books – Page 12

Better six days late…

Published on March 6, 2014 by Mae @ Rainydayinmay5 Comments

than never…

I had ever intention of getting my MARCH post up, on March 1st. Ideally, I should have started working on it prior to March 6th… It has been completely insane over here though, there have been so many things to do, for so many projects with deadlines or other time sensitive issues. It’s been fun, but a bit CRAZY!

Every day I have to sadly transfer “March post” from the previous day’s to-do list, to the current. Oh well, what can you do? Six days late is better than sixteen. Or Sixty. Can you imagine me posting this in May? Yikes…

March…

Me–

– work on editing, rewriting and polishing my manuscript. Still. Forever.{ The day this isn’t on my list, I will replace it with “do happy dance”, and I will do it too! }

– continue to try NEW things.

– celebrating my dearest friends, in small ways, throughout my birth month, because I’m so grateful to have them in my life.

Us–

– Celebrating a month of family birthdays.

– Genny’s birthday party.

– A visit with Amanda. (miss her so much!)

Heart–

– I’m focussing on more intentional reading (less fluff) throughout the season of Lent.

– journal more.

Create–

– I’ve been really negligent on paper crafting stuff so I need to work on some cards and maybe a separate project or two.

– Writing challenge project for my online writer’s group.

– a birthday surprise for my husband, who turns forty in a couple of months.

Reading–

– Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist (still)

– Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist

– Tales from a Blue Bike

– Storyline By Donald Miller

Home–

– finding, DIYing or renovating a table for our bedroom.

Health–

– regular gym workouts.

– yoga

– Continuing with my fitbit flex, which i still LOVE…

Love–

– continuing with our intentional date challenge.

– going away for a quick weekend, together. Something we have only really done once, for a concert, and most of that was driving.

What is your March looking like?

Twitterature… {January}

Published on January 15, 2014January 16, 2014 by Mae @ Rainydayinmay6 Comments

For the first time, (EVER) I’m joining the Twitterature link up with the Modern Mrs. Darcy! I’m super excited as, this year, I’m trying really hard to be a better and more focussed reader and expand my reading genres, etc… So, I’m supposed to use this post to share with you what I’m reading this month and tell you a teeny, tiny bit about each book. The truth is, I’m not very far in all of these titles, but I still have an opinion!

Ok!

First up…

The Right To Write by Julia Cameron.

I’m really loving this book. It’s certainly not a prose and grammar book, but it really has challenged the conditioned mind I have and inspired me to strive for more… I’m not done with it, but I’m devouring it!

The Secret Keeper, by Kate Morton

Breanne, over at This Vintage Moment was who I first heard about this book from. So far, I am sucked into the plot of this book. I wish that life was not happening outside of this plot because I just want to KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!!!!

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers

Being the movie buff that I am, after seeing Saving Mr. Banks I realized that this was a children’s book I never read. I immediately got my hands on a copy and am really loving the story. It is absolutely mesmerizing writing that makes it easy to see why children and adults from all over the world loved these books. I hope the film inspires people to discover the Mary Poppins in print and get to know her, along with the Julie Andrews version that most of us love. She’s quite different, and worth knowing!

And Lastly:

Praying Circles around your Children by Mark Batterson

My dad really wanted us to read this book, so my husband and I both read it, (which if you know my husband is saying something as he’s not a reader.) While I’m not entirely sure I’d agree with everything in the book, or deem it a “great, profound or amazing” book, it did really convict me on a few things… So there’s that. I don’t regret reading it. It was a short read and it helped me realize a few things about my walk/journey as a parent.

The one where I salvage what’s left of January…

Published on January 13, 2014January 13, 2014 by Mae @ Rainydayinmay2 Comments

Me–
– since my writer’s retreat plans were changed, I carved out an intense week where during my “business” hours and evenings my focus is solely on work stuff. (I’m both terrified and excited!)

– a facial. this winter is working overtime on my skin! I’m sure being sick hasn’t helped…

– begin a weekly afternoon simply carved out for correspondence and reading, EVERY week. I’m thrilled! BEST goal/resolution of the year!

Us–

– one new year’s resolution I was to have a monthly cocktail evening complete with cards/games, and when it works out, having friends over.

– Gen & I decided to take a bit of a girl’s weekend, mid month, complete with hotel sheets, sleeping in, no responsibilities, trips to the movies, swimming pools. I’m super excited!

– In addition, Gen and I are going to start reading together, monthly. We share several of the same books now, which is an odd and special place to get to with your child.

Heart–

– I’m starting a women’s group through our church. I’m pretty excited. I intended to start in the fall, and was excited to do the book they were focussing on, but I just couldn’t make that particular group work with my schedule. This new groups’ timing is a lot more conducive!

– listening to the calling to do/be more, with my life.

Create–

– one of my goals this year is to take on 12 photo challenges.

– Since January of 2012, I haven’t been the best at taking photos and I miss that passion.

Reading–

– with the theme of my year being NEW, one thing I’m planning on doing is reading more children’s literature. I never read a lot of it. I kind of, as a reader, jumped right into adult books.

– Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

– MWF Seeking BFF

– Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist

Home–
– a few reorganization projects.

– warm pots of soup.

– fresh-baked loaves of bread.

– one paper project (at least)

Health–
– yoga

– making more, and creative time for fitness/working out.

Love–
– a date night

– finding little ways to reach out to Chw when life and work keeps us apart.

“It is a tough road that leads to the heights of greatness.”

Seneca

Brown paper packages… {Our Holiday gift guide}

Published on January 8, 2014January 8, 2014 by Mae @ Rainydayinmay5 Comments

I’m sure many of you are a little sick of Christmas… I usually try to do this post before the end of the year, but with me being so sick and all, I figured better late than never…

I wanted to share with you my ABSOLUTE favorite things from this Christmas… I love to share these, (after the fact) in case any of my readers are in need of a gift idea throughout the year, or simply want ideas for next Christmas…

First off, this is absolutely the MOST brilliant book on the planet:

From Whitney English, the Day Designer is absolutely the best “planner” I’ve ever had. Not only is it stylish and beautiful, but it’s filled with brilliant motivation to make every day of the year, (minus the ones when you’re incredibly sick and ignore it, of course) a top-notch success. It’s one-hundred percent paper perfection and I couldn’t ever imagine using a different method! This year it was a beautiful gift, but I will need to start saving my pennies for next year now! (trust me, very, VERY worth it!)

Next I’ll share my very favorite gift that my husband received.

The Spibelt. Running gear pretty much comprised my husband’s modest wish list this year, and this wasn’t even on his radar but it is by far the coolest thing ever.

Next, this is I think one of my favorite gifts that we’ve ever given. I LOVE it…

Orange Fuzz is a completely awesome Etsy Shop that has amazing gifts for the men in your life. And seriously, the smells are AMAZING!

We bought this for my daughter Amanda’s soon-t0-be step son and Gen and I fell in love with this silly toy…

Scout Read with Me… Adorable and so smart. There was nothing quite this cool when Gen was little, but we wished there had been. If you have a little one, Scout is a GREAT buy!

My mom bought me the sweetest thing. I love it, and while I can’t link to it because they sold out on the website, I can show you a picture.

If Kate Spade brings these key chains back, I recommend them! just lovely!

Tea is something we really love in this house…

Teavana is both given and received by us most years. We really love it. It’s a little pricey, but it’s so delicious…

We thought this was hilarious. Genny received this, as a gift (I won’t lie, it was from us) and we all had a good laugh. And now, now she has no excuse!

Tiffany’s Table Manners for Teenagers. Gen likes silly books like this, but it’s a pretty great teen gift regardless. If you have a teen in your life and you are looking for a little more than just a gift card, maybe do this WITH a gift card… Gen still enjoys making fun of some of the ridiculous things in here all under “good manners.”

We didn’t give many gifts this year, but the few that we did give, we tried really hard to be incredibly intentional and thoughtful with. We want to set the example of not making Christmas an occasion of waste and consumerism. Overall, though it was an odd holiday for us personally, I’d say we succeeded more than we missed the mark.

Now we move on to birthdays… Oye…