Marriage Monday: Hold On

"The best thing to hold onto in life is each other." -Audrey Hepburn

You can find my other Marriage Monday's here.

Marriage Monday: Treat it Differently

{image source}

"If you want something to last forever, you treat it differently. You shield it and protect it. You never abuse it. You don’t expose it to the elements. You don’t make it common or ordinary. If it ever becomes tarnished, you lovingly polish it until it gleams like new. It becomes special because you have made it so, and it grows more beautiful and precious as time goes by."

-F. Burton Howard

{Quote source}

You can find my other Marriage Monday's here.

Reading Report 7

What I read from

April 2-April 17

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Contemporary YA with a splash of fantasy.

Samantha relives her last day over and over seeing everything and everyone in a new perspective.

I really like Oliver's writing style. An interesting look at how everyone has something more going on then you could ever know. 

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Childrens, Middle Grade, Fantasy a twist on the classic fairy tale Cinderella.

Read this with my 9 year old and we both enjoyed it!

Forget You by Jennifer Echols

 YA Contemporary

 Zoey tries to piece together the night of a car accident. 

I've read a few others from Echols and enjoyed them but this one had a pretty weak plot.

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

YA Contemporary 3 book series (The Summer I Turned Pretty-#1, We'll Always Have Summer-#3)

Belly drops her plans to help her summer friends. I didn't realize I picked this up in the middle of the series but it still worked. 

The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson

Young Adult Contemporary

Mayzie is trying to deal with her Dad's death, the only responsible one in the family, though she soon starts to realize everyone is dealing with it in their own way. An interesting look on losing a parent as a teen.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

A 4 book dystopic/sci-fi series (Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras)

When you turn 16 the society gives you surgery to take you from ugly to pretty. But Tally is asked to go into The Smoke and be a spy. When she gets there she learns the truth. I had to wait a while to read this until the hype died down, but I'm glad I finally picked it up. I think I'll give #2 a try.

My goal this year is to read 100 books. Right now I'm at 43/100 According to Goodreads that puts me at 14 books ahead of schedule.

Marriage Monday: Solution-Oriented

In the book The Divorce Remedy, marriage therapist Michele Weiner-Davis shares seven steps to saving your marriage.   Today I wanted to share a little part of  Step #2, Know What You Want.

She suggests you list two or three things you are hoping to change or improve about your marriage. Be solution-oriented about goal-setting. Right now. Grab a paper. Write it down.

~

~

~

Go ahead. 

Here's where I think it gets interesting! Think about what you want in your marriage, not what's missing. The trouble with complaints is that you are focused on the problems in your marriage rather than what you can do about them. She gives these examples:

Instead of thinking:                                   
I dont want to be separated any longer.
Think:
I would like her to be home by May.

Instead of thinking:        
I hate it when he avoids me.  
Think:          
 I'd like him to be in the same room with me after dinner.

Instead of thinking:   
I wish she weren't so negative.
Think:            
It would be nice if she would admit there were a few positive times between us.

Instead of thinking: 
He's so nasty.
Think:                                      
I would like him to compliment me once in a while and let me know he appreciates the things I do for him.

The idea is to talk about the future. Not the past. Translate your complaints into positive goals right now by asking, "when my spouse stops doing __, what will s/he be doing instead?" Now if necessary, rewrite the things you hope to change about your marriage, making sure they are requests for change rather than complaints.

The Divorce Remedy The Proven 7-Step Program for Saving Your Marriage by Michele Weiner-Davis

You can find my other Marriage Monday's here.

Marriage Monday: A Gift From God

"Marriage is a gift from God to us; the quality of our marriage is a gift from us to God." 

-L. Whitney Clayton

You can find my other Marriage Monday's here.

Happy Birthday to me!

Sooo, yesterday was my birthday. 

I'm a lover of all things association so for turning 31 I decided to do a few fun / dorky things. 

• I watched Season 3 episode 1 of Boy Meets World. 
• My morning run was one of my longer ones (I dont go far or fast), a 5k, or 3.1 miles. 
• I read 31 pages in my latest book. Outside in the glorious sun. 
• I took a 31 minute power nap. 

Other notable things that didnt have anything to do with the number.

• Had to renew (and test-since I recently moved to a new state) for a new drivers license.
• Enjoyed an ADORABLE! song/dance show dedicated to me, by my kids.
• Got a surprise group dinner date (ate my favorite, Mexican food!).
• Got a free Froyo (my favorite desert)!

And you know how much I love it when people love my birthday. :) I adored all the phone calls, texts, and emails. And Facebook was awesome, with all my friends giving me shout outs and such. It means the world!

And then there was this too! 

• 13 (yah, see. I just gotta say it. 31 backwards) super cool tweets from super great people!

Lacy Arnold, LeanMoms.com, Fitness

Richelle Mead, Author (Vampire Academy)

Danielle Fishel, Actress, Boy Meets World/ Girl Meets World

Rowan Blanchard, Actress, Girl Meets World

Jim Brickman, Pianist

Sarah Dessen, Author (The Truth About Forever)

Ally Carter, Author (Gallagher series)

Bertie Ranger, The Bertinator, Fitness

Shannon Hale, Author, (Princess Academy, Austenland)

Lori Harder, Busy Girl, Fitness

Holly Black, Author, (Curse Worker series)

Bree Despain, Author, (Dark Divine)

Sara Zarr, Author, (Story of a Girl)

Reading Report 6

What I read from 

March 11 -April 1

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

 I reread this with my 9 year old. 

A middle-grade/childrens fantasy about Kendra and Seth, learning about the mythical creatures at their grandparents preserve. 

 Pizza, Love and Other Stuff that Made Me Famous by Kathryn Williams

A culinary YA about Sophie, a high school er who's been selected to appear on Teen Test Kitchen (a televised culinary show).

Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick

In this YA, Amber has a hard life but is full of hope. To quote goodreads: "With an oddball cast of characters, and a heartwarming, inspiring story, this novel unveils a beautifully beaten-up world of laughs, loyalty, and hard-earned hope."

 The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Fantasty, YA, Paranormal, Mystery. All sorts of good stuff combined with the amazing writing of Maggie Stiefvater. I was nervous about picking this one up but I totally loved it!

Trust Me on This by Jennifer Crusie 

Adult Romance, contemporary, full of laughs. Jennifer Crusie is on my top 5 of favorite authors! I'm pretty sure I've read almost all of her dozens of books.  I heard it described as an screwball comedy and it lived up to it.

 One for the Muphys by Lunda Mullaly Hunt 

Carley is placed into a foster home and learns she can open her heart to people who care about her. Middle grade/ YA, contemporary. 

 Up From Orchard Street by Eleanor Widmer

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I'll quote from goodreads again: "this exhilarating novel centered around a memorable immigrant family brings to vibrant life the soul and spirit of New York’s legendary Lower East Side." Historical fiction maybe?

Dark Memories by Jeffrey S. Savage

Mystery. A police chief in a small town tries to figure out what happened in the past that is creating new drama and deaths in town again.