I LOVE BOOKS!!!!

I L.O.V.E. to read. I will read almost anything and finish it because I HAVE to know what the ending is. I read mysteries, fiction, non-fiction, big, little, by everyone you could think of, I love to read it. I thought I would share some of what I thought of these great books I read last year. I found these books through People Mag book section, a book club that my bosses boss is in, and suggestions from Amazon, and of course, good old FB.

Okay here it is. My reading list:

Anything from Chelsea Handler: it will not make you smarter but it will make you laugh until you pee your pants. That's really all I have to say about those books. All three are worth the read.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein: A wonderful book. About dogs. If you are a dog person you will love it, if you are not don't bother, you won't relate at all.

Choosing to SEE by Mary Beth Chapman: One of her children accidentally ran over another one of her children. Every parents worst nightmare. She made it through, she supported her family, this book tells how.

Committed: DON'T BOTHER!! It took me weeks to read this second book to Eat, Pray, Love. It's was a struggle.

The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood: I'm sure you've all seen the movie but I hadn't and wanted to read the story. It's a touching story to read and I think almost anyone could appreciate this book.

A Dog Named Slugger by Leigh Brill: Slugger is a service dog and Leigh wasn't really a dog person but she learned to come into herself through the help of this dog. It's a touching story of how someone with a disability learns to assert herself in society.

Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwartz: It's pretty good. Interesting story. I loved it.

Follow the River by James Alexander Thom: It's a bit of a random and disturbing book. It's a true story of a woman who was abducted by Indians and traveled for months pregnant with two children as captives and what happens after. It can be slow at times but its a great story. Again, it's true. Amazing.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls: Amazing. Read it. Another memoir. It's truly amazing how people live and make it thorough rough times.

Gunn's Golden Rules by Tim Gunn: He's FUNNY! He makes me laugh and I love Project Runway so I really enjoyed reading about his life.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett: SO GOOD!!! People. If nothing else read this book. It's such an insight to the south while they still had some black/white issues. It's eye opening.

I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali: It's really difficult to read about what is happening to children in other counties but this is an great story if you can stomach the realities of the rest of the world.

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max: This guy is nasty! NASTY. I'm not sure if I would recommend this. It's a bit of a frat party ALL the time. He boasts about how many women he's been with and it's just gross at times and I sometimes wondered how he was even human to treat people like he did.

The Immoral Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot: This was a fascinating book. It's amazing how much impact one unknowing woman made in the future of medicine in this world. It's equally amazing the impact of losing the mother and wife had on a family. Good book.

Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love by Larry Levin: I loved Oogy. I loved his story. I loved how he loved his family. I loved how people were scared of this dog because of his appliance. I loved that the vets office loved him as much as his family. I would recommend this book to everyone.

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink: Again, everyone, I'm sure, has seen this movie. I have not. Didn't know the story and it was slow. That is all.

The Road to Lost Innocence by Somaly Mam: An amazing story of a young lady born in Cambodia in the jungle with no parents. She was sold multiple times into sexual slavery. It's very hard to read this knowing that she is about my age. This is reality. It's tells of her first time seeing a toilet, using soap, and being in a building taller than one story. All were very frightening experiences. It is a wonderful story and I think everyone should read this book.

Room by Emma Honoghue: Read this book! It's so....... Well, I'm not really sure. This woman was kidnapped and impregnated by her captor. She stays in this room with her son and it's about his life (which he thinks is perfect) and what happens when they get out. You feel for her, who longs for sunlight and her family, and him, who is scared of everything outside of his home.

Sh*t My Dad Says by Justoin Halpern: This made me laugh. Out loud. A lot.

Tuscan Holiday by Hilly Chaberlin: It's a good book. It's a good filler in between great books. It's worth reading if you find it at Half price books for $2.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen: Good. I really enjoyed this book. There is a movie coming out that I may or may not see. I prefer my imagination version to actual movies most of the time. Read it.

You Had Me at Woof: How Dogs Taught Me the Secrets of Happiness by Julie Klam: It's a pretty good one. Again, a good filler. Not great, not bad. A feel good read. Buy it if it's on sale at half price but probably not at full price.

Okay, well that's my opinion. I love to read and love see what others have read and see if I like those books as well. I struggle to find books weekly (because I read at least one book a week, thank goodness for the Kindle app on my iPad) that are interesting enough for me to stay up past 8:30 to read. I hope everyone is having a great Sunday.

***On another note: our little Anni has finally learned how to walk down the stairs. She still won't go down from the top to the first step but once she's been put on the first step she will come all the way down. This is not all that amazing since someone still has to go to the top of the stairs and put her on the first step. However, she's making progress and at eight months with no ability to walk down stairs on her own we are excited. ***

Charlie's Birthday

Well, yesterday my littlest man turned 5. It's the best age ever if you ask him. To me, it's a little bittersweet. He told my sister that at 5 he could help mom and dad clean his room. That sounds like a solid plan but I know it's not going to happen anytime soon. My kids aren't exactly clean freaks! He went for his kindergarten testing today and thought he was hot stuff at the school. He's so excited about going to kindergarten that he's done going to preschool. He just wants to quit. We, of course, told him he has to finish in order to go to kindergarten. He was disappointed but understood. We bowled on Sunday for his party and went to dinner at Chuck E. Cheese last night for his actual birthday. He got new boots that he got to pick out and everyone has made exactly the right amount of fuss over them. He's very proud. Jake is getting to that place in school where he's ready for summer to come. Charlie just doesn't understand why Jake wouldn't want to go to school. It's a mystery.

My Uncle Jr. will be moving back to Texas soon. We are all so excited. It's been a long time since we've had him here for family dinners and such. The kids can hardly wait to see him. He should be here by mid February.

We struggle to keep peace in our house these days. The boys fight like cats and dogs! We try to keep them occupied separately but Charlie always ends up wanting to play what Jake is playing and causing a fuss. They are the best of friends and the worst of enemies. What to do? I'm sure they will grow out of it in about 15 years. My sister and I finally did..... for the most part. :)

I have included some pictures from Charlie's party. We are going to the rodeo soon. They always love doing that so I will post more soon.

2011

Well it's a new year. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas. John and I got a new niece and the boys a new cousin. She's as beautiful as the first and we can't wait to meet her. This year is going to be a journey for us. Charlie will be five next week and will start kindergarten in the fall. I'm dreading it as it gets closer but on a more positive note I will only have one drop off in the morning and in the evening. It's been a really long time since that's been the case. I have some NY resolutions mostly involving housework and laundry. I'm pretty sure most mom's have about the same, better house cleaning, better at laundry (you know, putting it away right away and washing everything not just what you will need next week, I hope that's not just us)!!

-I've vowed to listen more closely to what the kids say and think about what will enrich their lives a little more. I want to make memories for them that they will remember when they are my age.

-I vow to see my friends a bit more often. I think we need to eat out with friends at least once a month and catch up.

-I vow to have date night at least once every three months. We've will have our 10 year anniversary in July and it's about time to have some dates!!

-I vow to keep my car clean. Anyone who has ever taken a ride in my car can appreciate that.

-I vow to only buy clothes when they are completely necessary!! Period. No exceptions (Kate this will make our "friend time" a bit less fun)!

-I vow to teach my children to clean up after themselves and stop expecting John and I to do it for them! They might be a bit spoiled.

-I vow to complain less. I tend to see the down side and whine (the first step is admitting it)!

-I vow to bake more (strictly to give away)!

-I vow to walk a 5k this year.

-I vow to find ways to consume less and save more. This will be beneficial to my family as well.

-I vow to do all the laundry and put it away as soon as it's done and if it doesn't fit I will send it to NC for the girls.

So there. It's all out on "paper". Right there in black and white. My resolutions. The things I really want to do in 2011. Wow, there. it. is. Seems like a lot but fortunately I have a whole year to complete all this. For now, we are all happy and messy and loving each other. We have had lots of loss in 2010 and were glad to leave that behind. There are bigger and better things for big 2011! I've already read 4 books since the beginning of the year. They were Chelsea Handler books and a few others so they didn't exactly make me smarter but they were really funny!!

Well, thought I would put all this out there so you all could hold me to it. Not all annoying like but gently. :)