Friday, March 5, 2010

YAWNNNNNNNNN

I am so tired I feel as if my bones are melting. I think my spine has turned into jello and it's all I can do to sit here at my desk. It's 4:08 PM. We close the office in one hour. Then Tim and I head back to his house to load up the vehicles for Kid Mania tomorrow. We have to be at the high school at 5AM, so needless to say I am hoping for a VERY early night.

It's been my birthday week, which in a way, I guess is why I am tired. It's been a good week but yesterday and today I have been SO cranky. I have felt like I was on the verge of a melt down at any minute. I'm going to blame it on lack of sleep. Monday night I cleaned the apartment and just vegged out with dad. Tuesday night I had dinner at Los Tres Amigos with dad and Jeff. Wednesday night we went to Gene and June's for dinner. Last night I worked until 10PM. So a lot of eating and working....seems to be a standard for me lately.

Next week is not going to be any better as I work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night until 10, Friday night until 9 and Saturday 830am to 8pm. Poor Shadow is going to be so lonely since Dad is going back home Sunday.

When I got out of the shower this morning, I could hear Dad talking to Shadow. Dad was saying "Grandpa, you just need to find a job up here so you can stay with me and momma and I won't have to be lonely". Funny how we express our thoughts through animals.

I received a lot of birthday wishes on Facebook, heard from some people I didn't expect to and didn't hear from some that I thought for sure would make some type of contact. I only received one birthday card this year which I found strange for some reason. I guess the older you get, people feel that it's no longer needed. Cards bring smiles though no matter what age you are. Even just simple "I'm thinking about you's" can bring smiles. I had two clients bring unexpected smiles to me on my birthday by simply telling me how much they appreciated me.

So my challenge to you is to do the unexpected for someone. Send them a card, give them a call, whatever. Just step out of your daily routine and acknowledge someone who means something to you, who has done something special for you, etc. The blessing will come back to you I promise.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Book Review

Happy Wednesday and happy birthday to me!!!!

I just finished reading three books, all recommendations from the She Reads blog (http://www.shereads.org). I will start with my favorite of the three.

"Fireflies in December" by Jennifer Erin Valent

This was a quick read for me simply because I enjoyed it SO much. The book is written from a 13 year old girl's perspective. Her name is Jessilyn Lassiter. She is the only daughter of a farmer in a small time. The time is 1932 and the Klan is a strong influence in the town. Jessilyn's best friend is black and comes to live with Jessilyn's family. You can imagine what transpires. I couldn't put this book down as I wanted to know what happened. The characters in this book came to life for me and I found myself sitting on the Lassiter front porch. Interwoven is the message that not all people are bad, each of us is a light in this dark world and that the most important relationship one can have is with Jesus.

"White Picket Fences" by Susan Meissner

Susan Meissner also wrote Shape of Mercy which I really enjoyed so I was anxious to pick up this book. Again, a quick read but due to the fact that to me it was a "beach book". This book is about the "perfect" family and how there really is no such thing. Behind every facade is the true story. This book is about a teenage girl who ends up living with her aunt and uncle and their two kids. An aunt and uncle that she has met only once many years ago. Her dad is "missing", her life has been far from normal and she is thrown into this storybook family. However this storybook family has secrets. There were parts in this book that I really enjoyed but I knew how the book was going to end halfway through. I didn't know the specifics but I knew the outcome. An OK read but not nearly as good as Shape of Mercy in my opinion.

"Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon" by Debbie Fuller Thomas

My least favorite of the three. Again, I knew the outcome of this book by the end of chapter 1. It was one of those reads were everything is tied together at the end with a nice little bow. The story is about two girls who were accidentally switched at birth. One girl dies from a genetic disease which leads to the discovery of the switch and the ensuing custody battle for the other girl who by now is a teenager. Again, an OK read but not something that I would pick up over and over again.

So I have requested more books from the library and until something comes in for me to pick up, I will go back to my magazines. If you decide to read any of these or anything else that I recommend or review let me know your thoughts.

Blessings