The Worst Book I Have Ever Read

Let me start out by saying I will read any book handed to me. I love all kinds of book genres...except horror/thriller. I read before bed and have learned sleep is very important so I cannot read anything scary before bedtime!! Lesson learned the hard way.

For the past eleven years I have been in the same book club. I love these girls and have read some great books that I would have never chosen. (I totally judge a book by its cover.) We have also picked some big stinkers too, but we always have a good laugh over a bad book pick. The selector always has some fantastic excuse on why they picked the book and it always is someone else's fault. This is why I love this bunch of girls. No feelings are hurt when someone dislikes a book.

Recently I have started a second book club with some close friends and neighbors. There are times I feel like I am cheating on my old book club by starting a new one, but I read so much that I can have room in my life for both. New book club has only met twice and we have read two books. The first was Firefly Lane by Kristen Hannah which was a great book about friendship. I am not saying that this was a great book because it was MY book choice, but it was simply a great read.

Our second book is The Chateau by C.D. Swanson. This book is by far the worst book I have ever read. I should have clued in when the book was not even offered at the library. I had to throw away $7.99 for the Kindle version on Amazon. After reading all of the rave 5 star reviews on Amazon (over 30 of them) I was excited about reading this book. I quickly discovered I had been duped. The first paragraph switches from first person to third person back to first person narrative. Confusing. I had to put the book down after about 10 pages. It is not like me to not finish a book. So I trudged on. Finally I vocalized my opinion to Tod and started reading passages from the book to him. We both got a good laugh out of the grammatical errors and misspellings.

After finishing the worst book I have ever read I decided to go on Amazon to write a book review which I have never done before. I gave a 1 star review on this book and I wasn't nasty or insulting. I just gave the facts. The book was poorly written. My review was never published on Amazon. I was sent an email saying that my review was denied by the author. Yep, denied by the author. Now I know why there are all 5 star reviews. I have been duped!!

We will meet in January to discuss this book. I am anxious to find out how the other book clubbers felt about this book.

Happy Birthday, Brady!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Brady!! I cannot believe he is already six years old. I am just so amazed at how much he has grown this year. It has been a big year for Brady with starting Kindergarten, or "big boy school" as he calls it.

Brady is always full of crazy surprises. He is the only kid I know that can tell you the entire process of making steel or take you step by step on a journey through a recycling center. His love of trucks, machines, and piles of dirt proves that he is "all boy"....but he is gives out the "I love you's" so freely that makes me melt every time I hear it. I love you, Brady! Enjoy your day!

Another Goal Reached

Tomorrow I will privately celebrate my 6 month anniversary of running every day. I cannot believe that I have lasted 6 months!!

About a year ago I started running to lose weight. I just figured that it was the easiest and fastest way to exercise. (Since I despise exercising.) Then it became a chore. Then I just stopped running all together. Just wasn't into it.

After reading the article in the New York Times about a group of people that run each and every day (rain or shine) I had to do some reevaluating. Tod and I decided to challenge ourselves to run every day. I have to admit I started out with a goal to run every day for one week. That's it. One week. Then I kept pushing the goal further and further into the future. I changed it to one month, then two months, then three...you get the picture. Well I have finally reached my 6 month goal.

Since I am confessing to my hatred of exercising....I shall confess more.

I started running to lose weight and get in shape. Seems like a good weight loss plan to me. However, I was very disappointed that the pounds didn't just fly off my body. Then someone said to me that they were surprised that I was running at all. They told that I didn't seem athletic enough to be a runner. That I didn't have the right "body type" to run. Well that just fueled my fire. I dropped the desire to run for weight loss. I was running to prove this person wrong. Ha! In your face!

Well, that only lasted about a week. I wanted my runs to be a positive experience. I want to run every day to prove to myself that it can be done. I want to run for my husband so he is proud of me. I want to run for my kids and set a good and healthy example. I want to run for my friends so we can share our experiences. And, most importantly, I want to run for those who can't.

A friend recommended the book Mile Markers by Kristin Armstrong to me. I am totally in love with this book and want everyone to read it. She is such an inspiration. She inspires me to inspire others. While reading this book I realized that I use my runs as my "me" time. I use it to work out my problems, schedule my day, or just dream about what I want to do with my life.

I don't' know what my next goal will be. I do know I will keep running for positive reasons. And I will continue to run every day (rain or shine).

Happy Birthday, Jacob!

This picture just about sums up my Jacob's personality. AND I cannot believe he is already nine years old. Nine! Where has the time gone?

Lately I have had my fair share of eye rolling, and "Geesh, Mom!" 's from Jacob. He has such a strong sense of self and is so independent. I am having trouble letting him be...him. I do believe that I am subconsciously preventing him from growing up. I'm not ready to have such a big kid!!

Friday night we had six of his friends over for a sleep-over. They had a great time, but I did hear Jacob say a couple of times, "I wish my mom would just let us do what we want!" Well, I did have to stop them from doing flips off of the bed and flinging glow sticks at our new TV. Yes, I know.....I'm such a drag! I have to admit I did have my feelings hurt...just a little.

The next day I took Jacob on a lunch date. We went to McDonald's (his choice). He ordered a happy meal and got my drink for me. After he picked out the perfect table for us we settled down and ate our meals. What surprised me most about lunch was that Jacob actually talked to me. He hasn't wanted to really talk to me in such a long time. We talked about school, his friends, what we want to do next summer, Christmas, the beach, and GIRLS! Yep, he actually talked to his mama about girls. I was glowing.

Happy Birthday, Jacob! You brighten every day and make me so proud to be your Mom!

Baseball

Yesterday evening we played baseball in our front yard - Jacob was batting, Tod pitching, I played outfield, and Brady drew the chalk lines on the street.

We had 3 baseballs and one tennis ball. Tod would pitch the 3 baseballs first then the tennis ball. Jacob could really launch the tennis ball! One baseball was eaten by our bushes and never found. Another went down the sewer drain. As the ball count dwindled so did Jacob's attention.

At one point Jacob said, "Hey Dad! Look at this!"
Tod - "There are no cartwheels in baseball!!!"
Jacob - "What about handstands?"
Tod - "I give up..."

As official outfielder I thought cartwheels and handstands would really liven up the baseball game!!

We are now in a rain delay....

Run Update

As most of you know I have set a goal for myself to run everyday. All I have to do is run one mile minimum each day. Most days I run about 2 miles with a couple of longer runs and maybe a one mile run each week. Last Thursday was my 4 month anniverary. I ran 3 miles on Thursday, 2 miles on Friday, and 2 miles on Sautrday.

Well, on Saturday afternoon I very clumsily and carlessly broke my pinky toe. Not totally sure if I broke it, but it is black and blue and sure feels like it. Sunday morning I very carefully strapped on my shoes and went for the most painful run ever. It took me 16 minutes to run one mile. Once I got home I crept into the bathroom and cried for a couple of minutes while trying to get my shoes off then sucked it up and carried on with my day. Today I waited until around lunchtime to take my daily run. I have to admit it hurts worse today. It was a slow, painful and tear-filled run today.

I have been struggling with my daily run goal. Do I stop and heal? Do I continue? Do I have to start all over? Frustrated.

Tales of a Bus Rider

My kids are bus riders. It took me a long time to give in to Jacob's constant request to ride the bus. I drove him to and from school when he was in Kindergarten and half way through 1st grade. Then he finally put his foot down and I allowed him to ride the bus home from school. I still couldn't give up that morning drive.

When second grade came around Jacob told me that he really wanted to ride the bus to school. He didn't want to be a car rider anymore. This meant that he had to wake up 30 minutes earlier! This meant that I had to wake up 30 minutes earlier!!! Not sure if I was ready for this.

I have to admit having a bus rider has made my life so much easier. Not to mention the money we are saving on gas!!

Once Brady started Kindergarten a few weeks ago I had a big decision to make. Do I rev up the minivan and join the carpool line once again, or do I allow Brady to do something I would never let Jacob do....ride the bus. The first three days of school I drove both boys to school and let them ride the bus home. Brady's favorite part of his day was the bus ride. Go figure.

I have received criticism from one person saying, "I can't believe you allow your 5 year old to ride the bus! He must be terrified!" (this person obviously doesn't know Brady!) I have also received some wise words, "Riding the bus is part of growing up. Part of going to school. Part of teaching your kids to be independent."

Miss Saundra, the bus driver, has become a very important person to our family. It is so obvious that she loves her job and truly cares about all of the kids on her bus. She is so kind, caring, and extremely strict! As I put both of my boys on the bus each morning I am confident that she will get them there safely and return them to me each afternoon. We are lucky to have her!!