For the Love of a Good Book

I am a reader. I always have been. Our house has been a veritable library since the day I learned to read. I am lucky because my parents indulged my love of reading. I had the complete series of the Boxcar Kids, The Babysitters Club, Sweet Valley Twins (from elementary thru the college books), John Grisham, and pretty much anything else I could get my hands on.

I'm a fast reader. I fly through stacks of books. That's both good and bad! I've read so many books I couldn't even begin to count....and thus knowledge and new words have become part of my life. I also have spent a sum of money I don't even want to think about on books! :p

For awhile I traded books with some of my mom's friends and even dare I say it, the step-witch!

Now I am in on a big craze, e-readers! I got an Amazon Kindle for Christmas and it is probably one of my favorite gifts EVER. I mean E-V-E-R.


There are now features that allow you to "loan" your Kindle library to friends who have Kindle for PC, Kindle for Blackberry, Kindle for Android, Kindle for iPod/iPhone, or just plain ol' Kindle. ha So, if you have the Kindle app downloaded on your computer (I did before I got my Kindle and loved it!) or you have one of the other options and would like to borrow a book sometime, let me know! I'd be happy to loan it to you.

I'm a constant watcher of the Amazon Free Bestsellers List to download books and somehow always get caught up in series book. I tend to like funny mysteries with a romantic twist. Case in point, check out the books below that I highly recommend for a light read! (Oh & did I mention the last few series I've read included recipes for all the goods they "make" in the book? Score!)

Hannah Swensen series (this one is a serious book devotion...like 15 books & I have the newest one from last week)


The Potluck Club series (4 books)


Weddings by Bella series (3 books)


Happy reading!

Vacation Countdown

126 days

That's right. The countdown to our vacation is on. 126. That seems like a really small number when I think of it that way. 4 months sounds horrible.

The other night I booked this year's family vacation. Where to you ask?

I'll give you some hints.

Hint #1

Amazing ocean view and sandy beaches

.....really narrows it down, doesn't it? ;)

Hint #2

I fell in love with snorkeling in Australia, but this trip I will learn to scuba dive!

Crystal clear yet? Well, the waters there will be! :)

Hint #3

Ruins are all over the place. Will definitely be visiting these!

Getting warmer? Yeah, it'll be warm there too! :)


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Okay, okay....we're headed to....

COZUMEL!

We really couldn't be more excited! Although we didn't get to pick our trip dates so much as the dates picked us (we'll be going July 2-9 when the company I work for has our Summer Shutdown and is a mandated vacation week), but a Mexican getaway to the beautiful isle of Cozumel is just what the doctor ordered.

Some family and friends were hoping to go, but alas....it was a no go. So it'll just be mom, Jen, and I. Those of you who know us, know that it will be a blast and of course, many pictures and stories will be presented when we return for your entertainment!

5 Question Friday

1. Can you drive a stick shift?
Absolutely! Learned how to drive on a stick shift...oh the stories! ha ;) If you know my sister, you should ask her how it was to ride with me when I learned how to stop! hahahahaha

2. What are two foods you just can't eat?
hmmm...I've had to think on this one. One thing I really despise is spaghetti noodles. I know, it's totally weird, right? I can't help it. They remind me of worms. UGH! Nasty, slimy texture that I just can't handle.

And the other food I just won't eat is lima beans. Ick! My sister loved 'em when we were little and would eat them on top of mashed potatoes. Just thinking of it makes me wanna gag!

3. Do you buy Girl Scout Cookies? What is your favorite kind?
Oh this is definitely a Girl Scout cookie buying house...it doesn't hurt that I grew up selling them! Of course, this year, I've been very good and have only had a few of my absolute favorites....SAMOAS! Just thinking about them makes me hungry for one. Darn diet. ha

4. How do you pamper yourself?
Pedicures. Having my nails done. Just can't live without either one. I've had acrylic nails off and on (mostly on) since I was a junior in high school. And I try to make time (and find the extra cash) for a pedicure at least every 6 weeks, but in the summer, once a month. So relaxing...and entertaining!

5. What is your nickname and how did you get it?
I've had multiple nicknames. The most popular ones are probably E, E1 or EE. Growing up, my sister always called me EE. Now that I'm grown up, everyone kinda sticks with E. Although I'm also E1 to the family because my cousin married an E (we are both Erin M. Menchhofer), so she's E2. Glad I have an awesome person to share my name with!

Jenna's Belated Birthday

So yesterday we spent the day in Indy with Jenna and some friends...

The day started out looking for a used car for Jenna. The first place, Penske Chevrolet, was a strike-out. To anyone looking for a car, do NOT go there. Rude. Crappy cars. Let me tell you I let them know what I thought before we left. Do not mess with me. (haha) We then went to Andy Mohr Buick and had a wonderful experience. They reminded me a lot of Tom Gill Chevrolet, which is where I bought my new car. We ended up finding Jenna's new (to her) car!

Here's the happy girl and her new wheels. A 2006 Pontiac G6.


After getting the keys, we drove to Scotty's Brewhouse for lunch with friends. Reid, Nicole, Sara, Fei, Jen, mom and I all enjoyed our yearly birthday trek....the food is ALWAYS delicious. And as usual, I doubt our waitress (also named Erin) will forget us very quickly. haha ;) There's nothing like a 2 hour leisurely lunch with a fun group of friends!

Then Jenna and I went to our favorite place for pedicures. It's a good thing I don't live next door to there anymore because I'd probably get a pedicure every week! :)

Mom and I then ventured home. Mom drove Jenna's Neon home, as she'll be driving it to work from now on since it gets better gas mileage than her truck. We made a quick stop at Wal-Mart for some groceries and supplies.

And that was our day. We had lots of laughs and enjoyed almost every moment of the day! I was so exhausted last night that I slept 11 hours. I guess I needed it! ha

Hope everyone else is having a great weekend!

Finally Friday

YAY! It's FINALLY FRIDAY! Has anyone else felt like this week went on...and on...and on? It was madness at work! I'm so thankful it's come to an end and the weekend is here.

It's been almost a month since I last blogged, so I thought since I'm sitting here enjoying this amazing, relaxing evening I should write a little about what's been going on.

The last time I wrote, I had just returned from our weekend trip to Purdue. Honestly, there hasn't been much of note going on since then, but I'll try to recap.

The first Friday night of February, the Menchhofer family got together to celebrate my cousin Jacob's birthday. He managed a weekend home (he's the Navy guy) and we all surprised him with a family dinner for his belated birthday. Several friends joined us as the night went on and we shared LOTS of laughs.

The second Friday of February, I made a trip down to Florence so I could take my Cruze in for the first 5,000 mile oil change/maintenance. I was glad it was a quick trip down and back. The Cruze is in great condition and ready for many more miles! :)

This weekend we are headed to Indy to help Jenna celebrate her 26th birthday (belated!). Her birthday was this past Sunday, but she was in Bloomington for a swing dance exchange, so the party got bumped to this Saturday. A group of us (the same ones who celebrated last year) are meeting at Scotty's Brewhouse for lunch. Mom and I are gonna spend the day with Jen doing some shopping (more info on that AFTER the weekend). ;)

If you live in Indiana...you've probably been enjoying the fabulous spring-like weather the past few days! I know I have been...and so has Toby! I've opened my bedroom windows nearly every night to enjoy the breeze. Here's Toby enjoying the sunshine:


In other news (since several of you are great about asking me, seriously - THANKS for being motivators)....I have lost 12 pounds in the past 4 weeks! I've been exercising 6 days a week and eating healthy. I've been doing Weight Watchers online to track my food. It's really no wonder you lose weight when eating good foods that fill you up instead of junk. Most days I have a hard time eating all my daily points. This weekend I will unfortunately eat all those points and then some...haha...but it'll be worth it. Not like we go out to eat every day for a birthday celebration!

Anyway, until then I'll leave you with a few of my current favorite songs....

1. Pretty Girl Rock - Keri Hilson
2. Valerie - Glee Cast
3. Shake - Jesse McCartney
4. I Do - Colbie Caillat
5. Keep Your Head Up - Andy Grammer