Spring Reading Thing 2012 Round Up

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Somehow it seems that the spring season went by much more quickly than I anticipated. Despite the fact that I had a super long plane trip…not quite as much reading was accomplished on that trip as I had hoped.

Overall, looking back at my 2012 Spring Reading Thing list, it appears to have completely deviated from what I had planned {not that I was super specific, mind you}. I had really hoped to read more non-fiction {snort}, but just by looking at the covers below, it turned out to be primarily historical fiction. Here’s a peek at what I actually kept track of reading.

A Heart Divided by Kathleen Morgan, Glamorous Illusions by Lisa Bergen, Loving Liza Jane, Coming Home by Karen Kingsbury, Out of Control by Mary Connealy, In Too Deep by Mary Connealy, The Messenger by Siri Mitchell, A Necessary Deception by Laurie Eakes, Rose of Winslow Street by Elizabth Camden, A Lady of High Regard by Tracie Peterson, A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman, Downtown Green by Judy Christie, The Glory of Green by Judy Christie, Goodness Gracious Green by Judy Christie, Gone to Green by Judy Christie, A Texan’s Honor by Shelley Gray and A Texan’s Promise by Shelley Gray.

Favorite Finds {New Authors To Love}

Out of all of the books that I read this time around, I really enjoyed Glamorous Illusions by Lisa Bergen and A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman. Glamorous Illusions was one of those books that made me immediately start the search for more by this author. It is also the first book in a series {where the next one doesn’t release for a few months!!}, but the story pulled me in and I already have the next book in my cart in anticipation.

A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman is the first in a series, but another one that I will be reading the rest of as well {thankfully, they have already been released!}. While I know who I had originally been rooting for in the book, Lessman did an amazing job of getting my feelings all mixed up and I wasn’t sure who to pull for ~ other than happiness! :)

Left Me Lacking {a.k.a. What I Didn’t Like}

I haven’t shared my review yet, but the last book in the Redemption series by Karen Kingsbury, Coming Home, really just left me with a ‘blah’ feeling. I know that others may disagree with me on this, but while I love happy endings there are some things that are just too perfect and this was one of those books. I’ve read the majority of her other books in this series, so it was a bit of a disappointment overall.

The Non-Fiction I Didn’t Read

Let’s just say there is a big ol’ pile still on my nightstand, some about halfway through, but not a single one actually finished. Honestly, I’m not surprised at myself, but I still have high hopes!

That’s pretty much it for my completed 2012 Spring Reading Thing List. Did you finish more {or less} than you had hoped? See how others fared on their reading lists by visiting Katrina at Callapidder Days.

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

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When I tell you these cookies are easy, I mean EASY. As in my 5 year old now knows the ingredient list and could do them ~ if I let him work the oven on his own {which I don’t}. I’ve been making these since high school and start to finish, you could have these fresh out of the oven in under 15 minutes if you were really desperate.

Ready?

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients

~ 1 cup peanut butter

~ 1 cup sugar

~ 1 egg

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mix the three ingredients together well.

3. Use a 1” melon ball scoop to portion out the dough onto a cookie sheet.

4. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or til done to your liking. Leave them as balls and will need to bake them 9 minutes. Dough can also be flattened with a fork and will need less baking time.

Make 20 to 24 cookies {depending on who is stealing from the cookie dough bowl}.

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Need help meal planning? Don’t miss the editable main dish menu planner and the monthly meal planner ~ both FREE downloads.

 

The 10 Minute Squirrel House {not really}

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All morning long, Zachary had been mulling over plans in his head to build a squirrel house. He was certain that with all of the scrap wood in Rick’s workshop area he had more than enough to build a habit for the gray critters.

He insisted it would take him only 10 minutes.

Later in the morning I heard the banging on the hammer. Knowing Rick wasn’t home, I immediately ran downstairs to see what was going on. Zachary had pulled out nails, the hammer, a pile of scraps and he started his building project.

Twenty minutes later I came downstairs to find him practically in tears. He hadn’t even managed to get one nail completely through a piece of wood. It was bent. He was a little more than frustrated.

Hours and hours later, he kept at the project, determined to get it looking like he envisioned {apparently having his shirt off helps him work better}.

He even brought the ‘big guns’ out and pulled c-clamps from the workshop.

And the finished product was filled with birdseed, written on with sharpie:

“Squirrls Only! NO Birds!

 

As much as I love my son and his workmanship, the feeder was removed from our porch. I’ve been trying desperately to get the squirrels OFF our porch and away from our bird feeders, so we found a place in the trees where the squirrels could feast to their heart’s content…away from my house.

One day of summer down ~ how many more to occupy?