Spoiled

Last week I had three moms nights out, then over the weekend I had a glass blowing class and a quick trip to see my in-laws. Can you say spoiled?

Book club, craft night and moms night out through Madison Moms Blog were the MNOs. We read Ender's Game for Book Club this month and at craft night we painted pumpkins, made thank you cards and button rings.

Then I had dinner by myself (awesome) prior to the Madison Moms Blog Night Out. It was held at Patty Cakes Boutique. Massages, make-up and hair touch-ups, photo booth, organic snacks, wine, friends and give-aways! Plus, there were so many cute things at Patty Cakes Boutique. I could've done some damage -- and I probably would have -- if I had a girl.

After Daredevil's sport class on Saturday, I FINALLY got to go to Confectionique. I've been attempting to fit it into my schedule for months and it finally worked out. It is so up my alley. Crafty things, french things, old things. I loved it!

This guy had to come home with me. I think his mustache did it for me.

Sunday was our weekly breakfast followed by early church.

Then Julie and I attended the glass blowing class at The Vinery.

 I've wanted to try glass blowing for years and it finally worked out that I could. Trust me, I'm not going to become a professional glass blower, but I wan't half bad. Once you get the hang out how hot to get the class and how to manipulate it properly (so you don't push it too hard or not enough, etc), you get into a groove. It took me a few tries to figure out the proper finesse but I had so much fun!

Not only did I get all that but I also got an hour nap on Sunday afternoon with all three pups and Mr Tech Guy finished up all the laundry.

So spoiled!

Game On!

Game on, Book Club. Game on!

Book Club

I've never been a part of a book club until recently. I finally hosted my first book club evening at my house! I was hoping our deck would be done for the evening, but it wasn't so we hung out inside. We still had a great time.

Per usual, I overdid it on the snacks but I can't help it. I love entertaining.

I even made a batch of incredibly yummy popcorn... 12 marshmallows, a brick of butter, a 1/2 cup of brown sugar... melt, blend and dump over kettle corn. If you like sweet and crunchy, you'll love it.

I host again in September! Can't wait!

Parenting Books

Soon-to-be parents from across the land, hear me! Please, when you're pregnant. read about parenting not pregnancy. Pregnancy books just scare you. Parenting books are useful - well, and hilarious - in this case.

I've found THE BEST parenting book ever. I read it when Daredevil was a wee one and I agreed with almost EVERYTHING in the book. It helps you be laid back in parenting, helps you roll with the punches. Pass over the "What to expect" and pick up this instead. How to Have Your Second Child First, it's a good one. It's realistic. Doesn't beat you up for being less than perfect. I loved it. It helped me let go of my perfectionism in parenting.

And, while you're at it, pick up these, too! You won't regret it and when you're up at all hours nursing/feeding it can provide some good laughs.

Bossypants by Tina Fey and I Just Want to Pee Alone.

Reading Goals -- Update!

I just realized I haven't posted on my reading endeavors in a long time, so here comes an update for you!

I am currently reading The Lost Recipe for Happiness by Barbara O'Neal and so far I love it. When I finish, it will be my 50th book of the year. My goal is 52 books in 2010. Not quite as grand as my 100 on 2009, but still impressive by most standards.

Here are the books I've read since I posted last:

Columbine

Sleepless

Linger

Fly Away Home

The Hunger Games -- Mockingjay

The Island

The Girl Who Played With Fire

The ClockWork Angel

The One that I Want

Cum Loude

The Goddess of Fried Okra

The Perfect Christmas

A Dog at Sea

The Cinderella Curse

And why is it that no matter how many books I read, I always manage to have a ton left on my to read list? Plus, my dear Aunt Patty just gave me some books to read so my list just keeps on growing and growing!!

Summer Releases!

I've finished reading a few more books. I think I'm well on my way to reaching my goal of 52 books this year. The best thing about it is that I'm really reading at a leisurely pace and I'm only reading novels that truly appeal to me.

The Happiness Project	33
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo	34
The Homemade Life	35
Columbine	36

I loved The Homemade Life. It is definitley one of my "Top 5" this year. Here's the review I posted on Goodreads.com for it.

"Such a sweet foodie memoir. I LOVED reading this book. I felt like I was right across the kitchen table from Molly, perusing her recipes and hearing snippets of her life in relation to each one. I just loved this book and the warm, sweet, honey-scented feeling it left me with. Definitely recommended and would be a nice addition to one's bookshelf."

On yet another reading note, two books I've been looking forward to came out today (Fly Away Home and Sleepless) with another one coming out next Tuesday (Linger -- think Twilight with more wolves and no vamps). 

I'll have my reading cut out for me considering I'm already engrossed in another good read by a great author. 

 What are your favorite books? Any new recommendations? Send them my way!

 

Going Vegan

Today is my second full day going 100% vegan. I've been prepping for this transition for a few months now and I finally felt ready to make the jump into veganism. I've been really good at planning meals, reading labels and asking ingrediants. A big portion of veganism is simply awareness... awareness of the cruelty found in the meat and dairy industries, awareness of the effects of meat and dairy on our bodies and awareness of the same industries in the world -- let alone the basic awareness of what you are putting into your body and how it affects you.


I'm confident in being able to continue this trend, especially when I'm at home. I am nervous for when I'm at a family wedding (like this coming weekend -- will I be able to eat anything?) or when I have guests over. I may get boring when I eat out (salad please) at least I'm confident in my abilities to find something suitable for me to eat. Plus, I'm lucky. Madison really is a veg-friendly city. Not San Fran but we're better than some locales. I'm already anticipating my first trip to The Green Owl. It's a vegan restaurant on Willy Street. Yumm!

In preparing for the jump, I read The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone. It was my 32nd book finished this year. She also has a blog devoted to a kind life, too. You can check it out here. What I enjoyed the most about this book was that she took the time to spell out some basics that some might feel are too basic, but were perfect for me. For instance, there is a section on what to stock your pantry with, she broke it out by food type and gave options. She also talked about building your vegan meal which includes starting with a whole grain, adding a protein (bean/tofu) and adding a rainbow of (assorted) veggies.

2010 Reading Goals!

Well, 2010 has come and I have a new reading goal of 52 books in 2010. My favorite so far is Saving CeeCee Honeycutt (or CeeCee Honey, as I so endearingly call it). As I've mentioned before I am very anxious for some upcoming new releases, with Mockingjay being at the top of that list.

I'm currently reading Sarah's Key by  Tatiana de Rosnay. It's a different look at the Holocaust. So far, I haven't wanted to put it down. I'll let you know how it goes.

Here's a list of where I am right now!

A Christmas Dog	1
Let Them Eat Fruitcake	2
Spring Broke	3
3 Weddings and a Bar Mitzvah	4
Snowbound	5
Anyone but You	6
Sam's Letters to Jennifer	7
Dear John	8
Shiver	9
Her Fearful Symmetry	10
Committed	11
The Girl Who Chased the Moon	12
Half Broke Horses	13
Darklight	14
Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang	15
Luthiel's Song #1	16
Goodnight Nobody	17
Water for Elephants	18
Gift from the Sea	19
Reiyalindis	20
The Last Song	21
House Rules	22
Fireworks over Toccoa	23
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt	24
Witch and Wizard	25
Beastly	26
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner	27
Heart of the Matter	28
Burned	29
Celia and the Fairies	30
My Fair Godmother	31

A Long Overdue Update

I hate to leave things unfinished, so I figured I had better at least update on my reading goal from last year. Well I did it, I read 100 books in 2009! My favorite book of the year was The Art of Racing in the Rain, followed by The Help, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society as well as the first two books in the Hunger Games trilogy. I'm already eagerly awaiting the third book's release in August -- thank you, Amazon pre-order!

Anyway, I've listed below the rest of the books I read in 2009. Enjoy!

66	UnChristian
67	Catching Fire
68	The Fortune Quilt
69	The Last Summer of You and Me
70	Wondrous Strange
71	Speaking the Truth in Love
72	Such a Pretty Fat
73	Ex and the Single Girl
74	Wish You Were Here
75	Dog at Night Time
76	Off for Good behavior
77	When and How to Use Mental Health Resources
78	The Christmas Bus
79	Fairy Tale
80	Slow Hands
81	Baby Bonanza
82	Bound for the Holidays
83	Skeeter the Cat
84	What Santa Brought
85	Survival in Auschwitz
86	House Thinking
87	The Christmas Lamp
88	Tempted
89	Knit the Season
90	Ubik
91	Skinny
92	Shopping for Time
93	The Bride's Baby
94	When Night Falls
95	The Hunters
96	Speed Dating
97	Made to Stick
98	The 12 Lies of Christmas
99	My Soul to Lose
100	I Heart Bloomberg

Make me an update!

Hi everyone,

I've finished two more books:
64. Best Friends Forever
65. Extras

I'm currently reading Catching Fire and Speaking the Truth in Love. I hope to read at least 3 more books this month... we'll see how I do! I'm so excited to get to 72!

More books to the list!

63. Christian Caregiving

Currently Reading Many Books:
64. Best Friends Forever
65. Extras
66. The Fortune Quilt
67. Wondrous Strange
68. Such a Pretty Fat
69. Speaking the Truth in Love
70. UN-Christian

I'm still determined to make it to 100 in '09... who knows, I may start reading smaller and smaller books in hoping to make it! :)

More books!!

Well hello, everyone!

I'm here to post an update on my reading... I'm currently reading book #63. I should have my initial goal of 72 done by the middle of October at the latest. Then onto my stretch goal... we'll see if I make it to 100 this year!

Here are the most recent books I've read:

52. The Help

53. Uglies

54. Animals Make us Human

55. To Kill a Mockingbird

56. City of Glass

57. Pretties

58. The Castaways

59. Specials

60. The Beach House

61. Ask Again Later

62. Hunger Games

Many more to come!

Blessings,
Danielle