Books 3 & 4

Yesterday I put 2 books on my Empty Shelf!

The 3rd book to go on my shelf this year is "The Skinnytaste Cookbook" by Gina Homolka. Have you ever read a cookbook from cover to cover? I love reading cookbooks! I get so many ideas of what foods go together, and different ways to prepare foods. I also keep a note pad close by to jot down the name and page number of recipes I would like to try. Eventually I would like to make up an index of all the recipes that sound good from my cookbooks. That way I won't have to flip through each book searching for the right meal, it will all be in one place :) This cookbook has many good recipes, and has nutrition facts for each recipe at the bottom of the page. My only complaint would be that she does not believe in artificial sweeteners, and they are necessary for us right now. But I can easily swap out for most recipes, and skip those that I cannot. Gina Homolka has a very upbeat way of writing, and reading this cookbook was enjoyable!

The 4th book to go on my Empty Shelf yesterday was "Talking As Fast As I Can" by Lauren Graham. This was such a fun read! I felt like I had found a writing buddy in this book, she too is a huge fan of the exclamation point and of going off on rabbit trails :) I loved getting a behind the scenes look at my favorite TV show! This book is written like you are sitting having coffee with Lauren Graham hearing all about her life! All Gilmore Girls fans should read this book :)

So, tell me, (sips hot tea) what have you been reading?

Always Loved

On November 18th, our second Baby joined our first in Heaven. Baby was 8 weeks along, but we only found out we were pregnant the evening before.

Last night I got "Always" tattooed on my arm. Both of our Babies will Always be our Babies, they will Always be Loved! Most importantly, one day we will meet them when we reach our Target!

"Someday I will go to him, but he cannot come back to me." - 2 Samuel 12:23b

Book 2 - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Mishchief Managed! I have not been this excited to read a book since finishing the original series! Now, this is not a book in traditional form, it is a play script. I was a little worried I would not enjoy it as much because of that, I should not have been worried! From the first page I was hooked! I read a quarter of the book when I was supposed to be sleeping that first night.

I am not here to give spoilers, I am just here to give my feeling and recommendation. With this book, I cannot recommend enough :)

So what have you read? Tell us if we should read it too! :)

Book 1 - How To Be An American Housewife

I missed writing about books, and challenging myself to read more books last year. So I decided to bring back the Empty Shelf Challenge for 2017! Click on that link to see the way the challenge works.

I have changed the name of the Facebook group to Empty Shelf Challenge, so come join us there!

Find a shelf in your home you can clear, and as you read, fill your empty shelf with the books you finish :)

Then take pics as your shelf fills up, and share them with us! You can also share what you thought about the book, and if you would recommend it. Let's talk books! :)

If you read from an E-Reader, screenshot your books! If you borrow from the library, take a pic on the shelf before you return it! Everyone can participate!

My first book to finish in 2017 was How To Be An American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway. I really enjoyed this book about a Japanese woman who has been married to an American now for many years, and is looking back on her life. This was a good work contrasting the two cultures, and how different it is to move to another country.

OK, it is your turn. What are you reading in 2017?

A Day for a Wedding

James and Laine got married today!!

I have known James since we were children! It was very special to be there for his on this special day!

It was beautiful and full of love!

They are such a thoughtful couple! They surprised me with a birthday card at their wedding! I made have had a watery eye problem for a moment ;)

We had a wonderful time celebrating love tonight!

James and Laine, choose love always!!! We love ya'll! Congrats!!

The Gentle Zoo

Today to celebrate Nephew turning 3 earlier in the month, he & I took a trip to the Gentle Zoo in Forney, TX. It is a petting zoo, and an animal rescue.

There wasn't anywhere you could be in a pen with the animals like other petting zoos. However, they did have the turtles above he could Pet, and this turkey was really fascinated with him.

And they had several animals you could feed!

As soon as they would start eating he would exclaim, "They like it!!"

He loved feedingredients each animal!

Llama llama!

Then we found the sandbox with dump trucks! I didn't think we would ever leave again! If it were up to him, we would still be there now!

This was really cool, but still a little to big for this 3 year old. In theory you can work your own digging machine with the levers :)

He liked the air-pillow at first, but then decided it was too high, and he slid off.

Finally someone realized what every kid wants in a slide! No stairs! You climb up a slide, and slide down the other!

Tractor Train time!

He told me it was bumpy & I needed to hold on :)

We saw a kangaroo on our train ride!

A little more time in the sandbox before heading home :)

Happy birthday Not a Baby Luke ;) Aunt Krystle & Uncle Patrick love you very much!!!

We are BBQ Judges

I have to share with you our latest food-related fun! We love BBQ! When my brother found out we could take a class to become BBQ judges (and we got to try BBQ in the class!) We were all over it!

My Brother is lame, and didn't want to be in the picture :)*

Here we are, official BBQ Judges! I'm very much looking forward to going out and trying new BBQ places with my new-found knowledge! & I'm really looking forward to signing up to judge a BBQ competition!

If you are also a fan of BBQ, see if they are offering a class near you! They have competitions all over the country, and some all over the world! Maybe we will see each other across the judging table! Just don't judge my sauce covered fingers ;)