Week in Review: Books, Cooking, Home and Family - July 17, 2011

Last weekend, we were up to our ears with family visits and birthday parties - I'm still trying to catch up!  Here's what's been happening lately...

Books

Since my last Week in Review, I have finished three books:  Getting Things Done, 22 Britannia Road and The Violets of March.  Getting Things Done (review here) was an ode to my recent struggles with feeling organized.  I really appreciated the practical approach that the author illustrated - I'll be spending a little more time with this book in the near future.


Right now, I am listening to The Paris Wife, which almost makes me want to do laundry and clean the kitchen a little longer so that I have more time to listen.  Only two hours into the audiobook, I am loving it - such beautiful writing.

I picked up the next book in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series:  Dragonfly in Amber.  Outlander was a fantastic read and I am enjoying learning more about the characters in this next installment.  At over 700 pages, it's a bit of a chunkster, so it will probably be on my 'currently reading' list for several more days.

Cooking
Move along...Nothing to see here.

No really, cooking hasn't been very exciting here over the past few weeks.  Lots of old standbys and meals on the run.

Home (and Health)
The house is getting back to normal after having my parents in town last weekend.  Plus, there was an influx of new toys from our daughter's 6th birthday.  I really need to have a weekend set aside to sort through and set aside many MANY toys for donation.

I am now nearly halfway through Week 4 of the Couch to 5K running plan - 5 more weeks to go!  I am really very proud of myself.  This week has included two three minute runs and two five minute runs, which is longer than I have ever been able to run.  I've been encouraged by a Twitter friend who started at the same time - it's good to have someone to encourage me, and frankly to be accountable to.  I still have a long way to go, but that 5K doesn't seem too far out of my reach now.

Family
Our daughter's birthday party last Sunday was a great success and we were very happy that my parents were in town to share the big day.  I still can't believe that I have a six year old!  J is already talking about when she turns 7 - I do hope that she won't force this year to fly by as fast as last year!

On Saturday, we will be packing up the car and heading to Tennessee for vacation with my husband's family.  While the vacation couldn't come at a worse time for me work-wise, I am hoping for many hours by the pool, soaking up the sun with a frosty beverage and a good book.  I can't tell you how much I need this time off.


How about you - how was your week?