So Many Books, So Little Time

That's a wrap folks! I survived week 4!  It was spring break so I was home most of the time and it was a challenge not to want to eat my way through the week.  We also started house hunting so that created challenges with late dinners and such.  I was glad that I had done some meal prep or we would have been in a real bind.  This past Monday, the hubs and I finished our first Whole30.  I'm so incredibly glad I did it.  It was difficult at times but so worth it.  I ended up losing a total of 11.2 pounds and I feel great.  My clothes fit better, I feel more awake and I'm not dealing with constant bloat which is awesome. Now that it's over, I'm a little apprehensive.  I started the 10 day reintroduction plan just so I know how things like dairy and gluten affect me but overall, I plan to stick with eating Whole30 most of the time.  (I'll post more about the reintro next week when I'm done).  I liked that I didn't constantly feel...

Hey y'all! Today is the last day of spring break for me and Julia so I'm having a lazy, relaxing day.  It was a much busier week than I expected so spring break flew by.  I only had to work one day this past week but I worked from home a lot and we started house hunting which was a wild ride.  I'm kind of glad to go back to work and get back into our routine.  I did manage to get caught up on a lot of reading so overall, not a bad week.   I picked up some books from the library and a few kindle deals so I'm linking up with Mailbox Monday again today. From the Library (physical books):     Forever a Hero by Linda Lael Miller Soviet Daughter: A Graphic Revolution by Julia Alekseyeva From the Library (ebook): Snowfall on Haven Point by RaeAnne Thayne I love this series and I think this one is my favorite book so far! Purchased (for kindle):   The Accidental Empress by Allison Pataki Bobbins an...

From Goodreads:  It is the spring of 1939 and three generations of the Kurc family are doing their best to live normal lives, even as the shadow of war grows closer. The talk around the family Seder table is of new babies and budding romance, not of the increasing hardships threatening Jews in their hometown of Radom, Poland. But soon the horrors overtaking Europe will become inescapable and the Kurcs will be flung to the far corners of the world, each desperately trying to navigate his or her own path to safety. As one sibling is forced into exile, another attempts to flee the continent, while others struggle to escape certain death, either by working grueling hours on empty stomachs in the factories of the ghetto or by hiding as gentiles in plain sight. Driven by an unwavering will to survive and by the fear that they may never see one another again, the Kurcs must rely on hope, ingenuity, and inner strength to persevere.  My Thoughts:   This was qui...

Happy Mailbox Monday ! Today is the first day of Spring Break for me...yay!  My daughter's daycare is closed all week so I'm only working on Tuesday.  I have to work from home a little bit but for the most part, I get a break.  I'm looking forward to sleeping and getting caught up on my reading.  Goodreads keeps telling me that I'm behind on my reading goal so I'm hoping this week will help. I won an Amazon gift card in a raffle so I've been stocking up on ebooks this week.  Because I totally need more books! Purchased (for Kindle): Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis The House by the Lake by Ella Carey   Red Leaves by Paullina Simons The Undesirables by Chad Thumann   Women & Children First by Gill Paul The Sugar Men by Ray Kingfisher    From the Library (ebook)...

Just finished week 3 of the Whole30!  I can't believe I only half one week left.  I'm really looking forward to being done but I'm also super nervous about it. The Good: I know you aren't supposed to weigh yourself but I have been doing it anyway.  I've lost 8 pounds!  My clothes fit so much better and I have so much less bloating.  Yesterday I wore an outfit that had been snug for a while and it was nice to be comfortable in it and not feel like a stuffed sausage!  Also, I found a Lara bar that doesn't taste like dirt.  Score!  (Coconut Cream Pie - winner winner,chicken dinner!) The Bad: There was a ton of temptation at work this week. My office had a pie day celebration on March 14 and there was a going away potluck for a colleague.  There was so much yummy food that I had to ignore.  It wasn't as hard to say no to it but it still sucked to have to eat my healthy apple instead of big piece of pie. The Ugly: I'm very nerv...

Happy Mailbox Monday ! This is the last week before our spring break.  It will be a busy week but it will make it easier to get through it knowing that spring break is almost here! This past week was a slow reading week for me.  I've been reading the same book for a long time and finally finished it.  I'm hoping now I can start getting caught up on my reading again.  Goodreads says I'm two books behind schedule so I need to get on it. I picked up a few more books this week and now I"m kind of overwhelmed.  I need to stay away from NetGalley for a while. Purchased (for nook):   The Ship of Brides by JoJo Moyes   The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley   I love this book so much! I read it years ago and have been wanting to do a reread for a long time.  I couldn't resist the $1.99 price tag! For Review (from NetGalley): The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova     What books did you p...

Today is day 15 so when I go to bed tonight, I will be half way done with the Whole 30! So in week 1, I felt really good.  Week 2, not so much.  Week 2 was really hard and I'm not sure why.  The calendar I have does say that days 9-11 are the worst and I would agree.  I just felt sluggish all week and had some mild stomach issues.  Also, the recipes I picked for the week didn't turn out as good as I expected.  There were some winners but some duds too.  It's bad enough not being able to have a cookie but then eating bad food just makes it worse. That being said, I felt better by Saturday and the scale is still saying nice things to me.  My clothes seem to fit a bit better and I really love that I don't have a constant bloated feeling.  I know you're not supposed to weigh yourself for the entire 30 days but I really need the motivation that the scale provides to keep me going.  Also, this week I started to not need to snack so much...

I got way too many books this week so I am linking up with Mailbox Monday again!  I haven't had much time to read lately but I'm hoping to change that this month.  I think I have more books than I know what to do with but it doesn't hurt to have options! My daughter was sick all last week so I've been mostly cooped up with her and I'm actually glad to be back at work today!  She was pretty sick so except for trips to the doctor and Walgreens, we were pretty much home bound.  I'm glad that she's finally feeling better, it got a little scary there for a bit.   March will be busy at work but it will be fun too so I'm ready for the challenge.  Here's to a good week and month!  From the Library: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi Ebony and Ivy by Craig Steven Wilder For Review (from NetGalley):   The Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner Purchased for Kindle: ...

I really want to start posting on this blog more.  I promise to keep it mostly about books but I want to include some posts about what's happening in my life too. Last Sunday, I started the Whole30 program and have am now on my 8th day of following the program.  If you haven't heard of it yet, you basically give up dairy, gluten, legumes, sugar, alcohol and processed foods for 30 days.  There are a lot of reasons that I've been wanting to do this program but I would be lying if I wasn't hoping to lose some pounds along the way.  The main reason I'm doing this is because my diet is terrible!  Even when 'dieting' I mostly just eat low calorie processed foods and very few (if any) fruits and veggies.  I'm hoping this will give me a kick in the pants to start eating better food. How was the first week? Not nearly as bad as I thought.  I did have a headache for the first couple of days but otherwise, I've felt fine.  I feel a ton less bloated an...