Book Nook

I recently finished reading a great dystopian trilogy by Veronica Roth. "Divergent", "Insurgent" and the newest novel "Allegiant". This young adult series remind me somewhat of the Hunger Games in that there is a strong female lead character, and there are tones of a desperate survival theme that is present as well. However, these books differ in many ways, most notably by the foundation that is set up in the first book, Divergent. I wanted to share with you the set up for the first book...what I've told my friends a million times as I have gushed over these books!

 In Divergent, you learn about the different factions that make up this future city of Chicago:

 * Abnegation, people who are demure, selfless, the faction who help all others above themselves. They wear gray, move slowly, and are not excitable.  

* Dauntless, the reckless, fearless guards of the fence that surrounds the city. They are recognized by their tattoos, piercings, and the black leather they wear.

*Candor, who will tell the truth at any cost, characterized by wearing white and black.

* Erudite, the scholars, spend their life studying. They wear blue clothing and glasses and value intelligence above all else.

* Amity, recognized by the red and yellow clothing, they live outside the city tending to the farms which feed the city. They believe in peace and harmony.

* The Factionless, cast out by the other factions for whatever reason, they are the homesless of the city, doing jobs no one else would do, and always hungry, always cold.

At age 16 each child is given an aptitude test to see what faction they are most aligned with. Tris, the lead character, was born into the Abnegation faction. She finds at her aptitude testing that she is aligned with multiple factions, which is known as a Divergent. Tris is then faced with life altering choices, none of which she can share with a soul, because she is told that being Divergent is very dangerous. The story unfolds in a compelling way once Tris makes her decision at the choosing ceremony. You go with Tris as she begins her initiation into her faction, and what she does once the world she has always known begins to collapse around her.

This is a fast paced read which carries over from book to book. I loved it!

Loving Fall

I am really enjoying this beautiful fall weather with my kiddos. Since leaving my job, my stress level is slowing down, I'm starting to feel better and I can't express how thankful I am to be home with my little guy. We have time to do things I've never been able to do. Having 3 kids, involved in multiple sports and working a 40 hour a week job with a 40 minute commute makes for stressed, rushed days.

Our town has a beautiful river running through the middle. We've been able to take advantage of the weather to go exploring, watching the water drift by, and talking about how the weather is starting to change. See that smile? That's a happy boy!

 

 

 

Baking Bread

Have you ever tried to bake bread? Its hard. And I know, with today's world of Gluten Free not very popular. Still....my mother in law makes the best bread. Every time we are at their house the kids and I enjoy it. So I thought, I'm a stay at home mom now, I got time. Right?? Armed with her recipe,  I set out to accomplish my goal. Let me tell you....it was not successful.

I ended up with a house that smelled wonderful, but flour everywhere and bread that resembled some kind of crazy looking rock. It was very hard, dense, and had their been snow I'm pretty sure my son could have used it for hockey pucks. Rats. This was much harder than I thought it was going to be. So, I convinced my husband we should go to his parents that weekend, and I fessed up on my mistake. When I showed her the picture, she said "knead". Oops....knew I forgot something.

The next day we made bread together, with me trying to take some pictures so I could remember how it felt. I learned that you can use your hands (really!) and how to "fold" the bread. The end result with her help was beautiful. Returning home, I waited five whole days before I attempted again. The end result:

 

I had bread!!! Okay, so only one loaf really turned out really good, but I learned the others are good for French toast. The beast thing about it? My husband came home, tried the bread and proclaimed "Just like Mom's". And then he called her and told her! Little things to make my family happy really make me happy too. Who says bread isn't good for you?

A Sweepstake WIN?!

The other day, early morning, I was entering some "instant win" sweepstakes.... If you've never done anything like this, its a time waster. Similar to CandyCrush, except you are providing your address and email (hint- set up a separate email for this), and you never ever win anything cool.

 Back to the story.... I was entering a bunch, like I've done dozens of times, when all of a sudden it said "you won". I almost clicked right through it, I was so used to seeing "SORRY". So after I cleaned my glasses I relooked, and sure enough I had won a $500 gift card to Omaha Steaks courtesy of Prevacid 24hr.

How cool is that????!! Now I know realistically this will NEVER happen again, but for a moment I thought I was pretty darn special. So, I did what every sane person would do. Went on line and order $499.92 worth of sirloin, filet mignon and ribeyes! Got my shipping confirmation and its on its way. I'll let you know how it looks!

Hockey Camp?

Yesterday we brought our son to college, got him settled in his dorm. How strange! It seems like yesterday I was finishing my own finals early....9 months pregnant. That little boy has been through so much, and has turned into the most capable, wonderful young man. I'm so proud of him (even though he drives me crazy at times). He has confidence, talent and the brains to become a big part of our world. Leaving him at his dorm was very bittersweet. I know its time for him to go, but I selfishly want him home. It was me and him against the world for so very long, that its hard to let go.

 

Driving away, I just said...."We are leaving him at Hockey Camp right? He'll be home again....".

 

Motivation?

Today is a beautiful day. I know this because I took my son for a walk this morning. However, after that I took a nap, then sat my butt on the couch for the last 2 hours. I was able to make mac and cheese for the kids (so healthy) but that was it. My oldest son is starting to wash all his stuff to get ready for college....and I just sit here. What is my problem????

Getting Bigger

My daughter starts sixth grade...we went to her orientation today. What a strange experience. She is going from elementary school where they are protected to a big school with 300+ kids, and from the words of the secretary...."Once the bell rings they are on their own....". She looks so little compared to some of those kids, yikes!