rushley & crew

Well . . . I read almost half my goal 😂 Regular books: Quitter , by Jon Acuff He Chose Life , by Mark Petersen Start , by Jon Acuff More than the Tattooed Mormon , by Al Carroway The Home Edit , by Clea Shearer & Joanna Teplin A Love Letter Life , by Jeremy and Audrey Roloff Square Foot Gardening , by Mel Bartholomew Sleep books: The Happy Sleeper , by Heather Turgeon & Julie Wright Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child , by Marc Weissbluth Sleep Smarter , by Shawn Stevenson Precious Little Sleep , by Alexis Dubief

Normally I'm all about the child sleep -- it's what I spend so much of my time thinking about, talking about, and working on! I haven't really been interested in adult sleep because sleep has always been suuuuuper easy for me. I close my eyes and I'm OUT. But I am tired a lot (probably because I go to bed too late and because I'm pregnant), so I decided I'd check out a book on adult sleep that I heard a podcaster talk about. To be honest, I didn't really like the book, so I decided to just pull out all the useful information into one short blog post to save anyone else the time of reading it (but if you really want to, it's called Sleep Smarter , by Shawn Stevenson). The book is broken down into 21 different things you can do to improve your sleep, so the 21 principles might be all I need to write down! Schedule sleep. It's important just like other projects you might be working on, so make sure to prioritize it so that it happens. Get more s...

Our first book for our book club this year was 168 Hours , by Laura Vanderkam. In a nutshell, this book is about time. Everyone has the same 168 hours each week, so why are some people able to fit so much more productivity, meaning, and breakthroughs into their weeks and lives? That's exactly what Vanderkam explores. She also includes exercises at the end of every chapter for implementing the things she talks about. I really enjoyed this book! I thought it was well-written and full of good ideas and insights. I liked how she talked about a specific person each chapter, and illustrated how different principles applied. She talks about how a huge reason we aren't accomplishing as much as we'd like is because we waste so much of our time on mindless things. We often think  we're working 40, 50, or 60 hour weeks, when really we're putting in 30 hours of actual work, and 10+ hours of breaks. We often think  we don't have any spare time, but that's becau...

So I'm starting a book club. Officially, I'm the only member at the moment. Russ claims he is, but he has yet to start a book soooo I think that's debatable ;) My main purpose for this book club is to have Russ and I read about things that we're both interested in so that we can expand our conversations to a deeper level. We love to talk about deep things, but deep things require a catalyst -- in this case, books. I've mentioned it before -- I pretty much hate fiction books. I don't see the value in them because I don't get enough entertainment from them. If I really want fictional entertainment, I'd much rather watch a 2-hour movie than read a 400-page book. Even all the books that are recommended constantly on Facebook, blogs, and Pinterest (like The Fault in Our Stars  and Me Before You  <--don't even get me started on that one...) fail to interest me. What I do  like are research-based self-help books. I just find them fascinating. I am re...

I was almost ahead of schedule, and then I wasn't again. *sigh* It's hard to read so many books! But here are my last five books I'll get in for my  23 before 23  goal to read 23 books. {ELEVEN} The Tipping Point  by Malcolm Gladwell (5 stars) Genre:  Non-fiction Synopsis:  This book examines how  diseases are not the only kinds of epidemics: other things, such as fashion trends or kid TV shows, have the potential to become an epidemic, and there are certain principles which govern whether or not that is likely to happen.  My thoughts:  Guys. THIS is my kind of book. It talks about real-life things in an intriguing way, and it made me want to understand why things happen. It also gives insights into how you can MAKE things happen, though I haven't quite analyzed all the book's applications. I like that there is supporting data for all of his claims, but not so much data that I get overloaded and information goes over my head. A very...

Well folks. I got a library card! And it's made getting books to read so much easier. The first day I got my card, I was just so excited. Having fun isn't hard, when you've got a library card! ;) Name that tv show . . . anyone? ;) Anyway, here is a continuation of my  23 before 23  goal to read 23 books. {SIX}  Daughters in My Kingdom  published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Genre:  History Synopsis:  This book details the history and work of the Relief Society, a women's organization in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My thoughts:  Every woman in my church was given this book about three years ago, but I had never even really glanced at it. I decided it was time for me to read it. I enjoyed reading it because it is uplifting. It talks about being a better woman and living up to God's expectations and plans for us. It was nice to learn more about the Relief Society, and it strengthened my te...

One of my 23 before 23 goals is to read 23 books. Along the way, I'll do book reviews every so often. Here is the first :) {ONE} The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Genre: Historical Fiction Synopsis: A story about a young girl's life, including its normal-ness as well as the difficulties that came from having a life in Germany during WWII, all told from Death's perspective. My thoughts: Russ and I read this book together, so it took us about six months. Perhaps because we spent so long reading it, it lost some of its power. I liked the book, but I can't say that it was completely amazing and changed my life or anything. {TWO} Loser  by Jerry Spinelli Genre: Young Adult Fiction Synopsis: The book follows Donald Zinkoff from kindergarten to fifth grade, and shows how all the other people in the story react to this "different" boy. My thoughts: This book was a really quick read with a powerful message. Humans are so quick to be judgmental an...

A couple months ago, I came across  this blog  which recommended a few books. One was called The Happiness Project. I loved  this book. When I first started reading it, I wasn't sure it was what I had bargained for, but now, two months after finishing it, I still can't stop bringing it up in conversations that have any sort of depth. It's not a novel--more of a self-help kind of book. I like novels, but I really prefer books that help me think about how I could make my life better, which this book does well. Gretchen Rubin (the author) sort of prefaces the whole thing by saying that her life was pretty good; she didn't really have any complaints. But she hypothesized that she could probably be more proactive about generating more happiness in her life. Hence, the Happiness Project was born. Most people set New Year's Resolutions in January, only to break them a week or a month later because they've just set too many high-reaching goals. Rubin's i...

one. TGIF, for real. Somehow, even with a day off from work and school, this week has been crazy busy! Too many assignments and upcoming tests. Goodness. Can't wait to see R for more than 10 minutes at a time! two. I've decided there are too many fun blogs in the world, and not nearly enough time to read them all. Some of the new ones I started following this week are Cheers Y'all , Two Thirds Hazel , and Treelined Avenue . Check them out! :) three. I've been reading this forever-long series for almost a year now (nine books, 500-700 pages each). I'm finally  almost done. Just 130 pages left! Maybe I'll get that checked off my to-do list this weekend :) [The series is The Work and the Glory , and it's good, but maybe too long for my liking.] four. Someday soon I really want to learn more about html and photography. And by soon I mean . . . I really hope it at least happens someday . Ha :) five. I really wish I had time to paint my nails ...

My in-laws are all crazy readers. Whenever we get together, conversation eventually comes around to who's been reading what, and what everyone is learning from what they're reading.  it always makes me wish i read more. I used to read all the time in elementary school. I'd check out two books from the library every day and I'd finish them both within the day. (The small-type chapter books, but still!) But between studying, having a social life, and talking to boys (and eventually having a husband), I mostly stopped reading. Until last March. I started reading again, and I found that reading a book is a much more efficient way to procrastinate than cyber-stalking on Facebook. Facebook gets old, but I'd still keep looking at it when I didn't want to do my work. Reading lasts a lot longer and it's a lot more satisfying! My latest book is one of my favorites. I read it for the first time when I was about fourteen, and I've said it was my favorite b...