On Sundays I try to schedule my week ahead. I meal plan, get the groceries, prep food and add tasks I want to get done for the week. My planner has an area for the top three things I want to accomplish each day, which I love. There’s also an area for more to-do. This is the area that I’m very bad at filling. I know that I have one hour between 8-6:30 to work on a project. I have one hour that I KNOW she won’t wake up and I don’t have Jeffrey to spend time with. Sometimes I get frustrated that I get so little done. I want to create more for this blog, write for other blogs, sew a quilt, paint, garden and plan for Disney all during that hour. Sometimes I sigh when I hear her stirring from her nap wishing I had ‘just five more minutes’. In the end, I don’t want those five more minutes. I want every single minute I have with her to play, explore, dance, giggle and learn! She is my work and play and I’m beyond lucky to spend my days with her. I must remember: don’t forget to play.
Page Turners Book Selection: June
Have you recovered from The Martian yet? We have and we’re ready for more sci-fi! What Lisa and I want to read for June is:
Ready Player One
by Ernest Cline
The synopsis of this book sounds like a cross between the movies Surrogates and The Matrix. The main character is navigating a virtual world and stumbles on something that puts him in danger. It’s got 4.31/5 stars on Goodreads, so that says something.
Hope you can score a copy of this at your local library. Thankfully I have a gamer husband, so my copy was free too! Don’t forget, we’ll be discussing Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)
on May 29.
May Goals
This post contains affiliate links to books I recommend from Amazon.
Happy May! Did you go to a May Day festival this past weekend? I would love to go to a May Day festival draped in a flowing white dress and flowers in my hair. This year I spent it with bubbles and chalk outside with Sophie which is equally as awesome. Although the days are getting longer, they seem to be shorter because we’re having much more fun!
Before getting into my May goals, let’s see how I did with my April goals. My biggest family goal was to have more patience towards Sophie. I definitely have had more patience with Sophie. There are still days when I’m counting down the minutes til Jeffrey’s arrival but overall I’m getting better with staying calm with her. Jeffrey and I had a star gazing date night with dinner and a movie at the planetarium which was amazing. We’ve also started watching (second time for him) Game of Thrones and spending time together everyday outside once he gets home. We also had a ‘5k date night’ of which we’re both very proud of because we didn’t walk during the race! I did a meal plan every week but didn’t even touch my video files that are in desperate need of organization.
Although I did not get accepted for any sponsored posts, I’m happy with my month of blogging. I only applied for two sponsored posts because I didn’t feel the options meshed with DIY Mama. I re-worked two drafts (Gooey Granola Bars and Love Letters Scrapbook) that went live this past month. I did very well at scheduling content for my social media accounts in advance and learning more about each outlet. I’m still not a fan of Facebook but I’m getting better at it. In fact, I did my first ‘boosted’ post and got amazing results. Continue Reading about May Goals →
The Martian (Discussion)
Very excited today to be discussing our April book selection, The Martian
! Did you get a chance to read it? I’ve got 3 questions below, and Lisa’s got some as well over on her blog. Feel free to discuss any or all of the questions in the comment section or link-up your post at the bottom. Lisa and I are sharing the same link-up, so you don’t have to enter on both blogs. The linky will close in a week. Alright, let’s get started!
I really enjoyed The Martian. I’m giving it a 4/5 stars only because I wasn’t a fan of the depth he went into when explaining the science of his mission. I super loved Mark Watney and his dry sense of humor as well as Andy Weir’s development of the characters and settings.
And now, for the discussion. Before I begin, I’ll remind you that there may be spoilers ahead. Also, feel free to use my questions as jumping points. Ask your own questions and start your own discussions. I’ll be responding to comments in the comment section, and you’ll get an email when I (or anyone else) does.
1. There’s a lot of science in how Mark fights to survive – did you find that fascinating or challenging?
I skimmed a large portion of the detailed science throughout the book. When Mark would think out loud on how to grow the potatoes or repair the Hab, I lost interest. I’m sure the chemistry/botany/physics aspect of the story is very interesting to some but I enjoyed his humor throughout the story the most. I loved the banter and sarcasm that so many of the NASA characters had.
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2. Who knew potatoes, duct tape, and seventies reruns were the key to space survival? How does each of these items represent aspects of Mark’s character that help him survive?
I love that these mundane objects that we take for granted, here on Earth, were critical in Mark’s survival. Learning how to mass grow potatoes with the little resources he had was genius. Duct tape fixes everything (I have a book with the same title). The fact that Mark HATED 70s TV and disco but grew to love it was so funny to me. I’m sure that’s how I would be if I was stuck with Country music. I would long for the company of fellow Earthlings and grasp onto humanity in any way I could. Watching re-runs helped Mark keep his mind away from all the hopelessness and despair around him.
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3. How is Mark’s sense of humor as much a survival skill as his knowledge of botany? Do you have a favorite funny line of his?
Mark (and therfore Andy Weir) is hilarious! I loved his dry sense of humor and that his biggest personality trait was to keep himself and other’s laughing. I laughed out loud throughout the book, so I’m just going to put down a few of my favorite lines:
- “Maybe I’ll post a consumer review. “Brought product to surface of Mars. It stopped working. 0/10.”
- “[11:49] JPL: What we can see of your planned cut looks good. We’re assuming the other side is identical. You’re cleared to start drilling. [12:07] Watney: That’s what she said. [12:25] JPL: Seriously, Mark? Seriously?”
- “I need to ask myself, ‘What would an Apollo astronaut do?’ He’d drink three whiskey sours, drive his Corvette to the launchpad, then fly to the moon in a command module smaller than my Rover. Man those guys were cool.”
- “I tested the brackets by hitting them with rocks. This kind of sophistication is what we interplanetary scientists are known for.”
Now, it’s your turn! Answer any or all of the questions in the comment section below. Ask questions of your own. Or, link-up a blog post with your review and/or the answers to these questions. Also be sure to check out Lisa’s discussion questions on her blog. We’re sharing the same linky, so no need to link-up on both blogs.
Remember our May selection is Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling. I’m almost done with Mindy’s book already! I’ve been listening to her read the audio version and I’m so glad. It’s really funny to hear her voice telling the story. We’ll be discussing Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? on May 29th.
All You Need Is Love
Love is powerful and complicated. To truly love someone means to love yourself first. I often think my heart will burst with the amount of love I have for my family. It is physically painful sometimes to think about how amazing and special Sophie is to me. I am learning, in order to be a great wife, mom, daughter, and friend, I have to love and take care of myself first. All you need is love. How do you love yourself to be better for others?