Reading

I've always, in the back of my mind, referred to myself as a reader. I can remember back to being about 6 years old and loving books. I would go the the book fairs and buy up books like crazy every chance I got. To be honest though... I wasn't a reader, but I loved the IDEA of reading. I had a cute fascination as a young child with a Shakespeare book that I had found. I planned to read it up.. memorize it... and wittingly quote it in my daily goings. The truth is, I tried to read it, couldn't get past all of the weird words, and gave up.


Reading was something I longed to do, but never put the effort into. I didn't have the attention span or the ability to sit still long enough to delve into a book the way one would need to. I carried this with me most of the time growing up. In high school, I avoided English classes that made you read too much. I had friends who would have 4-6 books they would have to read over the summer and report on for fall classes. What?!? Why would anyone waste their summer reading?? This was my sad sad idea of life. The older I got the less interested I became. Until... recently. Or well.... the last 6 years or so.



When my husband and I started dating I quickly learned of his adoration of books, learning, and reading. He had a beautiful collection started and he always had a book or two he was reading. He never went anywhere without a book. This sparked that "inner reader" in me. I wanted to read. I was still in college at the time, and convinced myself that I didn't have time for books, BUT asked him to get me started. On weekends when I'd visit him in Tulsa we'd both cuddle up on the couch with a book or spend HOURS in Borders looking for something new. This was fun. It was "our" thing. These first few month together shaped our future and my desire to learn, read, and grow.

As of late, I have realized how much I love books, and how fast I read (this can be quite disappointing too) Since the start of December I've read about 9 books. For some of you this might not be a lot, but for a mom who works a full-time job, is taking a class at school, and is in bed asleep by 1030... I am pretty pleased with my reading.

I have also slowed my reading in an attempt to not finish the current series I am reading before May. We are going to Mexico and I want nothing more than to sit on my tush, soak up some sun, and read for 10 days straight :)

I guess all of this is to say... I want to teach my son to love reading as much as his father has taught me to love reading. It's a great escape and a chance to shape your mind and imagination... no matter what you are reading or how old you are.

What are friends??

With so many social media outlets these days it's easy to find yourself referring to NUMEROUS people as your "friend". What does this mean though? Before Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. people had a whole new meaning of the word friend. It was usually someone whom you hung out with on seemingly regular basis, or someone who you were once close with, or shared some sort of common bond. Today, it's simply... hey I know you... be my friend. I'll admit, I am guilty of this type of friending, but it seems to me that it is out.of.control!! What do you do about it?? It seems like no matter what you do on any given social networking site, you are going to hurt someones feelings. Whether it's being friends with a friends ex, enemy, etc.. OR NOT being friends with someone. People seem to take a huge offense to not being included in someone's friend list. Why is this??

I recently decided to "cut back" my friend list and MAN OH MAN did I have problems. First of all, you can't EVER not be friends with family without hurting someones feelings. So.... add in your 400 relatives. THEN, you have to add in all of your classmates b/c they found you on the "class of (instert school and year of graduation)" site and decided to make you part of their GINORMOUS list. It is SOOO hard to decide where to draw the line on these websites. For instance. There are people I went to elementary school with whom I have added. I haven't seen these people in 15+ years, but it's fun to see where we are now. Then there are my HS and college classmates. I may have had a couple of classes with them, had a great time... and been "friends" back then. Does this mean it would be rude of me to cut them out now? Does this mean I don't like them anymore if I don't add them? Does this mean I want them knowing about my life?? I DON'T KNOW!!! I like to keep people around that are in the same phase of life as me ... married, homeowner, parent.. b/c this helps me to relate and have people that relate to me. I think it's nice to have a network of people who get what you're going through. Does this mean I don't want my single, childless friends to be deleted. NO. It's just a ridiculous line that almost seems impossible to draw these days. This is mostly just a ranting post... Sorry!!


Yes. I'm saying it is hard to define "friends" in today's social networking world without hurting feelings. I'm sorry!! You can stalk me here if you want. (Just comment every once in a while)

I have nothing more to add... sorry for that rant.

A Picture Post

SEPT:A trip to the ER in Sept.. poor baby was poked er.. stabbed about 7 times.

October: Anthony went as Toad to a "family" Halloween party that we attended. I was the beautiful yellow box that you see and those items were the fun treasures you get when you hit me.

November: Hanging out in his swing, wrapped up in his Snuggie waiting on his first haircut :)

December: A visit to Pa's ranch and a chance to "drive" the tractor.

December: Stealing presents from Mommy.

Christmas: Unwrapping gifts. This gift had been talking to him for 2 days through the wrapping paper. Wasn't sure what to think at first, but thought it was pretty funny.

Anthony's Birthday: The super cute birthday cake I got from Reasor's. Yup, that's right. I tried calling Merritt's for over a week (all 3 locations) and couldn't get anyone to answer the phone. They've officially lost my business.

Birthday: Eating cake in class @ daycare.

Birthday: Eating cake at home with Mommy, Daddy, Gramps and Nonna. He had cake EVERYWHERE!!!

January: Anthony's first hospital stay. He had a great time with that coke bottle and the blue chair there. Best toys a kid could have ;)