# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (10/66)

Earlier this month, I finished reading One Bite at a Time by Tsh Oxenreider. It was interesting, but definitely not something that I couldn't have figured out on my own. Then again, sometimes it is just easier to be told how to do something than it is to make a plan yourself. So I do think that I'll be going through the book again, and while I won't do every task (some just don't make sense for where we are right now), I will try to take advantage of most of them.

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (9/66)

So, I finally got through a book, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I was intrigued by the commercials for the movie that's coming out soon, so I decided to jump in. It was interesting, and I definitely found it engaging. I'm not used to books being told from the male point of view, which I think made me just that little bit more interested. While I did enjoy it, I'm not sure how quickly I am going to start reading the rest of the series, maybe it will be something that I save for middle of the night breastfeeding sessions.

August 2012 Update

Wow, looking back at the calendar, it appears that I did not do all that much in August. I had no new recipes, and I fell behind on the meal planning and vegetarian meals (it appears, honestly I don't remember off hand it's been so long). I know that I also was working out a bit, but not as much as I wanted because of my morning sickness, so I have no idea how to update that item.

84. Read 2 new books a month (8/66)

While I've been reading a bunch of different books with projects and stuff for Peter, the only books I actually finished in August was The Host by Stephenie Meyer The Kingmaker's Daughter by Philippa Gregory. I did find The Host very interesting, even though it wasn't the best book that I've read. I'm not sure how well it will translate into a movie, but I guess we'll see. I enjoyed The Kingmaker's Daughter much more, but I almost wish that I had reread The White Queen since the two books cover basically the same period from different points of view. There were a few references which I couldn't quite remember how it played out in The White Queen, and I feel it would have made the book even better if I had.

July 2012 Update

So much for getting my July posts up "in a few days". I am obviously way behind, and I will be playing catch-up for the next week or so. For the most part, I will only have the summary posts with maybe a few regular posts for important items. My goal is to be ready to start fresh for the new year, and that's coming up a lot quicker than I would like. Anyway, without further ado, I bring you July.

20. Try at least two new recipes a month (12/66)

July was a big month for new recipes, most of them coming from The Six O'Clock Scramble.

Divine Eggplant and Chickpeas with Mint from SOS
Warm Garden Wraps with Corn and Sweet Potoatoes from SOS

Summer Bean Salad with Turkey Sausage from SOS

Chicken Parmesan with Garden Herbs from SOS

Chili Mac
Sloppy Joes

Rotini with Italian Vegetables from SOS

Vegetarian Enchiladas from SOS

84. Read 2 new books a month (6/66)

July was also a big reading month, although I've really slowed down since then. At the time, we were still keeping the pregnancy a secret, so I wouldn't even have been able to post about Expecting 411 in July anyway. (Yeah, that's why I'm five months late in posting everything, that's it.)

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest by Stieg Larsson

1-2-3 Magic by Thomas Phelan

Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire

Expecting 411 by Ari Brown, M.D. and Michele Hakakha, M.D.

89. Create vacation photobooks (3/5)

I finally got started on this item, and powered through some of our old vacations. Using MyPublisher, I made books of our honeymoon, our trip to England for Grandma's 100th birthday as well as our trip for her funeral. I also made a book of Grandma's party, but I'm not including that into this item. I loved the way that the books came out, and I will definitely be using this service again in the future.

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (2/66)

A little less than two weeks ago I finished Frank Herbert's The Heaven Makers. I loved the Dune series, so I was very much looking forward to reading this. It was quite interesting, but I didn't find it as engaging as Dune. I'm late in posting this because I was late in taking the picture

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (1/66)

I finished Gregory Maguire's A Lion Among Men today and I really enjoyed it. It wasn't the easiest book since there were things that I am sure that I was supposed to know about but I just didn't remember, since it's been at least three years since I read Son of a Witch. Despite that, I really got into the story, and I am looking forward to reading Out of Oz although it probably won't be my next book. I am also considering re-reading the first two books first, but we'll see how that goes.

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (25/68)

The last book that I got from Amazon Prime was Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. It look me a lot longer to read it than I had originally thought, which has made me fall behind on my Amazon Prime reading. It was good, although it took me a while to really get into it. At the end, I didn't want to put it down. I have been putting off seeing the movie (to the point where I sent it back to Netflix unwatched), but now I'm really looking forward to it.

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (24/68)

Last week I read Fun With My 5 Senses by Sarah Williamson to get some ideas of activities to do with Peter. I actually have a bunch of books like this one which I will be reading in the near future, this one just being the first. It was ok, nothing really enlightening or ground breaking. I'm hoping that the other books in the series are better.

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (23/68)

At the end of January, I decided to borrow The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins from Amazon Prime. I knew that there was a movie coming out, and that there was a lot of hype about the books, so I figured that I would since it was free anyway. I couldn't put it down, and read it in two days (I would have read it a lot faster if I didn't have to be functional for Peter). I loved it so much that I immediately bought the trilogy on the Kindle, and was done reading the entire series by the end of the week. While I wasn't as thrilled with the third book as I would have like, I still was completely riveted. I haven't been able to see the movie yet, but I'm hoping to soon (before it leaves the theatres).

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (20/68)

Another book that I got from Amazon Prime was The Everything Toddler Activities Book by Joni Levine. It had some really good ideas in it, so I decided to purchase the second edition which was recently released.

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (19/68)

Sometime in December, I read Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider. It was a book that I borrowed for free using my Amazon Prime membership. It was interesting, but not too memorable (since I remember very little). Wish I could say more.

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (18/68)

Also in November, I finally finished A Dance with Dragons, the fifth book in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire Series. I loved it, and I am very sad that the next books aren't written yet. It also doesn't make me feel better how long it took him to write this one, it will probably be years before I know what happens next.

Now to start on another series to tied me over.

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (18/68)

I finally finished the fourth book in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Feast for Crows. I am really enjoying this series, but I am greatly disturbed that this book ended by saying that the next book was coming out in one year (being 2006). It came out this past July. There are supposed to be two more books after the fifth, I'm not sure that I'll be able to wait for them if they take as long to be released.

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (17/68)

Last week, I finished George R. R. Martin's A Storm of Swords, the third book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. I am really enjoying it, and even though it is taking me a while to finish each book (they are long), I am really getting into the story. It makes me a little nervous that he has only released five out of the expected seven books.

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (16/68)

Yesterday, I finished reading A Clash of Kings, book two of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. I really enjoyed it, and found it just as engaging as the first one. I've already started book three, and I'm glad that book five will be coming out soon, so I should be occupied for a while. I'm a little concerned with books six and seven, since it seems like it will be a while before they are released, and I know that I am going to want to know what happens.

June Status Update

The 365 project is still going strong, updated through the holiday weekend. There have been a few days where I felt that there was nothing for me to post, and then there were days where I wished I could post ten pictures

I actually made it to church one Sunday this month, which is not nearly as much as I would like, but still better than I had been doing. I'm hoping to make it more in the summer, with the sun waking me up so early.

The only item that I have seemed to have done a good job with last month is the reading, which I believe had a lot to do with not being able to get up. Sometimes it is very good to not have a tv in your bedroom.

I am still one item behind on my new year's resolution, but I would like to try to do some of the outdoor items this month, so hopefully I will be able to catch up.

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (15/68)

An Acceptable Time is the last book in Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet, which I just discovered wasn't a quartet (and since the book was published in 1989, I'm not sure why I didn't know about it earlier). Since I loved the first four books so much, and have re-read them more times than I can count, I wanted to read this one too. While I did like it, and obviously read it quickly, I didn't like it nearly as much as the first four books. I think that had to do with the fact that the main characters from the other books were not in this one, and there were only a few passing references to some of them. There were also a lot of references that I did not get, and I am guessing they were to books I haven't read.

But this was the last of the library books that I had taken out. Now to find something to read on the Kindle!

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (14/68)

Maybe it's because TV for the most part is in repeats, but I seem to be going through books a lot quicker right now. Over the weekend, I got two books from the library, one of which was The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory. I did enjoy it, but not as much as I enjoyed The White Queen. I think that I just didn't like Margaret Beaufort has much as I enjoyed Elizabeth Woodville, but I would definitely recommend it to anyone who liked The Other Boleyn Girl.

I am really looking forward to reading The Lady of the Rivers, the next book in the cousin's war series, which is coming out this October.

Also, once I am done with my other library book, I'll get to start using my new Kindle, which I am very excited for.

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (13/68)

Last week, Geoff surprised me by bring me home George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones. I had finished it by Saturday. I absolutely loved it and didn't want to put it down. While I thought that I would have a hard time with the names, I actually found it easier than The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo. I was intrigued by the HBO series that started this year, even though I have not yet been able to watch, so I had been thinking of reading it for a while. He decided to get me the book when I told him that I was number 36 on the hold list at the library.

The book definitely fits into the the medieval fantasy genre, and I would recommend it to anyone who has even a passing interest in those kind of stories. It was not a difficult read, and I am very much looking forward to the next book in the series. That one will have to wait until I finish reading the two books that I just got from the library, which hopefully won't take too long.

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (12/68)

The one good thing about throwing out my back, if you can call anything about that good, is that yesterday I had plenty to time to read a book. In fact, I finished of The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson. I thought that it was great, just as engaging as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Now I can't wait to read the third book, but I've made myself a promise that I won't be getting it until it is out in paperback. So now I just need to find something else to read until then.