1.5

That's how many baths Mason is averaging a day. This boy loves to be outside playing and that results in one filthy boy. He gets a bath every night before bed without question and then some days he gets one before his nap or before we go somewhere in the evening. Don't even start me on what my laundry loads are like. This is what little boys and summer time are all about, right?

New Car

This week we finally purchased a new (used) car for me to drive. We upgraded from my parent's 1997 Jetta to a 2005 Toyota Sequoia. Basically, we went





From... Student

To... Mom

From... Economy








To... SUV









From... Squished









To... Roomy

• From... Fuel Efficient
• To... Gas Guzzler

Wait, are we sure we want that with gas prices over $4/gal?!

First, I want to say a HUGE Thank You to my parents who have generously let me drive one of their cars since I was 16 years old. It sure helped us out these first few years of marriage and while we were getting through school. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!

Second, I want to thank Scott for being such a great bargain hunter and finding me my dream car while staying within the budget. (He got it for $6,000 below low blue book)

I am still trying to get used to its massive size. If you see a black Sequoia at the very back of a parking lot with no other cars around .... that's probably me. I am terrified to park in parking lots because right now I cross through about three stalls before I end up in mine. But the size sure is nice on the inside.

Happy Birthday Whitney and Rachel Faye!

Today is my sister-in-law, Whitney's, birthday. To celebrate she gave birth to a beautiful little girl, Rachel Faye, at 8:59am. Rachel weighed in at 9 lbs 2 oz and is 22 inches long!! Here are some pictures of the birthday girls!!

Salem Triathlon

Last year my dad turned 50 and decided to do something he had always wanted to do...a triathlon. He trained really hard for 6 months, improved his swimming skills, got in great shape, and competed in several triathlons last year. After being my dad's support team for a year my mom decided she wanted to join the fun and now they have been training together for more triathlons this year. Back in January when they were registering, they recruited Chris, Kacie, and I to do the Salem Triathlon with them. I have been very excited to re-enter the triathlon world after a 4 year break (although my enthusiasm was not demonstrated through dedicated training). So today was the big day and we woke up to a downpour of rain. We got to the race site to find out that the Sheriff had canceled the bike portion of the race due to the danger presented by slick roads up the canyon. The rain was still coming down hard and talk was circulating about cancelling the swim and just having a 10K. With how cold I was when fully dressed and dry it didn't sound like such a bad idea. They had some guys get in the water for 10-15 minutes and then checked their body temperature and decided it was safe to continue with the swim. Thanks to the determination of my Dad and Chris we all decided to stay and participate in what was left of our triathlon. We were glad we made the decision when the rain stopped and it got a little warmer. The swim was a lot of fun for me although we'll see how fun it is if I get Giardia from swallowing all of that, oh-so-clean, pond water. Kacie and my mom finished the swim right behind me (I have to mention that my mom was in the heat behind us, which goes to show how awesome she is). Kacie and I ran the 5K together and I can honestly say I really enjoyed it although I don't know how great my time will be. I was really disappointed that we didn't get to do the bike because it is the most challenging part for me, but I had a blast doing the swim and run. Because we were all participating we didn't think to get any pictures. I know it's disappointing for everyone who wanted to see us all in our skin-tight wetsuits, swimcaps, and goggles. I had a lot of fun and am looking for another triathlon to sign up for this summer so I can truely say I did a triathlon. A huge thanks to my mom and dad for sponsering me in the race and rounding up all my gear for me! I hope I'm as awesome as you guys when I am 50.

Swimming

My mom and I took Mason to the pool yesterday. He LOVED it. It was so much fun to watch him explore and experiment in the water. He did not stop smiling and laughing the entire time we were there. Here are some pictures.

June 1st Curse

I was sitting here at work doing my charting like a good nurse when I realized that in just a few short hours it will be June 1st and I am now a little nervous. You see, my family doesn't have a very good track record when it comes to June 1st.... you might even go as far as to say we are cursed.
Let me start at the beginning.
*June 1, 1999 -- My parents left that morning for a 7 day trip leaving us 3 kids at home with Chris in charge. Life couldn't get any better....until Brandon had to ruin it all by getting hit in the face by a line drive and breaking several bones around his eye. Mom came home and Brandon had surgery to put metal plates in his face. The doctor limited Brandon's activities for a year while the plates took root. So when the next June 1st came around Brandon had it marked on the calendar as the year mark when all restrictions would be lifted.
*June 1, 2000 -- To celebrate his new found freedom he took the stage on the trampoline at a party and was wowing the crowds with his double front flips off his knees. It was very impressive until he didn't quite make the final rotation and his mouth went crashing into his knee, knocking his two front teeth out but not until after they had bitten completely through his tongue leaving a hanging chunk. Luckily our dentist lived across the street and was summoned at midnight to save the teeth. The tongue was repaired and the teeth were put back in (no thanks to dental assistant Val sucking the teeth up the suction wand), but it has resulted in quite a few dental visits for Brandon over the years.
*June 1, 2001 -- This year Brandon decided to stay at home and play it safe, but that didn't stop me from carrying on the tradition. I was in the car with some girlfriends driving to meet up with our other friends. As we were driving down the road we saw them coming the opposite direction. Our driver swerved over to get their attention but their driver was looking down at the radio. The next few seconds is all a blur but pretty much we had an unplanned game of chicken where no one chickened and we were in a head-on collision. No one had any major injuries just some whiplash and airbag injuries which was VERY lucky. I just got bruised pretty good from my seatbelt. Three years in a row made it seem like more than just a coincidence that these things all happened on June 1.
*June 1, 2002 -- This year's accident actually began on the night of May 31. I was up in SLC hanging out with some of my friends. It was really late and I ran one of my friends home. I went in the house with him for just a few minutes leaving my car running in neutral with the parking break on. When I came back outside my car was gone. I could not figure out where it was until I walked out in the road and saw it down the hill sticking out of someone's garage....the parking break had gone out. Of course it had to be a sweet old couple's house who was asleep in bed when they heard the crash and came out. Not only did it ruin their garage but it hit the car in the garage. It wasn't until after I had gone in their house and called my mom that I realized it was 12:30am and technically June 1. What a horrible experience!!
*June 1, 2003 -- This year's accident didn't actually happen on June 1, it was 5 days earlier. I was rollerblading on 800 E. when a dog decided to attack me and I got a chunk taken out of my leg resulting in stitches, a tetnus shot, and one difficult situation with the owners. I am pretty sure my mom spent most of June 1 on the phone with the dog's owners trying to get them to pay for my ER visit (their home owners insurance wouldn't pay unless they put the dog to sleep and they didn't want to, but they didn't want to pay out of pocket either, so they made it all really difficult).
*June 1, 2004 -- This was the year we realized the true power of the curse when it reached out of our immediate family and got my boyfriend...Scott. I thought we might have made it through the day without an incident when I got a call from Scott at about 11:30 saying he might have a broken wrist (ward basketball). I went to the ER with him and sure enough it was broken and Scott got to sport a nice brace for 6 weeks. The June 1 curse pretty much sealed Scott into the family.
*June 1, 2005 -- Cannon was born 2 days earlier. Whew...dodged that bullet. Nothing eventful happened this year.
*June 1, 2006 -- Second year with no incidence.
*June 1, 2007 -- I don't remember anything specifically on June 1st, but I do know that in the week that followed Mason began having some serious constipation issues. I can't say for sure, but I think it is very likely that Mason might have stopped pooping on June 1.

It is obvious that the severity of incidents has greatly decreased the last few years and I am hoping that continues this year. But if there is one thing I have learned about the June 1st Curse it is that you can never get too comfortable. As Workers Compensation says, Be Careful Out There.

The Mur-Wii-s

We are the new and very excited owners of a Nintendo Wii. I have never understood all the hype about the Wii, but let me officially say that I now understand!! We have had a blast this weekend staying up way too late playing games. Friday night we tried out all the sports games with Jeremy and Janessa, who are in town for Memorial Day Weekend. I was informed I am too spastic when I play tennis, causing my player to twirl around and fall everytime I swing. In the boxing ring, however, my spasticness seems to pay off.....I knocked Scott out and went undefeated. Scott showing off his mean forearm against Jeremy. Rachel and Scott battling it out in tennis. Boxing.

By the end of the night I was experiencing the beginning stages of Wii-elbow (comparable to tennis elbow). That was nothing compared to what I felt after our marathon gaming with the Dastrups and Carliles on Saturday. We played Wii and Rockband (Jeff's early Father's Day gift) for 8 straight hours at the Dastrup's. You might be asking, "Don't you all have kids?" and yes we do. The kids had a blast playing with each other and whichever adults weren't playing the game were on kiddo duty making sure no toddlers wandered onto the tennis court or boxing ring. This started out as just an afternoon activity, but before we knew it dinner time had come and gone. We ordered some pizza for us and made Mac and Cheese for the kids and continued the gaming. When bedtime rolled around Mason borrowed jammies and a bottle from Jackson. Once the kids were asleep that's when things got serious. We played Rock Band until the blisters on our fingers were popping, we couldn't lift our arms, our eyes were blurry, and our voices were cracking (oh wait, that was just because we are all horrible singers). This was somewhere around 12:30 AM. The last song we attempted and were determined to pass was Metallica's Enter Sandman which for those of you unfamilar with the song is incredibly long and very difficult on Rock Band, especially when we were so exausted. That day/night was one of the funnest days Scott and I have ever had. Unfortunately I didn't take my camera so I don't have any pictures. We are looking forward to one more day off before we have to return to real life and go to bed at a reasonable hour.

Scott's New Job

Scott has been working at Nu Skin Enterprises since he returned from his mission 4 years ago. He started out in the call center using his Korean language, but after doing that for a while he decided to use his leadership skills and start on the management path. He has held various titles and had many different responsibilities, but no matter where he is, Scott always works very hard and excells at what he does. In the past month Scott has been recognized several times for his hard work. About a month ago he received the Summit Award after being nominated by his boss for exceeding the expectations of his job. Last week he was one of three people named Employee of the Half. Both of these awards came with a nice cash gift which we used to buy a Nintendo Wii... more on that later. Just when we were celebrating our exciting new purchase plans, even better news came along. Scott was offered the position of Sales Manager over the Midwest Region. I won't bother with all the nitty-gritty details of his new job, but I will say that it is a big step for him at Nu Skin and I am so proud of him.

Attention UCCU members!

This message is for all of you who are Utah Community Credit Union members. My dad, Val Hale, is running for the UCCU Board of Directors. He is the only person running against the 4 incumbants so he could use your support. If you know me than most likely you know my dad and know what a great person he is and how he would do such a great job in this position. You can go into the bank to vote and get a prize (UCCU flashlight, pen, or icecream scoop) or you can just go here and take 30 seconds to vote online. Tell your family and friends to vote too. You can only vote until this Friday! I posted his bio below. Thanks!

Val Hale has lived in Utah County for nearly 40 years and has been a UCCU member for 30 years. He is Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Utah Valley University, where he oversees all external activities for the institution (fund raising, alumni, marketing, etc.). Prior to joining UVU, he worked for 22 years at BYU-including five years as Director of Men's Athletics. He received bachelor's and master's degrees from BYU in public relations. At both BYU and UVU, Val worked with UCCU to create and implement successful awareness campaigns and visibility in the community. Val believes his role as a board member would be "to listen carefully to other members and help propel UCCU to even greater success during these challenging financial times."

A Manly Man

The testosterone level in our house has been overflowing since the addition of two new members of our family. It all started 2 weeks ago when the 15+ year old lawn mower we inherited from my parents died. Scott didn't seem too torn up over the idea of having to buy a new lawn mower. He did his research and found the best product (self-propeled of course) within our price range and then off to home depot he went. That's when "Terrance" the lawn mower joined our family. Scott is so excited about his new purchase he won't even let me mow the lawn (I hope this excitement lasts all summer). With the extra testosterone the lawn mower sent coarsing through Scott's body, his pleas for a grill grew even stronger than before. When he informed me he was getting a nice bonus this week I finally gave in and Stan the grill was added to the Murray household. Now all Scott needs is a big truck to replace the Yota (my parents 1986 blue pickup) to haul all of his toys around in and he will truly be the manliest man around.

Monkey see, Monkey do

Of all the times for me to slack off on my updates, this was a bad one. Mason is at a very fun time in his development and it seems he changes so much each day. Tonight, while Scott and I were watching him in amazement of how adorable he is, I felt a sense of urgency to document everything about him so I don't forget how fun this time in our lives is. So hold tight because here I go.
As many of you know, I love monkeys!! They have the funniest little facial expressions and their curious ways make them so adorable. It has brought me great joy to watch Mason become my own little Curious George. I have told Scott I could write a story about Mason's daily adventures, (I would call it "The adventures of Mason and Ducky" - Ducky is Mason's stuffed duck) but Scott is skeptical of its potential. Anyway, now that Mason has completely given up crawling and is a walking maniac, it's as if a whole new world has opened up to him. Mason walks all around the house, yard, or store pointing and saying, "Wassat, wassat?". He not only wants to know the names of things he wants to experience first hand what they are used for. It has been amazing to me how quickly he picks up on how to do things! Kid's learning curves are unbelievable! I could go on for a year talking about all the things Mason has learned how to do this past month, but I will spare you all and just list some of my favorites.

• Mason has been learning his animal noises. It all started while Scott was in Arizona and Mason started doing a sheep noise, only this wasn't just any sheep noise, it was an angry sheep. I taught him that was what a sheep says and now when you ask him, "what does a sheep say?" he will tell you. He has learned another animal noise about every week since. He now does in addition to the sheep, a pig: wrinkles his nose and snifs really hard (see walking video for example), a cow: mmmmmm, and we're working on a lion: ra ra ra ra in his growly voice. Unfortunately he is often times bashful about doing it for a lot of people, but at home and with my parents he loves showing off his skills. Here is a video of him when he first started the sheep noise.

• Whenever Scott and I call each other on the phone, whoever has Mason will hold the phone up to his ear and ask him to "Say Hello". Up until now he always just stared at the phone and would be silent, but now the phone has become one of his favorite toys. He picks it up (even when no one is on the phone) and holds it over his shoulder and says "wowo" in a soft, nice, high voice. He will then walk around 'talking' in his high phone voice with the phone held to his ear. When a phone isn't available a remote or the baby monitor works just as well. I can't help but smile every time he does it.

• Scott really wanted to get Mason a little basketball hoop for his birthday. I told him he would probably like it more for Christmas or next year's birthday, but Scott insisted. So we got him the basketball hoop. The day after his birthday Scott kept trying to help Mason hold the ball and put it in the basket, but Mason didn't seem interested. Scott was a little disappointed that I was right. Later we were at my mom's house where she has the same hoop in her toy room. Mason was busy playing with some other toys when he saw a ball. He grabbed the cloth ball in one hand and started walking toward the hoop with the ball in an outstretched hand. He walked right up to the hoop and dunked the ball. It turns out he just wasn't interested in having help. Since then he has started saying, "Baw" for ball and loves to play b-ball with his Dad.
• My dad wears reading glasses and it really interests Mason when he is wearing them. So the other day he put them on Mason, which he thought was really neat. Later that day while playing with Mr. Potato Head he found the little glasses and knew exactly what to do with them. He nearly poked out his eyes trying to put the little, hard, plastic glasses on, but he tried nonetheless. Now that it's sunglasses season he thinks he's entitled to wear everyone's sunglasses. When he puts them on he always flashes a big grin like he knows he looks cool.

Okay, I could go on and on, but it's getting late. I have loved every day of Mason's life, but I must say 1 has definitely been my favorite age so far. I often feel like there is no way tomorrow could be better than today, but I am always surprised at how it really does get better and better. I love this little boy!!

Mason's Barnyard BBQ

Last night we had Mason's birthday party. Since Mason loves anything to do with Old MacDonald had a Farm including the song, his Baby MacDonald video, and his book Noisy Animals, I decided to have a barnyard BBQ for him. We sent out these cute invitations. The barn doors open up and there is this picture of Mason inside.

This was Mason's birthday cake. A big thanks to Scott who missed part of the Jazz game to help me do the cake and cupcakes (we made 24 cupcakes, not just the ones in the pictures). He was so wonderful to do whatever I asked without hesitation. I've said it before and I'll say it again....I have the best husband in the world.

We only invited our immediate families and our friends the Dastrups and Carliles, but that alone brought the number of party guests to 15 kids and 12 adults. Needless to say there was a little bit of chaos, but I think overall everyone had a good time. Due to the craziness I wasn't able to snap as many pictures of the actual party as I had hoped, but here are some that we managed to get.

This was a pre-party picture of Mason with his cake. If you look closely you'll notice some frosting on his lips. While we were busy trying to get the perfect picture he decided the cow's ear looked good and picked it off and ate it.

A picture of Dad, Mom, and the birthday boy!! Mason loved licking all the pink piggy frosting off his cupcake but had no desire to eat the actual cake. This is one of the fun toys Mason got for his birthday. He really likes pushing it around with little regard to anyone who stands in his way...just ask Karissa who got plowed over.

Other people took pictures on their cameras of Mason blowing out the candles (with a little help from mom) and opening presents (with a little help from Cannon and Halle), but I haven't gotten copies yet, so this will have to do. Thanks to everyone who came to the party.

Happy Birthday Mason!!

One year ago today Mason was born!! From the minute he was born he has been the most incredible little boy. I know that every mom thinks their child is beautiful, but Mason seriously was the cutest little guy as soon as he was born. Everywhere I went with Mason strangers commented on what a beautiful baby he was. I remember going to the doctor when Mason was 5 weeks old and while I was waiting in the exam room 4 different nurses came in just to see Mason because the nurse who checked us in had gone and told them he was the cutest baby she had ever seen (and working in a pediatrician's office they see a LOT of babies). Not only was he beautiful but he was the best baby. We have been so spoiled with Mason. I will stop bragging about my favorite little boy and show just a few pictures from the past year. Mason's first picture.2-month-old Mason. Check out that tummy. Did I mention he was a chubby baby? 4-month-old Mason. Love his big, beautiful eyes....still chubby. 6-month-old Mason. He's completely mobile and his mischevious ways are made known.9-month-old Mason. The cheeks are thinning making more room for his great big grin. 11-month-old Mason. He doesn't play like a baby anymore he plays like a little boy. He eats like a little boy, too. 1-year-old Mason. Oh how he's grown.

Spring Break 2008

Although no one in our family officially has a spring break, we decided to celebrate it with everyone else. Scott went on a golf trip down in Arizona with his dad and brother, Steve. Since I am not able to give a very accurate second hand account of what went on I'll just tell you the facts: 54 holes of golf were played, skin was sunburned, money was spent (shopping and golf), and the best part Baby Kayla was blessed (in Las Vegas on their way home).

This is a picture of one of Troon North, one of the really nice golf coarses Scott played on.

Scott was gone for 6 days which is the longest he and I have been apart since we have been married and it was the first time he's been gone since Mason was born. Needless to say, he was greatly missed. Mason and I were supposed to go on a trip of our own. We were going to spend a couple days down in St. George with some of my girlfriends and their kids on a mom and tot retreat, but since Mason had croup I decided it wouldn't be fair to the other moms and kids for us to bring all our germs along on the trip, so we ended up staying home which was really disappointing. But we did spend a fun afternoon at the zoo with Grandma Nancy, Kacie, Cannon, and Kennedy. Mason is at a very difficult age for the zoo. He is not content sitting in a stroller and not interested enough in the animals. He just wanted to walk around and chew on the railings, which he wasn't able to do, so he got a little frustrated. Overall it was a really fun day and nice to get out of the house. Here are some pictures of the day. Grandma Nancy with her grandkids Mason, Cannon, and Kennedy. Mason happy because he got to climb around on something. Mama and Mason with the Zebras. Mason loved riding the train. It was definitely the highlight of his zoo trip.

Since it was my weekend to work (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night) and Scott wasn't home to watch Mason, he got to sleep over at Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Val's house. They spoiled him rotten as any grandparent would. He had a blast going to the park with Grandpa Val and playing fun games with Grandma Nancy in the morning while I slept. I would get up with him after his morning nap and spend the afternoon playing with him until it was time for me to go back to work at which time he would get in the bathtub and play a little more with G & G before going to bed. I was so relieved he slept well and it didn't seem to bother him being away from home (which really wasn't surprizing since my parents house is like a second home to him), but by Monday morning he was definitely a little more emotional than usual and when I got up at noon he would not leave my side. Not that I wanted him to be upset, but it did feel kind of nice to know he noticed Scott and I had been missing from his life. When Scott got home from work Monday night and Mason saw him he was SO excited. Words really can't explain how Mason lit up as soon as Scott showed up. The rest of the night we all had to be in the same room because Mason would start crying if either Scott or I left. It was a fun week, but it sure is nice to be back with my boys again!

Mason is Walking!

I am a little slow in getting this post up. Mason started taking his first steps three weeks ago. At first it was just 3-4 steps at a time but now he can walk all the way across the room... if he wants. You see he is still not 100% convinced that walking is going to be better than crawling. If there is something he really wants he just drops to his knees and books it. He doesn't like it when we interupt his play by picking him up and trying to get him to walk for us. He uses the jelly leg defense until we give up and let him go back to playing. Sometimes when he's standing up he will just turn and start walking with a little wobbling but under pretty good control. With the weather hopefully getting warmer I hope he decides to adopt walking as his full-time mode of movement so he can get around better outside. Here is our best attempt at recording Mason walking which wasn't easy since he doesn't like showing off for the camera. Although I don't think it particularly highlights his walking I do think it shows a bit of his personality that pictures don't quite capture. Enjoy.

ER Visit

Last night we got to make our first trip to the Emergency Room with Mason. It all started when Scott and I were getting into bed around midnight and Mason began making some noise. We listened to see if he would go back to sleep but I kept hear him make a wheezy, gasping kind of noise so I hurried in him room to see what was happening. Sure enough when I got in there he was wheezing pretty bad. It sounded to me like he was having an asthma attack. We have suspected Mason has asthma since he was about 6 months because when he gets really active he wheezes a little, but it never has been this bad. Scott and I woke him up all the way and Scott sat and read books with him to try and calm down his breathing a little. When it didn't get any better after 30-45 minutes I called the pediatrican office and they told me I needed to take him to the ER to been seen and possibly get a respiratory treatment. So Mason and I packed up and left for the hospital. Of course Scott was planning on going with us but I forced him to stay home and try to get some sleep. I knew Mason was fine, he just needed a respiratory treatment, but I also knew there was a good chance we'd spend most of the night waiting in the ER and I didn't think it was necessary for both of us to miss out on a night's sleep. So Mason and I went to the ER. Mason was such a good boy the whole time, he never cried or fought the doctors and nurses who looked at him. The doctor decided it was not asthma, but that he has croup, which I thought was odd because he hasn't acted sick at all... no runny nose, no fever, no fussiness, and most of all no cough. But the doctor was 100% positive it was croup. So they gave him an anti-inflammatory medication to help his constricted airway and said that was all that could be done because it is a virus. I was satisfied with that because by this point Mason was sounding much better and was just wanting to go to sleep. So we came home to find Scott still awake waiting for us. Mason went right to sleep and slept the rest of the night. He has been his normal, happy self all day today, just still a little wheezy with his breathing. I knew that our first ER visit would have to happen sometime, and I must say it wasn't too bad. I just hope we don't have to do it again anytime soon.

Books, Books, Books!!!!!

When I was a little girl my dad called me his reading machine. This nickname came from my obsession with reading that started before I could actually read. Starting as young as I can remember my mom would sit out in the hall between my brothers' and my room at bedtime and read us a book. We would read a chapter every night. I LOVED IT!! I would much rather be read to then watch a movie. I learned how to read very young and then never stopped reading. I have always been a "one sitting" reader, meaning I usually end up starting and finishing a book in one sitting. It's not that I am a particularly fast reader, I just get sucked in and can't put it down. Since I rarely in my life have had a day that would allow hours of reading at once I've always preferred to do most of my reading at night. Nothing compares to being curled up in my favorite reading spot with a lamp on and the rest of the world turned off. It becomes just me and the characters. Well I have enjoyed very little guilt-free reading the past 4 1/2 years while I have been in school. I just couldn't afford to spend time reading leisurely material because I had so much else to do. Even after I graduated I couldn't enjoy a book because I knew I should be studying for my boards. But for the last month I have enjoyed some of the most splendid reading. It feels like I have been reunited with an old friend. I started out pacing myself well reading a book about every week, but just the last 2 weeks my passion is getting a little out of control. I have been reading approximately a book every day and a half. One might ask, where do you find the time to read so much with an 11 month old, are you a horrible mother, do you ignore him for your own pleasure....most definitely not!! This is where the problem is. I only read when Mason is asleep (excluding the time I spend every day reading Mason his books), which is also the time I get ready, do housework, and anything else for myself. So I have let my house fall apart: sink full of dishes, cupboards empty, laudry baskets full of clothes, drawers and closets empty. Okay it's really not that bad because Scott is still a functioning human, but it's not great. The real sacrifice has been sleep. I have not gone to bed before 3am once this week because I can't put my book down. I am just waiting for Scott to start enforcing a book curfew. So why have I been rambling on in this long boring post that no one really cares about....because I need some new ideas for books to read. I am open to pretty much any genre although I'm kind of in a Fiction rather than Non-fiction mood right now. I particularly like books in series so after I become attached to a character I can follow them for a least a couple of books. PLEASE!!! Let me know of any great book you have ever read.....even if you think I have probably read it...because maybe I haven't. I am thinking about copying my friend Natalie by posting my current read on this blog and maybe rating the books. I hope to hear from lots of people so I can go hit the library!