Whew!

It is definitely summer-time here in the Midwest. I've been spending a lot of reading time outside enjoying the sunshine (and the shade!)

I just finished my 18th book for this year (to follow what I've been reading as the year goes on, you can go here: EVERYTHING I'VE READ SO FAR. I can honestly say I haven't read anything and been super duper in love with it yet. 22 more books to go! That's 22 more chances for my socks to be wow-ed off. Good luck, books.

Luckily for me, I have a list a mile long of things I want to read this summer:







And I just bought this for my kindle, which is going to be what I start tonight after bookclub (or before my lunch date)




I'm hoping to love them!

Read-a-thon

I've never done a read-a-thon before!

Believe it or not, I am new to the whole blogging thing. (As you can tell, from all of the empty seats in the audience.)

I'm enjoying reading - I'm definitely enjoying participating in the Mixing it Up Challenge over at http://musingsofabookshopgirl.blogspot.com/ It's encouraged me to read outside of my regular reading zones and even helped me get un-lazy with my Sookie Stackhouse series that's been gathering some dust. Book club has chosen some books I would NEVER choose on my own accord.

Plus, the dates of this read-a-thon (July 9-11) falls during the week, which is when I'm off work, so I will actually get some reading done!

Light and fluffy

Lately, my favorite place to read has been outside on our back patio in our anti-gravity chair enjoying the sunshine.

I take breaks from reading every chapter or so to look at the clouds and laugh at something awesome my dogs are doing. Today, Scout was lounging in the grass and a fly was pestering him. Everyone few seconds he would chomp at this near-invisible pest. Adorable.

I'm getting closer to being on-target with my reading goal of 40 books this year. Right now I'm on #15. I decided to go with something light and fluffy - #7 of the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris, All Together Dead. I started reading the series in November 2009 (can I take a second to mention how much i LOVE goodreads? I love that I can find out when I read a book!) and gave up on it in August 2010 (seriously. Goodreads is amazing) when witches and more fantasy-land creatures came crawling from the pages. That was right around when HBO's True Blood season was over and I got rid of cable completely. I pretty well lost interest in it, even though I own book 1-9. 7, 8, and 9 have been sitting on my shelf - Quietly waiting for me to need to indulge in some guilty pleasure reading.

Enter summer of 2012! I've read some heavy topics lately: Ethiopian twin doctors trying to make sense of their childhoods during wartime (death count 15+) after their nun mother dies during childbirth and their birth father disappears (Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese) and a memoir about a girl who loses her virginity at 14-years old and ends up being betrayed by the boy she "loved" at age 15. After I finished The Only Girl in the Car by Kathy Dobie I felt the urge to take a hot, hot shower.

So now I'm reading light and fluffy. The buttercream of my 2012 reading list - Sookie Stackhouse.

the ABCs of this here bookworm

Age: 27

Bed size: queen.

Chores that you hate: All of them - if I had to pick just one, it would be laundry.

Dogs: I love them! and I have two: Scout Pants and Watson Bean, who frequent my instragram account frequently (racheleff)

Essential to start your day: Feeding my dogs happens before everything else or they go bonkers until it happens.

Favorite color: grey and purple

Gold or silver: silver

Height: 5'7

Instruments you play: I can't play any instruments. I used to play the flute (about 15 years ago)

Job title: Registered Nurse, ya'll

Kids: Ew no thanks. Some of my friends have kids and they are okay. I don't like kids enough to spend more than a few hours with many of them.

Live: what.

Mother's name: Brenda.

Nicknames: Rach, Rachem, Rachemface, Rachies, The Rachies, Mitch

Overnight hospital stays: I had to stay overnight a couple times as a kid (once for Scarlet Fever and once for pneumonia). Not too shabby.

Pet peeves: Right now, the pet peeve of the day is lack of assertiveness amongst my peers. Get your shit done, idiots.

Quote from a movie or TV show: "Bye, bye, Lil Sebastian."

Right or lefty: Right

Siblings: I have a full-sister and two-half brothers.

Time you wake up: If I am working - 0600. If I am off, usually 0800.

Underwear: Aerie from American Eagle. So comfortable!

Vegetable you hate: CELERY

What makes you run late: Usually the only time I am late is when either I can't get Cobra to come inside (which is often, I just stopped arguing with her about it) or when Devin makes me late (and we are only ever late to movies, usually only enough to miss previews)

X-rays you've had: teeth, spine, chest/lungs, right shoulder, right hip, right ankle (all at different times).

Yummy food you make: I make a mean asparagus risotto.

Zoo animal: Camels and giraffes. I like the long necks.

2012 So Far (bookwise)

January:
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies

February:
The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan
We Bought a Zoo by Benjamin Mee
The Good Good Pig by Sy Montgomery
Sloppy Seconds: The Tucker Max Leftovers

March:
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Little Children by Tom Perrotta

April:
These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf
Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip--Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by Steve Dublanica

Which brings us to May!

Right now I'm reading Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosney and Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. I should have Cutting for Stone read by next Thursday - it's for book club and Sarah's Key has been a quick enough read I might have that done shortly after that! Both of those books are a couple more for the Modern Fiction category for the Mixing It Up Challenge - which puts me at a LOT of books for Modern Fiction.

I need to still hit the following categories:

Crime & Mystery
Horror
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Travel
Science & Natural History
Social Sciences & Philosophy

But I might ditch the Horror section entirely. I've been trying to read In Broad Daylight about that sociopath from Missouri who was gunned down in the middle of town in the middle of the day with no witnesses (crazy, right?!), but they go through all of that jerk's wrongdoings/law-breaking first and it gives me the creeps. I don't know if I want to keep reading horror-type stuff if I'm home alone!

Also - I want to read 40 books this year and I have only read 11. According to goodreads, I am 2 books behind schedule. Hrumph.

“Life is an experiment in which you may fail or succeed. Explore more, expect least.” - Santosh Kalwar

I am exploring more. Thanks to instragram, I am photographing more of my explorations in a hip, trendy way. What can I say, I'm a sucker for new photos that look old. Two weeks ago, Lauren met a horse named Smoke. She introduced us. Now he and I friends.

Two weeks ago, Lauren and I also ventured to Iowa. More specifically, we ventured to the wonderful town of Des Moines, Iowa. Niether of us had ever been to Iowa until two weeks ago!

When were in Des Moines, we went to a restaurant called the Zombie Burger + Drink Lab. We got burgers and milkshakes and these really delicious garlic french fries. I slipped and skinned my knee right out front. Ahh, memories.

That's really all of the exploring I have done lately. Hopefully the rest of the year will also be filled with wandering explorations, but in the meantime, I can appreciate the beauty of the park down the street.

Or the beauty in my own backyard.

(Of course I posted a picture of my dog. He's gorgeous.)

Paddle Your Own Canoe

I LOVE the NBC TV show Parks & Recreation. I think it is way too funny for its own good (a good thing) and I am always looking forward to watching it Friday evening online (we don't have any TV channels through our TV and have to watch them online. If this service were to disappear, I would be a little upset and then cave and get TV channels again).

Here is a song, written by Andy Dwyer (who is played by Chris Pratt) and performed by his band, MouseRat, about a beloved little horse (Lil Sebastian) from Pawnee, who passes away. It is amazing.