Summer Reading

I finished reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See - it was very good. I liked Snow Flower and the Secret Fan better but this was still a great read. I have now started reading The Choice by Nicholas Sparks - a light read but enjoyable. I think I will reach my goal of 10 books by the end of the summer!

Thoughts on turning 42...

• not really a good time to ask because I still feel crappy, thus old!

• I have a really great life and am very lucky

• my husband loves me - I love that he was worried about leaving for the week because I was sick and that he asked my friend to look out for me

• I am spoiled when it comes to gifts on my birthday (and Christmas too!)

• 13 years of marriage - it hasn't all been rosy but I wouldn't change anything

• I was 19 when my mom was 42 - my kids are 9 and 2

• my body is starting to "feel 42" - I need to take better care of it

• getting married on my birthday hasn't turned out so bad (I really didn't want to do it but I didn't want to wait to get married either) - Aaron always makes it more about my birthday

• I really want to work on personal goals for the next year - my life is good and I want to feel more like I deserve this good life

not feeling great

I've been sick for a week now and it is really getting me down. It started with a fever/flu, moved to sinuses, then cough and now conjunctivitus (pinkeye). This last one is the worst as my eyes are itching, watery and very red. I went to the doctor today and got some drops so hopefully I will start to see improvement tomorrow. I'm worried that Lily is going to get sick too, she felt very hot this evening. It's hard to tell because it is so warm outside.

Heading to the island next week. It will be nice to have a different way to keep the girls busy. Aaron will be away again for my birthday but he bought me beautiful diamond earrings so he's forgiven - LOL.

Whew, where was I?

Ok, so I'm a sporatic blogger, sue me. Not that anyone reads this except me and the odd time Aaron, LOL.

Anyway, Arden and I have challenged ourselves to read 10 books each this summer. I am getting ready to start #6. She is a little stalled but is reading 3 books at the same time. I'm not sure she is going to be the reader that I was at her age but hopefully it will come.

So far I have read:

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyers
Wicked by Gregory McGuire
Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik
Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom
A Boy of Good Breeding by Miriam Toews

My next read is Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

I love summer!

Where has the time gone?

Wow! I haven't posted in a long time. It has been a great summer and now I am back at work full time. The first week back was very overwhelming and I shed more than a few tears. I just didn't feel prepared - especially because we couldn't even get in the building until 3 days before school started. It was crazy!

Anyway... I'm trying to win a free Cricut cartridge. They are giving one away free in celebration of their 100th cartridge "Winter Wonderland." I have to post a link to enter so...

Winter Wonderland

What's new in Poulinville

• Lily is turning one on Thursday. This seems so hard to believe. We waited 8 years for her and now the time is just flying by.

• Lily is cruising around the furniture and is a little speed demon. She is definitely a more active child than Arden ever was. I think she will be walking by September.

• Thanks to HL, Lily's nickname is Sunny - as in Sunny Baudelaire from Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events. She bites everything. I can just picture her hanging from the edge of the table by her teeth like Sunny in the movie.

• I went all girly girl today - haircut, manicure and pedicure. My toes look awesome! I just went to the nail place in the Chilliwack mall. I will definitely go there again. I really liked that I wasn't forced to chit chat the entire time - it was nice.

• I start getting paid this week! Yipee! But that also means that work is looming. I'm excited and a bit nervous to go back to work. There have been lots of changes at HSS in the last 3 years and I'm not sure where I am going to fit in.

• Only a couple of days until our holidays. I am really looking forward to the family time. I've got the passports and the baseball tickets in my purse already - they are the two things we can't!!! forget.

• We paid to have Lily's birthday up on the scoreboard at the Mariners/Yankees game. Hopefully we don't miss it so I can get a picture.

• It's been a great summer. Relaxing but I feel like we have made good use of the time. We have done some touristy things and Arden has played with friends and done some things like camp and bible day camp.

• One of the students I took to Scotland back in 2006 was killed in a terrible vehicle crash a couple of weeks ago. His service was last Friday and it was very nice. I have great memories of that trip. The student who was killed was Alex Lowe. The other 3 students who went to Scotland were Greg Webber, Kirstie Campbell, and Grace Mofoot. Alex had a really promising future. I was especially touched thinking about him and his girlfriend Larissa. It is so sad that they never got to see where their young love might take them.

Thoughts on turning 41

• being 40 wasn't so bad - especially when polite people say I don't look 40

• what does 40 look like anyway?

• having a baby makes you feel younger - and apparently look younger to others

• I can hopefully retire in 16 years which means I have been a teacher longer than I have left to work!

• I still like getting presents even though I say it doesn't matter

• I keep thinking about my mom at this age - what was she like? what did she look like? - I was 17 and just graduating from high school when my mom was 41 but I remember her as she was the last few years she was alive not as she was then

• my dad never made it to 41 so I guess I'm lucky!

• I am sad that Aaron will be away again for my birthday/our 12th anniversary - I know he feels bad too.

• I think I am going to stop volunteering my age and just let people think what they want to think