Still Alive! ... and married!

Hey y'all!

Things have been slow around here but I'm definitely still alive and still blogging!  This week has been crazy and this upcoming week will likely be just as crazy!  We had a great time at our wedding and the perfect weather.  I could not have asked for a better day!   I can't wait to get the photos back!!  This week, we are packing and then moving on Sunday.   After that, I hope to get back in to the swing of blogging again :) 

Above is the preview we got from our photographer and below is a recreation of a photo with my childhood friends!  I am so lucky to have life long friends like these girls!

Book Club: Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why

By: Jay Asher

Pages: 288

Read: 4/24/14

"Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers." 

{GoodReads}

I decided to read this book because my sister raved about it.  I wasn't going to read it but after finishing my last book, I needed something easy and fast.   This book was much better than I expected it to be.  Though it wasn't the best book I've ever read, I really did enjoy it and I think there is definitely a great lesson to be learned from reading this book.  That lesson is that you never know what's going on in someone's life and just because you believe what you did to them is inconsequential, it may just be their breaking point.  I believe this book is definitely worth reading.  I would especially recommend it to mothers with teenage daughters - share the book with them and remind them that their actions have consequences.

I gave this book a 4/5 on my GoodReads.

101 Quotes: Part 5

One of my goals for the year was to make a list of 101 quotes that inspire me.  I'll be sharing these quotes randomly throughout the year. 

Parts 1-4

Daily Diaries - My First

Since life has been pretty crazy around here and I have no time to write a post that requires much thought, I figured I'd just tell y'all what I've been up to. 

- WORK.  I have been getting some major overtime these past few weeks.  The next time I really have a day off is the day before my wedding.  I haven't had a true day off (thanks overnights) in two weeks.  That's OK with me though, all that extra money is more than welcome.   Josh has also been working non-stop.  Monday was his first day off in 21 days.

- I have been tearing through books.  Usually on day shift we switch between being in the truck and being at the main gate.  When I'm in the truck I read (I know, my job is so hard) but when I'm in the booth I don't have time between the phone and the people coming in and out.  This week my boss has been training a girl up at the booth so I've been spending my whole day in the truck and it was only busy up at the pier one of the days.  

- All things wedding are done except the favors but it's just a matter of putting them together which wont take long.  I ordered the cupcakes on Tuesday and Mom and I did the seating chart, which was surprisingly easy, on Monday :)  I said last week that I'd be getting my dress back Wednesday night but that didn't happen due to the massive flooding we had.  My Mom's basement flooded and my entire street was flooded, so we postponed until this past Wednesday. 

- Our official moving date is June 1st but since the owner of the house we're renting is a friend of my family, we are able to slowly start moving stuff in.  So, our current place looks like we live in a sea of cardboard.  I'm loving it though and I can't wait to be closer to work!

...and that is all I have time for!  After the wedding and the move, blogging will be back to normal, but for now - ain't nobody got time for that!

Book Club: City of Lost Souls

City of Lost Souls

By: Cassandra Clare

Pages: 534

Read: 4/23/14

"What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?"

 {GoodReads} 

This book was a little bit better than book 4.  The beginning was really slow and I really just wanted to stick needles in my eye ... or just quit reading the series.  However, it got a little better as the book went on.   This was another where Clary was annoying the crap out of me.  It's seriously like re-reading Twilight and I just can't handle it.  I also had a hard time figuring out the plot because it was so all over the place.  I'm sticking with what I said before - she should have just left this as a Trilogy.   The last book supposedly comes out this month and I do plan on reading it to see if the series can redeem itself, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

I gave this book a 2/5 on my GoodReads

Book Club Friday: Winter Garden

Winter Garden

By: Kristin Hannah

Pages: 391

Read: 5/1/14

"Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard: the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time - and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya's life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother's life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are."

{GoodReads}

Throughout the first half of the book, I really thought I was going to be disappointed in this book.  The first half is pretty slow and I was getting frustrated.  However, once Anya starts telling her "fairytale" the book picked up and I couldn't put it down.  I think I experienced every emotion possible while reading this story.  I also learned a lot about Leningrad - I even did some extra research.  By the end of the book I was bawling.  It's such an emotional story and it really hits the reader hard and everything from the beginning of the book starts coming together.  I highly, highly recommend this book!  Just, wow!

I gave this book a 5/5 on my GoodReads.