itsy, bitsy, breaks

What can I say, I love my job (I seriously do) -- but I also really, really, love vacations.  Sometimes it's not even a vacation from my job that I'm craving but a vacation from the normal day to day to-do lists and stress. You all know the fun stuff I want a break from: cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, laundry, paperwork, traffic, whining (sometimes my own!)... you get the idea!  So what's a girl to do who has to wait 55 more days until she's tucked into a mountain retreat with her sweetie?  Focus on trying to find some little bits of time to take a deep breath and enjoy a small little piece of vacation wherever I am, that's what!  So I've been trying to capture some quick snapshots of those itsy, bitsy, breaks and I'll try to make that one of my themes for this year on the blog so look for more as the year goes along... and if you see me and I seem stressed.. tell me to go on a little vacation :-)

Here's a few recent deep breath, peaceful, happy,  moments: flowers, sleepy cats, birthday party fun, and library fun!

 

 

Books, Books, Books I Read in January

An awesome blogger friend of mine posts a wrap up of books she reads each month and I thought I might try to do the same.  (You can check her blog out here: http://orangerful.livejournal.com/).

I'm not going to write full reviews on them here - I review most books I read on Goodreads already but I wanted a place to gather together what my reading life has been up to each month so here we go.  I'd love it if you'd comment and let me know what you've been reading too!

This one took up most of my time:

I'm not usually a non-fiction reader but lately I've been reading more of it.  This read a lot like a biography (Harris is a network newscaster who has lead a very interesting life) with some advice on mindfulness and meditation mixed in.  It was a fairly slow read for me but I really enjoyed it.

Sophie Kinsella generally writes adult (like for grown ups ... not "adult"... I know how some of my friends think!) Chick Lit, but this is a book written for teens and the subject matter piqued my interest.  It's funny, and sweet, and typical of teen chick lit -- full of angst and of course romance.  Mixed among all of that the subject of mental illness is front and center..  I gave this 3 stars on Goodreads but now that I have a chance to reflect on it I will probably change it to 4 stars.  It takes a pretty good author to write a fairly light-hearted, yet true to life, positive and hopeful book about mental illness.



Ungifted is a funny story about a middle school boy who accidentally gets sent to a school for gifted students instead of punished for one of his normal trouble-making stunts. It's a fun look at kids from different groups and backgrounds being thrown into the same world and what they can learn from each other.  A good recommendation for boys or girls and I think would also be a hit with a reluctant reader.  It's not my favorite by Korman but it's still worth the read and definitely worth recommending to any tweens in your life.





Picture Book Palooza!  I read a handful of great picture books in January after all of the awards (Newbery and Caldecott and many more) were announced.  Even if you're an adult with no children in your lives these are worth a look!  If you only look at one of them pick up Finding Winnie.  You won't regret it!