read. This year with the pandemic, I\’ve read even

Back in January, I set a goal to read 52 books this year. I’m currently at 43 with about five weeks left in the year to make my goal. The math tells me I need to complete a book every four days or so. Despite those odds, I believe I can make it to 52! Aside: Before I go on, you probably need to know three things about me. I love to read. I love to make lists. I love to set and reach goals. These cold, gray winter days are set a perfect scene for reading. It is so easy to get

I sat down tonight and worked on school plans…yuck! However, I realized it is a 7 1/2 week quarter, so that was a good thing. It motivated me to get plans at least outlined for two of my courses. Now, I feel less hopeless than I did before. I have also been struggling with my boys in a big way. Sam is extremely stubborn and just a different kind of kid. He wants to do the opposite of what everyone else is doing. Jackson is just loud and very, very physical. He has to touch ev

I had an ambitious to do list today and I\’ve completed quite a bit of it already! I tackled the clutter in the hutch in our kitchen. It is a catch all for stuff I\’m not quite sure what to do with. I threw out old candles, cheap flower vases, and loads of paper scraps of old mail, etc. It looks less like a danger zone now. Honestly, I was a little afraid to open the doors before! I\’ve started an Oreo Cheesecake in the crockpot. I got the recipe from Stephanie O\’Dea\’s A Ye

Since my last post about reading, I\’ve been a bit of a slug. I\’ve only finished two books… I\’m a little sad about that, but whatever. I can only do so much, you know! Julie and Julia by Julie Powell….a memoir about the year-long attempt to cook and blog her way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I liked it, I guess. I thought she used the f-word a little much. It didn\’t rock my world or anything, but it did make me think…where do people come up with these idea

We sent the boys to school in BIG BOY UNNAWEARS today. No pullups. We sent three spare outfits, too. You know, just in case. It just had to be done. Otherwise, they\’ll just go from Pullups to Depends. And, really, while women always want to try to change their men, they don\’t really want to \”change\” them, right? We are going with the tough love strategy. In other news: I have given up candy for Lent. Now, candy means candy bars, lollipops, hard candy, Starburst, gummies,

My very cool friend Megan challenged herself to read 50 books this year. I would like to do the same. I\’m off to a good start. She posts reviews on her blog. Maybe I\’ll do that sometime in the future. For now, you\’ll have to make do with a list and a very simple rating from me. Five stars is a good thing. One star, not so much. Get it? See, I knew my basic readership was gifted. 2010 Reads To Date: With a Hammer For My Heart by George Ella Lyon *** Taft by Ann Patchett ***