Progress

I feel like I made some serious progress this weekend. Not only did I get the majority of my “list of things” done, I completed a few things I left off.

Here was my list from Friday:
1. Check, check, and check - Workout (tonight is turbo kickboxing, tomorrow is weight lifting and a calm & core class, and Sunday is yoga.)
2. I don’t get a check, but Craig does! - Mow the overgrown jungle that is my yard - front and back... yikes.
3. Check Plus - Laundry and lots of it (I was lazy last weekend).
4. Check Minus - Attempt to de-clutter the guest bedroom and office.

Even though I only tackled the guest bedroom (because I selfishly wanted to be outside on Sunday), I still got plenty done around the house.

Like:
1. Clean up the back porch
2. Vacuum the house and the couches
3. Dust the furniture
4. Make cute heart cakes for dessert – yum-o.

My pride and joy for the weekend: I did a serious overhaul on the back porch. Since it’s so hot outside, we don’t typically spend much time in the back yard. And with Maddie digging a big hole near the porch, we had dirt everywhere. After shoveling and sweeping the dirt back into the hole, I decided to clean the rest of the porch, too. Two hours later, it was complete. I feel so much better.

We would have eaten dinner outside last night if it weren’t for the plethora of mosquitoes that automatically started sucking my blood when I went to show Craig my accomplishment with the porch. Not one mosquito on him… not one, but my legs were covered with them. Drat. So we ate inside, but I still feel great about the way our porch looks.

Did you get anything accomplished this weekend?

Book Ends: Undone & The Doomsday Key

A fictional novel by Karin Slaughter, Undone is the third in her Will Trent series. He’s the main detective in her gripping murder suspense series set in Atlanta, GA.

A badly beaten and tortured woman is in the middle of county road when she is struck by a car being driven by an elderly couple. When the police are cleaning up the scene, Special Agent Trent is searching the surrounding forest area when he comes across a crudely built underground cave where he believes the victims were tortured. Yep, victims… he determines that two girls were kept in the cave. Do Special Agent Trent and his partner Faith Mitchell find the other girl? Are there other caves?

Ms. Slaughter captures you in the first few chapters and keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire ride. With all the twists and turns, you can’t seem to get a good grasp on who the killer is, and with the next girl missing, you want them to find the killer now.

Parts of the story can be a bit gruesome and the language is definitely R rated. Even though this is a third installment, it is not necessary to read the previous two books to understand what’s going on.

Over all, I give Undone a 4+ out of 5.

**********************************************************

If you’re looking for a less gruesome book but with all the suspense and action, check out the next book in the Sigma Force Series by James Rollins. The Doomsday Key is sure to keep you up at night while you fly through the novel.

As in his previous novels (mentioned here), the science and history lesson you get will be well worth the read. Plus, the action is non-stop and jam packed with sophisticated weapons, exotic places, and theories and ideas that threaten our world today.

I definitely recommend Sigma Force Series to any and all that are looking for an adventure in the palm of their hands. However, please start this series at the beginning. While Mr. Rollins “catches you up”, it’s not the same as if you were to read the others first.

Over all, I give The Doomsday Key a 5 out of 5.

I wish you happy reading.
Do you have any books that you recommend?

Hello Friday...

... I've missed you all week.

Just a few short hours until the weekend and I can't wait. Not that anything particularly fun is going to happen. Nonetheless, I won't be at work for two days.

What will I do with my two days, you ask?!?! Hum... let's see:

1. Workout (tonight is turbo kickboxing, tomorrow is weight lifting and a calm & core class, and Sunday is yoga).


2. Mow the overgrown jungle that is my yard - front and back... yikes.


3. Laundry and lots of it (I was lazy last weekend).


4. Attempt to de-clutter the guest bedroom and office.

On another subject, Craig is taking another test this weekend. Please keep him in your prayers as he continues the ever daunting task of finding a teaching job.

Hope you have a great Friday.

Magic Genie

Oh Magic Baseball Genie, would you please grant me one wish this summer?

That the Rangers win this

by beating the

Please?!?

GGGGGGGOOOOOOO

It worked!

Thank you to everyone for their continued prayers and good thoughts! Craig has passed his test. Whew. What a relief.

Now he can fully apply for teaching positions. (He was able to apply before, but he couldn’t get an interview until he had test results.)

School starts on Monday… please continue to pray for him to find a job.

Ketchup

Whew, I can’t believe its August. Time seems to be flying by this summer. Since I haven’t blogged in a while, but have plenty to blog about, the following is a brief synopsis of what’s been happening in my small corner of the world.

• July 22 – Went to see Harry Potter. You’ve gotta see it… but only if you’ve already seen the others.


• July 26 – Club America vs. Chelsea Football (soccer) Game at the new Cowboys Stadium. Not only was the place uber nice, but Chelsea FC gained a new fan! Clap, Clap, Clap, Chel-sea!


• July 30 – Finally saw my brother again. It’s been since my birthday but our schedules never lined up. Now that he’s quit one of his three jobs, I can see him again. We went for drinks at Boomerjack’s in Bedford. We had a great time and when we were leaving Derek Holland, pitcher for the Rangers, was walking in. He had just pitched a great game, so we told him that as we were talking out. Kind of cool to see Derek in Bedford.


• August 1-2 – went to Houston to see Craig’s grandmother. She’s been having a hard time of it as of late, with the stroke and all. Craig really wanted to see her.

On a happier note, we stayed at a really cool hotel just outside of Houston, in Tomball. It’s an earth friendly, green hotel that strives to be as green and organic as possible. They are building more around the country and there’s one slotted to open in the coming months at DFW Airport. Check it out here>>

The best part of our trip to Houston was Lupe Tortilla. It’s our favorite place to eat fajitas. I don’t eat fajitas anywhere else because they will never compare to the delicious, sizzling, yummy concoction as Lupe’s. Oh, I’m getting hungry thinking about it!


Also, I’ve started designing my flute choir’s website. We haven’t had one before so I’m putting it all together from scratch. It’s been extremely fun for me, but kind of time consuming. See what’s going on here>>

All I have left to do on this one is get the domain name and start officially posting it.

I forgot how much I love to design web pages. Almost makes me wonder if I’m in the wrong business. I’ll never be able to do what we have on the Rangers side and still work for the team. I’d have to go to work for Major League Baseball’s Advanced Media (MLBAM). But I love the team aspect of my job and I wouldn’t have that at MLBAM.

So I guess I’ll have to continue designing part-time. I already have another website in the works for my mom and her business. I’ll be starting that one soon. If you have any website needs, please let me know!

Things coming up:

• August 6 - Flute Choir starts. I’m going to miss my free time on Thursdays!!!


• August 12 - Craig will take another test for teaching. Please keep him in your prayers as he continues to look for a job. This test will also make him marketable to middle school and junior high.


• August 15-16 – potential to go somewhere, anywhere with Craig. We haven’t really celebrated our anniversary other than dinner. We’re thinking Austin, Lake Texoma, or maybe just a simple ‘staycation’… we’ll see.
  

I think this is all for my Heinz 57 blog. It’s a little all-over-the-map, but it’s my life in a nutshell.