Reading List

2012 Reading List

I could walk into Barnes and Noble and buy the store out within minutes. Wait, seconds!

There are always a number of books that come out weekly. I'm always seeing or hearing about new books that I want to read. BUT what about all the old books that I've always wanted to read? I get to caught up in new books. So what I'd like to do is follow this list I'm going to put together. If a new book comes out, great. I just want to alternate or at least read a few on this list. I mean there are so many good ones that I haven't started. The Hunger Games? How have I not read this trilogy yet? Yeah, I don't know either! lol

Currently I am reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. When I am finished with this I will start another book. Or better yet read this and another book. Either way I want to pick off the list on a regular basis, instead of always putting all of these great reads! Maybe by making a list it will motivate me to read a little more than I have been lately. I mean I remember when the new Harry Potter book would come out. I'd have that huge book read in 2 days easily. Now? Not so much. Yes I have more going on in my life than back then, but still I have enough time to read every day for at least a half hour.

Now this is not in any particular order. Just by the books that I can remember that I've jotted down in my phone or left notes to myself on random pieces of paper when I came across a book that I seemed to interest me. As of right now this is the most current list of books, some old some new.


"The Hunger Games" By Suzanne Collins
"Catching Fire" By Suzanne Collins
"Mockingjay" By Suzanne Collins
"The Best of Me" By Nicholas Sparks
"Fifty Shades of Grey" By E.L. James
"Fifty Shades of Freed" By E.L. James
"Fifty shades of Darker" By E.L James
"Lone Wolf" By Jodi Picoult
"House Rules" By Mike Lawson
"Once Upon A Secret" By Mimi Alford "My Affair with President John F Kennedy"
"Baby Proof" Emily Giffin
"The Help" Kathryn Stockett
"Defending Jacob" By William Landay
"11/23/63" By Stephen King
Sarahs Key" By Tatiana De Roshay
"The Note" By Angela Hunt
"The Lost Years" By Mary Higgins Clark
"Mrs. Kennedy and Me" By. Clint Hill
"Occupying Wall Street: The Inside Story of an Action that Changed America" By writers for the 99%
"Unfinished Business" By Nora Roberts


Here's a list of the last few books I've read.

The Rogue: Searching for the real Sarah Palin....
So I loved this book! I can't stand Sarah Palin and this just shows her colors. And I believe it. I saw this book promoted on Good Morning America one very early morning while I was in the hospital. It sounded so good that I came home and immediately downloaded it onto my kindle. Very good read!

The Vow
This was a short read but a good read. I saw the preview to the movie and looked to see about the book. I found out that they hadn't re-released it yet. So I waited until the day it came out and ran out and bought it on my break at work. It was good. Sad. And moving!

The Next Always By. Nora Roberts
I couldn't put this down!! This is one of her new series. I can't wait until the next one! (I absolutely loved her last one The Bridal Quartet) I'd recommend this all day!

James Patterson's A Christmas Wish
Now I'm a huge James Patterson fan. I love all of his books. (Well except for the Maximum ride series) I love his, I'd guess you'd say, romance books. A different writing for him, but he does it well. So with that being said, I was disappointed with this book. Was it good? Yes. Was it great? No. I was bummed.

Extremely loud and Incredibly Close By. Johnathan Safran Foer
Loved it! Some parts were a little boring, but all in all I really really liked it! So different than expected. Not the type of book I normally read. Different. Funny, Sad. Read it!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Stieg Larson
OMG! 5 stars all the way!! I tried reading this book, what, two years ago when it first came out. Had a very hard time starting it. It didn't catch my interest. I had to keep re-reading what I had already read. Eventually I gave up. I wasn't getting anywhere with it. A couple weeks ago I picked it back up to give it another shot, since everyone rants and raves about it, and what do you know? I couldn't put it down!! It was amazing! I HIGHLY recommend this read!

Silly day =P

Random silly quotes, pics or whatever! I don't want to think about anything depressing or sad right now. I want to escape my head, my thoughts. So I'm going to laugh!

..I'm usually about Live Laugh Love and Dance, but today it's more like Raise Aim Fire and Reload..

If we're in the middle of an argument and I start laughing; be very afraid! (fyi this is true lol)

Does the sound of some people's voices not make you violently ill and the look of them make you wanna smash their face off a brick wall? No? Just me then? OK

Next time you're in the dressing room, yell real loud, "Where's the toilet paper?"





well another hard day,my imaginary friend was running with scissors, the voices in my head where fighting with themselves, and I'm still missing my helmet :(

A man shouldn't think they won an argument if a woman stops talking, she is only plotting his death in her head.

... Everything just seems much better when you're in denial.

nananananananananananananana Batman!

...throw me against the wall, pin my hands above my head and kiss me like you mean it! =)

Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant ? I was halfway through my fish sandwich, and realized, "Oh my God.... I could be eating a slow learner !!"

I don't need anger management...don't piss me off and i won't get angry.

I'm right 97% of the time. who cares about the other 4% (haha!!)

Would love to just once look at the cop who has pulled me over and say "Bad Cop No Donut!" :D

I am most certain that men are from another planet, And i think it's about time that their ride comes to get them and take them back!

when and old lady pokes you at a wedding and says "your next". just do the same to them at a funeral. (almost spit out my water at this one lol!)







I never think about what I'm going to do. The voices in my head give me very clear directions.

I'm gonna buy you a kitten, make you love that kitten, then while you're sleeping I'm gonna come and smack you in the face with a shovel, and steal your kitten.

I'm coming out of the closet, yep, my glow in the dark watch stopped glowing.

is lonely, because I got into an argument with the voices in my head today and now we're not talking to each other anymore.

When I get bored sometimes I look at these funny shuffles and crack up! Lee will look over and ask me "What the hell are you doing?" Then I tell him laughing at the shuffles. Then I'll continue to randomly crack up. He won't even know what I'm reading and laugh because I'm laughing so hard and the dumbest shit! hahaha

Where does the time go?

As Lucas's 5th birthday approaches the harder it seems to be. For some reason this year it's really hitting a spot. My baby boy is going to be 5 years old tomorrow!! He's almost done with Preschool and on his was to Kindergarten. His baby talk is almost non exsistant. He is growing into his own person. And I don't like it at all!! lol.

I know you want to watch your children grow up and see the person you raised them to be. But this mom right here wants her little boy to stay her little boy! I look at Lucas and all I can think about is everything I went through to get him. How everything must happen for a reason.

It just seems like yesterday I was holding Lucas in my arms for the first time. Looking into his eyes knowing I was a mommy and not knowing the journey I'd take with him. All that matters was I had him.

When they are a baby you can't wait for them to roll over, sit up, crawl, walk, and talk. Then as they approach all these milestones you were so excited to reach a pain hits your heart knowing they are growing up. Knowing they won't always be this little.

(Pic of His first time crawling)

When I woke up this morning I turned to Lee and said "I can't believe Lucas will be 5 tomorrow, and I'm going to cry.." And I did. He just came back with the normal comment. You want him to grow up and see how he will be and blah blah blah.. No I don't! lol I want him to stay mommy's lil punkin butt!!

I love to look back and read his baby book, scrapbook, and journal I write in about what he's doing in life. All the cute little sayings he said. "Bop it!" for Stop it! lol. How he says vitamins. (It's so adorable!) How excited he was when he'd go potty in the big boy potty!.. Him and his best pal "Harwie" (Harlie my dog. I had gotten her right before I found out I was pregnant) Lucas loves Harlie. Say if I say "Ugh the dogs stink" Lucas comes back with "Harwie don't" Or if the dogs are play fighting it's never Harwie it's always Caine's fault! lol.

I remember laying in the bathtub with my big ol belly and watching him roll from side to side! Screaming for Dan to come look! The first time I felt him move. The first night sleeping in his crib, his first time crawling, walking, his first word "mana" (yup thats right with witnesses my lil man said mama before dada!!"

I know it's part of life watching your children grow up. But I don't know if I'll ever have another. (Which will kill me) So I have to cherish every moment that I have. I am not ready to let go. (You'd think he was moving away! lol) I want to be there for everything he does from Karate or soccer to his class parties to putting him to bed at night with a story for our mommy and Lucas bonding time.

What I think really kills me is he's with his father this weekend. He will wake up on his birthday with me not around. Although I should be thankful because Dan is bringing him to work on the way up to school so I can give him a birthday hug and kiss, and hand over the cookies I'm baking for him to take to school. Confetti pudding cookies. (tonight will be my first time making them) He wanted cookies! And tomorrow for dinner we will be going to his traditional birthday dinner at Red Robin with family and friends. Have his huge party with a crap load of toys on Saturday.

I'm happy to watch him grow. But sad that my lil man won't be so little for long. Which is why it pisses me off that his father is barely around anymore to see him. Cherish every moment you have with your children because you never know what could happen. I'm always telling Lucas how much I love him and hugging and kissing him. He knows how much I love him, and to me that's all that matters!



First time holding my baby in my arms


Sleeping so innocently


Lucas's one year pics. This one is my favorite out of all of them!


Two year pics!


Wow.. Three??


Just last year.. Four year old pics at wildwood!


Lucas on his first day of preschool! My big boy!!











Just some randoms... Lucas first birthday getting his face smashed in his cake. Which he flipped out about!! Lucas never liked anything on his face or hands. He freaked! Screamed bloody murder! lol But it was cute as hell! Then Lucas and I up at the strawberry fields picking fresh strawberries. He had a blast. Picking his own strawberries and eating them on the way home! lol .. Lucas swinging at the park. One thing we ALWAYS do when it's nice is go play or ride his bike at the park. I just love this pic of him he's so happy swinging here! And the final two pics are of him and I and him in front of Thomas the Train. We went to A Day out with Thomas up at the train station up in Flint Michigan. It was amazing! We rode a half hour ride on Thomas, did all sorts of activities, they had shows, everything you can imagine Thomas!

Happy birthday boogs (what I always call him) mommy loves you with everything I have. You were the best thing that happened to me in life. Not a day goes by that I'm not thankful for being your mommy. I hope you look back when you are older and see everything that I did for you. I hope you have the best 5th birthday a little boy could have!!

Just sayin...

*I could live off pizza and Mac n' Chz alone! Yum!

*Blue is and always has been my favorite color!

*Victoria Secret bras are all I'll ever buy! <3

* 2 Stores that I could be in for hours are Barnes and Noble and Toys R Us! These are 2 very bad, bad, stores for me! lol

* I avoid salt!

* I LOVE to cook!! I would love to go to culinary school!

* I'm a very hands on Mommy! =)

* I'm terrified of marriage!


* Not including my earlobes I've had 10 piercings! (lol wow I didn't think I had that many until I counted them out lol)

* My daily fluids consist of COFFEE!!! Water and milk. I HATE pop and rarely drink juice because it's to sweet.

* When I have the house to myself you'll find me either on the couch watching my DVR, on my bed playing Xbox, or reading a book.

* I have a problem with other peoples jealousy.

* I can't function without coffee! As soon as I drag myself out of bed I NEED coffee. I really wouldn't recommend being around me if I haven't had any either lol.

* I love to look at men! lol. Certain characteristics on a guy is what makes them attractive to me!. Ex: Blake Shelton- His smile! (sexy!), his voice, and his fun personality!

* I'm cold all the time.! If it's 70 I'm cold.

* I tend to lack patience

* Penguins are my favorite animal!

* Gerber daisies are my favorite flower.

* I'm a jeans and T-shirt kinda girl. (or tank top)

* I resent my father in so many ways. (near future will be a blog)

* Trust- something I don't do. I have a hard time letting people "really" in. That was ruined and I don't know how to change that or if I ever will.

* I suffer from migranes. Been on any and everything since I was 9.

* I don't think I'll ever fully be healed from my past. That's a feeling I'd love to be free from.

Priorities!

How does someone not have their child as #1?



Lucas is my number one priority in life. He comes before anyone or anything. Simple as that.

I don't understand how parents could choose alcohol or a man/woman over their child!!

I feel bad for Lucas. I know his father loves him, but unfortunately not enough to have Lucas as his #1 priority. His father is on a regular basis cancelling his visits with Lucas. He has him every other Tues- wed and then fri-mon morning. That's every other week. He got him one Saturday-Sunday, his Tuesday for 3 hours, and then on Wednesday for an hour. How in the whole month of March is that enough time to spend with your 5 year old son??? It's not!

How could you walk into a bar and drink until you can't walk, get in your car, and then drive home to an empty house knowing you just chose that over your son?

What's sad is he's not hurting himself or me, he's hurting his son. But it pisses me off to know end knowing he's out there screwing around with some poor girl that doesn't know what she getting into, or drinking himself stupid. While I am at home consoling our son at bedtime while he's crying that he doesn't get to spend the night at daddy's. That when something happens he doesn't show up at the emergency room to make sure his son is alright, but instead get drunk at a diaper party. Doesn't attend any school class parties, soccer games, karate matches, or DR appointments. How does a parent do that?

Just becuase you pay child support and support your child financially does not make you a good parent. Yes you help financially support him. It helps pay for his nice preschool he attends, the clothes he wears, and the activites he's involved in. But that does not make you a good parent. He's not going to remember preschool that well, he's not going to remember what nice clothes he had, but the time you spend with him. The activities you do with him.

I hate when Lucas cries because his daddy hasn't seen him. When he's waiting in his clothes with his bag packed and his dad calls and cancels because "he was forced to work" (which is rarely the case). It's heartbreaking. I hate seeing him sad. I hate that his father not only hurt me for years but is now hurting his son in other ways. I hate that this will all take a roll in how Lucas will grow up. I just pray that I'm doing a good enough job for the both of us that Lucas will be a great father from birth on.

I know that Lucas is my #1 priority. I know that out of everything else there is going on in the world I'd much rather spend my time with him. I love seeing his innocent face when he's asleep. When I pick him up from school and he's excited to tell me how his day was, when he calls me "mommy", how he curls up with me on the couch to watch his cartoons and hugs me and tells me he loves me. To me that is the best thing in the world and nothing is even in close competition with it.


When Lucas is grown I want to have that chance to tell him how much I was there for him in every way possible. That I was supportive in his decisions in life. That was there to listen, discipline, and help guide him through life.

I chose to be a parent. I didn't choose a man/woman over my son. Nor did I choose partying. I love Lucas with everything I have to give. He is my world. He's my reason for living and the only good thing that came from my past relationship with his father. All the pain and hurt I went through was worth being able to look at him everyday. To put him to sleep at night and to look in his loving eyes. I'd do it all over again if I had to. I love my lil man!

Easter Bunny will be hopping along soon!!!

I just LOVE Easter!!! So many fun and cool things to do!!!

I love making Lucas his Easter basket up and hiding it from the Easter Bunny. I make it all up the night before and put it in a celephain bag (since it's so overloaded!) And then I hide it from the Easter Bunny for him to find!.. Then of course we do the Easter Egg hunt!.. This year it just may be nice enough to do it outside!! Yay!

I still need to get him to see the Easter Bunny and get his picture taken with him! I got him such a cute shirt! Love it!

Since Lucas's birthday is right before Easter and his party is the weekend after I'm slacking majorally in the activity/craft department!! Although I plan on making up for during the weekdays!

Of course we will be coloring egss!!

I'm going to try something different with the egg coloring this year. I've seen many different ideas. One of them is by using Kool Aid packets. They are cheap, and there are sooo many different colors! I think the kids would have a blast with them!
http://www.heyjenrenee.com/2011/04/kool-eggs.html

I have Foam Easter door signs for the kids to make. Just something I picked up at the Dollar Tree. They always have seasonal fun crafts for kids to do. Which I usually pick up all of them! lol

Pintrest has a TON Of fun ideas to do!!

One that I plan on making for Lucas's Easter party at school are Easter Smores! They are super easy and are super cute!! They are colorful and I bet very yummy to eat! =)
http://eclecticrecipes.com/peeps-smores-for-easter

We are going to make some Easter Cupcakes! With pretty spring colored frostings, and cake mix.. With some jelly beans and sprinkles! Mmmm yum! The kids love making cupcakes!

I'm renting the movie HOP, popping some potcorn (that's what Lucas calls it) and watching the cute Easter Bunny flick! This movie is a must have for Easter!!

BUNNY BAIT! This is a must make right here! Looks simple and delicious! I might just be making these also for his party! Here is the link to her blog. I got it off Pintrest though! http://bloomdesignsonline.blogspot.ca/2012/03/make-it-monday-bunny-bait.html




So many little things you can do for Easter for fun! Having a little kid makes Easter so much fun! With the easter egg hunts, pictures with the Easter Bunny, the baking, and arts and crafts! I'm like a little kid when it comes to this stuff. Dinner with the family! Dressing up!


What are some of the things that you do to celebrate Easter?

What would you do?

What would you do if you won the lottery?



Ever see the TV show about how winning the lottery changed them? The smart decisions and dumb decsions that people did?

Everyone has the obvious answers. Buy a new house, parents a house, cars, put money up for children, invest, etc.

This is something everyone dreams of. Winning the lottery. If they won what would they do with it? How would they spend the winnings?

It's so fun to think about. Man I could do so much good with it. I could help all the people I love. Help charities that mean a lot to me. But I'm sure they thought that also. And some actually went through it all! Wow how do you win that much money and are broke? I couldn't do it. I'd invest for sure.

So today I'm going to visit fantasy land! What are some of the things I'd do if I won the money? I really only have one dream.

Besides all the obvious answers of shopping and stuff. I always said that if I won the lottery I'd buy a huge piece of land and build a HUGE farm! I would make it a huge animal shelter. Rescue any and all types of animals. There are so many animals that are abused, homeless, or need new homes. The Human Society is always full. Most animals shelters that I am aware of are always full. I'd try and make sure that didn't happen! Hire people to help take care of the rescue ranch. My family would help. My house would be right there with the ranch. This would be my new job and hobby! I am a huge animal lover. This would mean the world to me! Ohhhh how it makes me giddy just thinking about doing this! lol

I would hire a person trainer!! lol. It's so hard to work out alone. To know exactly what to work on and exactly how to do it. I would love to say I'd get lypo or something but I honestly am terrified! I'd rather do it the healthy way! I'd want to earn it. Knowing I accomplished my goals and earned my body!

I'd be "that" mom. That mom who makes EVERYTHING home made!! Who attends EVERYTHING!! Who does every class party. I get to do some of this now, but I would really be able to do it if I won the lottery and didn't have to work! That mom who does every meal from scratch (which I do a lot now but it's expensive and time consuming and I work WAY to many hours to do this every night). This is also something that would mean more to me than all the newest and coolest toys for myself! I'd love to just spend more time with my family. To go on big adventures to see the world. See the Grand Canyon, Mt. Rushmore, Colorado Rocky Mountains (something I've dreamed of since I was little). To go where the road would take us. Don't get me wrong I'd definately do the Disney vacations, Europe, Tropical Islands. But I'd just love to do all the fun stuff. Take the simple vacations!

Ok I need to get out of lala land. Mr. Lee keeps asking if I'm almost ready to go! lol. But fantasy land was nice for a few minutes atleast =)

I really am a simple person. I always want the new gadgets and love to shop. I of course would treat myself to this stuff. Which of course my family I'm sure would also recieve some. But I really think I'd do a lot of good. I really like to help people out.




Colorado Rocky Mountains! Gorgeous!!!