Tale of Despereaux

I just finished a book that I really loved! It was a quick read, I read it in a few hours. I have not seen the movie (which I heard wasn't very good), but the book, WOWIE! It was amazing and a fairytale worth reading.

Mountain O' Laundry

I had to take this picture for posterity's sake. See what I had to do when you were kids, type thing....

This is all the kids laundry and a little of mine. The stain remover bottle is for scale purposes. Steve does his own. What a wonderful world!

Maybe we could hike Laundry Mountain sometime. May take a while to get to the summit.

Playing on a Spring Day

This (first picture) is what it looks like to go outside and play today. I probably should have added gloves and a scarf. Typical Utah Spring.



The second one is what the weather was like a couple days ago-- notice Kaylee glowing in the sun in her dress up clothes, also typical. I can't figure out if she's trying to shade her eyes from the sun, hit Matthew, or push him on the swing. It really could go either way. By the look on his face, he's not too sure either.

American Idol

I have to say I am a shameless American Idol fan. I have watched all of the seasons except for the first one. Last night, my favorite was Adam Lambert, with his cleaned up look, and song, "Tracks of My Tears." I had heard that song before, but never really listened to the words and I loved his stripped down version of it. WOW! I hated his song last week, so I feel it was a big improvement. I think he has a shot of winning. His song rivaled Carrie Underwood's song by Heart called "How Do I Get You Alone" for my favorite of all of the American Idol songs so far.

A Long Way From Chicago

I really enjoyed this youth fiction book by Richard Peck that a neighbor loaned me. I loved the character development and the author's writing style. It has a real light and funny feel to it... perfect reading for a Spring day or a book club choice. It's a fast read and has a sequel set around the Depression times, that I found quite moving and applicable to today's economic times. The sequel is called, "A Year Down Yonder". I actually liked it better than the first too.

Mormon Mommy Blog

I just stumbled across this amazing blog. Check it out and add yours to it. They apparently do amazing giveaways.

http://mormonmommyblogs.blogspot.com/

Great Book I Just Read

Steve and I were both given 2 copies of a book from my aunt (so we could each read it at the same time) when he quit his job. It's called, "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. At first, I didn't think I would like it--mostly because of the title and because I prefer novels. I also thought the idea of "winning" friends was somewhat disturbing, because shouldn't friends just like you because of who you are? However, after she prodded me several times, I did pick it up to scan it.

After reading a chapter or two, I found the book extremely compelling and useful. Winning friends really has nothing to do with it, it's more about being a better person. I can apply it to work, home life, church callings or leadership positions, changing negative situations into positive ones, and just dealing with people in general.

I found it to be one of my favorite non-fiction books because of the simple manner in which it was written and for the plethora of stories used to illustrate concepts. I think it would be a great choice for the book group I attend as well.

Anyone want to borrow it? I have two!