Mine was great. I didn’t have anything I “had” to do on Saturday this week, so I ran a few errands and relaxed. Then I went to a picnic at my friend Kristin’s house and got to see all my peeps! Liz & Slim, Michael & Jenn, Tom & Keri, Kristin & Matt, and Maryanne. It was a really nice time – it was great to see Kristin & Matt’s new place. And nice too that they don’t live far from me now!

Sunday was good, too. Cindy & Michelle talked about their trip to Israel at church. I’ve heard pieces of their trip before and saw Cindy’s pictures but the context they put everything in was very cool. As I was sitting there next to Trish, I was thinking to lean over and say, “Let’s start saving now!” to go on the trip…and it was so funny, afterwards we were talking to Cindy and Trish turned and said, “I’ve decided that you & I should go on this trip.” Great minds think alike.

Onto our first church picnic of the year. We had a great turnout and it was just a lovely afternoon. But I started to feel bad – I had woken up with a headache and during the picnic, it appeared to be fast turning into a sinus infection.

We went to Bible study after. Everyone was a little quiet but I think the discussion we had was good. By then, I was feeling rather poorly and was grateful to get home to my bed.

Today was back to work. Funny thing, when you come to work sick in the health care industry – people harass you until you call the dr. He wouldn’t call anything in so I had to leave early to go to the office, have him poke me in the head & face and declare that I indeed had a sinus infection. Two cool things though – I am very concerned about cash these days and had asked him for samples. He didn’t have any and immediately sent my scripts through his PDA to Walmart (first cool thing) where I had heard they had $4 generics. I drove over and found MY PRESCRIPTIONS WERE NO CHARGE. I was so happy.

I came home, took my meds and got in bed for the next two hours. I don’t think I slept but I did rest and then got up, made dinner and have been trying to get things done around the house.

Now thunderstorms cometh…so I am going to log off. TTFN!

I’m gearing up for another adventure soon. It’s really been a fun summer so far – even with our race at Dover getting rained out. I can’t believe it’s half over already, though! I was just looking at day trips for the local tour company and realized I should probably plan for November or December – they’ll be here before we know it.

It has been a tiring week. Tomorrow I don’t have any evening activities, so I’m hoping to cook a nice dinner and get some housework done. I keep thinking I have all morning Saturday now to clean but wouldn’t it be oh so nice to not have to do anything before heading to my friends’ picnic in the afternoon? Ah, a girl can dream!

Sad news tonight…my one girlfriend from church who was expecting went to her midwife today for a routine checkup and they couldn’t find the heartbeat. It is just so terribly heartbreaking. I know there is very little I can do to comfort her – I prayed with her on the phone and have been praying for them all evening. At her request, I sent a prayer request to our church’s prayer chain and called some folks individually. I pray that one friend in particular can bring her some comfort through her own experience with this…and I pray that I can be the kind of friend she needs right now.

I just got home from here. It was an amazing experience! More later – after I catch up on my sleep!

Actually, it’s not the rain that is the problem – it’s the thunderstorms. For only the second time in my career, I had to cancel a program due to weather. There is just no way to get the instructor there because all the flights are canceled. And unfortunately, my local contact was already gone for the day. I sent emails, left voicemails with my cell number…not much else I can do at this point. Yet there is a part of me that feels like it is somehow my fault – which I know logically it is not.

I hope the weather clears up for an upcoming adventure! More on that later.

Tonight I am cleaning, doing laundry and catching up with a friend at a new coffee house at a local “mega” church. I’m interested to see what they’ve got going on there – and she says they have peppermint patty smoothies; I mean, really, who could pass that up?

I’m sad to say that the Spring Reading Thing has come to an end. I was really plowing through the books this time!

Here is my original Spring Reading Thing list. The first six…well, I didn’t touch the first four and numbers 5 & 6 are partway finished. But in addition I read the following by Karen Kingsbury:

A Moment of Weakness
A Thousand Tomorrows
A Time to Dance
Divine
Even Now
Waiting for Morning
Where Yesterday Lives
Halfway to Forever

Can you tell I really love her writing? I actually have two of her other books currently being held at the library for me right now!

I also read:

Dispatches from the Edge by Anderson Cooper
The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
Child of Grace – Lori Copeland
A Slender Thread – Tracie Peterson
Ships of Mercy – Don Stephens & Lynda Rutledge
The Church Ladies – Lisa Samson

Katrina, the wonderful soul who organizes these great reading events, suggested answering some questions to sum up our Spring Reading Thing experiences…and so I shall!

What was the best book you read this spring?

I absolutely loved Divine by Karen Kingsbury. I saw it on the reading lists of so many people but thought its subject matter might be too much for me right now. But I am so glad it was available at the library when I was trying to read absolutely everything Karen Kingsbury has ever written. It was beautifully written and I simply could not put it down.

What book could you have done without?

The Secret Life of Becky Miller. It was ok – the story itself was good – but I had a terrible time with her fantasies/daydreams. I got to the point where I was just skipping them all together. I’m not a daydreamer, so I guess I couldn’t relate!

I also could have done without Anderson Cooper’s book. I absolutely love him but I felt like I had heard most of the stories contained therein either when he was interviewed on Larry King or other shows to promote the book. There was little that was new to me.

Did you try out a new author this spring? If so, which one, and will you be reading that author again?

I actually tried a few. I think I would ready other books by Alice Sebold, Tracie Peterson, and possibly Lori Copeland.

If there were books you didn’t finish, tell us why. Did you run out of time? Realize those books weren’t worth it?

I think those I planned on but did not finish (first few on my list) just did not appeal to me when it came down to it. I have been struggling through a very stressful time in the last few months, especially the last few weeks, and reading, frankly, is my escape. I read so that the stress will leave me, so that I can think about someone else’s life for a time…and the books I chose and read in this time allowed me that.

Did you come across a book or two on other participants’ lists that you’re planning to add to your own to-be-read pile? Which ones?

I’m looking forwarding to checking out the links to see what others read – I did pick Divine & the Secret Life of Becky Miller from other’s lists originally, but I think that’s it.

What did you learn — about anything — through this challenge? Maybe you learned something about yourself or your reading style, maybe you learned not to pick so many nonfiction books for a challenge, maybe you learned something from a book you read. Whatever it is, share!

I so love to read. I always have, as long as I can remember. But this time I felt strongly that reading was my only escape – and a desperately needed on.

As for what I learned from a book, I learned a great deal about Mercy Ships organization. One of my dear youth who just graduated is leaving in August for a 6 month mission with them and I wanted to learn all I could about it. I am so proud of her and so pleased that she picked such a wonderful organization to journey with. The book is very moving and well worth the read.

What was the best part of the Spring Reading Thing?

I love its mere existence! And Katrina is such a blessing to all of us who love to read – thank you so much for organizing this again!

Would you be interested in participating in another reading challenge this fall?

I wouldn’t miss it for the world!

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I am beat. I spent the day at an outdoor flea market with my mom, aunt and their cousins. The flea market left a lot to be desired but it was good to be out and about. After we got back, we went out to dinner with my dad for a belated Father’s Day meal. I came home, watered the plants and took a shower and have been online since – checking email, catching up on bloglines, and checking in with my Beth Moore Bible study gals. We have our second meeting on Sunday and I am looking forward to hearing what they all are thinking. I so hope they love this study as much as I do. I pray that they are doing the homework and working through it all, because I know that that is what will help them learn and grow.

I need to post my results of the Spring Reading Thing this weekend. I know I’m behind (surprise!) but I really do want to get that done. I read A LOT more than what I planned but still didn’t get to some of the books on my list. Oh well!