Book Nerd

Seriously, I LOVE books.  If I could spend my day any way, it would be reading (well and sleeping, and eating chocolate and ice cream).  Ha ha.  And while I feel like I have so little time when I work 8 hours a day monday-friday and use saturdays to run errands and sundays for church, and somewhere in there make dinners, be a mom and wife and exercise....I still manage to read. 

My little sassy pants trying on new clothes from grandma

I have been making a list of the books I have read this year.  I saw someone else's blog who did a book review every month or something.  I thought, that would be interesting to keep track of what I have read and what I felt about it.  So I started making a list (thank you google drive).  So while life is busy, I have managed to read 7 books so far this year :) (that's supposed to be a sheepish smile).  Did I mention i'm a book nerd?

I do want to mention my two latest books.  They both happen to be movies as well. 

Unbroken - it's a movie in theaters right now I still believe which means I will probably see if in the Fall when it finally comes to redbox.  But my book club picked this book to read.  I love historical fiction (granted this one is straight history).  I love WWII (that might sounds wierd because it was a war and lots of sad/devastating things happened during it).  But seriously, that war fascinates me.  So this book was great.  I love how it was written.  I recently read In the Heart of the Sea (which is also a historical book) and author bored me to tears sometimes with the way he told the story and strung facts.  Laura Hillenbrand does a phenomenal job writing a great/interesting story while using lots of different peoples accounts and facts.  It is incredible and sad all the things Louis Zamperini went through but such a great story of survival, forgiveness and redemption.  

I also just finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  I actually watched this movie in August during the time when Brad was at school and Tacy and I ran out of things to do before I started working.  I liked the movie and it made me cry.  Now I read the book.  The book was great.  It's historical fiction about WWII, particularly about a little girl names Liesel who happens to steal a few books during the course of the war (a girl after my own heart).  It is a heart wrending story and I was crying a lot (at the same part I cried during the movie).  The most interesting thing is that the narrator is Death.  It is different but once again, I loved it (minus the bit of language).

So now that I have read lots of WWII books, I think I might read my favorite again, "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society".  I'm in charge of book club in March and while reading all the books that I have been reading I keep wondering what book I'm going to suggest to read.  My mom told me I should use Guernsey, and while part of me wonders what on earth I would discuss the other part of me would love to discuss it because I love the book so much (plus its not a long book so it's easy to read).  

Other book related news, Brad has spring break the first week of March and we've been talking about doing a quick little trip somewhere (like Myrtle Beach or Charleston).  Friday Brad sent me an email talking about Orlando, saying that while it is a 10 hour drive, we could go to Harry Potter world and he was looking at hotels in Orlando and finding good deals.  The man knows how to sway me to an idea.  While HP world is a pretty penny, Tacy at least is still free.  Granted I think Disney World would be more Tacy speed, HP world is somewhere I have wanted to go since it was built, it would make the 11-year-old girl in me who first started reading those books in 1998 so very giddy.  We will see.  Plus, Florida has got to be warmer than here.  It's amazing how 22 degrees feels so warm after 9 degrees.  

Time? What's that again?

So, I haven't blogged in a while.  I will explain why.  I got PiYo for christmas (at home 8 week exercise program, requires no equipment, just your body, involves doing about a 30 minute workout 6 days a week).  So after all the holiday festivities (my parents leaving after new years) I new it was time to start.  Well, I'm not a morning person.  My sister Katie is a beachbody coach and is the one who convinced me to do this PiYo stuff and she gets up at 4:45 every morning to workout before her daughter wakes up.  Well, that is so not me!  I will sleep in as long as I can (which with Tacy usually I never sleep past 7 but it's better than 4:45).  I work 8:30 - 5 Monday-Friday so the only time I really have to do these workouts is at night after Tacy is in bed and Brad starts studying.  

This means that instead of reading all night (like I used to), I now have to set aside at least an hour to do a workout and then shower.  When Tacy is usually in bed by 7:30, I usually start the workouts at 8 and so I'm done around 9 with cleaning up.  Boy, is it time consuming when I think about how little reading I do now (yes I am a bookworm and would read all day if I could).  I also hardly every watch TV, which reminds me that I missed seeing The Blacklist on Thursday and I haven't been able to watch Agent Carter for the past 2 weeks either.  I just get so tired from these workouts and forget about TV shows.  

my little sassy pants wearing my heels

Needless to say, I do enjoy the workouts.  For the most part they are perfect at getting me to move and pushing me without killing me (I have also learned that making sure my blood sugar is good before the workout is key because when I get low while working out, everything becomes hard and I just want to punch someone).  So sugar and working out and then showering.  Night showering has also led to my hair being in a pony tail every morning because even after blow drying my hair, sleeping on it causes it to kink wierd and I just don't have time/energy in the morning to fix it.  Oh well.  I have completed the first 5 weeks of PiYo already!  Only 3 weeks left.  This is a big deal for me because exercise is not something I enjoy (even though my Bachelors is in Exercise Science).  Before PiYo I just had normal life of walking, caring Tacy around, chasing Tacy around, stairs, and walking back and forth down the hall at work.  Now I run the stairs at work every time I go to the bathroom/fill up my waterbottle and I do PiYo every night.  

My work does the Vitality program where you get an insurance discount for getting a certain amount of points for healthy activities (like reading about nutrition, getting blood work done, exercising, etc).  You can then use these points to get stuff like amazon gift cards or fitbits.  So I got a fitbit with my points and now I try to walk as much as I can.  I have become a point junky because I just want to get enough to get more things (obviously rewards systems are the best motivation for me).  But that has been me life since the beginning of this year.

Tacy loves taking selfies with my phone when i'm too busy to notice

As for life other then exercising, Brad started his second semester of PA school and it is rough but he is surviving.  Tacy is getting bigger, we keep talking about potty training but I feel like we never have time to potty train since Brad and I are gone all day during the week and weekends involve running errands and church.  One day, this will be done and I'm sure it will be great.  

necklaces and purses are required for outgoings out some days

I have managed to read quite a few books still, even with my new exercise regimen.  I keep finding lists of books on pinterest, then I check these out at the library and try to find the time to read them all.  I don't always have the time and sometimes return books that I have not gotten the chance to read.  But I have read: Still Alice, Child 44, The Secret Speech, The Last Apprentice, The Martian, and I just started Unbroken.  I read maybe 30 pages of Gone Girl, but I stopped because the language was ridiculously bad and I couldn't handle it.  I read the plot summary on wikipedia instead (still not great but I did not like the characters as it was so I will survive).  Most of the books listed are movies or will be coming out soon.  I would recommend all of the books, though the Last Apprentice is a young adult book and it was interesting but not Harry Potter by any means.  One day I will just talk about books.  

Tacy has been pulling some of the funniest poses when she says 'cheese' lately

But life is buys and it's almost Valentines.  Tacy will be 2.5 tomorrow!  Gosh, the time has flown by!  Brad taught Tacy to say "Sup Homie" which her sunglasses on and while making a peace sign (this is what happens when I run into a store to grab a few things).  Tacy is talking a lot!  Her latest phrase she likes to use when she is upset is "Leave alone me!"  Tacy gets hangry a lot, so I'm learning that when in doubt, just feed her food and usually her meltdowns calm down.  Since I pick her up at 5:20 every day, it's close to dinner time and she is starting to get hangry.  I love the happy nights we have, but sometimes she is just fussy.  But overall she is a happy kid.  She loves to read, dance, sing (she sings songs to herself a lot and it's adorable).  While my parents were hear my mom taught Tacy new songs about Monkeys jumping on beds and bonking heads or monkeys teasing an alligator and then getting eaten (morbid sounding I know but Tacy loves them because they involve actions and are silly).  She really loves "Twinkle Twinkle", and she is still a big fan of Shake it Off.  Tacy loves to pick out her clothes and then help Brad and I pick out our clothes.  She also loves to help in the kitchen with dinner, making sandwiches, whatever.  It can be hard but she is a cutie when she carries her step stool over to stand by us to help.  We love our Tacy Lou!

She loves her new swimsuit so much I had to hide it cause she wanted to wear it every day