Kitty Pic of the Week: Pillow?

I love when my mom gets me new running shoes!

Meatless May: The End!

Hello juicy goodness! This gorgeous butter burger pic is originally from here

Meatless May is over! Hallelujah!

I love many meat-free meals, but this experiment showed that I cannot go vegetarian all the time. I was really challenged to not have options, especially when eating out. Because while a lot of places may throw a black bean burger or a portabello sandwich on the menu, it isn't fun to only have one choice. 

I should probably come clean... I cheated. Just once. Okay, twice. But I cheated. Over the Memorial Day weekend, we headed to Madison for the day and ended up at The Nitty Gritty. I was so hungry, that all I could think about was their chicken strips with the gritty sauce. No matter how many great vegetarian options that they had, I just didn't want them. So I gave in and cheated. Oops. I enjoyed every bite of those chicken strips. The second time...I ate a brat last night. Oops, again.

More than anything, I learned that I am not very good at pre-planning my meals. I probably would have enjoyed the experience a lot more if I had actually made some of those recipes that I pinned before May started. Once I got into it, I just didn't plan ahead enough, which left me eating lots of carbs and dairy. Not quite so many veggies. Am I lazy? Perhaps. Well, probably.

But I also think I was challenged because Chris and I had to eat different things. Meals are meant to bring people together. It is really hard to prepare separate food from the people you are living with and to still feel like you are eating together. I look forward to us eating the same thing again.

I have a lot of respect for vegetarians and vegans. I realize there are a lot of different reasons that people choose not to eat meat, whether for health reasons, the cost, views on the welfare of animals, etc. I do not think it is a commitment that I am going to make at this time in my life, but I do hope to eat less meat and be more conscious of what I am eating. Meat-Free Mondays could definitely be doable.

But for now, I am looking forward to a Culver's Butter Burger Deluxe, or perhaps some Friday Fish Fry.

Happy June 1st!

30B430 Book 21: Then Came You

I have been reading up a storm lately! Just can't put those books down. I put a bunch of books on hold at the library and was very excited when a bunch came in.

My latest read was Then Came You: A Novel by Jennifer Weiner. She is the author of a bunch of great books, including In Her Shoes, Good in Bed, Fly Away Home, and Best Friends Forever. In her shoes was definitely one of my favorite books, although I liked Fly Away Home a lot too.

Then Came You intertwines the stories of a number of women, who are all brought together through a fertility clinic. Jules donates her eggs to the clinic, hoping the cash will change her father's life. Annie signs up to be a surrogate, wanting to provide a better life for her family. India, unable to get pregnant on her own at her age, turns to the clinic to help her get a baby. Bettina, India's adult stepdaughter, thinks that his father has married a gold digger, who is hoping to "seal the deal" through a baby.  

I am sort of torn about how I feel about the book. I liked the premise of the story, and enjoyed getting to know the characters, who were much more complex then my short description above. If there is one thing that the author is good at, it is character development. Even the characters that I expected to dislike, I found myself drawn to, as I learned more of their stories. However, I was challenged by the fact that the story built to a climax, slow and steady, and then it felt like it just ended. Like Weiner just didn't feel like writing any more, so she threw an ending together. I needed a little more. It seemed like it should have been messier. Everything just seemed to resolve itself too quickly, without the amount of detail that I was getting about each of the four characters at the beginning.

Jennifer Weiner has another book coming out this summer, The Next Best Thing: A Novel. It has gotten great reviews so far, and I will definitely pick it up.

Up next though, I am trying to finish Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter before the movie comes out, and our book club picked The Great Gatsby (which I am also excited to read before the movie comes out...love, love, love Leo). Only 9 books to go before #1 is complete!

Happy Summer Reading!