Five on Friday

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Five on Friday - What I Want (The Disney Edition)

1) I want a cute & functional Disney-related iPhone case...why is that so difficult (part of the dilemma is that I have a 5C and not a 5...shoulda got the 5) Anyway, here are a couple that I am eye-balling:



Choices!!! I LIKE them all, but I don't LOVE any which I guess is why I just cannot decide. Ugh!

2) I still really want this Disney Vera Bradley bag...normally Vera Bradley is NOT my style AT ALL, but add Mickey and that changes everything. Of course, it sold out at the Disney Store for $75 so now the only way to get it is to pay double on Ebay. Not gonna happen...unless I win the lottery.


3) I just love the movie UP...and would really like Mr. Frederickson for my collection.


4) Cutest Mickey sweatshirt ever!!


5)  PLUTO!!!! It's so rare to find something with ONLY Pluto on it, that when I do I absolutely have to buy it!!! Looks like I'll be picking this up soon!!! :)


Clearly I've been bit by the Disney bug (again)...and the best part...already planned our Summer trip down there. Woohoo!! Can't wait until June!!

Monday Rant

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*today started off completely wrong, even before leaving the house. fail!

*it's Monday. enough said.

*nothing enticing for breakfast at home so I bought a blueberry muffin @ Dunkin Donuts and it wasn't even that good. AND it was 460 calories!! crap!! I should have just stayed in bed.

*it's 48 right now but will be 34 when I leave work today.

*there is a 30% chance of rain/snow followed by freezing temps which makes forecasters think we may get some (black) ice, which could lead to an "ice day" tomorrow...but what will actually happen is that it will rain & snow all AROUND us and we will get nothing. true story. it's happened before.

*it's my last week on crutches but truth be told, i've been cheating at home and walking...seriously, will one more week make *THAT* much difference, I think not....though it will keep me sane...especially w/all the other garbage i'm dealing with.

*wish people would understand that when you are completely ugly & mean to me for an ENTIRE day, that I will NOT be feeling better the next day nor ready to act like all is lovely. how about some common sense!

*totally forgot to watch Downton Abbey last night. Ugh. Hate when that happens. The only saving grace is that it was DVRd.

Currently

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Eating // Dannon Light & Fit Greek Cherry Yogurt...much prefer the Yoplait brand but these were purchased by mistake. 

Drinking // Diet Dr Pepper. Water. Diet Orange Pop.

Reading // Since January 1st I have been reading "The Signature of All Things" by Elizabeth Gilbert. It's a thick 500 pages with teeny tiny print hence taking me FOREVER to get through. I'm within 100 pages from finishing now...ready to move on to something different though it has been a very good story.

Watching // Downton Abbey!! So glad it's back. It's truly the ONLY show I really commit to. Started watching The Crazy Ones because I LOVE Robin Williams. Also DVR'd some Nashville episodes because I discovered that Will Chase is on that show. Eye candy!!

Cooking // this poses a challenge being on crutches right now though I did manage to throw some things in the slow cooker 0n Sunday morning to make some delicious Turkey Chili!!

Blogging // trying to more frequently. We'll see how long that lasts.

Listening // nothing special these days.

Thinking // about how we take for granted simple things...like walking. I would do anything to walk normal w/o crutches right now. What a different perspective this has given me. Ugh.

Needing // it to be February 3rd which is when I return to my Orthopedic doc and get the blessing to no longer walk on crutches. 17 days to go. Ack!!

Wanting // to lay in bed and read for the next 17 days.

Hating // being on crutches. you know, in case you couldn't tell.

Loving // sleeping. resting. reading.

Avoiding // walking. 

Anticipating // the arrival of February.

2013: In Numbers

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Books read: 54

Miles ran: 112.25 (from Jan to Sep, as no running occurred after 9.24.13)

Trips taken: 3 (Myrtle Beach, Folly Beach & WDW)

Blog posts: 65 (only 1 more than 2012)

Photos taken: I keep forgetting to count them up on my computer, so let's just suffice it to say A LOT!!

Pinterest projects completed: 3 (front door vinyl, home office vinyl & 1 bracelet) 

Surgeries: 3 - all on right knee.  :(

Miles driven: roughly 13,000 (thank you summer road trips to FL & Myrtle)

Movies seen at the theater: 5  (Despicable Me 2, Monsters University, Catching Fire, Frozen, The Book Thief) There are probably more that I just cannot remember.

Random Wednesday

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*it's payday.

*it's also "pay the mortgage" day...goodbye paycheck.

*I knew being on crutches for 6 weeks wouldn't be fun, but I did NOT know just how hard it would be and how miserable I would feel. I thought I was gonna have a good ole' cry yesterday but I held it together...might be today instead. Who knows?!?!

*I really miss walking. plain and simple walking.

*found out last night that my counseling presentation proposal was accepted for a local conference in February. Totally stepping out of my box here!! Time to get to work on my power point.

*12 work days left on crutches. feels like an eternity.

*I have never ever enjoying sleeping as much a I do now. and that also goes for simply laying in bed. this is TOTALLY NOT my personality but right now being virtually immobile...all I want to do is lay in bed. and read. or surf Pinterest.

*I was "on the fence" for a while on whether I would do another year of Project Life, especially since I fell SO far behind in 2013...but alas, I decided to keep on truckin' and have started my 2014 Project Life.

*and I guess that is all I have to say considering that I'm not doing a whole lot of anything these days. 

Bout of Books - Sunday & Final Update

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My final update for Bout of Books 9.0

I made some improvement over the past couple of days but it was nothing like what I read in the beginning of the week. Sunday finished with a total of 29 pages read.

Sadly, I did not meet my goal of 65 pages per day or to finish the book by Sunday.

Grand total of pages read for Bout of Books 9.0 is: 236

That is probably more than what I would read in a typical week simply with juggling work and home duties, so in the end, I still read a lot. And I'll keep reading.

Looking forward to Bout of Books 10.0 in May!!

Bout of Books - Saturday Update

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This is turning into a "crash & burn" sort of event for me...

Saturday kept me quite busy and therefore I ended up reading a sad 8 pages.

Looks like I won't be finishing this book by Sunday....still 250 pages left in it!

Total pages read this week: 207

Bout of Books - Friday Update

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I'm going from bad to worse here...while I had good intentions to reading A TON on Friday, it simply didn't happen.

I stayed home from work but ended up sleeping most of it and then heading off for two medical appointments.

The end result: I read only 23 pages.

Bout of Books - Thursday Update

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It seems I'm on a bad streak...another less than stellar reading day!

Only 16 pages.

It was a full day at work followed by a 2 hour faculty meeting which means I got home about 6:15pm only to deal with dinner and getting ready for the next day.

Work = No Time For Reading

Bout of Books - Wednesday Update

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Oh boy...it was a sad sad reading day Wednesday.

It was my 1st day back to work after two snow/ice days and on top of that, I began a new Bible Study that will be on Wednesday evenings. Add to that, it was my 1st day getting around school on crutches and I was beyond exhausted when I arrived home at 8:15pm last night.

Could someone please tell me why then I could not fall asleep until after 11pm? Ugh!!

So my big number of pages read for Wednesday is: 15!!
*super sad face*

Moving on...

Bout of Books - Tuesday Update

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Tuesday was a better reading day!!!

I managed to read 80 pages!!! Hooray!!

This brings me exactly in line with my goal of 65 pages per day for a total of 130 pages over the past two days.

I would never have been able to read so many pages if it weren't for the past two days being SNOW days...it's back to work/school on Wednesday where I have a fabulous 13 hour day waiting for me, so I'll be lucky to get in 10 pages. *enter sad face here*

I still hope to finish the book by Sunday.

Bout of Books - Monday Update

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Phooey - I fell short on my goal of 65 pages on Monday reading only 50! 

My excuse (to myself) is that the type in this book is teeny-tiny and the pages are ginormous so it's taking me what seems like an eternity to read just a few pages.

Thankfully though I am enjoying the book so I keep plugging along.

I still hope to finish the book by Sunday.

Bout of Books - Starts Today!!!

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Bout of Books 9.0 starts today!!

This is my 1st OFFICIAL time participating...I missed the sign up by one day last time, but still "pretended" that I was participating! 

My goal(s) are simple this time around....I'm currently reading "The Signature of All Things" by Elizabeth Gilbert and well, it's 519 pages which is WAY more pages than the books I usually read. I'm more of a 300ish page book kinda gal. 

So my goal...to finish the book this week!!! I'm currently on page 64...so that leaves 455 pages to read by Sunday, January 12th....which comes to only 65 pages per day...seems doable...at least I hope so!

I got a bit of a treat today in that we have a snow day so that means no work and lots of time to read...I plan to read more than 65 pages today because the rest of the week is rather busy and hitting that 65pg mark will be hard.

Happy Reading!!!

Books I Read in 2013

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1. Best Book(s) You Read In 2013? 
Looking for Me - great story, great writing...just great, great, great!!!

The Paris Architect - unique storyline from WWII Holocaust era. Amazing book!
The Last Original Wife - girl power!! Loved it!
The Land of Mango Sunsets - full of great characters!!
A Hundred Summers - great beach read.

2. Most Disappointing Book? 

Unfortunately this year, I discovered quite a few of these...particularly in the beginning of the year... Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore - the description sounded fabulous, the book, however, for me, was not. Comeback Love - another that really drew me in with the description, but then I found it was completely political. Ick!

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book? 
Playing Dead by Julia Heaberlin

4. Book(s) you recommended to people most in 2013? 

The Sweetness of Forgetting by Kristin Harmel

5. Best series you discovered in 2013?
Divergent-Insurgent-Allegiance - truly enjoyed this series, though I did struggle a big through the last one. Seems to be a trend as I felt the same way about Mockingjay (HG #3).

6. Favorite new author(s) you discovered in 2013?
Kristin Harmel - I guess she's not technically new, but she is new to me and I absolutely LOVED her book, The Sweetness in Forgetting.

7. Most thrilling, un-put-down-able book in 2013? 
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult. This is the 1st book I've read by Picoult and I was pleasantly surprised...of course the fact that this book contained WWII history helped tremendously. LOVED THIS BOOK!!

8. Book you most anticipated in 2013? 
I was anxiously awaiting the release of Looking for Me by Beth Hoffman. I loved Saving CeeCee Honeycutt so much, I could not wait for Ms. Hoffman's next book! I was not disappointed as LFM was a fabulous read!!

9. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?
Looking for Me by Beth Hoffman

10. Most memorable character in 2013? 
Lily Dane from A Hundred Summers...you just can't help but be her cheerleader!!

11. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?
Looking for Me by Beth Hoffman

12. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013? 
Raising Happiness by Christine Carter PhD. I read this as part of a book club with parents at my school. It was helpful for me as a parent AND a school counselor!
13. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read?
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. It was just as good as everyone said!!

14. Favorite passage/quote from a book you read in 2013?
"Some days I wake up and think How did I get here? It's like one day, you just realize you're not young anymore, and you already made your choices, and now it's too late to change anything." The Sweetness in Forgetting, Kristin Harmel

15. Authors you want to read more of in 2014? 

Beth Hoffman