Bloggin' 'bout Books: 05/12/12

2025 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama

- Alaska

- Arizona

- Arkansas

- ~~California~~ (2)

- ~~Colorado~~ (3)

- Connecticut

- Delaware

- ~~Florida~~ (1)

- ~~Georgia~~ (1)

- Hawaii

- Idaho

- Illinois

- Indiana

- ~~Iowa~~ (2)

- Kansas

- Kentucky

- Louisiana

- ~~Maine~~ (1)

- Maryland

- ~~Massachusetts~~ (1)

- Michigan

- Minnesota

- Mississippi

- Missouri

- Montana

- Nebraska

- Nevada

- New Hampshire

- New Jersey

- New Mexico

- ~~New York~~ (4)

- ~~North Carolina~~ (2)

- North Dakota

- ~~Ohio~~ (1)

- Oklahoma

- Oregon

- Pennsylvania

- ~~Rhode Island~~ (1)

- South Carolina

- South Dakota

- Tennessee

- ~~Texas~~ (1)

- Utah

- ~~Vermont~~ (2)

- ~~Virginia~~ (2)

- ~~Washington~~ (1)

- West Virginia

- ~~Wisconsin~~ (1)

- Wyoming

- Washington, D.C.* (1)

International:

- Australia (2)

- Canada (1)

- England (5)

- France (1)

- Puerto Rico (1)

- Scotland (1)

TSS: The Extreme Home Makeover Edition

7:40 PM

Wow, it's been ten days since I posted anything. That might be a record for me. In case you're wondering, I do have excuses. Good ones, too. Things like a 3-day writer's conference, a flooded upstairs, head lice, and a needy 3 year old. See? I told you they were good.

I think a new Sunday Salon post is about the perfect way to dive back into regular blogging. It's Saturday evening, but whatevs. I'm flexible. Here goes:

Outside my window: The sun is going down, but it's still very, very warm outside. I believe today's high was 100 degrees. Boo hiss. My girls did convince me to go swimming today. It didn't last long as I very un-gracefully fell off a floatie and scraped up my foot. As I was bleeding out, we saw a mongo spider. Plus, the water was still pretty cold. So, yeah.

I am listening to: The very annoying background music to a video game my son is playing. Also, my kids arguing. It's lovely.

I am reading: Thanks to all the chaos going on in my life (see my good excuses listed above), plus the fact that I was so inspired after attending LDS Storymakers that I've been working on a novel of my own (not the one I've been taking to Boot Camp/Publication Primer for the last three years, but a BRAND NEW one) I haven't actually been reading much. I am, however, just about done with Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver. It's non-stop action, with not a lot of actual plot. Entertaining, though.

I am going to read: Excellent question. I don't know. I'll decide when I finish Pandemonium.

On the Blog: Um, yeah ... did I mention I've got excuses? Really, really good ones?

Around the Book Blogosphere: I've barely had time to think about my own blog, let alone anyone else's. Sorry.

I am thinking: That once my house gets put back together (See Excellent Excuse #2: a flooded upstairs), it will look fabulous.

I am grateful for: Mothers. I've got a great one. So does my husband. Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. Keep doing what you do because, frankly, you're awesome.

Around the house: I mentioned the flooded upstairs. Yeah. I'm not sure what happened exactly (I was out of town), but the bathroom flooded causing $10,000 worth of damage. After 4 days of heavy duty fans blowing 24/7, it's all dried up, so this week, we'll be having guys come to do drywall upstairs and in the garage, paint three bedrooms, and lay down new carpet. It will look great when it's done. I just want it to be done now. I'm tired of living in a construction zone, you know?

In the kitchen: The only thing that has happened in the kitchen this week is a pan of chicken enchiladas. It's one of my standard meals—we all love it. Other than that, we had some yummy sandwiches from Steve's Krazy Subs, Blizzards from DQ and I believe the kids had Panda Express while I was out of town. Yeah. We should probably eat real food sometime soon.

High of the Week: I've been on a creative high, writing like mad. It's been fun.

Low of the Week: Picking lice and nits out of my daughters' hair. Not. Fun.

Family Matters: Since the girls' bedrooms were both damaged in the flood, they've been bunking together in the guest room. Neither of them are getting much sleep, but it's funny to hear them chatting together at night. The boys went on a Father/Son campout on Friday/Saturday, so the girls and I had a sleepover in my room. Good times.

The coming week: Besides the aforementioned home repairs, I'll be cleaning, catching up on book reviews, and getting end-of-the-school-year stuff together. My kids only have 9 days of school left. Yikes!

Words of Wisdom: Don't sweat the small stuff. I've really learned that this week. A sense of humor goes a long way in times of chaos.

Have a wonderful week, everybody!

Books Read in 2025 (asterisks denote favorites)

1. Coram House by Bailey Seybolt (Jan)
2. She Doesn't Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke (Jan)
3. My Salty Mary by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows* [audio] (Jan)
4. The Echoes by Jess Montgomery (Jan)
5. The Highgate Cemetery Murder by Irina Shapiro (Jan)
6. Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal by Raquel V. Reyes (Jan)
7. Murder at Chateau sur Mer by Alyssa Maxwell (Jan)
8. Away by Megan E. Freeman (Jan)
9. Unsinkable by Jenni L. Walsh [audio] (Jan)
10. A Golden Grave by Erin Lindsey* (Jan)
11. All Over the Map by Lanie Jacobs (Jan)
12. Stranded by Nikki Shannon Smith (Jan)
13. Elementary, She Read by Vicki Delany [audio] (Jan)
14. The Souls of Lost Lake by Jaime Jo Wright (Jan)
15. How to Book a Murder by Cynthia Kuhn (Jan)
16. A Dream of Death by Connie Berry (Jan)
17. The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos, RN* (Jan)
18. Red River Road by Anna Downes [audio] (Jan)
19. Janitors School of Garbage by Tyler Whitesides (Feb)
20. Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce (Feb)
21. Janitors School of Garbage: Trials of the Trash by Tyler Whitesides (Feb)
22. The Brightwood Code by Monica Hesse [audio] (Feb)
23. A Legacy of Murder by Connie Berry (Feb)
24. The Crash by Freida McFadden (Feb)

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TSS: The Extreme Home Makeover Edition

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Books Read in 2025 (asterisks denote favorites)