July-October Books.

So as I said before, we have been busy. I find that lack of routine or too much time, for me results in no reading being accomplished. I love to read for fifteen minutes here or there, or hoping in the bath for an hour or more. I feel like the summer ran away from me. There was not a single, lay on the beach and read all day kind of day, which I had totally planned on. So as a result, not much has been accomplished on the reading list front. I have really failed with that, but am hoping to make a big catch up, especially now that I am working at the library again.

Sisterhood Everlasting- by Ann Brashares- I was so excited for this book as I have always loved the Sisterhood of the Traveling paints books. I used to reread them each summer, so when I found out that there was a fifth and final book about my beloved characters I was ecstatic. I downloaded the ebook and audiobook before heading on the girls road trip to NYC this summer. I am so glad I did because it gave me something to listen to on the drive, when the ac broke and the wind made it so loud we could not hear each other. I was then also able to read it in bed at night which was a great way to relax. The book was a wonderful and shocking conclusion to a beloved series.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - This was on my reading list as it was a must re-read prior to the movie coming out (I am so excited for Sunday)! I am in love with the books and the movie. I felt as though the second time through the book I actually enjoyed it even more. Maybe because I have already read it through and know how it ends, or because I have seen the first movie so many times, regardless I loved it even more. I cannot wait for the movie.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins- The first time through this book it was a hard read. I did not fully enjoy it and therefore it seemed to take forever. I enjoyed it a hundred times more this time through, but again it took a while. I got busy and just did not have time to read at all, but when I did it was in big chunks of time because I did not want to put it down.

Curling.

Winter sports have always been my favorite. Growing up I played a number of winter sports and always found that to be the busiest time of the year. So after a fantastic summer of getting back to soccer I knew I wanted to do something physical again this winter.  A few months ago I started looking into different options.
Ringette was my number one option as I missed the game and knew it would be a fantastic workout. It was also the first option to go once I started some research as the time commitment was ridiculous especially taking the travel time and expenses into consideration. I was hoping for a once or twice a week activity, not a two or three including out of town games and tournaments. Had their been a local house league/rec league then I would have for sure signed up.

My second option was curling. I was a competitive curler through high school and the beginning of tournaments. It was a sport I tried out for on a dare and quickly grew to love. That option yet again went off the table once I discovered the price of curling as an adult was almost four times that of a student which I was used to paying.

So just when I thought that there was no winter sport that really fit into the place of life that we are at, mom called. She needed a spare at her local curling club once a month and they had a deal of a membership. It was a fraction of the price of the curling club in town, so even taking into consideration the driving and gas, it is still a steal. So I signed up, am sparing once a month for her, but also joined a weekly league.
Last week was my first time back on the ice in a while. It all started to slowly come back to me, which is something I love about curling, I say its like riding a bike. A few days later I was a little worse for the wear, with muscles I forgot I knew I had hurting, but I cannot wait to keep it up. It is a little frustrating being on the ice and not as good as I once was, I also hope to keep my competitive nature at bay as much as possible and remember I am out there for fun.

So between curling 1-2 times a week and starting up boot camp 2-3 times a week, I am sure to keep busy and active this winter season. I am excited.

Throw Back Thursday. - High school curling team at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. 

That time I lost my wedding ring.

Yea not fun. I have almost officially lost my wedding ring. I say almost officially because I am still holding hope that it is not gone for good. I am heart broken and devastated, but at the same time thankful it is just the one.

I take my rings off sometimes at night because they have a tendency to bother me, and at times leave my skin very dry. I have always put them on the side table when they bother me at night and when I think about it I put them back on. Sometimes in the summer I would go to work without them on, but I rarely leave the house for anything else without them on. If I do, it is the first thing next to my earrings that I remember I have forgotten.

The other day we were running out the door and I remembered my rings. I went searching, and in a hurry only found my engagement ring. I put in on in a rush and figured I would remember to look for the other later. It was another two days before I remembered to look for the wedding ring. When I did, I sadly could not find it. We had company over at the time, so that evening I enlisted the help of the husband to see if he could have better luck. Still nothing. We then proceeded to tare the bedroom apart. Nothing.

The only other location we could guess was that it was in the garbage. They were sitting together on the beside table, the cat loves to knock everything and anything off of the bedside table, so there was a possibility that he had knocked them into the garbage. The issue was that the garbage was recently emptied and in the dumpster sitting outside ready to be picked up in the morning. Yes the dumpster, in that a huge bin full of garbage from everyone in the entire condo. I was in such a panicked disheveled state that I was completely willing to go dumpster diving at 11pm on a work night. I am however, extremely blessed to have such a wonderful and caring husband that he took one for the team and went through the dumpster on my behalf, while I just went through our own individual bags.

An hour later and about 8 bags of our own garbage found, I was exhausted, disgusted and frustrated. We had no luck. But at least we could rest assured that it most likely was not in the garbage, and at least we tried. So the search continues in that we are keeping our eyes open. I thought I would miss it a lot more than I do. I wear the one and have yet to be questioned about it, which honestly was my biggest fear.

So we keep frustratingly looking for the ring and praying that it turns up. Lesson learned I guess. When I take my rings off now, they either go in the tea cup in the bathroom with my earrings, or in the bedside table drawer. I wish I never had to learn the lesson that way however.

Busy Bees.

The last little bit has been fairly quiet on the blog front. To be honest, we have been in a very busy season that is lasting a fair bit longer than I would have liked. There have been a number of changes happening and we are yet again working on figuring out a new routine. Weekends with no plans are quickly filling up and we have been starting our weeks already in catch up mode in an attempt to not fall into complete disoray every week. Even the simple act of getting groceries is a stressful, rushed process.

My last job finished about three weeks ago and I have been back to work at my old job at the library for a week now, which means some sort of structure to our lives. At the same time however, as I currently work on making a work schedule (for five people=stressful), it means a bit of inconsistency in terms of working random evenings and weekends. We are being required to schedule better and plan more efficiently or we are left with practically no food in the house and over committing ourselves so there is no time to shop.

Life as of late has been wonderful. The friend filled evenings, small group sundays and family visits have been good for us. We are left feeling loved and cared for, but at the same time busy. It is easy to be gone from the house every night of the week with errands and comitments. I am looking forward to getting into a routine that includes organization and planning. We plan to start schedualing working out and meals, as well as normal everyday things like cleaning the washroom and doing laundry. I will let you know how that goes, but currently it is the plan.

If we could all have the life of a kitten. {Love Him}