lifestyle blog sharing diy, family, travel, organization & disney tips
Hi friends! We’re so happy to announce our book selection for April! We wanted to give you plenty of time to get your hands on a copy. So, without further ado, our book selection for April is:
The Martian
by Andy Weir
It’s about the intense journey astronaut Mark Watney endures while trying to survive as the first man on Mars. Using his engineering skills he relentlessly tries to get off the planet. Will he survive?
(This post contains affiliate links. Although, I did not receive any of the below products for free, I will be compensated a small percentage if you purchase through my links.)
Hello and happy almost-spring! March is always exciting because it means that the snow will start melting soon (although we just got 10 inches dumped on us yesterday, so it may take a while.) We’re not letting the snow slow us down though! We took Soph swimming at the pool yesterday and went sledding today. Keeping busy helps make the winter go by faster!
Before digging into my March goals, let’s see how I did on my February goals. We’ve been really enjoying ourselves at Montessori this past month.
Sophie is a joy to watch interacting with the other kids and improving on her work every week. We went on a family Valentine’s date to Applebee’s because it was an hour wait everywhere (at 2pm!) We made it up by going to Red Lobster the next day. I was sure to give Jeffrey more time to spend on studying and writing throughout the month. I am still reading the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and have added the #40bagsin40days challenge. I have done terrible at finishing the jewelry nook in the closet! I haven’t made the effort to figure out our paint color in there and therefore haven’t been able to finish the project, but I HAVE been having a lot of fun. I made sure to stay very focused on Sophie and making sure I was present for her and Jeffrey and it has made my month very fun! I read The 100 Year Old Man (of which I gave a 3/5). I also learned a lot from Lisa on our chat about Light Room and have been doing all of the posts’ photography editing there. I’ve done fairly well on the 5 post/day commenting. Some days I’ll skip but do more the next day. I’ve also been using co-schedule and tailwind to schedule posts and pins ahead of time. I haven’t seen a great difference in numbers yet but it’s only been a month.
I honestly can hardly remember February. It flew by. We were able to see Second City when they came to town, which was hilarious! We also went on a party bus downtown Indy and I had a girl’s night out to see 50 Shades. Our neighborhood girl’s night was awesome because we played Cards of Humanity while watching Downton Abbey. I’ve also been having a ton of fun planning our Disney vacation and getting our home decluttered and organized.
March Goals:
Family
Life
Blog
I have a lot of behind-the-scenes secrets that I’ve been working on that I WILL be able to share with you in due time. For now, I want to know about your goals. What do you do to stay on track? Do you have accountability partners? A goal planner? A really organized brain? Let’s talk about this!
PS: Shameless plug guys. I’m on Facebook. I need more followers. I’ve gotten a lot of good tips from high rollers but could use any tips you’ve found helpful! Oh and don’t forget to follow me. I follow back!
Hello book worms! I’m excited to hear what you thought about our February book selection: The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. Did you get a chance to read it? I gave it a 3/5 stars. I’ve got 3 questions below, and Lisa’s got 3 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’m not a big fan of historical fiction, which is why I gave the book such a low score. I did love the writing style and how the events intertwined throughout the book to make a complete puzzle in the end. I thought the characters were well developed and intriguing which kept me reading.
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.
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 March selection is Wonder by RJ Palacio. Though it’s a book for 8-11 year olds, I’m certain it could teach me a thing or two. We’ll be discussing Wonder on March 27.
Hi friends! We’re so happy to announce our book selection for March! We wanted to give you plenty of time to get your hands on a copy. So, without further ado, our book selection for March is:
Wonder by RJ Palacio
It’s about a boy with a birth defect that has kept him out of public schools until now, his 5th year of grade school. This is a children’s book for ages 8-12 but is a #1 New York Times Best Seller for being a story of compassion, empathy and acceptance.
I gravitate towards YA books. I’ve realized that I’m a fan of young children who have a set back in life and make the most of it (Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time). Wonder naturally sounded like a book that would be right up my alley!
We’re so happy with the turn out so far with all of you who have joined in reading along with our book selections! Don’t forget, we’ll be discussing The 100 Year Old Man on February 27th. Lisa and I will have separate questions on each of our blogs so you can participate in either or both discussions.
Did you get a chance to read Eat Pray Love with us this month for our book club Page Turners? Perhaps you’ve already read it because it’s such a popular story. We chose it for that exact reason. Lisa and I couldn’t believe that neither of us had read this book, although it’d been sitting on my book shelf for years.
A quick background story of the author, Elizabeth Gilbert. Elizabeth wrote Eat Pray Love in 2006 as a memoir of her terrible divorce followed by an amazing, inspiring trip around the world, where she discovered herself. Elizabeth quoted, during an interview with Oprah last year, ‘For some reason, and this just boggles my imagination, there are still just huge swaths of women who never got the memo that their lives belong to them.’ Elizabeth is devoted to sharing her message and encouraging her fans to be strong. Last week she wrote an open letter to ‘the broken hearted’ on her Facebook page encouraging them that it will get better. I know people who have met Elizabeth and they’ve said she is as genuine and sweet in real life as her book leads her to be.
Before we begin, I’ll remind you that there may be spoilers ahead. Only continue if you’d like to be a part of the discussion of the entire book. Also, please use my questions as a jumping off point. Ask your own questions and start your own discussion of the book within the forum.
Did you know she has a follow up story called Committed? I liked this book so much I’ve got to check what happened next.
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 February selection is The 100-year old man who climbed out the window and disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. The title is a mouthful but hopefully the book is easy and fun to read. We’ll be discussing The 100-year old man on February 27.