February Wrap-up

Because I haven't been reading as much as I wanted lately (although I'm still plugging through Jodi Picoult's Vanishing Acts) I thought I'd just give you a brief update on the busy life of Katie. In random fashion, too! Hope you are able to follow me, I'm feeling a bit all over the place.

I can't believe it's almost been a year at my current job. It's gone through phases of enjoyment and overwhelming and I'm settling into a routine...if that's possible for how fast-paced it is. Don't get me wrong, I really like it, but sometimes I don't know if I'm coming or going! Which brings me to my current feeling. It's Bike Week. I'm neutral on the subject really, because I'm not a biker, but it's exciting too because it's great people watching!

My women's league soccer season starts again on Tuesday - I'm super-excited! I've been playing with most of these ladies for a year now and it's so much fun to get out there for a few hours each week and break a sweat while chatting and looking after everyone's kids. I love having that outlet after work.

We're heading to a birthday party tonight and the weather couldn't be more perfect! It's currently in the 70s, with the sun shining and a nice breeze..and it's supposed to be near 80 later today. People, this is why I moved to Florida!!

I saw my reading buddy Kay the other day (hi Kay!) and she lent me 4 more books - I know what you're thinking! I am already really far behind. I know, I know. I moved these to the top of the pile. And I know Kay and her family are getting ready to move, so I'm hoping I can plow through these books before she makes it through the 5 I lent her. :) These are the books in case you were wondering:

• The Smart One and the Pretty One by Claire LaZebnik
• The Godmother by Carrie Adams
• Mother Warriors by Jenny McCarthy
• Time of My Life by Allison Winn Scotch

Hoping I can fit in a workout today with all I need to catch-up on around the house. My friend Laura is in town from Texas so I'll be spending some time with her this weekend as well. What are you up to this weekend? I'd love to hear your plans!

Just started reading Sizzle Says a couple weeks ago, and she went and played this game. Ten things she loves starting with the letter R. Wanting to play along, I commented and she gave me the letter B. Here we go.

10 things I love that start with the letter B -

1. Books. Duh. This is the first thing I thought of when she gave me this letter. I hoard them. I recently admitted on my other blog that I have at least 50 books on my shelves that I haven't read yet. And that was underestimating for sure.

2. Blogging. Another obvious one. I have 2 blogs, this one dedicated to books and my general love for reading, and another one that focuses more on daily happenings. They both started out of my love for writing, but they've both been a way to keep in touch with family and friends who live in Michigan.

3. Booze. Kidding! Well, sorta. I do love me some wine, although in small quantities. And I love a good margarita - I drink these mostly when I'm in Key Largo. And vanilla vodka and diet is my staple for a night at dinner with friends. (I swear I'm not an alcoholic!)

4. Black. I love wearing black because it's so slimming and goes well with most colors. I wear black shoes to work almost everyday, and I just got black glasses because they match everything.

5. Bagels. I've really cut back on my bagel consumption because hello - too many carbs! but I still love them. I've resorted to buying the bags of mini-bagels so I don't feel so bad eating them. My favorite kind is everything with that garlic + chive sour cream. So good!

6. Boots. I don't get to wear them nearly enough now that I live in Florida, but when I lived in Michigan, I lived in boots for a good 6 months out of the year. My favorite pair of fuzzy green American Eagle boots are still at my mom's house. I come from the country, so yes, I even had cowboy boots at one time.

7. Brownies. (Can you tell I'm hungry?!) I would like to experiment more with baking, but in the mean time, my brownies always turn out quite lovely :)

8. Best buds. I miss my 2 favorite Michigan gals bunches, and I love that whenever we talk we just pick up where we left off. I understand that people change and grow as time goes on, but the 2 of them will be my lifelong buds.

9. Beaches. Not the movie but the place. I grew up about 45 minutes from Lake Michigan, which was wonderful in the summer, but not so great when you could only head that way 3 months out of the year. Now that I live 15 minutes from the beach, and head to Key Largo multiple times throughout the year, I can surely say that I'm a beach girl. I don't even have to be in the water, just reading on the sand suits me just fine!

10. Boys. As in my 2 boys. My boyfriend Kevin and our dog Jak.

Lisa played along the other day as well; she had the letter D. If you've played be sure to leave a comment + link to your blog!

150 best selling books of the last 15 years

I'm back! After a couple months I finally feel I have gained (a litte) ground on my bookshelf. I am no where near where I'd like to be as far as completed books go for the year, but I'll take what I have. I've been so distracted for the last 6 months by work and blogging, including my (not-so) new project, K Squared.

I do have some reviews coming, so stay tuned. In the mean time, check out the following.

USA Today, one of my favorite national newspapers, has listed their Top Selling Books of the last 15 years. I got this from Maggie's blog. And you know, I like to see where I measure up, so here are the rules: Bold what you've read, italicize what you own, star* books on your TBR list. Here we go!

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling

2. Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution - Robert C. Atkins

3. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown*

4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling

5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling

6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling

7. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling

8. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling

9. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling

10. Who Moved My Cheese? - Spencer Johnson*

11. The South Beach Diet - Arthur Agatston

12. Tuesdays With Morrie - Mitch Albom

13. Angels & Demons - Dan Brown

14. What to Expect When You're Expecting - Murkoff, etal.*

15. The Purpose-Driven Life - Rick Warren

16. The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom

17. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey

18. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini*

19. Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus - John Gray

20. The Secret - Rhonda Byrne

21. Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Robert T. Kiyosaki

22. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

23. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff - and It's All Small Stuff - Richard Carlson

24. The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd

25. Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert*

26. Twilight - Stephenie Meyer*

27. The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks

28. The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards

29. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger

30. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden*

31. A New Earth - Eckhart Tolle

32. Oh, the Places You'll Go! - Dr. Seuss

33. The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz

34. Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt

35. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold*

36. Body-for-Life - Bill Phillips, Michael D’Orso

37. New Moon - Stephenie Meyer

38. Night - Elie Wiesel

39. Chicken Soup for the Soul - Jack Canfield, etal.

40. The Greatest Generation - Tom Brokaw

41. Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer

42. The Celestine Prophecy - James Redfield

43. Wicked - Gregory Maguire*

44. Good to Great - Jim Collins

45. Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer

46. Eragon - Christopher Paolini

47. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Rebecca Wells

48. Your Best Life Now - Joel Osteen

49. In the Kitchen With Rosie - Rosie Daley

50. Simple Abundance - Sarah Ban Breathnach

51. A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer

52. A Million Little Pieces - James Frey

53. The Testament - John Grisham

54. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul - Jack Canfield, etal.

55. Deception Point - Dan Brown

56. The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

57. Marley & Me - John Grogan*

58. Dr. Atkins' New Carbohydrate Gram Counter - Robert C. Atkins

59. Life of Pi - Yann Martel

60. The Brethren - John Grisham

61. The South Beach Diet Good Fats Good Carbs Guide - Arthur Agatston

62. The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town - John Grisham*

63. For One More Day - Mitch Albom

64. The Polar Express - Chris Van Allsburg

65. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

66. The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow

67. What to Expect the First Year - Arlene Eisenberg, etal.

68. Love You Forever - Robert Munsch

69. Green Eggs and Ham - Dr. Seuss

70. A Painted House - John Grisham

71. The Rainmaker - John Grisham

72. Skipping Christmas - John Grisham

73. Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier

74. The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time - Mark Haddon*

75. Life Strategies - Phillip C. McGraw

76. Seabiscuit: An American Legend - Laura Hillenbrand

77. The Summons - John Grisham

78. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt

79. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien

80. The Runaway Jury - John Grisham

81. Goodnight Moon - Margaret Wise Brown

82. The Perfect Storm - Sebastian Junger

83. Snow Falling on Cedars - David Guterson

84. The Giver - Lois Lowry*

85. Embraced by the Light - Betty J. Eadie

86. The Chamber - John Grisham

87. You: On A Diet - Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz

88. The Prayer of Jabez - Bruce Wilkinson

89. Holes - Louis Sachar

90. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown

91. The Shack - William P. Young*

92. The Devil Wears Prada - Lauren Weisberger

93. Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen*

94. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini*

95. The Seat of the Soul - Gary Zukav

96. Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul - Jack Canfield, etal.

97. The Partner - John Grisham

98. Lord of the Flies - William Golding

99. Eldest: Inheritance, Book II - Christopher Paolini

100. The Broker - John Grisham

101. The Street Lawyer - John Grisham

102. A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket

103. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver

104. Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer

105. The King of Torts - John Grisham

106. The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell

107. The Horse Whisperer - Nicholas Evans

108. Hannibal - Thomas Harris

109. The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama

110. Running With Scissors - Augusten Burroughs

111. The Glass Castle: A Memoir - Jeannette Walls

112. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult

113. The Last Juror - John Grisham

114. The Devil in the White City - Erik Larson

115. Left Behind - Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins

116. America (The Book) - Jon Stewart

117. The Red Tent - Anita Diamant

118. John Adams - David McCullough

119. The Christmas Box - Richard Paul Evans

120. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Ann Brashares

121. Sugar Busters! - Leighton Steward, etal.

122. Blink - Malcolm Gladwell

123. The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle

124. 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life - Don Piper

125. The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien

126. 1776 - David McCullough

127. The Bridges of Madison County - Robert James Waller

128. Where the Heart Is - Billie Letts

129. The Ultimate Weight Solution - Phillip C. McGraw

130. Protein Power - Mr. & Mra. Michael R. Eades

131. Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul - Jack Canfield, etal.

132. Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer

133. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides*

134. Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin*

135. You: The Owner's Manual - Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz

136. 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s Life List - Patricia Schultz

137. Self Matters - Phillip C. McGraw

138. She's Come Undone - Wally Lamb*

139. 1984 - George Orwell*

140. The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis

141. The Millionaire Next Door - Thomas J. Stanley

142. The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory

143. The Zone - Barry Sears, Bill Lawren

144. The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve*

145. The Lost World - Michael Crichton

146. Atonement - Ian McEwan

147. He's Just Not That Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo

148. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

149. The World Is Flat - Thomas L. Friedman

150. Cross - James Patterson