book review - black high heels to tractor wheels

first i want to start by saying that i am obsessed with in love with the pioneer woman, ree drummond. if by some FAR off chance you don't know who i'm talking about - go here. not only does she have some of these most amazing recipes on earth, but she's funny.   perfect combo. one of my wildest dreams would be to go live with her on her ranch and have her cook for me.  even if just for a week..  or lifetime..  either way - dream come true.
so she wrote a book, about the love story between her and the hubs..
"the pioneer woman - black heels to tractor wheels...  a love story"   as soon as i found out from a co worker that she wrote this book i bought it.  i was enthralled from page one.  i have this crazy hopeless romantic side to me, and i love a good ol' fashioned love story.  well this didn't disappoint.  basically - ree, prior to becoming "the pioneer woman", was a vegetarian with a love for big city living.  she went back to her home, met a cowboy, and the rest is history.  but really, she met him, fell in love in the most opposite way she thought possible.  she ate steaks, hung out on a ranch in the middle of nowhere, and left everything she knew to be "her life".  no more cities, meatless nights, or bad dates.  the book was funny, intriguing, sad, interesting, and didn't disappoint.  i loved it from the first chapter, and couldn't put it down.  if you have any love for the woman, buy her book, you'll be smitten just like me!  and if you don't have love for her, buy the book and you will.  
happy sunday!
next up:   growing up amish, a memoir by ira wagler

book review. the mosquito coast.

time for a little book lovin'...  (or not.)

the mosquito coast by paul theroux

this book took me FOREVER to finish.  and it's not that it wasn't good.  it was.  but unless a book really has me in it's grips, i can't commit.  every single time i opened this book i fell asleep.  lol.  again, it wasn't bad, it wasn't boring, i just wansn't that into it.  i will never not finish a book - with the exception of the girl with the dragon tattoo (i hated it, i know most love it, i didn't like it AT all and just didn't want to read it, so i stopped) and the witching hour (i got pregnant, got pregnant brain & fatigue and didn't read anything for 7 months other than baby books).  i digress -- i read it, i finished it, thank the lord!  it's about a family living in the ne united states.  the dad's a bit of a genius quack and packs them up and moves them to the coast of honduras.  many things happen, they start a life, ruin the life, travel, boat, and lots of stuff in between.  the dad was hilarious, he had me laughing the things he said!  but that's about as into it as i got.  if you're like my husband and can read anything, give it a try.  if you need a page turner in your life, skip over this guy!

up next:  black heels to tractor wheels by ree drummond
(for all your pioneer woman lovers out there!!)

Tuesday 10 - Books

It's Tuesday, which means it's time to link up with Lena!!  This week we're doing our ten favorite books.  This is going to be torture for me, I love reading, I love books, and choosing only ten seems impossible.  But here goes nothin'.



Ten Favorite Books:

(in no particular order)

1.  The Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer

2.  The Hunger Games Series - Suzanne Collins

3.  Belinda - Anne Rice writing as Anne Rampling

4.  Confessions of a Shopaholic Series - Sophie Kinsella

5.  To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6.  Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen

7.  The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls

8.  The Lucky One - Nicholas Sparks

(one of my all time favorite authors, i could have easily compiled a

list of my top 10 for him alone, but i narrowed it down to just two)

9.  The Guardian - Nicholas Sparks

10.  Alexander Hickory - Emily Kieson

Please, please, please, just go get one or two of these and read them if you haven't already.  They're all so good!  I will say though, the only book I've ever read more than once in my life is To Kill A Mockingbird and I'd reread that a hundred more times. 

Happy Tuesday!!!



Book Review - I of the Storm

Hi lovely readers - today is a super important day - Max's 2nd birthday party - PIRATE PARTY alert!!!  So I'll be busy busy busy all day and most likely tomorrow too.  So I'm apologizing now for being MIA, I know you all understand.  Here's something to get ya by(go get it on Kindle, on $.99!!!)

"I of the Storm" by Neesha Hosein

I read this book in 3 days, I was hooked.  It's about a girl names Kira who is in an abusive relationship with her high school sweetheart.  She has had a series of near death experiences in her life which mold who she is today.  She becomes pregnant and starts having "visions" that lead her on a discovery that changes her life forever.  This was definitely a page turner, I couldn't stop reading to find out what happened next.  Definitely a good, quick read!!  

All in All - GREAT, 5 stars from me!

Book Review - Mommy May I?

Book review time.  Another one bites the dust.  

Mommy May I?  By A.K. Alexander.  

1.  Totally creepy

2.  Creepiest book I've read in a while

3.  I think I had nightmares

Okay, all that said.  The book was good, it took me a while to get past the creepiness(and crazy dreams, ha) to get into it.  But once I did, it was definitely a page turner.  {Warning:  I'm a total wuss, I don't even watch movies/shows that are remotely scary}  I liked the book and the characters, but let me tell you, this was freaky.  Serial killer type-ish books should  freak everyone out though in my opinion.  But I do love a good page turner, that's for sure.  Nothing makes me happier than a book that keeps me awake until 11pm(yes, I usually am in bed LONG before 11, so this is a huge deal). I give it a 3 out of 5, worth reading but not my favorite book of all time.

Book Review - On The Island

"On the Island" by Tracey Garvis Graves

I loved this book.  LOVED.  From the very beginning I couldn't put it down and it sucked me in.  I read this in 4 days.  It had just the right amount of suspense/drama and a little romance.  It was just all in all very good and such an easy read.  I always imagined being stuck on a desserted island(ever since I was a kid and was obsessed with Swiss Family Robinson.  I still kind of am, I won't lie to you.).  My thoughts/Swiss Family Robinson's portrayal are far from the truth of the matter(not that this book is a true story, but obviously more believable than the fairy tale ways of the Robinson clan).  That is all I will say.  I don't want to give too much away, but I will tell you I was very pleasantly surprised at how good it was and how much I loved it.  Put this on your reading list ASAP.   

 

Happy Reading Friends!

Next Up:  Mommy May I, by A.K. Alexander

Book Review - Silent Tears

Hi friends.  I have something new for you that I'm going to start up here on the blog.  Book reviews - reading is one of my alltime favorite hobbies, and I read as much as possible.  I read all sorts of stuff too, not just one kind of book.  Thrillers, easy reads, dark stories, sci fi(think hunger games, twilight.. i don't get tooo crazy sci fi!), love stories(note:  not the kind you find in the grocery store with lame covers..)

Silent Tears - A Journey of Hope in a Chinese Orphanage, by Kay Bratt

WARNING:  HAVE TISSUES READY. 

This book is no joke.  It's a real woman's story/diary of her time spent in China and she tells it how it is, and it's not pretty.  She went to China because of her husband's job, and after culture shock was over, she started to volunteer at a small, local orphanage.  I guess I didn't realize how poverty stricken China is.  I don't really know a ton about China in the first place, other than it's population is outrageous.  It's her {super sad} story of her time there, how the kids are treated in the orphanage, and how she coped.  I am an emotional wreck when it comes to kids & animals and most books/movies that involve harm to either one of those usually sends me running the other direction, but something made me really want to read this book.  So I did, and I don't regret it.  It was definitely sad, and definitely depressing.  But it was so eye opening.  Some of the stories of the kids and babies are really inspiring too.  It just goes to show how far a little love can go for a baby.  I can't imagine not showering Max with love 24/7 so the ways of the world that aren't like that is mind boggling to me.  If you need a quick read, go for it.  It was fast, easy to read and definitely kept me wanting to read more and find out what happened next.  I'd like to read more books about kids orphanages in different countries, although the entire time I was reading I wanted to adopt a Chinese baby/child or send my life savings to one in need.  So prepare yourself! 

Happy Reading!

Coming Next:  On The Island by Tracy Garvis Graves



Dear Diary... Sort of.

If you don't have this book - GET IT.

You have to, it's amazing.  It's simple, it's cool.  

In 5 years you will be so glad that you did. 

 I haven't had it for 5 years, or 1 for that matter, and I'm already so glad I did.  

Here's the gist - it's a diary/journal (a journary?!).  But it's not a blank slate.  

It's a random question every single day of every single year for 5 years.  

So every year when you reach a question you've already answered,

you can see your answer from the year before, and after 5 years the 4 years before.  

I think it will be so interesting to see how my answers will change over time.  

I got mine on Amazon for less than $15, what a steal!!!

I've only been filling out the journal for a month and I love it already.  
Every single morning before Max wakes up I peek at my question.
If it's something I can answer then, I do. 
 If not, I usually take a few minutes to do this at night,
after I've had a chance to reflect on my day.

Here are some sample questions:

What was the last book you read?

What is something that made you worry today?

How do you feel about your body?

________ was inspiring.

What is your biggest dream?

What is your biggest indulgence?

See, it's fun!  

Some questions are simple, light hearted & funny.

Some are serious, deep & really make you think. 

Happy Journaling,

Linds