Tea Time!

Yesterday I had the most enjoyable day - a friend treated me to lunch at Johanna May's Fine Teas in Weston.  The tearoom is cozy and comfortable - yet elegant, with lace tablecloths and fine place settings.  The tables are nestled inside a quaint little gift shop containing assorted teapots and accessories, devotionals and gift books.  The food was fabulous and our waitress had the perfect demeanor - relaxed, friendly and informed.  I am blessed to have such thoughtful friends. What a wonderful gift!   And I will be visiting Johanna May's again.  http://www.johannamaysfineteas.com/

Summer Goal: Get in (Better) Shape

Vague, I know.  I want to lose 30 pounds and firm up my body, but I need more than one summer for that!  Instead, I've settled on implementing a few changes.

Walking every day - a trip down our road and back equates to 2.0 miles.  For the past nine days I've made at least one trip - and seven of the days I've made two trips.  Not bad for a self-proclaimed couch potato.  Well, more like a desk potato if I'm to be honest.

I attribute my early success to our granddog, Abby.  She LOVES to go for walks.  And there's something about her perky ears and wagging tail that encourages me to go for a walk even when minutes before I decided to skip it.  I guess I don't like to disappoint - be it people or animals.  The good news is that the more I walk, the more I want to walk.  This morning I was up at 5:45 and out the door a few minutes later.

Our walks are always interesting, but more on that in another post.

Drinking lots of water - I already have this one down pat.  I normally drink at least 64 ounces of water a day.

Choosing wisely - ah...my Achilles' heel.  This is the "make or break" change that will determine my success.  Watching portions, eating healthy without depriving myself of the joy of a yummy cheeseburger or french fries when necessary!  Scary stuff!

Summer Goal: Read at least 10 books

I did hit my goal of 10 for the summer - just didn't do such a great job of keeping up this list. 

• August reads included Winter Garden (unabridged audio) by Kristen Hannah, A Deadly Cliche by Ellery Adams, One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf, and One Summer by David Baldacci

I have a few more books to add to the list:

• 7//12/12 Stay Close by Harlan Coben
• 7/11/12 A Killer Plot by Ellery Adams  This was a new author for me.  It started out a little slow, but by the time I was into the third chapter I was hooked.  I am making myself read a few more of the books I already own before running out and buying the others in this series.  Not as easy as you might think...
• 7/15/12 Murder on the Half Shelf by Lorna Barrett Newest in the Booktown series.  I enjoyed revisiting Booktown and the quirky characters.  I love the recipes that are included in each book and can't wait to try Angelica's Sausage and Vegetable Strudel. 
• 7/15/12 Come Home (unabridged audio) by Lisa Scottoline This was a good story.  I thought I had it figured out a few times, but I was wrong - love when that happens! 

You may have correctly assumed that I've done nothing but read in the last week or so.  Unfortunately it was because I was keeping my mom company while she was in and recovering from surgery.  More on that in another post.
**Update 6/21/12: I'm off to a great start toward hitting my summer reading goal, but I know I won't be able to continue devoting this much time to my reading habit. Eventually I'll have to put down the book and pick up the laundry...

• 6/21/12 Beachcombers by Nancy Thayer - I like happy endings and this book didn't disappoint.  I found myself unable to stop reading, yet slowing down to linger over the last few pages because I didn't want it to end.  It was written in a few different voices intermingling throughout, each with their own chapters - but it didn't feel disjointed or confusing as it sometimes can (in my opinion) when using this format.  While visiting Ms. Thayer's website (http://www.nancythayer.com/) two more books caught my eye - Summer Breeze and Summer House.  I ordered Summer House from http://www.paperbackswap.com/ and placed Summer Breeze on my wishlist.
• 6/19/12 Hearse and Buggy by Laura Bradford - An Amish Cozy.  First in the series and very enjoyable.  Made me want to learn how to make candles....maybe I should add that to my summer goals?
• 6/12/12 Insurgent by Veronica Roth - loved it too!  No pressure Ms. Roth, but we're ready for Book Three!  Read about these books in her blog http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com/p/books.html
• 6/7/12 Divergent by Veronica Roth - my BFF (am I too old to use that term?) Holly highly recommended (nagged!) me to read this book.  Now that I've read it, I understand why.  As soon as I was finished, I went to the store and purchased the second novel...

Summer 2012

This summer I've set a few goals for myself - one of them is to start blogging.  Others include getting in shape, reading more, making a SMASH journal, and organizing my home.  I've thought about blogging a lot over the past few years, but can't seem to get much farther than that.  So I'm just going to dive in! Ready, Set, Blog!

Introducing...
Pieces of me - likes, dislikes, thoughts, plans, adventures, inspirations, ideas - whatever fits the moment.