Week in Review: Books, Cooking, Home and Family - May 21, 2011

Here's a look at what has been happening in my life over the past week in all the areas that mean so much to me:  Books, Cooking, Home and Family

Books
Happily, I'm able to say that I have carved out some time for reading this week.  I've been bouncing back and forth between two very different books, both of which have me captivated.

Exit the Actress by Priya Parmar is a novel that I received for the Manic Mommies Book Club.  Don't you just LOVE the cover? 
I missed the call on Wednesday night (boo).  I hadn't yet finished the book, so it's probably best that I didn't hear any spoilers.  I'll be wrapping up the last 80 pages today - can't wait! 





I've also be reading Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project.  Although I don't review non-fiction very frequently on PeetSwea, it's a genre that I have been sprinkling in more and more frequently over the past year.   I watched a segment on the CBS Sunday Morning show about happiness and was drawn to this book.  I've only just started, so I have a lot more to read and learn.  I'm really intrigued by Rubin's approach to finding ways to bring additional happiness into your life.

Coming up next week is an event that I'm really looking forward to - Armchair BEA.  For those of us who are not fortunate enough to be at Book Expo America or the Book Blogger Convention in New York, Armchair BEA lets book bloggers commiserate, collaborate and just have fun.  Check back for posts next week and a giveaway!




Cooking
Nothing fancy, nothing too exciting, just home-cooked meals every night but Wednesday.   I changed up the weekly schedule a bit, and was thankful for the very easy pot of Chili on Thursday after a rough day at the dentist and at work.

Home
I will be looking to spruce up our extra room over the next few weeks in preparation for my sister and her family's arrival on June 10th.  We haven't had too many visitors at our new home in Virginia, so I'm looking forward to having all the rooms overflowing with people and I'm very thankful that we have lots of space in this house to spread out!

Family

Last Saturday, we took a trip to Delaware to go to the NASCAR Nationwide Series race.  My husband is a huge car freak - don't ask me how many episodes of Top Gear have been played over the past few months!  In Florida, we were only an hour away from Daytona and my husband attended the 24 Hours at Daytona every year.  Unfortunately, schedules didn't work out for him to fly down in January, so he went looking for a relatively-local race so that he could have his fix.  It was the first car race for J and I, and I have to admit that it was a fun.  Once the rain went away - thank God that we brought ponchos - it was a great time.  Only one complaint:  I know that NASCAR has to cater a bit to its fan base, but couldn't they get rid of smoking in the stands?  I can't remember the last time that I sat in a public space next to a smoker - that really detracted from the experience!

The military are very prominent sponsors of NASCAR racing, and there were several military vehicles, aircraft and displays for us to look at.  Our very favorite part was a Marine Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) robot.  The Marine who was operating the robot took about five minutes to interact with J, showing how the robot could pick up a water bottle and hand it to her.  It was really amazing.  My husband commented that he could have kicked himself for not capturing it on video, especially since the DJ was blasting Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA in the background - it would have been a truly memorable video!


That's a glimpse of what happened in my life over the past week - what do you have planned for your week?