Tuesday, April 7, 2015

March Reading, Spring Cleaning, and Surviving Easter

One of my goals for 2015 was to read at least two books each month.  To help keep myself accountable I'm keeping track of the books that I read here on my blog.  So without further ado, here are the books that I read in March:
  • The Last Letter from Your Lover by: Jojo Moyes-Another Jojo Moyes book, and another that I really liked.  This book is the intersection of a love story and a historical fiction.  The plot is simple enough that you don't have to think too much while you read but engaging enough that it kept me going.  I read the whole book in about two days.
  • Breaking the Rules by: Barbara Taylor Bradford-I checked this book out from the library.  I selected it because the description on the jacket it looked interesting enough and I was in a hurry. Boring and predictable are the first two words that come to mind when thinking about how to describe this book.  This book gets a solid two thumbs down from me.
If I'm not miscalculating, I've read 7.75 novels so far this year.  Not bad considering I've already surpassed my total from last year (maybe even combined with the year before too).

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Hubs and I cleaned our whole house over the weekend.  One of the advantages of not having kids is that our house is relatively tidy on a day to day basis, but we had to do all of those tasks that nobody likes to do but they need done.  Like washing walls and baseboards, dusting, and shampooing carpets.  We also purged the long forgotten TTC/baby items that remained in the house.  It felt good.  I even found a box of unused pregnancy and ovulation tests in a seldom used drawer and rather than being reduced to a puddle of tears, I took them outside and smashed them with a hammer.  I had Twisted Sister's "We're not gonna take it" playing in my mind.  I also jokingly told hubs that they must have been from early in the TTC journey because there's no way I would have paid for the good tests (you know, the ones in the plastic casing) by the end.

I still can't face getting rid of the crib (I wrote about it at some point but couldn't find the post to link it and I'm too lazy to devote more than about two minutes to looking).  I know this is highly illogical, but I just can't face it.  Not yet.  So it will remain in a closet until such a time when I can rip the proverbial band-aid off and send it on it's way.  No rush.

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We survived Easter.  We had a quiet, low key day at home where we spent time together and largely avoided social media and the news.  We called our nieces and nephews and our parents in the morning and then turned off our phones.  It was nice to be "unplugged" and spend uninterrupted time with each other.  For dinner I convinced hubs to make chicken parmesan (being married to a third generation Italian American has it's perks!) and we shared a good bottle of wine that we'd been saving for a special occasion.  The lead up to Easter was pretty tough but the actual day wasn't so bad.  Like we did at Christmas, we put ourselves first, and I think this is a holiday strategy that we are going to continue in the future.  :)


6 comments:

  1. I'm jealous of our book goal. Most years, I would have read at least 10 books by now. But this year, all I can brag about is Understand Economics. I do hope to read more in between semesters and over summer break.

    I love that you smashed the pregnancy tests. I too have just two baby items left that I can't seem to part with. One was a blanket my grandma gave me and another is one I made. I think about it everyone now and then, but I hold on to them as proof that we did try.

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    1. I do know the feeling! My love of reading was pretty much forced into hibernation when I was in grad school. Just think, once you're done with school, you'll have plenty of time to read! :)

      It really is so hard to get rid of the baby stuff because it's more than stuff to us. It's the emotional connection. Hugs to you.

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  2. Glad you had a good Easter. In my experience over 13 years (personal, and observing many others), the anticipation of anniversaries or major events is often much worse than the actual days themselves. Maybe it's because we've already gone through all the sadness related to the days before they arrive, or maybe it's just that we torture ourselves thinking of the worst case scenario. Maybe we just feel relief that it's not as horrible as we expected. Whatever, I'm with you. Putting ourselves first really worked.

    Oh, and bravo for taking the hammer to the tests!

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    1. I think that's just it....I imagine the worst case scenario for everything and then am (usually) pleasantly surprised when it turns out better than expected. Our extended family of two is important to us, but our family of two is the most important and we will take care of our family first.

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  3. Love, love, love the vision of you pounding the hpts to pieces as Twisted Sister blares, lol. :)

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the visual! It felt so good!

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