Holiday Book Gifting for the Grown Ups

As I said with the kid post, here are some suggestions from me, that won't include all of the amazing books out there.  It's just my perspective in a fun post.  I'll probably even forget to include some I meant to share! Here are my suggestions from last year, if you want more ideas!

For the adult who enjoys YA/Middle Grade books

Just Under the Clouds by Melissa Sarno is a beautiful book about a middle schooler who experiences some homelessness, the death of her father, and living with a sister who is a bit different.  Also, good recommendation for kids (8-13).

Front Desk by Kelly Yang is a must read for any reader of any age! I think it would be a great read aloud for the reader who may not be ready to read it on their own, and for adults it's just so good.  I recommended it to a third grade teacher at my kiddos school as a book EVERY ONE needs to read.

"Mia Tang has a lot of secrets.

Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, ten-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests.

Number 2: Her parents hide immigrants. And if the mean motel owner, Mr. Yao, finds out they've been letting them stay in the empty rooms for free, the Tangs will be doomed.

Number 3: She wants to be a writer. But how can she when her mom thinks she should stick to math because English is not her first language?

It will take all of Mia's courage, kindness, and hard work to get through this year. Will she be able to hold on to her job, help the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao, and go for her dreams?"

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas is flippin good! It's realistic fiction for a group of teens that don't normally see themselves in print.  Bre is a 16 year old who wants to be a rapper but has to fight stigmas, her own stubbornness, and her surroundings to get what she wants.  If gifting to an under 18 reader I'd make sure they were high school age.

The Feel Good Reader

All Fudged Up by Nancy Coco is the first in a cozy mystery series set on Mackinac Island.  Allie McMurphy has moved back to the island to run her family's hotel and fudge shop and she keeps running across dead bodies! And their are attractive men! I believe the series is up to 7 books now. The down fall is that you want to eat fudge while reading these books and there are recipes.  You have been warned.

Assaulted Caramel by Amanda Flower is the first book in the Amish Candy shop mysteries.  More books that make you hungry with food references! Set in Ohio Amish country with a big city girl who has come home and magically solves mysteries with the hot cop!

The Reader who Likes Sarah Jio novels

The Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams is set on a small island in New England.  It goes back in forth between 1951 and 1969.  There is death, mystery, marriages, love affairs, and secrets galore!

Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin was such a great book! Great historical fiction set in WWII.

"Nothing bad can happen at the Ritz; inside its gilded walls every woman looks beautiful, every man appears witty. Favored guests like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Coco Chanel, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor walk through its famous doors to be welcomed and pampered by Blanche Auzello and her husband, Claude, the hotel's director. The Auzellos are the mistress and master of the Ritz, allowing the glamour and glitz to take their minds off their troubled marriage, and off the secrets that they keep from their guests--and each other."

The Reader Who likes Suspense

The Dry by Jane Harper is a page turner and the start of a series!

"A small town hides big secrets in this atmospheric, page-turning debut mystery by award-winning author Jane Harper.

In the grip of the worst drought in a century, the farming community of Kiewarra is facing life and death choices daily when three members of a local family are found brutally slain.
Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk reluctantly returns to his hometown for the funeral of his childhood friend, loath to face the townsfolk who turned their backs on him twenty years earlier.
But as questions mount, Falk is forced to probe deeper into the deaths of the Hadler family. Because Falk and Luke Hadler shared a secret. A secret Falk thought was long buried. A secret Luke's death now threatens to bring to the surface in this small Australian town, as old wounds bleed into new ones."

The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlin is another page turner set in 1944 small town North Carolina.  Girl is engaged.  Girl gets pregnant.  Not with fiance.  She tracks down the father and it is NOT what anyone expects.

The Reader Who Reads Long Books

Ohio by Stephen Markley is a huge book.  But it really hits on the opioid crisis in the Midwest.  There are twists and turns in it too, but it's a good book.  Plus, it should keep the reader, occupied for a bit!

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson is a commitment because one must keep the storyline straight, as Ursula's life ends and begins over and over again throughout the entire book.

Hopefully, this fun list may have given you ideas for a reader in your life or yourself! Obviously not an exhaustive list of what is out there but just a different perspective on what to give this holiday season!

Have you read any of these books? What book is on your Christmas wish list? Do you often gift books?

What Books To Give Kids This Holiday Season

Clearly there are tons of books.  I will not be recommending all of the amazing ones out there.  I also tried not to re-recommend any from last year.  (Which are all still good ideas!) But here is just my unique input into a season of gift giving when you realize you have no idea what to give someone.  Or you remember someone at the last minute.  Books never let me down.  I love giving books and getting books.  Goodreads is awesome for this too, if you are connected with someone and you can find an obscure book they marked as want to read if you are concerned they may not like it.  If it’s a duplicate to one they own, eh it happens! Books are meant to be shared, they can pass it on.

For the history loving kid

Who Was Series and I Survived series...

If you happen to know what part of history they are interested in use that as your guide to figure out which one in either of these series to get them.  They do not go in order so you can pick and choose.  At a loss?

These have been read, approved, and 5 starred by my reader..

Not in a series, but also 5 starred by 8 year old is Malala: My Story of Standing up for Girls Rights.  She also enjoyed the Addy series from the American Girl books, Little House in the Prairie books, Blast from the Past series, and various picture books about famous people she took an interest in.

Kids Who Love Mysteries

Boxcar series.  We read the first book together and then my daughter went crazy reading this series.  You don't necessarily have to read it in order, but they do sell boxed sets of the first 4 to get your reader started.  Which, is what she got for Christmas last year that helped.  When starting a kid on a series, I do try to get them a boxed set of the first few if affordable, because if they get started and love it, they can continue on right away and keep the love of the series fresh!

Cam Jansen series.  Quick and easy reads.  Really good for the 1st-2nd grade crowds.  It also has a girl main character, which I like, but is great for girls AND boys.

Ada Lace series.  This book features an 8 year old girl who is a scientist, and inventor who also happens to be good at solving mysteries!

Kids Who Like Graphic Novels

I'll be honest, I am not a huge fan of these, but my kiddo got into them this year and while they are still not my cup of tea, they sure get some readers excited!

Dog Man series by Dav Pilkey, I'm actually gifting the first 4 in a boxed set to my 7 year old nephew for Christmas.  This series is a hot ticket in the 1st-3rd crowd.  My kids school library and my public library have a hard time keeping these books on the shelves because the kids love them.  He had a new one in the series come out on December 10th, so if you know a kid who loves the series, it may be a great holiday gift!  My kiddo is actually getting a whole to draw book from this author, as she started making her own graphic novels this year and saw it on Amazon as an idea.

Zita the Spacegirl series by Ben Hatke is also a hot ticket at our local public library! It took awhile for my kiddo to complete the now 4 book series.

"Zita's life took a cosmic left turn in the blink of an eye.

When her best friend is abducted by an alien doomsday cult, Zita leaps to the rescue and finds herself a stranger on a strange planet. Humanoid chickens and neurotic robots are shocking enough as new experiences go, but Zita is even more surprised to find herself taking on the role of intergalactic hero. Before long, aliens in all shapes and sizes don't even phase her. Neither do ancient prophecies, doomed planets, or even a friendly con man who takes a mysterious interest in Zita's quest.

Zita the Spacegirl is a fun, captivating tale of friendship and redemption from Flight veteran Ben Hatke. It also has more whimsical, eye-catching, Miyazaki-esque monsters than you can shake a stick at."
Board Books

Dream Big Little One by Vashti Harrison is probably our most read board book.  I've read it a few times but Isla picks this one to read to her sister multiple times a week. We all like it and we've even googled people we do not know!

5 Little Monkey's Jumping on the Bed is a current Adeline favorite.  She looks at the pictures and smiles! So it's a winner!

Down by the Bay is another current winner at our house.  Probably because of the singing that goes along with it!

Other Kid Book Recommendations

Wish by Barbara O'Conner

"Eleven-year-old Charlie Reese has been making the same secret wish every day since fourth grade. She even has a list of all the ways there are to make the wish, such as cutting off the pointed end of a slice of pie and wishing on it as she takes the last bite. But when she is sent to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to live with family she barely knows, it seems unlikely that her wish will ever come true. That is until she meets

Wishbone, a skinny stray dog who captures her heart, and Howard, a neighbor boy who proves surprising in lots of ways. Suddenly Charlie is in serious danger of discovering that what she thought she wanted may not be what she needs at all"

Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar (1st in a series!)

"There was a terrible mistake - Wayside School was built with one classroom on top of another, thirty stories high (The builder said he was sorry.) Maybe that's why all kinds of funny things happened at Wayside-especially on the thirteenth floor."

The World According to Humphrey by Betty Birney (1st in a series!)

"You can learn a lot about life by observing another species. That’s what Humphrey was told when he was first brought to Room 26. And boy, is it true! In addition to having FUN-FUN-FUN in class, each weekend this amazing hamster gets to sleep over with a different student, like Lower-Your-Voice-A.J. and Speak-Up-Sayeh. Soon Humphrey learns to read, write, and even shoot rubber bands (only in self-defense, of course). With lots of friends to help, adventures to enjoy, and a cage with a lock-that-doesn’t- lock, Humphrey's life is almost perfect. If only the teacher, Mrs. Brisbane, wasn’t out to get him!"

Like I said, there are tons of excellent books out there and I'm sure I will kick myself for not mentioning one of them after this posts!

Are you giving books as gifts? What is your recommendation for a kid who likes mysteries? Graphic Novels?

What I Read in November

I have been utilizing my free time to Christmas shop, read, and scroll social media recently so it's 9 days into December and I haven't shared my November reads!

I improved from my slow reading of October and read 5 books in November.  I enjoyed all of them, which was a plus.  First Frost started out slow for me, and I think Sarah Addison Allen is an author I need to space out.  I had read another one of her books in September and I just might need more space for her type of stories.  I enjoy them, but I think they are just too similar.

The Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams was my first by her and it will not be the last! She writes books I enjoy, set in the past, with a sense of mystery.  I'm really not sure if her other books are all like that but I do know they are set in the past.  I will be slowly working my way through more of hers. 

Bury Your Dead was another installment in the Inspector Gamache series.  I think I may have one more book left to read before I hit a streak where I read 2 out of order.  I am thinking about rereading one of them because I recall that it didn't make a ton of sense at the time but now I think it will and I'd get a refresher.  The other one I remember not liking as much, so I may skip through it.  I feel like with her series I like a book, then I'm so so and so on.  I like spacing her books out too!

The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen had me hooked from the beginning.  It is about a girl whose mom died from a drug overdose a few years earlier and is spending the summer with her family that she doesn't really remember.  They are in a lake community where one side is for the rich and the other is the not so rich side.  Her mom was from the not so rich side and her dad summered on the rich side.  She learns about her moms past and of her cousins that she didn't really know.  It was really good!

The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict I wrote about here.   When we discussed it at book club everyone enjoyed learning more about Hedy LaMarr and a lot of us googled her to find out the true info! Some agreed that the book could have been written better towards the end, but we all enjoyed it. 

Also been enjoying reading baby board books with sweet Adeline! Current favorites there are 5 Little Monkey's Jumping on the Bed and Down by the Bay!

What did you read in November? What would you recommend to me?

5 Bookish Things I'm Loving Right Now

This is my fifth installment of this series, you can find the 4th here.

1.

2. This Book Riot article shares 2019 YA and middle grade books that have Asians on the cover.  I'm interested in reading The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee.

Description: By day, seventeen-year-old Jo Kuan works as a lady's maid for the cruel daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta. But by night, Jo moonlights as the pseudonymous author of a newspaper advice column for the genteel Southern lady, "Dear Miss Sweetie." When her column becomes wildly popular, she uses the power of the pen to address some of society's ills, but she's not prepared for the backlash that follows when her column challenges fixed ideas about race and gender.

While her opponents clamor to uncover the secret identity of Miss Sweetie, a mysterious letter sets Jo off on a search for her own past and the parents who abandoned her as a baby. But when her efforts put her in the crosshairs of Atlanta's most notorious criminal, Jo must decide whether she, a girl used to living in the shadows, is ready to step into the light. 

3. A debut Michigan author got a seven figure deal!! Angeline Boulley is an enrolled member of the Chippewa Tribe from the Upper Peninsula! Her book, The Firekeepers Daughter, explores the question of identity in the Native American communities.  The premise is a teen girl of mixed heritage who is unenrolled from her tribe and feels like an outsider in the tribe and out in the local community.  She is her class valedictorian but is not going to college, and will instead be her mothers caretaker.  Sounds intriguing! And I love supporting localish authors!

4. I was looking for bookish gifts to get the 8 year old for Christmas and I came across these adorable socks! On one foot it says Do Not Disturb and on the other it says I'm Reading, with a picture of a book! So perfect for her!

5. I'm not sure if you are aware of the kerfuffle on Twitter a few weeks ago because of a Sarah Dessen tweet about a woman who had been quoted in a newspaper about joining a committee to keep a Dessen book off her university's Common Read program.  This article by Jezebel sums it up and offers some perspective on the situation.   I can see both sides of this, but agree with author Jodi Picoult who said,

“To not speak up about this incident isn’t just demeaning to Sarah. It’s demeaning to women, period. Want to fight the patriarchy? Start by reminding everyone that stories about women are worthy, that they matter, that they are necessary."

The woman's comments were that Dessen's books are good for 'teen girls' but not for a Common Read.  Which, fine have that opinion, but to dismiss books because they are 'for teen girls' is a ridiculous statement.  So is joining a committee if your sole purpose is because of that.  Have favorite authors, favorite genres, but really hating on a specific one? It's kind of like the worst of lists.. Perhaps, just don't.  I've been guilty of that in the past but I mean, celebrate what you like and enjoy without demeaning the 'other.'

What some bookish things you are loving right now?

TGIF!

This week flew by! Probably because I was off on my day's all week and was a tad confused.  I also got a great amount of sleep with a newborn in the house.  We had book club this week and that was fun to adult and eat yummy food! Tonight my parents are coming over and we are having a pizza party.  I'm also going to have my mom try to give Adeline a bottle since so far it's only been my husband or one time I did.  Plus, my mom is retiring in a month and wants baby time which will allow me to volunteer again at the schools and maybe substitute again (we will see on that!).  This weekend I plan on getting a long over due and needed hair cut and color.  The 8 year old requested we watch a Hallmark Christmas movie and OSU plays PSU.  Today's plans include going through some clothes and posting some maternity/baby clothes for sale.

My favorite picture from the week:

I had a few this week!

The high of my week was book club!  We had a fun time at a members house talking about The Only Woman in the Room! Consensus was that we liked it but some thought the writing was so so and that the ending was hurried.  I agreed about the hurriedness towards the end.  I'd be interested in learning more about Hedy Lamarr! Or heck, any body during that time period who has a story.

The low of my week was  I can't really think of one, minus the stupid weather turning into winter.

Meal plan for the week was  

Monday -  Pulled Pork (from the frozen freezer stash), baked potatoes, salad, and grapes

Tuesday -  Chicken Chili Soup (from my frozen freezer stash), leftover mashed potatoes, leftover mac and cheese, sliced cucumbers

Wednesday -  Homemade chicken tenders, sweet potato fries, salad and grapes

Thursday -  I was at book club enjoying soups, rolls, salads and desserts, they had fried chicken and grapes!

Friday - Pizza and salad!

The best money I spent was on I don't even know that I bought anything besides Dr. Pepper this week!!

What I’m listening to  Hallmark Christmas music station when the 8 year old is in the car.  Podcasts any other time.  I listened to a great episode of Oprah Super Soul Conversations this week with Chanel Miller who has raped by Brock Turner.  She has written a book and I really want to read it.

What I’m watching Hoda and Jenna!! It's become a thing. I was bummed that a few days were bumped because of the impeachment inquiry.

What I’m reading:  First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen.  I'm not really feeling it, but every few pages it catches me again. Also, lots of board books to Addison! My favorite of the week was Pout Pout Fish!

My plans for the weekend include having my parents over tonight, getting my hair cut and colored tomorrow, and hanging with my family!

What are you watching/reading/listening to?

The Only Woman in the Room

My book club’s pick for November was The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict.  It is based on the very real person, Hedy Lamarr, a Hollywood actress.  However, that label would not do justice to what Hedy actual was and did.

The book starts out with Hedy at nineteen and performing in a theatre in Vienna, Austria.  It is early 1930s and the government in Austria is in upheaval and there are threats from Germany.  But to young Hedy, life is fine.

She is the only child and doted on by her father.  She shares that he spent many afternoons humoring her and answering all the questions she ever had.  He gave her knowledge and attention that most young women of the time did not receive from their fathers and a thirst for learning/knowledge.

Young Hedy, is courted by a very important and rich man in Austria, Friedrich Mandl, who owns many factories that produce war weapons.  Her father, who has never before said a word about her dating life, informs Hedy, that it is important for her to date him, even though he is quite older than she.  Her father feels that to make Mr. Mandl mad, would be bad for their family. 

Hedy’s family is Jewish, but only so much as though her parents were raised Jewish.  They are not religious.  However, in the early 1930s in Austria/Germany that did not matter to those intent on hating Jewish people.

Hedy ends up marrying Mandl after a whirlwind courtship and spends time in his lavish houses and a CASTLE! However, he doesn’t treat her well and she realizes that even though she gave up her acting career, she’s still playing a part.

She manages to escape from Mandl and make it to Hollywood where she becomes a movie star.  However, she feels immense guilt for escaping and not doing more to help fellow Jews.  One line that stood out to me was whether she wondered if she was over estimating her importance of not saying anything of her knowledge of Hitler’s plans.  I felt with the knowledge she knew, she was over thinking her importance.  As another part of the book shares, the fact that she is a woman, kept  many men from doubting her.  I highly doubt any of them would have done anything with what she could have told them, strictly becasuse she was a woman.

I am leaving out a lot of details mainly because YOU SHOULD read this book.  It reads fast and is fascinating.  I also will leave you with the tidbit, that we can thank Hedy Lamarr for Bluetooth technology. 

Marie Benedict also has historical fiction books based upon Carnegie’s maid and Einstein’s wife.  I am planning on checking out the book about Carnegie’s maid soon!

What is the last book you gave 5 stars? What historical person have you read about fiction or non-fiction that you learned information and enjoyed the book?

TGIF!

I really feel like I got the bum deal of enjoying the seasons of 2019.  My favorite season (summer) happened during my most tired and biggest part of pregnancy.  And I feel like I wasn't the most fun mom this summer for the kiddo.  Then I gave birth and fall happened in the throes of the first 2 weeks of a baby and then it freaking snowed.  It started on Halloween, melted and a week later more snow fell and we have had some sort of snow action ever since.  I don't think I can handle this winter if it's all like this.  I hate snow.  I hate feeling stuck in the house.  I mean I hang in the house a lot, but it's by choice.  When I feel like I have no choice I get antsy.  Especially because I have a newborn who I have to hide from all of the germy people this winter.  I may go crazy.  And I may have to hide all carbs and chocolate.

My favorite picture from the week:

The high of my week was we survived it? I am so glad that it's Friday.  I'm not enjoying that Adeline has been waking up grunting/need to poop around 430-615.  Like it may take that whole time.  And she may eat once in there but just makes so much noise.  Usually she's not in pain but for those of us wanting to sleep it's annoying.  I suppose we could move her to her own room but it's just so easy to have her next to me.  The problem with this time then being that she has me and the husband up for the day usually about 4:30 with some cat napping involved and then SHE falls asleep while he has to get ready for work and I then have to get up to get the 8 year old ready.  And then takes lovely naps and her mother is caffeinated and wide awake and cannot nap.  And then the cycle continues ha.  Which, this seems like a huge complaint for the high of the week, but when you literally do nothing but stay in a house and only leave to take a kid to school, this is what you get.

Okay, for real the high of the week was last Sunday when my mom, 8 year old and myself went to see a local theater production put on by 6th-8th graders! Made sweeter by the fact that the kid won free tickets to another performance next June!

The low of my week was  see also my high ha.

Meal plan for the week was  

Monday -  Cheesy Chicken Burrito Bowls, grapes, guacamole/chips, roasted broccoli

Tuesday -  We used the leftovers from the burrito bowls and made quesadillas, grapes, roasted sweet potatoes, guacamole/chips

Wednesday -  Roasted Tomato Soup (made with tomatoes from our garden, we made a huge batch and froze it), celery,broccoli, ranch, cheese bread, grapes

Thursday -  Skillet Chili Mac and Cheese, grapes, rolls, broccoli/ranch

Friday - leftovers, grapes, celery/ranch

The best money I spent was on I got another halo fleece swaddle sack in size small and matching dresses for the girls.  The 8 year old is super into matching and wearing shirts that say sister so when I can make it happen, I do! I am going to give them as Christmas gifts because the size for Adeline won't fit until closer until then anyway!

What I’m listening to  old episodes of All the Books, Up and Vanished, and Hell and Gone.

What I’m watching finishing up  the third season of Jamestown and then will be on to mixed-ish or Christmas movies!

What I’m reading:  The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen and I HIGHLY recommend it!

My plans for the weekend include MSU vs. UofM football! I will probably make a bean dip for that.  We also have my nephews 10th bday party.  I need to go grocery shopping by myself and I am hoping to vacuum and mop the floor.

What are you watching/reading/listening to?

Thankful times Ten

I had been toying with the thought of a thankful series and when I saw Lisa post these 10 prompts, it was just the push I needed! 

1) I’m most thankful for my ability to Multi-task.  I will feel lost if I don’t have about 234234 things going on at once.  And if I don’t have options I tend to do nothing.

2) In this moment, the thing I love most about my family is how they love my kids.  They are constantly checking in on them, sending them things, coming to cuddle them, and attempting real and meaningful relationships with them, not just stopping by for a few photos to brag on later.  They know actual information about them and can hold conversations with the 8 year old effortlessly about her interests. 

3) Something that made me smile today was my poor littlest girl had some gas issues but she ended up taking a nap laying stomach down on my arm with her legs dangling in my lap.  We sat snuggled up for over an hour, but it was just sweet.  Toots and poop and all.

4) The best thing I smelled today was the lotion I just put on my hands.  I feel like I am in a constant lotion/hand washing cycle and my hands are suffering!

5) One of the memories I’m most grateful for is introducing my oldest to my grandpa.  He adored her.  I loved my time spent with him and my grandma growing up and even though he was older and less mobile when she was born, he held her, loved on her and it was beautiful.

6) Thank goodness someone taught me how to think for myself and to appreciate learning.  Thanks, mom and dad! My lord did I grow up in a backwards place and am amazed daily by social media how I came out of that so differently than most.

7) The strongest part of my body in this moment is jokingly I answered on Lisa’s post it’s probably my boobs.  They are working over time right now!

8) Even after a rough day, the things I’m most grateful for at work are my employee is pretty cute!

9) I’m so grateful that my legs carry me through the many trips up and down the stairs to do the endless loads of laundry.  If I designed my house, my laundry would be on my main floor.

10) I felt a little burst of energy today when I went to pump and chugged water and hurried up to get all my stuff done before Adeline woke up from a nap! Nothing gets the heart going like trying to get all your stuff done before the baby wakes!

What is something that made you smile today?

November Goals

I promised myself that I would use this pregnancy as a body reset and start intentionally being healthier and move my body more.  Now that I am almost 5 weeks postpartum and my body has had the initial “just have birth so I lost a ton of weight’ I want to keep at it.  Plus, as soon as my midwife gives me the go ahead I want to start doing some weight lifting and walking on the treadmill this winter.

I am overweight.  When I was pregnant I initially lost about 5/6 pounds in the 1^st tri.  Then throughout the pregnancy I gained back to my original weight and when I gave birth I had a weight gain of 9 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight.  Which is awesome.  I did not restrict myself while pregnant, but my body naturally wants fruits/veggies and doesn’t really do carbs and cheese while pregnant.  So that’s helpful.  But I also didn’t want meats and ate a pretty fruit/veggie/dessert life ha.  I also drink waaaay more water.  So it was a good starting point.

Since I gave birth I’ve lost 25 pounds.  I am sticking right there for the last 3 weeks.  I am not restricting myself because food is marvelous again and I need to eat all the lovely things I hated for the last 9 months.  That being said, I have the worlds largest sweet tooth and especially while nursing.  So I am trying to indulge but also eat smarter.  Hence, why I now have November goals!

Goal 1: Eat 7 or more fruits/veggies servings a day.

Goal 2: After I get okay from the midwife incorporate treadmill walks and lifting.

Goal 3: Finish my book club book.

So far I am kicking butt at goal number 1.  It’s helping that I make scrambled eggs with veggies at least 2 times a week.  And that I have cleaned the fruit/veggies as I bought them and we are eating them as snacks/with every meal more frequently because of this.

Goal 2 I am going to start on (hopefully) after my apt next week.  My very tentative and hopeful plan is to try for a mile of walking on the treadmill 2 or 3 times a week.  But I have a newborn, and life is unpredictable.  So even if I have to wait until Saturday/Sunday to make it happen the week is 7 days long.

Goal 3, I need to finish reading Bury Your Dead and then I will start on it!

What are your goals for November?